The Plymouth weekly Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1860-1869, 1861-08-29
How Republican member of Congress
Speaks of our Soldiers.

Speaks of our Soldiers.
The following is an extract of letter which
appeared in the Cleaveland Plaindealer. said to
have been written by Hon. Albert G. Riddle,
the Republican representative of the Nineteenth
District of Ohio, in the present Congress
swell, the further they (the soders) ran, the
more frightened they grew, and although we
moved on rapidly could, the fugitives
passed US by scores. The heat was awful. although
now about six the men were exhausted ; their
mouths gaped, their lips cracked and blackened
with the powder of the cartrd ges they had bitten
off in the battle; their eyes star ting in frenzy-no
mort Al ever saw such a mass of ghastly wretches.
As we passed the poor, demented, exhausted
wretchcs, who could not climb into the high close
baggage wagons, they made frantic efforts to get
on to and into our carriage. They grasped it
everywhere, and got to it, and into it, and over
it, and implored us in every way to take them on
We had to be rough with them. At first they
loaded us down almost to a stand It'll, and we had
to push them off and throw them out. Finally
Brown and |, with pistol each, kept them out
although one poor devil got in in spite of us, and
we lugged the coward two miles. [ finally opened
the door and he was tumbled out"
The cold, heartless, brutal tone of these re-
marks, show the auther of them to be totally q es
t;tute of all the better instincts of humanity. He
is furious advocate for " to the knife - so
long as he can ride in his carriage, and view the
carnage from a safe distance. But when the poor
victims of his party's crimes, after having risked
Oh Evo tbo daadl
under he combined pressure of hunger an, ia
tigue, and in the agony of dis?air they sought
moments rest aud fuge in his carriage, he speaks
of /" tumbling out =" the "demented, exhausted
wretches," as though they SO many dogs.
According to his own accout, these men had
fought desperately-their mouths were black with
the powder of their cartridges-their lips were
burnt and cracked with heat and thirst, and he
tells US that he kept the "poor devils off, by
aiming pistol at their heads. All, sir, if these
men, who were thus frenzed BY exhaustion, and
by the laundering din of ten hours of terrible battle
We're "poor DEVILS" what kind of" devils" are
you, who have brought them and country to
this dreadful pass g? The man who Can speak thus
of the brave men who are fighting his battles and
has such creature to call our soldiers towards -
BY his own account they were no more frightened
than he was, and he had had nothing of the ex-
haustion and danger to madden him which they
had endured. 1t appears that the Republican
Senators had prepared to have feast and jolli-
ficaton at point as near to the battle field as was
deemed safe for them to be- at the very hour when
our men were being slaughtered by hundreds in
their cause. But their spread table, champagne
ard all, fell into the hands of The Confederate
army, and these Senators escaped us they could,
back to Washington, some on foot some on mules,
and some disguised teamsters on baggage wag-
Ons. And after these men ran themselves, with
speed that never before heard Of in the histo-
~ OF pedestrian exploits, they turn round and de-
nounce our soldiers as cowards," "demented
wretches,'' and I" poor devils'' Now suppose
these insulted soldiers should say, "we fight 10
more until the men who have brought on this war
cold and eliminating abolition Congressman,
Albert G.. Riddle, come into the field himself in
stead of sitting in his carriage and sneerng at our
soldiers as poor devils" Let Wilson, Sumner,
w Wade and Tru"ibull enlist, and share the dangers
of the strife with the men they dare to denounce
as towards. Instead of preparing to drink cham
pagne while their victims are preparing for death,
let the public demand, let the soldiers demand that
these cowardly agitators shall march to face the
enemy" themseves.-N. Y. Day Book.