Union County star and Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1859-1864, 1864-08-26
The Lesson OF Cham5 arsSurg.

(From the New Yosk Evening Post.l
some Of our cotemporaries deride Penn
syivAnians upon the burning of Chambers
burg, with assertions thai it is their fault
for not having sufficient militia force or
saniled to resist the enemy. We do not
quite concur in their view. We believe,
Of course, that Pennsslvanis, as we'll as
New York and other States, ought to have
haiin readiness military force We think
the neglect Of tho militia drill in the free
States . great mistake. But Chambers
burg might have been burned BY the Reb-
els even il the militia Of Pennsylvania had
been perfectly drilled.
We see another, aud even a more i'm
portapt lesson in this sad affair, by which
town of five thousand inhabitants is sud
denly 5lotted from the map, and its people
forced to fly for their lives, leaving to des.
truction all their property. What has
happened to Chamberaburg, will some day
happen to Pi,,sburg. The fate of thi.
town of f7e thousand people, will be shared
by many border cities of fifty or hund-
red or two hundred thousand-if are do
not crush out tie rcJaHion. Already Cincin,
uata has been threatened twice, Louis.
vile twice, Nashville twice, ST. Louis
ouco. Already many thousands of dollars
havo been spent in defeuces for these cities,
and still they arc not safe from attack
How many millions would il cost to erect
defences along our whole border2 How
many years would be needed to complete
them! How many hundred thousand SOL
diers would DO required to guard them
and without such defences, without q
Chinese wall to separate Us from the South,
does any one believe the border. land
wouli be safe or habltablo in case the Reb-
els triumph and their Confederacy is &C.
kuowledgei? What security is there
against the repetition of such raids as Ear
!y's an Breckenridge 5, Forests, Morgan's s
and Qasnsrell's What farmer of Penn.
sylvauia, or Ohio, or Illinois, or Missouri,
could sleep 10 peace, could plant his corn,
or SOW his wheat, or herd bis cattle, with
o reasonable hope of reaping tho fruits of
his labo,s? Our whole border line for ff-
teen hundred miles, would be subject daily
or nightly to massacre and robbery, on the
slightes, pre.cSts.
For, remember these Southern gentle
men have slaves 10 toll for them their
own bread is secure thay are idlers, and
q foray across tho border would bc as
much sport, for them, as |. was In the last
century to- Rob Roy and his clausmen.
They would like nothing better than to
"harry the Yankees" and they would al
ways be able to raise . company, q regi-
mens brigade, division, for such an
expedition.
Bat It will b said, we should punish
them for such outrages the United States
Government would sin be poBerfuI
enough 10 command and enforce respect.
That Is Just where We should make fatal
mistake. The Confederscy is now weaker
sh,a i, ever will be again. The power,
the means, the prestige of the Shareholders,
all are nearly broken. If, now, We are un-
able 10 beat them; if, now, we give up
the contest; if, now, We permit ourselves
to fail, they will never fear Us hereafter;
they will know that they may do nearly
what they please against Us, without fear.
For, they will say, VIC whipped the Yam
KEGS when We were weakest, and they
will never dare attack US again.
But, the reader replies, they would
m.ke q great mistake-they would draw
down destruction upon their heads il they
should &C, upon any such theory; we
should eo 10 war and annihila,e their
po-er if /, cost US every cen. and every
iIs. Nov this is true but why is it not
better aud cheaper to SNAKE one job Of
ito d. that, now, which is easier now
thsn it will ever be again, and which yet
We shall have 10 do at another time, and
by another war if We now fail 3? Two
pations can not live peaceably together
within the bounds of this Union We
mus. crush the Rebellion, now, or We
shah have intermnable war upon the bor-
der, Till another and more enduring gene
ration undertakes the only measure which
eau restore pormaneS peace to the eoun-
try. That is the lesson Of Chdo,LerSJary