St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1901-05-29

the ridge of Cemetery Hill in the centre
to Cups Hill on the right-a line OF bat
tie to be remembered forever. l am not
here to remind you of all that followed.
How the thousands hurried up by
almost killing marches to claim the
positions awaiting them. How waves
of blood and fire rolled up those slopes for
two long days only to break in vain
against their defenses; and how at last
the misguided but still heroic efforts of
our adversaries eliminated in the great
est charge in history, when Pickett as
saulted the Union centre.
They were great days to have lived
through; great days to have died in.
But as look back upon them tonight
l seem to hear all their splendid and
awful tumult, all the thunder Of the
captains and the shouting, translatipg
itself into one great answer to a ques-
ton which God was putting to the
| United States of America in terrible
words of righteousness. ooh land that
loves to be thought the land Of freedom
and the home of brave men," He seems
to ask, "are your eyes, treated by this
cruel surgery of war, clear enough
today to see that the land of the free
must be a land where the poorest has
his chance, and is your courage of the
sort that will lead your sons to stand
together in the day of crisis, whether
that day summon them into the valley
Of death or lead them rejoicing through
the green pastures of life?" And the
land answers, eve have sinned, o Lord,
before Thee. Behold the sign and proof
of our repentance See, in this out
pouring of our best blood our estimate
of the worth of Thy best gifts. Thy
favor translated into Union and Free
dom is better than life to us. And on
this day of crisis, we confess to Thee,
that we choose it instead of life"
So by the mid.year of this fateful 1868
two of the greatest questions that can
be put to any nation got themselves
answered. The crisis of the Rebellion
was past. The great issues Of the con-
flict were put in the way of settlement.
But there were still long months OF
bloody war to meet and bear, and men
began to wonder whether there could be
recuperative power enough in the nation
to recover from the critical operation
whereby her immediate peril had been
relieved.
After such long experience of war
could she return to the ways of peace
again? After collecting and training
such vast armies could she re-absorb
them into her trades and professions.
Would the pacific channels of ordinary
industry hold this multitude Of soldiers
many of them now veterans The
question was asked very skeptically
abroad. 1t was admitted to be a grave
one at home. And further-what should
be the lot of the territory and popula-
ton in rebellion, after rebellion had been
quelled? What should be the future of
the country's finance? What should be
it's political fate when the necessity of
self. preservation as a motive to political
unity should be removed? What indus
trial conditions should obtain? Was not
the rebellion likely to raise more serious
problems after all than the Union could
hope to solve by force of victorious arms?
1t would be to exaggerate grotesquely
to say that those questions were answer
ed in any one battle; or in any one year;
or indeed until time forced them and
their necessities upon the nation. But 1
still venture to assert that the key to
them is at least suggested by the charac-
ter of third great episode in this year
1868. Bear with me while in briefly
sketching it, close this sermon.
1t came to pass late in November.
Rosecrans had met bloody defeat at
Chickamauga, although there Thomas
had demonstrated again the splendid
staying qualities of the citizen soldier
when rightly led. The army since it's de-
feat had been cooped up in Chattanooga,
and reduced to serious straits. But hope
had revived with the coming of Grant.
A new line of communications had been
opened. Reinforcements were approach
ing. Some of you have seen that field Of
battle or have read Mr.. Owen Wister's
description of it. Here is Chattanooga
at the rear of the platform. The Confede
rate forces occupy line of heights repre-
sented by the balcony. Here at my right is
Lookout Mountain. In front and on the
left stretches Missionary Ridge. Between
the armies lies Chattanooga Valley.
Lookout Mountain represents one end Of
the enemy's line where he is strongly in
trenched. Along the ridge in front his
rihe.pits stretch in double or triple lines.
And his right rests securely, as he thinks,
upon the rugged north end of the ridge.
On Monday of The week of battle the
Union troops advanced and unexpected
ly took possession of a point of special
vantage in the valley so that now you
may think Of them as represented by the
platform edge in front of me. Mean
while Sherman was going behind the
platform on the left to appear yonder
in an attempt to turn that flank,
while Hooker was to do the same
thing upon the right. Both succeed
ed in a degree, and when Wednes-
day morning dawned Hooker was in
trenched on Lookout Mountain, and
Sherman was in position on the north
end of Missionary Ridge; but bothered
by unexpected features of the ground,
and hard pressed by the troops that
Bragg was hurrying to oppose him.
Meanwhile the enemys centre seemed
secure behind it's two rows of rifle pits,
one upon the slope and another upon
the ridge of an almost inaccessible &C.
clivity.
At the moment when Sherman was
hardest pressed; and it was hoped that
Hooker might somehow get across from
Lookout Mountain into the enemv's
rear, the volunteers that held the Union
Centre were ordered to try to take the
first line of rifle pits on the lower slope
and stop there. They started and al
most before they knew what they had