Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1883-09-05
Holiday Soldering.

1t is often said that our militiamen are
only holiday soldiers and besides that they
are very largely lot of boys. So that
their annual musters and other goings
about are condemned as useless.
The holiday soldering" and the boy"
charges are all well enough. The first is
mostly true and the second is true enough
to be said as talk runs. But if they are
trle there is something to be considered
If what the truth carries with it.
Without doubt the "true grandeur of
nations is to be at peace without and
within their borders and to have neither
wars nor rumors of wars. And that any
kind of soldering happens to be more or
less of holiday kind shows only that just
now the better way of peace is being fol-
Wed.
But wars come--not only bet ween bar.
arians and on Indian borders-but shared
by civilized peoples. England gener-
ally has little war or two on her hands
and France just now is getting up lively
light in Asia in which it seems very prob
able China viii be fully engaged. 1t is
only four years since Russia and Turkey
quit lighting and but dozen years since
those pinks of philosophy and polteness,
Germany and France. closed their great
duel.
Besides that in every large country there
are dozens of small reoellions or big riots
that get he upper hand Of the civil author
tiles. These outbreaks do not always
imply wrong in the beginning on the part
of those engaged in them out left TO run
they destroy property and life and the
greatest blow from these falls on those
who are misled into them.
The possession of All organized military
medicine is often better than cure
There is no disputipg that war is a trade
to be learned and military body moving
in mass at command is ten fold more
effective than its members would be
dIsorganzed and without concert of action
The training that our Vermont regiment
gets in its holiday soldering makes it II
power usabie under forms and advant-
ages that could not be applied to men
without that training.
\ little more than TWEEN Y years ago the
advantage of having holiday soldiers
was we'll shown. The promptness will
which Vermont res pended to the first ca
for troops was because of the interes
taken for a year or two before in her
militia companies.
In the latter days OF August, 1860. Their,
We're lot of holiday soldiers trampius
over the Berlin meadows aud goin.
through sham fights and other ''rIrlIcuou.
performances. Nobody dreamed
lighting in earnest. But within Il year
regiment made up quickly from hose yer,
"ompanit was engaged in real war
Then about The boy business Bow,
especially in military organz ttlor
whether in peace or in actual war, ar
boys till they get to be pretty old Blu
wnen thew are grown to be BIG enough Ia
size they are big enough and old enoug
to be soldiers. The experience OF the r,
ballion taught that the youngest materl
in the army was to say The least Just ia
good material as any that WAS here I
boys stood the marches, endured II
camp life and did the dghlng a. well
least as any of the others.
Ii anybody thinks Vernont'5 holuia
soldering up at St JohnsblrY is in t.
hands of boys let him look ut lie adiual
generals reports where the ages of tn :,
enlisting in the Vermont regiments tha
went south are given. He may lind it i.
true quite a number of names where tn,
ages come suspicious near The regulation
"forty-fve" years for now and then a man
who had gone over that number of year,
suddenly renewed portion of his you'll
and enlisted giving proper" age. Bur
for one case of this kind there were two
or three or more of where boys of sixteen
or seventeen forgot they we're not older
And one will be surprised to see what Il
quantity of fellows happened to be jus
eighteen when they enlisted.
The good people of the state may we
take pleasure in knowing hat the Nations
Guard Of Vermont is having good tim,
t Camp Preston, St. Johnsbury. And We
venture to say that The verdict Of he old
soldiers who see this annual muster vii
be that The regiment is well ufficered ard
composed of the right kind OF material to
do good service in the actu.l business of
war should that business he necessary.