Nebraska advertiser., 1865-03-16

ion among her Helots at home, she pro
.laimed liberty to such as would come
onward and join her armies. Two thou
and brave men sprung up TO the worC
liberty" and pretented themselves
ney were never heard of more. The.
we're led off secretly and 'massacred
md, by this5fendish treachery, the oil,
,archs rid themselves Of such slaves as
would be most likely to prove a.danger,
1us element at home.
1t is curious to contrast the number:
engaged in our war with those SAgaged
ia the great wars of the past;
We select two decisive battles. One
of these was fought in the harbOr of Syr-
acuse. In an expedition against Sicily,
Athens had strained every nerve and
equipped magnificent feet and army
They sailed out of tba Piraeus with
sound of trumpets, peans and lbations of
wine from gold and silver cups. This
great army consisted of 5000 heavy
armed infantry. 1t was reinforced by
another OF. about the same number
When gatherered aIiSyracuss they num-
bered in all--heavY armed infantry, ma
tives. of the island and slaves who were
light armed and only employed as skir-
mishers-2O, 900 men. This, in the Ian
guage of Thucydides, made her power
appear ''stupendOus, and her resources
''beyond calculation.
The final and decisive battle was that
of Algospotani, when Athens lost her
fleet, and nearly her whole army was
surprised and taken prisoners. The
numbers engaged in battle are not told ;
Out the number of prisoners, who were
native Athenians, is Eecorded as three
thousand, which seems to have made up
the bulk of her army in the last DECISIVE
engagement.
As to the number engaged, the little
State of Massachusetts has furnished
more men in our present struggle thar
fought on both sides in the great EnglisE
rebellion. Il has sent more men into the
field than Julius Ceser commanded &c
gain the empire of the world more than
all the troops of Hellas put together in
the long struggle that rent her in pieces
when her sun went down in blood. The
State of New York has equipped more
soldiers than all the troops of Caesar and
Pompey put together, though drawn from
every province, from the Euphrates to
the pillars of Hercules. =, The whole ar
nv of Cromwell would only serve as skir-
mishers, or as detail for "raid' from
the army of Grant..or Sherman. His
great military fame was gained by man
aging twenty-five thousand men; and its
marches and evolutions were within an
area less than.the State Of Virginia.
The great civil war of England, known
as 'the Great Rebellion" was also con-
flict between the oligarchs and the COM
mons; called again the Cavaliers and
the BOundheads; called again, more api
propriately, the King and his Parlia-
ment. Il divided England horizontally
the king and lords and the. bishops on
one side, the commons on the other ;
and it decided the question forever,
whether constitutional government was
possible boon to the english race.
The war opened in 1912, and continu-
ed seven years. It would probably have
been finished in half that time, but for
the hesitancy and half measures of Es-
sex, the first parliamentary general
The first conflict Of Edgehill has its ex-
act parallal in Antieiam. 1t was a
drawn battle; both the parties laying all
night on their arms but in the morning
Hampden came up with four thousand
fresh men. julius Cesar would have
followed up quickly the former days
work, and with blow upon blow, finished
the loyaIist and the war. Instead of
this, the armies 'looked at each other,''
dreaded to renew the fight, and drew of
each by itself, much to the chagrln and
DISCUS: of Hampden. Five thousand
were left slain upon the fsld-slain to
no purpose, as nothing was decided. So
things went on, till Oliver Cromwell
came with his ''irOnside regiment" and,
at the decisive battle of Naseby, dashed
upon the Kings forces and shivsred
them in pieces.
We may smile, on reading over these
great battles, at the nubers engaged
They varied from twenty-five thousand
men on each side, never exceeding the
latter number. The battle Of Marstor
Moor was the most obstinately contested
between "the most numerous armies tha
were engaged during the course Of these
wars and in that battle, as Hume Ia,
ments, fifty thousand troops were led t.
mutual slaughter. Such was the price