The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1869-11-12

as dim and confused as the memoT'
cf senility. The most coherent
have met with is In the old "Guid
!. Book to Washington of 1926, writ
ten by an eye witness of the specta
Gle Of the Capitals capture.
The British feet had been cruising
abont the Chesapeake, entering bar
, bors and burning cities all summe
uDdistr rbed.
Everybody this side Of the Allan
tic thought England too much en-
gagged with Napoleon to make verl
vigorous struggle here Congress ad
journed in June without taking am
p precautions against the invasion o
rhe District Madison and his stu
pid Cabinet hardly. did better On
Itbe 31st Of March. 1914, the allied
armies entered Paris 10 triumph, ant
= Napoleon pulled off bis purple. Or
the 26th of June official advices were
received by the Government here Of
he paei6cation of Europe
On the 1st of July. the Cabinet
aroused little, and thought then the
British might carry ou the war with
additional vigor, and possibly venture
. TO Washington. But nobody here
believed in the event. The Presi
ideut and his Secretaries, made lazy
BY the summer weather, spent The
whole month of July dawdling or fish
ing. Some troops had been arranged
for the meantime, a few almost aim
less Cabinet meetings had been held
: ard Washington had been organized
as a Military District. Brigadier
General Winder, an Indifferent officer.
whose fame rested upon his having
been captured by the enemy in Cana.
da. placed in command. General
Horter, soldierly man, would have
been given the place, but Monroe
and Armstrong, the Revolutionary
Secretaries we're jealous of each other.
Winder had been recommended by
the latter, and the former was looking
out for the Presidential succession.
aud believed that in case the city was
attacked, he might improve his chanc-
es by some brilliant military cavort-
ing, which he would be unable to
manage with an experienced General
in command Of the troops.
But nobody believed the British
would come, though they had sailed
up the Chesapeake, and had already,
on the 10Th of August, anchored in
the Patuxent River, barely more than
forty miles from Washington and
the city was captured on the 26th.
One morning, after the British we're
known to be landed. General Van
Ness, prominent citizen of Wash
ington, called on Armstrong, the Sec
rotary of War, and urged prompt ac-
ton, as the enemy were evidently
moving on the city. The stupid Sec
retary replied, with characteristic in
sanity: "Oh, yes; by Cd, they
would not come with such a feet ifI
they did not mean to strike some
where but they certainly will not
come here What in the d. Will
they do here 2" "They will play HI
here, Mr.. Secretary, if things 60 on
this way" answered the indignant
General, and left the War Office
Things continued that way till Van
Ness prophecy came true Monroe,
hopeful of the Presidency, rode out
with troop of twenty-five gentleman
ly attendants, toward the little town
of Benedict, where the British ships
lay, to reconnoiter the enemy. Butt
it soon occurred to him that it would
be unfortunate for future President
Of the country to be captured by the
English. end turned and rode back
with very confused accounts towards !
Washington.
The impotent Winder was ordered
across the eastern branch of the Po-
tomac, at the bead of his troops. to
intercept the British As soon as
he came 10 sight of their advance
columns he wheeled about. like the
Cabinet Secretary. and kept, with an
equal force. two davs and nights con-
venientl out of the range of hostile
guns. His camp at night was as
noisy and undisciplined as a Douuy-
brook fair. The lines were as open
as a race course, and the countersigns
given by the sentries were beloved
so as to be heard fifty yards. The
General. the Secretaries and the army
we're demoralized, and there was mis-
cellaneous disgust. Winder ordered
the troops to retreat on Washington.
Then eight miles ont of the city. =
safe distance from danger, and while
the enemy was marching rapidly to
attack the Capital from another quar-
ter, this bold General drew up his |
troops for a grand review-by-thel J
Cabinet. after the modern, masterly
Mcclellan style. After that Winder !!
and Monroe sent word to subordi-
nate General, with few troops near
Bladensburg, to look out for the enc
nv, aud made a masterly retreat,
themselves and forces. over the navy
yard bridge into Washington.
Everything was inextricably jun
bled. The citizens of Washington
were on the gui riUe for results. But
military matters were in an abandon
as exquisitely artistic as a field day
parade. Just as Winder's army had
reached the bridge over the Eastern
Branch, Madison, the President. and
all his Secretaries came down from
the White House for another Cabinet
council of war, which vas held on
the spot. A plan of battle was to be
arranged. Winder knew nothing.
The Secretary of War offered moth
ing, and Monroe, who could do moth
ing, offered to take charge of the bat
tie. Here was a chance for hero.
The opening guns of the enemy, at
tacking the advance Of the Federal
troops five miles away, at Bladens-
burg, broke up the council, and ev-
erything swept confusedly by in that
direction. At noon the troops were
mostly on hand. Madison and his
worthless Cabinet circled around the
field in the background, and the fight
began Our troops fought under
half dozen heads, military and non
military. These heads we're all
sleeps heads, and the body of the
troops, mostly raw militia, was body
of sheep. The army, more than
equal in number to the English,
stood a few rounds. of British car
tridges, made few Intellectual stands,