Col. Douglas' Lecture.

A good audience listened last night to Col. Douglas' lecture on the "Southern Volunteer." He considered the northern and southern soldier together from the beginning of the war to the end, showing the different conditions under which the Confederate enlisted and the unfailing disadvantages under which he fought with his northern adversary.

In numbers equipment, and supplies of all kinds the northern far surpassed the southern army. Nearly the whole of the southern army was American, while one third of the Federals were foreign born. Bounties and high pay aided much in enlisting Union men, while simply love of the "cause" without hope of glory or reward collected the southern troops.

While the northern soldier was aided in material things he was also supported by the thought that his family was far away from harm, sure of aid in case of his death, while the Confederate was battling almost on his own hearth, his family and loved ones daily exposed to the shock of battle and defenceless at his death. The southerner, too, was not fighting for a government, but for his property, slaves and traditional honor.

To the latter causes must be attributed the dash and vigor of his fighting. But this attribute did not exist alone. Nor can one say that the southern volunteer did not possess perseverance and patience under hardship. The long marches, short battles and wonderful retreats showed his abilities in this line in Stonewall Jackson's brilliant campaigns.

The necessity on the northern side for an army so much larger than that of their opponents arose from the fact that the Confederate forces could all be used in campaigning, while being in hostile territory every captured town, every hospital, and every source of supply had to be guarded by Union troops. The speaker thought that the effect of the difference in the ability of the generals pitted against each other was overrated; the enthusiasm and discipline of the army as often decided the battle as the leaders.

In conclusion the Colonel drew a vivid picture of the end. The Union soldier went back to his home his flag floating proudly above him, his uniform honored his native village untouched by the horrors of war. On the other hand the flag and tattered uniforms of the Confederate disappeared forever, and the southern volunteer went back to a devastated country with property lost, his cause disgraced, and nothing left him but weary years of reconstruction and memories of his bloody war.