The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1861-07-19
The First Funeral.

We had our first military funeral on Sat-
urday afternoon.
The day before one of our drummers, Jo-
seph Winters, was drowned while in BATH
ing. He was pleasant, good DO , and his
sudden death made an impression in the
encampment. His body was brought up
from the creek and laid beneath new tent
pitched to receive it, under the trees on the
north side OF the parade ground. The men
stood in silent rows in front of the tent till
shutdown, while q guard detailed fer the
purpose paced slowly back and forth. A
letter was found in Joseph's pocket from
"cousin Lusie," and as bis comrades thought
that he had no parents or brothers or sisters
living, his captain wrote to her.
A little barefOoted fellow, about eight
years old, stood on the land when Joseph's
body was recovered by the divers, and when
the surgeon, promptly on the spot, vainly
endeavoring to start the water clogged
wheels of life, the little barefooted fellow
walked in silence up the hill side with the
men who carried the body following close
behind, and there he stood before the tent
curtain in serious stiffness. At last he
spoke, with respectful manner and clear,
manly enunciation, to one of the field off,
GERS:
evil you be so kind as to tell me, sir ,
whether he was good boy?"
II believe that he was, my little fellow,
but did not know him very WE'LL"
alas he father or mother, sir 2"
"Why do you ask, my boy?"
Because, l hope that he did not have a
mother, sir, or father; they would feel so
badly to hear that he was drowned" The
officer cleared his throat, and the little fel
low went on. "And if, cir, he has no mother
or father, and if be was good boy, am
glad"
"Why glad, my boy?"
Because, sir, think it was the best time
for him to be taken away"
"Why the best time? 2"
because, sir, what the Lord does is al,
ways best"
The funeral sermon was preached I'M
surpassed in truth, comprehension, simplici
ty and beauty, and if you could have heard
the utterance OF the boy, its purity of word
ing, spoken in such gentle information, and
with such unmarried accent, you would have
felt that Christ's model presented to his
disciples, Of child brought to him by be-
lieving parents, was the model for his min
isttrs to the present day.
At four o'clock on Sunday afternoon the
Pennsylvania band of twenty -four pieces,
in front of the dead boys tent, gently
sounded forth one OF the sad melodies which
make military funerals peculiarly impress
sive; the company formed in marching or
der; the escort stood with muskets reversed;
the remaining part of the regiment formed
in the centre of the parade ground in face
to-face columns, and the procession moved
to the slow beat Of the mufled drums.
The boy was placed in plain coffin,
which was wrapped in the Stars and
Stripes, and upon it was laid large wreath
of green leaves and wild flowers, and so we
carried him to an old burying ground not
| far distant, where the tombstones were all
moss covered and inclined, where the grass
was tall and untrodden, and where the corn
shaped cedars stood in irregular and friend
" groups.
When his body was lowered, the chap
lain read selections from the Bible and Of,
ferred prayer, the escort fred the military
salute, the soldiers formed again in line and
We left the sleeper till the resurrection.
Amy Correspondence Of the New York
Advertiser.