River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1888-05-31

I land and rendered valuable service.
I | believe the Arch B'p is on record as
/ saying on his return--that there was
| very little affection for the Young Re
public in any of the powers beyond
/ the sea. The desire manifest to every
one at that time in the old world, was
! that the English government prayed
! for your destruction, root and branch,
and wished the Republic pItOried be-
/ fore the world as laughing stock
They forgot, however, that the vari
/ Ous races which composed the great
/ armies of the north, fused and blend
/ Ell into one mighty body, by their
/ burning love for the "hOme and ref.
uge' were the very elements who fed,
with hearts overlooking with ven.
genee and undying hatred, from the
| accurSed aristocratic, monarchic, and
autocratic governments, which refus-
1 ed them, at the other side of the globe
their natural birthright They for.
| got that the so-called ''beggars,
whose lives they trifled with, and
| were made of less account, than that
| of the fat bullock, or kennel of fox
/ hounds. were men, and were absorbed
l into the body of freemen in this
mighty land, and that death was a
| soothing balm, rather than think OF
allowing tyranny TO stalk rampant,
/ once again, where less than centu.
ry before it received its death blow
and salt water shock in Boston haTboT
| They forgot that the members of vari.
/ Gus regiments were like cords in the
| Tyre, leach cord has a distinct sound,
| yet in such concord with the others,
that when struck together, they pro.
duce harmony, forming a sweet con.
cert of sounds differing, but not
certuS, e.r deUerSiS, Sed non inter 81
ddrerSiS. Your elements of differ
ent nationalities may be compared to
''those streams, which whether they
precipitate themselves from the
mountains. or traverse the plains, or
water the depths of the valley, seem,
/ after leaving their own source, to
| flow in search of waters of other ORR
gin, till having reached them, they all
mingled, and as it were lost in each
other Those European powers who
delight in trampling upon their hui
man "chattleS" forgot that the best
blood of nations flows in richness
and vigor in their veins, as compared
with the scurvey and itch of the
| fatted and bloated kings evil fluid.
| They forget that these men in long.
ing TO become citizens and freemen of
country flowing with "milk and
| honey freedom and liberty. which
means freedom and liberty to do what
/ is right and only the right, held up
I.
| before heavens tribunal that they re-
nOunce all foreign pOtentates and
especially the one under whom they
lived and that they mean from their
| Utmost soul to suffer torture and death
rather than perjuTe themselves. The
result proves that these same men
/ mingled their blood in one vast pool
| with the best blood of their predeces-
| sOrS here. to cement forever the rents
and schisms that were attempted to be
kept open by their cruel pertidy and
| treachery. | remember when in 1856
| | was asked if ] renowned the Queen
! of England or rather of Great Britain
| and Ireland. | answered in strong
affirmative tone | do; but l said in a
second, hold on! and the officer locked
| at me in surprise. What's the mat.
ter! | said: All let me swear that two
times more. The boys in blue won
| the day. The boys in blue loved their
country, and the country today honOrs
| them. But now dear old veterans
what was the real cause of the success
of your victorious legions! The real
cause was, because you put your trust
in God. Without God aid nothing
can be done. Take away God and the
bottom falls out of all social and NOR
al law. We become ban bdrOus and
return to original nothingness. Nay,
we become mOnstrous. While there.
fore you are fittingly called heroes
| your heroism would be the heroism OF
Homeric type, and your victory would
be that of an "A jaX fleeing before
Hector, who in his turn ran away
| from Achilles. ''The HOmeric he.
roes were the production of Barbar.
| ism and Polytheism, Barbarism and
/ Christianity produced the heroes OF
Tasso." What vast difference be
tween those perfdiOus, avaricious and
| ferOcious warriors of the former; and
these knights, SO disinterested, so hui
name. so magnanimOus of the latter
I
mains of their enemies, the latter
treated them with respect. You gent
lemen of the g. A. are heroes of still
a higher and nobler type. you are
hope purely Christian production,
and were you not inspired and sus
tanned by Christian feeling you would
not have been able to have sustained
yourselves and made the great sacri
fees for which you are distinguished.
| You voluntarily offered yourselves
leaving father and mother, wife and
| darliugs, the hfe Of your life and the
bone of your bone when duty called
you You eft hearts broken and
| souls afflicted with the bitterest an
! guish. Weeping and wailing of dear
ones filled the land. You went to the
! front afflicted, indeed, at the thought
of this unnatural tearing of your
life strings to face certain death and
desolation. When we remember, that
The day after the evacuation of Fort
| Sumpter Pres lent Lincoln called fol
10000 volunteers for three months
| April 18th, the response was SO quick,
that the first companies of Massachu'
sets troops began their march the
same day. and in "A surprisingly short
| time the quota was full, and early in
May a call was made for l., 600 vOlun
teers for three years or the war, and
10000 men for the regular army and
navy. and these calls were at once
answered we cannot but admire the
spirit of sacrifice, the spirit of patriot
ism which filled the breasts of the
freemen and women of this land, the
home of Liberty, the home of man
hood. During our Civil war from first
to last 1920. 401 men. including re-en
istmentS. were enrolled, equipped
and organized into armies, viz: PotO
mac, Tennessee, Cumberland anC
Ohio, the last three were finally unfit
ed into the Mississippi. AT the
close of the war the Federal armie:
numbered 100000 men, of whom
about 100000 were in the field. The
number of Confederate soldiers sur
rendered and paroled was l74.000. be
sides $4,000 prisoners then in the
hands of the fedeTals. The Federal:
killed were % 600, died of disease
y lille in the service lS4, 900, and
many thousands more died afterward;
from the effects of the war. The
Confederates had about 900, 900 meE
in the field. and about half OF then
lost their lives by wounds or disease
The expenses of the Federal govern