The Van Buren press., 1875-06-01
Uuder the roses the Blue.
Under the lilies the Gray,

Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment day,
| BroideTed with gold the Blao,
| Mcllowed with gold the Gray.
So, when the summer calleth
On forest and field of grain,
| With an equal murmur falleth
The cooling drip of the rain.
Under the sod and the dew.
! Waiting the Judgment day,
| Wet with the rain the Blue.
| wet with the rain the Gray.
Sadly, but not with upbraidins
| The generous deed was done
! In the storm Of the years that al fading,
| No braver battle won.
| nder the sod and the dew,
! waiting the Judgment day.
! Under the blossoms the Blue,
Under the gariands the Gray
Nor moro shall the war-cry sever.
| Or the winding river be red
] They Danish all anger forever,
| when they laurel the graves Of our dead
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the Judgment day,
| Love and tears for the Blue,
Tears end love for the Gray.
! At the conclusion OF the poem the ladies who
were assigned the pleasurablc duties Of dec
Grafton, then repaired to the graves. On the
head-board of each grave, was hung a cedar
wreath. and upon the mounds, roses were
strewn. The eternal green of the cedar was
mathematical of the unwithering freshness
and nndimmcd lustre with which all present
would revere the memories Of the sleeping
heroes beneath. willie the endless circlings Of
the wreath, spoke Of the unending devotion
OF all to their countrys dead After the
decoration ceremonies were over, the throng
gathered round the stand to listen to the ora
tions of the occasion. After music 10y the
band, Hon Il Brown was introduced and
spoke as follows:
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: Our meeting is
| for the discharge of Il long neglected duty.
From time lmmcmorial it has been the Gus
tom in all civilized countries. to pay, in some
lifting manner. n just tribute TO the memory
OF those who have pcriied and lost their lives
in the service and defence of their country
We have to regret that We have allowed our
selves to neglect this duty till to-day. Before
us are the graves of between four and five
hundred noble sOldicrs-Sons of Missouri,
| Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas, which have
/ been sadly neglected. Tor the last ten ortwclve
years. until we had nearly lost sight Of their
| last resting place. But our excuse is. and has
| been, that We their comrades. were absent so
| long before the close Of the war, and wien we
did return, it was to destitute families and ru-
! ined homes, tC such an extent that it became
our first duty to procure bread for tn" former
and to rebuild the latter, Then came bitter
| political striie,nOrtill very recently, although
the warcosed more than ten years snce) have
We been able to say that there was peace in
/ the land 1t has. also. been but a short time
since We were satisfied that we could perform
thi- agreeable duty, without rendering our
selves liable to the charge OF disoyalty, or with
| still harboring the spirit ofrcbcllon. Ii is but
n few years since we of the "lost cause were
prohibited from making demonstrations of
this kind. But time, that soother of all trou-
| Ties that mollifier of the worst passions Of
! the human heart has been at work. and we see
! the result of Its labors And now. thank God
we can not only meet in public manner, to
discharge this duty, but we have those VINO
stood, face to face against us. aS our foes, in
| those years of carnage and blood, meeting
and taking part with us in the discharge Of
this pleasant duty. We may now expect pros
perity. once more, In this great country Of
ours, which We knew we never could have
while the bitter feelings were treasured up
which have for the last fifteen years ranked
In the breasts of the American people. His
! tory teaches us that no nation. with such in
| ternal strife. and such bitter feelings of one
! faction against the other, ever did. or could,
| prosper. We can now thank the Great Giver
Of all good and perfect gifts" that peace once
more reignss In our beloved country, which
was so long one scene of carnage, turmoil,
strife, confusion and bitter hatred. And, like
all nations which have preceded u.s. We find
| that We have been committing political sui
eide. Yes we can thank orr Heavenly Father
| that now those who wore the blue and those
| who wore the gray, men who, but few years
since, were striving to destroy each other, and
| who, at a still later date were still striving
the one iorcivil liberty and the other for their
enslavemcnt, can meet as brothers. to strew
| the flowers Of peace upon the graves Of our
| departed brothers, to place thereon the ever
greens as tokens of the glow and vigor of our
memories of their heroic virtues, as well as
an evidence Of our forgetfulness Of past diff
icrenccs Yes. 1t is happy thought that the
! time has arrived, or is near at hand, when all
geographical distinctions are being wiped
out-when we will IN Jdctknow no north no
south. no east. no west" but one beloved and
united country-when the question Will no
more be- asked whether you were federal or
| n confederate, whether you wore the blue or
| the grey. when all shall strive to forget that
~ IA common brotherhood spilled each Others
preciOus blood. Yes, we,can thank kind benif-
cent Providence that We, OF the south are, at
last, beginning to be understood hy our broth
ers of the north who have not mingled freely
with Us for the last ten or twelve years, and
who only knew US hy tue perverted reports
of those adventurers, In our midst, whose in
tcrest it was TO hold us up to the world In the
worst light possible that they might continue
to pr, Y upon rs. But now we find leading
men among those who have been our oppres-
sors visiting our fair, sunny land. and investi
eating for themselves. and proving, hy their
own observation, that we are not 4 banditti
and murdercrS, but that we have only desir-
ed to manage our own affairs and that. too
with proper allegiance to the general gov
crnmrnt We find them, now, declaring that
we have been misrepresented. We find them
publicly rcgrctting the harsh measures they
have imposed and enacavored to force upon
us. Aud now peace. that blessed white robed
messenger, l. spreading abroad her lovely pin
Mons over this entire land of ours. II there
are any who still entertain malice and will
for tho past. hope they have. for to-day, left
those feelings AZ home. | since cly hope that
there /, not one here present. who cannot
grasp the hand Of any one, SO far rs national
matters are concerned. and say, with heart
beating warm response TO the words, Thou
art my brother So | say that now Is 4 beiit-
! ting time to commence the glorious work Of
rcscUing from the brambles and briers Of OBJ
! liyion the graves Of our departed comrades,
who have quietly slept here, seemingly unno-
ticed for more than decade of years. But IL
the spirits OF our departed friends participate
! in the cares and concerns of those who were
near and dear to them in this transitory lite,
oh. theL. each darling, vencrated shade OF our
! departed heroes. look down. with scIutinizing
/ gaze. into the hearts OF each and every one OF
Us, and see il We have ,cHlfulIy neglected thy
ashes; examine our hearts, and see Ii thy
memories are not fondly cherished; see il we
have scen remiss in our duiy to thy widow
ed mothers, thy widows and thy helpless or
phans; see II our hearts do not continually
| reach out towards thee; see with what plea
sure we have commenced and will carry out
! this mode OF publicly recognizing the great