The National tribune., 1895-03-07
OUR GREATEST DIFFICULTY.

III We could only get the people Oh the
UnitedGtates to thoroughly understand
the gigantic proportions ofthe war for the
suppression of the rebellion there would
be little difficulty in securing the most
generous treatment of the veterans.
IF every one of the thinking, reason
ing men and women of the country real
ly understood the history Of the war
there would rise such a demand for in
slant Justice to the veterans and their
dependent ones that no party or set of
politicians would think of opposing it.
Rather, they would fall over each
other in their haste to get in line with
popular sentiment
The great trouble is to get our people
to SO understand it. Probably it is no
exaggeration to say that not one in
thousand Of our population to-day has
any idea of the monstrous magnitude Of
the contest This is to some extent true
even of the men who took active part in
the struggle, and who should be better
informed than their stay at-home neigh
bors, or the generation which has come
upon the stage of action since Appomat-
tox. As rule, they know pretty we'll
that in the part of Dixie where they
were there were a great many thousand
men who had to do an immense amount
of fighting, marching, and so on, but
even they hardly realize that large as
their own army was, and arduous as were
its experiences, it was after all only
fraction of the great whole, and that
there were at the same time other armies,
just as large, having the same terrible
experiences
As for the young generation it has no
more conception of the war than man
who has never seen anything larger than
a mill-pond has of the Atlantic Ocean.
In the first place, there is nothing to
compare it to. All previous wars in
which this country was engaged were in
significant in comparison with the
numbers engaged, the fighting done, and
the losses suffered.
The entire strength of the army dur
ing the Observation-Disclosures and
militia included-was not equal to that
of one good-sized corps during the rebel
lion, and all its fighting. losses, etc, dur
ing the whole seven years fell immeasur-
ably short of those of single corps like
the Second, or the Fifth, Sixth, Ninth,
Thirteenth, Fourteenth, Fifteenth, or
others which could be named. Any one
of those CORPS, In its palmy days, could
have marched without a halt from
Savannah to Quebec, and driven the
whole British army before it.
1t was substantially the same with
the war of 1872. There was great deal
Of hurrahing, finging the Old Flag to
the 'front.'" beating of drums, calling
out the militia here, sending them home
there, great deal of Spread-Eagleism
over the victories ON the Niagara from
tier, at the Thames, and at New Orleans,
but there was not so much real solid
fighting during the whole war as was
liable to happen any single day during
the rebellion. As near as the facts can
be got at there we're only 1,877 men
killed from 1912 to 1915, and 3,737
wounded, or less than the losses in such
battles as Shiloh, Stone River, Cedar
Greek, etc.
As for the war with Mexico, anv
little subdivision of our army had more
men Engaged and did more hard fight
ing every year than were involved in
the whole contest. The whole number
of enlistments for the war, including the
Regular Army and the Marines, was
but 101, 2S2, or about the number which
responded to LincoIn's first call for
three months men. Probably there
were never more than $1,000 American
soldiers In Mexico. The entire loss
was but 1,557 killed and 1920 wound
ed, or about as many as the first three
months men lost in West Virginia. at
Bull Run, and at Wilson's Creek.
There was more real fighting, hard
MARCHING and other Incidents Of wnr