New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-04-11
Dedication of the Confederate Tomb.

| Long before the appointed hour of fiv,
o'clock vast crowd, numbering abou
three thousand persons, had assembled il
Greenwood Cemetery to witness the cere
mony OF the dedication of the Confederat,
| tomb and to do due honor to the gallan
| dead. at ten minutes past five the Rev. B
| NJ. Palmer arose and hushed the vast muI
tltude to awe and most respectful atten
| ton, by the words: "Let us all unite il
| prayer" The learned divine then pu
! forth a most fervent appeal to the Thron,
| of the Most High, that the hearts of the
| vast throng there gathered might be made
| submissive to Holy Will and that their eye!
| might be made to see and acknow ledge tina
He doeth all things well.
A. the conclusion Of the prayer Mr.. II
n. Ogden arose and in forcible, elegant ant
earnest words paid a glowing tribute to The
! hereism of the Southern soldiery, and the
devotion and fidelity of the Southern
been erected by the efforts of loving women
and said that it would stand for ever as the
lasting evidence Of the enduring courage OF
Southern soldiers and the virtues CT South
ern women.
He alluded to the desolation which over
spread the South at the cessation OF the
war. and told of the tremendous Difficult
ties that had stood in the way of the com
pletion of this monument by the noble
band of ladies who were known as the
Ladies BenevOlenS Association. The
speaker said that hate stopped at the
grave, powerless and baffled, but love, the
divine flower that had dropped from the
garden of Heaven, lived beyond the tomb.
Speaking Of the stagnation of business
throughout the land, and likening this
great city 8 qu!etude, where instead, should
be the busy hum Of industry to the silence
of the city of the dead, he remarked that
dark night had closed over the Southern
country; but the dead heroes, whose ashes
reposed beneath the monument erected by
pi0us hands, were stars in the ornament TO
shed the mild light of their glorious deeds,
and to 1--WE assurance OF glorious dawn.
Mr.. Ogden having concluded his address,
AsO'' A/i' A1ASoSh Iuo
ton and the ceremony of dedication WAS
ended.
The following is a brief description of the
monument: A mausoleum of masonry about
fifteen feet square and six feet in height
The sloping sides are turfed. On top is a
granite gallery about eight feet square, in
the centre of which stands marble pedes
tai nine feet high. Surrounding the pedes-
tai is. q statue representing Confederate
soldier, fully armed and equipped, in the
attitude of an outpost sentinel. The statue
is Of Csrrara marble and is seven feet in
height. As work of art it is worthy of
great praise. TIE fidelity to detail, the ex-
pressive attitude and general bearing of
raro excellence.
On the south face of the base OF the PC
destal is the inscriptions: Erected in
memory of the her"ic virtues of the Con-
tederate soldiers by the Ladies Benevolent.
Association Jus: above the inscription.
placed life size marble bus. Of General
r. L. Lee, On the western side I. similar
bust Of Stonewali Jackson. On tue side to-
wards tho north Ons of Albert Sydney
Johnston. and on the eastern side one of
General Polk.
This splendid work is worthy 20 com.
memorate the vaior and devotion of those
who fell in struggling for q cause which
by them was deemed just and right. Far
from restraining the Southern people from
keeping fresh and green the memory OF
their gallant dead, We would think item
craven and dishonored if they did other
wise. If there is any class OF men who 10
the late strife Should be held blameless. it
is certainly the soldiers who did the fight
ing ana those vino sacrificed their lives to
attest the sincerity of their purpose.
u When Fate with her pitiiess hand had furiea
The flag that once challenged the gazs OF the
world.
The exultation Of tho victors, we are proud
to say, showed itself only in joy at the re-
urn Of peace. With them, hate, if any ex-
sted, stopped at the grave. and to-day
The whole nation. we hope, certainly the
victorious section, honors alike those who
wore the blue and those who wore the gray