The faces of these untried soldiers from New Jersey and Vermont show the
enthusiasm with which men flocked from every state to form an army for the
Union. Nor was that enthusiasm chilled by the long tedious unfamiliar
beating into shape that McClellan was giving them in '61. War's tedious
rudiments had to be learned, but when the time came for fighting, fighting
qualities were not lacking and our citizen soldiers gave an account of
themselves that startled the world. The Green Mountain Boys that first
came to Washington were among the troops that made the first warlike move
from the city to extend the Federal lines into Virginia. It was on these
advanced defences of the Capital that a Green Mountain Boy was found one
night asleep on post. His life was forfeit, but the great heart of Father
Abraham interposed. Lincoln knew the stuff of which these country lads
were made, and this one a few months later on the battlefield nobly laid
down the life he owed to his Commander-in-Chief. Vermont was lavish of her
sons and sent 35,262, nearly 60 per cent. of her male population between
the ages of 18 and 45, to the nation's aid. The State of New Jersey sent
76,814 men, 61.2 per cent. of her military population. The first raw New
Jersey soldiers in Washington were among the troops that occupied
Arlington Heights, one of the advance positions in the defences. About
one-eighth of New Jersey's troops laid down their lives for their country,
while nearly one-fourth of the Vermonters that went to the War never
returned.
[Illustration: THE SIXTH VERMONT AT CAMP GRIFFIN, VIRGINIA