The star of the north. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1849-1866, 1861-10-30
Confederate Allies.

'@OHi SSOSNy3 MY OOoyf ~ PObO
in their behalf, and thus secure unlimited
supplies of slave holding gratitude and cot.
ton,their real allies are close at hand and very
formidable-nay, they have effected lodg
meni in the very camps the Union armies.
Their names are Drunkenness and Rapine !;
and they have done and are doing more
harm TO the Union canse than all its declar-
ed enemies from Fort Lafayette TO Matamo
ras. Those enemies are malignant and
crafty-they avoid fair and equal meeting
with the Unionists, but deal deadly blows
when by surprise and superior local knowl.
edge they catch US at disadvantage bu:
their ally Rum alaoays has us at a disadvan-
tase, for he knows our weak points by in
stinct, and glides by our pickels and senti-
nels like magician who has the power of
rendering himself Invisible at will.
Ic vain are General orders issued forbid
ding his approach; how can they be enfor-
as well as privates, and welcomed in The
colonel's marquee as we'll as the soldiers
bivouac4 Some days are inClement, tn en-
the soldier likes 10 fortify himself against
cold aud wet by insidous, treacherous Liq-
nor others are fine, calling for long march
es or fatiguing work in Telling trees or Dig
ging trenches, and the soldier wants to be
braced up with grog. If duty is severe, he
mus, drink if he can get 1t, and if he has a
pIayspell, how can he enjoy it without his
toddy. So the soldier drinks, and at best
squanders the pay that should be sent 10
his needy family, while he sometimes be-
comes maddened by liquor and acts like a
very demon. Let US give an example
A regiment on the Potomac was recently
ordered on a march of fifteen or twenty
miles. 1t made five or six miles the first af-
ternoon and encamped. Next morning a;
roll call, nearly hundred were missing =
No one knew what had become OF them
Anxious inquiry and search at length dis
covered them at low drinking house
mile or more from their camp, where they
had FIRST got drunk then QuaIreled, and pro
ceeded 10 outrages, whereof the net resul
was one nan killed several horses and hogs
either killed or so mulilated as TO be worth
less, &c. That regiment had TO be ordered
back, and another sent in lis stead, while
Uncle Sam has a bill of $500 to $1,000 To
pay FOR ruined properly, and has lost one it
not two soldiers. And his is fair speci-
men of RUNS doings in The army.
OF course, all do not so drink, nor hal, :,
nor perhaps quarter; but enough do TO e.
feet frightful amount of evil, and rende
the life OF good commander one of pain
fu anxiety and sorrow. Liquor has up TO
this hour, done the Union cause more harm
than any fifty regiments in the rebel army.
The twin ally of treason is Rapine, ,wheth-
er it take the form of plunder or that of wan.
ton destruction. The track OF an army IS
too apt to be marked by desolaton, but it
need not be by wicked waste and crime
We hear much of the devastation commit
ted by rebel forces on their march through
Missouri and Kentucky, and il is doubtless
all true. On the devastations commlted by
our own soldiers, our reports are generally
silent but this does not alter the facts. A
regiment or brigade halts for the night, and
at once tears up mile of valuable fenc es
to make its fires, though fuel is al hand Il at
is of little value. Often piepens and ont
houses are sacrificed 10 the flames; even
doors are wrenched from their hinges and
piled on 10 insure the coveted warmth W III
the least trouble. If house is deserted
-, Ill ha hr, bo cta has
Unionists-it is entered and stripped of all
tha, may contribute 10 the comfort OF the
bivouac or march and often wanton dam
age and ruin are added 10 spoilation. FL
nally, the premises look TOO bad TO leave as
a witness again ST the marauderS so so ne
bold, reckless villain applies the torch. and
next morning sees nothing but wreck of
chimney and heap OF blackened ruins 10 tell
that dwelling stood there but yesterday
Next night may witness kindred spectacle
farther on, aggravated, perhaps, by shame
full insults to women and ruffian abuse o
their protectors. And thus thousands who
were friendly 10 the Union cause. or at the
worst Indifferent, are rapidly transformed
into phrenzied, implacable enemies.
Personal ou,rages on the defenceless, we
rejoice TO believe. have been very rare on
either side, but they are not absolutely un-
known; while Rapine, prompted by In oxi
cation, is far too common Commar der
will not believe it; every thing is made ii
dy and fair seeming when the word is pass
ed that they are coming; but that matter
lius. Ride across the Potomac from Wash
ingion. and you will see The ruins OF good J
dwelllags-nany Of them those of stanncf
Unionisis--ihat were IN good preservation
when the rebels last left them few week
ago you will see farms stripped OF fence
and subjected to general devastation yo'