SPEAKER THOMAS B. REED.
Resigned as Speaker in 1899.
To the widow of General Grant was given the right to select the spot for the last resting-place of his remains, she to repose after death beside her husband. She decided upon Riverside. It then became the privilege of his friends to provide a suitable tomb for the illustrious soldier. The funds needed, amounting to nearly half a million dollars, were raised by subscription, ground was broken on the anniversary of Grant's birthday, April 27, 1891, and a year later the corner-stone was laid by President Harrison.
The tomb of General Grant, standing on the banks of the Hudson, is an imposing structure, square in shape, ninety feet on each side, and of the Grecian-Doric order. The entrance on the south side is guarded by a portico in double lines of columns, approached by steps seventy feet in width. The tomb is surmounted at a height of seventy-two feet with a cornice and parapet, above which is a circular cupola, seventy feet in diameter, terminating in a top the shape of a pyramid, which is 280 feet above the river.
The interior of the structure is of cruciform form, seventy-six feet at its greatest length, the piers of masonry at the corners being connected by arches which form recesses. The arches are fifty feet in height, and are surmounted by an open circular gallery, capped with a panneled dome, 105 feet above the floor. Scenes in General Grant's career are depicted with sculpture on the plane and relieved surfaces in alto rilievo. The granite of the structure is light in color, and the sarcophagus of brilliant reddish porphyry. The crypt rests directly under the centre of the dome, stairways connecting with the passage surrounding the sarcophagus, where the remains of the widow of General Grant are eventually to repose.
TOMB OF U.S. GRANT, NEW YORK.
The ceremonies attending the removal of the remains on April 27, 1897, included three impressive displays, the ceremony at the tomb, the parade of the army—the National Guard and civic bodies—and the review of the navy and merchant marine on the Hudson. Those who gathered to take part in the final tribute to the great soldier included the President, Vice-President of the United States, the Cabinet, many State governors, prominent American citizens, and representatives of foreign nations. From 129th Street to the Battery, and from Whitehall up East River to the Bridge, thousands of American and foreign flags were displayed, while the parade of men on foot included 60,000 persons.
Bishop Newman opened the exercises with prayer, and President McKinley made one of the finest speeches of his life, the opening words of which were: