Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1869-11-18

obsy yosr ezosllsncy's order for returning
and, v>@d inform you that IN order o.
inviA 70 dsssrt The standard Of on,
couur Win nsv~ b obeyed by u
laltha 4, 80 tus npveru
b n s i did vsrn5g6t y !
,sst - IN nani5s md 8
|tpssg : O. ~ law be ,true
|Daldi ercl y l6baud a ensmia1
E0nsW e Fktt nrs1 nd, g. ~ brisl
little cotillion on tkat bright Septembeu
morning, Sir George Provost, deeuine
discretion the better part Of valor," under
cover ofthe following night, hastily packed
bis kit, aad with his British regulars
like the arabs,
Folded his tents
And silently stole away
Thus did Vermont soldiers, in spite Of
an unwilling executive, fight their way
upon the record into the second war of the
Republic; and afforded our gallant little
State the proud distinction of having
furnished large part of that raw militia
before which, superior number even Of
veteran troops, trained to war under the
Duke of Wellington, had hastily retreated
Glory enough, sure, for Vermont in tina,
war.
In the slight skirmish with Mexico, the
enlightened public sentiment of Vermont
already well educated in the school ,o
equal rights, could feel no special pleasure
in responding to a call from the consti-
tuted authorities for troops. Our people
looked upon the war as waged for the
extension of human slavery, and the open
ing up of new marts for the trade in human
blood against which every noble impulse
of the Vermont heart revolted. Never
theless war had been declared, the flag OF
our country had been unfurled and the
honor of the nation was at stake. Yer
monters saw this, and could not suppress
the feeling, that the war after declaration,
was their war the flag when unfurled
was their flag, and the honor that was at
stake was their honor. Neither could
they consent that the record of the State,
so brilliant in previous wars, then in their
keeping, should suffer stain or blemish
through their detection. Perhaps they
had in mind the proud position accorded
their State in the geography of their
school boy days; which, swhile ii made
New Hampshire famous for her mountain
scenery, Maine for her lumber, Massa-
chusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut
for their manufactures, said of Vermont
that she was celebrated for the part
taken by the Green Mountain boys in the
war for independence However this
may be, she at least did her duty. She
voted men and money for the war; she
filled her quota from the bravest of her
sons, but few of whom lived to return to
the State. Among the number thus laid
a sacrifice upon her country's alter was
the gifted, lamented Ransom.
Such, in brief outline, is the military
history of Vermont previous to the late
shareholders rebellion when of sudden,
with hardly a.note of warning, the glare
of battle lit up Sumter's walls. Instantly.
rs from profound sleep, the. nation was
aroused from the lethargic repose of a
long peace; the enerRting influences Of
which had, in Vermont, disarmed and
disbanded her entire militia, save few
independent companies; in which as the
type of the Vermont soldier, to slightly
amend the great Poet, /" the native hue !"
of Vermont's early resolution "was seem
ingly sicklied DER with the pale cast +"
of home guard effeminacy. Whether
really SO or not, let the bloody record Of
the "a 900 man who went out from Yer
mont, leaving home and its endearments,
friends and their society, and voluntarily
endured the ennui of the camp, the fatigue
of the march, the loneliness of the solitary
midnight watch, the chill of the bivouac,
the disease and death Of the hospital, and
all the indescribable horrors of the battle
field make answer-yes, let that record,
SO replete with glory, make answer. But
here shrink from the task before me-
How shall l in fitting words pass in
review the heroism, the endurance, the
sutferings, the gallantry and indomitable
bravery of those men? How, also, suita-
bly, portray the sacrifices, the eart-long
ings, the mental struggles, the keen
anguish the deep sorrow, the tears and
the prayers of Vermont homes, during
those four eventful years, which, though
still fresh in the memory Of all, yet
already seem hike dream or tale that
is told.
l shall not undertake to give a detailed
account eff the different Vermont organi
cations, nor Of the special claims of each to
honorable mention This field has been
already fully canvassed in previous ad
dresses before you-and | snail content
myself in the brief space, to which, by the
properties Of the occasion, anu limited
with some hasty sllusions TO those crises
of the struggle in which Vermont troops
participated. But first, word about the
character Of that struggle.
In lamenting the death of those twin
patriots OF the Revolution, Adams aud
Jefferson, (Which it will be remembered
occurred on the iftieth anniversary of cur
independence Webster said I" No age of
the world viii ever come in which the
American revolution will appear less than
it really is; one of the greatest events III
human history. No age will ever come in
which it will cease to be seen and felt, OH
either continent, that a mighty step, a great
advance not only in American affairs but
in human affairs was made on the 4th OF
July, I776" The cardinal truth which
has made that day immortal, (but which,
from some of his after utterances, il woul
seem Mr.. Webster must have forgotten
was that 8 all men are created equal"
That was the proposition that echoed
round the world with such alarming
emphasis, shaking thrones, carrying con
sternation and dismay to titled dlgnitaries
and highborn aristocrats everywhere. -
What else could it have been Certainly
not mere declaration Of Independence by
the colonies from home rule, for that was
no new thing in history. Since the quarrel
between the herdmen of Lot and Abraham
and the division of the world which
followed, there is hardly chapter in
human affairs, either sacred or profane, in
which man is not found constantly setting
up for himself. But never before was the
eouality of man declared. This alone