Sepulchral monuments

Cartoon depicting the grim reaper at a gravestone for soldiers from the Spanish-American War. At the bottom it reads, “Shall this monument be erected to political incompetence and corruption?”

comments and context

Comments and Context

More American soldiers died from tropical fevers and diseases while waiting in Cuba to return to the United States (generally, due to bureaucratic incompetence), and the so-called “embalmed beef” scandal–rancid provisions–than from combat. Publisher William Randolph Hearst and his cartoonist Homer Davenport were avid proponents of the war, but largely anti-McKinley, and attacked the Republican administration at every chance.

President Roosevelt giving an oration before the statue of his predecessor

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1907-12-19

Map of the Oyster Bay area noting the locations of Sagamore Hill, Theodore Roosevelt’s grave, and the Roosevelt Bird Sanctuary.

Collection

Dickinson State University

Creation Date

Unknown

Caption reads “Grave of Theodore Roosevelt who Died at Sagamore Hill, January 6, 1919, At the Age of Sixty.”

Collection

Dickinson State University

Creation Date

Unknown

Historian Chester L. Brooks thought that Ray W. Lingk would be interested to know that General Alfred Sully’s expedition map has “graves” marked on Sentinel Butte.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Creation Date

1953-05-05

Ray W. Lingk is continuing his research on the Sentinel Butte graves and is attempting to locate old maps with military trails.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Creation Date

1953-05-10

Historian Chester L. Brooks has limited information on the Sentinel Butte graves and directs Ray W. Lingk to the National Archives where a map of the 1864 Sully Expedition can be acquired.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Creation Date

1953-05-26

After looking over the maps suggested by Historian Chester L. Brooks, Ray W. Lingk believes that the battle was fought at Square Butte and that the Sully Expedition traveled south of Flat Top Butte and north of Sentinel Butte.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Creation Date

1953-07-06

Ray W. Lingk provides an update on his Sully Trail research and appreciates the honor of having a butte named after him.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Creation Date

1953-11-20

President Roosevelt asks if General Duke is interested in the position of commissioner to mark Confederate graves, as Colonel William Elliot has passed away.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-12-07

President Roosevelt thanks William Gibbons Preston for the letter and he will show the gravestone photo to Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-12-26

A. B. Spencer is editing a story of life among the Boers in which a character dies. An accompanying note instructs that a fitting headstone inscription be added. She asks Theodore Roosevelt for information on what would be a suitable inscription.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-11-01

Senator Bradley plans to introduce a bill for a monument honoring General George Rogers Clark and asks for help passing it. Due to his interest in Clark, Bradley named Theodore Roosevelt as a commissioner of the bill.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-04-15

Joseph Smith writes to President Roosevelt soliciting a contribution to help friends of the late James Jeffrey Roche place a memorial over his grave site, which currently sits unmarked.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-12-08

This edition of “News and Notes” opens with an obituary for Kermit Roosevelt, grandson of Theodore Roosevelt. The obituary highlights Kermit Roosevelt’s many years of service with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), in particular his role in the overthrow of the government of Iran in 1953. The section includes a two page advertisement from the state of New York promoting visits to the state to commemorate the centennial of Theodore Roosevelt’s governorship of New York. “News and Notes” also highlights efforts by the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) to promote estate planning by its members; it lists four books recently reviewed in the TRA Journal; and it notes that the TRA recently was awarded two grants to promote conservation and to update a guide to Sagamore Hill National Historic Site. 

Two photographs, one of Kermit Roosevelt with two of his sons and one of Sarah Alden Derby Gannett, appear in the section. 

Boy Scouts and others march in a procession honoring the memory of Theodore Roosevelt. Boy Scout Founder Daniel Carter Beard and others lay wreaths at the gravesite, and a Boy Scout blows a bugle as others listen with their hats held over their hearts. A close-up shot shows the inscription on the headstone.

Collection

Sherman Grinberg Film Collection

Creation Date

1929

Daniel Carter Beard, founder of the Sons of Daniel Boone and Boy Scout leader, leads the annual Boy Scout memorial ceremony at the gravesite of Theodore Roosevelt. He is surrounded by Boy Scouts, some dressed as Native Americans. A bugler blows while standing in front of the headstone.

Collection

Sherman Grinberg Film Collection

Creation Date

1931-10-24

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1922

Creator(s)

Unknown

Period

Theodore Roosevelt and Public Memory (1919-present)

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1919-1931

Creator(s)

Unknown

Period

Theodore Roosevelt and Public Memory (1919-present)

Photograph showing Theodore Roosevelt’s headstone.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1921-06-09