Cleveland daily leader. [volume] ([Cleveland, Ohio]) 1865-1873, 1866-03-09
The Graves OF our Heroic Dead.

II gentleman pl lHls CITY recently IT.
sponded to an official circular published
in the public press, announcing the ap-
pointment of Capt. Z. B. Whitman, A.
Q. NJ, to the responsible and delicate task
Of removing u dead soldiers from the
tie fields within the Military Department
of Tennessee and depositing them in Ma
tionsl Cemeteries to be laid out by him,
and asking persons possessed Of such
knowledge to inform Captain Whitman
by mail ofthe location of soldiers graves,
sc. The following kindly and patriotic
letter was received in reply, which shows
Captain Whitman to possess peculiar
qualifications for the "labor of love- de-
volved upon him.
OFFICE ASSISTANT Q-uLATEREAsTER tx
CHARGE or NATIOSAL CEMETERIES AND NOR
rrARY RECORDS, MILITARY Division OF THE
TEEHRssKE, MURFREEsBoRo, TRsN., Feb. 20. '66l
"Dear Sir: Your letter respecting the
body Of your brother has been received.
I will make such record of it that its sug-
gestiens will receive attention when that
section of the country [Kenessw Noun
tain, Georgia. comes under observation,
and l will inform you of the result.
II enclose some official papers, hat you
may see what we are doing. 1 start in a
day or two to explore West Tennessee,
Kentucky, Mississippi and Alabama.
Shall 60 to Georgia next, taking in An
Jacksonville and Millen on my route. 1t
is my opinion that the dead lying on
Sherman's route from Chattanooga to At
lanta will be removed part to the fine
National Cemetery now being completed
at the former place, and 8 part to come
other point to be selected near the Hitter.
although my work looks directly to the
establishment of national cemeteries on a
uniform plan throughout the country, and
the removal to them Of all the scattered
dead, yet its full and successful compile
ton depends upon some action of Con-
gress in making an appropriation for that
purpose.
Il am greatly encouraged in the prose-
cution of my work by the great promise
of success in identifying the location of
graves everywhere. The replies to the
notice headed Important Information
Wanted are numerous, and fully meet
my expectations.
The number of dead in this Military
Division alone cannot be less than one
hundred thousand. The whole expense
to the Government, covering the purchase
Of grounds, enclosures, and removal of
bodies, need not exceed ten dollars per
bOdy-or one million dollars for the
Division. Another million would do the
work on the Potomac, and a third million
wOnld cuvar all other sections
This done, the States and the people
would volunteer to erect monuments to
commemorate the deeds of their dead SOL
diers. The bones of our heroes would re-
ceive q nations honors, as the sacrifice of
their lives deserves Il nations gratitude.
To keep their memories green is our
bounden duty-a duty we owe to poster
ity-Gnd on the soil a0Aere they fsN.
every truly yours,
"E. B. WHITMAN,
"Capt. and A. Q. NJ"
Among the official papers forwarded
are general orders issued by Maj. Gen.
Thomas, assigning Capt. Whitman to
duty, instructing all officers in the Divi-
sion to exhibit records and furnish facil-
tiles for caring for the dead, ~forbidding
persons having graves of United States
soldiers located upon their lands to mu-
tilate or obliterate the traces of such
graves by ploughing or otherwise, and
requesting citizens to give information of
such graves to the nearest Federal officer.
We append the following circular for
the purpose o fmore fully exhibiting Cap
tain Whitman's doings and intentions in
this important matter, so dear to the heart
of every patriot, especially to those who
have buried treasures resting in unknown
Southern graves:
"0FFIoE ASSISTANT QU~ARTzRNAsrER,
IN CHARGE OF CEMETERIES AID MoRTUARr
RECORDS, NIL. DIV. OF TEE TENNESSEE,
MU~RFREEsBoRo, Tenn, Jan. "a, 1866.
CIRCULAR:
an reply to numerous letters, asking for
information of the locality of the bodies OF
soldiers, who nave died and been buried in
this Military Division, I take this method
to say hat it will be impossible to reply in
~dividually to esch, or if I could, to give at
present any satisfactory information
"The Q-uartermaster General has ordered
a record maze OF all Union soldiers VINO 4
have been buried in the Rebel States. In
the preparation of this record, which has
been entrusted to me, in connection with
the inspection of battle grounds, cemeteries,
ETC., in the Military Division, l propose to
avail myself Of all accessible sources of in
formation, so TO complete the record, that ii
shall not only show the name, rank ,eompa-
regiment, and date ofdeath, but also the
place ofinterment, ard, II removed,
the cemetery, lot and number Of grave
the body is finally deposited.
"All known names will be arranged by
States and alphabetically. This list, when
completed, will be easy Of reference, for the
discovery of any name or locality of grave,
Out when all has been lone that human
,are and industry can accomplish. it is evil
lent that the sad information "UnkaolgH,"
will meet many an anxious, inquiring eye.
under the plan now being pursued, l
believe it possible to gather into public
cemeteries, if the government should so
rider, a very large proportion of those who
ave fallen, and friends will then have the
abstraction Of knowing that their slain
heroes have, though without a name, been
by a national burial and fitting
memorials.
"E. B. WHITMAN,
Captain and A. 9. NJ"
The Pennsylvania Democrats on Pres