Loyal Meeting of the People of New-York, Vol. 9

Excerpt from Loyal Meeting of the People of New-York, Vol. 9: To Support the Government, Prosecute the War, and Maintain the Union, Held at the Cooper Institute, Friday Evening, March 6, 1863 In response to the preceding call, the largest and most enthusiastic war meeting ever held in this city, since the memorable open air gathering at Union Square in 1861, took place at the Cooper Institute on the evening of March 6th. The meeting was called for eight o'clock, but long before seven the large hall of the Institute was besieged on every side by citizens of every rank and condition in life. To say that the building was crowded to repletion is to convey a very inadequate idea of the countless numbers that were packed within its walls. Such unity of feeling, and warm, outspoken enthusiasm for the vigorous prosecution of the war against the rebellion, have rarely been seen at any loyal and patriotic gathering. The army of men which filled the surrounding squares attested the loyalty of the heart of the Union. The expectation that Lieutenant-General Scott was to preside, was an additional stimulus to the patriotic ardor of the meeting, and every new accession of a distinguished citizen to the platform drew forth loud applause. The platform was patriotically decorated with the American bunting, and the desk for the speakers was appropriately draped with the same beautiful emblem. Perfect order and decorum was kept, though impatience for the commencement of the evening's work induced frequent calls for "Butler," "Brady," "Van Buren," and other favorites of the people. At about fifteen minutes before eight, Gen. Prosper M. Wetmore descried the venerable Gen. Swift in the audience, and insisted on his getting upon the platform, when the audience gave the old hero a rousing cheer, and Gen. Wetmore, ever ready upon an emergency, taking the veteran by the arm, advanced to the front of the platform and said: "Fellow-Citizens, - You do well to cheer this veteran soldier, and will again do so when I tell you that he is our friend Gen. Swift, who fought for his country over fifty years ago, and who is here to-night to testify by his presence his devotion to the dear old flag, and his still fervent love for the honor of his country." Three vociferous cheers followed this announcement, which Gen. Swift acknowledged quietly, and took his seat near the desk. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.