| Show I FORT DOUGLAS CEMETERY BY CHARLES H STEVENSON T VAS near the clone of a glorious IT autumn cny some forty yours ago that a handful ol1 bronzed mid trael I etalncd horsemen rode slowly down the canyon from the vrufli Into what was then known 18 Crcnt Salt Luke City The rays of the westering sun wercU ready bcfflnnlni lo gild the I mountaIntops purple shadow oropl over tho tops the valley and even as the Travelers tfnrod luigo bars oif crimson and oltl shot athwart lie rugyud crags of the Va eatoh ranee Behind lay the Grout Salt lakt Hashing like niolton hrass heyoutl that the dosiri Spread out before ihf I eyes of the dusty and weary vldera was the twilling plain still t vurdruit In summer sum-mer folliKc In tho far horizon ptxaL inures of forbidding rock beetled up iviird to the clouds Tho leader I of the little bund was Cot Patrick Briward Connor In command of detachments of the Second cvwalry nnd Tlilrd Infnniry California volunteers volun-teers The exact date of his arrival was the flth of Scptombor ISiV Four anonlhs I previously these I regiments Moon destined to see inurh severe and nangulnary service had boon ordered to liLa hut It was not until July ihat thy I lino of march was taken up History records that the t Hoops reached ltnl y valley Nov early In September nnd remainod I there in temporaly camp while their commander and a small escort es-cort pushed on lo the Salt Lake region re-gion In I this same year Camp now Fort Douslns was founded on ho I bench to the east of ho I city and Iho r > lcturo < quc UtiH 1 cemetery was luld out 11 t us a I stirring1 period and fraught vilh mnili anxiety to the country at large for tim Civil war was racing and the fate of opposing forces seemed to lianjr In I the balance Only a i few days atter the arrival i of Col Connor In Utah the baUU1 of Ilarpern Kerry was fought and nearer Jiomo thuru vas much perplexity and the aIr war filled with rumor rnmOlMrs t4O there wore things to disquiet the mind of the pioneer Jlordcs of Ravage Indians roamed over the country verrorlxlnt the aclLUrs and It was not Ions before Col Connor juul his Iroopr I wore called out I on ac tlveservlce From that time forward t the gallant California volunteers uffci d many vicissitudes and many of them I soon found their final I rcjnlngplacc In the newlydedicated posit cemetery On Thursday 1he 20lh of January ISM while the HOw of the I winter still lay upon the ground Col Connor and some 200 troops defeated 100 hostile Situ fehoncs in a ravine on Hear creulc twelve miles north of Kranklln Ida About 2 2ii Indlanr were killed Including Includ-ing Chiefs near Hunter and Lahl while the losifl to the volunteers was nlxieen This invngfment IK known as the Uat tlc of Hear River I Then on Wednesday Wednes-day the Jfth of April two companies of volunteers attacked a band of Indians In-dians In SJllml Fork canyon hoa several wore killed and wounded on both side A handsome obelisk near thc I main on Ira I we to the cemetery tells tho story of the fatalities of these two engagements AmonK the names carved on the monument Is hill I of Dnrwln I Chase First Lieutenant Second Sec-ond cavalry C V who was kllled at noar river Of the Third Infantry Corp William S 11arvey and six privates pri-vates of company n wer killed on vldutlc duly and two privates of company com-pany K lost their IivDs In the engagement engage-ment It Is recorded that Fernando A Peel Second LIeutenant Second cavalry C V died of wounds received at Spanish Fork and the monument further records the death of twenty jioncomrnlssloned olllcers CMH men from companies A IT K and TOn T-On the oOth lay of July 1SG3 Coy Doty anti Col Connor concluded a treaty of peace with the Shoshone Indians In-dians and a comparatively peaceful lime ensued It was a warm spring afternoon when = = i h 4 c ji ETEr ° pT DOuL7 ItiTEEiO ChE eAL1 P O R HI A V2LUNT HERS M cMupAEMc H I 1 I l I I < I t iTJII fJiiff fvaJKii Cfia aaSiai 1 J Jc i k1 1 ° I I I jpg c 1 1 2 C II 3 A2 < 3 Sy 4t 4tk U I L i iMs cir ci-r I A i the writer visitor the historic pout The nun ruiom brightly In an 8 I maUl cloud ILIII pity hlrdn were singing overhead fountain I plashed and 1 he gray old buildings rillectcd the vivid glare Officers Of-ficers In uniform mbvnd about i here and there boldlern lounged In groups the bronzed tunned fcamrcH of many testifying tes-tifying lo I their recent rehnn from foreign for-eign siervlce Knots of civilian visitors from the city in their partlcolorod costumes cos-tumes itit I variety to the scene Old Glory floated proudly over all I Kvciry thlng t was auggettlve of happy tranquil life A i pretty winding road ruiin in a southeasterly direction from the confines con-fines of the post to the cemetery about a quarter of a mile distant crossing a deep gully through which rushes a noisy mountain fillearn AH you approach from The for you see the grim shoulder of tho great Red flu LIe lowering grandly fL lit emblem of eternal mieiiBth andS and-S tea d fustnesa It I stands I IH i I a sentinel over the I Nations lead now sleeping their last sleep in toe sacred Inclosure ut itn feel Beyond stretch Ihe nuijes Hnowcappcd peaks of the Wasalch range Below lies thc smiling valley dotted with verdant farmr and quiet villages past which like a sliver thread the Jordan river winds Its slow and tortuous tor-tuous course As you turn round and look toward the west a scene of surpassing sur-passing grandeur meets your vision Away In the distance are the hoary Oqulrrhs while the broad expanse of the Great Salt I lake sparkles and shimmers shim-mers In Iridescent loveliness In the clear atmoapheio the city In Us sylvan Ian I-an selling secnu to nestle at jour feet feetTue The cemetery Is some twenty rods jquarc and Is enclosed within a neat white fence A handsome Iron gate guards the entrance and the first ob JLct which catches the eye on entering Is the fine obelisk In memory of the officers of-ficers and men of the California volunteers volun-teers Tho oldest dates found In the cemetery ceme-tery are January 20 and April 15 1SG3 Inscribed upon the soldiers monument The oldest Inscription on an Individual headstone Is I June B 1353 at the grave ot John McCullmigh a native or Ireland I I who served II i a corporal In tho Third In Tan try t California I volunteers and died nt Camp Douglas Another hcndsione Is l dated July ISO and marks the restIng rest-Ing place of Jolm M 1 i Musky also a na livo of the Ijmernld Isle and a private In the volunteer Infantry There are of course monument In memory of other regiment which have occupied the post One of thc oldest of these Is he 1 grave of First Lieut Henry Canlleld of the First Michigan cavalry who died March 11 IStiU One of the most touching Bights lo I ho seen on n battlellcld or In a military burying ground In the number of memorials me-morials to the unknown occupants of soldier graves and there are many such In the Fort Douglas cemetery Unidentified they were laid I to rest but not unhonored and unsung Unknown their dust reposes ncath the HOWIT spangled sod but t their mimes and deeds 1110 recorded among the Immortals Immor-tals In I he words of the Inscription on the noble monument to the Unknown Dead In the national soldiers ceme lery at Arlington Their remains could not be Identified hut their nil nils and deaths are recorded In the archives of I their country Some of the unknown graves at Fort Douglas are partially obscured by wild rone bushoi where the bee hums drowsily through the summer diiy while tho pure canyon breeze ripples rip-ples the leaves of the ancient trees and gently stirs the grass around the tombs On Memorial day grateful offerings of lowers and wreaths of Immortelles wcro reverently placed upon the graves of our dead soldiers known and unknown alike In the cemeteries throughout tho broad land grayhaired and furrowed veterans mingled with tIle flower of our youthful soldiery and gentle women were there to aid In the work of love and gratitude Amid the roar of cannon the rattle of mur kotry the dirgelike music and the bu I n TTTT i7fffl I i I VIEW FR o P JQIT DQJGLA5CHEFSKI oTo jleji clarion call the brave men and hoys who irave up their liven for their country slept on in unbroken alurnbrr Oration wru spoken pantKyrira rononncod sahira I Hied lupn Hounded 11 id then the Nations diail were left nee morp lo their repose beneath tho hlllC vault of heaven |
