LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. ('h.'il)hi79( o|»yright No. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST BOOKS BY WILLIAM ELLIOT GRIFFIS. THE ROMANCE OF DISCOVERY: A Thousand Ykars OF Exploration and the Unvkii.inc ok Conti- nents. 305 pages. With five fiiil-])a<;c' I llustialions by Frank T. Merrill. Cloth, gilt top. i2mo. ^1.50. THE ROMANCE OF AMERICAN COLONIZATION : Ilcnv THE Foundation Stones of Ouk History were Laid. 295 pages. With five full-page Illustrations by Frank T. Merrill. Cloth, gill top. 121110. #1.50. THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST: The Story ok American Expansion throucjh Arms and Diplo- macy. 316 pages. With five full-page Illustrations by Frank T. Micrrill. Cloth, gilt top. i2ino. #1.50. THE CONTINENTAL SCLDIER. THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST THE STORY OF AMERICAN EXPANSION THROUGH ARMS AND DIPLOMACY BY WILLIAM ELLIOT GRIFFIS MEMBER OK THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION AUTHOR OK "BRAVE LITTLE HOLLAND, IHE PILGRIMS IN THEIR THREE HOMES, IHE ROMANCE OK DISCOVERY," "THE ROMANCE OK AMERICAN COLONIZATION," ETC. ILLUSTRATED BY FRANK T. MERRILL BOSTON AND CHICAGO W. A. WILDE COMPANY liik^ Copyright, 1899, By W. a. Wilde Company. AJ/ rights reserved. THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. TWO COPIES RECEIVED. ' ^ ef Of ' 8ECO1MD COPY, HBcticateti to MY COMRADES IN THE FORTY-FOURTH PENNSYLVANIA VOLUNTEERS (merchants' REGIMENT OF PHILADELPHIA) WHO HAD AND WHO HAVE FAITH IN GOD AND THEIR COUNTRY PREFACE. When the " Free Quakers " of Philadelphia inscribed on their new meeting-house " Erected in the year of our Lord, 1783, of the Empire 8," they were not "Jingos" or " imperialists," but believers in God and in the growth of the United States of America. Among these Friends, who had drawn sword for their country, were my ancestors and kinsmen. It is not wonderful that their descendant inherits also their view. To-day there are those who read the words "empire" and "expansion" in the same light. They see in the events of the pivotal year of 1898 the Divine hand, and they hear in the new developments fresh calls to duty. On history is based surest prophecy. Those who are most familiar with the story of our country will be best fitted to comprehend intelligently the part they are called upon to play in the future. With emphasis upon the original meaning of the word " conquest," I have in this volume told the story of our national expansion and of the triumphs of American arms and diplomacy from July 4, 1776, when we began to be a corporate nation or empire, until this first year of Greater America. 7 8 PREFACE. Expansion, either of ideas or of territory, is no new thing to Americans. The Northwest Territory, the Lou- isiana Purchase, the acquisitions of Florida, Texas, Ore- gon, California, the Gadsden Purchase, and Alaska were but the preludes to the annexation of Hawaii and of island territory in the Indies, both East and West. The story is one without partisanship. Those who built the Greater America were not Federalists or Whigs, Democrats or Republicans, but patriots. The brave sol- diers who defended the flag in the field, the sailors who bore it in peace or war to the ends of the earth, the diplomatists abroad or the statesmen at home, were of all parties. In forming our national policy they represented no section, but the nation only. To do justice to all the makers of Greater America, of every race and color, has been my aim. If in this work I have given more promi- nence to the navy than the average historical writer, it is because the facts require it. Indeed, it is only now that our people seem waking up to the full importance of our marine and its influence upon the development of the greatest, as it will be, we trust, the best, nation on earth. W. E. G. Ithaca, N.Y., April, 1899. TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGE I. Westward the Course of Empire . . .13 II From Lexington to Stillwater .... 22 III. The Navy in the Revolutionary War . . 31 IV. From Saratoga to Yorktown .... 39 V. The Stars and Stripes in the Mediterranean . 47 VI. From Confederation to Constitution ... 57 VII. The Movement beyond the Alleghanies . . 66 VIII. War with France on the Sea .... 76 IX. Our Navy in the Mediterranean .... 86 X. Doubling the National Domain .... 97 XI. Why a Second War for Freedom was fought . 104 XII. The Naval Campaign of 1812 . . . -113 XIII. Our Flag kept flying on Lakes and Seas . . 120 XIV. '-Old Ironsides'* and Cotton Bales . . . 129 XV. Madison and Monroe 140 XVI. The Seminole and Black Hawk Wars . . 149 XVII. Our Northwestern Empire 162 XVIII. Old "Rough and Ready" in Mexico . . -175 XIX. The Navy and Army at Vera Cruz . . .189 XX. Scott's Advance to the City of Mexico . . 200 XXI The American Sailor in the Far East . .213 9 lO TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXII. Confederates and Federals XXIII. The War for Freedom XXIV. A United Country . . . XXV. American Marines and Sailors in Korea XXVI. Our Expanding Empire on the Pacific XXVII. Our War with Spain .... XXVIII. The American Flag in the Philippines XXIX. Santiago and Porto Rico . XXX. The Greater United States PAGE 221 233 244 251 263 275 284 290 299 ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE The Continental Soldier .... Frontispiece 23 "Why do you do that?" said the President . . .61 The Batde of New Orleans 136 Captain May's Charge at Resaca de la Palma . .170 March to the Sea 241 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. CHAPTER I. WESTWARD THE COURSE OF EMPIRE. DETWEEN the ideas of discovery and conquest L-' there is a close connection, for most nations that have made discoveries proceeded to conquer and subdue the new-found lands. Yet not all nations succeed in planting colonies. The Spanish, French, and Portuguese failed. As Powers, they have passed out of America. The two modern peoples who have best succeeded are the English and the Dutch. These now lead the way with precedents and experience. The people that are now leaving the limits of their continent and enter- ing upon this part of the world's work, in both the Indies, are the Americans. Although their own first home land was only the Atlantic coast strip between the ocean and the Alle- ghanies, yet they have won by discovery, coloniza- tion, arms, or diplomacy the whole region bounded 13 14 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. by the Atlantic and the Pacific and the northern lakes and the Gulf; the vast territory of Alaska, inland and insular; and large possessions in the East and the West Indies. The United States of America have become, in the full sense of the word, a World Power, and, in a double sense, "the great Pacific Power." The expansive movement of human history was first from Mesopotamia to the Mediterranean, then to the Atlantic, then to the Pacific Ocean, and it is still onward. The Far East has become the Near West. There have been many kinds of conquest, some by deliberate plan long before thought out, and again by sudden action on account of necessity. Some were in righteousness ; others in wrong and cruelty. In this book we shall write the romance of American conquest, which began in colonial days. Though at times marked with wrong and injustice, as all human history is, in the main it is a story of honorable acquisition. What is a conqueror, and what is conquest.? One thinks of the word, which sounds so grand in poetry, as in Mrs. Hemans's verse: — " Bring flowers to strew in the conqueror's path, He hath shaken thrones with his stormy wrath ; The turf looked red where he won the day. Bring flowers to strew in the conqueror's way." WESTWARD THE COURSE OF EMPIRE. 15 With conquest we associate the idea of subjuga- tion. Now it is well to look at the meaning of words, and note how they change. Let us see how the term " conqueror " grew into its present shape. Back in the old Roman days the treasurer, com- missary, or quartermaster was called a quaestor. To this day the treasurers in the Dutch churches in Holland and America are called quaestors. Then a con-quoestor, or conquisitor, was a man who searched for, and procured, brought together and collected, money, men, or supplies. In other words, he was a recruiting officer. Out of this old Latin mother-word came ours. So also a "conqueror" in the Middle Ages, even when applied to William of Normandy, did not mean one who unlawfully seized land or possessions or subjugated a nation, but rather one who purchased or acquired territory. In old feudal law "conquest" meant the acquisition of property by other means than by inheritance. In Scotch law " conquest " still refers to property acquired by purchase, or gift, or by marriage contract. American conquest has never meant forcible seizure or cruel treatment. In old days when the Roman armies won victory over their enemies they subjugated them. This means that they put them under the yoke, like beasts of burden. When the people were too many to place a literal yoke on 10 THE ROMAXCE OF COXQUEST. their necks, two spears were set into the ground and to these uprights a third spear was held or tied crosswise. Then all the defeated, men. women, and children, had to bow their heads and pass under in token of submission. In the ancient davs con- quest was often accompanied with cruelty, torture, and mutilation. Thousands were torn from their homes and settled as colonies of prisoners in other lands. One has only to look at the Assyrian sculp- tures to see how captives had their eyes put out or their limbs chopped off. or were driven in chains like wild beasts to hard labor and slaverv. In Rome, war-captives were used as prev for the lions in the arena, or as gladiators who fought and killed each other to amuse the crowd on a holidav. No such story is that of American conquest. First of all. we must have righteousness on our side. " Then conquer we must When our cause it is just," is in our national song. Ours is indeed a brilliant record of conquest through valor and diplomacy, but unaccompanied by the atrocities of ancient or niedi.vval warfare. Furthermore, the American idea of conquest means moral responsibilitv. gifts to the conquered of the best that the conquerors can bestow, the blessings of peace, plenty, equal rights, just laws, education, and such participation in social and political rights as may be possible. tt'ESTJl'.-lA'D r//£ CO('/i:S£ OF EMPIRE. i/ In reality, ours has always boon a discovcrino", a colonizing, and a conquering nation troni the moment of its birth. Our fathers had first to gain their own freedom and then to defend not only their own frontiers, but to send out expeditions beyond, to win their way against hostile Indians, or against other claimants of land which the States considered their own. In reality, we bought our way, paving for what we got. France, Spain, Great Britain, Russia, Mexico, were all given money, or a full equivalent, for what we got from them. The United States also sent out exploring expe- ditions to find new lands, to unveil coast lines, and make the world better known to its inhabitants. Liberia was established in Africa. Commodore Wilkes revealed to the nations an Antarctic conti- nent. Our brave sailors have gone near to the north pole. In many Asiatic and African countries and in the islands of the Pacific, American missionaries and teachers went out in numbers exceeding those of regiments. These, as well as our merchants and mariners, have carried the name and fame of America abroad. Nothing can restrain the pushing ardor of the Anglo-Saxon, who believes that God formed the earth to be inhabited. After the Civil War and consolidation, peace came, a double dutv was put upon the nation of tirst paci- fviuLT and then educatino- the redmen, and of raisina^ 1 8 THE ROMANCE OE COXQL'ESJ'. up the black citizens to the appreciation of their riQ:hts. With all our faults and shortcominos as a nation, we have honestly striven to do this. The spirit of American conquest — using the word in the old meaning — was incarnated in George Washington. He was, in a twofold sense, a surveyor of land and of nations. Washington, the engineer and statesman, educated mainly outdoors and among men, was far-sighted enough to see that on this continent the old Latin ideas were to give way before Anglo-Saxon ideas and institutions. As a true Ens:lishman and Viro^inian, he was olad to o o o lead a company into Pennsylvania and Ohio to dispute the claims of the French, w^hich he believed were not righteously founded. During the Revolutionary War, when Indians became hostile foreigners,. Washington despatched General Sullivan into what was then, 1779, "the Far West " of New York, to assert American claims against the Six Iroquois Nations. During his presi- dency, he sent Generals St. Clair and Wayne to maintain our rights against the British and red- men in the Northwest. He himself personally visited the waterways and roads of western New York and Virginia, paying great attention to the opening and development of the West. He quickly discriminated between Anglo-Saxon ideas, repre- sented by Great Britain, even when her king was WESTWARD THE COURSE OF EMPIRE. 1 9 foolish and hot-hcaclcd and Parliament was wrong, as against the F'rench, who, like the Spanish, Portu- guese, and Italians, represented Latin notions, which were behind the age, and therefore unworkable in the New World. He taught " Citizen Genet " and the world a lesson, while also showing Americans that they must be neither French nor English, but throw off the colonial spirit of dependence and become American. Then, as his latest and best gift to the American people he issued his farewell address, now a classic. In this he pointed out that the interests of Europe or the Mediterranean nations were not ours, and that we had problems of our own. We had noth- ing to do with their scheme of " the balance of power," on wdiich modern European politics are founded. He warned us not to enter into any en- tangling alliances, to avoid and keep out of all schemes of conquest and territorial aggrandize- ment, — at least until both the country and its in- stitutions were thoroughly consolidated and matured. His great idea was to see his country free from polit- ical connection with every other country, indepen- dent of all, and under the influence of none. He was, in the fullest sense of the word, a great and true American. He liked Americanism, without any hyphens. Wisely have our people and statesmen heeded 20 THE ROMANCE OE CONQUEST. his words. Even in 1898, tliat wonderful }'car full of events which have turned the world inside out and shifted history from the Atlantic to the Pacific, the American people did not and will not depart from the true idea of Washington, even though they extend their domain and set up democratic institutions in the Pacific. The American is by true inheritance a soldier, but a soldier of righteousness. The Puritans, first in Holland and then in Britain, believed in necessary war as an instrument of divine justice. Colonists from man}^ countries in Europe and representatives of various races came to these shores and have been fused into one grand American composite. Yet those who laid the foundations, planned the struc- ture, and formed the ideas under which our nation has grown, were men who asserted the principle of personal freedom. They read the open Bible and interpreted it for themselves. They believed in the right to punish or depose their rulers when these were not faithful. Like Cromwell and the British people, thc)^ believed in strong nations helping the weak and oppressed peoples. They held to the Hebrew and Puritan principle that war might be employed as the instrument of God for justice and righteousness. Washington's maxim was " In time of peace prepare for war." Furthermore, they believed in asserting true man- WESTWARD THE COURSE OF EMPIRE. 2 1 liness. They would not allow the bully to rage, or the tyrant in church or state to have his own way. Without virility and personal courage, they consid- ered all other gifts and graces vain. So from Mas- sachusetts to Georgia, Puritan, Hollander, Cavalier, Huo-uenot, and all believers in sfood 2:overnment, liv- ing as they did betwixt the ocean and the Indian, between the land forces and the fleets of hostile Europeans, were bred to the use of arms. They had before them the example of the great mother- land, of whom Shakespeare says: — " This England never did and never shall Lie at the proud foot of a conqueror But when it first did help to wound itself." But, when Thomas Dekker wrote the lines in " Old F'ortunatus," " And though mine arm should conquer twenty worlds, There's a lean fellow beats all conquerors," did he have in his mind's eye the long and lank figure, whom Europe has so often caricatured as tall, strong, and wiry, without rotundity, but not lacking avoirdupois, "Uncle Sam " .'^ CHAPTER II. FROM LEXINGTON TO STILLWATER. THE American colonial soldier was a young man from the farmhouse or the town dwelling. In politics, before the Declaration of Independence, he was a loyal Englishman, standing on his rights as Enorlish law had defined them. If at Lexino^ton the Minuteman had to fight the king's troops, who first fired on him, he went the next day and took afifi- davit that he was a law-abiding citizen, defending himself against the lawless military that had inter- fered with his rights on the king's highway. The Continental soldier resisted revolution from without. He took this name, because he was more and more interested in what all the colonies did in union, and less in what the king's ministers were pleased to dictate. Devout though he was, he had a new idea, or rather an old one, which was always latent in the Hebrew commonwealth and the Christian church before Latin domination and absolutism grew up. It was the idea of a state without a king and a church free from politics. He even believed in good coinage without the use of the divine name. FROM LEXINGTON TO STILLWATER. 23 In his state militia regiment, the soldier of '76 was usually a hero in homespun, without much idea of uniform. Only slowly did he come into rigid discipline, and that for the sake of the cause. The musket used by him in the national warfare was more apt to be his own gun, which had hung on pegs over the fireplace, with which he had shot birds, squirrels, deer, and bears. His home, by the Delaware or the Merrimac, was a plain building of logs or timber, with a well-sweep and woodpile outside, and indoors an open fireplace furnished with iron pothooks and andirons, with a living room in which were wooden settle and chairs. Over the mantelpiece stood candlesticks and a few books, which were pretty apt to be of solid character. Above, on the wall, or set on deer horns, was his firelock, which, with his trusty axe, was his familiar tool. When the Continental army of regulars was formed, the men wore buff and blue, cloth of the latter and trimmings of the former, with top-boots, knickerbockers, and woollen stockings. Metal but- tons, though comparatively new things, were plenty on cuffs, shirt, and front. Over his coat and waist- coat were two broad straps crossed diagonally. These held up his cartridge box and bayonet scab- bard. On his head was a three-cornered or cocked hat with cockade or pompon of red, white, and blue. 24 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. His powder-horn, for loading and priming, was carved with sentiments, dates, scraps, history, sta- tistics, or geography — his true "horn-book." His musket was a smooth bore, with a wood or iron ramrod. The cock held a piece of flint, which struck upon a steel fender and threw sparks at the priming powder in the pan below. Hearty and healthy, alert, potent, brave was the young Minute- man and Continental. Most of the civil leaders and military officers of the Revolution were young men. Until regular army firearms and bayonets were imported from Europe, mostly from the Netherlands and France, the ordinary soldier in the ranks knew very little about a bayonet. The rifle was first in use among the Pennsylvanians, Swiss and Germans. It was superbly developed in Kentucky. Morgan's riflemen and sharpshooters were recruited almost wholly in the region where the Swiss and Germans from the Palatinate had settled. Our gallant Marine Corps was the first part of the armed force, or permanent military establishment created by law. It is thus the oldest part of the war service of the United States. The conflict of arms between the years 1775 and 1783 was a civil war between kinsmen who spoke the same language. It was hard work for the Brit- ish king to get natives for his work, and he had to hire foreigners. If in the American army were FROM LEXINGTON TO STILLWATER. 2$ many who did not talk English well, there were in the royal forces Hessians and Indians who could not speak it at all. About forty thousand loyalists, or people who served King George, left our borders for Canada, and living there, developed that region. After the Declaration of Independence, the scene of war was transferred from the neighborhood of Boston to the region of Manhattan Island. A great British fleet and army under Lord Howe entered the Hudson River, to separate New Eng- land from the other colonies and then meet Bur- goyne coming from Canada. Thirty thousand splendidly armed and equipped British and Ger- man soldiers tried to surround and capture eigh- teen thousand Americans, most of them raw militia without guns or supplies. The British plan of campaign was to march an army down the Hudson valley from Canada and unite forces on Manhattan Island, cutting the thir- teen colonies in half, and thus quickly ending the war. Washington's strategy was to keep the two armies separate, by drawing Lord Howe's forces southward ; and Washington succeeded even in disaster. The two British hosts were never united, and the colonies were never separated. This is the whole story of the war. In the battle of Brooklyn, August 27, 1776, the brave young men of the Maryland line bore the 26 THE ROMANCE OE CONQUEST. brunt of the British attack. They were over- whehned by superior force. Washington reheved Putnam and his nine thousand men, and in a fog escaped with his army across the Hudson. Losing an important fort through a deserter's treachery and the assault of the Hessians, Washington retreated to New Jersey with his remnant of brave men. He crossed the Delaware on the Sth of December at Trenton and reached Pennsylvania again, the state where his earliest, longest, and most glorious service had been, or was to be. When Christmas Day dawned, it was still dark night with the cause of freedom. Neither New Englanders nor New York Dutch folks then cele- brated the birthday of Jesus. The former had their Thanksgiving festival in November, and the latter, Santa Claus Day, December 6. But the Germans, whether Hessians forced to fight for King George, or the older makers of Pennsylvania, from whom we have borrowed the Christmas tree, until it is now national, always made much of Christmas. Among the soldiers there was much hilarity and carousing. Washington knew this and resolved to cross the Delaware again and attack Colonel Rahl's Ger- mans. His Massachusetts men from Marblehead pushed the boats through the floating ice. The Pennsylvania colonel, Jehu Eyre, Washington's aid, directed the general movement, and the successful FROM LEXINGTON TO SlILIAVATER. 2/ crossing of the ice-choked river was more wonder- ful than the battle itself. With scarcely the loss of a man, Washington captured a thousand Hessian prisoners, plenty of arms and ammunition, infusing a novel sort of Christmas joy all through the new na- tion. The prisoners, sent among their Pennsylvania German kinsmen, who could talk their language, had their eyes opened, and many of them deserted. After the war many more remained in or came back to America, where among their descendants are to-day thousands of fine families. Our brilliant cavalry leader, General Custer, was the grandson of a Hes- sian. Then grandly Philadelphia's young men, led by the " free Quakers," Colonels Jehu and Manuel Eyre, rushed to the aid of Washington. Lord Corn- wallis, a gay fox-hunter, having hastened across New Jersey to catch Washington and his raw reenforcements, waited over night at Trenton with only the Assinpink creek between the two camps. He expected to " bag " his game in the morning. He had left part of his force at Princeton, where, as we shall see, one of the decisive battles of the Revo- lution was to be fousfht. But in the nioht, leavinc: his watch-fires burninor Washin"ton moved around to the eastward, over an old and shorter road, but now frozen hard. As the morning sun arose, his advanced guard was on the crest of the hill near 28 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. Princeton. The regiment or two of redcoats on their way to Trenton met the Americans. The brave British lads marched up, fired their volley; then, with a cheer, they rushed upon the Americans and drove them flying. At this moment Washington appeared in fiery valor. With the soldier's splendid enthusiasm, and knowing that if beaten the American cause was lost, he led his men, veterans and Philadelphia militia, to the charge. He plunged into the smoke and rode up to within thirty yards of the British firing line. For a few minutes, invisible and liable to be shot from either side, his officers were anxious enough. Then the wind blew away the cloud. There he stood unscathed, making a living picture, which Trumbull the painter transferred from reality to canvas. Mainly through the bravery of the Phila- delphia troops and artillerymen, the battle became a great victory. In this conflict Colonel Jehu Eyre was Washington's aid. Drawing off his troops to Morristown, New Jer- sey, Washington spent the winter there. He had won his point in keeping the British scattered. In the spring, officers from France, Holland, Germany, and Poland came over to help us, among whom were the French Marquis de Lafayette ; the Dutch naval officers. Commodore Dillon and Captain Joyner, and the army men. Colonel Dircks and FROM LEXINGTON TO STILLWATER. 29 Bernard Romans ; the Germans Baron cle Kalb and Baron Steuben, the Pohsh Count Pulaski, and others. To meet Lord Howe's fieet and army at New York, General Burgoyne had come down from Canada through the valley and waterway of Lake Champlain, Lake George Valley, and the Hudson River; but through the activity of General Philip Schuyler, who cut off his supplies, his forces were nearly reduced to starvation. The failure of the expedition to Oswego, the defeat of the Hessians at Bennington by the militia of New Hampshire and Vermont, the American success in the fiercely contested battle of Oriskany in the Mohawk Valley, — one of the bloodiest conflicts durinof the war, — compelled Burgoyne, after fighting battles at Bemis Heights and Stillwater, to surrender his entire army of six thousand men. The total loss of the British was about ten thousand, and their plan of campaign was completely ruined. Thus New England and New York were left un- vexed by British steel or keel. Within two centu- ries, into the domain bounded by that Empire State which was born in 1777, four powers had come and three had gone. In 18S0, when the people of the First Reformed Church of Schenectady celebrated their bicentennial anniversary, a colossal banner, quartered in green, orange, red, and white, represent- ing the turtle, the totem of the Iroquois ; the pelican 30 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. feeding her young with bosom-blood, the emblem used by William the Silent ; the British lion ; and the American eagle, told the romance of conquest in graphic symbol. In the South, after fighting the battle of Brandy- wine and another at Germantown, in both of which the Americans were beaten, the British army settled down quietly in Philadelphia. Washington went into winter quarters at Valley Forge. CHAPTER III. THE NAVY IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. IT is generally supposed that in the Revolutionary war our liberties were won entirely by the army on land. Yet it is even more probable that, from 1775 to 1783, there were more Americans fighting for their country on the seas than there were on shore. It was not the victories of the Continental troops which made King George sue for peace, so much as it was the captures of British ships and the injury to British commerce wrought by our men-of-war and privateers. Although the war of independence opened with spirit and was carried on with courage and self- devotion, yet there were great fluctuations in pa- triotism and in the size of the army, as well as in the sums of money spent for defence. The high- water mark of the national spirit was reached in those efforts which compelled the surrender of Bur- goyne. Then, both Americans and Europeans thought the war would end, but it did not. Disas- ters to our arms followed, which made the public spirit droop, until it looked as though we should have to depend upon Frenchmen to win our liberties 32 THE ROMANCE OE CONQUEST. for us. The American army was very large at the beginning. In 1776 there was probably as many as ninety thousand militia and regulars, on paper at least, and nearly fifty thousand were actually under arms, but in 1 78 1 the number had fallen to about fourteen thousand, and the money paid annually for mili- tary support had decreased from $21,000,000 to $2,000,000. With dissensions in Congress and in the state legislatures, the people discouraged and tired of the war, it is probable that had it not been for our navy's influence upon British opinion, we could not, even with Bourbon aid, have won our independence. But with our privateers and men-of-war at sea cap- turing hundreds of British vessels, marine insurance in London rose to forty and even sixty per cent. In one year only forty out of four hundred British vessels engaged in the African trade escaped the clutches of the Americans. In another year, half the trading fleet between Great Britain and the West Indies was taken. As matter of fact, it was the clamor of the British merchants and their pressure upon the government which compelled King George to make peace. Beside the Continental or national navy, most of the states had their own ships and fleets, Massachu- setts, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina leading. The Bay State commissioned during the war about THE NAVY IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 33 six hundred privateers, and her own vessels probably outnumbered those of the national navy. South Carolina had the heaviest ship afloat that ever, before 1812, sailed under the American flag, though unfortunately she was captured by the British. The Pennsylvanian, Hydcr Ally, fought one of the most brilliant battles of the war. Our men went to sea as soon as hostilities opened at Lexington, and began destroying British com- merce in the African and West Indian waters. The Tories were also very busy. In one year they had as many as six thousand men serving the king in privateers, which in six months brought into port 142 prizes. The most active naval year was 1777, when as many possibly as eight hundred captures were made on one side or the other. It is believed that durino; the whole war there were about five thousand naval war episodes, including captures, armed encounters on the coast or in the rivers, or. bloody battles at sea, in which about three thousand prizes were captured from the enemy. At the beginning of the war, under John Adams, the great nationalizer, thirteen frigates, named after the different states, were ordered to be built. The chief object at first was defence, and to intercept supplies for the British army, but after the Declara- tion of Independence, the purpose was offensive as well as defensive. Then, not only were the Conti- 34 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. nental armies and militia to be supplied with cloth- ing and munitions of war, but the enemy was to be weakened as much as possible. Both objects were grandly accomplished, for most of the cannon, mor- tars, and powder used in our army was made for us in Great Britain and captured by our sailors. After the British had left Boston, Captain Mud- ford in the Franklin captured a ship that had on board fifteen hundred barrels of powder, intrench- ing tools, gun carriages, and other stores. In one prize Captain Jones found ten thousand British suits of clothing. In another. Commodore Hop- kins captured eight out of ten ships which were being sent with men and stores to Georgia. An entire fleet was fitted out in Boston harbor by stores meant for the British army in New York, but captured on their way. The great head- quarters of our privateers from 1775 until 1781 was at the Dutch island of St. Eustatius in the West Indies. "Maine" has become a synonym with the begin- ning of hostilities in three of our wars, British, Barbary, and Spanish. The first Lexington on the seas was, like the opening battle on land, " a rising of the people against a regular force, and was characterized by a long chase, a bloody struggle, and a triumph." In this the armed schooner Mar- garetta was captured. May 11, 1775, near Machias, THE NAVY IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 35 in Maine, by an enterprising party of forty young men. Washington issued commissions to vessels to cruise in Massachusetts Bay, and intercept the British supply-ships. Captain Manly in the schooner Lee at Marblehead took the English brig Nancy and three other store-ships, which helped finely to supply the Continentals with munitions of war. Although for the United States to begin naval war with so powerful a country as Great Britain was like " an infant taking a bull by the horns," yet with Hercules's precedent of success. Congress began equipping a navy, and made Esek Hopkins of Rhode Island commander-in-chief. Gradually our little cruisers got out to sea and captured not only prizes, but even British vessels of war. Yet it was very difficult to create a navy, in the real sense of the term, and as we now understand it. Owing to the suddenness of the war and the total check to commerce, thousands of sailors had enlisted in the army or entered as privateersmen. This took away so many of our seafaring people that the national navy could not be easily manned. Nevertheless, Captain Paul Jones secured and drilled a crew, and in the United States sloop of war Providence took sixteen prizes. Captain Whipple, with one ship, captured ten merchant vessels in a fleet of fifty. Captain Biddle in the Andrea Doj^ea took so many of the enemy's armed vessels and merchantmen, 36 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. putting prize crews on cacli, that when he came back from his cruise, only five of his original crew were with him, the places of his own sailors being supplied by volunteers from among the prisoners. To show how British plans were often upset by our sea-rovers, we may state that within a few weeks of 1776, about five hundred men of one of the best corps in the British army were, with all their equip- ments and stores, captured by our little ships of war. These were for the most part light vessels armed with from five to twenty guns, four, six, or twelve pounders. The benefit of these captures was twofold. They not only weakened the enemy, but they gave Congress so many prisoners, that the British could not look- upon our men as rebels only and refuse to exchange on equal terms, but were obliged to treat them as equals. The Reprisal was the first American man-of-war to get to Europe, arriving in France in 1776 with Dr. Benjamin Franklin as passenger. The doings of the Providence, Lexington, Andrea Doi'-ca, Defense, Lee, and other vessels caused intense sur- prise and indignation in England; for people trav- ellino: from London to Holland or France ran the risk of capture by American privateers. With the Q:reat thorouohfares of the sea thus threatened, marine insurance rose to an enormous amount. All England was so alarmed that some of the great THE NAVY IN THE REVOLU'IIOXAKY WAR. 37 county fairs were not held, and freights were sent to the continent in French ships. The Andrea Doi^ea, Captain Robinson, after carrying a copy of the Declaration of Indepen- dence to St. Eustatius, received, on November i6, 1776, the first salute ever fired in honor of the American flag by a foreign power. Five days after- ward, Captain Isaac Van Bibber, in The Baltimore Hero, captured an English brigantine just outside the harbor. On her way home the Andrea Doj^ea captured the Raee Horse, an English man-of-war, that had been sent out to capture her. Captain Robinson brought his prize into the Delaware River, but when the British fleet came in, this gallant ves- sel had to be burnt to save her from the enemy. In fact, all along our coast and in the Hudson and Delaware rivers, there were battles or skirmishes, whenever a British cruiser appeared or attempted to land. On lakes George and Champlain, flo- tillas of boats were built and armed, and a battle fought October ii, 1776. The American vessels. Royal Savage, Revenge, Liberty, Lee, Congress, Washington, Trtimbull, with eight gondolas, in all manned by six hundred men and carrying ninety guns, which fired at one discharge six hundred and forty-seven pounds, met with the British force of thirty fighting vessels. A hot fire of several hours was the result, in which about a hundred were killed 38 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. and wounded on both sides. This battle on Lake Champlain was renewed the next day by General Arnold, who fought with great bravery. Though the Americans lost eleven vessels, and the affair was disastrous, much credit was gained our arms by the obstinacy and bravery of our men. In 1777 we had something like a regular navy, though at the assault on Fort Mifflin in the Dela- ware, by the British squadron, our men were obliged to evacuate the work. The eneniy got possession of the river, from Cape May to Phila- delphia, and several of our ships were burned to prevent them from falling into his hands. The British vessels were blockading our ports and it was difficult to get 'the national ships at sea. This was the year when the stars were first added to the stripes in our national flag. It is claimed that the first American vessel to fly the striped flag of the Continental Congress in foreign waters, and to salute it with cannon, was the brig Nancy, late in July, 1776, whose captain, while at St. Thomas in the West Indies, heard of the Declaration of Inde- pendence, signed a few days before. The first to float the starry flag on a regular American man-of- war in alien seas was Commodore Paul Jones of endless fame. CHAPTER IV. FROM SARATOGA TO YORKTOWN. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN went to France as envoy of the Continental Congress, and there made many friends. When asked in Paris about the success of the American republic, he always answered smilingly, Ca ira (it will go). These words, afterward taken as the name of French warships and privateers, became a cheery cry of en- couragement when things looked dark. The phrase is still used by the French people. And it did go. The Bourbon king and govern- ment, in the hope of regaining Canada, and in order to humble Albion their foe, recognized our country, saluted our flag, which then had thirteen stripes but no stars, lent us three million dollars, gave us two million dollars more, and agreed to help us with an arniy and a fleet. The German Baron Steuben, a superb drill-master, reached Valley Forge, and by his diligence and pains changed a mob of militia into a splendid army. 'Soon, at Monmouth, for the first time in the war, a regular pitched battle be- tween two well-organized armies was to be fought. 39 40 THE ROMAXCE OF COXQUEST. No war can be carried on without money. Rob- ert Morris, the Philadelphia banker, provided " the sinews of war" by personally collecting money and pledging his own credit. He was the great financier of the Revolution. Another friend of Washington and our country was the Philadelphia German " Baker General " Christopher Ludwick, who set up ovens, made good bread in the camps, and otherwise improved the food of our soldiers. When the French fleet sailed to America, the British were forced to leave Philadelphia, and fif- teen thousand of them started to go by land across the Jerseys. On the way to Monmouth hundreds of Hessians deserted. A fierce battle was fought, and then Washington retired to the line of the Hudson River. Meanwhile the Iroquois Indians had taken the side of the British, and in central New York and Pennsylvania devastated the country. They made raids in the Mohawk, Schoharie, and Wallkill valleys, and massacred the people at Wvoming and Cherry \'alley. On the other hand, in Illinois and Indiana, Captain George Rogers Clark drove the British and their red allies before him, held the territory, and thus oave solid o-round for the Continental Con- gress to claim this region at the peace of 1 783. Toward the end of the vear 1778 the British cap- tured Savannah. In midsummer of 1779 General FROM SARATOGA TO YORKTOWN. 4I Anthony Wayne performed the most brilHant feat of the whole war. By a bayonet charge, he took Stony Point on the Hudson. After this, with the exception of the episode of Arnold's treason at West Point, the awful winter sufferinor at Morris- town, and Arnold's raid in Connecticut, there were no military events of importance in the North, ex- cept Sullivan's expedition into the lake country of New York. Arnold and Montgomery's expedition in Canada and the invasion of an Indian wilderness in 1779 were like making war in a foreign country. The latter was beyond the line of coast settlements, and the roads following the Indian trails had to be chopped through the woods and made wide enough for the artillery. The expedition was a necessity, in order to prevent further Indian incursions and to stop a destructive " fire in the rear." It was decided to destroy the Indian settlements. Washington ordered General Sullivan to march from Easton on the Delaware to Wyoming on the Susquehanna, and thence northward, while a bri- oade of General James Clinton moved from Otseeo Lake southward to join Sullivan. No other state in the Union has such a series of waterways, salt and fresh, inland and oceanic, as New York, which was the real centre of the war, and contributed 43,600 soldiers, in this respect 42 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. being surpassed only by Massachusetts. Right in the heart of the commonwealth is a wonderful lake region. Beginning with Onondaga, we have a dozen of these sheets of fresh water, most of them so long and narrow that they are called " finger lakes." All lovely and beautiful, they lie directly over beds of salt or above intervening strata, under which is the deposit of an ocean that dried up ages ago. How these lakes were made, whether by the scooping and scouring action of glaciers, or by the melting out of the salt caverns, and the breaking of the rocky shell above them, thus letting in the water and making deep the troughs on the earth's surface, is not known. Among these lakes the Six Nations of the Iroquois lived. The march of Sullivan's united forces besfan August 26, 1779. On the 29th the big battle of Newtown, near Elmira, was fought and w^on. Then the Indian villages on Cayuga and Seneca lakes, with their grain fields, orchards, and long houses, were destroyed. After going as far as Canandai- gua, the army of thirty-five hundred men returned, having so devastated the Indian region that the Iroquois could never again during the war give serious trouble. They retreated to Canada, and there disease and famine reduced their numbers terribly. Six American counties are named after Sullivan, the brave soldier of Irish descent. On FROM SARATOGA TO YORKTOWN. 43 our side of the boundary line the name of Brandt, the Indian chief, whose warriors raided the val- leys of New York and Pennsylvania, is a synonym of cruelty and terror. On the other stands his statue, and he is honored. The war between the New York frontiersmen and the Tories, Indian and British, was prolonged, bitter, and bloody. Only one other state, Massachusetts, excelled New York in the number of enlistments or soldiers in the field. In the South, although the British forces had taken Charleston on the 12th of May, 1780, the " swamp fox," Marion, gave them much trouble. The redcoats marched inland to Camden. There, on the 1 6th of August, they won a victory; but in October the triumph of the Kentuckians at King's Mountain changed the whole face of affairs. The American highlanders, living on the borders of North and South Carolina and in Kentucky and Tennessee, had formed a body of rough riders, and quickly marching eastward attacked their foes. Although the latter were partially equipped with breech-loading arms, among the first employed in warfare, and had bayonets, the rough riders, who had neither, though they knew their rifles well, won a splendid victory. General Greene of Rhode Island began to be master of the situation, for he led Cornwallis on a lively chase after him into Virginia. Morgan and 44 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. his riflemen gained the battle of Cowpens. Then, although at Guilford Court House, Cornwallis drove back the Americans, he had to retreat and so began marching toward Petersburg, Virginia. Greene, with an army of only two thousand men, but helped by Marion, Sumter, and Pickens, won victories at Cam- den and Eutaw Springs. Durino- all the time of the Revolution the Dutch were our friends. They recognized us and lent us more money even than the French did, helping us also with ships and men. At the island of St. Eustatius, in the West Indies, on November i6, 1776, they were the first Europeans to salute our flag of thirteen stripes. They supplied liberally our privateers and men-of-war, so that probably one-half of the regular equipments and ammuni- tion which came from Europe to the Continental army were imported through the Dutch at St. Eus- tatius. Indeed, the British government thought it so necessary to destroy this place of aid and com- fort to Americans that Rodney's big fleet was sent to the West Indies, instead of having him go to the help of Cornwallis, who badly needed assistance. General Greene having recovered the Carolinas, and La Fayette having pressed him hard, Cornwallis was forced to retreat to Yorktown, where he forti- fied himself. The French fleet under Count de Grasse had arrived, and "the sparkling Bourbon- FROM SARATOGA TO YORKTOIVN. 45 nieres," as the French soldiers in white and red were called, were encamped at Lebanon, Connect- icut, where Washington often took counsel with " Brother Jonathan," as Governor Trumbull was called. The French wanted to attack Canada, hoping thus to regain it for themselves; but Wash- ington preferred, even after war was over, to have English instead of French neighbors. So he planned, with the aid of our French allies, to march south to Yorktown and capture Cornwallis. Havino: French and Dutch financial aid and promises, Robert Morris was able to collect money for the expedition. The men in buff and blue and their allies in white and red moved together to the head of the Chesapeake Bay. Here they took ships to Yorktown. Rodney, having left Cornwallis in his trap, captured St. Eustatius, with all its Dutch and American stores, its two thousand American sailors, and twenty-six American privateers and war vessels. He wasted his time on the beach, auction- eering off the spoils, instead of coming to help Cornwallis, who, after three weeks of siege, sur- rendered. Although this was practically the end of the war, nearly two years of inaction and waiting were nec- essary before the peace treaty was signed. While our Continental army lay at Newburg, such was the dissatisfaction with Congress that a plot was 46 THE ROMANCE OE CONQUEST. formed to establish a monarchy, but tlie Dutch loans of money deposited at Cornwall came in good sea- son to pay off officers and troops, and keep them contented until the peace treaty was signed. On April 19th the army was disbanded, the war of the Revolution lasting exactly eight years. Thus ended the existence of the Continental sol- dier, who stood for something much more valuable than either the money or the Congress of the same name. In the course of the war the quality of the men composing the Congress gradually deteriorated, while the paper money grew so worthless that a bag- ful of it was necessary to pay for a dinner or the grooming of a horse. The old slang phrase, " Don't care a continental," referred to a bit of pasteboard called money, and not to the brave soldier in buff and blue. CHAPTER V. THE STARS AND STRIPES IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. WHEN, in 177S, the French became our alHes, tlie marine policy of the United States was greatly changed. Instead of trying to build ships at home, under great difficulties, heavier expense, and with larger chances of capture by the British before they were launched, it was now possible to build or buy war vessels abroad. The splendid ship Alliance, constructed at Salisbury, in Massachusetts, was named to commemorate our friendship with France, and became the favorite of the nation. Since her day there has always been a ship in our navy named like herself. Other vessels were the Confederacy, the Hague, Queen of France, Ranger, Gates, and Saratoga. Captain Paul Jones, in command of the Providence, twelvti guns, harried the Irish coast and then crossed over to the English waters to alarm the enemy at home. The next year, 1779, he was given a larger command, and a project was made for making a descent upon Liverpool with a body of troops commanded by La Fayette, but as nothing came of this, Paul Jones went on board the Bon 47 48 THE ROMANCE Ofi CONQUEST. Homme Richard, which was named in compliment to Dr. FrankHn. This ship was, in its way, an old curiosity shop. It was as strangely manned as it was built, for the variety of its people suggested a rag bag or a crazy- quilt. The ship was quite old, built many years before as an Indiaman, and had one of those high, old-fashioned poops that made the stern look like a tower. The whole vessel resembled an enormous Japanese junk. Six old 1 8-pound cannon were mounted below and a battery of 12-pounders was put on the main gun-deck, while on the quarter- deck and forecastle were eight 9-pounders, mak- ing a mixed and rather light armament of forty- two guns. Except the few American officers, the crew was made up of English, Irish, Scotch, Welsh, Germans, Swedes, Norwegians, Portuguese, Spaniards, and even Malays. The 135 marines on board were ex- pected to keep the sailors in order, but were about as much mixed as to nationality as were the sea- men. Indeed, the Bon Homiiic RicJiard of 1779, with its complement of 380 souls, presented in miniature a picture of the various kinds of peo- ple that are being made into American citizens to-day. Nevertheless, with this ship and company, Paul Jones kept the eastern coast of England in terror during many months. Families along shore THE STARS AND STRIPES IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 49 buried their silver plate, and both the military and marines were kept in a state of constant drill and expectation, Jones took about twenty-five prizes, one of which, curiously enough, was a brigantine named the May/lower, which he captured near the place whence the Pilgrims, in 1609, fled in their boats from bishop-ridden England over to Holland. More wonderful to relate, Jones with his rickety old ship captured one of the finest vessels in the British navy. The Serapis was a double-decked, fifty-gun ship, new and strong and fast. She mounted on her lower gun-deck twenty i8-pound- ers, on her upper gun-deck twenty 9-pounders, and on her quarter-deck and forecastle ten 6-pounders. Her regularly trained crew consisted of 320 men, fifteen of whom were Lascars, or natives of India. The Serapis had yellow, the Richard had black sides. The two men-of-war, the Serapis and Countess of Scarborough, were convoying the Baltic fleet of forty-one ships. Of the vessels in Jones's squad- ron, the Richard fought the Serapis alone. The battle began about dark, but by and by the moon rose, and toward eight o'clock the two ships were near enough to open fire. Although the Amer- icans were fighting against a greatly superior force, yet Paul Jones had infused his own spirit into his men, and they went cheerfully to their quarters. 50 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. At the very first broadside two of his old i8- pounders burst, blowing up the deck above and killing or wounding nearly all the men below. This caused the heavy battery to be deserted, so that now there was to be a fight between a 12-pounder and an i8-pounder frigate. According to the naval axiom of those days the 12-pounder frigate could never hope to win. So certain was the English commander of his speedy victory that, when the two vessels got foul of each other, Captain Pearson called out, — " Have you struck your colors?" The answer immediately came back, " I have not yet begun to fight." The ships were lashed together and the com- bat continued to rage. Down below the 18- pounder guns of the Serapis soon blew in and blew out large pieces of the old ship Richard's sides, until the British balls beat only the air, but on the upper gun-deck the Americans were pouring in shot and grape, while aloft in the tops their musket- men swept the decks and cleared the crow's nests of the Serapis with their fire, until all the British got below deck. Boldly climbing out on the main- yards of the Richard, the Americans dropped hand grenades down through the hatchways of the Sera- pis, by which they exploded the loose ammunition which the powder boys had carelessly left uncovered. THE STARS AND STRIPES IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 5 I By this calamity twenty men were killed and thirty- eight wounded, or in other words nearly sixty persons disabled. In this curious night battle the English were all fighting with the heavy cannon below, while the Americans were working the upper-deck guns and small arms. The Richard was on fire several times, but the flames were put out. When, however, it was reported that she was sinking, the one hundred or more British prisoners on board the Richard were released to save their lives. One of these got on board the Scrap is and informed Captain Pearson that the Richard \\:is sinking. The English leader, expecting to take his enemy, called the boarders with the idea of ordering them on the Richard's deck, but seeing the Americans all ready to repel the attack the pikemen retreated. Meanwhile the English prisoners on the Richard were set to work at the pumps. Both ships again caught fire, and warriors had to turn firemen. After this the American cannonade began to increase and that of the Scrapis to slacken. About one hour after the explosion the British flag was struck. As not one of his men would expose himself to the fire from the Richard" s tops, Captain Pearson hauled down the colors himself. This terrible battle lasted nearly four hours. The Richard was so nearly knocked to pieces that 52 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. her upper deeks and j^ooj) were almost ready to fall into the gunroom below, all except a few supports being shot away. On fire most of the time, she was now sinking. Yet by removing the pow^der from the deck, and keeping men at the pumps all night, the flames were got under at about ten o'clock next morning. During the day the wounded were re- moved to the Scrapis, and about nine o'clock of the 25th the Bo)i Ho)]i)uc RicJiard wcwi down bow fore- most. In this awful slaughter probably one-half of all that were engaged were killed or wounded. Paul Jones rigged up jury masts on the Scrapis, and with his two prizes got into the Texel, in North Holland, on the 6th of October. The Hollanders were delighted with this victory, and the praises of Paul Jones were sung from one end of the Dutch United States to the other. The sentiment of the republic against Great Britain ripened, and sympathy with Americans deepened, until at last the Netherlanders became our allies and friends and declared war against Great Britain, lending us money and otherwise giving us aid. When I was in Amsterdam in September, 1S9S, after seeing Queen Wilhelmina inaugurated in the Nieuwe Kerk, I heard the people in the street sing- ino- their old historic son^s, and amono' them " Hier komt Paul Jones aan" (Here comes along Paul Jones). THE STARS AND STRIPES EV THE M ED I TERR AN E AX. 53 The year 1779 was marked by much naval activity. There were numerous naval battles and captures of prizes. A great expedition of twenty vessels, with fifteen hundred soldiers, was despatched from Massachusetts to diskxhjfc the British who had a strong post ui)on the Penobscot River. These light ships, however, were not able to contend with the heavy British frigates, and the expedition came to disaster and caused naval enterprises to cease for some time. Furthermore, the British were so embittered against our privateers that they took two methods of annihilating, if possible, the American marine. They refused to exchange any more of the seamen which they had captured. They thus accumulated in England a large body of prisoners, who were kept at Dartmoor and other well-guarded places until the war was over. On the other hand, they authorized the employment of no fewer than eighty-five thousand men in their navy, to make sure of annihilating ours. Nevertheless, on June 2, 1780, there was a terri- ble battle of two hours and a half, a real " yard-arm enfraoement," between the Tmmbull and the Watt, the former having thirty guns and the latter thirty- four. In the way of a regular cannonade this was thought to be the severest battle in the naval war of the Revolution. Soon after this, the Saratoga fought the Charming Mollic and captured her. 54 THE ROMAXCE OF COXQUEST. This victory was gained b}' the pike, Lieutenant Joshua Barney leading the boarders, and overcom- ing on the CJiarmiug jMoIHcs deck a British party nearly double his own. Later on the Trumbiill was captured by the British vessels, the Iris and the General Monk. The Hydcr Ally was a Pennsylvania state ship, under command of Lieutenant Joshua Barney, and named after a Hindoo chieftain who in India had opposed his conquerors. It had been fitted out to keep the Delaware River free from British barges and small cruisers, and to convoy ships in and out the waters around Cape May. Barney captured the British privateer, named the Fair American, and putting on board a prize crew sent her up the river. He next fought and took the General Monk, a twenty-gun ship. This action was thous^ht to be one of the most brill- iant that ever occurred under the American flag, for the Monk was heavier and larger and carried 9-pounder guns, while the Hyder Ally had only 6-pounders. The regular naval warfare came to an end under Captain Manly, who on our side may be said almost to have begun it, for this gallant officer commanded, as we saw, the schooner Lee, which on November 29, 1775, captured the British brig Nancy and other store-ships. THE STARS A.XD STAVPES IN Tf/E MEDITERRANEAN. 55 It is a brilliant story, that of our little navy during the Revolutionary War. But as " life with- out letters is death," so unless a story is well told it is not known. It is no wonder that the averaoe American has a very hazy idea, if any at all, about the great work done and the decisive influence upon results, which our fathers on the sea w^-ought during Revolutionary days. We must never forget the heroes — Hopkins, Wickes, Conyngham, Biddle, Nicholson, Manly, Bar- ney, Whipple, O'Brien, Robinson, Paul Jones, Barry, and others, beside the French and Dutch captains — who helped us. Nor should we fail to remem- ber the gallant men of the shore and the seaports, and the marines, who, thouQ^h not known, did their part to serve their country. One who looks over the register of names in our navy to-day, and along through its history, w^ill find that certain families, like the Nicholsons, Rodgers, and Perrys, have con- tributed a large number of competent and gallant of^cers, who in the naval service have shed lustre upon their country. With not a few their line of service is ancestral, beginning even back in the Revolution. There were many prophetic voices concerning the United States of America. Van der Capellen, one of our many steadfast friends, declared that the Teutonic race in crossing the Atlantic gained 56 THE ROMAXCE OF CO.VQUF.ST. pdtoncv o{ hvo liuiulrcd years of progress. The Spanish niinistcr in London, in 1783, used words that are worth reealling. He said: — " The federal repubhe is born a pygmy. A day will come when i( will be a giant, even a colossus, forniitlable in these countries. Lib^rty of con- science, the facility of establishing a new popula- tion on inimense lands, as well as the advantages of a new government, will ilraw thither farmers and artisans from all nations. In a few \ears we will watch with griet the tyrannical existence ot this same colossus." How truly fullillcd in iSqS! The little bab\' ho\ SimcMi Holiwir, destined to be the liberator of Spanish .America, was forty days old when the treaty between the two luiglisli- speaking nations was signed. CIIAPTl'R VI. FROM CONKKDI'-KATION TO CONS 11 TU'IION. Al*" ri'IR the Revolutionary War several years of misery and distress followed. The nation created by the Declaration of Independence of July 4, 1776, was a headless republic, a mere league of states. They could hold together as lon<;- as there was war, but broke into (|uarrellin<;- sections as soon as the pressure of foieii;n hostility was removed. I''ur()i)eans, even hhi<;iishmt'ii, laughed at the idea of " federal government " ever being successful on a large scale. P^or a little scrap of land, among the mountains of Switzerland, it might work. Possibly even m the swamj)y Netherlands it might do, but in a great country, with plenty of land, never. Large republics hitherto had been only ideals in imagination. So they watched to sec the American confederation fall to ])ieces. Congress had no i)()\ver and there was no centre of authority. With plenty of pajoer, but little gold or silver, nearly every one was in debt. There was no free interstate commerce, and affairs were drift- ing into a dreadful condition. In western Massa- 57 58 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. chusetts, which had a war debt of $4,000,000, things came to a head in what is called Shays's Rebellion. Many hundred excited farmers tried to stop all law- suits for debt. They claimed that the taxes were too heavy, the lawyers too extortionate, and the gov- ernors and senators too aristocratic ; that the capital ought to be removed from Boston ; and that plenty of paper money should be issued. The militia quelled the uprising, reforms were begun, and Shays fled. Being a revolutionary soldier, he lived in New York state under a government pension. His Mas- sachusetts mob gave a tremendous impulse to the movement for a better general government. The strong motive that held the states together was the claims of ownership in land, which several of them held and which they hoped to sell. They would thus get money for the payment of their heavy war debts. The states owed $26,000,000 and the United States $42,000,000. Massachusetts, Con- necticut, New York, and the Southern States, except Maryland, claimed the country west of them as far as the Mississippi River. Probably the reason why the other six states did not make a similar claim was that their western boundaries were already fixed. These were Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and the well-surveyed states of Pennsylvania and those touching it. New Jersey, Delaware, and Mary- land. The best-founded claim was that of New FROM CONFEDERATION TO CONSTITUTION. 59 York, which had gained its right to the soil by well- attested treaties with its first owners, the Iroquois nation. No other state has so laro;e a collection of Indian deeds and wampum documents, given by red men for lands sold, which take the place of written and sealed parchments and papers among white men. New York led the way to the settlement of the question. She was soon joined by Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Virginia. They agreed to give the land northwest of the Ohio River and between the lakes and the Mississippi, in area larger than the Austrian Empire, to the United States, for the gen- eral welfare. Congress created a body of laws, very liberal in character, ruling out slavery, and all big- otry and political church ism. Thereupon began an emigration of people from the Eastern and Middle States into this splendid territory, out of which Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin have been formed. The pressing national want was "a more i>erfect union." In order to form this delegates were sum- moned from the different states, and a body of very able men convened in Philadelphia. After four months of debate in secret session, they agreed upon a written constitution. Thomas Jefferson was absent from the country, and Patrick Henry from the convention, but George Washington, Benjamin 6o THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. Franklin, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, were present and active. Soon the legislatures of nine different st^ites, led by Delaware and the number completed by New Hampshire, ratified the instru- ment, and it became the supreme law of the land. In making this compact, our fathers had before them the example of many ancient and modern at- tempts at self-government. They were filled witli the spirit of personal liberty inherited from the Germanic nations, and especially the Anglo-Saxons and English people ; but before their eyes was a living example of a federal republic, which had lived two hundred years, even though surrounded by mighty monarchies hostile to it. From the ex- perience of the united states of the Netherlands they learned, profited, and knew what to avoid. I^^rom the Dutch republic, more than from any other model or example, they borrowed much, while the defects of its constitution were avoided or im- proved upon. The new government began at Philadelphia, then the central and largest city of the. Union. Wash- ington chose Jefferson, Hamilton, Knox, and Ran- dolph to assist him in carrying out his duties as chief executive, and John Jay as head of the Su- preme Court. The first three formed what is called the Cabinet. Washington, " the anchor of the Con- stitution," was a strong Unionist, an American as "why do you do that?" said the president. FROM CONFEDERATION TO CONSTITUTION. 6 1 against foreigners. He cared nothing about parties. Hamilton, who distrusted a democracy, was a Fed- eraHst. He held that a strons: national Qrovernment was the first necessity. Jefferson, who believed ar- dently in local and state rights, was a Republican- Democrat. It is said that Jefferson preferred only one legislative chamber, as in France. Washington thought there ought to be two, a Senate and House of Representatives. One evening at the supper table, Jefferson, tasting his tea, found it too hot. So he poured it into his saucer. " Why do you do that 1 " said the President. " To let the tea cool," said Jefferson. " Quite right," said Washington, "and just so we need two legislative chambers to give the judgments of legislators a chance to cool." The first thing to do was to get money. A duty was levied on all foreign ships and on much of the goods brought to our country. By thfs revenue tariff the treasury was filled and Hamilton at once began payment of the public debt. We owed Hol- land and France for money borrowed during the Revolution, and the home debt to our soldiers and civilian creditors was large. The different states were also to be helped in paying what they owed to their citizens. Eis^ht millions were soon disbursed, and the credit of the United States, thus securely founded, has been maintained through all our national history. 62 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. The words " mint" and " money "came to us from the Latin, but those of "coin" and "bank "from the Dutch. One of the things most necessary in a new state or an old one is good metal money, that is, coins which everybody, and in every place, will recognize and accept at the value which is stamped upon them. Under the Confederation there were many kinds of paper and pasteboard which passed for money, but very little cash. Usually the money in one state was worth much less in another. Congress, in 1791, established a United States bank and in 1792 the United States mint. The one supplied paper and the other metallic money which were equally good in all the states. Hamilton fixed our system of coinage, the sim- plest and probably the best in the world. Our sys- tem is the decimal, based on units of ten, that is, ten mills make a cent, ten cents one dime, ten dimes one dollar, and ten dollars one eagle. This is substantially that of Holland, though with great improvements. Many countries of the world, in- cluding even Japan, have followed the American decimal system. The coinao-e of the different colonies had been based on that of England, but about the time of the Revolution had become much depreciated. So the Spanish milled dollar was then taken as the stand- ard. On this silver dollar, as on the pesetas which FKOM COX FEDKK. IT/OX TO COXSIITUTIOX. 63 one still sees in our country, since the destruction of the Spanish tieet at Santiago, are stamped the Pil- lars of Hercules with liaos or streamers flvinor. This sign gradually became the dollar mark in American writing. It looks like the letter S with two perpen- dicular lines drawn through it, thus %. In spite of financial heresies, foolish notions about what money is and the old periodical panics, the wealth and credit of our country have continuously increased. Some day the financial centre of the world will be in New York or Chicaoo. Our first census in 1 790 showed that we had a population of nearly four millions, who lived on a strip of land about eight leagues wide along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Now this little coun- try was in danger of being used by the great Euro- pean powers for their own selfish purposes. Great Britain wanted to fight her big battles, without much regard to the petty little United States, or any other weak nation. When the British saw American ships carrying supplies to the French, they looked upon it as " blockade-running." The Scotch-Irish, in western Pennsylvania, did not relish the action of the government in laying taxes upon extracts of rye and wheat. These peo- ple, like their fathers in Hibernia and Scotia, were very fond of religion and whiskey. They refused to pay the imposts. They even beat or tarred and 64 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. feathered the officers sent to collect revenue. One of the first uses of the United States army, under the Constitution, was its despatch by President Washington into western Pennsylvania to put down this first, but not last, manifestation of the liquor power in our country. The troops were mostly Pennsylvanians, and between the Governor's oratory and the presence of the militia the whiskey rebel- lion, in this primitive form, was soon put down. From the first Washington set the tone and gave the example of true Americanism. He was for the whole country, and not sections of it. He resisted every attempt of both natives and foreigners to check the growth of real patriotism. The French had risen up against their rulers, beheaded their king, and started a republic. " Citizen Genet " crossed the Atlantic to get American money and ships to help the French fight the English. Many of our people, in their gratitude to France for aid during our Revolution, were more zealous than wise. They rallied round Genet, and it looked as if one half of the Americans would be pro-French and the other half pro-British, and that we should be dragged into a war with England when we were poor, debt-burdened, and least able to defend our- selves. President Washington issued a proclama- tion of neutrality, which set the American precedent of taking no part in European quarrels. FROM CONFEDERATION TO CONSTFTUTION. 65 This sliowcd that the Father of his Country was sometliing else tlian an Engiisli colonial gentleman. He was more, even a true American. Indeed, he was the first to rise above the colonial spirit into the broad idea of a new and grand American na- tionality. In 1795 he wrote to Patrick Henry: " ]\Iy ardent desire is to keep the United States free from political connection with every other country, to see them independent of all, and under the influ- ence of none. In a word, I want an American char- acter, that the powers of Europe may be convinced that we act for ourselves and not for others." Thus this wise and great man, who foresaw our national future, gave us, under God, the true prin- ciple of unity. Our fathers listened to his voice, pondered, took " sober second thought," and de- cided aright and happily for us. Instead of scat- tering and degenerating, our country began to consolidate and grow. The nation, obeying the true instinct of development, began to expand toward the West. A great stream of population moved over the mountain wall of the Alleghany. CHAPTER VII. THE MOVEMENT BEYOND THE ALLEGHANIES. A MIGHTY line of mountains, called the Ap- palachian chain, runs southwestwardly from Labrador, and forms the wonderful rock coast of New England, from Maine to Rhode Island. After Narragansett Pier there are no more rocks along the ocean front until we get to South America. Movino^ inward, the mountain line, by its westward trend, allows a great slope of land between the sea- beach and hiohlands and from Connecticut to Mis- sissippi. This in the eastern portion is a fertile tide-water region. In the western areas it is rich in grain and pasture lands, grottos and waterfalls, glens and passes. This line makes state boundaries between the Carolinas and Kentucky and Tennes- see, furnishing plateaus with some of the most in- viting highland soil in the country, and here and there gaps or natural gateways. These allow roads to be built throuQ-h and over from the east to the west, along which armies, freight and passenger trains can move. Some of them, like Cumberland Gap, are very famous. Through these passes high- 66 THE MOVEMEXT BEYOXD THE ALLEGHANIES. Gj ways were built at slate or national expense, and soon great lines of emigration moved over these roads. Various were the forms of vehicle that were built to accommodate the traffic. The famous Conestoga wagon was long and large, with high sides and stout canvas cover, projecting out behind and before. It thus served as a tent, which could be enlarged by opening the side flap. Thousands of families, men, women, and the stronger children, with their faces toward the setting sun, tramped by day and slept on the ground by night. In rainy weather they lived in the wagon, using it as a bed- room at night and kitchen or storehouse by day. Soon villages and towns sprung up, and inns lined the roads. In the evolution of the nation's system of trans- portation the Indian trails became first earth roads, with sections of plank or corduroy, then turnpikes, then iron and finally steel railways. Of all the gaps, that one between Albany and Schenectady, which formed the gateway into the beautiful Mohawk Valley, is the most important, whether for warlike strategy — as military men, from Frontenac in Montreal to Grant on Mount MacGregor, have noticed — or for business. Here the mountains drop down to within a few score feet in height, and a majestic river breaks through the wall of rock at Cohoes and joins the Hudson. At 68 THE ROMANCE OF COXQUEST. this point of highest value in mihtar}' strategy was the eastern doorway and end of the Long House of the Six Nations. Through this gap tliousands of young and hardy emigrants now poured out from New England to seek more fertile land. This rush for land was mightily helped by Cupid. Love and enterprise promoted marriage and in- creased population. Often when a young man would propose to a lady friend or new acquaint- ance, immediately, should her answer be favorable, both would go to the parson's, be joined in wedlock, and on the same day set out for " the Black River country," or further west. Often, too, the young- men and marriageable maidens in the wagon cara- vans made love and were mated on the way. The church records of marriages at the stopping places, in Schenectady, for example, show how busy the dominies were kept in joining in wedlock young couples who were passing through and westward. Fat were the fees, for youth and hope are generous. From the Middle States, especially New Jersey, another line of people followed the Indian trails northwestward from Easton, which Sullivan's pio- neers had first chopped wide enough to admit the artillery. These two streams from the east, the middle, and the southeast, the Pennsylvania and the Yankee, met at Penn Yan, which they jointly named, each contributing a syllable. THE MOVEMENT BEYOXD THE ALLEGHAATES. 69 There was no rest in Penn Yan, but onward went the home-seekers further toward the Mississippi and the Pacific. There was a famous and very popular song, wliich began : — " Oh, of all the mighty nations In the East or in the West, This glorious Yankee nation Is the greatest and the best. " We have room for all creation. And our banner is unfurled, Here's a general invitation To the people of the world. Chorus : " Come along, come along, make no delay, Come from every nation, come from every way, Our lands they are broad enough, don't be alarmed, For Uncle Sam is rich enough to give us all a farm." These people streaming westward in the North moved parallel with the grand procession begun by Daniel Boone in the South, which kept increasing. With axe and rifle they crossed Kentucky and Ten- nessee. Soon in the valleys of the Ohio and Cum- berland rose groups of log cabins, cleared spaces in the timber with smiling fields of grain in the bottom lands, and, not very much later, the church spire and the schoolhouse. These showed the beginnings of new states and the promise of the nation's sure 70 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. expansion, within a few years, to the Mississippi River. When so much territory was to be occupied, it was highly important that a good system of land measurement and allotment should be formulated. Most of the old soldiers of the Revolution had been paid in land warrants. Many of the veterans sold these warrants for cash, but a large number of the young and strong became actual settlers on their own lands. The greatest danger, as history shows, is, that while every family may and ought to have a certain inheritance and participate in the benefits of landed property, yet sooner or later the soil gets into the hands of a few. In Europe, in place of the general landholding or common lands of the old Teutonic freemen through ancient times, the Middle Ages brought the tenure of serfs, and the noblemen ruled the country. In England, by a remarkable exception, the land law of the nobles became the land law of the people. In the United States the public lands were a fund for the use of all the people, a source of public revenue and a basis of national finance. They have also served as a means of effecting in- ternal improvements, such as canals, highways, and levees, for the building of great roads and railways, and, best of all, for the promotion of education. As early as 1784 Hamilton and Jefferson initiated THE MOVEMENT BEYOXD THE ALLEGHANIES. yi measures which laid the foundation of the present system of survey, known as the rectangular system. As Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton in 1790 furnished the basis of the present method of land administration. It seems curious that the best book in English on " The History of the Land Question in the United States" should be by a Japanese, Shosuke Sato, a fellow of Johns Hopkins University. It was Simeon De Witt, surveyor general of the State of New York, who first put in practice and carried out the details of that method of land meas- urement which, borrowed from the Empire State, has come into vogue over the greater part of the United States. Territory is divided into townships of six miles square, the lines running due north and south, with others crossing these at right angles. The townships are subdivided into sections of one mile square, or six hundred and forty acres. Each township contains thirty-six sections, or 23,040 acres. Even when hills, forests, broken or worthless land allow only a partial survey of part of a township, the sections are actually laid out and numbered from south to north and the ranges from east to west. Simeon De Witt's plan took the place of that one in the Ordinance of 1787 which had "hundreds" or squares of ten geographical miles and lots of one 72 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. mile square. It is most probable that De Witt's system was imported from Holland and was of Roman origin. After his many years of labors and wanderings were over, De Witt named his own township at the foot of Cayuga Lake, Ulysses, and his place of residence, Ithaca. It is to be noticed that until 1820 this oreat mass of emigrants westward were native Americans, They were not Europeans. From 1770 to 1785 there was no emigration from Europe worth speak- ing of. Until 1820 the number of immigrants averaged only about eight thousand people a year. Land was very cheap, and the terms of sale so liberal that settlers could often pay the price of their farms with the first crops gathered from their newly broken soil. All that a man needed, to get a whole square mile of land, was $331 in cash. The land cost only two dollars an acre. One need only deposit one-twentieth of $1280, which was the price of a section, and then one-fourth of $1280, including deposit, within forty days. The other three-fourths of the whole amount ($960) could be settled for within four years. Fees for application, surveying, etc., amounted to $11. So began the great American Exodus, properly following the Genesis of the Constitution. Often settlers formed great companies and bought millions of acres, taking up whole townships as fast as the THE MOVEMENT BEYOND THE ALLEGHANIES. JT, surveyors could locate. They bought on trust, and sold again for wheat, for lumber, or whatever the land would yield. Thus it was that true American settlers, natives of the soil, and not strange foreign- ers, first cut down our forests, bridged our rivers, and built up towns. In spite of malaria and home- sickness, of wild beasts and other " vermin," these stalwart Americans replenished the earth, and laid the foundations for larger advantages to their descendants. To-day the old virgin forests have disappeared, the beaver dams are forgotten, the trout brooks have narrowed or dried up, and the face of the country is changed almost beyond recognition. Yet the skilled eye can find the site of old leach- eries, ash pits, limekilns, lumbermen's camps, and other primitive forest industries, which showed how our grandfathers won their living in a wild country, getting food, money, and prosperity ; withal, often wasting, like spendthrifts, the re- sources of the soil. In the South the great event of 1793 was the invention of the saw-gin, by Eli Whitney, by which the seed was quickly separated from cotton-wool. Before his time a man could with his fingers and rollers clean about a pound of cotton a day ; or, with the Chinese whip and bow, a little more ; but Whitney's gin equalled in amount of work done 74 THE ROM A ATE OF CONQUEST. that of three thousand pairs of human hands. The result of this invention was to make the raising of this vegetable wool the most profitable of all crops. Cotton covered hundreds of thousands of acres with snowy balls, riveted slavery upon the southern people, started hundreds of great cotton mills in New England, created a class interested in main- taining slave labor, and, above all, enormously increased our foreign trade. Whereas, in 1784, we had exported only three thousand pounds of cotton, we began within ten years after the inven- tion to export more than forty million pounds. Soon it was said, " cotton is king," for whereas many Asiatic and African countries had been sup- plying cotton, Americans by their inventive power, added to the peculiar adaptedness of our soil, had won away the culture and trade of the cotton plant so as to make it, for the most part, a distinctively American production. Now we supply not only Europe, but even Japan. Every year the value and demand increase for this wool that grows out of our soil. But while this Connecticut schoolmaster, sojourn- ing in the South, took the seeds quickly out of cot- ton, he gave us further seed of long troubles and of civil war, as we shall see. At first the cotton seeds were thrown away as useless refuse. Now, by the application of brain, steam, and machinery, they THE MOVEMENT BEYOND THE ALLEGHANIES. 75 yield oil, soap, food for cattle, and material for fer- tilizers. Presto! By the magic of commerce, the reputation of the old countries and the fad for things foreign, cotton-seed oil, after a trip to Europe in bulk, comes back in bottles duly labelled, in Italian, as " olive " oil. The romance of the conquest by Americans of the forces of nature, for the subduing and replenish- ing of the earth, is a long story, for which we have not room in this volume. It soon became necessary for Congress to provide a Patent Office, where could be showm models of machines that would work, as well as for the storage of the much larger number that would not. CHAPTER VIII. WAR WITH FRANCE ON THE SEA. WHEN John Adams became President, in 1797, it looked as though we were to have war with France, because the French thought that, having aided us in our struggle against Great Britain, we oufrht to side with them. Yet Washinoton had proclaimed neutrality, and most of our fathers were with him. John Adams knew also, very well, as Washington and a majority of the nation, that the motives of the French in helping us had not been like those of the Dutch, — sympathy with our de- sire for freedom and hope of trade with us, — but that the object was to get possession of Canada and simply to do harm to Great Britain. John Adams had already plainly told Count Vergennes this. I-^urthermore, the American idea of a republic is something quite different from the French and Spanish-American notion. The anger of the disappointed French was soon expressed in open hostilities. They not only cap- tured our provision ships and sold them, but they insulted our envoys. Their impudence reached its 76 I FA A' WITH FRANCE ON THE SEA. yy climax when tliey demanded money of our govern- ment, threatening war in case their bullying claims were not acceded to. The Frenchmen who pro- posed this bribery were ashamed to come out openly with their own names signed ; so they resorted to the coward's device and sent the meanest of all missives — anonymous threatening letters. The reply of the United States Minister was in- stant. It was, " No ; no; no; not a sixpence." In this he was sustained by the whole American peo- ple, whose cry was, " Millions for defence ; not one cent for tribute." Mr. C. C. Pinckney, the envoy, had been an ol^cer in the Revolutionary War and a framer of the Constitution. He was ordered to leave France. From this time forth the world learned, as the Barbary powers, and even Great Britain learned, that the United States would never buy a dishonorable peace. Though the Americans love money, they love honor more. A tremendous wave of excitement rolled over the country. Two new songs were written, "Adams and Liberty," and " Hail, Columbia," which were sung from Maine to Georgia. Washington was again invited to take command of the army which Congress gave power to the President to increase. In our early history but one department of the government had the oversight of war both on land and sea. By the Act of Congress, April 30, 1 798, y^ THE RcUnXC/-: OF COXQUEST. tlie navy department was organized separately, so as to be no longer, as before, under the war department. By this time the keels had been laid for six war- ships, three carrying forty-four, and three thirty- ei2:ht cruns each. American naval constructors built the Uuiftd States, the Coustitutio)i, and the President^ on original models, and these heavy frig- ates proved to be among the most effective ships in the world. The Constitution is the most historic. The Pvi'sidcnt was the best and swiftest sailer, and tlie United States was the first vessel to get into the water under the present organization of the navv. To illustrate the methods of transportation in those days, the sheet copper, witli which the President was to be sheathed, was rolled at Canton, Massachusetts, and then transported in wagons drawn by oxen that carried the metal to Phila- delphia. In that city, at the foot of Swanson Street, she was launched on the loth of July, 1797. Of the three thirty-eight-gun ships, the Chesa- peake was by sailors considered unlucky. The Constellation was one of the handsomest of ships. The Congress proved to have been one of the oldest and the most useful in the whole navy, when her old age had come. On the nth of July, i 79S, the new marine corps was established by law, in place of the old one. Five days later, in the same vear, it was voted that /F.//v' WITH FRANCE ON THE SEA. 79 the navy of the United States should consist of thirty active cruisers. About the same time Con- gress by law denounced all the treaties with France, because the French had begun depredations upon our commerce and made themselves our enemy. As war was looming up, Captain Richard Dale, in the Ganges, — the first man-of-war to get to sea under the new navy department, — was ordered to capture French cruisers on our coast or to recapture their prizes. At this time the new frigates were not ready, for our country was then very deficient in guns, naval stores, and spars. When the Constellation was able to get to sea, she was put under the command of Captain Thomas Truxton. The first vessel made a prize of by our navy was taken by the United States sloop of war Delaware, commanded by Captain Decatur, who captured the French privateer Le Croyable. The name of the prize was changed into the Retaliation, and she was put under command of Lieutenant Bainbridge. Pretty soon the frigate United States, under Captain Barry, got to sea. Now began the real education of our ofificers and the deposit of those traditions which are a part of the life of the service. There was no naval acad- emy then, except on the ship's deck, and our great commanders often began as boys of twelve. The Constitution, under Captain Samuel Nicholson, was 80 THE KOMAXCR OF CONQUEST. also in commission by July 20, 1797. Then our war-ships convoyed fleets of our merchantmen safely between the West Indies and our northern ports. By the end of 1798 we had twenty-three ships of war atloat. The programme of naval en- largement became so popular that several national ships were built by subscription in different cities and presented to the government. The Retaliation did not have a long career under the American llag. She was captured by two French frigates, and thus both sides, French and American, had made captures and come out even. By the opening of the year 1799 we had twenty- eight war-ships afloat. Now came the time to test the merits of the new American heavy frigate, for this craft was of a novel type. Americans have always led the way in naval designs. When, on the 9th of February, Commodore Truxton in the Constellation, with a brave and eager crew, fell in with the French frigate Insiir- ocnte, the first heavy naval combat since the Revo- lution began. The Constellation suffered first the loss of her foretop mast, but after several broad- sides got where she could rake the enemy. After firing three broadsides through and along the hull of her enemy, she shot out of the smoke, wore round and was again ready with all her guns loaded to rake the Insiirgente from stern to stem. /r./A' IVrj'II FRANCE ON rilE SEA. 8 1 The Frcncli captain, after a loss of seventy men, seeing his peril, struck his flag at 3.30 p.m., and the one hour's battle ended. The Constellation had but three men wounded. One man was run through by his own officer, for having flinched at his gun. The law of the battle- deck does not allow of cowardice, lest by the default of one the whole crew should be panic- stricken, and defeat be made certain. Years before, in the attack on Stony Point, one of Wayne's men suffered death at the hands of an officer and in the same way. This was for turning aside to load his musket when the general had ordered empty guns and cold steel. The first lieutenant of the Constellation, John Rodgers, afterward commodore, was put on board the Insurgente with eleven men to take the prize to St. Kitts in the West Indies. There were still 173 of the French crew on board when it began to blow, and darkness coming on the work of trans- ferring the prisoners had to stop and the two ships separated in the darkness. With the decks still covered with the wreck of sails, spars, rigging, and splintered timber left by the battle, dead and wounded lying about and their blood running out of the scuppers, and the prisoners expecting to rise and recapture their ship, Rodgers's situation was awk- ward indeed. He kept the Frenchmen below and 82 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. set armed sentinels during the three days. He finally brought the Insurgentc to St. Kitts, meet- ing the Constellation already there. This victory awakened tremendous popularity in favor of our navy. Lads and sailors pressed for- ward to enlist, and the young men of our best fami- lies were only too glad to get commissions as mid- shipmen. The government began a career of well- planned naval expansion. Captain Preble convoyed American vessels to the Dutch East Indies, Then the stars and stripes were first seen on an Ameri- can man-of-war east of the Cape of Good Hope. France having taken Holland, and being at war with England, the annual Dutch ship from Ba- tavia to Nagasaki could not sail under Dutch colors. So the American Captain Stewart took her to Nagasaki under our flag, and for the first time the sixteen stars and thirteen stripes were mirrored on the Black Tide of Japan. The people in the land of Tycoon and Mikado were much interested in the " flowery flag." Congress persevered in the work of building up a superb marine, and even six 74-gun ships were contracted for. It may be truly said that at the opening of the nineteenth century the navy made as brilliant a record as it has done at its close. The six heavy frigates were afloat, and there were altoorether in the West India waters or nearer IVAR WITH FRANCE ON THE SEA. ?,T, home twenty-five men-of-war, one of them being the old lusHro-aiic refitted. The cruisinu: fleet was divided into two squadrons, one under Com- modore Talbot, who had ten, and the other under Commodore Truxton, who had as many more. Nevertheless the seas were swarming with Gallic cruisers and privateers, and our commerce suffered. This was the era of the French " Spoliations." I could tell many " tales of a grandfather " who had experience of capture and loss. On the ist of February, 1800, Commodore Trux- ton, in the Constellation, fell in with the French frigate, Vengeance, with fifty-two guns and five hun- dred men. Putting on all sail, Truxton came up to hail the Frenchman, when the latter opened fire from his stern and port guns. A battle began which lasted from eight o'clock in the evening until one o'clock in the morning. Then the French ship, having lost one hundred and fifty men killed and wounded, drew off. The Constellation, losing her main mast, which went overboard, was unable to make chase. The Vengeance got into Cura9oa dis- masted and in a sinking condition. This battle added tremendously to the reputation of Truxton and our navy. Another brilliant action was the capture of a French privateer, the Sandwich, formerly of Eng- lish ownership, at Port Platte, by a party of seamen 84 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. and marines in the sloop SaHy, led by Lieuten- ant Hull of the Constitution, who afterward com- manded this famous ship. Later the Insurgcnte sailed on a cruise. She must have foundered at sea, for nothins: was ever heard of her. This made the fourth ship of the American navy lost in this way. There were a good many minor conflicts at sea and captures of French privateers by our ves- sels during^ this naval war with France. Never- theless Napoleon Bonaparte saw that there was no real ground of hostilities between the two nations that had lately been allies. Overthrowing the gov- ernment at Paris, he became first consul and pro- posed peace. On the 3d of February, 1801, the treaty of amity with France was ratified by the Sen- ate, and a man-of-war, well named the Herald, was sent to the West Indies to recall all our armed ships. Thus ended this short and irregular war with France, in which our naval officers were trained to enterprise and action. This campaign was only the prelude to the splendid naval drama on the Mediterranean. No one saw more clearly than Napoleon the future of the American people. No one believed more surely in the time, not far away, when the United States should first be the commercial rival and then the superior of Great Britain. It is no WAR IV 1 711 FRANCE ON THE SEA. 85 wonder, then, that as soon as this " man of destiny " came in power, he made peace with the United States. Furthermore, he was soon ready to sell out all French claims to territory in America. And so, to this Corsican dictator we owe it that our territory was doubled and our country began the policy of continued national expansion. When Washington died, in 1 799, Bonaparte ordered pub- lic mourning for him in France, though the British also lowered their flags to half mast. Our war with France was the first war under the new Constitution. CHAPTER IX. OUR NAVY IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. WHILE our country was so young and weak, it had not yet made its flag respected on the high seas, and especially in the Mediterranean Sea. A line of robber nations, from Egypt to the Atlantic Ocean, held North Africa and dominated the seacoast. These Barbary states were Tunis, Tripoli, Morocco, and Algiers. The pirates were Mohammedans, and thought they were doing God service in robbing Christian ships, making their crews prisoners, and then holding them as slaves or for ransom. They had heavily armed, fast sail- ing vessels, called corsairs, which swooped like hawks upon their prey. Thus they grew rich on their villanous work. Even strong European na- tions had to bribe these fanatical robbers. Our government paid the Dey of Tripoli many thou- sand dollars a year to allow our ships to pass his coast. Having no navy, we could not fight or de- fend ourselves. These Barbary powers at first, during the Middle Aees, had carried on this naval warfare for what 86 OUR NAVY IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 8/ they called religion. Then finding such " religion " very profitable, they kept it up, for both their con- science' and pocket's sake. Before the Revolu- tion, our annual trade in the Mediterranean, which amounted to twenty thousand tons a year, was pro- tected by passes from the British government at London. After our independence was gained our young and weak nation had to guard against these new enemies — the piratical Moors. As in 1898, so in 1785, it was " the Maine " that began the war. A schooner of that name was cap- tured by the Dey of Algiers and her crew imprisoned as slaves. Other captures followed. In 1792 Wash- ington proposed a treaty with Algiers, which was to pay $40,000 as a ransom for the thirteen Ameri- cans then held captive, $25,000 as a present to the Dey on putting his signature to the treaty, and $25,000 a year annually. Admiral Paul Jones was given charge of the negotiations, but unfortunately he died at this time. Soon after this the Algerine fleet captured ten of our vessels, and in November, 1793, there were one hundred and fifteen American prisoners in Algiers alone. Yet, although our fel- low-countrymen had been seized and worked in chain gangs as slaves, our country, instead of pun- ishing the rascals, kept bleating like a fat sheep. The government had to ask the churches and Chris- tian people to take up collections during hours of 88- THE KOMAXCE OF COXQUEST. worship, to raise money to pay ransoms. Mean- while the proud thieves became more insolent and demanded more. The firing of salutes is the wasteful etiquette observed between ships of different nations and recognition of officers of high rank. It costs more every year to burn powder thus foolishly than it does to support Christian missionaries all over the world. In 1797 it was proposed, on the side of the Bey of Tunis, that a barrel of gunpowder should be given the Tunisian government for every gun fired in saluting an American ship of war. To this our envoy Barlow objected, though the Bey insisted upon it, because, he said, " fifteen barrels of gunpowder will furnish a cruiser, which may capture a prize and net me a hundred thousand dollars." The consul replied that " the concession was so degrading that our nation would not yield to it, — both justice and honor forbade, — and we did not doubt the world would view the demand as they did the concession." " You consult your honor," said he ; " I my interest ; but if you wish to save your honor in this instance, give me fifty barrels of powder annually and I will agree to the altera- tion." This treaty with Tunis cost us $107,000, and up to 1802 our diplomacy with these marauders amounted to over $2,000,000 — enough to have built twenty large frigates. Indeed, half of this OUR NAVY IN THE MEDITEKKANEAN. 89 amount, properly invested in good American men- of-war and the pay of our brave sailors, would have saved us the degradation of handing over bribery money during many years, for then we should have had peace, without paying a single dollar for either tribute or ransom. As matter of fact our treaties with the Barbary nations amounted to nothing until we sent a naval force into the Mediterranean. For each one of the Mohammedan robbers demanded as much money as the others did, and during all the negotiations the United States were put on a level with Sweden. The more the barbarians were paid, the more they wanted. Mr. William Eaton, United States Consul at Tunis, accompanied our first squadron of four vessels and was presented to the Dey. He thus describes that ruler's private audience room, twelve by eight feet in size : " Here [in the narrow dark entry, leading to the room] we took off our shoes and entering the cave (for so it seemed) with small apertures of light, with iron gates, we were shown to a large, huge, shaggy beast, sitting on his rump upon a low bench, covered with a cushion of em- broidered velvet, with his hind legs gathered up like a tailor or a bear. On our approach to him he reached out his forepaw as if to receive some- thing to eat. Our guide exclaimed ' kiss the Dey's 90 THE ROMAXCE OF COXQUEST. hand ! ' The Consul-General bowed very elegantly and kissed it, and we followed his example in suc- cession. The animal seemed at that moment to be in a harmless mood ; he grinned several times, but made very little noise. After standino- a few moments in silent agony, the American company left the den, without any other hindrance than the humiliation of being obliged, in this involuntary manner, to violate the second command of God and offend common decency." The little American frigate George Washington was in the harbor of Algiers in October, iSoo, when the Dey demanded of the American Consul the privilege of using this vessel to carry his ambassador to the port of Constantinople, with the customary presents. He threatened war, plunder, and devasta- tion unless his demands were satisfied. So weak and low had we become in the eyes of these barbarians, that the captain of the George Washington had to hoist the flag of Algiers at the main top and salute it with seven guns. However, this little war vessel, w'hich went to Constantinople, was the first to show the American flag in the Bosphorus, and thus the thirteen stripes and sixteen stars were reflected on the waters of eastern Europe. Yet no benefit came from our degradation. The Dey was a sharp bargain maker, declaring that the naval stores were not up to the mark. Instead of OCR iVAVY IX THE MEDITERRAXEAN. 9 1 reckoning by the Christian calendar, he computed according to the INIohammedan years, and by the year 1S12 found our government deficient to the amount of $27,000, by which time we had paid about $379,000. When the Bashaw of TripoH found that the United States government had bribed the Dey of Algiers at a higher price than himself, he behaved like a dissatisfied small boy. This Oriental Oliver Twist clamored for more presents and money. These not coming when expected, he cut down the flagstaff of the American Consulate May 14, 1801, and began war. Finally our government took measures to protect American citizens even beyond the ocean. Captain Dale was sent with the three frigates, President, Philadelphia, and Essex, and the gunboat Entei^- prise. These arrived at Gibraltar in time to keep two Tripolitan ships of war from getting into the Atlantic Ocean to prey on our commerce. The presence of our navy had more influence in main- taining peace than if the frigate George Washington had come again laden with tribute. The first trial of prowess between the Turks and Americans was when the Enterprise fell in with a Tripolitan corsair, then out on a predatory cruise. The Turk, after fighting a while, struck his flag but hoisted it aoain, thinkintT to gain an advantage. 92 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. After three hours' battle, the American fire had been so destructive that the Turkish captain threw his colors into the sea, and asked for quarter. Fifty- men on the pirate ship had been killed or wounded, while on the Enterprise was not a man hurt. Our men first attended to the wounded, and then threw the Turks' guns overboard, gave the ship a sail and spar, and allowed the crew to go back to Tripoli. Yet the Tripolitan captain's bravery, and even his wounds, did not avail with the Dey. He was placed on a jackass, ridden through the streets, and then given the bastinado. Our vessels blockaded Tripoli and kept the cor- sairs from coming out, but the Dey, caring nothing for his own people, would exchange no prisoners. He still held the American captives, hoping for large ransom. In 1802 another fine squadron, under Commodore Morris, kept up the blockade, but little was accomplished, and the Moors kept up their piratical activity. On August 26, 1803, the Phila- delphia captured the Meshboha, belonging to the Emperor of Morocco, but, on October 31st, while chasing a Tripolitan vessel, ran hard and high upon the rocks, where she was wedoed fast. ThouQ-h everything was done to lighten her, the ship could not be got off. No other American vessel was near to help, and under the attack of nine gunboats our flag was hauled down. The Americans were robbed OUR NAVY LV THE I\l EniTERRANEAhr. 93 and |)liiiukM\'(l, and Ca|)taiii nainl)i"id<;e and his men WLTc thiown into piison. Ilu' I )ivan was highly elated and expected large ransom. 'Hiin^s looked dark for the y\mericans. Commodore Preble, one of the (nsl and greatest educators of the United States navy, was i)ut in command of the American forces in the Mediterra- nean. To prevent the Philadelphia from being refitted as a piratical corsair, Decatur, with brave officers and a picked crew of seventy men, boldly |)lanned to run in at night and set the frigate on fi re. This scheme was carried out on a moonlight night. Our men lay concealed on the ketch Lilrcpid, and the Turks, thinkins: the boat was a Maltese trading vessel, were completely surprised. Decatur sprang on board, leading his men. They cleared the spar deck by driving the Turks into the sea, and won complete victory after a struggle below. Then the combustibles were passed uj), the shij) set on fire in a dozen places, and soon masts and rigging made glowing columns and caj)itals of fire. Indeed, the Americans themselves barely escaped from the flames. The spirit of the United States navy rose high, and our merchant vessels, in conse- quence of the general war then prevailing in Europe, began again to " whiten the seas of the Old World with American commerce." 94 THE ROMANCE OF COXQl'EST. On August 3, 1804, Coniniodore Preble, witli 7 men-of-war, 2 bomb-vessels, and gunboats manned by 1060 men, bombarded the forts and fought the enemy's war-ships. In the harbor were 115 cannon mounted in battery, 19 gunboats, and 5 men-of-war. Besides the science and skill shown by Preble, his oi^cers, Decatur, Somers, Trippe, Bain bridge, Thorne, McDonough, Henley, Ridley, and Miller, won fame and distinction, while the Coustitutiou revealed her splendid qualities both as a sailer and a floating fortress. There were hand-to-hand fights, and 2 boats were captured by Decatur, which had on board 80 men, of whom 52 w'ere killed or w^ounded. With 1 1 Americans, Lieutenant Trippe boarded and captured another vessel having a crew thrice as large in number as his own. Several points were made prominent in this battle: first, the superiority of the American gunnery, and, second, the courage and effectiveness of our men in boarding. The muscular INIussulmans had always supposed that they excelled and were invincible with the pike and cimeter. Besides the three gunboats taken, three more were sunk, and the batteries were badly damaged. Other bombardments followed, but we had no land forces to reduce the fortified city, and the Dey still insisted on a ransom of $500 apiece for his prisoners. OUR NAVY IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 95 In the old naval warfare, and until well into the present century, great reliance was placed upon fire- ships, or floating mines, for sul^marine mines were at that time unknown. Captain Somers offered to take in a bomb-ketch close to the shipping and batteries and blow them up. The Intrepid was loaded with powder and combustibles, and called an " infernal," and great things were expected of this " hell-burner." But although manned by brave and cool men, the Intrepid blew up prematurely, and all on board perished. Whether by shots from the enemy, or by accident, or to avoid capture, is un- known, for no one survived to tell how or why. "A sad and solemn mystery, after all our conjectures, must forever veil the fate of these fearless officers and their hardy followers." The name of Somers became a battle-cry, and has been given to our ships of war. Had the Intrepid succeeded, there w^ould have been peace within twenty-four hours ; but since it failed, the barbarian ruler still hoped that the Americans would submit to capture and give ransom, rather than pay money for a navy so far from home. On the contrary, our squadron was kept up. Then came the affair of General Eaton, who, with a motley force, captured Derne, and the treaty of 1805, which w^as of no special credit to our govern- ment. As a naval campaign, the war in the Medi- 96 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. tcrrancan was, in its results, at least respectable; while as a school for the forming and education of the United States navy, these four years of ex- perience in the Mediterranean were of incalculable value, and later we shall see good results. CHAPTER X. DOUBLING THE NATIONAL DOMAIN. AMERICAN diplomacy really began with the mission of Franklin to France in 1776. Other envoys were despatched, such as John Adams, Silas Deane, and Henry Laurens. Dr. Franklin, by his wit and wisdom, by his eminence in science and philosophy, and by his unique and commanding personality, which attracted the attention of the Bourbon court, and especially of the elegant ladies of Paris and Versailles, made a signal success. He obtained from the French money, ships, an army, and loans, besides commissioning privateers and securing the services of John Paul Jones. One of the pleasant surprises to the American visiting France is to see so often the portraits of " Poor Richard." John Adams was successful, especially in Hol- land, where he secured recognition of the United States and loans of money. These, when paid up in 1829, amounted in principal and interest to $14,000,000. While our various American envoys were in Europe, much real sympathy with our n 97 98 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. country was awakened. Not a few Frenchmen and Dutchmen made real personal sacrifices in behalf of American freedom; but in the great flock of European adventurers that offered to serve in our cause, and to accept commissions in the army, many, were worthless characters. Not a few duels were fought between French and American officers, for our men could not stand the aristocratic airs of these supercilious servants of the Bourbon and other monarchies. Congress was only too ready to com- mission these soldiers of fortune whom Silas Deane recommended ; but Washington did not like the policy' of employing many foreigners. He wrote that if our liberties were to be achieved, the war must be fought and the victories won by Americans if at all. As for Spain, we got no help from her as an ally, and it was well for us that we did not. The one European people that from first to last really sympathized with us were the Dutch, whose history was so much like our own. Our national diplomacy under the Constitution began when John Jay was sent by Washington, in 1795, to make a new treaty, because the treaty of 1783 had not been carried out properly by either party, British or American. Our people did not keep their word and pay their debts. On the other hand, the British government, besides hampering our trade with France, kept the Indians in hostility DOUIif.lNC ■rill': NATION A I. DOMAIN. gg to us, and would not i^ivc up llic forts ;dou^ tlic northern frontier, as had been promised. The treaty which John Jay secured was very unj)Oj)uhu" with our grandfathers, who were greedy enough in wanting to get more than they really deserved; while on their part the British tried to use us as their unwilling ally against TVance, and interfered unlavy- fully with our commerce. By the Jay treaty the eastern boundary of Maine was settled, our citizens recovered about #10,000,000 for illegal captures by British ships of war, and the western forts held by l^ritish garrisons were surrendered to us. This was all very fine for our side, but to offset these advantacres our tradin: and i^oin^r from church. The " Republican Court " was a scene of great splendor and dignity. As I have heard my grandmother and grand- aunts tell, President Washington would be driven in a coach and six horses to Old Christ Church, on Second vStreet, above Market, in Philadelphia. Dressed in black velvet, waited upon by his obse- quious lackeys and footmen, and driven by P^ritz, his famous Hessian coachman, he made a great show of pomp and splendor, which not only the boys and girls, but the ladies and gentlemen of the capital city, delighted in viewing. Jefferson, who had democratic ideas that emerged during the French Revolution, dressed more plainly and cared little for display, while at the same time fashions were tending toward the simpler style of to-day. Besides the great change from silk waist- coat, lace ruffs and wristlets, knee-breeches, silk stockings and silver buckles, men were beginning to wear trousers, and their coats and hats were more like those of our time. Jefferson carried his simpler manners and habits to the capital and in the execu- tive mansion. This was not the present White House, but one which had been occupied by Presi- dent Adams, and which was burned by the British in 1814. It was under Jefferson that the great expansion 102 '/7//'.' ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. programme, now over a century old and yet unfin- ished, began to be carried out. A study of the facts shows that the thoughts of Americans " widened with the process of the suns." In colonial days a road had been made from Plymouth, nine miles westward, which there sto])ped, it not being then supposed that any regular travel further westward would ever be needed. In 1690 the village of Schenectady was spoken of as " in the far West." A hundred years later the rernoval of the capital to Washington was opposed as being " too far toward the setting sun." In Jefferson's time many able men shook their heads at the idea of the republic extending beyond the Alleghanies. Many also sup- posed that in time the different sections would break up into nations. Indeed, it is no wonder that good and wise men held these views, for then it took more time to go from Baltimore to Pittsburg than is now required to reach luu'ope, or to travel from California to I lawaii. P'rom San P^^ancisco one can reach the Philippines more easily and more quickly, than even the swiftest and bravest hunter could get from Philadelphia to the Mississippi River. Yet even while men were thus thinking and talk- ing, the very ones who believed in having a country no wider than two hundred and fifty miles were staggered with the proposition to buy the very heart of the American continent, between the Mississippi DOUBLING THE NATIONAL DOMAIN. IO3 River and tlic Rocky Mountains. T^rancc owned this territory called Louisiana,, named by La Salle, its discoverer, after Louis XIV and his queen. Instead of being the district still retaining the name, it extended from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada. Out of this vast region watered by the Red, the Arkansas, and the Missouri rivers and their tribu- taries, over a dozen states and territories have been made. Napoleon Bonaparte had determined on ruling, if possible, all Europe, and on bringing even Great Britain under subjugation. For this gigantic task he needed plenty of money. Moreover, he feared the capture of Louisiana by the British fleet. So when the offer to sell was made, Mr. Jefferson, though not liking the idea of national enlargement, and stretching his constitutional power, as he him- self confessed, " till it cracked," bought a million square miles, or over six hundred millions of acres, at two and a half cents an acre, and Napoleon got $15,000,000. Thus all possible disputes with France were removed out of politics ; England would never control the Mississippi Valley; the great West be- came ours and opened to our settlers. The grandest river and valley on the continent, with the precious jewel of the Crescent City, came under the Ameri- can flag, then glistening with seventeen stars. Our national domain was doubled. CHAPTER XI. WHY A SECOND WAR FOR FREEDOM WAS FOUGHT. JEFFERSON'S plan of defending our Atlantic ^ coast by a flotilla of little gunboats seems very amusing to-day when we think of the proud and powerful nations of France and Great Britain. These were then at war, and in their fighting they cared very little about the rights of smaller coun- tries. Each went so far as to forbid Americans to trade with the other. Great Britain demanded the right to stop our ships and search them, in order to get British sailors. Every man who could not prove his American citizenship was dragged away and forced to enter the British service. The success of the British, especially after Nel- son's victories and Trafalgar, had transformed many English captains into genuine bullies. Indeed, this is the usual effect of most successful wars, — to fill the victors with inordinate pride, — and it is one reason why war ought to cease from the earth. Several thousand men were taken off our ships in this way, and things seemed to be going on from bad to worse, when an event took place through which 104 W//V A SECOND WAR FOR FREEDOM JVAS FOUGHT. 105 Providence taught our country and the American navy a bitter, but a very wholesome, lesson. It was the first and the last time that an American man-of-war was fired on without response. The United States frigate Chesapeake had sailed for Hampton Roads, and was hailed by a British war vessel Leopard. Officers came on board to muster the Chesapeake' s crew, to see if there were any of their sailors on board. This Commodore Barron refused to permit, or to allow his men to be mustered by any except their own officers. Notic- ing that the decks were littered up and the ship utterly unprepared, the British lieutenant returned in his boat to the Leopard. In a few minutes the British trained her guns and opened fire upon the Chesapeake. This was in time of peace and without provocation, for Commodore Barron had written a letter stating that he knew of no British deserters on his ship. Utterly unprepared, no reply with fire and shot to the treacherous bully could be made. The Chesapeake s crew were so unready that even the single cannon discharged was fired by an officer who carried in his hands a live coal from the cook's galley and placed it upon the powder of the touch- hole. The Chesapeake struck her colors, and the British took off three men, but let Commodore Barron return to Norfolk with his ship. Yet the moral effect of this affair was excellent, I06 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. and the ultimate benefit to the Americans very great. Very little damage had been done by the British cannon balls. The mist of rumor and exas- geration of the power of the British broadside were blown away, and for all time our navy learned the lesson of being always ready and effective. Now, no ships are neater, no crews are more vigilant, and no officers are in more constant preparation for the possibilities of action, whether the time be one of war or peace, than are those of the United States. But instead of going on to increase and perfect our navy, Congress foolishly passed laws called the Embargo and Non-intercourse acts, which forbade any American vessels sailing from our ports. By paralyzing our commerce, it was hoped that France and England would behave themselves. This was like cutting off one's own arm to make men respect you, instead of using it for defence. We lost time, trade, money, and ships. Nevertheless one good result sprang out of this suicidal policy. The stream of American energy, turned back by this dam, found outlet in another direction. Factories rose, and soon new wheels were turning. The New Englanders turned their attention to manufactures and labor-saving inven- tions. The Pennsylvanian, Fulton, launched his steamboat on the Hudson, and the Clermont moved without wind or oars against wind and current from IV//V A SECOND WAR FOR FREEDOM WAS FOUGHT. 10/ New York to Albany. The jDuffing monster scared some of the farmers, who thought that the devil was riding up the river on a sawmill. The fishermen and sailors were awed almost as much as the Indians had been, two centuries before, by Henry Hudson and his ship Half Moon. In the far Northwest Lewis and Clarke explored the Missouri River valley beyond the Rocky Mountains and down the Columbia River, which was first named after his own vessel, by Captain Robert Gray, who carried the American flag around the world. Soon steamboats began carrying emigrants and stimulat- ing traffic on the Ohio, the Mississippi, the western rivers, and tHe Great Lakes. A few years later the first ocean steamer crossed from Savannah to Europe, bearing the American flag. When James Madison, often called " the Father of the Constitution," was chosen President and came into ofifice, thousands of American ships were rotting at their wharves. Their owners waited impatiently for the liberty of commerce. Misled by what the British minister at Washington had promised, that they would be unmolested by British men-of-war if they traded only in English ports, they started out on the ocean, turning the cold shoulder to France. But American captains soon found that England would not cease searching our ships, nor did Napoleon keep his word any better. When, I08 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. further, as was believed, British agents stirred up Tecumseh, an Indian chief of Ohio, who united the savage clans from Florida to Michigan to break up the white settlements, General William Henry Harrison marched into Indiana. At Tippecanoe, in 1811, he defeated the embattled redmen. Other incidents came to aggravate the bitter feelings between the United States and Great Britain. Commodore John Rodgers and other naval captains believed that our men and ships could meet the British on the seas with fair pros- pect of success. Having confidence in the merits of the American long gun and the heavy frigate, they determined to leave nothing to Chance. They constantly drilled their men both at cannon and carronades, and with cutlass, pike, and pistol. They determined, when they got a chance, to put an end to the abominable habit of the searching of our ships by the heroes of Trafalgar, whom long success had made insolent. Gradually a party was formed in this country which had representatives in Congress, whose creed was that war with Great Britain would consolidate the union of the states, and thus benefit the country by developing its resources. The cry went up for " free trade and sailors' rights." This meant freedom to trade with any country that would trade with us, and protection of American seamen against seizure. IV//Y A SECOND WAR FOR FREEDOM WAS FOUGHT. 109 Naval fashions of tliat day called for a vast area of canvas on the sailing ships, with enormous flags and streamers. One British vessel, the Gtierriere, had her name painted in large letters on the top- sails. Captain Dacres, her commander, had become conspicuous for his bravado in insulting American merchant captains. Since 1790 a question of im- pressment, or the press gang, had been debated between Washington and London, without much apparent benefit ; but now Commodore Rodgers received orders to put an end to these outrages, which made such annoying delay and greatly injured trade. Burning to revenge the C/iesapeake affair, the frigate President put to sea with her name boldly blazoned on her three topsails like those of the Guerriere. When near Sandy Hook an episode took place which precipitated the War of 181 2. At half-past eight in the evening of May 17th, Commodore Rodgers signalled a strange sail, asking, " What ship is that.''" The hailed vessel replied with four cannon shot. Then began a general fusillade, which lasted fifteen minutes. The British sloop of war, Little Belt, had foolishly attacked an American heavy frigate. The next morning it was found that the smaller vessel, though terribly shattered, was able to proceed on her course. The accounts of the affair given by the two commanders cannot be no rilE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. reconciled, l)iil the I)rc;icli was witlcnctl. Although it was, and always will be, a disgrace to their Christianity for linglish-speaking people to shed each other's blood, war broke out. When hostilities began the British had over a thousand armed ships. Flushed with their victories under Lord Nelson, and excited by the sea songs of Dibdin, they considered themselves " lords of the main." In their naval battles they had sunk hun- dreds of French ships, many of them as large and heavy as their own, and they had won flags French, Dutch, Spanish, Danish, by the hundreds. No one can ever accuse the l>ritish sailors or soldiers of a lack of courage. Now, how^ever, they were to learn from their own kinsmen that brute force is less valuable in war than intelligence, and that a little navy, contemptible in size, could strike down more British flags in a generation than they had lost in a century. On the American side were a few first-class ships and excellent guns manned and served mainly by native Americans. Althouoh Conorcss had ncLr- lected the navy, yet Commodore Rodgers's squad- ron was in the finest condition. As a rule, the British navy had no ships equal in general effec- tiveness to the American heavy frigates, the long guns of which had sights fitted to them, which enabled our men to lire with wonderful accuracy. IVI/Y A SECOND IVAk' FOR FREEDOM WAS FOUGHT. Ill In using sheet-lead cartridges, they anticipated the copper shells of later American invention. Further- more, our men were drilled to be cool. and to wait until the exact moment of firing. The Americans took more care of their guns, fastened them more securely, did not overload them, counted rather than weighed their shot, and depended on intelli- gence rather than on numbers. Besides the long guns were the short and chubby carronades, named from the Carron iron works in Scotland, where they were first made. These did terrible execution at close range in tearing up sails, rigging, and thus disabling the enemy. The naval officer of the early part of our century was usually a handsome man, with a sufficient num- ber of gilt buttons and expanse of gold braid on his coat to make him greatly admired of the ladies. The old pigtail and eelskin of the Revolutionary days had passed away at the dictate of fashion. Most of the officers had more or less wavy hair. How so many of them were able to make their hair curl is a mystery, but there is no secret as to why none of them wore mustaches or beards, for these things were not in fashion. Even individuals, how- ever eminent on deck or in port, could not gratify their taste, had they desired to keep the upper lip covered ; for the regulations of the navy forbade the growth of hair on the face or chin, and would 112 THE ROMANCE OE CONQUEST. not tolerate a mustache " under any circumstances." So in their portraits we see the cpauletted naval heroes with high stocks and stand-up collars, with ruffled shirt bosoms, but only " sides " or short col- umns of whiskers below their ears, or occasionally coming forward toward the mouth or high up on the cheek. One great difference in the general spirit of the navy and that of the army in 1812, as in 1898, lay in this, that the navy was a purely professional school, in which only trained men thoroughly equipped for their work took part. Patriotism had thus the best chance to show itself. On the con- trary, the army, except the small nucleus of the regulars, became the prey of partisan politicians and of men io^norant of the scientific work of the true soldier. The navy had a further advantage in that the Tripolitan war had been a magnificent traininsf-school for our officers. Commodore Preble was really the father of the American navy, for he infused in it his dauntless spirit, and made the young officers proud of their calling. Under his own eyes were trained Hull, Decatur, Bainbridge, McDonough, Porter, Lawrence, Biddle, Chauncey, Warrington, Charles Morris, and Stewart, all of whom, in 181 2, kept our flag afioat on the seas, and won fame in the war with the mightiest naval power on this planet. CHAPTER XII. THE NAVAL CAMPAIGN OF l8l2. WHEN the declaration of war was made by Congress on the 12th of June, 181 2, there was no money in the treasury and the Cabinet was divided, On our side some of the veterans of the Revolution were living. So also was King George III. So great was the cowardly fear of British invincibility on the seas, that some in Washington urged that our men-of-war should keep within tide- water, and act only as harbor batteries. We had then only three first-class and two second-class frigates which were seaworthy, together with five brigs and sloops and three second-class frigates under repair, besides the one hundred and seventy little gunboats. Captains Bainbridge and Stewart went in person to remonstrate against the frigates being kept at home. Commodore Rodgers, as soon as news of the declaration of war came, moved out to sea, so as not to receive orders of recall. He was in charge of the President, United States, Congress, Argus, and Horiiet — one-third of our whole naval force at that time. I 113 114 ^^'^''- 'ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. The naval campaign of 1812-1815 was one of the most wonderful in the annals of ocean war. Within two years the British lost more flags, through cap- ture by Americans, than had been won from them by their foes during the previous two centuries. The first gun afloat was fired by Commodore John Rodgers, who, in the President, the best sailing ship of the navy, chased the Belvidere, which, however, escaped to Halifax. Then, crossing the ocean, Rodgers wrought great havoc on the British com- merce off the Norway coast and in the seas around Great Britain. It was found necessary in London to despatch a great fleet of ships to find Rodgers, who, however, came back safely. Soon the Admir- alty in London issued an order to their war vessels to refuse battle with the Americans, except upon rigidly equal terms. They called our heavy frigates " disguised seventy-fours." The first combat at sea struck the keynote of victory. Captain Isaac Hull, in the Constitution, was chased by three British frigates, but surprised his veteran opponents by his bold and original methods of seamanship, and got off safely. Later, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, he met alone and by herself the British man-of-war Guerriere, one of his late pursuers. This vessel had been captured from the French, and its name was only another form of the word "warrior." Then began the first of fif- 'rilf', NAVAL CAMPAIGN OF 1812. I15 teen naval battles, twelve of whieh were won by Americans. The GiicrrTcrc moved L(ayly to the work of battle and began firing rapidly, but Captain Hull kept his ofificers and men waiting until the right moment. They found it very hard to stand still, all expectant and excited as they were, and be fired at without making reply ; but, when once the 24-pounders began their music, so welcome to the ears of our tars, only twenty minutes were necessary to reduce the British ship to firewood. Every one of the masts of the Guerrieve was shot away, and her hull was so badly smashed by the American 24-pounders that she drifted helplessly as a hulk and had to be set on fire. When Captain Hull came into Boston with his prisoners, the ship, almost uninjured, was dubbed Old Ironsides. In October, 181 2, Captain Jacob Jones in the sloop Wasp met his Britannic Majesty's brig Frolic and gave battle, which began in a rough sea. Both ships had about the same force of men and guns, but British sailors seemed to blaze away without taking much aim, while the American artillerists always pointed their guns. The Frolic fired as she rose on the wave, the Wasp fired as she sunk, and every shot seemed to tell on the hull of her antago- nist. The consequences were that the comparative loss of the British and the Americans in this naval Il6 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. duel, as in that of tlie Constitution and Gncrriere, was five to one. Soon after the combat the British seventy-four-gun ship Poictiers appeared and took both the Wasp and the Frolic. This was in substance a civil war, for English- speaking men, with much the same ideas, were fighting each other and were equally brave ; but our ships were the best built in the world, and in nearly every case the Americans had the advantages in throwing: heavier shot and often havinsf more guns in a broadside. Yet even these facts do not account for the tremendous victories gained. The true reason was that the English had been spoiled by their victories over the French, and did not try to improve ; while the Americans were strict in discipline and were constantly aiming to do better. Our ships, guns, seamanship, and discipline were ahead of those of Europeans at that time. Our people were alert for new ideas, and for the best way of applying them, and the newspapers and patent office reports of that day show how active was the Yankee brain in generating new and wonderful engines of war. Late in October Commodore Decatur, command- ing the frigate United States, met the British ship Macedonian, which had been captured from the French. The British guns were i8- and 32-pound- ers. The Americans' were 24- and 42-pounders, and THE NA VAL CAMPAIGN OF 1812. I 1 7 the United States had three more guns in broad- side, and therefore a much heavier battery. This does not, however, explain the completeness of the victory. The Americans displayed so much skill in the handling of their artillery that on board the United States the Americans killed and wounded numbered but thirteen, while on the British vessel there were eight times as many, or one hundred and four. The Macedonian became one of the most valuable and useful ships of our navy. The navy department now ordered a squadron, the Constitiition, Essex, and Hornet, to make a cruise in the Pacific Ocean to protect our com- merce and whaling fleet from the British cruisers. Then, for the first time, our national vessels were seen in that c^reatest of oceans, in which now we hold possessions, and where the stars and stripes have been planted to stay. When near Brazil, and four days after Christmas, the Constitution met the splendid British frigate, Java. Ships, guns, and men were very nearly matched, and the fight lasted over an hour. The Java was so badly smashed by the American shot that she could not be kept as a prize, and was sunk. The casualties on our side were thirty-tour and on the British one hundred and twenty-four. Two days after Washington's birthday. Captain Il8 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. Lawrence, in the brig Horiiet, near Demerara, in British Guiana, gave battle to the British vessel Peacock. In fifteen minutes after the first gun was fired the Peacock sunk so quickly that Lawrence's men could not save some of the British sailors, and three of the Americans went down with part of the crew of the Peacock. Beside the drowned men, thirty-eight of the British and five of the Hornet were killed or wounded in battle. The Hojniet was hardly scratched. No battle showed so clearly that not superior force and valor, for both crews were alike in numbers and bravery, but these joined with superior science, had won the day. This series of five naval actions, within as many months, shocked but enlightened the British public. The feeling of contempt for American ships, men, guns, and science changed to respect, and taught British naval men a lesson from which they have never ceased to profit. Instead of "a bunch of pine boards floating a bit of striped bunting," they saw in the American heavy frigate the best-equipped war-ship of modern times. It must never be forgotten that before 1812 there was no " nation" in the United States, in the same sense that there is now. The states were jealous and comparatively hostile to each other. Although the words " nation " and " national " were used, yet it was hard for a Frenchman or Englishman to see THE NAVAL CAMPAIGN OF 1812. I 19 in the voluntary confederation of the thirteen states, or of the sixteen, a true nation. Consequently, most of our diplomacy, yes, even our begging for justice, was met with silent contempt. One set of our own politicians declared that the states were foreign to one another, and only a nation in their relation to other powers, or to Europe; but the Europeans could not see even this. It required the insults of France and Great Britain, and the humiliation of the Embargo and Non-intercourse laws, to fall like the blows of a hammer and weld together the states into "a more perfect union." These events served to create one new national spirit, which burst the shackles of sectionalism and of party spirit and ful- filled the desire of Washington, who wanted a truly American character. CHAPTER XIII. OUR KI.Al'. KKIT FLYING ON LARKS AND SKAS. 1r was no wxMulcr tliat our army failed in this war, for ihc war deixirtnicnt was poorly organized, and few of the otfieers in the higher grades had seen any serviee since the RevoUition. It was proposed to invade Canada, but there were no roads worth speaking of, over whieh to march or take wagon- trains; the Indians were unfriendlv. On tlie other hand, tlie Canadians were skilled wateniien, who were likely to do better in the forests and along the lakes ai\d rivers than our men could hope to do. The British government sent .Admiral Sir John Warren to command the British sciuadron on the .American coast. llis next in conimand, Rear- Admiral Cockburn, kept the coast of Chesapeake Hav in alarm bv raitling the barnvards and villages of the region, captuiing and destrcning also I Lwre de (irace in Mar\l,\nel and 1 lanipton in \'irginia. One of the ablest men in the British navy was Captain Broke. He was in cH>mmand of the frigate S/i(nnio)i, which was n.mied after a ri\er in Ireland. This was one ot the lew \essels ot the British navv OUR FLAG k'KPT FLY IXC ON I.AKFS AND SEAS. 121 on vvliicli the constant drill of marines and sailors, with cannon and small arms, with the firing of ball cartridges in practice, was steadily ke[)t up. On the first of June, he sent a challenge to Captain James Lawrence, who, after the sinking of the Pea- cock, had been put in command of the frigate Chesa- peake. Before it arrived Lawrence sailed out of Boston harbor to give battle to this, the finest vessel in the British navy. In the eyes of sailors, the CJiesapeake was considered unlucky, because in launching, her hull had stuck on the ways and she had reached the water with difficulty, and because also she had been " leopardized " or fired into, with- out ability to return the attack by the British man- of-war Leopard, and had struck her flag. The Chesapeake had only a raw crew, hastily gathered, many of them foreigners, and Lawrence had no time to drill them. The crew, equipment, and state of discipline on Lawrence's vessel were entirely diiTerent from those on any American ship in the navy. The sailors were a bad lot, disaffected, and clamorous for grog and promises of prize money. They had to be bribed to go to their duty. The forces of the two ships in power of iron and human muscle were about matched, but the Shannov, be- side bavins^ a brave and skilful commander, had an excellent crew in the highest state of efficiency, and it is ever the man more than the machine that tells. 122 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. The British captains of this time preferred what they called " yard-arm engagements." By this they meant that after the first broadside their ships should be quickly ranged up alongside of the enemy so that the yard-arms of both could interlock or lie parallel. Then the grappling-irons could be thrown out, boarders could stream over the enemy's side and his ship be taken by assault, final victory being won by hand-to-hand fighting. This allowed sail- ors to do at sea very much what the British soldiers did on land — they fired a volley and then charged with a cheer, to finish with the bayonet. Hitherto, however, in the naval duels between American and British ships, the superior seaman- ship of our captains had prevented such a move- ment, and the cool scientific gunnery of our men had effectually spoiled the old programme. Now, unfortunately, at the first fire, the Chesapeake lost several of her officers, including her commander, Lawrence. He was mortally wounded and carried below, crying, " Don't give up the ship." Then the Shannon got into position where she could rake the doomed vessel. This is always the most murderous part of a sea battle, for instead of the ball, canister, and grape-shot tearing across the ship sideways, the missiles fiy from stern to stem along the decks, where hundreds of men are crowded together. In this way every shot is apt to do fivefold execution OUR FLAG KEPT FLYING ON LAKES AND SEAS. 1 23 Very soon after the Chesapeake had been raked, losing most of her officers, a boarding party, led by the brave Captain Broke himself, reached the deck of the Chesapeake. The cowardly crew without discipline or officers retreated, but the brave chap- lain took up the sword and stood his ground, tak- ing off Broke's arm. After a fifteen minutes' fight, the Chesapeake was carried as a prize to Halifax. About half a ton of iron, mostly in the form of " langrage " shot from the American carronades, was taken out of the sides of the Shannon. This " flying cutlery," made by sewing up old bits of iron and metal scraps of all sorts in bags of leather, was very effective at short range in cutting the enemy's sails and rigging to pieces. The Chesapeake, after being actively used in the British navy for many years, was finally sold and broken up. Her timbers, some of them still marked with the shot of the Shannon, were used to build a flour mill. This still stands in use at an English village within a few miles of Portsmouth. Cap- tain Broke was made a nobleman. Provost Wallis, then a young officer on the Shaniion, lived to be an admiral and died within this decade. Lawrence's last cry, " Don't give up the ship," became a house- hold word in the United States, and was soon the augury of triumph on Lake Erie. Commodore Isaac Chaunccy, on the 9th of Novem- 1^4 THE ROMAXCE OF COXQCEST. bcr, iSi 3, obtained control of Lake Ontario. Be- side handling his little schooners with ability, he had fresh ships built, and then supported General Pike in an attack upon the Canadian town of York, which was captured, and a ship also. Unfortu- nately some of our men burned the little parliament house, which afterward gave Admiral Cockburn an excuse for his disgraceful incendiarisni at W'ashinsf- ton. Fort George, at the mouth of the Niagara River, was also captured by the American tiotilla and forces. Two voung men who afterward became famous. Captain Oliver Hazard Perry and Lieuten- ant-Colonel W'intield Scott, took part in this gallant affair. Vet on the whole the campaign on the north- ern frontier was marked more by failures than by successes. Indeed, the American prospects in the earlv part or the tirst half of 1813 were very gloomy, when suddenly a great bright light of victory burst upon the nation. Oliver Hazard Perry had been sent to Lake Erie to take the na\al comniand. This C^hio region was so very far away in those days from New York and Philadelphia, that a grape-shot cost nearly its weight in silver, and powder was worth as much as spices, but then wood for fuel and shipbuilding was cheap autl plentiful. Setting out in a sleigh with his younger brother, he rode through the Mohawk X'allev and the woods of western New York. He OUR FLAG KEPT F/.Vf.VC 0^ LAKF.S AiXD SEAS. 1 25 reached the town of luie, to wliieli gangs of sliip carpenters, who had travelled from Philadelphia by wagon, boat, and canoe, had also come. The shores of the lake furnished all the re(|uisite floating material in the forests which then stood miles deep. The axemen, carpenters, and blacksmiths began their work, and keels were laid and forges set up. Often what was standing timber in the morn- ing would be part of a ship before sunset. So green was the wood of this hastily improvised squadron, that the hammer which struck too far upon the nail head would s(|ueeze out the sa]) until the hammers face was wet and the carpenter must look out lest the sap fly in his eyes. When the Kentucky men, who had never seen boats bigger than batteaux, came on board these ships, they were surprised beyond measure at the largeness of the " big canoes." At the mouth of the bay, beside which the ships were built and launched, there was a bar of sand making shallow water. This was hard to get over any time, and under the fire of the enemy would be impossible. But long ago a Dutchman had in- vented what is called the " ship's camel," which is a long box or series of caissons of wood joined to- gether. These, when filled with water, sink under a ship, just as a camel kneels to receive its burden. When the water is pumped out of the boxes, they 126 THE KOMAXCE OF COXQUEST. lift the ship up and carry it like a camel under his packs. With these, Perry got over the bar. His squadron consisted of nine vessels, two of which were the brigs Laivrcucc and Niagara. On the 14th of September he advanced to meet Commo- dore Barclay, who was one of Nelsons veterans. The battle took place near Put-in Bay, Ohio. Perry, hoisting over his flag-ship Lazvrejicc, on a big square flag, the dying words of the commander after whom the ship was named, " Don't give up the ship," dashed at the enemy. The wind was light. The Lawrence was left without much sup- port from his other vessels, and was so exposed to the protracted British fire that her guns were all disabled and nearly all her men killed or wounded. It looked like a complete defeat for the Americans. At this darkest hour Perry, with those of his crew who were less severely wounded, lowered his boat and with his little brother passed through the terrific fire of cannon and musketry to the Niag- ara. Although splashed with water from balls which pierced clothing, splintered oars, and struck all around, the gallant commodore and his men reached the ship and sent Captain Elliott to bring up the schooners in the rear. It was in attempting to perform a similar feat of rowing between the Dutch and British fleets that an English admiral was killed. Our Commodore OUR FLAG KEPT FLYING ON LAKES AND SEAS. 1 27 Tatlnall, in Chinese waters nearly a half century afterward, though in as great danger as Perry, was similarly successful. Re-forming his ships in line abreast, and the wind increasing. Perry broke the enemy's line and cap- tured the entire British squadron — the first time such a thing had happened in the history of the navy of Great Britain. Then Perry sat down and dictated that famous sentence of nine words. " We have met the enemy and they are ours." In his nervousness, as seen in the original letter, he left out one word. Brevity is not only the soul of wit, but of fame also, and the glory of a victor is usually enhanced by short sentences that stick in memory. In nature the soap bubble becomes more gor- geous in color and richer in prismatic tints as it becomes thinner. So the "bubble reputation," which ambitious patriots seek "even at the can- nons mouth," takes on richer rainbow hues when, with the breath of rhetoric, it catches the popular attention. Half of Oliver Perry's fame is due to his sententious despatch of nine words : " We have met the enemy and they are ours." Thomas Jeffer- son won renown by his pen in the same way. So also did Sheridan and Grant in our day. The British captured ships were used to trans- port General Harrison's troops to Maiden, while the 128 THE ROMANCE OF COXQUEST. Kentucky cavalry marched round the shore of the lake. When the British forces retreated, they were pursued by our horsemen. In the battle on the 5th of October, near the Moravian towns, the united forces of British Canadians and Indians were de- feated by Harrison, and Tecumseh was killed. This series of victories gave us peace and quiet on Lake Erie and throughout the Northwest. In the South four columns of invasion entered Alabama to destroy the Creek Indians, who had listened to the persuasions of Tecumseh, massacred hundreds of whites, and then fortified the Horse- shoe Bend of the Tallapoosa River, where they believed themselves safe. On the 27th of March General Andrew Jackson led the regulars and mili- tia to the attack. The volunteers and friendlv Ind- ians made the assault in the rear, while the regular army stormed the works in front. For five hours a terrible battle raged, and both parties fought like savages. Even after the firing was over, no prison- ers were taken, and the Indians were put to death as if they were vermin. In truth, the Americans were guilty of many frightful excesses and unneces- sary cruelties during this war. CHAPTER XIV. " OLD IRONSIDES " AND COTTON BALES. ONE of tlie most wonderful achievements on the ocean was that of Captain David Porter in the frigate Essex. At this time our American whalers were numerous in the Pacific, but were mostly unarmed, while the Britisli whaling-ships car- ried cannon and were privateers, we thus being at a disadvantage. The situation was relieved by the appearance of the Essex. Porter captured thirteen excellent vessels, sending some to the United States, and fitting out others as cruisers. For a time Porter and his men occupied the Marquesas Islands, which Mendana the Spaniard had lon^x aoo discovered and named. This was either after the wife of the viceroy of Peru, or be- cause the natives seemed to be so polite and well dressed that they were called marquises. The northwestern islands near by, and until late in this century considered a separate group, were discovered in 1 79 1 by an American merchant navigator, named Ingraham, and named the Washington Islands. Tat- tooing and cannibalism were both very fashionable K 129 I30 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. among the natives. Only for a few months did the stars and stripes wave over the Httle archipelago. Then the Essex returned to Valparaiso. Near this port two British vessels, the frigate Phcebe and the sloop Cherub, attacked the Essex, and after a long battle captured and destroyed this fine man-of-war, named after the county in Massachusetts in which she was built. On the other hand, Captain Warrington, in the sloop Peacock, captured the British brig Epervier, off the coast of Florida, in April. Our new sloop of war Wasp, named after the captor of the Frolic, took and burned the sloop Reindeer, sunk the sloop Avon, and destroyed several prizes in the British channel. After this destructive cruise, nothing more was ever heard of the Wasp. By this time the royal government sent a large fleet to the Atlantic coast, which blockaded all our ports, and prevented our national vessels from get- ting to sea; but American privateers had been commissioned, and went cruising over the ocean to capture British ships. These vessels of various size w^ere swift and well manned, and on many the crews were splendidly drilled. They carried from two to ten guns, usually of long range. On most of them the men were armed with pistol and cut- lass. They wore leather hats, strengthened with strips of steel on the top for defence against sword "OLD IRONSIDES'' AA'D COTTON BALES. 131 strokes, which were held on by straps of bearskin. These came down over the mouth and chin, giving the wearer a ferocious appearance. Altogether, dur- ing the war, our privateers captured about fourteen hundred, and our men-of-war about three hundred British vessels. These were wonderful results, show- ing also the wastefulness and foolishness of war. Thus far the British government, having Napo- leon to attend to and battles to fiolit aoainst the French, had carried on a defensive policy during war with the United States; but when Napoleon abdicated, bodies of veteran troops were sent over to America who were expected to do great things in marching from Canada to invade American soil. This British army of twelve thousand men took the same route as that of Burgoyne in 1777, and was supported on Lake Champlain by a squadron con- sisting of the Coiijiaiicc, Linnet, CJnibb, and Finch. Our Commodore JMcDonough had, beside his flag- ship Saratoga^ the brig Eagle, the schooner Ticon- deroga, and the sloop Preble, while both parties had a flotilla of gunboats. In Plattsburg Bay McDon- ough waited until the enemy appeared with a fleet of sixteen vessels, mounting ninety-six guns, and car- rying one thousand men. Our force consisted of fourteen vessels, carrying eighty-six guns, served by eight hundred and fifty men. Then, on the iith of September, began a great battle in perfectly 132 THE ROMAXCE OF CO.VQUEST. smooth water, the guns being fired at point-blank ranofe. Commodore McDonouoh showed consum- mate powers of seamanship. After his starboard battery had been silenced, he was able to veer his ship round, having foreseen and provided for this ver)'- event. So, getting in position, and sending out from his port battery rapid and accurate broad- sides, INIcDonough, ably seconded by Captain Cassin, won a splendid victory, destroying the fleet and com- pelling the British army to retreat to Canada. This battle of Lake Champlain was really fought with more science and skill, and was far more im- portant in results, than was that of Lake Erie, while McDonough, a veteran of the Tripolitan war, was a more accomplished naval officer than was Oliver Perry. Yet where thousands know of the hero of the short and easily quoted despatch and of many pictures, statues, and eulogies, only tens are familiar with the name and work of McDonough, or know that among those most competent to judge — the officers of the navy — ''the battle of Plattsburg Bay is justly ranked among the very highest of its claims to glory." Both Perry and McDonough sprang from that nobly endowed Scotch-Irish stock that has so enriched our coun- try and shed lustre upon her fair name. The navv of the United States was in a much better condition at the end of the war than at the f "OLD I/WXSIDES'' .LVD COTTON BALES. 133 beginning; but as there were no telegraphs in those clays to send news quickly, several naval duels, beside the great land battle at New Orleans, were fought after the treaty of peace had been concluded. When Commodore Decatur, on a dark night, tried to get to sea from New York harbor, his ship, the President, struck on the bar. She was badly injured while beating on the sand, so that her power of swift sailing was greatly diminished. Chased by the British squadron and fired upon, a battle began with the EndyiJiiou, which Decatur dismantled, silenced, and compelled to drop out of the action ; but the President was surrounded and was obliged to surrender, after having lost twenty-four killed and fifty-five wounded. The British, after refitting this finest sailer known, kept the splendid ship for many years. In a certain instance, during the Mexi- can war, she actually beat some of our men-of-war by her speed. One of the most brilliant actions in our history was when Commodore Charles Stewart, in the one vessel Constitntion, captured two ships in one fight, the Cyane and the Levant. It required the finest seamanship on Stewart's part to manoeuvre and fight one ship with Old Ironsides, and at the same time to prevent the other from getting in a position to rake him. This battle was fought on the night of February 20, 181 5, and lasted forty minutes. 134 ^'^^^ ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. The Cyane had thirty-four guns and the Levant thirty-one guns, but the Cyane was recaptured by a British squadron. Stewart was born in Philadel- phia July 28, 1778, and went to sea at the age of thirteen, becoming captain of an Indiaman before he was twenty. He was also in the French naval war of 1800 and in the Tripolitan campaign. He lived until the year 1869. Well do I remember him. Captain James Biddle, another officer born in Philadelphia, served in the Tripolitan war, during which he was a prisoner nineteen months. On the 23d of March, 18 15, in command of the Hornet, he fought one of the finest naval battles of the war, capturing the brig Penguin. To close the naval record. Captain Warrington, in the Peacock, captured the East India Company's armed sloop Naiitilns, in June ; but on hearing that peace had been de- clared, released this prize and came home, finding all our men-of-war safe in port. Woman's part in war in nerving heroes to duty, in providing comforts, and in healing and nursing, has been largely overlooked, but the modern his- torian attends more generously to the facts and truth in this matter. Yet the glory of the mother of heroes and her part in educating them was finely shown, albeit in a homely way, by two Rhode Island farmers, as they met on the day after the news from Lake Erie, in 1813. Said one to the other: — "OLD IRONSIDES'' AND COTTON BALES. 135 " Well, I see that Mrs. Perry has licked the British." " What ? It was Oliver, her son, who did it ; you mean him } " "No, I don't; I mean his mother, Mrs. Perry." " Why .? " " Because she always trained every one of her five boys to keep out of a fight, unless he could not possibly help it; but if he got beaten, she always gave him another whipping when he got home. So Oliver had to win. She made him do it." On land some of the military operations of the War of 181 2 were a disgrace to the country. In the North, General Hull surrendered his forces at De- troit. In the South, General Jackson beat the Creek Indians at Horseshoe Bend on the Alabama River, and completely destroyed their power. Generals Scott, Brown, and Ripley crossed over into Canada, gaining the battle of Chippewa on July 5th, and los- ing that of Lundy's Lane, though this is often put down falsely as an American victory. On the Poto- mac there was something like a battle fought at Bla- densburg, in which the American militia ran away. Admiral Cockburn, who disgraced the British name, marched into Washington and set fire to the capi- tol, the executive mansion, and other public build- ings, in revenge for the Americans having burnt government edifices at York, the capital of Canada. 136 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. Then moving on to Baltimore the British fleet and army tried to take Fort Mc Henry, but after a twenty-four hours' bombardment were unable to do so. Our country gained by this British defeat the stirring song of " The Star-Spangled Banner," Francis Scott Key, an American who was prisoner on board a man-of-war, wrote the stanzas as in the morning he saw that " our flag was still there." The one brilliant victory on land was the battle of New Orleans, which was fought fifteen days after a treaty of peace had already been signed, for there were no telegraphs in those days. Great Britain had been occupied in Europe during most of this our second war for independence, and could not send a large army to our country until after the battle of Leipsic. Then fifteen thousand British veterans under the command of General Pakenham, who had been Wellington's quartermaster, were de- spatched to the mouth of the Mississippi to take New Orleans, and thus control the navigation of the great river. General Andrew Jackson was put in command of the American army gathered to oppose the skilled warriors of Europe. Most of his forces consisted of raw, undisciplined militia from Kentucky and Ten- nessee ; but they were skilled marksmen and knew how to handle the rifle. To fortify the city Jackson used cotton bales, which had the great advantage THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. "OLD IRONSIDES" AND COTTON BALES. 1 37 of being tough, and could be easily rolled forward or backward. Commodore Patterson, with his little naval force, greatly hampered the advance of the British fleet, and one fort at Chalmette v/as so hand- somely served that the invaders were kept back nine days. In fact, it was the artillery that really decided the victory, though the slaughter of British infantry at the hands of the riflemen behind the cotton was very great. After General Pakenham and other high officers had been killed, the British gave up the campaign and were soon repatriated, or called home. The victor's statue stands proudly to-day in the cen- tre of Jackson Square, in the city of New Orleans. On its foreign side the War of 1812 was really our second war for freedom. It gave the world assurance that in all our forei2:n relations we were not thirteen or eighteen states, but one country. On its domestic side it consolidated the Union. It fulfilled the preamble of the Constitution. Hence- forward, there was no more talk about a voluntary confederation, but of a nation. Our naval victories and the battle of New Orleans compelled recogni- tion of our country, not only abroad, but even at home, where the local and sectional had predomi- nated over the national spirit. In August, 18 14, three American and five British commissioners met at Ghent, to arrange a treaty of peace. Yet even while the negotiations were going 138 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. on, the British veterans were being shipped to New Orleans, and the war party and war newspapers in Great Britain were crying out to have President Madison exiled to some island, even as Napoleon was to be sent to " a lone, barren isle." The London Times said of the United States, " Better is it that we should grapple with the young lion when he is first fresh with the taste of our flock, than wait until in the maturity of his strength he bears away at once both sheep and shepherd." After seven months wrangling and negotiation at Ghent, the treaty was signed December 24, 18 14. It was ratified by the Senate February 17, 1815. Yet it did not touch one of the points on which the United States had declared war. Our frigates had sufficiently settled these matters, and our rights on the ocean were respected. No foreign nation was likely ever to establish itself on our territory. Through the development of our own industries in mills and founderies, we were now able to weave our own cloth from our own cotton and wool, to make our own tools and machines, no longer depending upon Europe. Unique and wonderful was the record of the frig- ate Constitution in the two wars, Tripolitan and British. Within three years she had been twice chased by squadrons, fought three big battles, and captured five large men-of-war. She never lost a "OLD IRONSIDES" AND COTTON BALES. 1 39 mast or went ashore, and but few of her crew or officers had been killed or wounded ; but then, she was always well manned and commanded. Men are more than ships or guns. Years afterward, when it was proposed to break up this historic leader of the naval triumphs of 1812, Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote the poem " Aye, Tear her Tattered Ensign Down," and popular feeling demanded that she be repaired and kept afloat. This was done. Safely housed and roofed over, the Constitution has held a conspicuous place of honor on several great naval celebrations, one as late as the Peace Jubilee of 1898, and on the occasion of her own centennial. Visited by tens of thousands of people, her roominess, her great breadth, and the facilities for comfort of officers and men have surprised those familiar with the narrow vessels of to-day. It is a curious fact that both our first and " our second war for freedom ' were fought while King George III, the monarchical figure-head of Great Britain, was living. Born in 1738, he suffered long from insanity, and died in 1820. Our flags, then containing twenty-three stars, hung at half mast in sympathy with a narrow and weak-minded, a well- meaning but unfortunate man. CHAPTER XV. MADISON AND MONROE. IMMEDIATELY after the peace of Ghent, De- ^ catur sailed with a powerful squadron of eleven ships, including some captured from the British, to settle with the Dey of Algiers, who had begun seizing our ships. Great was the surprise of the Barbary ruler, who supposed the naval power of the United States to have been entirely wiped off the seas by the British. Instead of this, a big Yankee squadron appeared, in which were several vessels taken in battle from the very power that had been expected to destroy the American navy. Decatur's ships were the Guerrzere, Macedoniaji, Epervier, Constellation, Ontario, Firefly, Shark, Flambeau, Torch, and Spitfire. Two Algerine corsairs were at once captured. The American eagle bears in his talons the arrows of war and peace. The Divan was given choice of either, for Decatur had on hand a new treaty, already declaring that tribute was abolished forever. The Dey wanted time to consider. He even pleaded for three hours. The reply to his envoy was : — 140 MADISON AND MONROE. 14I "Not a minute. If your squadron appears in sight before the treaty is actually signed by the Dey and sent off with the American prisoners, ours will capture it." Pretty soon an Algerine ship did come in sight, and our men cleared for action ; but, although the messenger with the treaty had to row five miles to the shore and back, the Dey signed inside three hours. Within forty-one days after the squadron had left American waters, the American Consul- General landed with honor, and all claims were paid and captives restored. Decatur chivalrously restored two Algerine vessels which we had cap- tured. One day the minister of the Dey remarked sorrow- fully to the British Consul as follows : " You told us that the Americans would be swept from the sea in six months by your navy, and now they make war upon us with some of your own vessels which they have taken." Thus had our naval officers, Preble, Bainbridge, Decatur, and their gallant subordinates, in the classic waters of the Mediterranean, by a series of brave actions, laid the foundations of our navy's noble reputation. They blew to atoms both the gunboat policy and the claims of robber rulers to molest our commerce and enslave our citizens, and they won the freedom of the seas and the 142 'nil': ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. rij^hts of the siiilor in llu' \\^;ir of 181 2. 'I'lic Pope of Rome p;ii(l a liiL;Ii tribute of jjraise to our little country, declaring- tliat the United States liad done more to humble the pride of tlie Moliammedan pirates than all luu'ope. Our navy, originally created in the interests of civilization, has been througliout all its history an instrument to tlie liumbling of the tyrants' pride and tlie advance of freedom throughout the world. The stars and stripes have become " the symbol of light and law " and the hope of the nations. Columbia is " the gem of the ocean," " Thy mandates make heroes assemble When liberty's form comes in view ; Thy banners make tyranny tremble Wiien borne l)y the red, white, and blue." Later on Commodore Hainbridge arrived in the Mediterranean, with the line-of-battle ship Inde- pcudcncc carrying seventy-four guns. This was the first war vessel of that type which floated our flag in this favorite cruisinc: Q:round of our officers. A number of these big ships were built in our ship- yards. 'I'hey carried from seventy to one hundred guns, and were named after states and statesmen. They were the Independence, Washinoton, Franklin^ Colnmbns, North Carolina, OJiio, and / \'r)nonl, while the Pennsylvania was })ierced for one hundred and MADISON AND MONROE. 143 twenty guns. Nevertheless, very little value or satis- faction was ever derived from the wooden line-of- battle ships. Such a ship was an Old World idea, which would not work well with Americans. Most of their old hulks have become receiving ships at navy-yards. The frigates were always useful. Our excellent example was soon followed by the British and Dutch. Under Lord Exmouth and Admiral Van der Capellen, Algiers was bombarded and burned. The next day the Dey signed the treaty, by which he agreed to treat prisoners of war according to Christian customs. He then released 1642 Christian slaves, or counting in those from Tunis and Tripoli 3000. Great was the joy in many homes throughout Christendom. Yet bar- barism is easier to coerce than to cure. When the next Dey came in power, he kidnapped the daughters of European residents for his harem, and sent plague ships about the Mediterranean to spread pestilence, thus making himself an inter- national nuisance. It is hard for a thief to thoroughly reform. The Dey of Algiers denounced the treaty of 181 5, dis- missed our Consul, and then wrote our President a letter, in language such as a polite cutthroat might pen, as follows : — " His Majesty the Emperor of America, its ad- jacent and dependent provinces, coast, and wherever 144 ^^^^ ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. his government may extend ; our noble friend, the support of the kingdoms of the nation of Jesus, the pillar of all Christian sovereigns, the most glorious among the princes, elected amongst many lords and nobles ; the happy, the great, the amiable James Madi- son, emperor of America — may his reign be happy and glorious, and his life long and prosperous." But President Madison, replying the next year, in 1816, said quietly and without any flower gardens of rhetoric : — "The United States, whilst they wish for war with no nation, will buy peace of none. It is a principle incorporated into the settled policy of America, that as peace is better than war, war is better than tribute." When, therefore, the American squadron under Commodore Chauncey appeared in 181 7, the treaty was immediately renewed. Thus the United States was the first nation to abolish tribute, and to com- pel the Barbary powers to treat prisoners of war in a Christian manner. The greatest blessing we won, out of these difficulties, was a navy with noble tra- ditions and prestige. Though such a force was expensive, yet our diplomatic negotiations with the Barbary states had cost as much and even more, that is, between three or four million dollars. English and French ships, in 18 19, blockaded the Algerine ports and made the barbarian Dey behave MADISON AND MONROE. I45 himself. The insult to the French Consul, in 1827, exhausted French patience. After a three years' blockade of the port an army was landed in Algiers, and the country put under military control and kept as a colony of France during forty years, or until 1 87 1, when the country was given a civil administration. Out of this French occupation emerged into his- tory the Zouaves, or native Algerian troops, serving at the papal court in the French army and under the French flag on both sides of the Mediterranean and in the Crimea. During our own Civil War this picturesque costume was for a while borrowed by some of our volunteer regiments, but soon aban- doned as a rather expensive novelty and less suita- ble than the blue blouse and trousers. Gradually the native Algerians were separated, and became known as the Turcos, while the Zouaves became almost entirely French. After the Commune had been suppressed, and the army entered Paris, the Zouave organization was dissolved. In 1876 it compelled great contrasts with those early days, when our navy won fame and set an example to the world in the classic waters of the Mediterranean, to have these once Barbary powers coming with us in peaceful rivalry and exhibiting their products at the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia. 146 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. The next President was James Monroe, after whom the " Monroe Doctrine " was named. This meant that the United States, while resolving not to meddle with the affairs of the nations of the Old World, were equally determined that these should not unjustly interfere in the affairs of the New World. Our people believed that the different nations in the two Americas had a right to man- age their own business, without interference from Europe. In his message of December 2, 1823, President Monroe said, " We should consider any attempt on their part to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety," and interference with American politics anywhere, as " the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition toward the United States." Most of the countries of Central and South America had thrown off the yoke of Spain and de- clared themselves for self-government. The mon- archs of Europe looked with contempt and fear upon all republics or government " of the people, for the people, and by the people." It seemed as though Spain was trying to get the other one-man powers of Europe to compel the Spanish- American republics to revert to despotism, and wear again the yoke of obedience to the old country. The proposi- tion of a union of English-speaking peoples against Spanish encroachment came first as a suggestion MADISON AND MONROE. 1 47 from the British statesman, George Canning, but Mr. Monroe adopted the idea with improvement and enlargement. We may here give one example of how even con- temptible little countries like Portugal looked down upon republics. When Lieutenant Matthew Cal- braith Perry called upon the Portuguese Governor at Teneriffe, in the Canary Islands, in 1815 or 1816, he offered to tender a salute to the Portuguese Governor, provided the compliment was returned gun for gun. The Governor replied that it would give him great pleasure to reply to the salute, but with one gun less, as it was the custom of Portugal to return an equal number of guns only to acknowl- edge sovereigns, but to republics one gun short. Perry plainly replied that as the United States acknowledged no nation as entitled to greater re- spect than itself, no salute would be fired, and so the American man-of-war went out in silence. Monroe had been a student who left his college in Virginia and books to be a soldier in the Revo- lutionary War. He was at the battle of Trenton. Now as President he took his oath of office, near the ruins of the burnt capitol in Washington. His colleague, Vice-President Tompkins, had been the great war Governor of New York in the campaigns of 181 2-1 8 15. Tompkins first proposed officially the abolition of slavery in the 148 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. Empire State, and after him one of its central and most beautiful counties is named. Under Mr. Monroe " an era of good feeling " began. The President travelled through New England, where many of the old Revolutionary veterans were delighted to see him wearing the old buff and blue. All sections of the country were reunited in fresh loyalty to the government. The nation gratefully remembered its heroes and made generous provisions for the old soldiers, pensioning the veterans of the war and their widows to the extent of $65,000,000. CHAPTER XVI. THE SEMINOLE AND BLACK HAWK WARS. THE next war that broke out, when our regular army consisted of about ten thousand men, be- came a fresh occasion for the increase of United States territory. Florida was still a Spanish pos- session, and in the swamps called the Everglades roamed a tribe of Indians called Seminoles. Gov- ernment by the Spaniards did not amount to very much beyond the two towns of St. Marks and Pensacola, so that between runaway slaves, bad Indians, white desperadoes and pirates, the whole territory was a menace to the people of the South. The President ordered General Andrew Jackson, with the regulars and volunteers from Georgia and Tennessee and some friendly Creek Indians, to enter the region and secure quiet. Jackson's campaign was vigorously conducted. Two Englishmen charged with inciting the Ind- ians to incursions and massacre were tried by court martial, sentenced to death, and hanged. This act of Jackson excited great indignation in Great Britain and Spain. It also raised perplex- 149 150 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. ing questions of diplomacy, which, however, were settled in 1819, when Spain ceded Florida to the United States for the sum of ^5,000,000. Our southern frontier was thus rectified and sixty thousand square miles were added to the United States. On July 10, 182 1, the red and yellow flag of Spain was hauled down, and that of the United States, with thirteen stripes and twenty-four stars, was hoisted at all the military stations. During the next year Florida was organ- ized as a territory, but from 1835 to 1842 was the scene of almost constant Indian wars. The Seminoles had agreed to remove west of the Mississippi, but the ratification of the treaty was delayed in Congress, and meanwhile the red men of the swamps became dissatisfied and re- fused to go, while outrages were committed by both whites and Indians. The tribe was divided — one-half agreeing to go west, while the other half was violently excited by Osceola, a half-breed. This man of spirit and ability had felt himself in- jured, because his wife, a fugitive negro slave, had been taken away from him by her owner. When Osceola protested, using language which the army officers considered insulting, he was imprisoned for a time and was ever afterward bitter and re- vengeful. Matters began to look very warlike, yet few prep- THE SEMINOLE AND BLACK HAWK WARS. 151 arations were made to Qruard ao;ainst danger. On the 28th of December, as Major Dade and a detach- ment of 1 10 men were moving through the swampy country, and the dark woods hung with long, low beards of Florida moss, unable to see their deadly foes, they were ambuscaded and surrounded by invisible marksmen. After a long and brave fight every white man was killed, except three or four who feigned death and escaped to tell the tale, which is still recalled by the stone pyramid com- memorating the sad event. After a good deal of military activity, in which the Seminoles showed surprising ability in war, they first agreed to move west late in 1837, and then refused once more. Osceola was captured by stratagem. In other words, he was decoyed within our lines. Then, by the base treachery of our army officers, he was knocked down, seized, and put in prison, where he died — another foul blot on our country's history. Although Generals Scott, Clinch, Heustis, Jessup, Taylor, and Worth took part in this Seminole war, it was not until 1842, after an enormous loss of life and money, that the Seminoles yielded and crossed the Mississippi. It is more than probable that Gen- eral Worth, by his truth, honor, wisdom, and kind- ness to the Indians, accomplished as much as all the bullets and shell of the soldiers. It costs vastly more to kill a red man than to edu- 152 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. cate him. Sooner or later the nation has to pay in blood and tears and money for cruelty, treachery, and unrequited toil, whether of red, black, or yellow humanity. Occasionally it is good to review a war, after the blood and glory are over, and to sum up results. How was it in the matter of the whites and Seminoles } Osceola was the son of an Eng- lishman, named William Powell, and an Indian mother. When but twelve years of age he had come under the influence of Tecumseh. He cared nothing for money gained by robbery, and would allow no scalping or mutilation of the dead. He never forgot a kindness. His wife was the daughter of a fugitive slave, and was stolen from him because she was a slave, and when Osceola demanded her release, using rough language. Colonel Thompson ordered him put in irons. The awful results of this lack of tact in dealing with a proud-spirited Indian were seen. Within six months Thompson was murdered, a battle took place, Dade's men were massacred, the forts at- tacked, and in the spirited actions which followed the Indians more than held their own against great odds. Finally it was only through the white man's treachery that Osceola was seized. It was like caging an eagle to put this chief in prison, and his proud spirit wore out his body. His death at Fort Moultrie, January 20, 1838, was worthy of a noble THE SEMINOLE AND BLACK ILIWK WARS. 153 son of the forest. Callinir for his best war dress, he put it on. Then, unable to speak, but bidding by grasp of the hand his warriors and captors farewell, he drew out his war knife from its sheath, held it in his right hand, and crossing the blade over his left on his breast breathed his last. Thus ended one of the most disgraceful chapters in the history of a long " century of dishonor " in which Americans have been both cruel and treach- erous to the sons of the soil. The whole story of the Florida war illustrates again the wastefulness and the wickedness of much of our dealing with the Indians. What is called Black Hawk's War, in which Abraham Lincoln took part as a captain of volun- teers, broke out in 1832. As chief of the Sac Indians, Black Hawk had resisted the settling of Illinois by the white immigrants from the East, and in the War of 181 2 had taken the part of the British. Later, he and the Sacs and Foxes had been removed from their old hunting-ground on the east side of the Mississippi River and compelled to go westward. At sixty-five years of age, still restless, dissatisfied, and ambitious, he recrossed the Mississippi River, hoping to recover the lands formerly held ]3y his tribesmen. All such hopes, whether of Pontiac, Tecumseh, or Black Hawk, are in vain. He and his warriors were defeated, first by Colonel Dodge, 154 "^HE. ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. and then, finally and completely, at Bad Axe, Michi- gan, in August, 1832, by General Henry Atkinson. Again the tribe was removed westward. Black Hawk, his sons, and a few warriors were kept for a while as hostages. They were brought to the eastern cities that they might see the power of the white men and learn how foolish resistance was. I have heard from my father, who knew Black Hawk, of the personal dignity of this chief. Never- theless the inland Indians do not like the salt sea or the sea air. On one occasion the sachem and his braves were in charge of my father, while going from one city to another on the Atlantic coast. They squatted in their blankets, smoking their calumets, in a cosey, sheltered corner below deck, when some sailor happened to open a hatchway that let in a blast of cold air and spray. Instantly the whole party rose up and fled to the cabin, grunting out, " Ugh ! ugh ! " Under President Monroe the great national road was built from Wheeling through to the Missis- sippi, and soon the trafific was immense, as the great march toward the setting sun continued. In 1 824-1 825 La Fayette visited the United States, and everywhere received a warm and gratify- ing welcome. To this day, the large number of cities which have in them a La Fayette Street or Avenue, and of towns and counties named after him, show THE SEMINOLE AND BLACK HAWK WARS. 1 55 how deep was the impression he made upon our grandfathers. In Philadelphia, when a salute was fired in his honor from old cannon used in the Revolution, he recognized one, that had its muzzle worn on the under side, as the piece which he himself had saved during his skilful retreat from Barren Hill to Valley Forge, even after a British cannon shot had dismounted it. Lashino: the orun to a wagon belonging to John Harby, my own great-grandfather, though its muzzle dragged over the rough and stony road, La Fayette saved the piece. He drew off his men, also, whom the Brit- ish and Hessians had hoped to surprise and make prisoners. I used to hear, from my grand-aunts and grandmother, who, as children near Valley Forge, had been robbed by the Hessians, the story of La Fayette's impressment of their father s wagon ; and how, in 1825, they saw the once young gen- eral, now an old man, ride down Chestnut Street in Philadelphia. The building of other highways to the west continued, but the greatest public improvement, made up to that date in the United States, was in 1825, by which the fresh water of the Great Lakes was poured into the brine of the Atlantic. The Erie Canal was dug to connect the Hudson River at Troy with Lake Erie, a distance of 363 miles, the difference in level being over six hun- 156 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. dred feet in favor of Buffalo. As the Dutch had long before conquered up-hill difficulties by the water ladder called a lock, so the state founded by Dutchmen could dig the greatest canal then known. During eight years a great army of labor- ers cut down the forests, dug the ditch, blasted the rocks, built bridges across rivers, and set the masses of masonry so that the water and boats could be carried upward and over all obstacles. In 1825, when the work was done, Clinton car- ried a kegful of the water of Lake Erie and poured it into the Hudson River, in front of New York City, where it is but an arm of the ocean. When the water was let into the artificial river, a line of cannon, five miles apart, boomed the news from one end of the state to the other. The canal was soon paid for by its own revenue. Freight, which used to take three weeks of hauling by wagon and team over roads between Albany and Buffalo, went through in seven days and at one- thirtieth the cost. The whole region west and southwest of New York now attracted an enor- mous number of settlers from the further east. To-day there is nowhere in the world a finer con- tinuous line of cities than between Boston and Buffalo. Besides the traffic of stage-coaches on land, packet boats bore on the bosom of the canal many thousand passengers to and fro. THE SEMINOLE AND BLACK HAWK WARS. 1 57 Travel soon began to be even more rapid, easy, and inviting, through the invention of the loco- motive. Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, who had signed his name to the Declaration of Indepen- dence, and who, at ninety years of age, was the lone survivor of fifty-six eminent men, dug the first spadeful of earth for what is now the Balti- more and Ohio railway system. Peter Cooper built the first American locomotive at Baltimore, runnino: it on the road built from Baltimore to Ellicott's Mills. The iron horse excelled so hand- somely the one of flesh and blood, both in speed and endurance, that the days of the stage-coach were numbered. The first passenger railway be- tween the Mohawk and the Hudson, or Schenec- tady and Albany, which began work in 1831, was drawn by the engine John Bull, which was ex- hibited as a curiosity at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. John Bulls tender carried several barrels of wood as fuel, and the cars were old stage-coaches set on flanged iron wheels, which ran on strap- iron tracks. As a rule, the railway systems of the United States, especially those first made, ran for the most part from east to west, or in the way that emigration was moving, but at right angles or crosswise to the courses of rivers. Slavery from the very first had been a dangerous element in our free country, but when the cotton 158 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. gin was invented, servile labor was made so valu- able that negro bondage became more and more a dividing and weakening force in the country. It caused the northern and the southern people first to dislike and then to hate each other. For, while one justified slavery, even going so far as to twist and contort the Bible to support the in- iquity, the other not only branded it as " the sum of all villanies," but even denounced the Consti- tution of the United States for approving of the " institution." Furthermore, the southern people, by raising tobacco, rice, indigo, and cotton, devot- ing their energies to agricultural production, cared ' little or nothing for manufacturing enterprises. They wanted to buy their goods and tools in Europe at low rates. The northern people, being manufacturers, had different interests, and wished to prevent European goods from coming in, ex- cept under heavy tariff duties. They demanded protection, in order to encourage home manufac- tures so that they might get rich. A new era began when Andrew Jackson of Ten- nessee became President of the United States. He was not only a soldier and immensely popular, being usually called " Old Hickory," but he had new ideas, some of them very bad and some of them very good, about governing the country. Instead of thinking himself, as he ought to have done, the head servant THE SEMINOLE AND BLACK HAWK WARS. 1 59 of a country in which the people are the rulers, he administered the government as if it were his family estate. He was without fear, perfectly honest, but very headstrong, and not able always to control his temper. Secretary Marcy, in 1832, had said, " To the victors belong the spoil." Jackson began the shameful " spoils system," removing good servants of the government from ofHce, in order to put in his own partisans. Whereas not more than one or two hundred persons had been by the previous six presidents compelled to resign, Jackson turned out about two thousand. Thus began what was for many years our disgraceful civil service. Many people were afraid of Jackson because, in- stead of having had an education in books, or being a dignified Virginian, he was a " western " man ; and yet he soon showed that he had some grand ideas about the dignity of the United States gov- ernment. When South Carolina, after vainly protesting against the high tariff demanding free trade, de- clared that after a certain date the laws of the United States would be null and void, and that no duties on goods imported from Europe would be paid, and threatened secession. President Jack- son ordered General Scott to Charleston to enforce the laws. This was done, and instead of the " nullification " of the general government, it was l6o THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. the state legislatures resolution that came to nothing. Already in the Senate of the United States the battle, afterward fought in blood, had begun in words. Robert Hayne and John C. Calhoun feared that the tendency of the East and North was to centralize, and make the national government too strong at the expense of the states. These men upheld the extreme doctrines of state right, state sovereignty, nullification, and secession. On the other side Daniel Webster defended the Union and national supremacy in a series of remarkable speeches. These, widely read, thrilled the Ameri- can heart all over the land. They educated thou- sands of young men to be the patriots of 1861. The general effect of this great debate was to consolidate both the South and the North in their differing sentiments. Thus on a grander scale were debated the same great doctrines of national su- premacy and state right, the same problems which had been presented to the Federal Dutch republic in the days of Maurice and Barneveldt. Jackson's prompt action maintained the Union. Under Henry Clay's initiation a new tariff was adopted, which for a time satisfied and removed irritation. So prosperous was the country that, without any public debt, the surplus from the treasury was divided among the different states. The country 77//'.' SEMINOLE AXD lU.ACK UllVK WARS. K^r was orowini;" rapidly. Pennsylvania coal, the best in the world, fed the steamboats Ihat were now run- ning in most of our large rivers, and the " black dia- monds " were everywhere in demand. New canals were being opened, and railways were constructed, most of them headed toward the Mississippi. The great express business was in its infancy. The foundations of Chicago had already been laid by the buildin<>- of a few lo**; cabins. There are still living men who can remember when this second city of the United States was but a collection of rude frame houses. M CHAPTER XVII. OUR NORTHWESTERN EMPIRE. JACKSON'S administration was especially noted for the vigor of our foreign policy. France had long owed us large sums from a long series of spo- liations at the end of the last and the beginning of the present century. Naples was backward and insolent in refusing to settle just American claims for vessels seized during the reign of Joseph Bona- parte and Murat. By able negotiations France was brought to pay up her debts, but Naples still refused to settle. Summoning Commodore Patterson, his old com- rade in the battle of New Orleans, Jackson ordered him to the Mediterranean. It was so arranged that six of our men-of-war should arrive, one after the other, in the Bay of Naples. This they did in hand- some style, ranging their guns opposite the main streets of the city. The result was that instead of the refusal at the beginning of the week, all claims were paid up before the following Sunday. To extend our trade in the far East, Mr. Edmund Roberts of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, was sent out on the man-of-war Peacock. He succeeded in 162 OUR NORTHWESTERN EMPIRE. 1 63 making a treaty with the Sultan of Muscat and with the two kings of Siam. This opened Ameri- can trade with Zanzibar and the Malay Peninsula. Roberts also opened negotiations with Cochin- China, but was repulsed. He had intended also to go to Peking, and hoped to open trade with Japan, but died prematurely at Macao. Our for- eign commerce increased greatly under Jackson's administration. American enterprise at the ends of the earth was signally illustrated in the Wilkes exploring expedi- tion, from 1838 to 1842, which greatly enriched science. Most of the vast ice-hedged Antarctic continent was discovered and the Samoan and Fiji groups of islands carefully examined. Besides Graham, Alexandra, Wilkes, and Enderby lands, discovered by Commodore Wilkes, the American flag has floated over the Barber, Palmyra, .Prospect, Fanning, Christmas, Starbuck, Penrhyn, Swan, Pitt, McKean, and Hull islands in Polynesia. In later years the voyages of Kane and other Ameri- can explorers have made known the northwest- ern part of Greenland as far as discovered, called Lincoln and Grant land and Grinnel land on the opposite shore of Smith Sound. Not until recent times has our government made any serious attempt to make known the ownership of islands that are ours by right of discovery. 164 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. Although we had no national debt, yet, because of so much speculation and unwise schemes, there broke out in 1837 ^ financial panic. Not long after that the Mormon movement began, which trans- formed Utah desert into a garden, and attracted many thousand emigrants from Great Britain, Nor- way, and Sweden. Steamship lines were estab- lished on the ocean, and millions of people crossed from the old fatherlands to the country whose wealth and power not even panic could paralyze. When in 1 845-1 846 the potato crop failed in the Emerald Isle, the Irish began to come over to our country by the hundreds of thousands. This led to new developments. Within a few years some of our eastern cities were practically controlled by Irishmen, for Patrick takes naturally to politics and has shown considerable ability in this line of achievement. Besides producing men eminent in every department of life, Ireland gave us many re- cruits for the regular army and militia, producing a noble type — the Irish-American soldier. The dark side of the Irish is seen in the great amount of drunkenness and liquor selling among them, and is especially shown in lawlessness and wild schemes, such as the so-called Fenian republic, which, after getting many thousands of dollars from servant girls and ignorant people, ended in 1866 and 1867 in an absurd failure in an attempt to attack Canada OUR jXORrnWESTERN EMPIRE. 165 from the Vermont frontier. Even as early as Van Buren's administration attempts were made to invade Canada, but the would-be invaders were scattered by Colonel McNab of the Canadian militia. One of the few American flags captured by the British and to be seen in a museum at Lon- don was taken about this time. After the United Kingdom, Germany has sent us the largest number of immigrants, followed in their order by Scandinavia, Austria-Hungary, Italy, and Russia. From 1820 to 1893 over five million German-speaking people entered the United States, forming excellent material for the building up of the national commonwealth, because soon absorbed and assimilated. All attempts to keep up foreign languages and peculiar Old World cus- toms and notions in the United States end sooner or later in failure. Common sense wins the day. Gaelic, Dutch, German, and French folks, even the old ones, find that God can be worshipped, friend- ships maintained, and business done just as well in EnHish as in the lanoruao-e of their ancestors. In the early forties, when the Dutch King Will- iam arbitrarily interfered with the affairs of the Reformed Church in the Netherlands, a large immi- gration under Dominies Van Raalte and Scholten set toward North America. The immigrants passed through the Mohawk Valley or up the Mississippi 1 66 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. River to Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Nebraska, where dwell their descendants, now numbering over a hundred thousand, who are among the best people of the United States, Martin Van Buren was of pure Dutch descent, and one of the ablest of our statesmen. Under him the opposition to slavery was established in politics and a system of nominating presidential candidates in popular conventions carried out. The " free soilers " declared that Congress had no more power to make a slave than to make a king. The words of one political campaign song ran, " Van, Van, is a used-up man." Another one declared for " Tippecanoe and Tyler too." Indeed, from Jack- son's time, the American people seem to have had a characteristic weakness for military oflficers as presi- dents. The first presidents, both Federalists and Republican-Democrats, had been mainly civilians. The Democrats, after forty years of victory, had to yield now to the Whigs, whose standard-bearer was William Henry Harrison. He was called " the Log Cabin candidate," because after his military cam- paigns in the Northwest he lived on a farm, on a piece of land cleared of forest trees, on the banks of the Ohio. I well remember how in my boyhood the mantel- pieces were ornamented with small models, in stone or glazed earthenware, of a log cabin with a coon OUR NORTHWESTERN EMPIRE. 1 6/ on the roof and a barrel of hard cider standing by the door. Even in the great pohtical processions, many miles long, there were log cabins on wheels and a live coon on the ridge pole of each. Thus began the great presidential campaigns, inaugurated by the policy of Van Buren, with nominating con- ventions which blossomed out into enormous pa- rades with torchlights, "wide-awake" uniforms, bands of music, transparencies, banners, and many things funny as well as showy and expensive. President Harrison died within a month of his inauguration. Then our country had its first, and generally disagreeable, experience of vice-presidents becoming presidents, and John Tyler occupied the chair. During his administration Rhode Island gave up its antiquated government by charter and the old Dutch system of representation by towns instead of by voters. An agreement was made be- tween Great Britain and the United States, called the Webster-Ashburton treaty, by which war was averted, the Maine boundary fixed, and an Ameri- can squadron under Commodore Perry despatched to Africa, where already Monrovia had been located and settled by freed sla- viS from America, and Liberia had been erected into a republic. The next great invention, that of the telegraph, was to give the railroads an amazing development, lay nerves of iron, and send pulses of light under 1 68 THE ROMAXCE OF COX QUEST. the ocean, and, indeed, give the world a new nervous system, annihilating space and time. Americans from the first were interested in and developed the science which has received its name from the Greek " electron," or amber, because this substance when rubbed attracts and holds hairs or bits of paper and generates " electric " force. Franklin, in Phila- delphia, drew sparks from the clouds and invented the liohtnino- rod. Professor Moses Farmer, of Eliot, Maine, was, after Benjamin Franklin, the great American electrician. Most of his experiments and machines anticipated what has since been accom- plished in electric traction, lighting, submarine ex- plosion, and telegraphing, — for all these things he accomplished before 1S50. Professor Joseph Henry, in the Albany Academy, had discovered that one could ring a bell at a distance, and get other work done by transmission of electric energies through a wire. Professor S. F. B. Morse, an artist, who, however, did nothing electrical, put Henry's discovery to a orand use. He invented what is called the Morse Alphabet of lines and dots, which made by a telegraphic transmitter could be read as letters, and so made into syllables, words, and sentences. Morse secured from Congress an appropriation of $y^>,ooo to have wires strung from Baltimore to Washington. In the Supreme Court room, in the OUR XOKTIIlVESTEKAr EM PIN I'.. 1 69 capitol, lie sent and received the message from Numbers xxiii. 23, "What hath God wrought?" Ezra Cornell, of Ithaca, New York, was one of the first to see the vast benefits and commercial value of the new invention. As the Irish servant girl said, " He invented telegraph poles." Instead of stretching wires, two of them in the ground, he con- ceived the idea of stringing the iron threads, well insulated, up in the air and of using the earth as the return circuit. Almost as wonderful as this " far-distance writ- ing" were the other American inventions, which one after the other astonished the world, such as the grain elevator and steam shovel, the steam river dredge, wire-card and wire-weaving machine, the eccentric lathe, the revolver, the reaper and mower, the sewing machine, the ship's propeller, the steam printing-press, the type-writer, electric dynamos and motors, the telephone, phonograph, and hundreds of others. Our territory was again increased, in the spring of 1845, by the annexation of Texas. Sam Hous- ton, Stephen Austin, and many other Americans had settled in the country, then a part of Mexico. Tired of Mexican anarchy they had risen in arms, fought battles with Santa Anna, won a great victory at San Jacinto, and formed an independent republic. After more than one request for admission into the I/O THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. Union, Texas was annexed by a joint resolution of Congress. Thus a territory five times the size of Eng- land was added to the domain of the United States. James K. Polk's administration was marked by another tremendous expansion of the United States, both on the north and the south of the Pacific coast. Heretofore the great region of the Northwest, be- tween the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, and between that part of the North American conti- nent claimed by Russia, and that part below claimed first by Spain and later by Mexico, was an unknown region not definitely belonging to any nation. Cap- tain Gray, in the ship Columbia, who first carried the American flag around the world, had named the Columbia River. Van Couver, a British sea captain of Dutch name, had made exploration of the waters around the island which bears his name. Young William CuUen Bryant, a boy just out of college, had written the poem "Thanatopsis," which for a generation or two afterward was a favorite on the school rostrum and elocution platform. In it occurs the w^ords suggesting distance, desolate silence, loneliness, and the unknown dead: — " Take the wings Of morning ; traverse Barca's desert sands, Or lose thyself in the continuous woods Where rolls the Oregon, and hears no sound Save its own dashing — yet, the dead are there." OUR NORTHWESTERN EMPIRE. 171 It was known that there were splendid moun- tains, rivers, and fertile lands on that Pacific slope. Yet, though the Spaniards from Fcrrelo in 1543, and the Englishmen, Sir Francis Drake in 1578 and Captain Cook, and numerous American ex- plorers and traders had visited the ocean's rim and the beach, none had gone inland to explore. Even the coast-line was but slightly known, until Captain Robert Gray, a Boston trader, entered the mouth of the Columbia River on the nth of May, 1792, and thus secured the foundation of the American title to Oregon. A trading post was begun in May, 1 810, but abandoned in a few weeks. The Pacific Fur Company founded Astoria on March 22, 181 1. In 18 1 8 the United States and Great Britain made a treaty of joint occupation. The Hudson Bay Company was at first anxious to have the place kept unsettled, so that wild animals should be numerous and the crop of furs large; but American Christian people, obedient to their Master's com- mand, sent out missionaries as early as 1834. The Methodists founded a mission under Jason Lee, while the American Board sent out Rev. Dr. Parker, who was supported in part by the Presbyterian Church and by the town of Ithaca, New York. It was he who prevailed upon young Marcus Whitman and his wife to come out and help. The bride and groom, though warned that no passage on 1/2 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. wheels could be made into Oregon, succeeded in crossing the mountains. Gradually other Americans came into the coun- try. This roused the fears and jealousy of the British, who wished to claim this region wholly for Great Britain. At a dinner table where Marcus Whitman was present, they expressed their inten- tion of occupying and taking formal possession of the Pacific slope, the following spring. Thereupon Whit- man determined to ride to Washington over the mountains, and prairies, and rivers, in the heart of winter and to state the case to President Tyler and ask that the country might be occupied by Ameri- can settlers. Dressed in frontier costume, he rode through the blizzards, forded or ferried the icy rivers, faced the storms, slipped past the hostile Indians, and, though often near the border line of death from cold and starvation, he reached in health, though terribly frost-bitten and nearly exhausted, the first place he could call home. This was on the doorsteps of Dr. Parker, in Ithaca, where still stands the house at which this heroic missionary, frontiers- man, and commonwealth builder arrived. From Ithaca Dr. Whitman went quickly to Wash- ington, and in the presence of President Tyler and his cabinet argued that the fair and fertile country of Oregon ought to be occupied by American settlers. Getting the government's encouragement, he at- OUR NORTHWESTERN EMPIRE. 1 73 tractcd two hundred families, numbering seven hundred people, to the task of colonization and ex- pansion. With their long wagon trains they moved over the prairies, rivers, and mountains, during the summer of 1843. Settling in the valley of the Oregon, a provisional government was formed and the whole northwestern coast came under the American flao-. There was a good deal of diplomacy necessary before our exact northern boundaries were settled and our frontier rectified. Russia made claims which neither Great Britain nor the United States would allow, and the boundary line northward of the United States, from the Lake of the Woods, had not been settled by the peace of 1783. Yet, although there were great cries of " The British must go," and " Fifty-four forty, or fight," yet the two English-speaking peoples, by the Webster-Ash- burton treaty of 1846, settled their differences in a friendly way. The two nations agreed to divide the territory, the Americans taking the land between parallels 42 and 49, which included the great Colum- bia River and valley, and the British from parallel 49 to Alaska. The actual boundary line was run by surveyors along the 49th parallel, and marked by stones and iron pillars placed a mile apart. Thus, once more, the Americans became expan- sionists, and increased the national territory by the 174 iffE RoyrAXCF of coxqvest. addition of more territory than Texas eontained, — in Idaho, Washington, and Oregon, or two hundred and fiftv-five thousand square miles. All this was obtained by good diplomacy, without an ounce of powder or a drop of blood being wasted. CHAPTER XVIII. OLD " ROUGH AND READY " IN MEXICO. A GREAT many wars arise from mere questions of boundaries. Much bloodshed would have been saved in the history of the world if survey- ing had been properly attended to, and the chain and cross-staff had been brought in as proof of right, instead of ball and powder. The more en- gineering enters into questions of land, or what the Germans call " agrar-politik," the less likely are bloody quarrels to arise. William Penn and his heirs set the good example and precedent of having a correct line drawn by the best British men of science, and his heirs paid pounds, shillings, and pence for the good work done. Washington was as good an engineer and surveyor as he was a general and statesman. Wisely did President Cleveland recommend, and Congress ap- propriate money for, the Venezuela Boundary Com- mission. Great Britain was one of the first countries to be well measured and mapped, and to maintain an ordnance survey. W^ith us it became quite early the custom to send out from Washington geological *75 1^6 THE ROMAXCF. OF CONQUEST. surveyors with exploring parties, so as to see what were the resources of the country. When new states, especially, are formed, it is above all things necessary first to have the boun- daries determined with exactness ; or, in Lord Bea- consfield's words, to secure a "scientific frontier." Yet when Texas was admitted as a state in 1845, this question was undecided. The Texans fixed their boundary line at the Rio Grande on the west. They also claimed that all the territory, up to the 42d parallel, on the northwest, was theirs. Mexico, on the contrary, drew the boundary at the Nueces River, or a hundred miles eastward. So here was one of those debatable strips of land, lying between a weak and a powerful nation and almost certain to be grasped and held by the stronger of the two. So it happened with the 50-mile " neu- tral strip " between China and Korea, which, after remaining unoccupied for two centuries, was in 1877 possessed by the Chinese, and the frontier of China pushed many leagues nearer the rising sun. The policy of Li Hung Chang and President Tyler was the same. The President ordered Gen- eral Zachary Taylor to occupy the land. Old " Rough and Ready," as he was afterward called, built Fort Texas on the east bank of the Rio Grande, The Mexicans ordered him to leave. He refused. Then the Mexican infantry and OLD ''ROUGH AND READY'* IN MEXICO. 177 lancers crossed over on what President Tyler in his message called " American soil." On May i General Taylor marched out with most of his troops toward Point Isabel, where were his supplies, then threatened by General Arista. In his absence an attack was made on Fort Texas, which was gallantly defended by Major Brown of the seventh infantry, after whom the fort was later named. When Taylor heard of the hostilities begun by the Mexicans, he started on May 7 to relieve Major Brown. General Arista, learning of this, drew off his forces, about six thousand strong, and in the tall grass at a place called Palo Alto waited for the Ameri- cans. A battle began which lasted five hours; but, although there was a good deal of firing and smoke, the two armies never got close enough to do much execution. In those days of smooth-bore muskets and "ball and buck," — the cartridges being made of paper and having at the end a big round leaden ball with three buck-shots, — men might fire all day without hitting each other, unless they got within a range of a few hundred feet. When the Ameri- cans charged, the Mexicans retreated with a loss of one hundred men. It was the splendid field-gun practice of the Americans that decided the battle, and though Major Ringgold was killed, yet " Ring- gold's light artillery " at once became famous. The next day Arista, having taken up his position 178 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. behind intrenchments near the ravine of the pahn trees, or Resaca de la Pahna, which crossed the Matamoras road about three miles north of the town, hoped to annihilate Taylor's force. This time it was the cavalry that won the victory. Cap- tain Charles May, with his famous dragoons, made a gallant charge, sabring the Mexican gunners, cap- turing the cannon in the batteries, and pursuing the enemy to the river, making the victory complete. In place of the gay departure, a few days before, of brilliantly uniformed men, sallying out hopefully to expectant victory, cheered by the smiles and plaudits of beautiful women, was the return of a beaten army to Matamoras discouraged and dis- organized. On the 1 8th General Taylor crossed the Rio Grande and occupied the city, but was unable, from lack of supplies, to follow up his success. President Tyler sent a message to Congress, say- ing that the Mexicans had spilled blood on our territory ; but Abraham Lincoln, who was a member of Congress from Illinois, introduced what were called the " spot resolutions," demanding to know the exact spot where American blood had been shed. War was duly declared. When a call for fifty thousand volunteers was made, most of the states responded with alacrity, and the enthusiastic volunteers were at once put under discipline and CAPTAIN MAY'S CHARGE AT RESACA DE LA PALMA. OLD ''ROUGH A. YD READY'' IN MEXICO. I 79 training by officers of the regular army. The country was determined that the miserable failures of 181 2 should not again be repeated. At this time our military officers in the upper grades were men of signal ability, having had long experience in rough lands and the Indian campaigns. The Southern States were especially forward, for the people who believed in servile labor expected to win a large amount of new territory, where black slaves should be worked without wages. Some Power, not ourselves, decided otherwise. It turned out that over all the new region there is not to-day a single slave. While the new army of militia was being formed, the regulars were waiting for reenforcements, supplies and means of transportation were being furnished, the iron ore in the ground was being transformed into ammunition, the hides fresh from the flocks were being tanned out and sewed into accoutre- ments, and all the supply train of a great army was being got ready ; the Mexicans also prepared for defence and gathered new forces. At the end of summer General Taylor moved forward into Mexico with his able assistants, Worth, Twigg, and Butler; he reached Monterey, which was a strongly fortified city and amply garrisoned under General Ampudia. Taylor began the battle, which lasted three days. There was heavy fighting l8o THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. and the batteries were taken by assault. Ampudia surrendered on the 24th. Taylor made generous terms, allowing the Mexicans to retire with their arms, though he kept possession of the city. The plan of campaign as at first made was to invade Mexico from the north by land and in three divisions, — the western, eastern, and centre. Such a campaign meant the spreading of our little army over a vast extent of hostile country where trans- portation would be difficult and the climate uncer- tain, while no vital blow could be struck at the enemy. Mexico, the land of the cactus, the eagle, and the serpent, was too large for scattered cam- paigns. Scientific warfare demands that the enemy be pierced in his vitals. The best strategy in 1846 required that the main army should land at a point on the seacoast nearest the capital and move at once to capture it, the city of Mexico. Geography is half of war. From the time of Cortez to the last invasion of Mexico, under Napoleon III, the invader's ships have always gathered at Vera Cruz, the Rich City of the True Cross. While the right wing of our army moved to California, and Taylor held the centre, Scott led the left wing by the sea to attack the city of Mexico. So the main preparations by the government at Washington — William L. Marcy being Secretary of War and John Y. Mason being Secretary of the OLD ''ROUGH AND READY" IN MEXICO. l8l Navy — were devoted to forming and equipping Scott's army. Two fleets, one of transports, which should carry the volunteers to Vera Cruz, and the other of war vessels, which should capture or block- ade the Mexican seaports, were fitted out. In the Pacific Ocean our warshij^s, under Stockton, were to keep the enemy in alarm, (ieneral Taylor had to yield to Scott most of his best troops in Quit- man's and Worth's division. I le thus became, for a time, little more than a drill-master of raw volunteers. At this time our flag had twenty-eight stars, for Texas was the twenty-eighth state admitted into the Union. Nine of the new states since 1783 had been first settled by the French, and one by the Spanish. The Army of the West, though smallest in num- bers, performed a work of great labor and with much hazard, though with very little popular notice or glory at the time. Most of this force, consisting of about eighteen hundred men, were volunteers from Missouri. Under General S. W. Kearny they moved against New Mexico and California. Across the desert, where there was danger of dying from thirst, beside perils from Indians and from endless toil, a march of two months began. On the iSth of August, 1846, they reached Santa Fe. While Colo- nel Price remained in command of New Mexico, General Kearny with one hundred cavalry soldiers I 82 THE ROMANCE OF COX QUEST. pressed on toward the Pacific waters. In this brave and hazardous undertaking he lost some of his men on the march and more in a battle at San Pasquel. When left with sixty troopers, expecting to be entirely cut off, he was delighted to find a rescuing party sent to him overland from our fleet. Our sailors, under Commodore Sloat, had taken possession of Monterey, in California, while Commander Mont- gomery had seized San Francisco. Captain John C. Fremont, an engineer officer in charge of a sur- veying party, had raised the American flag at several points. The story of this officer is one of the most romantic in American annals. Fremont was the son of a French immigrant who, though left an orphan at four years of age, made his own way in the world. Commissioned lieutenant of engineers, he became the great "pathfinder." He explored the Northwest, the Rocky Mountain re- gions, the wonderful scenery of high California, the Sierra Nevada, the San Joaquin and Sacramenrto valleys, and the Apache country. He thus made known the geography of our great far western regions. In 1845 he was again on his way to the Pacific. Receiving authority from Washington, he conquered all upper California, and surveyed the route for a great road from the Mississippi to San Francisco. He pierced the hitherto unknown coun- try of the terrible Apaches, and defeated them in OI.I) "ROVC.Il ./A7J KK.l/IY" IN MEXICO. 1 83 battle. He reached Sacramento after a luiiKlred days of marching and surveying. y\h-eacly our American j)i()nc'ers had settled on the river. It was rumored that the Mexicans were negotiating with (ircat Britain for the sale of Cali- fornia, and that the Mexican Governor, General I)e Castro, was on the march. The settlers took up arms and joined I'^remont's camp. I laving caj)- tured a Mexican post with some cannon and mus- kets, he routed I)c Castro and his force on the 5th of July. The settlers declared themselves indepen- dent and elected Tremont Governor of the province, and the American forces, naval and military, were joined at Monterey. Other o]:)erations on the Pa- cific coast were the battles at San (Gabriel and the Mesa River, January 8 and 9, 1847, in which the Mexicans failed to regain the ground they had lost. Among other detached enterprises was the capture of Mazatlan under Commodore Shu- brick. Our navy made a brilliant record during the Mexican war, both on the Pacific Ocean and in the Gulf waters. Our blockading vessels were sta- tioned at Tampico, Tobasco, Alvarado, and Tuspan, and prevented supplies from reaching the enemy. I'he "mosquito fleet" of small gunboats was very useful for service in rivers, and several gallant ac- tions were performed in the capture of these sea- 1 84 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. port towns. At the beginning, the chief officer in command was Commodore Conner. These were the days of the infancy of steam in war. The Missouri, the Mississippi, and the Prince- ton were about the only large war steamers in the American navy. So the Gulf squadron was divided. Commodore Conner, a veteran of the War of 1812, took charge of the sailers, and Commodore Matthew C. Perry of the steamers. Having no ships of light draught, Conner had been able to accomplish little, and the splendid opportunities of the first year were lost. So the main squadron lay idly off Sacrificios Island, out of range of Mexican forts. Spy-glasses were pointed daily at the fiag-ship for signals to begin action, but they did not come. Meanwhile, to rouse the drooping spirits of our tars. Perry planned the capture of Tobasco, where Cortez had fought his first battle. Here lay some vessels and boats, which were just the sort needed for the uses of the squadron. In the big steamer Mississippi, towing the Vixen, Bonita, Reefer, No- nita, McLane, and Foriuard, with two hundred marines from the frigates Raritan and Cnmbcrlaud, Perry dashed across the sand bar, almost before the Mexicans knew of his arrival, and captured the town. During the next two days, going up the river with the small steamers and boats to Frontera, this place also was seized, but after the treachery of the OLD "■ROUGH AND READY" IN MEXICO. 1 85 Mexicans was bombarded and evacuated. Our squadron returned safely to Vera Cruz. New spirit was infused into the navy, and the name of Perry became a rallying cry. Tampico, 210 miles north of Vera Cruz, was the next place to be attacked. The city had sent a crack battalion and even an artillery company, made up of deserters from our camps, to Santa Anna's army. Indeed, the crafty Mexican hoped that all of General Taylor's Irish soldiers, who were Roman Catholics, would desert because three or four score had done so. In this Santa Anna was mistaken, for the Irishmen stood faithfully to the stars and stripes. Yet hoping both to weaken the Americans and to strengthen his forces with the Tampico garrison, Santa Anna ordered the city evacuated. As the fleet with the two commodores moved up the river, our men wit- nessed a beautiful sight. It was the star-spangled banner waving in triumph over the city, and hoisted by a woman's hand. The wife of the banished American Consul bravely remained and welcomed her countrymen. Captain Josiah Tattnall, who after- ward in China quoted the famous phrase " Blood is thicker than water," was sent eight miles further up the river, and captured the town of Panuco, Then Perry was despatched with " the pride of the navy," the steam frigate Mississippi, to New Orleans. 1 86 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. It was considered a great thing, in those days, that this steamer was able to go so swiftly, first to Matamoras for reenforcements, to get troops from General Patterson for a garrison to hold Tampico, and thence to New Orleans to procure intrenching tools, wheel-barrows, a field battery, soldiers, and provisions, and within one week to deliver these in Tampico. Perry's next exploit was to capture the town of Laguna del Carmen, which he did hand- somely. He thus supplied plenty of good food for the squadron. General Taylor's battles were sanguinary, but not decisive. Mexico was too large to be affected by a little bloodshed on the northern border. Named after the tutelary divinity Mexitl, it is shaped like a cornucopia, 1950 miles long and 750 miles wide in its upper portion, and, tapering in the south, con- tains 756,232 square miles. It is so vast in area that most of the Mexicans hardly knew there was an American army on the soil. Hence the neces- sity of striking at the vitals of the country and of sealing the seaports. While Scott was still in the United States, gather- ing and drilling his army. Perry was sent north to have the Mississippi refitted and to collect light- draught steamers suitable for blockade duty. These steamers were the Scourge^ Scorpion, J^^suviiis, Hecla, Electra, /Etna, Stromboliy and Decatur. OLD ''ROUGH AiVD READY" IN MEXICO. 1 8/ What stinging and volcanic names ! Indeed, to savage and half-civilized men the first idea of a steamship is that it has a volcano at work inside the hull and used to turn the wheels. Santa Anna, relying on the strong fortifications at Vera Cruz to keep back the Americans, gathered a great army in the north, expecting to defeat Taylor and then turn against Scott. Hearing of the Mexican's approach with twenty thousand men, Taylor, who had only five thousand men, mostly new volunteers who had never been in battle, fell back to get the advantage of position on the plain of Angostura. This is near the beautiful place called Buena Vista, which means bellevue or fine outlook. The ground was composed of mountain ridges, narrow defiles, and impassable ravines. Taylor's fresh volunteers were enthusiastic, and had confidence in their commander. When he rode up and down the ranks and called them his " fighting cocks," they were ready to follow or to stand by their leader, come what might. They were dressed in blue roundabout coats, and blue trousers with white stripe along the side, and wore flat round caps. They carried muskets and white cross-straps and belt. The first battle, which began on Washington's birthday, was little more than a skirmish. The next day Santa Anna hurled his whole force with 1 88 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. terrible energy upon the American column, but our men stood firm. Fortune varied. The Mexi- cans, after being repeatedly beaten back, returned resolutely to the charge. Both sides showed equal bravery and obstinacy. At last Santa Anna, find- ing that he made no progress, had to give up and retire. The American loss was about seven hun- dred, and the Mexican twenty-five hundred, beside a large number of deserters. The Americans were in control of the battlefield and of that district of country. CHAPTER XIX. THE NAVY AND ARMY AT VERA CRUZ. THE largest squadron that had heretofore ever assembled under the American flag — steamers, sailing ships, and bomb vessels — was put under command of Commodore M, C. Perry. Yet so economical was our government, that this Mat- thew, the brother of Oliver, the hero of Lake Erie, though called a commodore, was only a cap- tain with a broad pennant. The scores of trans- ports carrying the volunteers were delayed at the Bahama Islands, waiting for a change of wind, and there were passed by the swift steamers. After many of those vexatious delays, which so try the spirits of young volunteers, they at last caught sight of the crosses over the cathedral and churches in the Rich City of the True Cross, and perching on them the vultures, which in Spanish cities are the black scavenger angels. In 1899, after the Americans had cleared the streets of Santiago in Cuba, the vultures began to starve. As day by day ships came in with flags flying IQO THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. and bands of music playing, loaded with enthusi- astic volunteers from the North, a floating city gathered in the harbor, or rather the offing, of Vera Cruz. It was necessary to act promptly, however, for during six months of the year the vomito, or yellow fever, threatened the lives of all foreigners. The disease is bred through cli- matic conditions, but its coming is encourao^ed and its ravages are aggravated by the filth which gathers in most Spanish towns, where there is usually a lack of proper drainage. The other half year was marked by the northers, or terrific wind-storms from the north, which are very de- structive to shipping. In those days, there being no wharves or moles, ships lay at anchor at some distance from the city or fastened to iron rings in the walls. Preparations were now made for the landing of twelve thousand troops. To do this in the surf, out of range of the guns of the city and the great castle of San Juan d'Ulloa, was no easy task. Usually on such occasions, as for example at the French landing in Algeria, many men were drowned. By the skill of our naval officers and sailors, who used large flat boats made in the United States, all the soldiers, with artillery and supplies, were landed safely. Intrenchments were dug and cannon and mor- THE NAVY AND ARMY AT VERA CRUZ. 191 tar platforms built. The line of circumvallation, when completed, was named Camp Washington. It was impossible for the army to march into the interior, and thus gain the healthy highlands, until the walled city of Vera Cruz had been reduced, and yet General Scott had only a pitiful array of ordnance to batter down the heavy walls built of coquina, or shell rock. Ten mortars and ten 24- pounder guns were indeed soon mounted, but the forty other mortars and the heavy guns were some- where at sea on transport ships, with no news of them or their whereabouts. Every day the dreaded yellow fever came nearer. Easily propagated by mosquitoes and flies, an outbreak among our troops would mean a ruinous pestilence. The light army cannon could not batter down the walls. To throw shells into the city would only kill women and children without making the enemy surrender. In such a strait, what could General Scott do } When Perry, on March 20, 1847, arrived back from New York, the Mexican batteries were firing in a lively way on our men and camps, but no response yet came from the American side. That night it blew a gale from the north, hiding the vessels in spray and the camps in sand. General Winfield Scott was one of the ablest officers that the United States army has ever known. Born in 1786, he entered the service in 192 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. 1808. He was not only a veteran of the War of 181 2, in which he had won glory and a gold medal, but had served in the campaigns against the Indians. It was he who had elaborated the system of tactics which then formed the basis of instruction in the United States army. He was a thoroughly sci- entific soldier and a very humane man. He con- sidered it disgraceful to spill one drop of blood, or to have one life lost more than was necessary. Instead of " a big butcher's bill," and great lists of killed and wounded, his idea of war was to secure results without waste of human life by disease, bat- tle, or soldier's vices. Furthermore, he was desir- ous of inflicting no more loss upon the enemy than was absolutely necessary, though in time of need he spared neither his men nor the foe. He planned the campaign in such a way that much money, but little fight, would be required. Yet the Wash- ington authorities had not very liberal ideas and at first set Scott aside. Afterward they were obliged to recall him and put him in authority. His plan was to move immediately from the malarial seacoast up into the mountains, to capture Mexico City and quickly end the war. Santa Anna, however, calculated that Vera Cruz would hold out a lonor while. Then he expected that two of his allies. Commodore Norther would wreck the fieet, while General Vomito would ruin TFIE NAVY AND ARMY AT VERA CRUZ. 193 the army. So, also, tlie Spaniards calculated in 1898. Now at Vera Cruz, having opened his batteries and found his guns too light, Scott was bitterly disappointed. With all his greatness, he was an exceedingly vain man. Magnificent in stature and imposing in person, he, like so many other poor mortals, found it hard to give credit to others. So, although it is said that he once declined Commodore Conner's offer of heavy ordnance from the ships, yet he was now obliged to ask for the navy Columbiads which were to breach the walls and thus enable him to turn his face to the northwest and cry " Excelsior." At last the signals from the flag-ship came. On March 21, shortly after that hoisting of the colors which takes place daily on every American fort and man-of-war, our naval world was electrified by the signal, " Commodore Perry commands the squad- ron." The two commodores, Conner, veteran of the war of 1812, representative of the past and the glories of the sailing ship, and Perry, the apos- tle of steam and the future diplomatist, to open Japan to the world, at once visited General Scott in his tent. There the commander-in-chief asked for the loan of six heavy navy guns to form a battery in the army. Instantly Perry replied, " Certainly, General, but I must fight them . . . wherever the guns go, the sailors go with them." 194 7W^ ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. Scott declined. His vanity was wounded. He wanted his own soldiers to man the batteries ; but " guns and men together " was Perry's rule. So Scott renewed the bombardment with his light field- pieces, only to find that he was wasting time. The shot could not penetrate or breach the walls. Swallowing his pride, he requested Perry to send the guns along with the sailors. The Commodore in person got into his boat, and pulling round under the sterns of his war-ships, announced the order. Instead of scraping and scrubbing and acting as laborers, our jackies were once more to uphold the glorious prestige of the navy. Already the marines were doing duty in the trenches as part of the third artillery. The news thrilled the blue-jackets, and cheer after cheer went up from our ships. It was Captain Robert E. Lee, one of the ablest American of^cers ever known on this continent, who built the naval battery, which in the circum- vallation was Number Fottr. Made of sand-bags, with walls over six feet thick, it had traverses to resist a flanking- or a rakino- fire from the castle. The guns were mounted on their own ship's car- riages and set opposite the fort of Santa Barbara. The sailors worked the guns and the powder boys brought the ammunition from trenches in the rear, behind which the supporting infantry lay. Picked THE NAVY AND ARMY AT VERA CRUZ. 1 95 crews served two 32-pounclers from the Potomac and the Raritau, and four 68-pounders from the Mississippi, the Albany, and the St. Marys. These were called Paixhans or Columbiads, and were the most famous guns of the clay. They could fire bombshells, which the old-style can- non could not. Not until it was finished and the guns mounted, did the Mexicans discover the naval battery, which had been built behind cover, masked by the dense chaparral or cane-brake, so common in Mexico and Texas, made of evergreen oak and thorny shrubs. When our men found out, from the lively music of the Mexican cannon balls playing over their heads, that they had been discovered, they were as lively as the chaparral-cocks which live at home in the prickly undergrowth. Some daring volunteers at once sprang out of the embrasures and chopped away the brush. This unmasked the work, and soon the cross fire of seven forts converged on this one naval battery. The castle also sent big 10- and 13-inch shells flying over and around them, until Perry diverted its fire, as we shall see. The Mexican engineers wished particularly to destroy this new earthwork, for they well knew that it was the heavy shot from this battery which would certainly breach the walls. Indeed, as soon 196 THE ROMAS'CE OF COX QUEST. as their inspectors picked up the soHd 32-pounder shot and one of the nnexploded 8-inch shells, they felt that the city must quickly fall. Their hope was therefore to dismount the guns, and knock the battery to pieces. They concentrated directly their heaviest cannon and best artillerists opposite the naval battery, and put in command a German officer named Holzinger. Yet, notwith- standing all they could do, the fort received very little injury. Captain Lee showed faith in his own work, by remaining in the redoubt during the fire. At half-past two, ammunition was ex- hausted, and the hot metal was allow^ed to cool. By this time fifty feet of the city walls had been cut away, and a breach thirty-six feet wide, big enough for a storming party to enter, had been made, while the thicker walls of the forts w^ere " drilled like a colander." A relief party from the ship, led by Captain Mayo, with fresh ammunition, reached the battery by sunset. Only the best sailors, picked from all the vessels, were allowed the honor of serving at the guns. All night long the bombardment w^as kept up from the mortars. At daylight the boat- swain's silver whistle called our sailors to breakfast, after which another terrific strais^ht-line bombard- ment began. So rapid and so steady w^as the fire, that between seven and eight it was necessary THE NAVY AND ARMY AT VERA CRUZ. 1 97 to stop and let the guns cool. From daybreak to I P.M., our shipmen sent over six hundred S-inch shells and solid shot into or within the city walls. They silenced several forts and wrought terrific destruction, for the difference be- tween bombs falling downward and shot fired on a level is like that between a broadside and a rakins: fire at sea. The lono^er rang^e is so much more destructive, because it has a vastly greater area of damage. Beside several officers and men killed in the battery, a number of the sailors were wounded by the cactus spurs and thorns, and bits of sand bags. Before leaving his work, so hand- somely done, Captain Mayo called his men to the ramparts to give three cheers and thus to draw the fire of the Mexican forts. But none came. All were silenced. So after thirteen hundred rounds from the naval battery and great breaches in the walls, which thus opened the city to assault. Captain Mayo mounted his horse at 2 p.m. and rode to the headquarters of the general command- ing, to announce results. In his joy, Scott almost pulled Captain Mayo off his horse, thanking him and the navy, in the name of the army, for this day's work. It was now arrans^ed that three stormino; col- umns should be formed, — one of marines and sail- ors, one of rec^ulars, and one of volunteers. The 1 98 THE ROMAXCE OF COX QUE ST. \olunteers were to enter through the widest breach made by the navy guns. The others were to storm the o-ates and cHmb the walls. Havino- no other materials, the carpenters of the Mississippi sawed up the studding sail booms to make ladders. The white flag and signals of surrender precluded any necessity of the Americans showing their valor. Meanwhile the navy had still further cooperated handsomely with the army. Seeing that the cas- tle was training its guns to destroy, if possible, the naval battery, Perry ordered Tattnall, with the Spitfire and ly.xr;/, to approach, and at the distance of eighty yards to open fire in order to divert the gunners from the naval battery. The plan succeeded admirably. Had the Mexicans been good artillerists, they could have blown the little steamers out of the water, but their shots vexed only the waves. After they had swung their heavy cannon round, but as soon as they had im- proved their range, Perry called off the saucy brace of " mosquito steamers," on which the sailors were being very much wetted by ball and shell, which splashed up the brine like geyser springs. Tatt- nall was rather disappointed to find hardly any one hurt. In the thrill of delight, while still on deck, he exclaimed. " Well, this shortens life, but it broadens it."" Unconditional and immediate surrender was the THE NAVY AND ARMY AT VERA CRUZ. 1 99 only proposition made, and this was accepted. A terrible wind-storm, though there was bright moon- light, followed. IMuch to the surprise of General Scott the castle also surrendered, the moral effects of the naval battery being sufficient. Alvarado was soon after captured, furnishing our army with ani- mals for transportation, so that General Scott was enabled to move up into the interior. CHAPTER XX. SCOTT's advance to the city of MEXICO. Up to the time of the Mexican war the sailors of the United States navy had a great preju- dice against being drilled as infantry. Operations on land by seamen, except in a very irregular way, had been very rare. With the coming in of steam- ers, where so much less toil is required in the handling of sails and ropes, and where most of the hoisting and other heavy work of the ship, formerly done with human muscle, is now accomplished by machinery, the situation was changed. The time was ripe to turn sailors into soldiers and to form a naval brigade, and the opportunity was well im- proved. Our blue-jackets are now so well drilled in the evolutions of infantry that in the parades and processions they show a handsome equality with our militiamen, not only in marching, but in evolutions and the manual of arms. Commodore M. C. Perry was the first one to form a naval brigade. With ten pieces of artillery, twenty- five hundred men were thoroughly drilled, first to SCOTT'S ADVANCE TO THE CITY OF MEXICO. 201 handle musket and bayonet, and then to move in company and battalion formation. While Scott was forcing the pass of Cerro Gordo, Perry's ships crossed the bar at the river's mouth, stormed the fort, and Tuspan was " taken at a gallop." The next enterprise was to capture Tobasco. This was new work for United States sailors; for in- stead of ship-to-ship duels, boat expeditions or squad- ron fights in line, our sailors were to charge against infantry intrenched behind earthworks. With 1084 seamen and marines in forty boats, the ships towed the expedition seventy miles up a river covered on both sides with dense chaparral. With three cheers and a charge the men landed, formed, drew their howitzers up the hill, and marched on Tobasco. On the plain before the city they met the Mexican army, with two-field pieces and cavalry, commanded by General Bruno. Our artillery was first hand- somely served, and then a charge put the Mexicans to flight. While the steamers poured their fire into Fort Iturbide, Lieutenant, afterward Admiral, Porter landed with sixty-eight men and captured the fort by assault, so that soon our men marched into the town, company front, the band playing "Yankee Doodle." During the six days' occupancy, the sailors showed that they could act like good soldiers on land as well as keep discipline aboard ship. 202 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. Thus beside furnishing the battery which laid low the walls of Vera Cruz, and released the army to march into the interior, the navy captured six cities with their fortresses and ninety-three cannon, all of which work was done on land, off deck, and beyond the usual sphere of naval operations. No wonder that when General Scott sent the flagstaffs conquered from the city and castle of Vera Cruz to the museuni of West Point, Commodore Perry re- quired that on the brass plates should be inscribed, not " Taken by the American army," but " Taken by the American army and navy." Meanwhile, one of the most splendidly conducted scientific campaigns known in history went on under the presiding genius of General Scott. Our little army of twelve thousand men climbed up the Mexi- can mountains, and at the almost inaccessible pass of Cerro Gordo found the Mexicans too strongly intrenched to be attacked in front. Scott cut a road around the mountain, and on the 1 7th of April reached the Jalapa road, where he could strike Santa Anna in the rear. Early in the morning of the 1 8th, Scott ordered his men forward. With a furi- ous rush, our blue-coats charged on the gayly uni- formed Mexicans. Colonel Harney, taking some of his men, captured the tower, which was the key to the whole position ; while General Pillow's division moved through a terrible musketry fire upon Gen- SCOTT'S ADVAiVCE TO THE CITY OF MEXICO. 203 eral Vega's force. Though driven back, they re- formed and charged again with success, gathering in three thousand prisoners. In this battle our men lost four hundred and thirty-one, of whom sixty-three were killed. The Mexican army was routed. Five thousand stands of arms and forty- three pieces of artillery were taken. The result was the occupation of Jalapa, with its fine climate and splendid scenery, dominated by the snow-capped peak of Orizaba. Many were the jokes cracked by our brave fel- lows, who had never seen the fair city or region of Jalapa. They remembered the nauseous purgative drug exported from this city, when " calomel and jalap " formed one of the favorite prescriptions of the doctors. Indeed, this was the period in which many " Dago " words and expressions grew up. Our volunteers used to sing in camp, " Green grow the rushes, O," and hence the name, in South America, of the North Americans as " Gringoes." This was also one of the first wars in which new^s- papers made some men famous and destroyed the reputation of others ; for the war correspondent had already moved into American history and begun his career. General Taylor was called " Rough and Ready," and General Scott " Fuss and Feathers." Some of the sayings on the battlefield got to be very popular, such as "A little more grape. Captain 204 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. Bragg," " Wait, Charlie, till I draw their fire," and " Where the guns go, the men go with them." Our banners now advanced into the beautiful province of Puebla. The country was noted for its richness in silver and other metals, and the lovely Mexican onyx with which we are all acquainted. On this highland region Scott's army spent the summer. Besides beincr reenforced, it was brought into a superb state of discipline. When, on the 7th of August, the cry " On to Mexico " was changed into a quickstep march, and our men set forward with cheers, Scott did not fear to meet an army twice the number of his own. On the 20th, fourteen miles from the city, the first one of three battles on the same day was fought and victory won. Although the Mexican troops showed stubbornness and bravery, they could not withstand the charges of our men. The line of battle moved off to Churubusco, six miles south of the city, where heavy fighting took place. Three thousand prisoners were taken and thirty-seven cannon were captured, our army losing by death and casualty 1053 men. The third fight on this eventful day completed the victory, the Americans keeping up the chase of the beaten foe almost to the very gates of the capital. Then, instead of Scott's being able to move at once upon the city, to harvest the results of his victory, an armistice of fifteen days took place. SCOTT'S ADVANCE TO THE CITY OF MEXICO. 205 The war was stopped, as it were, by injunction, through a commissioner invited from Washington. Scott was thus left with his httle army in the heart of the enemy's country, where his supplies and reenforcements could easily be cut of¥, while the Mexicans were able to recover and reorganize. Negotiations failed, however, and on the 7th of September Scott prepared to advance. On the 8th Worth's division of four thousand men captured Casamata, and also the fortification called Molino del Rey, or the King's Mill. One tremendously strong fortress now remained. This was called Chapultepec, where was the mili- tary school of the Mexican republic. It stands on a strongly fortified hill, and an immense amount of money and skill had been spent to make the place impregnable. To mask his real purpose, Scott ordered two batteries of artillery to keep up a heavy fire, during September 12 and 13, which had the effect of drawing the enemy within the city walls. Meanwhile our engineers put up heavy batteries on the night of the i ith, which, during the two days following, directed their fire on the castle and out- works. Then on the 13th, at eight o'clock in the morning, under Captains McKenzie and Casey, two assaulting parties, of 260 men each, moved forward to the stronghold, while over their heads there fell upon the enemy from our batteries a rain of shot 206 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. and shell. Over rocks, and chasms, and mines, and in the face of heavy fire of cannon and musketry, our men rushed forward, climbing up, without giv- ing the Mexicans time to explode the mines laid in the ground. After the redoubt midway on the heights had been taken, our brave fellows reached the ditch and main wall of the work, putting scaling ladders up against the masonry. No sooner were the pioneers once inside than it looked as if a wave of blue were falling over the walls and mounting up the west side. On the south side our men had to move across a causeway, and here the contest was desperate ; but discipline and valor overcame every obstacle. Bat- teries and works were carried. Ever higher yet our soldiers moved forward, until they planted the stars and stripes at the highest point. During these three terrible days our army lost 863 men, but not stopping, they pressed on along the two causeways, and continued the fighting at the city gates. Scott would grant no terms, and the divisions of Worth and Quitman entered the capital. Although street fighting continued during two days, the position was held, and the city made secure. Scott had now less than six thousand troops. After this decisive victory some occasional skir- mishes took place, but the guerillas were more an- noying than dangerous. The whole story of the SCOTT'S ADVANCE TO THE CFTV OF MEXICO. 20/ American army in Mexico is a magnificent tribute to the science, skill, and character of our generals; to the splendid discipline of our Httle army ; to the moral stamina and intelligence of the American volunteer. The contrast between the ability of the officers and the discipline of the rank and file in the War of 1812 with that of 1846 is as great as one could imagine. The Mexican soldiers were docile and brave, and were accustomed to stand in the ranks during the firing, calmly meeting death ; but when the Ameri- can troops made a rush and charge, they were un- able to hold their ground. The United States soldier was not only stronger in body and a better fighting machine, but was a more intelligent person. He had had a public school education. He knew what he was fighting for. He could not only be brave, but he could keep up his courage and endure hardness, amid fatigue and danger during many hours. Many, perhaps most, of the city-bred men in the army were also members of the volunteer fire department at home. This, with all its faults, was an admirable school of alertness, intelligence, cour- age, discipline, and manliness. After standing up to heavy fighting, and shooting with an idea to seri- ous business, our volunteers, when once they could start the Mexicans on the run, rapturously enjoyed the excitement. They found the chase in war to 2o8 THE ROMAXCE OF CONQUEST. have more fun and exhilaration than if tliey were runnino- to a fire or racin"' with a rival enoine. o o o Nor was it ditTficult to account for the brilliancy of our victories, when it is also considered what splendid olificers the American graduates of West Point were. These outgeneralled the Mexican leaders by exact science. General Worth well deserved the monument which the city of New York erected to his memory on Fifth Avenue, opposite Madison Square. In the navy two great reforms begun and were soon carried out. One was the abolition of flog- o^inof and the other of the srros: ration. Altosfether, about 100,000 troops had been employed, of which 26,090 were regulars, 56,926 were volunteers, and over 15,000 in the navy or in the department of commissariat and transportation. About 120 offi- cers and 1400 men fell in battle or died of wounds, and 100 officers and 10,800 men perished by dis- ease ; or, in round numbers, about 20,000 lives were lost, one-fourth by the casualties of war, and three- fourths by sickness. The total expense of the war was about $150,000,000; but this sum was vastly increased by pensions. Buena Vista was Taylor's last battle, but he had won a victory not only over Santa Anna, but over the hearts of the American people, who are easily captured by military men. The name of the site SCO 7^7^ 'S ADVANCE TO Till': CITY OF MEXICO. 2O9 of victory, from whicli General Taylor stepped into the presidential chair, was once unheard of in our country. It is now applied to over forty towns and villages in the United States, Old " Rough and Ready " was the son of the colo- nel of a Virginia regiment in the Revolutionary War. He had spent most of his life on the fron- tier, among soldiers and Indians. He began his military life in 1804 ^s lieutenant of the seventh infantry, and had served in the Black Hawk and Florida wars. By his battle on Christmas Day, 1837, he had decisively beaten the Seminoles, and with Worth's diplomacy had virtually ended the Florida war. It is said that he had not voted for forty years. In the nominating convention his name ran ahead of those of Clay, Scott, and Webster. In the election the popular vote for Taylor was 1,360,752. Cass and Butler, the Democratic candi- dates, had 1,219,962 votes. For Van Buren and Adams, the " free-soilers," only 291,342 ballots were cast. So the man of the camp was called to the service of the nation in the presidential chair. He was inaugurated March 4, 1849. The country was now again called to face the problems of expansion, and great questions loomed up concerning the organization of the new territory. The forces of freedom and slavery were being ar- rayed in that terrific conflict of words which pre- 210 THE ROMAXCE OF COXQVEST. ceded the bloody struggle on the battlefield. Like the majority of purely military officers called to high civil posts, Taylor was destined to prove a failure as President. As a rule, the work of arniy officers in high civil administration contrasts pitifully with the achievements in the field. Usually the two records are like those of pygmy and giant. President Tay- lor was saved from further troubles by his death, which occurred July 9, 1S50. Millard Fillmore, whose name was destined to be well known in Japan, became President. By the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, peace had been secured and New Mexico and California were ceded to the United States. Thus again the area of our country, by being increased one-third in size, was vastly enlarged. Nearly a million square miles of land, having over three thousand miles of seacoast, with three great harbors, came under the American flag. And yet this great territory might have waited a long while for inhabitants, had it not been for what has been called the " accidental "" discovery of some shininq; o^rains of crold. These were found on Captain Sutter's farm. Do we call the discoverv of frold in California an accident? Yet what is an accident.^ In Christen- dom, and especially in the United States, many wonderful inventions have been the result of happy SCOTT'S ADVANCE TO TIIF. CITY OF MEXICO. 211 "accidents." Yet such accidents do not occur in the middle of Africa, or among the Esquimaux, or the red Indians, and not often in countries where people are not educated to think, or where dis- covery is frowned upon and research is considered dangerous to religion or the government. Span- iards and Indians were in California, the latter thousands, and the former hundreds of years, but there were no such " accidents " as the finding of gold. When, however, trained Cornish miners came to California, they found at an unexpected moment what their habits of life taught them to look for. When the news of this discovery went over the land and the world, the name " California," from having been a mere name in a romance, or a geographical expression for an obscure region, was transformed into an allurinsf imaq;e whose face reflected lioht and magnetism all over the earth. Immediately young men from the East, the returned volunteer, the hardy and venturous European from old lands across the sea, were attracted to the Pacific slope. With the " prairie schooner," slowly and painfully making their way across the great American desert, they thronged in caravans. Or they came in sail- ing vessels around Cape Horn ; or took steamer, crossed the Isthmus, and again embarked and steamed up the coast. In four years two hundred and fifty thousand men of every sort of character. 212 THE ROMANCE OE CONQUEST. almost wholly without women and the refinements of life, were on the new El Dorado. Then began the digging and the washing, and the output of that volume of wealth which has surprised the world. Yet California's wealth from precious metals has been vastly less than that gained from tilling the soil. " The Argonauts of '49" found the true golden fleece in agriculture and not in mining. Another cession of territory was made in 1853, when Mexico sold to our government for the sum of $10,000,000 that part of Arizona and New Mexico that lies south of the Gila River. This " Gadsden purchase," named from the negotiator, added to our national domain a strip of territory nearly as large as the state of New York, or 45,535 square miles. CHAPTER XXI. THE AMERICAN SAILOR IN THE FAR EAST. OUR early war-ships on the East India station, which inckided at first the waters of China and Japan, were the old sailing frigates, sloops of war, or brigs. The first United States war steamer to get to the far East w^as the San Jacinto. She was named after the closing battle in the war of Texan independence, fought April 21, 1836, between General Houston and Santa Anna. In 1855 this vessel took out Townsend Harris, who made a treaty with Siam and one with Japan. This latter opened the empire to American residence and com- merce. While the Sa7i Jacinto was on the China station, the British and Chinese were having a quarrel which ended in war. The Chinese had built forts near Canton, to form a barrier that should hinder for- eign .vessels from coming up the river. The man- darins paid little or no attention, as they ought to have done, to the difference in the national ensigns. Although they themselves usually sent armies to the field with thousands of banners, streamers, and 213 J 14 THE ROM A WE OE COXQCEST. c\cn l.iiis. uinlMt'llas, .nul l:,imi*;s. — things which arc iu>nsciisc when rc.il ti;;htini; is to he ilonc, — so that the miml>cr as coniparcil with the t'lghtini; men was ahsuiiiU' _L;riMt, thc\- hail wo real tlag. rhc\- luul not \iM icachcil that clcai- sense ot natitnialitv in the woiKl which wouKl tiMch them to ha\e a dis- tincti\e Chim^se ensit;n ol their own. liuleeJ. there was no rcalU national tla^; of Japan ov Korea, until contact with western nations compellccl these pei^- l^le io make i>ne. in the priile anil conceit i>l her- mits, each thought his country the centre ot the unixcrse ami other people harharians. h'ach nation has mw\- a natiiMial stamlarJ. So it happencil that when .American ships, which, hein^; iH-rtectK ncutr.il. luul a right to pass the har- rier torts, were tircil upon, it w.is time to teach the Chinese m.nularins the rights oi neutrals aiul the l.iws ot w.ir. C\MnnuHlore .Armstrong coiiKl not get his tlag ship, theX?;; /<' iiiul loiind sliol, Ixil mIIci llic /'()//\//i(>i///i i;()( iiilo |)()sil ion, her (S-mch _i;ims l)("L;iiii lo kiux k I lie L;r;inilc Mocks ol tlic I;ii"l;csI iiikI lowest loil oiil ol llicir |)I;i(('S, while her sliclls hiiisl inside I he w.ills with teniric clicct. By cvciiini; the fori was ahiiost silent. After several days ol inia vailing', di|)lonia( y, a land attack was ordered. I'onr hnndred ol onr marines and sailors in hoals lowed hy the A'li/ii /wr weri' landed at Ihe ed^c of a riee-field. ihen, with lad- ders, axes, carbines, and cutlasses, they ( hari.M'd upon I he iL^ales ol thelort. liesides their jini;al halls the C hint'se Incd rockets made ol hanihoo poles armed with an iron s|)eardiead and leathered al the ends. I he clinnsy missdes made a terrihie wonnd when Ihey hit any one; hnl holli their ( aniion and jint^al balls Hew over om' men's heads and Iheir bam- boo rocket ari'ows wtnit hissini; and bonncint; over the fields like; P'ourth-of-j nly chasers. While our men were charL;in<_;-, the Lnuiii/ and /'<>r/siii<>/(//i kept n|) t heir cannonade, but both shi|)S ceased riling as soon as the Americans enlered within the loit. 'I'hen the garrison broke and lied. ( )f the 17^) li^nns captured within Ihe walls, one was an .S-inch bron/.e piece weighiniL;" nileen tons. This was one of the bravest exploits of our men abroad, and the seven men killed in ihe battle are commemorated in the inonument at the iJrooklyii 2l6 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. Navy Yard. It was easy to recall their story, when in July, 1898, just before going to Europe, I visited the Portsmouth lying as the receiving-ship in the Hudson River at Hoboken. The Portsmouth in her day was a fine sailer and in every way a useful ship. Our old friend Commodore Josiah Tattnall, whom we last saw in front of the castle at Vera Cruz, came out to Chinese waters in 1S60. In the chartered steamer Toeywan (another name for Formosa) he was to carry the American minister, Mr. Ward, into the Peiho River, which is up in the north of China and leads past Tientsin to the capital. The Brit- ish and French were at war with the Chinese, who built forts in a line, and below and above had stretched heavy booms of wood held together with iron chains and staples. In the attack, the allied fleet of thirteen gunboats, under Admiral Hope, blew up one boom and bombarded the fort, but they were unable to force or blow up the upper bai^- rier of timber and iron. In fact, being caught in the narrow river under the short-range fire of the heavy guns of the Chinese forts, several of their ships were sunk. On others, the gun crews were all killed and wounded. About four hundred and thirty men had been struck down, and the situation was dreadful. Even on the flag-ship Plover, only the bow gun was being served. THE AMERICAN SAILOR IN THE FAR EAST. 21 J Commodore Tattnall standing on deck outside the bar, glass in hand, was a witness of this awful spectacle. He stood it as long as he could. Then crying out, " Blood is thicker than water," he ordered the ship's cutter. He passed, like Perry on Lake Erie, through the thickest of the fight, as his men pulled oar toward the British commander's ship. A Chinese cannon ball tore into the stern of the cutter, killed the coxswain, and narrowly missed sinking the boat with all on board. Ranging up alongside, Tattnall leaped on board and offered the use of his surgeons for the wounded of the fleet. While their commander was thus occupied, his boat's crew of American sailors jumped on board the Plover, relieved the British sailors, who were utterly exhausted, and served the gun. Our men fired a round or two at the Chinese fort, and then Tattnall, though he hated to do it, ordered his men off. There was a growl in his voice, put on for official purposes, but there was no disapproval in his twinkling eyes. Afterward, in the land expedi- tion, Tattnall helped to tow boatloads of British marines in action to storm the forts. It is an old Scotch proverb that says, " Blood is warmer than water." Tattnall gave it his own or the English form, and made it " thicker." His action, although technically a violation of interna- tional law, must be excused when it is remembered 2l8 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. that the Chinese at that time did not care anything about the laws of nations, and that the American Commodore offered the services of his surgeons to the Chinese also, which they declined. The Chinese have never been very much interested in saving the lives of their men wounded in battle. Even in 1894 they went to war with Japan without a hospital corps. Until Christian sentiments prevail in China, they are not likely to furnish surgeons, hospitals, and nurses to their soldiers. In Japan large squadrons flying the stars and stripes have gathered more than once, but for peaceful purposes, and to perform those acts which have bound Columbia and the Mikado's empire in permanent peace and mutual regard. Commodore Matthew C. Perry, in July, 1853, with the United States steamships Mississippi and Susquehanna and the United States ships Ply month and Sara- toga, entered the bay of Yedo, and delivered the President's letter of friendship. In March, 1854, he came again, and at Yokohama, Perry, the sailor- diplomatist, and the professor-statesman Hayashi, made the treaty which begun the modern inter- course of Japan with the world. Townsend Harris, our first Consul-general, after many months of patient instruction of the hermit-statesman in Yedo, and later assisted by Commodore Tattnall, obtained a more liberal treaty, in 1858, which secured trade THE AMERICAN SAILOR IN THE FAR EAST. 219 and residence of Americans at five ports and in two cities. Thus did our peaceful diplomacy win the friendship and respect of a proud-spirited people, and the most progressive nation in Asia — "the rudder of the whole continent." When the daimio of Choshiu erected batteries on the bluffs commanding the narrow strait of Shimo- noseki, tried to close the Inland Sea, and fired on the American ship Pembroke, Captain David Mac- Dougal, in the United States corvette Wyoming, then in search of the Alabama, steamed into the straits, July i6, 1862, and there performed one of the most brilliant and darino: feats in the annals of the United States navy. He engaged five batteries and silenced one. He ran his ship between two armed vessels, fought both and sunk one. Then manoeuvring into position, he sent an i i-inch shell into the boiler of the large war steamer, blow- ing her up and sinking her, again fighting the batteries on his return. In this battle of seventy minutes, the Wyoming fired fifty-five rounds, or, from the time of actual firing, one a minute. Struck in twenty places, the ship, though losing four killed and six wounded, came out in good trim. In 1864, the allied British, French, and Dutch and American squadrons bombarded the forts, now increased to ten, and completely destroyed them. Our flag was represented by Lieutenant Pearson, 220 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. with a Parrott rifle gun and thirty marines and sailors, on the chartered steamer Ta Kiaiig, in a manner to win the admiration of the admiral com- manding. Then the alert and progressive Japanese took the matter to heart and concluded first to imi- tate, and then excel, the foreigners, and join in the race of modern civilization. As nobly patriotic and efficient at the ends of the earth as in American waters, our navy has always sustained the honor of the nation. Shimonoseki was the precursor of Manila. Cool, scientific, brave, and bold, MacDougal, in 1862, set a mark for Dewey at Manila in 1898. CHAPTER XXII. CONFEDERATES AND FEDERALS. THE battle over slavery was fought on the floor of Congress, before its theatre was transferred to the open field. One party at the North believed slavery to be a curse. Another party at the South looked upon it as a blessing. The pulpit, the press, and political economy were divided, as the country was. Even the religious denominations of the coun- try were rent asunder, but the Reformed, the Congregational, the Episcopal, and the Roman Catholic churches maintained their unity. The longer the debate, the hotter grew the spirit of the disputants. Texas was the last one admitted as a slave state, but California came in free. All compromises were in vain. One party cried " no more slave states." Another said that negroes were property, and every citizen of the United States could take what was his own, in- cluding his black slaves, with him. A third part denied the right of Congress to decide the ques- tion of free or slave states, declaring that the people of the territories were the sovereigns. 222 THE ROMAXCE OF COXQVF.ST. Many blacks cscai)ed from Ixindagc into the free states. Congress passed a law allowing slave owners to secure the fugitives. When these attempted to do so, there were riots and rescues. 1 well re- member some (A these in Philadelphia, in many l")laces, especially in Pennsylvania, New York, and Ohio, kind-hearted persons helped the black people to get i)rivately to Canada. I^y day they fed and sheltered the fugitives in barns and cellars. When it was dark, they convoyed them from one town to another, or showed them the way. Thus these pilgrims of the night followed the north star to freedom under the British tlag. Quiet, secret, effec- tive, was "the underground railroad" to Canada. Mr. Seward declared that we had on hand an " irrepressible conflict," and Mr. Lincoln said that no nation could exist half slave and half free. There was much talk, which greatly scared some parsons and many persons, about " a higher law " as being above acts of Congress. Then came the pub- lication of the novel " Lhicle Tom's Cabin," which showed lH>th the bright ami the dark side of slav- ery. This book sold by hundreds of thousands and roused the popular sentiment, educating millions to a hatred aoainst the bondaoe of the blacks. When Clay, Webster, and Calhoun died, as they did before 1852, new men like Thaddeus Stevens and Charles Sumner, on the one hand, and Jeffer- cox /■'/■: PKR.rjW'.s ,i.v/) federals. 223 son Davis and John C\ Brcckcnridge on tlie other, took their places in Conorcss. The Missouri Com- promise of 1820, which shut t)ut slavery from the territory north and west of Missouri, was repealed. This precipitated a great struggle for the posses- sion of Kansas. Should it be settled by free men or slaveholders } Soon there were rival govern- ments on the soil, and for five years the territory was torn by civil war. Border ruffians and aboli- tionists fought each other, and not a little blood was shed; but Kansas finally entered the Union without slavery. Two days after President James lUichanan had been inaugurated, the Supreme Court of the United States under Chief Justice Taney decided that negro slaves were not " persons," notwith- standing that the Constitution speaks of them as such, but were simply pieces of property having no rights which white men were bound to respect. Therefore slaves could be taken into free terri- tory, the same as horses or cattle. In the midst of the increasing hostilities between the sections north and south, came the financial panic of 1857. This was followed, however, by the discovery of silver in Nevada, of petroleum in Pennsylvania, and, later, of lead and silver in Colo- rado and Utah, and of natural gas in western Penn- sylvania. Then ensued the episodes of the John 224 THE ROMA.WCE OF CONQUEST. Brown raid at Harper's Ferry, and the election to the presidency of Abraham Lincoln. By the ist of February, 1861, seven states had seceded from the Union. At Montgomery, Alabama, they took the name of the Confederate States of America. Fort Sumter was attacked and surrendered. Presi- dent Lincoln issued his call for 75,000 volunteers to suppress the rebellion. By the middle of June, four more states having seceded, there were eleven in the Confederacy. The population of the Union at this time was about 32,000,000, of whom 23,000,000 were in the states loyal to the Constitution, while in the Con- federacy were 6,500,000 white men and about 3,500,000 slaves. The Confederates had the advan- tage of plenty of arms and ammunition which they had seized, and a majority not only of the best- known officers in the regular army, but perhaps also of the navy. They had also the benefit of resources in labor, by which an army in the field could be fed by unpaid toilers at home. There was an immense advantage in fighting for defence and on their own soil. On the other hand they had few factories and very little skilled labor. For the mak- ing of an ironclad war vessel, the ore must first be blasted, dug, smelted, refined, and rolled. The raw materials for the making of powder and campaign supplies must be first provided. Reliance must be CONFEDERATES AND FEDERALS. 22 S placed upon Europe for nearly all manufactured articles. Payment could be made in cotton through the blockade runners. The resources of the North in money, materials, factories, mills, founderies, and shipyards were very great. There were twice as many men, and labor was in honor. With command of the sea and the power to obtain a large navy, the government could blockade the southern ports and cut off supplies from Europe. Yet, in the summer of 1861, the Union force was but little larger than those of the Confederacy. General Scott directed one army and General Beauregard the other. The Union line, between Fortress Monroe and Harper's Ferry, was called " the x^rmy of the Potomac." The "Army of Northern Virginia " was the name given to the Confederate force, which had Richmond as its cen- tre. There were also opposing forces in Missouri and West Virginia and in the southwest. The Confederates held the Mississippi River from New Orleans to Columbus and hoped to control Ken- tucky, beside holding the Tennessee and Cumber- land rivers. The battle of Bull Run served only to arouse the North to greater efforts. Congress voted to raise a half million men and half a billion dollars to carry on the war. General George B. McClellan was put in command of the Army of the Potomac. 226 THE KOM.WCE OF COXQUEST. Bv his continuous labors and after six months of steady drill, he had made it the splendid fighting machine which it was and through all its vicissi- tudes remained. The plan of campaign, elaborated in Washington, was first to blockade the seaports of the Confederacy, to take Richmond, to open the rivers of the southwest, and to march a Union army from the Mississippi to the Atlantic Ocean. The contrary plan, elaborated in Richmond, was defence on land and aggression at sea. A tieet of privateers and commerce-destroyers, among which were the Alabama, Florida, Shciiamloah, Rappahannock, Georgia, and TallaJiasscc, was let loose on the oceans. Their success was so great that the commerce of the United States was wiped off the seas. Americans dwelling in foreign lands felt like men without a country. In November, iS6i, Messrs. Mason and Slidell were sent as envoys of the Confederacy to obtain recognition abroad, but Captain Wilkes, the famous explorer, stopped the British mail steamer Trent and took them as prisoners. Yet the very thing that the American commander had done was what we had protested against for fourscore years. When, therefore, the British government demanded that the prisoners be given up, Mr. Seward, our able Secretary of State, at once released them. Thus our government showed that consistency \ COA'J'EDEKATKS A\D I-EDERALS. 22/ whicli is so precious a jewel. In Europe the two envoys accomplished little or nothing. Even Mr. Edward A. Ereeman, who started to write a book, entitled " The History of Federal Government from the Amphictyonic Council to the Disruption of the United States of America," published but one volume. Then the victories of the Union armies compelled indefinite postponement of the book. The efforts of the Confederates to build, float, and equip a navy were extraordinary. Seizing the Norfolk Navy Yard, they turned the old Merrimac into an ironclad. It had sloping sides, and its plat- ing w^as chiefly of railroad material. Although a very shaky craft, the new monster, riding on the old hulk, was able to move out against the grand old wooden frio^ates Ctimbcrlaiid and Congress, then lying opposite Fortress Monroe. These were rammed and sunk in a few minutes, their broad- sides rattling on and rebounding from the dented but uni^ierced iron sides of the Merrimac. On Sunday, March 9, a new oddity, the Monitor, appeared. She looked to the Confederates like a " tomato can upon a shingle." A duel took place, and the Merrimac went back to her quarters. The Monitor could not be hurt. This little event dic- tated the reconstruction of all the navies of the W'Orld. From this time forth wood, as a material for war vessels, was obsolete. In our days of steel 22$ THE ROMAXCE OF COXQUEST. battle-ships, even the libraries of books, the sailors' bags, clothes, hammocks, and everything combus- tible are thrown overboard, lest they take fire in battle. The war of power between guns and penetrating missiles, armor and power of resistance, goes on in our day just as it went on in the iNIiddle Ages. At first leather and hide-covered shields were sufficient. Then followed chain mail and scale armor; but when the arrows were made lono-er and heavier and the bows stronger, chain and scale armor gave way to plates riveted together, and this in turn to ugly and clumsy boxes of iron, that made men look as if thev were dressed up in ash cans and coal scut- tles. Men thickened their coats of defence, clothinQ- themselves more and more in hardware, until the knights were so heavy that they had to be helped to get on their horses. When they fell off, they lay helpless as turtles turned upside down. By and by, in the final evolution of force from the stone-headed arrow, the bullet came into play, which no amount of steel which a man is able to wear can resist ; armor was dropped and became only a curiositv. So in time will it be with ship armor. Admiral Dupont, when he saw how life was made so uncomfortable to the fighters in the monitors, longed for iron men to fight in these metal ships, which were niore like junk-shops or CONFEDERATES AXD FEDF.RALS. 229 dry docks than the beautiful, full-sailed, and majestic sailers of old times. During the war most of the best work of blockade and battle had to be done necessarily by the wooden frigates and gunboats, but new monitors were quickly built and launched, and they served nobly to reduce fortresses. In one of them, the Wcchan'kcn, Ca})tain John Rodgers, with consummate coolness and skill, fought and sunk, within fifteen minutes, the ironclad Atlanta in Savannah harbor. This event took place just fifty years after the conflict between the Chesapeake and Shannon in Boston harbor, and finely illustrated the progress made in naval science during a half century. The line of defence of the Confederacy was first broken in the west by the capture of Forts Henry and Donelson. This was brought about by Com- modore Foote with his gunboats and by General Grant with his army, compelling the surrender of fifteen thousand prisoners, which up to that time was the greatest number ever taken in any battle on this continent. After the great battle at Shiloh, or Pittsburg Landing, in which twenty-five thou- sand men were killed or wounded, Commodore Foote captured Island Number Ten, which opened the Mississippi River all the way to Vicksburg. One of the popular songs of the war was, " Ho, for the Gunboats, Ho ! " 230 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. The next year Farragut, with fifty wooden ves- sels, moved up the Mississippi. New Orleans was defended by Forts Jackson and Philip, by heavy chain cables stretched across the stream, and by fifteen armed vessels, including two iron- clads. Farragut was assisted by Butler's land forces and Commodore Porter's bomb boats which rained 300-pounder shells into the forts. The advancing Union fleet silenced the guns, broke the cables, and sunk the ships. Once more the stars and stripes floated on the public buildingrs of New Orleans. Port Hudson and Vicksburg remained to contest and prevent the desired meeting of the sea-going fleet of Farra- gut with the river gunboats of Foote. In the east, McClellan, leaving a hundred thou- sand men in Washington, marched with another hundred thousand through the peninsula between the James and the York rivers to the southeast of Richmond, where weeks were spent in fighting malaria, mud, weather, and water. There were heavy battles at Seven Pines and Fair Oaks and opposition at Williamsburg and Yorktown. When General Robert Lee took command of the Con- federate forces, he despatched Stonewall Jackson to drive out the Union forces from the Shenan- doah Valley and General Stuart to make a raid in the rear of McClellan's army, and both were CONFEDERATES AND FEDERALS. 2^1 very successful. The armies of Fremont, Banks, and McDowell were united under the name of the Army of Virginia, and General John Pope was made their commander. Toward the end of June, after heavy fighting, during what has been called the Seven Days' Battle, culminating at Malvern Hill, the Army of the Potomac retreated to the James River and afterward fell back nearer Washingrton. After the loss of thirty thousand men, matters on both sides stood as they had been before. When President Lincoln called for fresh volunteers, the shout went up all over the Union, " We are com- ing. Father Abraham, three hundred thousand more," and they came. A second terrific battle was fouo^ht at Bull Run, in which Pope, confronted by Stonewall Jackson, was badly defeated. Most of the Federal troops retreated to their fortifications at W^ashins^ton. General Lee crossed the Potomac above Washinof- ton, expecting that the Marylanders would rise up and march with him. At Harper's Ferry Jackson captured the Union garrison with plenty of arms and stores. McClellan, advancing to Sharpsburg against Lee, fought the bloody battle at Antietam, with a loss of twenty-six thousand men. Lee was compelled to retreat. McClellan was superseded by Burnside, who, setting out to march on Rich- mond, crossed the Rappahannock River and at- 232 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. tacked the Confederate fortifications, but was driven back with terrible loss, and General Joseph Hooker was given the command of the army in the east. In this month of December, a battle was fought at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, between the armies of Generals Bragg and Rosecrans, lasting three days, and ending in the advantage of the Union army. Thus the year closed. CHAPTER XXIII. THE WAR FOR FREEDOM. /^N the first of January, 1863, the Emancipation ^-^ Proclamation changed the character of the war from one for the Union to one for freedom. During the first four months of 1863 httle could be done except in the way of preparation, but when the Army of the Potomac moved, the Confed- erates met them at Chancellorsville, where a two days' battle was fought. The Union army was beaten. Yet this was the last triumph which the Confederates in Virginia won in the open field. Here they met with their greatest loss, for Stone- wall Jackson was accidentally shot by his own men. After this no more victories came to the stars and bars. General Lee was a statesman as well as a soldier. To save the Confederacy, he resolved to invade the free states and to conquer peace in a northern city. In June he "marched over the mountain wall " with about seventy thousand men, but at Gettysburg, General Meade, the Pennsylvanian, met him. Years before, a British officer visitine this valley plain, with Seminary Ridge on one side 233 234 ^^^^ ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. and Cemetery Ridge nearly opposite, had remarked on the fitness of the site for a great battle. On July I, 1863, the terrific struggle began, the Confederates at first getting the advantage. On the third day. General Pickett, with fifteen thousand men, the flower of the Confederate army, after a terrific cannonade of the Union forces, charged across a mile of open ground and up the slope of Cemetery Ridge. Then the Federal artillery opened upon them, first with round shot, then with shell, and finally with grape and canister. Yet on the brave Confederates moved, piercing the Union lines, but only to have the Federals close upon them, " gathering in flags by the sheaves and pris- oners by the thousands," and driving back the fragments. Being on Pennsylvania soil, the Key- stone State's own troops appropriately took a prominent part. In this most stubbornly contested battle of the war nearly fifty thousand men were killed or wounded. This was the high-water mark of the slaveholders' rebellion. The rest .of the work of the Union armies and navies, heavy as it proved to be, was but the finishing of the task. As I write this story, I remember well being at Camp Curtin, in Harrisburg, as a member of Company H of the 44th (Merchants') Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, having heard the news of the battle of Gettysburg and received orders to THE WAR FOR FREEDOM. 235 march southward. We were to guard the fords of the Potomac after Lee's retreat. Governor Andrew Curtin came into the camp and went through it, announcing the fall of Vicksburg. Before leaving Philadelphia, I had been solemnly assured by some, especially by two venerable and famous friends of southern birth, that Vicksburg was impregnable. With battery rising above bat- tery on the bluffs of the riverside, and bristling with heavy guns and an ample garrison in fortifications of the first order of scientific construction, it was impossible for an army to capture and occupy it. As Governor Curtin went through the camp the men of the various counties came out to greet him. There were the stalwart lumbermen from Pike, Wayne, and Susquehanna counties, the coal miners of Schuylkill, Carbon, and Lehigh counties, the farmers from Bucks, Montgomery, and Chester counties, the sugar makers of Clinton, Union, and Lycoming counties, the sturdy " Pennsylvania Germans " from Lancaster, Lebanon, and York counties, the iron workers of Allegheny and West- moreland counties, the boat and lake men from Erie and Crawford counties, — each delegation cheering and welcoming the governor of the com- monwealth. Thus did the boy of nineteen get his first clear and full impression of an American state, with its counties and townships. 236 THE ROMANCE OF COXQUEST. General Grant's forces had beaten those of Pem- berton and Johnson, while the Federal artillery bombarded the city day and night. Food had become so scarce in Vicksburg that it was a ques- tion whether the wolf or the olive branch would eet inside first. With marvellous courafre and endurance, the Confederates held out until July 4. Then the army and the city surrendered. Five days later, Port Hudson followed the example. Then the mighty river was open from its source to the sea. Perry's old steam frigate the Missis- sippi grounded under fire of the batteries and was burned. Two "fires in the rear " now disturbed the Union cause. One was an outburst of ruffianism in the city of New York, when rioters tried to resist the draft. After burning a negro orphan as3dum, the cowards melted away at the appearance of the famous Sixth Corps of veterans. In Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio, Morgan's Confed- erate cavalry made a destructive raid, only to be finally captured and destroyed. In the battle of Chickamauga in September, Brao-cr defeated Rosecrans, thous^h General Thomas saved the day. For two months the Union army was besieged by Bragg in Chattanooga. Late in November, when Hooker and Sherman came to command, they fought a battle above the clouds, THE WAR FOR FREEDOM. 23/ driving the Confederates from Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. The Confederates fled to Dalton, Georgia. Their cause was further weak- ened by General Sherman's raid into Mississippi. On the 3d of March, 1864, General U. S. Grant was made commander-in-chief of all the Union ar- mies. In the plan of campaign arranged with Sher- man, it was decided that Grant should move aoainst Lee and Richmond, while Sherman should defeat Johnson and march to the sea. The two Union armies were to unite near Richmond. The last bloody and decisive campaign which sent the Confederacy to oblivion, gave us a united coun- try able to face the world. Grant began his ad- vance May 4. In the region of country called the Wilderness were fought indecisive battles, which, however, weakened the Confederates. The con- flicts in the Wilderness were almost exclusively fought by infantry and with bullets, for both cavalry and artillery were nearly useless. Indeed, these were the most terrible musketry battles known in the history of the world. Grant then moved by the left flank southward, where at Cold Harbor he hurled his men upon the enemy's intrenchments and lost over ten thousand men within an hour, in- flictinor also o-reat loss. Finding himself unable to take the direct line of advance against the elaborate fortifications of Rich- 238 THE KOMAXCE OF CONQUEST. mond, Grant moved round southward to Petersburg. At once both armies dropped sword and musket and began with pick and spade. Two grand Hues of fortification, a comparatively short distance apart, were constructed. Beside a line of ditches and embankments, with bomb proofs, embrasures, and flanking guns, there were covered roads by which the men of either army in the reserve camps could reach their casemates. There were also regularly constructed forts at intervals along the line of forty miles or so, and a terrific and wasteful bombardment was kept up a large part of the time. During the whole campaign one battery on the right of the Union line, "the Petersburg Express," sent a shell every fifteen minutes, day and night, into various parts of the Confederate 'fortifications. Thus the winter passed away. In June, 1864, came news of the sinking of the Alabama by the Kearsarge. To divert Grant's attention, weaken his force, and make him relax his grip, Lee sent General Early with a division of veterans to menace Wash- ington. This able general got within five miles of the capital's fortifications. The Sixth Corps was sent up the Potomac and was personally met in Wash- ington by Mr. Lincoln. Getting out in the open fields beyond the lines of defence, they drove Early off, after he had helped himself freely to the cattle and horses of the Maryland farmers. In return, THE WAR FOR FREEDOM. 239 General Grant in August sent Sheridan into the Shenandoah Valley, with a force of Union cavalry, to destroy everything that could furnish food. The " granary of the Confederacy " was so utterly wasted that "if a crow wanted to fiy the length of the val- ley he must take his rations with him." To-day, some of the most picturesque ruins in Virginia, cov- ered with the creeper and the trumpet-fiower vines, are memorials of the ruin wrought by Grant's orders. In the Union army were mechanics of all kinds. Every trade and craft was represented. A study of the various regiments was very interesting, because the difference in the ways of doing things, of begin- ning or getting at a problem and solving it, varied so greatly among the different regiments. Accord- ing as the majority of men, in each one, might be fishermen, shoemakers, lumbermen, machinists, farmers, clerks, cowboys, or miners, did habits and methods differ. In one of the Pennsylvania regi- ments was a large number of coal miners. They were as much used to burrowing under ground as are moles or rats. From them came the susfo-estion of digging an underground gallery and of making a mine under the Confederate fortifications, by which a fort could be blown up and a breach made, so that the Union forces could rush in, pierce the centre, divide and capture Lee's army. To discover the site of the mine, of which they 240 THE ROMAXCE OF COXQUEST. learned from deserters, the Confederates went to the great trouble of sinking many shafts or pits in the tough clay, but they could not find the subter- ranean chamber. iMeanwhile the Pennsylvanians burrowed under ground and placed four thousand pounds of powder in the chamber. Then, after lighting a time-fuse, preparations were made to assault. But through misunderstanding the whole affair was mismanaged. After the engineering work had been well done and the mines sprung, the explosion blew up a company of men, horses, and guns, making a breach several hundred feet long, which was called " the crater." The wary Confed- erates, having been warned beforehand, rushed so quickly to the repulse that hundreds of Union men were slaughtered in the hole, and others made pris- oners. Sheridan, after long and careful preparation, moved on Early's force in the Shenandoah Valley, and sev- eral battles were fought. While the general was away, the Union army was surprised at Cedar Creek, and getting into a panic were badly driven by the Confederates and had their camps looted. General Crook re-formed the Union forces, and Sheridan, arrivinsf from Winchester, the battle turned to a victory. Indeed, Crook was a power- ful intellectual force and one of the hardest fighters in Sheridan's armv. To him much of the credit MARCH TO THE SEA. THE WAR FOR FREEDOM. 24I of this triumph, and not a little in other victories of Sheridan's, is due. Meanwhile, Sherman had been marching from Chattanooga to Atlanta, where the chief railway centre and factories of the Confederacy were. Bat- tles were fought at Resaca, Dallas, and Kenesaw Mountain. Yet neither opposing armies, nor the roughness of the hilly country, nor the steady down- pour of rain during three weeks, nor the burning of bridges and tearing up of railways by the re- treating Confederates, checked the Union advance. Sherman's men fought, built, relaid, and destroyed. Like a vast mowing machine, cutting a swath of destruction sixty miles wide, the Union army moved onward. Though he had lost thirty thousand men, Sherman captured Atlanta, burning all public build- ings that contributed in any way to keep up the war. It was hoped in Richmond that Sherman would have to turn back in order to help Thomas, who was being pressed by General Hood; but leav- ing " the Rock of Chickamauga " to take care of himself, Sherman set out with his face toward the sea, two hundred miles distant. For a month no- body in the North heard anything from him. The slow and sure Thomas in mid-December attacked General Hood, demolished his army, and ended the war in the Southwest. On the 2 2d of December Sherman from Savannah wrote to President Lin- 242 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. coin, offering him as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah, with one hundred and fifty heavy guns, plenty of ammunition, and twenty-five thousand bales of cotton. On the ist of February, after a month's rest, Sherman set his face northward, mak- ing a seven weeks' march through mud, rain, and swamp, besides fighting a battle at Goldsboro. On March 27, at City Point, Virginia, he and General Grant shook hands. Meanwhile, Farragut and his fleet attacked Mo- bile. The Confederates, using torpedoes, blew up and rendered useless the monitor Tecumseh. Fur- thermore they had the Tennessee, an ironclad, com- manded by Captain Franklin Buchanan, who had also fought the Merrimac. It was built of materials which only a few months before had been timber in the forest and ore in the ground. Yet Farragut did not hesitate to attack the forts and ironclads, and even to ram and try to sink the iron monsters with his wooden ships. After a heavy battle in August, he was victorious over all opposition, and sealed up the port of Mobile while the army garrisoned the city. Like the constricting coils of an anaconda, the Union armies now closed on General Lee's forces. Sheridan moved down the Shenandoah Valley, cut the railroads and canals from Lynchburg, cutting off supplies from the West, and the next day moved THE WAR FOR FREEDOM. 243 further southward. While Lee was thus occupied with Sheridan, Grant ordered an advance along the whole line, capturing Petersburg, and compelling Lee to retreat from Richmond, which was soon occupied by our forces. Then driving forward the fragments of a once great army, he secured Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House. There generous terms were made and food was immedi- ately distributed to the hungry. Five days after- ward, on the same day that the Confederates had won their first victory. Major Anderson hoisted over Fort Sumter the very same flag he had lowered four years before. Thus ended the war that had cost a half a million of lives, and probably $5,000,000,000. On some days the expenses of the United States government were over $3,500,000 a day. T CHAPTER XXIV. A UNITED COUNTRY. WO magnificent pageants, the one material and the other moral, were witnessed at the end of the war. For the first time since iS6i the armies of the East and of the West made one host in Washington. On May 23 and 24, 1865, Pennsyl- vania Avenue presented a spectacle, the like of which had never before been seen on the American continent. In a column thirty miles long, the bronzed war veterans marched from the capitol up Pennsylvania Avenue past the Treasury Department, the reviewinsf stand where the President and his O Cabinet stood, and the White House. Magnifi- cent the display of Sheridan's thirteen thousand cavalry, ponderous the rumbling of three hundred pieces of artillery, funny beyond all telling the sight of Sherman's " bummers," wonderful the array of the pontoon train, pathetic the eloquence of the torn battle flags, and brilliant the sheen from miles of bayonets as the sunbeams played upon them ! I remember, when- as a student preparing for college, how with my tutor I took the night boat 244 A UNITED COUNTRY. 245 from Philadelphia down the Delaware River to Baltimore. Then, by early train, we reached Wash- ington. I saw the morning set her crown of light upon the white dome of the capitol, in the great space fronting which the veterans of the Western armies were already gathering. These men had hewn their way with their swords down the Mississippi Valley, crossed Tennessee to At- lanta, marched eastward till they sniffed the salt air of Savannah, and then pressed northward till they joined their comrades of the Army of the Potomac. I remember how I was impressed while looking at Sherman, with his splendid staff of division officers, and in hearing them talk. I recall especially Custer, " the boy general with the golden locks," who led his regiments of cavalry which had, in every file, thirty horses breast to breast, nostril to nostril, and hoof to hoof, moving for- ward and keeping dressed with wonderful precision, while their riders in blue held the bridles in their left hand and their flashing sabres in the other. The young general, riding a fiery spotted mustang, wore a sombrero or wide-brimmed Western prairie hat that flared up in front, showing his broad white forehead. The column had turned to the right at the head of Fourteenth Street. A lady stepped out from the sidewalk with a large wreath of flowers, which she was about to put over the mus- 246 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. tang's neck or the general's, — I could not tell which, — but this wild Western pony, unused to such atten- tions, leaped forward as if shot out of a cannon. The general's hat fell off, but he did not. Not even a buckins: or a rearino- broncho could disturb his firm seat. Yet unexpected and in advance of time, to the surprise of the presidential party who could not understand the reason, the hatless general reined up his horse firmly, bowed, and rode back. Soon his troopers were with him, and his hat was on for a profound bow to the President when next he appeared. On the field of battle Custer was accustomed to ride ahead of his men toward the foe, and, gallantly making his bow to those he was about to fight, to ride back to join his troops and lead their charge. To his own men the episode seemed a natural one. Glorious as the grand review at Washington was, the moral pageant was even more impressive. Within a few weeks the Union armies of the repub- lic, which had put over two millions of men into the field, were disbanded. The American soldiers both North and South handed back their muskets and equipments of war and went to their home and work. Confederate and Federal alike took up the tools of peaceful livelihood. As wonderfully as in fiction Roderick Dhu's band, or in mythology Cadmus's armed dragon 's-teeth warriors, the uni- A UNITED COUNTRY. 247 formed hosts of armed men melted away. Noble is the record of almost absolute freedom from lawless- ness made by the men both of the blue and the gray. After a few years the Grand Army of the Re- public was formed of the veterans of the land and naval forces, and "posts" were established in most of the states, while the men of the gray uniform formed "camps." This was done for mutual friend- ship and assistance, for the joys of memory and the pleasures of oratory and feasting, and the inculca- tion of patriotism. It became the custom through- out the Union to decorate the graves of comrades with flowers. In time, all soldiers who had served their state or country in the field, and all sailors under the flag at sea of every war, were remembered. In later years Confederates and Federals marched together to make floral tribute to the brave. Thus the beautiful institution, the " American festival " of Decoration Day, now celebrated in all lands and on all seas, became fixed. All this, with the formation of various other patriotic fraternities, for women as well as men, gave a tremendous impulse to the study of American history and to the marking, by tablets and other monuments, of the historic sites and spots in our great cities, towns, and even in our villages. In churches and halls, and wherever men 248 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. gather, the deeds of the brave are commemorated. The United States government began the laying out of national cemeteries for the care and in honor of those who died for their country. Near all the great battlefields, ample plots of ground were selected, planted with trees, beautiful flowers, and shrubbery, and made lovely and attractive with eloquent emblems. Over each burial plot the government has set a neat, plain monument, or markinof stone of white marble, with name, dates, military allocation, or has had chiselled the simple word " unknown." On the battlefields, the scars of which " nature has long since healed and recon- ciled to herself with the sweet oblivion of flowers," private munificence and national, state, or municipal enterprise have reared hundreds of memorials in art, making these once bloody fields gardens of beauty. Gradually the passions of the war cooled. Hatred and bitterness died out. The "march of years" meant also the march of a great host, who every year dropped out of the depleting ranks of the Grand Army, and were laid to rest. The men of the newer generation, none the less patriotic, faced fresh problems and questions. They were more and more willing to bury old issues and inheritances from the four years of strife. The veterans who had faced each other through rifts of battle-smoke, or at the Bloody Angle, made up first. A UNITED COUNTRY. 249 I remember well being at the dinner, and present as a guest and speaker, given in Faneuil Hall, in Boston, where the Robert E. Lee Camp, of Rich- mond, and the John A. Andrew Post, of Boston, ate, drank, made speeches, embraced each other in friendship, " fought their battles o'er " in harmony, and pledged mutual \ows of loyalty to the Union. It seemed as if, from the canvas on the walls which had reechoed with the eloquence of Samuel Adams and Daniel Webster, the faces of the great states- men looked down in hearty approval. Orators and poets took up the theme of reconciliation. The sectional politicians and the parsons kept up the war still longer, while those that never did any of the real fighting were last of all to yearn for and seek the benison of the Prince of Peace, " Blessed are the peacemakers." In time the great war story was told in the bloom of art, the uprearing of monuments, the fascinations of literature and the drama, and in dispassionate narration. In the true perspective of history the men of the North and the South honor each other. Nothing exhibits the moral stamina of the Anglo- Saxon peoples more than their capacity to accept results, when the issue has been tried and the war is over — that is, when the other side has had its innings. General Robert E. Lee set a shining example. 2 50 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. This war revealed also the possibilities of the men of African descent. Can their story be told better than is told on the memorial to Colonel Robert G. Shaw on Boston Common ? President Eliot, of Harvard University, who has written of " American Contributions to Civilization," thus puts a stout volume in a few words : — "The black rank and file volunteered when disaster clouded the Union cause ; served without pay for eighteen months, till given that of white troops : faced threatened enslavement if cap- tured ; were brave in action, patient under heavy and dangerous labors, and cheerful amid hardships and privations. " Together they gave to the nation and the world undying proof that Americans of African descent possess the pride, cour- age, and devotion of the patriot soldier. One hundred and eighty thousand such Americans enlisted under the Union flag in MDCCCLXIII-MDCCCLXV." CHAPTER XXV. AMERICAN MARINES AND SAILORS IN KOREA. OUT from the mainland of China rises the mountainous island of Formosa, or the Beau- tiful, so named by the Portuguese who were first struck with its attractive form, Japanese naviga- tors came here in old days, but so long ago that the history of their expeditions has become nurs- ery and fairy tales. Only in recent centuries have Chinese settled on the shores and plains, especially in the north, and not until 1683 did they take pos- session and assume the government of the island. The Formosan camphor trees are the most won- derful in the world. This is the land of the sky- blue bamboo. No island, perhaps, in all the earth is so rich in timber. In the mountains and on the east coast live the copper-colored, head-hunting aborigines. They belong to that great drift of humanity in the island world, from the Philippines to the Alaska peninsula, which extends in a circle and has furnished the ancestors of the North Amer- ican Indians. The more civilized Japanese, who are also relatives to these red men, and used to cut 251 2 52 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. off their enemy's beads after every battle, bave, in tbe orderly evolution of time, cbanged bead-hunting into a game of polo, in which red and white balls take tbe place of human skulls. The American bark Rover, whose captain bad also his family with him, was wrecked in south- eastern Formosa, and all on board were murdered. As the Chinese mandarins could do nothing. Ad- miral Bell, on June 13, 1867, landed a force of nearly two hundred marines and sailors from the war steamers Hartford and Wyoming. Our men plunged into the bamboo jungles to punish these savages, and perhaps cannibals. In the tangled thickets it was hardly possible to see more than a few feet ahead, and the red rascals knew the ground far better than the white stranQ;ers. It was so hot and so moist, so gloomy and twilight-like, that it was like fisfhtino^ a battle in a bathroom filled with steam. All that our men could do was to burn a few huts. Only occasionally did they catch sight of the flash of a gun barrel or see a puff of smoke. How many were slain on the Formosan side is not known, but one of our brave and gallant officers. Alexander Slidell MacKenzie, was killed. He was buried in the garden of the British consulate at Takao. When the funeral was over, one of the officers named Sigsbee, who was a good artist, made a sketch of the sad scene for MacKenzie's family AMERICAN MARINES AND SAILORS IN KOREA. 253 and sent it to them. Sigsbee was afterward com- mander of the battleship Maine, destroyed in Ha- vana harbor in 1898. Although Korea still kept herself shut off from the world, thinking herself safe, her very isolation tempted marauders. Our American sailors ship- wrecked on her shores were fed and escorted over the frontier and delivered to the United States Consul at Newchwang in Manchuria. This was the seaport at which during the year 1 894-1 895 the United States steamship Alert was fixed for the winter, lying inside of a sort of dry dock made by excavating the mud and surrounding her by earthwork fortification. Covered over with canvas, the ship served as a fort for the protection of American interests in that resfion durino; the Chinese and Japanese war. A German Jew, a French Catholic priest, and the renegade son of an American Protestant mis- sionary, with a lot of the riffraff of humanity, mostly Chinese, collected from the wharves of Shanghai, with some Manila men from the Philippines, made a raid into Korea in 1866. The American supplied the money, Feron, the French priest, was pilot, and Oppert, the Hebrew, commanded the motley expe- dition. Running their little steamer up a certain river at high tide, they marched overland. They expected, with coal shovels, to open the grave and 254 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. dig up the bones of the Korean Regent's ancestors, in order to hold them to ransom. They would thus compel him to open the country to foreign trade. Instead of a plain grave, they found a granite mausoleum. Unable to make much impression on heavy masonry, and being pressed by the infuriated natives, they had to retreat. Thousands of angry Koreans gathered menacingly about them. After- ward, when landing on the island of Kangwa to steal sheep in order to get fresh mutton, they were fired upon, and a Manila man was wounded. This caused the Spanish Consul to begin an investiga- tion, which brought out the facts in the case. Yet no one was convicted or imprisoned. Is it any won- der that the Koreans did not at first take kindly to intercourse with Americans ? Another expedition of illegal entrance into Ko- rean waters, and therefore piratical, was made in this same year. Whether for lawful or unlawful purposes, is not known, for no one survived to tell the tale. In Ausfust the schooner General Sher- man went up" the Ping Yang River. The crew con- sisted of the owner, master, and mate, who were Americans, a Scottish missionary, who wished to learn the Korean language, and an Englishman with a Chinese money-counter, or expert, called a shroof, beside the pilot and force of Chinese working the craft. The cargo consisted of cotton cloth, glass. AMERICAN MARINES AND SAILORS IN KOREA. 255 tin plate, and such other articles as the Koreans were likely to want. This was called " an experi- mental trading voyage," and may have been hon- estly so called. But when the Gejieral Sherman got into the river and near Ping Yang city, the Koreans, with fire rafts, bows and arrows, and match- locks, attacked and killed them all and then burned up the vessel. Years afterward a brave young offi- cer named John G. Bernadou, who in the Spanish war of 1898 commanded the Winslow, on which Ensign Bagley was killed and he himself wounded, went up into North Korea and investigated the affair of the General Sherman. Two of our ships — the Wachusett, Captain Febiger, and afterward the Ticojideroga, Commo- dore Shufeldt — were despatched to Korean waters ; but receivino^ little or no satisfaction it was thouQ^ht necessary, in 1870, to send out a squadron under Commodore John Rodgers, with our minister to China on board, to make a treaty ; or, if necessary, to chastise the Koreans. Soon there were assem- bled on the Chinese coast at Tientsin the follow- ing vessels of war: Colorado, Admiral Farragut's old flagship, and so handsome that it was called in the East by the French officers " La Belle Fre- gate^^ the corvette Alaska, and the smaller vessels Ashuelot and Monocacy. The latter was a double- ender, long and narrow, having a rudder at each 256 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. extremity so that she could become stem or stern at will. By this time the British had begun to build ironclads, and our wooden vessels, although neat and trim, looked to the British and French officers very old-fashioned and antiquated. The Koreans, under the direction of the Regent, or Tai Wen Kun, built eight forts on the Han River, made bullet- proof cotton coats, and ironclad helmets of many thicknesses of cotton cloth, and prepared with the tiger hunters and other men used to spears, arrows, and firearms to resist the American invaders. The squadron arrived off Boisee Island, at the mouth of the Han River, on May 30. Twelve days later, the two lighter war steamers and the steam launches, under command of Captain Blake, moved up to survey. When our men had rounded the bend where the water ran in a narrow channel a hundred yards wide, making almost a whirlpool, they saw to their surprise a new earthwork, in which scores of small cannon were as numerous as if ranged on the floor of an arsenal. Only a few thirty-two pounders had been mounted in the embrasures ; but on heavy logs, nailed or lashed together in groups of five, were clumsy jingals or breech-loading cannon, like those used by Cortez and Pizarro hundreds of years before. In these, the iron breech could be taken out, filled with a cartridge, and then replaced and pinned down, los- AMERICAN MARINES AND SAILORS IN KOREA. 257 ing much of the powder's force at the joint. In some of the rude guns was, not one touch-hole, but a row of vents to help the poor powder ignite more quickly. The Korean general had expected to open on the Americans just as they turned the rocky point and sink the whole line of steam launches, after the two steamers had forged ahead. The treacherous rascal was a moment too late in oivino- the sio^nal to fire. Our men w^re wet to the skin with the splash of the river, lashed by hundreds of missiles ; but only one American was wounded, and none of the boats was hurt. The little steam launches soon opened their bow guns, and the four brass howitzers began to play. The Palos and Moiwcacy, somewhat ahead of the launches, turned back and soon their ten-inch shells were dropping among the white- coated Koreans, who fled from the fort, leaving it empty and silent. Commodore Rodgers waited ten days for the Korean government, or local officers, to make apol- ogy for their treachery ; but no apology came. A landing force was therefore organized to attack and destroy the whole line of forts, seven in number, and built on the bluffs fronting the river. Twenty boats and four launches were to be tow^d by the Palos and Alonocacy. Ten companies of infantry, made up of 105 marines and 546 sailors, were to be 258 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. put in command of Lieutenant Commander Win- field Scott Schley. The Monocacy had her bat- tery increased with two nine-inch guns from the Colorado. On the loth of June the chastising expedition moved up the Han River. The heavy guns of the Monocacy first breached the stone walls and then emptied the first fort with her shells. Our men landed at a point below the fort, and went into camp, after destroying everything destructible in- side the fort. The marines occupied a post in advance to guard against a rush from the Koreans, who, dressed in white, could be seen like ghosts moving about in the darkness and occasionally firing on our pickets. Under the stars our men lay down to rest before the day of toil and glory that awaited them on the morrow, which was Sunday. The next day the reveille was sounded and the men called to breakfast. After everything combus- tible in the fort, including the provisions of rice and dried fish, had been piled up and set on fire, the march began at seven o'clock, with the river on the right. The rough roads were only bridle paths through rice swamps and over hills. The marines led the advance, and the sailors dragged their Dahl- gren howitzers up hill and down dale. Coming to the middle line of intrenchments, the land force had only to wait while the good ship dropped her shells AMERICAX MARINES AXD SA/LOKS IN KOREA. 2.^C) inside the fort, which made the white-coats fly with- out firing their guns. It seems curious, but such is the fact, that in the Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592 the Koreans invented and used bombshells, which they called " Heaven-shaking thunder," and even built ironclad ships or tortoise-armored men- of-war to resist the Japanese. Now they had only matchlocks and jingals. Our men entered and tumbled the sixty brass can- non of two-inch bore over the cliffs into the river. Then under the hot sun they resumed the march in the steaming heat. The pioneers, sappers, and miners mended the road by cutting bushes, filling hollows, and widening the paths. Meanwhile the Koreans had gathered in large masses on the left, evidently hoping to get into the rear and make an attack with a rush, while our men were getting ready to storm .the main fort. To checkmate this move, a detachment of three com- panies with five howitzers were posted so as to guard the flank and rear of our main body. The sailors in two detachments had to be quick in get- ting the guns in position, — three on one hill and two on the other, — for the natives charged up the hill in the very teeth of the shells from the howitzers fired at both long and short range. Our artillerists used shrapnel, or bombs filled with bullets, which not only explode but drive each ball with a musket's 260 THE ROMANCE OE CONQUEST. force. Coolly they took aim, and their fine practice saved the day. The Koreans were driven back and scattered. Often one exploding shell seemed to make twenty men first to leap into the air and then fall dead or wounded. The Monocacy out in the river moved abreast of our men, and threw bombs into the main fort on « the promontory, just eastward of the rocky point, from which the Koreans had fired on our boats on June i. The nine-inch shells pierced the walls and dropped into the forts, but the garrison bravely held their ground. The howitzers on the hilltops, now free, turned their muzzles and fired into the fort, over the heads of our men, who were resting in the cool ravine before charging up the hill. This citadel, the key to the whole line of fortifica- tions, was 150 feet high from the bottom of the glen. With the redoubt below it mounted 143 guns. Our ship folk were to rush up the steep acclivity, which seemed more fitted for goats to climb and birds to fly over than for marines and sailors to scale. However, the Monocacy s shells had breached the walls, and through these openings our marines and blue-jackets could enter. Led by their officers, they dashed up the hill. The natives, knowing that death was sure, began to chant a patriotic song. Then, after emptying their jingals and matchlocks, AMERICAN MARINES AND SAILORS IN KOREA. 26 1 they leaped on the parapet. Not being able to load quickly enough, they hurled stones at the assault- ing force, and even hurled dust into the eyes of the foreigners. Then with spear and sword they rushed at our officers, who were the first inside. The first American over the parapet was Lieu- tenant McKee, after whom one of the new torpedo boats has been named, and whose father was also killed in a breach during the Mexican war. McKee was shot and speared, but Commander Winfield Scott Schley, now admiral, rushed to support McKee, and was made a target by the same foe. The Korean who made the lunge missed his body, and the iron blade passed between chest and arm; so Schley was saved for Santiago. Immediately a carbine bullet stretched the Korean fiat. There was a terrible hand-to-hand conflict inside the fort between the men in white and in blue, but the Koreans not killed outright were chased outside in droves and shot as they ran down the hill. When the smoke cleared away, 243 corpses in white gar- ments were counted in and around the fort, and at least one hundred were drowned or floated as corpses on the river. Only twenty prisoners, all wounded, were taken alive. Two of our men were killed and ten wounded. After forty-eight hours on shore our naval peo- ple had captured five forts, fifty flags, and near!}- 262 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. five hundred pieces of artillery, of which twenty- seven were heavy cannon, and the rest jingals. On Monday morning the whole force reembarked. The long line of boats towed by the Monocacy made a splendid sight. The flags — their staves tufted with pheasant feathers, and their canvas gay with bright paintings of flying serpents, winged tigers holding lightning in their claws, moun- tain gods riding on piebald ponies, mountains robed in thunder clouds, and other emblems of power — decorated the masts of the Monocacy. At half-past ten the victors rejoined their comrades at Boisee Island, the cheers of the welcoming sail- ors making the woodlands ring. On July 5, after a stay of thirty-five days in Korean waters. Admiral John Rodgers returned to Chifu, in China. CHAPTER XXVI. OUR EXPANDING EMPIRE ON THE PACIFIC. ON the Pacific, the greatest of oceans, the Amer- icans were, in their enterprise, far in advance of possession. Generations before they owned an acre of land on the Pacific coast, two ships from Boston — the Cohimbia,oi two hundred and twenty tons, and the sloop Washington, of ninety tons — had reached Nootka Sound, and passed the winter there. Captain Gray explored Queen Charlotte's Sound and the Strait of San Juan de Fuca, and having collected a cargo of furs, took them to Canton. He brought back a cargo of tea to Bos- ton, and, having rounded Capes Horn and Good Hope, his was thus the first American vessel to carry the flag around the world. Owing to the fact that the East India Company kept out British merchants from the Pacific trade, while Russian ships were not allowed in Chinese ports, very few vessels except those floating the stars and stripes were seen in the Pacific, or at least the northern half of it. Until 1814 the direct trade between China and all North and South 263 264 THE ROMANCE OE CONQUEST. America, and on both sides of the continent, was carried on by American ships. The Russians wished to keep our ships out of their Alaskan possessions, and they claimed the land and all the coast down to the Columbia River. Had the Russians been able to carry on their com- merce without our help, they would gladly have shut out our vessels; but they could not. In 1806 the question was, for a time, settled by the Ameri- can ship Jiino coming in with provisions, and sav- ing the Russian garrison and settlers at Sitka from dying of starvation. The American eagle found himself between the two dif^culties of trying to please both the Russian bear and the British lion, for both nations claimed a large part of the western coast of North America. In 182 1 the Czar Alexander issued an ukase, de- claring that the water between the northwestern coast of America, from Behring Strait to Van- couver's Island, and the coast of Asia from East Cape, in Siberia, almost down to the island of Vezo, w^as a closed sea. In other words, the whole Pacific Ocean north of 45° 50' belonged to Russia. The autocrat of all the Russias said: "It is therefore prohibited to all foreign vessels, not only to land on the coasts and islands belonging to Russia, as stated above, but also to approach within less than one hundred Italian miles. The transgressor's vessel OUR EXPANDING EMPIRE ON THE PACIFIC. 265 is subject to confiscation, along with the whole cargo." This was a pretty fair specimen of the kind of action likely to be expected from the autocrat who, when shown the plans of the Russian engineers for the making of a railway from Moscow to St. Petersburg, simply took a ruler and, drawing on the map a straight line between the two points, said, " Let that be the route." In spite of all the ex- pense involved, and the difficulties in the way, this became the route. But the United States never approved of monarchy, which means one-man power. At this time none of our people, so far as known at that time, could read Russian. Indeed, even as late as forty years ago, no English-speaking person could read a book written in Japanese or Korean. The accounts of the first explorers in the northern Pacific, being expressed in the Mus- covite's tongue, and not yet translated into Eng- lish, were unknown, and therefore the Czar's claims were mistrusted by our government. Mr. John Adams, after perusing all the books of travel and discovery in this region of the earth that he could get, found that the Russians' claims were not thor- oughly well grounded. He wrote in his diary, " I find proof enough to put down the Russian govern- ment ; but how shall we answer the Russian can- 266 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. non ? " When Mr. Adams met the Czar's minister, Baron de Tuyl, who was a very agreeable gentle- man, he set forth very strongly what has since be- come the Monroe Doctrine. Perhaps this is the first clear expression of it in American history. Mr. Adams said, " I told him specially that we should contest the right of Russia to any territorial establishment on this continent; and that we should assume distinctly the principle that the American continents are no longer subjects for any new European colonial establishment." The Russian Baron was troubled because Com- modore Hull, of Old Ironsides fame, was going to take command of a Pacific squadron, and some of the toasts drunk at his farewell dinner seemed to be warlike in tone. It was feared there might be bloodshed between the Americans and the Russian cruisers. Happily for both countries, two good men were at work. A liberal treaty was made, in which the autocrat gave up his tremendous claim. The boundary line of Russian America was fixed at 54° 40'. Intoxicating liquors, firearms, weapons, powder, or munitions of war were forbid- den to be sold to the natives. It was evident that the Russian Emperor was entering into the spirit of the age, and wished to stand well in the world's pub- lic opinion. This dispute attracted much public attention. OUR EXPANDING EMPIRE ON THE PACIEIC. 26"] The British were glad that our country had become the leading power in arresting the expansive ambi- tion of Russia. Our own newspapers were full of lively paragraphs and squibs, which showed that the United States did not intend to submit quietly to the decrees of an autocrat. The Baltimore Chronicle of May lo, 1823, pub- lished this lively bit of doggerel : — " Old Neptune one morning was seen on the rocks, Shedding tears by the pailful, and tearing his locks ; He cried, ' a Land Lubber- has stole, on this day, Full four thousand miles of my ocean away ; "' He swallows the earth ' (he exclaims with emotion), ' And then to quench appetite, slap goes the ocean ; Brother Jove must look out for his skies, let me tell ye, Or the Russian will bury them all in his belly.' " This treaty and the succeeding discussions at St. Petersburg deepened the old friendship between America and Russia. This had begun as far back as the time when William Penn and Czar Peter en- joyed a friendly talk on disarmament and the federa- tion of nations. It was increased by the action of Queen Catherine, who would hire no Russian mer- cenaries to help George III in his attempted subju- gation of Americans. It was continued when, in 181 3, Dashkoff, the Russian minister at Washing- ton, offered, by direction of the Czar, that friend!) 268 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. mediation which issued in the Treaty of Ghent. Commodore M. C. Perry visited Cronstadt in the United States ship Concord, taking John Randolph, our minister, there, and this time we had at least one American, Professor Jenks, who could talk Russian. Later on, Americans helped to build the Russian railways, even as they are doing now. When proud nobles, who looked down upon these gentlemen from Philadelphia, who had been educated, as Wash- ington had been, to be engineers, the white Czar, in the brilliant ball-room and before all the digni- taries of the empire, honored them by walking arm in arm with his guests from beyond the sea. After this our countrymen were honored by all. The two peoples became better acquainted with each other, and commerce increased. There was mutual sympathy when the Czar set free the serfs and President Lincoln emancipated the negro slaves. Again responsive chords were struck, when both liberators met death at the hands of the assassin, — one by the pistol of a fanatic and the other by the dynamite glass-bomb of an anarchist. During our Civil War, had Great Britain begun hos- tilities against us, a Russian fieet was ready in wait- ing in our waters to lend us assistance, and the Russians would have been our allies. The charter of the Russian-American company, which had a monopoly of the fur trade, was renewed OUR EXPAXDIA-G EMPIRE OX P/IE PACIFIC. 269 in 1839. From this date until 1S59 British and American vessels were not allowed to trade in the ports of Russian America, and difficulties ar6se. Eight years later, all questions were settled by the treaty negotiated by Mr. Seward, and ratified by the Senate in special session March 30, 1867. For the sum of $7,200,000, all the Russian possessions in America were sold outright, without any incum- brance, and became part of the United States. Mr. Seward was a far-sighted patriot and one of the ablest in the long line of American diploma- tists. Like Washington, Jefferson, Jackson, Cass, Marcy, and other great statesmen of either party, Seward was a firm believer in the right and duty of national expansion. In his speech at Sitka, in 1869, he prophesied that, — " The Pacific Ocean, its shores, its islands, and the vast region beyond will become the chief theatre of events in the world's great hereafter." In 1852, in his eulogy of Henry Clay, he had said : — " We are rising to another and more sublime stage of national progress — that of expanding wealth and rapid territorial aggrandizement. " Our institutions throw a broad shadow across the St. Lawrence, and, stretching beyond the valley of Mexico, reach even to the plains of Central America; while the Sandwich Islands and the 2/0 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. shores of China recognize their renovating influ- ence. Wherever that influence is felt, a desire for protection under those institutions is awakened. " Expansion seems to be regulated, not by any difficulties of resistance, but by the moderation * which results from our own internal constitution. No one knows how rapidly that restraint may give way. Who can tell how far or how fast it ought to yield ? Commerce has brought the ancient conti- nents near to us, and created necessities for new positions, — perhaps connections or colonies there, — and with the trade and friendship of the elder nations, their conflicts and collisions are brought to our doors and to our hearts. Our sympathy kindles, or indifference extinguishes, the fires of freedom in foreign lands. Before we shall be fully conscious that a change is going on in Europe, we ma)^ find ourselves once more divided by that eter- nal line of separation that leaves on the one side those of our citizens who obey the impulses of sym- pathy, while on the other are found those who submit only to the counsels of prudence. Even prudence will soon be required to decide whether distant regions, east and west, shall come under our own protection, or be left to aggrandize a rapidly spreading domain of hostile despotism." Out in the Pacific Ocean, nearly midway between America and Asia, though nearer to the United OUR EXPANDING EMPIRE ON THE PACIEIC. 2 "J I States, is a group of twelve islands. They form an archipelago, containing a land area of about seven thousand square miles, or nearly as large as»New Jersey. These islands have a lovely climate and fertile soil, and are rich in minerals. The whole group is volcanic, and some of them with the largest craters in the world are here still active. Beside forests and much timber, there are about two mill- ion acres of grazing land and two hundred and ninety thousand acres of arable soil, with plenty of streams flowing down from the mountains to the sea. The chief object of culture is the sugar-cane. On forty or fifty plantations about forty thousand tons of sugar are produced annually. Many other rich products are exported. Of the $35,000,000 at which the sugar plantations were valued, about $25,000,000 were owned by Americans. The Hawaiian Islands were first discovered by a Spanish navigator in 1542. Captain Cook, the English explorer, made them better known by his visit in 1778, and by his death there in 1779. There had been long series of wars ; but the people had emerged from barbarism and a feudal system was in operation. In 1790 Kamehameha defeated another chief or king, and after several years of hard fight- ing became master of the archipelago. He was greatly assisted to get arms and supplies by the wealth which he gained in selling sandalwood to 2/2 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. the American and Chinese merchants. By and by came a struggle between the progressives, who wished to overthrow the taboo system, which put so much power in the hands of the pagan priests, and those who held to old ways. After a bloody battle, lasting six hours, the conservatives were overthrown. Then bes^an the universal destruction of idols. When in 1820 the first missionaries, fourteen in number, — seven men with their wives, — arrived from the United States, the modern history of Hawaii began. The language was reduced to writing, and printing flourished. In 1S25 the Ten Commandments were adopted as the basis of the national laws. In 1840, Kamehameha III and the chiefs formed a constitution which gave civil rights to the people. Our first treaty was made with the Hawaiian government through Captain Catesby Ap Jones. Several attempts were made by British and French to seize the islands and hold them, but they were not permanently successful. Meanwhile American interests were increasing. Usually the native gov- ernment was carried on intelligently and peacefully, though there was a riot in 1874, which was put down by armed forces from the British and the United States war vessels lying at Honolulu. In 1887 a progressive party demanded a new constitu- tion, which King Kalakaua accepted. Soon after OUR EXPANDING EMPIRE ON THE PACIFIC. 2/3 this the king and queen and Lihuokalani visited Boston, wliere I had the pleasure of meeting and talking with both. When the king died, Lihuoka- lani succeeded to the throne as queen. She was thoroughly opposed to the new constitution. When after she had defied the will of the legislature in favor of the opium and baser interests, it was believed that she intended to proclaim a new constitution, restoring the royal power, a small but influential portion of the citizens rose against her and formed a provisional government. Our American minister at this time was the Hon. John L. Stevens. He was a pure patriot, a man of ability, and long diplomatic experience in South America and Scandinavia, and one of those accomplished envoys who have done our country honor abroad. He knew the situation well. He felt sure that if the baser element had any oppor- tunity, they would destroy foreign property and begin incendiarism. From the United States man- of-war Boston, then lying in the harbor at Honolulu, he ordered a party of marines and sailors to be landed for the protection of American life and property. The provisional government at once took steps to secure the favor of the United States. Each party, of the deposed queen and of the government, sent representatives to Washington. President Harri- 274 ^'^^'^ ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. vSon warmly approved of the idea of annexation. A treaty making Hawaii part of the United States was sent to the Senate for ratification. For this the new Hawaiian government petitioned; but we had then no national policy on the subject. When President Cleveland came into power he withdrew the treaty, disapproved of the action of Mr. Stevens, and sent a "paramount" agent to Honolulu to secure neutrality. Nevertheless, on July 4, 1894, the republic of Hawaii was proclaimed, and Sanford B. Dole became President. With wisdom and abil- ity the Hawaiian republic was governed, until, in 1898, it became an integral part of the United States. Then the action of John L. Stevens was vindicated. CHAPTER XXVII. OUR WAR WITH SPAIN. FOR centuries the people living on the seacoast lands of western Europe imagined that there was somewhere, out in the Atlantic Ocean, a group of islands which must be passed before the conti- nent, still further on, could be reached. The notion existed that during the invasion of the Moors, some Christian bishops and their flocks had fled to these islands and there found peace and prosperity. Gradually the legend took the form of islands ex- quisitely beautiful, and endlessly rich in gold, silver, pearls, and gems. These were the anti-insulse or Antilles, that is, the islands before you came to the continent. In 1492 Columbus discovered Cuba and other West India Islands, and later the American conti- nent was made known. So then, here were the Antilles — a name applied to all the islands in the Gulf and adjacent waters except the Bahamas. The Greater Antilles are Cuba, Hayti, Jamaica, and Porto Rico, with the islets clustered near them. The Lesser Antilles, or Windward Islands, form a cres- cent, with the convex side toward the east. 275 2/6 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. As Cuba was the first, so has it always been the chief colony of Spain. It was born into the world through volcanic action, and the Copper Mountains traverse its whole length, the highest summit being about 7750 feet high. Cuba is rich in almost every- thing that can satisfy the wants of man, and by which he can make money, such as sugar, molasses, rum, tobacco, coffee, fruit, wax, copper, metals, and minerals, the useful and precious woods, with al- most every sort of food, and pastures for great herds of cattle. AlthouQih the rivers are all small and not navi- gable, there are good harbors, with deep water, at Havana, Matanzas, Puerto Principe, Santiago de Cuba, and other places. Under good government this island ought to be the pearl of all on earth ; yet its history is one of human wretchedness. One contrasts it at once with another typical island, Java, of same size and with a similar climate, but Java has a much larger and happier population and vastly more wealth, while the government of its eleven millions is so good that little is heard of it. Java is happy to have had no history like that of Cuba. The first Spaniards who colonized Cuba, in 151 1, treated the natives so cruelly that in forty-two years the Indian population had become extinct. Cuba was the centre of the slave trade in Spanish Amer- OUR WAR WITH SPAIN. 2 7/ ica, and during the height of its activity, from 1 789 to 1845, five hundred and fifty thousand slaves were brought into the island. The negroes rose up against their masters in 1 844-1 848, but their upris- ings were put down with awful slaughter, about ten thousand suffering death in 1848. The whole story of the island is one of turmoil and bad government. It was thought, even early in this century, that the United States must possess Cuba for the sake of self-defence. Our commerce was disturbed by misrule and periodical anarchy. Havana was the hotbed of yellow fever, which desolated our cities. The utter lack of drainage and sanitary system, with the accumulated filth in the Spanish towns, formed the soil for the growth of pestilence from which our country suffered. The vultures, nature's scavengers and living crucibles, abound in Spanish- American towns. During President Polk's administration a strong pressure was put upon our government, mainly from the South, to obtain " the Pearl of the Antilles." A hundred millions of dollars were offered for Cuba in 1848, but refused. In the insurrections which followed, the influence of American adven- turers was noticeable. When the revolution broke out in Spain, in 1868, the Cubans tried again to win their independence. War began, which lasted twelve years. During this time, in 1873, the 2/8 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. steamer Virginius, with about fifty Americans on board to assist the Cuban insurgents, led by General Cespedes, was captured by the Spanish man-of-war Tornado. All of the volunteers were put to death, under circumstances of such wanton cruelty that the moral sense of the American people was out- raged, and it was felt that nothing similar would ever be allowed again. The losses and devastations on both sides were awful; but in 1880 the hopes of the patriots were blasted, for the Spaniards had crushed the uprising. Yet the island was left in disorder, and the public debt amounted to $85,- 000,000. In 1895 a new insurrection broke out, and the Cuban republic was organized. Its flag, of blue and white stripes, had a white star set on a red triancjular orround. To put down this fresh uprising, and that in the Philippines which soon followed, Spain put forth all her resources, poured corps after corps, even to her full military strength, into the island. She sent her very best soldiers, and tens of thousands of her ablest young men, until her army in Cuba num- bered over a hundred thousand. The patriots could gather only a few hundred men at a time for skirmishes, ambuscades, dashing raids, or cavalry charges on detached bodies of the enemy. Yet the Spaniards died by the thousands. While bul- OUR WAR WITH SPAIN. 279 lets and the machete killed hundreds, disease car- ried off tens of thousands. When Marshal Campos was recalled for lack of energy, General Weyler, who had been in the Philippines, was sent to Cuba. He was a soldier of the type of the Duke of Alva. He began war in an uncivilized and mediaeval way. Indeed, he reminded one of an Assyrian conqueror and the unspeakable brutality of war in early ages. His policy was to slaughter and burn wherever his soldiers could go. He compelled the paciiicos, or quiet people of the disturbed districts, to leave their homes and farms and to be reconcentrated upon reservations. There, without food or means of sup- port, they died of disease and starvation by the tens of thousands. Meanwhile, with our Cuban commerce ruined and the sufferings of the reconcentrados exciting sym- pathy and indignation throughout the United States, our government put pressure upon Spain to recognize the independence of Cuba. It had come to be a very costly matter for our government to keep watch, to prevent relief ships from sailing for Cuba, and to maintain neutrality, when so many thousands of our young men wanted to help the insurgents. The Spanish government recalled Weyler and sent Marshal Blanco. For a while a profession was made of giving the Cubans some- thing like self-government. 28o THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. Meanwhile the insurgents of the PhiHppine Isl- ands were making progress against their oppressors. Even the Spanish army of twenty thousand men sent there could make little headway. Not know- ing what complications might ensue in the Far East, our government reenforced the Asiatic squadron. Our old wooden vessels, except the historic Monoc- acy, had been brought home. A fine new fleet of modern steel ships floated the American flag in the Pacific. On the 3d of January, 1898, Commodore George Dewey hoisted his pennant on board the flagship Olympia. When the wonderful year of 1898, so crowded with decisive and significant events all over the world, dawned, it showed that the Spaniards in Havana were resenting the American indignation against Spanish cruelties. The lives of Americans, and even of Consul General Lee (son of the great Confederate general), were threatened. The United States notified Spain that a ship of war, the Maine., would be sent on a friendly visit to Cuba. A recip- rocal courtesy was shown by the despatch of the Spanish armored cruiser Viscaya to the harbor of New York. During this vessel's stay in our waters, extraordinary precautions were taken by our na- tional, state, and municipal authorities to prevent any injury or hostile action by irresponsible persons. Meanwhile the American public opinion was still OUR WAR WITH SPAIN. 28 1 further inflamed by two episodes. One was the exposure of a letter to a friend from the Spanish minister at Washington, in which he abused and slandered President McKinley. The other was a request from the Spanish government for the recall of Consul General Lee, which was refused. While all the elements of a volcanic explosion of public feeling were thus at hand, telegrams from Havana, on the night of February 15, 1898, sent a wave of horror and indignation over the country. It was like a great oceanic movement, almost certain to overwhelm all barriers and force war. The Maine was a second-class battle-ship in com- mand of Captain Sigsbee. On arriving, she was led and placed at her anchorage by Spanish officers of the port. About nine o'clock in the evening a terrible submarine eruption turned a magnificent ship into a mass of scrap metal, and blew 259 of her officers and crew into eternity. For four weeks the people waited for the verdict from the board of inquiry. A unanimous decision was reached on March 21, that the ship was destroyed by the ex- plosion of a submarine mine, or, in other words, as the people interpreted, by Spanish treachery. By this time the war fever had reached the boiling point. As our harbors were practically defence- less. Congress voted unanimously $50,000,000 for national defence. Immediately there began in 282 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. the War and Navy Departments tremendous activ- ity. Competent agents vv^ere sent to Europe, and materials and ships were bought at home and abroad. Our harbors were mined, and most of the lights on the coast were extinguished. Property at watering places depreciated, and thousands of Americans, who had expected to spend their summer vacation in Europe, changed their plans. Every one saw that war was coming, and that this time our government would not allow the old state of things in Cuba to go on. President McKinley endeavored to avert war and advised the non-recog- nition of the so-called Cuban republic. General Lee remained in Havana till April lo, bravely super- intending the rem.oval of the American refugees. On the 1 8th of April, by joint resolution of Congress, war was declared, the President signing the document April 20. Yet our minister at Madrid, General Stuart L. Woodford, was not allowed to present the American ultimatum to Spain, for at seven o'clock on the morning of April 2 1 he re- ceived his passports from the Spanish minister. This constituted the actual beginning of war. President McKinley proclaimed the blockade of the coast of Cuba on April 21, and two days later issued a call for one hundred and twenty-five thou- sand volunteers. The regular army was concen- trated at Chickamauga, and soon our brave veterans OUR WAR WITH SPAIN. 283 were " tenting on the old camp ground," amid the inspiring scenery and memories of the great battle in which General Thomas had won his title of " the Rock." At Tampa, a bustling city in Florida, where, over three centuries ago, the Spaniards landed with bloodhounds and manacles for enslaving the Ind- ians, a great camp was laid out for the concentra- tion and acclimatizing of our troops. Now, for the first time in American history, the United States, by act of the chief executive, gave up privateering as a relic of barbarism. In a clear and strong state paper President McKinley adhered to the Declaration of Paris, while Congress passed a bill to provide war revenue. Soon the stamps on bank checks, express receipts, business documents, telegrams, and various articles bought and sold, reminded one of the war days of 1861. Business went on as usual. Indeed, during this year, 1898, the volume of traffic, domestic and foreign, done, exceeded that of any year previously known ; yet the expenditures of the government were very great. CHAPTER XXVIII. THE AMERICAN FLAG IN THE PHILIPPINES. AGAIN, in 1898, as always in our history before, it was to be demonstrated that, opportunity given, the navy excels the army, for the one good rea- son that the navy consists of a body of trained pro- fessional men, who know their duties thoroughly, and is free from the withering influences of sectional and party politics. It is an ever ei^cient national arm of defence. On the other hand, in a great war, regular and amateur soldiers are mixed together, and the true army, unlike the navy, is not allowed to show what it can do by itself. The organization of the volunteer forces is honeycombed with favor- itism, partisan politics, and a thousand other influ- ences which destroy the efHciency of a noble body of men, whose energies are wasted, and whose aims are often defeated, by moral diseases from which the navy is free. The navy was instantly ready and efificient. Of the four ofhcers called to lead and strike at once, I had the pleasure of knowing three, their records and abilities and personal qualities. Having also a somewhat close acquaintance with the history and 284 THE AMERICAN FLAG IN THE PHILIPPINES. 285 status of the navy, by examination of the records and acquaintance with the ships, I had no anxiety, from the first, for this branch of the service. I knew Captain Sampson as an expert in the theory and practice of modern naval artillery. He had long been in chief charge of the practice grounds at Indian Head. In the Naval Observatory at Wash- ington, where I first met him among the chronome- ters, micronometers, and all the delicate instruments for measuring time and space, he struck me as one of the most accomplished men I had ever seen. Not because his ordinary rank would entitle him, but be- cause of his consummate abilities, and to the great delight of the whole navy, he was chosen to command the fleet, which sailed April 22 from Key West to begin the blockade of the Cuban ports. Commodore Winfield Scott Schley was given com- mand of the Flying Squadron, which made rendez- vous at Hampton Roads in Chesapeake Bay. I had known him in Japan, and of his shining record in the Korean war, where he led the land expedi- tion which destroyed the Han forts in 1871. Bold, alert, and dashing, Schley waited for Admiral Cer- vera, who, with the armored cruisers Viscaya, Oquendo, Christobal Colon, Maria Teresa, and three torpedo- boat destroyers, made rendezvous at the Cape Verde Islands. For many days the whole American coast was in suspense. All asked "Whence.^ whither.'^ 286 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. when?" but none could answer. Our swift cruisers, one of the best being the Cincinnati under Captain Chester, and many fast despatch boats, patrolled the coast from Eastport to Point Isabel. Yet nothing was heard of Cervera until he appeared off Marti- nique in the West Indies. It was wisely thought best to be thoroughly pre- pared for the whole Spanish fleet, and so word had been early sent to the captain of the battle-ship Oregon on the Pacific coast to come eastward. To make this journey round Cape Horn, would be a superb test of the quality, speed, and efficiency of American-built battle-ships. For years we had heard criticisms and objections about the foolishness of building a navy of the modern type. The objectors supposed that we had neither the workmen to plan and build, nor men to man and control modern battle-ships, and that such enterprise must be left to Great Britain because of her longer naval history, and whose admirals and sailors had more naval ex- perience. These were not the objections of Eu- ropeans, but of Americans. It was somewhat different from the idea of the young lady who, visit- ing a modern British man-of-war when the stars and stripes floated over wooden ships only, was told by the captain that in another war between Great Britain and the United States the former would surely win. Her only reply was "What, again?" THE AMERICAN FLAG IN THE PHILIPPINES. 287 In sixty-eight days, at every moment ready for the enemy, the Oregon made her journey of fourteen thousand miles from Puget Sound to Key West, arriving without a screw loose or a bolt started, at Key West. Captain J. C. Watson was another officer who, when younger, had, like Schley, served under Far- ragut. I had known him in the waters of Japan, where he was in command of the Idaho at Yokohama. To me he impersonated the idea of discipline — whether against unjust superiors, mutinous crews or desert- ers, or fascinating ladies and gentlemen who for fun or pleasure would have relaxed the rules which are the very soul of the service. Another young officer, with whose record and abilities I was well acquainted, was Captain John Bernadou, who had shown great courage and cool- ness in Korea. While anxiety as to the whereabouts of Cervera's fleet was exercising the minds of our people, excit- ing news came by way of Spain from the other end of the earth. It was that Commodore Dewey had attacked the fleet under Admiral Montojo, and after sinking some ships had ceased operations to land his wounded. During several days of suspense, it was uncertain as to how far successful he had been. Soon the full story came in. The nation was thrilled with delight. Smiles broke out on every face. 288 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. During a month or so, puns upon the Commodore's name were wrought, with various degrees of wit and vileness. Congress gave him thanks, made him an Admiral, and voted him a sword. On receiving orders to seek out and destroy the Spanish fleet, Admiral Dewey proceeded to Cavite Bay. At 5.41 a.m., on May i, the word from the Commodore was, " You may fire when you are ready, Captain Gridley." At once the battle began. Our ships made five courses, sinking or setting fire to three Spanish ships. At 7.35, Dewey's supply of ammunition having been heavily drawn on, and the effect of our fire on the Spaniards being uncer- tain, " the crews left their guns and went to break- fast." When this meal was over, the signal " close for action" was hoisted, and the work of destruction was continued, the whole Spanish fleet of fourteen war vessels being sunk or destroyed. Not a man on the American side was killed, and but seven were wounded. It was, what in ancient times would have been called, a miracle. This victory was the beginning of American ex- pansion and possessions in the Pacific, and of suc- cessful diplomacy with the Turks. Major-General Wesley Merritt was sent out with an army of about twelve thousand men. Under Generals Anderson and Greene, and with the aid of the insurgents, they invested the city of Manila. During the withdrawal THE AMERICAN EL AG IN TI/E PHILIPPINES. 289 of Aguinaldo and his men, to celebrate some festi- val on the night of July 31, the Spaniards made an attack upon our lines, and for a while demoralized the volunteers, until the regulars came to their aid and drove the Spaniards back. At noon, on the afternoon of August 18, after an attack by sea and land, the city capitulated. Soon after this the Amer- ican force in Luzon numbered twenty thousand men. The Philippines are the gateway to China, and open the door to an enormous trade and a perma- nent market. On the way out from San Francisco, our officers took possession of the Ladrone Islands and hoisted the American flag. On the 7th of July, 1S98, Congress, by joint resolution, annexed the republic of Hawaii. The ceremony was simply but impressively accomplished on the 12th of August. The action of our minister, John L. Stevens, in 189 1, in raising the American flag and landing the marines at Honolulu, from the man-of-war Bos- ton, to protect American life and property, was thus vindicated. A commission of five statesmen was appointed to recommend to Congress such legis- lation concerning the Hawaiian Islands as they should deem necessary and proper. CHAPTER XXIX. SANTIAGO AND PORTO RICO. 'T^O return to the Atlantic, Cervera compelled by ^ need of water and provisions entered " without incident," as his telegram told, the harbor of Santi- ago at the eastern end of Cuba, where a long stretch of coast had been left unblockaded. The two squad- rons of Schley and Sampson now united off the entrance, and Cervera was "bottled up." Yet our navy could not follow into the harbor on account of submarine mines. Bombardment without much effect was made upon the forts on May 31, showing clearly that a land force would be necessary to take the city. The neck of Santiago harbor being like that of a bottle, a design was formed not only to put in a cork, but to wire it fast, so that the Spanish squadron could not get out. As storms might dis- perse our fleet and give Cervera an opportunity to slip out, Constructor R. P. Hobson with seven men volunteered to take in by night the steam collier Merrimac^ and sink her in the narrowest part of the channel and thus block it. In the face of the fire from the Spanish batteries, this was done on the 290 SANTIAGO A. YD PORTO RICO. 29 1 night of June 3. Yet after all the enterprise was a moral, but not a material, success, for a well-aimed shot struck the rudder of the Merrimac, rendering it helpless. When the hulk was scuttled and sunk, there was room for the whole fleet to pass when Cervera should think best. Hobson and his men, captured or rescued, were kindly treated by the Spaniards. The commander of the army of fifteen thousand troops sent from Tampa to Santiago was Major- General W. R. Shafter. This officer having won a brilliant record during the Civil War, had also made a grand success of the army schools for the education of enlisted men. When it was objected that negroes would not, and could not, make good soldiers because they were illiterate, Shafter intro- duced schoolmasters. In four months, by constant drill and discipline, he had made his regiment of black men the crack organization of the army. Later he had the reputation of having a regiment fully up to the German standard of efficiency. A century and a half ago, the British army under Admiral Vernon landed at Guantanamo in Cuba. In this expedition Lawrence Washington and Jacob van Braam, the one the elder brother and the other the military instructor of George Wash- ington, served with the Virginia militia. In 1898 our marines landed here and held the town and 292 THE ROMAXCE OF COXQUEST. adjacent country. The Spanish sharpshooters ap- proached the post, while most of our men were enjoying a sea-bath. They had smokeless powder, and were covered with leaves and greenery, so that they could not be easily detected. Indeed, our marines who rushed to their euns had hard work to know what to shoot at, Throuijhout the war our men were at constant disadvantage, because they had only the old-fashioned black or brown powder, while that used in the Mauser rifle cartridges of the Spaniards made no smoke. It was often, very often, difficult on our side to find where the enemy was. In this affair Dr, Gibbs, the first officer lost in the war, was killed. On June 22 the army was disembarked at Dai- quiri, and by sunset of the next day, or rather the 24th, the troops were all ashore. Our men began immediately marching forward. When our allies, " the army of the Cuban republic," appeared, there were detachments of tens, which, when all assembled, amounted to hundreds rather than thousands. On the road to Santiago, about three miles from Siboney, was a strong position called Las Guasimas, where the Spaniards lay waiting for the Americans. Young's brigrade and the dismounted volunteer cavalry, called the " Rough Riders," expecting no enemy near, were taken by surprise, and at first I SANTIAGO AND PORTO RICO. 293 thrown into some disorder. Quickly recovering, they boldly charged and drove the enemy out of their position. Then our troops moved forward to attack the village of El Caney, but before this the hills and San Juan hills and blockhouses were to be carried. Sixteen light field-pieces, with infantry to support them, were sent forward. At six o'clock, on the morning of July i, the battle opened and soon became general. Though the Spaniards fought bravely and with obstinacy, they could not stand against the energy of our regulars. To complete their formation for a charge up the hill at San Juan, our men had to endure a very destructive fire. Then, after going a short distance, they found a great tangle-work made of barbed iron wire. Yet despite all obstacles, they drove the enemy from their position and held what they gained. As the Spanish general Tando was advancing with reenforcements of eight thousand men, it was necessary to continue the struggle next day and gain a decisive victory before the Spanish forces could be strengthened. On the morning of July 2 the Spaniards began by a fierce assault, but while our forces under Kent and Wheeler drove back assaulting forces. General Lawton gained a com- manding position on the right, making victory the following day nearly certain. The fighting was 294 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. renewed July 3, but the enemy soon gave way and the firing ceased. Our men had lost 230 killed and 1284 wounded in the three days' fighting, and 79 were missing. The Spaniards had lost 1500 men killed and wounded. As early as half-past eight General Shafter sent a flag of truce. He demanded of the Spanish com- mander the surrender of his army and of the city of Santiago. This was not acceded to, and yet there was evidence of a willingness to negotiate ; for while reenforcements for our army were on their way, the Spaniards had little hope of being reenforced. Furthermore, they had lost their fleet. On Sunday morning, July 3, Admiral Cervera, under orders from Captain-General Blanco, know- ing also that he would lose his ships when the city surrendered, and that while the channel was open he had a chance of success, moved out with his squadron of four Spanish armored cruisers and two torpedo boats, in single column. He then turned to the right, hoping, possibly, to destroy the United States steamship Brooklyn^ and to save some of his fleet. The Americans were not caught napping. Every- thing had been arranged and foreseen by Sampson, and Schley was ready. Signalling to all the ships to close and pursue, the most terrific naval cannon- ade known in modern time opened upon the Span- SANTIAGO AND PORTO RICO. 295 ish ships. Within two hours after the opening gun seven thousand shot, weighing one thousand tons, had been fired, every Spanish ship was sunk, and six hundred men were killed or drowned, and nearly two thousand captured. On our side only one man was killed, and one wounded. This splendid triumph of the American navy practically ended the war. On July 17 the city and province of Santiago de Cuba, with over twenty-two thousand soldiers, was surrendered. It was the splendid qualities of the American private soldiers, especially of the regulars, that won at Santiago. It was the superb discipline and in- vincible power of the navy that destroyed the two Spanish fleets in the East and the West Indies. A very foolish controversy broke out in the news- papers concerning the relative merits, and the amount of praise and credit, due to Commodores Sampson and Schley, in the naval triumph at San- tiago. To tell the simple truth, both did their duty fully and nobly. In answer to words of congratu- lation from an old friend. Commodore Schley, as modest as gallant, wrote the following : — " Flagship Brooklyn, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, July 31, 1898. " My DEAR Sir: — Thanks for your kind letter; I do not think that I deserve so much as has been said in my praise for the victory of July 3 ; I 296 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. share its honors only with my brave comrades, and I have not forgotten that there is a God of battles, for he was surely on our side that day, blessed be his Holy Name ! Thanking you again for thinking of me, I am, Very sincerely yours, W. S. Schley. Rev. Wm. Elliot Griffis, Ithaca, N.Y." Porto Rico was easily taken through the military science and fine art of General Miles. The Span- iards expected that the Americans would land near San Juan, but the General directed the navy to shell the town of Ponce, while other war-ships were active near San Juan. On July 25 he disembarked his troops at Guanica near Ponce. In several spirited engagements the Spaniards were driven back with slight loss on our side. Already the larger part of the island was under our control and certain to be wholly taken, when the decisive com- bat, for which all preparations were made, should take place, when news arrived that the protocol of peace had been signed and hostilities were imme- diately suspended. Admiral Camara had sailed from Cadiz June 15, and passed through the Suez Canal with the sup- posed idea of going to Manila. As this move left the coast of Spain exposed, the Eastern Squadron, SANTIAGO AND PORTO RICO. 297 under Commander J. C. Watson, was got in readi- ness to make a descent upon Spanish Europe in order to hasten peace. However, on July 26, the French ambassador in Washington, acting for the government at Madrid, made proposals to President McKinley for peace. The terms of our government being accepted, on August 9, the protocol was made and signed August 12. The peace commission met in Paris, October i, and the treaty of peace was signed December 10. Our country paid the expenses of repatriating the remnants of the Spanish army, out of which about eighty thousand had died in Cuba, mainly through disease. The evacuation proceeded during December, while in the Spanish cities held by our troops the work of civil government and reform, especially the cleaning of streets, the removal of dirt and filth, and the beginning of sanitary reform, proceeded. On the ist of January, 1899, the American flag was hoisted over the public build- ings in Havana, and Spanish rule in America, after four centuries of blight, was over. Porto Rico was definitely ceded to the United States. It was completely evacuated by October 1 7. The next day the flag of the United States rose in the air over the public buildings at San Juan. Our letters were henceforward directed to Porto Rico, U. S. A. October 18 is a red-letter day in the 298 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. story of American expansion. On that date, in 1867, Russia formally transferred Alaska to our flag. In 1804, on October 18, the Senate took up in executive session the treaty with France that added 1,200,000 square miles to our national domain. I CHAPTER XXX. THE GREATER UNITED STATES. WE pen the conclusion of our story of American Expansion on this day, April 12, 1899, when, war with Spain ended, the treaty documents duly attested and exchanged, and the President's procla- mation of peace issued, relations of friendship are resumed. Our countrymen have begun in earnest to grapple with their responsibilities in the West Indies. In Porto Rico, which is about half as larsj-e as New Jersey and one of the most thickly populated regions in the world, having nearly one million inhabitants, special attention has been given to the reform of popular education. The pioneers of our commer- cial, benevolent, and missionary societies are upon the ground. In point of privilege, and probably in general intelligence, the people of Porto Rico may soon be on a level with the average in the United States. In Cuba the transfer of authority was made Janu- ary I, 1899. The difference between the American and the Spanish regime is strikingly manifest in 299 300 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. government, sanitation, the general order that pre- vails, and the revival of business, though years will be required for removing the scars of war and the building up of the waste places. Beside our army of occupation, the police force of the cities has been reorganized on American models. The policy of the United States government is to employ as many as possible of the natives of the island of Cuba, and to so develop the island's resources and renovate the whole life of the people that the sincere pur- pose of our nation in delivering Cuba from her op- pressors may be manifest to the world. Beside Cuba and Porto Rico, the former coming under our control and the latter under our owner- ship by treaty, a number of smaller islands, reefs, and keys in the West Indies are under the Ameri- can flag and are bonded, that is, their ownership is declared in the United States Treasury. We turn now to the East. Surprised and electri- fied by the news of Dewey's victory over the Spanish fleet, our government despatched twenty thousand men to capture Manila and occupy the island of Luzon. To this work the stalwart sons of the North- west were especially called. San Francisco was made the rendezvous, and on May 13 the first regiment of volunteers, the 2d Oregon, arrived. General Wesley Merritt, born in New York City in 1836, and a veteran of the Civil War and in THE GREATER UNITED STATES. 30 1 Indian campaigns, was put in command of the department of the Pacific. Before July 27, when he sailed with his staff, three expeditions had been despatched under Generals Anderson, Green, and McArthur, making in all about eleven thousand men, all of whom took part in the operations about Manila. The fourth expedition arrived after the city had fallen. The military situation with three sets of comba- tants was peculiar. The Spanish lines completely encircled the city and covered all avenues of ap- proach. Enclosing Manila and the Spanish forces again was the Filipino insurgent army of about twelve thousand men. Aguinaldo had proclaimed himself president of the Philippine Republic, had pressed the Spaniards back toward Manila, and had taken many thousands of Spanish prisoners, in- cluding four thousand men and officers. When, however, Aguinaldo, who had been profuse in his promises of assistance to the Americans against the Spaniards, protested against the landing of our sol- diers in places conquered or occupied by the insur- gents, all correspondence ended, for our government did not wish to recognize the insurgents as allies or bind themselves by any promises. In the night attack of July 21, that which usually happens during a battle in darkness took place. An enormous amount of ammunition was fired off 302 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. without much result and with unnecessary blood- shed. On the American side ten men were killed and thirty-three wounded, and sixty thousand shots expended. On the other side about one hundred and twenty thousand Mauser cartridges were used up. On August 7 General Merritt and Admiral Dewey gave notice of an attack, and asked that all non-combatants be removed from the city. The surrender having been called for, the assault began on the 13th. The troops of Green and Mc Arthur turned the Spanish line of intrenchments and moved toward the walled city. Then a flag of truce showed willingness to surrender. In taking possession, our men had a double duty to perform. It was to gar- rison Manila and at the same time to keep out the insurgents, thus protecting the Spanish people and their property from loot or vengeance. This duty they did well, for all outrages were prevented. By March, 1899, the United States forces num- bered over twenty thousand men, most of whom were volunteers. Almost all of these, except the loth Pennsylvania, a Tennessee and a Kansas regi- ment, are northwestern men, mostly from Cali- fornia, Oregon, and Minnesota, and declared by General Merritt to be "of the finest material to be found anywhere in America." There was little dif- ference between regulars and volunteers, for the former were for the most part new troops, but the THE GREATER UNITED STATES. 303 officers of both were not only instructed but experi- enced. The health of both soldiers and sailors has been excellent. " In the navy they have the advan- tage of living indoors and carrying their houses with them," so that sick men on the ships were almost as scarce as killed or wounded ; but the army was more exposed, the men on the picket line in the rice fields being often up to their middles in water. Provisions were good, and our men were well supplied. They took advantage of the pres- ence of the bamboo, which is a grass or cane end- lessly useful. With this they made cots or bedsteads raised above the ground, by which they escaped much discomfort and sickness. The Americans observed great deliberation before making any display in force, for it was hoped that Aguinaldo's army would disperse and the Filipinos submit to American rule ; but the ambition of Agui- naldo and his colleagues, who were mostly of good Filipino families, made peace impossible. They not only controlled the island of Luzon, but they sent detachments of their men into the other islands and compelled them to acknowledge the authority of the so-called Filipino republic. In that way they fomented opposition to the arms and government of the United States. Thirsting for vengeance upon the Spaniards and anxious for plunder, they made a treacherous attack 304 THE ROMANCE OE CONQUEST. upon the United States troops, hoping to capture Manila, wreak their vengeance in bloodshed, and to appropriate the property of those who had suppressed them so long. Matters soon became strained. When hostilities were opened, the Filipinos were driven back, and our men, under General Elwell Otis, be- gan an advance which marked the beginning of a long series of victories. These will make a score or more of places, hitherto unknown to Americans, familiar on battle flags and in history. One special blessing to Manila is found in the waterworks, which w^ere the provision of a private benefactor and not of the Spanish colonial govern- ment. During the operations between February 5 and 1 5 these were secured, thus securing an abun- dant water supply for the dry season. One after another the positions of the Filipinos were forced, until by the middle of April our army had occupied the region around Manila, including the line of rail- way, and had gained several advantageous points on several islands in the archipelago, such as Iloilo and other port cities, where trade has already begun. The typical method of American occupation was shown in the capture of Santa Cruz by General Lawton. He established his headquarters at the palace, a guard was at once placed in the church, and within an hour the city was thoroughly patrolled, to prevent looting. In every place entered by our 1 THE GREATER UNITED STATES. 305 troops the natives were made to see that the Ameri- can flag always means law, order, and opportunity for improvement. Meanwhile, as fresh reenforcements are sent for- ward, there is presented beside the arrows of war the olive branch of peace, for the American eagle carries both. President McKinley had appointed and sent out in due season a commission headed by Jacob Gould Schurman, president of Cornell University. In a document of great clearness and simplicity, which was translated into Spanish and Tagal, the Filipinos were assured of the good pur- pose of the United States government to possess the whole archipelago, to heal the ravages of war, and to begin at once reform of abuses and the foun- dation of a new civilization in which peace, educa- tion, and opportunity for each man to enjoy fully the fruits of his labor should be within the reach of all. The facts that many of the regular troops in our country wished to join the regiments ordered to Luzon, and that not a few of the volunteers have signified their intention of returning to " the Dewey archipelago," and remaining there for business and a career, show that Americans have the true coloniz- ing spirit and, after a little experience, will equal the Dutch or English in ability and success. Since the opening of this century we have ob- X 306 THE ROMANCE OF COX QUEST. tained from Spain, France, Mexico, and Russia nearly four-fifths of the area of the present United States, that is, 2,700,375 square miles, of the total 3,501,000 of the United States before the war with Spain. We have had a century of experience in surveying, settling, developing, and governing large areas. Having had many nations within one nation, we have gained that long experience in dealing with large complex populations which forms the best warrant of our likelihood of ability to deal with the new populations in the Indies, both West and East. Providence directing us, and laying large responsi- bilities upon us, but not too much at one time, has timed the call to new work and duties. This great work of governing West Indian mixed races, Hawai- ians and Polynesians and Filipinos of varied ethnic stocks, has been given to us when we have been made measurably ready. The nation was never so completely solidified as at present, nor the Indians so quiet and easily managed as now. It is even probable that within a generation or two, having been fairly well civilized, they will be made citizens. The negroes have shown themselves responsive to opportunity. Some of the best regiments of our regulars are black. There is a still larger army of good teachers, preachers, business men, and skilled mechanics helping to fight ignorance and build up the country. In spite of occasional outbreaks, the THE GREATER UNITED STATES. 307 success attained in governing the ignorant and tur- bulent European immigrants and the red and black people of our country, augurs well for our success in dealing with the Malays. There is little doubt but that the various new peoples, inhabiting the " Dewey archipelago," will respond to justice, kind- ness, and opportunity, even as the negro and the Indian have done. The new acquisitions to the United States terri- tory, whether as integral portions, colonies, or pro- tectorate dependencies, that is, Porto Rico, Cuba, Hawaii, the Philippines, and other islands in the Pacific Ocean, over which our flag floats, make a total of about 170,000 square miles, or an area about as large as California with Massachusetts and Con- necticut added on. This new population of from 10,000,000 to 12,000,000 makes the number of souls under the American flag not far from 90,000,000. The whole trend of modern history seems to be toward colonization and protectorates of the more highly civilized among the less civilized nations ; or, in other words, the mastery of the living over the dying nations. Heretofore the pagan and half- civilized nations were controlled from within their own borders, but during the last three or four cen- turies the nations possessing Christian civilization have overflowed from Europe into other continents, so that now nearly 500,000,000 people, once gov- 308 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. erned by themselves so far as they had any poUtical order, are under the control of Christian govern- ments. The steps in succession, as we have traced them in the " Romance of Discovery " and the " Romance of American Colonization," seem to have been, — the work of Prince Henry the navigator in exploring the coast of Africa and beyond, Columbus's dis- covery of America, the Spanish and Portuguese colonies in the New World and in Asia, the Dutch explorations and conquests, the entrance of England as a leading colonizing power upon the scene, the American Revolution, and the expansion of Great Britain, until now we see under her control 9,000,000 square miles of the world's territory, and, besides nations that speak her tongue and look up to her as a mother, pupil nations in Asia and Africa by the score. We see Ang^lo-Saxon influence and ideas extending over the Dark Continent, in which a rail- way from the Mediterranean to the Cape of Good Hope is planned. Russia, dominating all northern Asia, owns 6,564,778, France 3,617,327, Germany 1,020,070, and the Netherlands 782,803 square miles, while Spain, Portugal, and Denmark have the re- mainder of the 22,288,153 square miles brought under European influences during four centuries. Over 8,000,000 in the nineteenth century before 1880, and nearly 9,000,000 square miles have been THE GREATER UNITED STATES. 309 obtained between 1880 and 1898. Thus one-half the entire population of the globe is under the con- trol of European governments. Of the 52,000,000 square miles of the whole world, over 22,000,000 square miles are held in a colonial or protectorate form. It has been impossible for the United States not to follow the drift of history. From her little narrow strip between the Alleghanies and the sea, she has grown to her present vast proportions. This movement of the Aryan race seems to have been ordered by Him who bade Paul make his voyage from Asia, to introduce Christianity and de- mocracy in Europe, who sent the Pilgrims in the Mayflower to America, and who despatched the missionary ship Morning Star to the Pacific islands, carrying out the ideas and the idealism of that de- mocracy founded by Jesus, which is yet to fill the earth. Yet despite the willingness of the American peo- ple to fight when necessary, and of the American youth to turn soldier when his country calls, the genius of our people is peaceful. There is little fear of militarism getting a grip upon us. General Grant, our greatest soldier, was also our true cham- pion of peace, and successfully inaugurated arbi- tration on a large scale. President Arthur named our country the Great Pacific Power. President McKinley, accepting war only as the last resort, has 3IO THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. shown himself a lover of peace more than of battle. At the Omaha Exposition in October, 1898, which was in itself a revelation of the rapid development of the trans-Mississippi region, he uttered the senti- ment of the nation, — " We must follow duty, even if desire opposes." He with thoughtful Americans sees that a new era has opened for this republic, with new opportunities, new duties, new responsibili- ties, and necessarily new principles of initiative and new methods of action. The triumphs of peace are greater than those of war. Though the clamor of the aggressively selfish is very noisy, yet the real heart of the American people is for peace. The conscience of the nation will urge our people to justice and generosity in dealing with the newer peoples under United States control. They will be willing to make sacrifices, in order to do for the islanders of the Pacific what they had done in times past for those within our own borders and beyond. American expansion is not one of territory only. The romance of conquest is not that of triumph over enemies only. In the long and glorious story, we have learned to conquer ourselves. Our truest victories have been over slavery, dishonesty, bad money, duelling, lynch law, violence, drunkenness, and the liquor power. Progress often seems slow, and there remains yet a vast domain, to be yet THE GREATER UNITED STATES. 311 wholly subdued, of sectionalism, violence, cruelty, and lawlessness. We have much ignorance and illiteracy to conquer, sectionalism and race hatreds to overcome, and the long inheritance of European feudalism to overmaster. Nevertheless, with our material progress, moral reform has gone gloriously forward. As in national politics, the centrifugal forces of nullification and secession have been overcome, so in our day the centripetal or unifying forces have increased. By the solvent of the war with Spain, and in face of our new responsibilities, the sectionalisms of North and South, East and West, have been melted. The nation was never so strong in unity of spirit as to-day. Our inventions have conquered space and time. One can go from San Francisco to Manila seven times in the same period which Marcus Whitman required to reach Washington from Oregon. We have conquered pain and disease, and lengthened life. Armed by the science of medicine and in the armor of correct hygiene, the white man can live safely and even comfortably in the tropics. Our government has responded to the invitation of the Czar of Russia, who has proposed a congress of disarmament, which, if even partially carried out, may lead to the United States of Europe and the federation of the world — in both of which aims 312 THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. the Russian ruler was anticipated by William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, whose writings are to-day classics. The meeting is set for May i8, at the Hague, in the House in the Woods. Our American delegates are Ambassador Andrew D. White, one of the ablest American diplomatists, who has kept the peace with Germany; Seth Low, President of Columbia University; Captain William Crozier of the army, and Captain Alfred T. Mahan of the navy of the United States, and Stanford Newell, our minister to the Netherlands. In the light of our history, the words of President McKinley, at Omaha, seem less impulsive optimism than sure prophecy, — " The genius of the nation, its freedom, its wis- dom, its humanity, its courage, its justice, favored by Divine Providence, will make it equal to every task and the master of every emergency." 4 IF. A. Wilde Com/any, PtiblisJwrs. A RE VOL UTIONAR V MAID. A Story of the Mid- dle Period of the War for Independence. By Amy E. Blan- CHARD. 321 pp. Cloth, $1.50. The stirring times in and around New York following the pulling down of the statue of George the Third bv the famous " Liberty Boys," brings to the surface the patriotism of the young heroine of the story. This act of the New York patriots obliged Kitty De Witt to decide whether she would be a Tory or a Revolutionary maid, and a patriot good and true she became. Her many and various experiences are very interestingly pictured, making this a hapv->y companion book to " A Girl of '76." J 'HE GOLDEN TALLSMAN. By H. Phelps Whit- marsh. 300pp. Cloth, $1.50, The narrative is based upon the adventures of a young Persian noble, who, being forced to leave his own country, leads an army against the mysterious mountain kingdom of Kafifirias. Though defeated and taken prisoner by the enemy, the hero's talisman saves his life and, later, leads him into kingly favor. A valuable fund of information regarding the various plants, woods, and animals which furnish the world with perfume is happily interwoven into the story. w ILEAT AND HUCKLEBERRIES; Dr. North- inore's Daughters. By Charlotte M. Vaile. 336 pp. Cloth, $1.50. Mrs. Vaile has drawn the characters for her new book from the Middle West. But as the two girls spent their summer at their grandfather's in New England, a capital groundwork is furnished for giving the local color of both sections of the country. The story is bright and spirited and the two girls are sure to find their place among the favorite characters in fiction. All those who have read the Orcutt stories will welcome this new book by Mrs. Vaile. W 'ITH PERR V ON LAKE ERIE. A Tale of i8 1 2. By James Otis. 307 pp. Cloth, $t. 50. The story carries the reader from March until October of 1813, being laid on Lake Erie, detailing the work of the gallant Perry, who at the time of his famous naval victory was but twenty-seven years of age. From the time the keels of the vessels which be- came famous were laid until the victory was won which made Perry's name imperish- able, the reader is kept in close touch with all that concerned Perry, and not only the main facts but the minor details of the story are historically correct. Just the kind of historical story that young people — boys especially —are intensely interested in. B ARBARA'S HERITAGE ; or, Young Americans Avioiig the Old Italian Masters. By D. L. Hoyt. 325 pp. Cloth, $1.50. We welcome a book from the pen of Miss Hoyt, whose foreign travel and study has made possible an exceedingly interesting story, into which has been interwoven much instructive and valuable information. With a desire to broaden the education of her son and daughter by the opportunities afforded in foreign travel, an American mother takes them to Italy, and the author in a very happy strain has given us their many experiences Replete with numerou"^ 'llus- trations and half-tones, it makes a handsome and attractive volume. W, A. Wilde Company., Boston and Chicago. JV. A. Wilde Company, Publishers, Cr-HE QUEEN'S RANGERS. By Charles Led yard J. Norton. 352 pp. Cloth, $1,50. The thrilling period during the last years of our struggle for independence forms the groundwork for Colonel Norton's latest work. The intense patriotism which prompted our young men to do and dare anything for their country is shown in the exploits of the three young heroes. By enlisting for a time beneath His Majesty's flag ihey were able to give much valu- able information to the colonial cause. With historical truth the author in this, his latest book, has happily coupled an ex- ceedingly interesting and instructive story. r'HE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. The Story of American Expansion through Arms and Diplomacy. By Wil- liam E. Griffis. 312 pp. Cloth, $1.50. In concise form it is the story of American expansion from the birth of the nation to the present day. The reader will find details of every war. Anecdote enlivens the story from July 4, 1776, down to the days of Dewey, Sampson, and Schley, and of Miles, Merritt, Shaffer, and Otis. It is a book as full of rapid movement as a novel. TJ/HEN BOSTON BRAVED THE KING. A Story rr of Tea-Party Times. Bv W. E. Barton, D. D. 314 pp. Cloth, $1.50. One of the most absorbing stories ot the Colonial-Revolutionary period published. The author is perfectly at home with his subject, and the story will be one of the popu- lar books of the year. " Though largely a story of boys and for boys, it has the liveliest interest for all classes of readers, and makes a strong addition to Dr. Barton's already notable series of historical tales." — Christian Endeavor H'orld. " It is a pleasure to read and to recommend such a book as this. In fact, we must say at the very beginning, that Dr. Barton is becoming one of the most skilful and enjoy- able of American story-tellers." — Bostonjournal. f^A DE T STAND ISH OF THE ST. LO UIS. A Story v> of Our Naval Campaign in Cuban Waters. By William Drysdale. 352 pp. Cloth, $1.50. A strong, stirring story of brave deeds bravely done. A vivid picture of one of the most interesting and eventful periods of the late Spanish War. " It is what the boys are likely to call ' a rattling good story.' " — Cleveland Plain Dealer. " Mr. Drysdale has drawn an effective picture of the recent war with Spain in his new book. The story is full of dash andfire without being too sensational." — Congre- gaiionalist. 1 J DA UGHTER OF THE WEST. The Story of an American Princess. By Evelyn Raymond. 347 pp. Cloth, I1.50. Interesting, wholesome, and admirable in every way is Mrs. Raymond's latest story for girls. Descriptions of California life are one of the fascinations of the book. " A well-written story of Western life and adventure, which has for its heroine a brave, high-minded girl." — Chronicle Telegraph, Pittsburg. " Laid among the broad valleys and lofty mountains of California every chapter is crowded full of most interesting experiences." — Christian Ettdeavor World. JV. A. Wilde Company, Boston and Chicago. IV. A. Wilde Com /'any. Publishers. War of the Revolution Series. By Everett T. Tomlinson. r r 'HREE COLONIAL BOYS. A Story of the Times of '76. 368 pp. Cloth, $1.50. It is a story of three boys who were drawn into the events of the times, is patriotic, exciting, clean, and healthful, and instructs without appearing to. The heroes are manly boys, and no objectionable language or character is introduced. The lessons of courage and patriotism especially will be appreciated in this day. — Boston Transcript. 'HREE YOUNG CONTINENTALS. A Story of the American Revolution. 364 pp. Cloth, $1.50. This story is historically true. It is the best kind of a story either for boys or girls, and is an attractive method of teaching history. — Jourtial 0/ Ediication, Boston. TITASHINGTON S YOUNG AIDS. A Story of the rr New Jersey Campaign, 1776-1777. 391 pp. Cloth, $1.50. The book has enough history and description to give value to the story which ought to captivate enterprising boys. — Quarterly Book Review. The historical details of the story are taken from old records. These include accounts of the life on the prison ships and prison houses of New York, the raids of the pine robbers, the tempting of the Hessians, the end of Fagan and his band, etc. — Publisher'' s Weekly. Few boys' stories of this class show so close a study of history combined with such genial story-telling power. — The Outlook. rWO YOUNG PATRIOTS. A Story of Burgoyne's Invasion. 366 pp. Cloth, $1.50. The crucial campaign in the American struggle for independence came in the sum- mer of 1777, when Gen. John Burgoyne marched from Canada to cut the rebellious colonies asunder and join another British army whicli was to proceed up the valley of the Hudson. The American forces were brave, hard fighters, and they worried and harassed the British and finally defeated them. The history of this campaign is one of great interest and is well brought out in the part which the " two young patriots" took in the events which led up to the surrender of General Burgoyne and his army. The set of four volumes in a box, $6.00. OUCCESS. By Orison Swett Marden. Author of O " Pushing to the Front," " Architects of Fate," etc. 317 pp. Cloth, $1.25. It is doubtful whether any success books for the young have appeared in modern times which are so thoroughly packed from lid to lid with stimulating, uplifting, and in- spiring material as the self-help books written by Orison Swett Marden. There is not a dry paragraph nor a single line of useless moralizing in any of his books. To stimulate, inspire, and guide is the mission of his latest book, " Success," and helpfulness is its keynote. Its object is to spur the perplexed youth to act the Columbus to his own undiscovered possibilities ; to urge him not to wait for great opportunities, but to seize common occasions and make them great, for he cannot tell when fate may take his measure for a higher place. fV. A, Wilde Company, Boston and Chicago. JF. A. IV/'hie Company, rtihlishers. Brain and Brawn Series. By William Drysdale. r'HE YOUNG REPORTER. A Story of Printing House Square. 300 pp. Cloth, $1.50. I commend the book unreservedly. — Golden Rule. " The Young Reporter " is a rattling book for boys. — New York Recorder . The best boys' book I ever read. — I\/r. Phillips., Critic/or Ne7v York Times. r'HE EAST MAIL. A Story of a Train Boy. 328 pp. Cloth, $1.50. " The Fast Mail " is one of the very best American books for boys brought out this season. Perliaps there could be no better contirmation of this assertion than the fact that the little sons of the present writer have greedily devoured the contents of the vol- ume, and are anxious to know how soon they are to get a sequel. — The Art Amateur, Nevi York. CTTIE BEACH PATROL. A Story of the Life-Saving -/ Service. 318 pp. Cloth, #1.50. The style of narrative is excellent, the lesson inculcate^ of the best, and, above all, the boys and girls are real. — Ne7v York Times. A book of adventure and daring, which should delight as well as stimulate to Iflgher ideals of life every boy who is so happy as to possess it. — Examiner. It is a strong book for boys and young men. — Buffalo Commercial. rHE YOUNG SUPERCARGO. A Story of the Merchant Marine. 352 pp. Cloth, I1.50. Kit Silburn is a real " Brain and Brawn "' boy, full of sense and grit and sound good qualitie.s. Determined to make his way in life, and with no influential friends to give him a start, he does a deal of hard work between the evening when he first meets the stanch Captain Griffith, ' and the proud day w hen he becomes purser of a great ocean steamship. His sea adventures are mostly on shore; but whether he is cleaning the cabin of the North Cape, or landing cargo in Yucatan, or hurrying the spongers and fruitmen of Nassau, or exploring London, or sight seeing with a disguised prince in Marseilles, he is always the same busy, thoroughgoing, manly Kit. Whether or not he has a father alive is a question of deep interest throughout the story ; but that he has a loving and loyal sister is plain from the start. The set of four volumes in a box, $6.00. CiERAPH, TILE LLTTLE VLOLLNLSTE. By Mrs. O C, V. Jamieson. 300 pp. Cloth, |i. 50. The scene of the story is the French quarter of New Orleans, and charming bits of local color add to its attractiveness. — The Boston Journal. Perhaps the most charming story she has ever written is that which describes Seraph, the little violiniste. — Transcript, Boston. IV. A. Wilde Company, Boston and Chicago, IV. A. Wilde Compauv, Pjthliskers. I TraveI=Adventure Series. 'N WILD AFRICA. Adventures of Two Boys in the Sahara Desert, etc. Bv Thos. W. Knox. 325 pp. Cloth, $1.50. A story of absorbing interest. — Bosioti Journal. Our young people will pronounce it unusually good. — Albany Argus. Col. Knox has struck a popular note in his latest volume. — Springfield Republican. rHE LAND OF THE KANGAROO. By Thos. W. Knox. Adventures of Two Boys in the Great Island Con- tinent. 318 pp. Cloth, $1.50. His descriptions of the natural history and botany of the country are very interest- ing. — Detroit Free Press. The actual truthfulness of the book needs no gloss to add to its absorbing interest. — The Book Buyer, New York. r\VER THE ANDES ; or. Our Boys in New South L/ Avierica. By Hezekiah Butterworth, 368 pp. Cloth, $1.50. No viriter of the present century has done more and better service than Hezekiah Butterworth in the production of helpful literature for the young. In this volume he writes, in his own fascinating way, of a country too little known by American readers.— Christian Work. Mr. Butterworth is careful of his historic facts, and then he charmingly interweaves his quaint stories, legends, and patriotic adventures as few writers can. — Chicago Inter- Ocean The subject is an inspiring one, and Mr. Butterworth has done full justice to the high ideals which have inspired the men of South America. — Religious Telescope. OST IN NICARAGUA ; or. The Lands of the Great Canal. By Hezekiah Butterworth. 295 pp. Cloth, I1.50. The book pictures the wonderful land of Nicaragua and continues the story of the travelers whose adventures in South America are related in " Over the Andes." In this companion book to " Over the Andes," one of the boy travelers who goes into the Nicaraguan forests in search of a quetzal, or the royal bird of the Aztecs, falls into an ancient idol cave, and is rescued in a remarkable way by an old Mosquito Indian. The narrative is told in such a way as to give the ancient legends of Guatemala, the story of the chieftain, Nicaragua, the history of the Central American Republics, and the natural history of the wonderlands of the ocelot, the conger, parrots, and monkeys. Since the voyage of the Oregon, of 13,000 miles to reach Key West the American people have seen what would be the value of the Nicaragua Canal. The book gives the history of the projects for the canal, and facts about Central America, and a part of it was written in Costa Rica. It enters a new field. The set of four volumes in a box, $6.00. L ^ UARTERDECK AND FOK'SLE. By Molly Elliott Seawell. 272 pp. Cloth, $1.25. Miss Seawell has done a notable work for the young people of our country in ner excellent stories of naval exploits. They are of the kind that causes the reader, no matter whether young or old, to thrill with pride and patriotism at the deeds of daring of the heroes of our navy. W. A. Wildd Cotnpatiy.^ Boston and Chicago, IV. A. Wilde Covtpaity, Publishers. Fighting for the Flag Series. By Chas. Ledyard Norton. J 'ACK BENSON'S LOG; or, Afloat 7vith the Flag in '6i. 281pp. Cloth, $1.25. An unusually interesting historical story, and one that will arouse the loyal impulses of every American boy and girl. The story is distinctly superior to anything ever attempted along this line before. — The Independent. A story that will arouse the loyal impulses of every American boy and girl. — The Press. A MEDAL OF HONOR MAN; or. Cruising A?nong Blockade Runners. 280 pp. Cloth, $1,25. A bright, breezv sequel to " Jack Benson's Log." The book has unusual literary excellence. — The Book Buyer, New York. A stirring story for boys. — The Journal, Indianapolis. lyriDSHIPMAN JACK. 290 pp. Cloth, $1.25. -^ '-•• Jack is a delightful hero, and the author has made his experiences and ad- ventures seem very real. — Congregatiotialist . It is true historically and full of exciting war scenes and adventures. — Outlook. A stirring story of naval service in the Confedei-ate waters during the late war. — Presbyterian. The set of three volumes in a box, $3.75. J GIRL OF 'yd. By Amy E. Blanchard. 331 pp. Cloth, $1.50. " A Girl of '76" lays its scene in and around Boston where the principal events of the early period of the Revolution were enacted. Elizabeth Hall, the heroine, is the daughter of a patriot who is active in the defense of his country. The story opens with a scene in Charlestnwn, where Elizabeth Hall and her parents live. The emptying of the tea in Boston Harbor is the means of giving the little girl her first strong impression as to the seriousness of her father's opinions, and causes a quarrel between herself and her schoolmate and playfellow, Amos Dwight. J SOLDIER OF TILE LEGION. By Chas. Led- yard Norton. 300 pp. Cloth, ^1.50. Two boys, a Carolinian and a Virginian, born a few years apart during the last half of the eighteenth century, afford the groundwork for the incidents of this tale. The younger of the two was William Henry Harrison, sometime President of the United States, and the elder, his companion and faithful attendant through life, was Carolinus Bassett, Serjeant of the old First Infantry, and in an irregular sort of a way Captain of Virginian Horse. He it is who tells the story a few years after President Harrison's death, his granddaughter acting as critic and amanuensis. The story has to do with the early days of the Republic, when the great, wild, un- known West was beset by dangers on every hand, and the Government at Washington was at its wits' end to provide ways and means to meet the perplexing problems of national existence. W. A. Wilde Company .^ Boston and Chicago. A. Wilde Covipanv, riil>lishers. CT-HE ORCUTT GIRLS; or, One Term at the Academy J. By Charlotte M. Vaile. 3,6 pp. Cloth, $1.50 ^' adventures are des'cribed in an enterta?fi;,„';.':iT^trr^^^^^^ ^"'' ^"'^ "^^•■■ phas'Jrf N:wVn'g?a^nd":duca.i7nalllt:;^'th^}.^ l^^r \"'°"^ - ^ description of a with an exception here and there"-S« Ti^anscr^t °"' ' """^ °^ "'^ P^^*' QUE ORCUTT A Sequel to " The Orcutt Girls." By iJ Charlotte M. Vaile. 330 pp. Cloth, ^1.50. sty.Jl.;Lh%hrrar,fzefth^e berstSrfur°be'sttAte'rr ^^f" ^" ^^li^-l^ «°-"^ as ^S^-^^^^^~Si^ =n a .a. ^^^ M. MCA Story of the Great Rockies. By J. Charlotte M. Vaile. 232 pp. Cloth, $r.. 5 holdT^,?^:'^^:;:^^!;^^;^: -:i^JSr^h/S1^^hLl;?::^/tlf- circumstances, to in other ventures, is well brouRlTt out. Tlie Iwt rP=T=H u^!', y^"?'^ "^ misfortune 'Old Hopefull's" niclcname a liollow mockery stil fol oweThfr^ i"h'' "'^'^'^ '^=*' "^'^^ almost within his grasp. The little school tearLrwJfV, ''''^", ^ fortune was Hopefull's " expeinc-e, and the'S,t Ire^X^'st^tT^^YCritlsSV;" " ^''^ T'^fJ''f^^F^,OEI?ISCOFERV; or, a Thousand influL'e^^wtti^ia^^te^fl-atoV'or^^lret^^^^^^ ^^T^iLl^X'^/'^ ^f ""^ ^^ An .nlensely interesting narrative followiifg wdUautCSfd hts^C"^^^^^^^ . T^Tmi^^'^^'^^ ^^ AMERICAN COLONIZA- a xkt' '"'' Vf" *''' ^'"'"^'^i^ons of Our Country Were Laid By William Elliot Gr.ffis. 295 pp. Cloth, |r. 50 andir rivaf S^adrn^-fhireTaTn' 'xT^l\ distinct streams of humanity Portugese and French also and th^ n,I.» n ' ^"'^ typified by the Spanish, with by .h^Engibh .nri!±rAV£mt oe?r,rrdij^i;i;fc5pr' "" "" '"""" A ^P'^, ^^ '^"^ REVOLUTION. An Historical f sISjS;» "'Bait ivT ^-f • - ""-'^"' tl>at figure in it are Preside'" Jefferson Cen An^ ""t'^T"' ^^">°ng the characters and many other prominentlovefn^^^id^rm^'officiaYs^''''"' ^""^■'^'^ Wilk.nson, W. A. Wilde Company^ Boston and Chicago. IV. A. Wilde Conpaiiy, Publishers. M A ALVERN, A NEIGHBORHOOD STORY. By Ellen Douglas Deland. 341 pp. Cloth, $1.50. Her descriptions of boys and girls are so true, and her knowledge of their ways is so accurate, that one must feel an admiration for her complete mastery of her chosen field. — The A rgus, A Ibany. Miss Deland was accorded a place with Louisa M. Alcott and Nora Perry as a successful writer of books for girls. We think this praise none too high. — The Post. SUCCESSFUL VENTURE. By Ellen Douglas Deland. 340 pp. Cloth, $1.50. One of the many successful books that have come from her pen, which is certainly the very best. — Bostofi Herald. It is a good piece of work and its blending of good sense and entertainment will be appreciated. — Congregatiofiatist . ATRINA. By Ellen Douglas Deland. 340 pp. Cloth, $1.50. " Katrina " is the story of a girl who was brought up by an aunt in a remote village of Vermont. Her life is somewhat lonely until a family from New York come there to board during the summer. Katrma's aunt, who is a reserved woman, has told her little of her antecedents, and she supposes that she has no other relatives. Her New York friends grow very fond of her and finally persuade her to visit them during the winter. There new pleasures and new temptations present themselves, and Katrina's character develops through them to new strength. BOVE THE RANGE. By Theodora R." Jenness. 332 pp. Cloth, $1.25. The quaintness of the characters described will be sure to make the story very pop- ular. — Book Nezvs, Philadelphia. A book of much interest and novelty. — The Book Buyer, New York. K A B IG CYPRESS. By Kirk Munroe. 164 pp. Cloth, 1. 00. If there is a man who understands writing a story for boys better than another, it is Kirk Munroe. — Sprittgfield Repjiltlican. A capital writer of boys' stories is Mr. Kirk Munroe. — Outlook. F VREMAN JENNIE. By Amos R. Wells. A Young Woman of Business. 268 pp. Cloth, $1.25. It is a delightful story. — T!te Advance. Chicago. It is full of action. — The Standard, Chicago. A story of decided merit. — The £/nvorth Herald, Chicago. M YSTERIOUS VOYAGE OF THE DAPHNE. By Lieut. H. P. Whitmarsh. 305 pp. Cloth, $1.25. One of the best collections of short stories for boys and girls that has been pub- lished in recent years Such writers as Hezekiah Butterworth, Wm. O. Stoddard, and Jane G. Austin have contributed characteristic stories which add greatly to the general interest of the book. IV. A. Wilde Company .^ Boston and Chicago. viii SEP 27