The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1920-05-26
GATHER ARhSfUL
OF FLOWERS
Flowers Were Laid on Graves Of Civil
War Veterans in 1865-ScIool Chill
dren Gather Flowers
THE WORK OF CHILDISH LOVE
Decorating of Graves Of Dead Soldiers
Did Much to Wipe Out the Bitter
ness Between North and South

In the early part of April, 1865, a man
named John Redpath was acting as SUI
]: perintendent of schools in the city OF
Charleston, S. C. John Redpath was
a newspaper reporter with the northern
armies during the~ civil war, and had
been with General Sherman on his
march to the sea, sending out the first
newspaper report of the surrender of
the city of Charleston. He was a man
very much interested in education; that
was why he was trying to better the
school conditions, which, after four
years of the civil war, were very bad.
There was one school in which he was
particularly interested, which was con.
Quoted in an old church. m
AS he walked to this school one
morning he went past a place that had
been famous as a race course but was
now used as a cemetery for the sol
tdiers who had died in battle. He look
ed over the fence of the cemetery, and
it. made his heart sad to see the way
the graves of the brave men were neg.
hected. He wished that something
might be done for them. ss
y When he reached the school he ad.
dressed the children, telling them that
1t made him unhappy to see the badly
cared for graves, and asking them to
try to find time to gather q few wild
flowers for the cemetery.
just hide the graves from sight-so
that they'll never look bad again" one
little pupil cried.
The enthusiasm Of the youngster
who had jumped to her feet and sug-
gested the 'armfuls OF posies" was not
forgotten by John Redpath AS he went
about his work during the, next few
days he thought of it often, and finally
a beautiful plan grew in his mind.
He would set apart a day when all
the graves in the soldiers cemetery
would be decorated with flags and
flowers.
At that time Charleston was still un-
der military rule and was governed by
Colonel Woodford of the union army.
John Redpath went to Colonel Wood
ford and told him about the plan. ask
ing him to appoint the day military
and civil holiday. The date decided up
on for the decoration was May 1st and
on that day over 10000 men, women
and children We're present at me-
mortal service, and then marched to thes
cemetery where the children dropped
flowers on the graves while everyone
sang patriotic songs.
Such was the first Decoration day.
From that time on the custom of dec
Grating all the graves of the soldiers
on one day grew to be popular.
The custom of decorating the graves
of the dead soldiers did much to wipe
away the bitterness felt between the
people of the north and south. Francis
Miles Finch expressed just such a
thought in his Decoration day poem,
which every child in school has read,
THE Blue and the Gray"
John Redpath lived to be an old man,
and saw the custom that he founded
become one of the most pleasing and
popular holidays. Later in life he
founded the Redpathi chautauqua bu,
reau, which is still popular and has
been the means of giving entertainment
and education to thousands and thous-
ands of people.-Utica Globe.