Year: 1866

A Strange story.


To the Editor of the Herald:


It was stated by the Richmond (vir.
ginia) correspondent Of the Herald, in Its
issue Of August 81, that the relatives and
friends of the late Colonel Dahlgren, who
fell on his way through King William
county, after his remarkable raid on the
city of Richmond, have been grossly de.
luded by having palmed off upon them
fictitious body, in lieu Of that Of the
deceased Colonel. The frequency with
| which cruel impositions Of similar nature
have been practised upon those who have
lost children and other relatives and
friends in the army during the late war
could not but excite astonishment, were
it known to what extent such impositions
have been carried. In addition to the
case above referred to, several instances
of most painful character have come to
my knowledge, one Of which occurred in
Springfield, Illinois, the homo of the late
President Lincoln.


A respectable gunsmith Of that city had
three sons, all Of whom entered the army
One Of them, lieutenant, who com.
manded battery at the battle of Chicka.
mauga, was, with nearly the whole Of his
command, killed in the first engagement.
At the age of twenty-five years, universally
beloved by all who knew him, he had won
the affections of On amiable and beauti.
full young girl, to whom he was soon to
have been united in marriage. The an.
nouncement of his death was heavy
blow to his parents and to her who ex.
pected soon to have become his bride,
With the announcement of his death came
the assurance from his superior officer that
his remains had been carefully inferred
and would, as soon as practicable, be taken
up and forwarded under proper escort to
the home of his parents for burial in
Springfield.


Some time after 1t was announced in the
public prints that his remains were on their
way home, and arrangements were accord
ingly made for the funeral. The then rec
| tor of the church where the family attend
ed worship was requested to perform the
burial service on the occasion. The body,
tightly enclosed in q handsome coffin, ar
rived in charge of military escort, and
was placed in the parlor Of his fathers
house. A natural feeling of affection
prompted desire on the part of the pa
rents to see the remains Of their child, as
it did the bereaved and widowed heart to
look for the last time upon the manglcd
form of her betrothed. This poor priv.
lege was, however, denied them, for the
reason, as alleged, that the body was SC
disfgured that it could not be recognized,
that it would be better to think of him as
he appeared to them in life than to have
that pleasing image distorted in looking
upon his bloody and mangled form as 1t
came from the field of battle.


This reasoning soothed and in measure
rcconciled the parents, but not the young
lady, to the arrangement proposed. She
could not consent to the burial of the body
| without her first seeing it. Still her i'm
portunity failed to effect her object
Finding, at last, that she would not be per
mitted to see the remains, she proposed
that if her clergyman could be allowed to
see the body and reported that he thought
il best for her not to see it, she would try
to be reconcled to the arrangement
Whereupon the clergyman, who was pre-
sent, was conducted alone by person into
the room where the supposed corpse lay in
state. The lid of the coffin was removed
and instead of its containing the remains
of the deceased officer, at one end of the
coffin lay few dry bones and a toothles:
skull, which appeared to have been buried
many years, and which had, doubtless
been taken for the purpose from some
old graveyard. The coffin was again
closed and the lid screwed down.


When the clergyman returned to the
apartment in which he had left the sorrow.
ing relatives and friends of the deceased
he was asked if he had been able to re.
cognize any of his features. His reply was
that he had not. He was then asked If nc
thought it advisable or not for the parents
and friends to see the corpse. His answer
was that there could be no satisfaction in
looking upon the remains. Unwilling, how
ever, to lend himself in any way to such
cruel imposture, the clergyman determined
at once privately to communicate the fact!
of the case to the father, and be governed
by his advice as to whether the funera
ceremonies should proceed. Thougl
shocked beyond measure as were the feel
ings of the father, when he learned Of thu
imposition that had been practiced, it was
determined, upon consultation, that as all
arrangements had been made, it would be
betterin order to avoid excitement, to have
the funeral take place. Accordingly agrant
military pageant, one of the most imposing
perhaps ever witnessed on like occasion
| in Springfield, with bands Of music playing
at intervals the most solemn dirges, follow
ed the coffin, which was conveyed in
hearse prepared for the occasion and CO
yered with flags and other trophies from
the church to the same cemetery where
not long subsequently, were inferred th'
remains of Abraham Lincoln. Of the larg
throng of persons who attended that fune
raj, many from feelings Of frienship, SOM
perhaps from idle curiosity, but few knew
how much the heart Of the father suffered
or how much of heartless mockery ant
base deception was smothered beneath tn
flourish Of trumpets and the sound .
drums. ,. l. '.


DESERVED CONTINENTAL correspond
ent of the Nashville Union, writing from
the University Of Virginia, pays the fol
lowing well-deseryed compliment to Go
lionel Peters, recently elected to the Pro