River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1908-05-28

y
piled.
The most imposing and impressive
exercises were those at Arlington,
where then slept more than $4,000
heroic dead. Two thousand one hun
dred of that number are in the cata-
combs of the granite mausoleum upon
which is inscribed Unknown"
1t may be of interest to many who
have not visited this Valhalla of
American patriots to read the in
scription chiseled on this tomb:
Beneath this stone repose the bones of
two thousand one hundred and eleven
unknown soldiers, gathered after the war
from the fields of Bull Run and the route
to Rappahannock. Their remains could
not be identified, but their names and
deeds are recorded in the archives of
their country; and it's grateful citizens
honor them as of their noble army of
martyrs. May they rest in peace!
September, A. d. 1867
Surmounting the tomb are four
and a stack of cannon balls. On Dec
Grafton day, 1868, floral shields formed
the center of each side, and upon
them were appropriate inscriptions.
On the north side:
ION Fame's eternal camping ground
Their silent tents are spread,
And Glory guards with solemn round
The bivouac of the dead"
On the west side:
whether on tented field
Or in the battles van,
The fittest place for man to die
Is where he dies for man"
On the east side:
"Here rest the brave who sunk to rest.
BY all their country's wishes best
On the south side:
"The grave should be surrounded by
everything that might inspire tender
ness and veneration for the dead, or that
might win the erring to virtue. 1t is not
the place of disgust and dismay, but of
sorrow and meditation
In addition to the thousands in the
mausoleum there are hundreds of
graves in the grounds marked "Un-
known" But few of the present gen
GRAFTON know that the hallowed bones
in the mausoleum and those in the
graves whose headstones bear the
melancholy word Unknown" were,
through the efforts of that incompar-
able, patriotic woman, Clara Barton,
gathered from the many battlefelds of
Virginia and from isolated places in
the forests around them, whittier
wounded soldiers had crawled and
died, and whose bodies were undiscov-
cred by the burial corps, who at best
could do little more than cover over
their fallen comrades with few
spadefuls of earth after the san
culinary struggle of many hours, be-
fore they were obliged to press for
ward to hold advanced positions. The
springtime rains, the summer suns,
the winter SHOWS beat upon the hasti-
" made mounds or trenches and laid
bare the sacred forms which were
soon naught save Whitened skeletons.
Clara Barton conceived the idea of
gathering them together and placing
them in scientific hands so as to clas-
sify and inter them in Arlington. Con-
gress adopted her suggestion and or
dered the secretary of war to furnish
TRANSFORMATION and detail men to &C.
company her on her mission of res
cuing the remains of heroes from OBJ
liberation by further exposure to the
elements.
This sacred spot is full of historic
interest. Once the property of the
family Of Washington, from whom it
was inherited by Robert E. Leland
when he deserted it to cast his lot
with the confederacy-it curiously be-
came the last resting place of those
who had sacrificed their lives in the
defense of the union, which Lee and
his cohorts had tried to dismember.
The program of May 80, 1868. for
the decoration of the graves in Ar
lington was perfect The president.
his cabinet, the great captains of the
army and navy and distinguished rep
resentatives of foreign countries in
the persons of members of the diplo-
matte corps, many of the supreme
court. the senate and house of repre-
sentatives were present to participate
in honoring the fallen braves. with
the troops of the different branches of
the service in and about Washington
and the long line of ex-union soldiers
who composed the Department of the
Potomac of the Grand Army of the
Republic Under the direction of
Prof. Scala, the marine and other
bands played the Miserere, funeral
dirges and appropriate patriotic airs at
intervals. Odes, original poems. adj
dresses and prayers full of pathos and
patriotism were rendered with unusu-
al eloquence. Tons of flowers were
laid upon the graves by the hosts of
women and children who came bear
ing garlands and wreaths, in the ar
rangement OF which loving hands had
twined many tender memories, and
upon which tears of remembrance had
fallen like gentle showers of spring
time.