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Show - . 4 One More Conquering j Hero Comes ! ; I ! i By Frederic J. Hasliia. j 4 WASHINGTON". Sert. 3. For the third time since the birth of the republic, the national capital will welcome home a conquering con-quering hero and victorious troops, when General John J. Pershing and the famous First division of regulars parade here about September TO. This Victory parade will tie the greatest great-est military spectacle the capital has witnessed since the reception accorded Admiral Pewry when he returned alter sinking the Spanish armada in Manila harbor without the loss of a single man. Officially sisnalizlng tlie clusc of the great world war, the celebraliuii will be an epoch-making altair in the history of Washington. Elaborate plans ate being made by the war department and a committee com-mittee of Washingtunians for the sala day. It is Intended that the people of the United Stales shall have the "first and only opportunity to witness the power of a division equipped and ready for battle." bat-tle." The boys of tne First division will march with full equipment, Including not only artillery and machine-gun unltrf, but even all the details of transportation and medical organization. In other words, it will be a first-class modern fighting unit ready for action, and therefore very different dif-ferent from the oid-fashtoned military parade in full dress. The exact date for the celebration has not yet been definitely fixed. A sort ot preliminary parade will be hold in New York City soon after the debarkation of the entire division, which will be billeted at Camps Men-lit and Mills. It is expected ex-pected that the entire personnel will have arrived in this coiuntrv by September 10. and that the New York pageant will take place a few days later. Major General Shanks, commander of the port of debarkation de-barkation at Hobokeni N. J., will set the date for the parade. Following the festivities In New York, the division will begin its movement to Washington. All animals and vehicles will be sent by train during a period of several days. Then the boat with the division di-vision personnel will move a day or so before the big parade. General Pershing is scheduled to land in New York some time around September 10, In which event he will be on hand to take part in tlie New Y'ork pageant. Whether he will ride at the head of the troops In Washington or occupy a place in the reviewing stand with President Wilson has not yet been determined. His personal wishes will be consulted in this matter. For the first time since the civil war a combatant division of troops will be encamped in tho environs of this historic city. Potomac park, back of the White House, will be one of the concentrating points of the division. The men will camp there the night before the parade. It has been suggested that the division remain here a day or so after the celebration, during which time it could be inspected by sightseers. Early on the morning of the parade the twenty-eight thousand men of the division divi-sion will march to southwestern Washington, Wash-ington, where the units will fall in line in their respective order as the columns near the Peace monument, at the foot of Capital hill. Although no definite route of march has been mapped out, it Is believed be-lieved that the parade will start at the Peace monument and pass along Pennsylvania Penn-sylvania avenue, which is one of the widest thoroughfares In the world, to the reviewing stand to be erected in front of the White House. From early morning until past evening on the day of the parade Washington will present the appearance ap-pearance of a great mobilization point. All day long columns of maching soldiers, horse-drawn and motorized transportation will move back and forth along the streets of the capital. One of the features of the parade will be the gun which fired the first shot of the war for the Americans. It is the property of the First division. At the present time It is at West Point, where It was brought a couple of months back as one of the most coveted souvenirs of the war. There will be a court of honor and triumphal tri-umphal arch opposite the White House. The gallant troops will pass under this arch a few yards from the point where they will be reviewed by the president, his cabinet and members of the diplomatic corps. Stands will be erected along Penn-svlvanla Penn-svlvanla avenue for out-of-town guests. Already Washington hotels are being literally lit-erally deluged with telegrams by people who will come to see the striking spectacle. spec-tacle. The town will be elegantly decorated dec-orated and the president will declare a holiday for all the departments. As the heroes of Soissons, St. Mihiel and other important battles pass in review re-view before tlie president, another scene of the days of '65 will be recalled to the old-timers who witnessed the review of Grant's army. On the 23rd day of May of that year the army of the Potomac, and on the next day Sherman's army that marched to the sea, paraded here, marking mark-ing the termination of the civil war. Those who remember say that for hours on both days the "boys in blue" swept through the capital, while hundreds of bands made the air ring with patriotic music. More than 200,000 veteran troops who had fought in every battle of the civil war, commanded by the leading northern generals, were reviewed by their commander. com-mander. Lieutenant Geneml Grant; President Presi-dent Johnson and his cabinet, dignitaries of our own and other countries, and by the throng of citizens who came from all parts of the north. The night before the first day of the celebration the army of the Potomac camped in the capital. It rained and the men were wet and dreary, but as the day dawned the clouds disappeared and the capital looked like a large military camp. There were brigades marching at route step, bivouac fires, around which groups were eating their breakfast, orderly or-derly sergeants insisting in very rough language upon the use of sandpaper on muskets already bright, musicians rehearsing re-hearsing old tunes, and little drummer boys bracing drums half as high as themselves. them-selves. Genera Meade rode at the head of tho troops. The reviewing stand was in front of the White House, and it took about six hours for, the parade to pass. As each brigade commander saluted, President Johnson would rise and lift his hat. General Grant sat during the whole time, except that he would occasionally make some commendatory remark as a gallant officer or brave regiment passed. On tho second day of the celebration the troops who marched "through Georgia" Geor-gia" under Sherman were reviewed. General Gen-eral Sherman, by granting amnesty to Joe Johnson's confederate army, had incurred in-curred the displeasure of Secretary of War Stanton, who tried to prevent Sherman Sher-man from leading his men in the parade. But the secretary was frustrated in his efforts, and Sherman rode at the head of his columns. After passing the reviewing stand. General Sherman wheeled to the left, dismounted, and joined the reviewing review-ing party. He shook hands cordially with President Johnson and General Grant, but when Secretary Stanton advanced ad-vanced with outstretched hand he refused to greet him and remarked that "I do not care to shake hands with clerks." Returning to the valorous First division. It is interesting to note that the first units left the United States on June It. 1017. and 'the entire division was in France by July 2. The division has an enviable record' rec-ord' It was the first division In France; first in sector; first to fire a shot at the Germans: first to attack: first to conduct a raid; first to be raided; first to capture prisoners; first to infliet casualties; cas-ualties; first to suffer casualties; first to be cited in general orders; first in number of division, corps and army commanders and general staff officers produced from Its personnel. The division suffered 23.9T4 casualties; "no of Its men won the distiguis'ned service ser-vice cross; it captured 165 officers and 6304 men, numerous machine guns, pieces of artlllerv of all calibers and a great quantity of supplies. So, naturally. It has been selected to signalize the triumphant return of the Amerienn army from its victories in the battlefields of France and Flanders. i |