Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1866-03-27
The Confederate Dead.

The New York Neus, of Saturday week, pub
fishes the touching appeal of the committee Of
citizens appointed to collect the remains of tho
Confederate dead, which repose in the vicinity
of Winchester, Virginia, and transfer them to
suitable ground to be provided and set apart
for that purpose The Neles comments upon
the appeal for aid to enable them to perform
their mission as follows:
Many tributes Of respect have been paid TO
the memory of the soldiers who fell fighting for
the Federal cause. Their ashes have been gath.
cred and entOmbed with solemn ceremony in
cOnsecrated cemeteries, and above their graves
the monumental stone recites the history their
deeds. The wants of their orphans and widows
have been supplied by the generous contribu-
tlons of. their countrymen, and the sorrow o.
their bereavement has been soothed BY the
voices of the living, utterlng the language OF
praise and sympathy for the fallen. This Il.
most just and commendable. 1t would be sil.
against nature to refuse the offerings due to the
men who have perished upon the field of battle
and it Is a labor Of love and duty to keep the
grass green upon those graves, and the bloom
forever fresh upon their laurels 3 7ra;r.7
But the Confederate dead Are they to ba
forgotten and neglected? Thousands Of then.
lie moulderng where they fell, without stone
to nlark their resting place, without sign to
tell the wayfarer that the bones of brave meI
repose beneath the dust, trampled by feet un-
conscious of the sacred attributes Of the place.
Hundreds of thousands of our sorrowing coun-
trymen and women of the South know not where
the remains of their kindred rest, or whether,
indeed, the pulseless hearts that were once warm
with affection have even the covering Of the
quiet sod IN the eternal sleep Yet those be.
reaved ones feel keenly as their conquerors the
obligations that christian sentiment owes to
the names of the departed, but they are too
poor to pay the last sad Offices to their fallen
kindred They have not even the means to feed
desolate households they weep for the dead
without the mournful privilege of knowing that
they repose In hallowed ground =.
1t is not charity that here appeals to wealth,
but the spirit Of a holy duty that invites aid to
it's fulfillnent. iConquerors have the pride and
joy of victory with which to combat the agony
of bereavement; but, the vanquished are left a
lone with their sorrow, to brood over it amid
the wreck of their hopes and the ruin of their
fortunes. The Southern people have but little
consolation beyond the thought that their fallen
ones fought brayely and perished nobly. 1t ia
in them virtue TO respect the memory of the
Confederate dead They were the champions
of cause to which the Southern heart .cleaned
with an uilshaken- faith until the last whisper of
hope was hushed, and the conquered banner
was lowered in the shadow Gf despair. But
why should that shadow fall upon the graves Of
heroes, although their life-bla0d dowedin vain
In the presence of peace the foemen Of the past
can stand together uncovered beside the tombs
Of the fallen of either side, and upon those sad
mementoes of cruel strife they can join to lay
the offerings that manhood loves to give to the
monuments of heroism and devotion. 1t should
be our pride to render tribute to American va
lor; ard we're not the Confederate dead our
eountrymen Are they not of our race and
country who weep for them? The North will
seeks to mark the resting place of brave men,
and to redeem their memories from oblivion.--
The holy mission appeals to the loftiest and
purest emotions of human naturoi let it not ap-
/ peal in vain