The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1868-06-11
Editorial Correspondents
WASHINGTON, d. O.,
June I'd, 1868.

Editorial Correspondence.
WASHINGTON, d. O.,
June I'd, 1868. 4
On last Saturday the beautiful and
ceremonies of decorating
The graves of our fallen braves was
nauguratci at Arlington flights, I'M
der the auspices of the Grand Army
Of the Republic, Of which Major Gen.
John A. Logan is the Grand Com
mander of the United States, and
Gen. N. F. Chapman formerly of Iowa,
is Adiutant. Arlington is some two
miles from the capitol buildings, on
the south side Of the Potomac, con-
sisting of tbe old stately Arlington
House, and an estate of several thou
sand acres, which was the residence
of Rob-. e. Lee, at the opening of the
war. 1t is regarded in many re-
spects as the most elligibly situated
and desirable country estate in Amer
ica. 1t came to Lee through the old
wealthy Curtis family, relatives of
Washington's wife, into which family
Lee had married.
1t was seized by the Government
at the commencement Of hostilities
as the key point to Washington,
which ifonce in the enemies hands
would from It's commanding position,
enable them to knock the Capitol to
pieces, as boy would tumble down a
cob house. Arlington House was
about the centre, and just to the rear
of the line of earth works, nine miles
in extent from Alexandria to George
town, which were constructed under
the eye of Gen. Barnard, and were
marvel of scientific skill, and doubt
less contributed mainly to the safety
of the Capitol during the war.
On one of the loveliest spots on this
entire estate, between the old man
sion and Fort Whipple, the Govern
ment has established one Of It's ma
tional cemeteries where "after life's
fitful fever silently sleeps a city Of
dead heroes, numbering over thirty
thousand, or more people than there
were in Iowa twenty-five years ago,
There is in addition to this, another
national cemetery on this side OF tho
Potomac, at the old Soldiers Home,
containing some twenty thousand
bodies, besides which at the various
city cemeteries, and other smaller
places of interment in this immediate
vicinity, there are all told some sew
enty thousand inanimate victims to
an insatiate pro-slavery democratic
rebellion. The formal ceremonies of
the occasion commenced with an ora
ton by Major Gen. James A. Garfield,
the successor of Joshua II. Giddings,
from the Ashtabula, Ohio District in
Congress, and, who, as the Chief of
Major Gen. Rosecrans' was not only
the right arm, but the brains of that
greatly over estimated officer Gar
fields Grafton was model of brevity
and pathetic eloquence, and not ex.
celled by anything Of the kind in all
the range of American literature,
saving the immortal grafton of Abra~
ham Lincoln on similar occasion at
Gettysburg, and which was read at a
later period in the day with great Of.
feet, by the gallant General Halbert
E. Paine, M. c., from Wisconsin, who
left one Of his legs in the trenches at
Port Hudson, as testimony Of his
devotion to his country.
| Beneath a massive granite mausol-
cum in the midst of this hallowed
dust, are inferred the unacceptable
remains of 2,111 unknown soldiers
who fell, as the inscription says from
Bull Run to Rappahonock. After the
Grafton the procession preceded by
about one hundred Soldiers and Sail
ors' orphans marched to this monu-
ment where these Wards of the ma
ton where formed around it, and af-
ter singing an affecting dirge pro-
ceeded to decorate the graves Of these
unbulletined heroes with the choicest
flowers. On the circle Immediately
outside of these children, where the
ladies committee of arrangements, in
Guiding Mrs. Gen. Grant, Mrs. Trum-
bull, and the wives Of many of the
distinguished members of Congress
and other notables here. Then came
Gen'ls. Grant, Logan, Howard, and
many officers of the army known to
fame, besides the most prominent of
our public men all clothed in the prop
er habiliments ofrespect to the occa-
sion, and profoundly effected by the
solemnities of the affair. In marked
contrast to this, was the conduct of
Gen. Hancock, who during these inn
pressive scenes, while these orphaned
children were decking this common
sepulchure where perhaps theremains
of the fathers of some of them reposed,
this popinjay of the regular army,
might have been seen outside OF the
crowd strolling around in gorgeous
uniform with his fuss and feathers
staff jingling at his heels, while on
one arm was Dan Voorhees, the great
organizer of the Knights of the Gold
en- Circle during the war, and on the
other was one of the kings of the
New York Whiskey Ring, which an
nually detrauds the Government out
Of hundreds Of millions of dollars,
all apparently as unconcerned as If
attending holiday affair, or the
race course.
L Uo~:I~. III.