238 NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 



The paper was returned on January 3, 1868, with the follow- 

 ing endorsement: " Erect the fences and lodges, but do nothing 

 about the headstones. By order of the Secretary of War. 

 (Signed) Ed. Schriver, Inspector General." " 



Later, when General Meigs returned to duty, he submitted a 

 report, dated October 20, 1868, in which he remarked: 



" On Headstones in National Cemeteries. 



" No progress has been made in erecting, as required by law, permanent blocks 

 at each grave. 



" I am still of the opinion that the best monument for this purpose yet con- 

 trived is the small rectangular block of cast iron, galvanized to protect it from 

 rust, and filled with earth or cement. 



" This planted at the grave will last for many years. It is not costly, is easily 

 transported, and not an object of plunder. 



" With the wages of stone-cutters at $5 a day, the cost of 320,000 headstones 

 properly lettered would be a very great charge upon the treasury. 



" The wooden head-boards are now rapidly decaying, and to replace them is 

 expensive. 



" For the action of the department in this matter I refer to the detailed 

 report of Colonel [C. W.] Folsom herewith." *^ 



No further action appears to have been taken in the matter 

 until 1872, when Congress amended the Act of 1867, so that the 

 Secretary of War was directed merely to " cause each grave to 

 be marked by a small headstone, with the name of the soldier 

 and the name of the State inscribed thereon." " The question of 

 material, which is here omitted, as it was from the Act of 1867, 

 was finally settled the following year, when Congress directed 

 that, " the headstones .... shall be of durable stone, and of 

 such design and weight as shall keep them in place when set, .... 

 and the Secretary of War shall first determine for the various 

 cemeteries the size and model for such headstones, and the 

 standards of quality and color of the stone to be used." " 



" Loc. cit. 



*'Rep. Gen. M. C. Meigs, Quartermaster General, In Rep. Seer. War for 1868, p. 818. 

 Colonel Folsom's report occurs in the same document, pp. 894-916. 



"Stat, at Large, vol. 17, 1873, p. 345, 42d Congress, 2d Session, chap. 368. Act approved 

 June 8, 1872. 



"Stat, at Large, vol. 17, 1873, pp. 545, 546, 42d Congress, 3d Session, chap. 229. Act 

 approved March 3, 1873. 



