The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1886-07-16
A Consolation to the South.

Gen. ID. III. Hill contributes to the
May Century paper on THE Battle OF
South Mountain. or BoOnsborO'." From
il we quote the closing paragraph: "h
we had To be beaten il was better to he
beaten by former friends. Every true
soldier loves To have n foCman worthy
of his steel Every true man likes TO
attribute high qualities TO those who
for time. the temporary estran@c-
mcnt cannot oblitcratc the recollection
of noble traits OF character. Some one
attempted to condole with Tom Year
wood. a famous Old South Carolina bull
~, upon the beating given him by his
own son. Hush up said old Tom. i
am glad that no one but my own flesh
and blood had u hand in NY drubbng.'
The S,,ns of the South struck her
many heavy blows. Farra%ut, cf Ten
ncsSce. rose. ~ II reward of merit, TO
the highest rank i'm the Federal navy.
a large number of his associates were
from the South. In tine Federal army
there were of Southern blood and line
ace Generals Thomas. Sykes, Reno,
Newton, j. j. Reynolds, Candy, Ord.
iirannan. William Nelson, Crttendcn.
Blair. II. w. Johnson, r. j. Wood, N.
T. Buford. 1errill. Graham. Davidson,
Cooke. Alexander, Getty, French, Ere
mont, Pope, Hunter S"mc Of these
doubtless served the South better by the
side they took, but most of them were
fine officers, and some of them were SUI
perb.
Then the South had three hundred
thousand of her sons i'm the Federal
army i'm more subordinate capacities
Her armies surrendered when n South
crn-born President and II Soulhern-born
Vicc-Prcsident were ut the head of tine
United States Government. Surely we
have the comfort of old Tom Ycarwood.
and it is comfort. That the wounds
of defeat and humiliation have been so
healed has been owing largely TO this
balm to mortified pride. The sting of
shame 10 proud and sensitive French
men is that their magnificent capital
was captured by. and their splendid
armies surrendered to, soldiers of an
alien race and religion, speaking n diff
fcrcnt language, and unlike themselves
in manners and customs and in all
those characteristics which constitute
their pride and their glory. On the
other hand. the civil wars i'm En-
gland have left no bitter memories be-
hind them. Who now knows or cares
whether his ancestors fought on the
side of the White Rose or the Red Rose?
Who now knows or cares whether they
were for King or Parliament; for James
ii. or for William of OrlngcP Compare
this forgetfulness of civil strife i'm En-
gland with the bitterness which Ireland
still feels over her subjugation; compare
il with the fact that the Roman Occupa-
ton of England for five hundred years
made no impression upon the language
of the natives, so little intercourse was
there between them and their conquer.
ors; compare it with the fact that fol
four hundred years after the Norman
conquest there was no fusion between
the Norman and Saxon tongues. In
truth, all history teaches that the hu.
initiation of defeat by foreign foe is
felt for ages, while that of defeat by the
same race is temporary and soon for
gotten. The late Civil War was re-
lieved of very much of its sectional
Southerners in the Union armies. There
| fore, it will be in the United States ~
i'm all unsectiOnal civil wars of the
worlds history in which race and reli
giOn were not involved the waves O
| oblivion will roll over the bitter recol
lections of the strife But we trust tina
fragrant forever will be the deeds o
heroism, patience, fortitudc, sclf-denial
and consistency TO principles; whether
these deeds were performed by the
wearers of the blue or the gray from
their respective standpointS of duty"
Dr. Siemens and Postmaster General
Stephan, of Berlin, are practical cleo
tricians' who have made clcctric-light.
ing more general in Berlin than in any