The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1868-05-29

cellaneouS Readiup, aScss- &c. s$-.sI 80
= Price per copy. cents per annum. 81
We need harsiy say that fhe Subscriptions to the
Weekly Dfspateh are sim crnwding In npon n,s.
Everybody seesit everywhere, and everybody who
does scott Knows from its character that Il must
continue 10. circulate and extend its list in ali
parts Of the South. = z 49, gs38 ~ j 2ss
s.qss s,ss Honors to the Dead.
= To-day there "a H. be the annual tribute
paid to bravery and national devotion by
decking Che graves Of the Confederate
dead. Ii is tender exhibition of a noble
sentiment characterized by all Ethe grace
.sxnd sveetness that can spring from refine
;smsnt and affection. The proceedings to-day
are conducted under the direction Of the
ladies Of the Hollywood Memorial Associa'
qtion--an organization Of most respectable
and intelligent ladies, who are alike an
honor tojtheir country and their; sex for
the pious and discreet manner in which
they have proceeded in the object Of their Ihei
association. s9syest,. .s 8. .ls;3-s. ~
!. .,52 Tomorrow the Union dead are to be re-
membered by their friends. The national
graveyard on the Williamsburg, road Ii,
the place. 1sA ,y3 as $500 se,.,. -
These announce ments are strangely sugT
gestiyes How is it that we see here two
sets Of people in the same community pay
ing separate honors, under different names,
to the dead. GAnimosities and prejudices
should be buried with the dead. The me-.
mories Of brave men should ever be re-
,spected. The dead who die for their coun-
try, under whatever aspect their sense of
duty appears, deserve to be honored. Their
ashes should be respected, and no ill-word
should mar their memories. Least of all,
should men indulge ,rancorsoyer their last
resting places, and make the occasion of
.honoring their deeds the opportunity for
infaming the passions Of the living.
Believing that in no sense do the south
5ern people come under this censure, o fact
or two in their defence may be appropriate
to this period ~ ssssiI s.sE5.s ~. ~
~ Immediately after the war, the Federal
Government instituted a system Of national
cemeteries. Burial corps were organized,
at great expense to the nation, to gather
up the remains of the !" Union dead on
every battlefield, and decently inter them
within enclosed and sdecorously -arranged
burial grounds. With great preparation
and all the pomp Of which the proceeding
was susceptible-such 1as professions,
speeches, music, &c.-this enterprise was
Het on foot. The defamation employed in
everything relating to this undertaking was
that of Qualification Of one side, and up
braiding and censure, occasionally risingto
the language Of exccration, Of the other.
Indeed, the ceremony of honoring the dead
was made the means of increasing sectional
prejudice, and firing the partisan zeal Of the
followers Of the dominant party ing the
States represented in Congress.
The work was thus begun. The so-called
Union dead were gathered into the GENE
terry folds and pnt to rest under the ma,
tional flag. The poor Confederates were
left where they fell, as men whose very
ashes should be prosecuted until the gene
raj Judgment. These Gonfederates were
our fathers, sons, and brothers; and while
we we're to be taxed to pay the honors to.
those whom they CALAMITY met on the bat
tle-feld, they were left in unmarked graves,
or their unburied bones to bleach upon the
plain. ].
Naturally the southern heart yearned to-
wards the southern naturally the:
southern sympathies for the noble. defend!
ers of the "lost cause y were powerfully
aroused, and naturally the whole people
men, women, ana children took upon
themselves the melancholy yet grateful
task of honoring the memories of those
brave spirits aspersed by the Government
which taxed us to pay for honors to their
adyersaries! Thus begun the memorial as
sociations Of the South, which have display
ed fervor.of devotion that is honorable to
mankind.ss& b fss Halle
God forbid that we should deny the
honora due to brave men. Nor do we be-
,lieye that in q single southern heart there
is trace of malice towards the dead Fede-
raj soldiers who brayely fell fighting on
southern soil. q s9 sss... ~
While every enlightened and considsrate
gentleman must honor the spirit Of the
southern people in cherishing the memo
ries and guarding the ashes Of their dead,
they must feel sentiment of regret ut the
scene presented now Hsmust be deplored
that the breasts Of the nation are agitated
by sectionalisms even over the grave. The
national flag waves over the Union dead"
and we Of the South pay for the monu-
ments erected in their honor. It would
seem a sort Of faulty that governs our
rulers who thus, in the most prominent
and most enduring manner, raise,u monu-
ments to sectional strife, and hand down. TO
posterity the passions which hare rent Che
nation and desolated the land. Is 1t a Pro-
vidential order which thus keeps and must
keep alive in the very heart OF hearts of
the sections the bitter hases Of the past
which thus lights up the very graves with
the hres Of sectional rage NJ fs5.s
a wise Government would have sought to
Jury ananositiaa ;,,s II, a .-,,.. -, a.