The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1893-05-11
MEMORIAL DAY, 1893.
MEMORIAL COMMITTEE Rooms,


| DEPARTMENT OF VJRGISIA AND NORTH CAR
oLlHA GAR,
RICHMOND, VA, March, 1893.
To Our Comrades Of The WRC:
yes bring fresh flowers and srew the soldiers
| grave,
Whether he proudly lies
| Beneath our Northern skies,
Or where the Southern palms their branches
| wave!
Let the bells toll and wild war music swell,
And for one day the thought of all the past
| OF all those memories vast
Come back and haunt with its mighty spell"
| Our cause is so well known to comrades in
| your section that whether send out our appeal
or not, we feel sure of receiving some substantial
tokens Of Remembrance. well as sympathy in our
selfapponted task of caring for the thousands of
graves that fill the National Cemeteries within the
| jurisdiction of our little Post-graves marked in
| most cases by stone whose only record is a num-
ber and where tile registers show long lines COW
cred by the one short word Unknown"
The question has been raised by some comrades
this year, Why again appeal for aid? If our COM
| rades throughout the country are satisfied that
these annual festivals of our dead - be passed by
with no sign from any except the keepers OF these
cemeteries. why should we try to do more than to
march out to our own cemetery near Richmond
and go through our ritual exercises with only our
little band?
Our conclusion is that if it is important to
teach patriotism in the public schools" through
out the country in general, it is douby important
in this section that these yearly Decoration Days
should be made object lessons in patriotism" and
that we should visit, in turn. all the cemeteries
within our Jurisdiction and show to the surround
ing population that the Union dead who sleep
there are not forgotten by their comrades
10 do this involves expense. Speakers of reputa-
uon ana ability slouid be secured, not only that
the faithful few may be encouraged and inspired
anew, but that others outside our ranks may be
drawn to see and to hear and made to feel the in
fuence Of these occasions.
Were we situated in city of 1000 inhabitants in
the North or West, we would have need to
solicit aid. but we beg of our comrades to remem-
Der that we in the midst of community I'M
sympathetic certainly-to stronger word.
No contributions of flowers even of sympathy
will come TO us here from any outside our own
little band. Indeed, on Memorial Day of this year.
1898 Richmond will be stirred from center to cir
cuinference by the splendid ceremonies attending
The removal OF the bones of Jefferson Davis to their
final resting-place in this Capital City of the late
Confederacy, and more than ever this year must we
look for aid and Co operation from our comrades
IN order that we may, in the midst of gainsayine
people, hold up our standard. Is there "a comrade
of the Grand Army who would not wish us 10 turn
out on that day and make such showing for our
Ooef anu io' the ctuse rs VIII counteract, 10 some
extent at least, the things that will be said and
done IN praise of the man whose reputation was
largely made in persistent and long-continued
endeavor to destroy tie Union?
To refresh the memory of some who m ny have
forgotten and for the Information of others who
may not know the facts, will introduce here a
table giving the names OF the cemeteries that lie
within the jurisdiction of this Post and the dig
lance from Richmond With "A single exeepion
not one OF these cemeteries has been visited
on Memorial Day by any GAR. Post except our
own.