Book Description

Excerpt from The History of the Fighting Fourteenth: Published in Commemoration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Muster of the Regiment Into the United States Service, May 23, 1861 Time and Death, which take away so many things, do not, after all, strike a hard or an unjust bargain. For if they demand bitter sacrifices, they return gifts worth having; if they claim the best, it is for the reason that they will return something better than the best. And Time and Death, who have taken, and are taking, one by one, the war-worn veterans of the Fourteenth, have given to the regiment in return the heritage of a glorious tradition - something higher than mere comfort or worldly success, some thing better than riches or fame, something far dearer than life itself Dearer than life, because it is made up of the essence of the better part of the lives of those who have gone before. With this tradition to look up to and live up to - with this past behind them - who can doubt the future of the Fourteenth? War is always a thing to be deplored; and yet, somehow, war comes. And should it come again the Fourteenth Regiment will not be found among the laggards or the stay-at-homes. For the men who compose it to-day but await the opportunity which presented itself to their sires to show that the spirit of the regiment has endowed them with its supreme gift, a devoted patriotism. This is not said in any jingoistic or boastful spirit; but no man in the ranks today, looking on the past of this organization, would feel himself worthy of a place in the regiment if that past did not inspire him with a patriotic purpose and thrill him with a high resolve. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.