20-07-2025
- General
- Wall Street Journal
Notable & Quotable: Bull Run
From the last letter of Maj. Sullivan Ballou, 2nd Rhode Island, killed at the First Battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861:
If it is necessary that I should fall on the battle-field for any country, I am ready. I have no misgivings about, or lack of confidence in, the cause in which I am engaged, and my courage does not halt or falter. I know how strongly American civilization now leans upon the triumph of government, and how great a debt we owe to those who went before us through the blood and suffering of the Revolution, and I am willing, perfectly willing to lay down all my joys in this life to help maintain this government, and to pay that debt. . . .
