The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1908-06-03

in the House of Representatives; at
Cincinnati a newspaper office was
sacked and the presses destroyed
and at Alton, Illinois, pro-slavery
paper was four times attacked while
the owner was killed in an attempt
to protect his press.
The acquisition Of Mexican terri
tory following a war with Mexico
over a dispute as to the Texas bound
airy, brought up the question of the
admission of slavery, for the terri
tory was free under Mexican rule.
The chief political issues centered
around this question, and as they
had to be settled, lest the Union be
broken, the compromise of 1850 was
entered into, whereby California
was admitted as free state, but
the territories of Utah and New
Mexico were left open to slavery.
This was supposed to settle the
slavery issue, both of the great
political parties pledging themselves
to support the settlement. but the
fire would not quench in the public
mind, and in 1854, the organization
of Kansas and Nebraska re-opened
the struggle. Old parties were
split, and out of them grew another
party destined to carry on the
struggle of the war for the preserva-
ton of the Union. Justice Taney's
remarkable decision declaring the
Missouri compromise unconstitu-
tional and opening all the territories
to slavery created CONSERVATION
among the liberty-loving people,
and the decision, as we'll as other
slavery issues brought forth debates
that resulted in the election of the
martyred Lincoln in 1860, and the
announcement of South Cardinals
seeding from the Union on Dec.
| 10th of the same year.
Other states followed.
And then came that mighty strug-
| gle the greatest of ancient or mod
ern times. The struggle for the
preservation of the Union, the strug-
gle in which you and your comrades
fought side by side, gave up your
young lives to save your country.
Fort Sumpter fell; the attempt to
drive back the Confederate line in
Virginia ended in disaster at the
battle of Bull Run; in 1862 the PEN
insular campaign failed, Pope was
defeated at I'd Bull Run; Lees inva-
sion of Maryland was ended by the
battle of Antietam, and Burnside
met defeat at Fredericksburg. In
the west the Confederate line was
forced back to northern Mississippi,
and New Orleans was captured by
Farragut. Shiloh, Fort Donelson,
Perrysville and Murfreesboro, were
the scenes of great battles. The
opening of 1863 saw the freeing of
slaves in Confederate lines. In May,
Lee and Jackson drove back Hooker
at Charlottesville, and then Lee ran
down the Shenandoah Valley. cross
ed Maryland and entered Pennsyl-
vania with the Army of the Potomac
hot pursuit.
/ Then came Gettysburg. It was
the greatest battle of the civil war.
This statement is made for various
reasons. The strategic issues in
volved were the most important; it
was the turning point in the for
tunes of the Confederates; the con-
tending armies were not only large,
but were at their best in point Of
discipline and experience; and the
loss Of life at Gettysburg exceeded
that of any other battle field of the
war.
Antietam was the bloodiest battle.
More men were killed on that day
than on any other day of the war.
There were greater battles, with
greater loss of life, but they were
not fought out in one day as at An
tietam. At Gettysburg, Chancellors-
vile and Spottsylvania, the fighting
covered three days or more; at the
Wilderness, Cold Harbor, Shiloh,
Stones River, Chickamauga and At
lanta the losses were divided be-
tween two days of fighting; but at
sunrise and by four o'clock that
afternoon it was over.
i Grant took Vicksburg, and the