The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1889-04-26

iiuu pceu ilreu lHto anu captureu, tili
, was enough! No matter whether til
Eliza Drum was within the three mil
limit or not! No matter which vess'
fired first If it were tho Lennehahi
the more honor to her; she ought
have done it! From platform, pulpit
o stump and editorial Office came one W
G hement, passionate. shout directed to
c ward Washington.
y Congress was in session, and in its hall
@ the fire roared louder and blazed highe
than on mountain or plain, in city o
prairie. No member of the government
7. from president to page, ventured to or
: pose the tempestuous demands OF tn
people The day for argument upon tn
exciting question had been a long ant
weary one, and it had gone by. In les
than week the great shout of the PEG
pie was answered by declaration of wal
against Great Britain.
When this had been done those who
demanded war breathed easier, but those
who must direct the war breathed harder
1t was indeed time for hard breath
ing, but the great mass Of the people
perceived no reason why this should be.
Money there was in vast abundance; in
every state well drilled men by thou
sands stood ready for the word to march,
and the military experience and knowl-
edge given by great war was yet
strong upon the nation.
To tho people at large the plan Of the
war appeared a very obvious and very
simple one. Canada had given the Of
Tense, Canada should be made to pay
the penalty. In a very short time 1000,
100000, 100000 men, if necessary, could
be made ready for the invasion of Can
ada. From platform, pulpit, stump and
editorial office came the cry:
"On to Canada!'
AT the seat of government, however,
the plan of the war did not appear SO OBJ
vious, SO simple. Throwing great army
into Canada was all well enough, and
that army would probably do well enough.
But the question which produced hard
breathing in the executive branch Of the
government was the immediate protec-
ton of the sea coast-Atlantic, Gulf, and
even Pacific.
In storm of national Indignation war
llCisI OCSI oGSld1Cu ito"SA w iiASih
at this period of her history had brought
up her naval forces to point double in
strength to that Of any other country in
the world. And this war had been de-
clared by nation which, comparatively
speaking, possessed no naval strength at
all.
For some years the United states navy
had been steadily improving, but this
improvement was not sufficient to make
it worthy of reliance at this crisis. AS
has been said, there was money enough,
and every ship yard in the country could
be set to work to build ironclad men-of-
war, but it takes long time to build
ships, and Englards navy was ahoat.
It was the British keel that America had
to fear.
By means of the continental cables it
was known that many of the largest
mail vessels of the British Transatlantic
lines, which had been withdrawn upon
the declaration of war, were preparing
in British ports to transport troops to
Canada. 1t was not impossible that
these great steamers might land an army
in Canada before an American army
could be organized and marched to that
province. 1t might be that the United
States would be forced to defend her
borders, instead Of invading those OF the
enemy.
In every fort and navy yard all was
activity; the hammering of iron went on
by day and by night, but what was to be
done when the great ironclads of Eng
land hammered upon our defenses? How
long would it be before the American
flag would be seen no more upon the
high seas?
1t is not surprising that the govern
ment found its position one of pcrilous
A wrathful nation ex-
pected Of it more than it could perform.
All over the country, however, there
were thoughtful men, not connected
with the government, who saw the
oerilous features of the situation, and
lay by day these grew less afraid of
icing considered traitors and more will
ng to declare their convictions of the
danger. Despite the continu-
nee of the national enthusiasm, doubts,
and fears began to show
themselves.
In the states bordering upon Canada !!
feeling became evident. IN /
ass the United States navy could pre- /
ent England from rapidly pouring into ,
'anada, not only her own troops, but f
erhaps those of allied nations, these c
orthern states might become the scene t
warfare, and whatever the issue Of Y
he contest, their lands might be ravished. t
leir people suffer. q
From many quarters urgent demands
ere now. pressed upon the government. il
rom the interior there Were clamor3 for p
oops to be massed on. the northern "
ontier and from the seaboard cities W
lere came a cry for ships that were o
orthy to be called men-of-war: ships to II
,fend the harbors and bays; ships to II
pei an invasion by sea. Suggestions t.
ere innumerable. There was no time e
build, it was urged; tho government i
,uld call upon friendly nations But "
Use men smiled sadly at these sugGes- 7
ons; it was difficult to find nation de- p
rous of war with England. e
In the midst of the enthusiasms. the c.
,ars and the suggestions, came reports n
the capture of American merchant fl
en- by fast British cruisers. These re- il
,rts made the American people more d
rious, the American government more
lxious. te
Almost from the beginning of this al
.riod of national turmoil, party of b,
met daily in one of the large N
oms in hotel in New York. At first W
ere were eleven of these men, all from II