AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A PENNSYLVANIAN
read medicine with my father, had became the major of one of the regiments. We had heard that Levi P. Knerr, born in Phœnixville, had been a lieutenant in the war with Mexico.
But all of this activity had disappeared for years, Paoli was overrun with mullen and jimson (Jamestown) weeds, and military affairs had fallen into desuetude. Prior to the firing upon Sumter, the North was dull, inert and waiting only. It hoped, even expected, that some way would be found to avoid the difficulty. There had been threats before, but the danger had been postponed if not averted. There had been a Missouri Compromise. Later Daniel Webster, who spoke well enough against Hayne, had lain down and consented to be trampled upon. Something like it might be done again. As a psychological phenomenon, the effect of the firing upon Fort Sumter was most impressive. The torpor disappeared at the instant. No one any longer thought of yielding or compromise. The Union, whether or not, was to be preserved. The rebels, if they resisted, were to be shot. The Copperheads, as those of the North who opposed the war were called, were to be silenced by use of such force as might be necessary, and in the meantime they must fly the flag from the windows and chimney tops of their houses. In their hearts many men resolved that slavery, that vile institution which had brought all of this trouble upon us, should be driven from the earth. Every man began to brace himself and set his teeth. He hunted up and polished the old fowling piece which had been rusting in the garret. The young girls looked through their music books for the “Star Spangled Banner” and “Hail, Columbia!” Red, white and blue neckties were tied around their throats. They sent letters to their lovers in envelopes which displayed the same colors and other patriotic devices. Recruiting stations appeared in the taverns and corner groceries and every young man expected, and was expected, to bear his part in the struggle. The
