The Baltimore County union., 1866-02-24
Civil Wars .

Civil Wars.
In the Monthly Religious Magazine for
February there is an interesting historical
review OF civil wars; and on the subject Of
the Peloponesian war, the writer says
This long and deadly warfare could not
have been prolonged through twenty-seven
years, except for the fact that both Spain
and Athens were based on slavery. Tho
slaves titled the soil the citizens waged
war Slavery not only supplied the muni-
tlons, but it gave to the war savage fe-
i roclty and brutality Athens alone had four
hundred thousand slaves to sixty Thousand
Ireemen. But Sparta was made pre.emi-
nently barbarous and inhuman by the habit
OF dOmineering over slaves. During the
progress of the war, fearing an insurrection
among her Helots at home she proclaimed
liberty to such as would come forward md
| join her armies. Two thousand brave men
sprung up at the word, liberty" and pre-
sented themselves. They were never heard
of more. They were led off secretly and
massacred aud by this fiendish treacherv,
the oligarchs rid themselves Of such slaves
as would most likely prove a dangerous elc-
kment ut home.
1t is curious to contrast the numbers en-.
gagged in our war with those engaged in the
great wars Of the past. se4 "a j
We select two decisive battles. One of
these was fought in the harbor Of Syracuse.
In an expedition against Sicily, Athens had
strained every nerve aud equipped mag.
nifccnt fleet and army. They sailed out
of the Pireus with sound Of trumpets,
p@ans and libations Of wine from gold and
silver cups. This great army consisted offve
thousand heavy armed infantry Itwas re-
inforced by another of about tho same num-
ber. When gathered ut Syracuse they num-
bered in all-heavy armed infantry, natives
of tho island, aud slaves, who were light
armed and only employed as skirmishers
twenty thousand men. This, in the lam
guage of 'Thucydides, made the power ap-
pear stupendous," and her resources "be-
| yond calculation" f..af,
The final and decisive battle was that
Of Aigospotomi, when Athens lost her neet
| and nearly her whole army was surprised
and taken prisoners. The numbers engag- !
ed in battle are not told, but the number
of prisoners, who were native Athenians, is
recorded rs three thousand, which seems to
have made up the bulk of her army in the
last decisive engagement,
NOW AND THEN.
AS the numbers engaged, the little State
of Massachusetts has furnished moro men
in our present struggle than fought on both
sides in the great English rebellion. 1t has
sent more men into the field than Julius
Caesar commanded to 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 Y ork has equip
ped more soldiers than all the troops Of
Caesar aud Pompey put together, though
drawn from every province, from the Eu-
pirates to the pillars of Hercules. The
whole army of Cromwell would only serve
as skirmishers or as q detail for "raid'
from the army Of Grant or Sherman. His
great military fame was gained by manag-
ing twenty-five thousand men, and its mar
ches and eyolutions were within an area less
extensive than the State Of Virginia.
THE ENGLISH REBELLION
The great civil war OF England, known.
as g the Great Rebellion was also con-
fict between the oligarchs and the commons
called again, the Cavaliers and the Round
heads called again, more appropriately,
the King and the Parliment 1t divided
England horizontally-the king aud the
lords and the bishops on one side, the conf
mons on the other; and it decided the
question forever, whether the constitution.
al government was possible boon to the
English race. a8 ~
The war opened in 1912 and continued
seven years. 1t would probably have been
finished in half that time, but for the hesi-
fancy and half measures of Essex, the FIRST.
parliamentary general. The first conflict Of
Hdgchill has it exact parallel in Antietam.
ltwas drawn battle; both parties lying all
night on their arms but in the morning,
llampden came up with four thousand men.
Julius Caesar would have followed up quick
ly the former days work, and, with blow up
on blow, finished the royalists and the war
Instead ofthis, the armies looked at each
other" dreaded to renew the fight, and
drew of, each by itself, much to the chag-
rim aud disgust of Hampden Five thou
sand were left slain upon the field slain
to no purpose, as nothing was decided.
So things went on, till Oliver Cromwell
came with his ironside regiment aud in
the decisive battle of Naseby, dashed up
on the kings forces and shyerrd them to
pieces. qsrfo5 st54rc
We may smile, on reading over these
great battles, at the numbers engaged.-
They varied from twenty to twenty-five
thousand men on each side, never exceed
ing tho latter number The battle Of
MarstOn Moor was the most obstinateIy
contested, between " the most numerous ar
mics that were engaged during the course
Of these wars )" and in that battle, as Hume
laments, fifty thousand British troops were
led to mutual slaughter. Such was tho price
paid the end achieved was free govern
ment for the English race everywhere.
The writern the Religious Monthly de-
duces from the facts he states several argu-
ments. First comes one in favor OF u cul-
tivatioD Of II national military spirit as the
surest way of avoiding the shedding Of
blood. Wars unskillfully waged are the
bloodiest of all. Caesar, in three years
war between the Ceserans and POmpeians
lost fewer men than Mcclellan did in o
single campaign on the Peninsula Indeed,
it is said more lives have been lost in onr
present war than the great civil wars of
Greece, Rome and England put together !;
aud this might have been avoided had the
North been military people. S
Pleasure and Sleep.
When William the Fourth was crowned,
gentleman from the country having been
seized with a temporary mania to witness
u =