Rensselaer Democrat, Volume 1, Number 7, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 May 1898 — OUR NATIONAL CEMETERIES [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OUR NATIONAL CEMETERIES

THERE are nearly half a million soldiers’ graves in the cemeteries of the United States. From the Atlantic to the Pacific the nation's heroes are on each 30th of May honored by • loyal and loving people. On that date, from the time the sun rises over the hills of Maine until it sinks to rest beyond the mountains of California the vast extent of •ur land echoes with the bugle call and the booming of cannon. The youth of the ■ation get their best lesson in patriotism when they lay a wreath of flowers on the atone that marks a soldier's grave. It is impossible to state the exact number of soldiers’ graves, as no record has been made of them for several years. When the last record was made there were about 300,000 sleeping in the national cemeteries and probably 75,000 scattered in little graveyards all over the country. The accompanying map gives the figures of the last record made. Of oourse, the number of graves has increased since then. The veterans have become fewer and fewer. They have not fallen as rapidly as they were mowed down before the death-dealing fire of Gettysburg, •or aa they fell in the awful charges of Bull Run, but their ranks have been thinaed by the grim reaper, and for each one that passed away there has arisen another mound to be decorated. National cemeteries, as is, perhaps, well known, are burying places maintained at the expense of the United States Government, and wherein only soldiers are buried. Many of these are near some military post, but by far the larger ones are located in the vicinity of the big battlefields. Some of the heroes were buried aear the spot where they gave up their lives for their country, and numbers were taken to ns near their homes as possible. In the national cemeteries near the battlefields most of the graves are unnamed. Only a number and a tiny stone tell where a hero lies sleeping. When shells and shot mowed men down by the thousand it frequently happened that there were none left to identify the bodies. In most cases it was known to what company certain men had belonged, although each could ■ot be identified individually, and in such eases all are buried in groups and the names of all the men who were missing after the battle are inscribed on a single abaft. There are in all about ninety national cemeteries in the United States and so scattered that each presents an entirely different appearance. Could pictures .of them be viewed one after another they would present it panorama of out country. There would be cemeteries far out an sandy wastes where the sun beats down mercilessly and the dry desert wind carries the hot sand in blinding clouds •ver the shiny stones that mark the graves. There would be cemeteries in mountain wilds and on boundless western prairies. There would be peaceful little spots sheltered ’neath church towers, and vast stretches of beautiful park where thousands lie buried. Millions of people visit these cemeteries on Memorial Day and when night comes each is a perfect bank of flowers. The most easterly of the national ceme- , Series is the one known as Cypress Hills. It is located not far out of the city of Brooklyn, and is a typical Eastern burying place that contains some of the finest moDuments that are placed over soldiers’ graves in the country. The natural aspect of the country at Cypress Hills is somewhat flat, but the cemetery has received no much attention and art has done so much for it that the flatness is not noticeaide. It is a most beautiful spot, where heroes are buried. Woodlawn is the name of the national cemetery of Rew York State. It is a magnificent burying glaee on slightly rolling ground, well kept and planted to all sorts of flowers and evergreens. Over 3,000 are burled here. A ■ttle further to the south the national ooasoteries are very close together. At nUadelphla there Is a beautiful burying fioce, where about 2,500 sleep, and just bathe northeast of town is pretty Beverly.

Only 164 are burled here, but it Is one of the most beautiful cemeteries in tbs country—certainly the most beautiful of its size. In the immediate vicinity there is the Gettysburg cemetery, Antietam, Balls Bluff, Grafton and Winchester. AU these are much alike in general appearance. About 14,000 are buried tn all of them. The shores of the Chesapeake in Virginia are fairly lined with national cemeteries. About 50,000 are buried in this vicinity, and the graveyards are almost exactly alike in appearance. They are not as well kept as some further north, but nature has done so much in the way of luxuriant vegetation that this is hardly noticeable. The most Important of these cemeteries are Fredericksburg, Arlington, Culpepper, Richmond, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Yorktown and Annapolis. Most of tjiem have streams of water running through them that greatly add to their natural beauty. In North Carolina the most important national cemetery is Salisbury. Nearly 13,000 are buried here. This cemetery is located in a spur of a mountain range and is a most beautiful spot. In general appearance it is entirely different from any other national cemetery in the country. From almost any part of it a view extending over miles and miles of country that in war time was the scene of many important battles can be obtained. It is a most impressive place to visit at any time of the year. The other cemeteries in North Carolina are Raleigh, New Berne and Wilmington. About 7,000 are buried in these three. Almost at the southern tip of South Carolina is the most beautiful national cemetery in the country. It is known as Beaufort and about 10,000 are buried there. Although it is in South Carolina, Beaufort might be said to belong to Savannah, Ga. The perfect city of the South is just a few miles away, across the river that divides the two States, and it is from there that the crowds of people come who decorate its graves. Hundreds of the sons of Savannah are buried in Beaufort. For picturesqueness the national cemetery at St. Augustine, Fla., takes first rank. It is on the site of an old Spanish burying place, and many are the quaint graves and tombstones to be seen there. Surrounded by a very old stone wall, within sound of the breakers and filled with tropical plants and dreamy lagoons, it is at once beautiful and interesting. About 1,500 are buried here, and the Decoration Day ceremonies are always of a most impressive nature. The national cemetery of Chalmette, near New Orleans,"is one of the best-known bilryirig places in the country. Thirteen thousand are buried here. Chalmette is located on the shore of a ’bayou and presents somewhat the appearance of a swamp with driveways through it. There are several lakes in it, aud in many instances the graves are very close to the water. Decoration Day is always extensively observed here, but for one reason or another the graves aye decorated with flowers and evergreens the greater part of the year. The largest" national cemetery in the country is at Vicksburg, Mias. About 17,000 are interred here, but the place has rather a depressing effect on one who visits it for the first time, It is so vast and so suggestive of the horrors of death. There is a melancholy aspect to it that it is impossible to shake off. Near by is the cemetery at Natchez, where 3,200 are buried. In the immediate vicinity are the cemeteries of Port Hudson, Baton Rouge and Alexandria. AH through this part of the country Decoration Day Is most extensively observed. In nearly every graveyard there are several soldiers buried, and the sentimental nature of the people causes much attention to be given to the ceremonies. From Andersonville, Ga., and following a sort of curve to Little Rock, Ark., there is a Mne of cemeteries where nearly 100,000 soldiers are buried. These are all very much olikein appearance and are not as well cared for as those In other parte of the country. The principal ones of this group arrVfeoh

phis, Nashville, Chattanooga and Marietta. There is a little group of cemeteries In Kentucky where about 8,000 are buried, but the observances of the day here are always very sad. More old people are seen at these ceremonies than in any other cemetery in the country. They still remember their lost ones, and even at this late day old, white-haired negroes are frequently seen weeping and crying for “young marsa.” A national cemetery that is very little known is Jefferson Barracks, located about eighteen miles below St. Louis, "Mo. Over 11,800 are buried here, and the cemetery is one of the grandest sites in the world. It is about 300 feet above the Mississippi, on the west bank, and commands a view in all directions over the bottom lands. This cemetery is remarkably well kept, although it does not contain as many trees as one feels ought to be there. The national cemeteries of the West are sad places. Most of them are absolutely barren and are distressing in the extreme. The one at San Antonio, Tex., is of this character, although of late years an attempt has been made to improve it. Nearly all the Western cemeteries are small. The national cemetery on the Custer battlefield in Dakota is perhaps the strangest burying place in all the world. It is a most barren spot, containing an enormous marble shaft, with 414 graves grouped around it. The strange thing about thia cemetery is that all those sleeping there were killed on the same day. The national cemetery of San Francisco is located at the Presidio. About 350 are interred here. It is not generally known, but the United States maintains a "national cemetery at the City of Mexico. Of course the 6,184 buried there are the victims of the Mexican war.