The Ebensburg Alleghanian. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1865-1871, 1866-02-01

|
An inspection Of the prison graveyards
at Danville, Va, discovered to me that
some care, although unusual had been
taken in the burial and marking for future
Identification the graves of those who died
here. Plain headboards exhibit the names,
companies and regiments, painted in legi-
BILE characters, of those who gave up their
lives prior to November, 1864. The
graves of those buried subsequent to that
date are at regular intervals, and In the
J order In which they are numbered in the
undertaker's register. a complete record
of all buried here is given III the publica-
ton of the Z. s. G. G. before referred to-
l am of the opinion that the Identification
and removal of bodies from this point is
practicable. a ravine divides this inclo-
sure, on the opposite sides of which rest
in the awful stiffness of death Union and
Confederate dead.
From Danville I proceeded to Sails
| bury, n. G. Here thousands of the
Union armies found their graves, where
gaunt death seems to have gorged itself
with the lives of our il.-fated soldiery.
Secresy envelopes the numbers of this
great mortality, and bier after bier Of
crowded corpses, under shallow coverings
of earth, alone give idea of the frightful
ravages of disease and starvation. The
dead bodies are laid side by side in
trenches about seven feet in width, and
| extending the length of the enclosure
| trench following trench fill up almost the
entire area Of less than two acres. The
enclosing fence, the broken surface of the
ground, together with the simple inscrip-
- IL. l..
warn the visitor that he is on ground re-
plete with the recollections of brutality
and suffering, that sicken and appal The
drainage of the hill side on which this
! buryiDg ground is situated, must soon ex-
! pose the bones OF those buried, unless
steps are soon taken for its permanent i'm
prOvement.
My observations here convince me of
the utter impossibllity of finding and dis
interring particular remains, unless the
| Identification was through some unnatural
| formation of the body, or some unusual
care in its burial.
! Learning that railroad communication
was interrupted south of this point, and
that could only reach Columbus, S. c.,
by very circuitous route, or long travel
| by stage, L determined 70 return, believ-
ing that l should find other prison places
In the same condition as those visited,
and that this report would be satisfactory
as to the feasibility of the removal of
bodies from prison graveyards in the far
South. [ visited several other points,
where soldiers of Union armies have
found their last resting places, in the
course of my tour through this country.
| SfaJ1rC Ioi,
ties, hospital graveyards are neatly and
substan TALLY enclosed, and graves, as far
as they could be identified, appropriately
! marked.
Officers Of the Quartermaster Generals
Department have been engaged In the es
tablishment of Government Cemeteries on
many of the historic battle-felds of the
| late war. Under General Orders Nos. 30
and So, from this Department, records of
those who died in defence OF the Ameri-
can Union, inferred in the National Gem
eteries at Washington, and those slain on
the battle-felds of the Wilderness an6
| Spottsylvania Court House, have been
| published
Efforts to the same end are in progress,
under the direction of the Chief Quarter
master in the Military Division of Tennes-
see. L presume similar records will be
published of these operations. I have
the honor to call your attention to the re-
port of Col. Chamberlih, accompanying
this. He pronounccs as inexpedient eff
forts for the recovery of bodies from An
| dersonville, and dissuades all persons from
such efforts, by reason of the great uncer-
tainty in obtaining particular bodies, and
the difficulties In the transmission of these
to Pennsylvania. l have held this opin-
ion based on the report made by Lieut..
Colonel j. Moore, Assistant Quartermas-
ter, September 20, 1865, and have uni
formly advised those applying to this De-
partment, of the extreme doubtfulness OF
efforts for the recovery of bodies from this
place being successful.
That greater facilities might be afford
ed, [ have arranged with the Presiden.
of the Baltimore Steam Packet Company
to transport, on the orders of the State of
Pennsy ylvania, at two cents per circular
mile, persons travelling for and in at
tendance on the corpse of DECEASED sol
diers.
Negotiations are now pending with some
of the railroad companies to still further
reduce the personal expense of those thus
travelling. To subserve economy In ex-
penditure of the appropriation to this De-
partment, have endeavored to save ex-
pense by requiring one person to bring
home more than one body, when applica-
tions were made, from the same locality.
[ know of no other plan so satisfactory
no that of GRANTING tranSnortati1n tn the