The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-05-29
BRITISH TROOPS IN MAINE.
And Divers Other Myths Of History
and GeOgraphy.

10 THE EDITOR OF The SUBMIT MI,
Rooster Johnson's statement in THI
Z that British troops went through
the State of Maine or landed there at
the time OF the Trent affair IL a most
astounding statement for a historian
and professional literary man 20 make
Mr.. johnson should know that foreign
troops armed and uniformed cannot pass
through the territory OF another coun-
try. and does he think the British
Government would ask this Government
for permission to 10 so when the troops
were sent here with hostile lntsnt7 They
might as well ask Germany for the use
of Ho,isoidnd IN the present war. While
l am not in any sense a historian or
literary nan, I can say that there has
not been in the state OF Maine since
March, 1918. when the British troops
In which my grandfather was an officer
left for Waterloo from Passport which
was coded to the United States BY the
treaty Of Ghent. n uniformed or
armed British soldier.
A mar OF Mr.. Johnson's attAinments
should KIN n why st. John harbor never
freezes. II 10 situated At the mouth
OF the 81. John River. which b 275
miles long. and above the harbor Is the
falls or rapids. The rise and fall OF
AiiV " Unity euu lofty ltct,
and at low tide the water runs down
into the harbor and falls from fifteen
TO twenty feot. When tide Is high the
water runs up the river AZ half tide the
water Is al placid IA a mill pond al
both high and low tide II Is the mos;
tempestuour place IN the world. and
when vessels and men are lost In the
whiripools and maelstroms they are
never found. thus making one OF the
mysteries Of nature that no man can
explain. These falls were called by
Bayard Taylor the Reversible Falls"
The very strong current with constantly
moving water will not permit The forma-
tion OF ice, and that Is why ST. John
harbor freezes.
l was In 81 John. whore I was born,
In is6l-e2. m saw the British troops
land thera They won't overland To
Quebec by sicishA, keeping IN British
territory all the way, and the troops that
landed were:
one battalion Of orenadisr ouArda, one
battalion Scots Fusfiisr ouarAA one bs-
TALON coids,resm Guards, one battalion
Rins Brigade. one battalion Royal En-
sineer, one battalion Army Service Corps.
enc battalion Army Hospital Corps. one
battalion Fifteenth Infantry. two bat.
taiions Seventeenth Infantry. one battalion
Twenty-eecond Infantry. one battalion
siStieth Rinsa one battalion Sixty eecond
Infantry. one battalion eixty-thfrd In
santry. ono Battalion ~seventy-eishth Hieh-
ianders. one battalion Ninety-siSth In
fantry. Tenth Brigade of Heavy Artillery.
am most familiar with these troops,
because as a boy ! learned TO drill with
them. and my drilling lessons stood me
In good stead IN drilling recruits after
ward on Ga!loupes Island In Boston
harbor. and In the Second Massachusetts,
Infantry. in which ! served two years,
and three years IN the Twentieth regu-
lars. making me believe tina, all boys
at IA should be taught to drill and
shoot.
What Is mort difficult for me 20 un-
derstand Is why historians mistake facts
For instance. R!dpath says that General
Sherman was defeated in the battle OF
Bentonvllle. n. c., the last battle Sher-
mar fought. Now. l was in that bat
tie, and II we were defeated then tho sun
does not shine. II driving back the
Confederates OF the hsld entirely be-
sides killing an wounding $500 or 5000
was a Confederate victory. then I do
not know what a defeat Is. General
Joseph l. Johnston does not claim II
as a victory.
There Ia a preparatory school near
West Po!n; that prepares Students for
the military academy which publishes a
list Of battles ard claims Reaaca as a
Confederate victory. II capturing an
enemy's works. artillery and colors and
driving them of tho feld 10 . defeat,
then the colleges ought 10 raise a crop
Of truthful historians. I was present
at both OF these battles and write only
OF what I saw with my own eyes.
The matter with literary men to-day
Is this All literature Is divided into three
parts, poetry, romance and history. The
colleges and SCHOOL, pay 10 much atten-
ton TO romance n poetry. which are
more enchanting. that history 10 neg
lected. and when literary men attempt
history writing they mix &C much poetry
and with II that the larger In
gred.ents overwhelm historical! fact. and
30 with Rose!,er johnson. from whom
We expect moro.
RoBzHr FrAHmr.
NHU ,u Ma.