“Our Association proposes to preserve a record, and, as far as possible, mark the spot where every Confederate soldier is buried in this vicinity, whether he fell on these memorable fields or otherwise died in the service. To the bereaved throughout our suffering South we pledge ourselves to spare no exertion to accomplish this work.
“In a land stripped of enclosures and forests, desolated and impoverished as ours, we cannot, without aid, guard these graves from exposure and possible desecration; we can only cover them with our native soil. And, with pious care, garland them with the wild flowers from the fields. But, with the generous aid and cordial coöperation of those who have suffered less, but who feel as deeply as we do on this subject, we confidently hope to accomplish far more—to purchase and adorn a cemetery, to remove thither the sacred dust scattered all over this region, and to erect some enduring tribute to the memory of our gallant dead.
“Shall that noble army of martyrs, who, for years of toil and suffering, bore, in triumph, the ‘Conquered Banner’ from Chattanooga to Gettysburg, sleep on the fields of their fame unnoticed and unknown? Shall their names pass from the knowledge of the living to be treasured only in the mind of Him ‘to whom the memory of the just is precious?’
“What spot so appropriate for the last resting place of these heroes, as some commanding eminence overlooking the memorable plain of Fredericksburg? And what nobler work for the hearts and hands of Southern women, than upon its summit to rear a monument to the unrecorded Confederate dead, which, through all time shall testify to the gratitude of the people for whom they so gloriously died? As no State, and scarcely a town or county throughout the limits of the late Confederacy, is unrepresented on these battle-fields, may we not hope that the coöperation required in order to accomplish our holy work will be as universal?
“An act of the Legislature of Virginia will be obtained, incorporating our Association, so that the property may be held perpetually dedicated to its sacred uses. We solicit such contributions as the appreciative sympathy of friends in all parts of our country, and of the world, will extend us. As soon as sufficient means are obtained our Association will proceed to purchase and improve grounds appropriate for a cemetery, and remove thither the remains of the honored dead.
“Our Association, although its organization is but recent, has been enabled to rescue from oblivion the names and places of burial of many of the noble dead, who fell upon the fields of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, the Wilderness, and all the objects of the Association will be pressed as rapidly forward as the requisite means are procured. All auxiliary societies, which may be formed, are requested to correspond with our Association; and, should they desire their contributions to be specially appropriated to the graves of any individuals, or of any particular State or section, the trust will be sacredly discharged.
Mrs. John H. Wallace, President.
Miss Ann J. Carter, Corresponding Secretary.
President—Mrs. John H. Wallace.
Vice-Presidents—Mrs. J. H. Lacy, Mrs. Jane Ficklin, Mrs. James W. Ford, Mrs. A. F. T. Fitzhugh, Mrs. Fannie S. White.
Board of Directors—Miss Mary G. Browne, Miss S. Freaner, Mrs. W. K. Howard,[64] Mrs. S. J. Jarvis, Mrs. E. A. Fitzgerald, Mrs. L. J. Huffman, Mrs. J. H. Bradley, Mrs. Magruder Maury, Mrs. Joseph Alsop, Mrs. Monroe Kelly, Miss Ellen P. Chew, Miss Lizzie Braxton.