aass_j£2^^ 
 
 Book X ^^ 
 
■£7-2. 
 
 VOICE FROM BUNRER-HILL, 
 
 AND THF. 
 
 IN FAVOR OP 
 
 Th® Hoir® ®f Nmth ®©m(ffl, 
 
 BEING 
 
 A FEW CANDID REMARKS AND OBSERVATIONS ON 
 
 THE APPROACHING PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, 
 
 AND SUBJECTS CONNECTED THEREWITH. 
 
 Agreeably to the request of Whig and Democratic Friends. 
 
 By EDMUND P. DANA, 
 
 A Chip of the old Revolutionary Stock. 
 
 Second Edition. 
 
 [Copy Right Secured.] 
 
 BUNKER-HILL, JULV 1810. 
 

 ij:- / '^ 
 
 9^W 
 
 
A VOICE FROM BUNKER-HILL. 
 
 At the suggestion of many friends, in both the great politiciil par- 
 ties, and with a deep sense of the importance of the undertaking, 1 
 have concluded to attempt in a very feeble and crude manner, giving- 
 to the public the result of my experience and observation in reference 
 to the great subject that at this time engrosses public attention. 
 
 1 frankly confess my inability properly to pursue so high and im- 
 portant a subject, and probably shall be found deficient in many 
 points, in placing my views and ideas on paper for public perusal ; 
 nevertheless, not being entirely without experience in this matter 
 fortified by the strength of native freedom and induce<l by the spirit 
 of American liberty, I enter upon the task with a firm resolution, 
 in the spirit of truth and candor, divesting myself of all party bins, 
 to present the case fairly before the people. 
 
 If I were a believer in dreams, visions or the visitations of the de- 
 ceased to their friends, in this world, I might relate some experience 
 in these things, if for no other purpose perhaps for the amusement 
 of the reader, at the strange freaks and waywardness of the human 
 mind. It matters not much in what I am about to attempt, that in 
 the silent watches of the night, I had a very remarkal)le revelation 
 on this subject, apparently a Bunker Hill itself. It appeared to me 
 that near the monument, were a number of people unknown to me, 
 dressed like the old continentallers, and then " in the twinkling of 
 an eye," in white rol)es ; one of the number near me fell at my feet 
 as if lifeless, but still looking on me with a heavenly smiling coniite- 
 uance. One said to nie, this is Thomas, — meaning Thomas Parks, 
 a volunteer in the battle of Bunker Hill. I supposed the person 
 who spoke was my father ; and by their presence I felt compelled to 
 write. Thomas Parks, my uncle, was in the battle of Bunker Hill, 
 and continued through all the revolutionary war. He had ever n 
 particular regard for me, and it appeared to me as if the venerated 
 man, (long since deceased,) was with me on the sacred hill, in his 
 old continental suit ; and in a feeling, friendly manner eiiibruced 
 me. His countenance was lit up with a divine ardor, apparently 
 happy in the prospects of a great political change in the councils of 
 the country, for which he had fought and suffered so much, and al.s» 
 apparently knowing my reflections and indecision about offering any 
 
thing to the public, in a heavenly voice, Baid to nie, " Edmund, me 
 dearly beloved nephew, write ; and if you can publish any lines that 
 will serve to convince the many of this foolish generation of the 
 manifold errors into which they are now plunging, you will be re- 
 warded for all trouble." 
 
 I may be thought credulous, at least, by many for mentioning this 
 to.me remarkable revelation ; and many will perhaps thinkit very idle 
 to insert it here, and it may afford an opportunity for the scribbler 
 of a pensioned press to throw the shafts of ri<licule at my bumble 
 endeavors. But let them have their say,— as every dog will 
 bark, if it v\asa dream, and only adream, even as such it has been 
 the source of much happiness to me, and is in some degree, the 
 cause of my offering these crude remarks to the public. Besides^ 
 there is some reason for ii as well as precedent, even in the Bible it- 
 self, for we read in Joel, 7th chapter, 20th verse, " and it shall come 
 to pass that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh ; your sons and 
 your daughters shall prophecy ; your old men shall dream dream*, 
 and yonr young men shall see visions." 
 
 Actuated, as I have before said, by the foregoing motives, I offer 
 to the public the result of my labors, with the hope that they may 
 add something to strengthen the principles which led our venerated 
 forefathers.-among whom I am proud to mention my uncle Thom- 
 as,-- -to the battle field, mid which should ever guide Freemen, as 
 upon their support of these principles depends the political safety of 
 this country. 
 
 My fellow-countrymen, we want secured to us freedom of speech, 
 freedom of the public press, protection of property and person, the 
 security of our individual rights, and the general promotion of the 
 public good. And to this <nd, we want a President of the People 
 and not a President of a party,— one who reverences our political 
 institutions and those patriots and statesmen who at immense sacri- 
 fice of blood and treasure acquired rights and privileges not enjoyed 
 by any other nation on earth, — one who will not allow himself to be 
 used as the tool of party, to thrust out of office and pay such of the 
 few revolutionary veterans as have l)y wine men been thought ca- 
 pable of filling worthily the offices entrusted to them,— and this too, 
 merely because they did not join in hurraing and electioneering for 
 them, or because they were too old to play the demagogue, make 
 stump speeches, or discharge the new service of public party lec- 
 turers. We want not such a President as this, my friends,— one who 
 fills the places of Power, Trust, and Honor, with " men of straw," 
 mere party-tools, and in some instances, with worthless and con- 
 demned partizans. 1 humbly ask you, my fellow-citizens, if these 
 and such as these, ar« the iiiwn we want to fill the public offices ot 
 
this great nation. Is the appointment of such men as these, — and 
 ihe worst has not been told, — in accordance with the principles of our 
 free government, principles which freemen ought to cherish and in- 
 culcate ? And when they are made in violation of these principles 
 and in derogation of the constitutional rights of other branches of 
 the government, do they not show more of the spirit of despotism 
 than of republicanism ? With many of our former Presidents, par- 
 ticularly Washington, Jefferson, and Madison, the test for a candi- 
 date for office, was, is he honest, is he capable, is he faithful to the 
 Constitution and the great interests of the whole country ? 
 
 But it appears to me that the Executive, for years past, has entire- 
 ly lost sight of the great principles of such patriots as Washington, 
 Jefferson, and those who were in the heat and burthen of the great 
 struggle for independence, and who knew for what and why they 
 were contending against tyranny and despotism. And it is partly for 
 this reason, to bring back the government to the true principles of 
 its origin and institution, to restore energy, strength and durability 
 to its broken, abused and shattered constitution, that I, for one, am 
 in favor of elevating Gen. Harrison to the Presidency. Of him, it 
 may truly be said, that he will follow, in these import'int respects, 
 in •' the footsteps of his illustrious predecessors.^' 
 
 I will not condemn all those who are of the party in power, but 
 such a course of conduct as our rulers have for some time past and 
 are now pursuing, require the candid and serious attention of all re- 
 flecting people ; and of them I would ask, can they lose the oppor- 
 tunity of displacing from power, the Executive which appoints, fos- 
 ters and cherishes such men as the Swartwouts, Prices, or a host of 
 other defaulters and gamblers with the public funds ; can they forgej 
 the thousand and one |)romises of reform in the national expenses, 
 which in lieu of diminishing they have increased from thirteen mil- 
 lions to thirty-seven millions per annum ; can they support a party 
 coming into power with a full treasury, a government free of debt, 
 a country with millions of surplus money on hand, and with public 
 officers, tried, faithful and true, and who have squandered the trea- 
 sure of the nation, left the treasury empty, the country iti debt, ex- 
 penses continually increasing, the people suffering from hard times 
 and low wages i These are questions for freemen to investigate and 
 answer. 
 
 The country was prosperous and haj)py beyond all former exam- 
 ple ; and it is now reduced, degraded, oppressed with debt, and all 
 this too, while our mechanics and laborers are out of omploy, poorly 
 paid and badly paid. I ask nil true-hearted democrats if they can 
 say these things are not so. 
 
 Can any one with half an eye, be so blind of that half as not to 
 
see, and that too without exertion or effort, that in this I am far short 
 of ths wickedness and corruptness of the present administration of 
 our government ; and my good friends among the democrats, ye who 
 are camlid, honest, and worthy, for there are many such, and such I 
 call my friends, I ask you had these things ought to be so ; and if 
 they had not, why do you not join he.»rt and hand, and see if such 
 a state of things cannot be changed '' 
 
 Is it not true, my good friends, that party-spirit and the striving 
 after office, are the bane of this republic; the rock on which we 
 were forewarned we should split by our venerated and pious fore- 
 fathers ? Read the Farewell Address of the great and good Wash- 
 ington, and there you will see the very evils we are now suffering in 
 consequence of this lust of power and striving after office, so plainly 
 pointed out that he who runs may read. If that address had been 
 more of a text book with our public men, had been more adhered 
 to; if Washington's pious examples, the soundness of his virtuous 
 principles ; his entire disregard of self, where his country was con- 
 cerned ; the absence of party influence in all his public acts, and 
 the total absence of any thing like selfishness in the administration 
 of the governmentduring his term of office, our country would not 
 be in the wretched slate it now is in. He always acted for the gen- 
 eral good of the whole country. His doctrine was to do right in all 
 things and trust to the people to support an administration conduc- 
 ted on such principles. Nobly did the people sustain an adminis- 
 tration with such a man at its head. We at once rose to honor and 
 respect with all nations, and through such influences obtained the 
 admiration and best wishes of others, and the highest consiiieration 
 among the nations of the civilized world. 
 
 That the spirit of our institutions, founded and supported by such 
 principles, may be rescued and protected from the arts and intrigues 
 of cunning rogues and selfish partizans ; that love of country may 
 have the ascemlancy over love of office ; that public good may take 
 the place of private emolument; virtue and uprightness in the place 
 of intrigue and duplicity ; that honest, conscientious citizens may 
 take th«* place of designing; worthless, immoral and dishonest par- 
 tizans, I ask your candid an<l strongest aid. 
 
 Hiving been, for more than twenty yours, acquainted with WIL- 
 LIAM HENRY HARRISON, of Ohio, and having a knowledge 
 of his valual)le public services, both civil and military, I feel con- 
 strained to speak candidly and truly of the man whom 1 have every 
 reason to respect as second to no man, in any great and noble attri- 
 bute, that has lived since the days of Gen. Washington. There 
 may be men of greater talents, of more costly and finished educa- 
 tion ; but in every virtue and disposition of a truly great statesman, 
 
a n6ble country-loving officer— an al)le General— a worthy citizen — 
 the poor man's friend the rich man's counsellor— the devoted pa- 
 triot and unostentatious legislator— no man compares with Harrison. 
 I know ho i-i reviled Uy the wicked and vile belonging to the party 
 now in power— that he is called a profane swearer, an adultLrcr, 
 and every other billingsgate slang is used respecting i)iiii that such 
 men dare say and print—but what of that, a good fruit tree is known 
 by the stones thrown against it. Our Lord and Saviour's sermon 
 on the Mount reads, " Blessed are ye wheu men shall revile you and 
 persecute you, and say all manner of evil things against you falsely" 
 " and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward." 
 
 It was •ven so with th it great, good ami able in ui, Thomas Jef- 
 ferson, when he was a candidate for President. I was one of his 
 warmest supporters and rendered every exertion for his election y 
 the suffrages of this great and free people— having been one of the 
 Committee ofVigilance, in the City ofNew York, where I was then 
 residing, and labouring day and night in support of his cause, I had 
 the means of hearing and knowing the many vile and slanderous 
 charges brought against him by the wicked and devil daring minds 
 in the ranks of his opponents— and they weighed with the public in 
 those days, as the charges of like character will weigh against Gen. 
 Harrison. I was then younger and more active than I am now, but 
 I felt my cause to be the ju^t and true one, th;it through the bless- 
 ings of divine providence, justice would prevail, and slanders and 
 vireness would fall to the groun<l and signally recoil on the head of 
 the propagators— and although I have seen some years since then , 
 have had more experience and reflection, and a greaier field for 
 observation— and although I now use less personal exertions I feel 
 confident that by the aid of divine goodness this great and increas- 
 ing nation will shortly rise and put off its present chains of duplicity, 
 weakness, imbecility, demagogueism and partizan spirit, and that it 
 is rising as a mighty horse rushing to the battle, to put at the head 
 of affairs the great, good, and noble William H. Harrison, who will 
 be sure to surround himself with the wise and pure of the land. 
 
 I recommend to any one at this time to turn back to the pages of 
 of the history of our country, as far as Harrison is identified there- 
 with, and with a careful use of such knowledge as he may gather, 
 together with the testimony of many patriotsjnow Jiving, who were 
 his compeers in our second war ot Independence, and from such 
 sources obtain a true exhibition of his character and services. These, 
 and not the revilings and slanders of partizan journals, are the true 
 channels for information . 
 
 My friends, there is not a drop ol unpatriotic blood in Gen. Har- 
 rison's veins ! He was born and educated a true whig, a firm sup- 
 
porter of our institution?'. Hia father, Benjamin Harrison of Vir-' 
 ginia, (who was also its Governor,) was one of the delegates from 
 that State in Congress, when the truly patriotic man, John Hancock 
 of this State, was chosen President of the Continental Con£;ress. — 
 It was him who said, imbibing the spiritof our own patriotic citizen, 
 " Now, my friends, we will show mother Britain how little we care 
 fij her." This speech, in the " time that tried men's souls," showed 
 the stuff be was made of, and also what sort of principles such a 
 friend of freedom's cause would be likely to inculcate in the minds 
 of his children. His labors and self-devotion, his free expenditures 
 of time and fortune, in support of the great cause which he made 
 his own, left his children but little to inherit, save his principles and 
 virtues and the examples and lessons of patriotism be so nobly 
 taught them. William Henry, seeing his necessitous condition, pre- 
 pared to study medicine, and make that his profession, but before 
 finishing his education, the hostilities of the Indians in the North 
 West, induced him to relinquish his stuilies, obey the calls of his 
 country and dedicate himself to her defence, — a course strongly op- 
 posed by his relations and friends, and it was with their strong dis- 
 approbation that be commenced under Gen. Wayne, his course of 
 public usefulness, which has redounded so much to his own honor 
 and to the benetit and glory of bis country. 
 
 From an ensign in the U. S. Artillery he rose to the post of Major 
 General, and for his conduct in this high station, the history of 
 those times abounds with honorable testimony to his high and emi- 
 nent services. Besides these military honors, he has also had con- 
 fered upon him numerous civil appointments of honor and trust, 
 requiring great skill, perseverance and judgment,— such as Govei- 
 nor of Indiana, superintendent of Indian affairs, Member of Con- 
 giess, Governor of the North West Territory, and other stations, 
 from his first entr} into public life to the present time,— all going to 
 show that he is a man who has always possessed the highest confi- 
 dence of his countrymen. Indfcd, as I have before saiil, during an 
 acquaintance of twenty years, living in his immediate neighborhood, 
 and since my leaving the Western country, until his nomination for 
 the Presidency, 1 never beard a syllalde against him ;— not the slight- 
 est word against his high and honorable character was breathed un- 
 til the late and unprincipled demagogues in power, thinking his 
 name and principles were awaking the country to a sense of their 
 gross mimnanagemeni, have seized the weapon they are so familiar 
 with, and are now dedicating their vile prints and viler tongues to 
 all manner of slang, abuse and billingsgate, that such adepts in such 
 means can contrive. 
 
 I, Edmund P. Dana the descendant of a worthy and devoted 
 
band of Revolutionary Patriots take u(>on me to declare, that who- 
 soever siiith GEN. HARRISON is a Coward is a Liar ; whosoev- 
 er snith he is a Blasphemer is a Liar ; whosoever saith he is an 
 Adulterer is a Liar ^ whosoever saith any other thing of him, that 
 is dishonorable to a Man, a Citizen, a Patriot, a Hero, is a Liar. — 
 About the last piece of presumption in the villanous concoctions of 
 their heathenish brains, the papers have lately asserted that he could 
 "cast out Devils." As the expression has been used, I would say 
 that a man who can cast out devils must be powerful and good, well 
 grounded in the faith of his fathers and imbued with a spirit of wis- 
 <lom which has only been in the possession of inspired men. They 
 only had power lo cast our devils, cure diseases, heal the sick, res- 
 tore the blind to sight and the deaf to hearing. Now, if Gen. Har- 
 rison is thus gifted, he above all others, and for this very reason, is 
 the individual now most needeil at the head of our government; for 
 when there, he will have full occasion for the exercise of these great 
 powers, in casting out such devils as have entered into the rule of 
 our affairs. His powerful arm may be used in restoring to health 
 a sick nation, which has long suffered under the ministration of 
 quacks, pretenders and unprincipled partizan* ; He may restore 
 sight and hearing to those who have been blinded to the aggress- 
 ions and misbehavior of avaricious office-holden^, and so deaf to the 
 voice of their own interests and those of their country, as to suffer 
 such misrule while the remedy is in their own bands. However, it 
 can never be said, that he cast out devils by Beeltebub, the prince 
 of devils, for if such was the case, our present administration would 
 have been cast out long before now. 
 
 My friends, I have travelled iimch in this country, having visited 
 most of these United States, particularly the Western States, and 
 have had a great opportunity to see and know the operation of the 
 political measures of the past and present administrations, and have 
 been very particular in my observations of men and parties. I have 
 also suffered much from the machinations and rogueries of those 
 whom I shalldesignate as tories ; and here let me say, that I sepa- 
 rate, in my mind, both whigs and democrats from those whom I call 
 tories. Tories are the worst portion of society, in my view, and 
 are guilty of many of the worst crimes of civilized life. My father 
 and grand father, before me, were cheated and swindled by them. 
 They defrauded my father of his estate, and the widow of her thirds. 
 Of hig property only twelve dollars were left to be divided among 
 seven children. For my portion of this inheritance, I received two 
 
 shirts. The name of one ofthe.se tories was J ,a distant relntion 
 
 of Judas Iscariot, the first tory, who betrayed his master for thirty 
 pieces of silver. To escape from the tories of these limes, my broth- 
 
10 
 
 er and myself went iirdt to the Gennessee country and Canada, in 
 order to acquire a livelihood. Even here also we found many 
 members of that class, quite as bad as those we had left in old Mas- 
 sachusetts. In Canada, I was taken sick with the sniall pox, con- 
 tracted while crossing Lake Ontario. Gov. Sinco of Upper Cana- 
 da, was informed of my disease, and told that I was the son of Geo. 
 Dana, a rebel of the Bay State, who assisted at the taking of Bur- 
 goyne. He ordered me to be carried out of the village nine miles 
 from any inhabitants, and left at a plac« called Johnson's landing, 
 below Fort Niagara, there to live or die, as a rebel might. Here I 
 was found by some British soldiers, who were then in possession of 
 Fort Niagara, one of whom proved to be a good Samaritan to mo« 
 The kindness of this man and his wife relieved my necessities an I 
 preserved my life, l.y the daily risk of their own. These people we.e 
 Irish— & people for whom I have ever since felt high respect and coi ■ 
 sideration. Soon after, in the city of New York, I married a woman 
 of this nation, a relative of Judge Robert Swanton of the Marina 
 Court. 
 
 Some years after this, I met with severe losses fron) other tories, 
 while keeping military clothing stores, in ihe third military district 
 of New York, to which duty I was appointed by the commanding 
 officers, more particularly by Col. Robert Bogardus, who ordered 
 his carpenter t© put up stores for me at the Narrows, Fort Dia- 
 mand, opposite Staten Island, and at Fort Green, Long Island. I 
 had the assurance of the officers on these stations, viz. Col. Bogar- 
 dus, Capt. Sherman, Capt. Radcliff of the 41st. Captain Ingalls, 
 Capt. Crane, Capt. Seymour, Capt Borden, of the 32d, Col. Den- 
 nison of the 27th, and many others, that government would amply 
 reward all my exertions, and they have since aided me in my efforts 
 to obtain from Congress the auiount of my claim. 
 
 At these places, part of my losses were occasioned by desertions 
 of tories, by minors who enlisted without consent of thoir parents, 
 and by the breaking open of my stores at the Norrows, Fort Green, 
 and New York. Supplies to these deserters and others, were de- 
 livered upon the orders of the officers, as they were not to be had 
 at all times, in the Commissaries Department. Twice I have 
 petitioned to Congress for compensation ; and at the last time in 
 1817 the Committee on Clainis found honestly due to ine upwards 
 of four thousand dollars, and .-o rei»ortcd to Congress. In favor of 
 niy claim, I have many recommendations as to my usefulness and 
 faithfulness in ilu: discharge of my duty, and although much o* 
 my documentary evidence was destroyed by a great fire at Cincin- 
 nati, a few years siii.ce, I yet live in hope that a future administra- 
 tion of our government will do m<'ju.stice. 
 
11 
 
 i have not made the reader acquainted with these facts out of any 
 sinister motives, but just to show who it is that addresses them, and 
 that I have had my attention so long and so much ilirecied to public 
 affairs that I have had the opportunity of judging of matters and 
 things connected with the public good of our country. 
 
 As I have already said, when I see the spirit of party prevailing 
 over the spirit of truth and justice, my heart rises within me, and 
 from my residence at Washington in '32, where I have seen many dis- 
 graceful transactions, I feel the more constrained to say something 
 at this time, in the hope that others may be able to realize the true 
 situation of the cause of freedom and liberty in this beautiful land 
 which the ail-wise Providence has so blessed for us. 
 
 An)ong those scenes in our history at which I look with great pain, 
 are the occurrences which have taken place, within a few years, at 
 the seat of our national government and on the floor of Congress, 
 to some of which I have been an eye-witness. It is enough to grieve 
 the heart of every true lover of his country, more particularly one 
 who has suffered in freedom's cause, to think and know that in our 
 national halls, the free representatives of a free people have been 
 threatened with assassination and death, for daring to speak their 
 sentiments ; that on those floors which ought to be sacred as the pul- 
 pit from the hand of violence, members have been deliberately at- 
 tacked and knocked down ; that on the steps of the capitol they 
 have been shot at ; in the streets, beaten and bruised, and other 
 enormities fresh in the recollection of all who pay the least attention 
 to public proceedings. It has got to be serious times, my friends, 
 when no law can rule but club-law ; when our public affairs are set- 
 tled by the bludgeon and the pistol ; and when such conduct as this 
 is tolerated, we ought, we must look for the cause and the remedy. 
 
 Can we forbear recurring to the remarkable prophecy of Benton, 
 of Missouri, which foretold exactly such a state of things, if Gen. 
 Jackson should ever be the President of the country. If all these 
 things do not result from the measures of the present administra- 
 tion, they are perpetuated by its determination " to follow in the foot- 
 steps of its illustrious predecessor." This administration has at its 
 head the very individual who has been the instrument of illustrating 
 oneofthegoverninir principles of the party most signally, for he is the 
 same person whom Gen. Jackson usurped into the office of Minister 
 to England and then called upon the Senate of the United States to 
 sanction'the disgraceful proceeding ; but fortunately the Senate was 
 then composed of men of principle, who rebuked the attempt ar 
 superceding their authority, and were obliged to say, that our flag 
 which hud floated in all quarters of the world, had been dishonored, 
 
12 
 
 nnii that no minion of power should show his triumphs in foreign 
 lands. 
 
 With such a man at its head, what has the country to expect but 
 the continuance of the policy in which he was the cause of such a 
 national disgrace, and which he is bound, hand and foot, soul and 
 body, to adhere to. And my countrymen, is it not time that we 
 should be relieved from such rulers ? Had the spread eagle of free- 
 dom ought to lower his pinions to the spirit of party ? And had not 
 the principles and sentiments, the views and measures of such men 
 as Washington and Jefferson — those who led to honor, prosperity, 
 happmess and unbounded success — ought to be returned to us. If 
 you think so, just be at the trouble of looking at the character of the 
 man who is now nominated to take the head of affairs in opposition 
 to the present misjudging, misguided incumbent. 
 
 Gen. Harrison learned his precepts and his principles from those 
 men, who have done so much for the honor and glory of this great^ 
 country, — and that is the reason why, in every action of his life, he 
 has so signally received the countenance and support of all the good 
 andjgreat men of his times. His adherence to the principles of right 
 and national freedom secured to him the confldence of Madison, the 
 respect of Monroe and the esteem of Adams, and the approval of 
 all the pure and patriotic of our land. No man, since the days of 
 Washington, has come before the American people with such high 
 and unequalled claims upon their suffrages. — a man whose career 
 has always beon the thcMne of praise and whose private virtues have 
 made him more personal friends than any other man now living. 
 Possessingevery quality that ennobles the mind and perfects the heart, 
 he has passed sixty years of his life an honor to his country and an 
 example to the whole land. 
 
 And now that such a man has stepped out to show that by his 
 election our country is not entirely lost to a .«<ense of that true and 
 noble spirit of freedom and uprightness which has been transmitted 
 to us, I have every confidence to believe that the country is awaken- 
 ing from the thraldom and will seize such an occasion to show forth 
 its ap|)reciation of the high and noble qualities of the man who has 
 been an honor to every station in which he has been placed. 
 
 At the age of eighteen he commenced his public services as an en- 
 sign in the hazardous and toilsome campaign under Gen. Wayne, 
 against the Indians ; and at that time the boldness and vigor of his 
 character bore him trium|)hanlly on and won for him the approba- 
 tion of bis superiors. He was soon j)romoted to the rank ol first 
 LiEDTENANT, and then to a Captaincy and placed in command of 
 an important frontier Fort. On the cessation of hostilities, seeing 
 that his Bwrvicss could be dispensed with, he resigned this command 
 
13 
 
 and was immediately appointed Secretary of the North-western 
 Territory, where he so assitnniated himself to the characters and ha- 
 bits of the brave and hardy people with whom he associated, and so 
 discharged his civil duties as to receive the respect and esteem of 
 all. When he was twenty-six years of age he was chosen from the 
 Territory as a Delega'P'E to Congress, where he distinguished him- 
 self by proposing and carrying through those measures regulating 
 the sales of public lands, that have operated with such beneficiiil in- 
 fluences for the pioneers of the West — and to him also is attributa- 
 ble the method for equalizing the location of military lands, and 
 other measures and public acts in that capacity which added immea- 
 surably to the confidence of the growing West, and increasing the 
 respect of ail impartial men. 
 
 After the North Western Territory wasdivided and the Territory 
 of Indiana was formed, the vvishes of all acquainted with his devo- 
 tion to the interests of the West and welfare of the Union, desig- 
 nated Harrison as the Governor, and he was first appointed by 
 President Adams, and afterwards by his successor, Jefferson, to an 
 office in which reposed as much responsibility as any one, under our 
 Government. The Territory then embraced an extent of country 
 out of which several states are now formed, and without any state 
 legislature, the administration of government devolved upon Gen. 
 Harrison with the most extensive powers. Such was the satisfac- 
 tory manner in which he conducted the Government, being in fact 
 for the time the law-giver of the West, establishing their civil and 
 criminal codes, appointing Judges, Magistrates and all the officers 
 of Law. 
 
 He was also the commander of the Militia — the Surveyor of dis- 
 tricts and townships— in fact the full representative of the United 
 States in a vast variety of administrative functions — all of which as 
 I have before said, he discharged with so much approbation, partic- 
 ularly of the administration at which Jefferson was then at thn head, 
 that he further added to his duties and great powers — that of Gene- 
 ral and sole Commissioner to treat with the Indian tribes of the 
 North West, on the subject of their boundaries and lands. In this 
 last capacity he concluded thirteen important treaties with different 
 tribes and secuied on the most advantageous terms over sixty mill- 
 ions of acres of the most valuable section of the countrv. At the 
 same time he preserved peace with the Indians and counteracted 
 the influence of tories and foreigners to excite and embroil them 
 against the scattered settlements of our countrymen on their bor- 
 ders. His was the only hinds through which |)assed the large sums 
 of money then disbwrscil on the Frontier. To hini alone was en- 
 trusted the sole power of conferring grants of land to the numerous 
 claimants. The manner in which he discharged these trusts .shew 
 
14 
 
 his superior integrity and unspotted purity, as not the least cause of 
 reproach, the least shadow of suspicion, the least breath of defama- 
 tion has been cast upon hin). He was by all admitted to be so 
 scrupulously upright, so honorable, so just and so true as to be 
 beyond the reach of suspicion. The whole west were at that time 
 se unanimous in repeated applications for his continuance in office 
 among them, that his commissions were renewed, at successive pe- 
 riods, by Jefferson and Madison; — and to show the people still fur- 
 ther his continued exertions for the welfare of his beloved country, 
 I beg here to direct your attention agai n to the histories of those 
 times, which are full of his noble and disinterested public actions, 
 showing that he has always been considered as the Washington o^ 
 the West, and the Father of the North Western Territory. 
 
 History will shovr how quickly he responded to the call of his 
 country to arms, and on the first breaking out of hostilities he with 
 the small force that could be raised on the moment, as it were, 
 rushed into the field of battle — and also show how justly has been 
 awarded to him the proud title of Hero of Tippecanoe. The vic- 
 tory gained in that battle, was at that time considered vast in its im- 
 portance — indeed the battle-field, Tippecanoe, where Harrison and 
 the militia of Indiana and the volunteers of Kentucky, won imper- 
 ishable honors, has been considered as clasiic ground in the memory 
 of all patriotic hearts and is now regarded as one of the monuments 
 of the West. History also records another instance of the enthu- 
 siasm of the western country in his favor, which was in his appoint- 
 ment as Major-Gineral of the Kentucky militia, and subsequently 
 the appointment to the Command of the whole Noith-western army 
 which svas conferred upon him by the President. At that time it 
 was said that his men would suflTer more and fight better under him 
 than uniler any General in America. This extensive Command — 
 more so than was before entrusted to any General since the Revolu- 
 tion I was placed in his hands by President Madison, whom long 
 and intimate knowledge of him furnished the best possilile means of 
 judging of his trustworthiness and capability — and history furnishes 
 a mess of proof to show the wisdom of this appointment. The toils 
 and hardships he endured ; his deportment to his officers and troops ; 
 his method of securing their obedience,— all are matters of history 
 and ought to be in the minds and memory of all. The measures 
 connected with his command during that period are so fully recorded 
 in the histories of the times and other publications respecting his 
 own life that I must refer my frientls to them in order to a|>preciate 
 the full m.-asure of gratitude due the Hero of the West, who was 
 longer in service than any other general officer of the late war and 
 
15 
 
 was perhaps ofcener in action than any of them and nener sustained 
 a defeat. 
 
 I hope, my friends, that you will all perceive that I have every rea- 
 son for enforcing upon your attention the merits of this truly great 
 man. He is disinterested and of the utmost integrity in pecuniary 
 affairs, — hospitable by habit and by nature ; charitable and generous 
 in the extreme ; always just, moderate, and conciliatory, though 
 firm and considerate in his disposition ; cheerful and affable in his 
 intercourse ; warm in his attachments, yet never violent and vin- 
 dictive in his enmities, — it is the rare union of such qualities that has 
 swayed all about him and secured him more personal friends per- 
 haps than any man now living. His politics, as I have before said, 
 are not those ©f party but the good of the whole union is his aim, 
 m exemplification of which he is only to be chosen as Chief Magis- 
 trate to show the world the blessings of an administration of the 
 man who has not his equal in the country. 
 
 And now I ask every one to come to the question, divested of 
 every thing relating to party — come with the spirit of impartiality 
 and candor to the exammation of the momentous subject now crav- 
 ing your attention. I am willing to accord to Martin Van Buren all 
 that can be justified to bis favor and to have him judged by the same 
 standard as the People's candidate. But I ask you to receive with 
 caution and examine with carefulness the praises of any man who 
 has said of General Jackson, that he was Washington's superior, 
 and of any party that would inculcate the idea that I have heard ad- 
 vanced by men of the party now in rule — " Jackson ciin do no wrong, 
 let him kill all that oppose him for they are opposing right and ought 
 to die." These are sentiments, my friends, hardly tolerated in the 
 most despotic nation, yet they are but a sample of such as have been 
 inculcated by those who wish to build party power to despotic rule 
 and govern this once happy and free people with the rod of terror. 
 If you doubt it, you have but to look aroum! you for evidences as 
 strong as the most distrustful can ask. Our Commerce ruined ; our 
 Manufactories idle ; our Mechanics unemployed ; Produce cheap- 
 ened ; property decaying and families starving,— also to show the 
 beauties of experiments in our government, such as our wisest fore- 
 fathers never dreamed of and such as the country never knew ; — 
 experiments which have so far l)uilt up party at the expense of the 
 people,— a party that is desirous of a standing army, that bane of all 
 countries— a party this moment using their power in Congress to get 
 the whole control of the publis treasury, entirely from the hands of 
 ihe people— a j)arty whose officers are bound to spend a muiety of 
 their time and salaries in electioneering— a party under whose ad- 
 ministration there has been more public defaulters than from the in- 
 dependence of the country to the present time— a party which has 
 
16 
 
 sqiJ.Tndered more public money and lost more by public defaulters, 
 than the whole expenses of former administrations. They came in- 
 to power with forty millions of dollars surplus money in the trea- 
 sury, all of which is gone and now we are in debt more than twenty- 
 five mdlions of dollars. They have received millions of dollars for 
 the public lands, and yet are asking to be continued in office, that 
 they may career still longer the course of perdition — perdition to 
 our liberties, our happiness, our honor, our respectability, to every 
 thing desirable to a freeman and well wisher to our country. I could 
 wish, my friends, that I were possessed with talents corresponding 
 to my inclinations, to show in all its horrors the precipice to which 
 our happy institutions are so fast hastening ; that I could picture in 
 their propercolors the miseries that are threatening us ; that I could 
 convince all the misguided and misinformed of our citizens of the 
 subterfuges, the deep and dark schemes that the evil and designing 
 are using to make slaves of us. Nothing is so frequent as the cry 
 of tory against those who wish a change and relief from the pre- 
 sent public rulers, by those who are the veriest tories in the world 
 and who adopt the principles, measures and conduct of the tories of 
 the revolution. The whigs of those days were proud of their prin- 
 ciples — they were thw true lovers of their country — the true demo- 
 crats, maintaining tho principles ef Washington, Jefferson, Harri^ 
 son and the proiuinent [)atriuts of the country, from its first set- 
 tlement to thisday. A Tory on the contrary, has always been de- 
 signated as the worst being on the face of the earth, guilty of all 
 sorts of crimes, as well as traitors to the country ; some have owned 
 themselves in the pay of Great Britain, enemies to whigs and free- 
 men. I have myself suffered from them in such a manner as always 
 to make me know and remember jhe difference between a tory and 
 a true-hearted American — once they doomed me to a^lingering death 
 — and I think 1 have seen enough of them to be able to tell what a 
 tory is. And 1 am sorry to be obliged to say that among those now 
 in power over us, are some exactly such tories as were despised aud 
 condemned in tho days of our fathers. Their ways are ouch that I 
 have not tho least hesitation in applying the name to them, and fix- 
 ing it upon those who get office only to cheat the ))ubiic, rob the 
 treasury and reward the p;irtizans, however worthless their cha- 
 racter. I say as I have heard others say, call me any thing but a 
 tiny. I wish you all to look at the conduct of those who have l)rought 
 our country to this distressed state, and say whether they have not 
 raised the cry of tories against the true democrats and whigs who 
 wish tln.'ir power to cease, no that their crimes iriight be confounded 
 with ilic noise and uproar they wish to create. 
 
 IU\1 Miy fi'llow-citizens will not be deceived or lulled to sleep. — 
 Awake to the prtscrvution of your tr\ie integrity, look carefully at 
 
17 
 
 the morning of the limes, study with thought and deep reflection 
 j'our interests as Americans, your rights as citizens and your claims 
 as just men and true. Show that you are not so Idinded by parti- 
 zan cry, political humbug, but th«t your patriotic indignation iney 
 be aroused to convince your oppressors that the way of the jtrangres- 
 sor is hard. I care not by what nome you call yourselves — whigs, 
 democrat*, repuclicans, locofocos any thing you choose, only show 
 yourselves Americans, — the descendants of those whom we are 
 proud to remember as fatheas and patriots. Only assert your rights as 
 freemen and there will be an end to all the criminality of those who now 
 ride the high horse of misrule in our blessed union. I can well remember 
 as it were but yesterday, the time that my Father packed his knapsack, 
 tied on his blanket, shouldered his musket, girted on his arms, took each 
 one of his children by the hand and bid us all farewell, with the excla- 
 matioH that he was willingly otfering his services, and if providence so 
 ordered, his life, in support of the most, holy cause of his country. He 
 called upon us to remember for what and why he went to battle and 
 never to lose sight of the cause of freedom for which he was offering 
 himself a military sufferer. His admonitions have never been absent from 
 me, and with them full in my mind, I cannot abstain from throwing be- 
 fore the public in this crude manner, my thoughts and my reasons for ral- 
 lying under the standard of that superior man, that noble citizen, the 
 hero and statesman, WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. And I have such 
 a presentiment of the success of free principles and uprightness over the 
 rule of party-spirit and the sway of tsryism, that I am firmly convinced 
 that this appeal to th« candor of all enquirers after truth and right and 
 justice will be received in the spirit in which it Is written, and that the 
 cause to which I have both reason and inclination for attaching myself, 
 will raise our country from its present degradation to prosperity and hap- 
 piness. 
 
 I wish it to be understood that 1 do not call good democrats tories, as 
 many do. I class them among the whigs, for I hope they are all aiming 
 lor the good of the country — if they are not, I call them lories. Some 
 may be led away by interest, relationship, sinister m«lives or through ig- 
 norance of the truth. Many refuse to read, excepting on one fcide, and 
 are not open to the conviction of truth. But I trust and hope you will 
 read both sides with candor and without prejudice, and finally come in to 
 the aid of the goo J old Hero of North Bend. As things have gone on so 
 badly under the present administration, we can at least try another. — 
 Gen. Harrison will not be a candidate for more than four years, and he 
 cannot do much harm and will most likely do much good in that single 
 term. 
 
 In what I have written, I have given a short outline of some part of 
 my personal history, — this I have deemed necessary to a true understand- 
 ing of the lory character and principle.s, and to show the manner m which 
 
18 
 
 I have been Ueated by them. I might speak further of myself, if it were 
 proper to do so, and might also refer to many friends in various parts of 
 the country, of both political parties, for confirmation of my views and 
 opinicns and for reference. 
 
 It IS my wish to have all friends of the country, by whatever name 
 called, united in one party, and as the wind appears to be fair, let us hoist 
 our sails, under the spread eagle of America, and make a short and quick 
 trip from Bunkei-Hill to North Bend, where the venerable hero and pa- 
 triot lives. Refreshed with his farmer's (are, crackers and cheese, beef, 
 bread and hard cider, we may sail the country round; cheering the peo- 
 ple, encouraging their hopes, exalting their partriotism, and leading them 
 on under a chief" wno never sustained a defeat," until we have fairly 
 placed him in the Presidency of the nation. 
 
 Freemen of Jlmeriea! I have fulfilled to me an irksome but I be- 
 lieve a sacred duty, and I trust you will duly appreciate the motives 
 that prompted me in the undertaking. I wish to see these United 
 States free, happy and prosperous; the American Eagle, bearing 
 her sway and spreading her wings over us as one united happy peo- 
 ple. May our institutions be preserved in all the vigor and energy 
 ot their original formation, and transmitted down to posterity as the 
 richest legacy a sire can bequeath to a son — and may our children 
 and their posterity continue to leave their offspring for generations 
 yet to come, as UeQ and happy as our fathers left us; that they may 
 set "under their own vine and fig-tree" and enjoy the blessings o' 
 Providence under a Constitution, governed by good laws is the most 
 fervent wish of my heart. And may these United States be based 
 upon fouudations of eternal liberty and virtue, never to be shaken 
 by designing partizans. but remain firm as the rock of ages— a mon- 
 ument of Freedom to all mankind. 
 
 E. P. DANA. 
 Bunker-Hill, 
 Charlestown, July 4, 1840. 
 [First edition.] 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 From Hon. Daniel fVebster. 
 
 Washington, June 11th, 1840. 
 
 Dear Sir — Your letter of the first of this month was duly 
 received, and if I were not kept at my post by the pendeiicy 
 ot particular public measures of great importance, I would 
 cheerfully make a journey, to New-Hampshire, for the sake 
 of meeting the Whigs of my native State, assembled in Con- 
 vention. But it is impossible for me to leave my seat at 
 this time, consistently with duty. Although I cannot be with 
 you, my dear sir, you will have my earnest and sincere fel- 
 low feeling, and good wishes. 
 
 The moment is propitious, and I hope it will be well im- 
 proved, for an appeal to the good sense and patriotism of the 
 people of our Slate. They have the same interests as their 
 neighbors, and the same necessity for good laws and wise ad- 
 ministration. And the causes which have created such an agita- 
 tion all over the country, cannot but have awakened their at- 
 tention also. A Revolution is in progress, which sooner or later 
 must and will reach lliem, and the sooner the better. I believe 
 that the election in November will show the greatest change 
 of public opinion, ever manifested in the United States. Noth- 
 ing is likely to check the current of that opinion, now running 
 so strongly and swelling so fast: because nothing will be done 
 here, to remove the evils under which the country suffers, 
 which have set it in motion. The first step taken by this 
 administration was a decided and fatal one. The President, 
 in his first message to Congress, in September, 1837, an- 
 nounced his policy to be, to provide a medium for the payment 
 of taxes and debts to Government, but to take no measures for 
 the maintenance of a sound currency among the People. His 
 policy was wholly new. Down to the very last hour of his ad- 
 ministration, General Jackson acknowledged it to be the solemn 
 duty of the General Government, to take care of the currency 
 of the country, and to maintain it in a sound and convenient 
 state for the whole people. He insisted that he had fully 
 performed that duty, and that he had furnished to the country 
 a good system. These things were among the very last of 
 his official acts and official sayings. l?ut soon after his own 
 hand was withdrawn from it, his system failed, totally failed. 
 The currency of the country was thrown into confusion; and 
 then it was, that the successor of General Jackson renounced, 
 
20 
 
 altogether, what he had thought a solemn duty of the Govern- 
 ment, and avowed the strange policy of providing (or Govern- 
 ment, and of letting the People provide for themselves. I 
 heard this declaration with astonishment; and what 1 then 
 thought of it, and what I thought it would then lead to, may 
 be seen by reference to my remarks made on the subject 
 at that session. I have called this a strange policy. It was a 
 rash dereliction of duty, a sort of headstrong refusal to exe- 
 cute plain constitutional obligations. It was a bold throw- 
 ing off of duty, from consciousness of the difficulty of discharg- 
 ing it, without recanting former opinions. The administra- 
 tion cannot retrace this extraordinary, this fatal step; and its 
 consequences on the country are not consequences for a 
 month only, or for a year. They will last, and must last, as 
 long as the policy itself is persisted in. It is for these rea- 
 sons that I believe that nothing but a change of administra- 
 tion, a change of men, will restore to the country its accus- 
 tomed prosperity. The men at present in power cannot change 
 its measures ; and those measures cannot bring us relief 
 
 The friends of the administration expect the public excite- 
 ment to pass away ; but this is vain hope. They'look for re- 
 laxation of efforts among their opponents, and reaction among 
 the people. But what is to allay the existing excitement, or 
 what is to cause reaction? Is the currency of the country 
 in the course of being bettered? Are the Southern and Western 
 banks about to resume specie payments ? Depend upon it, 
 there will never be continued and regular specie payments, by 
 all the banks, through all the States, until the Government 
 takes the care of the currency into its own hand. Are prices 
 rising? Is produce higher? Is exchange more favorable? 
 Are the farmers, the graziers, and the woolgrowers getting 
 rich again? Do the hat makers, slioe makers, carriage makers, 
 the furniture makers, and other mechanics of New Eng- 
 land, begin to collect their Southern andVVestorn debts ? Do 
 they begin to get in their old dues, and to receive fresh or- 
 ders ? Unfortunately, in all these respects the country is in 
 just as bad a condition as it has been. And the first thing to 
 change this condition, for the better, will be a general belief, 
 that there is to be a change of administration, and nothing else, 
 for a change of measures. They expect relief from no other 
 quarter. All that k-eeiJS things now, from growing still worse, 
 is the hope that a change of administration is approaching. If 
 the country were to hear this day of the death of Gen. Har- 
 rison, or of any other event greatly increasing the probability 
 that the present course of measures would be continued for 
 another four years, the instantaneous ctfect would be, a still 
 farther depression of business, farther fall in prices, and farther 
 discouragement to labor. There is no confidence among men 
 
21 
 
 business in the country. This is what is needed. Men wish to 
 see a ground for hope of better times. Gen. Harrison's elec- 
 tion will bring this confidence, and this hope of better times. 
 It will inspire disheartened industry with new life, ;ind light 
 up a smile of cheerfulness on the desponding face of labor. 
 And his election is certain, in my opinion, if an all wise Provi- 
 dence shall spare his life. The excitement, therefore, which 
 now moves the great mass of the People of the country, will 
 not cease, since the cause is permanent ; nor will reaction 
 take place among the people, nor will there, I trust, be any re- 
 laxation, not the least, of efforts of the friends of reform. 
 When a new administration shall come into power, and a new 
 Congress, and when both shall manifest a hearty disposition to 
 abandon schemes, projects and senseless experiments, and to 
 conduct the Government on well approved principles of public 
 policy, then, and not till then, will excitement cease or efforts 
 be relaxed. Till then, the movement is steady, onward, with 
 unceasing speed and force. 
 
 Although I do not doubt that Gen. Harrison will be elected, 
 by a very large majority, it would be peculiarly gratifying to 
 me, I confess, if I might indulge the hope, that New H.\mp- 
 sHiRE would be found among his supporters ; that not ashamed 
 of the name in which their lathers gloried, her citizens would 
 join the great body of their fellow countrymen, now in full and 
 sujjcessful march towards the accomplishment of objects of the 
 ^hfgh&st importance to the general prosperity. Would that I 
 could'^see the flag of my native State waiving in its proper place, 
 at the head of this long National procession ! Would that 
 I could hear her name called first, and hear her answer 
 promptly to the call ! as it was her proud preeminence in olden 
 times, to be called first on the roll of the States, and her answers 
 were ever affirmative and prompt for whatever of sacrifice or 
 of effort the common cause required. But however this may 
 be, and whether I may enjoy the good fwtune or not, 1 have 
 great pleasure in seeing that, at least, the Whigs of my native 
 State are coming into line with alacrity and spirii. VVhether 
 successful or unsuccessful at home, they will be acknowledged 
 by their fellow countrymen as patriotic and well deserving. But 
 who shall say that they will be unsuccessful? No doubt there 
 arc difficulties and obstacles before them. There is ignorance 
 to be enlightened in some cases, and prejudices to be over- 
 come in many more. But their brethren of the State are honest, 
 well meaning, and cannot desire bad government. They aic 
 enchained by the spirit of party, and the spii-it of party, it is 
 true, is strong ; but, it is not always unconquerable. Some- 
 times it yields to candid conviction, sometimes to woful expe- 
 rience, sometimes to new light and better knowledge. Let us 
 hope that our native State, not accustomed, of old times, to be 
 
22 
 
 found lagging in the cause of our country, will now see 
 the path of patriotism and duty, broad and plain before her, 
 and be ready to follow if. For my part, 1 thall continue to love 
 her white topped hills, her clear mnning streams, her beau- 
 tilul lijkes and her deep shady forests, as long as I live, what- 
 ever part she may act in public atfairs. I find myself arrived 
 at a pei'iod of life when these scenes begin to return, bring- 
 ing with them the fresh remembrance of juvenile years. I 
 shall not renounce my parent, nor be ashamed of her, however 
 long she may continue in what I think political errors. Still, I 
 cannot deny that I have great pleasure in the hope, that an 
 hour is coming, when 1 may be united in sentiment with the 
 majority of her people, on (he great questions which affect the 
 interest of our common country. She may be slow to giv<5 
 up particular partialities, or particular opinions; but give 
 them up she must, and give them up she will: and she will be 
 as slow to give them back again. 
 
 The last time I ever «aw Gen. Stark, he was at a public 
 house at GofTstown. Towards the close of the evening, it was 
 proposed that the company should go home, Ke said, "^^ot 
 yet. It is my fashion, when I come late, to make it up by stay- 
 ing." P(rba[)s this may be the fashion of the State. 1 trust 
 it is. Allow me, therefore to conclude this letter by express- 
 ing the hope, that if New Hampshire come rather late into 
 the Log Cabin, she will stay when she does come. 
 I am, dear sir. 
 
 With much personal regard. 
 
 Your friend and ob't serv't. 
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 A SOLDIER'S TESTIMONY. 
 The admiration which one brave man and good soldier can- 
 not help feeling for^another, is well dis[)layed in the following 
 correspondence, to which we invite the attention of c-ur read- 
 ers: 
 
 Ml) dear General: » 
 
 I add less you with the frankness, which one old friend may 
 use toward another. My object is to learn what you think of the 
 recent attacks on the military character of Gen. Harrison. - 
 1 believe you were in the Army in the West, in the campaign 
 of Tippecanoe; although I do not remember that you served 
 wi'h liiin after the declaration of war against England — but 
 as a u)i!itary man, forming yourjudgement impartially, and when 
 the facts were recent, your opinion would be of great value. 
 If there be any blot on liis military fame, it ought to be known; 
 if there be not, you will feel that an old soldier ought not to bo 
 unjustly and rudely attacked. 
 
 LcrfC. 
 
23 
 
 Gen. Harrison is before the country for the Presidency. 1 
 do not know that we shall elect him, but I can say, in your own 
 language, my dear General, that 'we'll try.' 
 
 Yours with unceasing regard. 
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 Gen. James Miller 
 
 Salem, June 30, 1840. 
 
 My dear Sir: 
 
 1 have the honor to have received your letter of yesterday, 
 requesting me to stale what I think of the recent attacks on the 
 military character of Gen. Harrison. In answer I can truly 
 say, that I have noticed with deep regret attacks, not only on 
 l)is well earned military fame, but also upon his private char- 
 acter. My first acquaintance with Gen. Harrison was in the 
 year 1811. I was on duly iq the 4th Regiment of Infantry, 
 then commanded by Col. John P. Boyd— afterwards Gen. 
 Boyd— under orders to proceed to Vincenufs, and there report 
 to Gov. Harrison. We did so. V^ e remained at Vincennes 
 some days, and united ourselves with the Volunteers assem- 
 bled tliere, devoting our limited time to purposes of organization 
 and drill. \Ve then took up the line of march for the Indian 
 country, and proceeded by slow and cautious marches, until 
 we had reached about seventy miles up the Wabash toward 
 Tippecanoe; where we halied and threw up a stockade work, 
 which we called Fort Harrison. Here I remained until the Army 
 returned from Tippecanoe, after the battle. 
 
 Although I was not in the battle, still I took great interest 
 in it; had much conversation with all the officers on their re- 
 turn; and made every enquiry I could think of respecting 
 their movements and encampments, the attack and defence, 
 and the operations of the battle throughout; — and 1 made up 
 my mind, unhesitatingly, that the campaign had been conduct- 
 ed with great bravery, skill and judgment, and that nothing was 
 left undone, that could be done, consistently with the General's 
 express orders from the War Department, which I saw and 
 read. Nor have I ever known or heard of any act ol" his, which 
 has in the least degree, altered the opinion ! then formed of 
 him. I will add that if I ever had any military skill, I am more 
 indebted for it to Gen. Harrison, than to any other man. Soon 
 after the battle, I wrote a letter to Gen. Benjamin Pierce, 
 late Governor of New Hampshire — my military father, a.s I 
 call him — giving a detailed account of the campaign of Tippe- 
 canoe, —That letter was preserved by Gen. P. and might now 
 probably be found among his papers. If it is in existence, it 
 will show what were my opinions at that time, as would also 
 several other letters then written by me to various friends. In 
 
24 
 
 those days I never heard that Gen. Harrison was a coward, or 
 wore petticoats. 
 
 To conclude, I freely expi-ess my opinion, after following 
 him through all his civil and military career, after living with 
 him in his family more than six months, that Gen. William 
 Henry Harrison is as free from stain or blemish, as it falls to 
 the lot of man to be. 
 
 I am, dear Sir, 
 
 Your old Friend, 
 
 JAMES MILLER. 
 Hon. Daniel Webster, 
 
 GENERAL HARRISON. 
 
 V/iLLiAM H. Harrison was horn in Virginia on the 9th of February 
 1773. 
 
 In 1791, when nineteen ^ears of age, he was appointed by Wasiiiiigton 
 an Ensign in our infant army. 
 
 In 1792, lie was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, and in 1793 joined 
 the legion under Gen. Wayne, and in a lew days thereafter, was selected by 
 him as one of lii'j \di. 
 
 On the 4th ,of August, 179 4, he distinguished himself in the battle of 
 the Miami and elicited the most flattering written approbation of Gen. Wayne. 
 
 In 1795 he was made a Captain, and was placed in command of Fort 
 VVashinuton. 
 
 In 1797, he was appointed by President Adams Secretary of the North 
 Western Territory, and ex otlicio Lieutenant Governor. 
 
 In 1798, he was chosen a delegate to Congress. 
 
 In 1801 he was appointed Governor of Indiana, and in the same year 
 President Jefferson appointed him sole Comtnissioner for treating with 
 the Indian?. 
 
 In 1806, he was re-appointed Governor of Indiana by ]Madi.--on. 
 
 On the 7th of November, 181 1 , he^gained the great victory of 'J'ippecanoe! 
 
 On the 11th September, 1812, he was appointed by Madison Connnander- 
 in-Chief of the North Western .Army. 
 
 On the 1st May, IS! 3, the Siege of Fort Meigs commenced — lasted five 
 days and was terminated by the brilliant and successful sortie of Gen. Harri- 
 son. 
 
 Oil the 3l8t July, the battle of Fort Stephenson occurred. 
 
 On the .5lh of October, 1813, he gained the splendid victory of the Thames 
 over the Hritish and Indians under Proctor. 
 
 In 1814 ho was appointed by Madison one of the Commissioneis to .treat 
 with the Indians, and m the same year with his collea;.ues. Governor 
 Shelby and General Cass, concluded the celebrated treaty of Greenville. 
 
 In 181.'), Iw! was igain' appointed such Commissioner, with Gen. Mc.Arthur 
 and Mr. tjlrahum, and negocialed a tioaty at Detroit. 
 
 In 1816, he was elected a member of Congreso. In January, 1818, he 
 introduced a r*<solution in honor of Kosciusko, and supported it in one 
 of the most feeling, classic 1 1 and eloiiuent speeches over delivered in the 
 House of Rcpre.>iOntativt^s. 
 
 In 1S19, he vas elected a member of the Ohio Senate. 
 
 In 1824, he was elected Senator in Congress, nni was appointed, in 1825. 
 Chairman of the Military Committee , in place of Gen. Jackson who had re- 
 si;5n(Hl. 
 
 Ill 1827, he was appointed Minister to Columbia and in 1829 wrote his 
 iinmorlal letter to Bolivar, the deliverer of South America. 
 
25 
 
 Of him, Col. Johnson (Vice President) thus spoke in the House of Repre- 
 sentatives', whilst a member of that body. , ., 1-. „r .!,« 
 
 "Of the Career of General Harrison I need not speak-the history of Ihe 
 west is his history. And for forty years he has been identified with Us in- 
 trre' s us perils and its hopes. Universally beloved m ihe walks of peace, 
 and distinauished by his ability in the councils of his counuy, he has been 
 yet mo e Tilustriousiy distinguished in the field. Dunng the late war he vvas 
 L^er in actual service than any other general othcer; he was, perhaps 
 oftener in action than any one of them, and never sustained a defeat 
 
 Such is the man, who still enjoying his untarnished (ame and glory, and 
 standiD- on a proud and lofty eminence, where neither malice nor envy can 
 assail him, is now summoned by his grateful counlrymcn to leave the quiet 
 walks of private life to guide the councils of the nation, "and deliver he 
 country from the dangers which enc9mpass it." And he will be her de- 
 liver er. 
 
 NOTE. 
 
 The author embraces this opportunity to give notice to the subscribers for 
 his Geography and Map of North and South America, that owing to circum- 
 stances beyond his control, the work has been delayed to the present lime, 
 and will probably be relinquished, unless he should receive assistance in the 
 
 North. , , /^ . c u «r . 
 
 He will dispose of t*ie copy-right of his published Geography ol the West- 
 ern country, and also of the manuscripts of his proposed new work, (embracing 
 his travels in the U. S. for the last forty years,) on favorable terms. 
 
 v.. V. DANA. 
 
 Charlkstown, July 4, 1840. 
 
Expenses nf the Government from Gen, 
 Washington's administration to that 
 
 ofJVIr. Van Buren, inclusive. 
 Gen. Washington s 8 years ?pl5,892,l93 55 
 
 Average for each year 1,986,524 82 
 
 Mr. Jo!m Adams 4 years 2l,4o0,3.}l 19 
 
 Average for each year 5,362,r)87 79 
 
 Mr. Jetferson's 8 years 41,300,788 68 
 
 Average for each year 5,162,589 58 
 
 Mr. Madison's 8 yearg ' 144,684,938 86 
 
 Average for each year 18,085,6! 7 48 
 
 Mr. Monroe 3 8 years 104,463,400 59 
 
 Average for each year 13,057,925 07 
 
 Mr. J.a Adams's 4 years 50,501,914 31 
 
 Average for each year 12,625,478 58 
 
 Gen. Jacksons's 8 years 145,792,735 00 
 
 Average for each year 18,224,091 88 
 
 Mr. Van BiJren's 3 years 111,406,953 00 
 
 Average for each year 37,135,654 33 
 
 Average Expense to each individual, 
 under the several administrations: — 
 
 Average 
 
 tax on each 
 
 Average popu- person per 
 
 In Gen. Washington's lotion. year. 
 
 8 years 4,205,045 47 
 
 Fn Mr. Adams's 4 years 5,029,899 $106 
 
 In .Mr. Jefferson's 8 years 6,099,227 106 
 
 In Mr. -Madison's 8 years 7,753,076 2 33 
 
 In -Mr. Monroe's 8 years 9,6:]S,I31 136 
 
 ' .Mr. J Q. Adams's 4 y'rs. 11,569,093 1 99 
 
 In Gen JacUson's 8 years 13,785,125 1 32 
 
 In Mr. Van Buren's 3 y'rs 15,757,020 2 36 
 
 LBAgr>5