Published by The Evansville Courier

"No North, no South, but one country - inseparable . . . Welcome, boys in blue, boys in gray, to our city." The Evansville Courier was full of grand descriptions of the city's plans and hopes for the reunion on the event's opening day - Sept. 20, 1887.

For weeks Evansville prepared for the four-day reunion. Garvin Woods (now Garvin Park) became the site of a huge encampment for the veterans. Five hundred tents were set up on the grounds and temporary bleachers there seated 5,000. The bands played rousing music and the crowds heard speeches by military men and several state governors.

The Courier described the city's elaborate decorations and the impressive electric and gas-light displays that lighted the crowds at night. Vendors sold food and souvenirs at the fairgrounds and along the streets. Full-page advertisements placed in the newspaper drew visitors to the Downtown shopping district.

While hundreds of veterans and militia men reported to the camp, thousands of others came to the city by train, boat, wagon and horseback. Hotels and private homes filled with people. Main Street - not yet paved - was sprinkled regularly by the Fire Department to keep down the dust.

A long parade with bands and marching military units was a highlight on the third day of the reunion. But a big mock battle staged on the fairgrounds the last day brought huge crowds.

"Not less than sixty thousand people attended the fourth and last day of the blue and the gray reunion yesterday," The Courier reported on Sept. 24, 1887.

The two-hour battle in Garvin Woods involved several hundred men and more than 41,000 rounds of ammunition. The crowds cheered the battle, ate their lunches and stayed until nightfall.

The goodwill event, according to The Courier, had been a great success.

"Old Memories Revived, New Passions Developed and New Hopes Inspired," a headline said on Sept. 24.

"Everybody bid adieu to the entertainment so pleasant in memories and so fraught with future possibilities . . . with our loyal neighbors to the South," the paper said with sentiment. "Visitor and soldier were made to feel that in Evansville a kindly spirit will always bid them welcome."