St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1909-09-22

to be a great world power. Then we
numbered 100000. Now we are fast
approaching the 100, 900, 900 mari On
has estimated that the United States is
large enough to hold 200,000,000 or
even 400, 100000, as many as the great
Empire OF China, Then our navy was of
little account. Now it is classed among
the strongest. Then this country raised
and equipped for war about 100000
all told on both sides; 100000 in blue,
nearly 1000, 900 in gray, spread all over
this fair land engaged in deadly conflict.
Now we could as easily raise 100000.
Now we are looked up to as one of the
leading nations of the earth. Soon we
shall lead all other nations in morality,
purity OF government, equal rights and
the blessings that come to free people.
The same spirit of loyalty, liberty and
equal rights for all, fair play and a
square deal" as our great champion of
the golden rule called it, is growing and
strengthening in the American heart till
we could no longer see the old spirit of
oppression, worse than slavery if pos
sible, put in practice by Spain in Cuba
or anywhere else on the earth by any
people or power without stepping in and
saying thus far and no farther" Again
our American patriotic spirit and love of
fair play and equal rights for all led by
the same champion of the golden rule
took Russia and Japan in hand and
made them settle their unjustihable quar-
rel This spirit of loyalty, my comrades,
which led US to the front in 81 is not
dead it may be sleeping, but would
awake and spring to the front as readily
as in '61 if occasion demanded it.
was captured in the Battle of the
Wilderness, May 6, 1864, and was one
year in Is different prisons and pens. |
weighed 200 pounds when captured and
lis when | came out of the rebel So
called hospital. Much has been said
about the treatment of the prisoners; it
might have been better, it could have
been worse One needs to be used to
figures to comprehend in any sense the
magnitude of that war. The south
captured 10000 prisoners; was one
| of this number. The north captured
476,O0 rebel prisoners $4,000 union
soldiers died in rebel prisons, being %
per cent. of the number captured.
| I'LL " lHOuSdHu lcDCl plloOnClo uiSu IL
northern prisons, being 10 per cent. OF
the number captured. The percentage
of deaths in southern prisons were two
or three times the deaths in northern
prisons. Those of US that survived this
experience are very small remnant.
know of but one of the 1900 officers that
were confined in Macon, Ca, with whom
l was acquainted, now living. The en-
listed men, about $4,000, were at this
time confined at Andersonville. 1t was
impossible for the rebels to feed us
beautifully They were short of rations
after Sherman passed over their territory
What this all meant in suffering and
hardships to the prisoners and to the
loved ones at home, north and south
can never be understood except by those
that experienced it. We little know
what we can endure until we have to
Time is a great healer. To many of III
this seems like dream now, then it wa'
no dream. War has its awful draw
backs,-ts horrors beyond description
But there are things worse than war