Monumental Achievements

When Shirley and I travel, we often visit cemeteries. It is not nearly as ghoulish as it sounds. For one thing, they used to be places of exceptional beauty before the convenience of the mowing crew became a higher priority than honoring the dead. Somes old churchyards have headstones that are just that--small rocks that now bear worn and illegible inscriptions that had been scratched in by hand. There are graves of historical significance because of what happened there or the deceased was deemed important for one reason or another. There is often a story attached to the monuments of people long forgotten. Many monuments are reminders of advances in medicine or technology. Young women died in childbirth. Along with their baby. Family plots often include the graves of children who did not survive diseases that since have been eradicated. There are people killed in steam boat explosions and railway accidents. There is  a story behind every monument. Sometimes there is a hint at the significance of the life once led. Sometimes what is left unsaid is a story in itself.

For example, Thomas Jefferson left explicit instructions, including a sketch, for his burial marker at Monticello. The inscription he composed says "Here was buried Thomas Jefferson Author of the Declaration of American Independence of the Statute for Virginia freedom of religion Father of the University of Virginia." Not a word about the presidency or the Louisiana Purchase that more than doubled the size of the country. He specified that it was to be made of "coarse stone that no one might be tempted hereafter to destroy it for the value of the materials." What he had not foreseen was that admirers would chip away pieces of the "coarse stone" as souvenirs. In 1882 Congress funded the replacement granite obelisk that stands today.

Sometimes the monuments are overshadowed both by what was done there and what was said there. The battle at Gettysburg decided the outcome of the Civil War. The battle was the highwater mark of the Confederacy and the Copse of Trees on Cemetery Ridge was the highwater mark of the battle. Three days in July,1863 cost the lives of 3,155 Union and 3,903 Confederates. On Nov, 19 Lincoln delivered his Address at the dedication of the National Cemetery in which he declared "The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but can never forget what they did here." If you have not yet been to Gettysburg, you might want to visit before the people who do not remember what was done or said there manage to destroy the monuments--some of which actually commemorate the evil people on the Other Side.

There is another reason July 4,1863 was called The Most Glorious Fourth. While Lee was retreating from Gettysburg, Grant was accepting the surrender of Vicksburg, effectively cutting the South in two and controlling the Mississippi River. The National Military Park in Vicksburg rivals Gettysburg in the number and quality of its monuments. Many of these monuments were paid for by the veterans, on both sides, who were proud of their service. 

A great hero at the Battle of Fredericksburg is honored for his "sublime compassion" in coming to the aid of wounded opponents.

Some of the most monumental achievements are a matter of persevering when the going gets tough. At Valley Forge, for example, the remains of Washington's army succeeded by surviving the winter of 1777-78 while freezing, starving, and ill equipped. 

Before he came to NW Ohio to fight at Fallen Timbers, Gen. Anthony Wayne was with Washington at Valley Forge.

Washington and his staff shared the farm house owned by Isaac Potts.

Others achieved immortality through foolishness and failure. George Custer led 263 troopers of the 7th Cavalry against several thousand Sioux and Cheyenne. Things did not work out well for them at Little Bighorn.

The tablet marks where he died; his body was interred at West Point.

In the family plot of poet and essayist Conrad Aiken is the double tombstone of his parents both of whom coincidentally died on the same day in 1901. The trauma of losing both contributed to the tortured nature of his soul. Perfectly understandable when you learn that his father killed his mother and then committed suicide. The Aikens rest in Bonaventure Cemetery, our favorite because of the sheer number of magnificent monuments and the natural setting among live oaks, camellias, and azaleas. Here is a sampler. There are more in the post for October, 2019,

There are always pennies on songwriter Johnny Mercer's tomb in recognition of his "Pennies from Heaven." The inscription, of course, is a more direct reference to another of his songs. But, wait, there's more.

Ginger's tomb bears a reference to another of his songs. 

Ernest Hemingway wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls while living rent free at the Sun Valley Lodge in Idaho. The free rent was part of a campaign to attract tourists by publicizing the celebrities who stayed there to ski in winter or fly fish in summer. The hallways are still lined with photos of stars such as Clark Gable, Errol Flynn, and Gary Cooper. (You may recall that Cooper starred in the film version of the novel.) Hemingway's grave is close to the lodge so he is still attracting tourists even though, or because, his suicide by shotgun was a rather messy affair. Pennies and flowers are common but he would probably appreciate the brown beverage in the Old Fashioned glass even more. 

Meriwether Lewis (yes, the explorer) is buried along the Natchez Trace where he died under mysterious circumstances. Murder? Suicide?

President Johnson is buried in the family cemetery at his ranch in Texas. Nothing fancy but, unlike Jefferson's monument, it does mention the office he held.

At the cathedral cemetery there is a monument "In Honor of the Original Settlers of Santa Fe Buried 

Here." That goes quite a ways back. Santa Fe was founded in 1610.

Next to Reid Falls in Skagway, Alaska is this monument erected to honor Frank H. Reid. The inscription says he "Died July 20, 1898 Aged 54 years He gave his life for the honor of Skagway."

Reid was killed in a shootout with notorious gangster and con man Jefferson (Soapy) Smith. But, wait, there's more. Soapy Smith himself was killed by Frank Reid in that same shootout. And what's with "the honor of Skagway"?

Soapy's monument doesn't tell the story but here's a condensed version. He was called Soapy because of his favorite con game. Smith would publicly insert paper currency, up to $100, beneath the wrappers of some bars of soap and then raffle off his stock. His accomplices would always "win" and loudly celebrate to motivate others to purchase. Before the Alaska Gold Rush, Soapy had worked the scam in Denver and used the ploy to corrupt politicians by guaranteeing that they would win. In Skagway, he had already bought the town marshal and several others when Frank Reid put an end to that, thus saving the "honor" of the town.