USA > Mississippi > Lowndes County > Columbus > A history of Columbus, Mississippi, during the 19th century > Part 11
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collecting magazines of powder, in fact the Ordnance Depart- ment was engaged in the rapid preparation of all the materials of war. In addition to the long barracks which were built for the operatives, all the vacant houses in Columbus were occupied by their families and by the families of the officers who had charge of the Arsenal. Several millions of dollars were used in the purchase of material and expended in its manufacture. Columbus was almost doubled in white popu- lation and the number of Catholics increased to such an ex- tent that they were enabled to build the present Catholic church for their worship. The colored school house of today is the only building which remains, and was erected for the accommodation of the officers and clerks engaged in the enter- prise. All the other buildings were destroyed accidentally by fire after the removal of the Arsenal, which had been trans- ferred to Selma, Ala., as a place of greater safety. Cols. Hunt and Caldwell, of Memphis, were the chief officers in charge.
The third addition to the war history of Columbus was its selection after the Battle of Shiloh in April, 1862, for a hospital center for the treatment of the wounded and sick of the Armies of Mississippi and Tennessee. The Gilmer Hotel, the Odd Fellows Building, the present Concert Hall, the Columbus Female Institute, and the great amphitheatre at the Fair Grounds, were all converted into hospitals, and train loads of wounded and sick soldiers from Shiloh and points north of Columbus soon filled all these buildings to their utmost capacities. They came in such rapidity that only the crudest and most uncomfortable accommodations were ready for their reception. They had neither suitable beds nor food, but were laid out in long rows on blankets and pal- lets of straw. The construction force of Columbus was taxed to its utmost capacity, and soon the pallets and straw beds were replaced by wooden bunks with cotton beds and pillows, and bakeries and kitchens began to supply the sick with ap- propriate food.
It was in this sudden emergency and unfavorable con- dition of affairs that the women of Columbus came to the aid of the medical officers in charge, and by their untiring
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and continued efforts won for themselves the gratitude and honor not only of Mississippi but of the whole Confederacy. They divided themselves into committees, each committee taking charge of its assigned hospital, and day and night they ministered to the wants of the sick and wounded, pre- paring suitable food, bandages, dressings, clothing and other things necessary for their comfort and improvement. They sat by their dying pallets to receive and send their last mes- sages to their loved ones at home, to administer the conso- lations of religion, and provided for them every comfort that money, sympathy, and love could suggest. The increase of the wounded and sick became so great that it was estimated that 3,000 soldiers were under treatment at one time, necessi- tating the opening of almost every home in the city of Colum- bus for their accommodation.
With the advent of the wounded and sick came the dark angel of death, and made it imperative to procure a large plot of ground in Friendship Cemetery for the interment of the numerous dead. So great was the mortality that relays of soldiers and hired negroes were continuously engaged in digging graves, and hearses and wagons were in constant employment in carrying the corpses to their last resting place. The death rate at one time ran as high as 25 or 30 per day. The plot in the southwest corner of Friendship Cemetery was soon found to be too small and another plot of ground in the northwest corner was obtained. The Federal dead were buried in a separate plot of ground procured for that purpose.
The burial of the dead and the preparation of the coffins and graves were entrusted to W. H. O'Neal, a contractor of means, owning as he did a number of colored carpenters and a large two-story building suitable for the work, and faithfully he executed the difficult and disagreeable task. The graves were dug in long rows with head and foot boards to mark each grave; each head board was numbered and the name of the soldier, his company and regiment written thereon. This record was kept in a suitable book prepared for that purpose and when the war closed contained more than 1500 names of deceased soldiers. The Federal graves were estimat- ed at from 40 to 150. Their remains were moved some years after the war to the Federal Cemetery at Corinth, Miss.
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With the removal of the army of Tennessee to the east, the supply of sick and wounded decreased, and the hospitals were all consolidated into the Fair Ground Hospital. And a later order making Lauderdale Springs the hospital center decreased the number of sick and wounded so greatly that a building was formerly occupied by the Arsenal containing about 200 beds, with the negro school house for the accommo- dation of the surgeons, was sufficient to meet the demands.
The first hospitals were in charge of such distinguished Surgeons as Dr. Paul F. Eve of Tennessee, Dr. J. T. Pim of Kentucky, Dr. T. D. Isom of Mississippi and Drs. Westmore- land of Gorgia. At a later date Drs. W. L. Lipscomb and John Brownrigg were Post Surgeons.
In addition to 1500 soldiers buried in the Confederate cemetery, many of our brave and distinguished dead were interred in the family squares in Friendship cemetery. The first soldier from the city of Columbus who was buried in Friendship Cemetery was Sergeant E. T. Benoit, who was killed in the discharge of his duty by an intoxicated comrade at Fort McRae, Fla.
The second soldier who was interred in Columbus, and the first killed in battle, was Dr. John Williams, who fell at Ft. Donelson, brother of Mrs. McCabe and Mrs. Benoit. Then came that triple burial, long to be remembered in the history of Columbus, when Lieut. Col. A. K. Blythe, Lieut. Whitfield Morton, and Private John Garvin-all killed in the bat tle of Shiloh-were laid to rest by one of the largest concourses of mourning citizens that ever assembled in Friendship ceme- tery. The graves of the following are readily distinguished by the monuments and headstones erected by their families and friends: Capt. Randle Blewett, killed before Richmond; Lieut. Mckinney Irion, died from wounds received at Corinth; Octavius Williams, died in Camp Douglas; Dr. W. E. Sykes, killed at Decatur, Ala .; Gen. Wm. Baldwin, accidentally killed in Mobile, Ala .; Col. Isham Harrison, Lieut. Thomas Field, and Lieut. William Carrington, all killed at battle of Harrisburg, and buried at same time with solemn and imposing ceremonies; Capt. Thos. I. Sharp, killed before Atlanta; Col. Wm. S. Barry, died of wounds received at Altoona, Ga .; A. S. Robertson, died at Corinth, August, 1861-first death in Columbus Riflemen.
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FIRST DECORATION DAY.
When the war closed in 1865 the Confederate States of America died, surrounded by the graves of the brave soldiers who defended her, and took her place among the dead nations of the earth. There was no great national government to take charge of the ashes of her dead, and Mississippi was too poor and broken in spirit to erect memorials to perpetuate their names and commemorate their valor. In this the dark- est hour of Confederate history, the Southern women, with a love truer than truth and stronger than death, continued to keep the grass that covered their dead wet with their tears, and strewed with evergreens and flowers the hillocks that marked the remains of the heroes of a loved, lost cause.
In the spring of 1866 Miss Matt Moreton, Mrs. J. T. Fontaine and Mrs. Green T. Hill-three ladies of Columbus whose names ought to be remembered as long as a Southern heart beats true to gratitude and honor and in loyalty to woman, whose virtues shine amid the tears and whose actions make this world glorious amid the gloom of despair and the ashes of death-were in the habit of visiting Friendship cemetery and cleaning off as best they could the weeds and briers and decorating with flowers the neglected graves of the Confederate dead. This beautiful custom, inaugurated by them, found a hearty response in the breasts of the ladies of Columbus and resulted in a determination to make the decoration of the soldiers' graves an annual occurrence, and the first celebration to take place was April 25, 1866. An ac- count of that event is herewith copied from the Mississippi Index, April 26, 1866, James A. Stevens, local editor: "The procession of yesterday in honor of the Confederate dead, was large and imposing. First marched in twos, the young ladies and girls, dressed in immaculate white, each bearing her bouquet or chaplet of flowers. Next came the matrons dressed in mourning; like the others with flowers in their hands-their black dresses typical of the Southern heart in gloom for its beloved dead-the fair flowers emblematic of woman's admiration and affection for all that was gallant and chivalrous in patriots. Lastly came the procession of carriages bearing the elderly ladies.
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"Arriving at the cemetery the ladies assembled around the graves of the soldiers in the form of a square; from the center of the ground, an elaborate and eloquent address was delivered by Rev. G. T. Stainback, and following it, a fervent prayer by Rev. A. S. Andrews. The ladies then performed the beautiful and touching duty of decorating the graves with flowers.
"There were over 1400 graves to be decorated. Through exertions and appeals of the kind ladies superintending the good work, all these graves had been neatly cleaned off; so that after the decoration was completed, "God's Acre" of heroes looked as if freshly blooming with a thousand flowers -bearing up to Heaven a fragrant and beautiful evidence of woman's love, tenderness, and appreciation.
"We were glad to see that no distinction was made between our own dead and about forty Federal soldiers, who slept their last sleep by them. It proved the exalted, unselfish tone of the female character. Confederate and Federal- once enemies, now friends-receiving this tribute of respect."
Thus was established a custom which has become national in its adoption-Decoration Day-having its origin with the ladies of Columbus, under the leadership of its prime movers, Miss Matt Moreton, Mrs. J. T. Fontaine, aud Mrs. Green T. Hill. Columbus also claims the distinction of being the first to decorate the graves of both Confederate and Fed- eral soldiers alike. And in this connection we copy the fol- lowing extract from a Mobile paper: "Some days since we published a letter from "Private"-a well known and high- toned merchant of our city-approving the course of the Mobile Cadets in sending a wreath to the Federal graves on "Decoration Day;" and claiming for the ladies of Columbus the originating of this act of peace to the dead. The Columbus "Index" copies "Private's" letter and our comments upon it, and thus speaks for itself: 'This note from "Private" is cor- rect, save that the lady-one of the sweetest women with whom God ever blessed the earth-volunteered, of her own mind, to strew flowers upon the Federal graves. The "Index" in its report at the time, alluded to the magnanimous deed in words of praise, and North and South, this first act of floral reconciliation was discussed in terms of praise and censure.
MISS MATT MORETON.
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It is not improper to state that this good woman lost a gallant husband in the Confederate cause, himself a worthy wearer of the gray.' "
While it is very evident from the description of the first "Decoration Day" given above from the Columbus "Index" that the decoration of the Federal soldiers' graves was a part of the program of that occasion, it appears from the last article quoted that the same editor designed that especial mention should be made of Mrs. Augusta Cox, formerly Mrs. Mrs. Augusta Murdock Sykes, and her name is now given in the historical sketch of that event.
LADIES' MONUMENTAL ASSOCIATION.
Appropriate services were held every year after the in- auguration, but not until April, 1869, was there an organiza- tion of the Ladies' Monumental Association. On April the 6th, 1869, a meeting was held at the Methodist church to make arrangements for decorating the graves of the soldiers on the 26th of April, and to organize an association, "whose immediate object shall be to erect an appropriate monument to the memory of Southern soldiers buried in our midst." Rev. G. T. Stainback was called to the chair, and Miss Matt Morton was appointed secretary, whereupon the association styled "The Ladies' Monumental Association" was organized by electing the following officers: Mrs. Passie McCabe, Presi- dent; Mrs. J. H. Sharp, Vice-President; Mrs. G. T. Hill, Treas .; Miss Matt Morton, Sec'y; Mrs. L. Whitfield, Ass't Sec'y. Gen. J. H. Sharp was elected orator for the 26th of April.
After the organization of the Ladies' Monumental Asso- ciation, the Confederate cemetery was cared for in a proper and artistic manner. The grounds were ornamented with beautiful magnolia trees, white pine, and other evergreens, and the two plots of ground north and south were connected by an avenue with magnolias planted on either side and called Magnolia Avenue.
"Year by year the labors of the Association were con- tinued under the direction of those worthy and patriotic women, of whom Columbus makes her proudest boast: Mrs. Passie B. McCabe, Mrs. A. B. Meek, Mrs. Julia B. Harrison,
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Mrs. M. W. Hatch, Mrs. A. L. Witherspoon and Mrs. J. W. Benoit. With unwearied diligence and deovted zeal, in conjunction with an associate number of the fairest maidens that ever bloomed on freedom's soil, they labored and toiled until 1872, at which time they felt that they had achieved sufficient success to contract for a monument, suitable and appropriate to their purpose. A young artist, Mr. W. H. Newlon, born and reared in Columbus, from granite blocked from a quarry near Iuka, Miss., prepared for them this chaste and stately column, and at its base on this the 1st day of May, 1874, the Ladies' Monumental Association have assem- bled, and ask the aiding sympathy of this vast audience in its appropriate dedication."
(Extract from the Address of Dedication, by Dr. W. L. Lipscomb.)
The monument consists of an ornamental stone shaft, slightly decreasing in size to the top, situated on a pedestal or die, which stands on two stone bases elevated upon a grass covered mound of earth. The shaft is ornamented by a chapter on which stands a pyramidal finial, the whole monu- ment being about 35 feet in height.
The die is ornamented at its corners by four reversed cannons and under its cornice is carved two crossed sheathed swords.
On its east face is the inscription, "In memory of our honored dead," and on the east side of second base are the letters, "C. S. A." On the west face of the die are the words, "Erected by ladies of the Columbus Monumental Association, 1873." The monument is situated on square No. 330 in Friendship cemetery on Magnolia avenue, near the center of the cemetery North and South. Its cost was $2,700.
The above description was furnished by our enterprising and patriotic fellow-citizen, Mr. John A. Stinson, of the Colum- bus Marble Works.
After 1874 the following ladies served as Presidents of the Monumental Association: Mrs. Stephen D. Lee, Mrs. Wm. E. Pope, Mrs. E. T. Sykes (served four years), Mrs. C. H. Cocke, Mrs. Joseph M. Street. The labors which de- volved upon these Presidents were of the most arduous and difficult character. The liquidation of an unpaid debt, the
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semi-annual clearing of the soldiers' graves, the replacing of - decayed headstones and the preparation for "Decoration Day," required a large expenditure of time and taxed to its utmost extent the patience and liberality and patriotism of these noble women and those associated with them. Con- spicuous among the Presidents, Mrs. E. T. Sykes, who for four years superintended the work in the midst of its greatest necessities and difficulties, deserves honorable mention; so faithful and untiring were her labors that to this day, the citizens of Columbus specially associate her name with the care of the soldiers' graves and ceremonies of "Decoration Day." In 1894 the Ladies' Monumental Association was en- tirely free from debt, and the erection of the monument which was the main object of their organization was completed. "Decoration Day" was continued under their auspices until that date, when the Monumental Association, having be- queathed to the United Daughters of the Confederacy all their rights and titles and the care of the soldiers' graves, ceased to exist. The Stephen D. Lee chapter U. D. C. was organized March, 1896.
UNITED DAUGHTERS OF CONFEDERCY.
"The object of the United Daughters of the Confederacy are historical, educational, memorial, benevolent and social; to fulfill the duties of charity to the survivors of the war between the States and those dependent upon them; to col- lect and preserve the material for a truthful history of the war; to protect historic places of the Confederacy; to record the part taken by Southern women, as well in untiring effort after the war in the reconstruction of the South, as in patient endurance of hardship and patriotic devotion during the struggle; to honor the memory of those who served and those who fell in the service of the Confederate States; and to cher- ish the ties of friendship among the members of the Society."
Most faithfully has the Columbus chapter of this Asso- ciation fulfilled the trust and executed the labors bequeathed to them by the Monumental Association. They have, with the assistance of Capt. John Childers and the city street hands, continued the cleaning off of the soldiers' graves and the ceremonies of "Decoration Day" with unabated interest
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and success; have obtained from the Odd Fellows legal deeds to the grounds of the Confederate cemetery and the square on which the monument stands; they have set up stone corner posts to mark the plots of grounds; are completing the erec- tion of marble headstones for the soldiers' graves; have erected and paid for the beautiful monument, representing a Confed- erate soldier mounted upon a proper pedestal and base; and contemplate such improvements of the grounds as shall make them equal to the best soldiers' cemeteries in the land.
The State of Mississippi ought to assist the Daughters of the Confederacy in these laudable purposes by the appro- priation of the requisite amount of money to carry them out and also to erect a monument to be placed in the center of the North plot of ground. And in the absence of something more suitable the following design is suggested: The monu- ment should consist of the figure of a female scattering flowers on the graves of the Blue and Gray, and on the faces of the pedestal should be carved the following inscriptions: On the East face, "First Decoration Day in Columbus, Miss., April 25, 1866." On the West face the names of the three ladies who originated "Decoration Day." On the South face, "Erected by the Daughters of the Confederacy." On the North face "Mississippi honors the women who honor her dead heroes."
The presidents of the Columbus Chapter, United Daugh- ters of the Confederacy, have been as follows: Mrs. John M. Billups, Mrs. Georgia P. Young, Mrs. Helen R. Garner, Miss Mary Harrison, Mrs. Geo. W. Sherman, Mrs. Sarah S. Sheffield, Mrs. Mathis, Mrs. R. C. Betts and Mrs. T. B. Franklin.
This historical sketch claims for the city of Columbus the lo- cation of the first and largest Confederate cemetery in Missis- sippi-that the grounds were the liberal and generous donation of the Odd Fellows of Columbus-the origin and first celebration of "Decoration Day"-the custom of decorating alike the graves of the Federal and Confederate soldiers-the organization of the first Monumental Association and the erection of the first monument in honor of the Confederate dead.
[NOTE-The writer of this sketch desires to return his sincere thanks to Capt. E. T. Sykes for the use of his very valuable historical scrap book from which many of the above facts were obtained. Also to Miss Mary Harrison, ex-President of the Daughters of the Confed- eracy, for her cheerful and active assistance in collecting the material
COLUMBUS COMMERCIAL
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POSTSCRIPT.
Since the above was written, a beautiful little volume, published in 1898, prepared by the Daughters of the Con- federacy of Columbus, Ga., containing the claim of the ladies of that city, as to the origin and celebration of the first Dec- oration Day in the United States has been placed in our hands.
The writer has carefully perused all the facts and state- ments in that monogram, and while he is willing to accord to those noble and patriotic ladies the truth of all the facts and evidence contained therein, he still claims that the facts and details of this sketch are entitled to equal credence and fully demonstrate, the Daughters of the Confederacy of Columbus, Ga., being judges, that the first Decoration Day in the United States was celebrated by the Ladies of Columbus, Mississippi, on April 25, 1866, with imposing and solemn ceremonies and the delivery of the first speech, on Decoration Day, by
the Rev. George T. Stainback. The origin of Decoration Day in Columbus, Miss., was evidently too different and independent to be confounded with that of Columbus, Georgia, and its date of celebration, April 25, 1866, was one day prior to that claimed by the ladies of Georgia, April 26, 1866.
The writer very much regrets to disturb the minds and claims of the ladies of Georgia, and he knows that they will excuse him when he states that he did not know of their claim to the first Decoration Day, or of their published volume when his sketch was written.
Extending to the Daughters of the Confederacy of Colum- bus, Georgia, the high regard and cordial patriotic sympathy of the ladies of Columbus, Mississippi, the writer subscribes himself,
Your obedient servant,
W. L. LIPSCOMB.
for this tribute to the ladies of Columbus. Also to Miss Sarah Shef- field, President of the United Daughters of the Confedercy in Colum- bus, for a plan of the grounds and a photograph of the monuments. And to other friends for the loan of old original papers and records used in its preparation. ]
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"THE BLUE AND THE GRAY."
By the flow of the inland river, Whence the fleets of iron have fled, Where the blades of the green grass quiver, Asleep in the ranks of the dead; Under the sod and the dew, Waiting the judgment day; Under the one the Blue, Under the other the Gray.
These in the restings of glory, These in the gloom of defeat; All with the battle-blood glory, In the dusk of eternity meet; Under the sod and the dew, Waiting the judgment day; Under the laurel the Blue, Under the willow the Gray.
From the silence of sorrowful hours The desolate mourners go, Lovingly laden with flowers Alike for the friend and the foe, Under the sod and the dew, Waiting the judgment day; Under the roses the Blue, Under the lilies the Gray.
So, with an equal splendor The morning sun rays fall, With a touch impartially tender On the blossoms blooming for all; Under the sod and the dew, Waiting the judgment day; Broidered with gold the Blue; Mellowed with gold the Gray.
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So, when the summer calleth On forest and field of grain With an equal murmur falleth, The cooling drop of the rain, Under the sod and the dew, Waiting the judgment day; Wet with the rain the Blue, Wet with the rain the Gray.
Sadly, but not with upbraiding, The generous deed was done; In the storm of the years that are fading, No braver battle was won, Under the sod and the dew, Waiting the judgment day; Under the blossoms the Blue, Under the garlands the Gray.
No more shall the war cry sever, Or the winding rivers be red;
They banished our anger forever When they laurel the graves of our dead, Under the sod and the dew, Waiting the judgment day; Love and tears for the Blue, Tears and love for the Gray.
In Volume 5, pp. 148-9 of "The Speaker's Garland and Literary Boquet," published by P. Garrett and Co., No. 708 Chesnut Street, Philadelphia, in 1876, appeared the above poem by F. W. Finch, entitled "The Blue and the Gray." The poem has the following head-note, viz:
"The women of Columbus, Miss., animated by noble sentiments, have showed themselves impartial in their offerings to the memory of the dead. They strewed flowers on the graves of the Confederate and of the National soldiers."
Judge Finch in a recent edition of his poems inserts the above note and gives "The Blue and the Gray" the first place in the volume. The poem was first published in The Atlan- tic Monthly September, 1867, with the same head-note.
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MEMORIAL DAY EXERCISES.
Gen. Stephen D. Lee was introduced for the oration of the day. As the old soldier came forward he was greeted with affectionate regard by his followers and he was received with honor and applause by the vast assembly who recognized in him one of the foremost figures of the mighty drama of forty years ago. Gen. Lee's address was admirably chosen and is given for the benefit of the younger generation that they may have a proper conception and understanding of that great era. He spoke as follows:
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