The Portland daily press., 1888-10-15

FORCES OF nature on either SIDE until eartn
and heaven res0und with the roar Of ma
ture's artillery, so the accidental meeting on
the first day Of July, 1868, Of Buford's caval-
ry with the forces Of the enemy naturally
and irresistibly drew TO the conflict on both
sides all Of the opposing armies.
As to no general belongs the credit Of caus-
Ing the battle to be fought here, so. to no one
In particular more than another belongs the
credit OF conducting it to a successful is
sue. Gen. Reyn0lds's orders on the first of
July were not to bring on general engage
ment. he did not know when he moved to
buiords assistance that he was bringing on
a general engagement, and, unfortunately
Ior him and his country, he never knew it.
Whether, II he had known 1t, he would have
Done Inherently, we never learned from
him. This much we do know, that he was
not man to march away from the sound Of
the enemy's guns, or to remain quiet when
MS comrades needed his assistance.
!, 10 General Howard, when he arrived upon
IIe nelu, serious problem was presented,
the preservation Of the shattered remnants
u Reynolds's corps, and the selection Of a
position where that corps, united with his
own, could make a stand against the forces
Of the rebels already flushed with victory.
His keen, practised military eye rested upon
Cemetery Hill, and to him belongs the credit
n srsr placing our forces N position there
stationed ON his right ON Culp's Hill and
Rock Creek, the arrival of the Third Corps
which was put in position on his left only
later to De moved further to the left to let its
flrst position be occupied by the Second
Corps, put our army in array for the move
ments OF the second day.
VI those movements it Is hardly necessary
70 say 10 any one who Is at all cOnversant
with strategy, and has studied the t0pogra-
phy oi the country, that the action Of Maj.
Ten. Slckles, our gallant and beloved corps
commander, in advancing portion Of his
forces to the Emmettsburg road, and there
meeting the first brunt of the rebel attack,
was the salvation of our army in that sec.
ond days light. 1t shattered their lines in
tne nrst onset, it retarded their advance, and
when they finally swung around and met
our obstinate resistance here, In the Wheat
Field, and that of the 124th New York, the
4th Maine, the 45th New York, and other
regIEent on our left, by the Devils Den"
gained for the Fifth Corps to come up, hold
and successfully defend the "Round Tops"
ana 0tner points on our left. III Sickles had
formed his line on the prolongation of the
line OF the Second Corps, in the depression
OF the land which you see, and had then
awaited the rebel attack. with their outnum-
Derlng forces, they would have gained pos
session Of the Round Tops" and our left
flank would have been irretrieyably turned.
so, too, is due to the gallant and accomplish
strategic Importance of the Round Tops"
and OF ordering them to be occupied by the
Fifth Corps, which, after as brave and des-
perate hghting as was ever seen on any field.
completed the repulse of the rebels on our
left On our right, the morning of the Sd.
6y attacking and driving back Ewelps Corps,
Gen. Siocum made amends for his still unex-
planned failure to come to the help of Rev
nolds and Howard ON the afternoon of the
LIST, while Gen. Hancock's magnificent re-
pulse OF Picketts charge in the afternoon Is
TOO well known to need praise or comment
here. Each of these general officers.
with the possible exception limited
at, did the right thing at
the right time. Together, but not stimuli
taneously, they forged a chain OF defence in
which the breaking Of any link would have
been disastrous to the Union cause.
As TO no general officer belongs the special
credit for what was accomplished here, SO no
particular corps, division, brigade or regi-
ment can claim precedence OF its fellows in
contributing to the successful result There
was, probably, no battle in the war where
the fighting was more evenly distributed
among the troops engaged. With the excep-
ton OF the Sixth Corps, which, through no
fault Of its own, did not arrive on the field
until late 10 the afternoon Of the second day.
and was only partially engaged on our left,
every corps in all its parts was actively en-
gagged at some period OF the battle, as the
official reports OF losses show 1t is worthy
Of note, too, in the light Of the subsequent
history of the war, that this battle was
enlisted for the defence Of their country. No
conscflpt, nCr bounty jumper, aimed here his
unwilling musket at his country's foes. The
cohorts OF the lame. the halt, the deaf, the
blind, and the aged. with. their gray hair
dyed TO the semblanee of youth, who, from
the following fall to the close of the war,
filled our ambulances and hospitals, and OBJ
structed the prosecution of the war, had not
then made their appearance. The rapaeious
and unscrupulous recruiting officer had not
rd fror ko
Of the cities and the jails of the counties.
None OF these can claim any share in this
glorious victory. 1t was won by men who
had personal interest in the ISSUE who knew
what that interest was, and were willing to
risk their lives for the success Of the cause
for which they fought For this reason, and
because they recognized the supreme import
ance Of the crisis, think there was no bat
tie In the war where it was so little necessary
Tor oificers to look out for, or watch over,
their men. Every man was an officer to him
self. SO it can be said, in all truth, and
must be saidlthat to the humblest rear rank
private. who fought here is due as much
honor and reverence for what he did, as even
to the commander-in-chief.
In addition to the special characteristics of
the battle heretofore mentioned, it may also
be said that, If we consider the extent Of ter
ritOry covered by the conflict, the number of
troops engaged, the proportion of losses to
the number engaged in the action, the length
VI tllllc bLt CUultSb COubluucQ. LQ6 Sklll and
bravery and even the desperation shown on
both sides, and last, and greatest of all, the
magnitude of the issues involved, it must be
reckoned as one of the greatest and most inn
portant battles ever fought upon the face Of
the globe. | said the magnitude of the is
sues involved. The other elements to be
considered can be weighed with almost
mathematical accuracy, but no human scales
can determine the weight and value of the
victory at Gettysburg. Fortunately for us,
fOrtnnnfQlu ba Oh
know what the result would have been if
victory had perched on the other banners
We only know that the hands on the dial
which marks the progress of civilization
would saye been turned back for an indef-
Eite period.
The history Of that one word, civilization.
in its primary and derived meanings, would
give more complete idea Of the worlds
progress than all the histories that have
ever been written. In Its primary active
sense 1t denotes simply the making man a
citizen: In its later, derived and passive
sense it includes all those advances and
improvements in the arts, sciences.
literature and morals which entitle a
nation to call itself civilized. That word
civilized has no synonyms, nor does it need
any. You all know what 1t means.
Now, | undertake to say that there Is a log
ical and historical connection between the
active and the passive sense of this word;
that in all ages and in all nations the devel-
OpHlenb duu duNduce OF what We call clVlllZ-
alton, in its ordinary sense, has been in di-
rect ratio to the exercises of the rights, du-
ties and powers Of a citizen on the part of all
the inhabitants Of the different nations.
And as, in Democracy only, does citizen
obtain the full exercise Of his rights, duties
and powers, so, only in a Democracy can
be found the highest development Of civiliz-
alton.
All the forms Of government which have
ever existed may be brought under one of
three classes, a theocracy, an arist0cracy
or democracy. OF these three forms the
ocracy is suited to mans lowest, and demoe-
racy to his highest development. The fail
ure of the republics of Greece and Rome was
owing to the fact that they did not recognize
the vital principles of democracy the equal
dertook to reconcile liberty and slavery un-
der the same form of government, a mistake
which must always prove fatal to a democ-
racy. 1t was the same mistake which came
so near proving fatal to our form Of govern
ment, and which eliminated in the war of
the rebellion. The founders of our govern
ment saw this danger, and, if they had fore
cast the future, would undoubtedly have
made the abolition Of slavery one of the con-
ditions of the formation of the Federal
Union. They knew perfectly well, from the
logic of ethics and from the lessons of history
that liberty and slavery could not cock
ist for any length of time under the same
form of government. But the necessity of
superseding the old confederation, which was
a mere rope of sand by union which should
create nation, and the fact that slavery was
dying out from natural causes, and at that
time bade fair to be eliminated before MANY
years, led to compromise In the formation
of the Constitution which fatty contradicted