Fremont journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County [Ohio]) 1853-1866, 1863-03-20
tFrom the ohio state Journai.l ]
To the Democracy of Ohio, who Prefer
theSafety yoftheRepublic OF TO the Triumph
OF 81 Party.


OF 81 Party.
NY Fn1ENps A few months prior TO the
election Of 1861, / addresseda letter to you
through the columns of the Ohio iSidtc1ndn ip
which | appealed TO you in behalf of your coun-
try, then Just involved in war with rebels ask
ing you to lay aside, for a Time at least, your
peculiar party predictions, and unite with eY-
cry Union-loving citizen to rescue the country |
from impending ruin. Many other true and
tried Democrats united with me in that appeal. |
was more than gratifed at the response which |
you gave. In every county, in every township, |
nay, in every school district throughout our
great State, you foeked TO the banner Of the
Union, and the cause which you supported tri- |
umphed by majority of more than fifty thou
sand votes. Now, when the danger is not less
than it was two years ago, now, when your aid |
and the aid of every patriot is imperatively de-
manded, in order TO roll back the tide Of rebcll-
ion and place the institutions of our country on
a sure and stable foundation, presume again
to address you.
You know me with thousands Of you have
spoken face to fare, can say honestly, have
never deceived you. have not, l cannot have
any interest separate or diverse from yours. !
beseech you to hear Inc patiently. You and !
acted in the beginning the contest, on the prin-
ciple that this war was commenced by the reb-
els of the South for the purpose OF overturning
this Government, under which welive. With
this conviction deeply impressed on our minds
we called on our friends our neighbors, our
brothers, to a to the field ofbatle, and, if nec-
essary lay down their lives in defense OF the
Government and the old flag, which is loved by
all but traitors If this war was true two years
ago, it is true now.your own hearts tells you IT
is truc--the voice ofyour brother in arms, speak
ing from the blood-stained field of Tennessee
tells you it is true The philosophers and the
statesman of the old world, who have looked on
~ a bau cold t,,i1v fhotI
TO every impartial observer "it is now evident
that the wrong lies wholly "wth the South.
(Letter of.M. Labourdage.) Your brothers in
the army of the Cumberland ask you in tones
which must reach the heart "what means this
wild, shameless party strife at home Why an
Opposition to this war Of preservation p
"Wherefore a foolish cry for a cessation of hos
"tlities on our part, to give time to the traitor
"rebels to strengthen their defences and disci-
"plne their armies 2 Why should the brave, |
"true men of the great army Of the United Statesl
"war- broken, toil-worn, and battle-stained, be
cleft without sympathy or aid from you men of
"Ohio, now enjoying the blessings ofpeace--on--
"ly because we, your brothers and sons; stand
'between yourlovcd homes and wars desola-
ton" (Address of the Ohio soldiers in Tennes-
see.) That voice you must not, you dare not
refuse to hear. 1t comes to you from the graves
of fthose whom you and / encouraged TO go to1
the field and lay down their lives to defend the
privileges which we enjoy here in our homes
It is the voice of blood lit is the appeal of the
souls of those whom we sent to die far from
home and friends that we might live in peace
and security. Will you, dare you, by your ac-
| tions raise a monument over their graves to tell
that they died in defense of Tic No nay
friends, you will not do it. This is no abolition
war-itis war to uphold the Government to
preserve the Union. Ifslavery falls, it falls by
| its own acts and its own sin--its fall is one Of
| I4l birh he W c nrogaeutpd
| Let us see how we stand. This war has con-
tinued for nearly two years; we have placed a
| mighty army in the field; we have covered our
rivers and sea-coast with strong vessels of war.
! We have hemmed the enemy,in on every side;
we have seized his seaports, and his fortified
/ towns on our rivers. The armies of the Union
occupy hundreds of his most important towns,
and the flag of the Union floats in every rebel
State.s On scores of battle fields the armies Of
the Union have been triumphant; and if some
times disasters have crossed our path, it is but
the, common fate of war. In all its turmoil and
military hustle, the material prosperity Of
the North has not been retarded for moment.
False teachers, for partizan purposes, have
preached to you of ruin; it is ruin of which they
1 have dreamed but which you have never felt.
Sorrow has visited many households, and hearts
are sad to-day for the loved ones who have fall
| en- in the conflict; but our homes are safe, and
our hearthstones are undesecrated; our temples
and our altars have not felt the polluting touch
I of hostile hands. To what do you owe this
safety and this protection You owe tito your
Government, which is able, even in the midst OF
this terrible rebellion to enfold you in its strong
embrace and cover you from the storm. Look
abroad over the land you the rebellion fore
Z ed daily into more Strengthening limits, while
YOU know that, with the single exception of Q
hasty raid in Pennsylvania, not a single State
which has proved itself wholly loyal has been
| \ L Fnat xl,a,. t1a,.
say, that you owe this to your Government
which, if it has not done every thing that we all
desired it to do, and Just in the way in which
we desired it should be done, has yet venture
to saw, without fear of contradiction conducted
this struggle more actively, more skillfuny, and
II more successfully than any nation ON earth, pla
| ced in similar circumstances, has ever conduc
ted war We have had enough and more thar
] enough Of carping and fault-fnding. The Gov
eminent has done well; done nobly; and chal
lenges to-day the admiration and applause of thu
civilized world. The kings Of the earth, whC
stood looking on our conflict with jealous eyes
ready to find fault with form of government
which they hate; anxious tospy out our weak
T, ness and our failures eager to step forward t
feast on our destruction, now stand aloof, strucl
with the evidences of our power and determp
J. ed seIf-support; the only danger which threat
/. ems us to to-day,-the only object which stand
in the way oftriumph and the crushing out o
d the rebellion, is want of harmony and unit,
among ourselves. For this purpose, to promot
this harmony, address, you to-day. For thi
| l ask YOU as citizens of Ohio, as Americans, a
patriots, to lay aside all party differences and un
ite as one man in the supportofyonr Government
Let me say to you as said the prophets of old
I"This is not vain thing, for it is your life.
is your life, and the life your friends and broth
ers, yourfamilies, your posterity. Woe be to hiu
whodoes not feel that his country is sacred, an
"a IL II MT fbo r