The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1886-04-01
BLOODY-SHIRT PAPERS!
NUMBER XXI.

Brought down-or rather up-to its |
plain meaning,the Watchman means Re-
publican Rule "Bloody Shirt" is term
applied by Democrats to show their utter
contempt for the brave men who were
killed or wounded in fighting for the life
of the nation, and in shooting to death
the armed Democratic traitors who
would rather destroy the Government |
and cover the country with graveyards
than submit to the result of fair cleo
tion When Democrat utters the term
"Bloody Shirt" you may detect whole
volumes of cowardly contempt for the
Union soldier, in the expression. But
there is no expression even of mild critl-
cism for the Democratic Saints of An
dersonville, Belle Isle, Florence and Lib
by To the ordinary Democratic heart
jeff Davis in a petticoat looked far
sweeter than the Goddess of Liberty, be-
decked with the national colors. But let
US glance for moment at the history of
this country, and try to determine what
the term "Bloody Shirt" means.
In the last days of November, 1864,
some fifty thousand Democrats were NOV
ing along turnpike toward Franklin,
Tennessee. In front of the town were
number of National soldiers, with United
States flags flying above them. These
Democrats were on their way to the Ohio
River, and their immediate object was
the shooting of citizens of the United
States, and their more remote object was
the destruction of the Government of the
United States AS soon as these Demo
Gratis came in sight of the National
flags they Immediately assaulted the
troops carrying them. Again and again
did these brave Democrats hurl them
selves against the Union lines, and as
often were they repulsed. Once a portion
of the Union line was gained, but after
desperate hand-to-hand encounter, the
Democrats were compelled to withdraw.
No battlefield known to history present
ed grander or more terrible picture of
war than this field of Franklin. Men
met in the embrace of death musketS
were clubbed; pistols and bayonets as
sisted in the terrible work, as Col. OPP
dycke, of the One Huddred and Twenty
Fifth Ohio led a brigade of brave Union
boys against the Confederates who had
gained temporary hold within the Fed
eral works. Death ran riot, and men
were transformed into fiends. Pat Gle
burne, "the Stonewall Jackson of the
West" and very good Democrat, led his
men in their repeated assaults upon the
Union lines, being shot at last upon the
parapet, after his horse had leaped the
ditch in front of the works. All the rest
of that day the conflict ragged, and firing
continued far into the night From A
o'clock in the evening until nightfall the
Fourth corps shot away one hundred
wagon loads of artillery and infantry am
munition.
Gen. Hood buried seventeen hundred
and fifty men on the field, and lad three
thousand eight hundred disabled, and
seven hundred and two captured-an ag-
gregate of six thousand, two hundred and
fifty-two. Gen. Schofeld lost one hun
dred and eighty-nine killed, one thousand
and thirty-three wounded, one thousand,
one hundred and four missing-an aggre-
gate of two thousand three hundred and
twenty-six.
That is the picture-painted upon the
map of the country by Democratic trea-
son-at which those Democrats who had
not the manliness to declare themselves
upon either side during those dark days
affect to sneerl All this death and suf-
fering was result of Democratic con-
spiracy to destroy the Government. AS
the great hand moves around the dial of
time, pointing to the good deeds of men.
we look in vain for the indication of
a single good deed of the Democratic
party. Its sneers at the bravery and pat
riotism of the men who threshed the life
out of the Rebellion are as dishonest as
cowardly-which is witnessed by the fact
that the party has howled with delight
when a Union soldier has been induced
to run for office on the Democratic tick
ct. Says friend, you charge all Demo-
Gratis with being Rebels" Not at ALL
Only this, that those Democrats who
were not Rebels had the manliness to
step outside of the party lines during the
war, and there were many such. The
Rebellion was thoroughly Democratic
or rather thoroughly of the Democratic
party. 1t projectors were, many of them,
perjurers and public plunderers. All of
them were conspirators. No party under
the sun ever had a blacker record, and
the character of the party does not seem
to improve with advancing years. 1t is
opposition to this party by the patriotic,
intelligent citizens of Jackson County,
that is classed "Bloody Shirt Rule" This
hot l>
the country in those dark days, are true
to it yet. That those who opposed the
armed treason of that time, are opposed
to the ballot-box-stuffing and numbering
methods of these later years. This is the
kind of Bloody Shirt Rule we favored
then, and the kind we favor now. We
never saw a gaping and bleeding wound
in the body of a Union soldier that looked
as ugly and nasty to us as the mouth that
tried to sneer at it; we never saw a
crooked, limping form clad in Union blue
that did not look prettier to us than the
erect form of the hasty Democrat who
was making straight shirt-tail for Can
ada; we never saw poor, poverty-strick-
en- old soldier, no matter how far down
in the world, who did not tell grander
story of good citizenship than the most
prosperous Democrat who sneers at the
old veteran who made it possible for men
to prosper in this country, and Who res
cued the country from the conspiracy of
the Democratic party. We like the re-
proachful term Bloody Shirt" because it
keeps fresh in the memory the glory of
the old soldier, and the perfdy of the
Democratic party.