The National tribune., 1903-06-04
The Exceeding Importance Of the Day to the CountyWhat It
Really Commemoraes-Why Should be Sacredy Observed,
and Material Reasons for This.
IL SABBATH OF PATRIOTISM

By JOHN McELROY,
Past Senior Vice commander.in.chief, q. AR.

1
HISTORICAL COMPARISONS.
There were but 1857 killed in the Mex
lean War, and but 1,S77 in the War OF
1872. We have no exact figures as to the
Revolution, but the mortality could not
have been much greater than in the other
wars in spite of it's lasting seven years.
But 300 were killed in the Spanish War
Compare these with the awful harvests
which Death reaped on single days at Shi.
loh, Stone River, Antietam, Fredericks-
burg. Charlottesville, Chickamauga, The
Wilderness, Cold Harbor and Gettysburg.
Mere statements of numbers convey lit.
tie impression to the average mind. Com
parisOnS are more startling.
More men fell here at Gettysburg than
we had on Mexican soil at any time dur
ing the Mexican War.
Many more men were killed out of the
little First Corps alone in the first days
battle on Seminary Ridge than in the
whole Mexican War. Yet the First Corps
numbered less than one-seventh Of those
engaged. .-r...-
Our loss at Chickamauga exceeded the
army with which Gen. Shafter landed at
Santiago, compelled the surrender of the
garrison of $4,000 Regular Spanish sol
diers, and did practically all the land fight
ing in the war with Spain.
Gen. Grant lost more men In that awful
march from the Rapidan to the James
than were in the Continental Army at any
time during the Revolution.
Napoleon never put into any battle as
many men a. were actually shot to death
on the Union side.
| Germany was once ravaged for 30
years by savage religious war, which de-
stroyed her cities and laid waste her
farms and vineyards. Yet we fought
more engagements than took place in the
whole of the famous Thirty Years War,
and killed more men in single battles than
lost their lives by steel and gunpowder
during those three awful decades of Ger
man history.
Single armies lost more in one cam
paign than were lost in the Whole of
great wars which have changed the map
of Europe.
| Our campaign against Vicksburg alone
cost as many lives as Great Britain's
share in the Crimean War.
The Germans took something over
100000 men into France in 1S7O-'7l,
and over-ran that great, wealthy, military
country of 100000 population, which
had been the arbitress of the whole Eu-
ropean Continent. Yet they lost only
about 25,00O killed, in this stupendous
achievement, or nearly the same number
that Gen. Grant lost in about the same
length of time out of some 250000 men
less than one quarter their force-in the
various armies he moved against Rich
mond in 1864.
Some years ago 1 startled a prominent
United States Senator, who was supposed
| to be quite familiar with the war, with
the statement that we had more men killed
upon the field of battle in the four years of
infarpnoipa ctr1UOIo than EnUl1nd ba n
lost in the 800 years in which she had
been a nation. At first he ridiculed the
| idea, but when he came to look into the
matter more carefully he found that the
statement was correct, and that though
Great Britain had been in incessant con-
et through all tasse Of onr four Yea Years
conflict ran up the total of our slain in
excess of the total of hers since William
the Conqueror won the battle of Has
tings.
The reason is obvious to any one who
studies history. 1t was really the first
time in the annals of the world that a
whole people went to war in support of
an idea second in their minds only to that
of their belief and faith in God. When
all the brain and character of q great
country like ours engages in deadly
struggle in support of principles which
they deem Of higher value even than life
itself, the grapple must be fierce and the
mortality appalling.
In every battle we equaled the most fa-
nous instances of heroism and devotion in
history.
Every company had in it gallant souls
who were fair rivals of the heroes whose
acts have been the theme Of story, song
and pencil.
Winkelried's Making Way for Lib
erty'' at Sempach will live as long as lit
erature
Within easy reach of our eyes is the
spot on which seven men, each as bravely
self-sacriticing as Winkeried were shot
down in quick succession in trying to hold
up the flag of the Oath Mich.
Every regiment would have paralleled
the performance of Leonidas and his 300
deathless Spartans. and thousand times
during the war different regiments made
ready to do so.
by lifting our eyes we can see the
ground where the 1st MINI. lost SO per
cent. of its number in a charge in which
1t was expected every one would be killed,
and from which not man faltered. The
little remnant of survivors would have in
stantly repeated the assault if ordered.
The word thrills with the story of the
Light Brigade at Balaklava, the only fight
in which it was engaged and in which. it
lost 3G per cent. of its strength. The 1st
Mlnn- lost twice the percentage of the
Light Brigade. and it lost severely in q
score Of battles before and after.
The 9th n. Y, after losing at Manassas
nearly twice the per centage of the Light
Brigade, coolly counted off anew and strid-
ing over their dead and wounded, rear
ranged their ranks, unwilling to retreat,
although the General was anxious to with,
draw them.
Scores Of Union regiments lost more IL.
single battles than the Light Brigade.
Pennsylvania had four regiments-the
10Th, 63th, 141st and 14Sth-that lost
larger percentage on this field of Gettys-
burg than the Light Brigade at Balaklaya,
and the percentage of the 141st Pa. was
double that of the Light Brigade.
HONOR TO AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS.
On Memorial Day we honor the dead
and their surviving comrades, but still
more do we honor American institutions
typifed by the Flag for which they gave
on this and thousands of other fields the
last full measure of devotion. The Flag
was to them, as to u.s. the visible emblem
of all that is essentially American, lust
as the Cross symbolizes all that is Christi
anity.
Battles are not, as commonly supposed
mere struggles of brute force. They are
rather struggles of moral forces, equipped
with physical instrumentalities.
Lees army was not thrown back from
the nights surrounding this cemetery nv