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The Monroe Obsequies

About This Item

  • Title: The Monroe Obsequies
  • Date: 3 July 1858
  • Creator(s): Walt Whitman
  • Whitman Archive ID: per.01270
  • Source: Brooklyn Daily Times, 3 July 1858: 2. Our transcription is based on a digital image of a microfilm scan of the original issue. Microfilm of original issue held at Pennsylvania State University Libraries. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the journalism, see our statement of editorial policy.
  • Editorial note: This piece is unsigned, as was the case for most of Whitman's journalism. However, this editorial is part of a series of texts that deal with a coherent theme that has been identified by the Whitman Archive journalism team as likely authored by Whitman. This decision is based on a combination of historical and (auto)biographical accounts, similarity to contemporary Whitman writings, a history of scholarly attribution, extant clippings retained by Whitman, computational stylometric analysis, and, in some cases, manuscript evidence in Whitman’s hand.
  • Contributors to digital file: Kaylen Michaelis Brandi Faulkner Stefan Schöberlein Karie Cobb
  • Cite this page: Whitman, Walt. "The Monroe Obsequies." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 16 July 2024. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: per.01270.xml (TEI)
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THE MONROE OBSEQUIES.—

Yesterday Virginia did tardy justice to one of her most illustrious sons. The procession and ceremonies are noticed by some of the New York papers with a great flourish of trumpets, but we cannot avoid thinking that the affair fell far short of a proper memorial to the virtues of one “in the presence of whose relics, GAP to use the language of a contemporary, “we should stand uncovered and respectful.” The pageant was a very meagre one, falling short of what was expected. Comparatively few of our citizen soldiery were out. If the occasion had been an ovation to James Buchanan instead of a demonstration of respect for departed worth, there would have been an immense turn-out. As it was, however, the demonstrations was little else than a failure.

In the procession we noticed, GAP Duryea and Col. Abel Smith of this city; also Mr. William M. Harris, of the Board of Education, and Alonso H. Gale, Esq.

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