The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1863-12-11
From the Grand RaPids Eagis.i
Mechanics fsna the War.


The Northern people have been denomi
mated by the rebels in contsmP ious terme.
as "a nation of greassy mechanics" As TO
the grease" and dirt. ID is well known that
the Southerners are the most slovenly and
dirty race in the enlightened world. We
ARE nation OF mechanics; aud. by this
sign We will conquer. We are the people
who delight in Inventions. who invent aud
manufacture. Parrots guns. monster ships.
the best rifles in the world. the best arms
generally, and all the best material Of war
aid peace. Our army is an army Of me-
chanics. Oar navy is navy OF mechanics.
When the slovcnly Southern gentlemen.
bad disdslned to work. and who scorn in
venlion aad mechanical skill had. ~ they
supposed. rendered the dstenses Of New
Orleans impregnable. gallant and grim
tarragut, called upon the mechanics in his
heet. and they speedily converted his wood
en- boats into iron-clais. with few chain
cabes, scraps Of old iron. wood from the
djainiag forest aud sand from the beach.
With these mechanical appliances. and paias
invented from the mud of the river bottoms,
Gdeas and Inventions that no other race
would have thought off, his fleet was
made capable of sustaining the severest fire
that ever ships encountered. and the rebel
stronghold iel,sl although the mechanical
arts of our Northern sesmen.
When Vicksburg was found to be i'm
pregnable from above, the greasy mechan-
les" in our Western army invented shore
monitors and prodigiously alarmed the
rebel garrison. Finally these same mecban.
les. with scsnt and apparently purile ma
trrials. improvised defen>es that enabled
the flse, to pass the long lines Of batteries.
a 4.
m .rch, they built bridges, constructed TO ads.
created Notifications, and overcome the
obstacles of both nature and art with
celebrity aud a certainty that astounded their
enemies, and rendered victory certain.
They rebuilt faster than the rebels could
destroy. Bridges sprang up as if by
magic. and the axe, and the chisel aud
augsr. in their hands. become the most po.
tent and powerful weapons Of war; for they
called TO their aid the powers of the gods
to create, and the bolts of Jupiter to de.
stroy.
And all through the war this same differ
ence between the two parties has been man
ifest. 1t is the boast and pride Of our
engineer regiments, and the same ability
is shown by the general soldiers OF the
army, that they can construct anything and
do anything within the range Of mechanical
art, from constructing q railroad to span
ming a wide river, from using their weapons
to manufacturing them; and the Ipssss and
the forum accompany their marches. while
and the creative faculty (Which is the pc
culiar perfection. industry and skill, aud
seal of Divinity itself. lead their van and
protect their communications.
Nor is their superiority in mechanics more
marked in their overcoming OF great OBJ
stacles than in the finish aud workmanship
displayed in smaller matters. They do
not dee N it sufficient that a fortifcation or
a ship shall be strong; it must also be neat
and workmanike. Even their mere make
shifts have q certain mechanical finish and
style about them not to be found in the
more elaborate defenses of the uon-mechaui.
cal Southerners.
..By this sign we conquer" By this
/ sign we shall gloriously redeem and recon
slroct the Southern cities and States. when
the war is over When slavery and igno-
rant compulsory labor is swept away from
the South. our Northern mechanics will
swarm into tho recovered territory. and neat
and tasteful cities, imposing public and
private buildings. thrifty and picturesque
villages. and homes 6t for enlightened and
happy families to dwell in. will transform
the land as if by enchantment. New aud
we'll adapted implements of agriculture
will make the fields aud the gardens to
double their tribute. and the hum and roar
Of glad industry and rapidly growing wealth
will create a new and glorious empire where
slovenIiness. bad taste; wealty and splendid
Inconvenience, and humble squalor and
barbarism now mock the Iich bounties that
nature has avished on the best portion Of
the con iinent.