The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-09-16
Preparations Tc,r LAYING the for.
h0E-s.One OF the Soldiers
Monument on the Battle
field Tomorrow.
THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE CONFLICT.
ntss Etc. Eto., Etc. Etc" Eto'

8tatess On that day the FedeTal Arny uhuel
Mcclellan encountered the invading horde oil
Rebels, under the command Of Lee, and stopped
aheir further progress towards the inviting fields
Of Pennsylvania. 1t is true that the Rebels
claimed victory, and that the most that we
could claim was an advantage-the holding OF
our own ground, with favorable position for
renewing the conflict on the following day. But
Ahe state of affairs was fortunately such that an
impediment in the way OF the Rebel advance
was equivalent to their defeat; and so the nation
was able to breathe freer, and the invading
army, taking advantage of McOlellan's hes-
fancy, recrossed the Potomac and once more
left us at peace within our own borders.
To understand the peril of the nation and the
character of the conflict, ii is necessary to glance
hIst at
The Events Before the Battle.
Having thrown the Army of the Potomac
upon the defensive, an invasion of Pennsylvania
was determined upon by the Rebel leaders. The
odds against them were fearful, but the prize
was ghttering, and success on their part would
have been equivalent almost to national ruin on
ours The scope and objects of this invasion
were thus wildly set forth In the Richmond
Dispatch of the day of the battle:-
"The road to Pennsylvania lies invitingy open.
There are no regular SOLDIERS on the rqne.what
land il would be task OF little difficulty to disperse
them. The country is enormously rich. 1t a6ounds
In tat cattle cereals horses a9d mules Our troops
ind an opportunity, moreover to teach the Dutch
The war what Invasion really is For our own part,
we Ss in Which His aT4 sErad 81 p9pe and the
fOr!gSSlsegp, !!gSd e.. a.. -. .-,,, -,
Into desert, as the Yankees did the Piedmont
SPRS R S d GgaSS G let nSt blade of or
move nSE along Tr sheen be oo LEFT S Ehersyer they
mas Deen done until retrbution itself shall stand
SS1I66s VI. q be EsRJiis%so
gToes the most Valuable properly that Wirgirian n
Ean own; hey have no negroes in Pennsyivania
else let everng SsR SSt SOnstitntes sO@sitnis
property Let the rete..s be complete that the
they lave By az sS
easily ge wsP Of 6e Gra
Railroad, and break II down SO thoroughly that it
possession Of the Baltimore aud ohil Railroad and
and Ra rsroad rom Pnisdephia 70 BaItlmoTe
they will completely isolate both Washington and
either North or West, except BY the Potomac and
The peril Of our State, as thus depicted, was,
alas too true. And those VINO will permit
themselves to wander back in memory TO that
terrible epoch will say that we fully appreciated
Its extent even If we did not eXaggeIate It's
proportions. The greatest excitement prevailed
throughout the State, more especially in Phila-
delphia and Harrisburg. On the llth of Sep
tember Governor Curtin issued proclamation,
in which he called upon the people of the State
for fifty thousand men, "for imm ediate service
to Tepel the now imminent danger from invasion
by the enemies of the country" Mayor Henry
Of this city, was requested by telegraph to for
ward twenty thousand, as the quota OF Phila-
delphia In response to this, the Mayor issued
his own proclamation, calling upon all the able
bodied men of the city to assemble on the
following morning at the precinct houses in the
different election divisions, ready for Immediate
service
unba ad q at
assumed the character of a vast military en-
campment, and so fast were the enlistments
made that it was impossible to furnish sufficient
transportation, and whole regiments OF anxious
citizens were forced to lay out in the rain over
night, ON the other side of the Schuylkill. At
Harrisburg the excitement was not less intense,
and was still further increased by an order of
the Mayor OF that CITY, prohibiting the inhabi-
tants from leaving its borders, under penalty of
instant arrest. BY the time that tue encounter
on the field of Antietam took place, at least
seventy-fiVe thousand men had responded to the
call of the Governor, been equipped as fully as
possible, and hurried to the borders of the
State Such was "the rabble of militia" which
was ready to tall a prey to the chivalry. But,
fortunately, their threatened fate was averted,
and they were enabled to disperse in peace, and
not at the point of Rebel bayonets.
The Councils of Philadelphia likewise voted
an appropriation of five hundred thousand dol.
lars for the defense OF the city and State and
conferred upon the Mayor dietatoral powers
that he might be able to meet the emergency
But when the Rebellion Record states as fact thai
ahe public archives, bonds, and treasure of this
city were packed up and sent to New York fol
safe keeping, the Rebellion Record goes slight,
beyond the truth. Philadelphia was scared :
BADLY scared-but there was limit to its terror
aud the public records were not disturbed. Ye
men and women were so terribly frightened
that many OF them did leave the city, bearlni
away with them their treasures in money plate
ana clothing; while the leading jewellers an,
-- other dealers IN valuable commodities, bundle
up thelr wares, ready to retreat before the ad
Wancing foe.
While the people of Pennsylvania were thu
Rrought up TO the climax of terror the Arm
OF the Potomac, under the command of McCle
Aan, was not IDLE, but was doing all that wa
possible 10 interpose barrier between ia
chivalry and the 'rabble of miltiar which the
were so eager to 'disperse.n On tbe 10Th III
Union advance, under the command of Gener,
Burnside, entered Frederick Md thc Raha
falling back, their rearguard meanUbiIe a,
gaging in slight skirmish with our front lin o
The Rebels had met with a sorry receptioo
Frederick, and when Burnside's corps of for
thousand men took possession OF the CITY, 1t w
so enthusiastically welcomed that MarylaI
loyalty enjoyed thereafter much higher estim
tion than had hitherto been placed upon it.
The Battle OF South Mountain.
At daylight on the morning of the l4th 4
Union army marched en- nlQSSe out OF Frederic
taking the road towards Harper's Ferry. Abo
this time q verbal message had been receiv
by General Mcclellan from Colonel Ford, col
mandng at Harper's Ferry, to the effect th
the surrounding heights had been abandon
,Nosition at the Ferry two days longer. McOlell
K, Uried ON 10 the rescue, pushing torwa
fou ards Crampton's Pass Franklin's corr
- h arrived at BurkettsVille at moo