1, in a government steamer, his approach being announced
by salute after salute, each of twenty-one guns, from the different
ships of the fleet.

The exercises were opened with prayer by Rev. Robert Nelson, grandson of
Governor Nelson, who commanded the Virginia militia at Yorktown and
directed the fire so as to destroy his own home, in which Cornwallis had
his headquarters, after which Governor Holliday, of Virginia, made the
address. At its conclusion, the sword was held up to view which was
presented to the horseman who rode at high speed to Philadelphia with
the news of the surrender of Cornwallis. Another interesting fact was
that W.W. Henry, the grandson of Patrick Henry, was sitting at that
moment on the platform.

The corner-stone of the monument was laid with Masonic ceremonies. The
chair in which the Grand Master for the occasion sat was one that had
been used by Washington when he was Grand Master of the Virginia Masons.
The sash and apron were presented to him at Mount Vernon in 1784, and
had been worked by Mrs. Lafayette. The gavel was made from a portion of
the quarter-deck of the United States frigate _Lawrence_, flagship of
Commodore Perry, when he won his great victory on Lake Erie in
September, 1813. Space cannot be given to enumerate the notables who
were present nor the eloquent addresses that were made. Among the guests
were descendants of Rochambeau, Steuben, and many German and French
friends. The centennial ode was written by Paul H. Hayne, the Southern
poet (who died in 1886), and the oration of the day was by Robert C.
Winthrop.

It was a graceful tribute to the friendly course of England, when
Secretary Blaine, at the reception which followed the ceremonies, read
the following order:

"In recognition of the friendly relations so long and so happily
existing between Great Britain and the United States, in the trust
and confidence of peace and good-will between the two countries for
all centuries to come, and especially as a mark of the profound
respect entertained by the American people for the illustrious
sovereign and gracious lady who sits upon the British throne, it is
hereby ordered that at the close of these services, commemorative of
the valor and success of our forefathers in their patriotic struggle
for independence, the British flag shall be saluted by the forces of
the army and navy of the United States now at Yorktown. The secretary
of war and