One afternoon in June, 1863, agitating news spread from the military to the people. Col. Wm. P. Sanders, of the United States Army, was said to be marching upon the town with a formidable force, to be already not far away from it, and would arrive on the morrow. The cry, “To arms!” went everywhere. Messengers upon the streets summoned citizens to shoulder their guns and aid the military in resisting the invader. “To the front! to the front!” And away men sped under a strong sense of duty. The tradesman left his store, the laborer his toil, the mechanic his shop, the lawyer his office and even the clergyman his study. Young and more mature men, and boys, obeyed the call, in some instances as if eager for the fray. A noble spirit is that of patriotism. Who is there of such base metal, as not to be prompt in defending his home, his city, his native or adopted land? That arrant coward, John Falstaff, thrice pronounced “a plague upon all cowards!” And the sentiment, put into rude or elegant phrase, has the common consent of mankind. There is “a common and indeterminate courage,” which Edmondo De Amicis says “in Europe is considered with chivalric reciprocity, the property of all armies.” Bishop Stephen H. Elliot (eminent scholar and gentleman) said that the late civil war proved one thing--that there are few men not brave enough to fight. Much rarer is _moral_ courage, as it is immeasurably superior in kind. Physical courage has more of its roots in the animal nature and is liable to great heats and fury. Moral courage, having its roots in the conscience and being trained by the reason, has firmness and composure. Nor is all patriotism alike. It differs in scope and expression. That which is narrow and tied down to a section is apt to have a concentration of energy, which gives a certain fire and dash to its courage. The patriotism that includes the whole country in its arms, may because of breadth, have less flaming intensity, but has more substantial capacity for calm endurance in heroic action.