The Red Cloud chief., 1894-05-25

ENTRANCE TO ARLINGTON HEIGHTS GENIE
cry
the war. In September, 1861, the secretary
of wal issued az order to the effect thai
accurate and permanent records be kept as
to all deceased Union soldiers, and this or.
der was at once followed by the issuing OF
blank forms through the quartermaster's
department to hospital surgeons and all
others who could use them. On the battle
fields when the Federal troops were victo-
rious great care was taken to bury the dead
in such a way that each grave could DO
marked, and headboards provided by the
general quartermaster were set up. Only
on fields where the Confederates won were
the dead buried without marking the,
graves. Soldiers who survived the south
ern prisons In many instances marked the
graves of their comrades who died, aud
records were kept everywhere it was possi.'
BILE to do 30, 30 that the mortuary records
Of the great civil contest exceed anything
else of the same nature in the world. !
1t was in the second year Of the war that
congress authorized the president to ptir.
chase grounds and have them prepared for
soldiers cemeteries. The next year such
R~raveyards were dedicated at CHATTANOOGA
Stone River and Gettysburg. 1t was at the
dedication Of the last named of these thred
that President Lincoln delivered that ad.
dress which, spoken modestly as it was, did
not then attract tho attention of its hear.
ers as anything greatly out of the ordinary,
but which, when IL was telegraphed over
the land and read in the newspapers, speed
lily took high rank among notable spoken
passages and has since been accorded q
place among classic orations. The national
cemetery at Arlington was laid out in 1854,
that at Antietam In 1865. :
In pursuance Of the general plan of 1885,
II cemeteries were established in Virginia,
Z in Tennessee, Q in Kentucky, 4 in North
Carolina, 4 in Louisiana, 3 in Mississippi, 8
in Maryland, 2 IN South Carolina, Q in
Georgia and 2 in the District Of Columbia.
IN the north and west 4 were established in
1ll:uois, 8 in Missouri, Q in Indiana, l In
Iowa, 2 In Pennsylvania, 2 In New York
and Q in New Jersey. In many places be-
sides these the government has purchased
small plots Of ground where a few soldiers
lie. and several cemeteries contain govern.
ment plots wherein the bodies of Confed-
crates who died In Federal prisons are
buried. Less than one-flfth of the entire
number whose graves are now marked and
tenderly cared for lie where they were first
inferred.
Five of the national cemeteries contain
the bodies of United States soldiers who
fell in other wars han the struggle for tho
Union. One of the most notable is near the
City of Mexico. Another Is in Montana. In
the latter lie the bodies Of 91s regulars, in
GLIDING the 300 brave men who We're massa-
cred with Custer by the redskins. !
1t is a thing that every American may be
proud of that all these cemeteries are kept
In superb condition. The cemetery at Ar
lington heights, near Washington, is the
most beautiful and contains the largest
number of graves Of identified dead. The
total number of interments there is 1885, OF
which but 4,S49 are Of unidentified soldierh
The first soldier buried there was a Con-
federate, on May 10, 1884. I
The grave of Sheridan is a striking fea-
ture of the Arlington cemetery, where have
also been gathered the bodies of most OF
those who fell at Bull Run, Chantilly and
other battleflelds In the vicinity. A massive
monument of sarcophagus form, marking
the bodies of 2,1l1 unknown soldiers, at
tracts much attention, as does also the Tenn