The Wilson times. [volume] (Wilson, N.C.) 1896-19??, 1897-04-30
MEMORIAL CEREMONIES.
DEDICATION OF THE TOnB OF ULYSSES S.
GRANT.
A Wondrous Tribute to the Noble Dead-Page-
ant BY Land and Sea - Witnessed by
Hundreds of Thousand Spectators.

A Wondrous Tribute to the Noble Dead-Page-
ant by, Land and Sea - Witnessed by
Hundreds of Thousand Spectators.
New YORK, April 27.-Never but
once in the history of the world, and
never before in the history Of the United
States, has such tribute been paid to
the noble dead as when to-day with
wonderous pageant by land and sea-
the nation dedicated the tomb that
now holds the body of its hero, Ulysses
S. Grant.
1t was an occasion more Of triumphant
,..us5 uA.. ....,,ivilal pIial tA... :.
funeral rite, for in these twelve years
since first the nation mourned for
Grant, the keenness Of grief has worn
away and in its place there lives in the
hearts of men that hero-worship which
found such tumultous vent to-day.
The greatest of our citizens, our soldiers
and our sailors, to-day stood side by
side with men of fame from almost
every nation of the earth and paid
without regard to race or creed, or
party prejudice, the last and long
delayed honor of the living to the
dead, while the greatest throng that
ever filled the city of New York added
its surging peal to the roar of belching
guns and the tramp of marching
soldiers. And in that throng there
was no North and no South, for since
the soldier President had said: 'Let
us have peace" the grey has blended
with the blue.
Before the Presidential party left the
city to take part in the dedication cere-
monies the fiagdecked strrets were
black with people, who cheered vocifer-
ously as the great men drove by. when
the tomb was reached a strange sight
met the eve, All around the oval, i'll
the. centre of which stood the gray mon
ument to Grant, were what seemed to
black hillocks. This sombre background
was formed by the thousands of specta-
tors who filled the wood stands built
up from the ground on both sides OF
the tomb to the level otthe steps which
led to its massive doors.
To the south, where the loop around
the oval met the riverside drive, there
were two solid masses of humanity.
On all four sides of the monument oval
the stands were packed to overhowing,
while facing these crowds was the great
mass of eager sight.seers, who had not
been officially provided for,
And when it was all over, when
Mayor Strong had formally accepted
from the nation the trust OF the tomb,
and when the President and his party
disappeared in the luncheon tent, a
sigh of relief went up from the crowd,
for at last the hero lay in the tomb
befitting his renown and fittingly dedi-
Gated by grateful nation.
While the land parade was waited
for after the conclusion of the cere-
monies, the sky became laden and the
wind increased until it almost howled
around the trees. The waters of the
Hudson reflected the ashen hue of the
sky, and the great white ships that
Aoated on its bosom stood outi almost
ominous relief. The dusty road bed OF
the drive was whipped up until black
coats became brown, and spectators
forsook their unsheltered seats for the
protection of the tomb pillars.
Then suddenly, under the cloud OF
dust from the south between the two
black lines of people which seemed to
meet in the perspective, came the nod
ding plumes of the soldiers. On they
marched, an endless line of white and
red and blue and gray. First passing
on the west side of the monument Oval
and returning on the north road under
the monumental arch, they passed the
President in review and then back
, again into the black background o
humanity and the white clouds o
dust.
Surrounded by his cabinet, his gen
erals and his friends, President "cN in
ley stood and reviewed the g@aades'
military pageant evel seen in tins city
There were regular soldiers, regula
J sailo.s, national guardsmen of the SCI
and land forces, Grand Army veterans
" Confederates and the striplings who, II