The Savannah morning news., 1902-11-14
QUEST FOR REMAINS.
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the search to ALL The coffin is distin-
| guished, wherever it lies, by plate of
! silver or brass, engraVen with the
name and age in the usual manner"
In a note the author further stated,
Judge Stevens. who performed the
+ funeral services. has repeatedly told
! the author (Johnson) that the body of
| Gen. Greene lay in the tomb of the
/ Jones's That tomb has not yet been
searched. But there is much evidence
to prove that il was placed, at first, in
that of the Graham's, as an appendage
to the confScated estate conferred on
| him by Georgia. This vault after
wards passed to the family of Moss
man, who married a sister of Mr.. Gra-
ham. From which the authors inquir-
les induce him to believe that it was
removed under the orders of Mrs.
Mossman, but whittier is unknown.
There is still a possibility that it may
have been removed to that of the
Jones's."
On March 9, 1901, the committee re-
ferred to began it's work, having Sc
cured permission from Mayor Myers
to enter any vaults for which no own
ers could be found in the city, and
any other vaults permission to enter
owners or their representatives. On
March 4, while examining what was,
at the time, supposed to be the Jones
family vault, coffin plate was found
on which members of the committee
professed to decipher the letters
''AEL GREENE and the year 1856"
Buttons were also found, upon which
it was claimed, could be traced the
figure of an eagle. No sword or piece
Of nd Io1
were located, lying side by side. One
was supposed, from the size of the
skull and the bones generally, to be
that of Gen. Greene, the other that of
his son, George Washington Greene.
who was drowned in the Savannah
river when about 10 years old the
remains of the two bodies We're placed
in separate boxes and carried to the
police barracks. On the following day
they We're transferred to two boxes
prepared for their reception, one bear
ing a plate inscribed Maj Gen. Ma
thanael Greene. Born Aug. Z, 1912;
Died June 10, 1885," and on the other a
plate with the inscription George
washington Greene, son of Maj.
Gen. Greene" These boxes were
then placed in the vault of the
Southern Bank for safe keeping pend
ing their final disposition, the general
SetlllHleHI DeHlg favorable 10 tnelr De-
ing placed under the Greene monu-
ment when all doubts as to the remains
being those of the General and son
We're removed. The coffin plate and
buttons were taken to New York by
Col. Gardiner to be examined by Gen.
DiCesnola of the Metropolitan Museum
of Arts.
On April Mr.. Harden received a
letter from Col. Gardiner stating that
he orfFf v,1o foe l,.oI III.
treatment On the one upon which a
portion of the inscription had been de-
ciphered the full inscription had been
brought to light. 1t was as follows:
Nathaniel Greene,
Obit June 10, 1886.
Ae A Years.
The other coffin plate, supposed to
have been on the coffin containing the
remains of the son of Gen. Greene, had
been made of a different metal and
had so corroded that none of the in
scription could be deciphered.
Photographs of the plate from Gen.
Greene's coffin, and doubtless the plate
itself, will be sent to the Georgia His
torical Society and placed among it's
relies.
Mr.. William Harden, librarian of the
Georgia Historical Society, who had
made researches for some years with
a view to securing clews that would
lead to the discovery of the resting
place of Gen. Greene, continued his
Investigations and on March IL an
nounced that he had become satisfied
that the vault in which the remains
We're found was not that of the Jones
family, but the one belonging to the
Mossmans, to whom the vault had
been restored and who had not, as ira
dition had it, removed the body of
Gen. Greene. Where placed in 1856
there the body, Mr.. Harden declared,
had remained undis turbed until 1901.
In the vault, just before the discovery
of what is supposed to be the Greene
coffin plate, a coffin plate was found
bearing the name of Robert Scott.
This Scott, appears, married Miss Mar
garet Oliver. the niece of James Moss
man. On his death in 1S45 Scott was
buried in the Mossman vault. Philip
Young, nephew of James Mossman,
died in June, 1919, and as at the time
there was an epidemic of yellow fever
in Charleston, with Savannah in an
extremely sickly state, Mr.. Harden's
conclusion is that the aldermanic COM
mittee did not open this vault owing
to his body having been recently placed
therein.