Lamoille newsdealer. [volume] (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1860-1877, 1868-11-24
A HINT FOR HISTORY

. ~ INV VII fuNiOfIt
The ''irst gun" fred upon Fort fSuntet
was the keynote of the war, as il has becr
the Keynote Of every one who has spokel
or written about The war since. 1t stirreC
the northern as well as the southern heart
and as the shot at Lexington, according t
Mr.. Emerson, was heard round the world
so was this of Sumter, breaking away from
our own bounde, heard to the confines O.
civilization This ''frst gum will also b,
heard in the history of the affair, and echo
down through afl fsGie. Bat Il should b
the duty of history to set the matter right
and to state the fact that but for our own
weakness, or the weakness of him who held
Sumter, Sumter never would have beer
fired on, and thus the ''frdt gun" would
have had no merit in creating the sensa.
ton. We were unfortunate in having the
man we did at the head of the government
He was a weak-kneed, mild, benevolent
old gentleman, who had such respect for
the written law, and 50 much fear lest he
should do anything conflicting with it, that
when the rebellion came, his doubts were
50 strong about his authority to do any
thing to stay it, he Gid nothing; and we
were equally unfortunate in eur command
er at Sumter, an equally good man
who was too conscientious in carrying
out the wishes of his superior, and thus
between the two, the. evil came, We
think that there are times when good,
strong, eelf-willcd man, who will take q
responsibility and act as he sees right from
his better chances of observation, is a
treasure; old John Wilkes, for instance,
who fred the shot across the bows of the
Trent and brought her to, even though we
did have to compromise the affair after
wards, The first shovel-full Of dirt thrown
up on Sullivan's Island was as much an
covert act' as the 'iirst gun" aforesaid.
It was war, and right under the guns of
Sumter--with the intention Of violence de-
cl&red and the Star Of Che West assailed
and driven of-were The insurgents allow
ed to erect the works that were to bring
down cur flag in shame and dishonor.
We think not. TO biz blunt aud dull mind
that first shoyel-full would have meant
overt treason, and before they could lave
gone much, if any, farther he would have
cracked few hundred-pound shells over
their heads and waited for orders
afterwards Suppose Major Anderson had
done 50, and appealed to the people to
sustain him. lie might perhaps have been
tried by court-martial for military dere.
liction as was Wilkes, but Wilkes, though
found guilty, was suspended for but six
months, on full pay, and was afterwards
created an admiral. The South would
have been kept from them. The taking
Of this gave them the whole of the forts
at the South, except Munroc and Pickens
the latter no brayely defended by Slem-
mer--which never would have happened,
with Charleston as the base Of the Federal
operations, % it would have been were
Sumter retained by us, The whole affair
of Sumter, from beginning to close, appears
very weak, ard we hardly think the major
was entitled to his after honors. We think
he would have received them in no other
service. The whole appears to be that We
were suffering Just then under an oprcs'
sive goodness perfect surfeit Of beney
olence-and that snappy, swearing mar
like Phil Sheridan, who swore, as at Ce
dar Creek, we're worth whole army o
Major Aqdersons. True, they didn't know
what they ought to do, at the first, bu
they should have guesscd.-FtaJ Of ON
Union.