Year: 1863

4


minious defeat from the state which they
bad invaded with naughty step and vain
glorious confidence of success. We can
almost hear God saying to Lee as He
said to Sennacherib before Jerusalem
x will put my hook in thy nose, and my
bride in thy lips, and will turn thee
back by the way by which thou camest."


One such victory as that at Getty ysburg
is sufficient cause ior National Thanks
giving. But good fortunes, as well as
misfortunes, never come single;' and
the same kind Providence that gave us
the victory there, had other triumphs 10
store for Us, to be bestowed in rapid sue
cesson, as il to compensate for the re-
peated reverses experienced in the earli-
er part of the war. On the very next
day, the batle-scarred legions of Gen.
Grant took possession of Vicksburg. the
stronghold for which they had fought SO
long and so well, and with ii they took a
larger number of prisoners than have
been captured on any other occasion in
modern history, and an immense amount
of arms aud munitions of war. Hardly
did we have time to rejoice over this
great event, when there came tidings of
yet another equally important, the un-
conditional surrender of Port Hudson,
with all its garrison, thus breaking the
last hold of rebellion upon the Mississip-
pi, and restoring TO the great Northwest
the long -suspened right of free navigation
on that river. To enhance the value of
these successes and increase our gratitude
for them, they occurred on and near our
national anniversary enshrining that
day anew in our memories and affections,
and multiplying the frequent recolleciions
that evermore cluster around the Fourth
of July. From those victories, too, we
have abundant reason TO hope and be-
lieve, the downfall of the rebellion will
date. They are the beginning of the
end. The end may not be close at hand.
Perhaps many months may elapse before
the end shall come. But i; will come,
and 1t will be the final result of the
events for which we are called upon to
give thanks to-day. Not to give thanks,
sincere and hearty, would be a neglect,
pardonable perhaps in heather nation,
but objectionable in people who know
the One, Only, True G and have
been taught that "the Most High ruleth
in the kingdom of men, and - it to
whomsoever He will" 1t becomes us
to walk softly and humbly before Him,
lest by our ingratitude we provoke HIM
again to withdraw His favor from us,
and allow US again to be discomfited by
our adversaries. Now He is disposed to
be gracious to us. As if TO teach US that
our praises, worthless though they are,
are acceptable TO Him, and that the surest
way to obtain additional blessings is to be
thankful for those already received. He
has, since the issuing of the proclamation,
given success to the federal troops in sew
eral engagements, small indeed, as COM
pared with the greater victories, but i'm
portant in their bearing upon the final
result. Let us zealously give Him the
glory for them all.


We give thanks to-day for national
mercies; but we ought not to forget that,
as citizens of Vermont, we have special
occasion for gratitude. While this state
has furnished its full proportion of sol
ders for the defence OF the country, and
while they have uniformly occupied ev-
cry position, however dangerous, that has
been assigned them. they have been, TO
an extraordinary degree. exempted from
the great losses experienced by the sol
diery of sister States. Each of our re-
giments has lost some of its members in
battle, and others, probably the larger
number, in hospitals; but none of them
has been so baptized in blood as some of
the New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and
Connecticut regiments. Some of them
have returned home with ranks almost
nnbroken, excerpt as death has come to


hem by the way OF ordinary Diseases
If this exemption from loss bad been pro-
cured by any cowardly avoidance of dan
ger, any absence from the place of duty,
it would be occasion for shame rather
than rejoicing. But the Vermont regi-
ments have gone wherever they were
sent, and remained wherever they were
placed; and if they have been spared
from wholesale slaughter, il is because
Divine Providence has ordered things 10
that effect. This community, too, has
particular reason for gratitude that It's
losses by the war have been so small
The town of Coventry has sent sixty