Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1869-06-05
CONTRANT

We yesterday published and com
mented upon the Facts of the desecra-
ton of the graves of the Confederates
who sleep at Arlington. 1t is our
pleasing task to-day to contrast the
conduct that disgraces the Marine
lCOrps Of the United States with that
which animated the surviving soldiers
of the Federal army who participated
at the commemorative services at Get
tysburg. Gathered in the same GEM
ctery, comprising a portion of that
memorable battlefield, the Confeder-
ate and Federal dead sleep together;
| side by side theyrest, the little mounds
dressed in the same green, without
other distinction than the simple des-
ignatiOn which tells that they were of
the &C. s. a" or az. S. A" The
| Commander of Post 10, of the Grand
Army of the Republic, to whom was
committed the ordering and direction
OF the ceremonies at this cemetery, to
lis credit and hOnorbeit known, pub
lished this order and carried it out, in
marked contrast to the ~disgraceful
conduct of the Marine Lieutenant at
Arlington:
Wishing TO bury forever the harsh feel
ings ~engendered by the war, Post IS has
decided not to pass by the graves of the
C~onfederates sleeping in our lines, but to
divide, each year, between the blue and
the gray, the first floral offerings Of a com
mon country. We have no pOwerless
foes. Post 70 thinks ofthe Southern dead
only as brave men.
To this we, with pleasure, add the
following noble and soldierly utter
ances from Col. SHERIDAN, delivered
at the decoration of the graves of the
Federal soldiers buried on the field of
Chalmette, below New Orleans. They
enhance the contrast between the
Commander of Post 10 and Lieut..
SHIRLEY, of the Marines, and prove
that the better nature Of the soldiers
and people Of the North is beginning
to assert itself over sectional hate and
bitterness. He said:
Let us not forget that in this land of our
adoption, mothers are weeping for their |
fallen sons, and children listening for the
footsteps or fathers who viii never come. |
Let us remember that grief is sacred that |
Is the same in every age and cline; |
Jhat the grave should shield its occupant |
from calumny. Here, beside our sleeping |
comrades, let Us VOW that the past shall |
be remembered no more in bitterness 1
against those who were our enemies; that /
in han with them we VIII
labor to build upand strengthen n COM
country, to cover up the sad traces
Of the bitter conflict, and make America
as glorious IN peace as she was renowned
in war. We are too great a people to cher
animOSitieS that shall crush out and
destroy. We search through history not |
70 find examples Of oppression, but rather
to bless vision with the glorious deeds /
Of statesmen who have worked with
heart n soul TO settle conflicting inter
ests, TO blend together for enduring ends
the whole people Of their country, without
10 the banners under which they
may ave in past times battled.
Such sentiments will and have al
ready found a hearty echo from the
soldiers of the South, who,
since the close of the war, have given
Earnest Of it in their devotion to the
material interests of the country. As
Gen. CHILTOX idinhi speech here,
hey feel that we must have, and they
abOr for