Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1869-07-23

From that day it became manifest that III
, Rebellion could not succeed. unless tn
Southern people exhibited tbat enduring
patience under adversely aud high devotion
that will sacrifice everything for the cause
which, as It turned out, they did not possess
BY our victories at Gettysburg and Yieks
burg the Rebellion lost its prestige IN En-
rope, and all hopes Of foreign intervention
At the foot of this monument sleep III,
heroes ofthe battle Here lie the father
the husband, the brother, and the only son
In far-off homes, among the hills Of New
England on the shores Of the lakes. and II
the valleys and plains Of the West, tn,
wIdoS, the orphan aud the aged parent ar,
weeping for these beloved dead. Many o.
the tombs are marked unknown, but tbey
viii all be recognized on the morning of The
resurrection. The unknown dead left be.
hind them kindred, friends, and breaking
hearts. None die so humble but leave some
one 10 mourn. "Perished at Gettysburg.
IN defense of their country, 9T9 men, o.
whose names, homes, or lineage, there Is Nc
trace left on earth Doubtless the Record
ing Angel has preserved the record, and
when the books are opened on the last day
their names viii be found 10 letters Of living
light, on the immortal page Of heroes who
died that their country might live
In the fields before US are the graves Of
the Rebel dead. now sunk to the level Of
the plain, unmarked, uuhonored, and IN
known. They were our couutrymen, Of
our blood, language, and history. They dis
played courage worthy Of their country,
and Of better cause, and sc may drop a
tear to their memory. The news Of this
fatal field carried agony to thousands Of
/ Southern homes, and the wall of despair was
heard in the everglades and orange groves
Of the South. Would to God that these
men had died for their country. and not in
fratricidaI strife. for its destruction. Oh,
who can describe the wiekedDess Of rebel
lion, or paint the horrors Of civil WARP
The Rebellion was madness Il was the
insanity Of States, the delirium Of millions.
brought on BY the perhicious influence of
human Slavery. The people Of the South
were drunk with the spoils Of the labor Of
1900, 600 Of slaves They were educated
in the belief that chivalry and glory we're
the inheritance only Of shareholders; that
free Institutions and free labor beeat COW
ardice and servility; that Northern men
we're sordid and mereenary, intent only upon
| gain, aud would not fight for their Govern
ment or principles And thus educated
and thus believing, they raised their lands
to strike the Government Of their fathers.
and to establish a new Constitution, the
| chief cornerstone of which was to be hu-
man Slavery.
The lust Of power, the unholy greed Of
Slavery, the mad ambition Of disappointed
statesmen, impelled the people of the South
to fearlul crime, which drenched the land
with fraternal blood, that has been punished
as few crimes have ever beea in this world,
but out Of which, We are assured, that God,
in His providence, will bring forth the
choicest blessings to our country and to the
human race; even as the rarest flowers spring
in profusion from the graves of the dead:
I Liberty universal, soon TO be guaranteed
and preserved by suffrage universal; the
keeping Of nation freedom to beintrusted
to all tie people, and not to a part only; the
national reproach washed out, in rivers Of
blood. it is true; but the sius Of the world
were atoned by the blood of the Savior, and
the expiation of blood seems to be the grand
economy of God founded in wisdom, to
mortals inscrutable Resurrection comes
only from the grave. Death is the great
progenitor Of life From the tomb of the
Rebellion a nation has been born again.
The principles Of liberty, so gIoriously stated
in the Declaration of Independence, had
hitherto existed in theory The Govern
ment had ever been a painful contradiction
to the Declaration While proclaining to
the world that liberty was the gift of God
to every human being, 100000 of people
were held in atjeet and brutalizing Slavery,
under the shadow Of the national flag. In
the presence Of these slaves, professions Of
/ devotion to liberty were vain and bypocriti-
cal. The cIanki0g Of their chains assembled
perpetually in contradiction to our pro.
lessions, and the enemies of republicanism
pointed contemptuousiy to our example
But all this is passed. Slavery lies buried
in the tomb Of the Rebellion The Rebellion
the offspring of SIavery-hath murdered
its unnatural parent, aud the perfect reign Of
liberty is at hand
/ With the ratification Of the Fifteenth Ar
tiele, proposed by Congress as an amend
ment to the Constitution of the United
States, which We have every reason, to be
lieve viii soon be completed, impartial
suffrage viii be established throughout the
land The equal rights of men viii be
recognized, and the millennium in liberty
and government win be realized, to which
our fathers looked forward with hopefulnes:
and JOY.
/ The principles Of liberty once planted in
the earth and ripened into their rich fruits,
will be borne through all the ages, Blessing
mankind to the latest generation, even as
the seeds first sown by the hand Of God in
Paradise were blown by the winds from con-
tinent to continent, until the world We:
clothed with verdure, fruits, and flowers
The prospect for liberty throughout The
world was never so bright Us it is to-day
In all civilized lands tie grand armies o.
I freedom are on their march. And they ara
allied armies Victory to one win give
prestige audconidence to the Others. Viii
some, progress will be slow; they will en-
counter disaster and defeat, Tut viii again
rally aud 90 forward to fnal victory. lnthC
great campaign Of freedom We count, mol
by months but BY decades and generations
in which there viii be many BuH Run