OCR Text |
Show Qmdin Of Mrs. John A. Logan 3 Tells How Annual 1 , -&A W Ceremony, Was In- WJMt augurated By Her . f' Husband dt t ' i i A Maor-Cesier-sr QvrA.lof&t J - , ;Aw u A-ph ? who fught in the- Civil war. It Is a PSjBiS!HE widow of a great general V' itA follows," and Mrs. Logan picked out jqSfc ' wll led may victorious ( " j $w from the PaPers she ha(1 at hand and sfffilU charges In the Civil war, jt" 'tAA , read : wSC, and m0ther a S0W1f r dtf2r&fr& T' S Headquarters, Grand Army of the Repub- Jfc Iaid down his life- ia the ffM-'- ' '& llc- Adjutant General's Office, 416 14th service of his country, Mrs. John A.. tf? 3 1, J v 1 Street, Washington. D. C, May 6, 1868. Logan, has given her time and effort, j - Ar , ,HaJU- since the commencement of foreign K.4s kA "I fr the purpose of strewing flowers or hostilities to work for the afflicted of XtviVt- i ' . V v otherwise decorating the graves of com- the present war A"if&& V"1-' ?iX 1 rades who dled in d)fense o their coun' in present war tl3xfA?S $jf try during the late rebellion, and whos. "I cannot rest, and will not, so long r , bodies now lie In almost every city, vil- tts strength Is given me, for I know Wivawoi Muten , wsll lage and hamlet churchyard In the land, what sorrow and suffering is wrought In this observance no form of ceremony , , . . , ,,, Aff-e -i vxr sir1, Is prescribed, but posts and comrades wlU, upon the helpless by war," she said. J JXJ. OS7S1 Mqps, ln their own way, arrange such fitting It was in the spacious wTorkroom at ' services and testimonials of respect aa P?kjpH3HE widow of a great general iiti 1 wll led manv victorious sTfUi) v cliarges ln the Civil war, and mother of a soldier who 'j' laid down his life, in the service of his country, Mrs. John A.. Logan, has given her time and efforts since the commencement of foreign hostilities to work for the afflicted of the present war. "I cannot rest, and will not, so long as strength Is given me, for I know what sorrow and suffering is wrought upon the helpless by war," she said. It was ln the spacious workroom at the top of her beautiful home in Washington that her visitor found her. It was not a sewing day, and instead of European work, Mrs. Logan was sitting at her desk absorbed in .he perusal of letters, papers and books which related to the long past of her own life, to a war nearer home and to her participation in the events which made American history at a crucial period of thig country's life, and it was of those things she was In a mood to talk. "I have been thinking of what the coming Memorial day must mean to us all," she said. 'The survivors of the Civil war are ipldly passing off the stage of life, btl those who yet remain from that tims, and they who are following fol-lowing us, will see to it that homage is done to those who paid the price of a nation's salvation. It is a duty we owe And it should never die. "This year, as we strew with flowers flow-ers the graves of those who died for a fast fause we cannot but think of the tarrlble cataclysm of suffering and deat?i iiow overwhelming Europe, and the groat range of memorial days which will be its heritage ere long. "I prefer the name Memorial day to Decoration day, for although ours Is a national holiday, it should not be forgotten that it ls a day of national remembrance of the dead and ought -to be observed with seemly quietude nd dignity. I have been very much pained these later years to note that many of the younger generation have lost ail sight of the original meaning of the day, and that In some places -It Is celebrated by such diversions as horse racing and other riotous sports which seem to be a very prostitution of the main idea of the occasion. "The Grand Army of the Republic bast scade strong protestations against the misuse of our national day of mourning for the soldiers who gave their lives for our country, and it is good to note that the Sons of Veterans, ivho are now filling the places of their fathers, take a very serious view of their duty in consecrating this one day to sacred memory and affectionate tribute to our soldier dead, and are carrying out appropriate programs at the various grounds where soldiers of the Civil war He buried. "I can, too, say in all truth that Memorial Me-morial day has brought forth a great harvest of worthily expressed sentiment, senti-ment, the occasion having inspired men and women to utterances of real eloquence, beautiful thoughts and true poetry, because the theme ls worthy of the best that loyal hearts can feel and gifted tongues or pens express. "Yes, Decoration day was the thought and Institution of General Logan, and I recall every detail of every Incident which led to its inauguration. inaugu-ration. It was in March, 1S6S, (hat General Logan, redeeming a promise made during the election campaign of Grant and Colfax, made an engagement engage-ment for himself and me to accompany accom-pany his good friend. Col. Charles L. Wilson, editor of the Chicago Journal, Upon a visit to the city of Richmond and the battlefields of Virginia. The colonel, who was a bachelor, was accompanied ac-companied by his fiancee, Miss Farrar of Rostmi. " "General v Logan was then In congress, con-gress, and matters of great importance tvere before the national legislature, and in consequence my husband could not accompany us. The colonel Insisted Insist-ed upon my taking my two children with us, although both were very small, my little boy, John A. Logan, Jr., a mere -baby. However, he regarded regard-ed the trip in the light of an historic pilgrimage and felt that the children should see some of the battlefields over which distinguished generals had led their armies. "It was a cold, bleak day on which we arrived in Richmond, and the hotel ho-tel was a desolate place of refuge. It afforded one of the evidences of the privations which the people of the Confederacy had suffered. These evidences evi-dences were very plentiful throughout the city, as we later- discovered. The vehicle which Colonel Wilson found for our conveyance for the drive to the battlegrounds nearby was a wretched carriage drawn by two miserably poor horses. The driver was the picture of dejection, and the small boy who served as footman was no better, and he shivered from head to foot with the cold. "As we drove over the battlefields we observed colored people picking up the bullets and pieces of shell, shrapnel, shrap-nel, minnle balls, bits of broken cannon can-non and other iron material. Foundries Foun-dries had set a price on this product, and it afforded quite a livelihood for a time to the poor about fortified cities and battlefields. "We visited the churchyards and cemeteries at Richmond and Petersburg Peters-burg made historic through the struggles strug-gles which had taken place in and around those cities. There were a great many burial grounds in those neighborhoods, because the glebes, which were land grants from Eng- land to the Episcopal church In America, had still existed as church grants at the time of the Civil war. and were used as burial grounds for the citizens and soldiers. "In the burying ground near Petersburg Peters-burg we saw many hundreds of graves of Confederate soldiers, and they nearly all bore a small, faded flag, and the dark, withered wreaths and remains of their floral decoration of nearly a year before. These mournful mementoes of the bygone tragedy of the South touched me deeply, and on our return home from the tour of the battlefields I told my husband of this tribute of the Southern men and women to their soldier dead. "General Logan reciprocated my feeling as to the fitness of the sentiment senti-ment expressed. He said that It was a revival of the ancient custom, for the people of ages past In old countries had performed the rite of decorating the graves of their dead heroes with flowers. He considered the matter for a time, and then said he did not see why it might hot be revived in the ease of the fallen Union soldiers. "General Logan, who was then commander com-mander ln chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, decided that he wou'.d Issue an order for the decoration of (he soldiers' graves on the following 30th of May. Sending for General Chipman, adjutant general of the Grand Army of the Republic, he dictated dic-tated order No. 11 for the first decoration dec-oration of Union soldiers' graves which ever took place in the United States. "That order Is now read at every Decoration day ceremony which takes place over the graves of Union soldiers who fa-ught in the- Civil war. It Is a follows," and Mqs. Logan picked out from the papers she had at hand and read : Headquarters, Grand Army of the Republic. Repub-lic. Adjutant General's Office, 416 14th Street, Washington. D. C, May 6, 1868. GENERAL ORDERS. NO. 11. 1. The 30th of May, 186S, ls designated for the purpose of strewing flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades com-rades who died in defense of their country coun-try during the late rebellion, and whos bodies now lie In almost every city, village vil-lage and hamlet churchyard in the land. In this observance no form of ceremony Is prescribed, but posts and comrades will, in their own way, arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect aa circumstances may permit. We are- organized, comrades, as our regulations tell us, for the purpose, among other things, "of preserving and strengthening those kind and fraternal feelings which have bound together the soldiers, sailors and marines who united to suppress the late rebellion." What can aid more to assure this result than by cherishing tenderly the memory of our heroic dead, who made their breasts a barricade against, our country and Its foes? Their soldier lives were the reveille of freedom to a race in chains, and their deaths the tattoo of rebellious tyranny ln arms. We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance. All that the consecrated wealth and taste of the nation can add to their adorn, ment and security is but a fitting tributa to the memory of her slain defenders. Let no wanton foot tread rudely on such hallowed grounds. Let pleasant paths invite in-vite the coming and going of revet ent visitors and fond mourners. Let no vandalism van-dalism or avarice or neglect, no ravage" of time, testify to the present or coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic. If other eyes grow dull, and other hands slack, and other hearts cold In the solemn sol-emn trust, ours shall keep It well as long as the light and warmth of life remain to us. Let us, then, at- the time appointed, gather around their sacred remains and garland the passionless mounds above them with the choicest flowers of springtime: spring-time: let us raise above them the dear old flag they saved from dishonor; let us in this solemn presence renew our pledge to aid and assist those whom they have left among us, a sacred charge upon a nation's gratitude the soldier's widow and orphan. 2. It ls the purpose of the commander ln chief to Inaugurate this observance with the hope that it will be kept up from year to year, while a survivor of the war remains to honor the memory of hlfl departed comrades. He earnestly desires the public press to call attention to this order and lend Its friendly aid in bringing It to the notice of comrades ln all parta of the country ln time for simultaneous compliance therewith. 3. Department commanders will use every ev-ery effort to make this order effective. By order of JOHN A. LOGAN, Commander In Chief. N. P. CHIPMAN, (Official) Adjutant General.. WM. T. COLLINS, A. A. G. "The loyal people of the country took most kindly to the Idea," said Mrs. Logan, "and my husband's anticipations an-ticipations were fully realized by the observance of the day in every state in the Union, the exercises being chnr-acterized chnr-acterized by observations very much the same as those which take place today. "After many inquiries and some discussion dis-cussion It was decided that May 30 was probably the most appropriate day for the universal observance of the ceremony In every state In the Union, and General Ingan finally succeeded in making the day a na tional holiday. "On Memorial day there Is no dls tinctlon made between officers nnd men. Death, the great leveler, makes them all heroes alike, and plaudits and blossoms are distributed with equal generosity between the great generals and the privates. "There are few now living who won great honors d.iring the Civil war, All the great commanders of armies have passed away, and there are but few left who commanded corps, divisions, di-visions, brigades or regiments. The patriotic organizations who have so faithfully preserved the memory of their fallen comrades, are also much depleted in membership. It ls therefore, to the men of the younger generation we must look to keep green the memory of rhose who died i to make our nai'on." |