The mountain Democrat., 1863-07-11
rms MOUNTAIN DEMOCRAT.
A seuznsr.

The following. comWuhiCa''O" - U"e
.D.xer of Gen. Van Rensselaer,, cOmman-
d.r Of the volunteers Of 1912, 10 the Po.
~. invitation Of the New York City
Joint League to the veterans to unite
With them al Utica.
Hon A. n. Tabor and P. N. WhetmOre,
Secretaries:
CxxrLENEN: have the honor to &C.
%uo~Ied9e the receipt Of your polite note,
=" bohaif Of the Loyal League OF Union
~;e;1eOx in the City Of New York, asking
nv cooperation Is General in-Chief Oi
~ v.terans Of the war Of 1879, to pro-
cura their attendance at . mass ssseIn'
blaee of loyal citizens TO be held at Utica,
on the 97lh Of May, inst, Tor the pur'
nose Of manifesting fixed determination
n austsin the Government in its rightful
.6orta TO ouell the rebellion and sustain
the Union, the Constitution. and the su-
Oremacy OF the national flag.
In ansxer 10 the invitation, | beg leave
- zx=:--a> .NSA the Iscsssity Of the con-
temDlated assemblage 1T Utica. unless it
he a political movement for partisan ends,
Il not very apparent to me; at no period
of the rebellion has greater unanimity
prevailed in the Northern States than at
the present time, to preserve the integri-
~ or the Union and the constitutional
rights Of its citizens; and equally unan
imous appears to be the conviction Of the
utter incompetency Of the National Ad.
ministration TO conduct our civil and mil
itarv affairs, so as TO bring the cruel civil
war. which is rending asunder our great
Republic, TO Q successful termination.
The devoted loyalty of the veterans re-
.ouiTes the endorsement Of no man. AT
the dawn OF manhood they riSked their
limbs and lives to vi0dicate American
rights and independence against foreign
enemy; and on every political issue
which has since ag;tated the country they
have always been found sustaining the
Union, the Constitution, and the suprem-
acy Of the laws.
At the first announcement of John
Brown's- raid into Virginia, in the au-
tumn Of 1859, the General nChief Of the
veterans issued to them a general order,
which was widely circulated, warning
them that civil war was at hand, and
pointing out their duty in these emphatic
words:
''In the event Of an insurrection or re-
belliop, I need not tell you what your
dutv will be: you learnt it in the war OF
1912, when you were mustered and
armed, not only to rcpel British invasion,
but to punish, if necessary, domestic
treason Of the Hartford Convention
coinage.
"YOu will, therefore, respond to the
call Of your country in person, il you can,
or by your sons and grandsons il you
cannot, and YOU will counsel them that
no sacrifice Of men and treasure can be
too great to maintain the Union; the
sheet anchor Of our safety at home and
the pillar Of our national strength and
greatness abroad.
"Fail not to impress on their minds a
on tables of brass, that afr passing
through q feeble infancy With all the in
StituIionS we now have, and attained the
gigantic stature Of a colossal manhood,
and taken rank amongst the first nation>
nf the earth, TO cnascuiutc row that man
hood bv n dissolution OF the Union on
account Of negro slavery, would be an
act Of madness and folly that would
cause us enduring regret, and expose us
heScrvelly to the del ision Of the civilized
world"
The lesson taught them in the war OF
1912 had caused them to set high value
on the Union, as a guarantee Of national
strength and greatness, but eXptrieHcr
has also taught them that incapnciiy in
civil and military leaders, is aS fatal IL
the success Of . glorious cause and gal
liant army. as treschery, venality. or cow
ardice that stern rebuke and public cen.
sure, not fAt,ery and tA.he nrquieScen"".
were the way To correct SELF cnnceit aud
ignorance, IN its career Of blindness and
InistaKeG
The veterans, as far I represent them.
90 for the entire Union, and the suppre>.
sion Of the rebellion bv iOrce Of arms, il
practicable. but they regard the Admin
istraiion Of President Lincoln in reference
To these ends, patriotic though it he, a.
Inikcalculating and inefficient, and to sup
port it by large majoriti, would be IL
confirm il in Palpable error and TINT
change in its disastrous policy NAV b.
made By throwing it into minority at
the elections, and thus showing il that it
bad lost the confidence Of the nation.
For these reasons | feel bound IN the
most respectful terms TO decline issuing
an order as Commander OF the veteran>
Of 1919. requesting. them 10 accept Of
your polite invitation, on "Wednesday
next. Very respectfully, your Obedicnt
servant, JoHH S. VAN RESssELAFR,
General in Chief &c.
Albany, May Is, 1859.