write:Thomas Hart Benton addressed the crowd. Hiscomments were brief but highly emotional. He praisedthe volunteers for fullling the “pious and sacred” dutyof returning Hardin’s â€

were placed on a bier
draped in black and edged with white lace.Thomas Hart Benton addressed the crowd. Hiscomments were brief but highly emotional. He praisedthe volunteers for fullling the “pious and sacred” dutyof returning Hardin’s “earthly remains” over threethousand miles
and
ignoring the fact that the rest ofthe Illinois dead remained in Mexico
he stated that thegraves of Americans “should not be trod by foreignfeet.” He conrmed that all of Washington
includingthe president himself
had been absorbed by “anxiety”over the fate of Taylor’s army before learning the“glorious news of a great and almost unparalleledvictory.” And he reected that both Illinois and Missourihad contributed more than their share of the dead atBuena Vista. Pointing to the con
he intoned
“Thebrave
lamented and beloved Hardin lies there!” Onbehalf of the state of Missouri
he oered thanks for theopportunity to pay tribute to the great hero of Illinois.On the “bloody and glorious eld of Buena Vista
”Benton assured them
the “Americancharacter … immortalized itself by valor.”16 It waslargely a political performance. Hardin’s remains didn’tneed to visit St. Louis. But their return provided anopportunity for a leading Democratic politician toglorify the cause of war. With the twelve-monthvolunteers returning from service
the army wasdesperately in need of new bodies. Recruiting posterspapered the walls of St. Louis that July. The courthouseremained in its mourning garb for two days to allow the“very many who have not yet seen it” an opportunity toexperience the “very solemn eect” and “highlyimpressive character” of the funeral rites. As for Hardin
his con was returned to the steamboat Deance
whichdelivered the colonel
his horse
and Benjamin toIllinois.17