ions; and that they should prove themselves not less
virtuous and useful as citizens than they have been persevering and
victorious as soldiers. What though there should be some envious
individuals who are unwilling to pay the debt the public has
contracted, or to yield the tribute due to merit; yet let such
unworthy treatment produce no invective, or any instance of
intemperate conduct; let it be remembered that the unbiassed voice
of the free citizens of the United States has promised the just
reward, and given the merited applause; let it be known and
remembered that the reputation of the federal armies is established
beyond the reach of malevolence; and let a consciousness of their
achievements and fame still excite the men who composed them to
honorable actions, under the persuasion that the private virtues of
economy, prudence, and industry, will not be less amiable in civil
life than the more splendid qualities of valor, perseverance, and
enterprise, were in the field. Every one may rest assured that
much, very much of the future happiness of the officers and men,
will depend upon the wise and manly conduct which shall be adopted
by them when they are mingled with the great body of the community.
And, although the general has so frequently given it as his
opinion, in the most public and explicit manner, that unless the
principles of the federal government were properly supported, and
the powers of the Union increased, the honor, dignity, and justice
of the nation would be lost for ever; yet he can not help repeating
on this occasion so interesting a sentiment, and leaving it as his
last injunction to every officer and every soldier who may view the
subject in the same serious point of light, to add his best
endeavors to those of his worthy fellow-citizens, toward effecting
these great and valuable purposes, on which our very existence as a
nation so materially depends.

"The commander-in-chief conceives little is now wanting to enable
the soldier to change the military character into that of a
citizen, but that steady and decent tenor of behavior which has
generally distinguished not only the army under his immediate
command, but the different detachments and separate armies, through
the course of the war. From their good sense and prudence h