The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1872-10-11
SlOcum To burnside,
A REAL SOLDIER PROCEEDS TO Ex
CoRIATE THE HERO OF FRED
ERICKsBURG.

II
ERIoKsBURa.
General. "A. e, Burnside. .
DEAR GENERAL: l have read with
great interest your address TO the SOL
| diers and sailors who served in.the Un-
ion army and navy during the late
war. AS / was once of the soldiers al
luded to trust you will not be displeas-
ed IL L say a.few words in response
thereto. You tell us that you and 9th.
ers, as our representatives, met at
| lutions which we have already seen.
You complain that Mr.. Greeley has
expressed the opinion that you assem-
bled for political purposes, and that
you hoped to accomplish these purposes
by reviving the animosities and hatreds
engendered by tho war. You further
say that these remarks of Mr.. Greeley
and his entire lack of courtesy toward
the soldiers and sailors serve to confirm
you in the opinion that he Is quite unfit
| to be trusted in any position where 10y
atty to his Government, a just regard
| to the feelings of others, aud an abne-
cation of self is required. You then
proceed to inform us in conclusion, that
It only remains for you to urge us to
organize in harmony with the regular
Republican organizations, and do all in
our power to re-elect General Grant.
The first thought occurreing my mind
on reading this address was, "What
was there in General Burnside's mill
tary career that justih y him in telling
| the ehundreds ofthousa ads ofsoldiers wha
| served during the late war what they
| should do in time of peace ?" Did
! anything occur at the first Bull Run, at
Roanoke Island, at Fredericksburg, in
East Tennessee, or at the mine explos-
ion in front OF Petersburg, which
| entities him to assume command of all
of us in time of peace, and order us to
| the front to fight in behalf of a political
party? My second thought was: SIS
| 1t creditable TO the soldiers of the late
war that one of their number should
be permitted as their pretended repres.
entative to spread broadcast over the
land document charging Horace
Greeley with disloyalty? p The truth
| Of the saying that "the pen is mightier
than the sword" is coming year by
year to be more generally acknowledg.
! ed. In view of the election of General
Grant to the Presidency, and of the
fact that he is a candidate for re-
! election, there are probably some men
| in the country who doubt its truth. If,
| however, we were to add to thesaying the
provisO that the pen should be handled
| by Greeley and the sword by Burn
side all doubters would disappear. You
and /, General, know full well that
while we were in the field fighting for
the Union Mr.. Greeley was welding in
behalf of the same cause weapon far
more powerful thrn those used by
either of us. We know, too, that long
after we had sheathed our swords he
kept up the fight, and continued it un-
til every object was accomplished for
| which even the most ardent abolltionist
had ever prayed. He did not cease
the fight until the Union was restored,
slavery abolished, the blacks enfranchi.
sed and all their civil and political
rights solemnly guaranteed to them by
amendments of the Constitution. And
yet, General, you have the hardihOod
of charging this man with disloyalty,
and are uttering this foolish charge in
your assumed capacity as the represen-
tative of all the Union soldiers of the
land. You say he has been guilty of u
| lack of courtesy toward us. In my
judgment, any man who eight years af.
ter the close of q bloody civil war will
ask soldiers to assemble in convention
with view of controlling their action
in political matters is "a demagogue
unworthy of courtesy at the hands Of
Mr.. Greeley or any other person.
When at the close of the war we laid
down our arms, we became citizens, and
we have no interests today except
those we have in common with all
other citizens. Why, then, should any
one ask us, in our character as soldiers
to assemble in political bodies? Why
should you extend to us such an invi.
| kak l., 1. Al..k