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. Wilson. 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- 

 ment 



" Mr. Wade. 1 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. Wade. 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. 



" I 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 



