ad upon the occasion,
under the direction of Major-General William T. Sherman,
whose military operations compelled the rebels to evacuate
Charleston, or, in his absence, under the charge of
Major-General Q.A. Gilmore, commanding the Department. Among
the ceremonies will be the delivery of an address by the
Rev. Henry Ward Beecher.

_Fourth_, That the naval forces at Charleston, and their
commander on that station, be invited to participate in the
ceremonies of the occasion.

_Official._

By order of the President of the United States.
EDWIN M. STANTON, _Secretary of War_.

E.D. TOWNSHEND, _Assistant Adjutant-General_.

The steamer "Arago" was officially commissioned to carry to the fort
those who were to take part in the exercises, and the gratifying
announcement was afterwards received in Providence that a second
steamer had been chartered, the "Oceanus," of our Neptune Propeller
Line, to sail from New York for Charleston, on Monday, April 10th, at
noon. Immediately, three Providence boys, two of us comrades in the
Tenth Rhode Island Regiment, fired with the news just received of the
fall of Richmond, made our plans for going to Charleston on the
"Oceanus." We so well succeeded that on the morning of the tenth we
made our appearance on the deck of the steamer, duly armed and
equipped with the necessary papers and outfit.

There was great enthusiasm on board over the news from the seat of
war, not only on account of the recent capture of Richmond and
Petersburg, but because, during the night, the news had flashed over
the wires of the surrender of Lee and the death of the Rebellion. We
thus became the bearers of these glorious tidings to Fort Sumter and
Charleston.

My reception of the news in New York is thus described in my diary:
"Monday, April 10, Astor House. On coming down from my room this
morning, my attention was arrested by the 'big letters' at the head of
the column of the morning paper, bearing the announcement of the
surrender of General Lee and his whole army. It was pretty big news to
take _in_, and contain myself. Passing into the hotel parlors, I
noticed that Broadway was gaily decorated with flags (though the rain
was descending in torrents), and there read in the _Herald_ the
official documents from General Grant, upon which I could hardly
refrain from shouting three cheers! I believe I did give one! While
waiting for br