The Canton times., 1899-10-13
"REHOLD THE SHIPS. +"
DR.. Talmage breaches on the Glory
Of the Navy.
An Appropriate Sermon for Admiral
Dewey's Home Coming USE
full Lessons from the Lives
of Naval Heroes.
Copyright, 1899, by Louis Klopsch)
WASHINGTON,


stirred with patriotic emotion at the re-
turn of Admiral George Dewey and his
gallant men on the cruiser Olympia and
the magnificent reception accorded to
them, Rev. DR.. I. Dewitt Talmage, in
this sermon, preaching to vast audi
ence, appropriately recalls for devout
and patriotic purposes some of the
great naval deeds of olden and more re-
cent times. Text, James iii, A.: Behold
also the ships"
If this exclamation was appropriate
about 1872 years ago, when it was writ
ten concerning the crude fishing smacks
that sailed Lake Galilee, how much
more appropriate in an age which has
launched from the drydocks for pur-
poses of peace the Oceanic, of the White
Star line; the Lucania, of the Cunard
line; the st. Louis, of the American
line; the Kaiser Wilhelm der Crosse,
of the North German Lloyd line; the
Augusta Victoria, of the Hamburg
American line, and in an age which for
purposes of war has launched the Ore
gon, the Brooklyn, the Texas, the Olym-
pia, the Iowa, the Massachusetts, the
Indiana, the New York, the Marietta of
the Iowa, the Massachusetts, the In
diana, the New York, the Marietta of
the last war, and the Scared veterans
of war shipping like the Constitution,
or the Alliance, or the Constellation,
that have swung into the naval yards
to spend their last days, their decks
nowall silent of the feet that trod them,
their rigging all silent of the hands
that clung to them, their portfolios 81
lent of the brazen throats that once
Numbered out Of them.
If in the first century, when war YES
sells were dependent on the oars that
padded at the side of them for propul-
sion, my text was suggestive, with how
much more emphasis and meaning and
overwhelming reminiscence we can cry
out as we see the Kearsarge lay, across
the bows Of the Alabama and sink it,
teaching foreign nations they had bet
ter keep their hands off our American
fight, or as we see the ram Albemarle
of the confederates running out and in
the Roanoke and up and down the coast,
throwing everything into confusion as
no other craft ever did, pursued by the
Miami, the Ceres, the Southfield, the
Sassacuss, the Mattabesett, the White
head, the Commodore Hull, the Louisi-
ana, the Minnesota and other armed yes
sels, all trying in vain to catch her, un-
til Capt. Cushing, 81 years of age and
his men blew her up himself and only
'one other escaping, and as see the flag
ship Hartford, and the Richmond, and
the Monongahela, with other gunboats,
sweep past the batteries of Port Hud-
son, and the Mississippi flows forever
free to all northern and southern craft,
and under the fire of Dewey and his men
the Spanish ships at Manila burn or
sink, and the feet rushing out of San
tiago harbor are demolished by our
guns, and the brave Cerera surrenders,
cry out with patriotic emotion that
cannot suppress if / would, and would
not if l could Behold also the ships!"
Full justice has been done to the men
who at different times fought on the
land, but not enough has been said of
those who on ships deck dared and suf-
dered all things Lord God of the rivers
and the sea, help me in this sermon!
SO, ye admirals, commanders, captains,
pilots, gunners, boatswains, sailmak-
ers, surgeons, stokers, messmates and
seamen of all names, to use your own
parlance, we might as well get under
way and stand out to sea. Let all land
iu5bers go ashore. Full speed now!
Four bells!
Never since the sea fight of Lepanto,
where 800 royal galleys, manned by 5O,-
600 warriors, at sunrise September 6.
1911, met $50 royal galleys, manned by
l25,OOO men, and in the four hours of
battle 5000 fell on one side and $4,000
On the other; yea, never since the day
when at Actium, 81 years before Christ,
Augustus with 26O ships scattered the
22O ships of Mark Antony and gained
universal dominion as the prize; yea,
since the day when at Salamis the 1,2OO
ealleys of the Persians, manned by
100000 men, were crushed by Greeks
with less than third of that force; YEA
never since the time of Noah, the first
ship captain, has the world seen such
a miraculous creation as that of the
American navy in 1861.
There were about 200 available sea
men in all the naval stations and re-
ceiving ships, and here and there an
old vessel Yet orders were given TO
blockade $500 miles of seacoast, greater
than the whole coast of Europe; and.
besides that, the Ohio, Tennessee, Cum
berland, Mississippi and other great
rivers, covering an extent of 1000 more
miles, were to be patrolled. No won
der the whole civilized world burst into
outlaws of laughter at the seeming i'm
possibility. But the work was done