Our enemies.
The indiscriminate application of the term
Yankees to our enemies in the field does not convey an accurate idea of the elements of power which are combined against us. In a mere war of sections — that is, a war between the
Yankees proper and the
Southern States--not even Yankees themselves could have expected triumph.
But this is not such a war. It is a war between the Southern Confederacy and the
United States, the latter having all the wealth and all the military and civil organizations of the old government on its side, with immense armies, composed of all nations, and of which the
Yankees proper constitute only a small proportion.
Of its native troops, the best are the mixed races of the
West and renegade Kentuckian and Missourian.
Even in the navy, its most successful officer is
Farragut, a Tennessean.
A large number of its officers, in both the land and sea service, are natives of Southern States.
Nor is it accurate to designate all the people of the
Middle States even as Yankees.
It may suit the
Yankees proper very well to have all their elements of strength classed as
Yankee, but it is not the truth.
As a general thing, they have staid at home during the war, making money out of battles which they do not fight, and gaining a great reputation for prowess besides, by the designation of
Yankee, which is uniformly applied to United States armies.
It may be convenient to give our enemies a name which condenses in one word all that is hateful; but the worst of them are the least injured by its application.
We are helping Jonathan to go down to posterity as a great heroic character.
He has had little to do with this war except hiring other men to fight his battles and obtain for him money and reputation.
