The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1908-12-09
GENERAL WORTH.
His Monument In New York and Why
1t ls There.

~ tS
Everybody who lives in New York
knows or ought to know by this time
where the Worth monument is but
how many know what it's all about"
said New Yorker to a group OF
friends who were standing In front Of
the monument in Madison square.
81 should say" he went on, that
more persons pass by here every day
than by any other spot in Manhattan
excepting Nassau and Frankfort
streets, yet I'll wager that most of you
do not know who Worth was"
"Pooh! remarked the only non-New
Yorker In the group, who had just
come down from Albany and hadn't
fore in his life. "Worth was with
Pope in the Army Of the Potomac and
was killed when he was with Sherman
In the march through Georgia"
ooh, you're way off there John" in
terruptcd another. 81 can see near the
base in big bronze letters.
"By the Corporation
of the
City OF New York
1857
Honor the Brave"
The year 1857 settled the Army OF
the Potomac and marching through
Georgia guess
One OF the onlookcrs has been 4 guest
of nearby hotel for several years
He knew it all-at least he thought he
did.
THAT monument" he said, "was
erected to the memory Of General
Worth, who won great fame with Scott
during our war with Mexico. Am
right"
Fright You are" said the onlooker
who had started the talk, "but," he con-
tnued, "why did the city Of New York
take such special interest In his mem
DRY as to build that monument in his
honor?"
That's easy" was the reply OF the
ancient guest of the nearby hotel. 1T
was because Worth was born in this
city and the city was proud of him
rs one of her distinguished sons"
About this time along strolled tall
man who was apparently acquainted
with the onlookers and had heard the
last question and the answer. There
was broad grin on his face. He was
a former inspector of police.
He put In question or two, and In
answering not one Of the group could
tell whether Worth was killed in bat
tie or where he was buried But all
agreed that he was born in New York
city
Just come over to the monument
and take look at the north side slab
and get posted" said the eX-inspector
And the group went with him. This is
what they read on the slab, and they
all afterward acknowledged that then
and there they had read it for the first
time in their lives:
Under this Monument
Lies the Body OF
WILLIAM JENKINS WORTH,
Born In Hudson. N. Y,
March /, 1894.
Died In ToXas
May 7, 1S49.
The fact is that not one person in
ten thousand in crossing TO or from
Firth avenue to Broadway takes the
Twcnty-fifth street crossing on the
monument side, and therefore few per
sons other than tourists ever stop to
read what IS on the slab. 1t 80 hap
pens, too that the sunlight seldom
touches that side OF the monument.
Moreover rs the slab and bronze let
ters on 1t are very dark, passersby
seldom give 1T any notice.
"If out of dozen New Workers who
have lived nearly all their lives within
a stones throw of this monument only
one knew that General Worth fought
IN the Mexican war and none knew
that his body lies under the monument,
how few of the millions who pass bv
1t every year ever heard of the gen-
erals name"
That was the remark the ex-inspector
made to the group of New Workers
after they had read the slab. - New
York Gun.