The incident of the first decoration of the graves of Union as well as
Confederate soldiers appears, however, to belong entirely to Columbus,
Mississippi, and it is certain that this exhibition of magnanimity
inspired F.W. Finch to write the famous poem, "The Blue and the Gray,"
for when that poem was first published in the "Atlantic Monthly" for
September, 1867, it carried the following headnote:
The women of Columbus, Miss., animated by noble sentiments, have
shown 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.
This episode becomes the more touching by reason of the fact that the
Columbus lady who initiated the movement to place flowers on the Union
graves, at a time when such action was sure to provoke much criticism in
the South, was Mrs. Augusta Murdock Sykes, herself the widow of a
Confederate soldier.
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.
CHAPTER XLIII
OUT OF THE LONG AGO
While local historians attempt to tangle up the exploration of De Soto
with the early history of this region, saying that De Soto "entered the
State of Mississippi near the site of Columbus," and that "he probably
crossed the Tombigbee River at this point," their conclusions are
largely the result of guesswork.
Pages:
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479