Cedar Falls gazette. [volume] (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1860-1895, 1866-02-16
The Enufh.

y tAS sINSoies~s ~Ne~N~~
and Talks with the People," &c. BY
j. T. Trowbridge, author of " NeighboI
lakewood" !" Cudjo's Cave. etc. Pub
lished by l.. Stebbins, Hartford, CT.
Most of our readers, we dare say
know of Mr.. Trowbridge rs an author,
and are therefore assured that whatever
he may choose to write will be read
with eager avidity. The present vol.
ume promises to reach a greater popu-
larity than any of his preceding books,
from the fact that it tells q story the
people are deeply and vitality intere sted
in. Some OF his conclusions may not
be satisfactory to the reader, and indeed
some of them may have been proved
fallacious by the occurrence of events
which have transpifed since Mr.. Trow-
bridges return from the South; but
still the book as u whole will give the
greatest satisfaction, and cannot fail to
interest all classes of readers. Soldiers,
especially, We should think, would de-
light to travel over again with Mr..
Trowbridge the fields of their conflicts
and victories. The book is written i'm
an easy conversational style, is replete
with incident and anecdote, and con-
tains many stories OF absorbing inter
est which read as strange as fiction.
Here is beautiful extract from the
chapter on ...
GETTvSDIyDC
The new cemetery, devoted to the
patriot slain, and dedicated with fitting
ceremonies on the 18th OF November,
1868, adjoins the old one. In the cen
tire is the spot reserved for the momu-
ment, the cornerstone of which was
laid on the Attn OF July, 1865. The Gem
etery is semicifcuiar, in the form OF an
amphitheatre, except that the slope is
reversed, the monument occupying the
highest place. The granite hestdst0ncs
resemble rows OF seinlcircular seats
Side by side, with two feet of ground
allotted to each, and with their heads
towards the monument, rest the thtee
thousand five hundred and sixty. The
name Of each, when it could be asce.-
tanned, together with the number OF the
company and regiment III which he
served, is lettered on the granite ut his
head. But the barbarous practice OF
stripping such of our dead rs fell into
their hands, in which the rebels indu.g-
ed here as elsewhere, rendered 1t impOs-
sible to identify large numbers. me
headStOnes OF these are lettered I'm
known" AT the time when | visited
the cemetery, the sections containing
nOst Oh the unknown had not yet re
ceived their head stones, and their rest
ing PAGES were indicated by Il Forest o.
stakes. / have seen few adder sights.
The spectacle OF 50 iar-ea Held crowd
ed with the graves OF the slain bfing -
home to the heart IN OvGcpoweriny
sense OF the horror and wickednesS of
war. Yet, us | have said, not all our
dead are here. None OF the Rebel dead
are here. Not one OF those who fell OH
other fields, or died i'll hospitals and
prisons in those states where the W.
was chiefly waged, not one o. those
innaneraUtc III trtyreu hosts lies on ,,i.o
pleasant hill. The bodies o. once iiv
ing and brave men, slowly moulderinE
To dust IN this sunctiiieu soil, form but
Il small, il single sheaf from that great
recent harvest reapel by Death with
the sickle o. war.
Once living aud brave! How full OF
life, how full OF unfiinsSin ing courage and
fiery zeal they marched up hither to
fight the great fight, and to give their
lives! And each man had his history !:
each soldier resting here had his inter
ests, his loves, his darling hopes, the
same as you Or |. All We're laid down
with his life. 1t WAS no trtie to him ::
1t was us great thing to HIM as it wo Il
be to you. thus to be cut UH from all
things dear in this world, and to drop at
once into vague eternity. Grown i,c-
cus,Ouned to the waste OF lie through
years OF war, we learn to think too
lightly OF such sacrifices. $50 many
killed, with that brief sentence we
glide over the unimag. Unable fearful iact
aud pass on to other details. We in
duige in pious comnonplaces,- -'' They
have gone to a b ,tter world; they have
their reward" ana the like. No doubt
this is true; il not, then life is 4 mock,
cry, and hope "a lie. But the future
with all our faith, is vague and unccr-
tain. 1t lies before us like one OF those
unidentified heroes, hidden from ST. lit,
deep buried, mysterious, its headstone
lettered Unknown Will it evei
rise? Through trouble, tolls and priva
tions,-not insensible to danger. but
Drawing it,-these men-and not these
only, but the amounted thousands rep
resented 10y these for theiI
couutry's sake, that awful uncertainty.
Did they believe in your better world ..
Whether they did or not, this wocld
WAS Il reality, and dear to them.
| looked into one OF the trenches, il
which workmen were laying lounda
tons for the headstones, and saw the
ends OF the collins protruding. 1t was
silent and dark down there, Side 10y
side the soldiers slept, as side 10y side
they fought. | chose out one collin
from among the rest, and thought o
him whose dust it contained, -youl
brother and mine, although we mevel
knew him. | thought of him AS &
child, tenderly reared up-for this.
thought OF his home, his heartlife:--
"Hai he father?
Had he q mother?
Had ne a sister?
Had he brother?
Or was there a nearer one
Still, and u dIafer one
Yet, than all other?"
I could not know; in this world, none
will ever know. He sleeps with the
undistinguiShaOle multitude, and h
headstone is iettered Unknown
Here is something in Il different VEN
from the chapter on the Field OF Fred
ericksburg, which tells Us of the
NEGRO wHoDIDN'r SEE THE FIGHT.
/ found gigantic negro at work al
carpenters bench i'll one OF the iOwei
rooms. He seemed glad TO receive com
pany, and took me from tIe basement
to the zlnc-covered ROOF, showing me all
the more remarkable s!ot-huies.
" De Rebel sharpshooters WAS in lie
house; dats what made lie Yankees
shell it So"
Wnere Were the people who livei
here?n
"Dey all Ief but Me. stopped t.
see de light. tell ye. wouihn't stol
to see anOder one! thousht | wa,
go'n' to have fine fun, aud tell all aho At
1t. Iheered dc tight, but | didn't scc
it!n
"Wcre you ffightened?"
Hoo! flinSing up his hands with
a lui!crous expression. Don't talk
about skeerei. l never wa, 50 skee. ed
since was BON! [ stood hyer by dis
siier winier; | 'spectel 10 see tie whole