Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1862-01-02
SPEECH OF SENATOR FOOT.

Col. Plat officers and soldiers of the
First Vermont Cavalry Regiment Il beg
you to accept the assurance Of my CRATE
ful appreciation of the personal and fiat
tering compliment of this salutation, and
of the opportunity afforded to me of adj
dressing afew remarks to you, which, al
though they will be brief, / trust they will
not be inappropriate to the occasion or to
the sacredness of this sabbath day; and
which, perhaps, may be accepted as intro
ductory to the more appropriate discourse
with which | am to be followed by your
worthy and excellent chaplain. First OF
all, let me say, | am happy to greet your
presence here to day, at the national me-
tropolis, in so remarkably'fin order and
condition after the fatigues and privations
of a long journey. l beg you also to ac-
cept the proffer of my congratulations on
the uncommon facility and success with
which this Regiment-and such Regi-
ment-has been raised and organized in
our State. l may be permitted to con-
graduate you also, on the fact, which [
am gratified to be able to state here on
this occasion and in this presence, that
this Regiment of Vermont men and of
Vermont horses, was raised and organic
ed, and with the execution of arms which
were to be furnished by the government
was fully equipped and ready for orders
and ready for action too, within the brief
space of forty days from the date of your
ColonePs commission.
remember well, 40 you, Col ,.,Iatt,
doubtless remember well, that in the early
days of September last the promise was
made to the Secretary of War, that, if
authority were given you to raise Regi-
ment of, Cavalry in Vermont, you would
be able, in very short time, to present to
him as good, if not a better Regiment,
both in respect to the character of the men
and the quality of the horses, than would
be brought into the field from any other
section of the country. That promise
was nothing less and nothing more than
my own pledge of confidence in the abili-
it, end the willingness of my State,
promptly to meet the call. I rejoice in
the privilege of being able now to say
and my own eyes are at once my witness
and my authority for saying i'll rejoice
in the privilege of being able now to say,
that that pledge has been fully redeemed.
Officers and soldiers at the call of
your country you have come forth from
your quiet homes and from your peaceful
domestic avocations, and have just enter
ed upon a mission the most important, the
most solemn and responsible, to which
men can be called-a mission no less i'm
portant, no less solemn and responsible
than the defence, the protection and the
preservation of your government and |
your country, against gigantic rebellion
"a rebellion formed and existing without |
cause and without rovocation-against a
conspiracy the most monstrous and the
most wicked in the annals of the worlds
history--a conspiracy whose object and
whose aim is nothing less than at the very
life of your government-whose object
and whose aim is nothing less than the
overthrow and final destruction of the
best, the noblest, the most liberal and the
most benefcent government on which the
sun shines.
Such, my fellow men, is the great mis-
sion upon which you have now entered
Such is the great mission upon the success
If which, like your fathers of the regola-
ion, you have staked ''your lives, your
ortunes and your sacred honors. y To
you and to your compatriots in arms it be-
ongs to decide this momentous issue by
he "wager of battle" No other alterna-
i've is now left to us. Shall we be per-
nitted, for one moment, to donbt what
hat issue will be? | return the answer,
10, never! Shall we be allowed, for one
moment, to entertain the fear, that this
'ebellion, so infamous and so foul, will f.
lally prevail? [ answer back, no, never!
Shall this government of ours, SO benig-
liant and hitherto so favored and so blessed,
oe successfully defed, broken down and
rodden under foot of bastard and rebel
raitors? Shall this last experiment and
his last hope of free government be blot
ed out forever by vile and hell-boin
against the highest temporal
interest of mankind? | answer back in
he responsive and indignant voice Of
wenty millions of loyal American free
men, no, never; no, never / assume to
ay emphatically, as an American citizen
md an American Senator, that this ur
loly conspiracy must be put down, at al
events and at all hazards. | say emphat-
cally, that this Union and this govern
nent of ours must be upheld and SUSTAIN
ed, cost what it may of treasure OF of lifeE
Though this land of ours shall be bap
lied in the blood of nations ee.bornl
sons and daughters; yea, though this land
Of ours shall be wrapped in consuming
Ere, this unholy rebellion shall be sup |
pressed, and the authority and integrityl
of this government shall be maintained,
In saying this am but speaking the will
and the purpose and the power of the
rue and loyal people of these American
States.
n