NOT
since the death of General Grant has any military leader departed
this life whose going has caused deeper and more widespread sorrow
among the American people than that of General Henry W. Lawton,
killed by insurgent bullets at San Mateo, in the Philippines. Though
comparatively little known at the outbreak of the
Spanish-American
war, General Lawton's conduct at El Caney and Santiago, and
subsequently in the long and arduous campaign in the Philippines,
won for him a foremost place among the great soldiers of the
republic. The affection and esteem in which he was held by his
comrades-in-arms, as well as by the people at large, received
striking and abundant attestation in the funeral ceremonies at
Manila and afterward at San Francisco, Chicago, and other points on
the long and sad journey to his last resting-place at Washington.
The
last rites over the fallen hero at the national capital, on Friday,
February 9th, brought these farewell events to a fitting close. The
ceremonies were attended with every circumstance that could mark the
genuine grief of the nation and the love of the people in whose
service General Lawton had laid down his life. The funeral
procession was the longest, it is said, ever seen in the streets of
Washington.
The
Church of the Covenant, where the funeral services were held,
presented a beautiful and impressive scene. On the lid of the casket
and heaped high above it were floral offerings from General Lawton's
associates and subordinates in the army, from the President and
members of his Cabinet, and from many citizens. Over the casket also
hung the white flag of the Eighth Corps, which he commanded, draped
with crape. The pulpit and the walls beyond were hidden by masses of
palms and green vines. American flags hung from the ceiling to the
four pillars in the
body of the auditorium, draped with long strips
of crape. The auditorium itself was filled with distinguished
representatives of every department of the government, including the
President and his Cabinet, Admiral Dewey, General Miles, and many
others. Dr. M. Woolsey Stryker, president of Hamilton College,
pronounced the funeral oration.
The
procession to the cemetery at Arlington was witnessed by enormous
multitudes at every point along the way. A wonderful feature of the
parade was General Lawton's horse, shrouded in black, bearing the
general's saddle, with the boots of the dead officer, crossed and
reversed in the stirrups. Following in carriages were Mrs. Lawton
with her fourteen-year-old boy, Manley, who had been with his father
in several engagements in the Philippines, and other children and
members of the Lawton family. One of the chief mourners was
Lieu-tenant E. L. D. Breckinridge, who was wounded at San Mateo just
before General Lawton was killed, and was borne to the rear by the
general and some others.
The place of burial at Arlington was in the eastern
section of the cemetery, south of the Arlington mansion and directly
opposite the picturesque amphitheatre constructed by General Meade
for the purpose of holding memorial services on Memorial Day. A
short distance away is the plot laid out for the officers and
soldiers killed in the war with Spain.
