It was early in the evening when the train left Jersey City. At almost every station that it passed vast throngs assembled and bands of music played solemn dirges. It was midnight when it reached Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, yet a multitude stood in the darkness in the open air to do it honor. In the morning it passed through Pittsburg in the midst of a heavy rain storm. Later in the day the sky was clear and the sun shone brilliantly. At Steubenville, Ohio, seventy-five veterans of the army stood on the platform as the train went by, nearly all of them old comrades of Sherman. At Columbus, Ohio, the train paused for a few minutes while Grand Army veterans were allowed to gaze upon the casket. At Indianapolis another stop was made while many distinguished people paid their tribute of honor to the mighty dead.
It was Saturday morning when the train reached St. Louis. For several days the weather there had been stormy, but this morning the skies were clear and the sunshine bright. Thousands of people thronged about the station, waiting there for hours before the arrival of the train. At last, at a little before nine o'clock, the funeral cars slowly rolled into the station, the engine bell solemnly tolling.
Elaborate preparations had been made at St. Louis for a military funeral befitting the great soldier whose dust was to be returned to the dust from which it came. Two hours after the arrival of the train the procession was formed, under the lead of General Wesley Merritt, and it solemnly wound its way through the city which for many years was Sherman's favorite home, to Calvary Cemetery. The first division consisted of detachments of the Regular Army, escorting the casket, which was borne on a caisson drawn by four black horses and covered with the stars and stripes. Ransom Post, No. 131, Department of Missouri, G. A. R., acted as the immediate guard of honor. Following closely were the members of the President's Cabinet and the committees from the two houses of Congress. The second division was made up of the Loyal Legion and the Society of the Army of the Tennessee. In it were ex-President Hayes, Judge Gresham and General Lew Wallace. The third division was composed of Posts of the Grand Army of the Republic and Sons of Veterans. In the fourth division were militia regiments from various States and many civil officials. Civic societies made up the fifth division, and various city delegations and the general public the sixth and last division.
As the long procession wound its way up the slope to Calvary Cemetery it presented a view of solemn but inspiring splendor. The arms of the troops flashed in the sun-light, a multitude of flags fluttered on the breeze, and the subdued strains of funeral music made the air tremulous.
At last, six miles from the railroad station, the plot was reached where were the graves of the wife and two children of the departed hero. The flag covered casket was borne upon the shoulders of eight sturdy soldiers to the open grave. Then came the command, "Present Arms!" And every soldier stood motionless as a graven statue. Then the Rev. Thomas E. Sherman, clad in slight vestments, stepped forward and began the service for the dead over his father's dust, standing, as he did so, in the shadow of his mother's monument. He repeated the words of the Litany, translating prayer and scripture into English, in a clear, manly voice, and offered a touching extemporaneous prayer. After the last solemn words a company of troops stepped forward. Three times were given the commands, "Load!" "Ready!" "Aim!" "Fire!" and three times the rifles spoke their loud farewell salute. Then the artillery posted near by thundered forth their echoing responses. When the last reverberations died away a solitary trumpeter stepped forward to the foot of the soldier's grave and sounded "Taps."
Thus ended the last impressive scene.
In his life Sherman had left with his friends full instructions concerning his funeral, his grave and his monument. He directed that the only inscription above his dust should be his name, his rank, the date of his birth, the date of his death, and the simple words, "True and Honest." A fitting epitaph for one who was truly, as was written of another great soldier, "In his simplicity sublime."