GOVERNOR'S HORSE GUARD.

Centennial of the Hartford Company,

  The First Company, Governor's Horse Guard, under command of Major Frank Cowles, celebrated its First Centennial Anniversary, May 8, 1888, the event proving one of great public interest in the City of Hartford. The original committee entrusted with the control of arrangements for the Centennial was elected September 22, 1887, and consisted of Major Frank Cowles, Captain Wm. G. Hubbard, Lieutenant Charles H. Dillings, Cornet F. M. Warren and Quartermaster J. C. McClure. This Committee is entitled to most of the praise for the superb character of the celebration and the complete success with which the occasion passed.

The roster of the Guard on the morning of the Centennial, which is appended, includes the Honorary Staff. The roll in full being:

Frank Cowles, Major.

Wm. G. Hubbard, Captain and 1st Lieutenant.

Charles H. Dillings, 2d Lieutenant.

F. M. Warren, Cornet.

Joseph C. McCLURE, Quartermaster

Sergeants.

Wm. W. Whitehead.                                                                                         Joseph H. Phillips.

Fred'k W. Shepard.                                                                                         Charles. H. Peck.

Corporals.

Wm. R. Wood.                                                                                                  Frank H. Seymour.

Joseph K. Green.                                                                                               Horace L. Carter.

Color Sergeants.

Alfred S. Tillotson                                                                                            Clarence W. Allen.

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Privates.

Honorary Staff.

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  The guard assembled at the armory under orders from Major Cowles, and was formed by Orderly Whitehead. The colors and officers were received with due form in front of the headquarters. Thence the Command marched to Canton Street, when the Second Company, Governor's Horse Guard, under Major H. H. Strong, of New Haven, was received with military courtesies. From Canton Street the column proceeded to the Allyn House, where Governor Lounsbury and staff were received. The column was formed as follows:

Wethersfield Band, mounted.

Major Frank Cowles and Staff.

First Company, Governor's Horse Guard, Captain Hubbard.

Carriages as follows :

No. 1. Governor Lounsbury, accompanied by Adjutant-General

Camp and Executive Secretary McLean.

No. 2. Quartermaster-General Charles Olmsted, Surgeon-General

Charles James Fox.

No. 3. Commissary-General Charles H. Pine, Paymaster-General

John B. Clapp.

No. 4.    Colonels S. B. Home, S. G. Blakeman and J. D. Chaffee.

No. 5.    Colonel E. H. Matthewson, Assistant Adjutant-General

George M. White and Assistant Quartermaster-General H. C. Morgan.

Wallingford National Band.

Second Company, Governor's Horse Guard, of New Haven,

Major H. H. Strong.

  The line of march was through Trumbull, Church and Ann to North Main, down Main to Morris, countermarch to Jefferson, thence through Washington, Trinity (under the Memorial Arch), Pearl and Trumbull, to the Allyn House, where the Governor and Staff retired from the parade.

  After leaving the Governor the two companies marched up Trumbull to Main, down Main to the armory, where they were dismissed for lunch. About three o'clock the First Company escorted the Second to Canton Street, where the horses of the New Haven company were loaded on the cars, the members of the company remaining for the banquet.

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  Both companies reported at the armory at 5 P. M., and were formed by Captains Hubbard and Hall. Thence they marched to Allyn Hall, escorting the ex-members of the First Company. Meanwhile the Honorary Staff formed the invited military and citizens in the corridor of the Allyn House, and Major Cowles formed the civic guests, who were to take part in the celebration, in the parlor. When all was ready, Major Cowles with Lieutenant-Governor Howard led the column into Allyn Hall, where the Centennial banquet had been prepared. The Hall was elegantly festooned with flags, with crossed sabres and other cavalry equipments. Hanging at the rear of the stage were portraits of old majors, including Majors James Goodwin and James T. Pratt, and opposite the stage was the portrait of the Hon. David Clark, a liberal patron of the company.

  The galleries were thronged with spectators, the majority being ladies, who listened to the addresses and watched the festivities with evident interest.

  In the main hall were eight tables with a capacity of fifty each, nearly every seat being occupied.

  At the stage table were Major Frank Cowles, with Lieutenant Governor Howard and Mayor Root on his right, and General H. C. Dwight, Toastmaster, and Orator Simonds on his left. Others at this table were General Graham, Lieutenant Colonel Thomson, Major H. H. Strong, Major J. C. Kinney, Major Joseph Warner, Rev. Wm. DeLoss Love, Jr., Judge Advocates E. H. Hyde, Jr.,,of the Foot Guard, and C. H. Clark, of the Phalanx, Hon. A. E. Burr, Colonel C. M. Joslyn and General Aleck Harbison.

  Among other military guests present were Colonel Watson and members of his staff of the Fourth, the members of Gen­eral Graham's staff, Major Lee and other officers of the Second, the field, staff, and line officers of the First Regiment, the line and staff of the Governor's Foot Guards and of the Putnam Phalanx. A large number of civilian guests were also present, including many of the foremost citizens.

  The divine blessing was invoked by Rev. Mr. Love of the Pearl Street Congregational Church. The banquet was thoroughly satisfactory and was enjoyed with apparent zest and pleasure.

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The Centennial  Oration.

  At the conclusion of the banquet, Major Cowles introduced the orator of the occasion, Hon. Wm. E. Simonds, who gave an elaborate history of the Command from its inception. The address was a splendid effort. It is given in full.

Gentlemen of the Horse Guards :

Bear with me as I grope in the dry-as-dust of a century.

            Your original charter was granted in 1788, but the Guard probably had its origin, as a voluntary association, in the second year of the War of the Revolution. You may find in the Memorial History of Hartford County, written by a hand practiced in antiquarian research, the following mention of Major John Caldwell, your first commander: "During the Revolution, he helped to organize a voluntary troop of horse which did service in the State under Governor Trumbull’s orders, and which was incorporated in 1788 as the Governor's Horse Guards."

Your flags have always proclaimed your origin in 1778. Ten years ago, that question being mooted, living past members of the Guard who had served under your second flag with older members who had served under the first, testified to the declarations of illustrious charter members, Governor Oliver Wolcott, Jr. among them, that your flags have told the truth in this regard.

  Agai : In Stuart's Life of Trumbull you may find it stated that in August, 1781, Governor Trumbull decided to make a trip to Danbury, and that, (I quote) " attended by his body guard and by several members of his family he started for the frontier," that frontier being at Danbury. In this connection there are entries as follows in Governor Trumbull’s diary:

  "Thursday 9th. Set out for Danbury. Mrs. Trumbull and Faith with me. Stephen Brown to wait on us. Captain Norton, with Wild, two Olmstedds and Goodwin, Guards."

"Saturday 18th. Colonel Trumbull returned. Mr. Cook went with orders to officers of Governor's Guards, Hartford."

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  "Saturday 25. Set out at 8 o'clock, came into Hartford at 10 from Farmington. Lieutentant Bull of Governor's Guards and Brown came with me. Captain Jonathan Bull met us on the way. Captain Norton escorted me out and back."

  As to these entries it may be observed, first, that unless the unreasonable assumption be adopted that this journey of 184 miles was made at the pace of a walk the Guard which did escort duty was one of horse and not of foot; and, second, that the Foot Guard did not have a "Captain Norton," who, as Governor Trumbull says, "escorted me out and back." There is other evidence of the Revolutionary origin of the Horse Guards, but this suffices.

  In 1788, ten years after the original association, this command was regularly chartered by a resolution of the General Assembly. The Memorial praying for this charter—probably drafted by Thomas Youngs Seymour (of whom more hereinafter) sets out in part, incidentally, and to a degree necessarily, the distinguished character of the charter members of this command. It is as follows:

  "To His Excellency, the Governor, and the Honorable General Assembly, of the State of Connecticut, convened at Hartford, on the second Thursday of May, A. D. 1788:

  The Memorial of the subscribers, all inhabitants of the Town of Hartford, in the County of Hartford, and living within the limits of the City of Hartford, honestly sheweth that they are for the most part legally exempted from constituting the Military Force of this State, having been commissioned or staff officers during the late war, or are now holding some civil office which by law gives an exemption; that they have observed with regret that the ardor for military discipline possessed by the militia during the war hath since the peace very much decreased, and that they feel an ambition to contribute as much as possible to its revival. The memorialists have therefore associated together, to address your Honors on this occasion, to request that they may have a separate military establishment and may be formed into a troop of Volunteer Horse or Light Dragoons, to be called by the name of the Governor's Independent Volunteer Troop of Horse Guards, whose particular duty shall be to attend upon and escort the Governor of this State in times of peace and war, and in lieu thereof be exempted from every other kind of military responsibility, and in case your Honors shall think proper to establish said Troop, as aforesaid, that a day may be appointed for choosing the officers of the same, and when chosen and commissioned according to law that said officers may have power to augment said troop by enlistment, so that it may consist of sixty men, rank and

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file, and that it may be entitled to the same power and privileges that other troops of horse in this State by law, have and enjoy, and your memorialists, as in duty bound, will ever pray."

Dated at Hartford this ist day of May, A. D. 1788.

            John Caldwell, John Morgan, Charles Phelps, Oliver Wolcott, Jr., Peter Colt, James Bull, Hezekiah Bull", Thomas Bull, Asa Hopkins, William Mosely, Rod Olcott, Caleb Bull, Jr., William Lawrence, Chauncey Goodrich, Samuel Lawrence, Hezekiah Merrill, Wm. Knox, Horatio Wales, Bar Deane, Richard Hart, Richard Goodman, Tim Burr, Daniel Goodwin, Samuel Marsh, Jr., Samuel Burr, John Chenevard, Jr., Ashbel Wells, Jr., Thomas Y. Seymour, Ephraim Root, Samuel W. Pomeroy.

  The original charter is a resolution passed by the General Assembly as of the date of the second Thursday of May, 1788, and is as follows :

  "Upon the Memorial of John Caldwell, etc. Showing to this Assembly that they have associated together for the purpose of being formed into an Independent Volunteer Troop of Horse or Light Dragoons to be under the immediate command of His Excellency the Governor of the State, and requesting to be established accordingly as per Memorial on file. Resolved that the Memorialists John Caldwell, John Morgan, Charles Phelps, Oliver Wolcott, Jr., Peter Colt, James Bull, Hezekiah Bull, Thomas Bull, Asa Hopkins, William Mosely, Roderic Olcott, Caleb Bull, Jr., William Lawrence, Chauncey Goodrich, Samuel Lawrence, Hezekiah Merrill, William Knox, Horatio Wales, Barnabas Deane, Joseph Hart, Richard Hart, Richard Goodman, Timothy Burr, Daniel Goodwin, Samuel Marsh, Jr., Samuel Burr, John Chenevard, Jr., Ashbel Wells, Jr., Thomas Y. Seymour, Ephraim Root and Samuel W. Pomeroy, be, and, they are hereby constituted a Troop of Light Dragoons, by the name of the Governor's Independent Volunteer Troop of Horse Guards, to be subject to the orders of the Governor and to attend upon and escort him in times of peace and war, and at all times as occasion may require ; be furnished with sufficient horses proper for said service, with necessary equipments, and be dressed in uniform all at their own expense and in lieu thereof be exempted from every other kind of military duty. And said troop shall consist of one captain, two lieutenants, one cornet, one quartermaster-sergeant, three drill sergeants, and four corporals and sixty privates, with power to the officers of said troop, so soon as they shall be chosen and commissioned, by enlistment, to augment the same to said numbers, provided always that in consequence of such enlistments, the other military companies in the Town of Hartford, out of which they may be enlisted, are not reduced below the number of sixty-four rank and file, and said troop shall have power

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to choose their said officers on Monday the 10th day of May, instant, being led to a choice by the Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant of the First Regiment of Militia in the State. And it shall be in the power of the officers chosen on said day, when commissioned, to call out said troop as often as they shall think proper to perfect the same in military discipline, and the names of the officers that may or shall be chosen as aforesaid, shall by said Lieutenant-Colonel be returned to the present General Assembly. And in case any of said troop shall neglect to obey the orders of their said officers they shall be subject to the same penalties that other Troops of Horse in this State are by law liable to suffer for neglect or disobedience. And the Captain of said Troop shall have the rank of Major. And this Resolve shall continue in force during the pleasure of the General Assembly and no longer."

  The election of officers called for in this charter was duly held under the direction of Hezekiah Wyllis, Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant of the 1st Regiment (the highest officer of all regiments then being a lieutenant-colonel) and they made choice of commissioned officers as follows: John Caldwell, captain (with the rank of major), Thomas Y. Seymour, first lieutenant, Charles Phelps, second lieutenant, and Timothy Burr, cornet.

CHARTER  MEMBERS.

  Although John Caldwell was the first major of this troop after the grant of the charter, the real promoter of this organization was Thomas Youngs Seymour, and for that reason I shall speak of him first. He was the son of Thomas Seymour, the first mayor of Hartford, and such for nearly thirty years; he was a student in Yale College when the Revolutionary War broke out, but left his studies to join the army; he was commissioned as a lieutenant in Sheldon's Light Dragoons, January 10, 1777, being then less than twenty years of age; he was promoted to a captaincy, October 20, 1777; he resigned November 23, 1778, and during the remainder of his life-time was a lawyer of character and eminence here in Hartford. One of the paintings in the rotunda of the Capitol at Washington represents Burgoyne's surrender to Gates at Saratoga, October 17, 1777, and Lieutenant Thomas Youngs Seymour is shown in the foreground mounted upon a horse; a smaller copy: of that picture is in our Atheneum. In the Yale Art Gallery there is a miniature portrait of him, by Trumbull, which is very perfectly reproduced in the Memorial History of Hartford County. Seymour's reputation in the Revolutionary War is that of a brave and gallant officer; and the trust reposed in him by General Gates was so great that upon

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Burgoyne's surrender he was appointed to escort that general to Boston, in the performance of which duty he so pleased Burgoyne that the latter presented him a fine leopard skin for a saddle cloth, to which use it was often put when Seymour was Major of this Command. His first wife was a daughter of Colonel Ledyard, the eminent victim of the Groton Massacre. He was the second major of this troop, serving as such from 1796 to 1800. He filled many positions of trust both state and municipal, and died May 16, 1811, at the age of fifty-four. As may be seen from the portrait to which I have referred, he was a fine specimen of manly beauty. He cannot have been other than an ideal soldier, and this command may well take pride in pointing to this educated gentleman and gallant officer as its promoter.

  John Caldwell, the first charter member and the first major of these Guards, was one of the most prominent citizens of Hartford in his day. He was the first president of the Hartford Bank, one of the commissioners that built the State House in 1794, one of the first Board of Aldermen of Hartford, one of the commissioners to lay out the bridge and causeway to East Hartford, president of the Hartford Marine Insurance Company, and his name is first on the list of incorporators of the Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb. He was a merchant in a very large sense, himself a builder of ships which he owned and employed in commerce with various parts of the globe; he was also a heavy underwriter of marine insurance for others. The early bills of the Hartford Bank bear a picture of his large warehouse on the bank of the Connecticut River with one of his ships housed and out of use during the embargo. He died in 1838 largely bereft of his fortune through the French spoliations but blessed with the highest esteem and respect of his fellow men. He was the grandfather of the late Colonel Samuel Colt, whose son, now living, bears the name of this worthy Major John Caldwell. Although Major Caldwell was a member of the Center Church, I find that when Christ Church was erected he contributed to the building fund the worth of ten pounds sterling in pure spirit. Notwithstanding its purity, I strongly suspect that this spirit was wholly of earthly origin.

  John Morgan, the second charter member of these Guards, was a graduate of Yale College, at times a member of the legislature, at other times a prominent state officer, a successful ship owner and trader, always public spirited and connected with almost every undertaking for the prosperity of the city of Hartford in its infancy; he was the projector of the bridge across the Connecticut River; the street leading to that bridge was named after him; near its junction with Main Street he built one of the most elegant and substantial residences of his day; he

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was also the builder of the first block of stores which Hartford had. Take him all in all he was well worthy of the noble company who make up your charter members.

  Charles Phelps, your third charter member, and your first second lieutenant, has left but little trace of himself in history, but that little is wholly honorable. He had served a long term in the War of the Revolution and was made Lieutenant of the Guards through force of high personal character and efficiency in military discipline.

  Your fourth charter member, Oliver Wolcott, Jr., has left, ample traces in history; he was a son, of Oliver Wolcott, Sr., a general in the Revolutionary Army, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and Governor of Connecticut. Oliver Wolcott, Jr., graduated from Yale College in 1778. In 1779 and 1780 he was quartermaster on his father's staff. In1781 he was admitted to the bar; in1784 he was appointed, with Oliver Ellsworth, a commissioner of the State of Connecticut to adjust the claims between the State and the Nation. He was State Comptroller in 1788 and 1789; in the latter part of 1789 he was appointed Auditor of the National Treasury under Alexander Hamilton. He was appointed Comptroller of the United States Treasury in 1791; in 1793 he was appointed Secretary of the United States Treasury; which office he held through the remainder of Washington’s and nearly the whole of Adams' administrations, resigning in 1800. In 1801 he was made a judge of the Second Circuit of the United States. In 1817 he was elected Governor of the State of Connecticut, being the third of his family in lineal succession who attained that honor; he was elected for ten successive years, closing his administration in 1827; he died in 1833 and is buried in historic old Litchfield. Peter Colt, your fifth charter member, was born at Lyme, Connecticut, in 1744. He entered Yale College but was compelled to leave in his junior year through failing health. In 1774 he was appointed one of the New Haven Town Committee of Correspondence. In 1775 he became military secretary to General Wooster. In 1777 Congress appointed him Deputy Commissary General of Purchases for the Eastern Department, which included New England and a part of New York, and this gave him the rank of colonel; he was subsequently an active assistant to Colonel Jeremiah Wadsworth in furnishing supplies to the French Troops under Rochambeau. From 1789 to 1793 he was Treasurer of Connecticut, but in the spring of the latter year he resigned and removed to Paterson, New Jersey, to take charge of the "Society for Establishing useful Manufactures." In 1796 he went to Rome, New York, to superintend the works of the Western Inland Lock Navigation

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Company, the forerunner of the Erie Canal. He died in 1824. He was an ancestor of the late Elisha Colt and also of Harris Colt, at present a member of the firm of Collins & Company in New York City.

  Your sixth, seventh, eighth and twelfth charter members, James Bull, Hezekiah Bull, Thomas Bull and Caleb Bull, Jr., were four brothers, all sons of Caleb Bull, Sr., who had twelve children, nine of whom were sons, and these nine all lived to manhood. They were all successful merchants and in easy circumstances. James Bull was at one time Commissary General of the United States. Caleb Bull, Jr., was one of the committee appointed in June, 1784, to fix the limits of the City of Hartford and draw up a petition for its incorporation, and when the city charter was granted he was a member of its first board of aldermen. Caleb Bull, Jr., was the grandfather of the late Hetty Bull of this city. The third major of these Guards, George Bull, was a son of one of these charter members.

  Your ninth charter member, Asa Hopkins, was a druggist and bookseller, successful in business and of good social standing; his store was for many years near Exchange Corner; the present successors of his business are Lee & Sisson. Hopkins Street is named after one of his descendants.

  Your tenth charter member, William Mosely, was a lawyer of good standing and practice in Hartford, from about 1784 until 1823. He constantly occupied positions of trust and was faithful to them all. Among other offices that he held was that of State Senator from 1822 to 1824. Your eleventh charter member, Roderick Olcott, was a gentleman of social position and in possession of an income permitting him to enjoy an easy life without special employment, but he constantly interested himself in matters of public concern in a way which was of benefit to the city. Your thirteenth and fifteenth charter members, William and Samuel Lawrence, were brothers and sons of John L. Lawrence, at one time State Treasurer; William Lawrence was a dry goods merchant in Burr Street, later North Main Street, and Samuel Lawrence was in the hardware trade.

  Your fourteenth charter member, Chauncey Goodrich, was born in Durham, Connecticut; he entered Yale College at the age of thirteen, graduated in due course, and in 1779 was elected tutor of that institution. In 1793 he was the orator of the day at Hartford, on the occasion of the celebration of the proclamation of peace between Great Britain and the United States; the same year he was a member of the legislature from Hartford. From 1794 to 1800 he was a representative in Congress. In 1802 he was chosen Assistant Counselor of the State and

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held that office until 1807, when he was elected United States Senator. In 1812 he was made mayor of Hartford, and in 1813 Lieutenant-Governor of the State, at which time he resigned his seat in the Senate.

  Your sixteenth charter member, Hezekiah Merrill, was the first cashier of the Hartford Bank and the first treasurer of the City of Hartford; he was the grandfather of Charles W. Johnson, the present Clerk of the Superior Court for the County of Hartford. Your seventeenth charter member, William Knox, was a manufacturer of saddles and harnesses, successful as such and of good standing in the community. Of your eighteenth charter member, Horatio Wales, I have found no special mention except that he was a deputy sheriff.

  Barnabas Deane, your nineteenth charter member, was a lieutenant in Captain Chester's company, which in 1775 marched for Boston on receiving news of the fighting at Lexington and Concord. He was brother to Silas Deane, American minister to France with Benjamin Franklin. He was the nominal head of the firm of Barnabas Deane & Co., whose secret partners were General Nathaniel Greene, Quartermaster-General of the United States, and Colonel Jeremiah Wadsworth, Commissary-General of the United States. The story of this firm was told fully, for the first time, in an article entitled "A Business Firm in the Revolution," in the Magazine of American History, for July, 1884, by Dr. J. Hammond Trumbull.

  Joseph Hart and Richard Hart, your twentieth and twenty-first charter members, were brothers. Joseph Hart, a graduate of Harvard College, and at one time candidate for Governor, was your third major. Both these brothers were among the very first business men of the day. Two brothers, descendants of these Harts, live among us today and have no occasion to feel anything but pride in these ancestors, Your twenty-second charter member, Richard Goodman, was an ancestor of the gentleman of that name now living in Lenox, Mass., and holding a distinguished social position, as did your charter member of this name of his day. Your twenty-third and twenty-sixth charter members, Timothy Burr and Samuel Burr, were relatives, and I think were brothers. Both were merchants and wealthy men. The street whereon they lived and did business was named after them, and is the same street since known as North Main Street. Timothy Burr was the first man promoted to be an officer of this troop after its charter was granted, and continued in the office about fifteen years; he was the commander of the First Regiment of Hartford County Troops, from 1804 to 1807, and Brigadier General of the First Brigade, from 1807 to 1809. The Burr Brothers, proprietors of the Times newspaper, are descendants of these charter members.

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  Your twenty-fourth charter member, Daniel Goodwin, was a man possessed of means sufficient to live upon the income thereof, and was a great uncle of the late Daniel Goodwin of our times. Your twenty-fifth charter member, Samuel Marsh, Jr., was a successful business man in Hartford, occupying a high rank in society. Your twenty-seventh charter member, John Chenevard, Jr., was a son of Captain John Chenevard; the father and son were associated together in business and in trading with the West Indies. Your twenty-eighth charter member, Ashbel Wells, Jr., is recorded as being a merchant and a wealthy man, and I have found no further record of him. Your twenty-ninth charter member was the Thomas Youngs Seymour whom I have already described. Your thirtieth charter member, Ephraim Root, was a lawyer of good character and large practice he was a son of Jesse Root, who was a member of the Continental Congress, Chief Justice of Connecticut and author of Root's Reports. Your thirty-first and last charter member, Samuel W. Pomeroy, was a successful broker, a man of standing in society and of very considerable wealth.

  This short biography of your charter members, giving only a part of the honorable things which can be truthfully said of them, shows that they were the most distinguished body of citizens, which in this State, and perhaps in any of the United States, ever associated themselves together for a like purpose. If I am correctly informed the position of the Governor's Guard, both Horse and Foot, is unique among the military organizations of the United States, for, I am told, that no other governor than ours has a guard which is distinctively his own, subject to no orders but his, and not affiliated with the military system of the State. I am greatly inclined to think that these men who formed the Horse Guard built to a degree at least upon a British model. The Royal Horse Guard were then, as they are now, the most aristocratic branch of the British military system. They were then, as now, a part of the Household Brigade, whose duty is to garrison the city of London in time of peace, to form a special guard for the palace at Windsor, and to escort the sovereign on all occasions of state and ceremony. The uniform which your charter members adopted was one of singular elegance and wholly in keeping with their distinguished personal character and with the ideal upon which they based their organization. That uniform consisted of a bear skin dragoon hat, white broadcloth coat brilliant with lace and braid of gold, red belt above tight pants and boots with yellow tops.

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LIST  OF MAJORS.

Your line of majors commanding the Horse Guards, as printed in the Memorial History of Hartford County, is as follows:

  These terms of service are not strictly correct, although they are probably so in the main. The name "D. F. Raphael" should be D'Ortigue Raphel. He came from Marseilles in France, and I confess to some degree of curiosity as to the why and how of his being major of this command.

  Upon the first four of your majors, John Caldwell, Thomas Y. Seymour, Joseph Hart and George Bull, I have already remarked sufficiently in speaking of charter members. Your fifth major, Henry Seymour, was a brother of Thomas Youngs Seymour, the father of Governor Thomas H. Seymour, a successful broker, a man of liberal education, and the Courant of that day tells that he was one of the

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committee of the Independence Day celebration of 1794. Your sixth major, Samuel Ledlie, was a successful broker, a man of means and a gentleman of culture. Your seventh major, Michael Olcott, was a son of the charter member of that name, half brother of Major John Caldwell and associated with him in his large shipping business; he was for years Quartermaster-General of Connecticut and frequently represented Hartford in the General Assembly. Your eighth major, Joseph Burnham, was a wholesale grocer, and at one time cashier of the United States Branch Bank in this city. Your ninth major, Joseph Kees, was a farmer living in West Hartford; he died in the first year of his command and was the only major who has died in office.

  Your tenth major, Daniel Buck, was associated with Dudley Buck as a merchant on a large scale. I infer that this Dudley Buck was an ancestor of the famous living musical composer of the same name. This Daniel Buck was influential in the introduction of Jersey cattle into this country. One of his early importations of these cattle came in the ship "Splendid." The names "Splendid" and "Splendens" are famous ones in Jersey pedigrees. Your eleventh major, Barzillai D, Buck, was a farmer of Wethersfield. Your twelfth major, John E. Hart, was a gentleman of means and leisure, a fine horseman and a good commanding officer.

  Your thirteenth major, James T; Pratt, was born in Cromwell, Connecticut, in 1804, died in Wethersfield, April 11, 1887, at the age of eighty-three, and for the whole of his adult life was a prominent figure in Connecticut. In 1824 he, with E. G. Howe and Roland Mather, was a pioneer, in this city, in the jobbing and commission dry goods business, the firm name being first "Pratt, Howe & Mather" and afterwards " Howe, Mather & Company." He enlisted in the Horse Guards in 1820, was chosen its major July 4, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of the American Independence, and he remained major until 1829. In 1834 he was elected major of the First Regiment of Cavalry; he became colonel of that command in 1836. From 1837 to 1839 he was the Brigadier-General of the First Brigade. From 1839 to 1846 he was Major-General of the First Division, and in this last year he was also Adjutant-General of the State. In the years 1847, 1848, 1850, 1857 and 1862, he represented the town of Rocky Hill in the legislature. In 1852 he was senator for the First District. In 1859 he was the democratic candidate for governor, but was defeated by Governor Buckingham. In 1860 he was delegate to the National Democratic Convention at Charleston, and in that convention planted himself fairly and squarely on the side of the Union. He was again a member of the legislature in

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1870 and 1871,"and although his democracy was of the strongest type he never hesitated to act with his political opponents when he thought his duty called upon him  so to do.  Take him all in all he was an honest, upright man, a true hearted gentleman and a major in whom this command has a right to take pride.

  Your fourteenth major, James Goodwin, was born March 2, 1803, and died March 16, 1878, full of years and well merited honors. It would be impossible to name any man more closely connected with the progress and prosperity of Hartford than Major James Goodwin. The history of Hartford for half a century is in large part his history. While yet a young man he with his associates controlled all the important lines of coaches radiating from Hartford, but comprehending with his keen foresight the then future of the railway, he disposed of his interest and in 1829 became a director of the Hartford and New Haven Railroad; he was one of the original incorporators of the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company in 1847; the next year he was elected its president and held that position until he died with the exception of three years; he was a director of the Hartford Fire Insurance Company for nearly forty years; he was an active manager of The Collins Company, The Hartford Carpet Company, The Holyoke Water Power Company, The Gatling Gun Company, The Connecticut Trust Company and many other business enterprises. He was a director of the Hospital, a trustee of Trinity College, a vestryman of Christ Church and connected with a great number of benevolent and religious institutions. He was one of twenty-six electors who united to call a town meeting in 1862, at which $100,000 were appropriated to support the families of drafted men and pay them bounties. In all this vast mass of business, which he apparently carried with the greatest of ease, there comes to us no record of any act of overreaching on his part, but there does come to us a lifelong record of uprightness straightforwardness, generosity, and Christian character.

  Of your other majors, all eminently capable and respectable, lack of time forbids me to speak in detail. But I cannot forbear to mention that Allen C. Boardman commanded the Guard for fourteen years; Henry Boardman for fifteen years, and Chauncey B. Boardman for fifteen years; it is alike honorable to you and to these gentlemen that for more than a third of the century we are now exploring, your major has been a Boardman.

UNIFORMS.

  Your first uniform, comprising the white broadcloth coat brilliant with braid and lace of gold, I have already described. Your second

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uniform came in about 1804. It was that of a French Hussar, grenadier bear skin hat, blue cloth coat trimmed with gold lace and reaching to the saddle, and bright blue pants. Your third uniform dates from about 1812, grenadier bear skin hat, light blue coat trimmed with gold lace and having short tails, bright red belt, blue pants with stripe and long cavalry boots; the saddle cloth and bridle were trimmed with red; under Major Pratt, about 1826, buff fronts were added to the coats. Your fourth uniform came in about 1846 with Major Henry Boardman. It comprised a grenadier bear skin hat, dark blue coat trimmed with gilt lace and reaching to the saddle, red belt, buckskin pants and long cavalry boots for the officers. Your fifth and present uniform dates from 1872 under Major Chauncey B. Boardman. It is a helmet carrying a yellow plume; a coat of dark blue trimmed with yellow; blue pants with yellow stripe on side; gauntlets, black belt and breast-plate. Officers wear a chapeau hat with black and yellow feather; dark blue coats trimmed with white; buff breeches with high top boots.

PAGEANTS AND PARADES.

  It would require more time than is at our disposal to detail all of the pageants, processions and parades in which you have taken part. You have paraded at substantially every gubernatorial inauguration of the last century, and these have included the inaugurations of Oliver Wolcott, Jr., one of your own charter members, for ten successive years. It is not at all unlikely that you were present, as a part of the escort, in September 1780, at the famous conference held in Hartford between General Washington, General Knox, Marquis de Lafayette. Admiral Tiernay and Count Rochambeau, for Stuart's allusion, in his life of Trumbull, to "glittering uniforms" worn by guards on that occasion has a peculiar appropriateness if understood as applying to your white broadcloth coats resplendent with braid and lace of gold. The Connecticut Mirror newspaper, says: "that the election parade of 1790 was viewed with particular satisfaction because the Horse were in uniforms made out of the manufactures of this state, which shows their patriotism and good sense. The Commander-in-Chief, (Governor Huntington,) dined in a beautiful cloth from the Hartford manufactory."  A correspondent of the Courant presumed that this patriotic example would great weight in introducing so laudable a fashion.

  Mrs. Austin (Updike) Lee's remembrance of the election parade of is given in the Memorial History of Hartford County. Among other things she says: "The company of Horse made an imposing appearance, horses were very fine and Mr. Pomeroy said that they were

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of two hundred dollars value each, which was a great price at that After tea, an hour before sunset, it was announced that the Governor; and procession were entering the city. When he arrived in front of the State House he alighted, ascended and stood on the spacious front step. The military passed and saluted him by a discharge of their pistols over his head.  After the salute he walked to a public house near. The next day the procession was the longest I had ever seen. It was headed by the military; then followed the sheriff with his sword, the Governor, Senate and members of the House of Representatives, two and two; then singly walked President Stiles, dressed in full black gown, cocked hat and full bottomed wig. I should think there were two hundred ministers dressed in black, and after them walked the citizens." The Courant of May 15, 1797, says: "On Thursday last the general elections of the State of Connecticut were celebrated in this city. About twelve o'clock a procession marched to the North Meeting House preceded by a band of music and company of cadets, and escorted by a company of Horse commanded by Major Hart; both companies exhibited proofs of a strict attention to discipline and reflected honor on their respective officers."

  You seem to have been on parade duty at least three times in 1798, for the Courant of May 15, 1798. gives a considerable account of your appearance at the election parade; the same paper of July 7, 1798, gives a description of you at the celebration of Independence Day, and the diary of General George Washington mentions your escort of him in what he calls "elegant uniforms " during the visits which he made to Hartford in October and November of that year.

  Kendall’s Travels in the Northern United States describe the election ceremonies in 1807. Kendall says: "I reached Hartford on Wednesday, May 19th. The Governor (Jonathan Trumbull, Jr.,) was expected to arrive in the evening. The Governor has volunteer companies of guard, both horse and foot. In the afternoon the Horse were drawn up on the bank of the river, to receive him and escort him to his lodgings. He came before sunset; and the fineness of the evening, the beauty of the river, the respectable appearance of the Governor and of the troop, the dignity of the occasion and the decorum observed united to gratify the spectator. The color of the clothes of the troop was blue. The Governor, though on horseback, was dressed in black; but he wore a cockade in a hat which I do not like the less because it was in its form more of the old school than of the new." Of the procession Kendall says: "At about, 11 o'clock His Excellency entered he State House and shortly after took his place at the head of the procession

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which was made to a meeting house or church at something than half a mile distant. The procession was on foot and was composed of the person of the Governor together with the lieutenant-governor, assistants, high sheriffs, members of the lower house of Assembly and, unless with accidental exceptions, all the clergy of the state. It was preceded by the Foot Guards and followed by the Horse, and attended by gazers, that, considering the size and population of the may be said to be enormous." Of the dress of the participants in the parade, Kendall says: " It was in the two bodies of the guards alone any suitable approach to magnificence discovered itself. The Governor was full dressed in a suit of black but the lieutenant-governor riding boots. All, however, was consistently plain, and in uniform itself, except the dress swords which were worn by the high sheriffs, with their village habiliments, and of which the fashion and materials were marvelously diversified."

  The Courant of July 1, 1817, gives a full account of your appearance at President Monroe's visit to this city, saying in substance, that on Monday June 23d the committee of arrangements, accompanied by Governor's Horse Guards under the command of Major Buck and numerous train of citizens, met the President at Crane's Tavern in Wethersfield, where he arrived at three o'clock p.m., under the escort of a of horse, the sheriff of Middlesex County, with Gen. Humphreys (had politely accompanied him from New Haven) and a number citizens from Middletown: thence he was escorted to Hartford. About a mile below the city, the President with General Swift and Mr. Mason, his private secretary, left their carriages and proceeded on horseback to Morgan's Hotel. The artillery companies fired a national salute. The escort was then joined by a large party of citizens, etc., etc.

  September 4th and 5th A. D. 1824, the Marquis de Lafayette paid a visit to Hartford and the Courant’s next issue gave a full account of. He was met fourteen miles to the east of the city by the First company of the Governor's Horse Guard under command of Major Hart.  He was expected to arrive in the evening and ample preparations had been made to illuminate Morgan Street, Main Street and House Square. The evening was dark and rainy but the streets were thronged. About midnight the sound of cannon from across the river announced, as was supposed, the coming of Lafayette. Instantly houses and stores were in a blaze of light. On the west side of the State House, that is, in front, was a superb arch wreathed in evergreens bearing  as a central illumination "Welcome La Fayette," at one side “Yorktown," and on the other side "Monmouth." A brilliant display

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of fireworks had been arranged, but about one o'clock in the morning a messenger came to say that Lafayette had stopped over night at Stafford. The lights were put out and many, but not all, went to bed. At dawn of day the sleepers woke to the sound of cannon, and soon the streets were thronged again although the day was not a pleasant one. About ten o'clock, more cannon, and the ringing of bells, put it beyond a doubt that the Marquis had come, sure enough. He crossed the bridge across the Connecticut under the escort of this Guard, attended by his suite. The procession moved up Morgan Street to Main, and then down Main to the State House, loud huzzas greeting him at every step, which he acknowledged with bows and smiles and the waving of his hand. At Bennett's Hotel he was addressed by the Mayor on behalf of the City, and by the Governor on behalf of the State, to both of whom he happily responded. After breakfast and an hour of rest, a barouche, drawn by four elegant white horses, received the Marquis and the Governor; other carriages forming in the rear. As the Carriages started, nine rousing cheers were given at the call of General Johnson. At the State House the Marquis alighted and went within, passing through ranks of hundreds of children from the city schools arranged in regular lines. In the Senate Chamber he received some hundreds of ladies. He then took his station under the arch in front and the troops passed before dm in review, etc., etc.

  The Courant gives an account of your escort to General Jackson on the occasion of his visit to Hartford in June, 1833; it says:

  "The President, accompanied by Vice-President Van Buren, Governor Cass, Secretary of War, Governor Woodbridge, Secretary of the Navy, Governor Marcy of New York, Governor Edwards, Hon. Joel Poinsett of South Carolina, Major Donelson, the New York, New Haven and Hartford Committee, and other gentlemen, was met at Berlin by he Mayor of this city, Aldermen and Common Council, and a large number of citizens in carriages and on horseback. About two miles from this city the President was met by General Hayden and suite, and the Governor's Horse Guards, and escorted to the city line where his arrival was announced by the national salute from the Artillery, and the ringing of bells. After reviewing the extended line of military, which was drawn up to receive him, a procession was formed and moved through the streets with the Horse Guards, under Major Denslow, at the lead. The bluff old hero rode a horse and received a hearty welcome." The Courant of June 29, 1847, records the visit of President Polk  this city, and mentions among the escort certain "Cavalry" which could not have been any other than this troop. A halt was made when

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the President arrived opposite Mr. Sigourney's" residence, and Mrs. Sigourney presented him with a bouquet of flowers. The Courant closes its account with the following droll remark: "Though the reception was decorous and respectful there was little warmth about it except that produced by the broiling sun."

 The Hartford Evening Press of June 26, 1867, records you as heading the military procession in the reception given to President Andrew Johnson, and remarks editorially: "If Phil. Sheridan were to come here today we should see what popular enthusiasm is." Well, Phil. Sheridan did come in that same year, October 24, 1867, and did receive a most enthusiastic reception, the First Company of the Governor's Horse Guards leading the line. On this occasion the Courant of October 25th said that Hartford had rarely seen a more enthusiastic gathering of citizens, or more elaborate decorations and illuminations. Crowds gathered on all the principal streets early in the day. Flags were thrown to the breeze from almost every staff in the city and from numberless windows and lines, while wreaths and festoons added to the general festivity. The engine which drew him said "I have brought you Sheridan" and was gaily draped with flags and streamers. General Hawley welcomed him as he stepped from the train, and the moment the great crowd had access to him they overwhelmed him with hearty welcomes. At the Allyn House he reviewed the procession from the balcony, and being introduced by Governor Buckingham, expressed his pleasure at his reception. The evening was made gay by a torchlight procession, more speeches, and by entertainments provided by David Clark and General Robert O. Tyler.

  On a perfect day in August 1874 (21st) Hartford had a gala day in the reception given Marshall Jewell on his return home from his mission as Minister to Russia, and the Horse Guards, as usual led the line.

  The Courant of June 9, 1881, records a very grand affair indeed, the Reunion of the Army of the Potomac at Hartford on the day preceding. The Courant describes it as a brilliant occasion. At an early hour the city resounded with the strains of martial music. The parade at noon was witnessed by thousands. The Opera House was crowded in the afternoon and the finale was a grand banquet with speeches in the evening. The third division of the line was headed by Cheney's band leading the Governor's Horse Guard who turned out fifty-eight officers and men. The sidewalks along the line of march were crowded and cheering was frequent and enthusiastic. The First Regiment was reviewed by General Sherman just before the procession formed. The Opera House was liberally trimmed. Everywhere flags, bunting and

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army badges made an attractive scene.  Prominent upon the stage were Secretary of War  Lincoln,   Lieutenant-General Sherman, Generals Wright, Burnside, Franklin, McMahon and Devens, Daniel Dougherty, Governor Bigelow, Ex-Governor Jewell, Governor Littlefield of Rhode Island, Senator  Hawley,  Mayor  Bulkeley, and  Lieutenant-Governor Bulkeley. Mayor Bulkeley delivered an address of welcome. Honorable Daniel Dougherty of Philadelphia, the orator of the day, was then introduced. When he referred to "The March to the Sea" and placed his hand upon Sherman's shoulder, the great concourse rose, cheered and waved their hats.    Upon his referring to President Lincoln, cheers were given for his son there present. The address was a magnificent effort. After music by the band, short addresses were made by General Sherman, Secretary Lincoln, General Burnside, General Franklin, Senator Hawley, General Sickles, General Devens, General Slocum and by Governor Bigelow in behalf of the State.

  These are the more prominent of the parades and pageants in which you have generally led the line, but they are only a part, for in all probability there has been no public occasion of any magnitude in the last one hundred and ten years in which the First Company of the Governor's Horse Guards has not been prominent and added to the dignity and importance of the display.

  It has not been the fortune of this troop, unless it were in Revolutionary days and under circumstances which have not come down to us, to meet an enemy on the field of battle, though men from your ranks have also served in all the wars the nation has known.

  Nevertheless for a hundred years and more you have rendered not only the service of ornament - itself of value and deserving of thanks - but you have also rendered that other distinct service which consists in keeping before the eyes of men, and especially of youth, that example of soldierly organization and military discipline which even a free people will always need till the coming of that blessed time when war shall be known no more.       

  As I stand here tonight and look back through the century to the gallant and handsome Thomas Youngs Seymour coming home from his captaincy in Sheldon's Light Dragoons to organize this troop, some reflections on the changes which that century has wrought rise for utter­ance without my special bidding.

  This Guard has seen less than four millions of people increase into more than sixty millions. It has seen the original thirteen State's add to their number till they are now thirty-eight, with a thirty-ninth and fortieth standing and knocking at the door. It has seen a commerce of half a

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million of dollars of exports multiply into seven hundred and forty millions. It has seen the invention of the railway, the steamboat, the telegraph, the telephone, and the great majority of all the other improvements by which man multiplies his natural capacity a thousand fold. It has seen a sparse fringe of population along the Atlantic coast, with magical growth, sweep in a resistless wave across the great prairies of the Mississippi basin, climb the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains and the Sierras, roll down the western slopes and spread over the rich intervals

beyond, even down to the golden sands of the Pacific.

  It saw the consummation of the war of the Revolution and three quarters of a century later it saw the potency of slavery in a four years' death grapple with the potency of freedom, championed by the other half, with the victory, in the providence of God, for freedom and the

Union.

  For a century this Guard has been the personal escort of that long line of men, always worthy and sometimes great, who have been the governors of Connecticut. Meanwhile it has given such escort to Washington, to Monroe and to Lafayette; to "Old Hickory," to Polk and Johnson; to Phil. Sheridan, bravest of the brave; to Sherman of worldwide fame through his wonderful "March to the Sea;" and to all that brilliant galaxy of soldiers and civilians who made up the reunion of the Army of the Potomac in 1881.   

  And you have been the guard of honor of the Governors of a state peerless among all the sisterhood, I refer to the state - including the colony - of Connecticut; she who wrote out the first of free constitutions known to mankind and fashioned the model which is wrought into the dual sovereignty of the states and the nation; she who as a colony gave in a single year one little army for the help of Massachusetts, a second little army for the help of New York and a third for the invasion of Canada; she who produced Israel Putnam to command at Bunker Hill; she who sent into the Revolutionary Army more men in proportion to her population than any other state;  she who hung high before the admiration of the world the deathless name of Nathan Hale; she who, in the persons of Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth furnished the dominant minds of the Federal Convention of 1787 ; she who originated that system of common schools on which all the other states have built; she who furnished Fitch the inventor of the steamboat, Whitney the inventor of the cotton gin, Wells the discoverer of anesthesia and who has always maintained the lead of all the world in the race of inventive improvement; she who sent into the Union army fifty-five thousand men, an excess beyond her quota and nearly one-half her entire fighting

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force; she who, I repeat, is absolutely peerless among the sisterhood of states and for whom our best prayer can only be that her future may be s useful and as glorious as her past.

  Comrades—even if comrades only for today and for tonight - I can no better do than to commend to your perpetual inner vision this shadowy troop a century long, with gallant young Seymour at their lead, winding in and out among the glories of that century; and give you my best wishes that in 1988 your shades shall be worthy of the shades which have gone before.   

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Toasts  and  Responses