Defenders of the Union [pp. 434-462]

DEFENDERS OF THE UNION.
made Grant a Lieutenant General, and
called him to the command of all the
Union armies.
Less than thirty years ago a handful
of war veterans met to organize upon a
basis that would enable the old soldiers
of the Union to bind themselves together
by memories of the war. The idea was
encouraged by rapid accessions, and soon
the Grand Army of the Republic began
to throb with the promise of being the
greatest organization ever known. Its
trinity comprises the best that is in the
American citizen,-Fraternity, Charity,
and Loyalty. Its Fraternity has been
kept up through years without new
material to draw from, for it must be re membered that every day the scythe of
time thins out its ranks, and long before
its present life has been doubled, those
old soldiers of the Union, whose daring
deeds gave to us one country and one flag,
will have been marshaled among the
white-robed battalions beyond the stars.
In its dispensation of Charity the Grand
Army of the Republic has established in
the highest degree a record for noble acts,
that will remain dear to thousands and
thousands of comrades for whom the hard ships of life would have been almost un endurable, had they not been softened
by kindly and opportune relief. In its
Loyalty, who is there that doubts?
As in the early sixties and ever since,
so it is today, the comrades of the Grand
Army of the Republic are the most loyal
in the land. Their watchword is eternal
vigilance, and in the present exciting
times, where prospective war is talked
of daily, the slumbering fires of war are
rekindled in the breasts of the old com rades; their eyes lighten with the spark
of'6I; they straighten up and uncon sciously take the position of the soldier,
all the while feeling that the country. is
safe while the Grand Army of the Repub lic exists. And it comes to this. Should
war break out, none will respond more
quickly to the country's call than those
who saved the country a third of a century ago. Notwithstanding the fact that
promised rewards by the government and
by the people have never been paid; notwithstanding the fact that many a comrade is contemned by people who enjoy
life and liberty through his unwearying
devotion to duty,-and such people are
unworthy to be called American citizens,
— the old soldiers of'6i to'65 can be relied upon whenever the country, which
is their country, saved by their blood,
needs the service of loyal men.
The objects and aims of the Grand
Army of the Republic are probably less
understood on the Pacific Coast than almost anywhere throughout the length
and width of our land. It is not because
California was lacking in loyalty when
the dark clouds of disunion threatened
the country, for probably no State in the
Union in I86I was placed in such an anomalous position. It was made up of people from every part of the United States,
from Maine.to Missouri, and from the
Northern Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico.
But the spirit of loyalty. prevailed, and
California remained steadfast and true.
She promptly sent out her quota of nearly
sixteen thousand, and was ready to meet
further demands if necessary, and in
every way the soldiers she raised were
ready to respond to the call of duty. It
is true that the California troops did not
have that opportunity to meet the Rebels
on their own fields which the troops in
the far Eastern, Middle, and Western
States had, but they loyally defended an
important country, well provided with
gold, which helped to furnish the sinews
of war for the preservation of the Union.
They kept open the overland mail and
express route, features of the gravest importance to the general government, and
by wearisome marches patrolled this
437