National Republican., 1876-07-04

tions, the North furnished vastly more men
than the South
or fcontinental troops, the Southern States
furnished IS ,421; the Northern furnished IT,
496; making about three mon furnished to the
Continental army by the Northern States to
one from the Southern.
But these figures, surprising as they are,
would not alone account for the great results
achieved during the War for Independence
For this, we must look at the character of the
men whose qualifications were so peculiarly
adapted to the hard services they performed.
In some respects they differed from the great
body of armies ordinarily serving in cam
paigns.
Ffrst-The rank and file was made up of
primitive men, and mostly in the full vigor of
manhood; for as rule, the youth Of the coun-
try staid at home to 90 to school, or work in
the shops or on the farms. They had not only
been enerrated by no luxury, but they had
been Injured to health and continuous labor,
and by consent of the military men of the
Revolution, both American and foreign Off
GERS, they were unequaled by the troops of
any nation in their ability to endure exposure,
privation and fatigue. With scarcely an ex-
ception, they had been accustomed from boy
hood to the use of firearms. The rifle had
always been the toy of the American boy, and
in subduing the continent it was the chief re-
lance of the pioneer settler.
StconG-Intelligence. What is popularly
called ignorance was unknown from the ear
liest life Of the Colonies; and just SO far as in
telllgence, linked with independent thinking,
and the ingenuity which is begotten by neces-
eity for ecOnOmv aDd
with habits of reliance on self judgment, make
men useful and strong, just in that proportion
did the American soldiers surpass in efficiency
those brought against them.
1kiTd-Devotion to country To be pa
triotic was the habit of men ia those days: to
be true to the flag was the law-to betray it
the cases were too rare to mention. The
records of the Revolution are filed with IN
stances of devotion to the cause of independ-
ence, which, however admirable, became too
common to be distinguished. When men went
into that war they made up their minds to
win or lose all; hence there was no halfway
work. Every man put his whole strength
into the work of every day. There was dslib-
Grafton In council, but there was no slow act
ing. When an officer was asked for a man to
perform some special service, he was at a loss
whom to choose among so many. 1t grew
into proyerb when some man of special quail
titles was called for, "Take the first man YOU
"lsy your hands on" From the highest to
the lowest, they all had common inter-
est-everything was at stake for every
man. 1t is evident enough that few
armies have been made up of such
material. As fast as European officers
became acquainted with these characteristics,
Just as fast did the words fall from their
mouth: "SIch men can never be conquered"
These were about all the resources the Ameri-
cans had to carry on the war for the first two
or three years. The Colonies were poor.
There was no money; there was no machinery
for manufacturing firearms or other NUM-
tions of war. The raw material was obtained
only by the hardest, and almost everything
had to be done 'by hand" As for credit, it
scarcely occurred to anybody to ask It. Some
of the Colonies, especially Massachusetts,
Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York,
had indeed built up considerable commerce
with the-West Indies and other foreign eoun-
tries; and the hardy mariners of New Eng
land were eultivating the fisheries ofNewfound-
land, and even chasing the whale of the
Northern ocean. But hereafter, any Amert-
can vessel which ventured to sea could ex-
pect to escape capture only by fast sailing or
cutting her way against odds. The Who'll" At
lantic seaboard was blockaded. No help could
for long time be looked for from abroad, and
nothing was left but for the brave Colonists
| who had defed the mightiest empire on the
globe, but to 60 into battle trusting to their
cwn valor, the justice of their cause and the
| help of heaven.