Only One Volunteer

A paper published at the county-seat of Schoharie county, N. Y., speaks of Peter Borst as the only volunteer from that town in the army.  We hear a great deal about Democrats making up our army, some saying there are 500,000 of that stripe in the service – others, more modest, claim twenty-five to one, two-thirds and a bare majority.  Here is a commentary on these pretensions.  One of the strongest Democratic counties in the State of New York, which can always be counted on by that party, furnishes one man from its county-seat for the army.  Now, we have no desire to underrate the patriotism of Democrats or any other portion of the people; men of all parties and factions have rallied to the help of the Union, and we would cast no reflections on any.  But Democratic papers are continually harping on the number of their party friends in the army, and casting slurs on the patriotism of their political opponents; and Republican papers, anxious for the success of our arms, and having no desire to create party bickering in the army, have allowed these insinuations generally to go unnoticed; knowing that time would show their falsity.  But in order to remind the partisan press that they are not invulnerable to criticism, we submit to their consideration the above item.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, February 17, 1862, p. 2