The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1896-02-22
"William'' Nye Reveals Some
Facts of the Late War Not K,
Universally Known.
He Very Easily Dispels the Eallacy
> That Warriors Always
Wore Good Clothes.
The Theory Disputed by Women
That Men Are Sole Possess
sors of Courage.

American soldiers cOulO UOL Only uSu
battles, but that they could build bridges
run railroad trains or send a message over
the wires But the versatility of the sol
dier did not end with the war. It re.
manned for later years to demonstrate
that he could write books. We have
therefore the war before us now in a
clearer, better light, and we can see II
more fairly than ever before, says Bill
Nye in a late letter.
But civil war is not a pleasant thing
to contemplate, even IN the past tense.
Even with the mist of 80 years over the
long line OF messy graves Intervening.
with the softening light of ebbing sea-
sons upon the grim picture, it has little IN
It that we care to look upon unless 1t be
with the stern JOY of the victor. How
could we regard this picture were we to
look back over the SCARED and broken
HISTORY, across the bitter years OF blank
despair and death, down to the quiet val
ley where lie our dead, dearer to us be-
cause they died in vain?
But I started out to say something
else was going to recall some OF the
OLD p:ctures-the tintypes, as it Were-of
war.
Do you recall the early picture of the
volunteer soldier made by strollins
artist with chemicals in his hands clear
to his shoulder blades? Do you remem-
Der this gentleman who came and camp
ed with you and pointed a camera at you
lust after you received your new uniform?
He was man who was thoroughly M
bued with his art and some other things
that they use in developing pictures. lie
placed his victim ON g. retired chair, put
cold iron prong in the back of his neck
ani kept him there until his eyes start
ed from their sockets. / have seen sever
al such tintypes lately taken by this same
artist In fancy I can see him IN his
studio on hot day. He has begun work
on a young soldier whose military coat
sEeepesA are tco long. The young artist
puts the man in comfortable attitude.
where he looks as though death would be
welcome. He then inserts the cold, cast
iron fireiog down the back OF his neck.
After that he feels of the young soldier S
chin with burnt lumber hand and Egyp-
tian mummy's fingers with saffron nails.
Then be sticks his head into the large
beehive on legs, puts shroud over him
self and gets the warrior into focus, so
that his hands will take up the entire
foreground of the picture, with middle
distance of handme-down blue clothing
antl background of tented field and cold
relentless head rest.
A few days more and young looking
gentleman, wearing look of inexperi-
ence and long-wa sted coat with gilt
buttons on lt-gilded after the picture
was made-with ONE large hand inserted
In the 1abby breast OF this same coat and
the other resting on the hilt of an over
grown sword enters the home circle
through the medium of the United States
nrails. 1t IS wildly grotesque, but deeply
pathetic. The careless person sees only
the pictures of a green young man who
has only just begun to sniff the holiday
atmosphere of war. He sees a tall youth
with red and meager meek, wealth of
taffy-colored hair and hand that in the
amateur rtists portrait looks as though
it could itself crush an ordinary REBEL
ION If 1t could have fall enough.
Those were the days when the volun-
teer armies started out to battle, each
soldier CARRYING a knapsack. vaise and
a large zinc trunk with q plug hat in it,
Those were the days when the war was al
complete picnic and every man wore his
good clothes on week days What sad
moment it was when the soldier who had
lived for 29 years under the protecting
roof of New England home, with a
clean, white shirt to put on every Sun
day, learned at last that he must abandon
his Gothic trunk and go forth to march
hundreds Of miles without it!
War is indeed stern experience. It
involves haste. danger and surprise. 1t
means annoyance, discomfort and incon-
venience. Imagine soldier on the eve
of q long, hot march behind a tree chang
4rr nc lrth NIT no Nf
trunk scattered all around on the grass
and with his head no doubt driven into
freshly Numbered and carefully welded
shirt. He is finging his arms wildly
about trying to draw himself through the
garment so as to hang his grinning chin
over the battiement. He smells the hot
starch. His eyes hang red and CLASSY
from their sockets. He sports a pair of
low summer pants and makes another
wild struggle to emerge through the top
ofthe shirt when the picket guard rushes
into the apartment with wild. elocu
tionary cry of: ''To arms! They come!
The Greek! The Greek!' Such is war
grim, dusty, inconvenient war.
To look at the blue and red pictures of
battles. such as we used to see, one would
naturally suppose that the warrior put
on his good clothes. had his horse care
4uily IduHuefeu, cuLlOneQ on freSh collar
and cuffs, put on his lawn tie and a wide
hat with a SO plume on it, had his tai
boots blackened, adjusted q large pair of
beautiful brass spurs. memorized the
piece which he intended to speak when
he got his death wound and then sent
/ word to the enemy that he would call in
!, half an hour.
4.SS Such, however, is not the case Some
( OF our greatest warriors went into battle
with their trousers tucked into their=
I boots, and it is said that Gen. Sherman
did not have his trunk with him half the
time while making his greatest bridal
tous from Atlanta to the sea Several of
! our ahlest generals forget to insert their.
I; right hands into the bosoms Of their
coats while pranc:ng down the line Of
battle and one of them chewed plug to-
& hsccst durip Fl Fl snrg dead Tx lia Il. vita
Saemy and WI hile the \ lie al! the na-
1 auiyfer ia the lance. ll'ss