Carroll free press. [volume] (Carrollton [Ohio]) 1834-1861, 1846-06-26
OUR SOLDIERS HOW PAID.

The Wh1.r country is Of one voice and
one heart with n gard TO the Unsurpassed
ga,IdHuy dlsp.ay yea by or little amy IN the
ate battles o. The Rio Glaude. That a
ioIce OF lul 600 men, not une-lhIrd of
whom had ever Jetore been in d regular ell.
/ -agrmenl, or stood twenty minutes under
/ nre, should attack an army OF fully 5000.
/ nearly all OF whom Lad doubtless seen ser-
/ wee, strongly po,ud d, immensely superior
/ ~ cavalry, 80 effective on such level, open
. battlefield a. llonted the Mexican posi-
lions, aud vdaqush them completely, cap-
turing their artillery hy dragOon charge,
/ dispensing their Infantry with the bayonet.
aud taxing their best General a prisoner
these are achievements which, in gallan-
/ Try have rarely been equdlled, aud never
surpassed. Ii is not Jy the numbers enga-
grd, nor Uy The immediate fruits, that the
importance OF baule is to Us mea-ured;
vlc,ory gained on such ground and in such
d cause IL valuable mainly tor the lnlpres
/ sion Il will have on nstIOns-iOr its intlu-
/ rhce IN preserving our own soil from the
/ tread Of invading hosts. And IN this view
/ tuese victories are indeed OF ineslmabIa
worth It Ghey do not inIoXcate and carry
away our own people. a. well as impress
o.htr nations. We think no veteran will
rank lheu Ue.ow the defence OF attsLurg,
OF New Orleans, OF any o! The brilliant a.
chlevements Z. our arms in the last war.
What nation will care 10 invade our soil
when made aware that it is defended by
ole million men OF the same material and
capable OF being made by discipline such
soldiers as the TWO thousand commanded
10y General Taylor!
but this is not The point to which We
could call attention. We were thinking
rather Of the insulting pItauce our nation
pays these gallant men Tor their tolls, priva-
tOns, pearls, and blood. Sir or seVeH doi-
tars mouth is their stipend, with coarse
food, often deficient in quantity, the cano-
py OF heaven 10 sleep under, and often
noLe but Shiny, putrd swamp water TO
drink lor days together, and sometimes
none of this tor hot, rapid MAJ ch OF hours.
Such is the reward OF those who bleed in
our service; and our eight-doIIaIS-a-duy
gentry talk OF insulting them with a cote Of
hGaks! Cheap gratitude this, but IL viii
not stop JuIlel-hoIes, nor aIlay the pang, of
famine, The agones OF lhi.st. We insist
thal Congress should begin by being lust
before it assumes to be generous. The ar
my pay may be well enough for time of
peace, when the danger is nothing and the
duty light, but it ought not 10 he endured
moment in time OF war. A dollar day
would he IutIe enough, Tut twenty dollars
Il month, with quarter section OF public
land, and right 10 an honorable discharge
from the service the moment peace is es-
laLIished, is the very least compensation
should be tolerated. Will not some one in
Congress speak out for the brave soldier!
His may be ever so bad trade, hut the ma
ZION which hires him for, and trains him 10
it, cannot plead that in bar Of his claim to
a Just recompense; ana whatever there is
wrong in this war, or in any war ourGov.
ernment may wage, is the nations blame,
not his. War is expensive and ruinous,
hut The poor soldier had no hand in making
it. and ought not to bear ninety-nine hum
dredlhs OF its burthens and endure its hor-
rors unrecompensed. Let him lie fairly
paid, not in windy cheers and laudations.
but in that which will contribute TO his
comfort, and the sustenance Of his family.
We wish Congress would at once vote
quarter section Of public land aud a hand
some gratuily in money to every soldier
who has been sent across the Nueces, and
the like 10 the widow or nearest relative of
earh ore who has lost his life in the SER
vice Would this lie more than meagre
justicel-New York Tribune.
SILAs WRIGHT. We find the following
in letter from Albany, published in The
New York Tribune:
Governor Wright said to me. sometime
since, in { conversation that was not in.
t1nded IN ha confidential ~, |