For all historians are agreed that there never was a war in which there was so much destruction of wares, and instruments for making them as in this civil war." "I am rather surprised at that," said I.
"Are you?
I don't see why," said Hammond.
"Why," I said, "because the party of order would surely look upon the wealth as their own property, no share of which, if they could help it, should go to their slaves, supposing they conquered.

And on the other hand, it was just for the possession of that wealth that 'the rebels' were fighting, and I should have thought, especially when they saw that they were winning, that they would have been careful to destroy as little as possible of what was so soon to be their own." "It was as I have told you, however," said he.

"The party of order, when they recovered from their first cowardice of surprise--or, if you please, when they fairly saw that, whatever happened, they would be ruined, fought with great bitterness, and cared little what they did, so long as they injured the enemies who had destroyed the sweets of life for them.
As to 'the rebels,' I have told you that the outbreak of actual war made them careless of trying to save the wretched scraps of wealth that they had.

It was a common saying amongst them, Let the country be cleared of everything except valiant living men, rather than that we fall into slavery again!" He sat silently thinking a little while, and then said: "When the conflict was once really begun, it was seen how little of any value there was in the old world of slavery and inequality.

Don't you see what it means?
In the times which you are thinking of, and of which you seem to know so much, there was no hope; nothing but the dull jog of the mill-horse under compulsion of collar and whip; but in that fighting- time that followed, all was hope: 'the rebels' at least felt themselves strong enough to build up the world again from its dry bones,--and they did it, too!" said the old man, his eyes glittering under his beetling brows.