Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1866-09-15
General esrfeld's Speech at Toledo,

but two parties-that there be bht
two in this struggle, and that every man
must go with the Union party or with
the party that opposes the war On this
poiilt the General stated the issue, thus "
7 One comes MP and declares that this
people who have rcbellcd shall como back
with all their rights, rs though there had
been no rebellion and the other party de
clares that they shall come back with all
their rights except to govern us. Take
Other on that question. Now, fellow cit
Atns, como back to the proposition with
wliichl started, that there are and can be,
but two parties in thisc conflict, and / ask,
You now TO look little at the position OF
the two parties-at the elements that
have been united in forming the twopar.l
ties. On. the cEe hand there is, to-day.
all around me here, the Lnion Republic
an party in this Government. made up by
whom? l win tell you. When the " ar
broke out there We're two parties the
Dcmocraticand Republican---our flag had
hot trailed day i'll the dust before the
two great parties came together and clasp
ing hands across the flag swore before
high Heaven that they would fling down
party names of Democrat and Republi-
can, ard be known only as the Union par
ty, which saved the Republic and is, s,in
the name of the. Democratic party, and
throughout the war they undertook to
pull back, to overturn and thwart every
effort of the great Union party to put
down the rebellion. Need l Irehearse the
shameful chapter of that Democratic his
tory during the last four years and half?
Need tell you that theymet us at every
turn, croaking disaster, and telling us we
could never put down the rebellion They
called the soldiers ''Lineoln, hirelings,"
"nigger worshipers," and, they heaped
every name of opprobrium upon them.-
They sat in Congress across the aisle, and
if it was "a law for draft, raising iimoney
by taxation, punish guerrillas, increasing
the army, or no matter what, in every
case that body ofDenocrats voted against
all such laws. George II PendIeton,
whom they put on their ticket as candi-
date for Vice President, made it his boast,
and I heard it, that he thanked God that
he had never voted for man or dollar to
carry on this infamous war, and the whole
tribe from Vallandigham down to the low
est of their camp followers trained in the
same company and declared the same
principles. What did they do there
across the aisle the last three years !?
Whenever news came that the army had
fought a great battle and news ofvicto-
ry was borne to our ears, did they shout
Cry of'' No, sir, it amt in EN-" mini.
remember ON one occasion after Grant
went into the darkness of the Spotsyloania
Wilderness, when for six mortal days the
telegraph wires were cut off behind him,
and for six terrible days the nation was
on its knees praying to the God of battles
for victory, and mothers We're quaking
for fear the loved ones might be lost-at
last, after six days of agony, a messenger
entered the hall of the House of Repre-
sentatives, hurried up to the Speakers
desk with dispatch in his hand that our
forces had captured 5000 rebels and go
cannons, and with an impulse that no one
could resist, every loyal member sprang
to his feet. Men shed,tears like children,
and the galleries. leaped to their feet and
shouted glory and honor and Joy. But
those seventy men sat across the aisle
without one word of applause or one look
of exultation. Never during the whole
war did General Ashley or myself see
one of those men give the. least sign of
JOY. or qualification at a single success
On the contrary, if news of defeat or dis
aster came, such fhen as Harris went
stalking through THE Chamber saying,
.GThere, what do you think now about
your Black Republican party, putting
Il l., Ill
t8haye SHOT him. II Precisely that sort of
thing wasdone by these people from the
beginning Of the war to the close. That
very man Harris stood up in his place
and said, 81 told you from the beginning
you ,couldn't put down the rebellion !, the
rebel army is an army of gentlenenLyou
never can conquer them, and pray God
yoir never niay.pu When he had uttered
those reasonable words and one of our
number offered a resolution to eXpel him
as a traitor from the House, every one of
those seventy Democratic members voted
not to eNpel, but to keep him in his seat
Now am stating the kind OF material
that imakes a part Of this party ROW op-
posing the Union party, While we We're
at war the great Union party pierced the
centre and divided the Democratic party
into two. wings, one wing was tin the
North firing into the Union army with
ballots the other wing was IN the South
firing into them with bullets, and We
Kept them apart for four years. Those
boys in blue kepttAem apart. 5 A voice,
''They had a wedding lately in Philadel-
phia. ! That was the difference between
those two wings of the Democracy
Some one has given definition which is
good one A rebel is a brave copper
head; a eopperhead is q cowardlyrebel.--
Enthusiastic applause. The one be-
Geved certain thing and had the manli-
ness to take his gun on his shoulder and
fight for it; the other believed the same
thing, but, in cowardly manner, stuck
in a secret ballot as the only manner of
expressing his views. As have said, for
four years We kept the two wings apart,
hut now, fellow citizens, as thegrand army
of the Union has returned and gone home
to the pursuits Of peace, the two wings of
that great Democratic party have again
united. y,And they united at philadelphia,
where. one of the great high priests de-
| cIared that he thanked God that at last.