Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1903-05-28

and disabled the Congress and run the
Minnesota aground, was there ever q
drawer sight than when the little band
box Monitor, seemingly mere toy,
went forth as a shepherd boy to meet
this mighty naval Goliath? Then, aft
er the Merrimac and the Monitor had
been supposed to render useless all the
wooden ships as men-of-war, was there
ever a grander sight than when old
Admiral David Farragut, sixty-five
years of age, dashed in the riggings Of
the old Hartford led his wooden ships
past forts supposed to be impossible.
over waters invested with torpedoes.
into Mobile bay, where lay the ironcad
Tennessee, black grimed and merciless,
ready to demolish what might escape
the deadly fire of the forts? Yes; such
mighty deeds have always crowded the
pages of our naval history. In no case
can it be said that the American navy
was ever unwilling to fight its coun-
try's battles with the material 1t had
on hand.
Are you and I ready TO do the duties
that arise before us, day by day, as
promptly and unquestioningly as the
American navy, as a whole, did Its
duty? Are we ready to go forth
bravcly and cheerfuly, no matter how
weak may seem to be our mental,
physical and spiritual equipment? Do
you not know that your very conf
dencc in yourselves and your willing
ness to go ahead mean already the
battle half won? When Lieutenant
Dupont was commanded to do GER
tain thing, at first he failed to carry
out his orders. Returning to Admiral
Farragut, he began to make many ex-
cuses for his failure. But the great
admiral turned and said "Ah. Dupont,
you have not given me the chief ex-
cusc for your failure. You did not
accomplish what 1 told you to do
chiefly because. deep down in your
heart, you did not think you could do
it." "Thcn, if that be true" said the
young sailor, II Will 20 ahead and
carry out your orders" And 90 he
did. Are not our failures, my hearers,
due to a like cause? If we had the
faith in God that we ought to have
should we not accomplish more?
Sailors In the Civil War.
But the American navy has also been
willing at all times to do its routine
work as we'll as to unlimber its bat
/ teries and clear its decks in time OF
conflict There is something inspiring,
/ something terrific and overwhelming,
in the thought of two great naval
monsters coming closer and closer to-
gcther to grapplc in mortal combat.
What man is there whose cheek does
not flush when he hears about the duel
of the Constitution and the Guerrero
What Americans eye does not flash
when he secs Commodore Hull COM
handing his flag officer Lieutenant
Morris, to withhold the fire of his gun
ners until the two vessels were within
speaking distance, then. with cannon
double shottcd, to send forth their
messengers of death: But the great
est work of navy is not always in
fighting, but may be in patrolling a
blockade. The victories of L. :. Grant
would never have been won had lie
not had the assistance of the American
sailor as we'll as of the soldier In
blue. The value Of the services the
sailors rendered in that awful conflict
cannot be exaggerated. 1t was they
who intercepted the supplies that the
southern armies so sorcly needed. II
was their vigilance that produced the
dcstituion which not even the sublime
self sacrifice of the southern people
could relieve. Day in and day out
year in and year out, the northern
ships blockadcd the southern ports
The southern armies were more
starved to death than they were shot
TO pieces by Federal guns.
In all the pages of history you can
not find any noblcr record of self de
NAL and suffering than that Of the
southern lady and the soldier in gray
in 1S62-64 caused for the most part 10y
the poverty resulting from that mex
Orabc naval blockade. As | said be
fore. the Southern Confcdcracy was
simply starved to death by the routine
work of the American navy. Gran
and Lee, sherman and Johnson anC
! Thomas and Hood. Sheridan and Long
street, won immortal fame upon TIT
land yet very few people have stopped
to give due credit TO the faithful nava
officers and sailors who unComplain
ingly sailed backward and forward II
, front Of Charleston and Savannah ant
the other southern harbors.
Navy should BE Honorcd.
: Let us nsk ourselves if we are read,
. to do the necessary routine work o
our lives as the American sailors In tn
past have been ready to do theirs
. Are we sulking in our homes and re
fusing to faithfully perform the vita
! daily tasks of an inconspcuous lif
: merely because the newspapers do no
+ report the orders we give to the coo
. or tell about how many yards of clot
. we week by week sell over the cour
= ter? David Farragut had to wait unit
= he was over sixty years of age befor
} he had an opportunity to distinguis
4 himself in battle. If the great Amer
: can naval officer could patiently, III
. complainingly and faithfully perforl
: the humber duties of daily life unit
Y he was an old man, near to the gray,
f surely we can afford TO be brave an
a true in the inconspicuous duties Go
+ has given us to do
!, The American navy should be hol
: ored Upon its glorious muster 70
J. are to be found the names of internI