regiment of Illinois
men, of which he was made commander, and then entered upon that
military career which at length ranked him among the two or three
greatest soldiers of the age, and finally placed him in the
presidential chair.

To General Grant more than to any man belongs the honour of the triumph
of the Federal armies. But Grant was strong because of the innate
nobleness of the men he commanded, and the magnificent steadfastness of
the people who supported him. That support was given with a liberal
hand. Probably never since the days when the people of Israel stripped
themselves of their jewels to build the tabernacle, did a nation
contribute of their treasures so eagerly and whole-heartedly as the
American nation at this crisis.

Private individuals subscribed vast sums of money, teachers of schools
voluntarily gave up a fixed proportion of their salary, churches and
societies made regular collections, farmers carried their produce into
the camps, and women devoted their skill to nursing the sick and
wounded.

The highest honour that men could claim was to serve in the ranks of
the army; and rich and poor alike shouldered the musket and slept side
by side upon the field of battle.

On one occasion the money which was needed for the pay of a New England
regiment was delayed, and it was feared that the families of the
soldiers, as well as the soldiers themselves, might in consequence be
placed in distress. Elias Howe, the inventor of the sewing-machine,
who was serving as a private in the ranks, stepped forward, pulled out
his cheque-book, and wrote on the spot a cheque for 20,000 pounds,
which he handed to his colonel for the use of his comrades.

The army was composed not only of the strongest, but also of the
noblest men of the nation. Ministers led their congregations into
battle. Teachers gathered their young men together, and went with them
to fight for the country; and among the first of these, James Garfield,
the young principal of the Hiram Institute, marched at the head of a
hundred students of his college, and with their help gained the
earliest victory of the Federal army.

When Fort Sumter fell, Lincoln, as we have seen, appealed at once for
75,000 volunteers. The call, which was read in the various States, was
heard in the Senate of Ohio, of which Garfield was a member. The
moment that the President's message had been read, Garfield rose to his
feet, and moved that Ohio should contrib