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Story of an Emigrant. 102
delivered his farewell address. I stood by his side while lie
spoke, and expected every moment to see him pierced by
some well-directed bullet from the crowd 011 shore, but lie
was allowed to finish his address without interruption, after
which the men slunk out of sight, and before evening the
whole motley crowd had left the town with the
determination, as I verily believe, to follow the good advice of their
general. The address deserves a place among our papers,
and I will read it, as it appeared a few weeks later in
Harper’s Magazine, from a verbatim report made by one of my
officers, lie said:
’Many of the eight thousand men I now see around me, very many of
you. have been skulking for the last three years in the swamps within a few
miles of your own homes,—skulking duty,—and during that time have not
seen your own children. I see many faces about me that have not been
seen by mortal man lor the last three years; and what have you been doing
all that time? Why, you have been lying in the swamps until the moss has
grown six inches long 011 your backs, and such men call themselves
"chivalrous soldiers." A few weeks ago Gen. Reynolds sent a flag of truce to my
headquarters, and I sent out to gather a respectable force to meet those
officers, and not one of you responded. A few days later, when Col. Dav s
and Capt. Bennett, of Gen. Dodge’s staff, bore dispatches to me from that
general, I attempted again to call about me enough of you to make a n
spectable show,* and how many of these brave men reported at the call?
One sore-eyed man with green goggles. But you rally like brave and
gallant men around Uncle Sam’s commissary stores, and I have now come t<>
surrender you, and hope that you will make better citizcns than you ha\e
soldiers.
♦ •«*»*«»#**
’Those of you who had arms, with a few exceptions, have left them at
home, and those who had government horses have failed to report tin 111
here. Now let me say to you, one and all, those of you who have retaim <1
your arms, as soon as you get home take them to the nearest military post
and deliver them up, or burn them, or get rid of them in some manner, for
as sure as there is a God in heaven, if they are found in your houses, just so
sure will your houses l>c burned to the ground; and I hope to God every
one ol you who keep good arms or military property of anv kind in your
houses will be hanged; and you will, too.
’ But 1 want you to go home and work hard ami take care of your fain -
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