St. Landry democrat., 1889-07-06
BIvoUAC OF THEsDEAD.
Where the Dead Unicn Soldiers Are
Buried.


Buried.
THE ETERNAL CAMPING GRoUN7 OF MOST
OF THEM Is BENEATH THE BEAUTIFUL
SHADE TREES OF THE SOUTHLAND
MOST OF THE GRAVES BEAR THE SIM
PIE BUT TOUCHING EPITAPH, Gun
KNOWN - HOW THE GOVERNMENT
CARES FOR THE WARRIOR
WASHINGTON, June TO- The recent
decoration day exercises have brought to
the surface some curious facts with refer
ence to the national cemeteries in the bury
ing places Of the national dead OF course
the soldiers graves were decorated in va
rious places aside from national cemeteries,
but the account of these exercises at a
large number of the national cemeteries
suggests an inquiry in reference to their
number and location. There are nearly
hundred of them" said an army officer
to your correspondent. "They are located
in twenty five or twenty six States, though
the larger number of them are located in
the Southern States"
'1sn't it little odd that the Union dead
who gave their lives to keep these States
in the Union should sleep in Southern
soil p
'tNot especially SO when you stop to
think of it. Naturally enough they were
buried near the spot where they fell. They
were killed in battle or died in camp dur
ing the campaign, and it is quite natural
that they should be buried where they
gave up their lives"
eff that is the case should suppose
that there would have been more than
eighty two cemeteries, for there were far
more than eighty-two battles during the
war".
eyes, but each national cemetery was
not established until after the war. The
dead in camp were buried where they died
and then when circumstances permitted
they were taken to the national cemeteries
rs these burial grounds were est ablished
e'Those who were killed on the battle
field were buried temporarily and marked
after each battle. Then after the war the
government sent out agents to the differ
emit battle fields and the camps where the
sick ones who had died were buried, and
had them collected and formed into bat
talions and brigades, and established the
beautiful cemeteries where they now lie.
Millions of dollars were spent in this work.
The Southern country was searched over
and over again and forgotten graves were
found and the remains of the dead faith
fully transferred to lie beside those of
their comrades where their dust should be
cared for by the nation for which they
gave their lives. =
at must have cost good deal to put
those cemeteries in their present condition
and mark the resting place of each SOL
dier7"
eyes, remember thatsa million dollars
was appropriated at single appropriation
for the purpose of purchasing the head
stones for the graves of the dead soldiers,
and thus the government has gone on for
year after year, after making appropria-
tions of ten, fifteen and twenty thousand
dollars year for the same purpose, and is
still doing it."
EDO you moan by this that there are
graves in educational cemeteries that are
still unmarked 7"
emo, NEST of the graves in the ceme-
teries are marked, probably all of them
except few recently made. But there
are many graves Of soldiers in private
cemeteries and village burying grounds
scattered lall over the country which are
unmarked. Congress passed an act author
Eizing this department to furnish headstones
for those graves. Any application prop
erly verified for headstone for the grave
of q soldier buried In a private cemetery
or a village burying ground is honored,
and stone is sent to the point indicated. !"
s.How many interments are there in MS
tional cemeteries? ?"
"About 1916, 900 now. This includes the
known and the unknown.
"Are there many of these unknown
menf"
"About as many as there are those that
are known. OF the 1876, 600 that sleep in
the national cemeteries only 175,000 are
known. Nearly 100, 900 soldiers graves
In the national cemeteries throughout the
country are simply marked Unknown
Sad thing, isn't it, that man who dies for
his country should be buried in the soil Of
q rebel State and not be identified from the
15O, 900 Others should have to be left with
the sad word Unknown over them"
ssAre there any others except soldiers
who are buried in the national cemeteries"
ssOnly d few. There are the remains of
few citizens buried in some of them and
also the bodies of several thousand Confed
crates in the national cemeteries, but they
are mostly the Confederates who died as
prisoners of war. Some of those are in.
terredsat Elmira, NY, some at Columbus,
o., the rest at points scattered through the
North and in the bordering States. /"
care there any interments being added
To the number Of interments now 2"
ooh, yes good many the law allows
the remains of any honorably discharged
TTnion soldier to be buried In any of these
national cemeteries, if.so desired. A good
many old soldiers when they are ready to
90 REQUEST that they shall be laid beside
fheir comrades In those national burying
pisces. / suppose that 10 per cent Of the
ala soldiers that die would prefer to rest
& those cemeteries If practicable as it is
there are from three to four interments
every year" :,
Gated r
aThere are more in Virginia than in any
other State.
ss1.ha number OF national cemeteries In
4ha State is seventeen, and the number OF
dead that sleep there is nearly 10, 900. Oh
arts nnmbe~ nearly 10000 are unknown
dad. There are between 16, 900 and IL,
mn In Arlington alone of this number
hstween 1000 and 5000 are unknown, whose
hodies were gathered from the battlefield
"a RnIi Run and the Rappahannock. The
name. company and regiment OF eacE
colder whose name is known and the locat
ton Of his grave is kept on the record booa
nf these cemeteries. so that the resting
rlace Of any of the known dead can be
s III d mostly in the Southern States
.vbars. tina unknown dead lie
ssNatnrally it was only the bodies OF thu
brown dead that were taken North to By
b,1r;ed. iii New York, for instance, there
~ -. -,v 70f(e dead In the national GENE