Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1863-09-05
Gen. Logan ol, sise Term ''Aboli-
rf0uisfs.-

Gen. Logan ou sisc rerm ''Aboh-
tionists.''
General Jon A Logan, on arriving home
at Duquoin, Illinois, from General Grants
army, delivered long and interesting speech
to his constituents, from which we make
the following extracts, General Logan is a
Democrat, of the Stephen A. Douglas school,
and his remarks on the term "Abolitionists,
applied so often to all our soldiers, Will De
read with interest,
ABOUT ABoLiTIoNfsM.
There is one other thing want to say to
you. 1t is this 81 want to give the folks
of this country an idea of it. They say
John Logan, Billy, Jack, Bob, Tom, and all
us chaps down in the army are Abolition
ists-regular straight-outs. Why are we
Abolitionists Z want them to tell me how
they know am an Abolitionist. l have
never made speech until yesterday, since
the war commenced, except once, when
spoke n short time to get some recruits.
| have never made speech since l have
been in the army, of any kind, that could
I've called political speech. How do they
know that we are all Abolitionists Did
we tell them so 2 Did we say so Why is
it that they consider us all Abolitionists 2
Why. will tell you the reason. 1t is be-
cause we are in the army and Abraham Lin
coin is President. That is the reason.-
These men don't know enough. or don't
want to know, that Abraham Lincoln, be
cause he is President, don't own the Govern
ment. This is our Government. This war
amt fighting for Mr.. Lincoln. 1t is fight
ing for the Union, for the Government. !
suppose that when IA man went to Mexico as
a United States soldier it didn't make him
an Abolitionist.
If fighting under Abe Lincoln makes
every man an Abolitionist, l suppose that
fighting under Polk made everybody De
mocrat. That may be true, but when they
came home, if you recollect, they elected
General Taylor, who was a Wing. / don't
care cent what they call me. All have
to say to any man who calls me an Aboli-
ZIONIST is, that "a rose by any other name
would smell as sweet" and that they can
call me any name they please. If fighting
for the Union of these States, with the old
flag over my head; fighting for our Govern
ment, against rebels and traitors if that
makes me an Abolitionist, all right. only
wish there was million more of them than
there are. (Applause.) If that makes a
man an Abolitionist let me warn these gen
tlemcn that there will be great many of
them. If loving the Government Of our
fathers, revering the Constitution, fighting
for the same Government and the same
cause, is sufficient to these men to call such
names, let them do it. We have no ohec-
tions. We don't care. We laugh at it. 1t
is only fun for us to be called such names
We care nothing about it. We know that
that the country knows what we are doing,
and God in Heaven, who views the hearts OF
Iall |. 4
our country. Would to God these gentle
men could say the same. (Applause) No,
my friends, II makes man patriot, moth
ing less, to fight for his country. It does
not make him Democrat. or Republican
or an Abolitionist. Whenever this war is
over this is Il free country. Il we want
politics then, we Will have them, that's all
If we don't, nobody need get mad about
it.
They had better let us alone and not call
US nicknames before we get home. Let us
alone until we get back, gentlemen, if you
please. We will be the most pcaceable and
quiet men in the world. We will be perfect
ly well educated in all the fine arts, and
sciences and good manners. We will show
these gentlemen some Of the politeness We
have learned in the army. We will treat one
another kindly and respectfully, and, if We
! get little mad about anything, we will just
settle it right there Uaughter) But
suppose folks are joking who say these
things They don't intend anything wrong
do ask them to just let the boys alone, and
let the people alone.
If they don't want to be for the Govern
ment, let people alone who are for it, II
they do that, there will be peace at home
We don't think it makes us Abolitionists to
fight for our country. We don't think il
makes us Aboiitionists because niggers run
away. Just here let me tell these gentle.
men, who talk so much about Abolitionists
and nigger stealing, that all the prayers that
can be sent up lit makes no difference, out
side of proclamation or anything else, that
machine is gone up, played out. 1t will
never do days good again. applause.
/ There is no doubt of that, and the people oi
the North are not responsible. Nobody is
! responsible but themselves for the loss OF
their slaves.
Let me say to these men now, who have
such great sympathy for the people of the
South, and are crying out against soldiers
that these men in the South lost more mig
gers in thirty days after the rebellion com.
menced than they would have lost in many
years by all the Abolitonists in the United
States. l told you that the army which was
in front of us stole everything they could
lay their hands on. The rebels steal every
Niger they see and take them to some State
where they think we are not likely to CO.
They are afraid the Yankees will steal them
These are positive facts. The rebel soldiers
men who never owned a nigger in their lives,
steal them and run them off, and sell them
for two or three hundred dollars piece
They say that the institution is gone, and
| they don't think it will ever amount to any
thing again. They just want TO be indie
pendent of us; that's all they are fighting
for.