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God's Doings for the Nation. 
 
 A SERMON 
 
 PREACHED IN THE 
 
 ^mt §m%ikxi 
 
 GREENWICH, NEW JERSEY, 
 
 OS THE DAT OF 
 
 NATIONAL THANKSGIVING, 
 
 November 24th, 1864, 
 
 -^ / 
 
 By Rev. J. K. PLITT, A. M., 
 
 Pastor of St. James' Evangelical Lutheran Church, Greenwich, N. J. 
 
 E ASTON, PA.: 
 PRINTED BY L. aORDON 
 
 1864. 
 
CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 Greenwich, Nov. 25th, 1SC4. 
 
 Rev. John K. Plitt, 
 
 Reverend and Dear Sir : 
 The congregation of St. James, Lutheran, and of the first Presbyterian 
 Churches of Greenwich, who united to observe the National Tlianksgiv- 
 ing, heard with great pleasure and profit, your able sermon on that occa- 
 sion. Believing that its dissemination in a printed form will do good, the 
 undersigned, representing those congregations, respectfully ask for a copy 
 of it for publication. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 J. H. HAMLEN, 
 JOHN CARTER, 
 ISAAC S. CARPENTER, 
 H. H. ABERNETHY, 
 ISAAC SHIPMAN, 
 S. LEIDY SHIMER. 
 
 REPLY. 
 
 Greenwich, Nov. 29th, 1SG4. 
 
 Dear Brethren : — You estimate much more highly than is deserved 
 the unpretending sermon to which your note refers. Deferring, however, 
 to your judgment that its publication may serve a useful purpose, I here- 
 with place a copy of it at your disposal. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 J. K. PLITT. 
 To Messrs. J. H. Hamlen, 
 John Carter, 
 Isaac S. Carpenter, 
 H. H. Abernethy, 
 Isaac Shipman, 
 S. Leidy Shijier. 
 
SERMON. 
 
 '' The Lord uatii bone great things for rs ; whereof we are gi.ad." — 
 Psalm 120 : 3. 
 
 "War still prevails in the land. Tlirough anotLcr year 
 it has pressed with heavy weight upon us. The fond 
 hope, that ere this its insatiate appetite could have been 
 filled, has not yet been realized. Our watching and wait- 
 ing have not yet greeted the dawn of returning Peace. 
 The year has been marked by a full measure of those deso- 
 lating scenes which follow in the track of War. Fearful 
 conflicts of arms have taken place. Many a bloody field 
 has been made historic. Many a noble victim has fallen. 
 Many a heart has been made sad. Many a home has been 
 darkened. And "the end is not yet." Opposing hosts 
 still confront each other in deadly array. Eebellion still 
 lifts up its head and wears a defiant look ; and with a no 
 less firm and settled purpose, the Nation still goes forth 
 to meet it, determined by<jrod's help to save its own life, 
 to vindicate its just authority, to enforce its laws, and to 
 crush the hideous monster. 
 
 Our annual Thanksgiving comes in the midst of war. 
 For the fourth time to-day is it thus. In former years we 
 could celebrate the blessings of Peace, along with other 
 good things of God's giving ; but in these last years, we 
 have had our joyous festival marred by war's stern reali- 
 ties. Still there is occasion for thanksgiving. Days of 
 humiliation may seem more fitting ; the call for clothing 
 ourselves in sackcloth and ashes may be loud and fre- 
 quent; the most hopeful posture of the Nation may be 
 that of the bowed suppliant crying to Heaven for mercy. 
 But still there is a place for thanksgiving. From the 
 
6 
 
 wreck of our national peace and prosperitj^ many a pre- 
 cious treasure has been saved to us. Amid all the desola- 
 tions of war, much has been spared to us that should 
 attune our hearts and lips to praise. And for much that 
 more immediately pertains to the war itself, — to the fea- 
 tures which it this day presents, and to the hopes which it 
 now inspires, — we have abundant reason to be thankful to 
 God, and to bless his holy Name. 
 
 "The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we 
 are glad." So the Church of old uttered her voice in cele- 
 brating the mercies of God to her. We may take her 
 words, and make them our own to-day, as we seek to 
 recount the blessings that now call for thanksgiving — as 
 we speak of God's doings for the Nation. It is not 
 wresting them to an unholy purpose, to use them as a 
 guide in our solemn service, though we are called now to 
 speak less of that which is spiritual, and more of that which 
 is earthly and temporal. 
 
 "What has God done for us ? Wherefore should we be 
 glad? 
 
 I. As a first thing to he noticed, He has jyreserved to us our 
 National life. With this thought the Proclamation of the 
 President, in response to which we have now assembled in 
 the sanctuary, opens : and it is worthy of our joyous and 
 thankful consideration. The national life has been in 
 peril. A giant conspiracy has been formed against it, and 
 has long been seeking its destruction. Terrible and repeated 
 blows have been struck at it. The assassin's dagger has 
 been thrust at the very heart of the Nation. Success in 
 the wicked schemes, to which our foes have embarked, 
 would involve the utter overthrow of our nationality, and 
 would substitute for it, many sovereign and independent 
 nations. State governments would take precedence of the 
 general government. That which is least would be exalted 
 above that which is greatest. And all that distinguishes 
 us as a Nation, all that serves to give us a place among the 
 
family of nations, and all that commands for us the respect 
 of the great powers of the earth, would pass from us. Our 
 unity would be gone : therein lies the great secret of our 
 power and influence as a Nation ; as applicable to the re- 
 lation of our States to each other, there is a peculiar sig- 
 nificance in the utterance, "in union there is strength." 
 Broken up into fragments, we would become a by-word 
 and a hissing among the nations; and all that would 
 remain to us would be but the wreck of departed great- 
 ness. 
 
 No doubt one of the strongest reasons why the so-called 
 Southern Confederacy has been for years vainly begging 
 for recognition abroad is the fact, that it is so loosely 
 bound together, lacks cohesiveness, and contains in its very 
 structure the elements of speedy dissolution. The States 
 may go out with as much ease as they came in. For any 
 real or fancied grievance, one after another may desert the 
 rest until nothing remains. All this is expressly provided 
 for in the bond. A sovereign State cannot be coerced. 
 When she chooses to move, regardless of the interests of 
 her sister States, there is no power that can restrain or 
 control her. What kind of a government is that? Is it 
 any wonder that such an applicant for recognition should 
 receive the cold shoulder at every European court ? Could 
 any great Power so stultify itself, as to acknowledge so 
 loose and irresponsible a thing as a nation, a government ? 
 Now such a condition of things would the success of our 
 foes involve for the whole land. The attempt to overthrow 
 the National Government is, beyond controversy, a blow 
 aimed at the very life of the nation. The Constitution of 
 the country, with the Government for which it provides, 
 and with the laws which are ordained under it, is what 
 makes us a nation. The individual States, in their sepa- 
 rate capacities, are not nations. Exalt them to a place, 
 which nullifies the supreme authority of the General Gov- 
 ernment, and you do that which of necessity must prove 
 fatal to our nationality. One country of many States — one 
 
general government of supreme power, with that of the 
 individual States subordinate to it, and in harmony with 
 it — this is what gives us a name, and a place, and a cha- 
 racter among the nations of the earth. And this is just 
 what the Eebellion has proposed, and is seeking, to undo. 
 Because a set of designing, ambitious men, could not have 
 every thing their way, and saw the sceptre of power de- 
 parting out of their hands, they have conspired to destroy 
 the Government which they could no longer control. 
 They have found many to sympathize with, and to help 
 them, in the unholy work. They have pressed on in their 
 wicked endeavors with a persistent ardor. They have 
 achieved successes which, betimes, have filled loyal hearts 
 with fear that they might possibly compass their desperate 
 ends. But the nation still lives. God has preserved it. To 
 Ilim let our thanks be given that it has survived the 
 shocks and convulsions of nearly four years ; that it has 
 showm a tenacity of life, of which the base conspirators 
 were wholly unsuspecting; and that it gives this day, 
 bright and cheering promise of rising proudly above all 
 that its foes can do to destroy it. It is too young to die. 
 God evidentljdias a great mission for it to yet fulfill. The 
 cause of civil liberty and of popular government, through- 
 out the world, is too closely identified with it to allow of 
 its perishing now. The sun of hope for many an enthralled 
 people would go down with our fall, never to rise again. 
 Despots and tyrants would then hold high carnival. And 
 one of the holiest causes of humanity would go weeping 
 and sorrowing through the world. If wicked foes at home 
 and abroad have been ready for this, God's time for it 
 manifestly has not yet come. His guardian eye has 
 watched over the Nation, through all her gigantic strug- 
 gles; His omnipotent arm has defended her; His mercy 
 has been great to her. She still lives. Let us thank God 
 for it. 
 
 Foes we have of our own household ; and this is one of 
 the saddest features of our troubles. But these are not our 
 
only enemies. From beyond the seas many an eye lias 
 long been looking with envy and jealousy upon our rapid 
 progress in the way of national greatness: and many a 
 heart would be made to overflow with gladness, in the 
 dowfall of the great Kepublic. Propositions, from one to 
 another earthly potentate, for intervention in our affairs, 
 have not been wanting. Cabinets have frequently discussed 
 the question. Eloquent tongues, from more than one class 
 of people, have pleaded for it. And rebel emissaries, with 
 their more immediate sympathizers, have exhausted their 
 resources of wisdom, skill, and power to have it prevail. 
 But it has all been to no purpose. God has brought to 
 nought the counsels of those who had it in their hearts to 
 interpose : He has preserved us from that intervention by 
 foes abroad, on behalf of our foes at home, which would 
 but have served to give greater intensity to our struggle, 
 which would have spread more widely the desolations of 
 the war, and which would have rendered more difficult the 
 formidable work of conquering the rebellion ; and He has 
 thus far disappointed all those hopes of foreign enemies 
 which wait for their fulfillment in the overthrow of our 
 glorious system of government. In spite of foes, at home 
 and abroad, loe still have a county — the nation still lives. To 
 God's name let all the praise be given ! 
 
 And not only have we thus been preserved by our 
 Heavenly Father ; not only have our national life and our 
 country been saved to us, but amid all the desolations of 
 war many of those blessings which we were accustomed to 
 recount, in former and more peaceful days, have been 
 poured out upon us with a bountiful hand, during the past 
 year. The earth has still yielded her increase. To indus- 
 trious labor a generous reward has been returned. "Unu- 
 sual health has been enjoyed by the people in their homes, 
 and by our armies in the field." We have been spared the 
 visitation of those fearful epidemics which, in former years, 
 have swept like a besom of destruction over the land. "Our 
 free population has been largely increased by immigration 
 
10 
 
 from abroad and by emancipation." And our religious 
 privileges — our greatest earthly boon, our most precious 
 treasure — have not been taken away from us. So that 
 along with our national life preserved to us, we have en- 
 joyed, in large measure, those gifts of Providence and of 
 grace, without which the continuance of both our national 
 and our individual life would be but a prolongation of 
 hopelessness and misery. Surely, for all these things we 
 ought to be devoutly gra/teful to God. 
 
 II. God has brought us safely through the exciting scenes 
 connected with a Presidential Campaign. — This is a matter 
 by no means unworthy of our special and thankful con- 
 sideration to-day. In ordinary times, such a campaign 
 tests the national character and strength to a greater or 
 less degree, according to the issues involved ; but in a time 
 of war, the strain is so great as justly to awaken the fears of 
 patriotic hearts, that some part of the structure might give 
 way, or ev^ that the whole might be involved in ruin. 
 The country has never before had such a trial as that to 
 which it has recently been subjected. In former cam- 
 paigns, important issues have been submitted to the popu- 
 lar judgment and will. But never before have the people 
 been called to act in the important matter of choosing their 
 chief rulers in a time of gigantic war, and with such 
 tremendous interests before them as have recently been 
 presented for their decision. And the fact that we have 
 passed safely through this momentous trial, proclaims that 
 there is a strength in our national system, a vigor in our 
 national life, fully equal to the hopes of many, and far 
 greater than the fears of some — a strength which may well 
 appal the envious nations, make monarcbs tremble for their 
 crowns, and despots for their thrones — and for which many 
 peoples of the earth, who are sighing for civil liberty, will 
 thank God and take courage. We know now, better than 
 ever, that there is a power in our republican form of govern- 
 ment, which cannot easily be broken. When the people in 
 
11 
 
 the majesty of their might arise, they sweep forth Avitli a 
 resistless energy ; when they utter their voice, it is like the 
 voice of many thunders ; and with God to defend and to 
 help them, they become the multitude of an host, against 
 which their foes oppose themselves in vain. 
 
 Thoughtful observers have watched the progress of the 
 recent political campaign, with no ordinary interest. They 
 have marked the warmth and the energy with which it has 
 been conducted. They have seen how eagerly each of the 
 parties engaged has striven for success. They have wit- 
 nessed the height to which the tide of popular excitement 
 has risen. And they have not been without grave appre- 
 hensions, that the day of the nation's choice of its rulers 
 might be a day of rioting, burning, and bloodshedding. 
 Threats of excited partisans were not wanting, Assassina- 
 tions were intimated. Organized conspiracies seem clearly 
 to have existed. Eaids from the border, in the interest of 
 our foes, seem clearly to have been menaced. However 
 much of these things must be ascribed to party zeal — 
 however much they may have been magnified on the one 
 hand, and underrated on the other, for merely partisan pur- 
 poses — there certainly was much in them to awaken pain- 
 ful anxiety in many minds. Men knew not whereunto 
 they might grow. But lo ! when the great day of decision 
 comes, the fury of the lion is changed into the mild temper 
 of the lamb. Calmly and quietly the people speak through 
 their ballots. The polls are undisturbed. The machinery 
 which served well in times of peace, serves equally well in 
 a time of war. The riotous spirit is restrained. The ordi- 
 nary excitement even of election day appears to be almost 
 wanting — not that the people were indifferent to the great 
 issues at stake, but that they went more soberly and more 
 thoughtfully than ever to the polls, realizing the solemnity 
 of the duty imposed upon them. The preceding agitation 
 seems to have afforded vent for all superfluous passion. 
 The storm is succeeded by a calm, in which all seem to 
 breathe more freely. No cities are laid in ashes ; no blood 
 
12 
 
 is spilled ; no life is sacrificed. From Elaine to California 
 the almost unvarying report comes, that the last election 
 was one of the most quiet and peaceful that has ever been 
 held in the country. 
 
 So remarkable is all this, that even the most casual ob- 
 server can hardly have failed to note it. It speaks with 
 a voice which is full of comfort and encouragement. It 
 shows us that the American people still retain their reason ; 
 and that however much they may become aroused and 
 excited in discussion, they know how calmly to enter upon 
 the day of decision, and to perform the great and respon- 
 sible duties which it imposes. When we look at these 
 things, and consider the dangers through which we 
 have safely passed ; when we observe how promptly and 
 how cordially the masses yield to the popular will as it has 
 been expressed, although it may not conform to their pre- 
 conceived theories ; we have reason to thank God that He 
 has conducted the country unharmed through the perilous 
 work of selecting administrators of the government amid 
 all the exciting scenes of war. And it is not asking too 
 much, now that the people have spoken with a wonderful 
 and an unexpected degree of unanimity, that all without 
 respect of persons or distinction of party, should not only 
 throw no hindrances in the way of those who are charged 
 with the difficult and the responsible duties of government, 
 but should give to them their cordial support and hearty co- 
 operation in the herculean work of subduing the Eebellion. 
 Noble indeed would be such an expression of gratitude to 
 God, for what He has done for us, on the part of all the 
 people. The dictates of a pure patriotism demand nothing 
 less than this. 
 
 III. The jjrogress, under God, which has been made in car- 
 rying on the war, is a fitting subject for thanl'fid achnowledg- 
 meyit. Wc, of course, caA take no pleasure in the sacrifice 
 of life, in the prodigious outlay of treasure, in the Avidow- 
 hood and orj^hanage, and general sorrow and suffering 
 
13 
 
 wlucli this has occasioned. These tlilii.ii^s will tcnijx'r our 
 rejoicing to-day. But the}-- are the unavoidable concomi- 
 tants of war. And such a war as that in which our country 
 is engaged, means all of them, and that too in their most 
 dreadful reality. 
 
 The prosecution of the struggle has become a necessitv^ 
 with the Government, wliich nothing less than the laying 
 down of the arms of the insurgents can relieve. So long 
 as the foe strikes, the Nation must defend itself. And the 
 necessity being upon us, in view of all the circumstances of 
 the case, there is much occasion for rejoicing that our na- 
 tional cause has made progress. It has met with checks 
 indeed. Eeverses have befallen our arms. But how could 
 it well be otherwise ? And yet in the general view, many 
 features of encouragement present themselves. There has 
 been a sure and steady pressing onward. All that was 
 undertaken has not been accomplished yet. But the mist 
 is clearing away more and more. The harbingers of the 
 coming day are multiplying. The signs of the exhaustion 
 of the Kebellion are increasing. God grant that it may 
 soon become powerless, and that we may soon be able to 
 welcome the advent of smiling peace. 
 
 We often fail, in looking at the condition of things, to 
 take in the vast proportions of the work in which we are 
 engaged. We grow restive, because all that we wish is not 
 at once accomplished. The multiplying years of war, with 
 its increasing burdens, sacrifice and cost, appal us. We 
 wonder why our generals do not at once strike the fatal 
 blow, and why our armies do not promptly rush in and 
 seize the coveted prize. But we know little of real war — 
 little of the .extent and formidable character of this war — 
 if we suppose it can be ended by the mere utterance of a 
 command, or the mere brandishing of a sword. We have 
 to deal with a strong, proud, brave, defiant foe — a foe that 
 has staked vast issues upon the contest — a foe that will 
 hold out so long as there is a glimmering ray of hope — a 
 foe that realizes the bitter humiliation of defeat, and that 
 
14 
 
 shrinks with horror from the thought of submission. Hav- 
 ing invited the contest, and cast their all into it, with the 
 mistaken expectation, indeed, that they would have an easy 
 road to victory, our enemies may well feel loath now to 
 confess their error, and to yield up their cause as lost. Such 
 foes cannot be overcome in a day. Only by prolonged, 
 persistent, unyielding war, as things have now shaped 
 themselves, can the Government be preserved, and the mis- 
 guided people of the South themselves be saved from a 
 success which would carry in it the elements of final disin- 
 tegration and ruin to them. 
 
 The war has been pronounced " a fiiilure." It has not 
 indeed accomplished all that has been proposed ; in so far, 
 it may perhaps, with some show of reason, be said to have 
 failed. But it is a perversion of language to speak of it 
 sweepingly and unqualifiedly as " a failure." A man does 
 not make a failure when he realizes from a business ven- 
 ture a few thousands less than he and his friends expected. 
 A farmer does not speak of the failure of his crops, when, 
 though he has gathered less than he looked for, he still has 
 an abundant harvest. The issue of " failure " has been 
 made, and the people have spoken upon it. By their ver- 
 dict let us abide. If we look with unprejudiced minds at 
 the facts in the case, and break away from the influence of 
 party and passion, surely we can easily understand that 
 progress — great progress — has been made in the direction 
 of conquering rebellion and securing an honorable peace. 
 Look at the position of things as it was in the beginning. 
 Remember the times when the rebellion planted itself on 
 lines which reached far to the North, and which stretched 
 across the country from the front of Washington . to 
 the State of Missouri; when nearly the whole sea-coast, 
 with its harbors and defences, was in the possession of our 
 foes ; and when they controlled the Mississippi river from 
 a higli northern point down to the very Gulf. And how 
 cliangcd all this is now. Whole States have been redeemed 
 fr<.)m the grasp of the rebellion ; in all of the insurgent 
 
15 
 
 ones, Avitliout exception,, tlie glorious Old Flag of the conn- 
 try has been planted ; the great river of the West has been 
 cleared of obstructions, and opened again to commerce ; 
 here and there only, a point along the extended coast 
 still remains in rebel hands ; our armies have pene- 
 trated into the very heart of the enemy's country, and they 
 have held it. This very day the victorious columns are 
 pushing yet further and further onward ; and on many a 
 field, now historic, victory has perched upon our banners. 
 Is this not progress ? If it be not, tell us what is ! Has 
 the war indeed been a failure? Let us have much of such 
 failure ! And as more immediately concerning us now, 
 because connected with the passing year, whose blessings 
 we are here to recount — can we see nothing in events of 
 more recent occurrence that points in the same direction ? 
 In the great campaign from the Eapidan to the James — in 
 that from Chattanooga to Atlanta and beyond — in that in 
 the valley of the Shenandoah — and in that of Mobile har- 
 bor — in these as the principal of the later campaigns in 
 Avhich our forces have been engaged — can we see no pro- 
 gress? Ah ! but perhaps you say, how have all these in- 
 volved the slaughter of our troops, the Aveakening of our 
 strength, the depletion of our treasury ! But have they 
 been harmless to our foes ? Are there no signs of exhaus- 
 tion there? Has there been no reeling, no staggering under 
 these blows, on the other side? When we come to balance 
 the account, does nothing appear to our credit? If the 
 progress has not been all that we could have wished, let 
 us have the manliness to acknowledge it so far as it goes ; 
 and let us be devoutly thankful to God for whatever of it 
 He has been pleased to give us. 
 
 From mau}^ quarters, the evidence accumulates, that the 
 rebellion has reached and passed the zenith of its power. 
 It is evidently becoming more and more straitened. Its 
 territory has been reduced more than one-half. Its material 
 for soldiers is rapidly approaching exhaustion. Its cur- 
 rency has become almost worthless. Its lack of many of 
 
16 
 
 the necessaries for carrying on war is confessed. And the 
 spirit of many of its original adherents is fast dying out, 
 so that they would welcome the waving of the old Flag 
 over them, as the symbol of protection and safety. From 
 the Vice-President of the Confederacy, down, through 
 (rovernor Brown, of Georgia, and Congressman Boyce, of 
 South Carolina, to others of less prominent position, many 
 a heart seems to be turning longingly towards the old home 
 in the Union. Will not submission to the rightful authority, 
 when things have come to such a pass as this, ere long be 
 compelled ? Can the infatuated people of the South, much 
 longer fail to repudiate the wicked leaders, who have con- 
 ducted them to all their sorrows? Can a professed nation, 
 so nearly exhausted, so closely blockaded, so persistently 
 refused recognition abroad, and so relentlessly hemmed in 
 on every side, hope to prevail against such a power as this 
 Government wields? Does not the progress which has 
 already been made, contain in it the prophecy and the 
 promise of not far distant and complete success? Let us 
 rejoice, then in the great things in this direction, which 
 our Heavenly Father has done for us ; for there is much 
 here to make us glad. 
 
 IV. The change of sentiment ivhich, under Providence, has 
 lieen (jradually going on in the country, on the subject of human 
 Slavery, the generally acknowledged cause, or at least the occa- 
 sion of the Rebellion, and the main-spring of it, is worthy of 
 being thankfully noted here and noiu. There have been 
 times, when many good men did not deem it expedient or 
 judicious to utter much from the pulpit on this question. 
 In view of Constitutional provisions bearing upon it, they 
 <;hose to say but little or nothing about it, as it presented 
 itself here in our country. Although it is strictly a great 
 moral question, and as such should be open to unrestrained 
 discussion, and its wrongs and evils exposed and condemned 
 with unsi)aring faithl'ulness ; yet it has become so mixed 
 up with political issues, that many liave kept aloof from it, 
 
17 
 
 in order tliat they might escape the charge of haviuf/ 
 political and partisan ])urposes in view, if they should 
 approach it. But after all, if. politicians choose thus to 
 involve a moral question, which is just as much a legiti- 
 mate subject for the pulpit, as crime in any of its forms, 
 should this be a valid reason why virtuous and good men 
 ought to bridle their tongues wholly concerning it? A 
 wrong is a wrong anywhere — wherever you find it. And 
 it merits exposure and denunciation as such, by all good 
 men, however much they may be charged on account of it, 
 with unbecoming and unchristian " meddling in politics." 
 
 But now, since the rebellion has thrown oft' the restraints 
 of our National Constitution, and ignored the National 
 compact, we need no longer be hindered by those provi- 
 sions and guarantees of the great instrument, which have 
 largely influenced the utterances of many good men in 
 former days ; and the more so, since the Almighty — blind 
 our eyes to it as we may — evidently seems to be making 
 this His opportunity, to relieve the country of a great 
 incubus which our wisest and ablest statesmen have been 
 vainly endeavoring to remove, to solve the problem which 
 through a long series of years has vexed and confounded 
 them, and to take away from us that which has constituted 
 our standing reproach among the enlightened and christian- 
 ized nations of the earth. How wonderful the changes 
 which have taken place in the popular mind, upon this 
 subject ! How many people who stood aghast two years 
 ago, at the thought of employing the negro as a soldier, 
 and who shrunk amazed from the idea of an Emancipation 
 Proclamation, have not only become reconciled to these 
 things, but acquiesce in them as wise, and just, and proper 
 measures, called for by " military necessity !'' The acts of 
 the Administration in this connection, as well as in all 
 others, were before the people for their judgment, in the 
 recent election. All knew where our rulers stood, and 
 what was their policy in conducting the war. Things were 
 not done in a corner. Nothing was concealed. But with 
 
18 
 
 wliat a remarkable endorsement have tbe measures met, 
 which the war has called forth ! How diJtt'erent the judg- 
 ment and voice of the ]^eo])le from what they were in the 
 earlier stages of the war ! What progress has been made in 
 popular sentiment, upon the great question which is so 
 intimately interwoven in public affairs as they now stand ! 
 
 I am only seeking to direct your attention to the more 
 prominent facts as they have transpired, without question- 
 ing whether or not they fall in with your views and prefer- 
 ences. Maryland has just torn off the shackles from the 
 limbs of her slaves, and, by one of the holiest acts in her 
 history, consecrated her soil forever to Freedom. Missouri, 
 if I mistake not, has legislated with the same end in view, 
 though not so speedily to be realized. Large portions of 
 other States, if I misinterpret not the signs of the times, are 
 nearly ready to move in the same direction. And a year 
 hence a Congress elect will assemble, if God permit, among 
 whose anticipated acts is reckoned a change in our funda- 
 mental law, such as will forever abolish slavery throughout 
 the whole land. And even at the South itself, at this very 
 time, the question of arming the slaves, which involves 
 almost necessarily their subsequent emancipation, is being- 
 agitated. There, from the nature of the case, the subject is 
 invested wdth peculiar difiiculty and danger. The people 
 see and feel it. But so urgent is the necessity which presses 
 upon the Confederacy, to bring more soldiers into the field, 
 that many eyes are turning towards the slaves as their only 
 remaining helpers. So grave a matter has this become, 
 that the President of the so-called Confederacy has felt 
 himself constrained to give it a place in his recent ainiual 
 message, and to propose such measures connected with it, 
 as involves as much as the most zealous opponents of the 
 institution of Slavery have ever sought — his own press 
 being his interpreter. Says the Riclimond Examiner, of 
 November 8th, on the proposition to employ forty thousand 
 slaves as laborers, who are to be drilled and instructed, as 
 a reserve force, but not yet armed: "to a proposition of 
 
19 
 
 that sort, no one could have the least ol)jei'ti(jn, if lie (tin; 
 President) had not concluded with an obscure jjussai,'*' 
 which, if it means anything, means that the forty thousan<l 
 slaves so employed, shall be set free at the end of the wai-, 
 as a reward for their service. Here, while refusing to 
 employ the slaves under arms, he adopts the fatal principle 
 of the original proposition to its fullest extent, and puts 
 forth an idea which, if admitted by the Soutliern people as 
 a truth, renders their position on the matter of slavery 
 utterly untenable. * ■''' * * The negro's freedom is to be 
 given to him, as a reward for his service to the country : 
 his freedom, therefore, is a boon — it is a better state — a 
 natural good, of which our laws deprive him, and keep 
 from him. Now, that is the whole theory of the abolitionist ; 
 and we have the sorrow to think that if one portion of this 
 Presidential message means anything, it means that." So 
 that Jefferson Davis is pronounced by the " Michmon(f 
 Exarainer,^^ to have adopted the whole theory of the aboli- 
 tionist ! Who would have expected it ? Yerily, we have 
 fallen upon strange, wonderful times ! Have we not here a 
 new and striking illustration of the old, familiar adage : 
 "Whom the gods would destroy, they first deprive of 
 reason ?" Does it not really seem as though God, in the 
 wise arrangements of his Providence, intends that the 
 leaders of revolt and rebellion themselves are to become 
 the real, practical abolitionists, and that they are to lend 
 the most efficient helping-hand, in at last relieving the 
 country of its most terrible curse ? In this great progress 
 of sentiment on the Slavery question, the patriot and the 
 philanthropist have reason to rejoice. It indeed seems to 
 be the augury of better things coming. " The set time" 
 seems to be drawing near, when the down-trodden African 
 race is to be delivered from the galling yoke of bondage, 
 and raised up to a higher sphere ; and when we can speak 
 of this as a free land, and of ourselves as a free 'peoi^le, with- 
 out inviting and deserving the derision of other nations. 
 God speed the time 1 
 
20 
 
 FinaJlij, all these thhu/s serve to encourage the liope, tJ/at zee 
 shall ere long he rescued from the trials and sorrows of ivar, 
 and shall he made glad in the return of Peace. We know not 
 indeed what further chastisements our Heavenly Father 
 may have in store for us. We know that we have not 
 been visited more sharply than our sins deserve. And we 
 know that we are continually approaching "the desired 
 haven." We have occasion to rejoice to-day in accumu- 
 lating evidence of a determined purpose, on the part of the 
 people, God willing, to put down rebellion, and to save our 
 beloved country from dismemberment and ruin. This is 
 what the popular voice, uttered so loudly in the recent 
 election, means. And, ere this, it has carried dismay to the 
 hearts of many of our household foes, whilst the nations 
 across the waters will easily interpret its meaning. The 
 country is too dear to be surrendered to rebels. The only 
 possible condition on which they, over and over again, have 
 declared themselves willing to treat for peace, is the recog- 
 nition of their separate and independent existence as a 
 nation. Who will say that this should be acknowledged ? 
 However much parties may have differed on other topics, 
 which have been involved in the recent political contest, on 
 the question of our National Unity, there has been a 
 singular unanimity, One has vied with the other in pro- 
 testations of devotion to the Union. The peace-at-any-price 
 policy has received such a sweeping rebuke, that it will not 
 have the hardihood to lift up its head soon again. An 
 honorable peace, to come, now since our enemies will have 
 it so, through war to. the bitter end — this, if we have read 
 aright the signs of the times, is what the vast popular 
 majority has proclaimed, in unraistakeable tones, shall be 
 the purpose and the policy of the Government, in its future 
 dealing with the rebellion. Whoever stands in the way of 
 this, so long as our enemies maintain their present attitude, 
 will only serve to hinder the consummation so devoutly 
 wished by all, and aid in prolonging the bitter experiences 
 of the war. 
 
21 
 
 Let us then, Christians and countrymen, forgetful of 
 party difterences, burying all our party signs and distinc- 
 tions out of sight, and animated only by purposes of a pure 
 and lofty patriotism, rally around the dear old Flag of our 
 country, and stand by those who are lawfully and constitu- 
 tionally placed over us, to guide the affairs of the Nation, 
 Human they are ; errors and mistakes they have committed, 
 and will commit again, because they are human, and, there- 
 fore, fallible. Let them not be censoriously watched and 
 petulantly criticised. Let due allowance be made for their 
 human infirmity. Continually commending them to God, 
 and imploring His guidance and help for them, let them 
 have our hearty sympathy and co-operation in every honest 
 and well-meant endeavor they put forth to save the country. 
 And with God to help them and us, we may hope to 
 emerge ere long from this long, dark night of national 
 sorrow, and to rejoice in the day of peace, and happiness, 
 and re-union again. 
 
 O, blessed day ! When shall it come ? Our anxious eyes 
 have looked through years already for its dawn. Our 
 hearts still long for it, and ache within us because we see it 
 not. But it is coming. It may be nearer than any of us 
 suspect. It may be just ready to pour its flood of glory 
 over us. God bring it soon ! In mercy, Lord, who hast 
 done great things for us, whereof we are glad, do yet this 
 for our sinful nation — that from the altars of thousands 
 and millions of hearts, the incense of thanksgiving and 
 praise may rise up to Thee for it, and that from thousands 
 and millions of lips, songs of rejoicing, in one grand, 
 glorious naticuial chorus, may be a grateful people's tribute 
 to Thee, their Great Deliverer and King I 
 
160 
 

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