The Indianapolis journal., 1895-08-05

town, who had been a participant, would
| add to the interest of the young hearers.
| II is thing TO hear dimly of battle
| that was fought somewhere at some time,
| but 10 hear the story from man who
helped TO fight IL is altogether another
| thing. Unless care is taken in this matter
| OF historical instruction. such memorials as
| the Soldiers Monument will be wholly val
ueless In years to come. IL will be consid-
| cred very handsome piece of stonework.
| and the young lady on top will be greatly
admired, but the why and the wherefore
| of It all will be wholly lost or only vaguely
/ understood and appreciated. Back of the
/ picture is the artist who created 1t; back
/ of the song Is the heart of the singer, and
back of the shaft in Monument place Is the
| life-blood OF men of our own SOIL whose
| valor and sacrifice called for its building.
| That monument is merely aesthetic ex-
| preston until we read its inscriptions: In
diana volunteers. total. 2l0.i killed and
years MAKE the Is hood nos ,nal of beholder ID flow
| faster and his heart grow warm. There is
| need for care in this matter. lest fifty years
| from now the supercilious youth pass
| through Monument place. read the inscrip-
tions, and say. with deprecatory nod OF
| his head, There were great men before
| Agamemnonf Those OF us who have come
/ upon the scene in the last thirty years or
| so have naturally made a good many mis-
| calculations TO the Importance OF rnen:
| and as to the character and relation OF
| events. Those OF you who were soldiers
| have your own ideas of these matters,
based, in great or less degree. upon OBJ
| servation or upon the current belief or the
| time. There are still those who hold the
| name of Mcclellan dear; and ii is easy for
us younger men TO see how this man could
appear to be- in the early part OF the war,
the prophet and savior OF his country. we
who only know the history of the war as
we have read it, or have drunk ii from our
fathers and their friends do not. however,
find the figure of Mcclellan of great I'M
portance; he seems small IN the perspeSG'ivu. we.
Most of us are likely to have changed our
opinions of other distinguished commanders;
In the boyish Imagination there was good
deal 10 admire i'm the figures of some OF
~
picturesque in the careers or the Lees, ana
Jacksons and Jeb Stuarts-something or the
story book quality. But when the. Indiana
boy of fifteen has seen few G. A. +. pa
rades and has looked on the tattered flags
of Indiana regiments. and has seen the list
OF dead in Terrelrs reports, and has read
the life of Abraham Lincoln. his views ex-
perience decided change. He concludes
| that, while Southern chyalry was pictur-
esque and interesting from social point OF
view, it was not so admirable when it took
| the form of rebellion against the United
States. The figure of Grant is not touched
| as Lee or Stuart. But it was he-not Lance
| lot nor another-who said. NO terms ex-
| cept an unconditional and immediate sur
| render will be accepted / propose to move
| Immediately upon your works.; and, again,
| Wen fight 1t out on this line IL 1T takes all
| summer 1t was this taciturn simple. per-
| sistent man who found the way into Nicks-
| burg and Richmond, and placed ucon pos
| terity the obligati of recording his name
| with the greatest of military chiefs. Ine
| oddities and whimsicalities of Sherman give
| him different sort of distinction. From
| purely book knowledge one is likely to Judge
| that he had more imagination than Grant
| but he knew how to carry his tmaginings
| into effect. and We of the younger genera
ton are not likely to belittle his greatness gre mess
| bellum generation. in a blind sort or way:
| will stumble upon truer apprehension OF
| some events. and of the character OF some
| men than those who were nearer to the
| events and to the men. One man or the
| great CAPTAINS is surely growing in the
90 hto 1frxrr1
| years know little and care little for sucn
| personal spites and jealousies as may have
influenced the estimates 90 OF men and tneir r
| may even be inclined to let our sympathies
| with the unfortunate or the unappreclated
| carry too far. But surely we do not go
| far astray in attributing loyalty. military
| skill of highest quality and nobility OF
| character singularly admirable in George
| the names of other Union generals in order
| to praise the Rock OF Chickamauga. There
has been within few, years reconsidera- "a
! nan, and as the years go by there cannot
| fail to be an increasing respect for one
| who was not afraid to stand Tor the stars
when they were dim.
1--WE are not always able to say of man
| that after he has been called from the
| scene, of earthly labor he continues TO grow
! i'm the esteem of his fellow-countrymen:
| But all of US. old and young. soldiers and
| sons Of soldiers, are approaching newer
| and higher appreciation of the qualities
and genius of this loyal virginian. who.
| had he chosen to cast his lot with his own
people, might have been the CHIEF 1, among ng
| himself superior to mere natural and local
prejudices. and contend for all the stars,
| and not for one
YOUNG MEN TO THE FRONT.
| .'It is a bit curious that some men Of dis
| tinction in all the lines of endeavor and
attainment always seem to be young. Two
| men who are always youthful We think
/ of them are Napoleon and Sheridan. Sher-
| idan was, indeed, young when the civil
war broke out He was less than thirty
| five when the war ended, but his achieve
ments (of which we have heard an in
structive and inspiring account from Col.
| Black) were of nature to give him high
place.. Sheridan's Is singularly winning
/ figure He has, as we of the younger gen.
| erations see him, moro magnetism than
| Grant or Thomas. Sherman had more of
| this quality. and was, indeed. one OF the
most interesting men in all the war. There
| is something delightfully."- amusing In his
impatient complaints, but he was. fortu-
natey, better balanced than his speech
| would make him appear, and he had the
| capacity for wise and effective command.
| We think of Thomas as we do of Wash
| ington--of dignitied, serious and some
| what cautious and unimpulsive personality:
| 'At this distance much of the detail of
| warfare fades out and we see down dim
difficult for us who do not know of such
| things by actual observation TO compre-
hend the marches. the dreary camps, the
| daily hardships and discomforts. 1t is a
| remarkable fact that men who were real
| soldiers, and not home guard limitations,
| sneak little of their experiences. Personal
| ly have attended many soldiers reunions
| and camp fires and have talked about the
| war with many veterans, but have never
heard complaint that was not turned
off with a joke or an experience that was
| not spoken of snghtingly. as something
| that did not count in the general average.
~" Patriotism. said Dr. johnson, is the
! last resort of a scoundrel. But kind of
! scoundrelism which meant sleeping out in
| the rain and q steady diet of hardtack and
| boiled beans is certainly inoffensive.
| .'The care now being taken to preserve
| the scenes of the great battles of the
| civil war will be appreciated by those
| who are to come after you. 1t is good TO
| hear that general interest is being taken
| in the matter by the several States. 1t
| is due TO the two armies that fought 50
| bravey for four years and to their chill
| dren that such memorials be made and
| that they be adequate and substantial. 1t
| is easy to imagine that hereafter many
| pilgrimages will be made by young Amer
| lean students of history to view the fields
\ on which the rebellion fought-the
| great chessboards on which the blue and
| gray were maneuvcred. Gettysburg and
| Chickamauga must be made good deal
| mere vital TO the American schoolboy and
girl than the campaigns of Hannibal or
! Caesar or Napoleon. The perpetuation OF
4 l. I...e1I s.--.< g.