Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-04-24
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now only IN the minds Of these men,
For it lett scarcely any real literature
II was war fought 10y crude young
nation without poets. american novel
,pts seem to think of the Civil War as
something that separated lovers re-
marked an astuts English critic. And IL Is
n fair gibe. These men who fought the
Civil War must suffer keenly II they
ever read the sentimental twaddle which
has been written oy our popular con-
feetloners about that time OF blood and
tears Nor have the poets and the song
writers done any better And the men
who fought were not artists. They have
left us tons of "reminiscences, but these
record deeds, not emotions and therefore
fail 10 evoke the past They make the
war seem like a chess-game, nlst as the
novels make It seem like cheap meiodrama
II il lost and gone forever The emo
tions Of the Trojan War have lived FOR
many centuries because great poet
sang them, and the emotions OF the Civil
War will be dead in another twenty-five
wears because no FIRST rate artist has found
IA subject In 1t.
OF the army OF . million men that was
under arms toward the end OF the war
about $50, 600 are still living. These are
the men who viii gather at Arlington
next month. With best wishes for them,
il Is not probable that they will come
together many more times. All but
very few of them are far past seventy
now.
The fact that thousands of men are still
alive who fought in the Civil War Is per-
haps one OF the most Illuminating facts
which we can fnd about it. For 1t
shows that boys, mere children in fact,
were impelled TO enter the struggle by
emotions strong enough to carry them
through it, and it shows that the cause
was desperate enough TO need them.
One of the youngest members OF the
Grand Army is Brigadier General j. l..
Glenn, retired, who was born IN 1851. In
1861 he tried TO enlist as a drummer boy,
but was refused. None the less, he sue
eeeded in enlisting the next year, and IN
1868 was made sergeant, and fought
through the battles of Shiloh, Chickamauga
and many minor engagements. In other
words, as boy of twelve to thirteen he
took part in some of the blootiest battles
of the war and stuck them out.
John McElroy, editor Of the National
and one OF the leaders IN the
which created the Memorial
enlisted at the age of
fought In several battles, was
taken prisoner, and spent some time in
the Confederate prison at Andersonville.
Similar stories could be told about many if
not most of these $50, 900 who re main.
The amphitheatre is designed for the
holding of the memorial celebrations
which have been held at Arlington every
Memorial Day since theNwar A rather in
significant little affair which looks like
a device for drying clothes has heretofor
served the purpose, and this new and
dignified amphitheater is really needed.
At Arlington every President who has
served since the war has made a memorial
address except one-Grover Cleveland.
Cleveland is still remembered by the
Grand Army men chiefly as the President
who refused an invitation to sneak at
Arlington on Memorial Day and went
fishing instead For Cleveland was what
the union soldiers still refer to as
"copperheadn He did not believe in the
war and sent substitute To fight In bis
place. His political strength was not
among the old soldiers, to say the least
Of it, 1t was characteristic of him that he
to refuse the invitation and