The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1869-06-05


bayoneted. Al ex. .UnioS solaateer.
writing 10 The Washi hipgton 7sfsSld. gives
the following account of yhhs hs saw:
/, While marching with the thropg along
the central walk Of the asrnetery. accom-.
panied by several children whom T had
supplied with flowers, j; noticed q orowd
and o squad OF several marines gathered
about @ small plat in the grounds, to the
right OF the walk. Just 90 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 little plat Four
marines and sergeant, assisted at inter-
vals by two officers, were pacing up and
down, not on the walks or between the
graves, but literally across the graves of
some thirty soldiers. Upon sxamina-
tion, found that they W ere Confederate
dead. Several ladies, evidently not
knowing that they were Confederates,
and with no intention of exhibiting any
special, quietly placed their offerings
upon the graves. They were at once
accosted by the guards, who compelled
them to take them up. Several gentle
men were treated in q like manner. I
saw one Union soldier who was forced to
take back the Offering he had made to
peace and forgiveness. An ex-Union
officer. we'll known to me, was ordered
to receive back few roses that he had.
without knowledge Of the. for hidden
ground, strewn upon the grave of one
OF these soldiers. Astonished, mystified
and disguised, asked one of the gnards
the source of the orders. He told me
that they came from the superintendent
OF the cemetery, whose name I do not
know.
The people demand to know from
whence these orders came, that the re-
sponsibility may be placed where it
should rest. They demand to know
whether subordinate can shape thus
the policy of government, or whether
the head of the Government and the
army has sanctioned this act, and thus
explains and interprets his oracular s'Let
us have peace" They demand to know
for what purpose were these dead Con-
federates buried there, and how long
they are to remain? Was it that they
should be thus insulted, and are they to
remain there as long as our nation lives
to be on every anniversary literally trod-
den under foot by the uniformed repre-
sentatives of the Government, pointed
out as an example that we will wreak
vengeance ever upon the bodies of dead
enemies. The course pursued at Airing
ton is in strong contrast with that which
prevailed in Alexandria yesterday. There
all the graves were honored alike, flowers
having been strewn upon Confederate
and Union without distinction.
HUMANE AND JUsr.-The Rev. Mr..
rockingham, however. delivered o dis.
course in New York on the day of the
decoration of the Union dead, which is
in striking contrast to the above. He
concludes as follows:
81 mean oil who died in the war were
equally victims. The Southerner and the
Northerner- Those who fell with us and
those who fell against us-all were vic.
TINS laid on the same altar. I would
wish that we do all this as one nation.
Let us strew these flowers not on North
ern graves alone, but on Southern graves
also. They were equally brave, they
were oil equally faithful to their ideal;
their valor was common, their feeling
was common, their endeavor was COM
mon, and the same devotion to their
cause was common to each; and each side
was devoted to its ideal-one side no less
entirely than the other. Northerner and
Southerner each cherished his purposes,
each had hope, each was full of conf
dence of the ability of his God; each
opened his Bible; each made his prayers
to the same Deity who directed the bat
tie; they were common victims, laid on a
common altar. in a common cause. oh,
we ought by this time to be able to do
justice to the purposes as we'll as to the
spirit of our foes They bore more than
we did; they sacrificed more than we
did. Their homes we're burned over
thier heads by fiery shells, ours were left
untouched. They were obliged to bow
their heads as conquered, we are privi-
legged to raise ours as conquerors. I
would drop tear on one of their graves
as quickly ss on one of our own; and I
am willing to affirm that the guilt was
not theirs alone. We were all sinners
together n These men filled
their place, not shrinking, not swerving.
They only knew that they were under
orders. and in their nlaca Whnauar