Evening star., 1895-05-30
Their Graves Remembered by Vet
Grams of Both Sides.
REMARKS BY GENERAL WADE HAMPTON
He CongratuIates Chicago on Its
Liberal Spirit.
CELEBRATlNGIN OTHER CITIES

of the Memorial day ceremonies here today.
1t would seem that politically, as well. the
dead line' laid down over a generation
ogo to mark the territorial division be-
tween our slave and our free territory has
been thrown down.
With the dedication today In this, one of
the staunchest of the Union cities in the
heart OF the country whence came the blue
coated warriors who marched from At
lanta to the sea- of a handsome monument
to the lasting memory of men who wore
the gray and fought for the lost cause
under the stars and bars, a confederate
high water mark" was established far
north of that set at Gettysburg by force
of arms; this, too. with the ungrudging
consent of the staunch unionists among
whom 1t is placed. and with the assistance
or veterans in blue, for and in arms, but
friends In peace, doing honor to an ac-
knowledged valor which is now the COM
mon heritage Of our common country.
The dedication was accompanied by per-
haps the most impressive and imposing
ceremonies among the exercises set down
Tor Decoration day in any part of the
Union.
AT Cottage Grove avenue and 35th streets
then in the outskirts, but now In the heart
OF the city, stockade was built during
the civil war and named Camp Douglas.
and there many thousands of confederate
prisoners We're confined between the years
lS62 and 80 The men held there under
the restraints which befall captfves of war
had spent their lives in that balmy climate
OF the sunny south, and the rigors of a
northern winter told upon them severely
As consequence 5000 of them were lib
Grated by doath. and were buried In Oak
wood cemetery, at Cottage Grove avenue
and 9th street
1t was to the memory of these 6OO0 who
oled IN a military prison in an enemy's
country that the monument was dedicated
Dy their comrades and opponents in arms,
on the spot where they We're buried.
IL Is the first monument to confederate
DEAD erected In the north, and the event
was perhaps, without parallel in history.
The Movement.
This dedication is the outcome of a move
ment started by the Confederate Associa-
ton OF Chicago. 1t undertook to raise the
necessary funds for the erection of the
monument, and Gen. John C. Underwood,
southern officer. in command of the
northern divisions of the United Confeder-
ate Veterans, was chosen to carry the
work forward. The fund started with ST.
500 from lecture given in Chicago by
Gen. Gordon of Georgia. Citizens of Chi
cago also subscribed $4,000, and subscrip-
TORS by confederate veterans and others
In the south brought the fund up to the
necessary amount. The monument was
three years under construction.
The largest assemblage of distinguished
confederate veterans ever seen in the north
was one of the notable, features of the oc-
casion. Those present included Generals
John Gordon. Wade Hampton. James Long
street. Stephen D. Lee. Fitzhugh Lee, Har-
ry Heth. S. G. French. E. C. walthall, NJ
c. Butler. l.. L. Lomax, Marcus ]. Wright,
Frank c. Armstrong, jos, o. Shelby. Will
liam H. Payne. Fayette Hewitt, c. A.
these distinguished visitors, accompanied
by their wives and families, together with
representatives Of the Confederate Associa-
ton. d. c.; Camp Moultrie. veterans from
Charleston. S. c., and representative dele
cations from Atlanta and other points
south. arrived yesterday
They were met at the depots by comrades
in arms. who preceded them. and by the
local reception committee. composed Of
federal and confederate veterans, and the
leading professional and business men Of
the city. ---s-r- -
TOdny's Ceremonies.
Todays ceremonies began with the ring
ing of the Columbian liberty bell, firing Of
a national salute by battery D. Illinois Ma
tional Guard. on the lake front There a
carriage parade of renowned northern and
southern generals was formed, and moved
under military escort to the 18th street
depot. and there took the trains In waiting
for Oakwood cemetery, where the dedica-
tion ceremonies took place.
The dedication ceremonies were opened
with prayer by Col. Joseph Desha Pickett,
chaplain of the Kentucky Orphan" brig
ade. c. 8. A. Then Gen. John c. Under
ed in the chair Rev. DIR. w. H. Bolton.
pastor of the Centenary Methodist Church,
and past commander U. s. Grant Post. %.
G.. A. r. of Chicago. who delivered a brief
address on assuming his duties.
Gen. Hnrp ptOn's Remarks.
The dedicatory grafton, by Lieut.. Gen.
Wade Hampton of South Carolina, fol-
lowed
Gen. Hampton said in part:
THE scene presented here Is one that
could not be witnessed in any country but
ours. and for this reason. If for no other
1t presents a significance worthy of the
gravest consideration. few years ago
brave men from the north and from the
south stood facing each other in hostile ar
ray. and the best blood of the country was
poured out like water On many a battle
field. Thousands. hundreds of thousands
of our bravest men sleep in bloody graves
men who gave their lives to prove the faith
of their convictions: and now north and
south, standing by these graves, wherever
they may be, grasp hands across the bloody
chasm and proudly claim federal and con-
federate soldiers as Americans, men who
have given to the world as noble examples
of courage and devotion to duty as can be
enrolled on the page of history Nor Is this
oil that marks this occasion as exceptional
and remarkable. and which should render
1t memorable in our annals for all time to
come.
mo monument in the world has such an
honorable history as attaches to yonder
one. That marks the graves of no vic
torious soldiers. but of the followers of
lost cause; 1t stands not on southern
soil, but on northern; the men who rest
under Its shadow come from the far-of
south land. and 1t owes It's erection not to
the comrades Of these dead soldiers but
mainly to the generosity and magnanimi.y
of the citizens of this city.
"All honor. then. to the brave and liberal
men Of Chicago. who have shown by their
action that they regarded the war as over
and that they can welcome as friends on
this solemn and auspicious occasion their
former enemies. AS long as this lofty
column points to heaven as long as one
stone of its foundation remains, future
generations of Americans should look upon
1t with pride. not only as an honor to those
VINO conceived its construction, but 81
lent though noble emblem of a restored
Union and reunited people In the name
OF my comrades. dead and living, and in
my own name, / give grateful thanks to
the brave men of Chicago who have done
honor to our dead here. not as confederate te
soldiers, but as brave men who preferred
Imprisonment and death rather than free
dom obtained by dishonorable sacrifice
Of the principles for which they were
willing to die.
'Of the six thousand confederates buried
here not one was officer: all were pr-
Yates, in no way responsible for the un-
haDDy war which brought an iliad of foaS