The
labor system of the country was destroyed; commerce was dead. Many had
not seed to plant their lands. The workshop, the manufactory, the
shipyard were silent as the grave. The arts of peace seemed to have
perished. The soldiers were disbanded without the means of reaching
their homes, and the few survivors of those who went forth with bright
hopes, proud and confident in their strength, returned one by one weary
and footsore and disheartened.
The history of other nations would have suggested to the historian that
the result must be open riots and secret assassinations, a reign of
violence and terror, years of turbulence and lawlessness, before society
would settle down to its former condition. But how different was the
result. The parole upon which the soldier was released was in no
instance violated. The situation was accepted without a murmur or
complaint. The laws were obeyed. The terms imposed were acceded to. Soon
the busy hum of industry was heard through the land. The arts of peace
were revived. Agriculture and trade once again flourished, and our fair
country began to bloom again into something like its old-time beauty and
prosperity.
There were few Southern soldiers who returned to a greater desolation
than did our late associate, Gen.
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