HONORABLE MENTIONS. 321 sincere acknowledgments to the brave officers and men of the various Regiments of my command, who encountered the enemy at these two different battles; and would especially mention the great assistance rendered by the gallant efforts of my Assistant Adjutant General, Captain Wm. H. Long, of the Assistant Inspector General, Lieutenant Pryce W. Bailey, Thirty-third New York Volunteers; and of Lieutenants Wm. H. Alberts and Horace Binney, my Aids-de-Camp. The horses of both my Aids, and my own, were shot. With great respect, THOMAS H. NEILL, Brigadier General. 322 GOING HOME. CHAPTER XXXIV. Departure for Home.— Orations at Geneva and Canandagiua. Tuesday, May 12th, Colonel Taylor brought the welcome intelligence to the Regiment, that they were to go home on the coming Friday. The order for their departure was accompanied by the following addresses from the Corps, Division, and Brigade Generals. HEADQUARTERS SIXTH ARMY CORPS, Special Order No. 120. 5. The term of service of the Thirty-third New York Volunteers having expired, they will proceed at once to Elmira, New York, the place of enrolment, where they will be mustered out of the service. Upon their arrival there, their arms, equipments and public property will be turned in to the proper officers. The Quartermaster's Department will furnish transportation from Falmouth. The General commanding the Corps congratulates the officers and men of the Thirty-third New York Volunteers upon their honorable return to civil life. They have enjoyed the respect and confidence of their companions and commanders; they have illustrated their term of service by gallant deeds, CONGRATULATORY ADDRESS. 323 and have won for themselves a reputation not surpassed in the Army of the Potomac, and have nobly earned the gratitude of the Republic. By Command of MAJOR GENERAL SEDGWICK. (Signed,) M. T. MCMAHON, Assistant Adjutant General. HEADQUARTERS SECOND DIVISION, General Orders No. 26. By the rules of enlistment, the term of service of the Thirty-third Regiment New York Volunteers expires to-day, and they are entitled to an honorable discharge from the service of the United States.. Yet the General Commanding the Division cannot let this Regiment depart without expressing his regret at their leaving, and hopes that they will speedily re-organize and join this command, to serve their country once more and to the end of this war, with the same spirit as they have served for the last two years. To say that this Regiment, in camp, on the march, and in all the many hard battles in which they were engaged, have done their duty and behaved gallantly, is but a weak expression of the acknowledgment of their good services. They have earned for themselves the approbation and confidence of 324 ASSEMBLING OF THE RECRUITS. their Commanders, and fully deserve the gratitude of their country. By order of BRIGADIER-GENERAL HOWE. Major and A. A. G. HEADQUARTERS THIRD BRIGADE, SECOND The Brigadier General Commanding the Third Brigade, cannot part with the Thirty-third New York Volunteers, without expressing to the officers ‘and men of that gallant Regiment, who have fought under his eye and command with so much honor and distinction, his regret at our separation, his well wishes for your future. No words can express what you all must feel— the sense of having fought nobly for our country, and suffered bravely for the cause. The memory of those who have fallen is tenderly cherished, and your Brigade Commander bids you "God Speed" in anything you may undertake in the future. Sincerely, BRIG. GEN. THOMAS H. NEILL, Commanding Third Brigade. On the evening before departure, Colonel Taylor assembled the recruits, numbering one hundred and sixty-three, who having enlisted for three years, FAREWELL TO VIRGINIA. 325 were to be left, and addressed them a few words of parting; expressing his regret that they were not to accompany the Regiment home; urging them to conduct themselves in the future, gallantly, as they had done in the past; and informing them that their officers and comrades, though absent in body, would be present with them in spirit. Lieutenant-Colonel Corning followed with a brief address. They were formed into one Company, and attached, under Captain Gifford, to the Forty-ninth New York. Early Friday morning, the Regiment proceeded to Brooks' Station. Just before leaving the camp, the Seventh Maine, which had been intimately associated with the Thirty-third during its entire campaign, appeared in a body, and presented their adieus. Leaving Brook's Station at 9 o'clock, they reached Acquia Landing, and embarking on board a small steamer, an hour later, arrived at Washington about 4 o'clock P. M. The men were quartered in barracks until the following day, when they left at noon on a special train for Elmira, reaching that city at 4 o'clock on Sunday after noon. The Regiment remained here until the following Saturday, when it departed for Geneva, to receive a magnificent welcome, tendered by the citizens of that village. As the little steamer conveying the men hove in sight, they were greeted with the thunder of artillery, mingled with the chimes of the various church bells, and, on disembarking at the wharf, |