Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1878-06-27
AN EXTINCT RACE
The Private soldier IN the war Of the
Rebellion.


Rebellion.
From the Burlington Hawk-Eye
At the decoration of the graves of the
Union soldiers in the National Cemetery
at Gettysburg Gen. B. F. Butler delivered
an address on ''The Private Soldier in
the War of the Rebellion It was
touching theme. There is always
wonderful pathos in a sdeech or play or
story founded on life that has ceased to
exists. This is the charm of " Uncle
Toms Cabin"; this is the power in JOa-
quin Miller'S ''Danites"; this must have
lent tenderness and pathos to Gen. But
ler's address.
The ''private soldier in the war of the
rebellion He is dead. Or lost. Strayed
or stolen, possibly. We do not know
where he is, but he is not here. He has
gone away to some place. Perhaps he has
ceased to be necessary. Perhaps if he
were here he would be in the way. At
any rate, he is not around. He does not
go to the Legislature. We do not find him
in Congress. He is not eagerly sought as
candidate for anything. Nobody seems
to know anything about him. Occasion
ally he appears at the pension list, with
one leg, wife and seven children, and
$8 month. If flour takes much of rise
he will not last much longer at this rate,
and we will soon be deprived, even of the
occasional glimpse we have of him.
1t is asserted, and quite generally be-
lieved, that at one time he was quite nu-
merous, and was even considered rather
convenient, if not, indeed. quite indis-
pensable. 1t was found that upward of
100 of him were necessary in order to Sc
cure mere line commissions for three en-
inent and deserving men. When field
commissions were wanted for three even
more eminent and great men, upward Of
900 private soldiers were necessary
One thousand! 1t seems an enormous
number now, when by consulting the
Congressional directory we find there are
none in all this proud republic. But IL
or Is years ago even that, incredible as
it may appear to us to-day, was consider
ed small number. There were private
soldiers and private soldiers. There were
even hundreds of thousands of them.
And they were useful. They dug
trenches, they constructed long lines of
breastworks, and then, when an enemy
came within sight, they climbed over
them and went outside of them to fight.
They worked and watched and fought
Cooperating with great and eminent men
who have since passed to their rewards in
one office and another, these private SOL
diers sometimes rendered very useful ser-
IL - haEf1 n
were useful. Some historians have even
gone so far as to maintain that without
them the war could hardly have been
carried to successful termination. They
were really quite useful.
And now they are all gone. It seems
sad, looking back at the war, that none
but the Generals, and Colonels, and Ma
iors. and line officers should have survived
its dreadful ravages. Providence, ever
mindful of the wants of great and
growing nation u Undoubtedly took special
care of these great men, and in its great
anxiety that the country should not suf-
fer from a lack of eminent men, kind of
forgot the private soldiers and let them
wonder away. And so they are all gone.
Some of them got shot. SUme of them
died. Some of them got married and
moved out of the world, to settle on tracts
of Government land, where the Indians
could get at them more easily. Some of
them went into business. Some of them
are teaching school. Some of them are
driving dray. Some of them went away
and didn't leave their present address.
But all the same, they are all gone and it
seems dreadfully lonesome without them.
There used to be so many of them.