The National tribune., 1899-06-01


ACTION;
the cavalry comes in demoralized; heavy
artillery firing is Heard in front; one
evening the regimental commanders are
hastily summoned To brigade headGuar-
ters: upon their return, the field and stai1
are summoned 10 regimental headquar-
ters: pretty soeyl those little wizards of
the camp the Orierlies, begin to. fit about
with mysterious messages and airs oi tne
greatest importance; tie company officers
come around SRt quietly but carefully
inspect knapsaelt,s haversack, musket
fand cartridge box, and give orders about
rations; the detail for picket duty is
doubled, and as night comes on there
settles down upon the camp that indie
Enable quiet that cannot be described,
but can never be forgotten. The noisy
zblowhard" who had been hunting hgnt
ever since he left home is no longer in
evidence. Around all the campfires, and
in all the tents, if they have any, tine
work of writing letters goes on until a
late hour; and, still later, around the
smoldering embers comrades can be
seen in earnest conversation; here father
and son for both in many cases were
bnys Of '61, there near neigfbors, are dis
GUESSING the possibilities of the morrow,
and making agreements accordingly.
Soon the morrow comes.
THE MORROW BIG WITH FATE
for the boy of 1861 The day which is to
set for him forever the high seal OF char
acter. or stamp him as unworthy the
name of American. The hasty breakfast
disposed of, he is soon in his place, and
the regiment is marching in column OF
COMPANIES through the timber in the dl-
rection from which the sound of strife had
come the evening before. He passes
ambulances that seem to be waiting for
business. He sees upon a log the Sur
peOn's instruments and rolls of bandages
He carries a solemn face in that march
perhaps pale face-pcrhaps a face that
shows the instinct OF self-preservation IN
strong development; but there is no sign
of fear in it. save the fear that he may
not acauit himself according to his own
high standard New they reach the edge
of the timber-the leading companies de-
pIoy as .skirmishers, and he discovers
another line of slsrmishers in the shadow
of .yonder timber and soon makes out
that they are clad in gray and butternut,
and as they open fire, he concludes, with
Mai. Stillman of Indian fame. that they
are "nO friends of his"
As the skirmishing grows heavier the
"spat." "spat' OF the bullets is heard, as
they fall around him, while he stands in
that trying moment Of suspense, waiting
for orders. With the occasional express
ion of pain from the lips of a comrade,
that tells it's own story, there is borne in
upon him the awful realization that the
war is actually on, and he is actually in
it, Now come the quick, sharp orders
which move the regiment to the front in
line of battle. The skirmish line comes
back, and he sees a heavier line of gray
and butternut before him:
HE HEARS THAT TERRIBLE BELL,
which, can never be forgotten; he catches
glimpse to right and left Of pufTs OF
smoke heavier thail-musket smoke, and
the screech of 1,sbs1l tells him that the
"Johnnies" are xettiIG batteries into posi-
ien All Ieyew tss gs ns as f It hss%s IS snd
present itself tolSdre@ning man.
But the patteF Of rrusketry deepens to
crash; the yell romes nearer and louder.
He hears the N,icei OF his commander,
calling him to fight fbr the flag and the
Union. All within hsm that is manly re,
what is going on about him and gives
himself to the whrk before him.
Now the good work of the German Drill
Sergeant is made manifest, and the boy
OF 1861 blesses Iiis memory as he loads
and fires with the accuracy and steadI-
ness born Of drill, and keeps his place
without being panic stricken, from the force
of discipline He takes no note of time,
but an hour or two. later, when he stands
over yonder i'm the timber from which the
rebel yell and the rebel lines have van
ished. and wipes the sweat from his brow
and the CRIME from his musket, he can
not realize, nor has he since been able to
realize, how, within that supreme hour OF
his life, he has been transformed, by
new birth, from n citizen to soldier
ayei perhaps, to "A hero OF the {epubIc.
But it was so, and afterwards, Tor four
long years, he marches and bivouacs and
fights until his soldier life comes to be to
him second nature, ana when peace
comes at last, though he halls it with Joy,
he lays aside that muslet and cartridge
box, or that saber, almost with sigh OF
regret. During these years he may have
worn, in turn, the chevrons, the bars, the
leaves, and perhaps the eagle and star of
command. but ut their close he Is the boy
of 1861 still.
Applied to him the words Of the poet
are eminently true that
"The thoughts OF men are widened by the
process Of the suns
HE HAS LIVED AN AGE
since he put his name down on that en-
liStment paper.
Behind him are the confused noise and
garments rolled in blood of the battlefield.
Before him is his country saved, it is
true, from the assaults of armed treason,
but to be reunited, "disenthralled, re
generated, enlarged and perpetuated,
through the blessed ministries OF peace!
To this new warfare he feels himself
called, as truly as he was called by duty
to the field Of arms.
TO fUT THE IRON OF LIBERTY
into the blood of the Nation; to give us a
definition of citizenship which shall mean
something; to incorporate into our Con
stitution and laws the principles for which
ne fought; to care for the widow and
orphan Of the fallen; 10 rebuild the waste
places that the war had made, and to so
treat the brave men who had fought
Valiantly in most mistaken cause, that
they shall voluntarily abandon it as a
lost cause indeed these were some of the
duties that presented themselves to the
boys of 1861 at the close OF the conflict,
and have pressed upon them ever since.
In meeting these duties the boys Of 1861
have often been misunderstood, misrepre-
scented, malgned, but with steadfast step
and faces to the front, they have marched
along these lines for the third Of a century
since the noise Of battle ceased. And
when, a few months ago, the Supreme
part of those who were once our foes. en-
graved, by unanimous decision, as by a
steel point on a great rock, the following
doctrine, not only upon the record of the
Nation, but upon tfe general mind as
well; viz:
ave hold that the Government of the
United States isOne having jurisdiction
over every foot of(sOH within its territory,
and acting directlyrsupOn each citizen;
that while it is /. government of enumer-
ated DowerS, il has, within the limits of