St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1864-10-06
SENATOR j. W1LK1NsoN's SPEEcH.-On

SENATOR WILKlNsoN's SPErcH.-On
Thursday evening last, Senator Wilkinson
addressed quite respectable audience Al
tho Court House. Owing to the delay in
procuring the hall, and in giving suitable
notice, the number in attendance was not
As large - We could have wished or as
there would have been under different cir,
cumstances. The speech was = mastery
one and such as might have been expected
from one of the foremost men in the Uni
ted States Senate. The mere outline we
shall be able to give will do him poor JUS
tioe. = u - J.. ~,
Referring to the cry Of CO pperhead poll
ticians that President Lincoln had chang
ed the purposes Of the war, Senator W. re.
Piled BY citing the grand results of the
war of the Revolution which had been COM
menced for comparatively un,mportant and
very different purposes. His vindication
on this score was complete. No great war.
he said, had ever closed with the same
ideas that predominated at the outset
and this, he continued, is war of ideas.
A sentiment he gave expression to, that
when this war closed he did not want that
the foot Of slave should tread on the grave
Of any soldier of the Union, was received
with continued applause. He defended
the Emancipation Proclamation. the ,neces-
sity for which is admitted by every honest,
He used the scalpel on McClellan-whom
he characterized as a military humbug-
and reviewed his management of the army
in way that should have convinced any
one of McClellan's incapacity or what was
worse. He commenced with the time when,
in the absence of any proper leader,
Mcclellan was Cal ed from Western Virgin.
ia where, with the aid Of the gallant Rose.
Grams, he had achieved some success, and
placed at the head Of the Union armies.
He showed how, with an army Of TWO HUN
DRED AND TEN THOUSAND EN-more than
Gen. Grant has sver had under his command
in any n,ovensent-Gen. Mcclellan remained
in the vicinity Of Washington for more
than six months, in a state of utter mac
tivity, feeding his immense army by one
single line Of railroad through Baltimore
the rebels blockading the Potomac Sc
that our steamers could not pass up 0,
down, and when the Navy Department sem
gunboats to break this blockade, Gen. Nc
Clellan refused to direct land force to ac
with them. How when ordered perempto
rily by the President to move in February
he disobeyed, and held his army cooped W
near Washington while Gen Grant sail &c
down into the heart of the Confcderac,
with his gunboats, capturing Forts Donel
son and Henry and sweeping the enemy
before him. How after another order from
the President lie did move in March, and
heroically captured the cooden guns at Ma.
nassas. Row at Yorktown he held his ar.
my at bay while he mounted ninety two
seige guns, and then let the enemy slir
away with all their munitions Of war. How
while Fighting Joe Hooker, with eleven
thousand men, fought the entire rebel ar
my at Williamsburg from five o'clock in
the morning until five in the evening, Gen
Mcclellan, although appealed to again and
again in Gods name to send to Hooker's
n1I no Of s,.f, A.
Gen. Sumner lying idle but three or tour
miles dista!ut, refused to, and Richmond
was lost to us. Gen. Hooker testifes that
we then held the rebel capital in our hand
The three thousand brave men who perish
ed there in battling for their country. cry
from their graves and arraign Gen. Nc
Clellan as responsible for their Deaths
How at Malvern, when one of his corps
commanders (while Gen. Mcclellan was on
gunboat) had whipped the rebel army.
routing them so that they threw down their
arms and fed in the utmost confusion, and
could have easily been followed into Rich.
mond, Gen. Mcclellan ordered q retreat.
In this way Senator Wilkinson multi
piled instances Of the incapacity or trail
torism of Gen. Nc Clellan-all to be estab.
lished easily from unimpeachable testimo,
ny.
He said that the end of the war was near
at hand if the people of the North only
stood by Gen. Grant and supported him in
his efforts for peace. Gen. Grant himself
had expressed this many times. All he
wanted to crush the rebellion and restore
a peace that should be lasting, was the
support Of the people. This he must and
will have, and it will be given not only by
sending soldiers to the field but by casting
votes for ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
He closed with an eloquent description
Of the kind Of peace he was in favor Of
COMING EVENTS CAST THEIR SHADOW.
BEFORE.-Not a shaClow Of a donht If T.