The Springfield herald., 1913-05-23

equipment When men go into the field Of active
service each wears about his neck piece OF
tape and hung upon that tape there is metal
tag which contains his name, the branch of the
service to which he belongs and his particular
regiment and company. This tag is made of
aluminium and the lettering is stamped into it.
1t is practically indestructible II man is killed
in battle he may always be Identified.
When the identity of the individual has been
established the department will communicate
with his relatives. II they desire his remains,
these will be prepared for transportation to the
old home. They will be brought back to his own
people to be buried they wish. All expenses
will be borne by the federal government. II the
relatives.of the dead soldier sailor prefer
that he be buried In national cemetery they
may 80 order, and the orders will be carried out
to the letter.
There are the men who have died in the Philip
pines for instance. None of these left to rest
in this foreign tropic land All are eventually
sent back to the states. Relatives are informed
of their coming. They may order the disposition
of the remains they see fit In case there Is
no call for the remains of the Philippine vet
eran, his body is inferred in the national ceme-
terry at San Francisco and duly marked.
During the Civil war there were great numbers
of Confederate soldiers taken prisoners and held
in northern prisons. Many Of these died in these
prisons, and many Others suffering from wounds
and disease, died in the hospitals of the Union
forces. Two years ago the federal government
appropriated 100000 to mark the graves of
these Confederate soldiers That money is
being expended. The task is practically conf
pleted. The Confederate dead are thus being
honored in the land from which came their enc
miles II the monster conflict.
At many of the prisons the dead Confederates
were buried separately, and their graves were
marked with their names. In these cases the
graves are being permanently marked with head
stones of design different from those used for
the Union troops, but In no way less imposing.
There is the cemetery at Elmira N Y, for
instance The resting place of the Confederate
dead at that point is no less beautiful we'll
cared for than any of the national
teres f..
But in most instances 1t was found that the
dead had been buried in trenches, were most
of the dead on both sides in that war. Here 1t
is impossible to identify the individual remains.
but the names Of all the men buried in given
trenches are to be found in the records of the
prison. In such cases one imposing monument
is erected over the spot and the names of all the
dead resting there are inscribed upon it. Such
a monument has been erected at Camp Douglas,
Chicago, and upon 1t are names of 4,275 Confed-
crates. At Point Lookout the remains of
$500 prisoners who died, and their resting place
has been marked by similar monument The
same course is being followed at Finrs Point,
N j.; at Alton Ill; at Camp Morton. Ind. and at
Camp Chase, Columbus. o. All such burying
grounds marked by Jan. 1. 1912 and the
commission appointed for that purpose disbanded.
The federal government has taken no action
toward marking the graves Of Confederate SOL
diers other than those who died in northern pris-
ons and hospitals. But throughout the south the
various organizations. such the United Con-
federate Veterans and the Daughters of the Con-
federacy, have given ample recognition to the
men who died for the southern cause Their
bodies have been gathered in special cemeteries,
monuments have been built in their honor and
their graves have been appropriately marked
In the south Memorial day there are often
enacted scenes that are even more touching than
those in other sections, for there the veterans of
both causes, those who wore the blue and those
who the gray, Join hands in honoring the
military dead. Oftentimes the uniforms of the
two causes, worn by men in the very eventide
of life are in evidence and old animostes
buried in a realization of the valor of both
batants and the fact that each fought for cause
he deemed the right.