COMMITTEES ON BEHALF OF THE GOVERNMENT 235 
these headstones took place in the Senate. The House of Repre- 
sentatives had passed a bill (House Res. no. 788) for the mark- 
ing of soldiers’ graves in the National Cemeteries, and this bill 
was reported from the Committee on Military Affairs to the 
Senate on January 18, 1867. It was in charge of Senator Wilson 
of Massachusetts, who, it will be remembered, introduced the 
bill for the incorporation of the Academy in 1863. The follow- 
ing discussion ensued: 
“ NATIONAL CEMETERIES. 
“(Senate, January 18, 1867.) 
“Mr. Witson. I am directed by the Committee on Military Affairs and 
the Militia to report back without amendment the bill (H. R. No. 788) to 
establish and protect national cemeteries; and I ask for its present consideration. 
“By unanimous consent, the Senate, as in Committee of the Whole, pro- 
ceeded to consider the bill. . .. . 
“The second section provides that each grave shall be marked with a small 
marble or cast-iron headstone, with the number of the grave thereon corresponding 
with the number opposite to the name of the party inscribed on the monu- 
“Mr. Wave. I have seen some of these iron monuments provided for by 
this bill, and I think it is not creditable to the country to have such monuments 
over the graves of our soldiers. They are small cast-iron slabs, not more, perhaps, 
than eighteen inches high. 
“Mr. Ramsay. Not over twelve inches. 
“Mr. Wave. Perhaps that is it; I did not measure them. “They look more 
like a tin kettle than anything else, and are liable to be kicked off and kicked 
about and changed from one grave to another by any mischievous person. I think 
the Committee on Military Affairs cannot have seen a specimen of them. They 
seem to me to be totally inadequate for the purpose contemplated, and it is dis- 
creditable to the country to erect such things as monuments for its soldiers. 
“Mr. Conness. A kind of solemn toy! 
“Mr. WaDE. Yes, a solemn toy, or whatever you please. It is a burlesque 
rather than a monument. If we cannot do any better than that, I would much 
rather that nothing should be done. I think it is discreditable to us, and must 
be a means of wounding the feelings of the relations of the soldiers who may 
have occasion to visit the cemeteries where their remains are deposited. 
“T hope the bill will not pass in this form. I think it had better lie over, and 
let the Committee on Military Affairs inspect these monuments and see if some 
better model cannot be adopted. I was assured by persons in charge of some of 
