The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1861-08-03


listed mercenaries; they are volunteers, aud
yet bear all the hardships and pcrils that fall
to tho lot OF mcrcenary privatcs, and like them,
thrown in the front ground in peril, and thrown
in the back ground in the distribution of glo-
~. 1t is necessarily SO, for glory, so widely
d'fuscd, bears to each man no distinguish
ing mark, though each has been a hero wor-
thy :" all Greek and Roman fame" And it is
because, knowing that they would have the
lions share Of danger and that tho monopoly
Of the renown must, and perhaps cush, to, fall
to the more prominent figures in the canvass,
10 the military leaders, they IRISH MT only
with Willingness hut enthusiasm to the ranks,
th.t &c h~~er AMI admire the volunteer pri-
vsts soldiers of the South above all other men
and classes Of men in this Nineteenth Century.
We honor and respect, as all men ought,
the great military chieftains. and all the
subordinate officers who are qualified f"r Their
positions, bat Yet we look upon the private
volunteer soldiers with a reverence that we
feel for no ofhciai rink. Their being where
they are shows as just what they are. Their
position saves us the trouble of analyzing
their motives they are honest as they are
orave,-they are men-genuinc men, the true
metal, pure gold. They are no political aspi-
rants, no military preten ders, no "iuss and
feathers" humbugs but patriots and heroes, to
whom you may take of your hat, and do HON
age to sincerity and manliuess in the most
perfect com oinalion and unquestionable shape.
With tew exceptions, of worthless and reck
less adventurers-sO few that they only es-
tabish the general rule-thc volunteer mi
Yates of tho Southern States 49, the very
flower Of tho whole land, In all that consti-
tutes charsetre, girtue and social position, the
great hody OF these men, carrying muskets Oh
their shoulders, sleeping often on the bar.
ground, aud eating checrfully the coarsest
TODD, are equal In every respect to the highest
officers by whom they are led to battle. Yet
for that very reason, no symptom Of discon-
tent, no spirlk of INSTRUMENTATION, is ever man
itest in their ranks. Implicit obedience to or
ders, which it Was thought would be difficult
thing to enforce among high-spirited South
erners, has become distinguishing charac-
terstlc OF the Southern camp, willis, the very
opposite prevails among the Northern soldiers,
whose frequent rows and breaches of dis
ciphne ND tiers Of constant newspaper no.
toriety. The reason of the difference is that
the Southern Army, the rank and file, is mostly
made up Of gentlemen, who have taken up
arms from the purest sentiments of patriot
ISL ySh n uhntf IN ha RI Il cci
pine on account Of the cause, and whose ha-
Ditual self respect preclndcs the very existence
of spirit Of envy and INSTRUMENTATION to-
wards official supcriors.
We do not speak the language of exaggera
ton when We say that such an army as the
South has now in the field the world never
saw before. Europe has had larger armies,
made up, however, of mercenaries, of the very
dregs Of the earth, but never any country, il
ancient or modern times, an army comprising
the very cream Of the intellige nee, virtue and
honor Of the land. Drawer men neither
Gfceoe nor Rome ever produced; the Old
Guard of NAPOLEON and the Zouaves of the
present Emperor, never achieved greater pro-
digics Of vaIor; but who would compare the one
or the other, in individual dignity Of character,
with the private soldiers of the Sout hern
Army; Their valor, however, is sur
passed by their fortitude and patience,
exercised in the endurance of privations
and hardShips far more trying to such
spirits than the ordeal of tne battle field II
is a mystery to Us how youths, tenderly nur-
tured, and many Of them not come to mans
the comforts of competency, but the Injuries
of wealth, exchange all this for the corn-cakes
and fried bacon Of the camp, cooking it them
selves, and IN the most perfect ignorance of how
to cook 1t properly sleeping often on the bare
ground, exposed to all the vicissi.udes of
weather, and enduring personal privations.
wants, and hardships which the most Of their
slaves have never suffered and all this without
a murmur or complaint; all this for tho cause,
and without the faintest hope of that renown
and fame officers may hope for, but which, in
the nature Of things must be greatly weaken
ed by diffusion through large mass. gen
tleman, who has seen many Of our wounded
soldiers, informs US that he has not met one
who complained Of his wounds, and it ia diff
cult to find one who complains of his coarse
fare and hard life. Did the world ever see
such men before! 1t is an honor to live in
the same age with such lofty, disinterested
spirits. Surely such men will be blessed of
Heaven, and their cause and all they hold
dear be under its special care.