May 22 and 23, 1865. |
[582]
Virginia and North Carolina, the soldiers of the great armies that confronted Lee and Johnston, and achieved a victory over them, were marched to the vicinity of the National Capital, and there, during two memorable days,
they moved through that city, with tens of thousands of moistened eyes gazing upon them, and passed in review before the Chief Magistrate of the nation and his Ministers.
It was a spectacle such as human vision had never seen.
Then began the work of disbanding the armies, by mustering out of service officers and men; and on the 2d of June, the General-in-Chief issued an address to them, saying:--
“Soldiers of the Armies of the United States: By your patriotic devotion to your country in the hour of danger and alarm, your magnificent fighting, bravery and endurance, you have maintained the supremacy of the Union, and the Constitution, overthrown all armed opposition to the enforcement of the laws and of the proclamation forever abolishing slavery — the cause and pretext of the Rebellion — and opened the way to the rightful authorities to restore order, and inaugurate peace on a permanent and enduring basis on every foot of American soil.
Your marches, sieges, and battles, in distance, duration, resolution, and brilliancy of results, dims the luster of the world's past military achievements, and will be the patriot's precedent in defense of liberty and right, in all time to come.
In obedience to your ”
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