Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-03-15
AN OPEN LETTER TO INGALLS,.
A Member of Hancock's stan Calls ON the
Kansas senator to Itctrnct.


Kansas senator to Rctrnct
+ NEW YoRK, March l5.-Col Finley Ander.
son, who was on Gen. Hancock's staff during
the civil war has addressed the following
| open letter TO Senator Ingalls, at Washing
| ton
| SIR: | have just received copy of The
| Congressional Record containing the official
| report of your speech, in which you not only
| insult the chief magistrate of the nation, but
attempt To dishonor the memory of both
| Hancock and Mcclellan by naming each OF
them rs having been an "ally to the Confed-
| eracy' As a surviving member of Gen,
| llancocks staff, who shared with him the
tolls and the trumphs of the civil war, and a.
% friend whom he honored with his confidence
and affection to the end of his blameess
life, | can not hear in silence your brutal
blow at my Old commander, / must,
therefore, as a soldier aud citizen, protest
against any utterance that implies an i'm
parchment of his loyalty to his country.
When the summer flowers bloom again on
the graves of the heroic dead quarter Of n
century will have passed since the battlefield
of Gettysburg became tn c arena where the
valOr of the north and south alike illustrated
the greatness Of the American people, and
commanded the admiration of the world.
The name of that peaceful Pennsylvania vii
lage, baptized anew with their mingled blood,
was thus made immortal as the symbol of u
national power equal to any ON the earth
The browning victory of that combat has
proved under Providence, las clearly as though
we had heard the voice of God himself, that
those principles of liberty and law, and fra
ternity and union, in earnest devotion to
which Hancock lived and died, are essential
to the welfare of mankind To this result
the highest human achievement of this cen
tury, Hancock contributed more than any
other soldier in the field.
When Reynolds fell on the morning of the
first day. it was Hancock whom Meade Sc
erted to take supreme command in front,
with power to choose tine ground where the
great battle Of the war should he fought out
II was Hancock who planted his colors ON
Cemetery Ridge, where he rallied our dis
ordered troops and formed the lines ON those
historic heights, beyond which the rising tide
Of the rebellion never passed 1t was Han
cock who turned impending disaster into
victory 10y the couMtor-charge which saved
the honor of the army on the eveningaof the
second day 1t was Hancock who repulsed
that grand assault most brilliant in the
annals of the war--whcn the flower of the
army of northern Virginia withered and died
before the forrtude Of the army of the Po-
tomac in the fatal struggle of the third day.
1t was thus that Hancock won at Gettysburg
a triple crown Of glory.
Naturally enough both houses of congress
adopted a joint resolution to the effect that
in addition to tie thanks which had been
voted to the off -ars and soldiers of the army
of the Potomac for the skin and heroic valor
which at Gettysburg repulsed defeated and
drove back, broken and dispirited, the veter
an army Of the rebellion the gratitude of the
~. a HI,