Belding banner., 1914-06-10
BY A. w. FARN4AM

Foiiowing is an interesting account
or the expedition of former New York
state Andersonville prisoners under
the auspices OF the Empire state 10 the
site OF the famous civil war rebel pris-
on. 1t is printed at the request of
zeth w. Gooding of this city who was
one OF the members OF the expedition
"A wonderful trip was on the
lips of each OF the two hundred pa
triotic members OF the Andersonville
expedition, as they settled in their
seats and began the home run at
Washington. "A unique OCCASION"
knowledge that may not be sold!"
and many other expressions came in
voluntarily from the enthusiastic pill
grims returning from the southland,
where they had performed tender
although somewhat tardy service i'm
memory of some of the bravest and
most loyal men that any union ever
= honored.
"a The night of April 26, 1914. at nine
vclock, the expedition under the
\ I vndersonville Monument Dedication
Commission of the State of New York
left the metropolis over the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad for the objective point
~ NhNAt journey lntIe were TWO
trains of pullman cars, with dining
cars attached, for the cars were to be
our home for five days and five nights
Senator A. J. Palmer, Chairman; ;Sena-
tor w. B, Carswell, Treasurer; ;andJ. l..
Killgore, Secretary.
The guests of honor, of greatest
honor, were the New York State Ander-
sonville Prison survivors, who con-
stitute the larger part of the company.
For the survivors in particular, a
physician, Or. Ford, himself a veteran,
and a registered nurse, Miss Julia A.
Littlefield, of the Homeopathic Hospi-
tai of Albany and of the Red Cross
Society We're secured for the eXpedi-
ton.
After an elaborate breakfast in
Richmond, Va, we were conveyed to
the National Cemetery. Here rest
$500 of our honored dead, of whom
5,691 are marked unknown" The
memorial exercises consistd Of prayer
and an address by Senator Palmer
who said: This is unique occasion;
a memorial service in honor of our
Federal dead, in the capitol city Of the
Southern Confederacy, on the ninety
second birthday of General Grant"
april 27)
Tuesday morning, April %, we ar
rived in Danville at six o'clock. We
breakfasted in the dining cars, where
we had all OF our meals during the
remainder of the journey. In Dan
Vile we were accorded a hearty well
come. We repaired to the National
Cemetery. where the lodge, grounds
.;,l,
State flags, and where a memorial SER
vice was to be held.
In the Danville National Cemetery
are 1914 graves, and all but 14S are
known. Among the veterans present
were 20 ex-prisoners of Danville. After
d Nrdial handshaking and goodbyes we
M paired TO the dining cars for lunch
Con and then steamed on TO Salisbury.
N. c., for another memorial service,
We reached Salisbury at 3:15 p. m.
and went to the cemetery, where the
exercises began at four o'clock. We
were met by band of Salisbury boys.
In the Salisbury National Cemetery
were made 1915 interments, and of
this appalling number 12,025 are un-
known! A monument erected by the
general government bears this inscrip-
tion: "In eighteen trenches just south
of this spot rest the bodies of 11,700
soldiers of the United States Army,
who perished during the years 1864
and 1865 while held by the Confeder-
ate military authorities as prisoners
of war in a stockade near this place"
'"This monument was erected by act
of Congress, approved March 3, 1879.
TO the memory of the unknown Union
soldiers who died in the Confederate
prison at Salisbury, N c."
Our train left Salisbury at six D. m.