USA > Illinois > Address to the 73rd Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry > Part 3
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Look at our own case and country, and read an instructive lesson.
The South-redeemed from the battlefield and from the breaches that war made, bright sun, and broad skies above, and fertile soil, and charming climate be- neath ; relieved from a deadly incubus, which sat upon it for a hundred years, is springing into new life, and is
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fast becoming what, with certainty it is destined to be; one of the chief garden spots of the world. In the South, as everywhere else, more prosperity, more in- genious industries, more manufacturing, more cotton, fruit and food, and more felicity among all classes than ever before-all of which might have come about with- out the war-but it may be considered a most gratifying result that it has come to us in spite of the war. Much has occurred that has disappointed the expectations of even thinking people; being a little out of the usual course of human events and human experiences.
It was feared in some circles in the North, and else- where, that if the soldier survived amid the vicissitudes of war, and returned to his former home, it would be as a desperado and a terror to his former friends and neighbours. But it was found at the last that if he went from his home a boy, he returned a man, and that if he went to the war a man he returned a manly man, having been tested in the balance of heroic action and found wanting in nothing; that the soldier returned to his home and friends a decided hero, and not as for- merly in all lands, a reproach, and a by-word wherever met-responsibilities do sometimes produce good results.
Seventy Sie had set us a good example in soldiering, under most trying circumstances achieving grand suc- cesses, and then returning to the duties and privileges of citizenship. But this was example and not experience to us, for, besides a little trouble with the mother country in 1812; some skirmishing with the Indians on the frontier; we had no war experiences, and went to the front, what might be called, regular green-horns.
We had had extensive experience in pioneering,
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clearing away forests, and building houses for ourselves, all well for us, and good and wise instruction in its way: but we had not been called, as our fathers had been, to do and suffer to the fullest extent of human suffering and endurance. So when the shock came, who could tell what would stand or fall, who stand firm, or who waver in the face of the coming storm ? The solution came, and it was found that many fell as the hero falls, face to face with the foe, and covered with glory-but not one failed or faltered, then or since. When you find the veteran soldier, you find a man in whose breast beats a true, and patriotic heart.
The man that can drag a cannon into position by the aid of twenty horses and a hundred men, more or less; dig graves with bayonets, and bury his fallen comrades in the face of the foe; dig trenches and build fortifica- tions with his bare hands if need be, and then fight successfully and to the death behind them, or drive a six, eight, or ten mule team hitched to an army waggon, heavily loaded, over impassable roads-not one but four hubs out of sight -- the man that can do this, be he christian or otherwise, come out with a whole skin and not swear, or only swear a little, that man will do to tie to, wherever he may pitch his tent.
To those now standing in the clear sunshine, after the storm has passed, no clouds visible and the dark- ness all gone, the war may seem to partake much of the nature of a big fuss upon a small occasion. Some that were in their cradles at the time these stirring events were taking place, a mother's love wrapping them warm and soft, and others of more mature years at home out of danger, and beyond harms reach, such may be ex- cused for not comprehending the magnitude of the
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struggle, or the importance of the principles and ques- tions at issue. To us who knew all and stood face to face with death in defence of all, the case is widely different, and we must be allowed to think and speak for ourselves, as well as profit by the experience.
Cannon to the right, left, front and rear of us, and plenty of good rifles in the hands of skilful marksmen, not always at long range, but often at close quarters, with bayonets fixed and ready for use-first come, first served-these were some of the facts that made things lively and interesting with us at the front.
I must be allowed, indulgent comrades, to insist that the war knocked a great deal of badness out of us first and last, and that we came back wiser and better men than we went away. If we were at the front to-day, I do not believe that even Jack of Clubs would attempt to hide his cards when his colonel was making inquis- ition for them, but would hold them up to full view and tell the truth about them. "Yes ! here they are, a sure-enough pack of cards, and I am trying to teach these young fellows how wicked and how dangerous it is to handle cards in the enemy's country."
A Fifth, and crowning result of the war has been to bring us nearer to God.
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At the time of the adoption of the Constitution of the United States, many good people-as others since have done-considered severe in their views and con- victions, have lamented the absence of the name of Deity in its preamble and other parts as well. But in this day we are able to see traces of God's Infinite Wis- dom in each, and every department, division, and section of the Constitution ; and recognise in it an in- spiration only a little below that which has come to us
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with the Law of Sinai. Clear as a proposition in Euclid-not a word superfluous nor a word wanting; written as with an immortal pen freshly dipped in inspiration-there it stands, firm, solid, and fixed as the Old Rocks upon which the Continent is built: one of the fixed facts of this world, and one of the few " Things that cannot be moved."
The history of Governments and of Legislation, has established the fact, that the laws most respected and readily obeyed by the people, and executed with the least trouble, are those with the most of the laws of God in them.
Go to France for example, enter its beautiful Capital: you will see much to admire, much to interest, and to instruct you: at the same time-though in the midst of beautiful France, you are reminded on every hand, and are painfully conscious of the total absence of that one grand thought which is the guiding star to all right thinking, and that fertilizes all thought, viz :- " Thou God seest me,"-personal responsibility and strict accountability to God-that in Him we live, and move, and have our being
The decree of the Assembly, made and recorded in the broad light of day, "There is no God," was the legitimate result of this state of things and made France what it remains-Instable, Bloody, Revolutionary France.
The death of President Lincoln occurring when and - as it did, was the most alarming incident of the war; it was all the horrors of the war concentrated in one great horror, and, filling all space left no room for escape. Like a bolt from the blue above, and rush- ing like an avalanche of burning, fiery lava from a
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volcano newly opened from earth's centre, spreading with earthquake shocks, over the whole land, the black- ness of a darkness impenetrable following-a terrible and inexpressible sorrow fell upon all hearts, with a depth and weight of grief unknown to us before.
Some there were who had been through the fiery ordeals that preceded this fell stroke, struggled still to hope; others overwhelmed in grief and absorbed in dark forebodings as to what next, all alike mourning in silent grief the fallen hero-and bowed low in supplication to the Almighty to deliver us from impending ruin.
In the midst of this universal grief and crushing weight of despair, Garfield said, "Lincoln is dead, but God reigns." This was a column of light standing and shining in the midst of the deep darkness.
When Garfield fell as Lincoln had fallen-by the hand of the assassin-the event shocked the Continent, and shook the ocean, and the nations of Christendom took up the lamentation; but the great American heart with accelerated pulsations, but full of trust in the Almighty said, "Lincoln is dead, and Garfield is dead, but God reigns, and in Him is our trust."
Two such inflictions as the taking away of Lincoln and Garfield, had not before fallen upon our young nation. The one taken from the helm which he had grasped with firm hand and steady nerve, for quite five years, and as he was coming into port, after one of the most perilous voyages any commander ever attempted, and a voyage no other man could have made, as is con- fidently believed.
The other, snatched away from the head of the nation, and from a high station to which he had been promoted by the choice of the people, after a political
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campaign among the most important and exciting in the history of the country, and only just preceded by one adjudged and regarded the most perilous of all. So that change came of necessity at a time when change was least desirable, and most to be dreaded in its consequences.
It is thought by some of us, that such men as these have no peers, and that therefore they leave no suc- cessors. But such men will have successors while there are men inspired by the same motives and sentiments, as impelled them on in the straight line of duty.
When it was reported in Greece that Philip of Mace- don was dead, the orator of Athens said, "The people will raise up another Philip,"-and so it usually comes to pass, that the people find among themselves just what they want, to fill any vacancies that may occur from any cause whatever.
When the old Prophet of Israel, in hiding from those that sought his life, requested that he might die because he stood alone: he was straightway informed that "God had four hundred good men in reserve, that had never bowed the knee to Baal."
Two important conclusions we draw from these facts, viz: First, the life and welfare of the nation do not rest, wholly, upon any one person; it matters not how good, wise, or useful that person may be -- and Second, any calamity, however great or severe, local or general, in any country, will prove in the end, under Providence, a distinguished blessing if it be the means of drawing the people nearer to God-always safe refuge for the people in peace or war.
If I may be permitted to speak a little of my own experiences :- God never seemed to come so near to me
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and mine, before or since, as He did on that bloody Sunday at Chickamauga; and the angels as they passed on their missions of mercy paused to look into these things. Comrades, we were never so near heaven as we were on that terrible occasion, and will not be again till caught up to meet the Lord in the air.
Comrades, your work is not yet finished. While you have wrought well and faithfully in the past as soldiers and citizens, your work is not yet complete, nor will be till you receive your final discharge from your country's service, and cease at once to work and live. I have been asked, very many times, "Where, in the line of the soldier's duties is the place of all others-if there be such a place-best calculated to test his courage? " My reply unhesitatingly is-on the Picket Line. Not that there is a moment while in the service, or in the line of duty when his courage is not under test, and therefore it is that the soldier may rejoice only when he lays off the harness of war, and not as he puts it on. The schoolboy spoke truthfully-though a little out of the ordinary reading of the passage-when he said, "There was an excellent Spine in Daniel."
The soldier has need of backbone first, last, and all the time. While the soldier finds himself an atom in a moving mass, or floating in the swift current about him, he may experience but little fear, nor find it diffi- cult to keep in line with his comrades in arms: this is a divided responsibility and danger shared with others, but place him on the Picket Line, alone, where every soldier must go, in face of a deadly foe- where picket lines are certain to be located, and his environment and circumstances are much changed. It might be thought that the darkness would cover and
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protect him, but that same darkness may conceal the stealthy approach of a wily foc.
Comrades, your place to-day, and will continue to be while you are in your country's service, is on the picket line, still the place of danger and responsibility; while others may sleep you must stand with your face to the front, eyes well open, and in sleepless vigilance watch- ing for the coming of the enemy, and in whatever. direction he may make his appearance you must be prompt to meet and beat him off, and show him no quarter-nothing but unconditional surrender.
And if enquiry be made of you as to the authority by which you do such things, remember the brave Ethen Allen, who when asked by what authority he de- manded the surrender of Ticonderoga made reply, " By the authority of the Great Ichovahand the Continental Congress."
As you are the uncompromising friends and advo- cates of Law and Order, you must be equally the enemies of Anarchy and Lawlessness. All assaults from without must be met with promptness, and repelled, while all indications of disloyalty from within, from whatever cause or quarter they may spring, must with equal promptitude be met, and repressed and crushed out. We cannot allow the seeds of another war to germinate, mature, and bear fruit in a soil so recently purified at the expense of so much blood and treasure. We may excuse our ancestors for committing a mistake of this kind, under the force and pressure of circum- stances peculiar to the times, but it would be inexcusable in us not to profit by their example. We have labored, and those that shall come after us will enter into, and reap the benefit of our labours-but we must not
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endanger the rich legacy left, by allowing latent danger to lie buried within, to develop and plague our children.
General Grant said, " Let us have Peace," he might have added :- and cut off the head of the first man that says War.
Comrades, adicu ! and if it shall be for the last time on earth, still adieu ! ! for so it must be now : but we shall meet again.
I have no language at all adequate to express the unalloyed pleasure it has given me to grasp, once more, in love and true friendship, these strong hands, and to look again into these manly faces.
Two things will always be present to my waking vision; and these come up with peculiar force and power, as I look over these thinned ranks, and count the few that remain,, of the One Thousand brave men that went from here to the front twenty-eight years ago.
First, the manner in which I saw your powers of en- durance, and your prowess tested on more than one great and truly terrible occasion.
Second, the recollection of our fallen and dearly be- loved comrades. If my head were watersand my eyes a fountain of tears, these could not suffice for the deep and still deepening sorrow I feel.
Though I know, full well, that they have been ad- vanced and promoted to a higher life, and have entered upon the fuller enjoyment than we, of their reward.
" Die on the field of Battle, 'tis noble thus to die, 1
God loves the valiant soldier; his record is on high."
-as you used to sing.
Though we separate here, we shall still be in the
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ranks, with our faces firmtp to the front, and our eyes looking steadily onward and upward; and with each setting sun we shall pitch our moving tent one day's march nearer home; and as we advance, if we fall, as we must, sooner or later, let our last roll call be in the East or West, North or South, among comrades, friends or strangers, still we shall fall with our faces to the front, and relieved of the burdens and labours of life, and escaping from the perils of land, and sea, and ocean, move on towards the front, our ranks well in line, beyond the distant borders of our own earth, and passing other planets, other systems, other suns, and other worlds, far beyond the most distant star, we shall approach, and enter, and make our final encamp- ment in that boundless Dominion whose centre is the Throne of the Living God ; and so may you, and I and all of us be forever with the Lord.
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Post Card
Cne Cent Stamp
GEN.SHERIDAN.
Crowning Exaltation: EXULTATION TOO. Heights of Missionary Ridge, Nov. 25, 1863.
From W. II. Newlin, Springfield, III , Historian, 73d III. Publisher, "Narrative of Prison Escape," 186 pages, Illustrated.
10. he
D, IL.
F8 3 9. 1548 % POST CARD
One cent stamp here
This card one of set of Patriotic Pictorial Post Cards, "cuts " selected
from those used in illustrating 73d ills. and "Narrative of Prison Escape.'
Col. J. F. JACQUESS. 73d Ills., prominent in ob- taining July, 1864, " That Ulti Matum."
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The North was Mad and Blind
It would not let us govern ourselves, and so the war came, and now it must go on till the last man of this generation falls in his tracks, and his children seize his musket and fight our battle, unless you acknowledge our right to self-government. We are not fighting for slavery; we are fighting for independence, and that or ex- termination we will have.
[ Ultimatum. See Chapter 8, 73d III.]
LINCOLN
Centennial
Memorial
Celebration
Feb. 12, 1909 Springfield, III.
. of St. Paul, Minn., Nov. 15, 1894. From Annual Address by Henry A. Cisty " Down in this City of Spring field, henceforth illustrious forevermore, was growing for his glory one of the marvels and miracles of history." 8th Reunion, 73d Illinois Survivors: *
Post Card
Place
One-Cent Stamp Here
SCORE
SACRIFICE. Offerings of the People on the Altar of their Country: Offerings, Life and Treasure.
Post Card
Cne Cent Stamp
1
Capitol Building, Nashville, Tenn.
From W. H. Newlin, Springfield, Ill., Historian, 73d Ill. Publisher, "Narrative of Prison Escape," 136 pages, Illustrated.
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Post Card
Cue Cent Stamp
GEN. GEO. H. THOMAS. Rock of Chickamauga.
COTTON GIN-FRANKLIN BATTLE FIELD, was amid severest commotion, contention and excitement November 30th. 1864.
From W. H. Newlin, Springheld, Ill., Historian, 73d III. Publisher, " Narrative of Prison Ercape," 136 pages, Illustrated.
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Post Card
Cne Cent Stamp
GEN. W: S. ROSECRANS.
"Aim low: shin them; one wounded man is worth two dead men."
SUPPORTING SKIRMISHERS. "Will we advance or retreat?" That depends.
From W. H. Newlin, Springfield, Ill., Historian, 73d III. Publisher, "Narrative of Prison Eserpe," 136 pages, Illustrated.
The North was Mad and Blind
It would not let us govern ourselves, and so the war came, and now it must go on till the last man of this generation falls in his tracks, and his children seize his musket and fight our battle, unless you acknowledge our right to self-government. We are not fighting for slavery ; we are fighting for independence, and that or ex- termination we will have.
[ Ultimatum. See Chapter 8, 73d ill.]
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POST CARD
One cent stamp here
This card one of set of Patriotic Pictorial Post Cards, "cuts " selected from those used in illustrating 73d Ills. and " Narrative of Prison Escape."
Col. J. F. JACQUESS, 73d Ills., prominent in ob- taining July, 1864, " That Ultimatum."
FOILED AT SEVEN MILE FERRY .- An intensely thrilling experience.
"PRISON ESCAPE"-Feb. 19, 1864 -
FOILED AT SEVEN MILE FERRY .- An intensely thrilling experience.
'"PRISON ESCAPE"-Feb. 26, 1864 -
LEFT ALONE .- A mound eastward from Blue Ridge Mountain is probable explanation. .
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"PRISON ESCAPE"-Feb. 26, 1864
LEFT ALONE .- A mound eastward from Blue Ridge Mountain is probable explanation.
"OUT OF THE WOODS"-March 21,'1864'
L.B. SMITH
W. H. NEWLIN.
1+1 .. 7.
W. C. TRIPP.
W. SUT
IERLAND
T
H.T.
Two Michigan, two Ohio, one Massachusetts, and one Illinois comrades started on this escape from prison. Two comrades, Taylor and Tripp, were left enroute. Wood died June 20, 1864.
5676
HECKMAN
BINDERY, INC. Bound-To-Please®
NOV 04
N. MANCHESTER, INDIANA 46962
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