Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1863-09-17
The Northern Army.


BY the Correspondent of the Lon don Tim es.
The mere n.annscha1t, as the Germans have
1.-THE thews and sineTs, the mein and bear
ing OF the great bulk of the Northern army
are all that the heart of its leaders could
wish. There are no very high statures, no
very bulky frames among them. They are
most of them men Of middle size, narrow
shoulders, STOPPING and stumbling in many
instances. They look worn and sujlen, but
they bear every mark of stern endurance and
dogged resolution. They have no spare flesh,
no eXuberant spirits, no song, no frolic, but
they look ike work-up to their business,
which Is to kill to die.
4 gentleman who has had much to do with
the management Of these troops, complains
OF them as thinking bayOnets." The
Northern soldier he said, would rather 90
without his breakfast than without his news
paper" He discusses the plan Of the cam
paign with his officer, and sits in Judgment on
his generals tactics" TO this carping criti-
cism of the rank and file, to this want of good
confidence in their leaders, the gentleman in
question ascribed the slow success and the
frequent reverses OF the Northern arms, and
he contrasted it with the spirit of the Confed
crate SOldiers-uneducated men, as he des-
cribed them-who look up to their command
ing officer as demigod, who receive orders,
ask no questions and allow themselves no
remarks.
With all this disadvantage of not unwilling
but unsteady discipline, l have every day
greater cause to wonder at the transcendant
confidence Of the majority of these Northern
men III the ultimate success of their cause
The earnest steadiness with which they pur-
sue their purpose is only commensurate with
their reckiessness AS to the means which must
lead to its attainment. Not only do they not
care, but they positively delight in the vast
ness Of the sacrifice their country demands of
them. They seem less eager for victory than
Tor the fearful amount Of blood and treasure
by which they are to achieve it. "Are YOU
sure to take Charleston ?" you ask Ave,
sure as death. The cost Will be tremendous;
but who would wish to have it a cheap rate ~
Hang the expense ~ is the motto. 1t is not
OF the result OF their mighty effort that they
are proud but OF the capability and resources
OF their country in putting forth such coIos-
sal power. The big war, they are anxious to
prove, bears full proportions with the bigness
Of the Republic.
Every man seems to swell before you as
he dwells on the gigantic strength the State
brings into the field. The navy has raised
the number Of men-of-war-whichw were only
sixty at the outbreak of hostilities-tO six
hundred What to-day cost millions, to-mor-
row Will raise to tens of millions. They are
not sorry for it; they are delighted at it;
they will have no rest till that expense is
hundreds OF millions. A steam-frigate found
ers, regiment is cut to pieces, an iron-clad
is sunk by the enemy Hurrah All the
greater their joy. Here they are, ready with
four more regiments, with four more steam
trigates, with ten additional iron-clads-
Failure braces them up even more than sue
cess would elatc them. All they are anxious
TO show Is the bOundlessness and the mex
haustibleness Of their means
There Is no loss they cannot repair, no
waste, no extravaganza they cannot afford.
OF this the world must be well assured 1t
is in this extent, in this expansiveness of
their means, that lies the certainty Of their
progress to the end. They want to make
much of it doubtless; they brag an intoIera-
bic deal about IT, we are all sure 1t is in
this lavish, wanton display of unlimited power
that they lay their hope of its irresistiblenesS.
1t is by 1t that they aspire to strike dismay
and despair into the hearts of their present
toe-that they trust to ovcrawe their event
ual enemy. How can the South, how can
Europe, have a chance to stand against this
unweary giant? Let the struggle be pro-
l0nged for ever so many years, let the for
tune ofwar be ever so tickle, and success al
ternate ever so blindly, America cannot fail
to wear out all antag0nSm.
Such is the burden Of the song that is daily
dlnned i'll my eyes, whenever l mix in con
Vcrsation with persons about me The pres
cnt war can, am everywhere assured, have
but one issue. The South must give in, must
surrender at discretion Union must be re-
stored, secession must lead to a thorough and
speedy extinction of slavery. Whatever
havoc and confusion emancipation may lead
to will be of no moment in the great work of
national regeneration, in the consciousness of
power, in the display of strength to which
this struggle has given rise. America can
never be sufficiently thankful for the golden
opportunity this war has given her, no less
than the world at large, of setting proper
value on her unsupported energies, on her la
tent vitality