Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1913-05-30

delivered on such an occasion.
Modern nations build stately mausoleums for
their great generals, but are usually content to
allot only the hasty trench ditch to the COM
mon soldier The bones of British soldiers for
example, scattered the world around Says
Kipling:
Walk wide O. the Widow at Windsor,
For alf o. creation she owns;
We ave bought er the same with the sword an
the flame
An we've salted 1t down with our bones.
poor beggars It's blue with our bonesD
To this rule of indifference as to the final rest
ing place of obscure heroes the United States
forms shining and honorable exception. There
are today eighty-four national cemeteries, which
contain the graves of over 100000 American sol
diers and sailors These cemeteries are among
the grandest and loveliest Gods acres" In the
world They lavishly adorned by nature and
art and guarded by the starry flag. Treasure
has been expended upon them without stint, and
they are cared for by large corps of superin-
tendents overseers and gardeners.
The national cemeteries mainly a result of
the Civil In September, 1861, the secretary
of war by general order directed accurate and
permanent records to be kept Of deceased sol
diers and their places of burial The work was
assigned to the quartermaster generals depart
ment. That department already had charge OF
the burial OF officers and soldiers but its care
had ordinarily ended with the drifting smoke OF
the guns that discharged over their graves
By act OF July II, 1862 congress empowered the
president to purchase cemetery grounds to be
used for the burial of soldiers who shall die
In the service of their country" Such was the
intensity of the great war that for some time
no action was taken under the law.
Following the battle of Gettysburg, Governor
Curtin of Pennsylvania inaugurated a movement
whereby several states purchased seventeen
EAAcres of ground embracing the center Of the
Nm line and caused to be reburied there the
Es of the soldiers who had been buried out
this area The cemetery dedicated by
bin November 10, 1863, in that perfect tribute
HE "honored dead" who there gave the last
measure of devotion" The cemetery
'seGuently taken by the nation.
The cemeteries at Antietam, Murfreesboro,
= Iattanooga and other places begun like
Use by states by federal troops acting under
riders of their commanders. That at Chatta-
nooga was largely the result of the activity of
Gen. George H. Thomas, in charge of the depart
ment. It is related that when the work of rein
terring the dead was proceeding a question arose
as to whether they should be buried together ac
cording to the states from which they came.
I'VE have heard enough about states and states
rights lately" said Thomas, who though a Vir-
:. gnian, had remained loyal to the Union. Let US
mix them up and nationalize them a little"
Other cemeteries sprang up by mere accumu-
lation of interments about military centers, hos
pitals prisons, etc. At Andersonville, for exam
pie, the dead buried by parties of their
comrades, who, notwithstanding the horrors Of
their lot took pous care to keep accurate
secords, and erected many rude headboards.
From first to last about 10000 men were con-
fined at Andersonyle. In August 1864, tn ere