The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-01-08
An Endorsement of she Editorial.


Your editorial on the feelings and motives
that actuated the Union soldier in the defense
of the Union expresses the sentiments of every
true soldier that marched to the South. They
enlisted, left their homes to save the Union, not
to glut their revenge satiate their hatred
against the people of the South. My intercourse
with Union soldiers both in camp, on the march,
on the field and when sick and wounded in
hospital, enabled me to gather the sentiments,
and learn the true language of the heart upon
the great questions involved between the con-
federate and Union army. / can, therefore,
speak authoratively on these subjects. and assure
the commander of my own post that it would
nave been the pleasure of all the men could they
have conquered the rebellion and have come
home without injuring one Southern soldier.
What blood they split was necessary Offering
upon the altar of the Union; shed by
mingling with it their own blood, that the little
homes around whose hearthsde gathered loved
ones might be part of the home and citizen
ship of a full united country, without which
they would rather return to it MANNED forever.
The time is past for this silly talk about the
tune for doing away with all i'll feeling between
the Union soldier and the South. 1t never ex-
listed. The war was not waged in hatred of the
South but to bring them back to the Union.
OFTEN have L seen confederate and Union sol
dlers exchange kind Offices. have known them
to meet. wounded in battle, and weep together
over the remembrance of other days, and depre-
ciate the cause that brought them face to face
as foes l could relate many incidents when
pickets Of the two armies divided their scanty
rations and exchanged articles of diet with no
flag of truce but the pledge of honor, and when
parting pledge to each other assurance of the
warmest personal friendship, and hoping that
the war would soon end, and that they might
never be forced to take each others life. The
little and the selfish men keep talking about the
hatred. bad feelings of the North against the eo-
pie of the South. The South was wrong in seced-
ing from the Union; wrong in commencing the
war of the rebellion by firing on Fort sumter;
wrong in continuing the struggle for dividing
the Union. There is not any reason why the
Northern people should apologize to the South
or anybody else tor defending and maintaining
the right. There is no reason why the brave
and true men of the South should feel humili-
ated because they. failed to carry the wrong
against the right. They were grand soldiers,
and fought valantly. This is all a true soldier
or good man will ask any one to acknowledge.
George FL. Thomas Post is one of the best in
the State. No better soldiers are to be found
than in the membership OF that post The
brave man who made the remarks that depre-
cate is true as steel to all the sentiments ex-
pressed in this correspondence. He did not
make these remarks believing that there ex-
listed this feeling, but rather to make prominent
the blessed fact that they do not exist, and
rather to carry out the spirit of your criticism
that the time has come when we should quit
mentioning this subject. Jw.H.