Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-04-19
OUR DEAD AT GETTYSBURG.
Letter from Gen. Lee.
GEN. Lee and the Hollywood MEM
Orial AssociatioD-S shameful Me-
eject by the Southern People.

communication signed 'sVirginia," to
lady of Richmond, and the letter fro
| Gen. Robert E. Lee embraced in it. "
| can add nothing to the force of that Al
peal to the s'pious work" that Gen. Ia
refers to. As it stands, unperformed,
is blot or the heart of the South. L
it be wiped out. Let the cry in aid (
the "pious work" go up from city ar
town and hamlet from hill and valley
from the press, the pulpit and the forum
without ceasing, until the bones of OF
dead heroes on the field of Gettysburg az
decently covered with the sod of the so
for which they died:
LETTER FROM GEN. LEE.
LEXINGTON, VA, March 8, 1870.-M
DEAR Mis-. -: have felt great intel
est in the success of the scheme of th
Hollywood Memorial Association of Ricl
mond, for the removal of the 0onfederai
dead at Gettysburg since hearing of tn
neglect of their remains on the battlefield
l hope that sufficient funds may be colleC
ted by the association to accomplish thi
pieus work. l feel assured that it wi
receive the grateful thanks of the humane
and benevolent. May request to apply
the inclosed amount to this object.
= With great respect and esteem, an
your most Obedient servant, r. E. LEE
AN APPEAL.
IT, D,oA,-1
above letter was received in Richmond
by one of the directors of the Hollywood
Memorial Association, enclosing a very
handsome contribution from Gen. Lee e
aid in the removal of the Confederate
dead from Gettysburg. AS it was a pri
vate letter, it was not published until per
mission was granted by Gen. Lee. In 9
subsequent letter, dated March II, 1870,
he says: 'sMy former letter was written
for your own eye, and l am always re-
luctant to be brought unnecessarily be-
fore the public. Still, if you think that
its publication will be of any aid to the
cause which the Hollywood Memorial
Association has so kindly undertaken, l
cannot refuse the slight assistance within
my power"
We are informed by the President of
the National Cemetery at Gettysburg, Da-
vid Willis, ESQ.,, that the charter incorpo-
rating the association in charge of that
national cemetery, provides only for the
''interment of the remains of those who
fell in defence of the Union" 1t is esti-
mated that 1000 Confederate dead were
hastily inferred at Gettysburg, 600 alone
having their graves marked. The marks
on these 600 graves, Mr.. Willis informs
us, are fast becoming Obliterated. The
remains of the 1000 of our kindred who
there offered so willingly their lives for
us and ours are constantly, we are told,
being thrown out from their shallow Sc
pulchres, Gas the farmers cultivate their
fields"
An appeal has been already made to the
Southern people by the Hollywood Asso-
citation to aid in the removal of what we
once esteemed "Our beloved and honored
dead" from Gettysburg, a work, " which
Gen. Lee terms ga pious work, ;" and of
which he, in the letter above copied, says:
81 feel assured that it will receive the
grateful thanks of the humane and benev-
client" This appeal went forth more than
a year ago, and about one thousand dol
lars have been received by the AsSocia-
ton from the following sources
From Norfolk, Va, about............Si50 90
From Richmond Va, about. 294 90
From Gen. Lee and his fam lily
about. ............................. 20 hO
From lady in Louisiana. % 90
From the State of Alabama. ...... IS 90
From the State of Georgia. 4G 90
These figures require little commentary.
We wouldsimply ask: Are they true in
dication of our estimate of what we
fought, blcd and died for during these
memorable years between April, 1861, and
April, 1862 Is life so cheap in this our
land of chivalry, or is a name and ma
ton but an empty sound? The Legisla-
ture of Louisiana has recently-nObly,
we should authorized $1,000 to be
paid from her public treasury for the pro-
lection of her dead at Fredericksburg. l
was a righteous act on her part, for it is
her solemn duty to guard the graves of
her children wherever found. They rest,
however, in Virginia, where the grave of
the Southern soldier who fell under Lee
and Jackson will ever be a hallowed spot.
But our dead at Gettysburg find no rest
ing place Their bones lie scattered on
that terrible field, exposed to every insult,
polluted and cast out by North and South
by friend and foe The Soldiers Ma
tional Cemetery has no place for them, as
it is only for ''the remains of those who
fell in defence of the UniOn;" and they
are thrown out of the shallow sepulchres
in which, in our haste, on the field of
battle, we inferred them, exposed to
every insult Gas the farmers cultivate
their fields.
If there is indeed any one thing that
makes us tTemble most of all for the fu-
ture of our country, it is the quick OBJ
livion that covers the past. The nation
that never remembers the past will never
be mindful of the future. The present
alone will be its God.
We ask: Shall this be so in the South z
Shall the North provide for its dead, and
have we no thought for ours? Where is
our boosted pride and chivalryl Eighty
five dollars from Alabama and forty-six
dollars from Georgia! Nothing from
South Cardinal Nothing from Tennessee!
Nothing from Mississippi Nothing from
Texasl Nothing from Arkansas Moth
ing from Florida If this had been told
in their lives to the seven thousand men
whose bones now lie on the field of Get
tysburg-the 'scven thousand who have
not bowed the knee TO Baal"-do you
think they would have so willingly offer
cd up their lives for us and ours, to
make us a nation, to give us lib
erty, if they had been told that
we would let their bones be thus
thrown out of their graves Gas the far
mers cultivate their fields" In the name
of our country, in the name of our kin
dred, in the name of honor, in the name
of bare humanity, we ask the Southern
States and the Southern people, one and
all, to come forward and rescue our name
and the cause for which so many died
from this infamous reproach, that, unless
Immediately removed, will be lasting re-
proach to the latest day to us and our
children forever, individually and nation
ally. VIRGINIA.
Communications and remittances may
be sent to Mrs. George W. Randolph,
Richmond, Va.
Southern papers are respectfully re-
questcd to copy this appeal at once, and
bring it to the notice of Southern peO-
pie.
A PARIS correspondent of the Hon1t
Journal says: 'Last evening we heard
Mile. Nilsson as Ophelia in the opera OF
Hamlet She has very beautiful voice,
brilliant, and cold as ice. She Is not at all
sympathetic, and entirely lacks that fire
and abandon which Is one Of PATHS great
est charms. AS to the Missions personal
appearance, she is tall and fair; but you
think her less beautiful at last than first