The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-01-23
A VETERAN SPEAKS.

To the Editor of The Spy: The In
vestigation into the conduct of the war
with Spain, while having ceased to be
interesting to the people in general, has
of late aroused a feeling of amazemant
in the minds of veterans of the civil
war. That an officer in the service
of the United States should SO berate
a superior officer, and he the command
er of the entire army, lis a matter of
great surprise to them. No wonder a
London paper has declared that "such
thing could not have happened in the
English army" 1t never should have
happened here. No investigation of
the conduct of the war ought to have
been had. The government yielded to a
tremendous pressure to throw body
of troops instantly into Cuba and lick
the Spaniards out in no time; notwith-
standing the unpreparedness of the
government and great difficulties to
be overcome and the tremendous risks
Of sending troops into such g climate
at such a season of the year, the gov
eminent accomplished all that was
clamored for and more, too in about
eight days. All the administration
ought to have said was: We have
! yielded to the wishes of the people,
even somewhat against our own judg-
ment, and under the circumstances,
though some mistakes and miscar-
riages have happened, we have en-
deavored to do the best we could, and
do not care to yield to the clamor Of
yellow journals, sore-head politicians
or chronic kickers of all kinds, for an
investigation.
1t is unreasonable to demand that
there shall be no disagreeable contin-
gencies in a hurried forced campaign;
they always have happened and always
will, and there are better ways for a
military officer to make hero Of himself
than by the use of an unbridled, SANDER
Gus tongue. 1t would have been better
to have remembered that there has
been many hero who has gone down
to his death "unhonored and unsung."
There Is many an old hero Of the civil
war now living and more dead, whose
praises have not been heard 1t is
hard to recall them all now, but most
veterans now living can recall one or
more Of them.
For myself, ! can recall a circum-
stance Of the civil war which relates
to the heroic behavior of a captain In
the Bifty-first Massachusetts infantry.
Though he did not lose his life, his action
has ever since struck me very forciby
as being very heroic. Yet have never
heard his praises sounded by others,
ana ne ~ Lar anu away LOO IHOQcSL TO
admit that he ever did anything any
where under any circumstances more
than every true man should do without
any sounding of trumpets, and that
was his simple duty. Probably there
Is not member of the Fifty-hrst now
living who does not remember White
hall. Most especially will the mem
bers Of Co. @ remember IT.; ii must
have been burned into Lueir memories
by little speech made by their gallant
captain when the order came to cap
their pieces on approaching the bat
tlefield. Said he: Boys, we had been
boys all along. / want every man"
We had suddenly become men-"to do
his duty, no fiinching." That was all
he said. as I can remember. Now this
may not seem at this long distance
very heroic, but to any one to whom
1t does not, IL any, l would ask, how
was 1t that man taken as l might
say from the lap Of luxury, almost,
brought up here In our midst, carefully
and tenderly. amid all the comforts
of life. and himself an inexperienced
volunteer. unused to wars alarms or
dangers, should have had at that crisis
such an almost unlimited stock Of cour-
age, patriotism and falthfulness which
sufficed not only for himself, but was
sufficient for his entire command.
arousing in them spirit of determine
| ton TO follow him and do their whole