Evening star., 1897-05-31

of one of the great captains of the civil
war. whose name and fame will ever re-
vertebrate through the aisles of time, whose
name on the pages Of history is eternaliy
and inseparably linked with these of Grant
and Farragut. Of Sherman. of Sheridan
and Of Logan, I may be pardcned for
dwelling for moment on Incidents con-
Eected with the Mississippi squadron. with
which the name of Porter Is inseparably
associated.
In the winter Of 1861, and while still the
stoutest hearts trembled for the Union.
three persons, namely, Halleck, Sherman
and Adjutant General Drum. sat in room
in the Gait House, Louisville, poring over a
map Of the - Mississippi valley. Halieek.
center of the confederate line? To which
Sherman replied by drawing a line extend
ing along the Mississippi river and its
Tributaries from Vicksburg to Chattanooga:
But, said Halleck. I want the CENTER
To which Sherman replied by pointing to
Fort Henry, on the Tennessee This sail
Haiieck, is where the line must be broken
And as If by magic there sprang into being
the so-called tin can fleet of the western
rivers.
''Ear;y in the spring of 1852 small fleet
OF hastily constructed gunboats. known as
the western fotilla, assembled at Cairo,
and. in conjunction with General Grant,
moved on Fort Henry. the purpose
being Simultaneous attack; but the f1otil-
Ia. under Commodore Foote, outstripped the
army, and the 9Th of February, 1862,
attacked Fort Henry, one of the most
formidable fortificaHons then in the south.
and couple of hours later, when Grant
came up on the double quick, he was greet
ed by blue jacket with: Hey, general,
no. general, we've got the fort! This Was
the first decisive Union victory Of the civil
war.
ture of the delta of the Mississippi was
brought together on the Atlantic coast.
and its command rendered to Comm odore
David d. Porter. who declined In favor OF
r v,S> L h,,t 1otc cvafo od
mand of the mortar fleet, which. in con-
junction with the feet of Admiral Farra-
gut in April following, sn enced the supposed
invincible forts. st. Philip and Jackson.
and New Orleans was ours. Following the
capture of New Orleans, Commodore Foote.
who was wounded at the taking of Fort
Donelson, was forced to retire from active
service, and was succeeded by Admiral Por-
ter. who, in conjunction with General
Grant. planned and executed the most
brilliant naval and military campaign of
which there Is any record-a campaign re-
suiting in the conquest Of the Mississippi
valley and final destruction of the great
cohfederacy.
'"The record of the Mississippi squadron
an unbroken chain of brilliant victories.
coupled with Fort Fisher and the opening
of the lower Missssippi-place5 PoDter sec
ond only to Nelson and Farragut in the
galaxy Of great naval commanders.
Time will not permit of more than
reference to the magnificent operations OF
the other great fleets Of the navy during
the late war. We must not, however, ne
glect a tribute to the gallant Worden, COM
manding the monitor Ericsson-that curl
ous, but successful, experiment in warfare,
which at Hampton Roads proclaimed to
England and France the inadvisability of
recognizing the southern confederacy.
81 am asked by one of the great dailies
for an expression of the position of the
old veterans on the vexed question Of war
history In the public schools and l take
advantage of this opportunity to reply.
The statements Of thp that the Ora nd
Army or naval organizations had taken
action to secure the use of unfair, abusive
or sectional text books in the schools Of
the north and west have no foundation in
fact. The veterans take each others hands
in all sincerity and loyalty, and our organ
izations have never entertained for one
moment the desire or purpose to brand Ally
soldier as rebel or traitor. But the histor-
les which justify secession are Objectionable
to the Union veterans because we want It
understood and accepted that the issue is
dead-that the decision of the sword is ir-
revocable, and that the Union is one and
fndivfsible, and must be maintained by
every citizen who is loyal to his country
The soldiers Of the two sections may both
be trusted to die as they have lived-too
broad for the narrow views and petty jeal-
ousies attributed to them. Let write
the word Union on the pages of history
and We care not who writes the rest
People Of this greatest Of nations, chisel
the likeness of your heroes on the everlast-
ing tablets of time, for tie events they
commemorate are the foundation stoneS of
our couEtry's greatness. Hand down to your
children and children's children the story
OF patriotism that In the ages vet to com,
II may be an article Of faith. even as the
resurrection. And when called to Fama's
eternal camping ground. where there are
neither wars nor ruEors of wars Won will
be greeted with hosannahs on high AMI
with the crown Of the immortals receive the
Watchword Of the night"