The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-06-18
BURIAL OF GEN. KNEFLER
LAID TO REST IN THE EARLY MORN
ING WITHOUT CEREMONY.
Memorial Adopted by the Bar Associa-
tiOn-Capt- Eli. r. Ritter on
His Religious Belief.

ing. There were no services either at the
house or at the grave, as the written re-
quest left by General knefier was COM
piled with The funeral party left the
residence at o'clock yesterday morning
and besides the family there were only
seven persons present They were Captain
Eli r.. Ritter. Captain Daniel w Howe
and Colonel George w. Parker, OF this city,
and Major John G.. Dunbar. of Greencastle.
selected to represent the Seventy-ninth
regiment, of which General Knefier was
colonel; General r. S. Foster, General
James r. Carnahan and William c. Phipps,
of the Eleventh Indiana, of which General
KneAer was d member in the early part OF
the war.
General Knefer's body was wrapped in
an American flag and another large flag
was wrapped about the coffin. n simple
wreath of laurel was placed on the coffin
and there were no other flowers.
BAR ASSOCIATION MEMORIAL.
The indianapolis Bar Association met
yesterday afternoon in Superior Court
Room l. to take appropriate action on the
death of General KneAer. General John
Coburn was the principal speaker, and he
paid beautiful tribute to General Knef1er
| The two were friends of long standing
and General Coburn told many incidents
in the life of General Knefer that illus
| trated the latters sterling qualities. Capt.
| Eli +. Ritter presided at the meeting and
| called upon many other men who were
ISOLATED with General Knefler to make re-
| marks. y memorial prepared by Daniel
| W. Howe, John S. Berryhill, John C.
| Ruckeishaus. Alexander c. Ayres and John
| II. Wilson was read by Mr.. Howe. The
memorial is follows:
Harfc fan will
On great judicial opinions, nor on his elo-
! quence advocate. nor on his skill
as pleader. Nevertheless, he possessed
| in an eminent degree some or the qualltieS
| that should be most highly priced by law
! yers. He was consplcuously honest IN
! all his dealings with his clients, with the
| courts, and in ali the public offices t1at he
! filed. He was faithful to his friends. lie
loved the truth and scorned deceit, whether
| clothed in Discrimination, hypocrisy or IN
any other garb. lie was ever PLAIN ana
| ouJspoken and he despised all kinds or
| tllckery. These are qualities as admlrapie
! III the legal as they are IN any otner pro-
! fession. far more admirable than ability to
| frame a difficult legal document or TO win
verdlcts by artful appeals 10 juries.
but il was in his intense patriotic de-
votion to his country that General knefier
was most conspicuous. In his youth he
had been eXied from the country OF his
birth, and he sought in America the liberty
for which he yearned. When the war oil
the rebellion began all his instincts prompt
ed him at once TO espouse the Union cause.
! as did many thousands OF foreign Dlrtn
who proved on many battlefelds their
loyalty and devotion to their adopted
country.
Few men were IN so many and such
hard-foueht battles as those in which Cen
the battles of Shiloh. of Stone River. of
Missionary Ridge. of the Atlanta campaign
and OF Nashville. No man had more
Spotless military record.
"A HEROIC STRUGGLE.
1.-The last civil office held by him was that
of president of the board Of regents of the
Indiana soldiers and sailors monument
lie seemed. for the last three years CT his
.ife to be making heroic struggle against
DEATH solely that he might live to see the
completion of the magnificent tribute Of a
ma gnincent State to her magnificent
soldiery. One of his last wishes was that
when buried his body might be wrapped
| in the folds OF the American flag.
1.-TWO years ago two officers OF his regl-
| n,ent the Seventy-ninth Indiana. visited
the battlefield of ChickamauSa. The posi-
tons of every regiment and battery that
participated in that bloody battle are now
| marked by monuments and cannon and
| markers. Dumb though they be, these
monuments and cannon tell the story OF
desperate and heroic fighting never sur
| passed in the American civil war or IN
| any other. One monument was or Special
interest to the visiting officers on II We're
| inscribed the names of Col. Fred knener
| and the Seventy-ninth Indiana. Ii marked
| the spot where. on Sept. 19. 1863, the regl-
| ment charged ana captured n OOHltutIdlc
battery. A veteran soldier even at this day
| cannot look upon his old and battlefront
regimental flag, typical TO him of so many
| hard-fought battles, and control his feel
| ings The sight of that monument called
up similar feelings. Each of the visitors
| saw that the tears were courslng down the
| cheeks of the other Neither spoke, but
each understood that memory had touched
hidden spring in the human heart that
| finds vent only in tears.
THE two officers also visited missionary
Ridge and again stood on its crest They
could see Chattanooga and Lookout Noun
tain, lifting its bold and rugged front 200
feet above the valley, and they could recall
| Hooker's battle among the clouds. But or
far greater interest to them was the ground
which on Nov 25 1863 stood General Grant
and General Thomas and other great
| heroes of the war. The two officers seemed
TO hear again the firing of the six cannon
| on Orchard Knob that was to be the signal
for the advance. and TO see in an instant
twenty thousand men with waving battle
|. | flags leap from their lines and charge the
Confederate rifle pits at the foot OF the
ridge They gain the rifle pits, but now
they are going up the nteeP si on od 1ne
Grant never ordered or thought of ordering
an assault of the works on the crest. Cen
eral Bragg never suspected that such a
hazardous such an incredible. assault
would be attempted Yet there were the
Union troops pushing up toward the very
crest. Fifty cannon on the ridge opened
| fire: from end of the works on the crest
to the other the Confederate muskets send
forth sheet Of flame. But still the Union
troops pushing up Presently it is seen
| that one division is considerably in the
| lead. 1t has nearly reached the crest, and
| for a few moments. that seemed ages, ii is
! without support and is in most perilous
situation. That is Woods division of the
Fourth Corps. In the front line of the di-
! vision are the Seventy-ninth and the
| Eighty-sixth Indiana. both under the COM
| mand of Colonel Knefler. a few moments
| pause. the Union lines come up a grand
charge is made and the stars and stripes
are planted in front of Bragg's headquar-
ters. Bragg has gallOped off the field, his
| army is in full retreat. leaving on the ridge
forty cannon. abandoned to the victors.
PLENTY OF GLORY.
whether officer or private, whatever
may have been his rank. it glory
enough for any man that he was in the
/ storming of Missionary Ridge.
Toward the close of the civil war a
man who now belongs TO the ages. himself
a martyr 10 the cause for which he spoke,
standing on one of the great battlefelds.
and speaking as If inspired spoke these
| immortal words
cit is rather for us to be here dedicated
! 10 the great task remaining before us, that
from these honored dead we take increased
devotion to that cause for which they gave
the last fun measure OF devotion; that we
/ here highly resolve that these dead shall
rot have died in vain; that this Nation,
under God shall have a new birth of free
dem. and that government of the people.
..1.. Ill