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Gen. Slocum To Gen. Burnside

Gen. Slocum To Gen. Burnside image
Parent Issue
Day
11
Month
October
Year
1872
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

t GENERAL: I havo read with-. great úitevest your address to (lioso! and fea i lor s v ■ :u the'TJnion aroiy. and navy during the. late war. As I waa one of the soldiors allu ' ■ ; tó I hopo you yill not, be i ii' ! BaV a few ín response theröto. SToii' teil us. that you am ourrepresentaöVes, met at Pifctabúrg and ndoptei a series of resolutions whicli .va havo alroady secn. You oowplain that Mr. Greeley expressed thu opinión that yon ai sembled forpo-. litical pnrposos, and that you hoped to aocomplish these puiposes , by reviving the animosities and hatredt engenderea by thé witr. You further say that theso remiirks of I'.Ir. Ureeley md liis entiro Iftok ot courtcsy toward tlu; soldiers and suilors servu to confirm 30-a in the opinión that he is quito unfit to bc trnstcd in. any ]osition where loyalty to his Gov-' eminent, a just regard to the feelinga oL. ptherg, baegation of sulf is requirod. You propoed to inform us ia conclusión, that it ouly remains to urge us to organizo in liarmony with the regular Bepublican and do all in our power to re-ol ; rant. The iirst thought tl: ■ ,1 to my mind on ronding this i ,s, " "Wliat w;is there in General Burnside's military eareor that justiflee him in Wling tho hundreds of tho f soldiers who eerved during the late war what thoy should do in peacef " Did anything oc-. cur at 1 fhiü Bua, at Eoanoko Islund, at Frudf:nol;sburg, in East 'IYnnosseo, or at tha mine explosión iu front of Petersburg, which intitjes him.to assumc command of all of us in timo of peace, and order -8 to the front tó'flgfat in ber half of, a politieal party f Stjr second thought waa : " Ia it crocitable to the soldiors of tho lalte ynx that ono of their number should be pormiltud as their pretended representativo to spread brordcast over the land document charging Horaeo Greeley with dialoyalty ï " ïhe trutH ot' the sayiüg that "the pen is mightier tii:m the swotd" is coming year by year to bocome more generally acknowledged. In viow of tho eleetion of General Grant to tho PreBÍdenoy, and of tho fact that ho i candidate for re-election, there are probably somc men in the country who doubt its truth. lf, howevor, we were to add to the suying tho proviso that tho pen should be handled by a üreeley and the sword by a Burnsido all doubters would disappciir. You and I, General, knowfull wcll that while we were in the field Cghtingfor tho Union Mr. Greeley was wielding in behalf of t: uise a wcapon far more ful than those used by oithcr of us. Vo know, too, that long nfter wo had i d uur sworda he kopt up tho íight, nd continued it until every object waa ccoiuplished for which oven tho most arent ibolitionist hnd ever prayed. lio id not ceasc tho fight until the TXiiion vas rcsturcil, slavery nbolished, the blacka nfranchised, and all their civil aud po-. itical rights solemnly guarantocd to thcui naments tothe Constitution. And et, General, you have the hardihood of harging this man rith disloyalty, aud re uttering this foolish charge in your ssumed capacity as the represcntative of 11 tho Union Eoldiers of the land. You uy he has been guilty of a lack of cour;sy tuward us. In my judgment, any i;ui who eight years altor the close of a jloody civil war will isk soldiers to aserablo in convention with a view of conrolling thoir action in political mattera s :t (lumagogue uuworthy of courtesy at he liiinds of Mr. Greeley or any othor lersun. When at tho closo of the vir we laid :own par nrms wo became citizuns, and ve háve no interests to-daj' cxcept those vo have in cominon with all other citiens. "Why, thcn, should any on ask us, n our churacter as soldiers, to assemble n political bodies ? Why sbould you exend to us such im invitLition, unlcss it is vith the hopo that trom your former conïection with us in tho army you may bo, ible to iufluenco our judgments upon natten of public policy in a time of jeace? Do you not think, General, that .hese assemblies of soldiers for the purposo of affectiug our elections have becoiuo nausoating to tho public ? Did it ever occtir to you that, as a rule, tho officers most active in work of this nature were most unsuccessful in tho iieldV Pormit me, in conclusión, to say that I do. notbelicvo that in your action at Pittsburgh, or in the sentiment of the adto which I alludid, yon aro in any of the word a representativa of the real süldiers of the array. On the contrary, I feel thst very many of tnein ünite with mo in the hope that this political campaign, in which you soom to have as-sumcd the position of commaudar, may ■ prove to you and to the troopa of your cianct iincthor Fr. deficksotirg. Touw, tvnly. Bhooklwx, Ootober , lisTii.

Article

Subjects
Old News
Michigan Argus