PAHT MFAiaiE^ : FRES.E.\T UEATITUDE : FUTURE DUTY. D I S C O U E 8 E DELIVEKED AT THK CAMP OF THE EIGHTH REGT; CONN. VET. VOL INFANTRY, NEAR Ft. HARRISON, yArGINIA, ANNUAL NATIONAL THANKSGIVING DAY, JNTOVEDVLBEIPI "24, 1864. WITH AN APPENDIX. By MOSES SMITH, CHAPLAIN 8th C. V. PUBLISHED BY THE MEX OF THE BE GIMEX T. Witli gratitude to God lur tiie Past, we hold tlie Sword unsheathed for the Future. — Armus of Ihe United Statts. NEW HAVEN : J. 11 . E i: N II A M , PRINTER 18(55. ■FA8T MERCIES : PRESENT GRATITUDE : FUTURE DUTY. A DISCOUESE DELIVERED AT THE CAMP OF THE EIGHTH REGT. CONN. VET. VOL. INFANTRY, NEAR Ft. HARRISON, VARGINIA, i ON THE ANNUAL NATIONAL THANKSGIVING DAY. T^OVEMIBEH 34:, 1864. WITH AN APPENDIX. By MOSES SMITH, CHAPLAIN 8tH C V. FUBLISHE D BY TEE MEN OF THE REGIMENT. With gratitude to God for tlie Past, we hold the Sword unsheathed for the Future. — Armies of tlie United States. J. H. NEW HAVEN: BEN HAM, PRINTER. 1865. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015 https://archive.org/details/pastmerciespreseOOsmit T H A ISr K S G- I V I N BY THE PBESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. A PROCLAMATION. It has pleased Almighty God to prolong our national life another year, defendine- us, with His guardian care, against unfriendly designs from abroad, and vouchsafed to us in His mercy, many and signal victories over the enemy, who is of our own household. It has also pleased our Heavenly Father to favor as well our citizens in their homes as our soldiers in their camps, and our soldiers un the rivers and seas, with unusixal health. He has largely augmented our free population by emancipation and by emigration, while He has opened to us new sources of wealth, and has crowned the labor of our workiugmen in every department of industry with abundant reward. Moreover, He has been pleased to animate and inspire our minds and hearts with fortitude, courage and resolution, sufficient for the great trial of civil war into which we have been brought by our adherence, as a nation, to the cause of freedom and humanity, and to afford co us reasonable hopes of an ultimate and happy deliverance from all our dangers and afflictions. Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do hereby appoint and set apart the last Thursday in November next as a day Avhich I desire to be observed by all my fellow citizens, wherever they may then be, as a day of thanks- giving and prayer to Almighty God, the beneficent Creator and Ruler of the Universe ; and I do further recommend to my fellow citizens aforesaid, that on that occasion they do reverently humble themselves in the dust, and from thence offer penitent and fervent prayers and supplications to the Great Disposer of Events for a return of the inestimable blessings of peace, union and harmony throughout the land which it has pleased Him to assign as a dwelling place for ourselves and our posterity through- out all generations. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the , , United States to be affixed. Done at the City of Washington, this 20th L. s. [ day of October, in the year of our Lord 1864, and of the Independence ^ ' of the United States the eighty-ninth. By the President : ABRAHAM LINCOLN. Wm. "H. Seward, Secretary of State. BY HIS EXCELLENCY, WILLIAM A. BUCKINGHAM, GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. A PROCLAMATION. Amidst the struggle for supremacy between the friends and the enemies of national integrity, and the conflict of civil war, the people of this Commonwealth are hereby recommended to observe Thursday, the 24tli day of November next, as a day of pub- lic Tlianksgiving, Prayer and Praise to Almighty God. " The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice." He gives his Holy Spirit to renew the hearts of men. He forgives the guilty. He saves the lost. He has given us healthful seasons and fruitful fields. He is holding before us the claims of the needy, and permitting us the sweet privi- leo-e of realizing how much more blessed it is to give than to receive. He has held in check the purposes, defeated the plans, and weakened the power of the rebellion. He has crowned our arms with victory in the day of battle. He has given us fortitude to bear the loss of loved ones who have fallen in the ser- vice of our country. He is inspiring the people with a higher appreciation of the blessings of liberty and order, and a stronger confidence in the permanency of our institutions. He is advancing the day of universal freedom. He is purifying the nation by trials, for the encouragement of the oppressed and the benefit of man. Let us ''enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with pjai&'e." Let us gratefully recognize the power, wisdom and benevolence of His Providence,, which cares for the falling sparrow, aiid controls the destinies of nations. Let us joyfully present all our offerings in the name and through the merits of His Son, our Mediator and Redeemer. Given under my hand and the Seal of the State at Norwich, this twenty-eighth day , J of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ] L. s. f sixty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America ' ' the eighty-ninth. WM. A. BUCKINGHAM. By His Excellency, the Governor : J. Hammond Trumbull, Secretary of State. 3DISOOURSE. Let the hi&h praises of god be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword IN THEIR HAND."— Psalms 149 : 6. SAD^q-ESS rather than mirth, mourning rather than festivity, are the natural concomitants of war. Far separated from those we love, the graves of our comrades in arms dotting all this " sunny South," many more " brave boys " yet to fall, and our own names not improbably to be on the dead list, rejoicing now might seem inopportune. But joy and sorrow go hand in hand in this world. The richest delights beneath the sun are sweets extracted from bitter trials. And, in truth, with all our griefs, the nation has higher cause for thanksgiving to-day than it ever had before. ISTot inappropriately, then, as we believe, may the inspired anthem of old be adopted as the key-note of our services here : — the high praises of God in our mouth, and a two-edged sword in our hand. It shall be my aim to present some of the recent favors of God which call for our special gratitude, — in the words of the text, our " high praises " ; and also to show that both philanthropy and Christianity, — love to God, and love to men, — demand that this war be prosecuted persistently, unflinchingly, triumphantly, — a two-edged sword in our hand. I. The providential favors vouchsafed to us as a nation. — I do not propose to so much as enumerate all the blessings conferred. Individuals and nations are never on earth so far deserted of God as not to be still the recipients of blessings more than tongue can speak or pen record. But at times unusual favors are be- stowed, and special thanksgivings are demanded. To such only do I direct your attention in this discourse. Note, then, Ist.y The heaJthfulness of the season 'past. — When the Army, of the James had taken its position at Bermuda Hundred^ in (6) May last, Richmond papers mocked at our folly. They boast- fully declared that miasmatic fevers alone would soon repel the Yankee invaders ; for, said they, no part of all the valley of the James is so unhealthy as Bermuda Hundred. When, in June, the Army of the Potomac stretched its lines afar to our left, in front of Petersbui^, again arose the shout of anticipated triumph. For, said they, a worse fate than befel the victims of Chickahominy swamps must be the lot of the army that dares intrench under those fogs and beside those meadows. Doubtless these prophecies of evil might have been fearfully true in some seasons. But such a summer as God has given, memory recalls not. Week after week of almost cloudless sky rolled on, streams vanished, vegetation withered, men almost broiled alive in those trenches,— one might have believed that the fiery orb of heaven was frowning death on both those opposing armies ; — but mark the result. Those swamps became as dry as highlands ; the damps of disease were imprisoned as beneath a crust of iron. Pure, health-giving water alone could be obtained ; and at the season when depletion from sickness was expected by ourselves to become the greatest, surgeons found the health of the troops to be even improving. However, it is proverbially true that one extreme in nature follows the opposite. Accordingly friend and foe expected full recompense in autumn—a rainy season, only the more severe succeeding such a drouth. But more wonderfully in our favor has been the autumn than even the summer. Up to the last half of November, the heavy rains- have but commenced. In like manner guardian angels have protected our soldiers and seamen farther south. From the opening of the war, the rebellion has counted the yellow fever as a sure ally ; but an ally, as these summers have proved, — a la Napoleon and Lord Russell, — menacing but not striking, showing its power and disposition, but restrained by omnipotent love. This ever-dreaded scourge of our Southern sea-coast, by its appearance at one point, compels us to recognize God's care with devouter gratitude that other garrisons were untinged, and that no more more of the soldiers • at Newbern fell. The summer campaign has been unparalleled. The severities of labor and un- remitted watching have been terribly exhausting ; but the health and vigor of our soldiers in every department of the service has exceeded expectation. Then, too, at home, what numbers have been bowed down with grief! Who, in all the land, has not lived an unnatural life of (7) anxiety ? What hospital in all the Xorth has not been reeking with the stench of putrefaction and death ? But pestilence, which is thus ever invited to sweep the lands of fighting people^ has been stayed by "hand divine." Most truthfully does the President, in his proclamation appointing this day of national Thanksgiving, say : " It has pleased our Heavenly Father to favor as well our citizens in their homes as our soldiers in their camps, and our soldiers on the rivers and seas with unusual health." But drouth, which thus proved a blessing to these armies in Virginia, is usually the severest scourge which an agricultural nation like ours can know. If bread fails, our enemies cer- tainly triumph. Hence, note, 2(^, Our bountiful harvests. — During those scorching weeks of June, July, and even August, who but expected that want must ensue ? But He who controls the destinies of nations looked down as carefully on fields of grass and grain, as other fields of canvass and of marshalled men. At times He sent the gentle showers. They came like angels' visits— rare ; but sufficient to secure autumnal harvests and feed the grazing herds. To-day, instead of want at home, there is fullness. In the army, instead of shortened rations, there is Thanksgiving m abundance. And from all our ports goes forth, as in times of peace, the large surplus of food for foreign want. War summons multitudes from the plough and scythe ; its insatiate maw devours mountain heaps of food ; but God's favor to the husbandman has more than supplied our fullest need. It has made foreign people still our dependents, and is constantly replenishing our treasury with millions of revenue. By these two bountiful gifts, — fruitful fields and healthful seasons, — God has, from the beginning of this war, kept the pulse of national life beating with health and vigor. Every department of industry has flourished, immigration has continued to pour into our borders, new States have been added to the Union ; and, with all the vast expenditure of blood and treasure, the nation, instead of being exhausted, has been constantly growing, and has far more abundant resources than when first it drew the double-edged sword. But vast resources require still more vast intelligence and strong -principled morality. Mere greatness becomes unwiel- dy; — a source of weakness. For years past the fear has been reasonably entertained that we, as a nation, should fall in pieces by our own gravity. Especially, at the opening of the war, for two sad years did it seem that no man had wis- (8) dom enough to Avield the armies, and no cabinet of men wis«- dom and moral courage sufficient to handle the material re- sources of this land ; therefore, note God's favor in giving us, Sd, A worthy Lieutenant- General. — I do not refer to Ulysses Grant to eulogize him. He needs not the poor compliment of words. All through the history of this war the nation has been eager to make a hero. Newspapers, parties, and pulpits have vied with each other in attempting to Napoleonize our generals. But God will not allow the honor of our success to be laid at the feet of any man. The enemy had, from the outset, an able and experienced officer ; yes, several of them. Never shall it be said that slavery fell for lack of large means, wise counsels, or the ablest of modern generals. Nor, on the other hand, shall it ever be said that the Government triumj)hed in this contest because there chanced to be on earth at this juncture a man of such surpassing ability, — one of those few giants of men Avho, in himself, was a host, and of course gained success. The man who leads our armies has been developed by the necessities of the times. He is a determined general, as he was a persevering tanner, — " a very obstinate man." God has given him to us, not that he may wreath around his own brow a laurel of undying fame ; he has not been allowed personally to achieve the successes granted to our arms this summer past ; but he does embody the cool, unflinching determination of an intelligent, liberty-possessing and liberty-loving people. He does centralize the efficiency of all our armies ; and, more than all, he silences that mean, cruel, devilish jealousy, which, on the altar of personal ambition, has slaughtered thousands of the choicest sons of liberty, and, at times, well nigh betrayed the whole army and national Capital into rebel possession. For such a man, — who holds the con- fidence of the people, and the entire confidence of the army ; Avho loves his country more than personal honor ; who commands all our armies, and yet controls his appetite ;■ — for such a man we thank God to-day. But the efforts of the greatest general or the noblest man, on the field, might be more than paralyzed by a base Presi- dent, an imbecile Cabinet, or an infamous Congress. Even a Cromwell was forced to become a dictator ; and Washington, at the head of the army, Avell nigh failed through the pusallanimity of some of the members of the Continental Congress. There- fore, note God's favor in, The loisdoin and moral power of the Government at (9) Washinglon.^1 do not wish to waste words in defense of the Lincoln Administration. Its right actions need no defense ; they are recorded in letters of living light upon the imperishable scroll of human progress. Its failures, — and who are more sadly sensible of the defects of the White House, or the wickedness of its surroundings, than the President and his warmest friends ; — its failures, I say, no words can amend. But that, with such a stupendous work to carry forward ; with so many at home and abroad seeking to embarrass and perplex every eifort, the ship of State has not actually stranded and broken, is evidence of Divine favor even through those who sought it not. We have no hesitation in asserting that no President of these United Statesi and no Cabinet since the world began, have had before them so mighty a task as has been attempted by the present Adminis- tration. To crush the most gigantic rebellion the world has ever seen, and still be governed by clemency at every step ; to be called upon to use unlimited power, and yet draw all that power direct from the people ; to need almost boundless resources, and yet possess nothing save what is the simple gift of the people ; to be governed by the Constitution, (i. e. the spirit of it,) Avhen that instrument contemplated no such exigency, and actually made no provisions for such ; to be goaded by friends and mocked by foes ; to be exposed to foreign invasion, and threatened by intestine revolts ; to sail, I say, our Great Western " through such a tempest, has been the more than herculean labor to be performed. When, therefore, we are able to record that all internal insur- rections have been prevented ; all foreign wars evaded ; that steady progress has been made against the rebellion, and against Slavery also — that primal cause of the rebellion ; that after all the enormous drains uj)on the treasury, public credit has not failed ; that while heavier and still heavier taxes have been laid upon the people, their cqfidence in the Government has beenM increasing ; that while we hold in the field the largest armies on the globe, the rights of every true citizen are as sacred as in the most profound peace ; it is no Pharisaic boast to say that God's hand is manifest as never before in any nation's history. Admit even all that the enemies of the Administration claim, that the past four years have witnessed more fraud and corruption in our Government than any previous presidential term, still we need but remember that a hundred times the usual skill and probity of government officials would not suffice to offset the augmented difficulties that have been encountered, — to be compelled in all 2 ( 10 ) sincerity to say, thank God for such a Congress, for such a Cabinet, for such a President as has been ours. But there is always an ultimate power back of thrones or .chairs of state. Under any form of government, the voice of the people, sooner or later, will be heard — their will obeyed. In democratic governments the peo23le are acknowledged sovereign,, and their word is law. In such a Government as ours, an ignorant populace might override generals, presidents, congress, all combined. Therefore, we will not fail to acknowledge to-day God's marked favor in, 5t7i^ The increase of intelligence among the people. — At the outset of the war we were excessively self-conceited — always a mark of ignorance. Every nevfspaper correspondent could, in his own opinion, lead an army ; and almost every citizen at home could conduct a campaign. The better judgment of the wisest men was frequently overruled by the clamors of the ignorant masses. War has, in the past, been no hand-maid of learning. It has, indeed, often done what it is doing for the South now — broken down mighty barriers and prepared the way for the subsequent progress of learning ; but for the time, it has been wont to suppress investigation, just as in the Southern States during this fratricidal strife. Institutions of learning have been the first to suffer ; information, limited before, has become only more inaccessible ; and books, a drug in the market.* With most fervent gratitude we note that the reverse has been true in all the North. Schools, colleges, seminaries of science of every kind, are fully sustained. Books and papers of all description have been issued beyond precedent. Investigation of measures # and politi;^s characterize alike the soldier in camp and the wife, or even child, at home. Principles of government, political economy, home policy, foreign relations, were never so well understood, nor knowledge of every kind so generally difi*used among our people. J^'ewspapers are not mere chroniclers of events or partizan organs, they discuss the foundations of governments and constitutional rights ; they appeal to history ; tbey teach geography ; they illustrate philosophy. God has not * I have been informed that a Chaplain who, for several months, was a prisoner of war in the Confederate States, purchased and brought home with him valuable books to the amount of about $100. The hook-seller told him that there was no call for books, and disposed of them at prices (Confederate currency) lower than the same books could be purchased at the North, (H ) allowed the sulphurous breath of war to suffocate the North, but rather has made the flashes of artillery and the gleaming of bayonets a healthful stimulus to intellectual activity. After four years of schooling imder such tuition, freemen of the North could not be hoodwinked by specious pretences nor janus-faced candidates. They could and they did make their own election. They chose cruel war rather than a more cruel peace ; burdensome taxes rather than more burdensome relief. We can safely say that our people cast their votes at this last grand national parliament — 8th inst. — with a clearness of undertandiug and a coolness of judgment that demonstrate higher intellectual capa- bilities for self-government than we or any other people ever before exhibited. But even intelligence will not suffice to preserve a free government. Both material aud mental wealth have been, aye, are to-day, employed in attempting to overthrow the best govern- ment, — unless we except the Theocracy of old, — that men ever enjoyed. Self-government implies the power to govern one's self. Republican institutions can permanently exist only where men possess the higher virtue of willing obedience, as well as the other but lower excellence of wisdom to rule. War has usually proved destructive to piety, and degrading to the moral status of nations. Note, therefore, with unfeigned gratitude to-day, Qth^ Ihe growth of moral and gospel piety in our land. — During the whole vrar thus far, our churches have been enlarging rather than decaying. New ones have been forming both East and West. Houses of worship have been going up along the whole of our frontier. All the old organizations of christian benevolence are vigorous and extending ; and new channels of activity and love are rapidly opening to reach the neglected and sorrowing. Widows and fatherless ones are multiplied, but christian sympathy is less wanting than in former days. Hospitals overflow with suffering, but commissions of charity pass not one aching body or lonely heart. Freedmen, refugees, and prisoners of ^^•ar, by multitudes, accumulate within our borders ; but niggard parsimony, selfish caste, nor wicked revenge is allowed to abate one particle from the generous supply accorded to them all. If, at the commencement of this w^ar, we trusted m ourselves, we liave learned that there is a " God of battles." Instead of the infidel sentiment so rampant then, — " No Sabbath in war,'' — silent guns and unmarshalled armies weekly testify, God's day is sacred. Instead of the atheistic (12) pi-inciple, " God's providence favors those who have the largest cannon," the admission universally obtains, " Prayer moves the arm that rules the world." Instead of the God-defying boast, We'll fight our own battles, nor care we a damn for the nigger," everywhere beneath the "red, white, and blue," tardy justice at length acknowledges " white and black the same." "No Fugitive Slave Law now taints our Statute Book, save to remind us of past complicity with crime. No slave-groan is heard at the steps of our Capitol, for all United States territory is forever free. No Dred Scott decision now deprives the negro of his manhood by refusing his testimony in the courts. . The Ethiopian, alike with the European, if he proves his desert, is a man in this nation — in this uniform, a hero. Four years ago we would have pledged our national honor that slavery should never be touched in the States ; we would have spilled our choicest blood, if need be, that no black man should lift his hand against the legal owner of flesh and blood. To-day two hundred thousand men of color stand with us in arms, and twenty-one States, by adopting the Baltimore Platform, have virtually declared that slavery shall be utterly and forever blotted from our land. No page of profane history records such results of war. It is not the nature of bloodshed to soften the sensibilities, to develop gentle charity, to purify moral perceptions, and quicken conscience ; but God has made even " the wrath of man to praise Him." We do not stand here to boast of our piety, — heaven knows and blushes at our sins ; — but piety has verily been developed, and He, who Avould have spared guilty Sodom had but ten righteous men been found therein, has arisen in our behalf. Note, therefore, 7th, Our successes in battle. — The 4th of August, A. D., 1864, cannot fail to be an epoch in American history. That morning dawned with heaviness upon our people. The Army of the Potomac mourned in despondency over the recent great failure of the " crater ; " disaster had clouded our prospects in Western Virginia; and in Georgia, success or defeat seemed to hang in even balance. The campaign had been opened with high hopes, and been prosecuted with unparalleled vigor; but up to that date nowhere with decisive results. That day had been ap- pointed by our President as a day of national humiliation and prayer. Such appointments have too many times been precursors of solemn mockeries ; but we have reason to believe that, while multitudes offered no acceptable service that day ; while iniquity (13) still unrepented of, was provoking Jehovah's just retribution, there was prayer such as God delights to hear. That was a day, the like of which has not been observed since the days of the Revolution. From that day the tide of battle began to set decidedly in our favor. The very next morning beheld Commodore Farragut passing successfully that gauntlet of fire and proudly mastering Mobile Bay. Then Atlanta, proving truly " the Gate City " to the South and Southeast, — Atlanta, I say, to Sherman ; the Shenandoah to Sheridan ; the Weldon Railroad on the left and Fort Harrison on the right of these lines ; hope throughout the army and confidence th^'oughout the people, all attest the favors God has bestowed upon us. Through divine grace, also, all our disappointments and delays have been made to work out lessons of wisdom and moral principle, and thus have proved successes only second to those achieved with the eclat of victory. But chiefest of all our successes against this rebellion, and crowning them all thus far,, is that peaceful victory at the North in " the battle of the ballots." It was well said, a few weeks since, by a democratic declaimer in western New York, that if he could shut up the Presbyterian churches for two months he could insure the election of McClellan by a large majority. It was also well proposed by one of our most prominent religious journals, that while the husbands, brothers and fathers should go to the polls on the 8th inst., the wives and sisters, and children should spend the day in prayer at home. There never has been an election in this land, if on earth, which has been prayed over like this ; and never one which se- cured such beaven-sent blessings as we believe this has secured ; for we regard this as a great victory for our armies to save multitudes of precious lives ; a victory for the whole Union now to be restored ; a victory for liberty and Christianity thereby to be advanced throughout the world. It is just such a victory over treason in every form as was needed, but such as man could not have secured. To God be the praise for victories in war, in politics, and in morals, for all have been made to conspire to the same end. Not less worthy of note in recounting the special favors of God are, 8^A, The haffled counsels of the enemy. — Not the North alone, and its friends, have been praying during this conflict of arms. Jefferson Davis has repeatedly appealed to heaven for a vin- dication of the rights of the South. Multitudes within that Confederacy have sincerely implored divine help. God has not (14) refused their request. He will vindicate the rights of the South, though in a manner better than they themselves had desired. Probably never longing hearts prayed for earthly blessing more earnestly than those multitudes at the South, in their distress, prayed for the election of George B. McClellan as President of these United States for the coming four years. 'Nov were -prayers in word alone presented ; every effort was made that could effect the result. Three large military movements were projected ; the friends of the Confederacy at the North were organized ; its friends in Canada conspired ; money was freely sent ; arms ^ere secured in abundance ; riots were to be raised ; Confederate prisoners in our possession released ; our cities burned; our frontier pillaged; fraudulent votes manufactured ; in a word, a peaceful election was to be overawed, and rebellion at once made victorious That the whole of such a programme should have failed is more than surprising — is providential. And then, when we remember that each of these grand plots was revealed just in time to be not only prevented, (prevented if we except the St. Albans raid,) but turned to our success ; even made to repel all patriots from the cause that must resort to such measures, then must we believe that even the prayers of the rebels were answered in our favor. That as verily as the counsels of Ahithophel of old were turned to foolishness, so the counsels of the rebellion in both prayer and effort have been overturned by God himself From every quiet fireside in all the North, from every soldier's heart that swells with the remembrance of home, sweet home, ought special thanksgivings to ascend to-day for these baffled counsels of all our foes. Only one more cause of devout gratitude will I note, although I have by no means numbered all the radiant constellation, and that one is, 9th, The exhibition of the inherent poiver and majestic excellence of free institutions. — We did not ourselves, much less did other people, begin to appreciate, before this war, republican govern- ment. Despots of the old world had so constantly reiterated the assertion that republics must, from their very nature, possess an element of weakness — that we had accepted the plausable sophism as veritable fact. There was a mighty element of weakness within our Government, but it was not an inherent one. The furnace of war has at once revealed that base alloy admitted by our fathers into the body politic, and also the inherent quality of the true metal. With all the incubus of slavery, (IS) our nation has flourislied beyond precedent; but this was attributed merely to our wide and rich domain, not to the character of our institutions. ISTay, it was constantly believed that, made up as we have been of immigrants from every land beneath the sun, we possessed no real power; in a word, that we were not properly a government, but only a conglomeration. The South believed that we were a mere herd of dollar- worshipers. They no more than the old world could perceive any central power. Thank God that we had no central power such as other nations lean upon. When the blow was struck at the National Government, it was not struck at the President, or a court, or even a standing army ; it was struck at our very selves. Other people may rally for their king, for their royal prerogative, ancestral renown, or titled estates; we rallied for our rights, our liberties, and sacred honor. Educate a man to understand his rights and appreciate his liberties, then quicken his heart to a true perception of his sacred honor, and you have the strongest esprit de corps of which man is capable. Because then that through all the ^N'orth the free school and the free church had been educating and inspiring all classes and nationalities, therefore so strangely to the view of all outsiders have these heterogeneous elements assimilated. We do not so much aim to make our citizens Americans as men ; hence, whoever strikes at the American Government, strikes at the manhood of every individual of the nation. Is it any wonder that men here are patriotic ? — that a free government, resting upon free intelligence and free Christianity, should need, in time of peace, only a minimum army, and yet exert its maximum strength in time of war ? It is this manhood principle — the fact that every individual in the whole United States has some personal interest at stake, and for which he will rally, if need be, — that constitutes the inherent power and majestic excellence of free institutions. We were not aware that education and Christi- anity had so far leavened the ignorant and immoral crowds that have been flocking to our shores. But we feel a true Christian pride in beholding such an exhibition as the present affords. It is no idle boast to say that the eyes of the world are now upcin us. Therefore by the triumph of government and law in ending this unnatural war, the friends of true manhood, Christian manhood, God-like manhood will everywhere take heart, and a pure Christianity go forth anew to convert the world. I^or need we wait for the end. The exhibition already made, the fierce conflict sustained these (16) long bloody years, and then a majority of the whole people of the whole Union, rebel States included, rising tip and calmly and understandingly declaring, man by man, that the contest shall be carried through to a righteous settlement, is the most sublime spectacle in the annals of time. The majestic faith with which our people moved to the momentous decision of that day, and the unfaltering determination to abide by that decision, whatsoever it might be, demonstrate a self-conscious power which cannot exist save in a government resting upon the evei^lasting foundation of free truth. With such a government assailed, we scarcely need inspi- ration to say, "Let a two-edged sword be in your hand." Self-defense alone would seem to demand that so long as there lives a creature ignorant or wicked enough to touch one stone of this sacred temple of liberty and manhood, so long shall my sword, like cherubim at the gate of Eden, turn every way to guard the consecrated inclosure. And when in addition, God has been manifestly leading all the way through this wilderness of war, are we such faithless, craven souls, that, like wicked Israel of old, we would turn back when upon the very borders of the long-sought Canaan? Nay, verily. For, we hold that, , II. Love to God a7id love to men^ patriotisni^ 'philantJiropy and Christianity^ all conspire in the demand that this war he 'prosecu- ted until we achieve complete success. Let it not be supposed that we cherish malicious revenge toward even the arch-trai- tors who have brought all this woe upon our land. Ven- geance is God's prerogative. We would, with Gen. Butler,* in the magnanimity of our success, extend the hand of cor- dial welcome to every one who can be picrsuaded now to return to rightful allegiance. We would, as the Administra- tion has ever been ready to do, present the amnesty with Gospel freeness and Gospel fullness, "whosoever will," shall be gladly, heartily received. For we love them all, and hate but their sin. Yet even the Gospel never sheathes the sword. The double stroke of wrath divine is suspended over the head of every impenitent man. There is love and pardon to every one who will* come, but the isword is still there, and will surely slay all who do not speedily come. With just this spirit, and who can go beyond the Gospel? would we still hold the sword; Irmly, unflinchingly, in the words of * Speecli at Fifth Avenue Hotel, New York City, Nov, 14th, 1864. (17) Paul,' (Rom. 13: 4), *'The minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil,'' so long as one rebel hand shall be lifted against this government. We pro- claim no cruel war of extermination against men of equal rights with ourselves, but by our sacred oath of citizenship, we, as freemen, are bound to sustain this government, to up- hold law and punish anarchy and treason, as truly as we would robbery and murder. Christ taught us to love our enemies, but not to leave sin, unhindered, to wreak its cruelty on innocence and truth. There was a time when even Jesus said, " He that hath no sword let him sell his garment and buy one." He meant, as we believe, such a sword as God would have us now hold unsheathed: one breathing no vin- dictive cruelty, yet guarding the ark of justice and constitu- tional freedom with holy jealousy. This sword we have found to be literally tioo-edged. T)io nation rallied in self-defence. Its Capital was threatened. The assassin aimed at the heart of the government. We sought to repel that assassin, to establish the supremacy of laAV. But, while we intended it not, even strove hard to prevent it, every blow struck to defend the Union proved to be a blow upon the head of slavery. Every successful effort to defeat the rebellion has resulted in emancipation of slaves. We have been forced to become abolitionists in spite of ourselves; and even Jefferson Davis finds himself iu nearly the same predica- ment. God in His providence has placed this sword in our hand, and, I repeat, as a nation we have no right to sheathe it until every vestige of rebellion and of slavery, the cause of the rebel- lion, be destroyed from our land. For, \st, The very existence of our government demands that destruc- tion. — Slavery has irrevocably wed itself to the rebellion. It solemnly asserts that it loill no longer be allied v/ith freedom. It has chosen its partner for better or worse. It will defend the rebellion or j)erish in the ditch. But if the rebellion succeeds, if only the principle of secession is sustained, "The United States' Government'' is but a name without a reality, a ?iw/^?V?/. 2d. The hope of peace also demands the destruction of both slavery and her vile paramour, the rebellion. The rebellion scorns any offer of peace save in separation. But separation, while the Mississippi River flows into the Gulf of Mexico, can mean nothing but interminable wars until first the whole (18) Northwest, and, finally, all tlie United States either yield to the despotism of Davis or become allied to a foreign power. It was no less than this which the rebel leaders anticipated. They plotted "the roll-call of slaves beneath the shadow of Bunker Hill," or a reconstruction with "iNTew England out in the cold." There is no alternative left us. It is a war to the death. Slavery and the rebellion, or freedom and the United States are to perish. So our enemies willed it ; so God has left it. 3 c?, The cause of constitutional liberty tkrovghout tJie world likewise demands the destruction of both rebellion and slavery. Earth cannot furnish for the sacred tree more congenial soil than everywhere abounds from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Heaven cannot breathe more favoring gales than have blown here. Suns and storms have both conspired to make these branches wide enough and strong enough to protect the op- pressed from every clime. If the rude blast of war can over- turn this tree, if its roots have taken no firm hold in the hearts of our people, the hopes of freemen must long languish in sadness if not utterly wither in despair. 4:tJi, Even the cause of Christianity demands that this exe- crable twain be utterly destroyed. If slavery is to be the corner stone of a growing empire, then Christ has died in vain. He did not come to break "every yoke." He is not the world's Deliverer. The haughty Mussulman may still fling it in the face of our missionaries, as he has done in the past, Our Koran does not allow such cruelty as is slavery in your land;" and the pale crescent shall never wane be- fore the fabled (?) sun of Christianity. The disciples of Buddha, too, those of Confucius and of Zoroaster, nay, even the disciples of Joe Smith and Tom Paine may cope success- fully with the disciples of Jesus, and Christianity in vain may hope to convert the world. By the blood of our fathers freely shed to purchase lib- erty, by the graves of unnumbered comrades sacrificed upon the altar of slavery, by the oath we swore in defense of the constitution of these United States, by the homes we love, by the manhood we cherish, by the supplications of oppressed men everywhere, and by the Cross of Calvary, set up for a world's redemption, let the sword two-edged be in our hand till God shall look down with approbation, "Where the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave O'er the land of the free and the home of no slave" APPENDIX. The Eighth Regiment Conn. Vols. Infantry was mustered at Hartford, Conn., Oct. 5th, 1861, Col. Edward Harland commanding. It left Hartford Oct. 17th, by transport, and encamped the following day at Jamaica, L. I. The U. S. colors were here presented to the regiment by Gen. P. M. Wet- more, in behalf of the sons of Connecticut in New York city. From Ja- maica the regiment moved to Annapolis, Md., where it rendezvoused Nov. 6. It formed a part of the famous " Burnside Expedition," and partici- pated under that ever loved General in the following battles of 1862. Roanoke, N. C, Feb. Tth and 8th. Newbern, N. C, March 14th. Fort Macon, N. C, April 26th. South Mountain, Md., Sept. 14th. Antietam, Md., Sept. iTth. Fredericksburg, Va., Dec. 13th, In all these engagements the losses were small except at Antietam. There the regiment was subjected to a galling fire without supports, and left thirty- four dead on the field. The whole losses of that day in this regiment footed up two hundred and twenty-one. Early in February, 1€63, the regiment gladly broke camp at dreary Fal- mouth, marched to Acquia Creek, and was taken thence by transport to Newport News. It shared in the " Sie^e of Suffolk" from April 11th to May 3d of that Spring, and bore honorable part among those gallant troops which, during that siege, boldly charned out across the Nansemond at Hill's Point and captured Fort Huger, April 19th. It shared also in the so-called *' Blackberry Raid" up the Pamunkey River in July, and in the raid to South Mills and vicinity in September of the same year. The losses during the campaign v/ere few. The regiment went into winter quarters near Ports- mouth, Va., but having in December re-enlisted over 300 veterans for another three years' service, it received in January and February,- 1864, the thirty days furlough in Connecticut. In the campaign of 1864, the regiment moved in the reconnoissance toward SuiFolk April 13th and 14th; was in the fight near Walthall Station, on the Petersburg and Richmond Railroad May 7th, with 72 casualties. In the advance toward Petersburg, at Swift Creek, May 9th, 3 In the advance toward Drury's Bluff, May 12th to the 16th, 65 The battles at Coal Harbor, (Cold Arbor), June 1st, 2d and 3d, 37 The charge on the heights before Petersburg, June 15th, 19 Lay in the trenches in front of Petersburg, with reliefs, from June 21st to August 27th, suffering in the meantime 28 " Lost in the rebel " Cattle Raid," Sept. 19th, 19 prisoners. Led the storming column which carried Fort Harrison Sept. 29th, 64 casualties. And suffered in the attempts of the rebels to retake the works, 11 *' Three other casualties occurred at a later date, making the whole footing 321. Deaths during the Summer, so far as reported, 78. The regiment became so much reduced that on Oct. 24th only 90 muskets were borne. At that date it was relieved from the front and ordered for guard duty at Corps (18th) Headquarters, Nov. 29th, 100 recruits arrived. (95 actually received.) There are present in the regiment, (Dec. 1st), 7 commissioned officers and 280 enlisted men. Total present, 287. (20) Roster of the Eighth Regiment Gonnecticut Vols., at its original mnster, October 5, 1861. FIELD AND STAFF. Colonel, EDWARD HARLAND. Lieut.- Colonel, Petek L. Cunningham. Major, Andrew Terry. Adjutant, Charles M. Coit. Quartermaster, Joseph H. Alexander. Surgeon, Melancthon Storrs. Iss Asst. Surgeon, De Witt C. Lathrop. 2d Asst. Surgeon, J. V Harrington. Chaplain, Joseph J. Woolley. NON-COMMISSIONED STAFF. Sergeant-Major, Moses A. Hill. Quartermasie?'-Sergeant David Clark. Co minissary- /Sergeant, Horace P. Gates. Hospital Steward, Robert A. Babbitt. Pi'incipal Musician, William H. Sammis. LIISTE OFFICERS' ROSTER. Co. A., Capt. Henry L. Burpee. " 1st Lieut., Henry M. Hoyt. " 2d Lieut., Wolcott P. Marsh. Co. B., Capt. Patrick K. Ruth. 1st Lieut. Andrew W. Scott. " 2d Lieut. Francis D. Loomis. Co. C, Capt. Charles W. l^ash. " 1st Lieut. Samuel W. Glasson. " 2d Lieut. Robert H. Burnside. Co. D, Capt. J. Edward Ward. " 1st Lieut. James R. Moore. " 2d Lieut. Charles A. Breed. Co. E., Capt. Martin B. Smith. " 1st Lieut. Henry Place. 2d Lieut. Luman Wadhams. Co. F., Capt. Elijah Y. Smith. " 1st Lieut. Edwin G-. Maine. " 2d Lieut. Jeremiah M. Shephard. Co. G., Capt. Hiram Appleman. " 1st Lieut. Thomas D. Sheffield. " 2d Lieut. Henry E. Morgan. Co. H., Capt. Douglass Fowler. " 1st Lieut. James L. Russell. 2d Lieut. Thomas S. Weed. I (21) Co. I., Capt. Frederick W. Jackson. " 1st Lieut. William J. Roberts. " 2d Lieut. Frederick E. ISTearing. Co. K., Capt. CLarles L. Upham. " 1st Lieut. N'oah P. Ives. " 2d Lieut. Roger M. Ford. PROMOTIONS IN THE EIGHTH CONN. VOLS., INFANTRY. Major Andrew Terry to be Lieut.-CoL, Dec. 23d, 1861. Capt. Hiram Appleman to be Major, Dec. 23d, 1861. 1st Lieut. Henry M. Hoyt, Co. A, to be Capt. Co. A, Dec. 25th, 1861. 2d Lieut. Wolcott P. Marsh, Co. A. to be 1st Lieut. Co. A, Dec. 25th, 1861. Private Marvin Waite, Co. D, to be 2d Lieut. Co. A, Dec. 25th, 1861. 1st Lieut. Thomas D. Sheffield, Co. G, to be Capt. Co. G, Jan. 1st, 1862. 2d Lieut. Henry E. Morgan, Co. G, to be 1st Lieut. Co. G, Jan. 1st, 1862. Sergt. Andrew M. Morgan, Co. G, to be 2d Lieut. Co. G, Jan. 1st, 1862. Private Jacob Eaton, Co. K, to be 1st Lieut. Co. B, Feb. 1st, 1862. Sergt. Charles Shepherd, Co. D, to be 2d Lieut. Co. B, Feb. 1st, 1862. Capt. Thos. D. Sheffield, Co. G, transferred to be Capt. Co, H, Feb. 26, 1862. 1st Lieut. James L. Russell, Co. H, to be Capt. Co. G, Feb. 26th, 1862. 2d Lieut. Thomas S. Weed, Co. H, to be 1st Lieut. Co. H, Feb. 26th, 1862. Sergt. Justus T. Crosby, Co. H, to be 2d Lieut. Co. H, Feb. 26th, 1862. 1st Lieut. Samuel W. Glasson, Co. C, to be Capt. Co. C, March 2d, 1862. 1st Sergt. Eleazar IL Ripley, Co. D, to be 1st Lieut. Co. C, March 2d, 1862. Color-Sergt. William H. Cone, Co. 0, to be 2d Lieut. Co. C, March 2d, 1862. 1st Sergt. Nelson Bronson, Co. E, to be 1st Lieut. Co E, March I8th, 1862. 2d Lieut. Roger M. Ford, Co. K, to be 1st Lieut. Co. K, March 18, 1862. 1st Sergt. William H. Johnson, Co. K, to be 2d Lieut. Co. K, March 18, 1862. Adj. Charles M. Coit, to be Capt. Co. B, March 27th, 1862. Commissary Sergt. Horace P. Gates to be Adjutant, March 27th, 1862, Major Hiram Appleman to be Lieut. -Colonel, March 28th, 1862. Capt. J. Edward Ward, Co. D, to be Major, March 28th, 1862. 1st Lieut. James R. Moore, Co. D, to be Capt. Co. D, March 28th, 1862. 2d Lieut. Charles A. Breed, Co. D, to be 1st Lieut. Co. D, March 28th, 1862, Sergt. John McCall, Co. D, to be 2d Lieut. Co. D, March 28th, 1862. 1st Lieut. Wolcott P. Marsh, Co. A, to be Capt. Co. F, March 28th, 1862. 2d Lieut. Marvin Waite, Co. A, to be 1st Lieut. Co. A, March 28th, 1862. 1st Sergt. William J. Broatch, Co. A, to be 2d Lieut Co. A, March 28, 1862. 1st Sergt. John T. Bronson, Co. E, to be 2d Lieut. Co. E, April Sth, 1862. 1st Sergt. Milo J. Goodrich, Co. K, to be 2d Lieut. Co. K, April 7th, 1862. Corp. Elam T. Goodrich, Co. K, to be 2d Lieut. Co. li, April 27th, 1862. 1st Lieut. WilUam J. Roberts, Co. I, to be Capt. Co. I, May 5th, 1862. 1st Sergt. Henry C. Hall, Co. I, to be 1st Lieut. Co. I, May 5th, 1862. Sergt. Daniel McKinnon, Co. I, to be 2d Lieut. Co. I, M.ay Sth, 1862. 1st Sergt. Henry R. Jones, Co. C, to be 2d Lieut. Co. C, June 5th, 1862. Sergt. -Major Edmund A. Parker to be 2d Lieut. Co. F, June ITth, 1862. 1st Lieut. Eleazar H. Ripley, Co. C, to be Capt. Co. C, Aug. 15th, 1862. 2d Lieut. John McCall, Co. D, to be 1st Lieut. Co. D, Aug. loth, 1862. Sergt. Amos L. Keables, Co. D, to be 2d Lieut. Co. I), x\ug. I5th, 1862. 2d Lieut. Wm. J. Broatch, Co. A, to be 1st Lieut. Co. A, Sept. 18th, 1862. Commissary-Sergt. Ambrose M. Dougherty to be 2d Lieut. Co. A, Sept. 18th, 1862. 2d Lieut. Elam T. Goodrich, Co. H, to be 1st Lieut. Co. B, Oct. 13th, 1862. 2d Lieut. Andrew M. Morgan, Co. G, to be 1st Lieut. Co. F, Dec. 23d, 1862, Private William M. Pratt, Co. K, to be 2d Lieut. Co. G, Dec. 23d, 1862. (22) Sergt. Levi C. Bingham, Co. K, to be 2d Lieut. Co. H, Dec. 23d, 1862. Sergt. Frank W. Spaulding, Co. F, to be 2d Lieut. Co. E, Dec. 23d, 1862, Sergt. Anthony R. Canfield, Co. H, to be 2d Lieut. Co. F, Dec, 23d, 1862. Major J. Edward Ward to be Lieut. -Colonel, Dec. 28th, 1862. Capt. Charles L. Upham, Co. K, to be Major, Dec.^ 28th, 1862. 2d Lieut. Ambrose M. Dougherty, Co. A, to be Quartermaster, Jan. 8th, 1863. 1st Lieut. John McCall, Co. D, to be Capt. Co. K, Feb. 7th, 1863. 1st Lieuf. Henry C. Hall, Co. I, to be Capt. Co. F, Feb. 7th, 1863. 1st Lieut. Roger M. Ford, Co. K, to be Capt. Co. G, Feb. 7th, 1863. Corp. Samuel S. Foss, Co. D, to be 2d Lieut. Co. A, Feb. 7th, 1863. Sergt. J. Alden Rathburn, Co. G, to be 2d Lieut. Co. C, Feb. 7th, 1863. Lieut. -Col. J. Edward Ward to be Colonel, March 9th, 1863. Major Charles L. Upham to be Lieut. -Colonel, March 9th, 1863. 1st Lieut. Elam T. Goodrich, Co. B, to be Capt. Co. H, April 1st, 1863. Capt. Martin B. Smith, Co. E, to be Lieut. -Colonel, April 6th, 1863. Capt, Thomas D. Sheffield, formerly Co. H, re-mustered Capt. Co. E, July 10th, 1863. 1st Sergt. John H. Vorra, Co. K, to be 2d Lieut. Co. K, Aug. 5th, 1863. 2d Lieut. William M. Pratt, Co. G, to be Adjutant, Oct. 21st, 1863. 2d Lieut. J. Alden Rathburn, Co. C, to be 1st Lieut. Co. E, Oct. 21st, 1863. 2d Lieut. Levi C. Bingham, Co. H, to be 1st Lieut. Co. G, Oct. 26th, 1863 Sergt. John S. Lane, Co. I, to be 2d Lieut. Co. G, Oct 27th, 1863. Sergt. George M. Stevens, Co. K, to be 2d Lieut. Co. C, Oct. 27th, 1863. Commissar3^-Sergt. John L. Merriam to be 2d Lieut. Co. H, Oct. 27th, 1863. 1st Sergt. Charles N. Irwin, Co. I, to be 2d Lieut. Co. E, Nov. 8th, 1863. Private Moses Smith, Co. A, to be Chaplain, Dec. 22d, 1863. Sergt. Alconzer 0. Wells, Co. G, to be 2d Lieut. Co. B, April 14th, 1864. 2d Assistant-Surgeon James A. Bigelow to be 1st Assistant-Surgeon, June 2d, 1864. 1st Lieut. Andrew M. Morgan, Co. F, to be Capt, Co. F, July 22d, 1864. 2d Lieut. Samuel S. Foss, Co. A, to be 1st Lieut. Co. A, July 22d, 1864. 2d Lieut. John L. Merriam, Co. H, to be 1st Lieut. Co. F, July 22 d, 1864. 1st Sergt. Marcus L. Pelham, Co. H, to be 1st Lieut. Co. G, Aug. 23(1, 1864. 1st Sergt. James B. Kilbourne, Co. F, to be 1st Lieut. Co. K, Aug. 23d, 1864. 1st Sergt. Seth F. Plumb, Co. E, commissioned to be 2d Lieut, but never mustered. Killed in action at Fort Harrison, Va., Sept. 29th, 1864. PROMOTIONS FROM THE EIGHTH CONN. VOLS., INFANTRY. Col. Edward Harland to be Brigadier-General. Lieut.-Col. Charles L. Upham to be Colonel of 15th Conn. Vols., Infantry. Adj. Horace P. Gates to be Captain and A. A. -General on Gen. Harland's statf. 1st Lieut. Noah P. Ives to be Captain Commissary Subsistence. Sergt -Major Moses A. Hill to be 1st Lieut 5th Battalion R. I. Vols, and since to be Captain Commissary Subsistence. Sergt -Major William R. Palmer to be Captain Commissary Subsistence. 1st Assistant-Surgeon H. V. C. Holcomb to be Surgeon of 15th Conn. Vols,, Infantry. 1st Assistant-Surgeon Sabin Stocking to be Surgeon of I7th Conn. Vols., Infantry. Hospital Steward Robert A. Babbitt to be Surgeon of 1st N. C. Vols. Infantry. Private Charles Dixon, Co. K, to be Chaplain of 16th Conn. Vols., Infantry. Sergt Heber S. Ives, Co. K, to be 2d Lieut in 15th Conn. Vols.. Infantry. (23) Color-Sergt. William Simmons, Co. F, to be 2d Lieut, in 5th U. S, Colored Infantry. Color-Sergt. J^cob Bishop, Co. H, to be 2d Lieut, in 5th U. S. Colored Infantry. Capt. James L. Russell, Co. G, now Ist Lieut, in XJ. S. Veteran Reserve. Capt. Eleazar H. Ripley, Co. C, transferred to be Captain in U. S. Veteran Reserve. 1 St Lieut. William J. Broatch, now 2d Lieut. U. S. Regulars. Capt. Douglass Fowler, Co. H, afterwards Lieut.-Col. of 17th Conn. Vols., Infantry. 2d Lieut. William H. Cone, Co. C, afterwards Captain in 16th Conn. Vols.^ Infantry. 2d Lieut. Jeremiah M. Shephard, Co. F, afterwards Captain in 21st Conn, Vols., Infantry. 2d Lieut. Luman Wadhams, Co. E, afterwards Captain in 2d Conn. Artillery. 2d Lieut. Justus T Crosby, Co. H, now Captain in 2d N. Y. Artillery. 1st Lieut. Jacob Eaton, Co. B, now Chaplain of 7th Conn. Vols., Infantry. 1st Sergt. Amos Cliff, Co. G, now 1st Lieut, in 1st Conn. Cavalry. Private V/alter D. Monson, Co. E, now Quartermaster of 2d U. S. Cavalry^ colored. 1st Lieut. Nelson Bronson, Co. E, now 1st Lieut, in U. S. Veteran Reserve. In the original muster the regiment contained — Commissioned Officers, 39. (Field and Staff, 9 ; Line Officers, 30.) Enlisted Men, 983. (Non-com. Staff, 5 ; Companies, 978.) Total, 1,022. The regiment has gained since its original muster, in commissioned offi- cers, 11. Enlisted men, 563. The whole number on the Regimental Books 1,596. The losses of the regiment have been — By death, 218. (Com. officers, 11 ; enlisted men, 207.) Discharge, 443. (Com. ofiicers, 49 ; enlisted men, 394.) Transfer, 77. (Com. officers, 7 ; enlisted men, 70.) Desertion, 130. Total losses, 868. The aggregate present and absent at this date, Dec. 1st, is — Commissioned officers, 19. (Field and staff, 7; Line ofiicers, 12.) Enlisted men, 709. (Non-com. staff, 5 ; Companies, 704.) Total, 728. Present Eoster of Eighth'Gonn. Veteran Vols., Infantry. FIELD AND STAFF. Colon FL, J. EDWARD WARD, mustered March 9th, 1863, Lieut.. Colonel, Martin B. Smith, mustered Apnl 6th, 1863. Major, Surgeon, ■ Chaplain, Moses Smith, mustered Dec. 22d, 1863. Adjutant, William M. Peatt, mustered Oct. 21st, 1863. Quartermaster, John L. Merriam, mustered Oct. 20th, 1864. 1st Assistant Surgeon, James A. Bigelow, mustered April 6th, 1863. 2d Assistant Surgeon, Theodore E. Hamilton, mustered June 29th, 1864. (24) J^ON- COM MISSIONED STAFF. Sergt.-3Iajor, Q. M. Sergt., Frederick Gallup. Commissary Sergt., Silas P. Keeler. Hospital Steward, Willet W. Kingsley. Principal 3fusician^ George W. Farnham. Principal 3Iusicia9i, William Kerr. LIlsTE OFFICEKS. Co. A, Capt. " " ist Lieut. Samuel S. Foss, mustered July 2 2d, 1864, " 2d Lieut. Co. B, Capt. Charles M. Coit, mustered March 27th, 1862. " " 1st Lieut. Sidney B. Dekay, mustered May 25th, 1864, " " 2d Lieut. Co. C, Capt. " " 1st Lieut. " " 2d Lieut. Co. D, Capt. James R. Moore, mustered March 28th, 1862. " " 1st Lieut. " " 2d Lieut. Amos L. Keables, mustered Aug. 15th, 1862, Co. E, Capt. Thomas D, Sheffield, mustered July 10th, 1863. " " 1st Lieut. J. Alden Rathburn, mustered Oct. 21st, 1863. " " ■ 2d Lieut. — — - — — Co. F, Capt. Andrew M. Morgan, mustered July 22d, 1864. " " 1st Lieut. — «™ — — " " 2d Lieut. - _» Co. G, Capt. — — - — - " " 1st Lieut. Marcus L. Pelham, mustered Aug. 23d, 1864. " " 2d Lieut. Co. H. Capt. " " 1st Lieut. ■ " " 2d Lieut. Co. I, Capt. William J. Roberts, mustered May 5th, 1862. " " 1st Lieut. " " 2d Lieut. Co. K, Capt. George C. Merriam, mustered Nov. 4th, 1864. " " 1st Lieut. " " 2d Lieut. John H. Von-a, mustered Aug. 5th, 1863. OTHERS WHO kAVE HELD COMMISSIONS IN EIGHTH CONN. Y0LS,y INFANTRY. Levi S, Pease, 2d Assistant-Surgeon, resigned. John M. Morris, Chaplain, resigned. Alfred M. Goddard, 1st Lieut, Co. B, killed in action, May 1th, 1864. Erwin D. Hall, 2d Lieut. Co. I, discharged on account of wounds.