The Cecil Whig., 1880-06-05
DECORATION DAY.
CEREMONIES AT ELKTON, CHERRY
HILL, AND NORTH EAST.
A Very Creditable Turn Out, Interesting
Papers Read, and Appropriate
Addresses Delivered.

On last Saturday morning the sun rose in
Il cloudless sky, and the atmosphere, which
had been oppreSsvely hot for some days,
. owing to the thunder shower the evening
before was cool and pleasant. The mem
bers of Creswell Post, No. 10, q. A. r., un-
der the supervision of which the graves of
the soldiers in Elkton, Cherry Hill, and n
I few other places We're to be decorated, as
sembed in their room at s o'clock y. NJ. The
! Groome Guards met ut their armory early
in the morning, and ut o'clock, headed by
the Elkton Band, marched to the place of
rendezvous in the Hollow, opposite the q.
A. II. Post. The Guards numbered twenty
five comrades, rank and file, under COM
mand of j. f. Wilson, Post Commander.
The Guards halted in the street for n short
time, when the Post marched out and formed
in line, headed by kimbes Band There
We're only twenty-seven members of the
Post present, though it numbers three times
that many. Some of the members after
wards joined their comrades at Cherry Hill.
The members of the Post and the Groome
Guards, who acted as 4 guard of honor, then
marched to the cemetery and decorated the
graves of the soldiers buried there; after
which they We're drawn up in line and the
Rev. James McIntire made beautiful and
appropriate prayer, in which he gave thanks
to God for all that He had done for this ma
/ ton, and especially for that providence that
sustained and upheld the old flag when it
,l,, u,
/ the late rebellion. He also besought the
Divine blessing on the Grand Army and
upon the nation and its rulers, and prayed
that hereafter we might be one people, know
ing no North, no South, no East, no West.
Five graves We're decorated in the cemetery,
and at the conclusion of the prayer the line of
march was resumed in the direction of the
Presbyterian grave yard, where the graves
of five other Union soldiers and that of John
b. Rowan, who lost his life in the Confederate
servicei in front of Nashville, were decorated,
and the Guards and comrades being drawn
upin line in the street in front of the church,
the Rev. w. w. Heberton concluded the
service there by making an appropriate
prayer.
The old grave yard at the Free Methodist
Church was then visited and the graves of
eight soldiers We're decorated. Owing to
some cause, Rev. Mr.. Smith was not pres
ent, as was announced, and there was no
| religious services there.
The Catholic grave yard was next visited
and six graves of soldiers decorated, at the
conclusion of which Rev. Father Donaghey
read 4 prayer appropriate to the occasion,
and proceeded to make short and peril
nent address, in which he spoke well of the
soldiers engaged on each side in the war of
the rebellion, and fully recognized the fact
that the war was the providential means
instituted by the All-wise for the abolition
of slavery and the enfranchisement of four
millions of slaves.
The members of the Post, accompanied
by the bands and Groome Guards, then
repaired to the room of the former and par
took of some refreshments, and the latter
soon after marched back to their armory
and disbanded, leaving the work of decora-
ton at Cherry Hill to be completed by the
members of the Post.
| At ] o'clock z. NJ. the members of the
Post, preceded by Kimbles Band, repaired
to Cherry Hill and mustered in the spacious
lawn of Allen McLane, Esq, in the south
ern part of the village, and at about p NJ.
marched to the grave yard, being Joined in
the village by the Red Men of Little Elk
! Tribe, who assisted them in their labor of
! love. There was no more loyal village in
all the land than was Cherry Hill, when
| the tocsin of war was sounded, and the
/ brave and patriotic went forth in the stormy
| days of 1928 to do battle for their coun-
try. Thirteen of them sleep their last long
sleep in the village grave yard. Among
them the veteran soldier of the cross, Rev.
Joseph T. Brown, who tor some months ell
dured the horrors of the Libby Prison, and
who returned from it with impaired health
and a shattered constitution to die. When
ever any thing is to be done for the soldiers,
either dead or living, the people of Cherry
Hill 90 to work with will and do it. So
they were out in force upon this occasion to
welcome the living comrades and to do honor
to those who gave their lives that the life of
the nation might be preserved.
After the graves Of the soldiers had been
strewn with the choicest of roses and each
of them ornamented with 4 miniature star
spangled banner, the members of the Post
and the spectators went into the church,
which was packed full, and Commander
Wilson read letter from Hon. j. A. j.
Creswell, for whom the Post is named, ex-
pressing his regret at being unable to at
tend, as he had been invited to do, and de-
liver the Grafton of the day, because he was
compelled to start for Chicago that day in
order to attend the Republican National
Convention. Comrade Wilson, however,
did the best he could to supply the want
occasioned by Mr.. Creswells absence by
making Il short speech, which was full of
pathos, and contained many eloquent allu-
sions to the stirring scenes ofthe war through
which the members of the Post there before
him had passed, and which, though better
understood by them, did not fail to strike a
responsive chord in the breast of all who
listened to the speaker
Mr.. Wilson then introduced William T.
| Warburton, ESD, the orator of the day,
who, in an eloquent and pertinent manner,
referred to the occasion which called his
audience together, and after eulogiZing the
heroes of the war, proceeded to advise his
hearers that, while they honored the dead
soldiers by strewing their graves with flow
ers, they should strive to preserve what they
died to maintain, by all honest and consci-
entious discharge of their duty at the bal
lot-boX.
George y. Blake, Esq, was then intro
duced and read an anonymous poem enti-
tied the Burial of the Drummer Boy"
Mr.. Blake prefaced the reading of the poem
by short speech, in which he said that,
while it was well to strew the graves of
soldiers with flowers, there We're many un-
known graves Throughout the land, and it is
also well to remember those who sleep in
them, and drop q tear to their memory and
strew n few extra flowers in their honor.
\ collection was then taken up for the
!, purpose of enabling Creswel Post to pur-
| chase a right in part of the Gettysburg bat.
, tie field part of which has been purchased
: by the Grand Army of the Republic tor an
annual camping ground.
: At the conclusion of the services in the
church, the members of the Post and the
l Red Men, preceded by the band, marched tc