A SERIES OF PAPERS READ BEFORE THE MIN- ORDER OF THE LOYAL LEGION_OF ST. PAUL, MINN.: ST. PAUL BOOK AND STATIONERY COMPANY. 1887. PREFACE. THOSE who were in the cradle when the republic was struggling to preserve its life are now voters and active workers in every department which develops the resources of the nation. That which seems an old story to the soldiers who fought for the preservation of the Union to them is fresh and full of interest. Children naturally desire to know something of the fields where their fathers were killed or wounded, and of the causes which brought on so terrible a conflict. The papers which form this volume were read at the monthly meetings of the Minnesota Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. They are not elaborate essays, but glimpses from different points of what is known as the Slaveholders' Rebellion. They are published in the hope that the later generations who read them will be impressed with the great sacrifices necessary to prevent the division of the grand republic into petty and jangling States, and be ready to teach all under their influence that the path to prosperity is to maintain the UNION FOREVER. |