The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-07-30

| lCommander-in-chief of the G. A. RI
and displayed it's symbols on soil where
| volunteering was not known in 1861. The
| Pacific states, the territories even have
well filed ranks of the Boys in Blue, and
the veterans of the great eastern and CEN
trail states hail today from anywhere be-
| tween the oceans. There are state lines in
the convention of the Grand Army, but
only for convenience in organization, and
the smaller states combine in forming de-
partments.
So grand encampment of the veterans
is patriotic celebration each year by hun
dreds of thousands of people who are, and
who represent, the nations defenders, and
! who glorify the nations triumphs and pray
for her perpetuation.
The war on the northern side was a ma
tional struggle, and the men who fought
the northern battles could not fail to be
converted from New Englanders, New York
ers and westerners into nationaliSts They
were drawn from their separate corners to
mlngle their blood upon very narrow fields
and to go back remembering that no state
was grandest IN the sacrifice that a com
mon altar drank the blood of all. Broadly
the war was scattered over a wide area, but
the hard fighting was narrowed down TO
limited sections, and it might be said the
men of the east and the west went forth as
to an arena to contest, In the name of
union and nationality, for the mastery.
State emulation there was, but national
life was the prize and national glory the
reward.
The Bloody Grounds.
Recently, on looking over the maps
shown The n 1x2r in,
and in the west, [ WAS surprised at the
narrowness of the area in each section
where the heaviest fighting and the most
engagements took place In the east the
Bloody Ground was between GETTYSBURG
Pa, on the north and Suffolk, Va, on the
south, the western limit on a line drawn
through Lynchburg, and the eastern
through Norfolk In this district, about
$50 miles broad and 200 miles long, occurred
thirteen battles, where the Union loss in
killed outright numbered over 500, and the
aggregate of Union killed and wounded
was over 10000. In the lesser engage
ments and in siege operations probably
$1,000 more were numbered with the casu-
alties.
Here were fought the desperate strug-
giles of Gettysburg, Antietam, Malvern
Hill and Winchester, fields of glorious
memory to the veterans who conquered
there. Here the Monitor bore down the
Merrimac, and led off in a new era of naval
warfare. Here, too, was Appomattox.
Back and forth over this blood stained
arena the armies contended in the cam
paigns Of the Rappahannock, the PENN
sula, the invaSions OF Maryland and Penn
sylvania, the Shenandoah and the Wilder
ness.
Here fen young Ellsworth. brave Phil
hearney, gray haired Mansfield. grand old
Uncle John" Sedgwick, gallant REYNOLDS
and the venerable and revered Wadswortb
here the thunder tones of Hancock led rbe
charge at Marye's Heights, the Bloody
Angie" and Cold Harbor. and rallied rho
defenders of Cemetery Ridge. Here Little
Mac rode along the serried line with ami
lnaVng gesture by Antietam's REDEEMED
mood Here Phil Sheridan dashed from
W uCnester Gown 10 save the day at Cedar
OreeA- Here the heroic sailor. Morris
went down with the III starred Climber
4aha' shouting, when summoned 70 SIR
render TO the Merrimac, Never! Pu sink
alongside!" Here rose and fell the ha-+Js
shouts OF Hooker aud Burnside. Herr
Meade, with calm equipoise, guided the
hosts that flung back rebelion's foaming
tide. Here Grant beffled the exultant
hosts Of Lee and Longstreet by his ever
memorable battle orders, Forward bv The
left flsnki'
The graves OF the Union dead in this
arena number over eOOal. and /
tens of thousands more, who there re- I
ceived their death stroke, were borne north /
70 their last resting place. The plains of 4
Manassas the wales through which the ,