The Bedford gazette. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1805-current, 1865-09-22

NEW SERIES.
with slaves or slavery in such States, in disre-
gard of the rights Of their owners, or the peace
of society" Added to this we had the ar4ost
unanimous resolution Of Congress, THAT this
war Is not waged on our part in auy spirit IF
oppression, or for any purpose of conquest or
sabJugatiOu, or purpose of overthrowing or in-
tertering with the rights or established instita-
tions of those States, but to defend and maiti-
tain the supremacy of the Constitution AMI TO
preserve the Union, with the dignity, equality.
and rights Of the several States unimpaired
and that as soon as these objects are accomplish
ed the war ought to cease" Here we have the
objects Of the war stated by the highest author
tiles in the land. 1t was not to be for conquest
Or subIugati0n not to overthrow the institu-
ton of slavery or any other institution without
the consent Of the States interested. 1t was a
contract between the soldiers and the govern
ment. The consideration on our part was our
lives, our blood and after we were sworn into
the service, we were cooy informed that the
objects for which we enlisted should not be car
ried out, and thus the solemn pledges Of 1861
were broken, and the war made one for the ne
gro and not for the Union. We want these
pledges kept. We have done our duty in this
contest, as the blood shed during the past four
years attests, aud we now call ON the powers
that be, or if they are unwilling. upon the peo-
Pile who placed them in authority, to see that
this contract Is kept. Remember it was no
holiday excursion we undertook, nor was it to
meet an ordinary foe. We were to fight cur
own flesh and blood men as brave By nature
as we are; men whose fathers had fought with
ours to achieve the Revolution, and who illus
srated the valor of their race from the SHOWS
of CaHada to the scorching plains Of Mexico.
n * due 10 ourselves to admit that the South
orn neoni,, are brave and were skillfulIy led,
else we can clam b;t little honor for subduing
them with our supcriour numbers. They
showed devotion worthy q better cause and 1t
was only by superior numbers aud lntomitaoIe
perseverance we compelled their surrender
Among the first acts of the Administration
violating our contract, was the publication Of
the emancipation proclamation. At the time
was confined in Libby prison as one Of
''Pope's ielons," but the suferings Of imprison-
ment were nothing compared TO the mental tor
ture on finding the high and noble cause for
which / enlisted debased by being made strug-
gle for giving fre sdom to a few degraded negroes
Leading Republicans, it is true, urged the
measure a ualitl5y necessity, as if twenty mil
lions of white men could not subdue eight nil
lions South without the aid Of few cowardIy
negroes. They also promised reinforcements of
white troops. Gov. Yates spoke of the ''aam-
ing giants of the West who would come to
our rescue; Gov. Andrews said the streets and
highways Of the East would swarm with pa
triotic troops; while even Greeley promised
his 900, 600 more. Yet they never came save /
in the shape Of some darkies stolen from the
South, and few needy foreigners imported
from abroad. The natural result Of this i'll
timed proclamation was to stop recruiting IN
the North, and from that time large bountjes
and heavy drafts had to be resortei 10 to fll
our armies while SO long as the war was for
the Union more volunteers were offered than The
would accept.
Another effect was 10 consolidate the South.
At the beginning Of the war, according to Pres
ident Liucoln's own statement, we had ma
iority Of frierds there, but this measure extin-
guished the last spark Of unonism South, and
united their people in the attempt to preserve
their property.
hold also the war has been unnecessarily (
prolonged, that competent generals nave been
removed and their places supplied by expert ,
mental ones; that our forces were divided where
they should have been consolidated, and that
ov rtutes of peace from the enemy were rTne-
ted. The doctrine was openly proclaimed that
the .sIast man and the last dollar should be
used in order to liberate the negroes. Fellow
soldiers, can You affiliate with such men? You
and have lost beloved comrades, nay suffered
ourselves: vet we must be insuited with assuT-
ances that these friends died. or we suffered,
not for the Union, not IN defence Of the Con-
but to make the negro our equal.
That this war was unduly prolonged L can .
prove by the highest Republican testimony
Horace Greely-who, in speaking OF the Nj
agara Peace Conference said, "Had this wise
and brave course been taken when Alex. H. E
Stephens first publicly solicited permission to
visit Washington, believe it would have saved
a quarter of a million of lives an awful amount
of devastation and misery, and LETT our nation
al debt full billion less than it Is to-day"
The President, in refusing overtures Of peace,
also forgot that portion of his annual message
of 1862, which says: 'Suppose you 60 to war
you cannot fight always; and when after much
loss on both sides and no gain on either, you
cease fighting, the identical old questions, as to
terms of intercourse, are again upon you"
Another result of giving freedom to the ne
groes and placing them in our army was the
death of thousands Of our brethren in South
ern prisons Our government refused to carry
out the cartel ofexchange unless some negroes .
then held by the enemy were liberated. What
was the consequence? In one year seventeen .
hundred Pennsylvania soldiers died at Ander-
sonville prison | know that Gen. Butler now
charges that Secretary Stanton ordered him to .
complicate the exchange in order that the Feb, .
ell forces should not be strengthened. But what .
of that? Instead of trying Captain Wlrze, the
keeper of the Andersonville prison, [ would
indct Ben Butler and Ed Stanton.