Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1865-09-21

from the mouths of cannon; insolent |
traitors and spies within our lines were |
silenced and secured in the dungeons or |
the Old Capitol, or within the ponderous |
walls of Lafayette and Warren. The
President was, of all men, gentle and
conciliatory. The Secretary of State
was absorbed in The unparalleled diff
culties of our foreign relations. The
Secretary of the Treasury was laborious-
ly directing all the currents OF natonal
wealth into the eXhaustless exchequer'
The Secretary of the Navy was building
and manning his fleet The Attorney
General never emerged from the mazes of
his briefs. 1t was necessary, nay, 1t was
vital, that the underlined and illimitable
powers of Government for its own pres
eryation. should be welded by bold,
honest and skillful hand; by that spon-
taneous concession of authority accord
ed to a self-reliant and commanding
character, in all great emergencies, 1t
devolved upon Edwin NJ. Stanton, in the
darkest hours of danger to see that the
Republic suffered no detriment. In
times when the idea was tolerated that
any citizen, during the war, might as.
sail the government, as he pleased and
with impunity it became necessary tosi-
lence sedition and battle treason by terror.
1t was fortunate that government posses
sed man armed with power to enforce
his will, who inspired fear enough to re-
enforce doubtful authority. Not Rich
elieu himself, when France had no hiding
place that could conceal, or power that
could save one of his victims, was more
dreaded than an order of arrest signed
by tie Secretary of War, after the writ
! if habeas corpus was suspended. What
| ever may be the final judgement of ju-
| rists upon the legal questions involved
! in these arrests, the effect was salutary.
| Traitors, fraudulent contractors spies,
| dishOnest officials in the service, at
! length felt that there was somebody in
! authority to be afraid of. Success was in
| eXhorably exaCted from commanders of
armies neither winter nor summer,
! neither heat nor cold, neither storm nor
| drouth, neither distance nor defenses,
nor boasted superiority of numbers
spared the enemy from attack.
A length the events of the war de-
veloped a General whose genius, educa-
ted by experiences, as was said of Marlb0-
rough, by Bolinbroke, indicated all the
attachments for supreme command.
This great and fortunate leader was no
sooner recognized, than called to the
head of all the armies of the Union; and
from that hour Gen. Grant directed with
out interference, but with invaluable
energy of CO O-Operation from the War
Department, all the succeeding cam
paigns to a triumphant conclusion.
Look back to the period of despair, dur
ing the first year of President Lincoln s
| administration, when leading journals
demanded dictator; recall the dooP""-
denCY which followed the disastrous
termination of the Peninsular cam
paigu, in the Summer of 1852; remem-
Der the general discomfort and weariness
of the struggle which preceded the re-
pulse of the enemy at Gettysburg; the
profound disappointment and just in
.dignatiOn felt by the country at the
failure to pursue and defeat the army Oi
Lee the sullen menaces and the out
breaks which hindered the enforce
ment of the conscription law the
bloody riots in this city; the undis
guised hostility of half of Europe; the
discouraging doubts and predictions o.
nearly all the world; and finally, the
increasing power and boldness o
the formidable numbers at home who
pronounced the war a failure, demanded
an armstice, and advised the acceptance
of the best terms of peace that could bt
obtained. II was at this moment tha
Grants decisive triumph at VicksburE
was announced. Soon afterwards ht
was summoned by the Secretary of Wa
in person, to Chattanooga to retrieve tn,
disaster of Chickamauga Gaining tn
great victory of Mission Ridge, an(
opening a pathway to the sea for Sher
man, he came to the Rappahannock anC
brought fortune and final triumph t
the glorious standards of the Army o
the Potomac What Godolphin ant
Marlborough were to the war of tn
succession, what Louvois and Turenn
were to the struggle of Louis XVI, 70
! European empire, what Carnot an,
Bonaparte We're to the wars of tn
French republic, what Pitt and Yelling
ton were to the European allianc
against Napoleon, Stanton and Gran
! have been to the grandest struggle G
| ancient or modern times for the main
I tenance of authority, order and iustic
| in the government of nations.