"Honors to the Dead P1-Intro American Patriotism Civil War Military

HONORS TO THE DEAD.

As a further introduction to this work, I deem it appro- priate to insert here the following report of the ceremonies and addresses, at the decoration of soldiers' graves in the cemetery at Des Moines, May 30th, 1868. The report of these exercises was written by J. S. Clarkson, Esq., associ- ate editor of the "Iowa State Register," and it was pub- lished in the columns of that paper. May 31, 1868.

DES MOINES AT THE GRAVES OF ITS SOLDIERS.

"The outpouring of the people yesterday to attend the decoration of the soldiers' graves, and the manner in which these tributes to the buried braves were rendered, were complimentary alike to the remembered and the re- membering. At two o'clock the procession formed in the order marked by the programme published yesterday, and with martial and brass horn music at the head, playing under craped pennons, it threaded its way to Woodland Cemetery. Some idea of the throng can be gained from the statement that the procession was very nearly a mile long. In the fore front was a gun squad of soldiers, dressed in uniform, and back of them a sergeant's squad of artil- lery, with a six-pounder, — then followed a long line of people on foot, then citizens in carriages, and on horseback, etc. The Governor, his staff, the State officers, Judges and officers of the Supreme Court, and the Mayor and Common Council of the city, were in the procession. Well up in front was a banner with the names of the deceased soldiers, whose graves were to be decorated, inscribed upon it; and close to it the war-christened colors of Co. D, 2d Iowa Infantry. General Crocker's horse, with his trappings of

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war graced with wreaths of flowers, champed his bits and curveted his way along in the procession, attracting much attention.

"Upon arriving at the ground, and after an eloquent in- vocation to the throne of divine grace by the Rev. Mr. De Forest, and a fine operatic selection by Collard's Brass Band, the ceremonies of decoration began. Eight or ten little girls, robed in white and artless in innocence, with baskets of flowers visited each grave. First flinging un- fastened blossoms over the green sward of the grave, form- ing a brilliant floral carpet, they placed upon the foot a bouquet, and at the head garlanded a wreath over each of the twenty-eight martyrs to liberty sleeping in that city of the dead. Quietly, sweetly, beautifully did the little maidens perform their decorating work; and if angels ever come down to earth, their wings surely hovered in benedic- tion over the uncovered heads of those guileless children, strewing the flowers of affection and remembrance over the graves of dead heroes. Fittingly designated were those lovely children, and more fit than all others were their trembling little hands to scatter floral tributes above the dead heroes of the country.

"Following the children and the flowers, was the gun squad of soldier boys, all of whom have been baptized in the blood and smoke of war. Over the graves they fired the volleys with which soldiers are laid to rest. Under the command of Capt. Davis, the squad did finely — remarka- bly so, considering that they were picked at random from the veterans of the service.

"During the occurrence of these ceremonies, the artil- lery, under Capt. Wright, was firing minute guns in the distance.

"After the inclusion of the decoration, which was wit- nessed throught by the entire crowd with sad, almost funereal-like attention, the concourse moved to the stand to listen to the speeches of the occasion. With a fine air from

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the band, and an admirable song from the glee club, ad- dresses began. We have procured copies of all delivered save that of Hon. Dan. O. Finch, and we should like to publish his touchingly eloquent remarks, if we had them. Below we give the others.

ADDRESS OF JUDGE WRIGHT.

"'I accept the lesson taught here and elsewhere this day as a good omen for the perpetuity and integrity of the Union. The American people, though sincere and earnest in their patriotism, and devoted in their love and affec- tion for the brave dead, do not, I fear, as a rule, give suffi- cient evidence of their sincerity, their devotion, by outward visible acts. The scene before us is of significant import, indicating that as the years roll on, we still remember our country, and those who offered up their lives in its de- fense. The living with the dead, flowers and tears, the tolling bells — all these tell but too plainly, speak most elo- quently of our love for and devotion to those who lie buried around us. Parents, brothers, sisters, relatives, friends, here join the sad procession; here deposit the flowers gath- ered by Affection's hand; here turn from the busy scenes of life; here together look upon the resting-places of the dear departed; and, as they do so, cannot but love that country for which they died more sincerely -cannot but feel more than ever their duty to maintain, protect, and defend its institutions. And thus it is, I repeat that I ac- cept all such demonstrations as the heartfelt evidence of a love for that government which is ours to preserve, and which the occupants of these graves died to have. "'The nation needs more than one poetical Sabbath. Not once each year only should we collectively talk of the sacrifices which gave it birth, of our glory and strength, of our duties to those of every land, of the necessities of the hour, of the sacred memory of those in the earlier and later struggles who died that the nation might live;

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but often, much oftener, we should in some public manner renew our vows, reconsecrate ourselves to its welfare. Patriotism is strengthened and intensified by public vows. The blessed names of martyred heroes are kept alive, and are the more revered by outward acts of devotion.

"'If in any nation, in view of the benefits received, this is true, it is certainly so with ours. The world presents no such parallel. None ever had such a soldiery, none ever such triumphs. The dead whose graves we this day visit, with their comrades sleeping in other places, and the living, fought the battles of the world. Their victory secured, as I humbly conceive, the ultimate victory of republican ideas and institutions everywhere. Their triumph is an assur- ance, sealed in bteod, that "a government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." Through their instrumentality, we rejoice in a freedom ma- tured, a bond delivered, of freedom to all men; having no longer a sectional cause to divide and distract those who would counsel for the common welfare. Failure in the five years' fearful strife would have been failure for strug- gling humanity everywhere.

"'If such the nature and magnitude of the triumph, what will be said of those securing it. I answer again, in sincerity, and in no spirit of fulsome eulogy, that the world presents no parallel — that time never developed such a soldiery.

"'Hundreds of thousands of them reared in luxury, surrounded by every comfort and every advantage which the love of parents or the care of friends could provide; men of education and highest culture; blessed with every- thing that money could bestow; with wives, fathers, brothers, sisters, children, but too willing to consult their happiness and contribute to their welfare; compelled by no kingly edict, conscripted by no despotic power, stimulated by no love of mere personal gain; following the fortunes, not allured by the prospective conquests, of the more ad-

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venturous leader, for a compensation at the utmost merely nominal; unused to hardships and uninstructed in the machinery of war; careless of danger and unmindful of disease and death; but loving their country, yes, surely, purely, strongly loving their country, they left all of home behind, all of ease, all of hope, all of comforts, family, friends, fortune, and in the ranks fought and died for that country — marched, faced the enemy, fought, died, tri- umphed, for their country here, for themselves here and hereafter.

"'Than this no spectacle could be grander, none more worthy of admiration, none commanding more the undi- vided praise of the friends of freedom everywhere.

"'Their deeds are a part of our history, and need no rep- etition. And especially is all this true of the men of Iowa. Catholic in spirit as to all parts of our country, withhold- ing the meed of praise from none, I nevertheless cannot help, and I know I am by those around me pardoned for, feeling the admiration of an enthusiast, the respect of a friend, and the devotion of a worshipper when I turn to the men of our own loved State; I confess that I do love Iowa and her soldiers best. I cannot help it; I could not if I would, and would not if I could. You love them too; love them because you know their devotion to duty; love them because they never proved faithless to a trust; love them because of their heroism; love them because they never turned their backs upon an enemy; love them because they stood by the heroic Lyon at Wilson's Creek; because they were the first in the entrenchments at Donelson; be- cause they made a part of the impenetrable wall under Grant at Pittsburg Landing; because they made the grand- est march of history under Sherman; because they took part in almost the first skirmish, and remained true, in- creasing in number as the wants of the country demanded, until they were participants in the last surrender; love them because they were of the best blood of the State;

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love them because their ranks were filled by such men as those filling these graves — Weeks, Blodgett, Lyon, Laird, Doty, Dewey, Mills, and Crocker, and others whose names I do not now recall, but equally worthy of honorable men- tion.

"'In view of such a record and such names, who would not love Iowa and be proud of her soldiery? I often think of their prototype in the suffering and wounded hero of Look- out Mountain, of whom I never think without feeling more love for this country, for which such men died. Brought to the surgeon's table, under the influence of narcotics, his right arm was severed from his body. Aroused from his stupor, he exclaimed, "Bring me back my arm, bring me back my arm." Returned to him, he clasped its fingers and exclaimed, "Good-by old arm; for thirty years you were mine: we now must part. No more will you wield the sword or carry the musket in defense of my country; no more assist me in the struggle with life: and yet," turning to them around him, "think not that I complain; this, life, all I will cheerfully give to save and preserve the nation; "and releasing his grasp, turned his eyes to heaven and died.

"'I know not that he was from Iowa. Such was the spirit of our men. Those named, hundreds and thou sands of others — those who sleep silently within this cemetery, as also those engaged in paying these duties to the dead — were of equal fortitude, of equal patriotism; and on the march or on the battle-fiejd, in the hospital or in the prison, could and did, truthfully led by the same de- votion, exclaim: —

"'"Some things are evil; some others so good, The nation that buys them pays only in blood; For freedom and union each man owes his part, And we give ourselves with our life-blood all warm from our heart."

"'Such soldiers who would not love? Baptize their graves with your tears; spread above their tombs those

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garland tokens of your affection; revere and respect their sacred memories; care for and protect their families; honor the living; annually, at least, return to the per- formance of these sad offices, and thus shall you act as citizens grateful for blessings bestowed; thus shall you prove another link in the chain which binds you to this country, my country, and yours.'

ADDRESS OF GEN. ED. WRIGHT.

"'Ladies and Gentlemen, — It is impossible for me to find words with which to express my feelings upon this occa- sion. We have met here for the purpose of honoring those brave men who left homes and friends, — who left every object that was dear to them except one, and for that one they gave their lives, and their bones are now buried be- neath the sod we are here to decorate with these emblems of purity and loveliness. I feel that silence would be much more appropriate than anything that I can say. The occasion to me is one of sadness. It calls my mind back to scenes, the like of which I hope I may never be called to witness again — scenes where brave and noble men lay dying on the field of strife, and their lifeless bodies were buried beneath the soil of a strange land. Will their graves be decorated to-day? I fear not. I fear that years will pass before the graves of all the noble and brave men who gave their lives in defense of a government baptized in the blood of our fathers, and perpetuated by the sacri- fice of thousands of persons of this generation, will receive that reverence due their brave hearts and the cause they died to sustain. God grant that the time may soon come when the graves of all soldiers who died in defense of that old flag we all love, will be honored alike, in all parts of our common country.

"'Seven years have passed since I stood in the same place I occupied to-day when the procession was forming, and from whence I saw Company D of the Second Iowa

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take leave of friends and home, and go to their country's defense. There I saw the generous and noble-hearted Crocker, whose heroic deeds I will not attempt to relate, as they have become part of the history of the age, and are familiar to you all. There was the brave and noble patriot. Mills, whom you could only know to love. There was Doty, and Weeks, and a host of others, who left all that was dear to them, and have found a soldier's grave. A few of those have been permitted to rest in peace among their friends, and their last resting-place has been deco- rated to-day. But while we are doing honor to those who have been permitted to receive Christian burial, let us not forget those who perished in a foreign land; those who were treated and buried like beasts at Andersonville. Their graves are not surrounded to-day by those who love; and honor their memory. No loving mother, cherished sister, or kind friend is there to mourn over, and plant the token of remembrance; — but the Giver of all blessings^ will not forget them. He will cause the grass to grow green, and the violets to spring up and cover their graves.

"'This occasion calls to my mind many scenes that I would I could obliterate from my memory. I remember a beautiful blue-eyed boy, the, idol of his parents. Young and tender, he needed his mother's protecting care. He was patriotic, and obtained his mother's consent to enlist in defense of the old flag. He enlisted, and was marched to the battle-field. I saw that boy fall in the front line, his face to the enemy. While he was writhing in the agonies of death, I smoothed back his silken hair, and placed my hand on his forehead; he looked up in my face and smiled,, saying, "Colonel, I am dying, I cannot live long; I have tried to be a good soldier; tell my mother so, and say to her that I died for my country, and doing my duty." That boy, brave as he was, loved as he was, did not find a. grave among friends;' he was buried by his fellow soldiers, wrapt in his blanket; a rude head-board, carved by his

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comrades, marks his last resting-place. There was no loving mother or kind sister to soothe his last moments, and drop a tear of affection on his grave. He was buried amid the rattle of musketry, the booming of cannon, and the strife of contending armies; but his name has not been forgotten; he still lives in the hearts of his countrymen; his memory and heroic deeds are preserved in history; his name is enrolled high in the roll of honor. His mother anourns his loss, but feels that she was only doing her duty to her country when she gave her only son to sustain the cause of human freedom. This is only one instance among thousands of similar cases. With such mothers and such boys is it possible for a republican form of government to fail? I sometimes feel that some of us who have been spared to enjoy the blessings of a government so dearly bought, and preserved by the sacrifice of so much blood and treasure, forget the many homes that were made deso- late by loss of husband or son, the many children that were left without the protecting care of a father; I fear we forget that duty which calls us to see that these children are properly protected, educated, and trained for useful- ness, that they may honor their fathers and the country for which they died.'

ADDRESS OF F. W. PALMER.

"'During the war through which the nation recently passed, we were accustomed to watch with eager eyes for tidings from each succeeding battle; and whenever suc- cess to the Union arms was proclaimed, our exultation was unbounded, until intelligence came of the sacrifices through which the victory was obtained. Here, in the centre of an unmolested State, far removed from the devastation of hostile legions, we did not realize the grim visitations of war, until those loved ones, who, in defense of their country had forsaken their peaceful vocations, ambition, friends, kindred, home, were returned in the form of this inani-

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mate dust, to receive the last gaze of affection and the rites of sepulture. While it is our privilege to assemble here to-day to show by appropriate ceremonial our memory of these our patriot dead, we should also remember those of the 300,000 Union slain, whose graves in the beds of rivers, at the bottom of the sea, on the mountain tops and in the valleys of all the South, are to human eyes unmarked and unknown. No poor ceremonies of ours could add to or detract from the glory which they achieved in their lives and in their death; but the remembrance of the sacrifices through which our governniental defense was secured, will aid us in the discharge of the responsible duties of citizen- ship which rest upon us. Here, in the presence of these honored dead, let us renew our devotion to the principles of republican liberty for which they died. Let us teach our children that in comparison with the duty and the glory of its defense, all mere personal ambition, honor, and fame sink into insignificance; and that this inestimable boon of a free representative Republic is not alone for us, nor for them, but for the liberty-loving people of all na- tions, and all climes, in all ages, while human governments shall endure.'

ADDRESS OF COL. C. C CARPENTER.

"'Ladies and Gentlemen, — In presence of these graves, how poor and feeble are any words that men can utter! The flowers brought by the hand of Affection to be scat- tered upon these honored mounds, speak a language which no addition of words, can strengthen. Can I say anything to remove the mist which to-day clouds many an eye? Can I command one talismanic word that will add to the honor or burnish the fame of the men whose memories we cherish by this tenderest symbolism of love? No! O no! it would be an egotism, that would dare to question the heart's history to attempt it.

"'These men need no eulogy. Their records are made;

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their place in the hearts of their countrymen is secure. It is our duty to gather their ashes into "History's golden urn," as an example and inspiration to the living.

"'Standing in the presence of these graves to-day it will not be inappropriate to ask, how shall we secure for our country the future which these men died to render pos- sible? We feel to-day that our annual visit to these hal- lowed homes of our dead soldiers — with flowers, with music, and with tears — should be repeated with each re- turning spring-time, while flowers continue to bloom and human affection survives, and that this tender love we bear our dead heroes should increase year by year, as the coun- try for which they died grows greater and still greater. But if we would retain the emotions of to-day and the beautiful ceremony which they have evoked as part of the ritualism of patriotism in the ages yet to come, we must preserve unimpaired by dishonor the free institutions for which these noble men gave up their lives. Should we as a people or a nation ever become so demoralized as to lose our affection for our country, then from our hearts will fade the memory of the men who died to save it. Should we in the wild strife of ambition, of wealth, of power, or through ignorance or indifference let the fire kindled upon the altar of Liberty become extinct, then will the love burning in our bosoms for the men who died that Liberty might live go out with that fire forever. Then, and not till then, will we cease to bedeck with flowers, and bedew with tears, the hallowed graves which billow every cemetery in the land.

"'I therefore close in the language of one to whose words are given the added solemnity of being sealed with a mar- tyr's blood:

"'"It is rather for us to be dedicated to the great task remaining before us; that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion; that we here highly resolve

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that these dead shall not have died in vain: that this na- tion, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that the government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth."'

"After the conclusion of these eloquent addresses, the procession was again formed, and moved to the centre of the city, when it was dispersed. And so ended the beauti- ful ceremonies of Des Moines at the graves of its soldiers."

Polk Co. IAGenWeb