Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1898-09-12
THE BOYS IN BLUE.
It was in '61 that men in these north

UNIFORMS ana SnOulu0f6O muSK0US III
support of the Union. Those were
stirring times and never can be for
gotten by the ones who participated
in them. At that time Uncle Sam was
paying S13 per month and board to
men who were willing to risk their
lives, and respond to the call for
volunteers. 1t meant something to
enlist, 5for thoughtful men knew that
it was not picnic on which they
were going, but for many leap into
the jaws of death. There was an ex-
element among the people that car
ried everything before it. My father
gave one boy in his old age for his
country, who by mothers prayers
was saved to be their protector to the
end of their allotted time. God bless
such parents! I can see the peculiar
look of my mother when she gave me
parting kiss and 'sGod bless you'll"
Where the people got their courage
from it is hard to explain; it must
have been the result of the working
of some unseen power. At that time
the "boys in blue" were almost idol
zed, and we'll was it for the country
that so great an enthusiasm Of patri-
otism existed.
Years have passed and still that
love for those who fought to maintain
the integrity of the country and the
supremacy Of the ''stars and stripes
is as strong as ever. Nothing is too
good for those who risked bullets and
all kinds of diseases and privations
in order that the life Of the nation
might be saved. America owes them
a debt Of gratitude that $13 per month
or even the addition of liberal
bounty can never repay. War times!
Yes, those years when the ground
was soaked with the blood of some Of
the best Of Americas sons, were war
times in earnest. When bowling
m obs went through the streets Of
SO me of our cities and towns declar-
ing that niggerism should never tri-
umph; when newspapers issued ex-
tras containing columns of names Of
the dead and wounded on fields Of
battle; when appeal after appeal
went forth from the War Depart
ment to fill the depleted ranks with
fresh recruits: when serious men and
women turned pale at the thought of
what the struggle for freedom and
for the perpetuation of the union was
costing; when our churches were
turned into recruiting stations and
ministers of 1.-THE gospel preached in
military uniforms; when copperheads
went about in the darkness of the |
night doing their best to weaken the |
loyalty of the people; when mems
hearts became hard and with their !
mouths they declared that the fight |
must be kept up no matter what hap |
pened; when the dogs of war were |
let loose all over the union and there |
was hardly household that was not |
in mourning for some member. of the |
family. The records of those times /
are written on the memories of those [
who participated in them SO deeply |
that it can never be erased. Only |
death can cover the marks.
The men who fought and suffered |
for the union are entitled to special |
recognition and consideration as long |
as they live. The nation which they |
saved cannot allow them or their fam
lilies to suffer-to them is due a per-
petual debt of gratitude from all the
inhabitants of this land, for to them
we owe the great advantages which |
we now possess. Many of the boys
in gray were as honest in their con-
victions as the boys in blue, but the
difference was the blues were right
and the grays were wrong. The truth
is SO manifest now that many of those
who wore the gray are quite satisfied
with the result.
The old soldiers are growing less
numerous every day. They have
heard the roll call of another land
and have changed their camping
grounds. Many are tottering along
on crutches and feel that the old fires
that once burned within are dying
out, and that the land for which they
once fought will soon enfold their
bodies. But they are still patriots
and the nation does not forget that
fact: fighting Joe Hooker, as he bat
tied above the clouds, will never be
Men cannot forget brave deeds, and
the humble privates who made it pos
sihle for Abraham Lincoln to enter
should share with these
officers in just recognition of services
we'll rendered. The old flag still waves
and to the boys who wore the blue in
the sixties be all praise and honor.
No man who loves his country would
detract one iota from the honor due
to them, and no such man would keep
from them their just reward. The
Of the union tramped for