Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1899-10-12
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
DEWEY THE SUBJECT FOR LAST
SUNDAY.
From Text, James, Chapter 8, Verso 4. as
Follows; "Behold Also the Ships"---A
Review of Our Naval Heroes and
Those of Other Nations.

If this exclamation was appropriate
about eighteen hundred aud seventy
two years ago, when It was written
concerning the crude fishing smacks
that sailed Lake Galilee, how much
more appropriate in an age which has
launched from the dry docks for pur-
poses OF peace the Oceanic of the
White Star line. the Lucania Of the
Cunard line. the Kaiser Wilhelm der
Crosse Of the North German Lloyd
line, the Augusta Victoria of the Ham,
burg-American line: and in an age
which for purposes of war has launched
the screw-sloops like the Idaho. the
Shenandoah, the Ossipee, and our IRON
c!ads like. the Kalamazoo. the Roam
oke and the Dunderberg. and those
which have already been buried in the
deep, like the Monitor, the Housatonic
and the Weehawken, the tempests ever
Nnce sounding a volley over their
Nttery sepulchres; and the Oregon,
and the Brooklyn, and the Texas, and
the Olympia. the Iowa, the Massachu
sets. the Indiana. 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 now all silent Of the
feet that trod them, their rigging all
silent of the hands that chung to them.
their portfolios silent of the brazen
threats that once Numbered out Of
them. II In the first century, when
war vessels were dependent on the
oars that padded at the side of them
for propulsion. my text was sugges-
tive. with how much more emphasis
and meaning and overwhelming RENT
niscencc We can cry out as we see the
kearsarge lay across the bows of the
Alabama and sink ii, teaching foreign
nations they had better keep,+their
hands Off our American fight, or as
we sec the ram Albemarle of the Con-
federates 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 SoGthfield, the
Sassacus the Mattabesctt. the White
head, the Commodore Hull, the Louisi-
ana, the Minnesota ana other armed
vessels, all trying in vain to catch her,
until Capt. Gushing, q years OF age,
and his men blew her up. himself and
pnlu In
the flagship Hartford, and the Rich
mond, and the. Monongahela, with
other gunboats. sweep past the batter
les OF Port Hudson, and the Missis-
sppi flows forever free to all northern
and southern craft, and under the fire
Dewey and his men the Spanish
ships at Manila burn or sink, and the
feet rushing out of Santiago harbor
are demolished by our guns. and the
brave Cervera surrenders, l cry out
with patriotic emotion that l cannot
suppress If / would. and would not If
I could, Behold also the ships"
Full justice has been done to the
men who at different times fought on
the lard, but not enough has been said
Of those who on ships deck dared and
suffered all things. Lord God OF the
rivers and the sea, help me in this
sermon! So, ye admirals, command
ers, captains, pilots, gunners, boats
wains, sailmakers, surgeons. stokers,
mesSmates and seamen OF all names,
to use your own parlance. We might
! ,1nHer and and ont
to- sea. Let all land lubbers go ashore.
/ Full speed now! Four bells!
Never since the sea fight of Lepanto,
where 800 royal galleys, manned by
$4,000 warriors, at sunrise, Sept. 8,
! 1871, met $50 royal galleys. manned by
10000 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, thirty-one years be-
| fore Christ, Augustus with 26O ships
scattered the 220 ships OF Mare An
tony, and gained universal dominion
! as the prize; yea. since the day when
at Salamis the 1900 galleys Of the Per-
| slams, 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 cap
tain, has the world seen such mirac-
ulous 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 Eu-
rope-and besides that the Ohio, Ten
nessee, Cumberland. Mississippi. and
other great rivers. covering an extent
of 1000 miles, were 10 be patrolled.
| No wonder the whole civilized world
burst into outlaws of laughter at the
seeming imposslbility. But the work
was done, done almost immediately,
done thoroughly, and done with
speed and cOnsummato skill that
eclipsed all the history of naval archi-
lecture. What brilliant achievements
are suggested by the mere mention OF
the names OF the rear-adEnirals! If
all they did should be written, every
one, l suppose that even the world
itself could not contain the books that
should be written. But these names
have received the honors due. The
most Of them went to their graves
under the cannonade of all the forts,
navy yards and men-Of-war. the flags
of all the shipping and capitals at half
mast
20 70 hp 1CaAe f,P1