The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-03-21
FLOWERS FOR SOLDIER DEAD.
SAVANNAH To SEND 4 CAR LOAD
FOR CONFEDERATE GRAVES
IN CHICAGO.

From This Part of the sOuth-The
Monument the First Erected in the
North 10 Confederate soldiers.
Ex-Lieutenant Governor OF Kentucky,
Gen. John c. Underwood. spent yesterday
n Savannah. in the interest Of a movement
TO send a carload Of flowers from here
TO Chicago 10 be used in the deco: alton
Of the first confederate monument in the
north 10 be dedicated IN lakewood park
May 3o-the federal memorial day.
Gen. Underwood originated and carried
out the movement TO erect a monument
over the 5000 confederate soldiers who
died in Camp Douglass prison on the
shores OF Lake Michigan. and whose bones
twice removed from their first resting
place are now buried IN trenches under
meath the noble granite shaft which has
been reared to their memory.
The monument is the only one save a
little stone at Gettysburg. north of the
Mason and Dixon line, to mark the rest
ing places Of the thousands Of confeder-
ate soldiers who lie buried in northern
soil. II viii be dedicated with imposing
ceremonies. Gen. Wade Hampton will de-
liver the dedicatory address. Among
the southern generals who will be present
and will take part IN the dedication. are
Gordon. Fitzhugh Lee, Hampton. Long
street, Evans. Butler. Heath. Walthan,
Lomax. Wright Armstrong Hunton,
Payne. Shelby and others. Gems. Scho-
field. Flagler Palmer and others of the
northern army are also expected to be
present
Gen. Underwood has conceived the idea
of making the plot in which the brave
confederates are buried. a garden Of south
ern flowers at the time Of the dedication.
These flowers he desires to have sent
from Atlanta, Savannah and New Or
leans. He has arranged with the railroads
TO have a refrigerator car from each of
these cities, the flowers 70 be obtained
by committees Of ex-confederate soldiers
and citizens.
The committee for Savannah is Col
W. w Gordon, Maj. G. ". Ryals. Hon.
Robert Failigant, Col. George A. Mercer,
Col. J. H. Estill Mr.. C. II. Dorset and
Capt John r. Dillon. The purpose Of this
committee is 10 secure not only from Sa-
vannah, but from entire Southern Geor-
gia and from South Carolina and Florida,
a. we'll SuII AOhEIH anu DECORATIONS He
are charact erlstic Of the south and which
viii make a fitting decoration Of a plot
wherein 5000 brave heroes who endured
the untold hardships of a northern prison
lie buried. Mai. W. F. Sheilman, traffic
manager Of the Central railroad. has
charge Of the transportation Of the car
which will leave Savannah May %.
The monument about to be dedicated is
due almost wholly to Gen. Underwood's
efforts. He appealed 10 the business men
of Chicago in a manner which insured the
money for its erection. The undertaking
was not an ordinary one. II required tact
and courage as we'll Gen Underwood in
his appeal for the movement did not ask
his contributors to surrender their con-
victions in the issues involved In the civil
war or to indorse the southern cause. but
simply 10 aid in erecting a memorial to
the men who fought heroically for a
cause they believed to be just. Within a
short slime Gen. Underwood had $4,000
subscribed. The monument was ordered
and is now complete. Ii is hewn from
Georgia granite and is % feet high. Sur
mounting il Is a statue of a confederate
soldier as he appeared at the close of the
war The statue is s feet high and is of a
confederate infantryman standing with
arms folded, looking down in regret upon
the field where so many of his comrades
sleep. His clothing is tattered, his shoes
his trousers to keep out the dust He
bears no arms. The face has a sad look
not that Of a man subdued but bearing I'm
ats lines marks of that determination
which made Of the southern soldier a
hero.
On the face Of the monument is a
bronze seal of the confederacy, with the
inscrip tion: Erected to the memory of
5000 southern soldiers, here buried, who
died in Camp Douglass prison. 1925"
On the base in large letters are the
words: Confederate Dead"
On the eastern face is a bronze panel,
containing an allegorical picture, entitled
the Call TO arms" 1t shows the front of
an old time court house, with the number
1861 over the door. At the side Of the door
is a representation of a southern volun-
teer in uniform, and on the other side are
a number of people iocking to the en-
trance, some of them going in. They rep
resent all classes-merchants, farmers.
lawyers, students. In one instance a wo-
man bidding goodby to her husband is
shown.
on the west face of the pedestal in
bronze is represented the return of the
soldier to his home. It is not like the pic
lures of this scene usually seen in print,
but is realistic to a degree. The cabin is
shown with a torn roof, the debris of a
broken field piece in the road near by
upon a hickory stick, cut to assist him in
walking home, and all around desolation.
The door of the cabin has fallen in, and
rank grass, indicating neglect, grows all
around. Everything points TO solitude The
last rays of the setting sun fall upon the
desolate scene and even the birds are
deserving it. This scene represents the end.
On the south face is an idealism of the
soldiers last sleep. The artist has per-
formed the wonderful feat of working the
moonlight effect into this scene which
shows a dismantled fertilization, with the
debris of battlefield in the distance The
soldier boy has crawled under a tree 10
die.
Through the efforts of Senator Gordon.
congress appropriated four bronze cannon
which have been in the governments
custody since their capture, for the deco
ration of the monument site. The entire
soldiers lot in lakewood is about three
acres. The monument stands in a COM
handing position in the center of the lot.
The cannon are to be placed at its corners
and by their sides are to be piled the pro-
jectiles which accompany them. The ap-
preparation of these guns, Gen Under
wood says, is the first recognition in a