The Sun.
London, England, 1866-02-28 00:00:00

THE PEOPLE OF AMERICA.

When it came home to the consciousness of the Ameri-
cans that the war which they were waging was a war
for the liberty of all the nations of the world—for free-
dom itself—they thanked God for the severity of the
trial to which He put their sincerity, and nerved them-
selves for their duty with an inexorable will. The
President was led along by the greatness of their self-
sacrificing example ; and as a child, in a dark night on
a rugged way, catches hold of the hand of its father
for guidance and support, he clung fast to the hand of the
people, and moved calmly through the gloom. While the
statesmanship of Europo was scoffing at the hopeless
vanity of their efforts, they put forth such miracles of
energy as the history of the world had never known. The
navy of the United States, drawing into the public service
the willing militia of the seas, doubled its tonnage in eight
months, and established an actual blockade from Cape
Hatteras to the Rio Grande. In the course of the war it
was increased fivefold in men and in tonnage, while the
inventive genius of the country devised more effective
kinds of ordnance and new forms of naval architecture in
wood and iron. There went into the field, for various
terms of service, about 2,000,000 men ; and in March last
the men in the service exceeded a million ; that is to say,
one of every two able-bodied men took some part in the
war ; and at one time every fourth able-bodied man was
in the field. In one single month one hundred and sixty-
five thousand were recruited into service. Once, within
four weeks, Ohio organised and placed in the field forty-
two regiments of infantry—nearly thirty-six thousand
men ; and Ohio was like other States in the East and in
the West. The well-mounted cavalry numbered eighty-
four thousand ; of horses there were bought, first and last,
two-thirds of a million. In the movements of troops
science came in aid of patriotism, so that, to choose a single
instance out of many, an army twenty-three thousand
strong, with its artillery, trains, baggage, and animal;
were moved by train from the Potomac to the Tennessee,
twelve hundred miles, in seven days. In the long marches,
wonders of military construction bridged the rivers; and
whenever an army halted ample supplies awaited them at
their ever-changing base. The vile thought that life is
the greatest of blessings did not rise up. In six hundred
and twenty-five battles and severe skirmishes blood flowed
like water. It streamed over the grassy plains ; it stained
the rocks ; the under-growth of the forests was red with
it ; and the armies marched on with majestic courage from
one conflict to another, knowing that they were fighting I
for
God and liberty. The organisation of the Medical De- 1
surgeosnsanodf
pacatrtumesent mot its infinitely multiplied duties with ex- i
aid
oofurthceitieg
despatch. At the news of a battle, the best I
sr
greatest experience
toef theenc
and field, tosk
skillthe. The
he
zealous •
o
gentlest and most refineds
poi ft
a l wt
tent the
t thheomannes
feosf
luxury and ease to build hospital ,
and serve as nurses to the
sick and dying. Besides the 1
large supply of religious teachers by
the public, the con- I
gregations spared to their brothers
in
ministers. The Christian Commissionthe field the ablest
five and a half millions, sent four thousand
h clergymen
expended
chosen out of the best, to keep unsoiled the
religious cha-
racter of the men, and made gifts of clothes and food and
medicine. The organisation of private charity assumed
unheard-of dimensions. The Sanitary Commission,which
had seven thousand societies, distributed, under the direc-
tion of an unpaid board, spontaneous contributions to the
amount of fifteen millions, in supplies or money—a million
and a half in money from California alone and
dotted
the scene of war from Paducah to Port Royal, from Bello