Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1865-03-04
The Great Ciyn wsrs-A Historical Re
view aud Contrast.

lne present cODHict IN lnlS country is
one of those which Gre usually called "civil
wars" and though nothing Of the kind has
ever before been carried 90 on he same
s'upendous scale, yet there are plenty o'
precedents for it fa Emlgdl
One oil the earliest OF these is the famous
Peloponneslan War, which began B. G. 432
and lasted tWenty-seyen yesSs between
states of Greece, which, had they adopted
the idea of Pericles and been united uuder
one general head, might have formed q
nation Of marvellous grandeur and influence
But the doctrines of Estates sovereignty"
or autonomy" prevailed. and after twenty
seven years of warfare foreign invasion
closed lhe combat. a 30 80.
In the Monthly Religious Magaziue
for February, there Is an interesting
ing historical review of civil wars on the
subject of the Pelopounesiau war, the @ri-
ter says: bad m g1f b-'
This long and deadly warfare could not
have been prolonged through twenty.seven
years, excep' f, the fact, that both Sparta
aud Athens were based on slavery The
slaves titled the soil-lhe citiZ9us waged
war Slavery not only supplied the muni-
tions, but il gavNto the war q savage
ferocity and brutality. Athens alone had
four hundred thousand slaves to sixty thon
sand freemen. But Sparta was made pre-
eminenily barbarons aud inbuman by tba
habit Of dominee:ing over slaves During
The progress Of the war, fearing an insur-
rection among her lIelots at home, she
proclaimed liberty to such as would come
forward aud join her armies. Two thousaud
brave men spraug up to the word liberty,
aud presented themselves They were
never heard of more They were led of
secretly aud massacred, and, by this fiendish
tIeahcery, the oligarcns rded themselves
Of such slaves as would be most likely
to prove dangerous elem.n athome "a
| 1t is curious 10 contrast the lumber en-.
gagged in the great wars Of the past: 5a n
We select two decisive battles. Ont
of these was fought in the harbor of Syra
cue, la an expedition against Sicily,
Athens had strained every nerve and
equipped magnificent feet and army
Of trumpets, pG aus aud libations Of wine
from gold and silver cups. This great
my consisted Of 5000 heavy armed in
fautry. 1t was reeuforced by aIolher oi
about the same number When gathered
at Syracuse they numberd in all-heavy
armed infantry, natives Of the island anC
slaves who were light armed and only
employed as ElFmisherss-20 900 men.-
This, in the language of Tnucy ydides,
made their power appear "stupsndous," au(
her resources "oeyoud calculation
| nho Gn,l on1 1ao;.;yo I,a,, 10, ,r that y
Aigcspolami. when Athens lost her aee'
and nearly her whole army was surprise
and taken prisoners. The numbers eD
gagged n battle are not told; but The mum
Der of prisoners, who were, native Atbe
Nuns, is rec jrded a. three thousand, which
seems 10 have made up the bulk Of be
am y in the last decisive engagement
NOW AND TAEy.
As to the number engaged, the littl
State Of NJ Lssachuss, It's has furnished NOR
men in our present struggle than Tough
on both sides in the great E"gliSh rebelle
II has sent more men into the field tina
JuiIus C@'ar commanded TO gain the EN-
piIe Of the world; more than all the troop
Of uellas put togethar in the lcng Struggl
that rent her in pieces, when the sun wen
down 10 blood. The State of New Yor
has equipped more soldiers than all II
troops of C@; ;ar and Pompey put togethC
though drasn from every province, fro
the Euphrates to the pillars of Hereule
The whole army of Cromwell would on
serve as kiIm!shers, Or as detail for
raid from the army Of Grant or Sherida
His great military fame was gained
managing twenty-five thousand men; an
| It's marches and revolutions were within a
area less, extensive thal the State
Virginia. r4u.a ts1,era .1l
q. THE ENGLISH REBELLION. trrs,4
The great civil War OF England, know
as the Great Rebellion, was also co
a CT between the olgarchs and the col
mons; called gain the Cavaliers AMI tt
r. u ,dheads; called again, m)rs appropr
, ately, the King aud his Parliament.
divided England horiz )ntally-ibe Kin
9 and the lords and the bishops @
d oIe side, the conmops en- the othel
u aud il, deciled the question fo
g ever, whether constitutional goyernmeI
J was a possible boon to the English race,
u The war opeoed 10 l642 and continuc
t. seven wears. /. wOaId probably have bee
finished in half tbst lime, but for the he's
N fancy and half measures of Essex, Il
lie arst parlismeptsry general. The first Co
I'd aict of Edgshill has its piraled in Auti
: tam IL vas drawn baule; both parti
IN laying all night on their arm but in 4
he morOiHg, Hampden came up wi fo
in thousand fresh meu. Julius Carr wou
in bare followed up quickly the former day
ne Hork and, with blow upon blow haishe
r {loyalists aud the war Instead OF this tt
armies looked at each other dreaded to r.
new The fight, and drew of, each By
self, much to the chagrin and disgust
i Hampden. Five thousand were left Sla
p. upon tho f,ld--sla,n to no purpose,
$ nothing was deci led, b So things we
on, Il Oliver Cromwell game with
ironside regiment, and,l at The decisi
battle of Naseby, dashed upon the Kipe
> forces and shitered them 10 pieces, ,e1sd.
+ Ne may smile, on reading over these gre
a battles, at the numbers engaged, lTh
q varied from twep; to twenty Eve lbouSaI
q men GU each side. never exceeding ths Ia
q ter humber. The battle Of Maiston Mo
"a was The most ebstinately contested. hetwe
!, the most numerous armies that were enga
!, ed during the course of these wars aud