Dedication of the Battle of Bull Run Monument
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VOL. IX.—No. 444.] NEW YORK, SATURDAY, JULY 1, 1865. [SINGLE COPIES TEN CENTS. $4.00 PER YEAR IN ADVANCE. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the Year 1865, by Harper & Brothers, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York. THE BULL RUN MONUMENTS.THE battle of Bull Run was the first great battle of the war. It was proper that upon the field where it was fought should be erected the first monuments. The movement to erect such monuments on this field was quite impromptu. The idea was conceived by Lieutenant CALLUM, of the Sixteenth Massachusetts Light Battery, and under his superintendence the structures were erected in four days, being completed June 10. The next day, the 11th, was chosen for the observance of appropriate dedicatory ceremonies. The party engaging in the performance of these services set out from Washington on an early train. In the President's car were several distinguished officers, among whom were Generals HEINTZELMAN, MEIGS, WILCOX, and BENHAM. One who accompanied the expedition gives the following account of the proceedings of the day: "Arrived at Fairfax Station, about fifty ambulances and a large number of army wagons, tastefully shaded by evergreens, were found to have been placed in readiness by General GAMBLE, in command of that post, to convey ,the party to the battle-field. The morning was lowery, the air rather chilly, and the prospect of a pleasant trip rather unfavorable ; but at ten o'clock the sun had dispelled the sombre clouds, and gave to nature a bright and cheerful aspect. "The ride from the Station to Fairfax Court house, and thence to the battle-field, was delightful; and as the long procession moved over the hills and through the valleys of this once fertile now desolate region, all ap- pared to be deeply impressed with the interesting scene and the solemn occasion. "Passing Centreville at about ten o'clock, we arrived at Bull Run bridge a few minutes before eleven. About three-fourths of a mile beyond the bridge, on the hill, is the site of the first monument. Arrived at the spot we found Colonel GALLUP, with his regiment of the Fifth Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery, dismounted, a squadron of the Eighth Illinois Cavalry, and Captain SCOTT'S battery of the Sixteenth Massachusetts Light Artillery drawn up in line near the monument, with a fine brass band at their head. Soon afterward the band struck up a solemn dirge, and the troops, with reversed arms. marched up to the monument. A most impressive prayer and the solemn burial-service of the Episcopal Church was then read by Rev. Dr. McMURDY, specially invited to officiate on the occasion. A hymn, written for the occasion by the poet PIERPONT, was sung, a salvo fired by the artillery, and addresses by Judge OLIN, Generals W WILCOX, FARNSWORTH, and HEINTZELMAN, closed the exercises. "About one-half of the party, including all of the distinguished personages present, repaired to Groveton, about two miles further to the right, where another monument had been erected, and where appropriate ceremonies, as in the first instance, were duly observed. The first mentioned monument is about twenty feet in height, and is a pointed column, built of red sandstone ornamented with 100-pound elongated shells. This shaft will not, we are inclined to believe, last many years. It bears on its surface the inscription, 'Erected to the memory of the patriots who fell at Bull Run July 21, 1861.' The other is about sixteen feet in height, and is composed in great part of shot, shell, and other materials of war collected MONUMENT ERECTED ON THE FIELD OF THE FIRST BATTLE OF BULL RUN.—[PHOTOGRAPHED BY GARDNER, AND PUBLISHED BY PHILP & SOLOMONS, WASHINGTON, D. C.]CONSECRATION OF THE BULL RUN MONUMENTS--READING THE SERVICE, JUNE 11, 1865. |
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