Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1865-06-02
[From the New York Herald of May 24.l
The Grandest Military Display in the
World

Yesterday them emagnllcentreyleW at Wash
ington began. The vast army OF two hun
dred thousand American soldiers c0mmen
ced to pass before the President and the
Lieutenant General. Washington was Of
course, crowded with strangers from all parts
Of the Union and their cheers expressed to
the brave veterans the gratitude which the
country feels toward them for It's preserva-
ton. There have been many great military
displays in the past but never before has
there been one so grand as this. Neither
Napoleon or Wellington eyer saw so many
veterans in one army at one time. When
Napoleon reviewed his army of two hundred
thousand men at the opening of his first
Russian campaign, many of his soldiers were
young conscripts fresh from the farm and
the counter. The great Russian army, re-
viewed by the Duke of Wellington after the
capitulation of Paris, i'll 1914, numbered on
ly one hundred and sixty-thousand. But
our army, which is, in fact, but a part of
our force, since the commands of Thomas,
Schofeld, Curtis, Ord, Candy Foster, and
others, are not repl esented, is composed en-
tirely of veterans, and is quite two hundred
thousand strong
1t is not mere numbers however which
make the display at Washington so grand
This review is review of triumph. The
troops which file before the thousands Of
spectators at Washington are not preparing
for battle. They have come out Of the war
triumphant, and all their battles are over.
Leading them we see Peace and Vietory
hand in hand, The gallant conquerors of
many hard fought field are going home to
share the blessings they have won for the
nation. They are not only heroes, but they
are the heroes of the sublimest conflict in all
history. They have been battling for that
great principle of democracy for which so
many valiant martyrs in former times have
fallen ID vain, and they have secured the
perpetuity Of that Union upon which the
hopes of the oppressed of all climes and
countries depend. They are the champions
of free government throughout the world
The applause which greets them comes not
from the Washington crowds alone, nor
from the millions Of their fellow-eitizens in
all the States but we can hear it ringing
across the Atlantic, echoed alike from the
Alps and the Andes, and swelled by the ma
jestic chorus Of republican voices from Mex
leo to Denmark. From one end Of the world
to the other the people thank our soldiers
tor having conquered in the people cause.
Two hundred thousand American soldiers
are marching on through Washington to-
day. Every regiment, brigade, and dlvl-
sion has It's proud record, which the specta-
tors eagerly recall. Those fine fellows fought
at Antietam, and those at Atlanta. Here
are the men who held Lee in vice, and
yonder come Shenman's legons who passed
like sword through the yitals of the rebel
hon. We leave to our correspondents the
grateful task of noting the achievements of
the troops IN line, and pause to ask ourselves
where their march is to end. They are GO
ing home but viii they stay there long ?
With one quarter Of the number Scott cap
tured Mexico. With one half OF that tre-
nlendous army Canada would be ours.
With such a body of veterans our generals
could humble the prideof combined Europe.
Where will their grand march end? This is
a question which no one can answer now.
One thing Is, nevertheless, sure. These
thousands of soldiers may fight no more
their remaining years may be passed in qui-
ct usefulness at their homes; one by one
they may pass away honored and beloved by
all, like the patriots ofth Revolution scat
tered far and wide, their bodies may rest
sweetly beneath the flowers and the grasses;
but all this while their souls and those of
their slain comrades will be marching on.
On-till thrones shake and crumble at the
sound Of their coming, and are crushed be-
meath their steady tramp. On-till the peo-
pie everywhere rise anddemand their hber-
ties with inyincible voices On-till no des-
pot tyrranizes over his fellowmen, and no
arlstocracy lords it over the down-trodden
masses. 0n-tiIl every nation is republic
and every man freeman. 0n-till the sol
diers of Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan have
saved the world as they have saved the
Union. On, and on, and on