Original Photographs Taken on the Battlefields during the Civil War of the United States — John Stuart Mill — John Shaqi
Original Photographs Taken on the Battlefields during the Civil War of the United States
John Stuart Mill · en
IN the conflicts within the lifetime of men now living, more than three
billions of dollars sterling have been thrown into the cannon's mouth,
and nearly five millions of human lives have fallen martyrs to the
battlefield. In the United States of America, a government founded on
the Brotherhood of Man, the greatest expenditure since the beginning of
the Republic has been for bloodshed, over six billions for War, nearly
two billions for navy, and about three and one-half billions for
pensions--more than eleven billions out of a total of something over
nineteen billions of dollars. In the last half century the population of
the world has doubled; its indebtedness, chiefly for war purposes, has
quadrupled. It was but eight billions fifty years ago; it is thirty-two
billions today.
America has never been a war-seeking nation. Its one desire has been to
"live and let live." When once aroused, however, it is the greatest
fighting force on the face of the globe. It is in this peace-loving land
that civilization witnessed the most terrible and heart-rending struggle
that ever befell men of the same blood. "Men speaking the same language,
living for eighty-four years under the same flag, stood as enemies in
deadly combat. Brother fighting against brother; father against son;
mothers praying for their boys--one in the uniform of blue, and the
other wearing the gray; and churches of the same faith appealing to God,
each for the other's overthrow."
There were 2,841,906 men and boys sworn into the defence of their
country during the Civil War in the United States. The extreme youth of
these patriots is one of the most remarkable records in the annals of
the world's warfare. The average age of the soldier in the army and navy
was about nineteen years. Some of them followed the marching armies on
the impulse of the moment; most of them were enlisted with the consent
of their parents or guardians. Thousands of them never returned home;
thousands more came back to the pursuits of Peace and have contributed
for nearly a half century to the Good Citizenship of the Republic. Today
they are gray-haired patriarchs. One by one they are stepping from the
ranks to answer the call to the Greater Army from which no soldier has
ever returned. This record has been compiled for this volume from an
authoritative source. The men who re-enlisted are counted twice as there
is no practical way to estimate the number of individual persons:
682,117 were over 21 years of age;
1,159,789 were 21 years old and under;
1,151,438 were 18 years old and under;
844,891 were 17 years old and under;
231,051 were 16 years old and under;
104,987 were 15 years old and under;
1,523 were 14 years old and under;
300 were 13 years old and under;
278 were 12 years old and under.