Evening star., 1914-08-23

Barney. you are paroled; where do YOU
wish to be conveyed?" He asked that
he be taken to Bladensburg. where he
received the tenderest care. He said OF
his treatment: THE first captain to Ad-
miral Cockburn remained with me and
behaved to me as if 1 were a brother
During the stay of the enemy at Bla
densburg I received every marked at.
tention possible from the officers of the
army and navy
President Madison and several mem.
bers of his cabinet. including Col. Mon
roe, his Secretary of State, followed
Gen. Winder from his headquarters a,
the navy yard to Biadensburg They
remained in the rear. watching the pro
sress of the battle for a while. ant
then returned to Washington. Soon af
ter. poem was written by some Eng
ishman describing their return to the
city 1t was entitled "The Bladens
ouFs haces' and was set to music anc
sung In England for several years.
nat II was grotesque in the extreme
VIII De seen from the following verses
ppuipoItlng to quote words spoken by the
fresloent to Gen. Winder. and to de-
scrloe the return of the President and
secretary Monroe to Washington:
And Winder. do not fire your guns.
,tH' Mot iet your trumpets play.
N! we are out Of sght-forsootb
my morse Will run away
'hS W,th camp aI,.ls he quits: Monroe and he
And soon they gaind the northern road
30 rapid was their pace.
So Ike an arrow swift he few
shot from an archers bow;
80 did he fy-so after him
As SWIFT did fly Monroe.
a great deal has been written about
the battle. but it is for the nnst w. =.
either condemnatory or excnina,prt prr
however, there are in existence a MN
yer OF unbiased accounts and a careful
examination of these leads to the con-
ciuslon tnat the Americans themselves
ne.e soiely responsible for the inglorious
neieat ana the destruction that followed
ahey We're guilty of two grave mistakes
hfst. IN risking battle ia an open co,ln
Try. with an inexperienced and poorly
EQUIPPED army. and, second in permit
.,ns the BRUSH TO advance beyond the
banks OF the PatuXent river
The character OF the country between
the Patuxent and Washington made il
easy to fell trees and dig bitches across
the path of the invaders, and had the
americans seized this opportunity the
British could have made no progress.
And added to this was the inexcusable
failure to provide the city with an ade-
quate defense. both in fully equipped
Iorts and trained men.
For this last. according to some au-
thorities. Gen. Armstrong, the Secretary
OF War. was largely responsible 1t was
not until the last that he would believe
the seat Of government was In danger,
and he treated all suggestions as to the
necessity Of preparation for defense
with Indifference. il not with contempt
uous neglect. On him. also, rests the
responsibility for the order to retreat
to the Georgetown heights after the bat
tie, and other acts of incompetency. Pub
lie indignation against him rose to such
a high pitch that few days after the
battle he resigned his position and never
again returned to public life.
On Gen. Winder rests q lesser degree
Of blame, although he was a man Of
little determination and poor military
judgment. An officer In his army thus
excuses his part in the failure of the
battle:
His misfortune is attributable more to the de-
scription of his command its general rawness
and unhtness for such a fight. He was
upon him at the eleventh hour. Their
numbers. not half equal to those he was destined
to oppose tfor such was his informa tom. and
der this belief he acted.
However this may be, his troops had
little confidence in him. and this added
materially to the result of the battle.
The President was powerless in the
crisis; he labored hard for a successful
defense, but his efforts were of no avail.
Word of the victory of the British