Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1892-06-04

side of some military department. Each
one gave some evidence OF being mill
tary camp. In IS states and territories
battles were fought, and in these is not
included the mastery feat OF the
"Kearsarge" in destroying off the coast
of Cherbourge, France, in June, 1854,
that most destructive of rebel pirate
ships, the Alabama In New York City
there was the battle of the draft riots OF
of July, 1868, in which over thousand
rioters were killed. During the Morgan
raid of 1863, three battles we're fought IN
Indiana and four in Ohio. At Charles
ton, illinois, March %, 1864. q portlon OF
the 18Th H., was attacked by mob OF
Copperheads while assembling from vet
eran furlough. In Minnesota and
Dakota, in common with other states and
territories, battles were fought with
Indians as the result of the red man
having been melted to action by the rebel
authorities, in the hope of precipitating
general outbreak in the northwest against
the Ulion. California was the ground OF
six battles; Oregon of one; Nevada OF
two; Washington Territory of one; Utah
Territory of one. sNebIaska was the
scene of two battles in 1868. Colorado
encircled two battles in 1864. Arizona
saw four battles in as many years. A
battle was fought in Idaho in 1863. Our
own Kansas witnessed the yicissitudes OF
warfare for years before the opening of
the rebellion. Through the rebellion she
bore the stamp of malignant hatred by
the rebel army in the West. Upon her
soil, SO thoroughly consecrated to tho
union, battle after battle was fought
during the noted raid of Prices army
the last effort of any rebel commander to
pollute the soil of the Northern states
with his disloyal hosts. 1t was reserved
for Northern state, Pennsylvania, to
sustain the shock of the greatest battle OF
sanguinary contest. twas at Gettysburg
that the army of Lee was hurled back
into Virginia. Instead of recruiting of
the fairness of the national capital and
other northern acquisitions, it thereafter
starved on the poverty Of desolate Vir-
ginia and the sources that attempted to
give nutriment to that fated army. These
events are mentioned to show the uni
versatility of the war Of the rebellion
throughout the country whose destruction
| was threatened The destruction OF
property was SO enormous as to admit OF
no satisfactory analysis. The cost OF the
war to our own government was more
than six billions of dollars. Two humid
red million dollars were owed in the
South to Northern business men at the
outbreak Of the war. Secession exiting
uished this debt. The debt Of about two
and three-fourths billions owed by this
government at the close of the rebellion
has been reduced by two. thirds. Conf
dence in the ability Of the government to
discharge scrupulously every obligation
rests upon such substantial foundations
as that the country has in twenty-seven
years more than doubled in population
and its wealth more than quadrupled.
|
To keep pace with the universally of
the war, the remembrance of the Union
veterans who have fallen, and the pro-
lection of those yet living are features OF
these later days which are understood by
all thoughtful people. There are twenty
seven national cemeteries in the United
States where the national government
guards with jealous care the inmates.
There is also cemetery of this class In
the city of Mexico. But even the details
of men, the green swards, the trees and
the birds, the array OF tombstOnes and
tablets, the firing of the morning and
evening gun, and the elevation Of that
flag in the morning and its lowering in
the evening-all these, going to make up
the lavish munifcence of the nations
love for its fallen heroes, cannot suppress
the awful specter which always hovers on
the scene to proclaim that of the 100000
men buried therein, 100000, or over 46
per cent, of the graves are marked with
that awful word unknown" Can you
to-day-could you in life time-weigh
this word. unknown" You cannotl
You could not! You are not possessed
of the lines of all the relatives and imme-
date friends of the 10000 unknown
men in our national cemeteries. Can the
aggregate people Of the nation weigh this
word, Unknown I entrust to them
the giving of the answer. But it may be
well that these resting places Of our
country's defenders are, for the most part,
in.the states lately in revolt. Resist 1t as
they may, these cemeteries are object
lessons to certain unreasonable men in
the South, or the war is failure. Con-
federate General Bankhead, Of Alabama,
for instance, stated two months and
week ago in the halls Of congress that the
saddest thing in life to him is to see q
poor confederate veteran as he drags