CHAPTER XI.

MEMORIALS OF THE DEAD.

The Work of commemorating the Death of our Heroes of the Field just begun.-Gov. Andrew's eloquent Words to the Legislature. — Gettysburg Cemetery. - The Monument to Ladd and Whitney. - Needham's Monument. - The Dead of Williams College. Reading Monument. — New Bedford, Eastham, Ashfield, and other Places.

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T is too soon yet to record the substantial honors Massachusetts pays to her departed heroes. In the peaceful years before us, all over the Commonwealth will rise the shaft and the statue; the beautiful garden of death will attract the steps of the living; and the glowing canvas in the public hall and in the homes of the people will be studied with moistened eyes, — endearing memorials of those gallant defenders of the national flag who yielded their lives under its victorious folds. We have gleaned a few items of interest to place on the memorial-record. In his address before the Legislature, January, 1865, Gov. Andrew paid an eloquent tribute to the Massachusetts soldiers killed on the battle-field, and said, "Since the war began, four hundred and thirty-four officers whose commissions bore our seal, or who were promoted by the President to higher than regimental commands, have tasted death in the defence of their country's flag."

On the occasion of the dedication of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg, Nov. 19, 1863, the Governor appointed Henry Edwards, George William Bond, and Charles Hale, to represent Massachusetts. Major-Gen. Couch was in command of the department in which Gettysburg was situated, and cheerfully granted the request of those gentlemen for a detail of invalid soldiers, from hospitals in the vicinity, "to bear the standard of the Commonwealth during the pageant." J. E. Atwood, standard-bearer of the Tenth, and W. D. Toombs of the Second, W. W. Mason of the Tenth, A. B. Kimball of the Fifteenth, and J. E. Baker of the Nineteenth, color-corporals, were selected, and were conspicuous in the impressive scenes of the memorable day, on account of the singular and honorable duty they performed. The oration was worthy of its author, the Hon. Edward Everett.

The sepulture of those soldiers who were citizens of Boston was put in charge of a committee secured from the City Council by the efforts of the Mayor. Of the estimated expense of finishing the cemetery,-$63,500,- the proportion of Massachusetts was $4,205.30.

The graves of the dead of this Commonwealth are bounded by those of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut; and, excepting the sad "unknown," their lot is third in extent; that of New York being the first, and of Pennsylvania the second.

The dedication of the monument to Ladd and Whitney, in Lowell, occurred on June 17, 1865. The Governor made the address, a comprehensive résumé of the war, and a fitting tribute to the martyrs buried beneath that commemorative stone.

After narrating the raising and march of the troops early in April, 1861, the bloody scenes in Baltimore, and the appropriation of seven thousand dollars by the General Assembly of Maryland for the families of the soldiers killed and disabled by the mob," to wipe out the foul blot," he thus closes:

Let this monument, raised to preserve the names of Ladd and Whitney, the two young artisans of Lowell who fell among the first martyrs of the Great Rebellion, let this monument, now dedicated to their memory, stand for a thousand generations! It is another shaft added to the monumental columns of Middlesex. Henceforth shall the inhabitants of Lowell guard for Massachusetts, for patriotism, and for liberty, this sacred trust, as they of Acton, of Lexington, of Concord, protect the votive stones which commemorate the men of April, '75.

Let it stand as long as the Merrimack runs from the mountains to the sea; while this busy stream of human life sweeps on by the banks of the river, bearing to eternity its freight of destiny and hope. It shall speak to your children, not of death, but of immortality. It shall stand here, a mute, expressive witness of the beauty and dignity of youth and manly prime consecrated in unselfish obedience to duty. It shall testify that gratitude will remember and praise will wait on the humblest, who, by the intrinsic greatness of their souls or the worth of their offerings, have risen to the sublime peerage of Virtue.

The body of Corporal Sumner H. Needham, who, April 19, predicted that he would meet his death the same day, was conveyed to Lawrence by a committee of the city government, and placed in the City Hall. Thence it was taken with impressive ceremonies to the beautiful cemetery, where it lies under a graceful granite monument, bearing an appropriate inscription.

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At the commencement of Williams College, 1865, the harmonious meeting at the hall was made intensely interesting and impressive by the memories and mention of the heroic dead.

Judge Paige, the president, gave an eloquent address on taking the chair; and speeches were made by Major-Gen. Truman Seymour, Brig.-Gen. Alden, Hon. Bushnell White, Hon. Amasa Walker, Major C. N. Emerson, Charles Demond, Esq., and others.

After the exercises at the church were concluded, the alumni met around the beautiful monument which has been erected on the brow of the hill, a little east of Griffin Hall (the old Chapel), to the memory of the sons of Williams who have fallen in the war, for the purpose of dedicating it. Prayer was offered by President Hopkins: most appropriate addresses were made by Hon. James D. Colt, of Pittsfield; Hon. Joseph White, of Williamstown; Hon. A. B. Olin, of Washington, D.C.; and Hon. Emory Washburn, of Cambridge.

The names placed upon the monument are Lewis Benedict, of the class of '37; Horace I. Hodges, '42; George D. Wells, '46; Thomas S. Bradley, '48; Henry S. Leonard, '49; N. Orson Benjamin, '51; David B. Greene, '52; John Foote, '55; William R. Baxter and Charles E. Halsey, '56; Charles D. Sanford, '58; David M. Holton and Edgar Phillips, '59; Edward S. Brewster, John H. Goodhue, George A. Parker, and Edward K. Wilcox, '62; Henri H. Buxton, '63; Edson T. Dresser, George Hicks, and Edward P. Hopkins, '64; Fordyce A. Dyer, '65. Others may hereafter be added.

Arrangements were made to build this monument two years ago; and "Old Williams" was the first to inaugurate the commemoration of the heroism of the graduates of colleges, as she has been the first in so many other good works.

Harvard University has in contemplation a "Memorial Hall," which will be a beautiful and worthy commemoration of the heroism of her fallen sons.

Reading was among the first towns to move in the public and fitting commemoration of her citizens who had died in the country's service.

With the return of autumn, 1865, in the new cemetery near the Old South Church, upon a gentle eminence, rose a beautiful monumental shaft. Its base of granite is five and a half feet square; and above it are three plinths, and an obelisk of handsome Italian marble, twelve feet high, surmounted by an eagle grasping

a battle-axe and a laurel wreath. The entire structure is a little more than sixteen feet in height, and cost two thousand dollars. Mr. A. Holden, then lately deceased, left in his will five hundred dollars for the object, on condition that the town should give an equal amount. The people did not accept the limitation on their part, but generously increased the stipulated sum. The names, date of enlistment, and day of the death, of the forty-six brave soldiers, are neatly engraved upon the side. On the base of the monument is the inscription, "Dedicated to the Sons of Reading who died for their Country in the Great Rebellion."

Thursday, Sept. 28, was the day appointed for its dedication. Edward Appleton, Esq., was president of the day; and W. J. Wightman, Esq., chief marshal.

The procession, accompanied by the Fort-Warren Band, moved from the Common to the Monument, where an appropriate ode, written by Mrs. P. A. Hannaford, was sung by the choir.

At the conclusion of this exercise, the procession proceeded to the church, where the services were opened by singing a hymn composed by Miss Eliza Evans.

The Rev. W. W. Haywood then read from the Scriptures passages appropriate to the occasion; after which a most devout prayer was offered by the Rev. William Barrows.

The choir then sang the beautiful hymn, commencing,

"We shall meet, but we shall miss him."

The address was delivered by Rev. Mr. Wilcox. In the evening, there was a soldiers' reception in Lyceum Hall. After partaking of a bountiful collation, the audience were regaled with some fine singing by a select choir, followed by a welcome speech from the president of the day. Other speeches, in response to toasts offered, were made by Rev. Alonzo Quint, Rev. Mr. Barrows, and others.

Mayor Howland of New Bedford, in his inaugural address, Jan. 2, 1865, in which he offered a recommendation in relation to the public burying-grounds, suggested the propriety of erecting in one of the public cemeteries a fitting monument upon which to record the names of the New-Bedford soldiers killed in the war. The monument will be constructed of handsome light-gray Concord granite, at a cost of about ten thousand dollars. The design combines an air of stability at the base, with a light and graceful shaft. The names of the deceased soldiers and sailors of the city will be inscribed on tablets, which will be set in the walls of the City Hall. The purpose of this is to render the monument chaste

MEMORIALS OF THE DEAD.

and elegant by preserving it from a mass of lettering. ner-stone of this monument was laid July 4, 1866. Quint made a fitting and eloquent address.

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The cor

Rev. A. H.

Brighton also dedicated in July a graceful monument to her heroic dead.

The subject of commemorating in some suitable way the memories of the brave soldiers who fell in battle early awakened the interest it demands among the sons of Cape Cod. The Soldiers' Aid Society of the town of Eastham had on hand, at the close of the war, some fifty dollars; and, through the efforts of this association, the amount was swelled by subscription to about two hundred and fifty dollars, with which a neat and tasteful monument has been obtained, and placed on the site of the old Congregational Meeting-house. Under the names of the dead is chiselled,

We were sacrificed; but our country lives.

Erected by the Soldiers' Aid Society of Eastham, 1865.

In Ashfield, the monument in memory of the fallen brave is to have on one side their names, and on the opposite a fountain to slake the thirst of the weary traveller.

Roxbury, Dorchester, Worcester, and other cities, and many villages, have in progress or prospect similar memorials of the slain.

At this moment, we find in press the latest memorial-service to the departed heroes in the following form:

THE SOLDIERS' MEMORIAL SOCIETY

Is organized to preserve the grateful Memory of the Soldiers of Massachusetts who have served in the War for the Union.

It will collect such narratives and other memorials of their heroism as may be obtained for the use of the historian or student; and it will hold itself ready to assist in any work of benevolence in those regions which were the seat of war, which may fitly show there, that, in the work of war, our soldiers were engaged in the highest work of humanity and justice. Our monuments to our brothers who have served the country shall be in the hospitals, schools, and other beneficent institutions, to which we can contribute in the region where they fought for us.

Hon. F. B. Fay is the president of this society; and Rev. E. E. Hale, secretary.

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