Council Bluffs bugle. [volume] (Council Bluffs, Iowa) 1860-1868, 1862-12-31

AGnK AfkkclS& UMucx VAC HS@A HuJ
sraisor'' and see II the very things that
70 have been oondamnipg, and for which
rou have howied "Traitor" ii "a, ara
lot admittsd and their pernioious in"
luense upon the Army aad the country,
,iesriy demonstrated BY one Of your own
party:
MILITARY MA4AupESs--TaR Evil Asp
snE RgKEDg.--A private letter to - from
! high niuded oalcaE in one OF the South
western armies has this statement: SIT
should tell you the stase OF dsmoraii-
zation Of many of our old regiments 10
the Valley Of the Mississippi, yoa weald
not believe it. They have DO respect for
man or woman, and are guilty Of ozan-
ces that, il committed at homes would
send them to the penitentiary fog life
Similar representations are made In 50
many other quarters that it Ii no longef |
possible to doubt that portions Of out |
army have become greatly demoralizedt
1t 10 not pleasant fact, but II il erimt
inal TO shut our eyes TO 1t. Every loyal
organ Of opinion in the land should
raise its voies against it, and demands itt
correction.
The wrong ia b!istsrtag SLAMS TO tbs
Gauss. Who cannot remember the MINI
gled amazemsnt, indignation and disgaSs
excited by Reaaregard'a proclamation tp
the Virginians before Bull Run2 he
dared to say Of our army "Ail rules Of
civilized warfare are abandoned, and
they proclaim by their acts, If not Oh
their banners, their war cry is Beauty and
Booty" 1t was q pitch of audaoious
falsahood that we could account for only
BIZ his desperation. We repealed II Is The
| most infamous Of libals. Ii was so.-+-
With respect TO the conduct Of several
regiments aow ia the service, it is so no
longer. So far a. he has aspaHded up
on lhsH, Besuregard 10 parged OF his
calumny. The blot be ia vain tried 10
afix upon our sacred cause they have es-
tabiished. The pQress cause that evtz
summoned to battle has, in the oonduri
Of thousands of so-ealled defenders, been
foully dishonored.
The wrong 10 q prods9otGs hiadranEs
TO the revival Of Union feeling. Tht
war has bean prosecuted with the exper.
tation that when their leaders we're BRO
den down and crushed out by force tht
Southern people, benefited by expaFi
anoe, would again turn to the old flag. =
all hope of this must disappear ii, b,
the practical conduct of our armies, W
show that it is not love of the Unions 1
genuine nationality Of feeling, that con
strained us TO strike These blows, bat th
shirst for piandsr and the luss Of dom ifn
alton. Nothing can be conceived bette
calculated, than such misconduct Of on
soldiers, to nerve The Southern people 6
, additional desperation against submls
sion, and to leave stings after submissip
which will Eankls for generations
The wrong is great detrfnssai to d.
cipliHs. Ii supeFindaees general laxlt
and license utterly incompatible Wis
/ those habits of subordination, withaC
4 which there can be no good soidieEsblI
This is peculiarly fatal 70 the America
soldier. He is BY birth and sdueatIo
incapable Of that passive, machine l4s
i compliance, which comes so natural
: strong rule from ths cradle. His obet
encs, IL il is what ID ought 70 be, spriag
quite as much from q moral force within
= as from military constraint without
J. Everything, therefore, which breaks do :
"a the moral force impairs his milital
worth. No maraRder-Ieast of all .
American ons-can make a good soldie
d Lastly, this wrong entails q terTfp
it sviI apoa Northern society. This gene
h al license must engFafs habits upon i
young men of the army which will ellI
- 10 thousands of them after their militia
II life Is ended, and pat them directly |
the road 10 the peHitentiary. Ii is 7
most dangerous thing ia the world
disregard, for even the shortest time, (
n any cause, ths distinction between sasal
E. and ieun. Its whole tendency is to oh
To and obscure all sense of such distinctib
and 10 make man despoiler withQ
reference to cause. From plundsring
OF rebel to pludsring anybody else, would
t. but step and it would hardly cost 3
o. more scruple to rob in peace than TO 4
in war. L. the army thus to be made
: school for fsll3ns, or hot-bsd for
u growth of disorder, violence and spoil
IT, ton Heaven forbid.
ID But who is responsible for this dangF
Of FTrss-The his h officers in our aFmif
l. Military law when rightly enforced, n4
- err fails to secure right conduct. IL is
On duty Of commanders to enforce that u
ut all costs. Death itself wol
in not be an unjustiiable penalty for tht
- offsuses, if nothing mildsE will stop tia
" When the sxasperated populaee of Par
We 10 the February revolution, burst into
siI Royal Palace, they ehalked upon the va
e. Mort aur UoleHFs-Death to shieTe ID
and persons taken in the act Of secretl
5" vaIuablss we're actually shos upon
spot. Have not our loyal people quite
~ good RICH to be jealous of the honor
their cause? And If the stern rema
10 was found effective there ia the very RI
in of frenzy, why should il not tell in
by cool management Of military LIEF
:. saw the effect of the timely severity
General Butler, in causing to be shot
as three soldiers guilty of pillage. FRI
ds that time the crime In bis jarisdicti
be ceased to exist and probably in no Pc
- cd during this last generation, has tn
been such security of life and prope
u in New Orleans as since that stern Visi
81 ton of military Law. Ii nothing ligh
h. will deter, we say, then, that death its
should be the penalty of these misdee
Military law arms our commanders w
'aa that power, and all power, for tho 81
lid preston Of these violations of il; Q
lat those of them who do not sffeetually
at the power are guilty before earth q
heaven.
Sscond-The Government at Rashil
." ton is responsible. 1t instigates plund
Oh Do You ask howP We say by withhold
he from the soldier bis just dues, the eli
EN- of which is to deprive him OF many
= the necessaries and comforts Of life, I
-, ,sss be seixes them by force from
flo neighboShood where he happens 10 be
of The Government disahles him from pi
te. ing; therefore he robs. This keeping