Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1869-06-04
PETTY. MALICIOUS AND WNDlCTWE.
An Outrage at the Decoration Ceremonies
ia ArliRgtOa -lt'eJ

From The New York Herald Of Monday.
The action OF a Lieutenant anabsmal
guard of marines at Arlington yester
day, in preventing people from throw
ing flowers over the graves of tht
much talk here to-day, and the gene
| raj sentiment is cOndemnatOry. Il
turns out that the officers Of the GranC
Army of the Republic were not alto,
gether responsible for what occurred
They merely arranged to have the
! marines there so as to prevent people
from making mistakes, but mistakes
| were made on the wrong side, The
marines misunderstood what they
were placed there for, and thought ii
was part of their duty to insult people
who happened to throw flowers on
| the graves of the Confederate dead.
The lieutenant in command, whose
name is given as Shirley, but of which
| am not certain, was particularly Of
fenSiVe in his manner. Seeing lady
throw a small bouquet on one of these
graves, this lieutenant rushed to the
spot. picked up the flowers and,
throwing them on the ground at his
feet, commenced stamping on them in
such manner "a TO attract about him
a crowd of wondering spectators in a
very few minutes. Some of the look
erS-on, learning the cause of the lieu
tenants rage, commenced to murmur
disappro5ation, when the lieutenant
shouted out, "D-n You get away
from here, every one OF you, or I'll
make YOU. Guards, come up here and
disperse this crowd" The lieutenant
accompanied these words with angry
gestures, and swinging his arms about
as if he intended to pitch generally
into the crowd. His guards answered
his call, but the crowd dispersed with
out waiting to be bayOneted. An eX-
Union volunteer writing to the Wash
ington Herald gives the following ac-
count Of what he saw:
While marching with the thrOng
along the center walk of the cemetery
accompanied by Several children
whom [ had supplied with flowers, I
noticed a crowd and a squad of sew
eral marines gathered about a small
plat in the grounds, to the right of the
walk, lust to the north of the little
foot bridge. We walked on across
the bridge, and having given our
tribute to the dead, We returned. The
crowd was still at the plat, -Four ma
rines and a sergeant, assisted at inter-
vals by two officers, We're. pacing up
and down, not on the walks or be-
tween the graves, but literally across
the graves Of some thirty soldiers,
Upon examination, | found that they
were Confederate dead. Several la
dies, evidently not Knowing that they
were ConfederateS, and with no iflten
ton of exhibiting any special feeling,
quietly placed their offerings upon the
graves. They were at once accosted
by the guards, who compelled them
to take them up. Several gentlemen
were treated in a like manner. / saw
one Union soldier who was forced to
take back the Offering he had made to
peace and forgiveness. An ex-Union
officer, well known to me, was or
dered to receive back 4 few roses that
he had, without knowledge of the for
biddeR ground, streWn upon the grave
of one of these soldiers. AStonished,
mystified and disgusted, asked one
Of the guards the source Of the orders.
He told me that they came from the
superintendent Of the cemetery, whose
name [ do not know"
The people demand TO know from
whence these orders came, that the
responsibility may be placed where it
should rest. They demand to know
whether Il subordinate can shape thus
the policy of a government, or whether
the head of the government and the
army has sanctioned this act, and thus
explains and interprets his oracular
" Let us have peace" ?" They demand
to know for what purpose were these
dead ConfederateS buried there and
how long they are to remain? Was
il that they should be thus msulted,
and are they to remain there as long
as our nation lives to be on every an
niverSary literally tr0dden under foot
by the uniformed representatives of
the Government, pointed out as an
example that we viii wreak ven
geanee ever upon the bodies OF dead
enemies? The course pursued at Ar
lington is in strong contrast with that
which prevailed la AleXandEia yes
terday. , There all the graves We're
honored alike, flowers having been
Strewn upon Confederate and Union
dead without distinction. rzu, sr.s..