Daily national Democrat., 1861-10-26
New England and the War OF IsI2--"A
SCran from HisiOrY.n

The Express treated its readers yesterday
to an editorial upon the war Of 1912. Were
we now engaged in that war instead of the
present one, the Express would be a patriotic
institution. The article is very Sc, ere upon
the New nglanders-accusirg them Of .hav-
ing been for pence in 1912. That war was
unpopular in New England, it is true, and it
was unpopular with the antiAdminisraticn
men elsewhere: Party leaders, opposed to
Madison and his party were as unreasonable
then as some anti-war men are nowadays.
We regret all this We are very sorry that
half century ago, a certain political party
in the Union opposed a war with foreign
power We are unable, however, to see that
it was any more unpatriotc then than it is
TO oppose the United States Government
now. We did not not oppose the war of
1912, although a New Englander. Did the
Express editor fight in that war But while
it is true that there was a strong anti war
party in New England, it is also true that
nearly all the American seamen in the navy
were New England fishermen, and the war
of 1912 was naval war. The exploits of
our army were not very brilliant We have
sometimes thought that New England valor,
as displayed on the decks of our vessels of
war at that early period in our history as a
Nation, would suffer nothing by comparison
with that displayed at Badensburgh, when
the British took Washington, burned the
public buildings and the national archives,
and drove the President and his Cabinet out
of the city. This unmatched ndignity was
perpetrated by 5000 British troops under
General Ross, while 1920 men offered them
no opposition.
We question the bravery of no Americans,
but we must say we are not ashamed to own
that but few New Enganders were to be
found among the heroes of Bladensburg
The historian says (and the Express is
fond of quoting history that the only serious
repulse met with by the enemy on that occa-
sion was given by battery manned by sea-
men and marines, under Commodore Barney
probably some New England mackerel catch
ers. Being deserted by the militia" con-
tinues the historian, "this gallant little band
were at length surrounded, and their com-
mander being wounded, was captured and
paroled for his courage by General Ross "
We repeat that we are quite willing to have
New England denied all share in the victo-
ries won on land by our armies in 1912, al
though such denial would be unjust There
were brave New Enganders in the field, and
thousands of loyal ones at home. The Com
mander~in- Chief Of the army during the first
year of the war was Massachusetts man,
and Colonel Miller of Connecticut made a
brilliant and successful charge at Lundys
Lane, which has made his name familiar to
every schooboy in the land But New Eng
land lent her sons to fight on the seas, and
they shed more than enough blood, and took
more than enough British prizes, to wash out
all the stains that twenty Hartford Conven-
tions could place upon her loyalty. 1t
may not be amiss to remind the editor of the
Express that the Hartford Convention met
sometime after the National Capitol had been
made bonfire of by British enemy, in the
sight of I POO men who did not oppose the
war Of 1872