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diff --git a/26422-h/26422-h.htm b/26422-h/26422-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3d91f91 --- /dev/null +++ b/26422-h/26422-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,11742 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<html lang="en"> + +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> +<title>The Project Gutenberg e-Book of Great Men and Famous Women, Vol. 2. Editor: Charles F. Horne.</title> + + +<style type="text/css"> +<!-- + +body {font-size: 1em; text-align: justify; margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 5%;} + +h1 {font-size: 120%; text-align: center; margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 2em;} +h2 {font-size: 115%; text-align: center; margin-top: 4em; margin-bottom: 2em;} +h3 {font-size: 105%; text-align: center; margin-top: 4em; margin-bottom: 2em; line-height: 2em;} + +a:focus, a:active { outline:#ffee66 solid 2px; background-color:#ffee66;} +a:focus img, a:active img {outline: #ffee66 solid 2px; } + +hr {width: 20%; text-align: center;} + +ul {list-style-type: none;} +ul li {line-height: 1.5em;} + +table {border-collapse: collapse; table-layout: fixed; + width: 95%; margin-left: 5%; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;} + +.p2 {margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 1em;} +.p4 {margin-top: 4em; margin-bottom: 1em;} + +p {text-indent: 1em;} +p.tn {margin-left: 10%; width: 80%; font-size: 80%; text-indent: 0em;} + +.pagenum {visibility: hidden; + position: absolute; right:0; text-align: right; + font-size: 10px; + font-weight: normal; font-variant: normal; + font-style: normal; letter-spacing: normal; + color: #C0C0C0; background-color: inherit;} + +.smcap {font-variant: small-caps; font-size: 95%;} +.small {font-size: 70%;} +.smaller {font-size: smaller;} +.italic {font-style: italic;} + +.noindent {text-indent: 0em;} +.center {text-align: center;} +.right {text-align: right;} + +.add1em {margin-left: 1em;} +.add2em {margin-left: 2em;} +.add6em {margin-left: 6em;} +.add7em {margin-left: 7em;} + +.poem10 {text-indent: 0em; margin-left: 10%; font-size: 95%;} +.poem30 {text-indent: 0em; margin-left: 30%; font-size: 95%;} + +.quote {margin-left: 5%; font-size: 95%; margin-top: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;} + +.figcenter {text-align: center; margin-top: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 2em;} +.figcenter p {font-variant: small-caps; font-size: 95%;} + +.floatright {float: right; clear: right; text-align: center; + padding: 5px; margin: 0 0 0 7px;} + +.floatleft {float: left; clear: left; text-align: center; + padding: 5px; margin: 0 7px 0 0;} + +.ralign85 {position: absolute; right: 15%; top: auto;} +.ralign95 {position: absolute; right: 5%; top: auto;} + +--> +</style> + +</head> + +<body> + + +<pre> + +Project Gutenberg's Great Men and Famous Women. Vol. 2 of 8, by Various + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Great Men and Famous Women. Vol. 2 of 8 + A series of pen and pencil sketches of the lives of more + than 200 of the most prominent personages in History + +Author: Various + +Editor: Charles F. Horne + +Release Date: August 27, 2008 [EBook #26422] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GREAT MEN, FAMOUS WOMEN, VOL. 2 *** + + + + +Produced by Sigal Alon, Christine P. Travers and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<p class="tn">Transcriber's note: Obvious printer's errors have been corrected, all +other inconsistencies are as in the original. The author's spelling +has been maintained.</p> + +<a id="img001" name="img001"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/img001.jpg" width="400" height="591" alt="" title=""> +<p>Repulsed at Torgau--Frederick waiting for morning.</p></div> + +<h1>GREAT MEN AND FAMOUS WOMEN</h1> + +<p class="noindent center italic">A Series of Pen and Pencil Sketches of</p> + +<p class="center noindent">THE LIVES OF MORE THAN 200 OF THE MOST PROMINENT PERSONAGES IN HISTORY</p> + +<p class="center noindent">Vol. II.</p> + +<a id="img002" name="img002"></a> +<div class="p2 figcenter"> +<img src="images/img002.jpg" width="400" height="481" alt="Frontpage." title=""> +</div> + +<p class="p4 noindent center"><span class="smaller">Copyright, 1894, BY SELMAR HESS</span><br> +<span class="smcap">edited by Charles F. Horne</span></p> + +<p class="p4 center noindent smaller"><span class="smcap">New-York: Selmar Hess Publisher</span><br> +Copyright, 1894, by <span class="smcap">Selmar Hess</span>.</p> + +<a id="toc" name="toc"></a> +<h2>CONTENTS OF VOLUME II.</h2> + +<ul> +<li>SUBJECT +<span class="ralign85">AUTHOR</span> +<span class="ralign95">PAGE</span></li> +</ul> + +<ul> +<li>CHARLES XII. OF SWEDEN, +<span class="ralign85 italic">Major-General John Mitchell,</span> +<span class="ralign95"><a href="#page211">211</a></span></li> + +<li>ROBERT, LORD CLIVE, +<span class="ralign85 italic">W. C. Taylor, LL.D.,</span> +<span class="ralign95"><a href="#page244">244</a></span></li> + +<li>STEPHEN DECATUR, +<span class="ralign85 italic">Edward S. Ellis, A.M.,</span> +<span class="ralign95"><a href="#page318">318</a></span></li> + +<li>GEORGE DEWEY, +<span class="ralign85 italic">Major-General Joseph Wheeler,</span> +<span class="ralign95"><a href="#page402">402</a></span></li> + +<li>PRINCE EUGENE OF SAVOY, +<span class="ralign85 italic">G. P. R. James,</span> +<span class="ralign95"><a href="#page223">223</a></span></li> + +<li>DAVID GLASCOE FARRAGUT, +<span class="ralign85 italic">L. P. Brockett, A.M.,</span> +<span class="ralign95"><a href="#page379">379</a></span></li> + +<li>FREDERICK THE GREAT, +<span class="ralign85 italic">Major-General John Mitchell,</span> +<span class="ralign95"><a href="#page237">237</a></span></li> + +<li>GIUSEPPE GARIBALDI, +<span class="ralign95"><a href="#page389">389</a></span></li> + +<li>ULYSSES SIMPSON GRANT, +<span class="ralign85 italic">Oliver Optic,</span> +<span class="ralign95"><a href="#page343">343</a></span></li> + +<li>SAM HOUSTON, +<span class="ralign85 italic">Amelia E. Barr,</span> +<span class="ralign95"><a href="#page331">331</a></span></li> + +<li>THOMAS JONATHAN JACKSON, +<span class="ralign85 italic">Marion Harland,</span> +<span class="ralign95"><a href="#page373">373</a></span></li> + +<li>PAUL JONES, +<span class="ralign95"><a href="#page301">301</a></span></li> + +<li>FRANÇOIS KELLERMANN, MARSHAL OF FRANCE, +<span class="ralign95"><a href="#page251">251</a></span></li> + +<li>JAMES LAWRENCE, +<span class="ralign95"><a href="#page313">313</a></span></li> + +<li>ROBERT EDMUND LEE, +<span class="ralign85 italic">General Viscount Wolseley,</span> +<span class="ralign95"><a href="#page363">363</a></span></li> + +<li><span class="italic">Letter from Lee to his son on the subject of "Duty,"</span> +<span class="ralign95"><a href="#page372">372</a></span></li> + +<li>FRANCIS MARION, +<span class="ralign95"><a href="#page296">296</a></span></li> + +<li>JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH, +<span class="ralign85 italic">L. Drake,</span> +<span class="ralign95"><a href="#page217">217</a></span></li> + +<li>FIELD-MARSHAL COUNT VON MOLTKE, +<span class="ralign95"><a href="#page395">395</a></span></li> + +<li>NAPOLEON BONAPARTE, +<span class="ralign85 italic">Colonel Clayton, R.A.,</span> +<span class="ralign95"><a href="#page262">262</a></span></li> + +<li>LORD HORATIO NELSON, +<span class="ralign95"><a href="#page279">279</a></span></li> + +<li>MICHEL NEY, MARSHAL OF FRANCE, +<span class="ralign85 italic">Louise Chandler Moulton,</span> +<span class="ralign95"><a href="#page255">255</a></span></li> + +<li>OLIVER HAZARD PERRY, +<span class="ralign95"><a href="#page325">325</a></span></li> + +<li>DAVID DIXON PORTER, +<span class="ralign95"><a href="#page387">387</a></span></li> + +<li>ISRAEL PUTNAM, +<span class="ralign95"><a href="#page284">284</a></span></li> + +<li>WINFIELD SCOTT, +<span class="ralign85 italic">Hon. Theodore Roosevelt,</span> +<span class="ralign95"><a href="#page338">338</a></span></li> + +<li>PHILIP HENRY SHERIDAN, +<span class="ralign95"><a href="#page358">358</a></span></li> + +<li>WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN, +<span class="ralign85 italic">Elbridge S. Brooks,</span> +<span class="ralign95"><a href="#page352">352</a></span></li> + +<li>TECUMSEH, +<span class="ralign85 italic">James A. Green,</span> +<span class="ralign95"><a href="#page308">308</a></span></li> + +<li>MARSHAL TURENNE, +<span class="ralign95"><a href="#page205">205</a></span></li> + +<li>ANTHONY WAYNE, +<span class="ralign85 italic">O. C. Bosbyshell,</span> +<span class="ralign95"><a href="#page289">289</a></span></li> + +<li>ARTHUR, DUKE OF WELLINGTON, +<span class="ralign85 italic">L. Drake,</span> +<span class="ralign95"><a href="#page272">272</a></span></li> + +<li>GENERAL JAMES WOLFE, +<span class="ralign85 italic">L. Drake,</span> +<span class="ralign95"><a href="#page231">231</a></span></li> +</ul> + + +<h2>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> +<p class="center noindent">VOLUME II.</p> +<p class="p2 noindent center">PHOTOGRAVURES</p> + +<table border="0" cellpadding="2" summary="Illustration list"> +<colgroup> + <col width="60%"> + <col width="30%"> + <col width="10%"> +</colgroup> + +<tr> +<td>ILLUSTRATION</td> +<td class="right">ARTIST</td> +<td class="right">To face<br> +page</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td colspan="3"> </td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td>REPULSED AT TORGAU--FREDERICK WAITING FOR MORNING,</td> +<td class="italic right">R. Warthmüller</td> +<td class="italic right"><a href="#img001">Frontispiece</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>THE MARSEILLAISE,</td> +<td class="italic right">Gustave Doré</td> +<td class="right"><a href="#img016">252</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>NAPOLEON AND THE SPHINX,</td> +<td class="italic right">Jean Léon Gérôme</td> +<td class="right"><a href="#img020">264</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>SHERIDAN'S RIDE,</td> +<td class="italic right">T. Buchanan Read</td> +<td class="right"><a href="#img043">362</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>FARRAGUT AT MOBILE BAY,</td> +<td class="italic right">W. H. Overend</td> +<td class="right"><a href="#img048">386</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>ADMIRAL DEWEY AT MANILA BAY,</td> +<td class="italic right">H. T. See</td> +<td class="right"><a href="#img055">402</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>THE DEWEY TRIUMPHAL ARCH,</td> +<td> </td> +<td class="right"><a href="#img057">406</a></td> +</tr> +</table> + +<p class="p2 noindent center">WOOD-ENGRAVINGS AND TYPOGRAVURES.</p> + + +<table border="0" cellpadding="2" summary="Illustration list"> +<colgroup> + <col width="60%"> + <col width="30%"> + <col width="10%"> +</colgroup> + +<tr> +<td>TURENNE AT THE BATTLE OF THE DUNES,</td> +<td class="italic right">Larivière</td> +<td class="right"><a href="#img004">208</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>CHARLES XII. AND AN UNWILLING RECRUIT,</td> +<td class="italic right">Thure von Cederström</td> +<td class="right"><a href="#img006">212</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>PRINCE EUGENE AND THE MARSHAL DE VILLARS,</td> +<td class="italic right">P. Philippoteaux</td> +<td class="right"><a href="#img009">226</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>GENERAL WOLFE LANDING AT LOUISBURG,</td> +<td class="italic right">Wild</td> +<td class="right"><a href="#img011">232</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>FREDERICK AND THE AUSTRIANS AFTER LEUTHEN,</td> +<td class="italic right">A. Kampf</td> +<td class="right"><a href="#img013">242</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>MARSHAL NEY RETURNING THE CAPTURED COLORS,</td> +<td class="italic right">Meynier</td> +<td class="right"><a href="#img018">256</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>A REVIEW OF THE BRITISH ARMY BY WELLINGTON,</td> +<td> </td> +<td class="right"><a href="#img022">274</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>NELSON AT TRAFALGAR,</td> +<td class="italic right">W. H. Overend</td> +<td class="right"><a href="#img024">282</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>MARION CROSSING THE PEDEE,</td> +<td class="italic right">W. Ranney</td> +<td class="right"><a href="#img028">300</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>PAUL JONES AND LADY SELKIRK,</td> +<td class="italic right">W. H. Overend</td> +<td class="right"><a href="#img030">304</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>TECUMSEH DEFENDS THE WHITES AT FORT MEIGS,</td> +<td class="italic right">Chapin</td> +<td class="right"><a href="#img032">310</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>"DON'T GIVE UP THE SHIP,"</td> +<td class="italic right">Alonzo Chappel</td> +<td class="right"><a href="#img034">316</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>DECATUR'S CONFLICT WITH THE ALGERINE AT TRIPOLI</td> +<td class="italic right">Alonzo Chappel</td> +<td class="right"><a href="#img036">322</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>JACKSON AT CHANCELLORSVILLE,</td> +<td class="italic right">A. R. Ward</td> +<td class="right"><a href="#img046">378</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>MEETING OF VICTOR EMMANUEL AND GARIBALDI,</td> +<td class="italic right">C. Ademollo</td> +<td class="right"><a href="#img051">394</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>MOLTKE AT VERSAILLES, 1870,</td> +<td class="italic right">Anton von Werner</td> +<td class="right"><a href="#img053">400</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>ADMIRAL DEWEY LOVING CUP,</td> +<td> </td> +<td class="right"><a href="#img056">404</a></td> +</tr> +</table> + + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page205" name="page205"></a>(p. 205)</span> MARSHAL TURENNE<br> +(1611-1675)</h3> + +<a id="img003" name="img003"></a> +<div class="floatleft"> +<img src="images/img003.jpg" width="250" height="261" alt="Turenne." title=""> +</div> + +<p>Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne, esteemed, after +Napoleon, the greatest of French generals, was born September 16, +1611. He was the second son of the Duc de Bouillon, Prince of Sedan, +and of Elizabeth of Nassau, daughter of the celebrated William of +Orange, to whose courage and talents the Netherlands mainly owed their +deliverance from Spain. Both parents being zealous Calvinists, Turenne +was of course brought up in the same faith. Soon after his father's +death, the duchess sent him, when he was not yet thirteen years old, +into the Low Countries, to learn the art of war under his uncle, +Maurice of Nassau, who commanded the troops of Holland in the +protracted struggle between that country and Spain. Maurice held that +there was no royal road to military skill, and placed his young +relation in the ranks, as a volunteer, where for some time he served, +enduring all hardships to which the common soldiers were exposed. In +his second campaign he was promoted to the command of a company, which +he retained for four years, distinguished by the admirable discipline +of his men, by unceasing attention to the due performance of his own +duty, and by his eagerness to witness, and become thoroughly +acquainted with, every branch of service. In the year 1630, family +circumstances rendered it expedient that he should return to France, +where the Court received him with distinction, and invested him with +the command of a regiment.</p> + +<p>Four years elapsed before Turenne had an opportunity of distinguishing +himself in the service of his native country. His first laurels were +reaped in 1634, at the siege of the strong fortress of La Motte, in +Lorraine, where he headed the assault, and, by his skill and bravery, +mainly contributed to its success. For this exploit he was raised, at +the early stage of twenty-three, to the rank of Maréchal de Camp, the +second grade of military rank in France. In the following year, the +breaking out of war between France and Austria opened a wider field of +action. Turenne held a subordinate command in the army, which, under +the Cardinal <span class="pagenum"><a id="page206" name="page206"></a>(p. 206)</span> de la Valette, marched into Germany to support +the Swedes, commanded by the Duke of Weimar. At first fortune smiled +on the allies; but, ere long, scarcity of provisions compelled them to +a disastrous retreat over a ruined country, in the face of the enemy. +On this occasion the young soldier's ability and disinterestedness +were equally conspicuous. He sold his plate and equipage for the use +of the army; threw away his baggage to load the wagons with those +stragglers who must otherwise have been abandoned; and marched on +foot, while he gave up his own horse to the relief of one who had +fallen, exhausted by hunger and fatigue. These are the acts which win +the attachment of soldiers, and Turenne was idolized by his.</p> + +<p>Our limits will not allow of the relation of those campaigns in which +the subject of this memoir filled a subordinate part. In 1637-38 he +again served under La Valette, in Flanders and Germany, after which he +was made Lieutenant-general, a rank not previously existing in France. +The three following years he was employed in Italy and Savoy, and in +1642 made a campaign in Roussillon, under the eye of Louis XIII. In +the spring of 1643 the king died; and in the autumn of the same year +Turenne received from the queen-mother and regent, Anne of Austria, a +marshal's baton, the appropriate reward of his long and brilliant +services. Four years a captain, four a colonel, three Maréchal de +Camp, five lieutenant-general, he had served in all stations from the +ranks upward, and distinguished himself in them not only by military +talent, but by strict honor and trustworthiness; rare virtues in those +turbulent times, when men were familiar with civil war, and the great +nobility were too powerful to be peaceful subjects.</p> + +<p>Soon after his promotion he was sent to Germany, to collect and +reorganize the French army, which had been roughly handled at +Duttlingen. It wanted rest, men, and money, and he settled it in good +quarters, raised recruits, and pledged his own credit for the +necessary sums. The effects of his exertions were soon seen. He +arrived in Alsace, December, 1643, and in the following May was at the +head of 10,000 men, well armed and equipped, with whom he felt strong +enough to attack the Imperial army, and raise the siege of Fribourg. +At that moment the glory which he hoped for, and was entitled to +obtain, as the reward of five months' labor, was snatched from him by +the arrival of the celebrated Prince de Condé, at that time Duc +d'Enghien, to assume the command. The vexation which Turenne must have +felt was increased by the difference of age (for the prince was ten +years his junior), and of personal character. Condé was ardent and +impetuous, and flushed by his brilliant victory at Rocroi the year +before; Turenne, cool, calculating, and cautious, unwearied in +preparing a certainty of success beforehand, yet prompt in striking +when the decisive moment was come. The difference of their characters +was exemplified upon this occasion. Merci, the Austrian commander, had +taken up a strong position, which Turenne said could not be forced; +but at the same time pointed out the means of turning it. Condé +differed from him, and the second in command was obliged to submit. On +two successive days two bloody and unsuccessful assaults were made; +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page207" name="page207"></a>(p. 207)</span> on the third Turenne's advice was taken, and on the first +demonstration of this change of plan Merci retreated. In the following +year, ill supplied with everything, and forced to separate his troops +widely to obtain subsistence, Turenne was attacked at Mariendal, and +worsted by his old antagonist, Merci. This, his first defeat, he felt +severely; still he retained his position, and was again ready to meet +the enemy, when he received positive orders from Mazarin to undertake +nothing before the arrival of Condé. Zealous for his country and +careless of personal slights, he marched without complaint under the +command of his rival; and his magnanimity was rewarded at the battle +of Nordlingen, in 1645, where the centre and right wing having failed +in their attack, Turenne, with the left wing, broke the enemy's right, +and falling on his centre in flank, threw it into utter confusion. For +this service he received the most cordial and ample acknowledgments +from Condé, both on the field and in his despatches to the Queen +Regent. Soon after, Condé, who was wounded in the battle, resigned his +command into the hands of Turenne. The following campaigns of +1646-47-48 exhibited a series of successes, by means of which he drove +the Duke of Bavaria from his dominions, and reduced the emperor to +seek for peace. This was concluded at Munster in 1648, and to +Turenne's exertions the termination of the Thirty Years' War is mainly +to be ascribed.</p> + +<p>The repose of France was soon broken by civil war. Mazarin's +administration, oppressive in all respects, but especially in fiscal +matters, had produced no small discontent throughout the country, and +especially in Paris, where the Parliament openly espoused the cause of +the people against the minister, and was joined by several of the +highest nobility, urged by various motives of private interest or +personal pique. Among these were the Prince of Conti, the Duc de +Longueville, and the Duc de Bouillon. Mazarin, in alarm, endeavored to +enlist the ambition of Turenne in his favor, by offering the +government of Alsace, and the hand of his own niece, as the price of +his adherence to the Court. The viscount, pressed by both parties, +avoided declaring his adhesion to either; but he unequivocally +expressed his disapprobation of the cardinal's proceedings, and, being +superseded in his command, retired peaceably to Holland. There he +remained till the convention of Ruel effected a hollow and insincere +reconciliation between the Court and one of the jarring parties of +which the Fronde was composed. That reconciliation was soon broken by +the sudden arrest of Condé, Conti, and the Duc de Longueville. Turenne +then threw himself into the arms of the Fronde, and, at the head of +eight thousand men, found himself obliged to encounter the royal army, +twenty thousand strong. In the battle which ensued, he distinguished +his personal bravery in several desperate charges; but the disparity +was too great; and this defeat of Rhetel was of serious consequence to +the Fronde party. Convinced at last that his true interest lay rather +on the side of the Court, then managed by a woman and a priest, where +he might be supreme in military matters, than in supporting the cause +of an impetuous and self-willed leader, such as Condé, Turenne gladly +listened to overtures of accommodation, and passed over to the support +of the regency.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page208" name="page208"></a>(p. 208)</span> The value of his services was soon made evident. Twice, at +the head of very inferior troops, he checked Condé in the career of +victory; and again compelled him to fight under the walls of Paris; +where, in the celebrated battle of the Faubourg St. Antoine, the +prince and his army narrowly escaped destruction. Finally, he +re-established the Court at Paris, and compelled Condé to quit the +realm. These important events took place in one campaign of six months +in 1652.</p> + +<p>In 1654 he again took the field against his former friend and +commander, Condé, who had taken refuge in Spain, and now led a foreign +army against his country. The most remarkable operation of the +campaign was the raising the siege of Arras, which the Spaniards had +invested, according to the most approved fashion of the day, with a +strong double line of circumvallation, within which the besieging army +was supposed to be securely sheltered against the sallies of the +garrison cooped up within, and the efforts of their friends from +without. Turenne marched to the relief of the place. This could only +be effected by forcing the enemy's entrenchments; which were +accordingly attacked, contrary to the opinion of his own officers, and +carried at all points, despite the personal exertions of Condé. The +Spaniards were forced to retreat. It is remarkable that Turenne, not +long after, was himself defeated in precisely similar circumstances, +under the walls of Valenciennes, round which he had drawn lines of +circumvallation. Once more he found himself in the same position at +Dunkirk. On this occasion he marched out of his lines to meet the +enemy, rather than wait, and suffer them to choose their point of +attack; and the celebrated battle of the Dunes, or Sandhills, ensued, +in which he gained a brilliant victory over the best Spanish troops, +with Condé at their head. This took place in 1657. Dunkirk and the +greater part of Flanders fell into the hands of the French in +consequence; and these successes led to the treaty of the Pyrenees, +which terminated the war in 1658.</p> + +<p>When war broke out afresh between France and Spain, in 1667, Louis +XIV. made his first campaign under Turenne's guidance, and gained +possession of nearly the whole of Flanders. In 1672, when Louis +resolved to undertake in person the conquest of Holland, he again +placed the command, under himself, in Turenne's hands, and disgraced +several marshals who refused to receive orders from the viscount, +considering themselves his equals in military rank. How Le Grand +Monarque forced the passage of the Rhine when there was no army to +oppose him, and conquered city after city, till he was stopped by +inundations, under the walls of Amsterdam, has been said and sung by +his flatterers, and need not be repeated here. But after the king had +left the army, when the princes of Germany came to the assistance of +Holland, and her affairs took a more favorable turn under the able +guidance of the Prince of Orange, a wider field was offered for the +display of Turenne's talents. In the campaign of 1673 he drove the +Elector of Brandenburg, who had come to the assistance of the Dutch, +back to Berlin, and compelled him to negotiate for peace. In the same +year he was opposed, for the first time, to the imperial general, +Montecuculi, celebrated for his military writings as well as for his +exploits in the field. The meeting of these two great generals +produced no decisive results.</p> + +<a id="img004" name="img004"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/img004.jpg" width="500" height="422" alt="" title=""> +<p>Turenne at the battle of the Dunes.</p> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page209" name="page209"></a>(p. 209)</span> Turenne returned to Paris in the winter, and was received +with the most flattering marks of favor. On the approach of spring he +was sent back to take command of the French army in Alsace, which, +amounting to no more than ten thousand men, was pressed by a powerful +confederation of the troops of the Empire, and those of Brandenburg, +once again in the field. Turenne set himself to beat the allies in +detail, before they could form a junction. He passed the Rhine, +marched forty French leagues in four days, and came up with the +Imperialists, under the Duke of Lorraine, at Sintzheim. They occupied +a strong position, their wings resting on mountains; their centre +protected by a river and a fortified town. Turenne hesitated: it +seemed rash to attack; but a victory was needful before the +combination of the two armies should render their force irresistible; +and he commanded the best troops of France. The event justified his +confidence. Every post was carried sword in hand. The Marshal had his +horse killed under him, and was slightly wounded. To the officers, who +crowded round him with congratulations, he replied, with one of those +short and happy speeches which tell upon an army more than the most +labored harangues, "With troops like you, gentlemen, a man ought to +attack boldly, for he is sure to conquer." The beaten army fell back +behind the Neckar, where they effected a junction with the troops of +Brandenburg; but they dared attempt nothing further, and left the +Palatinate in the quiet possession of Turenne. Under his eye, and, as +it appears from his own letters, at his express recommendation, as a +matter of policy, that wretched country was laid waste to a deplorable +extent. This transaction went far beyond the ordinary license of war, +and excited general indignation even in that unscrupulous age. It will +ever be remembered as a foul stain upon the character of the general +who executed, and of the king and minister who ordered or consented to +it.</p> + +<p>Having carried fire and sword through that part of the Palatinate +which lay upon the right or German bank of the Rhine, he crossed that +river. But the Imperial troops, reinforced by the Saxons and Hessians +to the amount of sixty thousand men, pressed him hard; and it seemed +impossible to keep the field against so great a disparity of force; +his own troops not amounting to more than twenty thousand. He +retreated into Lorraine, abandoning the fertile plains of Alsace to +the enemy, led his army behind the Vosges Mountains, and crossing them +by unfrequented routes, surprised the enemy at Colmar, beat him at +Mulhausen and Turkheim, and forced him to recross the Rhine. This is +esteemed the most brilliant of Turenne's campaigns, and it was +conceived and conducted with the greater boldness, being in opposition +to the orders of Louvois. "I know," he wrote to that minister, in +remonstrating, and indeed refusing to follow his directions, "I know +the strength of the Imperialists, their generals, and the country in +which we are. I take all upon myself, and charge myself with whatever +may occur."</p> + +<p>Returning to Paris at the end of the campaign, his journey through +France resembled a triumphal progress; such was the popular enthusiasm +in his favor. Not less flattering was his reception by the king, whose +undeviating regard and <span class="pagenum"><a id="page210" name="page210"></a>(p. 210)</span> confidence, undimmed by jealousy or +envy, is creditable alike to the monarch and to his faithful subject. +At this time Turenne, it is said, had serious thoughts of retiring to +a convent, and was induced only by the earnest remonstrances of the +king, and his representations of the critical state of France, to +resume his command. Returning to the Upper Rhine, he was again opposed +to Montecuculi. For two months the resources and well-matched skill of +the rival captains were displayed in a series of marches and +countermarches, in which every movement was so well foreseen and +guarded against, that no opportunity occurred for coming to action +with advantage to either side. At last the art of Turenne appeared to +prevail; when, not many minutes after he had expressed the full belief +that victory was within his grasp, a cannon-ball struck him while +engaged in reconnoitring the enemy's position, previous to giving +battle, and he fell dead from his horse, July 27, 1675. The same shot +carried off the arm of St. Hilaire, commander-in-chief of the +artillery. "Weep not for me," said the brave soldier to his son; "it +is for that great man that we ought to weep."</p> + +<p>His subordinates possessed neither the talents requisite to follow up +his plans, nor the confidence of the troops, who perceived their +hesitation, and were eager to avenge the death of their beloved +general. "Loose the piebald," so they named Turenne's horse, was the +cry; "he will lead us on." But those on whom the command devolved +thought of anything rather than of attacking the enemy; and after +holding a hurried council of war, retreated in all haste across the +Rhine.</p> + +<p>The Swabian peasants let the spot where he fell lie fallow for many +years, and carefully preserved a tree under which he had been sitting +just before. Strange that the people who had suffered so much at his +hands should regard his memory with such respect!</p> + +<p>The character of Turenne was more remarkable for solidity than for +brilliancy. Many generals may have been better qualified to complete a +campaign by one decisive blow; few probably have laid the scheme of a +campaign with more judgment, or shown more skill and patience in +carrying their plans into effect. And it is remarkable that, contrary +to general experience, he became much more enterprising in advanced +years than he had been in youth. Of that impetuous spirit, which +sometimes carries men to success where caution would have hesitated +and failed, he possessed little. In his earlier years he seldom +ventured to give battle, except where victory was nearly certain; but +a course of victory inspired confidence, and trained by long practice +to distinguish the difficult from the impossible, he adopted in his +later campaigns a bolder style of tactics than had seemed congenial to +his original temper. In this respect he offered a remarkable contrast +to his rival in fame, Condé, who, celebrated in early life for the +headlong valor, even to rashness, of his enterprises, became in old +age prudent almost to timidity. Equally calm in success or in defeat, +Turenne was always ready to prosecute the one, or to repair the other. +And he carried the same temper into private life, where he was +distinguished for the dignity with which he avoided quarrels, under +circumstances in which lesser men would have <span class="pagenum"><a id="page211" name="page211"></a>(p. 211)</span> found it hard +to do so, without incurring the reproach of cowardice. Nor must we +pass over his thorough honesty and disinterestedness in pecuniary +matters; a quality more rare in a great man then than it is now.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + + +<h3>CHARLES XII. OF SWEDEN<br> +By <span class="smcap">General John Mitchell</span><br> +(1682-1718)</h3> + +<a id="img005" name="img005"></a> +<div class="floatleft"> +<img src="images/img005.jpg" width="250" height="282" alt="Charles XII." title=""> +</div> + +<p>Charles XII., against whom it has been made a fault that he carried +virtues to extremes, was born at Stockholm, on June 27, 1682, during a +storm that</p> + +<p class="poem10"> +<span class="add2em">"Rived the mighty oak, and made</span><br> +<span class="add2em">The ambitious ocean swell, and rage, and foam,</span><br> +<span class="add2em">To be exalted with the threatening clouds."</span></p> + +<p>Astrologers observed that the star called the "Lion's Heart" +predominated at his nativity, and that the "Fox" was on the +decline—omens and prodigies well suited to announce the birth of a +prince who was himself a living tempest. Charles's infancy has nothing +very remarkable. His education was strictly attended to, and he proved +an attentive scholar. He acquired considerable knowledge of history, +geography, mathematics, and the military sciences, and became +perfectly familiar with several languages, though he never, after his +accession to the throne, spoke any but Latin, Swedish, or German. The +gallant Charles Stewart, the same who afterward led the king across +the Duna, was his instructor in the art of war, and is said to have +communicated to the young prince much of the fiery spirit for which he +was himself distinguished. In his fifteenth year Charles ascended the +throne, and, contrary to usual assertion, already evinced considerable +ability and application to business, though no particular predilection +for military affairs, unless his bear-hunting expeditions may be so +considered, for they were more than "faint images of war," being +attended with great danger. No arms were used in these encounters; the +sportsman was provided only with a single doubly-pointed stick and a +cast-net, like the one perhaps, used by the ancient gladiators. The +object of these fierce combats was to capture and bind the bear, and +to carry him in triumph from the scene of action! Charles was, it +seems, a great proficient in this dangerous sport.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page212" name="page212"></a>(p. 212)</span> At the age of eighteen Charles was obliged to take the field +against the four greatest powers of the North. Forced to contend with +small means against vastly superior foes, he made genius and courage +supply the place of numbers. Heroism was never more nobly displayed +than by this gallant monarch and his followers. What men could do was +done. For nine years he triumphed over constantly augmenting enemies. +And when the "unconquered lord of pleasure and of pain" fell at last, +crushed by the weight of masses, fortune more than shared with his +innumerable adversaries the honor of his overthrow.</p> + +<p>It was during the Polish campaign of 1703 that Max Emanuel of +Wirtemberg, then only fourteen years of age, joined Charles. When +introduced, the king asked him whether he wished to go to Stockholm +for a time, or to remain with the army. The prince, of course, +preferred the latter. "Well, then," said Charles, "I will bring you up +in my own way," and immediately placed the boy, tired as he was from +his journey, on horseback, and led him a long and fatiguing ride. From +this period to the battle of Pultowa, Max continued to be his constant +companion, shared his dangers, and attended him in all his adventures, +many of which border almost on the fabulous. The affectionate kindness +evinced by Charles toward his pupil could not be surpassed. When the +boy, as sometimes happened, was worn down by sickness and fatigue, the +monarch attended him with parental care; and when on one occasion he +fell speechless from his horse, and his recovery was despaired of, the +king never left his couch till he was pronounced out of danger.</p> + +<p>The adventures they encountered together were endless. On inspecting +the regiments before the opening of the campaign of 1706, they rode +five hundred miles in six days, were never in bed, and hardly ever out +of the saddle, and frequently reduced to milk and water as their only +nourishment—</p> + +<p class="poem30"> + "Alike to Charles was tide or time,<br> + Moonless midnight or matin prime."</p> + +<p>Having on another occasion lost their road and escort during a stormy +night, they arrived in the midst of a tempest before the town of +Tousha. Neither calling nor firing brought any one to the gates. The +king at last dismounted and sought for an entrance, while the prince +held the horses in the pelting rain. An entrance having at last been +discovered, they took possession of a hut in which was a fire. The +king threw himself, booted and spurred, on a bundle of straw, and fell +fast asleep. The prince, less hardy, took off his boots, filled them +with straw, and placed them by the fire. While sleeping, the flame +caught and consumed the valuable gambodoes. The prince was next day +obliged to get a pair of peasant's boots, in which he rode about for +eight days; a proof that the princely wardrobe was but slenderly +furnished.</p> + +<p>And yet the camp was not without its gayeties either; for while the +head-quarters were wintering at Rawitcz, the town became the scene of +great festivities; balls and parties succeeding each other as rapidly +as battles had done before. <span class="pagenum"><a id="page213" name="page213"></a>(p. 213)</span> Charles was usually present, +was always very polite, but made only a short stay, and retired as +soon as he could.</p> + +<a id="img006" name="img006"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/img006.jpg" width="600" height="485" alt="" title=""> +<p>Charles XII. and an unwilling recruit.</p> +</div> + +<p>During the stay of the army in this place, a fire broke out and +consumed several houses. The king flew to aid in extinguishing the +flames. He ascended to the top of a house that was already on fire, +and continued working till the building was sinking under him. He +escaped with difficulty, was thrown down by one of the beams, and for +a moment believed to be dead. "It was discovered two years afterward," +says Bardili, "that the place was set on fire by an incendiary bribed +by Augustus II. to slay the king of Sweden in the confusion;" and a +man actually came forward and denounced himself as the intended +assassin, declaring that some unknown power had prevented him from +stabbing the king when he got near his person. Charles said the man +was mad, and sent him about his business. Napoleon would have sent him +before a military commission and had him shot, as he caused the +student at Schönbrunn to be shot.</p> + +<p>We regret that we cannot give a sufficient account of the Duke of +Marlborough's visit to Charles's head-quarters at Altranstadt; for +what Voltaire says on the subject is but an idle fable. That the +English general should easily have penetrated the views of the Swedish +conqueror, which the latter took no pains to conceal, is sufficiently +probable; but that the conversation between two such men should have +turned principally on the king's large boots, which, as Voltaire says, +Charles told Marlborough "he had not quitted for seven years," is of +course a mere puerility. Besides, we find from Max's "Memoirs," that +Charles was not so coarse in his dress as is usually represented, for +his clothes were made of fine materials. He always wore a plain blue +coat with gilt buttons, buff waistcoat and breeches, a black crape +cravat, and a cocked hat; a waist-belt, and a long cut-and-thrust +sword. He never disfigured himself by the full-bottomed wig of the +period, but always wore his own brown hair, combed back from his +forehead. His camp-bed consisted of a blue silk mattress, pillow and +coverlid; materials that would have suited even a dandy guardsman.</p> + +<p>The invasion of Saxony occasioned great uneasiness at Vienna, +Charles's arrival being considered alike dangerous to the Catholic +states of the Empire and to the success of the Grand Alliance. It +happened, under these unpleasant feelings, that at a party the Swedish +Minister, Count Stralenghielm, proposed his master's health as a +toast. An imperial chamberlain, a Count Zabor, a magnate of Hungary, +refused to drink it, declaring that "no honest man ought to drink the +health of the Turk, the devil, and of a third person." The Swede +struck the offender, and swords were drawn; but the adversaries were +of course separated. The ambassador demanded satisfaction for the +insult; and Zabor was arrested, and sent in irons to Stettin, and +delivered up to the Swedes. Charles instantly set him at liberty, +simply desiring him to "be more guarded in his speeches for the +future."</p> + +<p>The Saxon nobility (Ritterschaft, chivalry) having been taxed to aid +in defraying the Swedish contributions, applied to Charles, claiming +their privilege of exemption from all taxation, except that of +furnishing horses for the chivalry engaged in defence of the country. +"Had the Saxon chivalry," said Charles, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page214" name="page214"></a>(p. 214)</span> "acted up to the +duties to which they owe their privilege, I should not have been +here."</p> + +<p>The King of Sweden left Saxony, and set out on his Russian expedition +at the head of 43,000 men. Of these 8,000 remained in Poland; so that +he undertook the march to Moscow with only 35,000—a force amounting +to about one-fifteenth part of the army with which Napoleon set out on +a similar expedition. The Russians followed the same system they +afterward employed against the French, retiring and laving waste the +country. The difficulties the Swedes had to encounter, in consequence +of bad roads and want of provisions, are almost incredible. The +soldiers were forced to contend, not only against the enemy, but +against the localities also; roads for the advance of the army had to +be opened through forests and morasses before the least progress could +be made; and it often happened that a league a day was the greatest +extent of march gained after immense toil. But nothing checked the +ardor of these gallant soldiers. The Russians attempted to defend the +passage of rivers and swamps that impeded the march of the foe. Their +efforts were vain; no superiority of numbers, no strength of position, +could arrest the indomitable valor of Charles and his troops. And the +actions performed during this march would be deemed absolutely +fabulous, were they not recorded on authority which cannot be doubted.</p> + +<p>During the severe winter of 1709, the army suffered dreadfully from +want and cold. When, early in spring, the thaw set in, the whole of +those flat countries were overflowed, and long marches had to be made +through complete inundations, by which quantities of stores were lost, +and the powder greatly damaged. It was, as we now find, in consequence +of the losses thus sustained that Charles accepted Mazeppa's proposal +of marching into the Ukraine. Finding his army too much weakened to +penetrate further into Russia, and not wishing to fall back upon +Livonia, which he thought would look like a retreat and encourage his +enemies, he determined to march to the south, and there await the +supplies and reinforcements which his generals were to bring up.</p> + +<p>The loss of the convoy which General Lewenhaupt was conducting to the +army rendered further delay necessary, and obliged the king to +undertake the siege of Pultowa, in order to gain a firm footing in the +country, and to secure the supplies which the place contained. The +Swedish battering-train was weak, the powder not only bad from having +been frequently injured by the wet and dried again, but very scarce +besides. Still, courage and energy were making progress, when, June +27th, on his very birthday, Charles, in repulsing a sally, was struck +by a musket-ball that entered his left foot, above the root of the +toes, and went out at the heel. The king continued in the field for an +hour afterward, giving his orders as usual; but when he retired to his +quarters, the leg was so much swelled that the boot had to be cut off, +and the wound had so unfavorable an appearance as greatly to alarm the +attendants.</p> + +<p>Charles behaved heroically, as usual. He held his leg to the surgeon +with his own hands, nor did a single groan escape him during the +terrible operation which the cutting away of some of the fractured +bones rendered necessary. At one time <span class="pagenum"><a id="page215" name="page215"></a>(p. 215)</span> his life was despaired +of, and a general panic seized the army, but though the wound proved +decisive of his fate, the unhappy monarch had what may well be termed +the misfortune to recover.</p> + +<p>The foe drew near. The Czar, well aware of the importance of Pultowa, +advanced to its relief with an army of 80,000 men, besides 40,000 +irregulars, Kalmucks and Tartars. He brought 150 pieces of artillery +along with him. Even with this vast superiority, and after the +training of a nine years' war, the Russians did not venture to attack +the Swedes, but drew closer and closer around them, till they began at +last to intrench themselves within a league of the king's camp. +Charles's illness gave them but too much leisure.</p> + +<p>A hostile fortress on one side, a hostile army on the other, nothing +but a victory could save the Swedes; and on the morning of the 8th of +July, only ten days after Charles had been wounded, they marched out +to battle. Their whole army did not amount to 20,000 men, 4,000 of +whom were left in the trenches and with the baggage. Their artillery +consisted of four field-pieces; and their powder was so bad that it +did not, as Count Poniatowsky and Lewenhaupt both affirm, throw the +musket-balls more than thirty yards from the muzzles of the pieces. +And yet these brave soldiers balanced fortune even against such +overwhelming numbers. Three out of the seven Russian redoubts were +taken; on the left wing the cavalry were victorious, and it is really +difficult to say what the result would have proved, had Charles been +able to exert his usual energy and activity. Certain it is that errors +were committed which could not have happened under his immediate +command; for the cavalry of the left wing did not follow up their +success, and the cavalry of the right wing lost their direction, and +took no share in the action. The king, who was carried on a litter +between two horses, was present in the hottest of the fire, and +exerted himself as much as was possible for a man in such a situation. +A shot broke the litter, and the wounded monarch was for some time +left alone on the ground. A lifeguardsman brought him a horse, and he +endeavored to rally the yielding troops. The steed was shot under him, +and—</p> + +<p class="poem30"> +<span class="add7em">"Gierta gave</span><br> + His own, and died the Russian slave."</p> + +<p>Having assembled and re-formed the remnants of his broken host round +the forces which had been left for the protection of the baggage, the +fainting monarch was placed in Count Piper's carriage, and conveyed +toward the Turkish frontier. The exertions of the wounded Charles to +rally his army at Pultowa contrast singularly with the total want of +any such exertion displayed by the unwounded Napoleon at Waterloo. We +take this want of exertion for granted, because had any been +displayed, the world's echoes would have rung with praise bestowed +upon the heroic effort.</p> + +<p>The first result of the battle of Pultowa—its ultimate results are +only now becoming apparent—was the entire destruction of the Swedish +army, the famished and exhausted remains of which were some days +afterward obliged to lay down their arms on the banks of the Dnieper, +which they had no means of crossing.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page216" name="page216"></a>(p. 216)</span> With this battle, which opens a new era in European history, +the history of Charles XII. may be said to end; for his subsequent +career was only a succession of disappointments, his poor and thinly +peopled country not affording him the means of recovery from a single +'defeat'.</p> + +<p>On his arrival at Bender, the king learned of the death of his sister, +the Duchess of Holstein; and he who had calmly supported the loss of +his fame and his army yielded to the most impassioned burst of sorrow, +and was during four days unable to converse with his most intimate +attendants—a proof how unjust are the accusations of want of feeling +so often brought against him. His long stay in Turkey is certainly +evidence of obstinacy, or of that pride which could not brook the +thought of returning, a vanquished fugitive, to his native land, which +had done so much for him, and which his best efforts had failed to +protect from unjust violence. In Charles's high and noble countenance +it is seen at once that he was endowed with—</p> + +<p class="poem30"> +<span class="add6em">"The glance that took</span><br> + Their thoughts from others at a single look."</p> + +<p>He knew the worthlessness of his enemies; and it is doubly galling to +the generous and the brave when fortune, in her base fancies, obliges +them to succumb to mean and malicious adversaries. And such was the +fate of Charles. His defeat was no sooner known than Denmark, Poland, +and Saxony again flew to arms. Hanover and Prussia joined the unworthy +league against the fallen monarch, who had been so dreaded, and was +therefore so much hated; for Charles had injured no one—he was the +aggrieved from first to last. His return to Sweden, the defence of +Stralsund, the invasion of Norway, call for no particular attention. +He was killed at the siege of Frederickshall, in Norway, on November +30, 1718, under circumstances that long gave currency to the belief +that he had been assassinated. Schott and Bardili positively assert +the fact; but we are on this point disposed to agree with Voltaire, +who, to save the honor of his countrymen, as positively denies it. +After evening service, the king went out as usual to visit the +trenches. He was attended by two French engineers, Megret and Siquier. +A heavy fire was kept up by the enemy. Near the head of the <span class="italic">boyau</span>, +or zigzag, he kneeled down, and, leaning against the parapet, looked +toward the fortress. As he remained motionless for a long time, some +one approached and found him perfectly dead, a ball having entered his +right temple and passed through his head. Even in death the gallant +hand had grasped the hilt of his sword; and this probably gave rise to +the belief in the murder, which was afterward confirmed by Siquier's +own confession. But this confession was only made while the pretended +criminal labored under an attack of brain fever, and was retracted as +soon as he recovered.</p> + +<p>Thus fell, in the thirty-sixth year of his age, one of the most +extraordinary men that ever acted a part on the great stage of the +world. Endowed by nature with a noble person, "a frame of adamant, a +soul of fire," with high intellectual powers, dauntless bravery, +kingly sentiments of honor, and a lofty scorn of all <span class="pagenum"><a id="page217" name="page217"></a>(p. 217)</span> that +was mean and little, he became, from the very splendor of these gifts, +perhaps one of the most unhappy men of his time. Less highly gifted, +he would have been less hated and less envied; of humbler spirit, he +would have been more pliant, and might possibly have been more +successful.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + + +<h3>JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH<br> +By <span class="smcap">L. Drake</span><br> +(1650-1722)</h3> + +<a id="img007" name="img007"></a> +<div class="floatleft"> +<img src="images/img007.jpg" width="250" height="362" alt="A standing man behind a sitting woman." title=""> +</div> + +<p>About noon, on June 24, 1650, John Churchill, afterward Duke of +Marlborough, was born at Ashe, in Devonshire. His school-days were +soon over; for his father, Sir Winston Churchill, having established +himself at court soon after the restoration of Charles the Second, was +anxious to introduce his children early into life, and obtained for +his son the situation of page of honor to the Duke of York, at the +same time that his only daughter, Arabella, became maid of honor to +the duchess.</p> + +<p>While at school, young Churchill had discovered in the library an old +book on military subjects. This he read frequently, and conceived such +a taste for a martial life, that he longed to distinguish himself as a +soldier.</p> + +<p>The Duke of York held frequent reviews of the guards. Churchill had +not long been his page, before the duke noticed his eagerness to be +present on these occasions. Pleased with this indication of military +ambition, the duke suddenly inquired one day, "What can I do for you, +Churchill, as a first step to fortune?"</p> + +<p>The page threw himself on his knees before the duke. "I beseech your +Royal Highness," he entreated, with clasped hands, "to honor me with a +pair of colors."</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page218" name="page218"></a>(p. 218)</span> "Well, well," said the duke, smiling at the lad's +earnestness, "I will grant your request by and by;" and his young +favorite had not long to wait before he got the post for which he had +petitioned.</p> + +<p>The youthful ensign, scarce fifteen years of age, first embarked for +Tangiers; and although his stay was short, yet in the sallies and +skirmishes with the Moors he showed that even now he possessed that +courage and ability which in after years placed him at the head of all +the heroes of his time.</p> + +<p>Before the year in which he left England had expired, he was again in +his native country. He then accompanied the Duke of Monmouth to the +continent, to assist France against Holland. The Prince of Condé and +Marshal Turenne, the greatest generals of that time, commanded the +French army, so that Churchill had very favorable opportunities of +improving his military talent and genius.</p> + +<p>A French officer, during the siege of Nimeguen, had failed to retain a +post of consequence, which he had been appointed to defend. The news +of its loss was brought to Turenne.</p> + +<p>"I will bet a supper and a dozen of claret," instantly exclaimed the +marshal, "that my handsome Englishman will recover the post with half +the number of men that the officer commanded who lost it."</p> + +<p>Churchill was despatched with a small company, and, after a short but +desperate struggle, retook the post, won the marshal his wager, and +gained for himself the applause and admiration of the whole army.</p> + +<p>Next year, at the siege of Maestricht, Captain Churchill again +distinguished himself. At the head of his own company, he scaled the +ramparts, and planted the banner of France on the very summit, +escaping with a slight wound. Louis XIV. was so highly pleased with +his conduct that he thanked him at the head of the army, and soon made +him lieutenant-colonel. The Duke of Monmouth afterward confessed to +the king, that he was indebted for his life, on this occasion, to our +hero's gallantry and discretion.</p> + +<p>On his return to England, he was made gentleman of the bedchamber and +master of the robes to his earliest patron, the Duke of York. At this +period he was captivated by the beauty of Miss Sarah Jennings, +daughter of a gentleman of ancient family, and maid of honor to the +duchess. Their marriage took place in 1678.</p> + +<p>The services Colonel Churchill continued to yield the royal brothers +did not pass unrewarded. He was created Baron Churchill of Agmouth, in +Berwickshire; and a friendship sprung up between Lady Churchill and +the Princess (afterward queen) Anne, who, when she married Prince +George of Denmark, got her friend appointed lady of her bedchamber.</p> + +<p>The day after James II. was proclaimed, he made his favorite, +lieutenant-general. The battle of Sedgemoor, in which the ill-fated +Duke of Monmouth with his rebel army was defeated, was won chiefly by +Churchill's courage and decision. Till the closing scene of James's +reign, there is little stated of Lord Churchill, although it is known +that he used his influence with his royal master to prevent the +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page219" name="page219"></a>(p. 219)</span> arbitrary system of government the king endeavored to +introduce. Finding the monarch determined to persist in his +encroachments, Lord Churchill felt it his duty, however painful, to go +over to the Prince of Orange, by whom he was received with +distinguished marks of attention and respect; and, two days before his +coronation, the prince raised him to the dignity of Earl of +Marlborough.</p> + +<p>The affection the earl still felt toward his late benefactor, the +ex-king, led him into a correspondence with him. This, being +discovered, brought the displeasure of King William upon him, and for +some time he was deprived of all his appointments. At length a +governor being wanted for the young Duke of Gloucester, son of the +Princess Anne, the king, as an earnest of his returning favor, +conferred this honor on Marlborough. "Teach him, my lord," said his +majesty, "to be what you are yourself, and he will not want +accomplishments."</p> + +<p>On the accession of Queen Anne, Marlborough was made captain-general, +master of the ordnance, and a knight of the garter. Soon after, he was +sent to Holland to aid the Dutch against the French. He was appointed +by them generalissimo of the forces, with a salary of £10,000 a year. +With his army he crossed the river Meuse, and advanced to the siege of +Rheinberg. "I hope soon to deliver you from these troublesome +neighbors!" he exclaimed to the Dutch deputies who accompanied him on +a reconnoitring party; and had it not been for the timidity of the +Dutchmen he would have fulfilled his intentions. He however, took +three towns out of the hands of the French, and the campaign ended by +the taking of Liége.</p> + +<p>Marlborough soon returned to England, when the queen created him +Marquis of Blandford and Duke of Marlborough, an honor he reluctantly +accepted, and chiefly because it would give him more consideration if +again called upon to serve his country abroad.</p> + +<p>In 1703 the duke was once more in Flanders, leading operations against +the French with his usual success.</p> + +<p>The celebrated Prince Eugene was appointed his colleague; and the +first time these two generals met, they conceived that mutual esteem +and confidence, which afterward rendered them partners in the same +glory.</p> + +<p>At the head of a noble army, the two generals penetrated into the +heart of Germany, driving the Elector of Bavaria before them, ere his +French allies could join him. It would take too much space to describe +all the victories, and relate the details of the burning of three +hundred towns, villages, and castles! These stern necessities of war +were far from pleasing to Marlborough, who grieved to see the poor +people suffering from their master's ambition. The Elector shed tears +when he heard of these devastations, and offered large sums to prevent +military execution on the land. "The forces of England," replied the +duke, "are not come into Bavaria to extort money, but to bring its +prince to reason and moderation. It is in the power of the Elector to +end the matter at once by coming to a speedy accommodation."</p> + +<p>But the Elector knew that Marshal Tallard, with a powerful French +army, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page220" name="page220"></a>(p. 220)</span> was approaching; and, buoyed up by expectation, +replied, "Since you have compelled me to draw the sword, I have thrown +away the scabbard!"</p> + +<p>Prince Eugene had hastened from the Rhine to join Marlborough, with a +force of eighteen thousand men, and reached the plains of Hochstadt by +the time Tallard joined the Elector. As the prince and Marlborough +proceeded to survey the ground, previous to taking up their position, +they perceived some squadrons of the enemy at a distance. The two +generals mounted the steeple of a church close by, and, with their +glasses, discovered the quarter-masters of the enemy marking out a +camp between Blenheim and Lützingen. Charmed beyond measure, they +resolved to give battle before the enemy could strengthen themselves +in their new position. Some officers, who knew the strength of the +ground selected by the enemy, ventured to remonstrate, and to advise +that no action should be hazarded. "I know the dangers of the case," +said Marlborough, who had not made up his mind without due +consideration, "but a battle is absolutely necessary; and as for +success, I rely on the hope that the discipline and courage of the +troops will make amends for all disadvantages." Orders being issued +for a general engagement, the whole army commenced preparations with +cheerfulness and alacrity.</p> + +<p>Marlborough showed that he was resolved to conquer or to die in the +attempt. Part of the night he passed in prayer, and toward morning +received the sacrament. Then, after taking a short sleep, he concerted +the arrangements for the action with Prince Eugene, particularly +pointing out to the surgeons the proper place for the wounded.</p> + +<p>The forces of the duke and the prince formed an army of 33,500 +infantry and 18,400 cavalry. They were opposed by a force of 56,000 +men.</p> + +<p>About six o'clock in the morning, Marlborough and Eugene took their +station on a rising ground, and calling all the generals, gave the +directions for the attack. The army then marched into the plain; and +being formed in order of battle, the chaplains performed service at +the head of each regiment.</p> + +<p>The morning being hazy, the French and Bavarians did not even suspect +the approach of their enemies, and were completely taken by surprise. +A large gun boomed forth the signal for the onset; and as great a +battle was fought as the memory of man ever heard of. A panic seized +the whole of the troops which composed the right of the French army, +and they fled like a flock of sheep before the victorious +English,—deaf to the threats and entreaties of their commanders, and +without observing whither their flight led them. A body of cavalry, +the best and most renowned in the whole army, seized with fear, +hurried away Marshal Tallard with them in their flight; and, void of +all thought, threw themselves by squadrons into the Danube, men and +horses, officers and troopers together. Some escaped; but the greater +portion, who had sought to avoid an uncertain death on the field of +battle and honor, found a certain and shameful death in the river. The +poor marshal, after vainly endeavoring to stem this torrent of +despair, was obliged to surrender himself a prisoner of war with +several other general officers in his company. The defeat then became +complete. Of <span class="pagenum"><a id="page221" name="page221"></a>(p. 221)</span> all the infantry the marshal had brought to the +assistance of the Elector, only two battalions escaped; eight and +twenty battalions were taken prisoners; and ten were entirely +destroyed!</p> + +<p>The French, for many years, had never sustained any considerable +defeat; and in consequence, had looked upon themselves, and had been +regarded by other countries, almost as invincible. But now the charm +was broken.</p> + +<p>After the battle, when Marshal Tallard was brought into the duke's +tent, the marshal exclaimed with emphasis, "Your grace has beaten the +best troops in the world!"</p> + +<p>"I hope," quickly rejoined the duke, "that you except the troops which +defeated them."</p> + +<p>The news caused great joy in England, except to a discontented party, +who considered that "it would no more weaken the power of the French +king, than taking a bucket of water out of a river." Marlborough's +answer, when he heard this, was, "If they will allow me to draw one or +two such buckets more, we may then let the river run quietly, and not +much apprehend its overflowing, and destroying its neighbors." Queen +Anne, however, as a monument of victory, commanded a splendid palace +to be built for the duke, at her own expense, to be called Blenheim.</p> + +<p>It would fill a large volume to relate all the victories of the Duke +of Marlborough, none of which, however, exceeded the Battle of +Blenheim in importance. One, some years afterward, called the Battle +of Malplaquet, was a better contested fight, and perhaps ranks next; +in truth, after this battle, France never again ventured to meet +Marlborough in the field.</p> + +<p>At three o'clock in the morning of September 11, 1709, the +confederated troops (for Eugene, with his army, was still with +Marlborough) began to raise their batteries, under cover of a thick +fog, which lasted till half-past seven. When it cleared away, the +armies found themselves close together, each having a perfect view of +the other. Marshal Villars commanded the French army. He was adored by +his troops, who placed unbounded confidence in him; and as he now rode +along their ranks the air rang with "Long live the king!" "Long live +Marshal Villars!" The right wing was commanded by Marshal Boufflers.</p> + +<p>A discharge of fifty pieces of cannon from the confederates was the +signal for battle, which commenced a little after eight. Each army had +between ninety and one hundred thousand men, and the battle raged for +some time with unexampled bravery. All the duties of a skilful general +were performed by Marlborough; and late in the day the French army +left the field in the possession of the allies, both armies having +fought with almost incredible valor. The loss of the French was +fourteen thousand men; the allies, though victory was on their side, +lost nearly twenty thousand.</p> + +<p>An officer of distinction in the French army, writing an account of +this battle said: "The Eugenes and Marlboroughs ought to be well +satisfied with us during that day; since, till then, they had not met +with resistance worthy of them. They may say, with justice, that +nothing can stand before them; for what shall be <span class="pagenum"><a id="page222" name="page222"></a>(p. 222)</span> able to +stem the rapid course of these two heroes, if an army of one hundred +thousand of our best troops—posted between two roads, trebly +entrenched, and performing their duty as well as brave men could +do—were not able to stop them one day? Will you not, then, own with +me, that they surpass all the heroes of former ages?"</p> + +<p>With his usual humanity, Marlborough's first care, at the close of the +action, was the relief of the wounded. Three thousand Frenchmen who +lay on the field shared his attention, with the wounded of his own +army; and he immediately arranged means for conveying them away. +Still, next morning—the day set apart for burying the +slain—notwithstanding his care, when riding over the field he saw +among the heaps which covered the plain, not only the numerous bodies +of the slain, but of the dying also. Nor did he feel only for the +sufferings of his companions in arms; the groans of wounded enemies, +and the sight of their mangled limbs, equally awakened his compassion. +Learning also, that many French officers and soldiers had crept into +the neighboring houses and woods, wounded, and in a miserable +condition for want of assistance, he ordered them every possible +relief, and despatched a messenger with a letter to the French +marshal, humanely proposing; a conference to arrange the means of +removing these wretched sufferers. By this humanity the larger portion +of not fewer than thirty thousand men, to whose sufferings death would +soon have put an end, were saved. The officers gave their word that +they would not serve against the allies till they were regularly +exchanged; and the common soldiers were to be considered as prisoners +of war, for whom an equal number of allied troops were to be returned.</p> + +<p>Many, many battles, too numerous to mention, were gained by this great +commander. When he came back to England, at the peace, he for some +time distinguished himself as an able statesman; but incurring the +displeasure of the queen, and that of the party then in power, he +found his situation so painful, that he determined to leave the +country till the course of events should again run in his favor. He +left Dover without any honors, as a private passenger, in a +packet-boat; but on its arriving off Ostend, as soon as the +townspeople knew that the Duke of Marlborough was on board, they made +a salute of all the cannon toward the sea; and when the vessel entered +the harbor, they fired three rounds of all the artillery on the +ramparts. The people crowded round him, and shed tears at the +ingratitude of his nation. Some, full of astonishment at the sight of +him, said, "His looks, his air, his address, were full as conquering +as his sword." Even a Frenchman exclaimed, "Though the sight is worth +a million to my king, yet I believe he would not, at such a price, +have lost the service of so brave a man."</p> + +<p>Marlborough remained at Aix-la-Chapelle till the death of the queen. +On August 1, 1714, the day George the First was proclaimed, the duke +and duchess landed at Dover. Marlborough's reception was truly a +contrast to his departure. Now the artillery thundered forth a +welcome; while thousands of spectators hailed the return of the +voluntary exile. Passing on to London, he was met at Southwark by a +large body of the burgesses, who escorted him into the city; and +thence, joined by many of the first merchants, the nobility, and +gentry, he proceeded <span class="pagenum"><a id="page223" name="page223"></a>(p. 223)</span> to St. James's, amid the joyful +acclamations of the crowd, "Long live the king!" "Long live the Duke +of Marlborough!"</p> + +<p>Old age had now laid his withering hand on the duke. For nearly two +years he continued to enjoy the favor and confidence of the new king, +who, on one occasion, said, "Marlborough's retirement would give me as +much pain as if a dagger should be plunged in my bosom." But he soon +was obliged to retreat to Blenheim, where he spent six years of +declining life among his family and friends. At length, after a +violent attack of palsy, the disease from which he suffered, he lay +for several days expecting death. Early in the morning of June 15, +1722, he resigned his spirit, with Christian calmness, into the hands +of his Creator.</p> + +<p>The duke was nearly seventy-three when he died. His remains were +interred with every honor in Westminster Abbey, but soon after were +taken up, and conveyed to the chapel at Blenheim, and laid in a +magnificent monument, which the duchess had erected for this honorable +purpose.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + + +<h3>PRINCE EUGENE OF SAVOY<br> +By <span class="smcap">G. P. R. James</span><br> +(1663-1736)</h3> + +<a id="img008" name="img008"></a> +<div class="floatleft"> +<img src="images/img008.jpg" width="250" height="336" alt="Prince Eugene." title=""> +</div> + +<p>Prince Eugene, the most famed of Austrian generals, was the son of +Eugene Maurice of Savoy (by the mother's side Count of Soissons) and +of Olympia Mancini, niece of Cardinal Mazarin. His father intrigued, +and was banished from the court of France; and his mother also quitted +Paris not many years after, suspected of many vices of which she was +very probably innocent; and guilty of a thousand follies, which were +more strictly scrutinized than her crimes. Eugene was originally +destined for the Church, and, according to a scandalous custom, then +common in France as well as other Catholic countries, he obtained +several benefices while but a child, of which he was eager to divest +himself as soon as his mind was capable of discriminating between one +profession and another. He seems soon to have felt within himself that +ardent desire for military service, which is sometimes a caprice and +some times an inspiration; but Louis XIV., at whose court he still +remained, positively <span class="pagenum"><a id="page224" name="page224"></a>(p. 224)</span> forbade his throwing off the clerical +habit, notwithstanding all the entreaties of the young abbé, and by so +doing, incurred the enmity of one who inherited from his mother no +small faculty of hatred.</p> + +<p>At length, various circumstances with which he was in no degree +connected, brought about a change in the affairs of Europe that +afforded him an opportunity of escaping from the restraint placed upon +his inclinations, and of turning the genius they had despised against +those who had contemned him. France and Austria had long been either +secretly or openly at strife; but now the dilapidated state of the +German empire, after tedious and expensive wars, together with the +combination of external foes and internal insurrection, threatened the +nominal successor of the Roman Cæsars with utter destruction. The +Hungarians in revolt, joined with the Turkish forces which they had +called to their assistance, marched into Germany and laid siege to +Vienna. Louis XIV. had hitherto taken care to foment the spirit of +insurrection, and to aggravate the more pressing dangers of Germany; +but at this moment, to cover the encouragement he had held out +privately to the rebels, he permitted the nobility of his court to +volunteer in defence of Christendom, which the fall of Vienna would +have laid open to Infidels. A large body of young men set out +immediately for Austria, among whom Prince Eugene contrived to effect +his departure in secret. The famous, but unamiable minister Louvois, +when he heard of the young abbé's escape remarked with a sneer, "So +much the better, it will be long before he returns."</p> + +<p>The speech was afterward repeated to Eugene, who replied, "I will +never return to France but as a conqueror;" and he kept his word, one +of the few instances in which history has been able to record that a +rash boast was afterward justified by talents and resolution.</p> + +<p>On arriving at Vienna, Eugene cast away the gown forever, and his rank +instantly procured him a distinguished post near the person of the +Duke of Lorraine, then commanding the imperial forces.</p> + +<p>Shortly after he had joined the army, John Sobieski, the valiant King +of Poland, advanced to the assistance of the emperor, and the Turks +were forced to raise the siege of the Austrian capital. In the +campaign that followed against the Infidels, Eugene distinguished +himself greatly, both by a sort of light unthinking courage, and by a +degree of skill and judgment, which seemed to show that the levity he +was somewhat too fond of displaying, though perhaps a confirmed habit +from his education in an idle and frivolous court, was no true type of +the mind within. It was the empty bubble dancing on the bosom of a +deep stream. This was felt by those who surrounded him; and promotion +succeeded with astonishing rapidity. Before the end of three months he +was in command of a regiment of horse.</p> + +<p>Continual battles, sieges, and skirmishes, now inured Eugene to all +the hardships and all the dangers of war, and at the same time gave +him every opportunity of acquiring a thorough knowledge of his new +profession, and of obtaining higher and higher grades in the service. +In the course of a very few years he had been wounded more than once +severely; but at the same time he had aided in the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page225" name="page225"></a>(p. 225)</span> taking of +Neuhausel, Vicegradt, Gran, and Buda; was the first who entered sword +in hand into the intrenched camp of the Turks at Hersan; and had +received a commission as Lieutenant-general in the Austrian service. +The storming of Belgrade was the next great event in which Eugene was +called to act; and here, in command of a body of reserve, he attacked +the walls, after the first parties had been repulsed, and succeeded in +forcing his way into the city. The regiments which had failed at first +now rallied; and the path being open, the Imperial forces poured in in +all directions, and Belgrade was taken after a most obstinate defence.</p> + +<p>Victor Amadæus, Duke of Savoy, was shortly after this persuaded by his +cousin Eugene to embrace the interests of the house of Austria; and to +enter into the great alliance which had been formed for the purpose of +depressing France.</p> + +<p>The vast power which Louis XIV. had acquired, and the evident +disposition he displayed to extend that power to the utmost, had armed +the fears of all the monarchs of Europe against him. At the same time, +the armies which had conquered for him were dispersed, and the +generals who had led them to victory had in most instances fallen into +the grave. Perhaps these considerations might lead the Duke of Savoy +to withdraw from an alliance which promised little support, and +eminent danger; but he had soon reason to repent of having done so. +Marshal Catinat, the best of Louis's living officers, was ordered to +act against him; the whole of Piedmont quickly fell into the hands of +the French; and on August 18th the duke was completely defeated by the +adverse general. Eugene, who was present, though wounded with a spent +ball, covered the retreat of the troops of Savoy; but the battle was +nevertheless completely lost, and influenced for long the fate of +Piedmont.</p> + +<p>After various campaigns in Italy, where little was effected but a +diversion of the French forces from his scene of war in Germany and +the Netherlands, Eugene prevailed upon his cousin the Duke of Savoy, +to lead his troops into France and to draw the French army from Italy, +by carrying the war into their own country. The scheme was a bold one, +but it proved most successful, and Embrun, Quilestre, and Gap, having +fallen, the allied army, under Victor Amadæus and Eugene, advanced +rapidly into Dauphiny. Terror and consternation spread before them; +and in revenge for the devastation committed by the French in the +Palatinate, they now ravaged the whole of Dauphiny, burning the +villages and hamlets, and laying the cities under heavy contributions. +The heart of France was open to the invading army; but, fortunately +for that country, a severe illness put a stop to the proceedings of +Victor Amadæus. Returning to Turin in haste, he left his army to the +command of Prince Eugene; but the Italian generals contrived, by +hesitation in their obedience, and opposition to his wishes, to defeat +Eugene's best schemes, so that he was glad, by a rapid retreat, to +bring his army in safety to Savoy.</p> + +<p>Eugene was now created Field-marshal; and received the order of the +Golden Fleece; but his gratification at these marks of approbation was +bitterly alloyed by a severe defeat which he suffered near Pignerol, +in company with his cousin <span class="pagenum"><a id="page226" name="page226"></a>(p. 226)</span> the Duke of Savoy, who madly +engaged the French forces in a position where his own discomfiture was +a certain consequence.</p> + +<p>Few movements of any import took place in Italy for some years after +this, in which Eugene was concerned. Victor Amadæus, partly from +caprice, partly from fear, withdrew from his alliance with Austria, +and, once more signed a treaty of neutrality with France. The Imperial +troops, unable singly to keep the field against the French, abandoned +Savoy; and Eugene, though his efforts had proved unsuccessful, was +received at Vienna with the highest distinction.</p> + +<p>The emperor, probably judging rightly in this instance, that the +prince had failed from his energies being crippled by a divided power, +now gave him the sole command of the army opposed to the Turks in +Hungary.</p> + +<p>Eugene immediately found himself menaced by the whole force of the +Turkish Empire; but after some masterly manœuvres he saved the city +of Peterwaradin, on which the Ottoman forces were marching; and then, +though with very inferior power, approached the intrenchments of the +Grand Vizier, at Zeuta, with the intention of forcing him from his +camp. At the very moment, however, that the army had advanced too far +to retreat, a courier arrived, bearing the emperor's commands to +Eugene, on no account to risk a battle. Eugene's measures were already +taken; he put the letter in his pocket, attacked the Turks, defeated +them completely, left twenty thousand Mussulmen dead on the field, and +ten thousand drowned in the Danube; pursued his victory by burning +Serai and securing the frontier line of fortresses, and then returned +to Vienna in expectation of reward and honor.</p> + +<p>The emperor received him coldly, and before the day was over he was +put under arrest for disobedience of orders. The clamor, however, of +the people, and some feeling of shame in the bosom of the proud, weak +Leopold, soon caused him to restore Eugene to his rank, and to send +him once more against the Turks. Success, however, did not follow the +prince through the succeeding campaign; and before the season brought +it naturally to a close, peace had been determined on between Austria +and the Porte.</p> + +<p>Some time previous to the period of which we now speak, Louis XIV. had +endeavored to tempt Eugene back to his Court, by the offer of a +Marshal's rank in the French army, the government of Champagne, and a +considerable yearly pension. Eugene, who felt that, however flattering +to himself, the offer originated alone in the selfishness of an +ambitious monarch, refused it in terms sufficiently galling to the +proud King of France. Nevertheless, after the peace of Westphalia, +Villars, who was sent as ambassador to Vienna, is supposed to have +been again charged with a mission of the same nature to Eugene. The +fact, however, is not only doubtful, but very improbable, from the +character of all parties concerned. Eugene was not a man to leave +himself the possibility of changing; Louis was not a man meanly to +solicit where he had once been refused; and Villars was not a man to +undertake a mean commission, even for a king. It is probable that the +courtesy which the prince evinced toward Marshal de Villars from a +sense of his personal merit, at a time when the haughty Court +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page227" name="page227"></a>(p. 227)</span> of Vienna was mean enough to treat even an ambassador with +cold disrespect, was the sole origin of the report. However that might +be, Eugene remained for a length of time at Vienna, filling up his +inactivity by trifling with many arts and many enjoyments, till at +length the War of the Succession, as it was called, breaking out, he +was appointed to the command of the army in Italy.</p> + +<a id="img009" name="img009"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/img009.jpg" width="400" height="584" alt="" title=""> +<p>Prince Eugene and the Marshal de Villars.</p> +</div> + +<p>At length a general engagement took place at Luzara, at which Philip +of Spain was present. The forces of the French have been estimated at +forty thousand, those of the Imperial general did not much exceed +one-half that number. The battle was long and fierce; and night only +terminated the contest. Both parties of course claimed the victory. +The French sung a Te Deum, but retreated; the Imperial army retained +their ground.</p> + +<p>Nevertheless, the fruits of victory were gathered by the French. Their +immense superiority of numbers gave them the power of overrunning the +whole country; and the Imperial court, either from indolence, +heedlessness, or intrigue, failed to take any step to support its arms +in Italy; so that all which Eugene had taken, sooner or later fell +into the enemy's hands, and he himself, disgusted with the neglect he +had met with, left his army under the command of another, and set out +to see whether he could not procure some reinforcement, or at least +some supply of money to pay or provide for his forces. At Vienna he +found good reason to suspect that Count Mansfield, the minister of +war, had by some means been gained to the interest of France. But, in +the meanwhile Eugene was appointed minister of war; and sometime +after, in this capacity, proceeded to confer with Marlborough on the +united interests of England and Austria.</p> + +<p>This negotiation was most successful; and here seems to have been +concerted the scheme which Marlborough afterward so gloriously pursued +for carrying on the war against France on the side of Germany, and of +thus freeing the Empire. In a military point of view, also, Eugene's +efforts, though supported by no great army, and followed by no great +victory, were wise and successful. He foiled the Hungarian rebels in +their bold attack upon Vienna, checked them in their progress +everywhere, and laid the foundation of their after subjugation. Soon +after this, Eugene took the command of the Imperial army on the Rhine; +and after considerable manœuvring singly, to prevent the junction +of the French army with that of the Duke of Bavaria, finding it +impossible, he effected his own junction with the Duke of Marlborough, +and shared in the glories of the field of Blenheim.</p> + +<p>Eugene was here always in the thickest of the fight, yet never for a +moment forgot that he was called upon to act as a general rather than +a soldier. His operations were planned as clearly and commanded as +distinctly in the midst of the hottest conflict, as if no tumult had +raged around him, and no danger had been near to distract his +attention; yet his horse was killed under him in the early part of the +battle; and at one moment, a Bavarian dragoon was seen holding him by +the coat with one hand, while he levelled a pistol at his head with +the other. One of the Imperialists, however, coming up at the moment, +freed his <span class="pagenum"><a id="page228" name="page228"></a>(p. 228)</span> general from this unpleasant situation; and Eugene +proceeded to issue his orders, without the least sign of discomposure.</p> + +<p>The following year Eugene returned to Italy, and once more began the +war against Vendome. Notwithstanding all his skill and activity, +however, the superiority of the French numbers, and the distinguished +military genius of their chief, prevented Eugene from meeting with any +very brilliant success. He surprised various detachments, relieved +several towns, was successful in many skirmishes; but he failed in +drawing the French out of Savoy, and was totally repulsed in +endeavoring to pass the Adda.</p> + +<p>In the attempt to do so, many men and several valuable officers were +lost on both sides. The battle was long and furious. Both Vendome and +Eugene displayed all their skill to foil each other; and perhaps so +bravely contested a field was as honorable to each as a great victory. +Neither, however, could fairly claim the battle as won; for though +Eugene failed in passing the river, the French were the greatest +sufferers in the contest, and they did not succeed in compelling the +Germans to fly, though they prevented them from advancing to join the +Duke of Savoy. Eugene, with his wonted reckless courage, exposed +himself more than even was necessary, and in the very commencement of +the engagement was wounded severely in the neck, notwithstanding which +he remained a considerable length of time on horseback, till a second +musket-ball, in the knee, forced him to absent himself for a time from +the field. These wounds probably decided the failure of his attempt; +but they did not prevent him from securing his army in good winter +quarters, and checking all active operations on the part of Vendome.</p> + +<p>The next campaign was more successful. Vendome, after defeating a body +of Imperial troops at Calemato, was recalled, and the command of the +French forces given to the Duke of Orleans and the Maréchal de Marsin, +who with an army of eighty thousand men invested Turin, the last hold +of the Duke of Savoy.</p> + +<p>Eugene immediately marched to form his junction with the duke; and no +longer opposed by the genius of Vendome, passed the Adige unattacked, +crossed the Tanaro, and the Po, joined his cousin near Carmagnola, and +advanced to the succor of Turin. The French were dispirited; and +uncertainty and divided councils pervaded their camp. On September +7th, the allied army, with less than half their numerical force, +attacked them in their intrenchment, forced their position in every +direction, and after one of the severest conflicts ever known, +completely defeated them, and raised the siege of Turin. The battle, +however, was at one time nearly lost to the allies by an accident +which befell Eugene. In rallying a body of Imperial cavalry, the +prince's horse received a ball in his chest, fell with the rider, and +threw him into a ditch, where, stunned with the fall, he lay for +several minutes among the dead and dying. The report spread through +the army that he was killed; a general alarm was the consequence; and +the infantry were beginning to give way, when, suddenly starting up, +Eugene commanded the nearest German regiment to fire <span class="pagenum"><a id="page229" name="page229"></a>(p. 229)</span> upon +the French cavalry that were coming up to the charge. The effect was +tremendous; the French went to the right about; and, though they +rallied again and returned to the charge, the Imperial troops +continued gradually to force their way on, till their adversaries fled +in confusion.</p> + +<p>The consequence of this victory was the evacuation of the north of +Italy by the French. Eugene was now everywhere successful for some +time. He forced the passage of the Col de Tende, carried the French +intrenchments on the Var, and laid siege to Toulon. Here, however, he +failed; the defence was long and obstinate, reinforcements arrived at +the French city, and Eugene, together with the Duke of Savoy, agreed +to raise the siege once more, and retire into Piedmont.</p> + +<p>Eugene was now again called to join Marlborough, in company with whom +he fought and conquered at Oudenarde, took Lille (where he was again +severely wounded), Ghent, Bruges, Tournay, and Mons; and forced the +French lines at Malplaquet, after a severe and long-protracted +struggle, in which two hundred thousand men were engaged, and nearly +sixty thousand fell.</p> + +<p>If the victories of Blenheim and Oudenarde might more fairly be +attributed to Marlborough than to Eugene, the success at Malplaquet +was chiefly obtained by the prince, who had forced the intrenchments, +taken the wood of Sart, and turned the enemy's flank, before +Marlborough had made much progress against the other wing.</p> + +<p>Eugene had strongly counselled the battle, though opposed by the +States of Holland, and had in a measure taken the responsibility upon +himself. On all occasions Eugene's impetuosity led him to expose his +person more than mere duty required, and now, having staked his fame +on the success of his attempt, he seems to have resolved not to +survive a defeat. In the very first attack he received a severe wound +behind the ear, which bled so profusely that all his staff pressed him +to retire for the purpose of having it dressed.</p> + +<p>"If I am beaten," replied Eugene, "it will not be worth while; and if +we beat the enemy, I shall have plenty of time to spare for that."</p> + +<p>After some short repose, we soon find Eugene once more acting against +the Turks in Hungary. No sooner was war determined, than Achmet III. +marched an immense force down to the frontiers of Hungary, to act +against Eugene, who had just taken the command of the German forces at +Peterwaradin. The Vizier Hali, commanding the Ottoman troops, full of +confidence in his own skill, and in his immense superiority of +numbers, advanced rapidly upon Eugene, and crossed the Save, which +formed the boundary of the two countries, determined to crush his +adversary by one great battle. Eugene was as desirous of such an event +as the vizier, and therefore the troops were soon engaged, almost +under the walls of Peterwaradin. The Turks fought bravely for many +hours, and the battle was long undecided; but at length, Eugene's +superior skill prevailed, and the enemy fled in every direction. The +Grand Vizier struggled to the last, with long and desperate bravery, +but after having received two severe wounds, he was borne away by the +fugitives to Carlowitz, where he died the next day, muttering to the +last imprecations against the Christians.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page230" name="page230"></a>(p. 230)</span> After the death of Hali from the wounds he had received at +Peterwaradin, the command of the Turkish army was given to the Pacha +of Belgrade, one of the most skilled officers in the Ottoman service. +But Eugene was destined to destroy the Turkish power in Hungary. The +campaign of the next year commenced with the siege of the +often-captured Belgrade; and it was soon completely invested and +reduced to sore distress. The Porte, however, was not unmindful of its +preservation; and, in the beginning of August, the pacha appeared on +the mountains surrounding the town, with an army of near two hundred +thousand men. Thus shut up between a strong fortress and an immense +army, with the dysentery in his camp, and his forces enfeebled by long +and severe labors, Eugene's situation was as difficult as it is +possible to conceive. Notwithstanding every disadvantage, his usual +bold course of action was pursued in the present instance, and met +with that success which is almost always sure to attend the +combination of daring and skill. After a short delay, to enable +himself to employ all his energies (having been himself greatly +debilitated by the camp fever), he attacked the Turkish army in their +intrenchments, and at the end of a very short but severe struggle, +succeeded in defeating a force more than three times the number of his +own.</p> + +<p>Belgrade surrendered immediately; and the next year, without any great +military event, put an end to the war.</p> + +<p>After the conclusion of peace, Eugene, who had been appointed governor +of the Austrian Netherlands, resigned that office, which he had never +personally filled, and was appointed vicar-general for the emperor in +his Italian dominions.</p> + +<p>For many years after this Eugene spent his days in peace and +tranquillity, endeavoring to raise up a spirit of commerce among the +Germans, and to improve the finances of his sovereign, by whom he was +appreciated and loved. His greatest efforts were in favor of Trieste, +which he changed from a petty town to a great commercial city, and +which remains to the present day the best and the noblest fruit of all +his talents and all his exertions.</p> + +<p>At first, everything promised that the old age of Eugene would have +passed in peace, uninterrupted by any warlike movements; but he was +once more called from his calmer occupations by the short war which +broke out with France in 1733.</p> + +<p>Perhaps, in point of military skill, the two campaigns which followed +were the most brilliant of Eugene's life; but with only thirty +thousand men, opposed to a force of double that number, he could alone +act upon the defensive.</p> + +<p>He did so, however, with more success than the scantiness of his +resources promised. He prevented the French from penetrating into +Swabia; and, though Philipsburg was taken notwithstanding all his +efforts, he contrived, by turning the course of the neighboring +rivers, to inundate the country on the German side of that city, and +to render its possession unprofitable to France.</p> + +<p>Peace soon succeeded, and with these two campaigns ended Eugene's life +as a commander. He lived for some time after this, indeed, amusing +himself with the embellishments of his palace and gardens, and +employing a great many mechanics <span class="pagenum"><a id="page231" name="page231"></a>(p. 231)</span> and laborers, during all +seasons of dearth or scarcity; but the battle-field never saw him +more. His health gradually and slowly declined, and on April 21, 1736, +in the seventy-fourth year of his age, he was found dead in his bed, +after having been slightly indisposed the night before.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + + +<h3>GENERAL JAMES WOLFE<br> +By <span class="smcap">L. Drake</span><br> +(1726-1759)</h3> + +<a id="img010" name="img010"></a> +<div class="floatleft"> +<img src="images/img010.jpg" width="250" height="282" alt="James Wolfe." title=""> +</div> + +<p>General Edward Wolfe, an officer who distinguished himself under the +Duke of Marlborough, was the father of James Wolfe, conqueror of +Quebec. He was the eldest son of the general, and was born at +Westerham, a small town in Kent, on November 6, 1726. As liberal an +education as could be acquired before the early age of fourteen, was +given to the future hero. He then went with his father to Flanders to +study the profession of an officer amid active warfare; and, thus +engaged, seven years soon passed. During this novitiate, he was not +without opportunities of distinguishing himself; his name was on +several occasions mentioned with honor; till at length, at the battle +of Laffeldt, his courage and skilful conduct attracted the notice of +his commander, the Duke of Cumberland, who, at the close of the day, +thanked him in the presence of the army; and from that time he was +marked out "as an officer of extraordinary merit and promise."</p> + +<p>His merit, rather than any favor, brought Wolfe the rank of +lieutenant-colonel when he was barely twenty-two. The battalion he +commanded was soon distinguished by many and striking improvements in +discipline, so that its superiority at exercise, and in the order of +its quarters, gave sure proof of ability and temper in its young +commander. "The men," it is said, "adored while they profoundly +respected him; and his officers esteemed his approbation as much as +they dreaded his displeasure."</p> + +<p>Canada, with a portion of New Brunswick, and also the islands of St. +John and Cape Breton, at the mouth of the St. Lawrence, were at this +time possessed <span class="pagenum"><a id="page232" name="page232"></a>(p. 232)</span> by the French; while Nova Scotia and New +Brunswick belonged to the English. The latter also claimed the tract +of land called New England, lying (as will be seen on looking at a map +of North America) to the west of New Brunswick, and south of the river +St. Lawrence. The French, however, disputed their claim to this +country; and constant quarrels arose between the rival settlers about +their right to land, of which, in reality, the poor Indians were the +proprietors. In virtue of a grant of parliament in 1750, a large body +of English took possession of this "debatable ground;" but scarcely +had they done so, when a superior force of French and Indians attacked +them, and killing some, made prisoners of others, and drove the rest +back. Many vigorous but unsuccessful efforts were made on the part of +the colonists and their neighbors, during eighteen months, to regain +their territory. A body of troops was then sent from England under +General Braddock, but this attempt also failed; and, the struggle +having now assumed some importance, an army of not less than sixteen +thousand men, under Lord Loudon, renewed the contest of 1755 against +the army under the Marquis de Montcalm, a most able and enterprising +officer. His superiority as a commander had been shown in several +instances, till, the slur which was being cast on the reputation of +our country's arms having excited attention at home, Lord Loudon was +recalled, and the army then in America was intrusted to General +Abercrombie (not the celebrated Abercromby). At the same time a fresh +force was raised at home, which put to sea in February, 1757. Wolfe +accompanied this expedition as brigadier under Major-General Amherst. +Its object was to reduce Cape Breton, the possession of which island, +commanding as it does the grand entrance of the St. Lawrence, was felt +to be of the greatest importance.</p> + +<p>The town of Louisburg stands upon a small tongue of land, and at this +period was carefully fortified, having heavy batteries toward the sea, +and a strong defence of regular works on its land sides. Its harbor, +which is considered the most magnificent in the world, was carefully +guarded by five ships of the line extending quite across the mouth. +Goat Island formed one extremity of the entrance, and Lighthouse Point +the other; both these were surmounted by strong redoubts, having the +largest cannon and mortars used in war; while a garrison of 3,000 +soldiers, with 2,500 seamen to man the intrenchments, seemed to +present an insuperable obstacle to a successful descent.</p> + +<p>Four miles westward of the town, however, there was a little creek, +called Freshwater Cove; and, after much deliberation, it was resolved +to attempt a landing at this point. The frigates and lighter vessels +accordingly moved thither as soon as the weather moderated, and +anchored there one evening, with the wind still boisterous, and the +surf running very high. Next morning, at daybreak, the first division +of the troops entered their boats, Wolfe at their head.</p> + +<p>The seamen had scarcely dipped their oars a second time, when a sudden +glancing of arms amid the sand-hills warned the troops to expect +opposition. The French had foreseen the probability of such an attempt +as the present, and had prepared to oppose it by throwing up +breastworks, placing field-pieces in the hollows, and stationing a +considerable force to dispute a landing.</p> + +<a id="img011" name="img011"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/img011.jpg" width="400" height="585" alt="" title=""> +<p>General Wolfe landing at Louisburg.</p></div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page233" name="page233"></a>(p. 233)</span> Gallantly the boats pressed onward; while the frigates, which +had approached within half-cannon shot of the shore, opening their +fire, swept the beach with a shower of round shot. The flotilla was +now within musket range, when the French all at once poured in a +volley of small-arms. Wolfe ordered his men not to fire in return; +but, trusting to the broadsides from the frigates, which, ploughing up +the sand, threw it high in the air, and thus kept the beach open, he +urged his rowers to their utmost strength, passed through a heavy +surf, though not without some loss, and made good his landing. Company +by company, as the men arrived, they quickly formed, and pushing on, +after a sharp encounter, forced the French to abandon their works, and +retreat within the walls of Louisburg.</p> + +<p>The terrible surf proved the more formidable enemy. Above one hundred +boats, with a large number of their crews, were lost in attempting to +pass through to the shore. But officers and men were too enthusiastic +to be disheartened. In a short time all the troops were landed; guns, +stores, work-tools, ammunition, and provisions, followed quickly; and, +ere the enemy had learned that real danger at last threatened them, +the business of the siege was begun.</p> + +<p>General Amherst invested the place without delay on the land side, +and, having opened his trenches before it, despatched Wolfe with the +light infantry and a body of Highlanders to attack the battery on +Lighthouse Point. Before dawn one morning, he reached the outposts, +drove them in, and followed with such rapidity, that, ere the enemy +could form, and almost before they had got under arms, they were +completely routed. The guns were immediately turned with terrible +accuracy upon the harbor and town. The five ships of war now found +their position very hazardous; one was soon on fire, and blew up; the +flames spread to two others, and the remaining two were attacked and +captured by boats. The breaching batteries shook the ramparts of the +town to their foundations, while the shells carried ruin and death +into the streets. On July 26th, the enemy, finding it impossible to +resist any longer, surrendered; the garrison became prisoners of war, +and the islands of Cape Breton and Prince Edward fell into the hands +of the English.</p> + +<p>Wolfe's part in this campaign was now over, for domestic matters +summoned him to England. He had not, however, been long at home, when +he was informed from head-quarters, that his brilliant services as a +subaltern had caused the king to select him to conduct an enterprise +of still greater hazard and honor. It had been proposed in Council, as +the speediest mode of putting an end to the transatlantic war, that +the reduction of Quebec, the enemy's colonial capital, should be +effected. Competent authorities declared the attempt to be not +impracticable; it was therefore resolved on, and Wolfe was nominated +to the command of an armament to invest the town. An attack, to be +made on three other points, was determined as a commencement of the +campaign.</p> + +<p>The armament set sail early in February, 1759. Admiral Saunders +commanded the fleet, which comprised twenty-two line-of-battle ships, +and an equal number of frigates. The whole came within sight of +Louisburg April 21st. <span class="pagenum"><a id="page234" name="page234"></a>(p. 234)</span> The harbor being still choked with +ice, the vessels could not get in; and the delays which occurred +prevented Wolfe from entering the St. Lawrence till June. The ships +reached the Isle of Orleans by the end of the month; and, casting +anchor, possession was taken. The land was in a high state of +cultivation, affording abundant supplies to soldiers and sailors.</p> + +<p>The Marquis of Montcalm, now an old but still energetic man, occupied +Quebec and the adjoining district with an army of five thousand +regular troops, and the same number of militia and Indians. He made +preparations for the defence with great judgment; the mass of his army +was in the town, which he had further protected by intrenchments +extending nearly eight miles to the west, till they reached the +Montmorency River. Montreal was also well garrisoned; and, twenty +miles above Quebec, a body of two thousand men lay encamped to attack +in flank any force which might attempt to land in that direction.</p> + +<p>Many skirmishes took place at first between the Indians and British +troops; and one attack of more importance, on the intrenchments near +the St. Charles, was headed by Wolfe in person. It completely failed; +but it taught him the strength of the enemy's position, and clearly +showed that it would require stratagem to accomplish his design of +reducing the town itself.</p> + +<p>A council was summoned, when it was found that disease and the petty +combats in which they had been engaged, had reduced the troops to five +thousand effective men. Insufficient as this army seemed, Wolfe +determined to remain idle no longer; and a plan of attack on the town +was agreed upon. Accordingly, the following morning (September 11th), +the ships of the line, with the exception of two or three, and all the +frigates, suddenly hoisted sail, and, exposed to a cannonade from all +the batteries, sailed up the river past Quebec. The troops had +previously been landed on the southern side of the river, and in +perfect safety they marched in the same direction. When they had +proceeded about nine miles, they found the fleet riding at anchor, +already beyond the reach or observation of the enemy. The point of +attack Wolfe had chosen lay within a mile and a half of Quebec, and +consequently this march had no other purpose in view than to mislead +the enemy as to his intentions. No sooner had the tide turned, and +evening set in, than the surface of the river suddenly swarmed with +boats, which had secretly been brought to this distant +mustering-place. Then the signal for the ships to sail was hung out, +and they immediately began proudly to descend the channel, leaving the +flotilla boats behind them.</p> + +<p>Before midnight, the fleet had reached its first anchorage, and the +troops up the river could hear the thundering of their guns, as they +cannonaded at long shot the fortifications below the St. Charles. The +cheering sound told them that the ships had repassed the town safely; +while the French naturally concluded, that from the ships a descent +was about to be attempted.</p> + +<p>During the interval, the troops had silently and in complete order +taken their places in the boats; and, as soon as it became quite dark, +like a huge flock of waterfowl, they glided down the stream. Not a +word was spoken; the soldiers sat upright and motionless; and the +sailors scarcely dipped their oars, lest the splash <span class="pagenum"><a id="page235" name="page235"></a>(p. 235)</span> should +reach the ears of the French placed along the shore at short +distances. Wolfe sat in the leading boat, surveying attentively each +headland, to prevent the hazard of shooting beyond the point at which +he purposed landing. Unobserved, he gained the little cove which has +since borne his name, and shortly before midnight all the men were +landed.</p> + +<p>The troops now stood upon a narrow beach. Above them rose a precipice, +nearly perpendicular, to the height of two hundred and fifty feet. A +winding path, broad enough to admit four men abreast, led to the +summit; and here lay one of the large plains, or table-lands, which +distinguish the heights of Abraham, on a level with the upper town of +Quebec. A battery of four guns, and a strong party of infantry, +defended this important pass. Vigilance, however, was not one of the +qualities of this guard; for the leading files of the British, under +Colonel Howe, were close upon the station of the French sentinel ere +he challenged. Replying with a hearty cheer, they sprung forward. An +irregular volley poured upon them; but the next instant they were high +on the ground, and at close bayonets with the French guard, who +immediately fled in terror, leaving Colonel Howe quietly in possession +of their redoubt and artillery.</p> + +<p>Long before dawn, all the troops had gained this ground. Leaving two +companies in charge of the redoubt, Wolfe hastened forward with the +rest toward Quebec. He halted when within a mile of the town, and +there the men lay down with their arms in readiness for the first +alarm. A communication by small parties, called videttes, was kept up +with the companies at the redoubt.</p> + +<p>A trooper, with his horse covered with foam, appeared in the French +camp at Beau Point, as the morning sky began to redden. He brought +Montcalm the first intelligence of the landing the English had +effected, and the unwelcome news was soon confirmed by the appearance +of some of the fugitive soldiers from the redoubt. The camp was +instantly in commotion; but the marquis gave his orders coolly, and +before an hour the entire army had crossed the river, and were in full +march for the Heights of Abraham.</p> + +<p>About eleven in the forenoon, a large body of Indians and Canadian +riflemen were seen issuing from a wood on one side of the plain on +which the English were stationed. They were soon hidden again by a +thicket; and dexterously spreading themselves among the bushes, they +opened a smart skirmishing fire on the pickets. This was the first +warning that the long-wished-for event was at hand—a general conflict +might now be confidently expected.</p> + +<p>Without delay, Wolfe drew up his men in two lines, placing a few light +companies in skirmishing order in front, and retaining one regiment +(the 47th) in divisions, as a reserve. The French skirmishers were +quickly engaged with the light troops, whom they compelled to fall +back on the line; while a heavy column advancing on the left, obliged +Wolfe to wheel round three battalions to strengthen that side. But ere +the column bore down, a fresh body of skirmishers appeared, and under +their cover it silently withdrew; then, suddenly appearing on the +right, it came down impetuously upon the irregular troops which Wolfe +had there stationed. These did their duty nobly; the fierce attack of +the enemy <span class="pagenum"><a id="page236" name="page236"></a>(p. 236)</span> failed to break their order, or make them even +flinch for a moment. The skirmishers, meantime, continued to gall the +light infantry with their desultory fire, which acted also as a vail +to conceal the intended movements of the main body of the enemy. As +the light troops, however, hastily fell back, they caused a slight +dismay among their supporters. Wolfe instantly rode along the line, +and assured the men that these were only obeying instructions in order +to draw the French onward. "Be firm, my lads!" said he; "do not return +a shot till the enemy is within forty yards of the muzzles of your +pieces; then you may fire!"</p> + +<p>The men replied by a shout; and, shouldering their muskets, they +remained as though on parade, while the French continued to press +nearer and nearer. At length they were within the appointed distance. +Every gun was now levelled—a crashing volley passed from left to +right—a dense smoke followed the discharge, and hid its effects for a +minute. The breeze soon carried this off, and then the huge gaps in +the enemy's line exceeded all expectation. In the rear, the ground +appeared crowded with wounded men hurrying or being borne from the +conflict; while the army, which had just advanced so confidently, now +wavered, and then stood still. Seeing the irresolution of the enemy, +Wolfe cheered his men to charge. A moment after, a musket-ball struck +his wrist. He paused only to wrap his handkerchief round the wound, +and again pressed on. He received a second ball in his body, but still +continued to issue his orders without evincing any symptom of pain, +when a third bullet pierced his breast.</p> + +<p>Wolfe fell to the ground; he was instantly raised and borne to the +rear, where the utmost skill of the surgeons was put forth in a vain +attempt to save his life. While they were engaged in examining his +wounds, Wolfe continued to raise himself, from time to time, to watch +the progress of the battle. His eyesight beginning to fail, he leaned +backwards upon one of the grenadiers who had supported him from the +field, and his heavy breathing and an occasional groan, alone showed +that life remained.</p> + +<p>"See how they run!" exclaimed an officer, beside the dying general.</p> + +<p>"Who run?" cried Wolfe, instantly raising himself on his elbow, and +looking up, as if life were returning with full vigor.</p> + +<p>"The French," answered the officer; "they are giving way in all +directions."</p> + +<p>"Run, one of you," said the general, speaking with great firmness, +"run to Colonel Burton; tell him to march Webb's regiment down to +Charles River with all speed, so as to secure the bridge, and cut off +the enemy's retreat."</p> + +<p>His orders were obeyed, and after a short pause, he continued, "Now, +God be praised, I shall die happy!" He fell back at these words, +turned convulsively on his side and expired.</p> + +<p>Montcalm had also fallen in the battle; the enemy was totally routed, +and, five days after, Quebec capitulated to General Townshend.</p> + +<p>The body of the gallant and high-minded Wolfe was conveyed home in a +ship of war. When the hero's remains arrived at Portsmouth, +minute-guns were fired, the flags half struck, and a body of troops, +with reversed arms, received the coffin on the beach, and followed the +hearse. Parliament voted Wolfe a monument <span class="pagenum"><a id="page237" name="page237"></a>(p. 237)</span> in Westminster +Abbey, and in that venerable pile would have been his last +resting-place; but a mother claimed the ashes of her son, and laid +them beside those of his father, in a vault of the parish church of +Greenwich.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + + +<h3>FREDERICK THE GREAT<br> +By <span class="smcap">General John Mitchell</span><br> +(1712-1786)</h3> + +<a id="img012" name="img012"></a> +<div class="floatleft"> +<img src="images/img012.jpg" width="250" height="302" alt="Frederick the Great." title=""> +</div> + +<p>How shall we describe the "Incomparable," the extraordinary compound +of so many brilliant and repulsive qualities? How is he to be +depicted, who was great as a king, and little as a man,—always +admired in his public, never beloved in his private, character;—a +just, generous, and laborious prince,—a vain, avaricious, and +cold-hearted individual; luxurious by temperament, temperate in +practice; a selfish epicurean, and affecting the harshness of the +cynic;—peacefully disposed, and cultivating the arts of peace, yet +exercising the arts of war in their direst form;—a man of letters, +ignorant of the beauties, and disdaining the language of his +country;—magnificent and mean; the builder of palaces, theatres, +libraries and museums, and dying, literally, without a whole shirt in +which he could be buried;—and, lastly, the most brilliant and +successful soldier of his time,—and almost destitute of the soldier's +first quality, personal courage?</p> + +<p>Frederick, by general acclamation surnamed "The Great," was born on +January 24, 1712. His education was principally military; his very +toys were miniature implements of war suited to his age; and no sooner +was he able to handle a musket than he was sent to drill, and forced, +like all the Prussian officers of the period, to perform the duties +and submit to the privations of a private soldier,—obliged even to +stand sentinel before the palace in all the severities of a northern +winter. Though rather feeble of constitution, he soon became a +proficient in martial exercises. The different branches of science +bearing on the art of war he was forced to study; but his leisure +hours were devoted to reading French verses, and playing on the +flute—pursuits that greatly displeased his royal father, who +frequently threw the books into the fire, and the flutes out of the +window.</p> + +<p>Frederick William,—the original founder of the pipe-clay science of +tactics, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page238" name="page238"></a>(p. 238)</span> and the stick-and-starvation system of +organization,—the first inventor of pauper armies, dressed in martial +uniforms,—became gradually estranged from his poetical son; and often +declared that the dandy, "<span class="italic">Der Stutzer</span>" as he styled him, "would ruin +everything." He consequently treated him with so much severity, that +the young prince attempted to escape, intending to fly to England. The +tragical result of the adventure is well known. Frederick was thrown +into prison; and his friend and adviser, Katt, beheaded under his +window, while soldiers held the prince's head toward the scaffold on +which the deed of death was acting. What impression this dreadful +scene made on his mind is not known; but it ought to have been a deep +and a lasting one.</p> + +<p>It was the king's wish to follow up this execution by the trial of his +own son; but the remonstrances of the cabinet of Vienna, of his own +council, and, above all, of the upright and honest chaplain, Dr. +Reinbeck, reluctantly induced him to forego the intention. It is not +probable that he actually intended to put the prince to death, but +only to force him to resign his right to the throne in favor of his +second brother, William; a proposal to which Frederick constantly +refused to assent.</p> + +<p>But though not tried, Frederick was severely punished, for he was +confined to the fortress of Küstrin, where he was obliged to perform +the duties of a commissary of finance, and write the reports, and make +out the returns with his own hand. All this was, no doubt, of +advantage to the future sovereign. On condition of marrying the +Princess Elizabeth of Brunswick-Bevern, he was, at the end of eighteen +months, released from confinement, and allowed to reside in the small +town of Rheinsberg, where he resumed his flute and his French poets, +to which the study of French philosophers and French translations from +the classics was added. It was during his stay at Rheinsberg that his +correspondence with foreign men of letters commenced; and it was here +also that, with a party of friends, he formed an order of chivalry +termed the "Order of Bayard," the motto of the knights being, "Without +fear, and without reproach." But these were vain attempts at +knighthood, for there was nothing chivalrous in the character of +Frederick.</p> + +<p>Two short journeys performed with his father, and a visit to the army +which Prince Eugene commanded on the Rhine in 1734, formed the only +interruption to the tranquil and philosophical life of Rheinsberg.</p> + +<p>The first appearance in the field of the army bequeathed by Frederick +William to his son, forms an era in modern history; for a belief in +its efficiency was the mainspring that urged on the young king to +attack the Austrians; and its excellence became the lever with which +he ultimately raised his poor and secondary kingdom to the rank of a +first-rate European power. The history of the rise and formation of +this army, though a very curious one, would necessarily exceed our +limits; but no one will be able to write the life of Frederick, and do +full justice to the subject, without giving the reader a proper idea +of the nature and origin of the engine which helped so mainly to +render him great and famous. He had, no doubt, other claims to +greatness besides those which his military actions conferred <span class="pagenum"><a id="page239" name="page239"></a>(p. 239)</span> +upon him; but it was the splendor of these actions that brought his +other merits to light; and little enough would have been heard of the +"Philosopher of Sans-Souci," had not the victor of so many fields made +him known to the world.</p> + +<p>Frederick, while crown-prince, had not shown any great predilection +for military affairs; he was rather pacifically disposed; was even a +little taken with the philosophy of Wolf; and greatly captivated by +French literature, and by French poetry in particular. It is probable, +therefore, that the high opinion generally entertained of the +newly-formed army, and the favorable opportunity that fortune offered +on his accession to the throne, were the spurs "that pricked him on" +to the field.</p> + +<p>The Emperor Charles VI., the last male descendant of the house of +Hapsburg, died in October, 1741, leaving his daughter, Maria Theresa, +to retain, if possible, his extensive dominions against the various +claimants who had not acknowledged the Pragmatic Sanction: an act by +which the emperor had bequeathed to her all the possessions of his +house. Frederick William had not acknowledged this deed, so that +Frederick was not bound by it; and having some well-grounded claims on +the duchies of Silesia, prepared to make them good—by force of arms, +if necessary—the moment the emperor died. The desire "to be spoken +of" was, as he himself confesses, one of his principal motives for +action on this occasion.</p> + +<p>The young king resolved to lead the army he had inherited, personally +into the field; and as the Austrians were totally unprepared for the +visit, the principalities were occupied without resistance. It was not +till April 10, 1741, that an Austrian force, under General Neipperg, +came to give him the meeting; and there was but little wanting to have +rendered the battle of Molwitz, the first of Frederick's fields, the +last also. The ground was covered with snow. Both parties were of +about equal strength, and took up their ground, as the king himself +tells us, in a manner alike unskilful; but, on the part of the +tactician, this very want of skill tended to gain the battle; for +three battalions of the first line, not finding room to form up, were +thrown back <span class="italic">en potence</span> on the extremity of the right wing, and, as +we shall see, repulsed the Austrian cavalry by their fire at the most +critical moment of the battle. The Austrians had been very merry at +the expense of the Prussian system of tactics, and had promised to +beat the pipe-clay out of their jackets at the first meeting; and now +the words of scorn were to be made good.</p> + +<p>After the usual salutation of artillery, the Imperial cavalry, +practised in the Turkish wars, fell at full gallop upon the Prussian +cavalry of the right wing, and overthrew them in an instant; for, like +the infantry, they had been taught only to fire. Following up their +success, the Austrian horsemen dashed at the flank of the Prussian +infantry; but here the three battalions already mentioned as thrown +back <span class="italic">en potence</span>, presented a steady front, and by their rapid fire +repulsed the assailants, who, having their commander killed, seeing +the despised and pipe-clayed warriors standing immovably in their +ranks, from which a fire of never-heard rapidity was pouring out in +all directions, soon dispersed, leaving their <span class="pagenum"><a id="page240" name="page240"></a>(p. 240)</span> comrades of +the infantry to try their fortune against these well-drilled foes. The +infantry were not more fortunate than the cavalry. The Prussians stood +firm as rocks, and fired three shots to their one; and as both were +equally unskilful in the use of arms, the quantity of shots fired +naturally decided the day. After a combat of several hours, the +Austrians retired from the field, leaving the victory and +battle-ground in the hands of the Prussians.</p> + +<p>But where was he, the chieftain of that gallant host, the claimant of +dukedoms and principalities, the victor for whose brows a splendid +wreath of laurel had been so nobly gained by the blood of the brave? +Will blushing glory hide the tale of shame? Alas, no!—vain were the +courtly attempts made to conceal the truth, and history is forced to +confess that "Frederick the Great from Molwitz deigned to run." In the +scene of death, tumult, and confusion, which followed on the overthrow +of the Prussian cavalry, the king completely lost his presence of +mind, and fled as far as Oppeln, where the Austrian garrison, +unfortunately for their cause, received him with a fire of musketry, +that made him take another direction. He passed the night in great +anxiety at a small country inn twenty miles from the field. On the +following morning an aide-de-camp of the Prince of Dessau brought the +fugitive king back to his victorious army. "Oh, Frederick," says +Berenhorst, "who could then have foretold the glory thou wert destined +to acquire and to merit as well as any conqueror and gainer of battles +ever did?"</p> + +<p>The war of the Austrian Succession having been now kindled, and Maria +Theresa been attacked on all the points of her extensive dominions, +Frederick made peace, left his allies to shift for themselves, and, +having obtained the principalities of Silesia, retired from the +contest. That he made good use of the time and additional sources of +strength gained, it is needless to say.</p> + +<p>The splendid success of the Austrian arms against France, the rapid +preponderance that Maria Theresa was acquiring, alarmed him, however, +for his late conquests; and he determined again to take the field +before the strength of the house of Austria should outgrow his power +to repress it. Voltaire negotiated for France on this occasion, and +represented the danger with rather more than diplomatic ability. On +both sides the protocols were as often written in verse as in prose; +and Frederick, who hated George II., having told the poet, "Let France +declare war against England, and I march," the latter instantly set +out for Versailles, and thus gave the signal for the second Silesian +War. This was in 1744. The Prussian troops were again victorious in +battle, but the general result was not so much in their favor. The +king, after taking Prague, was forced to evacuate Bohemia and part of +Silesia; and though afterward brilliantly successful, particularly in +the fields of Hohenfriedberg, he did not hesitate to make a separate +peace the moment a fair opportunity offered. On taking the field, he +told the French ambassador, "I am going to play your game, and if the +trumps fall to my share, we'll go halves." The best part of the +promise was soon forgotten, and the French, Spaniards, and Bavarians +left, as before, to fight their own battle, the King of Prussia +having, in December, 1745, amicably concluded <span class="pagenum"><a id="page241" name="page241"></a>(p. 241)</span> all his +differences with Saxony and Austria. The young and fortunate conqueror +now proceeded to improve and adorn his dominions; and it is almost +impossible to speak in too high terms of the great things he effected +with comparatively small means.</p> + +<p>At this period of his life Frederick was singularly beloved and +admired by the new court and world with which he had surrounded +himself. His wit, fortune, and activity—a figure marked by +distinguished bearing, by beauty of a peculiar kind, even by dress and +apparel—a total of personal appearance that impressed itself +singularly on the eyes of the beholder, excited general enthusiasm. +Imitation is a proof and consequence of it; and many an orthodox +believer, who trembled in private, ridiculed religion in public, +because he had heard that the king was an atheist; and many a gallant +soldier, who hated the sight and smell of snuff, disfigured his nose +and lip with rappee, because such was the royal fashion. As a general, +he was looked upon as the first of his time. The feeble moment at +Molwitz had not become generally known; and the few who had witnessed +the unpleasant affair, were too loyal and well-disposed to call it +back to their recollection.</p> + +<p>The king certainly did everything to deserve the favorable opinion +entertained of him. Arts, science, commerce, and agriculture were +encouraged; more than one hundred and thirty villages sprang up on +newly drained lands along the banks of the Oder; men of letters and +talents were brought to Berlin; theatres, operas, ballets, were +established; a sort of German Versailles arose amid the sands of +Brandenburg; and the "Garden House outside the gate," which was +Frederick William's summer residence and place of recreation, soon +sank down to the humble rank of a gardener's lodge to his son's +palace! The machinery of government was never carried on with such +perfect regularity. The king superintended the whole himself, and that +without any regular intercourse with his ministers, some of whom, it +is said, he never saw in his life. They furnished him every morning +with abridged statements of the business to be transacted, and he +wrote his order on the margin of the paper; the affairs of state were +all settled in a couple of hours. Literary compositions, in prose and +verse, military reviews, meals, and conversation, filled up the rest +of the day. "Frederick," says Voltaire, in his vile and mischievous +"Mémoires," "governed without court, council, or religious +establishment" (<span class="italic">culte</span>). It was during this brilliant period of the +king's reign that the French poet passed some time at Berlin.</p> + +<p>The Austrians, who had ridiculed the drilling and powdering, had paid +for their folly in many a bloody field, but had profited by the +lesson, and could now move as accurately and fire as quickly as their +neighbors. The first combat of the great Seven Years' War, which began +in 1756, already proved this to the conviction of all parties. The +Prussians purchased a slight advantage by a great loss of blood; and +on the very battle-field the general remark was, "These are no longer +the old Austrians." On the capture of the Saxon army, which +surrendered at Pirna, Frederick, who exacted such unlimited allegiance +from his subjects and soldiers, gave a strange proof of inconsistency, +and of that contempt with which he seemed to treat the feelings of +other men; for, without so much as asking <span class="pagenum"><a id="page242" name="page242"></a>(p. 242)</span> their consent, he +ordered all the prisoners to be incorporated into the ranks of his +army, and expected to make loyal Prussians of them by merely changing +their uniforms. As was to be expected, they deserted immediately.</p> + +<p>The progress of the war is out of our province. Spoiled by success, +Frederick, after gaining the dearly purchased victory of Prague, +attempted to reduce a city which he could not invest, and in which an +army was concentrated. The Austrians advanced with 60,000 men to raise +the siege; and the presumptuous king did not hesitate to rush upon +them with less than half the number of Prussians; a total defeat, the +first he had yet sustained, was the consequence. From this day it is +allowed that the Prussian infantry had no longer any superiority over +their enemies; henceforth the genius of their sovereign, the +confidence he inspired, and the dread entertained of him by his +adversaries, are the only advantages they have to depend upon. In the +second year of the war he writes to La Motte Fouqué,—"Owing to the +great losses sustained, our infantry is very much degenerated from +what it formerly was, and must not be employed on difficult +undertakings." In the third year he says to the same,—"Care must be +taken not to render our people timid; they are too much so by nature +already."</p> + +<p>Of this battle of Collin we must here report an anecdote +characteristic of what Frederick <span class="italic">then</span> was. The left wing of the +Prussian army was obliquing in admirable order to the left, and +already gaining the right of the Austrians, according to the +prescribed disposition, when the king, at once losing patience in the +most unaccountable manner, sent directions to Prince Maurice of +Dessau, who commanded the infantry, ordering him to wheel up and +advance upon the enemy. The prince told the officer that the proposed +points had not yet been attained, and recommended that the oblique +march should still be continued. The king immediately came up in +person, and in haughty and overbearing style repeated the order, and, +when the Prince of Dessau attempted to explain, drew his sword, and in +a fiery and threatening tone exclaimed, "Will he (<span class="italic">er</span>) obey, and +immediately wheel up and advance?" The officers present were +terrified, fancying from his excited manner that he would be guilty of +some act of violence; but the prince, of course, bowed and obeyed, +and—the battle was soon lost.</p> + +<p>Frederick, as an absolute king and commander, had, no doubt, many +advantages over the ill-combined coalition by which he was assailed; +but the mass of brute force was so great on the part of his +adversaries, that he was more than once on the very eve of being +crushed. At one time, indeed, he contemplated the commission of +suicide.</p> + +<a id="img013" name="img013"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/img013.jpg" width="600" height="389" alt="" title=""> +<p>Frederick and the Austrians after Leuthen.</p> +</div> + +<p>The wonderful battles of Rossbach and Leuthen<a id="footnotetag1" name="footnotetag1"></a><a href="#footnote1" title="Go to footnote 1"><span class="small">[1]</span></a> reconciled him to +life. The <span class="pagenum"><a id="page243" name="page243"></a>(p. 243)</span> former was not, as is well known, his work, as +it was almost gained before he well knew what was going on: it was due +principally to the indomitable bravery of Zeidlitz and the cavalry. +His conduct at Leuthen could not be surpassed; and his manner of +promoting General Prince Maurice of Dessau, who had most nobly aided +him in the battle, was highly characteristic. "I congratulate you on +the victory, <span class="italic">Field-marshal</span>," said Frederick, when they met on the +field. The prince was still so much occupied with what was going +forward, that he did not mark the exact words the king had used, till +the latter again called out, "Don't you hear, <span class="italic">Field-marshal</span>, that I +congratulate you on the victory gained?" when the newly promoted made +due acknowledgments in course. Frederick, in his great contest, was +assisted by an English, Hessian, and Hanoverian army, as well as by +English subsidies; but, making full allowance for the value of these +auxiliaries, it must still be admitted that great genius and courage +were required to enable a King of Prussia to resist the combined +forces of France, Austria, Russia, and Sweden. Frederick effected +this, and his conduct deservedly obtained for him the name of "Great."</p> + +<p>During his first two wars, and till the period of the battle of +Rossbach in the third war, he always kept at a distance from the +scene, which may be allowed in a commander who has to overlook the +whole, and is not called upon to defend posts or lead attacks in +person. After the above period, however, and when he perceived that +the nature of the contest, and public opinion itself, demanded greater +exertions from him, he several times, on due deliberation, exposed +himself to the danger of an ordinary brigadier. Several occasions of +this kind might be specified. At the Battle of Kunersdorf, when +attempting to assemble some remnants of the infantry, who were still +holding their ground here and there, his horse was shot under him. At +Liegnitz, a spent ball struck him on the calf of the leg. At Torgau +again, when a newly advanced brigade began to give way, like all its +predecessors, he rode into the heaviest fire of musketry, and received +a shot on the breast, which penetrated his shirt, and for some moments +deprived him so completely of all power of breathing, that he was +believed to be dead.<a id="footnotetag2" name="footnotetag2"></a><a href="#footnote2" title="Go to footnote 2"><span class="small">[2]</span></a></p> + +<p>Frederick outlived his last great war for twenty-three years, and died +in 1786, in the seventy-fourth year of his age. Every hour of this +last period of his life was assiduously occupied, almost to the hour +of his death, in zealous exertions to improve his country and +ameliorate the condition of his people. He certainly effected great +things, but left much that he might have achieved totally unattempted. +Living in the solitude which his dazzling fame had cast around him, +separated from all immediate intercourse with his species by the very +barrier his glory had interposed between him and other men, he acted +his part to admiration before the crowds who, from far and near, came +to behold him; but, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page244" name="page244"></a>(p. 244)</span> blinded by the halo that encompassed +him, he saw little, and deemed less, perhaps, of mankind and their +doings. In the mass they may possibly not be deserving of high +admiration, but Frederick had never done them even justice; and in the +latter years of his life, he entirely lost sight of the direction they +were taking; he formed an ideal world to himself, and governed his +country and subjects accordingly. He was the admired wonder of the +age; a brilliant, if not spotless sun, that cast far aloft its vivid +beams, indeed, but remained stationary and concentrated within itself, +while all surrounding nature was in motion and in progress.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + + +<h3>ROBERT, LORD CLIVE<br> +By <span class="smcap">W. C. Taylor, LL.D.</span><br> +(1725-1774)</h3> + +<a id="img014" name="img014"></a> +<div class="floatleft"> +<img src="images/img014.jpg" width="250" height="293" alt="Lord Clive." title=""> +</div> + +<p>The history of British India is without a parallel in the annals of +mankind. It is little over a hundred years ago since "the company of +British merchants trading with the East Indies" possessed nothing more +than a few ports favorably situated for commerce, held at the will, or +rather the caprice, of the native princes, and defended against +commercial rivals by miserable fortifications, which could not have +resisted any serious attack. Now British sovereignty in India extends +over an empire greater than that possessed by Alexander or the Cæsars, +and probably superior to both in the amount of its wealth and +population. The chief agent in raising the East India Company from a +trading association to a sovereign power was Lord Clive, whose own +elevation was scarcely less marvellous than that of the empire which +he founded.</p> + +<p>Robert Clive was born September 29, 1725; his father was a country +gentleman, of moderate fortune and still more moderate capacity, who +cultivated his own estate in Shropshire. When a boy, the future hero +of India distinguished himself chiefly by wild deeds of daring and +courage, neglecting the opportunities of storing his mind with +information, the want of which he bitterly felt in after-life. His +violent temper, and his neglect of study, led his family to despair of +his success at home, and, in his eighteenth year, he was sent out as a +"writer," <span class="pagenum"><a id="page245" name="page245"></a>(p. 245)</span> in the service of the East India Company, to the +Presidency of Madras. In our day such an appointment would be +considered a fair provision for a young man, holding out, besides, a +reasonable prospect of obtaining competency, if not fortune; but when +Clive went to the East the younger "writers," or clerks, were so badly +paid, that they could scarcely subsist without getting into debt, +while their seniors enriched themselves by trading on their own +account. The voyage out, from England to Madras, which is now effected +in three or four weeks, occupied, at that time, from six months to a +year. Clive's voyage was more than usually tedious; the ship was +detained for a considerable period at the Brazils, where he picked up +some knowledge of Portuguese, and contracted some heavy debts. This +apparent misfortune had the good effect of compelling him to reflect +on his situation. He avoided all amusements and dissipation, but +availed himself of the resources of the governor's library, which was +liberally opened to him in his hours of leisure. He, however, felt +himself unhappy, for his occupations were unsuited to his tastes, and +he longed for an opportunity of finding a mode of life more congenial +to his disposition.</p> + +<p>The war of the Austrian Succession, in which George II. took the side +of the empress, while the French king supported her competitor, +extended to the Eastern World. Labourdonnais, the governor of the +French colony in the Mauritius, suddenly appeared before Madras, and, +as the town and fort were not prepared for defence, both were +surrendered on honorable terms. But Dupleix, the French governor of +Pondicherry, denying the right of Labourdonnais to grant any terms, +refused to ratify the capitulation, and directed Madras to be razed to +the ground. With still greater disregard for public faith, he led the +English who had capitulated through the town of Pondicherry, as +captives gracing his triumphal procession, in the presence of 50,000 +spectators. Clive escaped this outrage by flying from Madras in +disguise; he took refuge at Fort St. David, a settlement subordinate +to Madras, where he obtained from Major Lawrence, one of the best +officers then in India, an ensign's commission in the service of the +company.</p> + +<p>Peace between England and France having been established, Madras was +restored to its former owners. Clive, however, did not return to his +civil pursuits; he occasionally acted as a writer, but he was more +frequently employed as a soldier in the petty hostilities which arose +between the English and the natives. Events, however, were now in +progress, which made the French and English East India companies +competitors for an empire, though neither understood the value of the +prize for which they contended; and Clive, fortunately for his country +and himself, was almost forced to take the position of a military +commander.</p> + +<p>To explain fully the position of India, at this period, would take far +more pages than we can afford lines; a very brief sketch, may, +however, help our readers to comprehend the course of events. India, +in its entire extent, was nominally governed by the Emperor of Delhi, +or, as he was generally, though absurdly, called in Europe, "the Great +Mogul." Under him were several viceroys, each of whom ruled over as +many subjects as any of the great sovereigns of Europe; <span class="pagenum"><a id="page246" name="page246"></a>(p. 246)</span> and +the delegates of these viceroys had a wider extent of territory than +is included in most of the minor states of Germany. This empire began +to lose its unity toward the close of the seventeenth century. The +different viceroys, while professing a nominal allegiance to the crown +of Delhi, established a substantial independence; several of their +immediate vassals treated them as they had done the emperor; and +several warlike tribes took advantage of this disorganization to +plunder the defenceless provinces. Of these the most formidable were +the Mahrattas, whose name was long the terror of the peninsula.</p> + +<p>Dupleix, whose name has already been mentioned as the French governor +of Pondicherry, was the first who conceived the possibility of +establishing a European dominion on the ruins of the Delhi empire; +and, for this purpose, he wisely resolved to attempt no direct +conquest, but to place at the head of the different principalities, +men who owed their elevation to his aid, and whose continuance in +power would be dependent on his assistance. With this view he +supported a claimant to the viceroyalty of the Deccan, and another to +the subordinate government of the Carnatic; or, as the Indians term +it, a rival nizam, and a rival nabob, against the princes already in +possession of these territories. His efforts were equally splendid and +successful; the competitors whom he had selected became masters of the +kingdom, and he, as the bestower of such mighty prizes, began to be +regarded as the greatest authority in India. The English were struck +with astonishment, and, as there was peace with France, they were at a +loss to determine on the line of conduct that they ought to pursue. +Mohammed Ali, whom the English recognized as Nabob of the Carnatic, +was reduced to the possession of the single town of Trichinopoly, and +even that was invested by Chunda Sahib, the rival nabob, and his +French auxiliaries. Under these circumstances Clive proposed to the +Madras authorities the desperate expedient of seizing on Arcot, the +capital of the Carnatic, and thus recalling Chunda Sahib from the +siege of Trichinopoly. With a force of 200 Europeans and 300 Sepoys, +under eight officers, four of whom had been taken from the +counting-house, Clive surprised Arcot in the midst of a terrific +storm, and the garrison fled without striking a blow. Being reinforced +by large bodies of troops, the expelled garrison, swelled to the +number of 3,000 men, formed an encampment near the town; but Clive +took them by surprise in the night, slew great numbers, put the rest +to flight, and returned to his quarters without a single casualty.</p> + +<p>Chunda Sahib sent 10,000 men, including 150 French soldiers, under his +son, Rajah Sahib, to recover Arcot. Clive's little garrison endured a +siege of fifty days against this disproportionate force, and against +the pressure of famine, which was early and severely felt. Nothing in +history is equal to the proof of devotion which the native portion of +this gallant little band gave to their beloved commander; the Sepoys +came to Clive with a request that all the grain should be given to the +Europeans, who required more nourishment than the natives of Asia, +declaring that they would be satisfied with the thin gruel which +strained away from the rice. Rajah Sahib at length made an attempt to +take the place by <span class="pagenum"><a id="page247" name="page247"></a>(p. 247)</span> storm; he was defeated with great loss, +principally by Clive's personal exertions, upon which he abandoned the +siege, leaving behind him a large quantity of military stores.</p> + +<p>Clive followed up his victory with great vigor, and the government of +Madras, encouraged by his success, resolved to send him with a strong +detachment to reinforce the garrison of Trichinopoly. Just at this +conjuncture, however, Major Lawrence returned from England and assumed +the chief command. If Clive was mortified by the change, he soon +overcame his feelings; he cheerfully placed himself under the command +of his old friend, and exerted himself as strenuously in the second +post as when he held the chief command. The French had no leaders fit +to cope with the two friends, and the English triumphed everywhere. +The besiegers of Trichinopoly were themselves besieged, and compelled +to capitulate. Chunda Sahib fell into the hands of the Mahrattas, and +was put to death at the instigation of his rival. The forts of +Covelong and Chingleput were taken by Clive, though his forces +consisted of raw recruits, little better than an undisciplined rabble. +Dupleix, however, was not driven to despair, but still sought means of +renewing the contest.</p> + +<p>After the capture of Chingleput, Clive returned to Madras, where he +married Miss Maskelyne, sister to the Astronomer Royal, and +immediately after returned to England. He was received with great +honors by the Court of Directors, and, through the influence of Lord +Sandwich, obtained a seat in Parliament; but his election having been +set aside, he again turned his thoughts toward India, where both the +company and the government were eager to avail themselves of his +services. The directors appointed him governor of Fort St. David; the +king gave him the commission of a lieutenant-colonel in the British +army; and thus doubly authorized, he returned to Asia in 1755.</p> + +<p>The first service on which he was employed after his return to the +East was the reduction of the stronghold of Gheriah. This fortress, +built on a craggy promontory, and almost surrounded by the ocean, was +the den of a pirate named Angria, whose ships had long been the terror +of the Arabian seas. Admiral Watson, who commanded the English +squadron, burned Angria's fleet, while Clive attacked the fastness by +land. The place soon fell, and a booty of a hundred and fifty thousand +pounds sterling was divided among the conquerors.</p> + +<p>About two months after Clive had entered on his government at Fort St. +David, intelligence was received of the destruction of the English +settlement at Calcutta by Surajah Dowlah, the Nabob of Bengal. +Although scarcely any resistance had been made, the English prisoners, +146 in number, were all thrust into a close and narrow apartment +called the Black Hole, which, in such a climate, would have been too +close and too narrow for a single prisoner. Their sufferings during +the dreadful night, until death put an end to the misery of most, +cannot be described; 123 perished before morning, and the survivors +had to be dug out of the heap formed by the dead bodies of their +companions.</p> + +<p>The authorities at Madras, on receiving this intelligence, resolved to +avenge the outrage; 900 Europeans and 1,500 Sepoys, under the command +of Clive, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page248" name="page248"></a>(p. 248)</span> were embarked on board Admiral Watson's squadron; +the passage was rendered tedious by adverse winds, but the armament +arrived safely in Bengal. Clive proceeded with his usual promptitude; +he routed the garrison which the nabob had placed in Fort William, +recovered Calcutta, and took Hoogly by storm. Surajah Dowlah, who was +as cowardly as he was cruel, now sought to negotiate peace, but at the +same time he secretly urged the French to come to his assistance. This +duplicity could not be concealed from Clive and Watson. They +determined accordingly to attack Chandernagore, the chief possession +of the French in Bengal, before the force there could be strengthened +by new arrivals either from the South of India or Europe. Watson +directed the expedition by water; Clive by land. The success of the +combined movements was rapid and complete. The fort, the garrison, the +artillery, the military stores, all fell into the hands of the +English, and nearly five hundred European troops were among the +prisoners.</p> + +<p>Soon after, Clive marched to attack Surajah Dowlah near Plassey. At +sunrise on the morning of June 23, 1757, the army of the nabob, +consisting of 40,000 infantry and 15,000 cavalry, supported by fifty +pieces of heavy ordnance, advanced to attack the English army, which +did not exceed three thousand men in all, and had for its artillery +but a few field-pieces. But the nabob had no confidence in his army, +nor his army in him; the battle was confined to a distant cannonade, +in which the nabob's artillery was quite ineffective, while the +English field-pieces did great execution. Surajah's terror became +greater every moment, and led him to adopt the insidious advice of a +traitor, Meer Jaffier, and order a retreat. Clive saw the movement, +and the confusion it occasioned in the undisciplined hordes; he +ordered his battalions to advance, and, in a moment, the hosts of the +nabob became a mass of inextricable confusion. In less than an hour +they were dispersed, never again to reassemble; though only five or +six hundred fell; their camp, guns, baggage, with innumerable wagons +and cattle, remained in the hands of the victors. With the loss of +only 22 soldiers killed and 50 wounded, Clive had dispersed an army of +60,000 men, and conquered an empire larger and more populous than +Great Britain. Surajah Dowlah fled from the field of battle to his +capital, but, not deeming himself safe there, he tried to escape by +the river to Patna. He was subsequently captured, and barbarously +murdered by the son of Meer Jaffier. In the meantime Clive led Meer +Jaffier in triumph to Moorshedabad, and installed him as nabob.</p> + +<p>Immense sums of money were given to the servants of the company; Clive +received for his share between two and three hundred thousand pounds. +Nor was this all: Shah Alum, the son of the Emperor of Delhi, having +invaded Bengal, Clive delivered Meer Jaffier from this formidable +enemy, and was rewarded with the jaghire or estate of the lands south +of Calcutta, for which the company were bound to pay the nabob a +quit-rent of about thirty thousand pounds annually. But the gratitude +of Meer Jaffier did not last long; weary of his dependence on the +English, he sought an alliance with the Dutch, who had a factory at +Chinsurah. The authorities of this place sent earnest letters to their +countrymen <span class="pagenum"><a id="page249" name="page249"></a>(p. 249)</span> in Batavia, urging them to take this opportunity +of raising a rival power to the English in India, and their advice was +taken. Seven large ships from Java, having on board 1,500 troops, +appeared unexpectedly in the Hoogly. Though England was at peace with +Holland, Clive resolved to attack them without delay. The ships were +taken and the army routed. Chinsurah was invested by the conquerors, +and was only spared on the condition that no fortifications should be +built, and no soldiers raised, beyond those that were necessary for +the police of the factories.</p> + +<p>Three months afterward he returned to England, where he was received +with a profusion of honors; he was raised to the Irish peerage, and +promised an English title. George III., who had just ascended the +throne, received him with marked distinction, and the leading +statesmen of the day vied with each other in showing him attention. By +judicious purchases of land he was enabled to acquire great +parliamentary influence, and by large purchases of India stock he was +enabled to form a strong party in the Court of Proprietors. The value +of such support was soon shown; the Court of Directors, instigated by +Mr. Sullivan, the personal enemy of Lord Clive, withheld the rent of +the jaghire that he had received from Meer Jaffier, and it was +necessary to institute a suit in chancery to enforce payment.</p> + +<p>But Clive's greatest strength was derived from the misconduct of his +successors in the government of Bengal. "Rapacity, luxury, and the +spirit of insubordination," says a late writer, "spread from the civil +service to the officers of the army, and from the officers to the +soldiers. The evil continued to grow till every messroom became the +seat of conspiracy and cabal, and till the Sepoys could only be kept +in order by wholesale executions." Individuals were enriched, but the +public treasury was empty, and the government had to face the dangers +of disordered finances, when there was war on the frontiers and +disaffection in the army. Under these circumstances it was generally +felt that Clive alone could save the empire which he had founded.</p> + +<p>Lord Clive felt the strength of his position. He refused to go to +India so long as his enemies had preponderating power in the Court of +Directors; an overwhelming majority of the proprietors seconded his +wishes, and the Sullivan party, lately triumphant, was deprived of +power. Having been nominated governor-general and commander-in-chief +of the British possessions in Bengal he sailed for India, and reached +Calcutta in May, 1765. He at once assembled the council, and announced +his determination to enforce his two great reforms—the prohibition of +receiving presents from the natives, and the prohibition of private +trade by the servants of the Company. The whole settlement seemed to +be set, as one man, against these measures; but Clive declared that if +the functionaries in Calcutta refused obedience, he would send for +some civil servants from Madras to aid him in conducting the +administration. As he evinced the strength of his resolution by +dismissing the most factious of his opponents, the rest became alarmed +and submitted to what was inevitable.</p> + +<p>Scarcely had the governor-general quelled the opposition of the civil +service <span class="pagenum"><a id="page250" name="page250"></a>(p. 250)</span> when he had to encounter a formidable mutiny of the +officers of the army, occasioned by a diminution of their field +allowances. Two hundred English officers engaged in a conspiracy to +resign their commissions on the same day, believing that the +governor-general would submit to any terms rather than see the army, +on which the safety of the empire rested, left without commanders. +They were mistaken in their calculations; Clive supplied their places +from the officers round his person; he sent for others from Madras; he +even gave commissions to some mercantile agents who offered their +support at this time. Fortunately the soldiers, and particularly the +Sepoys, over whom Clive had unbounded influence, remained steadfast in +their allegiance. The leaders were arrested, tried, and dismissed from +the service; the others, completely humbled, besought permission to +withdraw their resignations, and Clive exhibited lenity to all, save +those whom he regarded as the contrivers of the plot.</p> + +<p>In his foreign policy he was equally successful. The Nabob of Oude, +who had threatened invasion, sought for peace as soon as he heard of +Clive's arrival in India; and the Emperor of Delhi executed a formal +warrant, empowering the Company to collect and administer the revenues +of Bengal, Bahar, and Oussa; that is, in fact, to exercise direct +sovereignty over these provinces. Never had such a beneficial change +been wrought in the short space of eighteen months. The +governor-general set a noble example of obedience to his own +regulations; he refused the brilliant presents offered him by the +native princes, and when Meer Jaffier left him a legacy of sixty +thousand pounds, he made the whole over to the Company, in trust, for +the officers and soldiers invalided in their service.</p> + +<p>At the close of January, 1767, the state of his health compelled Lord +Clive to return to England. His reception at home was far from being +gratifying; his old enemies in the India House, reinforced by those +whose rapacity he had checked in Bengal, assailed him publicly and +privately; the prejudices excited against those who had suddenly made +large fortunes in India, were concentrated against him who was the +highest, both in rank and fortune; while his ostentatious display of +wealth and grandeur increased the unfavorable impression on the public +mind. The dreadful famine which desolated Bengal in 1770, was, with +strange perversity, attributed to Lord Clive's measures, and his +parliamentary influence was greatly weakened by the death of George +Grenville. Such was his position in the session of 1772, when the +state of India was brought before Parliament, and all the evils of its +condition made subjects of charge against the best of its rulers. +Clive met the storm with firmness. Lord Chatham declared that the +speech in which he vindicated himself at an early stage of the +proceedings was one of the finest ever delivered in the House of +Commons; his answers, when subjected to a rigid examination before a +committee of inquiry, were equally remarkable for their boldness and +candor. But there were some of his deeds which could not be justified, +and a vote of moderate censure on his conduct was sanctioned by the +House of Commons. This was a disgrace, for which the favor of his +sovereign, though it never varied, afforded him no consolation; his +constitution, already weakened by a tropical climate, began to give +way; to <span class="pagenum"><a id="page251" name="page251"></a>(p. 251)</span> soothe the pains of mind and body he had recourse to +the treacherous aid of opium, which only aggravated both; at length, +on November 22, 1774, he died by his own hand.</p> + +<p>That Clive committed many faults cannot be denied; and it is not +sufficient excuse to say that they were necessary to the founding of +the British empire in India. But his second administration, the +reforms he introduced into the government, and the system of wise +policy which he established, may well atone for his errors; indeed, it +has done so in India, where the natives not only respect his memory as +a conqueror, but venerate it as a benefactor.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + + +<h3>FRANÇOIS KELLERMANN, MARSHAL OF FRANCE<br> +(1735-1820)</h3> + +<a id="img015" name="img015"></a> +<div class="floatleft"> +<img src="images/img015.jpg" width="200" height="294" alt="François Kellermann." title=""> +</div> + +<p>François Christopher Kellermann, who with a little army of raw +recruits defeated the forces of united Europe at Valmy, and saved +France from destruction, was born of a respectable family at +Strasbourg, then part of France, on May 28, 1735. At the age of +seventeen, he became a cadet in the regiment of Lowendalh; and passing +through the grades of ensign and lieutenant in 1753 and 1756, became +captain of dragoons, in which rank he served in the Seven Years' War +until 1762, and was favorably mentioned in the reports of the battle +of Bergen. A brilliant charge of cavalry, against a corps commanded by +General Scheider, procured him, in the last year, the distinction of +the cross of St. Louis, then an honor of the highest esteem. After the +peace of 1763, he passed with the same rank into the legion of +Conflans, and in 1765 and 1766 was charged by the king with the +execution of some important commissions in Poland. In 1771, the +increasing troubles in Poland furnished a pretext for the invasion of +that country by the united troops of France and the Germanic +confederation; and Kellermann was appointed to accompany the French +commander-in-chief of the expedition, Baron de Vioménil; and in 1772, +he was placed at the head of a native corps of cavalry which he had +been concerned in organizing. His conduct in the retreat from the +castle of Cracow, in 1772, elevated his character for dexterity and +courage. In 1780, he became lieutenant-colonel of hussars; on January +1, 1784, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier, and in 1788, +received the rank of major-general. In 1790, under the National +Assembly, he was placed in command of both departments of Alsace, and +so approved were his services in placing that frontier in a state of +defence against the threatened invasion of combined <span class="pagenum"><a id="page252" name="page252"></a>(p. 252)</span> Europe, +that, in 1792, he received the cordon rouge of the order of St. Louis, +and was appointed lieutenant-general and commander-in-chief of the +forces assembled at Neukirch, and afterward, on August 28th, in the +same year, of the army of the Moselle.</p> + +<p>It was at this time that the formidable invasion under the Duke of +Brunswick, consisting of 138,000 men, of whom 66,000 were under the +King of Prussia in person, and 50,000 were Austrians under Prince +Hohenlohe and Marshal Clairfait, marched to France, and menaced +Dumouriez, who occupied the defiles of Varennes, with very inferior +forces. Against this mighty invasion the French nation rose as one +man. Recruits poured to the borderland singing the Marseillaise, their +newly adopted national hymn. Rapidly reducing this motley force to +order, Kellermann, with 22,000 men, marched from Metz, on September +4th, for Chalons with the utmost celerity, reached Bar before the +Prussians, saved the magazines on the upper Saone and Marne, and put +himself in a situation to communicate with Dumouriez. The latter +general was attacked on September 16th, and immediately ordered +Kellermann to take a designated position on his left, which was, +accordingly, accomplished on the 19th. No sooner had Kellermann +arrived here, than he perceived that the position was altogether +defective. A pond on his right separated him from Dumouriez; the +marshy river of the Auve, traversed by a single narrow bridge, cut off +his retreat in the rear; and the heights of Valmy commanded his left. +While he was shut up in this isolated position, the enemy might march +upon the magazines at Dampierre and Voilmont, cut both the French +armies off from Chalons, and then fall upon each of them in +succession. Kellermann instantly resolved to rectify this error in the +disposition of the troops; and by four o'clock on the following +morning, his army was in motion by its rear upon Dampierre and +Voilmont. But the Prussians, equally alive to the disadvantage in +which Kellermann had been placed, were already in movement to attack +him, and it became impracticable to pass the Auve. Leaving his +advanced-guard and his reserve to check the Prussians on the plain, +Kellermann drew off the rest of his army to the heights of Valmy, and +placing a battery of eighteen pieces near the mill of Valmy, at seven +in the morning was drawn up in a strong position to receive the attack +of the enemy. The King of Prussia, who commanded in person, drew up +his army in three columns on the heights of La Lune, and advancing in +an oblique direction a vehement fire was kept up on both sides for two +hours. About nine, a new battery on the enemy's right suddenly opened +in the direction of the mill, near which Kellermann and his escort, +with the reserve cuirassiers, were stationed, and produced the utmost +confusion. Most of the escort were killed or wounded, and Kellermann +had a horse shot under him, while about the same time the explosion of +two caissons of ammunition near the mill added to the alarm. +Kellermann, however, quickly disposed a battery so as to return the +fire, and the battle was restored on that side. After some time, two +of the Prussian columns, flanked by powerful cavalry, advanced in +formidable array toward the mill, while the third remained in reserve. +Kellermann drew up his men in column by <span class="pagenum"><a id="page253" name="page253"></a>(p. 253)</span> battalions, and +advancing his reserved artillery to the front of his position, waited +the advance of the enemy, who approached in silence. When they were +within range of a destructive fire, Kellermann, waving his hat upon +the end of his sabre, shouted, "Vive la Nation!" to which the whole +army responded with enthusiastic cries, and at the same moment, the +artillery opened a tremendous fire. The Prussians halted; the heads of +their columns melted away under the galling discharges; and they +retreated, in good order, to their original position after sustaining +a serious loss. The fire, however, continued on both sides with +spirit; and about four o'clock in the afternoon the Prussians renewed +their attack in column, but were again repulsed, even more decidedly, +and by six in the evening were in full retreat. The victory was thus +decided in favor of the French; but the safety of the magazines at +Dampierre and Voilmont was still not secured.</p> + +<a id="img016" name="img016"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/img016.jpg" width="600" height="450" alt="The Marseillaise." title=""> +</div> + +<p>Kellermann allowed his army about two hours' repose, and then, leaving +large fires lighted along his whole line, and some regiments of light +cavalry to defend the position, if the enemy should attempt an attack, +he quietly drew off about nine o'clock at night, and reached Dampierre +without the enemy being aware of his movement. About six o'clock the +next morning, the Prussians marched for the same point, and were not a +little astonished to find Kellermann's army drawn up in line of battle +on the heights of Dampierre, in a position which rendered it +impracticable to attack. They immediately retreated, and their +retiring columns suffered severely from a fire opened by the French +artillery. This operation raised the reputation of Kellermann to an +exalted height. The allies soon afterward retreated from France, and +Kellermann desired to attack their rear; but Dumouriez would not allow +the movement to be made.</p> + +<p>In recompense of these services Kellermann was made commander-in-chief +of the army of the Alps; but incurring the jealousy of the ruling +faction, he was thrown into prison in June, 1793, and lingered there +for thirteen months, until the 9th Thermidor (July 27, 1794) restored +him to liberty. In 1795 the army of Italy was reincorporated with the +army of the Alps, from which it had been separated in the beginning of +1793; and the command of the united force was given to Kellermann at +the close of that month. On his way to Nice to take the command, he +met Napoleon at Marseilles, who, having been displaced by the +reconstruction of the army, was now visiting his mother at that place +on his way to Paris. Napoleon gave much valuable information +respecting the seat of war; and Kellermann, continuing his journey, +reached head-quarters at Nice on May 9, 1795. His operations during +the campaign that followed diminished the reputation which he had +previously acquired. "Throughout the conduct of this war," says +Napoleon, "he was constantly committing errors." On June 23d General +Devins, at the head of the Austrian and Piedmontese armies, advanced +against his positions; and after a series of engagements on the 25th, +26th, and 27th, Kellermann was driven out of all the posts in which +Napoleon's arrangements had placed him in the preceding October, and +falling back to the line of the Borghetto, wrote to the Directory +that, unless he was speedily reinforced, he would be obliged even to +quit Nice. The government were now satisfied that <span class="pagenum"><a id="page254" name="page254"></a>(p. 254)</span> the +command of the army of Italy was beyond Kellermann's abilities; and +again separating the army of the Alps from it, they placed Kellermann +at the head of the latter as a reserve, and intrusted the army of +Italy to General Scherer, and sometime afterward to Napoleon.</p> + +<p>After the conquest of Milan, the Directory, either jealous of Napoleon +or elated by success, decided to divide his army, and to place 20,000 +men under Kellermann to cover the siege of Mantua, and to direct the +rest under Napoleon upon Rome. Napoleon immediately resigned his +command, and wrote to the Directory: "I will not serve with a man who +considers himself the best general in Europe; it is better to have one +bad general than two good ones." The Directory, in alarm, abandoned +their design; Kellermann was left at Chambéry, and Napoleon was +allowed to follow his own plans.</p> + +<p>In 1797, Kellermann was made inspector-general of the cavalry of the +army of England and of that of Holland; and in 1799, he took his place +in the Senate, and was elected president on August 1, 1801. In 1804, +he was created a Marshal of the Empire, and in the following year, +received the grand eagle of the Legion of Honor. In 1803, he commanded +the third corps of the army of reserve on the Rhine; and, in 1806, was +placed at the head of the whole of that army; to which authority the +command of the army of reserve in Spain was added in 1808; and in the +same year, in honor of the great victory of his more vigorous days, he +was created Duke of Valmy.</p> + +<p>In 1809, he commanded the army of reserve on the Rhine, the army of +observation of the Elbe, the fifth, twenty-fifth, and twenty-sixth +military divisions, and the army of reserve of the North. In 1812, he +was charged with the duty of organizing the cohorts of the national +guard in the first military division; he afterward commanded the +twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth divisions. In 1813, he was at first +provisional commander of the corps of observation on the Rhine, and +then received the command of the second, third, and fourth military +divisions. After the battle of Leipsic, he performed a valuable +service in reconducting to France a body of about six thousand +soldiers, who had been wounded in the affairs about Dresden.</p> + +<p>Upon the restoration of Louis XVIII., Marshal Kellermann received the +command of the third and fourth divisions, and took no part in the +events of the "hundred days." Upon the second restoration, he was +placed at the head of the fifth division, received the grand cross of +the order of St. Louis, and was made a peer of France.</p> + +<p>He died at Paris, on September 13, 1820, aged eighty-five years. He +left a son, the celebrated general who made the decisive charge at +Marengo, and distinguished himself in Spain and at Waterloo, and who +died on June 2, 1835; and a daughter, married to General de Léry.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page255" name="page255"></a>(p. 255)</span> MICHEL NEY, MARSHAL OF FRANCE<a id="footnotetag3" name="footnotetag3"></a><a href="#footnote3" title="Go to footnote 3"><span class="small">[3]</span></a><br> +By <span class="smcap">Louise Chandler Moulton</span><br> +(1769-1815)</h3> + +<a id="img017" name="img017"></a> +<div class="floatleft"> +<img src="images/img017.jpg" width="250" height="331" alt="Michel Ney." title=""> +</div> + +<p>Among the marshals of the great Napoleon, Ney has always held in my +mind the place of honor. "The Bravest of the Brave" was the sobriquet +bestowed on him by the men of his own nation and his own time; and the +briefest record of his life cannot fail to prove how well the title +was deserved. I could wish for a larger canvas on which to paint his +portrait; but the space allotted to me here will at least suffice to +reveal his character, and chronicle the main events of his career.</p> + +<p>Michel Ney was born on January 10, 1769, in the small town of +Sarre-Louis, in Lorraine, which province had at that time only +recently been annexed to France. He was in reality, therefore, more +German than French. His father was a working cooper by trade, but he +wished his son to be something better, and arranged for him to study +law. Life at a desk, however, had no interest for the future marshal, +who, even then, had no doubt as to what should be his future career. +In 1787 he enlisted, at Metz, as a private hussar. His rise was rapid +from the first. He greatly distinguished himself in the Netherlands, +where revolutionary France, under Dumouriez and others was holding her +own against allied Europe. He became lieutenant in 1793, and captain +in 1794. In 1796, after a brilliant conflict under the walls of +Forchheim, which resulted in the taking of that town, and on the field +of battle, he was made General of Brigade.</p> + +<p>Next year, in trying to save a gun from capture, he was taken prisoner +by the Austrians; but General Hoche, who was then commanding the army +of the Sambre and Meuse, soon effected his exchange. In 1798 he served +with great distinction under Masséna, in Switzerland, and was made +general of division.</p> + +<p>In 1799 he was transferred to the army of the Rhine, which he +commanded for some time, fighting with varying success, but with +unvarying energy and courage. He fought under Moreau at the famous +battle of Hohenlinden, and at the peace of Lunéville was appointed +inspector-general of the cavalry.</p> + +<p>In 1802 Napoleon having discovered that Switzerland "could not settle +her intestine divisions except by the interposition of France," sent +Ney, with 20,000 men, to dissolve the Diet and disband its forces. +This mode of settling intestine <span class="pagenum"><a id="page256" name="page256"></a>(p. 256)</span> divisions did not commend +itself to the Swiss. It is generally admitted, however, that Ney acted +with as much moderation as his odious task permitted; and he doubtless +welcomed his recall to take a command in the army which was being +collected at Boulogne, ostensibly for the invasion of England.</p> + +<p>When Napoleon was proclaimed emperor Ney was made a marshal, "for a +long succession of heroic actions," and when the army, instead of +crossing the Channel, turned back to crush Austria and the coalition, +Ney commanded the sixth corps. By October 14, 1805, Napoleon had +surrounded Mack and his army in Ulm, and on that day Ney carried the +heights of Elchingen after a terrific combat. It was from this +achievement that his title of Duke of Elchingen was derived. After the +capitulation of Ulm Ney had, at Innsprück, the proud satisfaction of +restoring to the seventy-sixth regiment the flags of which they had +been despoiled. He was sent into the Tyrol in pursuit of the Archduke +John, whose rear-guard he caught and cut to pieces at the foot of +Mount Brenner, at the same time that Napoleon, at Austerlitz, brought +the war to a close.</p> + +<p>After the peace of Presburg Ney remained in Suabia until the rupture +with Prussia. The day of Jena found him so anxious for the fray that +he attacked the enemy without waiting for orders, and brought the +whole Prussian cavalry upon his small division of some three thousand +men, and held them at bay until Napoleon sent him assistance. Though +Prussia was practically annihilated by the battles of Jena and +Auerstadt, Russia was still to be reckoned with. Napoleon invaded +Poland, and found himself forced into a winter campaign at a +formidable distance from France. Marching and countermarching through +mud and snow the whole army was subjected to horrible suffering; but +even then Ney's impetuous energy was unabated. Napoleon even rebuked +him for "fool-hardiness;" and more than once his only salvation from +destruction was in the slowness and density of the Russians. He took +little part in the dreadful and indecisive battle of Eylau, after +which Napoleon remained for eight days without making any movement; +but it was to him that, at Friedland, Napoleon allotted the post of +honor and of danger, saying, as the marshal went off proud of his +task, "That man is a lion."</p> + +<p>Napoleon about this time discovered that "the interposition of France +was necessary in the affairs of Spain;" and after the peace of Tilsit +Ney was only allowed to remain in France long enough to recruit his +forces, before being sent to the Peninsula. A few months later in the +year, when Napoleon visited Spain, Ney was given the command of the +sixth corps there, but he was destined to reap few Spanish laurels, +and it is said that he endeavored to persuade the emperor to +relinquish the hopeless struggle against an entire people. While Soult +was engaged in the difficult task of forcing the English from the +Peninsula by way of Corunna, Ney held Galicia and the Asturias, +destroyed guerilla bands, defeated Sir Robert Wilson, and intercepted +the enemy's convoys; but the whole country was in arms against the +French, who after six months' unceasing struggle, were compelled to +retreat.</p> + +<a id="img018" name="img018"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/img018.jpg" width="500" height="383" alt="" title=""> +<p>Marshal Ney returning the captured Colors.</p> +</div> + +<p>When Masséna was sent to Portugal with orders from Napoleon to drive +the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page257" name="page257"></a>(p. 257)</span> "English leopards and their Sepoy general into the +sea," Ney, acting under his directions, took Ciudad Rodrigo and +Almeida. At Busaco, on September 27, 1810, he differed from his +commander-in-chief as to the advisability of attacking the English +position in front, which was strong. Masséna suffered a severe +repulse; and Ney was undoubtedly right, since the fact remains that +after the battle Wellington's position was easily turned, and he was +compelled to fall back. He retreated upon the famous lines of Torres +Vedras, before which Masséna sat helplessly for months, until famine +forced him to break up his camp. Ney was intrusted with the command of +the rear-guard, and the universal opinion of military critics is that +his management of this retreat was one of his most splendid feats of +arms. On one occasion he confronted, with 5,000 men, Wellington and +his army of 30,000, and delayed them for many hours, while the sick +and wounded, the baggage wagons, and the main body of the French army +made good their retreat. While Ney was in front of him Wellington knew +no repose, nor, for all his efforts, did he succeed, during the whole +pursuit, in capturing an ammunition wagon or even a single gun. But +when Masséna—with a view to saving his military reputation, which had +been gravely compromised by his want of success—proposed again to +advance upon Lisbon, Ney flatly refused to obey him, and after a +violent quarrel, was ordered by Masséna to relinquish his command and +retire into the interior of Spain to await the decision of the +emperor. Napoleon recalled him to France, and gave him the command of +the third corps of that avalanche of men—men of so many nations and +kindreds and peoples—which he was preparing to hurl upon Russia.</p> + +<p>The Grand Army crossed the Niemen in June, 1812, and followed an +ever-retreating foe to Smolensk, where the Russian general, Barclay de +Tolly, had received positive orders from Alexander to give battle, and +where he had placed a garrison of 30,000 men. On August 14th Ney +cleared the neighboring town of Krasnoi at the point of the bayonet, +and during the next two days the Russians were slowly forced back +under the walls of Smolensk. On the 17th a general attack was ordered, +and Ney was directed to take the citadel. But so obstinate was the +Russian defence that when night came no entrance had been effected. +However, an hour after midnight the Russian general set fire to the +town, and abandoned it, having lost 12,000 men in the defence. At a +council of war which followed the capture of the place, Ney strongly +recommended that the Grand Army should establish itself upon the banks +of the Dwina and the Dnieper, and occupying Smolensk and its environs +with a vanguard, there await the Russian attack. His advice was +overruled, however, and he was forced to follow the retreating foe +upon the road to Moscow. But Russia was thoroughly dissatisfied with +the way in which the war had so far been carried on, and Barclay de +Tolly was at this juncture superseded by Kutusof, who, having +intrenched himself strongly near the little village of Borodino, +prepared to dispute the farther progress of the invaders. The battle +which followed, on September 7th, was one of the most obstinate and +sanguinary of modern times. It lasted from early morning till late at +night, and more than eighty thousand men were killed or <span class="pagenum"><a id="page258" name="page258"></a>(p. 258)</span> +wounded. Ney fought like a common soldier in the very thickest of the +conflict. The Russian positions were at last carried, and Ney sent to +the emperor for reinforcements with which to complete the victory. The +emperor had only his guard in reserve, and refused this request. "If +there should be another battle to-morrow," he said, "with what am I to +fight it?" "Let him go back to Paris, and play at emperor, and leave +fighting to us," cried Ney, scornfully, when he heard this message. +Had his request been granted, and the Imperial Guard been hurled into +the conflict at the right moment, it seems probable that the Russian +army would have been entirely destroyed. As it was, they drew off in +good order, under cover of night, and Kutusof even had the effrontery +to claim a victory. For his services during this memorable day Ney +received the title of Prince of the Moskowa.</p> + +<p>The result of the battle of Borodino was to leave Moscow at the mercy +of the invaders, and a barren prize indeed it proved to them. In the +horror of the fearful retreat from the ruined city the fame of Ney +reached its highest point. Nothing in all history surpasses the record +of his indomitable courage and cheerfulness in the most hopeless +situations, and amid the most frightful hardships. As in Spain, he had +the command of the rear-guard, and the soldiers, preyed upon alike by +the Cossacks and the cold, died in the path like flies. Without +artillery and without cavalry, they yet succeeded, day after day, in +obstructing their pursuers. Ney was on foot in the midst of them, +carrying a musket and fighting like the humblest private. But at +Smolensk—where the army expected to find everything, and really found +nothing—they stayed too long, and on resuming their march found the +Russians barring their path. Napoleon and the Imperial Guard cut their +way through. The first and fourth corps succeeded, after a desperate +conflict, in evading their enemies, but Ney, who had received orders +to blow up the fortifications of Smolensk before leaving the town, +found himself with some eight thousand men cut off from the main body +of fugitives by an army of 50,000 Russians. He attacked them as though +the numbers were equal, lost in a short time nearly half his little +force, and was obliged to fall back. Being called upon to surrender, +he answered, proudly, "A Marshal of France never surrenders," and gave +the order, as night approached, to retreat toward Smolensk, which was +indeed the only way open to him. The soldiers were in despair. Ney +alone did not lose heart. In the gathering dusk they came upon a small +rivulet. The marshal broke the ice and watched the flow of the current +beneath. "This must be a feeder of the Dnieper," he said. "We will +follow it, and put the river between us and our enemies." This they +succeeded in doing; but were obliged to leave their wounded, their +artillery, and their baggage upon the other side. Ney had left +Smolensk on November 17th, with about eight thousand men. On the 20th +he joined Napoleon, who had given him up for lost—with somewhere +about one thousand. Napoleon, hearing that he was come, fairly leaped +and shouted for joy, exclaiming, "I have three hundred millions of +francs in the Tuileries—I would have given them all rather than have +lost such a man."</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page259" name="page259"></a>(p. 259)</span> A few days afterward Ney was fighting madly on the shores of +the fatal Beresina to clear the way for the surging and almost +frenzied crowd of soldiers, stragglers, women and children, who, under +the merciless fire of the Russian batteries were streaming across the +river on the rickety bridges improvised by the French engineers. The +Grand Army was by this time only a crowd of wretched and undisciplined +fugitives. Ney managed to preserve the semblance of a rear-guard, and +if it had not been for his unceasing efforts it seems probable that +hardly a single soldier would ever have seen again the shores of +France. As it was, when he crossed the Niemen on December 13th, +himself the last man to leave Russian territory—his rear-guard had +vanished, and he had with him only his aides-de-camp, while of about +five hundred thousand men who had crossed the river five months before +scarcely fifty thousand returned.</p> + +<p>No sooner did this catastrophe become known than Europe—so long +ground under his heel—rose against Napoleon, who at once called upon +France for fresh levies. Ney was given the command of the first Corps. +On April 29, 1813, he drove the allies from Weissenfels toward +Leipsic. On May 1st he again compelled a retrograde movement; and on +May 2d he commanded the French centre at the battle of Lutzen, where, +indeed, he bore the brunt of the fighting. The allies were compelled +to retire, but they did not consider themselves beaten, and they +fought again at Bautzen a few days afterward. Lutzen and Bautzen were +both dubious victories, but at Dresden the allies were defeated with +great loss.</p> + +<p>This victory, however, was annulled by the defeat of Vandamme, who was +taken prisoner in Bohemia, after losing 10,000 men. When Napoleon +heard of this disaster he at once sent Ney to replace Oudinot in the +command of the Northern army, with the object of pushing on to Berlin; +but for once Ney's evil stars were in the ascendant, for on September +5th he was totally defeated by Bernadotte, at Dennewitz, losing 10,000 +prisoners and eighty guns. "The Bravest of the Brave" was +inconsolable. For some days he took no food, and scarcely spoke. He +wished to give up his command and fight as a grenadier. "If I have not +blown out my brains," he said, "it is only because I want to rally my +army before dying."</p> + +<p>And now came the catastrophe at Leipsic—the three days' battle of the +Nations—where, on the first day, Ney was defeated by Blücher, after a +desperate struggle in which he lost 4,000 killed and wounded, and +upward of two thousand prisoners. On the third day, after the +defection of the Saxons, he held out for five hours with 5,000 men +against 20,000, and retired fighting to the end. Through the whole of +the succeeding campaign of France, he was at the emperor's side; and +when, in spite of all the genius of Napoleon, and all the bravery of +his soldiers, Paris capitulated, Ney was one of three marshals sent by +the defeated Emperor of the French to negotiate with the Emperor of +Russia for his abdication in favor of his son, the King of Rome.</p> + +<p>This mission failed of any result—Napoleon went to Elba, and Louis +XVIII. reigned over France in his stead. Ney accepted the new order of +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page260" name="page260"></a>(p. 260)</span> things, and was created a peer of France, knight of St. +Louis, and governor of the sixth Military Division. But the world was +for the time at peace; and Ney's occupation was gone. He had been a +fighter all his life—he could not turn courtier at the end. He had +married, in 1810, Mlle Auguié, who had been brought up in the court of +Louis XVI., was a friend of Hortense Beauharnais, and naturally fond +of gayety and society. The great marshal was a simple and rather +illiterate man, who had had no time to cultivate fashionable graces, +so it happened that when Madame la Maréchal gave a banquet or a ball, +Ney used not to appear, but dined by himself, in his own apartments, +as far removed as possible from the noise of the festival. It is said +that outside the field of battle he was one of the timidest of men, +and even submitted quite tamely to the insolence of his own servants.</p> + +<p>In January, 1815, he departed for his country-seat of Coudreaux, near +Chateaudun, where he lived in the simplest possible fashion, till on +March 6th, an aide-de-camp of the Minister of War brought him an order +to return at once to the head-quarters of the Military Division of +which he was commander. Instead of going directly to his post, he went +by way of Paris, where he heard for the first time of the landing of +Napoleon.</p> + +<p>"It is a great misfortune," said he. "Whom can we send against him?"</p> + +<p>Then, having visited the king, and assured him of his devotion to the +monarchy, he went to his command at Besançon. Next morning he heard +that Grenoble had declared for the emperor, and that the occupation of +Lyons was inevitable. He could observe for himself the dissatisfaction +of the troops by whom he was surrounded. On the 12th he was at +Lons-le-Saulnier, organizing his troops, and writing to the minister +of war for ammunition and horses. But he soon saw that resistance was +hopeless. The Bourbons had managed, as usual, to make themselves +hated. The king's brother and Marshal Macdonald had been obliged to +flee from Lyons when Napoleon appeared. All the soldiers were +delighted at the thought of having their "Little Corporal" back again. +On the night of the 13th Ney received an emissary from Napoleon. What +memories must have stirred in his heart, of old perils and old +glories! How could he resist the mighty spell of the past? On the 14th +he announced to his troops that the house of Bourbon had ceased to +reign, and proclaimed Napoleon.</p> + +<p>"It was a grievous fault, and grievously did Cæsar answer it." From +this moment Ney knew no more peace of mind. So bitter was his remorse +that he could not face his fellow-soldiers, and obtained Napoleon's +permission to retire for a time into the country. When he returned, +Napoleon said, banteringly, "I heard you had emigrated." "Ah, sire," +answered Ney, "I ought to have done so long ago, but it is too late +now."</p> + +<p>The approach of war revived his spirits to some extent, and when, a +few days before the battle of Waterloo, he joined the army in +Flanders, he looked like the Ney of old. At Quatre Bras, on June 16th, +despite an obstinate combat, he failed to drive Wellington from his +position, and the next day he does not appear <span class="pagenum"><a id="page261" name="page261"></a>(p. 261)</span> to have +discovered that the English had fallen back upon Waterloo until some +hours after their departure. At the great battle of Waterloo, on June +18th, he fought with the same reckless bravery as ever. He had five +horses killed under him, and his clothing was riddled with bullets. +Napoleon said, not without truth, that he behaved like a madman. After +his fifth horse was shot he fought on foot until forced from the field +by the rush of fugitives. He had done his best to die on the field of +battle, but almost miraculously he escaped without a wound.</p> + +<p>After the second restoration of the Bourbons Ney retired into the +country, meaning to escape to the United States, and was provided by +Fouché with a passport for this purpose. He delayed, for some reason, +to use it; and on August 3d he was arrested at the house of a +relative. A council of war was appointed to try him, composed of +Marshals Masséna, Augereau, Mortier, and three lieutenants. It would +have been better for Ney had he submitted himself to their verdict; +but he unwisely denied their competence, and demanded, as a peer of +the realm, to be tried by his peers, and it was a tribunal which +showed him no mercy. It does not appear that the king desired his +death; but Talleyrand declared that it would be a grand example, and +the royalists generally thirsted for his blood. He was condemned, by a +majority of 139 to 17, to be shot for high treason.</p> + +<p>On December 7th his wife and four children were admitted to his prison +in the early morning, to take leave of him. But neither in this +painful ordeal nor at any time afterward, did the condemned marshal +show any sign of weakness. At eight o'clock he was taken in a carriage +to the place of execution, outside the garden gates of the Luxembourg. +The officer who commanded the firing party wished to bandage his eyes, +but Ney said, quietly—"Are you ignorant that for twenty-five years I +have been accustomed to face both balls and bullets?" Then, raising +his voice, he cried, "I protest against my condemnation. I wish that I +had died for my country in battle. But here is still the field of +honor. <span class="italic">Vive la France!</span>"</p> + +<p>The officer in command, to his credit be it said, was dumb. He seemed +incapable of giving the word to fire; and Ney himself, taking off his +hat, and striking his breast, cried, in a loud voice—"Soldiers, do +your duty—fire!"</p> + +<p>Thus died, in his forty-seventh year, "The Bravest of the Brave."<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<a id="sig001" name="sig001"></a> +<div class="right"> +<img src="images/sig001.jpg" width="300" height="50" alt="Author signature." title=""> +</div> + + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page262" name="page262"></a>(p. 262)</span> NAPOLEON BONAPARTE<br> +By <span class="smcap">Colonel Clayton, R.A.</span><br> +(1769-1821)</h3> + +<a id="img019" name="img019"></a> +<div class="floatleft"> +<img src="images/img019.jpg" width="300" height="322" alt=""The coronation of Joséphine."" title=""> +</div> + +<p>Napoleon Bonaparte, the second son of Charles Bonaparte and his wife, +Letizia de Ramolino, was born at Ajaccio, in Corsica, on August 15, +1769. In 1779 he entered the Royal Military School of Brienne le +Château; there he remained till the autumn of 1784, when he was +transferred to the Military School of Paris, according to the usual +routine. An official report on him by the Inspector of Military +Schools in this year speaks highly of his conduct, and notifies his +great proficiency in mathematics and fair knowledge of history and +geography, but says he is not well up in ornamental studies or in +Latin, and, curiously enough, adds that he will make an excellent +sailor. Napoleon lost his father in 1785, and the same year he was +commissioned as second-lieutenant of artillery, in which capacity he +served at Valence and other garrisons. He spent his periods of leave +in Corsica, and appears to have wished to play the leading part in the +history of his native island, showing the first signs of his ambitious +and energetic character. During the critical times following the first +French Revolution, he at first joined the moderate party of Paoli; +but, trying for military power, though by untiring activity and +reckless audacity he succeeded in being elected lieutenant-colonel of +the National Volunteers of Ajaccio, he failed in an attempt to seize +that town and was obliged to return to France. The French Government +soon made an endeavor to crush Paoli and do away with Corsican +privileges, and the islanders rallied round the patriot. Napoleon now +turned against him and attempted to seize the citadel of Ajaccio for +the French; but failing again, with all his relatives he fled a second +time to France.</p> + +<p>From this time onward Napoleon looked to France for his career. The +narrow horizon of his native island was no longer wide enough for him, +but from its bracing mountain air and from the quick blood of his race +he drew a magnetic force, which imparted to his decisions and actions +a rapidity and energy that carried all before them, while at the same +time a power of calm calculation, of industry, and of self-control +enabled him to employ his genius to the best advantage. <span class="pagenum"><a id="page263" name="page263"></a>(p. 263)</span> The +force of his personality was so overwhelming that in considering his +career the regret must ever be present that the only principle that +remained steadfast with him, and is the key to his conduct throughout, +should have been the care for his own advancement, glory, and power. +Napoleon now joined the army under Carteaux, which acted against the +Marseillais who had declared against the National Convention and +occupied Avignon. At this time he became attached to the younger +Robespierre, who was a commissioner with the army, and embraced his +Jacobin principles. He was shortly promoted chef de bataillon, and +commanded the artillery at the siege of Toulon, where he highly +distinguished himself, and is generally believed to have been the +author of the plan of attack which led to the fall of the place. He +was then promoted general of brigade.</p> + +<p>On the fall of the Robespierres, Napoleon incurred serious danger, but +was saved by powerful influence enlisted in his favor. He was, +however, ordered to take command of an infantry brigade in the Army of +the West. This he considered would stifle his military career, and +neglecting to obey the order, he was in consequence removed from the +list of employed general officers. Disgusted with his apparent lack of +prospects, he was now anxious to be sent to Turkey to reorganize the +Turkish artillery. But on the eve of the 13th Vendémiaire (October 5, +1795) he was appointed second in command of the Army of the Interior +under Barras, and did the National Convention good service next day in +repelling the attack of the Sections of Paris. Influenced partly by +fear and partly by appreciation of his talents, the Directory +appointed General Bonaparte to the command of the Army of Italy, on +February 23, 1796. On March 9th he married Joséphine Tascher de la +Pagerie, widow of General Vicomte Alexandre de Beauharnais, and left +Paris for Italy two days later.</p> + +<p>On joining the army Bonaparte inaugurated a new era in the wars of the +Republic. Previously the leading motives had been pure patriotism and +love of liberty; Bonaparte for the first time, in his proclamation on +taking command, invoked the spirit of self-interest and plunder, which +was to dominate the whole policy of France for the next twenty years. +Evil as were the passions which he aroused, Napoleon's great military +genius flashed forth in its full brilliancy in this his first +campaign. His power lay in the rapidity and boldness of his decisions, +and in the untiring energy with which he carried them out, confounding +his enemies by the suddenness and lightning rapidity of his blows, +which never gave them time to recover. He found the French army about +thirty-six thousand strong, distributed along the crests of the +mountains from Nice to Savona, and opposing 20,000 Piedmontese under +Colli and 38,000 Austrians under Beaulieu. These two generals had, +however, differing interests: Colli's main object was to protect +Piedmont, Beaulieu's to cover Lombardy. Hence, if Bonaparte could +penetrate the point of junction of the two armies, it was probable +they would separate in their retreat, and could be beaten singly. He +therefore attacked the centre of the allied line, and, driving back +the Austrians from Montenotte on April 12th, turned against the +Piedmontese and defeated them at <span class="pagenum"><a id="page264" name="page264"></a>(p. 264)</span> Millesimo the next day. +Losing no time he left a division under Augereau to keep the +Piedmontese in check, and led the bulk of his army against the +Austrians, defeating them heavily at Dego on the 14th. The allied +armies then retreated in diverging directions as expected, and +Bonaparte, following the Piedmontese, beat them at Ceva and Mondovi, +and forced the King of Sardinia to sign the armistice of Cherasco, +leaving him free to deal with the Austrians. He crossed the Po at +Piacenza on May 7th, and obliged the Austrians to retreat to the Adda. +Following them he forced the bridge of Lodi on May 11th, and entered +Milan amid the rejoicings of the people on the 15th. But his +ill-omened proclamation had done its work; violence and pillage were +rampant in the French army, and he could do little to restrain them. +Indeed, he himself showed an example of plundering, though under more +organized forms. Heavy contributions were exacted, curiosities and +works of art were demanded wholesale and despatched to France; and the +Directory, demoralized by the unaccustomed wealth that flowed in upon +them, became fully as eager as Napoleon for fresh conquests and their +accruing spoils.</p> + +<p>The Austrians still held Mantua, which Napoleon now besieged, +occupying himself at the same time in consolidating his conquests. The +Austrians made strenuous efforts to save the fortress. They were much +superior in number to the French, but were defeated again and again by +the rapidity and genius of their opponent. Finally, at the end of +October, an Austrian army of 50,000, but mostly recruits, advanced +under Alvinzi. Then followed the three days' battle of Arcola, during +which Napoleon had a very narrow escape, but which ended in Alvinzi's +defeat and retreat on Tyrol. From Arcola Napoleon dated his firm +belief in his own fortune. Once again, in January, 1797, Alvinzi tried +to relieve Mantua. But Napoleon moved in full force on Rivoli, and won +a decisive battle there on January 14th, the Austrian detachment on +the Lower Adige having to lay down their arms next day at Roverbella. +Würmser capitulated at Mantua on February 2d, Napoleon treating him +with generosity. This first Italian campaign was perhaps the most +skilful of all those of Napoleon. Everything was done accurately and +rapidly, and without throwing away chances. Some of his later +campaigns, though equally brilliant, show him acting more with the +gambler's spirit, running unnecessary risks with almost a blind +reliance upon his star, in the hope of obtaining results which should +dazzle the world.</p> + +<p>In political matters during this time Napoleon was acting less as a +servant of the French Directory than as an independent ruler. He +entirely ignored the instructions he received from Paris, levying +contributions, entering into negotiations, and deposing princes at his +own will, and writing that he is not fighting "for those rascals of +lawyers."</p> + +<a id="img020" name="img020"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/img020.jpg" width="600" height="352" alt="" title=""> +<p>Napoleon and the Sphinx.</p></div> + +<p>Napoleon returned to Paris on December 5, 1797. The Directory, fearing +his ambition, thought they could only keep him quiet by employing him, +and gave him command of the so-called Army of England. But he was bent +on the conquest of Egypt. He appears to have had something visionary +in his temperament, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page265" name="page265"></a>(p. 265)</span> and to have dreamed of founding a +mighty empire from the stand-point of the East, the glow and glamour +of which seem always to have had a certain fascination for him. He +therefore employed the resources of the Army of England to prepare for +an expedition to Egypt, and the Directory yielded to his wishes, +partly no doubt, through the desire of getting him away from France. +But their aggressive policy was at the same time fast bringing on +another European war. The expedition sailed from Toulon on May 19, +1798, captured Malta from the Knights of St. John by treachery, and, +escaping by great luck from the British fleet under Nelson, arrived at +Alexandria on June 30th. The army was disembarked in haste, for fear +lest Nelson should arrive, and on July 8th Napoleon marched on Cairo. +He defeated the Mamelukes at Chebreïss and the Pyramids, and entered +Cairo on July 24th. He then occupied himself with organizing the +government of Egypt, but his position was rendered very hazardous by +the destruction of the French fleet on August 1st by Nelson at the +battle of the Nile, and he saw that his dream of founding an empire in +the East could not be realized. He thought, however, that he might +create a revolution in Syria, by the aid of which he might overthrow +the Turkish power, and march in triumph back to Europe through Asia +Minor and Constantinople. He accordingly entered Syria in February, +1799, with 12,000 men, but was brought to a standstill before St. Jean +d'Acre. Failing to capture that fortress, supported as it was by the +British squadron under Sir Sidney Smith, in spite of the most +desperate efforts, he was obliged to return to Egypt. After his +return, Napoleon defeated a Turkish army which had landed at Aboukir, +but learning the reverses that had been suffered by the French arms in +Europe, he resolved to leave Egypt and return to France. He embarked +secretly on August 22d, leaving a letter placing Kléber in command of +the Army of Egypt, and landed in France six weeks later.</p> + +<p>He found matters at home in great confusion. The wars had been +mismanaged, Italy was almost lost, and the government, in consequence, +was in very bad odor. The revolution of the 18th Brumaire followed +(November 9, 1799), when the legislature was forcibly closed, and a +provisional executive of three consuls, Siéyès, Roger-Duclos, and +Bonaparte, formed to draw up a new constitution. This was promulgated +on December 13th; the executive was vested in three consuls, +Bonaparte, Cambacérès, and Lebrun, of whom Bonaparte was nominated +First Consul for ten years. He was practically paramount, the two +remaining consuls being ciphers, and the other institutions being so +organized as to concentrate power in the executive. Siéyès became +president of the Senate. The governmental crisis being settled, +energetic steps were taken with regard to the civil war in the west. A +proclamation was issued promising religious toleration at the same +time that decided military action was taken, and these measures were +so successful that all was quiet at home by the end of February, 1800. +Then Napoleon turned his attention abroad. He made overtures for peace +to England and Austria, now the only belligerents, as he wished to +lull suspicion by posing as the friend of peace, not as a military +ruler; but he inwardly rejoiced when they rejected his overtures.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page266" name="page266"></a>(p. 266)</span> The situation of the belligerents on the Continent was this: +the Army of the Rhine under Moreau, more than one hundred thousand +strong, was distributed along the Rhine from the Lake of Constance to +Alsace, opposed to Kray, whose head-quarters were at Donaueschingen in +Baden; while Masséna, with the Army of Italy, was on the Riviera and +at Genoa, opposed to an Austrian army under Melas. Napoleon intended +to gain himself the chief glory of the campaign; so, giving Moreau +orders to cross the Rhine, but not to advance beyond a certain limit, +and leaving Masséna to make head as best he could against Melas, with +the result that he was besieged in Genoa and reduced to the last +extremity, he prepared secretly an army of reserve near the Swiss +frontier, to the command of which Berthier was ostensibly appointed. +Outside, and even inside France, this army of reserve was looked upon +as a chimera. Moreau crossed the Rhine on April 24th, and drove Kray +to Ulm, but was there checked by Napoleon's instructions, according to +which he also sent a division to co-operate with the army of reserve. +Napoleon himself went to Geneva on May 9th, and assuming command of +this army crossed the St. Bernard, and reached the plains of Italy +before Melas had convinced himself of the existence even of the army +of reserve, and while his troops were scattered from Genoa to the Var. +Napoleon's obvious course would now have been to move straight on +Genoa, relieve Masséna, and beat in detail as many of Melas's troops +as he could encounter. But this would not have been a sufficiently +brilliant triumph, as the bulk of the Austrian army might have +escaped; and trusting in his star, he resolved to stake the existence +of his army on a gambler's cast. Leaving Masséna to be starved out, he +moved to the left on Milan, and occupied the whole line of the Ticino +and Po as far as Piacenza, so as to cut off entirely the retreat of +the Austrians. He then crossed the Po, and concentrated as many troops +as he could spare at Stradella. The strategy was brilliant, but the +risk run excessive. His army was necessarily scattered, while Melas +had had time to concentrate, and he was besides ignorant of the +Austrian position. He sent Desaix with a column to seek information, +and moved himself on Alessandria, where he found Melas. Next day, June +14th, Melas marched out to attack the French on the plains of Marengo, +and despite all Napoleon's efforts, had actually defeated them, when +fortunately, Desaix returned, and his advance, together with a cavalry +charge by Kellermann, changed defeat into victory. Melas, losing his +head, signed a convention next day, giving up almost all North Italy, +though Marmont says that if he had fought another battle he must have +won it. Napoleon returned to Paris with the glories of this +astonishing campaign; but peace did not follow till Moreau, when his +liberty of action was restored to him, had won the battle of +Hohenlinden on December 3, 1800. Then followed the treaty of Lunéville +with Germany, in February, 1801, the concordat with Rome, in July, +1801, and the treaty of Amiens with England, in March, 1802, so that +Napoleon was able to figure as the restorer of peace to the world. He +then devoted himself to the reconstruction of the civil institutions +of France, employing in this great work the best talent that he could +find, and impressing on their labors the stamp of his own genius. The +institutions then created, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page267" name="page267"></a>(p. 267)</span> which still remain for the most +part, were the restored Church, the judicial system, the codes, the +system of local government, the University, the Bank of France, and +the Legion of Honor.</p> + +<p>France at this period, sick of the failure of republican government, +was gradually veering toward monarchy, and Napoleon knew how to take +advantage of events to strengthen his position, and in due time +establish his own dynasty.</p> + +<p>Preparations for the invasion of England had been steadily proceeding, +but Napoleon's aggressive demeanor after becoming emperor alarmed the +European cabinets, so that Pitt was able to revive the coalition, and +in 1805 Napoleon found himself at war with Russia and Austria, as well +as with England. Forced by England's naval supremacy to abandon the +notion of invasion, he suddenly changed front in August, 1805, and led +his armies through Hanover and the smaller German states, disregarding +the neutrality even of Prussia herself, and reached the Danube in rear +of the Austrian army under Mack, which was at Ulm. The surprise was +complete; Mack surrendered October 19th, and Napoleon then marched on +Vienna, which he entered November 13th. But his position was critical. +The Archduke Charles was approaching from Hungary, a Russian army was +entering Moravia, and Prussia, incensed at the violation of her +territory, joined the coalition. A short delay would have surrounded +Napoleon with his enemies, but the czar was impatient, and the Russian +army, with a small contingent of Austrians, encountered Napoleon at +Austerlitz, December 2, 1805, and was signally defeated. This caused +the break-up of the coalition; the Holy Roman Empire came to an end, +the Confederation of the Rhine was formed under French protection, and +the Napoleonic empire was firmly established. Napoleon then entered +into negotiations for peace with Russia and England, endeavoring to +conciliate those powers at the expense of Prussia. The negotiations +failed, but Prussia was mortally offended, and mobilized her army in +August, 1806, about which time Russia finally rejected the treaty with +France. Napoleon acted with his usual promptitude, and advanced +against Prussia before she could get help either from England or +Russia. Although the rank and file of the Prussian armies was good, +their generals were antiquated, and Napoleon crushed them at Jena and +Auerstadt, October 14th, and entered Berlin on the 27th. He had then +to carry on a stubbornly contested campaign with Russia. An indecisive +battle at Eylau was followed by a hardly earned French victory at +Friedland, June 14, 1807, and the peace of Tilsit ensued, by which +Prussia lost half her territory, and had to submit to various +humiliating conditions, while Russia escaped easily, and indeed got a +share of the spoils.</p> + +<p>Napoleon was now at the zenith of his power; he was the arbiter of +Europe and the paramount head of a confederation of princes, among +whom the members of his own family occupied several thrones. To reward +his partisans he at this time created a new noblesse, and lavished +upon them the public money. He sent an army under Junot to Portugal, +and another to Spain, which, under Murat, took Madrid. Napoleon then +procured the abdication of the King of Spain and placed his brother +Joseph on the vacant throne. But he did not foresee the consequences. +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page268" name="page268"></a>(p. 268)</span> The spirit of the nation was roused, and a formidable +insurrection broke out, while a British army, under Sir Arthur +Wellesley, landed in Portugal, defeated Junot at Vimiera, and forced +him to sign the Convention of Cintra, evacuating Portugal. So began +the Peninsular War, which for the future was to paralyze half +Napoleon's strength.</p> + +<p>In Germany also a spirit of revolt against his tyranny was rising, +Austria at first taking the lead, and this brought on the war of 1809 +against that power. Prussia, already beginning to recover her strength +under the military system of Scharnhorst and Stein, was hostile to +Napoleon in sentiment, but was kept down by the pressure of Russia. +Napoleon declared war on the pretext that Austria was arming, and +marching through Bavaria drove the Austrians out of Ratisbon, and +entered Vienna May 13th. Eugene Beauharnais, at the head of the Army +of Italy, drove the Austrians before him into Hungary, defeated them +at Raab, and joined Napoleon. The emperor then tried to cross the +Danube, but was checked at Aspern and obliged to retire to the island +of Lobau. Five weeks of preparation then followed, the peasant war +under Hofer being carried on in Tyrol, and then Napoleon made a fresh +and successful attempt to cross the Danube, and won the battle of +Wagram July 5th. This was followed by the armistice of Znaim and the +treaty of Schönbrunn, October 20, 1809, by which he obtained a heavy +indemnity in money and considerable accession of territory in +Carniola, Carinthia, Croatia, and Galicia. But he mortally offended +the czar by giving a large portion of the ceded territory of Galicia +to the Duchy of Warsaw—i.e., to Poland.</p> + +<p>On December 16, 1809, Napoleon, desirous of an heir, divorced +Joséphine, who was childless, and married, April 1, 1810, the +Archduchess Maria Louisa of Austria. He had no doubt the wish also to +get a footing in the circle of the legitimate reigning families of +Europe. A son, to whom the title of King of Rome was given, was born +March 20, 1811.</p> + +<p>Still bent on the humiliation of England, Napoleon now tried to effect +his purpose by increasing the stringency of the Continental System, +but this ended in bringing him into conflict with Russia. He first +annexed the kingdoms of Holland and Westphalia, to give him command of +their seaboards, and then prohibited English trade even when carried +in neutral bottoms. The czar, already estranged by Napoleon's alliance +with Austria and his conduct as regards Poland, refused to adopt this +policy, and the relations between them gradually became so strained +that war was inevitable, and Napoleon took the momentous resolve to +invade Russia. With Maria Louisa, he arrived at Dresden May 16, 1812, +and was there greeted by the Emperor of Austria, the King of Prussia, +and other sovereigns. His army for this gigantic enterprise numbered +about six hundred thousand, including French, Germans, and Italians. +He crossed the Niemen on June 24th, reaching Vilna, which was +evacuated by the Russians, on the 28th; and remained at Vilna till +July 16th, hesitating to take the final resolution to invade the heart +of Russia. He made overtures for peace to the czar, who refused to +treat as long as an enemy remained on Russian soil. Foiled here +Napoleon at last decided <span class="pagenum"><a id="page269" name="page269"></a>(p. 269)</span> to go on with his enterprise; so he +advanced, and at first the Russians were in no condition to meet him, +their forces being scattered. If Napoleon could have advanced rapidly +to Smolensk, he might have cut the Russian forces in two, but his vast +host appears to have been unmanageable. Barclay de Tolly and Bagration +succeeded in uniting at Smolensk, but were driven from it on August +18th, after an obstinate defence. At Smolensk Napoleon again hesitated +as to whether he should go into winter-quarters, but eventually +decided to press on to Moscow, trusting to the moral effect of the +fall of the ancient capital. It seems as if, while his superstitious +belief in his star still remained, bodily ailments had caused a +deterioration in his power of rapid decision and in his energy of +action. Meanwhile, great discontent had been caused in Russia by the +continued retreat of the armies. Kutusoff was appointed to the chief +command, and stood to fight at Borodino on September 6th. Napoleon won +the battle, but with unwonted and misplaced caution refused to engage +his Guard, and the victory was almost fruitless.</p> + +<p>He entered Moscow on September 14th, and fire broke out the next +night, the first effect of which was still further to alarm the +Russians, who believed it to be the work of the French. The fire raged +fiercely till the 20th, and a great part of the city was burned to the +ground. Had the victory of Borodino been more decisive the czar might +now have yielded; but as it was he listened to the advice of Stein and +Sir R. Wilson and refused to treat, thus putting Napoleon in a +dilemma. His plans were always made on the basis of immediate success, +and the course to be adopted in case of failure was not considered. +Again he hesitated, with the result that when at last he resolved to +retire from Moscow, the winter, coming earlier than usual, upset his +calculations, and the miseries of that terrible retreat followed. He +left Moscow on October 18th, and, reaching the Beresina with but +12,000 men, was joined there by Oudinot and Victor, who had been +holding the line of the Dwina, with 18,000. His passage of the river +was opposed, but he succeeded in crossing, and on December 6th the +miserable remnant of the Grand Army reached Vilna. Macdonald, Reynier, +and Schwarzenberg, with 100,000 men, on the Polish frontier and in the +Baltic provinces, were safe; but this was the whole available remnant +of the 600,000 with which the campaign commenced.</p> + +<p>All Europe now united against him. The French armies were discouraged, +and the allies enthusiastic; but the latter had difficulties to +contend with from their heterogeneous composition and diversity of +interests. The campaign opened with varying fortune. A blow at Berlin +was parried by Bülow at Gross Beeren on August 23d. Napoleon himself +forced Blücher back to the Katzbach, but had to retire again to defend +Dresden from the Austrians; and his lieutenant, Macdonald, was +defeated in the battle of the Katzbach on August 26th. Napoleon +inflicted a crushing defeat on the Austrians before Dresden on the +27th, but, while preparing to cut off their retreat, was disturbed by +the news of Gross-Beeren and the Katzbach and by sudden illness, and +at Kulm lost Vandamme with 20,000 men. September was spent in +fruitless marches, and toward the end of the month the allies began +their converging march on their preconcerted rendezvous at Leipsic. At +the same time the Confederation of the Rhine began to dissolve. The +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page270" name="page270"></a>(p. 270)</span> kingdom of Westphalia was upset on October 1st, and on the +8th Bavaria joined Austria. The toils were closing round Napoleon, and +between October 14th and 19th he was crushed in that battle of the +Titans at Leipsic, and, brushing aside the Bavarians, who tried to +stop him at Haynau, on November 1st, led back the remnant of his army, +some 70,000 strong, across the Rhine at Mainz.</p> + +<p>The allies now made overtures for peace on the basis of natural +frontiers, which would have left France the fruits of the first +Revolution, viz., Belgium, the left bank of the Rhine, Savoy, and +Nice; but Napoleon could not be content with such curtailment of his +power. Evading at first the proposal, he would have accepted it, but +with suspicious qualifications, when too late. The invasion of France +followed. The allies issued a manifesto on December 1st, saying they +were waging war against Napoleon alone, and advanced with three +separate armies. Schwarzenberg led the Austrians through Switzerland, +Blücher crossed the Middle Rhine toward Nancy, while the northern army +passed through Holland. Napoleon had yet hopes of success on account +of the forces he still had in the German fortresses, the mutual +jealousies of the allies, his connection with the Emperor of Austria, +and the patriotism which would be aroused in France by invasion. But +the allies gave him no time to utilize these influences, and Paris was +not fortified. Napoleon carried on a campaign full of genius, gaining +what advantage he could from the separation of his enemies. He +attacked Blücher and won four battles in four days at Champaubert +(February 10, 1814), Montmirail (11th), Château-Thierry (12th), and +Vauchamps (13th). These successes would have enabled him to make a +reasonable peace, but his personal position forbade this, and he tried +subterfuge and delay. The allies, however, were not to be trifled +with, and in the beginning of March signed the treaty of Chaumont, +which bound them each to keep 150,000 men on foot for twenty years. +The battles of Craonne and Laon followed, in which Napoleon held his +own, but saw his resources dwindle. On March 18th the conferences at +Chatillon came to an end, and on the 24th the allies determined to +march on Paris. Marmont and Mortier, with less than thirty thousand +men, could make no head against them, while Napoleon himself tried a +fruitless diversion against their communications. Joseph Bonaparte +withdrew Maria Louisa and the King of Rome to Tours. On March 30th the +allies attacked Paris on three sides, and in the afternoon the French +marshals offered to capitulate. Napoleon, when he learned the real +state of affairs, hurried up in rear of the allies, but was too late, +and had to fall back to Fontainebleau. His position was desperate, and +to add to his difficulties Wellington, whose career of success had +gradually cleared the French out of the Peninsula, had now led his +victorious army across the Pyrenees into France itself.</p> + +<p>Napoleon therefore at first offered to abdicate in favor of his son, +but, when he found that would not be sufficient, he signed an +unconditional abdication on April 11, 1814. He was given the +sovereignty of the island of Elba, and the Bourbons, in the person of +Louis XVIII., were restored to the throne of France. But the condition +of affairs was very precarious. The return of the Bourbons was most +unpopular. It indeed restored the parliament, but it unsettled the +position of <span class="pagenum"><a id="page271" name="page271"></a>(p. 271)</span> public men and the title to estates. The army +was disgusted at the appointment to commands of emigrés who had fought +against France. The Church began to cause alarm to the holders of +national property; and by the release of prisoners and the return of +the garrisons of German fortresses, very large numbers of Napoleonic +soldiers became dispersed over France. The coalition, too, broke up, +and fresh alliances began to be sought with a view to check the +aggressive spirit which Russia seemed inclined to manifest. Altogether +affairs in Europe and France were in such a state as to make it not +impossible that the magic of Napoleon's name might replace him in +power. He accordingly resolved on making the attempt, left Elba on +February 26, 1815, and landed on the French coast on March 1st. On the +20th he entered Paris, having been joined by the army.</p> + +<p>Europe had declared war against him, and a new coalition had been +formed, but only two armies were immediately ready to take the field; +a mixed force under the Duke of Wellington in Belgium, and a Prussian +army under Blücher in the Rhine provinces. The English army had its +base on the sea, and the Prussian on the Rhine, so that they had +diverging lines of operation. Napoleon's idea was to strike suddenly +at their point of junction before they could concentrate, push in +between them, drive them apart, and then defeat each separately. The +plan was unexceptionable, resembling that of his first campaign in +1796, and the opening moves were successfully carried out. Napoleon +left Paris on June 12th, his army being then echeloned between Paris +and the Belgian frontier, so that the point where the blow would fall +was still doubtful. On the 15th he occupied Charleroi, and was between +the two allied armies, and on the 16th he defeated Blücher at Ligny +before Wellington could come to his assistance. So far all had gone +well with him; but now, apparently, his energy was not sufficient to +cope rapidly with the difficulties that no doubt beset him through the +shortcomings of his staff, and the spirit of mutual distrust that +reigned among his officers. He did nothing till the morning of the +17th, and it was not till 2 <span class="smcap">P.M.</span> that he sent Grouchy with 33,000 men +to follow the Prussians in the supposed direction of their retreat +toward Liége, and keep them at a distance while he turned against +Wellington. But he had lost his opportunity; the wasted hours had +enabled the Prussians to disappear, and he did not know the fact that +Blücher had taken the resolution to move on Wavre, giving up his own +communications in order to reunite with Wellington. The latter had +retired to a previously chosen position at Mont St. Jean, and received +Blücher's promise to lead his army to his assistance. So on the 18th, +when Napoleon attacked the duke, unknown to him the bulk of the +Prussian army was hastening up on his right flank, while Grouchy was +fruitlessly engaged with the Prussian rear-guard only. This led to the +crowning defeat of Waterloo, where Napoleon's fortunes were finally +wrecked. He fled to Paris, and abdicated for the last time on June +22d; and, finding it impossible to escape from France, he surrendered +to Captain Maitland, of the Bellerophon, at Rochefort, on July 15th. +He was banished by the British Government to St. Helena, where he +arrived on October 15, 1815, and died there of cancer of the stomach +on May 5, 1821.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page272" name="page272"></a>(p. 272)</span> ARTHUR, DUKE OF WELLINGTON<br> +By <span class="smcap">L. Drake</span><br> +(1769-1852)</h3> + +<a id="img021" name="img021"></a> +<div class="floatleft"> +<img src="images/img021.jpg" width="250" height="360" alt="Duke of Wellington." title=""> +</div> + +<p>Arthur Wellesley, the fourth son of the Earl of Mornington, was born +on May 1, 1769, at Dungan Castle, in Ireland. Although exhibiting no +decided inclination for the profession of arms, a soldier's career was +chosen for him at an early age; and after some preparatory years spent +at Eton, he was sent to Angers, in France, to learn in its ancient +military school those lessons in the art of war which he was destined +in after-life again and again so gloriously to surpass.</p> + +<p>Unlike his contemporary Napoleon, the genius of Wellington did not +display itself beyond enabling him to attain a fair and creditable +proficiency at Angers. On his return to England he was gazetted to an +ensigncy early in 1787; and five years later, having passed through +the intermediate degrees, he obtained a troop in the Eighteenth Light +Dragoons.</p> + +<p>His first appearance in public life was as a statesman, having been +returned to the Irish Parliament for the borough of Trim. His military +career of active service commenced by his being ordered, with his +regiment, to join the army in the Netherlands. Ere he reached it, the +tide of victory was running against the British arms; and his opening +campaign, while it gave him much experience, brought him but little +glory. He had now obtained the rank of colonel; and, as commander of +the rear-guard of the army, he steadily covered its retreat before the +advancing troops of the French republic, till they crossed the +frontiers of the Low Countries; when, after a kindly welcome and a +short stay with the Bremeners, they returned home.</p> + +<p>The worn-out regiments were immediately recruited; and in April, 1796, +Colonel Wellesley sailed with his corps for the East Indies, where he +arrived in February the following year.</p> + +<p>The fall of Seringapatam, and the death of Tippou-Saib in its defence, +are well-known events.</p> + +<p>The principal command of the army in India was soon intrusted to +Colonel Wellesley, and early next year he was gazetted major-general. +The nature of <span class="pagenum"><a id="page273" name="page273"></a>(p. 273)</span> this sketch will not admit of a detailed +account of the rest of the campaign, although it proved a "short but +brilliant one"—one which ended in the entire submission of the +Mahratta potentates who continued the struggle after Tippou's fall, +and completely established the reputation of the future hero of +Waterloo.</p> + +<p>A staff command awaited Major-General (and now Sir Arthur) Wellesley's +return to England; and soon afterward he married Catherine, the third +daughter of the Earl of Longford.</p> + +<p>The command of a detachment of the army sent against the French in +Spain and Portugal, was confided to Sir Arthur, in June, 1808, when +without delay he proceeded to Corunna. The successes of the earlier +portion of the campaign, owing to the admirable conduct of Sir Arthur, +were so well appreciated at home that the king raised him to the +peerage. Through many difficulties Lord Wellington still continued to +lead the allied army on from victory to victory, to relate which, even +briefly, would alone fill a volume, till he found himself ready for +the last grand struggle at Ciudad Rodrigo, which was now occupied by +the French. It was early in January, 1811, yet notwithstanding the +coldness of the weather, and the dangers to which the army was +exposed, in case of the sudden rising of the river Agueda, which runs +nearly in front of the town, the preliminaries of the siege were +successfully conducted. One afternoon, the breaching batteries, +comprising twenty-seven large guns, opened their fire on the wall of +the town. In five days the breaches were practicable, and a summons to +surrender was sent to the governor. This he declined doing. +Wellington, having personally examined the breaches, felt convinced +that an assault had every prospect of success. Ordering the fire of +the guns to be directed against the cannon on the ramparts, he sat +down on an embankment, and wrote the order of assault which was to +seal the doom of the town, beginning with the emphatic sentence—"The +attack upon Ciudad Rodrigo must be made this evening at seven +o'clock."</p> + +<p>Spain and Portugal conferred honors on the conqueror of Rodrigo; and +at home he was raised to the earldom of Wellington, with an increased +annuity of £2,000 a year.</p> + +<p>The French army, under Marshal Soult, had at length been compelled to +quit Spain, and with such speed, that in four days they passed over +ground which it took the allied armies seven days to traverse. During +the retreat the two armies approached each other several times; and on +one occasion, when the French army was crossing the plains of Ger, its +pursuers followed so closely, that had it not been for the thick woods +through which they had to pass, Soult's retreat would have been +seriously endangered by the British cavalry.</p> + +<p>When Bonaparte had quitted Fontainebleau, and had embarked on board +the Undaunted frigate for Elba, Lord Wellington felt he might safely +leave the army for a time; and, setting out for Paris, he reached it +May 4th. He met with an enthusiastic reception from all classes; while +the unqualified praises of each of the allied sovereigns showed how +much the successful issue of the struggle to restore liberty to Europe +was due to his talents and constancy of purpose. The restored Spanish +king, Ferdinand, sent him a letter of gratitude; and the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page274" name="page274"></a>(p. 274)</span> +Crown Prince of Sweden gave him the Order of the Sword. England at the +same time conferred upon him the dukedom he so long enjoyed, and +raised five of his lieutenants to peerages.</p> + +<p>Once more the "loud shrill clarion" of war aroused Europe to arms. Ten +short months after his abdication, Napoleon, escaped from Elba, was +again in Paris, resolved to incur all risks in order to gain the +greatest prize in Europe—the crown he had so lately relinquished. The +magic influence of his name spread through France, which became one +vast camp; and in an incredibly short space of time Napoleon found +himself ready to take the field with an army of one hundred and fifty +thousand men, of whom twenty thousand were highly disciplined cavalry. +The whole army was perfectly equipped, while three hundred pieces of +cannon formed an overpowering artillery. To oppose this well-appointed +force, the Duke of Wellington and Marshal Blücher had collected an +army of one hundred and eighty thousand men. But although the allied +armies thus exceeded Napoleon's in numbers, his consisted of veteran +troops of one nation, while theirs were composed, for the most part, +of raw levies. That under the duke was "the weakest and the worst;" at +no time did it reach eighty thousand men, and on one-half of these +only could reliance be placed in the day of battle.</p> + +<p>"I am going to have a brush with Wellington," said Napoleon, on the +evening of June 11, 1815; and next morning before daybreak he set out +to join his army on the frontiers, taking every precaution to conceal +from Wellington that he was coming. Napoleon's object was to separate +Blücher from Wellington, then to deal with each singly, and thus to +crush them forever. Then France, rejoicing to see glory once more +resting on her eagles, would again hail him as her emperor.</p> + +<p>While at dinner, Wellington received the first news of the advance of +Napoleon. Thinking that this was merely a feint to draw the allies +toward Ligny, while a serious attempt was made upon Brussels, +Wellington, who had already prepared himself for any emergency, +determined to wait till Napoleon's object was more fully displayed; +while, therefore, he gave orders that the troops should be in +readiness to march at a moment's notice, he, with his officers, joined +in the festivities of a ball given that evening by the Duchess of +Richmond.</p> + +<p>Blücher's second courier arrived before twelve o'clock, and the +despatches were delivered to the duke in the ball-room. While he was +reading them, he seemed completely absorbed by their contents; and +after he had finished, for some minutes he remained in the same +attitude of deep reflection, totally abstracted from every surrounding +object, while his countenance was expressive of fixed and intense +thought. He was heard to mutter to himself, "Marshal Blücher +thinks"—"It is Marshal Blücher's opinion;"—and after remaining thus +abstracted a few minutes, and having apparently formed his decision, +he gave his usual clear and concise orders to one of his staff +officers, who instantly left the room, and was again as gay and +animated as ever; he stayed to supper, and then went home.</p> + +<a id="img022" name="img022"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/img022.jpg" width="500" height="451" alt="" title=""> +<p>A review of the British Army by Wellington.</p> +</div> + +<p>The trumpet's loud call awoke every sleeper in the city of Brussels a +little <span class="pagenum"><a id="page275" name="page275"></a>(p. 275)</span> after midnight. Then it became known that the +French had advanced to Charleroi, which they had taken, and that the +English troops were ordered to advance and support the Prussians. +Instantly the place resounded with martial preparations; and as +soldiers were quartered in every house, the whole town became one +bustling scene.</p> + +<p>At daylight the troops were under arms, and at eight o'clock set out +for Quatre Bras, the expected scene of action in advance of Charleroi; +the fifth division taking the direct road through the forest of +Soignies.</p> + +<p>Early in the afternoon, Marshal Ney attacked the Prince of Orange, and +by an overwhelming superiority of troops was driving him back through +a thick wood called "Le Bois de Bossen," when the leading columns of +the English reached Quatre Bras. Wellington's eye at once saw the +critical condition of his ally; and, though the troops had marched +twenty miles under a sultry sky, he knew their spirit was indomitable, +and gave the welcome order that the wood must be immediately regained.</p> + +<p>On came Ney's infantry, doubling that of his opponents' in number, +supported by a crashing fire of artillery, quickly followed by the +cavalry, which, dashing through the rye crops, more than breast high, +charged the English regiments as soon as they reached the +battle-ground.</p> + +<p>Yet, though unable properly to establish themselves, they formed +squares, and roughly repelled the enemy. Fierce and frequent were the +efforts of the French to break the squares. Showers of grape poured +upon them; and the moment an opening appeared, on rushed the lancers. +But the dead were quickly removed; and, though the squares were +lessened, they still presented an unbroken line of glittering +bayonets, which neither the spears of the lancers, nor the long swords +of the cuirassiers could break through. A division of the Guards from +Enghien, coming up at this crisis, gallantly charged the enemy, and in +half an hour cleared the wood of them completely. This exploit was +remarkable, achieved as it was by young soldiers after a toilsome +march of fifteen hours, during which time they had been without +anything to eat or drink. The fire of the French artillery, and the +charges of cavalry, obliged these gallant fellows, although now joined +by the Brunswickers, in some measure to keep the shelter of the wood. +They, however, sallied out at intervals, until Ney, finding himself +shaken, sent for his reserve. This force Napoleon had unexpectedly +removed to support his attack on the Prussians at Ligny; yet the +marshal maintained his position to the close of the day, when he fell +back on the road to Frasnes, while the British and their brave allies +lighted fires, and securing such provisions as they could, after a +scanty meal, piled arms, and lay down to rest on the battle-field.</p> + +<p>Napoleon's simultaneous attack on the Prussians at Ligny was for a +long time doubtful. Both Blücher and Napoleon were compelled to bring +their reserves into action; and when night closed, Blücher still, +"like a wounded lion," fought with ferocity. But the darkness enabled +Napoleon to wheel a division of French infantry on the rear of the +Prussians, while a dense body of cuirassiers forced Ligny on the other +side, and not till then did Blücher fall back.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page276" name="page276"></a>(p. 276)</span> Wellington was prepared to accept battle at daybreak next +morning; but, hearing of Blücher's retreat, he also resolved to fall +back, so as to keep a lateral communication with the right wing of the +Prussians, and by this movement also prevent Bonaparte from placing +himself between the two armies, when at his choice he might turn his +forces against either, in which case the inferiority of numbers would +have entailed certain defeat.</p> + +<p>Napoleon expected to find the English army still upon the ground it +had occupied on the 16th. Great was his surprise when, on reaching the +heights above Frasnes, he saw that the troops at the entrance of the +wood were only a strong rear-guard, and that the retreat toward +Brussels was already half effected. He bitterly rebuked Ney for his +supposed negligence, though Wellington's own officers did not imagine +they were to retreat till the moment it began; and the duke, by +dexterously wheeling his troops round the wood, part of which could +only be seen by the French, gave their marshal the idea that he was +bringing up large reinforcements instead of drawing off his troops. +The French squadrons immediately commenced the pursuit, but were so +rudely handled by the Life Guards under Lord Uxbridge, who protected +the rear, that, after several attacks, in the last of which the French +hussars were charged and nearly cut to pieces, the pursuit was so +severely checked as to give the infantry ample time to take up the +ground appointed them on the heights of Mont St. Jean, covering the +approach to Brussels by the great road from Charleroi.</p> + +<p>"Here it was that the duke had determined to make his final stand, +staking the glory of many years on the issue of a single battle."</p> + +<p>When day broke, and Napoleon beheld his opponents, whom he feared +would have escaped him during the night, fearlessly occupying their +position of the evening before, and evidently prepared to defend it, a +flush of joy overspread his face, while he exclaimed confidently, +"Bravo! I have them then—these English!"</p> + +<p>By nine o'clock the weather moderated, the sun shone out, fires were +kindled, the men dried and cleaned their arms, and, ammunition being +served out, provisions were distributed, and the men breakfasted "with +some degree of comfort."</p> + +<p>Since daybreak occasional shots had been fired; but not till eleven +o'clock did the battle begin. A body of light troops left the French +line, and, descending the hill at a sling trot, broke into scattered +parties, keeping up an irregular fire as they advanced toward the +Château of Hougoumont. These were closely followed by three divisions +nearly thirty thousand strong; and the dropping fire was soon changed +into one continued roll of musketry. As the English skirmishers fell +back, two brigades of British artillery opened on the advancing +columns of the French, each shot plunging and tearing through their +masses, while the shells from the howitzers fell so truly that the +shaken columns drew back. But now a powerful artillery opened from the +French heights, fresh troops poured forward, and for more than an hour +the line of each army remained spectators of the terrific attack on +the château, surrounded by a dense cloud of smoke, through which +glared forth the flashes of the artillery. The French guns <span class="pagenum"><a id="page277" name="page277"></a>(p. 277)</span> +had found their range; every shot told upon the old walls of the +mansion; and crashing masonry, burning rafters falling, mingled with +the yell of battle, added a frightful interest to the scene. At length +the Nassau sharpshooters were driven back, and the French troops began +to penetrate the orchard; but, ere they could occupy it the squadrons +of English cavalry, under Lord Saltoun, bore down upon them, and drove +them back. Wheeling round, they then attempted the rear of the +château, but being received unflinchingly, were obliged to retire. +Despairing of success, the French artillery now discharged shells upon +Hougoumont; the tower and chapel were soon in a blaze, and in these +many wounded men met a dreadful fate. Still, though surrounded by +flames and bursting shells, with the heavy shot ploughing through wall +and window, the Guards held their post, nor could Hougoumont be taken.</p> + +<p>"How beautifully these English fight! But they must give way," +exclaimed Napoleon to Marshal Soult. But evening came, and yet they +held their ground. The men, maddened by seeing their comrades falling +around them, longed ardently for the moment to advance; but Wellington +felt that the crisis was not yet come. It required all his authority +to restrain the troops; but he knew their powers of endurance.</p> + +<p>"Not yet, my brave fellows," said the duke; "be firm a little longer, +and you shall have at them by-and-by." This homely appeal kept each +man in his place in the ranks. But now the superior officers +remonstrated, and advised a retreat.</p> + +<p>"Will the troops stand?" demanded Wellington.</p> + +<p>"Till they perish!" was the reply.</p> + +<p>"Then," added the duke, "I will stand with them to the last man."</p> + +<p>Yet Wellington was not insensible of the critical nature of his +position, and longed for night or Blücher. It was now seven, and the +Prussians had been expected at three. In less than an hour, the sound +of artillery was heard in the expected direction, and a staff officer +brought word that the head of the Prussian column was at Planchenoit, +nearly in the rear of the French reserve. Bonaparte, when told of +their advance, maintained that it was Grouchy's long-expected force +coming up; but when he saw them issue from the wood, and perceived the +Prussian colors, he turned pale, but uttered not a word.</p> + +<p>Napoleon's Imperial Guards—his veteran troops—were now advancing, +covered by a tempest of shot and shells, toward the ridge behind which +lay the British infantry to gain a shelter from the fire. Wellington +eagerly watched the dense cloud as it approached; and when it arrived +within a hundred yards, advancing on horseback to the brow of the +ridge, he exclaimed, "Up, Guards, and at them!"</p> + +<p>In a moment the men were on their feet—the French closed on them, +when a tremendous volley drove the whole mass back; but the old +Imperial Guard recovered, yet only to receive a second volley as +deadly as the first, followed by a bold charge with the bayonet, which +forced them down the slope, and up the opposite bank. In vain the +French attempted to support them by taking the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page278" name="page278"></a>(p. 278)</span> Guards in +flank. Lord Hill brought forward the extreme right of the army, in the +form of a crescent, which overlapping the horsemen, they were crushed +as in a serpent's folds, while the infantry fell back, re-formed, and +occupied their former place on the ridge.</p> + +<p>Wellington's quick eye already detected the confusion caused by the +Prussian attack under General Bülow on the French rear. Hastily +closing his telescope, he exclaimed, "The hour is come! Now every man +must advance!"</p> + +<p>Forming into one long line, four men deep, the whole infantry +advanced, with a loud cheer, the sun at the instant streaming out as +if to shed his last glories on the conquerors of that dreadful day. +Headed by the duke, with his hat in hand, the line advanced with +spirit and rapidity, while the horse-artillery opened a fire of +canister-shot on the confused masses.</p> + +<p>For a few minutes they stood their ground gallantly; and, even when +the allied cavalry charged full upon them, four battalions of the Old +Guard formed squares, and checked its advance. As the grapeshot tore +through the ranks of the veterans, they closed up again, and, to every +summons to surrender, gave the stern reply, "The Guard never +surrender—they die!"</p> + +<p>Napoleon had already fled. Finding all hope of victory gone, he at +first threw himself into one of the squares of the Old Guard, +determined to die with them, but when the Prussians gained on their +rear, and he was in danger of being made prisoner, he exclaimed, "For +the present it is finished. Let us save ourselves!" and, turning his +horse's head, he fled with ten or twelve of his immediate attendants.</p> + +<p>It was now half-past nine at night, and the moon rose with more than +ordinary splendor. The French, now a mass of fugitives, were closely +pursued by both armies, and a fearful slaughter ensued between +Waterloo and Genappe. At the latter place the British discontinued the +pursuit; but the Prussians, comparatively fresh, pursued without +intermission; their light-horse putting no limit to their revenge. +Many of the poor fugitives sought shelter in the villages on their +route; but at the sound of a Prussian trumpet they fled again, only to +be overtaken and cut down.</p> + +<p>Wellington re-crossed the field of Waterloo to sup at Brussels. The +moonlight revealed all the horrors of the scene—his stern nature gave +way—and, bursting into tears, he exclaimed, "I have never fought such +a battle, and I hope never to fight such another."</p> + +<p>He never did. Waterloo was his last battle, though he lived for nearly +forty years afterward, a leader in English politics, and died in 1852, +a national hero, a worthy twin figure to the immortal Nelson.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page279" name="page279"></a>(p. 279)</span> LORD HORATIO NELSON<br> +(1758-1805)</h3> + +<a id="img023" name="img023"></a> +<div class="floatleft"> +<img src="images/img023.jpg" width="250" height="308" alt="Lord Nelson." title=""> +</div> + +<p>Horatio Nelson was born at Burnham Thorpe, in Norfolk, September 29, +1758. His father, the rector of that parish, was burdened with a +numerous family; and it is said to have been more with a view to +lighten that burden than from predilection for the service, that at +the age of twelve he expressed a wish to go to sea, under the care of +his uncle, Captain Suckling. Of his early adventures it is unnecessary +to speak in detail. In 1773 he served in Captain Phipps's voyage of +discovery in the Northern Polar seas. His next station was the East +Indies; from which, at the end of eighteen months, he was compelled to +return by a very severe and dangerous illness. In April, 1777, he +passed his examination, and was immediately commissioned as second +lieutenant of the Lowestoffe frigate, then fitting out for Jamaica.</p> + +<p>Fortunate in conciliating the good-will and esteem of those with whom +he served, he passed rapidly through the lower ranks of his +profession, and was made post-captain, with the command of the +Hinchinbrook, of twenty-eight guns, June 11, 1779, when not yet of +age. In 1782 he was appointed to the Albemarle, twenty-eight; and in +1784 to the Boreas, twenty-eight, in which he served for three years +in the West Indies, and though in time of peace, gave signal proof of +his resolution and strict sense of duty, by being the first to insist +on the exclusion of the Americans from direct trade with the British +colonies, agreeably to the terms of the Navigation Act. He had no +small difficulties to contend with; for the planters and the colonial +authorities were united against him, and even the admiral on the +station coincided with their views, and gave orders that the Americans +should be allowed free access to the islands. Still Nelson persevered. +Transmitting a respectful remonstrance to the admiral, he seized four +of the American ships, and after a long and tedious process at law, in +which he incurred much anxiety and expense, he succeeded in procuring +their condemnation by the Admiralty Court. Neither his services in +this matter, nor his efforts to expose and remedy the peculations and +dishonesty of the government agents, in almost all matters connected +with naval affairs in the West Indies, were duly acknowledged by the +Government at home; and in moments of spleen when <span class="pagenum"><a id="page280" name="page280"></a>(p. 280)</span> suffering +under inconveniences which a conscientious discharge of his duty had +brought on him, he talked of quitting the service of an ungrateful +country. In March, 1787, he married Mrs. Nisbet, a West-Indian lady, +and in the same year returned to England. He continued unemployed till +January, 1793; when, on the breaking out of the French wars, he was +appointed to the Agamemnon, sixty-four, and ordered to serve in the +Mediterranean under the command of Lord Hood.</p> + +<p>An ample field for action was now open to him. Lord Hood, who had +known him in the West Indies, and appreciated his merits, employed him +to co-operate with Paoli in delivering Corsica from its subjection to +France; and most laboriously and ably did he perform the duty +intrusted to him. The siege and capture of Bastia was entirely owing +to his efforts; and at the siege of Calvi, during which he lost an +eye, and throughout the train of successes which brought about the +temporary annexation of Corsica to the British crown, his services, +and those of the brave crew of the Agamemnon, were conspicuous. In +1795 Nelson was selected to co-operate with the Austrian and Sardinian +troops in opposing the progress of the French in the north of Italy. +The incapacity, if not dishonesty, and the bad success of those with +whom he had to act, rendered this service irksome and inglorious; and +his mortification was heightened when orders were sent out to withdraw +the fleet from the Mediterranean, and evacuate Corsica and Elba. These +reverses, however, were the prelude to a day of glory. On February 13, +1797, the British fleet, commanded by Sir John Jervis, fell in with +the Spanish fleet off Cape St. Vincent. In the battle which ensued, +Nelson, who had been raised to the rank of Commodore, and removed to +the Captain, seventy-four, bore a most distinguished part. +Apprehensive lest the enemy might be enabled to escape without +fighting, he did not hesitate to disobey signals, and executed a +manœuvre which brought the Captain into close action at once with +three first-rates, an eighty, and two seventy-four gun ships. Captain +Trowbridge, in the Culloden, immediately came to his support, and they +maintained the contest for near an hour against this immense disparity +of force. One first-rate and one seventy-four dropped astern disabled; +but the Culloden was also crippled, and the Captain was fired on by +five ships of the line at once; when Captain Collingwood, in the +Excellent, came up and engaged the huge Santissima Trinidad, of one +hundred and thirty-six guns. By this time the Captain's rigging was +all shot away; and she lay unmanageable abreast of the eighty-gun +ship, the San Nicolas. Nelson seized the opportunity to board, and was +himself among the first to enter the Spanish ship. She struck after a +short struggle; and, sending for fresh men, he led the way from his +prize to board the San Josef, of one hundred and twelve guns, +exclaiming, "Westminster Abbey or victory." The ships immediately +surrendered. Nelson received the most lively and public thanks for his +services from the admiral, who was raised to the peerage by the title +of Earl St. Vincent. Nelson received the Order of the Bath; he had +already been made Rear-Admiral, before tidings of the battle reached +England.</p> + +<p>During the spring, Sir Horatio Nelson commanded the inner squadron +employed <span class="pagenum"><a id="page281" name="page281"></a>(p. 281)</span> in the blockade of Cadiz. He was afterward +despatched on an expedition against Teneriffe, which was defeated with +considerable loss to the assailants. The admiral himself lost his +right arm, and was obliged to return to England, where he languished +more than four months before the cure of his wound was completed. His +services were rewarded by a pension of £1,000. On this occasion he was +required by official forms to present a memorial of the services in +which he had been engaged; and as our brief account can convey no +notion of the constant activity of his early life, we quote the +abstract of this paper given by Mr. Southey. "It stated that he had +been in four actions with the fleets of the enemy, and in three +actions with boats employed in cutting out of harbor, in destroying +vessels, and in taking three towns; he had served on shore with the +army four months, and commanded the batteries at the sieges of Bastia +and Calvi; he had assisted at the capture of seven sail of the line, +six frigates, four corvettes, and eleven privateers; taken and +destroyed near fifty sail of merchant vessels, and actually been +engaged against the enemy upward of a hundred and twenty times; in +which service he had lost his right eye and right arm, and been +severely wounded and bruised in his body."</p> + +<p>Early in 1798 Nelson went out in the Vanguard to rejoin Lord St. +Vincent off Cadiz. He was immediately despatched with a squadron, into +the Mediterranean, to watch an armament known to be fitting out at +Toulon, the destination of which excited much anxiety. It sailed May +20th, attacked and took Malta, and then proceeded, as Nelson supposed, +to Egypt. Strengthened by a powerful reinforcement, he made all sail +for Alexandria; but there no enemy had been seen or heard of. He +returned in haste along the north coast of the Mediterranean to +Sicily, refreshed the fleet, and again sailed to the eastward. On +nearing Alexandria the second time, August 1st, he had the pleasure of +seeing the object of his toilsome cruise moored in Aboukir Bay, in +line of battle. It appeared afterward that the two fleets must have +crossed each other on the night of June 22d.</p> + +<p>The French fleet consisted of thirteen ships of the line and four +frigates; the British of the same number of ships of the line, and one +fifty-gun ship. In number of guns and men the French had a decided +superiority. It was evening before the British fleet came up. The +battle began at half-past six; night closed in at seven, and the +struggle was continued through the darkness—a magnificent and awful +spectacle to thousands who watched the engagement with eager anxiety. +Victory was not long doubtful. The first two ships of the French line +were dismasted in a quarter of an hour; the third, fourth, and fifth +were taken by half-past eight; about ten, the L'Orient, Admiral +Bruey's flag-ship, blew up. By daybreak the two rear ships, which had +not been engaged, cut their cables and stood out to sea, in company +with two frigates, leaving nine ships of the line in the hands of the +British, who were too much crippled to engage in pursuit. Two ships of +the line and two frigates were burnt or sunk. Three out of the four +ships which escaped were subsequently taken; and thus, of the whole +armament, only a single frigate returned to France.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page282" name="page282"></a>(p. 282)</span> This victory, the most complete and most important then known +in naval warfare, raised Nelson to the summit of glory, and presents +and honors were showered on him from all quarters. The gratitude of +his country was expressed, inadequately in comparison with the rewards +bestowed on others for less important services, by raising him to the +peerage, by the title of Baron Nelson of the Nile, with a pension of +£2,000. The Court of Naples, to which the battle of Aboukir was as a +reprieve from destruction, testified a due sense of its obligation by +bestowing on him the dukedom and domain of Bronte, in Sicily.</p> + +<p>The autumn of 1798, the whole of 1799, and part of 1800, Nelson spent +in the Mediterranean, employed in the recovery of Malta, in protecting +Sicily, and in co-operating to expel the French from the Neapolitan +continental dominions. In 1800 various causes of discontent led him to +solicit leave to return to England, where he was received with the +enthusiasm due to his services.</p> + +<p>Soon afterward he separated himself formally from Lady Nelson. In +March, 1801, he sailed as second in command of the expedition against +Copenhagen, led by Sir Hyde Parker. The dilatoriness with which it was +conducted increased the difficulties of this enterprise, and might +have caused it to fail, had not Nelson's energy and talent been at +hand to overcome the obstacles occasioned by this delay. The attack +was intrusted to him by Sir Hyde Parker, and executed April 2d, with +his usual promptitude and success. After a fierce engagement, with +great slaughter on both sides, the greater part of the Danish line of +defence was captured or silenced. Nelson then sent a flag of truce on +shore, and an armistice was concluded. He bore honorable testimony to +the gallantry of his opponents. "The French," he said, "fought +bravely, but they could not have supported for one hour the fight +which the Danes had supported for four." May 5th Sir Hyde Parker was +recalled, and Nelson appointed Commander-in-chief; but no further +hostilities occurred, and suffering greatly from the climate, he +almost immediately returned home. For this battle he was raised to the +rank of Viscount.</p> + +<p>At this time much alarm prevailed with respect to the meditated +invasion of England; and the command of the coast from Orfordness to +Beachy Head was offered to him, and accepted. But he thought the alarm +idle; he felt the service to be irksome; and gladly retired from it at +the peace of Amiens. When war was renewed in 1803, he took the command +of the Mediterranean fleet. For more than a year he kept his station +off Toulon, eagerly watching for the French fleet. In January, 1805, +it put to sea, and escaped the observation of his lookout ships. He +made for Egypt, and failing to meet with them, returned to Malta, +where he found information that they had been dispersed in a gale, and +forced to put back to Toulon. Villeneuve put to sea again, March 31st, +formed a junction with the Spanish fleet in Cadiz, and sailed for the +West Indies. Thither Nelson followed him, after considerable delay for +want of information and from contrary winds; but the enemy still +eluded his pursuit, and he was obliged to retrace his anxious course +to Europe, without the longed-for meeting, and with no other +satisfaction than that of having frustrated by his diligence their +designs on the English colonies. June 20, 1805, he landed at +Gibraltar, that being the first <span class="pagenum"><a id="page283" name="page283"></a>(p. 283)</span> time that he had set foot +ashore since June 16, 1803. After cruising in search of the enemy till +the middle of August, he was ordered to Portsmouth, where he learned +that an indecisive action had taken place between the combined fleets +returning from the West Indies, and the British under Sir Robert +Calder.</p> + +<a id="img024" name="img024"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/img024.jpg" width="400" height="520" alt="" title=""> +<p>Nelson at Trafalgar.</p> +</div> + +<p>He had not been many days established at home before certain news +arrived that the French and Spanish fleets had entered Cadiz. Eager to +gain the reward of his long watchings, and laborious pursuit, he again +offered his services, which were gladly accepted. He embarked at +Portsmouth, September 14, 1805, on board the Victory, to take the +command of the fleet lying off Cadiz, under Admiral Collingwood, his +early friend and companion in the race of fame. The last battle in +which Nelson was engaged was fought off Cape Trafalgar, October 21, +1805. The enemy were superior in number of ships, and still more in +size and weight of metal. Nelson bore down on them in two lines, +heading one himself, while Collingwood, in the Royal Sovereign, led +the other, which first entered into action. "See," cried Nelson, as +the Royal Sovereign cut through the centre of the enemy's line, and +muzzle to muzzle engaged a three-decker, "see how that noble fellow +Collingwood carries his ships into action." Collingwood, on the other +hand, said to his captain, "Rotherham, what would Nelson give to be +here?" As the Victory approached an incessant raking fire was directed +against her, by which fifty of her men were killed and wounded before +a single gun was returned. Nelson steered for his old opponent at Cape +St. Vincent, the Santissima Trinidad, distinguished by her size, and +opened his fire at four minutes after twelve, engaging the Redoubtable +with his starboard, the Santissima Trinidad and Bucentaur with his +larboard guns.</p> + +<p>About a quarter past one, a musket-ball, fired from the mizzen-top of +the Redoubtable, struck him on the left shoulder, and he fell. From +the first he felt the wound to be mortal. He suffered intense pain, +yet still preserved the liveliest interest in the fate of the action; +and the joy visible in his countenance as often as the hurrahs of the +crew announced that an enemy had struck, testified how near his heart, +even in the agonies of death, was the accomplishment of the great work +to which his life had been devoted. He lived to know that his victory +was complete and glorious, and expired tranquilly at half-past four. +His last words were, "Thank God, I have done my duty."</p> + +<p>He had indeed done his duty, and completed his task; for thenceforth +no hostile fleet presumed to contest the dominion of the sea. It may +seem mournful that he did not survive to enjoy the thanks and honors +with which a grateful country would have rejoiced to recompense this +crowning triumph. But he had reached the pinnacle of fame; and his +death in the hour of victory has tended far more than a few years of +peaceful life, to keep alive his memory in the hearts of a people +which loved, and a navy which adored him.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page284" name="page284"></a>(p. 284)</span> ISRAEL PUTNAM<br> +(1718-1790)</h3> + +<a id="img025" name="img025"></a> +<div class="floatleft"> +<img src="images/img025.jpg" width="300" height="241" alt="Men searching in rocks." title=""> +</div> + +<p>Israel Putnam, the redoubtable hero of Indian and French adventure in +the old colonial wars, the survivor of many a revolutionary fight, was +born at Salem, Mass., January 7, 1718. His grandfather, from the south +of England, was one of the first settlers of the place. The boy was +brought up with his father on the farm. He had little education in +literature; much in the development of a hardy, vigorous constitution, +in his contest with the soil and the actual world about him. He was +fond of athletic exercises, an adept in running and wrestling, in +which he proved himself more than a match for his village companions. +The story is told of his being insulted for his rusticity, on his +first visit to Boston, by a youth of twice his size, when he taught +the citizen better manners by a sound flogging.</p> + +<p>Before he was of age, he was married to the daughter of John Pope, of +Salem, and presently removed with his wife to a farm in the town of +Pomfret, in Eastern Connecticut. His rugged powers were, no doubt, +sufficiently taxed in the ordinary labors of the field. In those days +the farmer had enemies to encounter, which have since vanished from +the land.</p> + +<p>The well-known fable of Æsop, of the boy and the wolf, had then a +literal application. Every child in the days of our fathers knew the +story of Putnam, and the she-wolf which he dragged from its den. This +and similar tales go far to make up the popular reputation of the +hero, and it was as a man of the people that Putnam first appears upon +the public scene.</p> + +<p>On the breaking out of the old French war, as it was termed, at the +age of thirty-seven, he drew together a band of his neighbors and +reported himself with the Connecticut contingent before Crown Point. +He appears to have been employed in this service under Major Rogers, +the celebrated partisan "ranger," whose life he is said to have saved +in an encounter with a stalwart Frenchman. Putnam conducted himself as +a man of resources and valor in this mixed species of warfare, in +achieving a reputation which brought him, in 1757, the commission of a +major from the Connecticut Legislature. It was the year of the +memorable massacre of Fort William Henry. Putnam was with the forces +whose head-quarters were at the neighboring Fort Edward, under command +of General Webb, and <span class="pagenum"><a id="page285" name="page285"></a>(p. 285)</span> made several vigorous attempts to +assist in the support of the beleaguered fortress, but his efforts +were not seconded by the commander, who ungenerously left the fort a +prey to Montcalm and the Indians. These adventures of Putnam displayed +his personal courage, in approaching the enemy on Lake George, and +subsequently in command of his Rangers in rescuing a party of his +fellow-soldiers from an Indian ambuscade at Fort Edward.</p> + +<p>The year 1758 saw Major Putnam again in the field, under the command +of Abercrombie, at the scene of his former labors, in the vicinity of +Lake George. In the early movements of the campaign, Putnam +distinguished himself in an ambuscade, by a destructive night attack +upon a party of the enemy at Wood Creek. When the main line advanced +toward Ticonderoga, he was, with the lamented Lord Howe, in the front +of the centre, when that much-loved officer was slain upon the march. +It was the first meeting, after landing from Lake George, with the +advance of the French troops. There was some skirmishing, which +attracted the attention of the officers. Putnam advanced to the spot, +accompanied, contrary to his dissuasions, by Lord Howe, who fell at +the first fire. The party of Putnam, enraged by this disaster, fought +with gallantry, and inflicted a heavy loss upon their opponents. The +result of this miserably conducted expedition, however, made no amends +for the loss of the gallant Howe. Two thousand men were blunderingly +sacrificed before Ticonderoga, and the threatened siege was abandoned.</p> + +<p>The life of Putnam is full of perilous encounters incident to border +service against the Indians. In one of these he narrowly avoided +capture by the savages on the Hudson, near Fort Miller. He escaped +only by shooting the rapids with his boat, a marvellous adventure, +which is said to have wakened a superstitious veneration for him in +the minds of his Indian assailants.</p> + +<p>Not long afterward, however, the barbarians had an opportunity of +treating him with less respect. It was in the month of August of this +year that he was engaged with a reconnoitring party in company with +the partisan Rogers, near Ticonderoga. They had been employed in +watching the movements of the enemy, and were on their return to Fort +Edward when the attention of the French partisan officer, Molang, who +was on the lookout, was attracted to them by a careless shooting-match +between Rogers and a fellow British officer. A confused hand-to-hand +action ensued in the woods, in the course of which Putnam, his gun +missing fire, "while the muzzle was pressed against the breast of a +large and well-proportioned savage," was captured and bound to a tree +by that formidable personage. The English party now rallying, drove +their pursuers backward, which brought the unfortunate Putnam to a +central position between two fires. "Human imagination," well says +Colonel Humphreys, "can hardly figure to itself a more deplorable +situation." Putnam remained more than an hour deprived of all power +save that of hearing and vision, as the musket-balls whizzed by his +ears and a ruthless savage aimed his tomahawk repeatedly, with the +infernal dexterity of a Chinese juggler, within a hair's breadth of +his person. This amusement was succeeded by the attempt of a French +petty-officer to put <span class="pagenum"><a id="page286" name="page286"></a>(p. 286)</span> an end to his life by discharging his +musket against his breast. It happily missed fire. The action was now +brought to an end in favor of the Provincials; but Putnam was carried +off in the retreat by his Indian captor. He was now destined to +witness one of those scenes, since so well described by Cooper, of the +peculiar tortures inflicted by the Indians upon their prisoners in +war; but unhappily with less complacent feelings than the reader of +the skilful novelist experiences, whose terrors are tempered by the +delightful art of the narrator. With Putnam the spectator and the +sufferer were the same. He has been bound on the march with +intolerable thongs, he has almost perished under his burdens, he has +been tomahawked in the face; he is now to be roasted alive. A dark +forest is selected for the sacrifice; stripped naked, he is bound to a +tree, and the inflammable brushwood piled around him. Savage voices +sound his death-knell. Fire is applied, when a sudden shower dampens +the flame, to burst forth again with renewed strength. Though securely +fastened, the limbs of the victim are left some liberty to shrink from +the accursed heat. He has thought his last thought of home, of wife +and children, when the desperate French partisan, Molang, the +commander of the savage hordes, hearing of the act, rushes upon the +scene and rescues him from his tormentors. Putnam is now restored to +the guardianship of the Indian chief by whom he had been captured, and +from whom he was separated during these hours of agony, when he had +fallen into the hands of the baser fellows of the tribe. The party now +reach Ticonderoga, where Putnam is delivered to Montcalm, and thence +courteously conducted by a French officer to Montreal.</p> + +<p>There he found himself within reach of a benevolent American officer, +then a prisoner in the city, Colonel Peter Schuyler, who generously +ministered to his necessities, and who was instrumental in procuring +his release from the French commander, when he himself was exchanged +after the capture of Frontenac. Putnam, on his return home, gallantly +conducted through the wilderness the sorely tried Mrs. Howe and her +children, whose adventures in Indian captivity and among the French, +equal the inventive pages of romance.</p> + +<p>The next year, in Amherst's great campaign, Putnam returned to +Montreal under better auspices. He was with that commander in his +onward movement, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and rendered +efficient service in the passage down the St. Lawrence, by his bravery +and ingenuity. When the fort of Oswegatchie was to be attacked, and +two armed vessels were in the way, he proposed to silence the latter +by driving wedges to hinder the movement of their rudders, and to +cross the abatis of the fortification by an attack from boats, armed +with long planks, which were to be let down when the vessels, +protected by fascines, were placed alongside of the work. A timely +surrender anticipated both of these expedients. The dying Wolfe had +conquered Canada at Quebec, making victory easy elsewhere in the +province. Montreal surrendered to the allied forces without a blow. +Putnam, it is recorded, availed himself of the opportunity to look up +the Indian chief who had taken him prisoner, and exchange civilities +and hospitalities, now that the tables were turned.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page287" name="page287"></a>(p. 287)</span> We next find Putnam in charge of a Connecticut regiment, in a +novel field of warfare, on the coast of Cuba, in Lord Albemarle's +attack upon Havana, in 1762. He was in considerable danger in a storm, +when the transport in which he embarked with his men was wrecked on a +reef of the island; a landing was effected by rafts, and a fortified +camp established on the shore. He was again fortunate in escaping the +dangers of a climate so fatal to his countrymen. On his return home, +he was engaged in service against the Indians, with the title of +colonel. The war being now over, he retired to his farm, which he +continued to cultivate till he was again called into the field by the +stirring summons of Lexington.</p> + +<p>In the preliminary scenes of the war, he fairly represented the +feeling of the mass of his countrymen, as it was excited by the +successive acts of parliamentary aggression. As a soldier of the old +French war, he had learned the weakness of British officers in +America, and the strength of a hardy, patriotic peasantry. "If," he +said, "it required six years for the combined forces of England and +her colonies to conquer such a feeble colony as Canada, it would, at +least, take a very long time for England alone to overcome her own +widely extended colonies, which were much stronger." Another anecdote +is characteristic of the blunt farmer. Being once asked whether he did +not seriously believe "that a well-appointed British army of five +thousand veterans could march through the whole continent of America," +he replied, "no doubt, if they behaved civilly, and paid well for +everything they wanted; but—if they should attempt it in a hostile +manner, though the American men were out of the question, the women, +with their ladles and broomsticks, would knock them all on the head +before they had got half way through."</p> + +<p>The news of Lexington—the war message—transmitted from hand to hand +till village repeated it to village, the sea to the backwoods, "found +the farmer of Pomfret, two days after the conflict, like Cincinnatus, +literally at the plough." He unyoked his team and hastened in his rude +dress to the camp. Summoning the forces of Connecticut, he was placed +at their head, with the rank of Major-General, and stood ready at +Cambridge for the bloody day of Bunker's Hill. He was in service in +May, in the spirited affair checking the British supplies from +Noddle's Island, in Boston Harbor, and resolutely counselled the +occupation of the heights of Charlestown. When the company of Prescott +went forth on the night of June 16th, to their gallant work, he was +with them, taking no active command, but assisting where opportunity +served. He was seen in different parts of the field, but his chief +exertions appear to have been expended upon the attempted +fortification of Bunker's Hill, where he met the fugitives in the +retreat, and conducted "such of them as would obey him," says +Bancroft, to the night's encampment at Prospect Hill.</p> + +<p>Putnam's was one of the first Congressional appointments, ten days +before the battle, when the rank of Major-General was conferred upon +him. He continued to serve at the siege of Boston, and when the +theatre of operations was changed by the departure of the British to +New York, was placed by Washington, in 1776, in command in that city +until his own arrival. He employed himself <span class="pagenum"><a id="page288" name="page288"></a>(p. 288)</span> during this short +period, with several devices for the safety of the harbor. In August, +on the landing of Howe, he was, upon the sudden illness of Greene, who +had directed the fortifications, and after the arrival of the British, +left in command at the battle of Long Island, and much censure has +been thrown upon him for the neglect of the passes by which the +American left was turned. In the actual combat there appears to have +been a divided authority.</p> + +<p>The abandonment of New York next followed, with the retreat to +Westchester and the passage through the Jerseys. Putnam was then, in +January, 1777, ordered to Philadelphia to make provision for its +defence. In May, he was put in command of the post at the Highlands, +to secure its defences, and observe, from that central position, the +movements of the enemy. In the summer of this year, Sir Henry Clinton, +at New York, sent up the river a flag of truce to claim one Edmund +Palmer, who had been taken in the American camp, as a lieutenant in +the British service. This drew forth from Putnam a reply which has +been often quoted:</p> + +<div class="quote"> + +<p class="right"> + "<span class="smcap">Headquarters</span>, August 7, 1777.</p> + +<p>"Edmund Palmer, an officer in the enemy's service, was taken as a spy +lurking within our lines; he has been tried as a spy, condemned as a +spy, and shall be executed as a spy, and the flag is ordered to depart +immediately.</p> + +<p class="right"> + "<span class="smcap">Israel Putnam.</span></p> + +<p>"P.S.—He has been accordingly executed."</p> + +</div> + +<p>In September, a portion of Putnam's command was withdrawn by +Washington for the support of the army in Pennsylvania, by a +peremptory order which, it is said, put an end to a plan formed by +Putnam for a separate attack on the enemy at New York. Forts +Montgomery and Clinton, at the entrance to the Highlands, fell into +the hands of Clinton by a surprise shortly after, but the conquest of +this important position was neutralized by the victory of Gates, at +Saratoga. The British remained at Fort Montgomery but twenty days. +Putnam seems still to have entertained some project in connection with +New York, which led him to withhold troops called for by the imperious +necessities of Washington. The neglect of these orders brought a +pointed letter from Hamilton, and an equally significant rebuke from +Washington himself. In the following spring, Putnam was relieved of +his command in the Highlands by the appointment of General McDougal to +the post, and was ordered to Connecticut to superintend the raising of +the new levies. He was stationed the following winter at Danbury, when +the famous descent of the precipice at Horse Neck occurred, one of the +latest marvels of Putnam's anecdotical career. While he was on a visit +to one of his outposts at Horse Neck, Governor Tryon of New York, +advanced upon the place with a considerable body of troops. Putnam +planted his small force on the hill, but was speedily compelled to +provide for the safety of his men by a retreat, and for his own, by +plunging down a formidable rocky steep by the roadside.</p> + +<p>In 1779, he was again in the Highlands, superintending the defences +then <span class="pagenum"><a id="page289" name="page289"></a>(p. 289)</span> erected at West Point, one of which, the fort now in +ruins, bore his name. In the winter, he visited his family in +Connecticut, and as he was returning to the army, at Morristown, was +struck with paralysis. His right side was enfeebled, and his active +career ceased, though he enjoyed the cheerful, tranquil pursuits of +age. His memory remained unimpaired. One of his amusements was to +relate to his friend and military companion, Colonel Humphreys, those +events of his varied life, which that officer wrought into the +pleasing narrative appropriately addressed to the State Society of the +Cincinnati in Connecticut, and published by their order. The +dedication of the work to Colonel Jeremiah Wadsworth, bears date June +4, 1788, about two years before the decease of the hero of the story. +General Putnam died at Brookline, Conn., May 29, 1790, in his +seventy-third year.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + + +<h3>ANTHONY WAYNE<a id="footnotetag4" name="footnotetag4"></a><a href="#footnote4" title="Go to footnote 4"><span class="small">[4]</span></a><br> +By <span class="smcap">O. C. Bosbyshell</span><br> +(1745-1796)</h3> + +<a id="img026" name="img026"></a> +<div class="floatleft"> +<img src="images/img026.jpg" width="250" height="268" alt="Anthony Wayne." title=""> +</div> + +<p>Across the pages of history recording mighty conflicts that rock +nations and governments to their foundations, flash certain grand +characters whose career adds a charm to the dreary and often prosaic +narrative. Some bright particular star, whose lustre flings romance +over dry facts, firing the hearts of all patriots with enthusiasm and +national fervor. Honoring the great commanders of the wars of the ages +for their noble deeds, here and there sparkles out the brilliant +genius of a warrior with less responsibility, but whose name inspires +the ardor of men, the love of women, and the fervor of the poet and +novelist. Such a character, such a man, was "Mad" Anthony Wayne, an +able, fearless soldier of the American Revolution, so thoroughly +patriotic such an earnest, honest believer in the righteous cause for +which he fought, that he was mad indeed with all found arrayed against +the interests of the Colonists, or with those who, having donned the +Continental uniform, were indisposed to fight.</p> + +<p>Anthony Wayne was born in Waynesborough, Easttown Township, Chester +County, Penn., on January 1, 1745. He sprang from good English stock. +His grandfather resided in Yorkshire, England, but during the reign of +Charles II. purchased an estate in the County Wicklow, Ireland, and +settled on it. Being a thorough <span class="pagenum"><a id="page290" name="page290"></a>(p. 290)</span> Protestant he espoused the +cause of King William III., and in the service of that monarch fought +in the Battle of the Boyne, as a captain of dragoons. In 1722 he came +to America with his four sons, and procured some one thousand six +hundred acres of land in Chester County, Penn., upon which he settled +in 1724. His youngest son, Isaac, the father of Anthony Wayne, +received as his share of his father's estate five hundred acres of +land near Paoli. Born and brought up amid the charming surroundings of +this most beautiful country, it is easily understood why Anthony Wayne +became so thoroughly imbued with tastes for the beautiful. His +neatness in dress, and earnest advocacy of a brilliant uniform for the +officers and men of the Revolutionary Army, had its foundation in the +very atmosphere he lived in, this magnificent Chester Valley. "Dandy" +Wayne indeed, but only so far as neatness in dress and delicacy of +taste were concerned, for a nobler-minded, more unselfish patriot +never entered the army of a nation. Wayne was educated at the +Philadelphia Academy, and he became a surveyor of some note. He +attended closely, however, to his magnificent farm, and took a lively +interest in all affairs affecting his fellow-citizens. In 1765 and 66, +only just of age, he was sent to Nova Scotia to survey some lands +belonging to Benjamin Franklin and others.</p> + +<p>In May, 1766, he married Mary, the daughter of Bartholomew Penrose, a +Philadelphia merchant, and settled down to the life of a farmer. He +was a stirring man in his neighborhood, fond of an active and out-door +life. He was filled with military impulses; his choice of a +profession, that of surveyor, evidently arose from his taste for +exploration, and for the excitement incident to plunging into +trackless wastes of forests and mapping out new boundaries. His love +of military pursuits led him to study all the great works on the art +of war, and when the time came he was prepared, as few soldiers of the +revolution were, for the conflict with the trained soldiers of Great +Britain. He formed companies with the men in his neighborhood, and +drilled them assiduously. This gave him prominence and popularity, so +that he is found a member of the Pennsylvania Legislature in 1774-75. +Wayne seemed to have prescience of what was coming, and when the +conflict came he was ready. In September, 1775, he raised a regiment +of soldiers, of which he became the colonel in the January following, +and joined General Sullivan's command in Canada in the spring of 1776. +At the battle of Three Rivers, May, 1776, Wayne displayed remarkable +military knowledge, and was enabled to extricate his command from +difficulties that seemed almost insurmountable. In a letter to Dr. +Franklin and others he gives a graphic description of this engagement. +Of his men engaged he says, "I have lost more than the one-quarter +part, together with a slight touch in my right leg, which is partly +well already." This was Wayne's first battle. He displayed such +remarkable coolness and excellent judgment throughout this engagement, +as to command the respect and admiration of all in the army; his +entire career during this unfortunate Canadian campaign exhibited +clearly his soldierly qualifications. Recognizing these, General +Schuyler, in November, 1776, appointed Colonel Wayne to the command of +Fort Ticonderoga and Mt. Independence, which military post Wayne +considered the second <span class="pagenum"><a id="page291" name="page291"></a>(p. 291)</span> most important in the country. While +stationed here, Wayne busied his men in rendering the place as nearly +impregnable as possible, and by warm, fervid letters implored the +"powers that be" in Pennsylvania, to send proper clothing, food, and +arms to the men of that State serving in his army. So negligent did +the State seem to the needs of its men, that this warm-hearted, +high-spirited warrior, seriously thought of resigning his commission, +being unable to longer witness the impoverished condition of his +troops.</p> + +<p>Colonel Wayne was appointed Brigadier General in February, 1777, and +ordered to join General Washington's army at Morristown, N. J., in +April of the same year. He was given command of the "Pennsylvania +Line" consisting of two brigades of four regiments each, with a total +strength of about 1,700 men. His activity and alertness during the +summer, in harassing and annoying the enemy, went far toward ridding +the State of that enemy, and gained for him the praise of Washington, +who publicly acknowledged his "bravery and good conduct." The British, +unable to force their way through New Jersey, determined to go around +by sea to Philadelphia, and after embarking at Staten Island were next +heard from within the Chesapeake Bay. Washington moved his army to +Wilmington, Wayne having been sent ahead to organize the militia +rendezvousing in Chester County, Penn. He rejoined the army at +Germantown and marched with it to Wilmington.</p> + +<p>In the battle of Brandywine, September 11, 1777, Wayne was +particularly distinguished. He occupied the left of the American line +at Chad's Ford, and had opposed to his forces, the Hessians commanded +by Baron von Knyphausen. He fought all day, holding his ground +tenaciously, repelling every effort made by the enemy to cross the +ford and worrying them by repeated attacks of his light infantry, +which he frequently sent over the creek for the purpose. The right +wing of the enemy having been turned, Wayne, at sunset, retreated in +good order, without the loss of any artillery or stores. On the +evening of September 20th, Wayne, with a detachment of twelve hundred +men, was suddenly and impetuously attacked at Paoli Tavern by a very +large force of the rear guard of the British army, which rear guard he +had been sent to annoy. By the betrayal of Tory spies at the time of +the attack, the forces "were not more than ten yards distant." +Notwithstanding the impetuosity of the attack, by largely overwhelming +numbers, Wayne succeeded in extricating his command without loss of +artillery, ammunition, or stores. Some sixty-one Americans were +killed. A court of inquiry was instituted to inquire into Wayne's +conduct of this affair, which resulted so distastefully to him that he +demanded a court martial. This court acquitted "him with the highest +honors," a conclusion approved by General Washington.</p> + +<p>Wayne's residence was searched by the British immediately after the +Paoli fight, with the hope of capturing the general. The officer, in +his zeal, ripped open a feather-bed with his sword. Mrs. Wayne +indignantly exclaimed, "Did you expect to find General Wayne in a +feather-bed? Look where the fight is the thickest!"</p> + +<p>Wayne led the right wing at the battle of Germantown, October 4, 1777, +and <span class="pagenum"><a id="page292" name="page292"></a>(p. 292)</span> forced the enemy back a distance of two miles. The +British claim that "this was the first time we had ever retreated from +the Americans." The balance of the army, failing to accomplish the end +desired, Wayne was compelled to retreat, but this he did in good +order, and when General Howe, who "could not persuade himself that we +had run from victory," as Wayne puts it, followed the Americans, Wayne +drew up in line. "When he advanced near we gave him a few cannon shot +with some musketry—which caused him to break and run with the utmost +confusion." Wayne lost a horse in this engagement, and received slight +wounds in the hand and foot. The memorable winter at Valley Forge +followed. General Wayne, ever active, devoted his time to procuring +necessary supplies for the army. His earnest appeals to the State +authorities and men of influence, for the welfare of the brave men at +Valley Forge, tell a tale of suffering and endurance hard to realize. +Early in the spring of 1778 he successfully raided the British lines, +carrying off horses, cattle, forage, and other supplies. After the +evacuation of Philadelphia, Wayne kept up a constant annoyance around +the rear of the British army, fighting whenever the opportunity came.</p> + +<p>The American army re-entered New Jersey in June, 1778, and moved +across that State in a line parallel with the route taken by the +British army. These lines encountered each other on June 28th, at +Monmouth; an engagement fought, in the main, on a plan suggested to +General Washington by General Wayne. General Charles Lee's +half-hearted action, to call it no more severe name, resulted in the +battle of Monmouth being less of a disaster to the British army than +it promised. Wayne did his part gloriously. Lee, who with his own +command was in full retreat when he should have earnestly supported +Wayne, ordered Wayne to retire. This the latter did, chagrined and +mortified, until the mortification was turned into delight upon +meeting the Commander-in-Chief, who immediately ordered Wayne to +advance to the attack again. This was just what Wayne wanted, and with +three Pennsylvania regiments, one from Maryland, and one from +Virginia, he stayed the assaults of the flower of the English army, +the <span class="italic">corps d'élite</span>, and successfully held his line, causing the enemy +to retire with great loss. General Washington commended General Wayne +in the highest terms for his "good conduct and bravery through the +whole action." Writing of this engagement to the Secretary of War, +Wayne says, "Tell the Phila ladies that the heavenly, sweet, pretty +red coats—the accomplished Gent-n of the Guards and Grenadiers have +humbled themselves on the plains of Monmouth."</p> + +<p>The enemy retreated to New York and remained in that city the balance +of the year. Wayne occupied the time in urging active operations and +trying to infuse a more aggressive spirit into the management of +affairs. At this time public affairs were very much hampered by a +feeling of indifference as well as an illusive notion that peace would +soon follow. This affected the nation and the army. Wayne baffled +these false ideas with all his powers. He urged the Government to +forward needed supplies of clothing and food. He could not be +inactive; fervid, earnest, and aggressive, he must be ever doing. The +American Army kept a close watch upon the movements of the British in +New York during the summer <span class="pagenum"><a id="page293" name="page293"></a>(p. 293)</span> and fall of 1779. General +Washington organized a Light Infantry Corps and put General Wayne in +command. It was considered one of the finest bodies of troops attached +to the Continental Army, and was composed, besides "the choicest sons +of Pennsylvania," of two Connecticut and one Virginia regiment. The +Commander-in-Chief was extremely desirous of driving the British from +the forts commanding King's Ferry on the Hudson, at Stony Point, on +the western bank of the river, and at Verplanck's Point, directly +opposite. This dangerous business was confided to Wayne and his Light +Infantry Corps, the plan of operations being carefully prepared by +General Washington. This plan was followed by Wayne, except in one +particular, which change Washington declared to be an "improvement on +his own plan." Wayne, after the most careful preparations, moved to +the assault on Stony Point, a fortification strongly built on a rocky +eminence, one hundred and fifty feet above the Hudson River, at 12 +o'clock at night, on July 16, 1779. Wayne's report to Washington tells +the story of the fight most graphically—he says he "gave the troops +the most pointed orders not to attempt to fire, but put their whole +dependence on the Bayonet—which was most faithfully and Literally +Observed—neither the deep Morass, the formidable and double rows of +abatis or the high and strong works in front and flank could damp the +ardor of the troops—who in the face of a most tremendous and +Incessant fire of Musketry and from Artillery loaded with shells and +Grape-shot forced their way at the point of the Bayonet thro' every +Obstacle, both Columns meeting in the Center of the Enemy's works +nearly at the same Instant." Before entering the fort Wayne was struck +in the head by a musket-ball; he fell stunned, but soon rallied, and +by the assistance of two of his aides, was helped into the +fortification and shared the capture with his troops. The Stony Point +achievement roused the patriotic spirit of the Americans. It was +deemed the most brilliant affair of the war. Congratulations from the +Commander-in-Chief, and all the prominent generals, as well as +foremost citizens and Assemblies, were heaped upon Wayne, and Congress +voted him a gold medal to commemorate his gallant conduct, besides +thanking him "for his brave, prudent, and soldier-like conduct in the +well-conducted attack on Stony Point."</p> + +<p>After the treachery of Arnold, in 1780, the charge of the fort at West +Point was committed to General Wayne. He marched his division over the +mountain in a dark night, a distance of sixteen miles, in four hours, +"without a single halt or a man left behind." In January, 1781, owing +to the broken promises of Congress, a large number of the men in the +Pennsylvania line mutinied, an event that threatened serious +consequences to the American Army. This defection was suppressed +peaceably, mainly through the excellent tact of General Wayne. He was +idolized by his soldiers, who knew him as the soul of honor, and who +placed implicit trust in his statements. Washington in a letter +certifies to his "great share in preventing worse extremities" and +thanks him for his exertions. In February, 1781, Wayne was ordered to +join General Greene's Army, then operating in South Carolina, but upon +Lord Cornwallis' rapidly transferring his forces to Virginia, this +order was changed, and Wayne was directed to reinforce <span class="pagenum"><a id="page294" name="page294"></a>(p. 294)</span> +Lafayette. This he did at Fredericksburg in June. The enemy seemed +intent upon destroying all military stores they could reach, and for +this purpose continually sent raiding parties through the State. The +efforts of Wayne were ever put forth to suppress these raids. +Believing, on July 6, 1781, that Cornwallis's forces were divided by +the James River, Wayne was sent forward to attack them at Green +Springs. He found a great force of the British Army in his front. Too +late to retreat, Wayne with true soldierly instinct, having faith in +the courage and discipline of his men, boldly charged a force five +times as large as his own, threw them into disorder and safely brought +his men away under cover of the enemy's confusion.</p> + +<p>Cornwallis hastened to Yorktown, the investiture and siege of which +Wayne aided in furthering, first, by occupying the ground south of the +James River to prevent the enemy's reaching North Carolina; and then +in opening the first parallel with six regiments on October 6, 1781. A +few days afterward he, with two battalions, covered the Pennsylvania +and Maryland troops while they began the second parallel. Wayne, with +the Pennsylvania regiments, supported the French troops in the attack +of the 14th, and was present at the surrender on the 19th. +Notwithstanding a wound in the fleshy part of the leg, early in the +siege, caused by a sentry mistaking him, Wayne remained active, and +participated in the glory of the capture of Cornwallis and his army. +This operation over, Wayne joined the army of General Nathaniel +Greene, in South Carolina, in January, 1782, and was instrumental in +quelling the disturbances in that section. A very large force of +Indians threatened the destruction of his command on the night of June +23, 1782. These Indians were skilfully handled by a noted Creek Chief, +as well as by a British officer. They surrounded Wayne's forces and +held his artillery. Wayne fiercely attacked, using only the bayonet, +and so impetuous was his onslaught, that he broke the lines of the +Indians, and routed them completely. The dead body of the Creek +leader, who, it is said, was felled by Wayne's own sword, was found on +the ground the next day.</p> + +<p>Wayne commanded the forces that took possession of Savannah and +Charleston, after their evacuation by the British. Having freed the +South from all marauders, Wayne returned, much shattered in health +from the effect of a low fever, to his old home in Pennsylvania, and +settled down to civil life, desiring, as he puts it, "to pass many +happy hours in domestic felicity with a few of our friends, unfettered +by any public employ and consequently unenvied." He was, however, made +a member of the Council of Censors, and in 1784 represented his county +in the General Assembly of Pennsylvania. He was likewise, in 1787, a +member of the Convention of the State called to ratify the +Constitution of the United States.</p> + +<p>To better look after an estate given him by the State of Georgia, in +recognition of the services he rendered that State, Wayne settled +there, and was elected a member of Congress on January 3, 1791. He +served from October, 1791, to March, 1792, when, a contest being made, +Congress decided his election illegal and declared his seat vacant. +Almost immediately after this action, on April 3, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page295" name="page295"></a>(p. 295)</span> 1792, +President Washington appointed Wayne Commander-in-Chief of the United +States Army, with the rank of Major-General; an appointment confirmed +by the Senate on the same day. No more signal act could have marked +the approval of Wayne's great services to the nation in the War of the +Revolution, than this great mark of approbation conferred by his +illustrious Chief. To him was intrusted the settlement of the +difficulties then existing with the Indians in the Northwestern +Territory. These savages, stirred up by the British, armed with +British guns, and often led by British officers, continued the warfare +on the Americans after peace had been declared between the contending +countries. Efforts to subjugate them under Generals Harmar and St. +Clair had failed.</p> + +<p>General Wayne, whose entire life clearly shows a man prepared for what +may come, wisely drilled the force he collected to undertake this +work, for a year. He knew the value of a well-drilled and disciplined +army. Having perfected his troops, he, by easy stages, advanced into +the disturbed territory, establishing posts at various points, which +he cleverly fortified, and upon every occasion and opportunity offered +the savages peace. These offers were as often rejected. From Fort +Defiance, a fort he built and named, at the junction of the Miami and +Le Glaize rivers, he, in August, 1794, went down the Miami River, with +about one thousand men, until he came close to a British post, at the +foot of the rapids of the river. Here he sent a last overture to the +Indians, promising peace if they would lay down their arms. Upon their +rejecting this, he, on August 20th, moved to the head of the rapids, +and attacked them with such vigor, using again his favorite weapon, +the bayonet, that their defeat was overwhelming. The entire +surrounding country was laid waste. The army advanced to the junction +of the St. Joseph's and St. Mary's rivers, where a strong fort was +built and named Fort Wayne. The present flourishing city of that name +in Indiana now stands upon this spot. The winter was spent in +Greeneville, at which place the Indians, on August 3, 1795, against +the wishes of their leaders and English allies, signed a treaty of +peace, in which twelve tribes took part—a peace which was never +broken, and by which an immense territory was ceded to the United +States and opened up for settlement. Wayne returned early in 1796, on +a short visit to Pennsylvania, and everywhere <span class="italic">en route</span> received the +plaudits of his fellow-citizens. His reception in Philadelphia was +exceedingly brilliant. The unsettled condition of affairs in the +Northwest, however, made his stay brief. Having been appointed sole +commissioner to treat with the disaffected parties there, and directed +to take possession of all forts held by the British in that country, +he returned in June of the same year. With great tact he performed +wisely and well the difficult mission intrusted to him. In November he +left Detroit to visit the last of the posts included in his orders. +This was then called Presque Isle, but is now the site of the city of +Erie. When within a short sail of this post a severe and sudden attack +of the gout came on. He was carried into the block-house at Presque +Isle, in a dying condition, and lingered in great agony until December +15, 1796, when he died. By his own desire he was buried "at the foot +of the flag-staff on a high hill called 'Garrison Hill,' north of the +present Soldiers' <span class="pagenum"><a id="page296" name="page296"></a>(p. 296)</span> Home." (Stille, 343.) In 1809, his son, +Colonel Isaac Wayne, removed the body to the family burying-ground at +St. David's Church, Radnor, Penn., where, on July 4th of the same +year, the Society of the Cincinnati erected a monument in his honor.</p> + +<p>So lived, so died, Anthony Wayne; gentleman, soldier, statesman, +patriot. "Mad," "Dandy," "Black Snake," "Tornado." Angry with +traitors—Neat-Courageous—Irresistible. None can study his life +without feeling the nobleness of his character. Courtly in manners, +honorable to a degree, high in aspirations, unselfishly for country, +magnanimous in victory, loyal to authority, affectionate to family, +pure in morality, and earnest for the right, Anthony Wayne's life is a +bright example and legacy to the American youth of all times.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<a id="sig002" name="sig002"></a> +<div class="right"> +<img src="images/sig002.jpg" width="200" height="50" alt="Author signature." title=""> +</div> + +<h3>FRANCIS MARION<br> +(1732-1795)</h3> + +<a id="img027" name="img027"></a> +<div class="floatleft"> +<img src="images/img027.jpg" width="250" height="288" alt="Francis Marion." title=""> +</div> + +<p>Francis Marion, the partisan general of South Carolina, was of +Huguenot descent, the first American settlers of the name being +Benjamin Marion and Judith Balnet, his wife, who came from France in +1690, and established themselves in a plantation on one of the +tributaries of the Cooper River, near Charleston. Gabriel, the son of +Benjamin, married Esther Cordes. These were the parents of Francis +Marion. He was born, it would appear, in St. John's Parish, Berkeley +County, probably in 1732. His early life was passed, till his +twenty-seventh year, in agricultural pursuits, when we first hear of +him in connection with military matters in the period of the old +French war. He took the field with Moultrie, and fought gallantly by +the side of that officer in the Cherokee country against the savages +at the battle of Etchoee. He then returned to his farm, near Eutaw +Springs, ripening for the work of the Revolution, which found him at +the height of manhood, at the age of forty-three. The people of his +district relied upon his understanding, for we find them sending +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page297" name="page297"></a>(p. 297)</span> him as their delegate to the Provincial Congress of 1775, +when he was appointed captain in the regiment of his former superior +officer, Colonel Moultrie. His first duty was to gather a company, +which he speedily effected in the Eastern region, where he was well +known. He was then employed in the neighborhood of Charleston; being +engaged in the occupation of Fort Johnson and the command of +Dorchester.</p> + +<p>He was with Moultrie, at Sullivan's Island in May, 1776, during that +fierce day of battle when the British were driven from the southern +colonies, and particularly distinguished himself in the gallant +defence.</p> + +<p>At the ill-managed attack upon Savannah, by the combined forces of +D'Estaing and Lincoln, which ended so disastrously for the Americans, +Marion was present with his regiment, which did much by its gallantry +to redeem the honor, if not the fortunes, of the day. Next came, in +the winter of 1780, the siege of Charleston, by Sir Henry Clinton. It +was evident from the beginning that the city must fall, and it has +been a point much discussed whether Lincoln should have attempted to +defend it, whether it would not have been better for the cause that he +should withdraw his troops, and besiege the British from the open +country. This was what afterward took place when the conquerors were +reduced almost to starvation. An accident which happened to Marion has +been esteemed a piece of singular good fortune to the cause, in saving +him from surrender. He was in command of the small body of light +troops, outside of the city, when he was called to aid in the defence. +During the first days of the very deliberate investment, he was dining +with some friends in the town, when, according to a custom not unusual +in those hard-drinking times, the door was locked that no one should +avoid his share of the conviviality. Determined to escape the +infliction, he threw himself from the window into the street. The fall +fractured his ankle and incapacitated him from service. In obedience +to an order of Lincoln, commanding all officers unfit for duty to +retire from the city, he left while the country was still open, and +took refuge in his native region of St. John. His freedom was thus +preserved for the service of his country.</p> + +<p>Now came the incursions of Tarleton and the devastating warfare of +Cornwallis—a policy of savage extermination which would have driven a +people with less capability of exertion to despair. But it happened, +as it has before, that the very means employed to crush, excited the +spirit of resistance, and deliverers were raised up for the oppressed. +It was a peculiar species of warfare which was now entered upon, +requiring novel resources both for attack and defence. A thinly +inhabited country was the scene of operations, cut up in all +directions by rivers and their branches, and innumerable swamps. Large +bodies of troops could move only with difficulty; it was a service for +small parties of cavalry always in movement, making up by rapidity for +want of numbers. On the side of the British, Lieutenant-Colonel +Tarleton, an officer of spirit, whose fiery youth has been vividly +handed down to us in the portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds, was the +leading representative of this method of warfare, harrying the land +with his mounted troops, and overcoming by his activity and +unscrupulousness. Success <span class="pagenum"><a id="page298" name="page298"></a>(p. 298)</span> added terror to his name, as he +gained victory after victory, and seemed destined to sweep the land of +its patriot defenders. He was the right arm of Cornwallis, in his +movements in the interior, and began to be deemed invincible, when his +course was arrested by Morgan, the Virginian, and his resolute +companies of native defenders of the State, at the battle of Cowpens. +But it was in Marion that the chief spirit of resistance was +incorporated. On the arrival of Gates from the North, in command of +the Southern army, having partially recovered from his lameness, he +presented himself before the hero of Saratoga, on his march toward the +fatal field of Camden. American commanders were accustomed to odd +sights of dress and equipment in the patriot soldiery who enlisted +under their banners, and Gates must have been used to appearances with +which the eye of Washington himself was but too familiar. The little +band of Marion, however, seems to have astonished even their American +brethren-in-arms. As for the well-equipped British, they always held +the ragged American regiments in contempt, till they were soundly +flogged by them. An intelligent looker-on at the camp, Colonel Otho +Williams, in his narrative of the campaign, speaks of Colonel Marion's +arrival, "attended by a very few followers, distinguished by small +leather caps and the wretchedness of their attire; their number did +not exceed twenty men and boys, some white, some black, and all +mounted, but most of them miserably equipped. Their appearance was, in +fact, so burlesque, that it was with much difficulty the diversion of +the regular soldiery was restrained by the officers; and the general +himself was glad of an opportunity of detaching Colonel Marion, at his +own instance, toward the interior of South Carolina, with orders to +watch the motions of the enemy, and furnish intelligence."</p> + +<p>It was while Marion was engaged on this service, that the battle of +Camden was fought; but luckily, he had no share in the misadventure. +He was employed, in fact, in quite an independent career of his own, +organizing his own forces and acting at his own discretion. He was at +the head of that system of partisan warfare, which, in its +developments, was to rid the State of the foreign foe. His present +command, "Marion's Brigade," was formed from the hardy spirited +population of Irish descent, settled between the Santee and the Pedee, +in the territory of Williamsburg. They were convinced of the +intentions of the British rulers at Charleston to reduce them to +political servitude; they knew their rights, and knowing, dared to +maintain them. Their movement was voluntary, as they gathered their +small but resolute force of picked men, and called Marion to its +command. He had already assumed it, and caused the Tories to feel his +new authority when the defeat of Gates took place. It roused him at +once to a new effort to redeem the fortunes of war. He was already in +the neighborhood of the field, and hearing that a British guard was on +its way with a considerable body of prisoners, he determined to arrest +the party on its march. Two days after the battle, he concerted an +attack, and with the loss of but one man, killed and took 22 regulars +and 2 Tories prisoners, and retook 150 continentals of the Maryland +line. He was now a recognized leader in the field, and the British +commander-in-chief directed his efforts to his overthrow. "I <span class="pagenum"><a id="page299" name="page299"></a>(p. 299)</span> +most sincerely hope," wrote Cornwallis to Tarleton, "that you will get +at Mr. Marion." But Mr. Marion was not so easily to be caught. On the +appearance of a superior force, under the command of Tarleton, which +it would have been vain to resist, the skilful partisan turned his +forces in another direction, to the borders of North Carolina, where +he overawed the Scotch Tories in that disaffected region. The ruthless +conduct of the British whom he had left behind, now raised the South +Carolinians to fresh resistance, when Marion, ever mindful of his +opportunity, returned to the State with speed, accomplishing sixty +miles in one day, and in a bold night attack, defeated a large body of +Tories on the Black Mingo. Following this up with some smaller +successes of the kind, he again attracted the attention of Tarleton, +who issued out of Charleston in force for his capture, and when he was +fairly on his heels, wearied out and perplexed by the windings of his +foe, gave up the chase, it is said, with the exclamation, "Come, my +boys! let us go back. We will soon find the Game Cock [Marion's +brother partisan, Sumter], but as for this damned Swamp-fox, the devil +himself could not catch him."</p> + +<p>The tide was now turning, as the people felt their strength. King's +Mountain, in the autumn of this memorable 1780, brought a vast +accession of strength to the popular cause, in the proof that the best +British troops were not invincible before an aroused yeomanry; but +there was much yet to be done before the day of final deliverance was +secured. It was a slow, weary, harassing policy which was to be +pursued, of surprises and escapes, of self-denial and endurance, of +the watchful, unyielding virtue of Marion and his men. They took post +in an island fortress of wooded swamp land, at the junction of the +Pedee and Lynch's Creek, known as the "camp of Marion," where he +recruited his forces, husbanded his strength, and sallied forth on his +raids against the foe. This is the spot where the popular admiration +of Marion finds its home and centre. "His career as a partisan," says +his faithful biographer, the novelist Simms, "in the thickets and +swamps of Carolina, is abundantly distinguished by the picturesque; +but it was while he held his camp at Snow's Island that it received +its highest colors of romance. In this snug and impenetrable fortress, +he reminds us very much of the ancient feudal baron of France and +Germany, who, perched on a castled eminence, looked down with the +complacency of an eagle from his eyrie, and marked all below him for +his own. The resemblance is good in all respects but one. The plea and +justification of Marion are complete. His warfare was legitimate." It +is in this place the scene is laid of an interview with the British +officer, so familiar to the public in popular narratives and pictorial +illustration. A flag from the enemy, at the neighboring post of +Georgetown, is received with the design of an exchange of prisoners. +The officer is admitted blindfold into the encampment, and on the +bandage being taken from his eyes, is surprised equally at the +diminutive size of the General and the simplicity of his quarters. He +had expected, it is said, to see some formidable personage of the sons +of Anak of the standard military figure, which, as Mr. Simms remarks, +averaged, in the opposing generals during the war, more than two +hundred pounds. On the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page300" name="page300"></a>(p. 300)</span> contrary, he saw "a swarthy, +smoke-dried little man, with scarcely enough of threadbare homespun to +cover his nakedness, and instead of tall ranks of gay-dressed +soldiers, a handful of sunburnt, yellow-legged militiamen, some +roasting potatoes, and some asleep, with their black firelocks and +powder-horns lying by them on the logs." This is Weems's narrative, a +little colored with his full brush, but true enough as to detail. The +improvement which he works up from the plain potato presented as a +dinner to the officer, is equally sound as a moral, though we will not +vouch for the exact expression of the sentiment. As a specimen of +Weems, it is characteristic; but certainly Marion never talked in the +fashion of this zealous biographer.</p> + +<p>The Briton, however, entrenched at Charleston, and with his double +line of forts encompassing the interior, was not all at once driven +out. When he was compelled to leave, it was by the slow process of an +exhaustion, to which even victory contributed; for every British +conquest in that region was as costly as a defeat. Greene came with +his Fabian policy, acquired in the school of Washington, to repair the +errors of Gates. It was a course with which the policy of Marion was +quite in agreement, attacking the enemy when they were vulnerable; at +other moments retreating before them. Both officers knew well how to +drain the vitality of the British army. Greene appreciated Marion. "I +like your plan," he wrote to him, "of frequently shifting your ground. +We must endeavor to keep up a partisan war." He sent +Lieutenant-Colonel Lee to his aid, and together they attempted the +capture of Georgetown in a night attack, which was but partially +successful, in consequence of a loss of time and the want of +artillery. Though not fully carried out, it served as a diversion and +alarm in the rear of Cornwallis, who now, after the defeat of an +important portion of his force under Tarleton, was advancing rapidly +through North Carolina at the heels of Greene. Lee was recalled to +join his commander, and Marion continued his partisan warfare in South +Carolina. He was after a while reinforced by Greene on his return to +the State, and assisted that general greatly in the movements which +resulted in imprisoning the enemy in Charleston. After a brilliant +affair with the British, in conjunction with Lee and Sumter, and other +bold spirits, he hastened to Greene in time for the battle of Eutaw, +in which engagement he commanded the right of the South Carolina +militia, and gallantly sustained the fierce attack of the enemy. +Toward the close of the war, he took his seat in the Legislative +Assembly which met at Jacksonborough, as the representative of St. +John, Berkeley. He was engaged in one or two further conflicts with +the enemy, and the struggle which he had so manfully sustained was at +an end.</p> + +<p>He now retired to his plantation, to find it broken up by the +incursions of the British. While engaged in its restoration, he was +sent as representative of the district to the Senate of the State. It +is recorded to his credit that he displayed in this situation a ready +magnanimity toward Tory offenders in preserving their lands from +confiscation.</p> + +<a id="img028" name="img028"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/img028.jpg" width="600" height="365" alt="" title=""> +<p>Marion crossing the Pedee.</p> +</div> + +<p>"It was war, then," said he; "it is peace now. God has given us the +victory. Let us show our gratitude to heaven, which we shall not do by +cruelty to man." <span class="pagenum"><a id="page301" name="page301"></a>(p. 301)</span> In the same lofty spirit, he refused to +receive any advantages from a bill exempting the soldiers of the +militia from prosecution for acts committed in the service. He felt +that his conduct needed no shelter. The Legislature rewarded him with +thanks, and the more substantial appointment of Commandant of the Port +of Charleston, a nominal office, with the salary of £500, which were +cut down to dollars. A timely marriage, however, with a wealthy lady +of Huguenot descent, Miss Mary Videau, a spinster of fifty, who was +attracted by the hero, relieved him of pecuniary anxieties, leaving +him an old age of ease in agricultural pursuits. He still represented +his parish in the State Senate, and sat in 1790 in the Convention for +forming the Constitution. In 1794 he resigned his military commission +given to him by Rutledge, and the following year, yielding to a +gradual decline, expired on February 27th, at the age of sixty-three.</p> + +<p>Marion was a true, unflinching patriot—a man of deeds, and not of +words; a prudent, sagacious soldier, not sudden or quick in quarrel, +but resolute to the end; a good disciplinarian, and beloved by his +men, who came at his call.</p> + +<p>There was no power of coercion, such as restrains the hired soldier, +in his little band; it was held together only by the cohesive force of +patriotism and attachment to the leader. We hear of no acts of cruelty +to stain the glory of his victories, but much of his magnanimity.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + + +<h3>PAUL JONES<br> +(1747-1792)</h3> + +<a id="img029" name="img029"></a> +<div class="floatleft"> +<img src="images/img029.jpg" width="250" height="238" alt="Paul Jones." title=""> +</div> + +<p>Paul Jones, the popular naval hero of the Revolution, the son of John +Paul, a gardener in Scotland, was born July 6, 1747, at a cottage on +the estate of his father's employer, Mr. Craik, at Arbigland, in the +parish of Kirkbean. His parents belonged to a respectable class of the +population of the country. The boy, as is wont with Scottish boys, +however humble, received the elements of education, but could not have +advanced very far with his books, since we find him at the age of +twelve apprenticed to the sea. The situation of Kirkbean, on the shore +of the Solway, naturally gave a youth of spirit an inclination to life +on the ocean; and he had not far to seek for employment in the +trading-port of Whitehaven, in the opposite county of Cumberland. +Paul's first adventure—the appendix of Jones was an <span class="pagenum"><a id="page302" name="page302"></a>(p. 302)</span> +after-thought of his career—was in the service of Mr. Younger, a +merchant in the American trade, who sent his apprentice on a voyage to +Virginia, where an elder brother of Paul had profitably established +himself at Fredericksburg. This gave him an early introduction to the +country with which the fame of the future soldier of fortune was to be +especially identified.</p> + +<p>The apprenticeship of Paul was of short duration. The failure of his +employer threw the youth upon his own resources; but he lost no time +in taking care of himself. His studies on shipboard had already +qualified him for the higher duties of the mercantile service; the +slave-trade, the active pursuit of those days, offered him an +engagement; he sailed for the African coast in the King George, a +vessel engaged in this infamous traffic, out of Whitehaven, and in his +nineteenth year was trusted as chief mate of the Two Friends, another +vessel of the trade, belonging to Jamaica. Having carried his human +cargo to the island, sickening of the pursuit, he sailed as a +passenger to Kirkcudbright, in his native district. Opportunities are +always presenting themselves to the watchful and the initiated. The +chief officers of the vessel died of the fever; Paul took command and +carried the ship in safety to the owners. They put him in command of +the brig, the John, on another West India voyage.</p> + +<p>Finally, in 1771, he left Scotland never to return to it, save to +carry terror among its population. He proceeded to London; found +employment in the West India trade, and in 1773 settled himself for a +while in Virginia on the estate of his brother, to whom he had now +become heir. This was a grand turning-point of his career, and to +signalize it properly, Paul, who was somewhat of a fanciful turn, +added the name Jones to his proper appellation, John Paul.</p> + +<p>On the organization of the infant navy of the United States, in 1775, +John Paul Jones, as he is henceforth to be called, received the +appointment of first of the first lieutenants in the service, in +which, in his station on the flag-ship Alfred, he claimed the honor of +being the foremost, on the approach of the commander-in-chief, +Commodore Hopkins, to raise the new American flag. This was the old +device of a rattle-snake coiled on a yellow ground, with the motto, +<span class="italic">Don't tread on me</span>, which is yet partially retained in the seal of +the war-office.</p> + +<p>The first service of the new squadron was the attack upon the island +of New Providence, in which Jones rendered signal assistance. On the +return voyage, the unsatisfactory encounter with the Glasgow occurred, +which afterward resulted in the dismissal of one of the American +officers, and Jones's appointment in his place to the command of the +Providence, of twelve guns and seventy men. His exploits in this +vessel gained him his first laurels. He now received the rank of +captain, and sailed on various expeditions, transporting troops, +conveying merchantmen, out-sailing British frigates, and greatly +harassing the enemy's commercial interests. His success in these +enterprises induced Commodore Hopkins to put him in command of the +Alfred and other vessels on an expedition to the eastward, which +resulted in the capture of various important prizes of transport and +other ships, and extensive injury to the fisheries at Canso. On his +return, he was superseded in the command of the Alfred, his seniority +in the service <span class="pagenum"><a id="page303" name="page303"></a>(p. 303)</span> being set aside, a grievance which led to +remonstrance on his part, and a correspondence with the Committee of +Congress, in the course of which Jones made many valuable suggestions +as to the service, and gained the friendship of that eminent business +man of the old Confederacy, Robert Morris. There appear to have been +several appointments for him in progress, when his somewhat unsettled +position became determined by the resolve of Congress to send him to +France for the purpose of taking command of a frigate to be provided +for him by the Commissioners at Paris. By the resolution of June 14, +1777, he was appointed to the Ranger, newly built at Portsmouth, +and—a second instance of the kind—had the honor of hoisting for the +first time the new flag of the stars and stripes; at least he claimed +the distinction, for the bristling vanity of Jones made him +punctilious in these accidental matters of personal renown.</p> + +<p>It took some time to prepare the Ranger for sea, but Jones got off on +his adventure in November, made a couple of prizes by the way, and at +the end of a month reached Nantes. Disappointed in obtaining the large +vessel which he expected, and obliged to be contented with the Ranger, +he employed his time in making acquaintance with the French navy at +Quiberon Bay, and offering valuable suggestions for the employment of +D'Estaing's fleet on the American coast. He soon determined to put to +sea on an adventure of spirit. On April 10, 1778, he sailed from Brest +on a cruise in British waters. Directing his course to the haunts of +his youth, he captured a brigantine off Cape Clear, and a London ship +in the Irish Channel; planned various bold adventures on the Irish +coast, which he was not able to carry out from adverse influences of +wind and tide, but well-nigh succeeded in burning a large fleet of +merchantmen in the docks of Whitehaven. In this last adventure, he +made a landing at night, and advanced to the capture of the +town-batteries, leaving his officers to fire the ships, of which there +were about two hundred in the port. His orders were not obeyed, either +from insufficient preparations or the relenting of his agents, when he +himself set fire to one of the largest of the vessels. It was now day, +and the people were warned by a deserter from his force, but Jones +managed to hold the whole town at bay till he made good his retreat. +This daring affair was an impromptu of Jones's genius, justified in +his view by similar depredations of the British on the American coast; +but it had an ugly look of ingratitude to the place which had +sheltered his youth, and first given him promotion in the world.</p> + +<p>Nor was this all. He immediately crossed to his native shore of +Scotland, with the intention of seizing the Earl of Selkirk, at his +seat on the promontory of St. Mary's Isle, on the Solway, near +Kirkcudbright. Landing at the spot he ascertained that the earl was +from home. Disappointed in his object, he would have returned, when +the officers in his boat insisted upon a demand for the family plate. +Jones demurred, but yielded with the proviso that the thing was to be +done in the most delicate manner possible. His lieutenant, Simpson, +undertook the business, and introduced himself to Lady Selkirk, who +was, conveniently enough for his purposes, engaged at breakfast. She +had at first taken the party for a press-gang, and had offered them +refreshments; on being informed of the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page304" name="page304"></a>(p. 304)</span> nature of their +visit, their request, backed by the armed crew at the door, was +complied with.</p> + +<p>It is said that Jones apologized personally to Lady Selkirk, and we +shall presently find him, at the first interval of leisure, taking +measures to repair the act. For the moment, however, he had more +serious work on hand. In his upward voyage along the Irish coast, he +had looked into Belfast Lough, after his Majesty's sloop-of-war Drake, +of twenty guns, which he attempted to board in a night attack by a +bold manœuvre, which came within an ace of success. Immediately +after the affair of St. Mary's, he ran across the channel and had the +fortune to meet the Drake coming out of Carrickfergus. She was getting +to sea to check the exploits of the Ranger, which had now alarmed the +whole region. Jones desired nothing more than an encounter. As the +ship drew up she hailed the Ranger. Jones gave the reply through his +sailing-master: "The American continental ship Ranger. We are waiting +for you. Come on. The sun is little more than an hour high, and it is +time to begin!" A broadside engagement commenced, and continued at +close quarters for an hour, when the Drake surrendered. Her captain +and first lieutenant were mortally wounded, her sails and rigging +terribly cut up, and hull much shattered. The loss of the Ranger was 2 +killed and 6 wounded; that of the Drake, 42. The Drake had two guns +the advantage of her adversary. The action took place on April 24th; +on May 8th, Jones having traversed the channel, carried his prize +safely into Brest.</p> + +<p>His first thought now was to make some amends to Lady Selkirk and his +own reputation for the plundering visit of his lieutenant. He +therefore addressed to her, the very day of his landing, an +extraordinary letter—Jones was fond of letter-writing—full of +high-sounding phrases, and professions of gallantry and esteem, in the +midst of which he failed not to recite the splendid victory of the +Ranger. He drew a picture of the terrors inflicted by the British in +America; and in respect to that unfortunate plate, expressed his +intention to purchase it, in the sale of the prize, and restore it at +his own expense to the family. This, after delays and obstacles, he +finally accomplished some years later, when we are told it was all +returned as it was taken, the very tea-leaves of the parting breakfast +clinging to the tea-pot.</p> + +<a id="img030" name="img030"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/img030.jpg" width="400" height="561" alt="" title=""> +<p>Paul Jones and Lady Selkirk.</p> +</div> + +<p>The affair of the Ranger, so brilliantly conducted, the short, +energetic cruise in narrow seas, so near the British naval stations, +gave Jones a great reputation for gallantry in Paris. The delays and +difficulties, however, incidental to the wretched state of the +American finances abroad, and the imperfect relation of his country +with the French court, were well calculated to cool any enthusiasm +excited by his conquest; and a man of less vivacity and perseverance +than Jones might have dropped the service. He persevered. His +lieutenant, Simpson, after various refractory proceedings, had sailed +home in the Ranger, when an arrangement was finally made with Le Ray +de Chaumont, the negotiator of the French court, to furnish a jointly +equipped and officered fleet, of which Jones was to take command. Five +vessels were thus provided, including the American frigate Alliance. +An old Indiaman, the Duke de Duras, fell to the lot of Jones. +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page305" name="page305"></a>(p. 305)</span> In compliment to Dr. Franklin, one of the commissioners, +and especially in gratitude for a hint which he had accidentally +lighted upon in an odd number of that philosopher's almanac, to the +effect that whoever would have his business well done must do it +himself—a suggestion by which Jones had greatly profited in giving a +final spur to his protracted negotiations—he changed the name of his +vessel, by permission of the French Government, to the Bon Homme +Richard.</p> + +<p>Jones at length set sail, on August 14th, with his squadron. Landais, +an incompetent Frenchman in the American service, was in command of +the Alliance. It was altogether a weak, mongrel affair. The Bon Homme +Richard was unseaworthy, her armament was defective, and in her motley +crew Englishmen and foreigners outnumbered the Americans. The plan of +the cruise was to sail round the British Islands from the westward. At +Cape Clear the commander parted with two of the smaller vessels of the +squadron, which now consisted of his own ship, the Alliance, the +Pallas, and the Vengeance. The service was, however, far more impaired +by the insubordination of Landais, who evinced great jealousy of his +superior. Several prizes were taken, one of them by Jones off Cape +Wrath, at the extremity of Scotland. Traversing the eastern coast, he +arrived, with the Pallas and the Vengeance, at the Firth of Forth, and +entertained the bold idea of attacking the armed vessels at the +station, and putting not only Leith, but possibly the capital, +Edinburgh itself, under contribution. He would certainly have made the +attempt—indeed, it was in full progress—when it was defeated by a +violent gale of wind.</p> + +<p>Jones now continued his course southwardly, casting longing eyes upon +Hull and Newcastle, when, having been joined by the Alliance, the +squadron suddenly, off Flamborough Head, fell in with the Baltic +cruisers, the Serapis, forty-four. Captain Pearson, and the Countess +of Scarborough, twenty, Captain Piercy, convoying a fleet of +merchantmen. Jones at once prepared for action. The combat which +ensued, between the Serapis and the Bon Homme Richard, is one of the +most remarkable in the annals of naval warfare, for the circumstances +under which it was fought, the persistence of the contest, and the +well-matched valor of the commanders. The engagement was by moonlight, +on a tranquil sea, within sight of the shore, which was crowded with +spectators, who thronged the promontory of Flamborough Head and the +piers of Scarborough. After various preliminary manœuvres on the +part of the English commander to shelter the merchantmen, the +engagement began at half-past seven in the evening, with a series of +attempts of the Bon Homme Richard to come to close quarters with her +antagonist. At the first broadside of Jones's vessel, two of the old +eighteen-pounders mounted in her gun-room burst, with fearful +destruction to the men. This accident compelled the closing of the +lower ports, and produced a still greater inequality between the +combatants than at the start, for the Serapis was not only a +well-constructed, well-furnished man-of-war, thoroughly equipped, +while the Bon Homme Richard had even-disadvantage in these respects: +but the absolute weight of metal was, at the outset, greatly in favor +of the Englishman. The Richard then passed to windward of the Serapis, +receiving her fire, which did much damage <span class="pagenum"><a id="page306" name="page306"></a>(p. 306)</span> to the rotten hull +of the old Indiaman. Jones next attempted a movement to get into +position to rake his antagonist from stem to stern, which resulted in +a momentary collision. There was an effort to board the Serapis, which +was repulsed, when Captain Pearson called out, "Has your ship struck?" +and Jones instantly replied, "I have not yet begun to fight." The +ships then separating, were brought again to a broadside encounter, +when Jones, feeling the superior force of the Serapis, and her better +sailing, was fully prepared to take advantage of the next position as +the ships fell foul of one another, to grapple with his opponent. He +himself assisted in lashing the jib-stay of the Serapis to the +mizzenmast of the Richard.</p> + +<p>The ships became now closely entangled for their full length on their +starboard sides; so near were they together, that the guns of one +touched the sides of the other, and in some places where the +port-holes met, the guns were loaded by passing the rammers into the +opposite vessel. Every discharge in this position was of course most +deadly, and told fearfully upon the rotten hull of the Richard. To add +to Jones's embarrassment, he was repeatedly fired upon by Landais, +from the Alliance, which always kept her position with the Richard +between her and the enemy. This extraordinary circumstance is only to +be accounted for by an entire lack of presence of mind in the +confusion, or by absolute treachery. The Serapis poured in her fire +below from a full battery, while the Richard was confined to three +guns on deck. She had efficient aid, however, in clearing the deck of +the Serapis, from the musketry and hand-grenades of her men in the +tops. One of these missiles reached the lower gun-deck of the Serapis, +and there setting fire to a quantity of exposed cartridges, produced a +destruction of life, an offset to the fearful loss of the Richard by +the bursting of her guns in the opening of the engagement. The injury +to the Richard, from the wounds inflicted upon her hull, was at this +time so great that she was pronounced to be sinking, and there was a +cry among the men of surrender; not, however, from Jones, who was as +much himself at this extremity as ever. Seeing the English prisoners, +who had been released below, more than a hundred in number, rushing +upon deck, where in a moment they might have leaped into the Serapis, +and put themselves under then country's flag, he coolly set them to +working the pumps, to save the sinking ship. Human courage and +resolution have seldom been more severely tried than in the exigencies +of this terrible night on board the Richard. Jones continued to ply +his feeble cannonade from the deck, levelled at the mainmast of the +adversary. Both vessels were on fire, when, at half-past ten, the +Serapis struck.</p> + +<p>The loss in this extraordinary engagement, which outstrips and +exaggerates the usual vicissitudes of naval service, was of course +fearful. The entire loss of the Richard is estimated by Cooper at one +hundred and fifty, nearly one-half of all the men she had engaged. +Captain Pearson reported at least one hundred and seventeen +casualties. The Bon Homme Richard was so riddled by the enemy's fire, +and disembowelled by the gun-room explosion, that she could not be +saved from sinking. When the wind freshened, the day after the +victory, she <span class="pagenum"><a id="page307" name="page307"></a>(p. 307)</span> became no longer tenable; her living freight +was taken from her, and Jones, in the forenoon of the 25th, "with +inexpressible grief," saw her final plunge into the depths of the +ocean.</p> + +<p>While the engagement of the Richard and Serapis was going on, the +Pallas, better officered than the Alliance, captured the other English +vessel, the Countess of Scarborough. The two prizes were carried to +the Texel, where the squadron enjoyed the uneasy protection of +Holland. Jones himself had a more satisfactory reception in an +enthusiastic greeting on the Exchange at Amsterdam, and a brilliant +triumph, illuminated by the smiles of the fair sex, shortly after in +Paris. In October, 1780, he left for America in the Ariel, bearing +with him a gift from the king, a gold-mounted sword, with the +inscription on the blade: <span class="italic">Vindicati Maris Ludovicus XVI. Remunerator +Strenuo Vindici</span>—"Louis XVI., rewarder, to the valiant defender of a +liberated sea." The voyage was interrupted, at its outset, by a severe +storm off the harbor, in which Jones displayed his usual heroism. The +vessel was refitted, and after a partial action on the high seas with +a mysterious stranger, reached Philadelphia in February, 1781.</p> + +<p>In 1787 he left America with the intention of serving under Louis. +When he reached Paris, he was met by a proposition to enter the +service of Catherine of Russia, in which he was induced to engage by +prospects of rank and glory. On his journey to St. Petersburg, he had +a characteristic adventure in his passage from Stockholm to Revel, +which he made while the navigation was interrupted by ice, traversing +the sea, with great hardihood, in an open boat, extorting the labors +of the boatmen by his threats of violence. He was well received by the +Empress, who forwarded him to Potemkin, then in command on the Black +Sea, in a war with the Turks. It is not necessary to recount the +movements of a small squadron, with a divided command and jealous +counsels, presided over by a whimsical, despotic court favorite. Many +as were the vexations encountered by Jones in the inefficient +resources, the shifts and expedients of foreign allies, and the +straits of the American commissioners, they were light compared with +the stifling restraints of Russian tyranny. Jones did much fighting, +in his command of the Wolodomer, on the Black Sea, against the Pasha, +but retired with little glory. Persecution followed at St. +Petersburg—there was an assault upon his moral character, which was +triumphantly disproved—various projects flitted through his teeming +mind, and his connection with the country closed after a residence of +fifteen months. It is sad to watch the last years of Paul Jones, not, +indeed, of age, but of growing weariness and disease, as he renews his +broken Russian hopes, and revives the old, faded, pecuniary claims on +the French court. A gleam of sunshine appears in his aspirations to +serve his country—for he still looked across the Atlantic—in the +removal of the chains from the American sailors imprisoned at Algiers. +His country listened to his cry; he was charged to treat with the +Regency for their ransom, but before the commission reached him, he +had passed to that land where the weary cease from sighing, and +prisoners are at rest. Here, with Mercy bending over the scene, let +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page308" name="page308"></a>(p. 308)</span> the curtain fall. Paul Jones died at Paris, at the age of +forty-five, of a dropsical affection, July 18, 1792.</p> + +<p>The person of Paul Jones is well known by the numerous prints devoted +to his brilliant exploits. You will see him, a little active man of +medium height, not robust but vigorous, a keen black eye, lighting a +dark, weather-beaten visage, compact and determined, with a certain +melancholy grace.</p> + +<p>He was one of nature's self-made men; that is, nature gave the genius, +and he supplied the industry, for he knew how to labor, and must have +often exerted himself to secure the attainments which he possessed. He +was a good seaman, as well as a most gallant officer; sagacious in the +application of means; vain, indeed, and expensive, but natural and +generous; something of a poet in verse, much more in the quickness and +vivacity of his imagination, which led him to plan nobly; an +accomplished writer; and as he was found worthy of the warm and +unchanging friendship of Franklin, that sage who sought for excellence +while he looked with a kindly eye upon human infirmity, we, too, may +peruse the virtues of the man and smile upon his frailties.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + + +<h3>TECUMSEH<a id="footnotetag5" name="footnotetag5"></a><a href="#footnote5" title="Go to footnote 5"><span class="small">[5]</span></a><br> +By <span class="smcap">James A. Green</span><br> +(1776-1813)</h3> + +<a id="img031" name="img031"></a> +<div class="floatleft"> +<img src="images/img031.jpg" width="300" height="333" alt="Indians." title=""> +</div> + +<p>It would be a difficult matter for a well-read American to recall the +names of more than four or five notable Indians, leaving, of course, +contemporaneous red men out of the question. The list might comprise +Pocahontas, best known, probably, for something she did not do; +Powhatan, that vague and shadowy Virginian chief; King Philip, who had +a war named after him and so succeeded in having his name embalmed in +history; Pontiac, whose great conspiracy Parkman has made immortal, +and Tecumseh. But, of them all, Tecumseh is easily foremost. He was a +man who, had he been born to great position among civilized nations, +would have stamped his name and fame upon the world. He was not a mere +savage of the ordinary type, bloodthirsty, brutal beyond description, +going upon one aimless raid after another to glut his passion for +rapine and murder. These savage traits <span class="pagenum"><a id="page309" name="page309"></a>(p. 309)</span> were not his, though +all the good qualities of the Indian he possessed in double measure. +He was fearless, he was untiring, and when once started toward an end +he knew no rest until he had accomplished his design. He had a +primitive dignity of thought and expression that marked him as a great +orator. At the famous council at Vincennes, when Tecumseh had finished +his speech and was about to sit down with his braves, the interpreter, +pointing to General W. H. Harrison, said, "Your father wishes you to +take a chair." But the ordinary courtesy of calling the white Governor +the father of the red men was repugnant to Tecumseh, and with lofty +mien and unpremeditated eloquence he declined the proffered seat. +"No," he exclaimed, "the sun is my father, the earth is my mother, and +I will rest on her bosom." And he sat down on Mother Earth with his +assembled warriors, this act and fiery speech more than ever binding +them to his fortunes.</p> + +<p>Tecumseh was in reality the first of the great Ohio men. He was a +Shawnee Indian, and his tribe, in the middle of the eighteenth +century, had emigrated from Florida to what is now the State of Ohio, +Tecumseh being born in what is now Clarke County, near the present +city of Springfield, in an Indian town that bore the name of Piqua. +This must not be confounded with the present Ohio town of Piqua, which +is in another county altogether, the birthplace of Tecumseh now being +the site of a straggling village bearing the name, West Boston. In his +boyhood there was nothing unusual. He grew up in the stirring times +when Daniel Boone, Simon Kenton, and the other hardy Kentucky +pioneers. Long Knives the Indians called them—were leading their +forces into the West. It was a time when the Indians were constantly +fighting. They did not live in Kentucky, but they regarded the fertile +woods and prairies south of the Ohio River as their hunting-grounds, +and they attacked with savage cruelty all the whites that dared to +encroach upon this territory. The whites in turn crossed the Ohio in +reprisal, burnt the Indian towns, tomahawked women and children, +destroyed corn-fields, and were as unrelenting and barbarous in their +revenge as their savage foes.</p> + +<p>Tecumseh was born about 1776, and in 1780 the village of Piqua was +attacked by a party of 1,000 Kentuckians, who, after a fierce battle, +drove out the Indians and destroyed the place. It was amid such scenes +that the Indian boy grew to manhood. In that wild time, war was the +only science, and butchery the only trade that an Indian could follow. +One of the favorite Indian pursuits of the day was the capture of +parties of emigrants and traders who came floating down the Ohio in +canoes or "broadhorns." For miles the Indians would secretly follow +such a party, and then when their opportunity came would strike their +deadly blow. When a boy of seventeen Tecumseh was in a party making an +attack on some boats near the present site of Maysville, Ky. The boats +were captured and all the people in them slaughtered on the spot +except one person, who was spared and later burnt alive. The horror of +the spectacle so impressed Tecumseh that he then and there said he +would never again be guilty of such cruelty, and the vigorous manner +in which he protested against it so moved his <span class="pagenum"><a id="page310" name="page310"></a>(p. 310)</span> companions +that they agreed with him to not repeat the act. This resolution +Tecumseh never altered; time and time again he protected women and +children from his infuriated followers. At the battle of Fort Meigs a +party of Americans was captured by the British and Indians. Though +they had surrendered as prisoners of war, yet the savages were firing +into them promiscuously, or selecting such as they chose to tomahawk +in cold blood. This dreadful scene was interrupted by Tecumseh, who +came spurring up and, springing from his horse to the ground, dashed +aside two Indians who were about to murder an American, threatening to +slay anyone who would dare to injure another prisoner. Turning to the +British General, Proctor, he asked why such a massacre had been +permitted. "Sir," said Proctor, "your Indians cannot be commanded." +"Begone," was the angry reply of the outraged Tecumseh, "you are unfit +to command. Go, put on petticoats." This was only one incident of many +showing how far he was above the ordinary Indian in magnanimity of +character. At the already mentioned Vincennes conference Tecumseh +agreed with General William Henry Harrison—his unrelenting foe and +who judged him as harshly as any of the frontiersmen who feared and +hated him—that in case of an outbreak of hostilities the women and +children on both sides were to be protected and respected. Certain it +is that General Harrison would have made no such agreement had he not +believed that his adversary would keep it.</p> + +<a id="img032" name="img032"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/img032.jpg" width="600" height="432" alt="" title=""> +<p>Tecumseh defends the Whites at Fort Meigs.</p> +</div> + +<p>To understand the life and work of Tecumseh it is necessary to look +into the history of his times. His career was embraced between the +period of the Revolution and our second war with Great Britain. The +destiny of the Great West was not then assured. Ohio and Kentucky were +frontier States, vastly farther from the seat of government than is +the most remote of our Western outposts to-day. They could be reached +only by a toilsome journey over the Alleghanies and a trip down the +Ohio. A journey to-day to the Yellowstone, or to the regions beyond +the Black Hills, does not mean, in the way of time, danger, or +adventure, one-tenth what a journey to Fort Washington (Cincinnati) +meant in 1800. Indiana was a Territory, and the Territorial Governor, +first of the Northwest, and then of Indiana, was William Henry +Harrison, a born fighter, a palaverer, and who, in the difficult +position which he occupied in dealing with unruly settlers on the one +hand and turbulent Indians on the other hand, displayed singular tact +and ability. He was eminently the right man in the right place. But in +spite of the claims the United States made of the West, the country +was but little known, nor was its real importance even suspected. That +the Mississippi Valley would one day be peopled by millions, and be +the greatest, wealthiest, and most productive part of the country, was +not thought of even by the most sanguine of Americans. The Eastern +States in those days had affairs enough of their own on hand, and the +Western frontier was not regarded as essentially important. The +national idea—the Nation with a big N, as recent humorous newspaper +writers have put it—had not been evolved. It was difficult for even a +man of the persuasive powers of General Harrison, to induce the +General Government to furnish half enough troops to adequately guard +the outposts. If there was <span class="pagenum"><a id="page311" name="page311"></a>(p. 311)</span> serious work to do the settlers +had to do it themselves. There was little grumbling over this state of +affairs, however, as the Kentuckians and Westerners generally had been +brought up to do their own fighting and not to wait for the Government +at Washington to do it for them. In those days British agents were +actively at work among the Northern Indians to keep them in a state of +disaffection toward the United States. Meanwhile, the Indians were in +the midst of the great tragedy that has been enacted since the days of +Columbus. They were the victims of traders who sold them fire-water, +and for poor and cheap weapons, demanded furs whose value was out of +all proportion to that given in return. Many of their women married +white renegades who corrupted the morals of the tribes. They were +being dispossessed of the finest homes and best hunting grounds in +America, for the buffalo was then found in Kentucky in great herds, +and their position was thoroughly unhappy. They had then—and happily +this is not wholly the case at present—no rights that a white man was +bound to respect. But the Indians were still many and the settlers +were few. To a great leader, who of course could not take into account +the mighty force behind the Anglo-Saxon ranks that first marched over +the Alleghenies, it would still seem practical to band the red men +together in a vast confederation and drive the invaders back again +beyond the Ohio and the mountains. This was Tecumsch's splendid plan. +This was the design to which he devoted his life, and which he pursued +with such ardor and genius as to do what an Indian had never before +accomplished. Pontiac, it is true, at the siege of Detroit gathered a +number of tribes under his leadership, but he never dreamed of a +continental confederacy, as did Tecumseh. In this vast design he was +materially aided by his brother, best known by the name of the +Prophet, who, while lacking in judgment, was none the less a man of +extraordinary force of character. He proclaimed that he had received +power from the Great Spirit to confound the enemies of the Indians, +stay the march of disease and death, and that he was the Messiah to +lead his people to new and greater things. But as conditions to +success the Indians must stop drinking fire-water, they must cease +intermarrying with the whites or trading with them, and they must hold +all things as the property of all. They must return to their original +dress and manners, and forget that they had ever seen or known the +"pale faces." The fame and influence of the Prophet spread with almost +miraculous rapidity, and young men and warriors came from afar in +crowds to receive inspiration from him. Tecumseh with rare ability +turned this influence to advance his own plans. And of course this +constant stream of visitors to his brother, enabled the chief to +spread his racial idea far and wide. One of the things that Tecumseh +maintained was that the Indians held the land in common, that no one +tribe owned this or that territory, but that the Great Spirit had +given it equally to all. This he said at the conference at Vincennes, +but General Harrison ridiculed the idea and stated that if the Great +Spirit had intended to make one nation of the Indians, he would not +have put different languages into their heads, but would have taught +them all to speak alike. Tecumseh bitterly replied that no one tribe +had the right to give away what was the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page312" name="page312"></a>(p. 312)</span> joint property of +all, and not until the United States agreed to cease purchasing lands +from the Indians and restored the lands recently bought, would peace +be possible. Pointing to the moon that had risen on the council, +Governor Harrison said that the moon would sooner fall to earth than +the United States would give up anything fairly acquired. "Then," said +Tecumseh, "I suppose that you and I will have to fight it out."</p> + +<p>But these councils ended in nothing except a manly and impressive +statement by Tecumseh of his position, and a strong and terribly just +indictment of the whites for their treatment of the Indians. Tecumseh +was constantly on the move. Now on the Lakes, now on the Wabash, then +on the Mississippi or the plains to the westward, then on the Ohio or +the hills that roll to the south from it. Everywhere the Indians +received him graciously. But an accident destroyed his plans, and one +defeat dashed his confederation to pieces. During his absence Governor +Harrison, alarmed at the gathering of warriors at the Prophet's town +of Tippecanoe, on the Wabash River, in Indiana, marched against it. +There was no necessity for a battle. It might easily have been +avoided. Toward the close of day the Americans reached Tippecanoe. The +Indians disclaimed any hostile ideas, and it was settled that the +terms of peace were to be arranged the next day. That night, however, +the Indians treacherously attacked the Americans. The conflict was +fierce and bloody. The Indian braves were animated by the promises of +the Prophet, who declared that they would be victorious and that he +had rendered the bullets of the white men of no avail. During the +battle he stood on a neighboring hill and chanted a war song, to +further fill his warriors with courage and enthusiasm. But though the +red men fought gallantly, they were doomed to defeat. They were +scattered up and down the Wabash, their town was burnt, and the power +of the Western Indians was by this one blow shattered. So complete was +the victory and so far-reaching in its effects, that General Harrison +at once became the popular idol, and the glorification of the battle +of Tippecanoe, a generation later carried him into the Presidential +chair. It was this battle that gave the West to the whites.</p> + +<p>As for Tecumseh, he returned suddenly from the West to find that +despite his commands, the Prophet had permitted a battle. In his rage +and disappointment he took his brother, now fallen and disgraced, by +the hair and shook him. But no longer was it possible to hold his +tribes together. The victory of the United States at Tippecanoe took +the ardor for battle and resistance quite out of them. There were +hundreds of them, however, who in the war of 1812, which broke out +immediately, followed Tecumseh into the British service, in which he +was commissioned as a major-general. In that service he was doomed to +continued disaster. The English commander. General Proctor, was +incompetent and, in all the qualities of real manhood, the inferior of +his savage ally. After the battle of Put-in-Bay, on Lake Erie, he +started to retreat. Tecumseh protested, and was induced to go on only +by the promise that winter supplies would be delivered a few miles up +the Thames. It was on this stream that Proctor finally determined to +make a stand, but at the outset of the action he, coward-like, +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page313" name="page313"></a>(p. 313)</span> retreated with his red coats, leaving the Indians to bear +the brunt of the battle. Tecumseh had gone into the fight saying that +he would be killed, and his prediction was verified. But how he died +no one can say with certainty. No less than four Americans claimed the +honor of having killed him. Among the slain, in that time of fierce +pursuit and confusion, his body was not even identified. But there it +was, on the banks of that quiet Canadian stream, some thirty-five +miles from Detroit, that the greatest Indian in statecraft, diplomacy, +devotion to his people, and in dignity of thought and intellectual +gifts, found his unmarked grave. No one yet has written a biography of +him that does full justice to his great abilities and lofty character. +But his name is the most familiar of all Indian names, and he is the +only Indian after whom Western fathers and mothers have ever named +their sons. The late General of the United States Army, William +Tecumseh Sherman, bore his name, as have hundreds of other boys born +in Ohio, Kentucky, and the great States that roll westward from them.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<a id="sig003" name="sig003"></a> +<div class="right"> +<img src="images/sig003.jpg" width="250" height="86" alt="Author signature." title=""> +</div> + + +<h3>JAMES LAWRENCE<br> +(1781-1813)</h3> + +<a id="img033" name="img033"></a> +<div class="floatleft"> +<img src="images/img033.jpg" width="250" height="270" alt="James Lawrence." title=""> +</div> + +<p>Captain James Lawrence was one of that band of chivalrous spirits who, +concentrating all their life in the work, with insufficient means, in +the face of powerful enemies, raised our infant navy in an instant, as +it were, to an honored rank in the world. The force and energy of the +free national development were felt in the spontaneous movement that +placed so many ardent, courageous spirits at the service of the +country. These men, Barry, Barney, Decatur, Bainbridge, Perry, Somers, +and the rest—the list is a long one—were volunteers in the cause, +fighting more for glory than for pay. Such spirits were not to be +hired—theirs was no mercenary service. It was limited by no +prudential considerations. They went forth singly or united, the +commissioned champions of the nation, with their lives in their hands, +ready to sacrifice <span class="pagenum"><a id="page314" name="page314"></a>(p. 314)</span> themselves in that cause. Punctilious on +all points of honor, they sought but one reward—victory. There was +but one thing for them to do—to conquer; and, failing that, to die. +Of these fiery-souled heroes, who carried their country in their +hearts, the men of courtesy and courage, of equal humanity and +bravery, true sons of chivalry, Lawrence will ever be ranked among the +noblest.</p> + +<p>He was born October 1, 1781, at Burlington, on the banks of the +Delaware, in New Jersey. His father, John Lawrence, was an eminent +counsellor at law at that place. The death of his mother, shortly +after his birth, threw the charge of the child upon his elder sisters, +by whom he was tenderly cared for. His disposition answered to this +gentle culture. The boy was dutiful and affectionate, amiable in +disposition and agreeable in manners. Such a soil is peculiarly +favorable to the growth of the manly virtues where nature has assisted +by her generous physical gifts. The bravest men have often been the +gentlest. It is the union of the two conditions which, as in Sir +Philip Sidney, makes the perfect warrior.</p> + +<p>Young Lawrence early showed a liking for the sea, and would have led a +life on the waters from the age of twelve, had not his father firmly +turned his attention to books and education. It was his intention to +prepare him for his own profession, the law, and his desire that he +should enjoy the usual preparatory finished education. This was, +however, prevented by his pecuniary misfortunes, and the youth passed +from his primary school at once to the law office of his brother, John +Lawrence, then residing at Woodbury. He spent two years in this +situation, between thirteen and fifteen, or thereabout, vainly +endeavoring to reconcile his humors to the onerous duties of the +unwelcome position. The death of his father left him, in a measure, +free to follow his own inclinations, and his brother, perceiving his +strong bent for the sea, placed him under the care of a Mr. Griscomb, +at Burlington, to study navigation, evidently with a view to enter the +naval service of the country, for we find him, after a brief three +months' instruction, in possession of a midshipman's warrant. This was +dated September 4, 1798, the year when Congress seriously directed its +attention to the protection of our commerce, then so wantonly pillaged +by the two great belligerents of Europe, by the creation of a distinct +navy department, and the enlargement of our naval force. The movement +was specially directed to the French aggressions on the Atlantic and +in the Mediterranean. Indeed, in all but the name, war existed with +France. It was called a quasi war.</p> + +<p>Lawrence's first service was a cruise to the West Indies, in the +Ganges, a twenty-four gun ship, then commanded by Captain Tingey. He +showed in this and other voyages such aptitude for his duties that he +was made an acting lieutenant by his commander previous to his +receiving his commission from Government. In 1802 he was appointed +first lieutenant in the Enterprise, of twelve guns, one of the fleet +of Commodore Morris, sent to the Mediterranean to prosecute the war +with Tripoli. He particularly distinguished himself in that service, +by his adventures with Lieutenant David Porter, of the New York, in an +attack in open day on certain coasters or feluccas laden with wheat, +which took refuge <span class="pagenum"><a id="page315" name="page315"></a>(p. 315)</span> in Old Tripoli, where they were defended +by a land force. The attack was made in boats, at close quarters, +under a heavy fire of the enemy.</p> + +<p>Lawrence had a second opportunity of distinguishing himself in this +war in an action likely to be better remembered by the public, the +glorious adventure of Decatur, in the destruction of the wrecked and +captured Philadelphia, in the harbor of Tripoli, in February, 1804. +Lawrence was the first lieutenant of that officer in this brilliant +adventure, and shared its full dangers and glories.</p> + +<p>Lawrence was also engaged in the Enterprise, in Preble's bombardment +of Tripoli, the same year. He returned in the winter to the United +States, with that commodore, in the John Adams. In the following +spring of 1805, Lawrence successfully carried across the Atlantic one +of the fleet of gunboats, No. 6, of which he was commander, destined +for service in the Mediterranean. It was a small vessel, mounting two +guns, not at all adapted for ocean navigation. The voyage was looked +upon as a marvel. When near the Western Islands, Mr. Cooper, in his +"Naval History" tells, he "fell in with the British frigate Lapwing, +28, Captain Upton which ran for him, under the impression that the +gunboat was some wrecked mariners on a raft, there being a great show +of canvas and apparently no hull."</p> + +<p>After the war with Tripoli was ended, Lawrence returned to the United +States, and in the interval, when the war with England, after the +affair with the Leopard and Chesapeake, was daily becoming more +imminent, we find him, in 1808, appointed first lieutenant of the +Constitution. About the same time he married Miss Montaudevert, the +daughter of a respectable merchant of New York. He was on duty in the +Vixen, Wasp, and Argus; and, at the commencement of the war of 1812, +was promoted to the command of the Hornet. While in this last vessel +he sailed with Bainbridge, who had the flag-ship Constitution, on a +cruise along the coast of South America, and, having occasion to look +in at the port of San Salvador, found there the British sloop-of-war, +Bonne Citoyenne, of eighteen guns, ready to sail for England with a +large amount of specie. Lawrence, whose ship mounted an equal number +of guns, was exceedingly anxious to engage with this vessel. He sent a +challenge to its commander, Captain Green, through the American +consul, inviting him to "come out," and pledging his honor that +neither the Constitution, nor any other American vessel, should +interfere, which Commodore Bainbridge seconded by promising to be out +of the way, or at least non-combatant. The English captain, however, +declined.</p> + +<p>It was an unhappy precedent which Lawrence thus established, injurious +to the service and destined to act fatally against himself in the end, +when from the challenger he became the challenged.</p> + +<p>The Constitution meanwhile sailed away, to close the year with her +brilliant engagement with the Java, leaving the Hornet engaged in the +blockade of the Bonne Citoyenne. Eighteen days since the departure of +the flag-ship had passed while her consort was thus engaged, waiting +till her expected prize should issue from the harbor, when the Hornet +was robbed of her chances of victory by the arrival of his majesty's +seventy-four, the Montague. Escape now became the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page316" name="page316"></a>(p. 316)</span> policy of +Lawrence, who luckily managed to get from the harbor in safety, and +turned his course to the northward, along the coast. While cruising in +this direction, after capturing a small English brig, he fell in with, +on February 24, 1813, off the mouth of the Demerara, two brigs of war, +with one of which, the Peacock, Captain Peake, he speedily became +engaged. The American vessel on this occasion had somewhat the +advantage in armament. In the words of Lawrence's dispatch, which +gives a modest and forcible account of the affair, after mentioning +his attempt to get at the first vessel he discovered at anchor off the +bar, he says: "At half-past three <span class="smcap">P.M.</span>, I discovered another sail on +my weather quarter, edging down for us. At twenty minutes past four +she hoisted English colors, at which time we discovered her to be a +large man-of-war brig; beat to quarters and cleared ship for action; +kept close by the wind, in order if possible, to get the weather gage. +At ten minutes past five, finding I could weather the enemy, I hoisted +American colors and tacked. At twenty minutes past five, in passing +each other, exchanged broadsides within half pistol shot. Observing +the enemy in the act of wearing, I bore up, received his starboard +broadside, ran him close on board on the starboard quarter, and kept +up such a heavy and well-directed fire, that in less than fifteen +minutes he surrendered, being literally cut to pieces, and hoisted an +ensign, union down, from his fore-rigging, as a signal of distress."</p> + +<p>The hull of the Peacock was so riddled that she sank, while every +exertion was made by her captors to save her by throwing over her guns +and stopping the shot-holes. Nine of her crew went down with her, and +three of the Hornet's men. Captain Peake was found dead on board. The +loss of the Hornet was trifling compared with that of her adversary; +but one man killed and four wounded or injured, one of whom afterward +died. This superiority is attributed by Cooper, who sums up the +testimony, "to the superior gunnery and rapid handling of the Hornet."</p> + +<p>This victory brought Lawrence a harvest of honors, public and private. +Before he sailed, he had felt called upon to protest to the Secretary +of the Navy against what he thought an injustice done him in the +promotion of a younger officer to a captaincy, while he remained +simply lieutenant-commander. He now found that the promotion had been +conferred upon him in his absence, and was offered the command of the +Constitution. He would have been pleased to sail in this vessel, but, +much to his annoyance, immediately after receiving the appointment was +ordered to the Chesapeake, then lying at Boston.</p> + +<p>Captain Lawrence took the command of the Chesapeake at Boston toward +the end of May, 1813. The Shannon frigate, Captain Broke, a superior +vessel of the British navy, had been for some time off the port, and +her commander, assured of his strength, was desirous of a conflict. +"You will feel it as a compliment," he wrote, "if I say that the +result of our meeting may be the most grateful service I can render to +my country; and I doubt not that you, equally confident of success, +will feel convinced that it is only by triumphs in equal combats that +your little navy can now hope to console your country for the loss of +that trade it can no longer protect."</p> + +<a id="img034" name="img034"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/img034.jpg" width="500" height="401" alt="" title=""> +<p>"Don't give up the ship."</p> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page317" name="page317"></a>(p. 317)</span> It would be complimenting the valor of Lawrence at the +expense of his judgment, if we were to pronounce him ardent for the +fight, with the circumstances under which it took place. In fact, as +Mr. Cooper states, "he went into the engagement with strong +reluctance, on account of the undisciplined state of his crew, to whom +he was personally unknown." The challenging vessel, on the contrary, +carried a picked crew, with every advantage of discipline and +equipment. The presumption, of course, is that he was fully prepared. +The armament of the two vessels was about equal, mounting forty-nine +guns each.</p> + +<p>At noon, then, on June 1st, Lawrence weighed anchor and left his +station in the bay to proceed to sea with a southwesterly breeze. The +Shannon was in sight, and the two ships stood off the shore till about +half-past four in the afternoon, when the Chesapeake fired a gun, +which was the signal for a series of manœuvres, bringing the +vessels within range of each other about a quarter before six. The +Shannon hove to, and the Chesapeake bore down toward her. It was +Lawrence's intention to bring his ship fairly alongside of the enemy +for a full discharge of his battery. He consequently first received +the enemy's fire from the cabin guns, as, the wind having freshened, +his ship came up to measure her length with her antagonist, which lay +with her head to the southeast. Then the Chesapeake poured in her full +fire, inflicting considerable damage, which was repeated in the +successive discharges for several minutes. In this commencement of the +action it was considered that the Shannon received most injury, +particularly in her hull. Unhappily, the Chesapeake in turn lost the +command of her sails. The ship was consequently brought up into the +wind, and fell aboard of the enemy, with her mizzen rigging foul of +the Shannon's fore-chains. This accident exposed the Chesapeake to a +raking fire, which swept her deck, and, as she was already deprived of +the services of the officers who had fallen in the first discharges, +her guns in turn were deserted by the men. Captain Lawrence had +already received a wound in the leg; his first lieutenant, Ludlow, was +wounded; the sailing-master was killed, and other important officers +were mortally wounded. As the ships became entangled, Lawrence gave +orders to summon the boarders, who were ready below; but unhappily, +the negro whose duty it was to call them up by his bugle, was too much +frightened to sound a note. A verbal message was sent, and before it +could be executed Lawrence was a second time struck, receiving a +grapeshot in his body. The deck was thus left with no officer above +the rank of a midshipman. The men of the Shannon now poured in and +gained possession of the vessel. As Lawrence was borne below, mortally +wounded, his dying thoughts were of his command, uttering his order +not to strike the flag of his ship, or some equivalent expression, +which is handed down in the popular phrase, "Don't give up the ship!" +He lingered and died of his wounds on board on June 6th. The +Chesapeake was carried into Halifax, and there the remains of her +gallant captain were borne from the frigate with military honors, with +every mark of respect which a generous enemy could pay to a fallen +hero.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page318" name="page318"></a>(p. 318)</span> STEPHEN DECATUR<a id="footnotetag6" name="footnotetag6"></a><a href="#footnote6" title="Go to footnote 6"><span class="small">[6]</span></a><br> +By <span class="smcap">Edward S. Ellis, A.M.</span><br> +(1779-1820)</h3> + +<a id="img035" name="img035"></a> +<div class="floatleft"> +<img src="images/img035.jpg" width="250" height="382" alt="Stephen Decatur." title=""> +</div> + +<p>Stephen Decatur was born on the eastern shore of Maryland, Worcester +County, January 5, 1779. The family was of French extraction in the +paternal line, and of Irish on the maternal side. The grandfather was +a native of La Rochelle, in France, and married a lady of Newport, R. +I., where Stephen, the son of the commodore, was born. When a very +young man he removed to Philadelphia and married the daughter of an +Irish gentleman named Pine. Decatur was bred to the sea and commanded +a merchantman out of the port of Philadelphia, until appointed to the +sloop-of-war, Delaware. Upon the completion of the frigate +Philadelphia, the command of it was given to him.</p> + +<p>The elder Decatur had one daughter and three sons. The daughter was +twice married, her first husband having been killed in a duel. The +sons were Stephen, James, and John P., all of whom grew to manhood. +The boys were educated at the old Philadelphia Academy in Fourth +Street. Admiral Charles Stewart attended the same school and was an +intimate friend of Decatur through life. Many of the incidents of this +sketch were received by the writer from Stewart, who fully appreciated +the manliness, courage, and nobility of the sailor, now accepted as +the foremost type of the heroes and founders of the American navy.</p> + +<p>"Decatur was a born fighter," said Stewart; "I never knew a boy so +fond of a bout as he. I sat near him at school and have known weeks to +pass, without a single day in which he did not arrange a contest with +one of the boys. We generally adjourned to the Quaker burying-ground +opposite, and had it out among the tombs. Decatur despised meanness of +every description, and rarely was beaten in a fight. When only +fifteen, he half killed a partially intoxicated man who insulted his +mother and refused to apologize. He never knew when he was whipped, +but would hang on like a bull-dog. I was a few months older than he, +but we were appointed midshipmen in the same year, 1798. Our intimacy +was never broken by the slightest incident."</p> + +<p>Upon entering the navy, in March of the year named, Decatur joined the +frigate United States, under command of Commodore Barry, who had +obtained the warrant for him. He served with Barry until promoted to a +lieutenancy. The United States needed repairs, and not wishing to stay +in port, Decatur <span class="pagenum"><a id="page319" name="page319"></a>(p. 319)</span> applied for orders to join the brig +Norfolk, then bound to the Spanish Main. After one cruise he returned +again to port and resumed his station on the United States, where he +stayed until our naval troubles with France terminated. He was next +ordered to the Essex and sailed with Commodore Dale's squadron to the +Mediterranean. Returning home once more, he was appointed to the New +York, one of the second squadron under command of Commodore Morris. +When he again came back, he was ordered to command the Argus, to +proceed with her to join Commodore Preble's squadron in the +Mediterranean, and on his arrival there to resign the Argus to +Lieutenant Hull and take charge of the schooner Enterprise, then +commanded by that officer.</p> + +<p>The exchange being made, Decatur sailed to Syracuse where the squadron +was to rendezvous. There he learned of the disaster to the +Philadelphia. That frigate, as the reader will recall, ran aground +while blockading Tripoli (with which country we were at war), and was +captured by the Turks. Commodore Bainbridge and his crew of more than +three hundred, among whom were Porter, Jones, and Biddle, were made +prisoners and immured in a gloomy dungeon. Decatur quickly formed a +plan for capturing or destroying the frigate. Preble, to whom the +proposal was submitted, refused at first to give his consent, but his +impetuous lieutenant won him over and was allowed to lead the +expedition.</p> + +<p>Decatur selected the ketch Intrepid, which he had captured a few weeks +before, and manned her with seventy volunteers, chiefly his own crew. +He sailed from Syracuse, February 3, 1804, accompanied by the United +States brig Siren, Lieutenant Stewart, who was to aid with his boats +and to receive the crew of the ketch, should it be found expedient to +use her as a fireship.</p> + +<p>The weather was so tempestuous that it required fifteen days to reach +the harbor of Tripoli. It was arranged by Decatur and Stewart that the +ketch should enter the harbor about ten o'clock that night, attended +by the boats of the Siren. A change of wind threw the Siren six or +eight miles away from the Intrepid, and, fearing to wait for the +boats, Decatur decided to adventure alone in the harbor, which he did +about eight o'clock.</p> + +<p>The Philadelphia lay within one-half gunshot of the Bashaw's castle +and of the principal battery; two of the enemy's cruisers were only a +couple of cables' length away on the starboard quarter, and their +gunboats were within one-half gunshot on the starboard bow. All the +guns of the frigate were mounted and loaded.</p> + +<p>Although it was only three miles from the entrance of the harbor to +the frigate, the wind was so light that the Intrepid did not get +within hail until eleven o'clock. At the distance of two hundred +yards, the frigate hailed the ketch and ordered her to anchor under +threat of being fired into. Decatur's Maltese pilot, by his direction, +replied they had lost their anchor in a gale of wind off the coast and +were unable to do as commanded. When within fifty yards Decatur sent a +small boat with a rope to make fast to the frigate's fore-chains. This +was done and the Americans began warping the ketch alongside. Not +until that moment did the Tripolitans suspect the character of the +Intrepid. They were thrown into confusion, during which the two +vessels came together. Decatur was the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page320" name="page320"></a>(p. 320)</span> first to leap aboard, +followed immediately by Midshipman Charles Morris. A minute passed +before their companions could join them, but the Turks were too +terrified to sweep the daring officers from the deck, as they might +have done in the twinkling of an eye.</p> + +<p>As soon as Decatur could form a line equal to that of the enemy, the +charge was made. Twenty of the Turks were killed, many jumped +overboard, and the rest scurried to the main deck whither they were +pursued and driven into the hold.</p> + +<p>The Americans had hardly gained possession of the frigate, when a +number of launches were seen hurrying about the harbor. Decatur +decided that the best defence could be made by staying on the frigate, +and he prepared to receive their attack. Meanwhile, the enemy had +opened fire from the batteries and the castle and from two corsairs +lying near. As the launches did not approach, the lieutenant ordered +the ship to be set on fire in several places. The flames spread so +fast that it was with the utmost difficulty the Americans were able to +reach the ketch. At that critical moment, a propitious breeze sprang +up and carried the Intrepid out of the harbor. She had not lost a man, +only four being wounded.</p> + +<p>For this exploit, Decatur was promoted to the rank of post captain, +there being no intermediate grade. The honor was specially gratifying, +since the promotion was made with the consent of every officer over +whose head he was raised. It should be stated that at that time the +rank of captain was the highest in the navy. A commodore was simply +the senior officer of a squadron and might be a master, commandant, a +lieutenant, or midshipman.</p> + +<p>It was decided some weeks later to make an attack on Tripoli. The King +of Naples loaned six gunboats and two lombards to Commodore Preble. +These were formed in two divisions, Decatur commanding one and +Lieutenant Somers the other. The squadron which sailed from Syracuse +included the frigate Constitution, the brig Siren, the schooners +Nautilus and Vixen, and the gunboats. Adverse winds deferred the +attack for several days. Finally, on the morning of August 3d, the +weather being favorable, the signal was given from the commodore's +vessel to prepare for action. This signal to open the bombardment was +made at nine o'clock. The gunboats were cast off and advanced in a +line ahead, led by Captain Decatur and covered by the frigate +Constitution and the brigs and schooners. The enemy's gunboats were +moored along the harbor under the batteries and within musket-shot. +Their sails had been taken from them and they were ordered to sink +rather than abandon their position. They were aided and covered also +by a brig of sixteen and a schooner of ten guns.</p> + +<p>Before entering into close action, Decatur went alongside each of the +boats and directed them to unship their bowsprits and follow him, as +it was his intention to board the enemy's boats. Lieutenant James +Decatur commanded one of the boats belonging to Commodore Preble's +division, but being farther to the windward than the rest of his +division, he joined and took orders from his brother.</p> + +<p>When Captain Decatur in the leading boat came within range of the +batteries, they and the gunboats opened fire. He returned it and +pushed his way among the boats. At this juncture, Commodore Preble, +fearing the results of Decatur's <span class="pagenum"><a id="page321" name="page321"></a>(p. 321)</span> rashness, ordered the +signal to be made for retreat. This command brought to light the +singular fact, that in making out the signals before going into +battle, no one had thought of that which ordered a retreat. It was +impossible, therefore, to recall the daring Decatur.</p> + +<p>The enemy's gunboats contained forty men each and ours the same. +Decatur had twenty-seven Americans and thirteen Neapolitans. On +boarding the enemy, the latter held back, but our countrymen charged +eagerly forward. Ten minutes sufficed to clear the deck. Eight of the +Turks plunged into the hold, some fell while fighting, and others +leaped into the sea. Only three of the Americans were wounded.</p> + +<p>As Decatur was about to withdraw with his prize, his brother's boat +came under the stern. The men called to him that they had engaged and +captured one of the enemy, but her commander, after surrendering, had +treacherously shot Lieutenant James Decatur, pushed off while the crew +were recovering the body, and was at that moment making all haste for +the harbor.</p> + +<p>Decatur was infuriated on hearing this and resolved that the miscreant +should not escape. With his single boat he pressed with all possible +speed within the enemy's line, and running aside the offending boat, +bounded over the gunwale, followed by eleven Americans, all that were +left to him. Then followed the most desperate hand to hand fight +conceivable, the issue being in doubt for twenty minutes.</p> + +<p>There have been many accounts of Decatur's exploit on this Tripolitan +gunboat, with considerable variation as to particulars. That which +follows is the story as it was told to me by Admiral Stewart, who +received it from Decatur himself, immediately after the fight. Decatur +presented the weapon, called an espontoon, to Stewart, and I naturally +examined it with great interest. The handle was of ivory and the blade +perhaps eight or ten inches long, being very narrow and curved like a +scimetar. It had no edge, was sharply pointed, and evidently made for +thrusting.</p> + +<p>Nothing could stay the fury of Decatur. He easily identified the +commander by his immense size and gorgeous uniform. He eagerly sought +out the American and they instantly came together in the fight to the +death. Decatur had a cutlass, and the Turk a pike. The latter +inflicted a slight wound on Decatur's breast, and in parrying the +stroke his sword broke off at the hilt. Flinging the weapon aside, the +American sprang like a tiger at his antagonist. The two fell to the +deck, Decatur under, and flat on his back. The Turk had the weapon I +have described in the front of his sash and attempted to withdraw it +to give the finishing thrust. Decatur flung his legs over his back and +with one arm held his enemy so tight against his body that he could +not force his hand between. In this position, Decatur with his free +arm drew a pistol from near his hip, reached over the back of the Turk +and fired downward, directly toward himself.</p> + +<p>"It was just like Decatur," said Stewart; "the chances were ten to one +that the bullet would pass through both their bodies, but luckily it +met a bone and the huge barbarian rolled off dead. The two were +half-smothered by others fighting <span class="pagenum"><a id="page322" name="page322"></a>(p. 322)</span> and tumbling over them, +and it was with the utmost difficulty that Decatur freed himself from +them and rose to his feet."</p> + +<p>While this fierce struggle was going on, a Turk fought his way forward +and aimed a fearful blow at Decatur, who was not aware of his danger. +Reuben Jones, an American sailor, so desperately wounded that he could +not use his arms, flung himself between them and received the blow on +his skull, which was fractured. It is a pleasure to record, however, +that the brave fellow finally recovered and lived many years on a +pension from his government.</p> + +<p>Decatur succeeded in withdrawing with both prizes, and the next day +was honored with the highest commendation in general orders from +Commodore Preble. When the latter was superseded in command of the +squadron, he gave the command of the Constitution to Decatur, who had +some time before received his commission. From that ship he was +removed to the Congress, returning home on her on the conclusion of +peace with Tripoli.</p> + +<p>Decatur was next employed as superintendent of gunboats, and March 6, +1806, was married to Miss Susan Wheeler of Norfolk, the only child of +wealthy and cultured parents. The union was a most happy one, though +no children were born to the couple.</p> + +<p>In the month of June, 1807, the British frigate Leopard, while +cruising off the coast of Virginia, poured several broadsides into the +American frigate Chesapeake, commanded by Captain James Barron. +England, as will be remembered, insisted on the "right of search," and +the British Captain Humphreys claimed that the American had several +English deserters on board. The Chesapeake had three men killed and +eighteen wounded, and being unprepared for action, struck her colors.</p> + +<p>Captain Barron was court-martialed and sentenced to five years' +suspension without pay from the service, for what was deemed a +cowardly act on his part. Commodore Decatur succeeded him in command +of the ship, being transferred to the United States, when she was +again put in commission.</p> + +<p>October 25, 1812, in latitude 29° N., longitude 29° 30' W., Decatur +fell in with the British ship Macedonian, of 49 carriage guns (the odd +one shifting). This frigate was the largest of her class, two years +old, four months out of dock, and reputed one of the best sailers in +the English service. Taking advantage of the wind, the enemy fought at +her own distance. The battle lasted one hour and fifty minutes. The +United States poured such an incessant fire into the Macedonian that +the shouts of her crew were plainly heard. She lost her mizzenmast, +fore and main topsails and main yard, and was much damaged in the +hull. Her official list was, 36 killed and 48 wounded, that of the +Americans being 5 killed and 7 wounded. Decatur could have continued +his cruise, but was obliged to accompany his crippled prize into port, +where she was equipped as an American frigate. The young officer, as +may be supposed, was hailed by the country as its foremost naval hero. +Congress and several of the States voted him valuable testimonials for +his gallantry.</p> + +<a id="img036" name="img036"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/img036.jpg" width="400" height="519" alt="" title=""> +<p>Decatur's conflict with the Algerine at Tripoli.</p> +</div> + +<p>The following year, Decatur attempted to gain the open sea from New +York, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page323" name="page323"></a>(p. 323)</span> through Long Island Sound, with the Macedonian and +Hornet. A British squadron of superior force, however, compelled him +to run into the Thames River in Connecticut, and he lay off New London +for months unable to get to sea. He was naturally impatient at being +thus cooped up, and bitterly complained that traitors on shore, by +means of "blue lights," warned the enemy whenever at night he prepared +to break out of his imprisonment. He sent a challenge to Commander Sir +Thomas Hardy of the blockading squadron, offering to fight two of the +British frigates with two of his own, but the offer was declined and +Decatur's frigates were afterward dismantled.</p> + +<p>Returning to New York, he assumed command of a squadron bound for the +East Indies, and put to sea in the President. January 14, 1815, +through the blunder of his pilot, his ship heavily grounded while +going out. The next morning, Decatur discovered the British squadron +in pursuit, consisting of the Majestic razee, the Endymion, Tenedos, +and Pomona frigates and a brig. Of these the Endymion was the +fleetest. After drawing her away from the rest, Decatur turned and +attacked her. She was crippled and her battery silenced, when the +American resumed her flight. By this time, however, the other ships +had come up and opened fire. Escape was impossible and Decatur +surrendered to the British squadron.</p> + +<p>Returning to the United States under parole, he was despatched to the +Mediterranean, on the conclusion of peace, to punish the Algerine +pirates that were preying upon our commerce. He did his work +thoroughly and well, compelling the Dey to sign the most humiliating +treaty ever made with a Christian nation. He obtained similar redress +at Tunis and Tripoli.</p> + +<p>Decatur was subsequently created Navy Commissioner and made his +residence in Washington at Kalorama, formerly occupied by Joel Benton.</p> + +<p>Commodore Barron's suspension began February 8, 1808. He resorted to +the merchant service, and was abroad when war was declared. His +suspension terminated about eight months afterward, some time after +which he reported himself to the navy department, by letter, for duty, +the war continuing two years after his becoming available for command. +He did not return to the United States until the close of 1818. He +declared that he had used every effort to reach home before during +hostilities, but was prevented. A court, presided over by Captain +Charles Stewart, afterward declared its judgment that such effort had +not been made by Barron.</p> + +<p>The latter felt resentful toward Decatur, and called him to account +for certain expressions he had been told were used by him reflecting +upon his conduct as an officer. When appealed to, Decatur, as Navy +Commissioner, declared that he held no personal enmity toward Barron; +he deemed it unjust to other officers of the navy that his request to +be restored to command should be granted.</p> + +<p>Barron opened a sharp correspondence with Decatur, which continued +nearly a year. Mutual friends, or rather enemies, fanned the trouble +between them, which ended in a challenge from Barron which was +promptly accepted by Decatur. The duel took place at Bladensburg, on +the morning of March 22, 1820, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page324" name="page324"></a>(p. 324)</span> Commodore Bainbridge was +Decatur's second, and Captain Jesse D. Elliott served Barron in a +similar capacity. Decatur chivalrously surrendered his right to name +the distance, which Barron made the shortest possible, eight paces, on +account of his defective eyesight. Decatur was without a superior as a +pistol shot, and, declaring that he did not wish the life of his +antagonist, said he would only wound him in the hip.</p> + +<p>At the word "two," both fired so exactly together, that only one +report was heard. Barron was struck in the right hip, as Decatur +intended, and sank to the ground. Decatur stood erect a moment and was +seen to turn pale, compress his lips, and press his hand against his +side. Then he fell, the ball having passed through his abdomen.</p> + +<p>"I am mortally wounded," he said, "and wish that it had been in the +defence of my country." His attendants helped him to his feet, and +started slowly toward the waiting carriage. His pain was so great that +after a few paces he sank exhausted, near where Barron was stretched +on the ground. While the two thus lay near each other, waiting to be +carried off, they shook hands, and each freely forgave the other.</p> + +<p>Decatur was lifted into the carriage, which reached Washington at +half-past ten. He would not allow himself to be carried into his home +until his wife and two nieces were sent to the upper floor where they +could not see the dreadful sight. Wishing to save the distracted ones +from the grief of witnessing his suffering, he refused them permission +to enter the room where he lay.</p> + +<p>The news caused consternation and sorrow in Washington, where no man +was more honored and loved than he. He thanked his friends for their +sympathy, told them he had not long to live, and signed his will. "I +am a dying man," said he, "and only regret that my wound was not +received on the quarter-deck in the service of my country."</p> + +<p>When the surgeons proposed to probe for the bullet, he said it was not +worth while as it had done all the harm it could. He remarked that he +did not believe it possible for a person to suffer so much pain and +yet live. But not once did he utter a groan. His agony was beyond +description and did not cease until half-past ten, when he died.</p> + +<p>It seemed as if the whole male population of Washington and the +adjacent county were present at the funeral, besides most of the +officers of the government, members of Congress, and resident foreign +ministers. The <span class="italic">National Intelligencer</span>, in an extra, said: "A hero +has fallen. Commodore Stephen Decatur, one of the first officers of +our navy, the pride of his country, the gallant and noble-hearted +gentleman, is no more. He expired a few minutes ago, of the mortal +wound received in the duel this morning. Mourn, Columbia! for one of +thy brightest stars is set! A son without fear and without reproach, +in the fulness of his fame, in the prime of his usefulness, has +descended into the tomb."<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<a id="sig004" name="sig004"></a> +<div class="right"> +<img src="images/sig004.jpg" width="200" height="53" alt="Author signature." title=""> +</div> + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page325" name="page325"></a>(p. 325)</span> OLIVER HAZARD PERRY<br> +(1785-1819)</h3> + +<a id="img037" name="img037"></a> +<div class="floatleft"> +<img src="images/img037.jpg" width="250" height="319" alt="Oliver Hazard Perry." title=""> +</div> + +<p>Oliver Hazard Perry was born in Rhode Island, August 23, 1785. The +late Commodore Mackenzie, of the navy, who possessed what we may term +a fine biographical faculty, has traced in his interesting narrative +of the Life of Perry, with fond minuteness, the early incidents of the +boy's career. The chief characteristics, he tells us, "were an +uncommon share of beauty, a sweetness and gentleness of disposition +which corroborated the expression of his countenance, and a perfect +disregard of danger, amounting to apparent unconsciousness." This +biographer gives some curious anecdotes of his school days.</p> + +<p>Suffice it to say, that the family removing to Newport about this +time, Perry found good opportunities of education at that place, and +availed himself of them in a manly spirit. He was especially +instructed in mathematics, and their application to navigation and +nautical astronomy. As proof of the boy's ingenuousness, and the +interest he excited in intelligent observers, it is related that Count +Rochambeau, the son of the General of the Revolution, then residing at +Newport, was particularly attracted to him, and that Bishop Seabury, +on his visitation, marked him as a boy of religious feeling. These are +traits which shape the man; we shall find them reappearing in the +maturity of Perry's life, in his worth, humanity, and refinement.</p> + +<p>The boy was but thirteen when his father, in 1798, was called into the +naval service of his country in the spirited effort made by President +Adams to resist the aggressions of France upon the ocean. He took the +command of a small frigate, built under his direction in Rhode Island, +named the General Greene, and carried with him to sea his son Oliver +as a midshipman, at the express solicitation of the youth. The General +Greene was actively employed in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, +giving all its officers abundant opportunity for practice in the +infant service. The French war flurry after a while blew over, as the +Directory, the mainspring of these aggressions, lost power; peace was +patched up, and Jefferson shortly after inaugurated an unwholesome +pacific policy by a sweeping reduction of the navy, as if it were not +small enough already. In this mutilating operation the elder Perry was +dropped, the younger one fortunately retained.</p> + +<p>The navy, however, was soon revived by the demands of the nation to +resist the iniquitous and insulting depredations upon life and +property inflicted by the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page326" name="page326"></a>(p. 326)</span> Barbary powers. The United States +had borne far too patiently with these injuries, though she had the +honor of being in advance of the old powers of Europe in resisting +them. The Mediterranean became the scene of many a chivalrous exploit +of our early officers, a score of whom, headed by Preble, Bainbridge, +Decatur, Somers, and others of that stamp of fiery and indomitable +valor, gained immortal laurels by their deeds of daring in conflict +with the infidel.</p> + +<p>The young Perry served as midshipman in the frigate Adams, which +sailed from Newport, in 1802, to join Commodore Morris' command at +Gibraltar. His ship was for some time employed in blockading a +Tripolitan at that port; a tedious but instructive service in +manœuvring, at the close of which Perry, in consequence of his +accomplishments, was promoted by his captain to the duties of a +lieutenant. The frigate was then employed as a convoy, making the tour +of the northern ports. This gave Perry an opportunity to study scenes +of the old world, which can never lose their influence in the +formation of the man of education and refinement.</p> + +<p>In 1809, Perry got to sea in command of an armed schooner, the +Revenge, which was employed on the coast service. While on the +southern coast, he had an opportunity to gain distinction, which he +did not fail to avail himself of, in cutting out a stolen American +vessel from under the guns of a British ship in Spanish waters, off +Florida. Conveying his prize off the coast, he was threatened by his +Majesty's ship Gore, of double his force, when, having, as Mackenzie +says, "no idea of being 'Leopardized,'" he put his little schooner in +readiness for boarding at a moment's notice—a spirited resolution of +great bravery, which he would no doubt have carried out, had the +British vessel insisted upon overhauling the Revenge. While engaged in +cruising off Connecticut and Rhode Island, in the beginning of 1811, +he unfortunately lost his vessel, through an error of the pilot, on +the Watch Hill Reef, opposite Fisher's Island, as he was sailing from +Newport to New London. Every seamanlike effort was made to save the +vessel, and when all was unavailing, Perry showed equal skill and +resolution in landing the crew in a heavy January swell, with a +violent wind. He was himself the last to leave the vessel. He was not +merely acquitted of neglect, but his conduct was extolled by a court +of inquiry.</p> + +<p>He was, of course, thrown temporarily out of command by the loss of +his vessel; an interval of repose which he hastened to turn to account +by forming a matrimonial alliance with Miss Elizabeth Champlin Mason, +of an influential family at Newport, to whom he had become engaged +several years before, on his arrival from the Mediterranean. The +wedding took place in May, 1811, affording him ample opportunity for +the honeymoon, previous to the actual outbreak of the war impending +with England.</p> + +<p>This event found him at Newport, with the rank of master commandant, +in charge of the flotilla of gunboats keeping watch in the harbor. It +was a service not altogether adapted to satisfy the ambitious spirit +of a young officer, but it was important in itself, and became, in +Perry's hands, a step to future eminence. His course, at this time, +illustrates a valuable truth, that no honorable employment is +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page327" name="page327"></a>(p. 327)</span> profitless to a man of genius. He will in some way turn it +to account. Constructing gunboats, and recruiting men in port, were +services not calculated to make any great blaze in a despatch, but +they conducted Perry to his glorious bulletins of victory, and the +resounding praises of the nation.</p> + +<p>He saw the new field of military operations opening on the lakes, and +his experienced eye must have seen as well the certain difficulties, +as the possible honors of the situation. It was not the post which an +officer with the claims of Perry would have sought, while brilliant +victories were being won, in the eye of the world, on the vast theatre +of the ocean. Others, however, were before him on that element.</p> + +<p>Despairing of a command at sea, he offered himself to Commodore +Chauncey, who had recently been placed at the head of the lake +service. His character was understood by this officer, and the proffer +accepted. The necessary communications were made to the Government, +and in the middle of February, in 1813, he was ordered to join +Chauncey at Sackett's Harbor, with the picked men of his Newport +flotilla. He lost no time in reporting himself at the appointed spot. +His destination was Lake Erie, where he was to supervise the +construction of two vessels to be employed in the next campaign, and +he was anxious to get to the work; but Chauncey, who felt the need of +his aid, detained him for a while on Lake Ontario. He, however, toward +the end of March, reached Erie, where the vessels were building.</p> + +<p>His experience in constructing gunboats at Newport was now of avail to +him. He put the defence of the works, which had been greatly +neglected, in a state of efficiency, and set himself to the collection +of supplies, workmen, and an armament: no easy matter at that day and +in that place in the wilderness; for such, as compared with our own +time, it then was. The labors of Perry in this work of preparation +were, in fact, of the most arduous character. They should not be +forgotten as a heavy item to his credit in the sum total of his +victory. Three gunboats and two brigs were launched and equipped in +May.</p> + +<p>It was at this time that he received advices that Chauncey was about +to make an attack on the British post of Fort George, at the mouth of +the Niagara River. He had been promised a share in this adventure, and +hastened to the scene. The incidents of this journey show the spirit +of the man. In his own words, in a letter describing this passage of +his life: "On the evening of May 23d, I received information, about +sunset, that Commodore Chauncey would in a day or two arrive at +Niagara, when an attack would be made on Fort George. He had +previously promised me the command of the seamen and marines that +might land from the fleet. Without hesitation I determined to join +him. I left Erie about dark in a small four-oared open boat. The night +was squally and very dark. After encountering headwinds and many +difficulties, I arrived at Buffalo on the evening of the 24th, +refreshed, and remained there until daylight; I then passed the whole +of the British lines in my boat, within musket-shot. Passing +Strawberry Island, several people on our side of the river hailed and +beckoned me on shore. On landing they pointed out about forty men on +the end of <span class="pagenum"><a id="page328" name="page328"></a>(p. 328)</span> Grand Island, who, doubtless, were placed there +to intercept boats. In a few moments I should have been in their +hands. I then proceeded with more caution. As we arrived at Schlosser, +it rained violently. No horse could be procured. I determined to push +forward on foot; walked about two miles and a half, when the rain fell +in such torrents I was obliged to take shelter in a house at hand. The +sailors whom I had left with the boat, hearing of public horses on the +commons, determined to catch one for me. They found an old passing one +which could not run away, and brought him in, rigged a rope from the +boat into a bridle, and borrowed a saddle without either stirrup, +girth, or crupper. Thus accoutred they pursued me, and found me at the +house where I had stopped. The rain ceasing, I mounted; my legs hung +down the sides of the horse, and I was obliged to steady the saddle by +holding by the mane. In this style I entered the camp, it raining +again most violently. Colonel Porter being the first to discover me, +insisted upon my taking his horse, as I had some distance to ride to +the other end of the camp, off which the Madison lay."</p> + +<p>Having thus reached head-quarters, arrangements were rapidly made, and +the landing of the troops assigned to Perry. In the ignorance or +inexperience of some of the officers, there was considerable confusion +in directing the boats in the river, which was remedied by Perry's +vigilance and decision. He was everywhere, in the midst of danger, +guiding and directing; the unexpected attack of the British was met by +his energy, the landing effected, and the object of the expedition +accomplished. This victory opened the port of Black Rock, where +several American vessels were collected, which Perry undertook to get +into Lake Erie against the strong current of the river, a feat which +was accomplished with extraordinary fatigue; so that he returned to +his station at Erie, with a respectable addition of five vessels to +his own newly launched little fleet in that harbor. The American force +was composed of the brigs Lawrence and Niagara, of twenty guns each, +and seven smaller vessels, numbering in all fifty-four guns. Captain +Barclay, commander of the British forces on the lake, had the Detroit, +of nineteen guns, the Queen Charlotte, Lady Provost, and three other +vessels, numbering altogether sixty-three guns. The range of the +enemy's guns gave them the advantage at a distance, when the +corresponding American fire was ineffectual. The Americans, too, were +under a disadvantage in the enfeebled state of the crews, by the +general illness which prevailed among them. The British force had +undoubtedly the superiority in trained men, as compared with Perry's +extemporized miscellaneous command, and untried junior officers. The +latter proved, however, to be of the right material.</p> + +<p>On the morning of the engagement the American fleet was among the +islands off Malden at Put in Bay, when the British fleet bore up. +There was some difficulty at first in clearing the islands, and the +nature of the wind seemed likely to throw Perry upon the defensive, +when a southeast breeze springing up, enabled him to bear down upon +the enemy. This was at ten o'clock of a fine autumnal morning. Perry +arranged his vessels in line, taking the lead in his flag-ship, the +Lawrence, on which he now raised the signal for action, a blue flag, +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page329" name="page329"></a>(p. 329)</span> inscribed in large white letters, with the words of the +dying Lawrence, "Don't give up the ship!" He accompanied this movement +with an appeal to his men. "My brave lads, this flag contains the last +words of Captain Lawrence. Shall I hoist it?" "Ay, ay, sir!" was the +willing response. In this way he cheered the men in the awful pause, +"a dead silence of an hour and a half," preceding the action, for in +the light breeze the vessels were long in overcoming the intermediate +distance of several miles.</p> + +<p>Perry, who knew the perils of the day, prepared his papers as if for +death. He leaded the public documents in readiness to be cast +overboard, and—a touching trait of these moments—gave a hurried +perusal to his wife's letters, and tore them to pieces lest they +should be read by the enemy.</p> + +<p>The awful silence is suddenly broken by a bugle sounded on board the +Detroit, and the cheers of the British seamen. A shot from that vessel +fell short of its mark. The Lawrence bears on to meet the fire, +accompanied by the other vessels of the command in appointed order, +each destined for its appropriate antagonist. At noon the British fire +from the superior long guns, was telling fearfully on the American +force, when Perry made all sail for close quarters, bringing the +Lawrence within reach of the Detroit. He maintained a steady, +well-directed fire from his carronades, assisted by the Scorpion and +Ariel. The destruction on the deck of the Lawrence was fearful. Out of +100 well men, says Mackenzie, who had gone into action, 22 were killed +and 61 wounded. We shall not insult the humanity of the reader by the +details of this fearful carnage. It has probably never been exceeded +in the terrors of the "dying deck," in naval warfare.</p> + +<p>In the midst of this storm of conflict, Perry, finding his ship +getting disabled, and seeing the Niagara uninjured at a safe distance, +resolved to change his flag to that vessel. He had half a mile to +traverse, exposed to the fire of the enemy, in an open boat. Nothing +deterred, with the exclamation, "If a victory is to be gained I'll +gain it," he made the passage, part of the time standing as a target +for the hostile guns. Fifteen minutes were passed exposed to this +plunging fire, which splintered the oars and covered the boat with +spray. The Lawrence, stripped of her officers and men, was compelled +to surrender.</p> + +<p>Perry instantly bore up to the Detroit, the guns of which were plied +resolutely, when she became entangled with her consort, the Queen +Charlotte, and the Niagara poured a deadly fire into both vessels. +This cannonade decided the battle in seven minutes, when the enemy +surrendered. The American loss in this engagement was 27 killed and 96 +wounded; that of the British 41 killed and 94 wounded. Gallant actions +were performed and noble men fell on both sides. It was every way a +splendid victor, placing the genius of Perry and his magnanimous, +spirited conduct throughout, in the highest rank of naval exertion.</p> + +<p>The memorable letters, brief, at once eloquent and modest, which he +wrote that afternoon announcing his victory, are too characteristic to +be omitted in any personal account of the man. Addressing General +Harrison, he writes: "Dear <span class="pagenum"><a id="page330" name="page330"></a>(p. 330)</span> General—We have met the enemy +and they are ours. Two ships, two brigs, one schooner, and one sloop. +Yours, with very great respect and esteem. O. H. Perry." The other was +to the Secretary of the Navy: "Sir, it has pleased the Almighty to +give to the arms of the United States a signal victory over their +enemies on this lake. The British squadron, consisting of two ships, +two brigs, one schooner, and one sloop, have this moment surrendered +to the force under my command, after a sharp conflict. I have the +honor to be, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant. O. H. +Perry." In consonance with this simple eloquence, the mark of a +master-mind, was his chivalrous care of his wounded and conduct toward +his prisoners.</p> + +<p>The victory having been gained, and the lake thus cleared of the foe, +Perry was enabled to act in concert with General Harrison in driving +the British from Michigan, and when his fleet was of no avail to +follow them in their rapid flight, he joined that officer's land +expedition, and was present, acting as his aid, at the battle of the +Thames. "The appearance of the brave commodore," writes Harrison in +his official report, "cheered and animated every heart." Perry also +gained the gratitude of the Moravians, in whose district the contest +took place, by his care in relieving the inevitable evils of war. He +met everywhere on his homeward route with complimentary toasts and +resolutions, gathering volume as he reached his native State, where he +was received at Newport with military and civic honors. The city of +New York paid him a grateful attention in a request communicated by De +Witt Clinton, then mayor, to sit for his portrait for the civic +gallery. The portrait was painted by Jarvis, representing him in the +act of boarding the Niagara, and is preserved in the City Hall. He was +created an honorary member of the Cincinnati; Congress voted him a +medal and money; he was dined and feasted, and "blazed the comet of +the season."</p> + +<p>Perry's next service was in August, 1814, in command of the Java, 44, +a frigate recently built at Baltimore. He was, however, not able to +get to sea, in consequence of the blockade by the enemy. On the +conclusion of peace he sailed in this vessel to join Commodore Shaw's +squadron in the Mediterranean. In 1819 he sailed as commodore in +command of the John Adams, for the West Indies, bound for the State of +Venezuela, to carry on an armed negotiation for the protection of +American commerce from aggressions in that quarter. Arriving at the +mouth of the Orinoco, he shifted his flag to the Nonsuch, and ascended +the river to the capital, Angostura, where he remained twenty days +transacting his business, in the height of the yellow-fever season. +His vessel had hardly left the river, on her way to Trinidad, when he +was attacked. For nearly a week he suffered the progress of the +terrible disease on board the small schooner, under a tropical sun, +when he reached the station whither he had sent his flag-ship, the +Adams. But he reached port only to die at sea, within a mile of the +anchorage, on August 23, 1819, when he had just completed his +thirty-fourth year. Such and so early was the fate of the gallant +Perry. His remains were interred from the John Adams at Port Spain, +with every attention by the English governor. Subsequently they were +brought home in a national vessel by order of <span class="pagenum"><a id="page331" name="page331"></a>(p. 331)</span> Congress, and +reinterred at the public expense in the cemetery at Newport. The +country also provided for the support of his family. If ever America +produced a man whom the nation delighted to honor it was Perry.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + + +<h3>SAM HOUSTON<a id="footnotetag7" name="footnotetag7"></a><a href="#footnote7" title="Go to footnote 7"><span class="small">[7]</span></a><br> +By <span class="smcap">Amelia E. Barr</span><br> +(1793-1863)</h3> + +<a id="img038" name="img038"></a> +<div class="floatleft"> +<img src="images/img038.jpg" width="250" height="303" alt="Sam Houston." title=""> +</div> + +<p>The builders of the American Commonwealth were all great and +individual men, but the most grandly picturesque, the most heroic, +figure among them, is that of General Sam Houston. Neither modern +history, nor the scrolls of ancient Greece or Rome, can furnish a tale +of glory more thrilling and stirring than the epic Sam Houston wrote +with sword and pen, as a Conqueror of Tyranny and a Liberator of Men.</p> + +<p>His life is a romance, and even his antecedents have the grandeur and +glamour of military glory, for his ancestors, as "Sons of Old Gaul," +had drawn their long swords in every battle for Scottish liberty, and +his own father died while on military duty in the Alleghanies. He had +also a mother worthy of the son she bore; a grand, brave woman, who +put the musket into his boyish hands with the words, "My doors are +ever open to the brave, Sam, but are eternally closed to cowards."</p> + +<p>This was in the year 1813, when there was promise of a war with +England, and Sam was not then twenty years old—a tall, slender, +wonderfully handsome youth, with the air and manner of a prince. But +nothing of this bearing was due to schools or schoolmasters, he was +not of any man's moulding, although he had been educated for his +future in a noble manner. For to escape the drudgery of measuring tape +and molasses, he fled to the Indians when but a lad, and was adopted +by their chief, and with the young braves he learned to run and leap, +and hunt and ride, and find his way through pathless woods with all +their skill. This was his practical education; he had only one book +for mental enlargement, but this was Pope's translation of "The +Iliad." He read and re-read this volume till he could recite it from +beginning to end; till the words were living, and the spectral heroes +were his friends and companions. So that when he joined General +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page332" name="page332"></a>(p. 332)</span> Jackson's battalion, he had the heart of a Greek demi-god +and the physical skill and prowess of a Cherokee Indian chief.</p> + +<p>He made a glorious record in this war, and, being severely wounded, +both by arrows and gunshot, he returned to his home to be nursed by +his mother. When he was able to rise again peace was assured and he +resolved to become a lawyer. He was told that eighteen months' hard +study would be necessary, but in six months he passed a searching +examination, and was admitted to the bar of Tennessee with <span class="italic">éclat</span>. +Then honor after honor came as naturally to him as a tree bears fruit +or flower—first Adjutant-General of the State with the rank of +Colonel; then District Attorney—Major-General—Member of +Congress—Governor of the State of Tennessee. All these places and +honors were awarded him by large majorities during a period of nine +years. Indeed, between <span class="smcap">A.D.</span> 1818 and 1827, the records of Tennessee +read like some political romance, of which the handsome and beloved +Sam Houston was the hero.</p> + +<p>This was his second school. He was learning during these years those +great principles of government which enabled him afterward to +legislate so wisely for the land he conquered. And as soon as he was +ready for his destiny, an event happened which drove him back again to +the wilderness. Concerning this event no human being has the right to +speak authoritatively; it was an affair strictly between himself and +his bride of hardly three months. But whatever occurred, shattered his +life to pieces. He separated from his wife, resigned his office as +governor, and in the presence of a vast and sorrowing multitude, bid +adieu to all his friends and honors, and set his face resolutely to +his Indian father, who was then king of the Cherokees in Arkansas.</p> + +<p>He began, in fact, his journey to Texas, the theatre of the great work +for which his previous life had been a preparation. The thought of +Texas was not a new one to him. No man had watched the hitherto futile +efforts of that glorious land for freedom with greater interest; and +there is little doubt that Andrew Jackson was a sharer in all +Houston's Texan enthusiasms, and that he also quietly encouraged and +aided the efforts for its Americanization. Indeed, at that day Texas +was a name full of romance and mystery. Throughout the South and West, +up the great highway of the Mississippi, on the busy streets of New +York, and among the silent hills of New England, men spoke of the +charmed city of San Antonio as Europeans in the eighteenth century +spoke of Delhi and Agra and the Great Mogul. French traders went there +with fancy goods from New Orleans, and Spanish Dons from the wealthy +cities of Central Mexico came there to buy. From the villages of +Connecticut, from the woods of Tennessee, and the lagoons of the +Mississippi, adventurous Americans entered the Spanish-Texan Territory +at Nacogdoches, going through the land buying horses, and lending +their stout hearts and ready rifles to every effort for freedom which +the Texans made. For though the Americans were few in number and much +scattered, they were like the salt in a pottage, and men caught fire +and the idea of "freedom" from them.</p> + +<p>Texas was at this time a territory of the Empire of Mexico, and Mexico +was <span class="pagenum"><a id="page333" name="page333"></a>(p. 333)</span> making constant, though as yet ineffectual, efforts to +become independent. Twenty years before Houston entered Texas, a +number of Americans joined the priest Hidalgo in his struggle to make +Mexico free. They were all shot, but this did not hinder Magee and +Bernardo, with 1,200 Americans, raising the standard of liberty two +years later. This party took San Antonio, and the fame of their deeds +brought young Americans by hundreds to their aid; though they received +no money, the love of freedom and the love of adventure being their +motive and their reward.</p> + +<p>But these brave paladins were soon followed by men who bought land and +made homes, and in 1821 Austin, with the sanction of the Spanish +Viceroy, introduced three hundred families, who received every +reasonable guarantee from the Spanish Government. They were scarcely +settled ere there was another Mexican revolt against Spain. This time +the Mexicans under Santa Anna achieved the independence of their +country, and a Mexican Republic was formed, with a constitution so +liberal that it was gladly accepted by the American colonists. But its +promises were fallacious. For ten years Santa Anna was engaged in +fighting for his own supremacy, and when he had subdued all opposition +he had forgotten the traditions of freedom for which he first drew his +sword, and assumed the authority of a dictator.</p> + +<p>In the meantime the American element had been steadily increasing, and +Santa Anna was, not unnaturally, afraid of its growing strength and +influence. In order to weaken it, he substituted for the constitution +under whose guarantee they had settled, military and priestly laws of +the most oppressive kind; and the complaints and reprisals at length +reached such a pitch, that all Americans were ordered to deliver up +their arms to the Mexican authorities. It was simply an order to +disarm them in the midst of their enemies. Now the rifle is to the +frontier American a third limb, and in Texas it was also necessary for +the supply of food for the family, and vital for their protection from +the Indians. The answer to this demand was a notice to Santa Anna +posted on the very walls of the Alamo Fortress:</p> + +<p>"<span class="italic">If you want our arms—take them! Ten thousand Americans.</span>" This was +a virtual declaration of war, but the American Texans were by no means +unprepared for the idea, nor yet for its translation into practice.</p> + +<p>Austin—who had been sent with a remonstrance to Santa Anna—was in +the dungeons of the Inquisition in Mexico; but Houston, Lamar, +Burleson, Burnet, Bowie, Crockett, Sherman, and many another name able +to fire an army, were on the ground. Besides which, the sympathy of +the whole land was with the little band of heroes. For the idea of +Texas had been carried in the American heart for two generations. As +far back as 1819, President Adams had wanted Texas, and Henry Clay +would have voted three millions for it. Van Buren told Poinsett to +offer five millions. Jackson added an additional half-million for the +Rio Grande territory; but Jackson had more faith in Houston and the +American settlers in Texas than in money. His brave old heart was on +fire for the wrongs and cruelties inflicted by Santa Anna on his +countrymen; and he was inclined to <span class="pagenum"><a id="page334" name="page334"></a>(p. 334)</span> make Mexico give Texas as +an atonement for the insults offered them. There is little doubt that +the defiance posted on the walls of the Alamo thrilled him with a +similar defiance, and that he instinctively put his hand on the spot +where he had been used to wear his sword.</p> + +<p>The first step of the American-Texans was to set a civil government in +motion. Declarations and manifestoes had to be made, and loans raised +in order to maintain an army in the field. There were many fine +fighters, but Houston was the only statesman; and to him the arduous +duty naturally fell. In the meantime Lamar and Burleson with 200 +picked men attacked the Alamo Fortress. It was defended by General Cos +with 1,000 men and forty-eight cannon; but on the afternoon of the +third day's fighting surrendered to the Americans. This was but the +first act in the drama, for as soon as the news reached Mexico, Santa +Anna with a large "army of subjugation" was on the road to Texas.</p> + +<p>The Alamo was taken by the Americans during the first day of December, +1835; on March 2, 1836, Texas was declared by the Convention assembled +at the settlement of Washington, to be an independent republic, and 55 +out of 56 votes elected Houston commander in chief. Houston +immediately set out for the Alamo, but when he reached Gonzales he +heard that every man in it had died fighting, and that Santa Anna had +made a huge hecatomb of their bodies and burned them to ashes. Houston +immediately sent an express to Fannin, who was defending Goliad, to +blow up the fortress of Goliad, and unite with him on the Guadalupe. +Fannin did not obey orders. He wrote to Houston that "he had named the +place <span class="italic">Fort Defiance</span>, and was resolved to defend it." This decision +distressed Houston, for Fannin's men were of the finest +material—young men from Georgia and Alabama, fired with the idea of +freedom and the spread of Americanism, or perhaps with the fanaticism +of religious liberty of conscience. After reading Fannin's letter, +Houston turned to Major Hockley, and said, as he pointed to the little +band of men around him, "Those men are the last hope of Texas; with +them we must achieve our independence, or perish in the attempt."</p> + +<p>He immediately sent wagons into all the surrounding country to gather +the women and the children, for he anticipated the atrocities which +would mark every mile of Santa Anna's progress through the country; +and he was determined that these helpless non-combatants should be +placed in comparative safety in the eastern settlements. Then +commenced one of the grandest and most pathetic "retreats" history has +any record of. Encumbered by hundreds of women and children in every +condition of helplessness, the bravery, tenderness, and patience of +these American soldiers is as much beyond credence as it is beyond +praise. The whole weeping, weary company were to guard, and to forage +for; yet the men were never too weary to help mothers still more +exhausted, or to carry some child whose swollen feet could no longer +bear its weight. On this terrible march many children were lost, many +died, and many were born; and the whole company suffered from +deprivations of every kind.</p> + +<p>On March 23d Houston wrote to General Rusk, "Before my God, I have +found the darkest hours of my life! For forty-eight hours I have +neither eaten <span class="pagenum"><a id="page335" name="page335"></a>(p. 335)</span> nor slept!" And just at this time came the +news that Fannin with 500 men had been massacred, after fighting until +their ammunition gave out, and surrendering as prisoners of war under +favorable terms of capitulation. This news was answered by a +passionate demand for vengeance, and Houston, gathering his men around +him, spoke words which inspired them with an unconquerable courage. +His large, bright face, serious but hopeful, seemed to sun the camp, +and his voice, loud as a trumpet with a silver tone, set every heart +to its loftiest key.</p> + +<p>"They live too long," he cried, "who outlive freedom, and I promise +you a full cup of vengeance!" But in words not to be gainsayed, he +told them they <span class="italic">must</span> put their women and children in safety first of +all. Then he explained the advantages they were gaining by every mile +they made the enemy follow them—how the low Brazos land, the +unfordable streams, the morasses, and the pathless woods were +weakening, separating, and confusing the three great bodies of +Mexicans behind. He declared the freedom of Texas to be sure and +certain, and bid them prepare to achieve it.</p> + +<p>When they arrived at Harrisburgh they found Santa Anna had burned the +place. It was evident then, that the day and the hour was at hand. +Houston transported the two hundred families he had in charge across +the Buffalo Bayou, which was twenty feet deep, and the very home of +alligators. He then destroyed the only bridge across the dangerous +stream, and wrote the following letter, now in the archives of the +Texas Republic:</p> + +<div class="quote"> + +<p>"This morning we are in preparation to meet Santa Anna. We will only +be about seven hundred to march, besides the camp guard. But we go to +conquest. The troops are in fine spirits, and now is the time for +action. I leave the results in the hands of an all-wise God, and I +rely confidently in His Providence.</p> + +<p class="right"> + "<span class="smcap">Sam Houston.</span>"</p> +</div> + +<p>Both armies were on the field of San Jacinto, and Santa Anna had with +him nearly two thousand men, against the 700 with General Houston. +Houston advanced to the attack at three o'clock in the afternoon, with +the war cry of "<span class="italic">Remember the Alamo!</span>" It was taken up by 700 men with +such a shout of vengeance as mortal ears never heard before. With it +on their lips they advanced close to the Mexican lines, while a storm +of bullets went over their heads. Houston and his horse were both +wounded, but both being of the finest metal, they pressed on +regardless of wounds. The Americans did not answer the volley until +they could pour their lead into the bosoms of their foes. They never +thought of reloading, but clubbing their rifles until they broke, they +then flung them away, and fired their pistols into the very eyes of +the Mexicans. When nothing else remained, they drew their bowie knives +and cut their way through the walls of living flesh.</p> + +<p>Nothing comparable to that charge for freedom was ever made. Men said +afterward that the unseen battalions—the mighty dead as well as the +mighty living—won the battle. "Poor Fannin!" exclaimed General +Sherman, "he has been blamed <span class="pagenum"><a id="page336" name="page336"></a>(p. 336)</span> for disobeying orders; but I +think he obeyed orders to-day!" Men fought like spirits, impetuous, +invincible, as if they had cast off flesh and blood. The battle began +at three o'clock in the afternoon of April 21, 1836, and after the +Americans reached the Mexican line, it lasted <span class="italic">just eighteen minutes</span>. +At four o'clock the whole Mexican army was flying, and the pursuit and +slaughter continued until dark. It was a military miracle, for the +American loss was only eight killed and seventeen wounded. Of the +Mexicans, 630 were left dead on the field; multitudes perished in the +bayou and morass; and there were nearly eight hundred prisoners. Only +seven men are known to have escaped either death or capture. Santa +Anna was found hiding in coarse clothing, and Houston had the greatest +difficulty to save his life. For Houston knew that the lives of all +the Americans in Mexico were in danger, besides which, he was needed +to secure the peace and independence of Texas. It required Houston's +influence, however, to convince men whose fathers and brothers and +sons had been brutally massacred at Goliad and the Alamo, that their +private vengeance must give way to the public good.</p> + +<p>Just about the time that the battle of San Jacinto was fought, +President Jackson was one day found by Mr. Buchanan studying earnestly +the map of Texas. He was tracing Houston's plan of retreat—of which +he had doubtless received information—and putting his finger upon San +Jacinto he said, "Here is the place! If Sam Houston is worth one +bawbee, he will make a stand here, and give them a fight!" A few days +after this declaration, news was received in Washington that the fight +had been given and won on that very spot.</p> + +<p>The annexation of Texas was now publicly, as it had long been +privately, the hope and goal of the Government; and for this end +Jackson, says Mr. Parton, "displayed an energy and pugnacity seldom +exhibited before or since, by a politician in his seventy-seventh +year." But "failure" was a word not in Jackson's vocabulary; he +annexed Texas, and dying as the measure was accomplished, talked only +in his last moments of Texas and Houston.</p> + +<p>Houston was elected President of the new Republic by acclamation, and +he served the State two terms in this capacity. Both were marked by +the finest statesmanship; and during them the Texans suffered little +from the ferocious Apache, Comanche, and other Indian tribes. For +Houston fearlessly slept in their camps, and treated them as brethren; +and his Indian "Talks" have an Ossianic poetry about them. Thus he +writes to the Indian Chief Linney: "The red brothers know that my +words to them have never been forgotten by me. They have never been +swallowed up in darkness, nor has the light of the sun consumed them. +Truth cannot perish, but the words of a liar are as nothing. Talk to +all the red men, and tell them to make peace. War cannot make them +happy. It has lasted too long. Let it now be ended and cease forever," +etc., etc.</p> + +<p>After the annexation of Texas, Houston represented the State for three +terms in the United States Senate; but in 1859 he failed of +re-election, because he refused to go with the South on the fatal +subject of Secession. Yet so great was the confidence of the people in +his honor and ability, that they elected him Governor of Texas in the +same year; and he entered on the office in December, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page337" name="page337"></a>(p. 337)</span> 1859. +The election of Mr. Lincoln in 1860 precipitated events; and though +Houston used all his mighty personal influence, and all his charmful, +potent eloquence to keep Texas in <span class="italic">the Union</span>, he failed, and was +deposed from the Governorship on his refusal to sign the Ordinance of +Secession.</p> + +<p>Then he calmly withdrew from the scene, and there are many living who +remember his pathetic parting words. "I have seen," he said, "the +statesmen and patriots of my youth gathered to their fathers, and the +government which they had reared rent in twain, and none like them are +now left to reunite it again. I stand almost the last of a race who +learned from them the lessons of human freedom!"</p> + +<p>These events inflicted a mortal wound upon his great spirit, and when +he heard the roar of the cannon announcing the secession of Texas, he +turned to his wife and said, "My heart is broken!" The words were only +too true; for two years he lingered a sad and solemn old man, mourning +for the woes of his country and for the defection of his eldest son +Sam, who had joined the Confederates, and been taken prisoner by the +Northern army. He was also suffering from the wounds received both in +the war of 1812 and also at San Jacinto; and it was evident that he +had come to the close of life. He himself looked forward to the event +without fear, and with a wise and well-grounded hope.</p> + +<p>On March 2, 1863, Houston was seventy, and in response to an ovation +in his own city of Houston, he made a short, broken little speech. It +was his last public effort, and from it he went back home to +Huntsville, to die. His last days were spent in incessant and +heart-broken prayers for his country and for his family; and on July +26, 1863, three weeks after the fall of Vicksburg, he breathed his +last to the words "<span class="italic">Texas! Texas!</span>"</p> + +<p>So honestly and unselfishly had this great man lived that he died in +poverty, needing many comforts; this hero, who by his valor and +statesmanship had increased the territory of the United States by more +than <span class="italic">eight hundred thousand square miles</span>, or about the equivalent of +<span class="italic">the thirteen original States</span>! But the splendor of his name is not to +be touched by such an accident as poverty; to the people of Texas, +Houston will ever be a beloved memory; and on the Roll of Fame he +shines forth, the noblest, the most princely, the most picturesque and +chivalrous character in American history.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<a id="sig005" name="sig005"></a> +<div class="right"> +<img src="images/sig005.jpg" width="300" height="58" alt="Author signature." title=""> +</div> + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page338" name="page338"></a>(p. 338)</span> WINFIELD SCOTT<a id="footnotetag8" name="footnotetag8"></a><a href="#footnote8" title="Go to footnote 8"><span class="small">[8]</span></a><br> +By <span class="smcap">Hon. Theodore Roosevelt</span><br> +(1786-1866)</h3> + +<a id="img039" name="img039"></a> +<div class="floatleft"> +<img src="images/img039.jpg" width="250" height="319" alt="Winfield Scott." title=""> +</div> + +<p>Winfield Scott was born at Petersburg, Virginia, on June 13, 1786. His +father was a gallant Revolutionary soldier, his mother one of the +well-known Virginia family of Masons. He attended the schools in his +neighborhood, and graduated at the then famous college of William and +Mary; and upon graduation began his career as a lawyer. All his tastes +were military, however, and in 1807 he joined a volunteer organization +to watch the coasts, which were menaced by the British frigates; there +being then great excitement over the Leopard and Chesapeake affair. +When this flurry subsided he went down to practice in South Carolina. +Soon after his arrival there was another alarm of war, and back went +Scott post-haste for Washington, again abandoning his law, with the +hope of getting a commission in the army. Yet again, in 1808, the +chances of war once more retiring to the background, he tried his +fortune at the bar, this time in Virginia. Alarms of war were frequent +during the next four years, however, and Scott rigidly confined his +practice as a lawyer to the intervals when it was not deemed possible +that there could be danger from abroad.</p> + +<p>In 1808 he was made a captain of light artillery, and was sent with +his company to New Orleans. Scott was always frank in announcing his +utter contempt for Jefferson's foreign policy as President, and his +abhorrence of the men whom Jefferson got into the army at this period. +West Point had only just started. Its few graduates did well in the +war of 1812, but most of the other officers of the army were men +appointed by political influence at the time, or else old officers who +in their youth had had some experience in the Revolutionary War, but +who were disabled by age, drunkenness, and long lack of acquaintance +with military matters. Among the officers themselves there were savage +factions, and Scott got into one or two scrapes in consequence of his +advocacy of one of the parties. In May, 1812, the long-delayed +hostilities were evidently close at hand, and Scott left New Orleans +for Washington.</p> + +<p>In September, Scott, now made a lieutenant-colonel, reached Niagara, +only to share in the humiliating though petty defeats with which the +land war opened on our northern frontier. His first serious affair was +at the abortive effort to storm the Heights of Queenstown. When Van +Rensselaer, who had led the attack, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page339" name="page339"></a>(p. 339)</span> was wounded so as to be +unable to take further part, Scott himself assumed the command. At +this time about a fourth of the American militia had crossed and were +attacked by slightly superior numbers of British regulars and Indians. +Their remaining companions, utterly undisciplined and with no leaders, +were struck by panic cowardice and refused to cross to the assistance +of their fellows. Scott behaved with distinguished personal bravery, +rallying his raw troops and leading them in a charge with the bayonet, +always a favorite weapon with him. Nevertheless his forces soon fell +into disorder and were driven over the cliffs to the edge of the +water, where, from lack of boats, most of the men were made prisoners, +Scott among the number. Much difficulty was experienced by the British +officers in preventing the Indians from massacring the prisoners. +Scott was a man of gigantic proportions. This fact, and the reckless +courage with which he had fought, had attracted the attention of the +Indians. Some of them came into the room where he was confined and +attempted to murder him, and only his great strength and quickness +enabled him to beat them off until he was rescued by a British +officer.</p> + +<p>Soon after his capture he was exchanged, and promoted to the rank of +colonel. He joined the American armies as chief of staff to the +major-general commanding, and being about the only man in the army who +had any knowledge of tactical manuals and military treatises +generally, he was kept busy from morning till night in organizing the +staff service, drilling the officers, and the like. These duties, +however, did not interfere with his leading and commanding his troops +in battle. He led the advance guard in the successful assault on Fort +George in May, 1813, took part in a number of skirmishes, and served +with gallantry in Wilkinson's unsuccessful campaign.</p> + +<p>Early in the spring of 1814 a camp of instruction for officers and men +was formed, with Scott in command, near Buffalo. Up to this time the +imbecility of the administration (and of the people whom the +administration represented) in not preparing for the war, had been +well matched by the supineness with which they carried it on. During +the eighteen months that had elapsed since the beginning of the +contest, only the navy, built by the Federalists when in power fifteen +years before, had saved the country from complete disgrace, the armies +generally being utterly inadequate in number, and moreover models of +all that troops ought not to be. Even in 1814 this remained true of +the forces intrusted with the defence of the Capital itself; but on +the northern frontier Scott, and his immediate superior, Brown, by +laborious work succeeded in turning the inefficient mob of the first +two campaigns into as admirable a weapon of offence and defence as +ever was handled by a general officer.</p> + +<p>In July the little army of skeleton regiments, thus carefully drilled, +was ready for the invasion of Canada. On July 5th the fight at +Chippewa took place. The battle was practically between Scott's wing +of Brown's army and Riall's British troops, the numbers being almost +exactly equal. There was very little manœuvring. After a tolerably +heavy artillery fire and some skirmishing between the light troops and +Indians on each side, in the woods, the British regulars <span class="pagenum"><a id="page340" name="page340"></a>(p. 340)</span> and +Scott's American regulars advanced against each other in line across +the plain, occasionally halting to fire. It was noticed that the fire +of the Americans was the more deadly; their line was thinner and more +extended than that of the British. When within sixty or seventy paces +of one another the two sides charged; there was a clash of bayonets; +then the thinner American line, outflanking the more solid British +column, closed in at the extremities, and the British broke and fled +immediately.</p> + +<p>This was not only a needed victory for the Americans, but it was the +first occasion for a generation that British regulars had been faced +in the open, on equal terms, with the bayonet and defeated. At this +very time the British had just brought to a close the terrible war +with the French in the Peninsula. Their troops had been pitted +successfully against the best marshals and the best troops of what was +undoubtedly the foremost military power of Continental Europe; and now +the American regulars, trained by Scott and under his leadership, +performed a feat which no French general and no French troops had ever +been able to place to the credit of their nation.</p> + +<p>Three weeks later the British and American forces again came together +at the bloody battle of Lundy's Lane. The most desperate fighting on +this occasion took place during the night, the Americans and British +charging in turn with the bayonet, and the artillery of both sides +being captured and recaptured again and again. The Americans were +somewhat inferior in numbers to the British, and the slaughter was +very great, considering the number of men engaged, amounting to nearly +a third of the total of both forces. In the end the fight ceased from +exhaustion, the armies drawing off from one another and leaving the +field of battle untenanted; but the result was virtually a victory for +the British, for the next day they advanced, and the Americans retired +to Fort Erie. Scott, who had exposed himself with the reckless +personal courage he always showed when under fire, was dismounted and +badly injured by the rebound of a cannon ball in the early part of the +battle, and about midnight, just before the close of the actual +fighting, received a musket ball in the body which disabled him.</p> + +<p>Scott did not recover from his wound in time to take part in the +remaining scenes of the war. After its close he went abroad, visiting +London and Paris, and being very well received, returning in 1816, and +again taking up his duties in the army. He indulged himself in the +luxury of a sharp quarrel with Andrew Jackson, a luxury which any man +could easily obtain by the way, but which was too much for any man not +possessing Scott's abundant capacity to take care of himself in any +conflict. He interested himself greatly in improving the tactics of +the army, and went out to take command in the Black Hawk war, where he +had no opportunity to distinguish himself. At the time of the +nullification outbreak in South Carolina he was appointed to see to +the interests of the United States in Charleston, where he acquitted +himself with equal tact and resolution. He commanded in the Seminole +war, but again had no opportunity to distinguish himself; and in the +winter of 1837-38 was stationed on the northern frontier, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page341" name="page341"></a>(p. 341)</span> +where he succeeded in preventing invasions of Canada by American +sympathizers with the then existing Canadian rebellion. Soon after +this he superintended the removal of the Cherokees from Georgia, doing +everything in his power for the Indians, who, in defiance of the +pledged faith of the United States, were being driven out of that +State.</p> + +<p>For the next few years Scott was comparatively inactive. He had a +great taste for politics, and could not forbear meddling with them, +although he was at the time general-in-chief of the army. He was a +very sincere Union man, and was an outspoken Whig, though with a +strong latent leaning to the Know-nothing party; for he distrusted +both foreigners and Catholics. He would not own slaves, and +disbelieved in slavery, but he also utterly disapproved of the actions +of the political abolitionists of the day. He was not only a very +ambitious but a very vain man, and at times his desire for civic +honors led him to try for success on fields where he did not show to +such advantage as on the field of battle.</p> + +<p>When the Mexican war broke out, the President, Polk, whom Scott +detested, was reluctant to see Scott given a chance to make a record, +in view of his being a pronounced Whig, and of the probability that a +successful general, if nominated on the Whig ticket, would sweep the +country. However, toward the end of 1846, it became impossible longer +to pass by Scott's demands for active service, and, moreover, the +administration felt the less reluctance inasmuch as Taylor, another +Whig, had achieved much credit by his victories along the Rio Grande. +Accordingly Scott was despatched with a fine army to attack Mexico +from the seaboard of the Gulf and to penetrate to the capital of the +country.</p> + +<p>Early in March of 1847 he landed near the city of Vera Cruz, with +12,000 men. Trenches were opened, a bombardment begun, and the castle +of San Juan de Ulloa surrendered on the 27th, 5,000 prisoners and four +hundred pieces of artillery falling to the victors. Scott lost in all +but sixty-four men killed and wounded. As soon after this victory as +he could gather horses and mules the army started for the interior, +and on April 18th encountered the Mexican army, about the same in +numbers as Scott's, under Santa Anna, strongly posted at Cerro Gordo. +Scott made his plans with great skill, and the battle is remarkable +because of the closeness with which the methods and results of the +actual attacks followed the outline which Scott gave of what he wished +accomplished, in his general orders of the day previous. The Americans +attacked with resolution. In places the Mexicans defended themselves +well, but in other places, where their troops were raw, they gave way +very quickly, and, as a result, the whole force was speedily routed +and driven in headlong flight, with great loss of artillery and +prisoners. Scott pushed closely after them, but almost immediately was +halted by the necessity of discharging four thousand volunteers whose +terms of service had expired. After waiting in vain for +reinforcements, the Americans again marched forward, and halted some +time at Puebla, where the long-looked-for additional troops finally +arrived in August.</p> + +<p>The army had suffered a good deal from sickness, and Scott was anxious +to bring it into contact with the enemy as soon as possible. +Accordingly he <span class="pagenum"><a id="page342" name="page342"></a>(p. 342)</span> pushed straight for Mexico. The Mexican +armies, numerically about equal in strength to his own, occupied very +strong positions, from which they were driven only by desperate +fighting at Contreras, San Antonio, and Buena Vista, the Americans +losing 1,000 men killed and wounded, but capturing 3,000 of their +adversaries and thirty-seven pieces of artillery. An armistice +followed, but the negotiations came to nothing, and in September +hostilities were resumed. The strong outworks of Molino Del Rey and +Chapultepec were stormed with great loss to the Americans; for they +were places of formidable strength, the Mexicans defended themselves +well, and the assailants were few in numbers. The bravery of the +victors, under these circumstances, showed that Scott had not +forgotten the art which enabled him to turn the raw troops of 1812 +into men who, alone among the troops of civilized nations, could meet +the British infantry in the open on equal terms.</p> + +<p>The City of Mexico fell immediately after the storming of Chapultepec, +and Scott marched in. There was no further fighting of consequence, +although bands of guerillas and brigands of all kinds had to be +dispersed. Scott treated them with proper severity. The campaign ended +unhappily for Scott in one way, for he became embroiled with the +administration and some of its partisans among the high officers of +the army, the intrigues which caused this embroilment being instigated +chiefly by Democratic jealousy of the Whig general. However, he was +thanked by Congress.</p> + +<p>This was the end of Scott's active service. He again plunged into +political life, and in 1852 ran for the presidency on the Whig ticket, +but was hopelessly defeated. He continued general-in-chief of the army +until 1861, when he retired from the command. He was too old to take +the field and do his part toward the suppression of the rebellion, but +he remained stanchly loyal to the flag upon which his victories had +conferred such glory, and to which he himself had owed so much. Even +when his State seceded it did not affect him or cause him to waver in +his allegiance to the country for which he had so often drawn his +sword. He died May 29, 1866.</p> + +<p>Scott had many little vanities, and peculiarities of temper and +disposition, at which it is easy to laugh; but these are all of small +moment in estimating the man's character and the worth of his +services. He was a fearless, honest, loyal, and simple-hearted +soldier, who served the nation with entire fidelity and devotion. He +was very successful in battle, and, not only his crowning campaign +against Mexico, but the way in which he trained and led his troops in +the Canadian campaign against the British, show him to have possessed +military abilities of a high order. His name will always stand well up +on the list of American worthies.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<a id="sig006" name="sig006"></a> +<div class="right"> +<img src="images/sig006.jpg" width="300" height="38" alt="Author signature." title=""> +</div> + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page343" name="page343"></a>(p. 343)</span> ULYSSES SIMPSON GRANT<a id="footnotetag9" name="footnotetag9"></a><a href="#footnote9" title="Go to footnote 9"><span class="small">[9]</span></a><br> +By <span class="smcap">Oliver Optic</span><br> +(1822-1885)</h3> + +<a id="img040" name="img040"></a> +<div class="floatleft"> +<img src="images/img040.jpg" width="250" height="303" alt="Ulysses Grant." title=""> +</div> + +<p>Napoleon I. was a genius; General Grant was not. But the earnest, +persistent, and determined efforts of men only moderately endowed by +nature with intellectual gifts, sometimes surpass what is accomplished +by the spasmodic flashes of those born to be conquerors. So far as the +successful career of the most prominent hero of the War of the +Rebellion may be used to "point a moral," it forcibly emphasizes the +results of energy, perseverance, and a determination to succeed in +spite of all obstacles. As a military strategist he was doubtless +surpassed by others who were engaged in the gigantic struggle with +him; but he accomplished, by adding to his soldierly abilities, his +personal attributes, which seemed not to have been within the power of +any other of the able commanders associated with him in the mighty +conflict.</p> + +<p>It is not claimed that General Grant was born into the world with +brilliant, or even superior, intellectual powers, and his greatness +was in the combination of his individual qualities, and the fact that, +like Wellington, he was "rich in saving common-sense." He was a +soldier in the most comprehensive sense; and if he did not overtop his +colleagues in a knowledge of the science of war, he was at least their +equal. The career of its greatest hero illustrates the manner in which +the loyal nation gave to posterity a victorious Union.</p> + +<p>Grant was born in humble circumstances at Point Pleasant, a village on +the Ohio River, and there were no accidents of family to gild or cloud +his coming into the world. He was descended from Puritan stock, and +one of his ancestors, a captain in the Old French War, was killed in +battle. The general's grandfather served through the Revolutionary +War. His father was a tanner in Ohio, but his son was not inclined to +follow that occupation, though he was willing to do so if his father +insisted upon it until he was of age, but not a day longer. He stated +his preferences in regard to his future employment, desiring to be a +farmer, a trader on the river, or to obtain an education. The first +was not practicable, and the second was not regarded as very +reputable. His father wrote to the representative of his district in +Congress, who obtained for the young man a nomination to the Military +Academy at West Point.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page344" name="page344"></a>(p. 344)</span> All the education the young candidate for military honors had +was only such as he had obtained at the district school, and the +examination for admission was considered a very trying ordeal, though +it included only the branches taught in the common schools. He +"brushed up" his studies, and as he was always cool and +self-possessed, he did not fail from embarrassment, as many do on such +occasions, but was passed and admitted. Of the class of eighty-seven +only thirty-nine were graduated. In rank Grant was the twenty-first, +indicating about the average ability.</p> + +<p>As a cadet he was popular with his comrades. He was honest, fair, and +square, and was especially careful of the rights of others. The horse +had been a favorite with him from his early childhood, and at the +Academy he was distinguished as a bold and fearless rider. He was +sober and rather dignified in his manner. The name given to him by his +parents was "Hiram Ulysses;" but the Congressman had made a mistake in +presenting the nomination, and at West Point he was known as "Ulysses +Sidney." Failing to correct the error, he accepted the initial S., but +made it stand for "Simpson," after his mother. The first name was +suggested by an elderly female relative, who appears to have read the +Odyssey, and appreciated its hero. The initials of his name as it +finally stood had a national significance, which the newspapers were +not tardy in using at the time of his first decided victory.</p> + +<p>He was graduated in 1843, and appointed brevet second lieutenant in +the Fourth Regiment of Infantry. The engineers and the cavalry are +considered more desirable arms of the service than the infantry, and +the best scholars at the Military Academy are assigned to them. +Grant's rank placed him in the latter. His regiment was sent to +Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis. Frederick T. Dent, his classmate, was +in the same command, and resided in the vicinity. He was invited to +the house of the Dents, where he made the acquaintance of Miss Julia +T. Dent, who became his wife five years later.</p> + +<p>In 1845, the events which led to the Mexican War assumed form, and +Grant's regiment was ordered to Corpus Christi, where he was +commissioned as a full second lieutenant. His post was situated at the +mouth of the Rio Nueces, between which and the Rio Grande was a +triangular section of territory claimed by both governments; and this +was the nominal subject of dispute between the United States and +Mexico. General Taylor, commanding about four thousand troops, was +ordered to move his force to the Rio Grande, on which the Mexicans had +concentrated an army. A body of United States dragoons, commanded by +Captain Thornton, was surprised by an overwhelming force of the enemy, +and all of them killed, wounded, or captured. This event fired the +blood of the soldiers, as well as of the people of the country, and +Taylor crossed the river with the main body of his little army.</p> + +<p>The Mexican generals declared that the advance of Taylor into the +disputed territory was an act of war, and active hostilities had +commenced. While the general was hastening to reinforce one of the +forts attacked, he came upon the Mexicans drawn up in order of battle +at Palo Alto. An action, mostly with <span class="pagenum"><a id="page345" name="page345"></a>(p. 345)</span> artillery, followed, +and the enemy were defeated and driven from the field. It was the +first battle fought in thirty-one years with any foe other than +Indians, by American soldiers. Grant was in that first conflict of +half a century, as he was in the last ones.</p> + +<p>The Mexicans had fled from this first considerable battle of the war +to Resaca de la Palma, where they had established themselves in a +strong position. Taylor attacked them the next day, and though their +force was triple that of their assailants, they were again defeated +and routed. The Mexicans fought with dogged courage, however they may +be judged from the events of the war. Three months later, General +Taylor marched upon Monterey with an army reinforced to 6,000 men. It +was strongly fortified, but the city was captured after a hard-fought +battle.</p> + +<p>In the midst of the conflict in the town, while the Mexicans were +disputing its possession from the windows of the strongly constructed +houses, the ammunition of the brigade to which Grant was attached was +exhausted, and it became necessary to send for a fresh supply. It was +a service of extreme peril, and a volunteer was called for to perform +it. Grant was a bold rider, and he promptly offered himself to execute +the dangerous mission. Mounting a very spirited horse, he resorted to +the Indian fashion of hanging at the side of his steed so that the +body of the animal protected him against the shots from the windows, +and he passed safely through the street. With a sufficient escort he +succeeded in conveying a load of ammunition to the point where it was +needed.</p> + +<p>Soon after the battle of Monterey, Grant's regiment was sent to Vera +Cruz to reinforce the larger army that was to march under General +Scott to the "Halls of the Montezumas." Lieutenant Grant, as a +careful, substantial, and energetic officer, was selected for the +important position of quartermaster of the Fourth Regiment. The army +proceeded on its uninterrupted career of victory till the capital of +Mexico was in its possession. The heights of Cerro Gordo were stormed +and carried, and Grant, as usual, was in the thickest of the fight.</p> + +<p>The first considerable obstacle after the capture of Vera Cruz having +been removed, the army proceeded on its march to the City of Mexico, +occupying Jalapa and Castle Perote on the way; but at Puebla the +forces were so reduced by sickness, death, and the expiration of +enlistments as to compel a halt. For three months General Scott was +compelled to wait for reinforcements; but when he could muster 11,000 +effective men, a very small number for the conquest of a country, he +resumed his march, and in August arrived in the vicinity of the +capital. Outside of the causeways leading to the city were the +strongholds of Chapultepec and Cherubusco, and batteries mounting a +hundred guns.</p> + +<p>Chapultepec was a fortification one hundred and fifty feet above the +average level of the ground. A front of nine hundred feet bristled +with cannon. Behind it was a mill called El Molino del Rey, fortified +and garrisoned, which defended the approach to the castle. The capture +of this work was assigned to General Worth, to whose command the +Fourth Regiment belonged. The assault was a desperate one, for it was +"the last ditch" of the Mexicans; but it <span class="pagenum"><a id="page346" name="page346"></a>(p. 346)</span> was carried, though +the assailing force lost one-fourth of its number in the assault. +"Second Lieutenant Grant behaved with distinguished gallantry," is the +official report of his conduct. Though custom and the precedents of +the service permitted the quartermaster to remain at a safe distance +from actual fighting in charge of the baggage trains, Grant never +availed himself of this immunity from personal peril, but retained his +place with the regiment.</p> + +<p>When the strong places which defended the city fell, Scott and his +army marched into the capital. The Mexican forces fled, and the United +States flag floated over the "Halls of the Montezumas." The country +was conquered, and the war was ended. Grant had been engaged in all +the battles near the Rio Grande, and in most of them from Vera Cruz to +the City of Mexico, and he had won the brevet rank of captain for his +gallantry.</p> + +<p>After the ratification of the treaty of peace, by which California was +acquired, the army evacuated Mexico, and Captain Grant was sent to New +York with his regiment. Its companies were separated and sent to +various military stations. After serving at Detroit and Sackett's +Harbor, the Fourth Infantry was sent to Oregon in 1851, the discovery +of gold in California having attracted an immense immigration to the +shores of the Pacific. The battalion of which Grant's company was a +part was stationed at Fort Dallas, and had some experience in Indian +warfare. In 1848 he had been married to Miss Dent; but in the wilds of +Oregon he was separated from his family. There was nothing there to +satisfy his reasonable ambition, no hope of rising in his profession, +and he became discontented. In 1853 he was commissioned as a full +captain; but this did not reconcile him to his situation, and he +resigned his position in the army to enter upon an untried life as a +civilian.</p> + +<p>Grant was now thirty-two years of age; he had a wife and two children, +and it was necessary for him to provide for their support. His first +choice of an occupation had been that of a farmer, and he went back to +that in the present emergency. His wife owned a farm about nine miles +from St. Louis, and Grant located himself there. He built a house upon +it of hewn logs, working upon it with his own hands. He was not a +"gentleman farmer" in any sense, for he drove one of his teams with +wood to the city. He wore an old felt hat, a seedy blouse, and tucked +his trousers' legs into the tops of his boots. His habits were very +simple, and the lack of means compelled him to live on the most +economical scale.</p> + +<p>The retired captain was not successful as a farmer; but he was known +as an honest, upright man, faithful in all his obligations. In his +need of a remunerative occupation he applied for the position of city +engineer in St. Louis; but he failed to obtain it. As a real estate +agent and as a collector he was equally unsuccessful, and his fortunes +were at a very low ebb. He obtained a place in the custom-house, but +at the end of two months the death of the collector compelled him to +retire. But while fortune seemed to have completely deserted him, +subjecting him to the fate of thousands of others in the struggle to +live and care for his family, it was more propitious to his father, +who was in comparatively easy <span class="pagenum"><a id="page347" name="page347"></a>(p. 347)</span> circumstances, and had +established himself in the leather business in Galena, Ill. It seemed +to be incumbent upon him to do something for the relief of his oldest +son, and in 1860 the ex-captain became a member of the firm of "Grant +& Sons." This was the position in which the opening of the War of the +Rebellion found him.</p> + +<p>For years the military spirit of the North had been repressed and +discouraged. Sober and dignified people regarded the soldier as +unnecessary, and military parades were looked upon as childish, and +classed in the category with circus shows. But suddenly, when the +cannon of the Rebellion began to resound in the South, the people were +awakened from their dream of security, and the profession of arms, +which had been disparaged and had almost fallen into disrepute, became +in the highest degree honorable, for the safety of the nation depended +upon it. Millions were ready to fight for the Union, but there were +very few trained officers to organize and command those who were eager +to uphold the flag and save the nation. Except here and there one who +had served in the Mexican or Indian wars, there was not a soldier in +the land who had any experience of actual warfare.</p> + +<p>To Galena came the intelligence that Fort Sumter had been bombarded, +and with it the proclamation of President Lincoln calling for 75,000 +volunteers. Grant was profoundly moved by the situation of the +country, and without seeking for or thinking of the honors and +emoluments that might be reaped, he patriotically desired to serve his +country in the present terrible emergency. The nation had educated him +for military service, and though he had fought with honor through one +war, he did not regard the debt as paid. He was a soldier, but he did +not boast of what he had done, or even claim the rank in the gathering +armies to which his experience entitled him.</p> + +<p>In less than a week he was drilling a company in Galena, whose members +wished to make him their captain; but another citizen wanted the +place, and he declined it. He consented to go to Springfield, the +capital of the State, with the company. On the way he met the Hon. +Elihu B. Washburn, and by him was presented to Governor Yates, who, +however, did not appear to be greatly impressed, and did not take much +notice of him. Then Grant wrote to the adjutant-general of the army at +Washington, stating that he had been educated at West Point at the +public expense, and considered it his duty to tender his services to +the Government. He did not apply for the commission of a +brigadier-general; but was willing to serve in any capacity where he +might be needed.</p> + +<p>No response came to this modest offer, and Grant visited Cincinnati, +where George B. McClellan, who had been appointed major-general of +volunteers by the governor of Ohio, was organizing the forces. Both +had served in Worth's brigade in Mexico; and Grant thought his former +friend might tender him a position on his staff. Though he called upon +him several times, he failed to find him, and returned to Springfield. +While he was waiting at the capital, Governor Yates sent for him, and +asked him if he knew how many men belonged in a <span class="pagenum"><a id="page348" name="page348"></a>(p. 348)</span> company, how +many companies in a regiment, and similar questions concerning details +which were very perplexing to a civilian.</p> + +<p>Grant assured him that he was a graduate of West Point, had served +eleven years in the regular army, and knew all about such matters. +This reply helped the governor out of his embarrassment, and the +soldier was invited to take a seat in the State House, and act as +adjutant-general. One who knew Grant better than others suggested to +the governor that he should appoint him to the command of a regiment. +This advice was acted upon, and the patriotic seeker for military +employment was appointed colonel of the Twenty-first Regiment of +Illinois Infantry. Grant promptly accepted the commission, and +hastened to Mattoon, where the regiment was encamped, and assumed the +command.</p> + +<p>His command was a body of three months' troops, composed of excellent +material, but in rather a demoralized condition when the colonel +assumed command, for the men were American citizens, jealous of their +rights as such, and military discipline was new and strange to them. +Grant marched them to Caseyville, where he drilled them for four +weeks, and transformed them from a mob of independent citizens into +one of the best-disciplined bodies of troops in the country, which +became noted for its orderly and excellent bearing. The change was +effected so skilfully that no man believed he had sacrificed his +citizenship. The strong will of the colonel, dignified by the genuine +principle of patriotism, overcame the prevailing idea of equality, and +his command was a unit. The men were proud of the leadership of a +regular army officer, and admired him to such a degree that they +re-enlisted for three years.</p> + +<p>While Colonel Grant was at Caseyville it was reported that Quincy, on +the Mississippi, was menaced by rebel guerillas from Missouri, and he +was ordered to the exposed point. In the absence of transportation he +marched his regiment one hundred and twenty miles of the distance. +From this point his command was sent into Missouri, where the +discipline and the morals of the body were improved by quiet and +judicious measures. Guarding railroads was the service in which the +regiment was employed; and when serving with other commands Grant was +the acting brigadier-general, though he was ranked by all the other +colonels.</p> + +<p>In July of the opening year of the war Grant became a +brigadier-general of volunteers. The appointment was obtained by Mr. +Washburn, who had befriended him before. The Western Department was at +this time under the command of General Fremont. Grant's district was a +part of Missouri, with Western Kentucky and Tennessee, and he +established his head-quarters at Cairo, a point of the utmost military +importance as a depot of supplies and a gunboat rendezvous. Kentucky +had proclaimed a suspicious neutrality, and near Cairo, on the other +side of the river, were the three termini of a railroad from the +South. A Confederate force seized two of them, and Grant hastened to +secure Paducah, the third. The enemy hurriedly retired as he landed +his force, and Grant issued a temperate and judicious proclamation, +for he was on the soil of the enemy. He had acted without orders from +his superior, and returning to <span class="pagenum"><a id="page349" name="page349"></a>(p. 349)</span> Cairo after an absence of +less than a day, he found Fremont's order, already executed, awaiting +him. He also took possession of Smithland, at the mouth of the +Cumberland River.</p> + +<p>With a force of 3,100 men General Grant made an incursion into +Missouri to break up a rebel camp at Belmont, where he fought his +first battle in the Rebellion. He had accomplished his purpose, when +the enemy was reinforced from Columbus, on the other side of the +river, and though he brought off his command in safety he narrowly +escaped capture himself. Fremont was superseded by Halleck, and for +the next two months Grant was employed in organizing and drilling +troops. Columbus, with 140 cannon and full of men and material, closed +the Mississippi. The Confederate line of defence against the invasion +of the South extended from this point across the country, including +Fort Henry on the Tennessee and Fort Donelson on the Cumberland, the +latter mounting forty guns, with quarters for 20,000 soldiers.</p> + +<p>Grant was studying this line of defence, devising a plan to break +through it. By order of General Halleck he had sent out a +reconnoissance in force, under General Smith, who reported to him that +the capture of Fort Henry was practicable. Grant forwarded this report +to the commander of the department, and asked for permission to attack +it. This was refused in sharp and curt terms. A written application, +earnestly seconded by Commodore Foote, who had brought the gunboat +service up to a state of efficiency in the West, secured the desired +order. With 17,000 men, in connection with 7 gunboats under the +command of the commodore, Grant started upon his mission the day after +he received the order. Fort Henry was captured, though the army was +not engaged. The main body of the Confederate force escaped to Fort +Donelson.</p> + +<p>The capture of Fort Henry cheered the army and the people. Grant +telegraphed the result of the attack to Halleck, and announced his +intention to proceed against Fort Donelson. Leaving 2,500 men to +garrison the fort, Grant marched with 15,000 from Fort Henry, while a +considerable addition to his force came up the river. The +fortification was invested, and after three days of persistent +fighting in cold, snow, and hunger, the fort surrendered. The gunboats +were severely handled by the water batteries of the enemy, and the +commodore was badly wounded, so that most of the work fell upon the +army.</p> + +<p>It was a brilliant victory, and the loyal nation resounded with the +praises of Grant. This was the pointer to the fame he afterward +achieved. His reply to the rebel general, "I propose to move +immediately on your works," was repeated all over the country, and the +initials of his name came to mean "Unconditional Surrender," the terms +he had demanded of the commander of the fort.</p> + +<p>The strategetic line of the Confederates was broken, and new +dispositions of their forces became necessary on account of this +important victory; Columbus was abandoned, and its men and material +sent to Island No. 10. The battle of Pittsburg Landing, or Shiloh, as +it is called in the South, followed under Grant's command. It was a +bloody and hotly contested action, and not as decisive as that of +Donelson. The ground was held, and the arrival of Buell with +reinforcements <span class="pagenum"><a id="page350" name="page350"></a>(p. 350)</span> caused the Confederates to retire. Sherman +had a command in this battle under Grant, and the strong friendship +between these two great commanders, which subsisted to the end, had +its origin about this time.</p> + +<p>Not such were the relations between Halleck and Grant, for the latter +was practically thrown into the shade by the former; but the hero of +Fort Donelson continued to do his duty faithfully, making no issue +with his superior. At this time he was in command of the Army of the +Tennessee. While he remained in this position the Union army and navy +had made decided progress in the West and the South; but no real +advance was made in the direction of the rebel capital. Then McClellan +was removed from his position of general-in-chief, and Halleck was +appointed in his place. Grant seemed to be forgotten for the time, or +his operations were overshadowed by those in the East. But he had +driven the enemy out of West Tennessee, and was turning his attention +toward Vicksburg.</p> + +<p>When he had sufficiently informed himself in regard to the situation, +he proposed to the general-in-chief a movement upon Vicksburg, which +was really the Gibraltar of the Mississippi, and he was invested with +full powers to carry out his own plans. Constantly and earnestly +supported by Sherman, he battered against this strong fortress for six +months. Various expedients were resorted to for the reduction of the +place, without success. With the written protest of four of his ablest +generals in his pocket, Grant moved his army to a point four miles +below Grand Gulf, fought several battles on his way, and came to the +rear of Vicksburg. The Confederate engineers were doubtless as skilful +as any in the world, and seemed to be justified in regarding the +fortress, with its surrounding batteries, fortifications, swamps, and +tangled jungles, as impregnable.</p> + +<p>Following up his regular siege operations, Grant exercised his +indomitable will against those tremendous defences, and Vicksburg +fell. The news of its surrender was spread all over the loyal nation +with that of the great victory of Gettysburg. The Confederacy had been +cut in two, and a decided turn in the struggle for the Union was +clearly indicated. The name of the victorious general was again upon +the lips of all the people. Grant himself seemed to be the only man +who remained unmoved. President Lincoln sent him an autograph letter, +acknowledging that Grant was right while he was wrong; and even +Halleck was magnanimous enough to send him a very handsome letter of +congratulation. The fortunate general had been made a major-general of +volunteers after his victory at Donelson; and he was now promoted to +the rank of major-general in the regular army.</p> + +<p>A new department had been created for Major-General Grant, covering +nearly all the territory south of the Ohio. He was worn out and sick +after the severe exertions of the summer; but when informed that +Rosecrans was shut up and closely besieged by Bragg, in Chattanooga, +he set out for this point with only his personal staff. On the way he +used the telegraph and the mails, and suggested or ordered such steps +as would relieve the place, for the Army of the Cumberland, shut off +from supplies, was in desperate straits, sick and famished. <span class="pagenum"><a id="page351" name="page351"></a>(p. 351)</span> +Reinforcements were hurried, and the result of his preparations was +the decided victory of the battle of Chattanooga and Missionary Ridge. +In this battle General Sheridan came to his notice for the first time.</p> + +<p>General Grant was thanked, and presented with a gold medal by +Congress. He had become the idol of the loyal nation; but he bore his +honors very meekly. The grade of lieutenant-general was revived, and +conferred upon him. All the armies of the United States were now under +his command. He was called to Washington, and it is not possible even +to mention the honors that were showered upon him. In due time he took +his place at the head of the Army of the Potomac, and fought some of +the most terrible battles of the war. Richmond was his first objective +point, and failing in the direct approach to the capital of the +Confederacy, he moved upon it from the south. It was a long struggle, +but in the end Richmond fell.</p> + +<p>At Appomattox Court House Grant received the surrender of General Lee, +granting the most magnanimous terms to the defeated army. The other +armies of the Confederacy soon followed the example of the Army of +Virginia, and the long and terrible conflict of over four years was +ended in a victorious Union. As soon as the surrender was effected, +General Grant, without any pomp or parade, proceeded to Washington, +not even taking in Richmond on his way, and reported in person to +President Lincoln. He advised the immediate reduction of the army, +sustained at an enormous expense, and no longer needed.</p> + +<p>The war was ended! Perhaps no man ever stood higher in the estimation +of his country than Grant, and it was inevitable that he should become +a candidate for the Presidency. He had been a Democrat in politics +before the war; but he was elected to the first office in the nation +by the people, though the candidate of the Republican party. He was +hardly as successful in this office as he had been in the field; but +he carried with him the respect and admiration of the people to the +day of his death. He was re-elected to the Presidency; and the +objections of the people to a third term more than anything else, +prevented his third nomination.</p> + +<p>After his return to private life he visited nearly every country in +Europe, and was everywhere honored as no citizen of the Republic had +ever been before. In the last years of his life he engaged in a +financial and banking business, by which he lost all his property. +About the same time an insidious disease was wearing away his life. He +had been approached before to write a history of his military life, to +which he would not listen. In his financial strait he accepted an +offer, and wrote the work, in two octavo volumes, while suffering from +the weakness and pain of his malady. He was doing it for his family, +for his own days were numbered; and there is nothing on record more +heroic than his struggle to finish this task.</p> + +<p>Four days after he had finished his literary labor of love, he died of +the disease which had been the burden of his last days. He passed away +at Mount McGregor, N. Y., July 23, 1885. The loyal people mourned him +as the saviour of the nation from disruption, and even those who had +been his enemies in war were <span class="pagenum"><a id="page352" name="page352"></a>(p. 352)</span> his friends in death. The whole +nation was present in spirit at his obsequies. His remains were +interred at Riverside Park, New York, and only await the imposing +monument which the metropolis of the nation he saved is to rear above +his tomb.</p> + +<p>His character can never be as prominent as the victories he won for +his imperilled country; but his honesty, his unsullied honor, and his +self-abnegation entitle him to another crown of glory.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<a id="sig007" name="sig007"></a> +<div class="right"> +<img src="images/sig007.jpg" width="250" height="54" alt="Author signature." title=""> +</div> + +<h3>WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN<a id="footnotetag10" name="footnotetag10"></a><a href="#footnote10" title="Go to footnote 10"><span class="small">[10]</span></a><br> +By <span class="smcap">Elbridge S. Brooks</span><br> +(1820-1891)</h3> + +<a id="img041" name="img041"></a> +<div class="floatleft"> +<img src="images/img041.jpg" width="250" height="287" alt="William Sherman." title=""> +</div> + +<p>Achievement wins applause. And when the steps toward achievement are +tinged with mystery, romance, or daring, the applause is irresistible +and continuous. So it has come to pass that by the side of Xenophon's +masterly "retreat of the Ten Thousand," of Cortes's burning his ships +at Vera Cruz, and of Marlborough's bold march through the heart of +Germany to the victory at Blenheim, stands Sherman's March to the Sea +and his "Christmas Gift" of captured Savannah. And yet this brilliant +leader of men had never seen a hostile shot fired until he was +forty-one, and his first battle was the defeat at Bull Run.</p> + +<p>The March to the Sea, upon which Sherman's fame as a soldier so +largely rests, was by no means the greatest or most significant of his +many achievements. His record as a soldier is filled with examples of +his courage, his shrewdness, and his tenacity, while his mingling of +gentle ways and grim determination, of restlessness and calm, of +forethought, fearlessness, and frankness, make him at once a unique +and central figure in the decade of war and reconstruction that forms +so important a chapter in the story of the United States of America.</p> + +<p>William Tecumseh Sherman was born on February 8, 1820, in the town of +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page353" name="page353"></a>(p. 353)</span> Lancaster, the county-seat of that fair and fertile section +known as Fairfield County, in the southern part of the State of +Ohio—the busy commonwealth that furnished 300,000 men to the armies +of the Union, and gave to the Civil War its three greatest generals; +for Grant and Sherman were Ohio born, and Sheridan's boyhood was spent +in the same State.</p> + +<p>But Sherman's ancestors were of stout Puritan stock, dating back +almost to the days of the Mayflower. His first American "forebear" was +a Puritan minister, Rev. John Sherman, an emigrant to the Connecticut +colony from Essex in England. Of one of the collateral branches was +Roger Sherman, drafter and signer of the Declaration of Independence. +The father of the soldier was Judge Sherman, of the Ohio Supreme +Court; his mother was "a Hoyt of New England."</p> + +<p>William Tecumseh Sherman was the sixth of eleven children, a younger +brother being the lad who, later, became Senator John Sherman of Ohio. +Judge Sherman, the father of the boys, died in 1829, and William was +adopted into the family of Senator Thomas Ewing, of Ohio, a resident +of Lancaster, and a notable figure in American history, for he was +senator and cabinet minister for nearly forty years.</p> + +<p>Sherman's training was that of a soldier from boyhood. At sixteen, he +was entered as a cadet at the Military Academy at West Point, from +which he graduated in 1840, standing sixth in a class of 42. +Engineering was his favorite study, but devotion to his books seems +not to have kept him out of mischief. He was not, he himself admitted +later, "a Sunday-school cadet," his record for behavior being 124 in +the Academy standard—not so very far from the foot. But Grant, it +must be remembered, ranked even lower in his behavior record, standing +at 149.</p> + +<p>The twenty years that followed Sherman's graduation from West Point +were variously spent. He was commissioned second lieutenant in the +Third Artillery, July 1, 1840, and ordered to Florida to face the +hostile Seminoles. He was promoted to be first lieutenant November 30, +1841, and in 1842 was ordered to Fort Morgan, in Alabama. From 1843 to +1846 he was stationed at Fort Moultrie, in Charleston Harbor (where +the afterward famous Major Robert Anderson was his superior officer), +at Bellefontaine, Alabama, and at Pittsburg, in Pennsylvania, on +recruiting service. When the war with Mexico was declared, Lieutenant +Sherman was sent to California, then a debatable land. He reached +Monterey Bay, by way of "the Horn," in January, 1847, and spent three +years in California, returning east as bearer of despatches to the War +Department in 1850. In May, 1850, he married Miss Ellen Ewing, +daughter of Senator Ewing, then Secretary of the Interior under +President Taylor, and in September following he was commissioned as +captain and sent to St. Louis.</p> + +<p>It was at this time, so Sherman notes in his "Memoirs," that he felt a +great disappointment to think that the war with Mexico was fought to a +finish without his having been "in it," and he adds, "of course, I +thought it was the last and only chance in my day, and that my career +as a soldier was at an end." It was <span class="pagenum"><a id="page354" name="page354"></a>(p. 354)</span> at an end for a time, +for after garrison duty at St. Louis and New Orleans, he resigned from +the army, and, in 1853, sought to make his fortune in business.</p> + +<p>He first went to California as manager of the San Francisco branch of +a St. Louis bank, but the ill success of the enterprise drove him east +again in 1857, when he engaged in the banking business in New York +City. To this enterprise, however, the famous panic of 1857 put an +early end, and in 1858 he was embarked in the law, with an office at +Leavenworth, Kan. This, too, failing to supply sufficient bread and +butter, he tried farming in Ohio for a while, and then applied for a +government position in Washington. Instead of this, however, he +secured an appointment as Superintendent and Professor of Engineering +in a new military college just started at Alexandria, in Louisiana. He +entered upon the duties of his position on the 1st of January, 1860, +when the mutterings of rebellion were already abroad; and just as he +had put the academy into good working order the war-cloud became so +black that Sherman, in a manly letter to Governor Moore, of Louisiana, +declared his intention of maintaining his allegiance to "the old +constitution as long as a fragment of it survives," resigned his +office, and returned to Ohio. In April, 1861, he accepted the +presidency of a St. Louis street railway company. Then Sumter was +fired on, the war fever filled the land, troops were hurried to the +front, and Sherman signified to the Secretary of War his desire to +serve his country "in the capacity for which I was trained." On May +14, 1861, he was appointed colonel of the Thirteenth United States +Infantry, and assigned to inspection duty in Washington under General +Scott, the commander-in-chief; and then the real story of his life +began.</p> + +<p>At first fate seemed to be against him. He was too outspoken and +hard-headed to suit the reckless and effusive boasters of those early +days of the war, which he insisted would be long and bloody, unless +the whole military power of the Republic was put into the field to +crush the rebellion before it could grow into a revolution. He was as +disgusted as Washington had been in revolutionary times, with +short-service enlistments, and refused point-blank to go to Ohio to +enlist "three-months men," saying, in his blunt way, "You might as +well try to put out fire with a squirt gun as expect to put down this +rebellion with three-months troops." He was assigned to the command of +the Third Brigade of the First Division of McDowell's army, and had +his "baptism of fire" upon the disastrous field of Bull Run, which he +has characterized as "one of the best planned and worst fought battles +of the war." That famous "skedaddle," as it was the fashion to call +it, he frankly admitted, in his official report, began among the men +of his brigade, and the "disorderly retreat" speedily became a +humiliating rout, which only a few cool-headed officers, such as +Colonel Sherman, could check or control.</p> + +<p>The chagrin over the stampede at Bull Run was so great, that the more +conscientious Union officers expected to be held responsible for it +and duly court-martialed; but to Colonel Sherman's surprise, his +superiors saw beyond the demoralization of the moment, and in August, +1861, he was made brigadier-general of volunteers and transferred to +the Department of the Cumberland, with head-quarters <span class="pagenum"><a id="page355" name="page355"></a>(p. 355)</span> at +Louisville, Ky. From thenceforth all his fighting and all his fame was +associated with the armies of the West.</p> + +<p>At once he saw the desperate condition of affairs in Kentucky—a +border State, only to be held for the Union by prompt and decisive +measures. He called for reinforcements frequently and emphatically, +and when the Secretary of War visited him on a tour of inspection, and +asked his views on the situation, Sherman paralyzed him by asserting +that for the defence of Kentucky, 60,000 men were needed at once, and +that 200,000 would be necessary there before the war in that State +could be ended. This was so out of proportion to the Secretary's +estimate that Sherman was declared crazy; he was deprived of his +command at the front and relegated to a camp of instruction near St. +Louis.</p> + +<p>But so shrewd and correct an observer, so energetic a leader, and so +determined a fighter, could not long be left in retirement, and in +February, 1862, General Sherman was ordered to assume command of the +forces at Paducah, Ky. Desperate fighting soon followed. The battle of +Shiloh (sometimes called Pittsburg Landing) showed of what stuff the +"crazy Sherman," as the newspapers had called him, was made, and from +Shiloh's bloody field in 1862, to Johnston's surrender at Raleigh in +1865, Sherman's fame rose steadily, until it left him one of the three +greatest generals of the Civil War, and one of the famous commanders +of the century.</p> + +<p>From Shiloh to Raleigh, Sherman stood, in a measure, as Grant's right +hand, for, even when Grant was "hammering away" in Virginia, Sherman, +by his strategy, shrewdness, and daring in the West was giving him +material support and help. In the three years of fighting, from 1862 +to 1865, these events stand prominently out in Sherman's military +record—the tenacity with which he held the right of the line at +Shiloh, the faithful service he rendered as commander of the left +before Vicksburg, his rapid relief of Knoxville, his brilliant capture +of Atlanta, his daring and famous march to the sea and the capture of +Savannah, his equally daring march through the Carolinas to the help +of Grant, and his final capture of Johnston's army, which was the real +close of the war.</p> + +<p>In all these events the peculiar traits of character that made Sherman +so conspicuous a success stood out in bold relief—his coolness in +danger, his bravery in action, his daring in devices, his readiness of +invention, his electric surprises, his scientific strategy, his +ruthlessness in destruction, his courtesy to the conquered, his +devotion to his soldiers, his loyalty to his superior in command, his +restlessness, his energy, his determination to succeed. These all +contributed to the result that made "Sherman's army" famous the world +over, and stamped him as the hero of a campaign that, according to +military critics, "stands alone in the history of modern warfare."</p> + +<p>His scientific fencing with General Joseph E. Johnston, the +Confederate leader, was as masterly as it was effective. He forced his +rival from the stand he had taken as warder of the gateways to the +South's supply land, fighting him step by step from Dalton backward to +Atlanta, and capturing that stronghold of the Confederacy by +persistent and desperate fighting. Then, when Atlanta was <span class="pagenum"><a id="page356" name="page356"></a>(p. 356)</span> +won, Sherman's ability to cut the Gordian knot, as no other man dared, +was displayed with especial force. Instead of frittering away his +precious time by simply holding Atlanta, or wasting strength +unnecessarily by hunting up a baffled and elusive foe, or devoting all +his energy to keeping open his long line of communication and supply, +he determined to strike a disastrous blow at the Confederacy, swiftly +and unexpectedly. Cutting loose from his connection with the West, he +would live on the enemy and lay waste the storehouse of the +Confederacy—or, as he expressed it in outlining his plans to General +Grant, "move through Georgia, smashing things, to the sea."</p> + +<p>The boldness of this desperate measure at first attracted, as it +afterward alarmed, the authorities at Washington. Consent was given +and then recalled, but, before the recall could reach him Sherman had +acted quickly, fearing this same countermand. Upon receipt of the +order consenting to his march, he cut the telegraph wires to the +north, then he burned his bridges, tore up the railroad that connected +him with the West, and, with his army reduced to its actual available +fighting strength of 60,000 men, with banners streaming, gun-barrels +glistening in the sun, bands playing, and the men singing lustily +"Glory, glory, hallelujah!" Atlanta was left behind, and "Sherman's +army" set its face eastward and commenced its memorable march to the +sea.</p> + +<p>In two parallel columns the army of invasion and destruction moved +through the fertile land, cutting a swath of desolation forty miles +wide, and crippling the Confederacy by dissipating its most cherished +resources. For fully a month the army was practically lost, so far as +communication with the North was concerned. Then it struck the sea at +Savannah, captured that beautiful city, and, in the celebrated +despatch which actually reached President Lincoln on Christmas Eve, +General Sherman presented to the President and the country "the city +of Savannah, as a Christmas gift."</p> + +<p>Savannah taken, the more difficult march northward was determined +upon, so as to make a junction with Grant before Richmond, and end the +war by one final and tremendous stroke. The "Campaign of the +Carolinas," as this northward march was called, was a really greater +achievement than the march to the sea, for it was against more +formidable natural odds, and was done in midwinter. The distance +covered, from Savannah to Goldsboro, in North Carolina, was four +hundred and twenty-five miles; five large rivers were crossed, three +important cities were captured, and the Stars and Stripes were once +more flung to the breeze above the ruins of Fort Sumter. And yet, in +fifty days from the start, the army reached Goldsboro, "in superb +order," and concluded what Sherman himself designates as "one of the +longest and most important marches ever made by an organized army in a +civilized country." It was a great achievement, but it was without the +novelty, the mystery, and the dramatic qualities of the earlier +cross-country campaign, and so it has come to pass that the first has +been the most famous, and Sherman's march to the sea has gone into +history as one of the romances and glories of the War of the +Rebellion.</p> + +<p>The campaign of the Carolinas fitly ended, as had the march to the +sea, in <span class="pagenum"><a id="page357" name="page357"></a>(p. 357)</span> victory; and the successes at Averysboro and +Burtonville culminated on April 26, 1865, in the surrender, near +Raleigh, of Johnston, and the last organized army of the Confederacy.</p> + +<p>The war was over. Sherman's army marched northward to Washington, +where, on May 24, 1865, on the second day of the famous Grand Review, +General Sherman and his victorious army marched past the presidential +reviewing stand—"sixty-five thousand men," says General Sherman, "in +splendid physique, who had just completed a march of nearly two +thousand miles in a hostile country." Then came the disbandment; +Sherman bade his "boys" good-by in a ringing farewell order; the men +departed to their waiting homes, and the splendid "Army of the West" +was a thing of the past.</p> + +<p>After the conclusion of the war General Sherman was, for four years, +stationed at St. Louis, as Commander of the Military Division of the +Mississippi. He was a notable public character, with a reputation for +bravery that none dare assail, and a record as a soldier that made him +one of the nation's heroes. He stood next to Grant in position, merit, +and popularity; and when, in 1869, General Grant was elected to the +presidency, Sherman, who had been named lieutenant-general in 1866, +was promoted to the vacant post as general of the army, with +head-quarters at Washington.</p> + +<p>He visited Europe in 1871-72 and, both because of his own brilliant +record, and his official position as head of the American army, he was +everywhere received with honor and distinction. Returning home he +wrote his "Memoirs;" they were published in 1875, and stamped him, in +the opinion of critics, as "by far the ablest writer among America's +military men."</p> + +<p>On February 8, 1884, he was placed upon the retired list—"turned out +to grass," as he expressed it, "and told I could spend the rest of my +days in peace and retirement." As an especial mark of the nation's +pride in his record, he was, as the order stated, "placed upon the +retired list of the army, without reduction in his current pay and +allowances," and the President in the same order publicly put on +record the gratitude of the American people "for the services of +incalculable value rendered by General Sherman in the War for the +Union, which his great military genius and daring did so much to end." +It was a fitting tribute to the man who had worn the uniform of his +country for forty years, faithful to every trust and equal to every +emergency, and who had risen through every grade from a cadetship and +a lieutenancy, to the proud eminence of General of the Armies of the +United States.</p> + +<p>The twenty-six years that were his after the close of the great +struggle in which he had been one of the central figures, were filled +with a quiet enjoyment of life and a wide personal popularity. +Wherever he went he was a living hero, welcomed and honored as such by +the people who owed so much to his wise brain and his unsheathed +sword. He could have been President of the United States, had he been +willing to accept the nomination that was offered him; instead, he +declined with peremptory and characteristic bluntness, and he is, it +is believed, the only man who ever did refuse that high office.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page358" name="page358"></a>(p. 358)</span> After his retirement he made his home, first in St. Louis and +then in New York, where the last five years of his life were passed, +and where he speedily became one of the great city's familiar, +honored, and notable figures. Here, too, the final call came to him. +On February 14, 1891, when he had just passed his seventy-first +birthday, sounded the order "parade is dismissed," and Sherman died in +his own home, in West Seventy-first Street, mourned by an entire +nation. He was buried in St. Louis by the side of his wife, who had +died in 1890.</p> + +<p>William Tecumseh Sherman was, in the strictest sense of the word, a +soldier. His bearing and presence told of camp and uniform. With a +military education and military environments, he could not understand, +and could not calmly brook, the cautious conservatism of the civilian, +which would often temporize when swift, determined action seemed +necessary, and which was often boastful at home, and timorous in the +field. Able in action, fierce in assault, unerring in judgment, +watchful in detail; with a sagacity and foresight that amounted almost +to genius, and a memory that was marvellous, General Sherman was a +great military leader, and one who, when the opportunity came, rode +straight into fame and reputation. As determined as he was daring, as +magnanimous as he was impulsive, as clear-headed as he was energetic, +and as gentle-hearted in peace as he was ruthless in war, he was +indeed a unique figure in America's history, and, as time goes on, his +name will stand as that of one of the great Republic's most famous men +and most cherished memories.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<a id="sig008" name="sig008"></a> +<div class="right"> +<img src="images/sig008.jpg" width="300" height="77" alt="Author signature." title=""> +</div> + +<h3>PHILIP HENRY SHERIDAN<br> +(1831-1888)</h3> + + +<p>Philip Henry Sheridan, Commander-in-chief of the United States Army, +and the last and most brilliant of the great generals of the North, +was born at Albany, N. Y. March 6, 1831. He had few advantages of +early education and training, but in 1848 he obtained a cadetship at +West Point. Sheridan's hot blood and impulsive temperament were +manifested even in his student days, and a quarrel with a comrade +resulted in his suspension for a year. He was consequently unable to +graduate in 1852, as he should have done, but in the following year he +concluded his studies and was appointed a brevet second lieutenant of +infantry. In 1854 he was assigned to the First Infantry in Texas, and +the same year he received his commission <span class="pagenum"><a id="page359" name="page359"></a>(p. 359)</span> as second +lieutenant of the Fourth Infantry. With the latter regiment he served +during the next six years in Washington Territory and Oregon. In the +attack upon the Indians at the Cascades, Washington Territory, in +April, 1856, the United States troops landed under fire, and routed +and dispersed the enemy at every point. General Scott drew special +attention to Sheridan's bravery on this occasion.</p> + +<a id="img042" name="img042"></a> +<div class="floatright"> +<img src="images/img042.jpg" width="250" height="318" alt="Philip Henry Sheridan." title=""> +</div> + +<p>But it was the great Civil War which developed Sheridan's talents, as +in the case of many other distinguished officers, and made promotion +rapid. The resignation of commanders with Southern sympathies and the +creation of new regiments secured Sheridan a first lieutenancy in the +Fourth Infantry in March, 1861, and a captaincy in the Thirteenth +Infantry in the following May. Yet that memorable year in the history +of the United States "brought him little employment and no laurels." +After various minor services he was commissioned as colonel of the +Second Michigan Cavalry on May 25, 1862. He at once engaged with the +regiment in Elliot's raid against the railroad, which was destroyed at +Booneville. During the month of June he commanded the Second Cavalry +Brigade in several skirmishes, and on July 1st gained a brilliant +victory at Booneville over a superior cavalry force. His appointment +as brigadier-general of volunteers dated from this action. In the +autumn of 1862 Sheridan received the command of the Eleventh Division +of the Army of the Ohio, under General Buell. Moving out of Louisville +with Buell, against Bragg, he took part, on October 8th, in the +stoutly contested battle of Perryville, where he manœuvred his +division with conspicuous skill and effect, holding the key of the +Northern position, and using the point to its utmost advantage.</p> + +<p>At the famous battle of Murfreesboro, which was one of the bloodiest +and most prolonged of the campaign, Sheridan held the key-point for +several hours in the first day's fighting, "displaying superb tactical +skill and the greatest gallantry." After repulsing four desperate +assaults his ammunition unfortunately gave out. He then ordered a +bayonet charge and withdrew his lines from the field; but by his +obstinate resistance invaluable time had been gained by his chief, +General Rosecrans, to make new dispositions. Sheridan's commission as +major-general followed upon these services. From this time little of +interest occurred until September 19 and 20, 1863, when Sheridan again +distinguished himself at the battle of Chickamauga, rescuing his +division from a perilous position. General Thomas was transferred to +the command of Rosecrans' besieged army at Chattanooga, and thither +General Grant arrived with reinforcements from Vicksburg. Grant was +determined to dislodge the Southern commander, Bragg, who was posted +on Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. <span class="pagenum"><a id="page360" name="page360"></a>(p. 360)</span> Hooker carried +Lookout Mountain and Thomas captured the Ridge on November 25th. In +the latter operation Sheridan's division was the first to cross the +crest, and it pressed the enemy's rear-guard until long after dark, +seizing wagons and artillery. By his successful conduct in the West, +Sheridan had now thoroughly established his military reputation.</p> + +<p>Grant, who had now become lieutenant-general, established his +head-quarters in Virginia in March, 1864. He was very badly off for an +energetic commander of cavalry there, and discussed the matter with +General Halleck. The latter at once suggested Sheridan, remembering +his splendid dash and bravery at Missionary Ridge. "The very man!" +exclaimed the laconic Grant, and Sheridan accordingly became commander +of the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac. Sheridan's progress +during the campaign of 1864 was like a whirlwind. His troops covered +the front and flanks of the infantry through the battle of the +"Wilderness" until May 8th, when the greater part of the force was +withdrawn, and next morning Sheridan started on a raid against the +enemy's points of communication with Richmond. Getting within the +Confederate lines he dashed upon the outworks of Richmond itself, +where he took one hundred prisoners, and thence moved to Haxall's +Landing, from which point he returned to the Northern army, having +destroyed many miles of railroad track, besides trains and a great +quantity of rations, and liberated Union soldiers. This expedition +included repulses of the enemy at Beaver Dam and Meadow Bridge, and +the defeat of the enemy's cavalry at Yellow Tavern, where their best +cavalry leader, J. E. B. Stuart, was killed. From May 27th to June +24th Sheridan was engaged in almost daily engagements and skirmishes, +harassing the enemy, and, with that good fortune which sometimes +attends the most daring soldiers, resisting all attempts to defeat or +capture him.</p> + +<p>The Middle Department and the Department of West Virginia, Washington, +and Susquehanna were constituted the "Middle Military Division" in +August, 1864, and General Grant put Sheridan in command of the same. +He chafed for opportunities of further distinguishing himself and +justifying his appointment; but the enemy, under General Early, had +been reinforced, and for six weeks Sheridan was kept on the defensive +near Harper's Ferry. At length, when Early's forces had been +diminished, Sheridan expressed such confidence of success if he were +allowed to attack, that Grant gave him permission in only two words of +instruction, "Go in!" Sheridan went in, attacking Early with great +vigor, on September 19th, at the crossing of the Opequan. After a +severe battle the enemy was routed; Sheridan captured three thousand +prisoners and five guns, and sent Early, as he expressed it, "whirling +through Winchester." Next day President Lincoln, on Grant's +recommendation, appointed the victorious soldier a brigadier-general +in the regular army. Taking up the pursuit of Early in the Shenandoah +Valley, Sheridan found him on the 20th strongly posted on Fisher's +Hill, just beyond Strasburg. Quietly moving Crook's command through +the wood, he turned the enemy's left on the 22d, and drove him from +his stronghold, capturing sixteen guns.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page361" name="page361"></a>(p. 361)</span> The losses of Sheridan and those of Early in these two +battles were almost precisely equal, being about fifty-four hundred +men each; but the Northern general had captured many guns and small +arms. Sheridan continued the pursuit up the valley, but finding it +impracticable to proceed either to Lynchburg or Charlottesville, he +returned through the valley, devastating it on his way and rendering +it untenable for an enemy's army. By Sheridan's successes Grant +obtained the unobstructed use of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and the +Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, whereas his defeat would have exposed +Maryland and Pennsylvania to invasion.</p> + +<p>Sheridan's next operations, however, were the most important, as they +have become the most renowned, in his career. Passing through +Strasburg, he posted his troops on the further bank of Cedar Creek, +while he himself, on October 16th, went to Washington, in response to +a request from Secretary Stanton, for consultation. Before the sun +rose on the morning of the 19th, Early, who had been reinforced, +surprised, during a fog, the left of the Union army and uncovered the +position also of the Nineteenth Corps, capturing twenty-four guns and +about fourteen hundred prisoners. General Wright succeeded in +retaining his grasp on the turnpike by moving the Sixth Corps to its +western side and the cavalry to its eastern; but the whole army in the +process had been driven back beyond Middletown.</p> + +<p>Sheridan was at Winchester at this time, on his return from +Washington. Hearing the noise of battle, he dashed up the turnpike +with an escort of twenty men, rallying the fugitives on his way, and +after a ride of a dozen miles reached the army, where he was received +with indescribable enthusiasm. This famous incident gave rise to +Buchanan Read's stirring poem of Sheridan's ride, now one of the most +popular pieces in the repertories of public readers, both in England +and the United States. After the lapse of a few hours, spent in +preparing his forces, Sheridan ordered an advance, and literally swept +the enemy from the field in one of the most overwhelming and decisive +engagements of the war. All the lost Union guns were retaken, and +twenty-four Confederate guns and many wagons and stores were captured. +Congress passed a vote of thanks to Sheridan and his troops for the +"brilliant series of victories in the valley," and especially the one +at Cedar Creek. Sheridan was appointed by the President a +major-general in the army "for the personal gallantry, military skill, +and just confidence in the courage and patriotism of your troops," as +the order expressed it, "displayed by you on October 19th."</p> + +<p>On February 27, 1865, Sheridan, with his cavalry, 10,000 strong, moved +up the valley, destroying the Virginia Central Railroad, the James +River Canal, and immense quantities of supplies, and defeating Early +again at Waynesboro. He then made his way toward Grant's army and +arrived at the White House on March 19th. In subsequent operations he +acted immediately under General Grant. The final campaign of the war +began, and on March 31st Sheridan was attacked by a heavy force of +Lee's infantry, under Picket and Johnson; but on the following day, +being reinforced by Warren, he entrapped and completely routed Picket +and Johnson's forces at Five Forks, taking thousands of prisoners. +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page362" name="page362"></a>(p. 362)</span> Sheridan displayed great tactical skill and generalship on +this occasion, and the decisive battle of Five Forks compelled General +Lee to evacuate Petersburg and Richmond. Lee was soon in flight, but +Sheridan was speedily on his trail, and, far away in the Northern van, +he constantly harassed the enemy. Overtaking the flying army at +Sailor's Creek, he captured sixteen guns and four hundred wagons, and +detained the enemy until the Sixth Corps could come up, when a +combined attack resulted in the capture of more than six thousand +prisoners.</p> + +<p>On April 8th Sheridan again engaged the Confederates at Appomattox +Station. Early on the morning of the 9th the enemy endeavored to break +through, but abandoned the attempt when Sheridan, moving aside, +disclosed the infantry behind. Sheridan mounted his men and was about +to charge, when the white flag betokening surrender was displayed in +his front. This brought the war in Virginia to a close, though in +Alabama and other districts the conflict continued to a somewhat later +period. The Confederate power, however, was broken by the surrender at +Appomattox Court-house, which practically ended the Civil War.</p> + +<p>Sheridan subsequently conducted an expedition into North Carolina. On +June 3, 1865, he took command of the Military Division of the +Southwest, at New Orleans, and was appointed to the Fifth Military +District (Louisiana and Texas) in March, 1867. President Johnson, +being dissatisfied with his administration, relieved him of his +appointment during the reconstruction troubles in Louisiana, and +transferred him to the Department of the Missouri. He continued in +command until March 4, 1869, when he was promoted to the rank of +lieutenant-general, and assigned the command of the Division of the +Missouri, with head-quarters at Chicago.</p> + +<p>During the Franco-German War of 1870-71 General Sheridan visited +Europe, and was present as a spectator with the German forces at +several celebrated engagements. He was held in high esteem by Prince +Bismarck and Count Von Moltke. After the sanguinary battle of +Gravelotte, which Sheridan witnessed, Bismarck returned with the King +to Pont-à-Mousson, and on the evening of the next day the German +Chancellor entertained at dinner General Sheridan and his American +companions, "with whom he talked eagerly in good English, while +champagne and porter circulated." At one point of the Franco-German +War, when Bismarck was at Versailles, anxiously desiring a French +government with which he could conclude a durable peace, "it almost +seemed," says Mr. Lowe, in his "Life of Bismarck," "as if he had no +other resource but to pursue the war on the principles laid down by +General Sheridan." The American soldier had said to the Chancellor: +"First deal as hard blows at the enemy's soldiers as possible, and +then cause so much suffering to the inhabitants of the country that +they will long for peace and press their government to make it. +Nothing should be left to the people but eyes to see and lament the +war."</p> + +<a id="img043" name="img043"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/img043.jpg" width="400" height="579" alt="" title=""> +<p>Sheridan ride.</p></div> + +<p>In 1875, during the political disturbances in Louisiana, General +Sheridan was sent to New Orleans, returning to Chicago on quiet being +restored. On the retirement of General Sherman, in March, 1884, he was +appointed Commander-in-chief <span class="pagenum"><a id="page363" name="page363"></a>(p. 363)</span> of the Army of the United +States. He died August 5, 1888. General Sheridan was the most +brilliant cavalry officer whom America has produced. In addition to +conspicuous personal bravery, he had an eagle eye for piercing through +the designs of an enemy and for detecting at a glance all their weak +points. He possessed wonderful energy, remained undepressed in the +presence of overwhelming odds, and had a superb confidence in moments +of the greatest danger. His career was one of the most romantic and +adventurous called forth by the great American civil struggle.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + + +<h3>ROBERT EDMUND LEE<br> +By <span class="smcap">General Viscount Wolseley</span><br> +(1807-1870)</h3> + +<a id="img044" name="img044"></a> +<div class="floatleft"> +<img src="images/img044.jpg" width="250" height="300" alt="Robert Lee." title=""> +</div> + +<p>It is my wish to give a short outline of General Lee's life, and to +describe him as I saw him in the autumn of 1862, when at the head of +proud and victorious troops he smiled at the notion of defeat by any +army that could be sent against him. I desire to make known to the +reader not only the renowned soldier, whom I believe to have been the +greatest of his age, but to give some insight into the character of +one whom I have always considered the most perfect man I ever met.</p> + +<p>As a looker-on, I feel that both parties in the war have so much to be +proud of that both can afford to hear what impartial Englishmen, or +foreigners, have to say about it. Inflated and bubble reputations were +acquired during its progress, few of which will bear the test of time. +The idol momentarily set up, often for political reasons, crumbles in +time into the dust from which its limbs were perhaps originally +moulded. To me, however, two figures stand out in that history, +towering above all others, both cast in hard metal that will be +forever proof against the belittling efforts of all future detractors: +one, General Lee, the great soldier; the other, Mr. Lincoln, the +far-seeing statesman of iron will, of unflinching determination. Each +is a good representative of the genius that characterized his country. +As I study the history of the secession war, these seem to me the two +men who influenced it most, and who will be recognized as its greatest +heroes when future generations of American historians record its +stirring events with impartiality.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page364" name="page364"></a>(p. 364)</span> General Lee came from the class of landed gentry that has +furnished England at all times with her most able and distinguished +leaders. The first of his family who went to America was Richard Lee, +who, in 1641, became Colonial Secretary to the Governor of Virginia. +The family settled in Westmoreland, one of the most lovely counties in +that historic State, and members of it from time to time held high +positions in the government. Several of the family distinguished +themselves during the War of Independence, among whom was Henry, the +father of General Robert E. Lee. He raised a mounted corps known as +"Lee's Legion," in command of which he obtained the reputation of +being an able and gallant soldier. He was nicknamed by his comrades +"Light-Horse Harry." He was three times Governor of his native State. +To him is attributed the authorship of the eulogy on General +Washington, in which occurs the so-often quoted sentence, "First in +war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen," +praise that with equal truth might have been subsequently applied to +his own distinguished son.</p> + +<p>The subject of this slight sketch, Robert Edmund Lee, was born January +9, 1807, at the family place of Stratford, in the county of +Westmoreland, State of Virginia. When only a few years old, his +parents moved to the small town of Alexandria, which is on the right +bank of the Potomac River, nearly opposite Washington, but a little +below it.</p> + +<p>He was but a boy of eleven when his father died, leaving his family in +straitened circumstances. Like many other great commanders, he was in +consequence brought up in comparative poverty, a condition which has +been pronounced by the greatest of them as the best training for +soldiers. During his early years he attended a day-school near his +home in Alexandria. He was thus able in his leisure hours to help his +invalid mother in all her household concerns, and to afford her that +watchful care which, owing to her very delicate health, she so much +needed. She was a clever, highly gifted woman, and by her fond care +his character was formed and stamped with honest truthfulness. By her +he was taught never to forget that he was well born, and that, as a +gentleman, honor must be his guiding star through life. It was from +her lips he learned his Bible, from her teaching he drank in the +sincere belief in revealed religion which he never lost. It was she +who imbued her great son with an ineradicable belief in the efficacy +of prayer, and in the reality of God's interposition in the every-day +affairs of the true believer. No son ever returned a mother's love +with more heartfelt intensity. She was his idol, and he worshipped her +with the deep-seated inborn love which is known only to the son in +whom filial affection is strengthened by respect and personal +admiration for the woman who bore him. He was her all in all, or, as +she described it, he was both son and daughter to her. He watched over +her in weary hours of pain, and served her with all that soft +tenderness which was such a marked trait in the character of this +great, stern leader of men.</p> + +<p>He seems to have been throughout his boyhood and early youth perfect +in disposition, in bearing, and in conduct—a model of all that was +noble, honorable, and manly. Of the early life of very few great men +can this be said. Many who <span class="pagenum"><a id="page365" name="page365"></a>(p. 365)</span> have left behind the greatest +reputations for usefulness, in whom middle age was a model of virtue +and perhaps of noble self-denial, began their career in a whirlwind of +wild excess. Often, again, we find that, like Nero, the virtuous youth +develops into the middle-aged fiend, who leaves behind him a name to +be execrated for all time. It would be difficult to find in history a +great man, be he soldier or statesman, with a character so +irreproachable throughout his whole life as that which in boyhood, +youth, manhood, and to his death, distinguished Robert Lee from all +contemporaries.</p> + +<p>He entered the Military Academy of West Point at the age of eighteen, +where he worked hard, became adjutant of the cadet corps, and finally +graduated at the head of his class. There he mastered the theory of +war and studied the campaigns of the great masters in that most +ancient of all sciences. Whatever he did, even as a boy, he did +thoroughly, with order and method. Even at this early age he was the +model Christian gentleman in thought, word, and deed; careful and +exact in the obedience he rendered his superiors, but remarkable for +that dignity of deportment which all through his career struck +strangers with admiring respect.</p> + +<p>He left West Point when twenty-two, having gained its highest honors, +and at once obtained a commission in the engineers. Two years +afterward he married the granddaughter and heiress of Mrs. Custis, +whose second husband had been General Washington, but by whom she left +no children. It was a great match for a poor subaltern officer, as his +wife was heiress to a very extensive property and to a large number of +slaves. She was clever, very well educated, and a general favorite; he +was handsome, tall, well made, with a graceful figure, and a good +rider; his manners were at once easy and captivating. These young +people had long known one another, and each was the other's first +love. She brought with her as part of her fortune General Washington's +beautiful property of Arlington, situated on the picturesque wooded +heights that overhang the Potomac River, opposite the capital to which +the great Washington had given his name. In talking to me of the +Northern troops, whose conduct in Virginia was then denounced by every +local paper, no bitter expression passed his lips, but tears filled +his eyes as he referred to the destruction of his place, that had been +the cherished home of the father of the United States. He could +forgive their cutting down his trees, their wanton conversion of his +pleasure-grounds into a graveyard, but he could never forget their +reckless plunder of all the camp equipment and other relics of General +Washington that Arlington House had contained.</p> + +<p>Robert Lee first saw active service during the American war with +Mexico in 1846, where he was wounded, and evinced a remarkable talent +for war that brought him prominently into notice. He was afterward +engaged in operations against hostile Indians, and obtained the +reputation in the army of being an able officer of great promise. +General Scott, then the general of greatest repute in the United +States, was especially attracted by the zeal and soldierly instinct of +the young captain of engineers, and frequently employed him on distant +expeditions <span class="pagenum"><a id="page366" name="page366"></a>(p. 366)</span> that required cool nerve, confidence, and plenty +of common sense. It is a curious fact that throughout the Mexican War +General Scott in his despatches and reports made frequent mention of +three officers—Lee, Beauregard, and McClellan—whose names became +household words in America afterward, during the great Southern +struggle for independence. General Scott had the highest opinion of +Lee's military genius, and did not hesitate to ascribe much of his +success in Mexico as due to Lee's "skill, valor, and undaunted +energy." Indeed, subsequently, when the day came that these two men +should part, each to take a different side in the horrible contest +before them, General Scott is said to have urged Mr. Lincoln's +Government to secure Lee at any price, alleging he "would be worth +fifty thousand men to them." His valuable services were duly +recognized at Washington by more than one step of brevet promotion: he +obtained the rank of colonel and was given command of a cavalry +regiment shortly afterward.</p> + +<p>I must now pass to the most important epoch of his life, when the +Southern States left the Union and set up a government of their own. +Mr. Lincoln was in 1860 elected President of the United States in the +abolitionist interest. Both parties were so angry that thoughtful men +soon began to see that war alone could end this bitter dispute. +Shipwreck was before the vessel of state which General Washington had +built and guided with so much care during his long and hard-fought +contest. Civil war stared the American citizen in the face, and Lee's +heart was well-nigh broken at the prospect. Early in 1861 the seven +Cotton States passed acts declaring their withdrawal from the Union, +and their establishment of an independent republic, under the title of +"The Confederate States of America." This declaration of independence +was in reality a revolution; war alone could ever bring all the States +together.</p> + +<p>Lee viewed this secession with horror. Until the month of April, when +Virginia, his own dearly cherished State, joined the Confederacy, he +clung fondly to the hope that the gulf which separated the North from +the South might yet be bridged over. He believed the dissolution of +the Union to be a dire calamity not only for his own country, but for +civilization and all mankind. "Still," he said, "a Union that can only +be maintained by swords and bayonets, and in which strife and civil +war are to take the place of brotherly love and kindness, has no charm +for me." In common with all Southerners he firmly believed that each +of the old States had a legal and indisputable right, by its +individual constitution, and by its act of union, to leave at will the +great Union into which each had separately entered as a sovereign +State. This was with him an article of faith of which he was as sure +as of any divine truths he found in the Bible. This fact must be kept +always in mind by those who would rightly understand his character, or +the course he pursued in 1861. He loved the Union for which his father +and family in the previous century had fought so hard and done so +much. But he loved his own State still more. She was the sovereign to +whom in the first place he owed allegiance, and whose orders, as +expressed through her legally constituted government, he was, he felt, +bound in law, in honor, and in <span class="pagenum"><a id="page367" name="page367"></a>(p. 367)</span> love to obey without doubt or +hesitation. This belief was the mainspring that kept the Southern +Confederacy going, as it was also the corner-stone of its +constitution.</p> + +<p>In April, 1861, at Fort Sumter, Charleston Harbor, the first shot was +fired in a war that was only ended in April, 1865, by the surrender of +General Lee's army at Appomattox Court House, in Virginia. In duration +it is the longest war waged since the great Napoleon's power was +finally crushed at Waterloo. As the heroic struggle of a small +population that was cut off from all outside help, against a great, +populous, and very rich republic, with every market in the world open +to it, and to whom all Europe was a recruiting ground, this secession +war stands out prominently in the history of the world. When the vast +numbers of men put into the field by the Northern States, and the +scale upon which their operations were carried on, are duly +considered, it must be regarded as a war fully equal in magnitude to +the successful invasion of France by Germany in 1870. If the mind be +allowed to speculate on the course that events will take in centuries +to come, as they flow surely on with varying swiftness to the ocean of +the unknown future, the influence which the result of this Confederate +war is bound to exercise upon man's future history will seem very +great. Think of what a power the re-United States will be in another +century! Of what it will be in the twenty-first century of the +Christian era! If, as many believe, China is destined to absorb all +Asia and then to overrun Europe, may it not be in the possible future +that Armageddon, the final contest between heathendom and +Christianity, may be fought out between China and North America? Had +secession been victorious, it is tolerably certain that the United +States would have broken up still further, and instead of the present +magnificent and English-speaking empire, we should now see in its +place a number of small powers with separate interests.</p> + +<p>Most certainly it was the existence of slavery in the South that gave +rise to the bitter antagonism of feeling which led to secession. But +it was not to secure emancipation that the North took up arms, +although during the progress of the war Mr. Lincoln proclaimed it, for +the purpose of striking his enemy a serious blow. Lee hated slavery, +but, as he explained to me, he thought it wicked to give freedom +suddenly to some millions of people who were incapable of using it +with profit to themselves or the State. He assured me he had long +intended to gradually give his slaves their liberty. He believed the +institution to be a moral and political evil, and more hurtful to the +white than to the black man. He had a strong affection for the negro; +but he deprecated any sudden or violent interference on the part of +the State between master and slave. Nothing would have induced him to +fight for the continuance of slavery; indeed, he declared that had he +owned every slave in the South he would willingly give them all up if +by so doing he could preserve the Union. He was opposed to secession, +and to prevent it he would willingly sacrifice everything except honor +and duty, which forbade him to desert his State. When in April, 1861, +she formally and by an act of her Legislature left the Union, he +resigned his commission in the United <span class="pagenum"><a id="page368" name="page368"></a>(p. 368)</span> States army with the +intention of retiring into private life. He endeavored to choose what +was right. Every personal interest bade him throw in his lot with the +Union. His property lay so close to Washington that it was certain to +be destroyed and swept of every slave, as belonging to a rebel. But +the die was cast; he forsook everything for principle and the stern +duty it entailed. Then came that final temptation which opened out +before him a vista of power and importance greater than that which any +man since Washington had held in America. General Long's book proves +beyond all further doubt that he was offered the post of +commander-in-chief of the Federal army. General Scott, his great +friend and leader, whom he loved and respected, then commanding that +army, used all his influence to persuade him to throw in his lot with +the North, but to no purpose. Nothing would induce him to have any +part in the invasion of his own State, much as he abhorred the war +into which he felt she was rushing. His love of country, his unselfish +patriotism, caused him to relinquish home, fortune, a certain future, +in fact, everything, for her sake.</p> + +<p>He was not, however, to remain a spectator of the coming conflict; he +was too well known to his countrymen in Virginia as the officer in +whom the Federal army had most confidence. The State of Virginia +appointed him major-general and commander-in-chief of all her military +forces. In open and crowded convention he formally accepted this +position, saying, with all that dignity and grace of manner which +distinguished him, that he did so "trusting in Almighty God, an +approving conscience, and the aid of my fellow-citizens." The scene +was most impressive. There were present all the leading men of +Virginia, and representatives of all the first families in a State +where great store was attached to gentle birth, and where society was +very exclusive. General Lee's presence commanded respect, even from +strangers, by a calm, self-possessed dignity the like of which I have +never seen in other men. Naturally of strong passions, he kept them +under perfect control by that iron and determined will, of which his +expression and his face gave evidence. As this tall, handsome soldier +stood before his countrymen, he was the picture of the ideal patriot, +unconscious and self-possessed in his strength; he indulged in no +theatrical display of feeling; there was in his face and about him +that placid resolve which bespoke great confidence in self, and which +in his case—one knows not how—quickly communicated its magnetic +influence to others. He was then just fifty-four years old, the age of +Marlborough when he destroyed the French army at Blenheim. In many +ways and on many points these two great men much resembled each other. +Both were of a dignified and commanding exterior; eminently handsome, +with a figure tall, graceful, and erect, while a muscular, +square-built frame bespoke great activity of body. The charm of manner +which I have mentioned as very winning in Lee, was possessed in the +highest degree by Marlborough. Both, at the outset of their great +career of victory, were regarded as essentially national commanders. +Both had married young, and were faithful husbands and devoted +fathers. Both had in all their campaigns the same belief in an +ever-watchful Providence, in whose help they trusted implicitly, and +for whose interposition <span class="pagenum"><a id="page369" name="page369"></a>(p. 369)</span> they prayed at all times. They were +gifted with the same military instinct, the same genius for war. The +power of fascinating those with whom they were associated, the spell +which they cast over their soldiers, who believed almost +superstitiously in their certainty of victory, their contempt of +danger, their daring courage, constitute a parallel that is difficult +to equal between any other two great men of modern times.</p> + +<p>From the first Lee anticipated a long and bloody struggle, although +from the bombastic oratory of self-elected politicians and patriots +the people were led to believe that the whole business would be +settled in a few weeks. This folly led to a serious evil, namely, the +enlistment of soldiers for only ninety days. Lee, who understood war, +pleaded in favor of the engagement being for the term of war, but he +pleaded in vain. To add to his military difficulties, the politicians +insisted upon the officers being elected by their men. This was a +point which, in describing to me the constitution of his army, Lee +most deplored.</p> + +<p>The formation of an army with the means alone at his disposal was a +colossal task. Everything had to be created by this extraordinary man. +The South was an agricultural, not a manufacturing, country, and the +resources of foreign lands were denied it by the blockade of its ports +maintained by the fleet of the United States. Lee was a thorough man +of business, quick in decision, yet methodical in all he did. He knew +what he wanted. He knew what an army should be, and how it should be +organized, both in a purely military as well as an administrative +sense. In about two months he had created a little army of fifty +thousand men, animated by a lofty patriotism and courage that made +them unconquerable by any similarly constituted army. In another month +this army, at Bull Run, gained a complete victory over the Northern +invaders, who were driven back across the Potomac like herds of +frightened sheep.</p> + +<p>The Confederates did not follow up their victory at Bull Run. A rapid +and daring advance would have given them possession of Washington, +their enemy's capital. Political considerations at Richmond were +allowed to outweigh the very evident military expediency of reaping a +solid advantage from this their first great success. Often afterward, +when this attempt to allay the angry feelings of the North against the +act of secession had entirely failed, was this action of their +political rulers lamented by the Confederate commanders.</p> + +<p>In this article, to attempt even a sketch of the subsequent military +operations is not to be thought of. Both sides fought well, and both +have such true reason to be proud of their achievements that they can +now afford to hear the professional criticisms of their English +friends in the same spirit that we Britishers have learned to read of +the many defeats inflicted upon our arms by General Washington.</p> + +<p>As a student of war I would fain linger over the interesting lessons +to be learned from Lee's campaigns; of the same race as both +belligerents, I could with the utmost pleasure dwell upon the many +brilliant feats of arms on both sides; but I cannot do so here.</p> + +<p>The end came at last, when the well-supplied North, rich enough to pay +recruits, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page370" name="page370"></a>(p. 370)</span> no matter where they came from, a bounty of over +five hundred dollars a head, triumphed over an exhausted South, hemmed +in on all sides, and even cut off from all communication with the +outside world. The desperate, though drawn battle of Gettysburg was +the death-knell of Southern independence; and General Sherman's +splendid but almost unopposed march to the sea showed the world that +all further resistance on the part of the Confederate States could +only be a profitless waste of blood. In the thirty-five days of +fighting near Richmond which ended the war in 1865, General Grant's +army numbered 190,000, that of Lee only 51,000 men. Every man lost by +the former was easily replaced, but an exhausted South could find no +more soldiers. "The right of self-government," which Washington won +and for which Lee fought, was no longer to be a watchword to stir +men's blood in the United States. The South was humbled and beaten by +its own flesh and blood in the North, and it is difficult to know +which to admire most, the good sense with which the result was +accepted in the so-called Confederate States, or the wise magnanimity +displayed by the victors. The wounds are now healed on both sides; +Northerners and Southerners are now once more a united people, with a +future before them to which no other nation can aspire. If the +English-speaking people of the earth cannot all acknowledge the same +sovereign, they can, and I am sure they will, at least combine to work +in the interests of truth and of peace for the good of mankind. The +wise men on both sides of the Atlantic will take care to chase away +all passing clouds that may at any time throw even a shadow of dispute +or discord between the two great families into which our race is +divided.</p> + +<p>Like all men, Lee had his faults; like all the greatest of generals, +he sometimes made mistakes. His nature shrank with such horror from +the dread of wounding the feelings of others, that upon occasions he +left men in positions of responsibility to which their abilities were +not equal. This softness of heart, amiable as that quality may be, +amounts to a crime in the man intrusted with the direction of public +affairs at critical moments. Lee's devotion to duty and great respect +for obedience seem at times to have made him too subservient to those +charged with the civil government of his country. He carried out too +literally the orders of those whom the Confederate constitution made +his superiors, although he must have known them to be entirely +ignorant of the science of war. He appears to have forgotten that he +was the great revolutionary chief engaged in a great revolutionary +war, that he was no mere leader in a political struggle of parties +carried on within the lines of an old, well-established form of +government. It was very clear to many at the time, as it will be +commonly acknowledged now, that the South could only hope to win under +the rule of a military dictator. If General Washington had had a Mr. +Davis over him, could he have accomplished what he did? It will, I am +sure, be news to many that General Lee was given the command over all +the Confederate armies a month or two only before the final collapse; +and that the military policy of the South was all throughout the war +dictated by Mr. Davis as President of the Confederate States. Lee had +no power to reward soldiers or to promote officers. It was Mr. Davis +who selected <span class="pagenum"><a id="page371" name="page371"></a>(p. 371)</span> the men to command divisions and armies. Is it +to be supposed that Cromwell, King William the Third, Washington, or +Napoleon could have succeeded in the revolutions with which their +names are identified, had they submitted to the will and authority of +a politician as Lee did to Mr. Davis?</p> + +<p>Lee was opposed to the final defence of Richmond that was urged upon +him for political, not military, reasons. It was a great strategic +error. General Grant's large army of men was easily fed and its daily +losses easily recruited from a near base; whereas if it had been drawn +far into the interior after the little army with which Lee endeavored +to protect Richmond, its fighting strength would have been largely +reduced by the detachments required to guard a long line of +communications through a hostile country. It is profitless, however, +to speculate upon what might have been, and the military student must +take these campaigns as they were carried out. No fair estimate of Lee +as a general can be made by a simple comparison of what he achieved +with that which Napoleon, Wellington, or Von Moltke accomplished, +unless due allowance is made for the difference in the nature of the +American armies, and of the armies commanded and encountered by those +great leaders. They were at the head of perfectly organized, +thoroughly trained, and well disciplined troops; while Lee's soldiers, +though gallant and daring to a fault, lacked the military cohesion and +efficiency, the trained company leaders, and the educated staff which +are only to be found in a regular army of long standing. A trial heat +between two jockeys mounted on untrained horses may be interesting, +but no one would ever quote the performance as an instance of great +racing speed.</p> + +<p>Who shall ever fathom the depth of Lee's anguish when the bitter end +came, and when, beaten down by sheer force of numbers, and by +absolutely nothing else, he found himself obliged to surrender! The +handful of starving men remaining with him laid down their arms, and +the proud Confederacy ceased to be. Surely the crushing, maddening +anguish of awful sorrow is only known to the leader who has so failed +to accomplish some lofty, some noble aim for which he has long striven +with might and main, with heart and soul, in the interests of king or +of country. A smiling face, a cheerful mien, may conceal the sore +place from the eyes, possibly even from the knowledge of his friends; +but there is no healing for such a wound, which eats into the very +heart of him who has once received it.</p> + +<p>General Lee survived the destruction of the Confederacy for five +years, when, at the age of sixty-three, and surrounded by his family, +life ebbed slowly from him. Where else in history is a great man to be +found whose whole life was one such blameless record of duty nobly +done? It was consistent in all its parts, complete in all its +relations. The most perfect gentleman of a State long celebrated for +its chivalry, he was just, gentle, and generous, and childlike in the +simplicity of his character. Never elated with success, he bore +reverse, and at last, complete overthrow, with dignified resignation. +Throughout this long and cruel struggle his was all the +responsibility, but not the power that should have accompanied it. The +fierce light which beats upon the throne is as that of a <span class="pagenum"><a id="page372" name="page372"></a>(p. 372)</span> +rush-light in comparison with the electric glare which our newspapers +now focus upon the public man in Lee's position. His character has +been subjected to that ordeal, and who can point to any spot upon it? +His clear, sound judgment, personal courage, untiring activity, genius +for war, and absolute devotion to his State mark him out as a public +man, as a patriot to be forever remembered by all Americans. His +amiability of disposition, deep sympathy with those in pain or sorrow, +his love for children, nice sense of personal honor, and genial +courtesy endeared him to all his friends. I shall never forget his +sweet, winning smile, nor his clear, honest eyes, that seemed to look +into your brain. I have met many of the great men of my time, but Lee +alone impressed me with the feeling that I was in the presence of a +man who was cast in a grander mould, and made of different and of +finer metal than all other men. He is stamped upon my memory as a +being apart and superior to all others in every way: a man with whom +none I ever knew, and very few of whom I have read, are worthy to be +classed. I have met but two men who realize my ideas of what a true +hero should be: my friend Charles Gordon, was one, General Lee was the +other.</p> + +<hr> + +<p>The following beautiful letter was written by Lee to his son in +1860:<a id="footnotetag11" name="footnotetag11"></a><a href="#footnote11" title="Go to footnote 11"><span class="small">[11]</span></a></p> + +<p>"You must study to be frank with the world; frankness is the child of +honesty and courage. Say just what you mean to do on every occasion, +and take it for granted you mean to do right. If a friend asks a +favor, you should grant it, if it is reasonable; if not, tell him +plainly why you cannot; you will wrong him and wrong yourself by +equivocation of any kind. Never do a wrong thing to make a friend or +keep one; the man who requires you to do so, is dearly purchased at a +sacrifice. Deal kindly, but firmly, with all your classmates; you will +find it the policy which wears best. Above all, do not appear to +others what you are not. If you have any fault to find with anyone, +tell him, not others, of what you complain; there is no more dangerous +experiment than that of undertaking to be one thing before a man's +face and another behind his back. We should live, act, and say, +nothing to the injury of anyone. It is not only best as a matter of +principle, but it is the path to peace and honor.</p> + +<p>"In regard to duty, let me, in conclusion of this hasty letter, inform +you that, nearly a hundred years ago, there was a day of remarkable +gloom and darkness—still known as 'the dark day'—a day when the +light of the sun was slowly extinguished, as if by an eclipse. The +Legislature of Connecticut was in session, and as its members saw the +unexpected and unaccountable darkness coming on, they shared in the +general awe and terror. It was supposed by many that the last day—the +day of judgment—had come. Someone, in the consternation of the hour, +moved an adjournment. Then there arose an old Puritan legislator, +Davenport, of Stamford, and said that, if the last day had come, he +desired to be <span class="pagenum"><a id="page373" name="page373"></a>(p. 373)</span> found at his place doing his duty, and +therefore, moved that candles be brought in, so that the House could +proceed with its duty. There was quietness in that man's mind, the +quietness of heavenly wisdom and inflexible willingness to obey +present duty. Duty, then, is the sublimest word in our language. Do +your duty in all things, like the old Puritan. You cannot do more, you +should never wish to do less. Never let me and your mother wear one +gray hair for any lack of duty on your part."<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + + +<h3>THOMAS JONATHAN JACKSON<a id="footnotetag12" name="footnotetag12"></a><a href="#footnote12" title="Go to footnote 12"><span class="small">[12]</span></a><br> +By <span class="smcap">Marion Harland</span><br> +(1826-1863)</h3> + +<a id="img045" name="img045"></a> +<div class="floatleft"> +<img src="images/img045.jpg" width="250" height="300" alt="Thomas Jackson." title=""> +</div> + +<p>In 1842 a young man from Lewis County, Va., "dropped" discouraged out +of his class in West Point, after a few weeks' trial of drill and +curriculum, and returned home.</p> + +<p>The story of his defeat was canvassed freely in the neighborhood +smithy, the head-quarters of provincial gossip, and was under +discussion one May day while Cummins Jackson, a planter and bachelor, +waited to have a horse shod.</p> + +<p>"There's a chance for Tom Jackson!" observed the blacksmith, with +friendly officiousness.</p> + +<p>The early life of Cummins Jackson's nephew was well known to speaker +and bystanders. Left an orphan at seven years of age, he, with his +brother, older than himself, and their little sister, were thrown upon +the charity of uncles and aunts. "Tom" was accounted steady and +industrious, yet there was a serious break in his record. The brothers +had run away to seek their fortunes in company when Warren was +fourteen, Tom but twelve years old, going down the Ohio to the +Mississippi and maintaining themselves by cutting wood for passing +steamboats until disabled by malarial fever. Thomas took the lead in +the juvenile prodigals' return to relatives and respectability, and +was kindly received by his bachelor uncle. Since then he had worked in +Cummins Jackson's mill and upon his farm as diligently as he sought to +"get an education" in the "old field school" nearest to his home.</p> + +<p>His imagination took fire at his uncle's report of the blacksmith's +suggestion. Armed with a letter of introduction signed by leading +citizens of the county, to the Congressman from the district, he went +in person to Washington and <span class="pagenum"><a id="page374" name="page374"></a>(p. 374)</span> through the kindness of the +representative obtained an interview with the Secretary of War.</p> + +<p>"Gruff and heroic with the grit of Old Hickory himself" was the +cabinet-officer's opinion of the country lad. He commended him to the +West Point Board of Examiners in terms that secured him admission to +the Military Academy in spite of certain grave deficiencies in his +early education.</p> + +<p>The story of the wrestle with these and other disabilities during the +next four years is interesting and instructive. Three extracts from a +list of rules for his personal conduct, set down at this time in a +private note-book, sound the keynote of his subsequent career:</p> + +<p>"<span class="italic">Sacrifice your life rather than your word.</span></p> + +<p>"<span class="italic">Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you +resolve.</span></p> + +<p>"<span class="italic">You may be whatever you resolve to be.</span>"</p> + +<p>He was respected by all his classmates, known and liked by a few. He +was too reserved by nature, too busy in practice, to be a general +favorite. His labors were unremitting, his recreations few and simple. +With no prevision of the destinies awaiting them, Jackson, McClellan, +A. T. Hill, Reno, Picket, Foster, and Maury, as beardless boys, +studied and were drilled side by side for four terms and were +graduated upon the same day. There were seventy in this remarkable +class, and the name of Thomas Jonathan Jackson stood seventeenth upon +the roll of merit.</p> + +<p>"If we had to stay here one year more, old Jack would be at the head," +the witnesses of the fierce ordeal of his West Point training used to +say.</p> + +<p>The class of '46 was ordered forthwith to the seat of war in Mexico. +Jackson's first engagement was the siege of Vera Cruz; his next the +battle of Cherubusco. The official report of this last mentions him +favorably. As second lieutenant, he was called upon early in the +action to take the place of the next in rank above him, the first +lieutenant having fallen in the charge. After the battle Jackson was +further promoted to the rank of brevet captain. His "devotion, +industry, talent, and gallantry" were noted officially after +Chapultepec, not only by his colonel, but by Generals Pillow and +Worth, and by the Commander-in-chief, Winfield Scott.</p> + +<p>What he afterward confessed as the "one wilful lie he ever told" is +thus reported by a brother-officer:</p> + +<p>"Lieutenant Jackson's section of Magruder's battery was subjected to a +plunging fire from the Castle of Chapultepec. Horses were killed or +disabled, and the men deserted the guns and sought shelter behind wall +or embankment. Lieutenant Jackson remained at the guns, walking back +and forth and kept saying, 'See, there is no danger; <span class="italic">I</span> am not hit!' +While standing with his legs wide apart, a cannon-ball passed between +them.... No other officer in the army in Mexico was promoted so often +for meritorious conduct, or made so great a stride in rank."</p> + +<p>After peace was declared in 1848, he was stationed for two years at +Fort Hamilton, and six months at Fort Meade in Florida; in 1851 he was +elected <span class="pagenum"><a id="page375" name="page375"></a>(p. 375)</span> Professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy and +Artillery Tactics in the Virginia Military Institute, situated in +Lexington, Va. In the decade succeeding this event, he was to the +casual eye the least striking figure in the group of professors who +taught the art of war in the beautiful mountain-girt "West Point of +the South."</p> + +<p>"I should have said that he was the least likely of our family to make +a noise in the world," said his sister-in-law in 1862, when the +popular voice was ranking him with Bayard, Roland, Sidney, and +Napoleon.</p> + +<p>"I knew that what I willed to do, I could do," he had said of his +recovery from physical weaknesses which made his acceptance of the +Lexington professorship of doubtful expediency, in the judgment of +friends.</p> + +<p>He never willed to be eloquent in the lecture-room or brilliant in +society in his life as teacher, church official, and neighbor there +was no evidence of the personal magnetism which was to make him the +soul and genius of the Confederate army. While carrying into every +detail of daily existence the military law of system and fidelity, he +was aggressive in nothing. The grave, quiet gentleman who was never +late in class, never negligent of the minutest professional duty, who +was always punctual at religious services, and never missed a meeting +of the Faculty of the V. M. I., or of the deacons of the Presbyterian +Church, was reckoned a good Christian and upright citizen, exemplary +in domestic and social relations—perhaps a trifle ultra-conscientious +in some particulars. But for the prevalency of orthodoxy in "the +Valley" he would have been considered eccentric in his religious views +and practice. He established a Sunday-school for the negroes and +superintended it in person; he gave a tenth of his substance to the +church; he "weighed his lightest utterances in the balances of the +sanctuary;" he would not pick up an apple in a neighbor's orchard +unless he had permission to take it; he never wrote or read letters on +Sunday, or mailed one that must travel on that day to reach its +destination; used neither tobacco, tea, nor coffee, and during the war +was "more afraid of a glass of wine than of Federal bullets." His +reverence for women was deep and unfeigned; he was gentleness itself +to little children; bowed down before the hoary head, and never sank +the lover in the husband. All that he had and all he was, belonged +first to <span class="smcap">God</span>, then to his wife.</p> + +<p>"His person was tall, erect, and muscular.... His bearing was +peculiarly English, and in the somewhat free society of America was +regarded as constrained. Every movement was quick and decisive; his +articulation was rapid, but distinct and emphatic, and often made the +impression of curtness. He practised a military exactness in all the +courtesies of society.... His brow was fair and expansive; his eyes +blue-gray, large, and expressive; his nose Roman and well-chiselled, +his cheeks were ruddy and sunburned; his mouth, firm and full of +meaning; his beard was brown"—is a pen-picture drawn by a brother +officer.</p> + +<p>On December 2, 1859, a corps of cadets was sent to Charlestown, Va., +to secure law and order during the execution of John Brown. Major +Jackson's <span class="pagenum"><a id="page376" name="page376"></a>(p. 376)</span> graphic description of the scene in a letter to +his wife contains this passage:</p> + +<p>"I was much impressed with the thought that before me stood a man in +the full vigor of health, who must in a few moments enter eternity. I +sent up the petition that he might be saved."</p> + +<p>An officer upon duty, he saw the terrible spectacle with Cromwellian +composure, but the man behind the impassive mask was upon his knees in +prayer for the human soul. Under date of January 21, 1860, he writes:</p> + +<p>"Viewing things at Washington from human appearances we have great +reason for alarm, but my trust is in God. I cannot think that He will +permit the madness of men to interfere so materially with the +Christian labors of this country at home and abroad."</p> + +<p>She who, of all the world, knew him best records:</p> + +<p>"He never was a secessionist and maintained that it was better for the +South to fight for her rights in the Union than out of it.... At this +time (March 16, 1861) he was strongly for the Union. At the same time, +he was a firm State's rights man."</p> + +<p>At dawn, April 21st, he received an order from the Governor of +Virginia to report to him immediately at Richmond, bringing the corps +of cadets with him. At 1 o'clock <span class="smcap">P.M.</span> he bade a final farewell to home +and Lexington.</p> + +<p>On June 4th he writes incidentally to his "Little One" from Harper's +Ferry:</p> + +<p>"The troops here have been divided into brigades, and the Virginia +forces under General Johnston constitute the First Brigade, of which I +am in command."</p> + +<p>This brigade was to share with the commanding officers the <span class="italic">sobriquet</span> +by which he is known better than under his real name. In the battery +attached to it were forty-nine graduates of colleges, besides nineteen +divinity students.</p> + +<p>From the first victory of Manassas (June 21, 1861), when General Bee +turned the tide of battle by shouting to the wavering lines, "Look at +Jackson, standing like a stone wall! Rally behind the Virginians!" to +the fatal blunder of May 2, 1863, "Stonewall" Jackson was the flashing +star that guided the Confederate armies to glorious success. His faith +in the God of armies was so blended with the conviction that he was a +chosen instrument in the Omnipotent hand to repel invasion and secure +an honorable peace for his beloved State, that his sublime confidence +infused officers and men.</p> + +<p>A fragment of a camp ballad, popular in 1862, will give a faint idea +of the enthusiasm excited by the "praying fighter:"</p> + +<p class="poem30"> +Silence! ground arms! kneel all! caps off!<br> +<span class="add1em">Old Blue-light's going to pray.</span><br> + Strangle the fool that dares to scoff!<br> +<span class="add1em">Attention! 'tis his way!</span><br> + Appealing from his native sod<br> +<span class="add1em">In <span class="italic">forma pauperis</span> to God;</span><br> + "Lay bare Thine arm—stretch forth Thy rod!<br> +<span class="add1em">Amen!" <span class="italic">That's</span> Stonewall's way.</span></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page377" name="page377"></a>(p. 377)</span> Love-letters to his "only sweetheart," written in camp, in +the saddle, from smoking battle-fields, red with the blood of the +slain, reveal a heart as tender as it was stout, faith that never +failed, the courage of a lion, the unspoiled simplicity of a child.</p> + +<p>Our last extract from war papers is significant of what might have +been but for the fall of the South's greatest chieftain at the most +critical period of the struggle:</p> + +<p>"Jackson alone stands forth the one advocate of 'ceaseless invasion' +as our 'safest hope,' the first conviction of his mind and a policy in +accord with Southern feeling."</p> + +<p>Mrs. Jackson joined her husband at his quarters near Fredericksburg, +bringing with her the baby-girl he had never seen until then, on April +20, 1863. On the 23d the little one, held in the proud father's arms, +was baptized by the regimental chaplain. Nine golden days followed the +reunion of the loving family before Hooker crossed the Rappahannock in +force. Wife and baby were hurried off to Richmond after "a hasty, +tender adieu," and the battle of Chancellorsville began.</p> + +<p>"From the opening of this campaign," says Jackson's biographer, "it +was observed that a wondrous change came over him. From the quiet, +patient, but arduous laborer over his daily tasks, he seemed +transformed into a thunderbolt of war."</p> + +<p>During the three awful days of Chancellorsville "the thunderbolt" +seemed omnipresent to the Confederate soldiers, oftenest in the +hottest of the fight, always where he was most sorely needed.</p> + +<p>On the afternoon of May 2d, in making his way from one part of the +field to another with his staff and couriers, they were mistaken for +Federal cavalry, and a volley of musketry was poured in upon them, +wounding General Jackson mortally.</p> + +<p>On the way to the rear a second disaster overtook the doomed band. A +Federal battery opened a fire across the road, and the devoted +attendants, laying the wounded chief in a shallow ditch, covered him +with their own bodies while the tempest of shot tore up the earth on +all sides of them. The danger was averted by a change in the range of +the guns, and the mournful march was resumed. Meeting a North Carolina +general who "feared," in reply to Jackson's eager questions, "that his +troops could not maintain their position," the hero spoke out, in the +accustomed tone of command:</p> + +<p>"You <span class="italic">must</span> hold your ground, General Pender! you must hold your +ground, sir!"</p> + +<p>It was his last military order. Some hours later he lay in his tent, +weak from pain and loss of blood, one arm gone, and his other wounds +dressed, when a messenger arrived in haste from General J. E. B. +Stuart, relating that he was contending against fearful odds in the +field, and asking for counsel from the friend who would never more +ride forth at his side. At the tidings of Stuart's extremity, General +Jackson aroused himself to interrogate the bearer of the message, +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page378" name="page378"></a>(p. 378)</span> query succeeding query with characteristic impetuosity. +Suddenly the martial fire faded ashily, his eyes dulled into +mournfulness.</p> + +<p>"I don't know. I can't tell—" as if groping for thought or words. +"Tell General Stuart to do what <span class="italic">he</span> thinks best."</p> + +<p>The "resolve" he and others had thought invincible, the iron nerve +that had not quivered in the shock of fifty engagements, failed him. +Yet he rallied as the cannonading jarred his bed and insisted upon +receiving reports from hour to hour.</p> + +<p>"Good! good!" he ejaculated, when told how his own brigade was +behaving. "The men will some day be proud to say to their children, 'I +was one of the Stonewall brigade.' The name belongs to them, not to +me. It was their steadfast heroism at First Manassas that earned it. +They are a noble body of men."</p> + +<p>His wife and child were recalled in season to be with him for two days +immediately preceding his death. Although confident up to the dawn of +his last day on earth, that <span class="smcap">God</span> still had work for him to do, and +would raise him up to do it, he received the news of his approaching +dissolution with perfect calmness.</p> + +<p>"He preferred the will of <span class="smcap">God</span> to his own;" he "would be infinitely the +gainer by the translation from earth to heaven." He gave his wife +instructions as to his burial and her future home; smiled radiantly, +in murmuring "Little darling! sweet one!" as the baby he had named for +his mother was lifted for the father's last kiss.</p> + +<p>"Jackson must recover," General Lee had exclaimed upon hearing of his +condition. "God will not take him from us now that we need him so +much. Say to him that he has lost his left arm, <span class="italic">I my right!</span>"</p> + +<p>Men who had not blenched when brought face to face with death that +menaced themselves, bowed to the earth, weeping like women, as mortal +weakness stole upon the strong right arm of the Confederacy. Without +the tent "the whole army was praying for him," while incoherent +sentences of command and inarticulate murmurings fell from his +lips—fainter with each utterance. The watchers thought speech and +consciousness gone forever, when the voice that had pealed like the +blast of Roland in charge and rally, sounded through the hushed +chamber, sweet, distinct, and full of cheer, but in dreamy +inflections:</p> + +<p><span class="italic">"Let us cross over the river and rest under the shade of the trees!</span>"</p> + +<p>Forced march, and midnight raid, and mad rush of battle were over. +Victorious Greatheart slept upon the field.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<a id="sig009" name="sig009"></a> +<div class="right"> +<img src="images/sig009.jpg" width="300" height="57" alt="Author signature." title=""> +</div> + +<a id="img046" name="img046"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/img046.jpg" width="400" height="574" alt="" title=""> +<p>Jackson at Chancellorsville.</p> +</div> + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page379" name="page379"></a>(p. 379)</span> DAVID GLASCOE FARRAGUT<br> +By <span class="smcap">L. P. Brockett, A.M.</span><br> +(1801-1870)</h3> + +<a id="img047" name="img047"></a> +<div class="floatleft"> +<img src="images/img047.jpg" width="250" height="300" alt="David Farragut." title=""> +</div> + +<p>Heroes have not been wanting in the history of maritime warfare, at +any time in these last three hundred years. Holland points with pride +to her gallant DeRuyter and Van Tromp, who made the little republic +among the marshes and canals that yield tribute to the Zuyder Zee, +famous the world over. England glories in her Blake, her Collingwood, +and most of all, in her Nelson, the model naval hero of all her +history; and we cannot suppress our admiration of the daring of the +reckless John Paul Jones, the matchless patriotism of Lawrence, and +the gallant bearing and extraordinary success of Perry, Bainbridge, +Decatur, and the elder Porter; while in the War of the Rebellion the +heroic Foote, Dupont, Winslow, D. D. Porter, and Rogers, covered their +names with glory.</p> + +<p>But among all these illustrious names there is none which so +thoroughly awakens our enthusiasm, or so readily calls forth our +applause, as that of Farragut. With all of Nelson's courage and +daring, he had more than his executive ability and fertility of +resource, a wider and more generous intellectual culture, and a more +unblemished, <span class="italic">naïve</span>, frank, and gentle character.</p> + +<p>He bore in his veins some traces of the best blood of Spain, his +father, George Farragut, having been a native of Citadella, the +capital of the island of Minorca, and a descendant of an ancient and +honorable Catalonian family. The father came to this country in 1776, +and united most heartily in our struggle for independence, attaining +during the war the rank of major. After the conclusion of the war, +Major Farragut married Miss Elizabeth Shine, of North Carolina, a +descendant of the old Scotch family of McIven, and settled as a farmer +at Campbell's Station, near Knoxville, Tenn. Here, on July 5, 1801, +his illustrious son was born. The father seems to have been not +altogether contented with a farmer's life in that mountainous region, +for not long after we hear of him as a sailing-master in the navy, and +an intimate friend of the father of Commodore David D. Porter, who +then held a similar rank. Young Farragut inherited his father's love +for the sea, and though brought up so far inland, among the Cumberland +Mountains, he had hardly reached the age of nine and a half years, +when <span class="pagenum"><a id="page380" name="page380"></a>(p. 380)</span> the longing for a sailor's life possessed him so +strongly, that his father consented; and after some little delay, a +midshipman's warrant was procured for him.</p> + +<p>His first cruise was under the command of Captain (then +master-commandant) Porter, who, in July, 1812, was promoted to the +rank of captain, and soon after sailed in the Essex for the South +American coast and the Pacific. To this famous frigate the young +midshipman was ordered before her departure, and he remained on her +through the eventful two years that followed, when she drove the +British commerce out of the Pacific. When on March 28, 1814, the +British frigate Phœbe, thirty-six guns, and sloop-of-war Cherub, +twenty-eight guns, without scruple attacked the Essex in the harbor of +Valparaiso, in violation of the rights of a neutral nation, there +ensued one of the fiercest naval battles on record. Though fighting +against hopeless odds, the two British vessels having twice the number +of guns and men of the Essex, Commodore Porter, with the reckless +daring which was so marked a trait of his character, refused to strike +his colors till his ship had been three or four times on fire, and was +in a sinking condition, with her rigging shot away, the flames +threatening her magazine, and 152, out of her crew of 255, killed, +wounded, or missing. The battle had lasted two and a half hours. On +his surrender, the Essex Junior, a whaling-ship which he had converted +into a sloop-of-war, but which had been unable to take any part in the +battle, was sent home with the prisoners on parole. The young +midshipman, then a boy under thirteen, was in the hottest of the +fight, and was slightly wounded during the action. Before the loss of +the Essex, he had served as acting-lieutenant on board the Atlantic, +an armed prize.</p> + +<p>On his return to the United States, Commodore Porter placed him at +school at Chester, Pa., where he was taught, among other studies, the +elements of military and naval tactics; but in 1816 he was again +afloat and on board the flag-ship of the Mediterranean squadron, where +he had the good fortune to meet in the chaplain, Rev. Charles Folsom, +an instructor to whom he became ardently attached, and to whose +teachings he attributed much of his subsequent usefulness and success.</p> + +<p>This pleasant period of instruction passed all too quickly, and the +boy, now grown to man's estate, after some further service in the +Mediterranean, was, on January 1, 1821, at the age of nineteen and a +half years, promoted to the rank of lieutenant, and ordered to duty on +the West India station. In 1824 he was assigned to duty at the Norfolk +navy-yard; and with the exception of a two years' cruise in the +Vandalia, on the Brazil station, remained at Norfolk till 1833. Here +he married a lady of highly respectable family, and during the long +years of suffering through which she was called to pass, from a +hopeless physical malady, he proved one of the most tender and +affectionate of husbands, never wearying of administering all the +relief and comfort to the sufferer in his power. When death at last +terminated her protracted distress, he mourned her tenderly and long. +He subsequently married another lady of Norfolk, Miss Virginia Loyall, +the daughter of one of the most eminent citizens of that city.</p> + +<p>In 1860 he had spent nearly nineteen years afloat—eighteen years and +four <span class="pagenum"><a id="page381" name="page381"></a>(p. 381)</span> months on shore duty, and ten years and ten months +either waiting orders or on leave of absence. Forty-eight of his +fifty-eight years had been spent in the naval service.</p> + +<p>In April, 1861, came the rebellion. Captain Farragut was at his home +in Norfolk, surrounded by those who were sympathizers with the +rebellion, and who were already maturing plans for the seizure of the +Government property and its conversion to rebel uses. No more loyal +heart ever beat than his, and in frank and manly terms he denounced +the whole proceedings of the traitors, and gave expression to his +abhorrence of them. This roused all the hatred of the plotters of +treason, and they told him at once, in tones of menace, that he could +not be permitted to live there if he held such sentiments. "Very +well," was his prompt reply, "then I will go where I can live and hold +such sentiments." Returning to his home, he informed his family that +they must leave Norfolk for New York in a few hours. They immediately +made their preparations, and the next morning, April 18, 1861, bid +adieu to Norfolk. The Navy Department was, however, anxious to give +him employment, and in default of anything else he served for a time +as a member of the Naval Retiring Board, which shelved the incompetent +officers of the navy, and promoted the active, loyal, and deserving.</p> + +<p>Meantime, the Government had resolved on the capture of New Orleans, +and entered with zeal upon the work of fitting out a squadron, as well +as an army, for its reduction. The squadron was to consist of a fleet +of armed steamers, and twenty bomb-schooners, each carrying gigantic +mortars, fifteen-inch shells.</p> + +<p>The bomb-fleet was to be under the command of Commander David D. +Porter, but he was to report to Flag-officer Farragut, who was to have +charge of the entire squadron. Selecting the Hartford as his +flag-ship, and having made all possible preparations for his +expedition, Flag-officer Farragut received his orders on January 20, +1862, and on February 3d sailed from Hampton Roads. Arriving at Ship +Island on February 20th, he organized the West Gulf Blockading +Squadron, and in spite of difficulties of all sorts—the delay in +forwarding coal, naval stores, hospital stores, ammunition, etc., the +labor of getting vessels drawing twenty-two feet over the bars at Pass +L'Outre and Southwest Pass, where the depth was but twelve and fifteen +feet, the ignorance and stupidity of some of the officers, and every +other obstacle he had to encounter—made steady progress. The +difficulties were not all surmounted until April 18th, when the +bombardment of Fort Jackson, the lowermost of the two forts defending +the passage of the Mississippi, was commenced. These forts were +seventy-five miles below New Orleans and possessed great strength. A +continuous bombardment was maintained for six days, by which the forts +were considerably damaged, but they still held out stoutly. A heavy +iron chain had been stretched across the river, supported by large +logs, to obstruct the passage of vessels, and was placed at a point +where the fire of the two forts could be most effectively +concentrated. Above this chain lay the rebel fleet of sixteen gunboats +and two iron-clad rams. Along the banks of the river were land +batteries, mounting several guns each.</p> + +<p>Finding that the forts were not likely to yield to the bombardment, +Flag-officer <span class="pagenum"><a id="page382" name="page382"></a>(p. 382)</span> Farragut called a council of war, and after +hearing their opinions, which were somewhat discordant, issued his +general order of April 20th, in which the spirit of the hero gleams +out. This was his language: "The flag-officer having heard all the +opinions expressed by the different commanders, is of the opinion +<span class="italic">that whatever is to be done will have to be done quickly</span>. When, in +the opinion of the flag-officer, the propitious time has arrived, the +signal will be made to weigh, and advance to the conflict.... He will +make the signal for close action, <span class="italic">and abide the result—conquer or be +conquered</span>."</p> + +<p>After further and severe bombardment of the forts, the flag-officer +gave notice to the steam-vessels of the squadron, of his determination +to break the chain and run past the forts, engage the rebel fleet, and +having defeated it, ascend the river to New Orleans, and capture that +city. It was a most daring movement. The chain had previously been +broken, and the mortar-vessels moved up and anchored ready to pour in +their fire as soon as the forts should open. The steam-fleet moved up +in two columns, one led by Flag-officer Farragut in person, in the +Hartford, the other by Captain Theodorus Bailey, as second in command, +in the Cayuga. The left column (Farragut's) was composed of the +Hartford, Brooklyn, Richmond, Sciota, Iroquois, Kennebec, Pinola, +Itasca, and Winona; the right (Bailey's), of the Cayuga, Pensacola, +Mississippi, Oneida, Varuna, Katahdin, Kineo, and Wissahickon. The +right column was to engage Fort St. Philip; the left, Fort Jackson. +The fleet were fairly abreast of the forts before they were +discovered, and fire opened upon them; but from that moment the firing +was terrible, and the smoke, settling down like a pall upon the river, +produced intense darkness, and the ships could only aim at the flash +from the forts, the forts at the flash from the ships. A fire-raft, +pushed by the ram Manassas against the flag-ship (the Hartford), set +it on fire, and at the same instant it ran aground; but by the prompt +and disciplined exertions of the men the flame was extinguished in a +few minutes and the ship got afloat, never ceasing its fire upon the +enemy. At times the gunboats passed so near the forts as to be able to +throw their broadsides of shrapnel, grape, and canister with most +destructive force into their interior; and the forts, in the endeavor +to depress their guns sufficiently to strike the vessels, lost their +shot, which rolled into the ditches. They were nearly past the forts +when the rebel fleet came down upon them, the iron-clad ram Manassas +among them. Several of these gunboats were iron-clad about the bow, +and had iron beaks or spurs. The Cayuga, Captain Bailey's flag-ship, +was the first to encounter these; and soon after the Varuna, commanded +by Captain Boggs, found itself in a nest of rebel steamers, and moved +forward, delivering its broadsides, port and starboard, with fearful +precision, into its antagonists, four of which were speedily disabled +and sunk by its fire. The Varuna was finally attacked by the Morgan +and another rebel gunboat, both iron-clad at the bow, which crushed in +her sides; but crowding her steam, she drew them on, while still fast, +and poured broadsides into both, which drove them ashore crippled and +in flames. Running his own steamer on shore as speedily as possible, +the gallant Boggs fought her as long as his guns were out of water, +and then brought off his <span class="pagenum"><a id="page383" name="page383"></a>(p. 383)</span> men, who were taken on board the +Oneida and other gunboats of the fleet. Several of the gunboats were +considerably injured, but none of them lost except the Varuna. The +Itasca, Winona, and Kennebec were disabled and obliged to fall back. +Thirteen of the seventeen vessels composing Flag-officer Farragut's +squadron were able to pass in safety these forts, and had defeated a +rebel fleet, destroying thirteen of their gunboats and rams, and the +iron-clad Manassas, and compelling the remainder to shelter themselves +under the guns of the forts. The entire loss of the Union squadron was +but 36 killed and 135 wounded.</p> + +<p>The gallant flag-officer now ascended the river, encountering slight +opposition from the Chalmette batteries, about three miles below New +Orleans; but they were silenced in twenty minutes, and at noon of +April 25th, he lay in front of the city, and demanded its surrender. +Four days later the forts were surrendered to Captain Porter, and +General Butler came up the river to arrange for landing his troops, +and taking possession of the conquered city. Meantime, Farragut had +ascended the river above the city to Carrolton, where had been erected +some strong works to oppose the progress of Flag-officer Foote, should +he descend the river. These, on the approach of the gunboats, were +abandoned, and their guns spiked. They were destroyed.</p> + +<p>New Orleans being safely in the possession of the Union forces, +Flag-officer Farragut ascended the Mississippi, and on June 27th ran +his vessels safely past the rebel batteries at Vicksburg, and +communicated with Flag-officer Davis, then commanding the Mississippi +squadron, and arranged for a joint attack upon Vicksburg. The attack +failed, because the bluffs at Vicksburg were too high to be +effectively bombarded by the gunboats, and the capture of the city +required the co-operation of a land force. He therefore repassed the +batteries in safety on July 15th, and descending the river, made +Pensacola the head-quarters of his squadron. On July 11th, the rank of +rear-admiral, having been created in accordance with the +recommendation of a committee of Congress, Captain Farragut was +advanced to that rank, and placed first on the list for his +meritorious conduct in the capture of New Orleans. He also received +the thanks of both houses of Congress. In the autumn of 1862 he +directed the naval attacks on Corpus Christi, Sabine Pass, and +Galveston, which resulted in the capture of those points. In his +duties as the commander of a blockading and guarding squadron, there +was much of detail: attacks of guerillas along the river shores, to be +parried and punished; surprises of the weaker vessels of the squadron +to be chastised and revenged; expeditions against rebel towns on or +near the coast, to be aided and sustained; and careful lookout to be +kept for blockade-runners, who sought their opportunities to slip into +the ports of Mobile, Galveston, and Aransas. These occupied much of +his time during the autumn and winter of 1862-63.</p> + +<p>The admiral had long desired to attack the defences of Mobile, and +thus effectually check the blockade-running, which it was impossible +wholly to prevent while that port was left unmolested. But it was not +until August 5, 1864, that the assault was finally made.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page384" name="page384"></a>(p. 384)</span> The fleet which was to take part in the attack consisted of +fourteen sloops-of-war and gunboats, and four iron-clad monitors. The +admiral arranged them for the attack as follows: the Brooklyn and +Octorara were lashed together, the Brooklyn being on the starboard +side, nearest Fort Morgan—the Brooklyn being, much against the +admiral's wishes, allowed the lead; next the Hartford and Metacomet, +followed by the Richmond and Port Royal, the Lackawanna and Seminole, +the Monongahela and Kennebec, the Ossipee and Itasca, and the Oneida +and Galena. The four monitors were arranged in the following order, to +the right or starboard of the gunboats: the Tecumseh, Commander T. R. +M. Craven, taking the lead, and followed by the Manhattan, Commander +Nicholson; the Winnebago, Commander Stevens; and the Chickasaw, +Lieutenant-commander Perkins.</p> + +<p>The rebels, in addition to three forts all manned with large +garrisons, had a squadron consisting of the iron-clad ram Tennessee, +regarded by them as the most formidable armed vessel ever constructed, +and three powerful gunboats, the Selma, Morgan, and Gaines.</p> + +<p>The fleet steamed steadily up the channel, the Tecumseh firing the +first shot at 6.47 <span class="smcap">A.M.</span> The rebels opened upon them from Fort Morgan +at six minutes past seven, and the Brooklyn replied, after which the +action became general. The Brooklyn now paused, and for good +reason—the Tecumseh, near her, careened suddenly and sank almost +instantly, having struck and exploded a torpedo; and her gallant +commander and nearly all her crew sank with her.</p> + +<p>Directing the commander of the Metacomet to send a boat instantly to +rescue her crew, Admiral Farragut determined to take the lead in his +own flag-ship, the Hartford, and putting on all steam, led off through +a track which had been lined with torpedoes by the rebels; but he +says, "Believing that, from their having been some time in the water, +they were probably innocuous, I determined to take the chance of their +explosion."</p> + +<p>Turning to the northwestward to clear the middle ground, the fleet +were enabled to keep such a broadside fire on the batteries of Fort +Morgan as to prevent them from doing much injury. After they had +passed the fort, about ten minutes before eight o'clock, the ram +Tennessee dashed out at the Hartford; but the admiral took no further +notice of her than to return her fire. The rebel gunboats were ahead, +and annoyed the fleet by a raking fire, and the admiral detached his +consort, the Metacomet, ordering her commander, Lieutenant-commander +Jouett, to go in pursuit of the Selma, and the Octorara was detached +to pursue one of the others. Lieutenant-commander Jouett captured the +Selma, but the other two escaped under the protection of the guns of +Fort Morgan, though the Gaines was so much injured that she was run +ashore and destroyed. The combat which followed between the Tennessee +and the Union fleet, and resulted in the surrender of that formidable +iron-clad vessel, is best described in the admiral's own words:</p> + +<p>"Having passed the forts and dispersed the enemy's gunboats, I had +ordered most of the vessels to anchor, when I perceived the ram +Tennessee standing up <span class="pagenum"><a id="page385" name="page385"></a>(p. 385)</span> for this ship. This was at forty-five +minutes past eight. I was not long in comprehending his intentions to +be the destruction of the flag-ship. The monitors and such of the +wooden vessels as I thought best adapted for the purpose, were +immediately ordered to attack the ram, not only with their guns, but +bows on at full speed; and then began one of the fiercest naval +combats on record.</p> + +<p>"The Monongahela, Commander Strong, was the first vessel that struck +her, and in doing so carried away her own iron prow, together with the +cutwater, without apparently doing her adversary much injury. The +Lackawanna, Captain Marchand, was the next vessel to strike her, which +she did at full speed; but though her stem was cut and crushed to the +plank-ends for the distance of three feet above the water's edge to +five feet below, the only perceptible effect on the ram was to give +her a heavy list.</p> + +<p>"The Hartford was the third vessel that struck her; but, as the +Tennessee quickly shifted her helm, the blow was a glancing one, and, +as she rasped along our side, we poured our whole port broadside of +nine-inch solid shot within ten feet of her casement.</p> + +<p>"The monitors worked slowly, but delivered their fire as opportunity +offered. The Chickasaw succeeded in getting under her stern, and a +fifteen-inch shot from the Manhattan broke through her iron plating +and heavy wooden backing, though the missile itself did not enter the +vessel.</p> + +<p>"Immediately after the collision with the flag-ship, I directed +Captain Drayton to bear down for the ram again. He was doing so at +full speed, when, unfortunately, the Lackawanna ran into the Hartford +just forward of the mizzenmast, cutting her down to within two feet of +the water's edge. We soon got clear again, however, and were fast +approaching our adversary, when she struck her colors and ran up the +white flag.</p> + +<p>"She was at this time sore beset; the Chickasaw was pounding away at +her stern, the Ossipee was approaching her at full speed, and the +Monongahela, Lackawanna, and this ship were bearing down upon her, +determined upon her destruction. Her smoke-stack had been shot away, +her steering-chains were gone, compelling a resort to her +relieving-tackles, and several of her port shutters were jammed. +Indeed, from the time the Hartford struck her, until her surrender, +she never fired a gun. As the Ossipee, Commander Le Roy, was about to +strike her, she hoisted the white flag, and that vessel immediately +stopped her engine, though not in time to avoid a glancing blow.</p> + +<p>"During this contest with the rebel gunboats and the ram Tennessee, +which terminated by her surrender at ten o'clock, we lost many more +men than from the fire of the batteries of Fort Morgan."</p> + +<p>The rebel Admiral Buchanan was severely wounded, and subsequently lost +a leg by amputation. Admiral Farragut, as humane in his feelings +toward a wounded foe as he was gallant and daring in action, +immediately addressed a note to Brigadier-General Page, the commander +of Fort Morgan, asking permission to send the rebel admiral and the +other wounded rebel officers by ship, under flag of truce, to the +Union hospitals at Pensacola, where they could be <span class="pagenum"><a id="page386" name="page386"></a>(p. 386)</span> tenderly +cared for. This request was granted, and the Metacomet despatched with +them.</p> + +<p>The admiral had stationed himself "in an elevated position in the main +rigging, near the top," a place of great peril, but one which enabled +him to see much better than if he had been on deck, the progress of +the battle; and from thence he witnessed, and testified with great +gratification to the admirable conduct of the men at their guns, +throughout the fleet; and, in this connection, gives utterance to a +sentiment which shows most conclusively his sympathy and tenderness: +"Although," he says, "no doubt their hearts sickened, as mine did, +when their shipmates were struck down beside them, yet there was not a +moment's hesitation to lay their comrades aside and spring again to +their deadly work."</p> + +<p>It is said that at the moment of the collision between the Hartford +and Lackawanna, when the men called to each other to save the admiral, +Farragut, finding the ship would float at least long enough to serve +his purpose, and thinking of that only, called out to his +fleet-captain, "Go on with speed! Ram her again!"</p> + +<p>The results of this victory were the destruction of the rebel fleet; +the capture of the armored ship Tennessee, and of 230 rebel officers +and men; the abandonment on the next day of Fort Powell, with 18 guns; +the surrender on the 8th of Fort Gaines, with 56 officers, 818 men, +and 26 guns; and on August 23d, after a further bombardment of +twenty-four hours, of Fort Morgan, with 60 guns and 600 prisoners. By +these captures the port of Mobile was hermetically sealed against +blockade-runners, and a serious blow given to the rebel cause.</p> + +<p>Rear-admiral Farragut remained in command of the West Gulf squadron +till November, 1864, when he requested leave of absence, and was +called to Washington for consultation in regard to future naval +operations. Soon after the opening of Congress, a resolution of thanks +to him for his brilliant victory at Mobile was passed, and the rank of +vice-admiral, corresponding to that of lieutenant-general in the army, +was created, and on January 1, 1865, David Glascoe Farragut promoted +to it. This appointment made him the virtual chief commander of the +naval forces of the United States.</p> + +<p>The West Gulf blockading squadron, during all the time Admiral +Farragut was in command of it, had had more fighting and less prizes +than any other blockading squadron on the coast; and while Admirals +Dupont, Lee, Porter, and Dahlgren had accumulated immense fortunes by +their shares of prize-money, Admiral Farragut had received little +beyond his regular pay. The merchants of New York, understanding this, +and recognizing the great services he had rendered to commerce and to +the nation, subscribed the sum of fifty thousand dollars, which was +presented to him in United States 7.30 Treasury notes, in January, +1865, in testimony of their appreciation of his ability and success as +a naval commander. Until 1866 the rank of vice-admiral was the highest +known in the navy In July of that year the office of admiral was +specially created and bestowed on Farragut. He saw no further +important service, but died quietly at Portsmouth, N. H., August 14, +1870.</p> + +<a id="img048" name="img048"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/img048.jpg" width="600" height="379" alt="" title=""> +<p>Farragut at Mobile Bay.</p> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page387" name="page387"></a>(p. 387)</span> Even the English <span class="italic">Army and Navy Gazette</span> speaks of Admiral +Farragut as "the doughty admiral whose feats of arms place him at the +head of his profession, and certainly constitute him the first naval +officer of the day, as far as actual reputation won by skill, courage, +and hard fighting goes."<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + + +<h3>DAVID DIXON PORTER<br> +(1814-1891)</h3> + +<a id="img049" name="img049"></a> +<div class="floatleft"> +<img src="images/img049.jpg" width="250" height="317" alt="David Porter." title=""> +</div> + +<p>Among the coincidences of naval and military command in the war for +the Union, the association of the names of Farragut and Porter, in the +important series of operations on the Mississippi, has not escaped +attention.</p> + +<p>The former, as the reader has seen in the previous sketch, was +introduced to the service in his childhood, under the care and +protection of Commodore David Porter, and boy as he was, fully shared +the adventures and perils of his famous cruise in the Pacific. Nearly +fifty years after that event Captain Farragut, in command of the +Department of the Gulf, entered the Mississippi in concert with the +son of his old commander of the Essex, to vindicate the national honor +by the restoration of New Orleans to the Union—a service which was to +prove the ability of both officers, and lead them to the highest rank +known to the naval service of the United States. Looking into the +future, Commodore Porter, the hero of the War of 1812, would hardly +have dreamt that the "boy midshipman, who had been introduced to him +at New Orleans, would, with two of his own sons, at the end of half a +century, receive the highest honors of their country, the reward of +the most arduous and perilous services against a domestic foe on the +Mississippi."</p> + +<p>Of these sons of Commodore Porter, thus distinguished in this field of +duty, William D. Porter, the elder, on more than one occasion, in +command of the gunboat Essex, recalled not merely the name of his +father's vessel, but the courage and patriotism, the spirit and +success which had given the old ship her reputation. The younger, +David D. Porter, the subject of this notice, born in Philadelphia, +entered the navy as midshipman in the year 1829. His first cruise was +in the Mediterranean, under Commodore Biddle, till 1831. After a +year's leave <span class="pagenum"><a id="page388" name="page388"></a>(p. 388)</span> of absence, he returned to that station, which +has ever proved, in its liberal intercourse with the men of other +nations, and its undying associations of nature and art, a most +important school in the education of the young naval officers of the +United States. Having passed his examination in 1835, young Porter was +attached to the coast survey service from 1836 to 1841, when he was +promoted to a lieutenancy and was ordered to the frigate Congress, in +which he sailed for four years on the Mediterranean and South American +stations. In 1845, we find him attached to the National Observatory at +Washington in special service. During the Mexican war which succeeded, +he was in charge of the naval rendezvous at New Orleans, was +subsequently again employed on the coast survey, and from 1849 to 1853 +was, by permission of the department, in command of the California +mail steamers Panama and Georgia, running from New York to Aspinwall, +a rising commercial service of national importance, to which his +experience and personal character were of great value. After this he +was in various home services, till 1861, when he was promoted to the +rank of commander, and placed in command of the steam-sloop Powhatan, +in which he joined the Gulf Blockading squadron off Pensacola. He had +thus, at the outbreak of the Rebellion, been thirty-two years in the +service, over nineteen of which had been spent at sea and nine on +shore duty.</p> + +<p>A special service of great importance was presently intrusted to him. +When in the beginning of 1862, an expedition was set on foot to open +the Mississippi River to New Orleans, he was assigned to the command +of a fleet of bomb-vessels to co-operate with the squadron of Captain +Farragut in that enterprise—a service which he carried out with +distinguished ability.</p> + +<p>After the capture of New Orleans, Commander Porter continued to +co-operate with Captain Farragut on the Mississippi, being engaged in +the movement on Vicksburg in May. In the following October he was +placed in command of the Mississippi squadron, with the rank of acting +rear-admiral, and when, in the ensuing year, operations were actively +resumed for the capture of Vicksburg, his squadron, in concert with +the victorious army of General Grant, was constantly employed in the +most hazardous and honorable service.</p> + +<p>It was he who forwarded to the Secretary of the Navy at Washington the +brief and authoritative announcement: "Sir, I have the honor to inform +you that Vicksburg surrendered to the United States forces on July +4th." This was the first bulletin to the country and to the world of +this memorable event. Simultaneously with the victory of General Mead +over Lee at Gettysburg, it was hailed as the crowning disaster to the +Rebellion. As a reward for his services on the Mississippi, Porter was +promoted to the full rank of rear-admiral.</p> + +<p>In December, 1864, he commanded the fleet which bombarded Fort Fisher. +After a terrific assault the fort was captured January 13, 1865, and +Wilmington, the last Confederate port, was closed. Porter received +another, his fourth, vote of thanks from Congress, and in 1866 was +made vice-admiral. On Farragut's death, in 1870, he was immediately +appointed to succeed him as admiral, and held the rank until his +death, on February 13, 1891.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page389" name="page389"></a>(p. 389)</span> GIUSEPPE GARIBALDI<br> +(1807-1882)</h3> + +<a id="img050" name="img050"></a> +<div class="floatleft"> +<img src="images/img050.jpg" width="250" height="265" alt="Guiseppe Garibaldi." title=""> +</div> + +<p>Garibaldi has not left the world without some account of his birth, +parentage, and early life. Not a little of his great, naïve, and +enthusiastic character may be studied in those Memoirs, of which his +eccentric friend, Alexander Dumas, published a free translation. He +was born July 22, 1807. He was a native of Nice, a city inhabited by a +mongrel race, but himself sprung from a purely Italian family The name +of Garibaldi, common enough throughout North Italy, betokens old +Lombard descent. He first saw light, as he states, in the very house +and room where, forty-nine years before, Masséna was born. His father, +Domenico, had come from Chiavari, in the Riviera di Levante; he gives +his mother's name Rosa Raguindo. Garibaldi's father and grandfather +were seamen, and he took to the sea as his native element, developing +great strength and skill as a swimmer, an accomplishment which enabled +him to save drowning men on several memorable occasions. For what book +learning he had he seems to have been indebted to the desultory +lessons of priestly schoolmasters under the direction of his mother. +Of this latter he always spoke with great tenderness, acknowledging +that "to her inspiration he owed his patriotic feelings," and stating +that "in his greatest dangers by land and sea his imagination always +conjured up the picture of the pious woman prostrated at the feet of +the Most High interceding for the safety of her beloved."</p> + +<p>In early life he embarked in his father's merchant vessel, a brig, and +in that and other craft he made frequent voyages to Odessa, Rome, and +Constantinople. Soon after the revolutionary movements of 1831 he was +at Marseilles, where he fell in with Mazzini, busy at that time with +the organization of "Young Italy," and with the preparations for an +invasion of Italy by sea, which, upon Mazzini's expulsion from +Marseilles, was attempted at Geneva, and directed against the Savoy +frontier. The Savoy expedition turned out an egregious failure, the +blame of which Garibaldi, on Mazzini's statement, throws on the Polish +General Ramorino's treachery. Garibaldi himself, who had embarked on +board the royal frigate Eurydice to gain possession of that vessel by +a mutiny of the crew, being off Genoa, and hearing of a plot to storm +the barracks of the Carabinieri, landed in <span class="pagenum"><a id="page390" name="page390"></a>(p. 390)</span> the town to join +it; but the attack upon the barracks miscarried, and he, not daring to +go back to his ship, saw himself irreparably compromised, fled to +Nice, and thence crossed the Var and found himself an exile at +Marseilles. Here he betook himself again to his sea life, sailed for +the Black Sea and for Tunis, and at last on board the Nageur, of +Nantes, for Rio de Janeiro.</p> + +<p>In the commentaries before alluded to Garibaldi gives the fullest +particulars of the exploits by which he rose to distinction beyond the +Atlantic during the twelve years elapsing from his leaving Europe in +1836 to his return to Italy in 1848. It is the romance of his career, +and will some day be wrought into an epic blending the charms of the +Odyssey with those of the Iliad—a battle and a march being the theme +of the eventful tale almost from beginning to end.</p> + +<p>Garibaldi took service with the Republic of Rio Grande do Sul, a vast +territory belonging to Brazil, then in open rebellion and war against +that empire. He took the command of a privateer's boat with a crew of +twelve men, to which he gave the name of Mazzini, and by the aid of +which he soon helped himself to a larger and better-armed vessel, a +prize taken from the enemy. In his many encounters with the Imperial +or Brazilian party the hero bought experience both of wonderfully +propitious and terribly adverse fortune, and had every imaginable +variety of romantic adventure and hair-breadth escapes. He was +severely wounded, taken prisoner, and in one instance at Gualeguay, in +the Argentine territory, he found himself in the power of one Leonardo +Millan, a type of Spanish South American brutality, by whom he was +savagely struck in the face with a horsewhip, submitted to several +hours' rack and torture, and thrown into a dungeon in which his +sufferings were soothed by the ministration of that "angel of +charity," a woman, by name Madame Alleman.</p> + +<p>Escaping from his tormentor by the intervention of the Governor of +Gualeguay, Paolo Echague, Garibaldi crossed from the territories of +the Plate into those of the Rio Grande, and faithful to the cause of +that republic, he fought with better success, winning battles, +storming fortresses, standing his ground with a handful of men, or +even single-handed, against incredible odds, beating strong squadrons +with a few small vessels, giving through all proofs of the rarest +disinterestedness, humanity, and generosity, disobeying orders to sack +and ravage vanquished cities, and exercising that mixture of authority +and glamour over his followers which almost enabled him to dispense +with the ties of stern rule and discipline. At last, after losing a +flotilla in a hurricane on the coast of Santa Caterina, where he +landed wrecked and forlorn, having seen his bravest and most cherished +Italian friends shot down or drowned, he fell in with his Anita—not, +apparently, the first fair one for whom he had a passing fancy—with +whom he united his destinies, for better for worse, in life and till +death, in some off-hand manner, about which he is reticent and +mysterious. Anita turned out almost as great and daring and +long-enduring a being as her heroic mate, and was by his side in all +fights by land and sea, till the fortunes of the Republic of Rio +Grande declined, when, after giving birth to her first-born, Menotti +Garibaldi, September 16, 1840, she went with that infant and his +father through unheard of hardships <span class="pagenum"><a id="page391" name="page391"></a>(p. 391)</span> and dangers in the +disastrous retreat of Las Antas; when at last, Garibaldi, beginning to +feel the responsibilities of a growing family, and despairing of the +issues of an ill-conducted war, took leave of his Republican friends +at Rio Grande and went for a short respite in his adventurous career +to Montevideo.</p> + +<p>After trying on the journey to find employment as a cattle-driver, +Garibaldi settled at Montevideo in the capacity of a general broker +and teacher of mathematics; but war having broken out between the +Republic of the Uruguay and Buenos Ayres, the Condottiere was +solicited to draw his sword for the former state which afforded him +hospitality, and was trusted with the command of a little squadron +destined to operate on the Parana River against a largely superior +Argentine force. This expedition was contrived by enemies high in +power in the Montevidean Government, who, jealous of the reputation +won by Garibaldi at Rio Grande, vainly plotted to have him +assassinated with his friend Anzani, and hoped to rid themselves of +him by exposing him to dangers from which it seemed impossible that he +could extricate himself. Garibaldi, however, made the best of his +desperate position, and escaped, not only with his life, but also with +"honor—the only thing that was not lost."</p> + +<p>Presently, danger pressing sorely on the republic, he organized his +Italian Legion, which behaved well through a new series of land and +sea combats, its band of only 400 combatants often beating the enemy's +corps 600 men strong, at the close of which exploits its soldiers +refused grants of land offered to them by a grateful state, "the +stimulus of their exertions," as their commander said, "being only the +triumph of the Republican cause." The legion was afterward as a mark +of honor, allowed precedence over all the other troops of the +republic. The war continued, and under the auspices of their commander +the soldiers of the Italian Legion rose to such distinction that at +the affairs of the Boyada and of Salto Sant' Antonio, February, 1846, +Garibaldi was empowered to write to the government of the republic +that the brilliant successes of those deeds of arms were entirely due +to their gallantry.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, however, news from Europe came to turn the attention of +Italian patriots to the momentous events which were rapidly changing +the conditions of the peninsula. Years had passed. Pius IX. was Pope; +Sicily had risen in open and successful revolt; a republic had been +proclaimed in France; Constitutions were being wrested from the +reluctant hands of most European despots. Austria was convulsed with +insurrectionary attempts; the Milanese drove Radetsky from their city +after five days' fighting, and Charles Albert unfurled the national +standard and crossed the Ticino.</p> + +<p>The theatre of the exploits of the hero of Montevideo was soon +changed. All who had a heart and soul in Italy were up and doing, and +could Italy's greatest heart and soul remain beyond the seas? +Garibaldi, on the first reports of the Pope's liberal leanings, wrote +to the Nuncio Bedini at Montevideo, October 17, 1847, offering the +services of the Italian Legion to his Holiness, who was now almost on +the eve of a war with Austria, "although," the letter said, "the +writer was well aware that St. Peter's throne rests on a solid basis, +proof against all human <span class="pagenum"><a id="page392" name="page392"></a>(p. 392)</span> attacks and needing no mortal +defenders." The Nuncio returned thanks and praises and referred +Garibaldi's tender to the Pontifical Government at Rome. But +Garibaldi, never well disposed to losing time, after vainly waiting +for further communication from Pope or Nuncio, brooked no longer +delay. With incredible difficulty he scraped together money and means, +and embarked with his brave friend, Anzani (who died at Genoa soon +after landing), having with him only 85 men and two cannon, and +leaving the remainder of his legion to follow when and how it could.</p> + +<p>He crossed the ocean, landed at Nice, proceeded to Genoa and Milan, +and when Charles Albert, defeated at Custozza, withdrew from the +Lombard city and accepted an armistice, which saved Piedmont from +invasion, August, 1848, Garibaldi passed over to Mazzini, and at the +head of a volunteer force, of which Mazzini was the standard-bearer, +issued a manifesto in which he proclaimed the Sardinian king a +traitor, and declared that "the royal war was at an end, and that of +the people was now to begin." That proclamation was, however, only an +idle bravado. Mazzini, even if he had the spirit, lacked the physical +strength of a fighting man. The Garibaldians, on hearing the news of +the fall of Milan, lost heart, and many crossed over the frontier to +Switzerland. With thinned and dispirited bands, Garibaldi, aided by +his friend Medici, ventured on a few desultory fights near Luino, on +Lake Maggiore, but soon fell back and withdrew to Lugano in the Canton +Ticino, his health, it is said, breaking down, and his immediate +followers being reduced to some three hundred.</p> + +<p>A few months later Pius IX., fallen from his popularity and pressed +hard by his disaffected subjects, who murdered his minister and almost +stormed him in his palace at the Quirinal, ran away to Gaëta, and a +Roman Republic was proclaimed, of which Mazzini, in a triumvirate with +two others, mere men of straw, became the head. Attacked by the French +in flagrant violation of all rights of nations, Rome undertook to +defend itself, and whatever Italy could boast of generous hearts, +regardless of party differences, rallied round Garibaldi, who drove +back the French from Porta Pancrazia, April 29 and 30, 1849, defeated +the Neapolitans in that campaign of Velletri, which was like the farce +contrasting with the tragic drama soon to be acted at Rome, and +withstood a three months' siege, in which many of the noblest +champions of the Italian cause lavished their lives in a hopeless, +yet, as it proved, not a fruitless struggle.</p> + +<p>The French having gained possession of the city July 13, 1849, +Garibaldi left it with a band of devoted volunteers, retired via Terni +and Orvieto, gathering together about 2,000 men in his progress, +crossed the Apennines, and pressed by the Austrians with overwhelming +forces, sought a refuge at San Marino, gave the enemy the slip in the +night, embarked at Cesenatico for Venice, which was still withstanding +the Austrian siege, was met by four Austrian men-of-war, which +compelled him to put back and land on the coast near Ravenna, and +wandered ashore in the woods, where Anita, his inseparable companion +in this disastrous march, succumbed to the fatigues of the journey, +and expired in the hero's arms. Garibaldi's devoted friends Ugo Bassi +and Ciceruacchio, falling into the hands of <span class="pagenum"><a id="page393" name="page393"></a>(p. 393)</span> the Austrians, +were shot by them without any forms of trial and by an act of +barbarism which no human or divine law could justify. The heart-broken +hero, with a few trusty men, made his way from the Adriatic to the +Mediterranean, was arrested by the Sardinian Carabinieri at Chiaveri, +conveyed to Genoa, where La Marmora was in command, and there embarked +for Tunis; hence, finding nowhere a refuge, he proceeded to the Island +of La Maddalena, off the shore of Sardinia, and hence again to +Gibraltar and Tangier.</p> + +<p>La Marmora received the heart-broken fugitive as a brother, supplied +him with ample means for his journey to Tunis, and obtained for him +from the Turin Government the assignment of an honorable pension, +which Garibaldi did not in his straits disdain to accept. But, in his +opinion, all seemed now over for Italy; Charles Albert's son, Victor +Emmanuel, after the defeat of Navara, had made his peace with Austria +in March, 1849. Venice had succumbed after heroic sufferings in +August, and Garibaldi, again crossing the ocean, settled at New York +as a tallow chandler, and only came back to Europe in 1855.</p> + +<p>When Garibaldi returned from America he did not look out for Mazzini +or his Republicans in England or Switzerland, but sought a home in +Piedmont, a Constitutional State, which allowed him an obscure but +peaceful retreat in his hermitage at Caprera, an island rock on the +Sardinian coast near the Maddalena, and conveyed to him a hint that +the time might soon come in which his country's cause would summon him +from retirement. And, truly, four years later (1859) the destinies of +Italy were nearing their fulfilment. France and Piedmont took the +field against Austria. Garibaldi, leaving his island home, was met and +highly welcomed by Victor Emmanuel, to whom he swore fealty as the +only hope of Italy. He now took the command of the Chasseurs des +Alpes, aided the royal army in its defence of the territory previous +to the arrival of its great French auxiliary, and, following in the +upper region a line parallel to that kept in the plain by the conquest +of Palestro, Magenta, and Solferino, beat the Austrians at Varese and +San Fermo, bewildered his adversary Urban, by the rashness of his +movements on the mountains above Como, advanced upon Bergamo and +Brescia, and pushed on to the Valtellina up to the very summit of the +Stelvia Pass. Here the peace of Villafranca put an end to the +struggle, and Garibaldi, afflicted by the arthritic pains to which he +was a martyr all his life, travelled for a few days' rest to Tuscany +and Genoa.</p> + +<p>At Genoa, during the autumn and winter, Garibaldi, hospitably +entertained by his friend Augusto Vecchi outside the city, busied +himself with that expedition of "the Thousand" which made one state of +the south and north of Italy. He embarked on May 11, 1860, at Genoa, +landed in Sicily, at Marsala, beat the Neapolitans at Calatafimi, +followed up his success to Palermo, and, aided by the insurgent city, +compelled the garrison to surrender. He again routed the Bourbon +troops at Milazzo, and had soon the whole island at his discretion +with the exception of the citadel of Messina. He then crossed over +into Calabria, and, almost without firing a shot, drove the Neapolitan +king's troops before him all over the mainland, compelled the king to +abandon the strong pass of La Cava <span class="pagenum"><a id="page394" name="page394"></a>(p. 394)</span> and to withdraw his +forces from his capital, where Garibaldi, with only a few of his +staff, made his triumphal entry on September 7, 1860.</p> + +<p>After a few days' rest Garibaldi followed the disheartened king to +Capua, obtained new signal successes on the Volturno, at Santa Maria, +and Caserta; but would probably have been unable to accomplish the +enterprise had not the Piedmontese, whose government had aided +Garibaldi's expedition while pretending to oppose it, overrun the +Marches, beaten Lamoricière and the Papal forces at Castel Fidardo, +and, crossing the frontier and the Apennines, besieged and reduced the +strong places of Capua and Gaëta. Garibaldi, who, as a dictator, had +with doubtful success endeavored to establish something like rule in +the Two Sicilies, aware of the arduousness of a task which would have +exceeded many wiser men's powers, met Victor Emmanuel at Naples, +delivered the two kingdoms into his hands, and, declining all the +proffered honors and emoluments for himself, took leave of his +sovereign and embarked for the solitude of his rock-farm at Caprera.</p> + +<p>Rome alone now remained outside of the United Italian Kingdom, and +Garibaldi, raising bands of adventurers, made two or three attempts to +capture it, but was repulsed by its French garrison, and it was not +until 1870 that, the French troops being recalled to their own sorely +distressed country, the union of Italy under Victor Emmanuel became an +accomplished fact, though in the great liberator's absence. Garibaldi +once more was seen in Rome, April, 1879. He was supposed to be +proposing great purchases of arms, to be enlisting hosts of +volunteers, to be planning thorough reforms and preparing formidable +expeditions against Austria. But Garibaldi, away from Caprera, could +not fail to have his good as well as his evil angels about him. He saw +the king; he listened to General Medici, his own right arm in so many +campaigns, and now first aide-de-camp to King Humbert, as he had +before been to King Victor Emmanuel. He listened, while they showed +him the folly of further war, and, though not convinced, he was +silenced. Although too proud to acknowledge the absurdity of his +schemes in words, he was too wise not to give them up in deeds. He +withdrew from the vain popular acclamation; shut his door against the +crowd of his visitors, and although he announced his intention to take +up his domicile in Rome, he pleaded indisposition as an excuse for +inaction and retirement. Unfortunately there was only too much ground +in the plea. The arthritic pains, of which symptoms had manifested +themselves as early as during the Lombard campaign of 1849, had been +seriously aggravated by his toils, and the sight of his helplessness +in Rome as he hobbled up the steps of Montecitorio in 1874, was +saddening to all beholders, and prepared his friends for that end +which, however, was to be put off for several years. The fatigue of +the voyage from Caprera in 1879, and still more the excitement of +incessant calls, objectless conferences, and endless exhibitions soon +entirely prostrated the hero, and before the backward spring had fully +set in it became evident that Garibaldi's life could only be a +lingering agony.</p> + +<a id="img051" name="img051"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/img051.jpg" width="600" height="370" alt="" title=""> +<p>Meeting of Victor Emmanuel and Garibaldi.</p> +</div> + +<p>His life, if life it may be called, and at all events his sufferings, +were prolonged yet a few years. He left home in the spring of 1881 on +a mad scheme <span class="pagenum"><a id="page395" name="page395"></a>(p. 395)</span> of liberating, "by force if necessary," his +son-in-law, Canzio, who had been arrested as a plotter for the +republic. But having obtained the man's release from the king's +government as a favor, he once more sought the peace of his hermitage +where he died, June 2, 1882.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + + +<h3>FIELD-MARSHAL COUNT VON MOLTKE<br> +(1800-1891)</h3> + +<a id="img052" name="img052"></a> +<div class="floatleft"> +<img src="images/img052.jpg" width="250" height="291" alt="Count von Moltke." title=""> +</div> + +<p>Suddenly, but quietly and painlessly, on the evening of April 24, +1891, passed away one of the most remarkable men of the present +century. Hellmuth Karl Bernhard von Moltke was born, October 26, 1800, +at Parshim, in Mecklenburg, where his father, previously a captain in +the Prussian army, had retired, impoverished in circumstances, to an +estate which he inherited. When little Hellmuth was three years old, +his father, Baron Moltke, settled at the free town of Lubeck, the once +famous head of the Hanseatic League. Here, in 1806, on the retreat +from the disastrous battle of Jena, Marshal Blücher, who like Von +Moltke was of Mecklenburg origin, sought refuge with his shattered +troops; and little Moltke was a witness of the sack and plunder of the +town by the troops of Napoleon, his father's house being one of those +that suffered most severely. It is said that the incidents of this +event made a lasting impression upon the mind of the boy. At the age +of nine, with his elder brother Fritz, young Hellmuth was placed under +the care of Pastor Knickbein, at Hohenfelde, near Horst, a scholarly +man of a kindly and genial disposition, for whom he always retained a +deep regard. His sense of indebtedness appears in the inscription +which he wrote on the title-page when forwarding to him a copy of his +first work, his "Letters from Turkey;" "To my dear teacher and +fatherly friend to whom I owe so much, I send this, my first work, as +a slight testimony of respect."</p> + +<p>The favorite recreation of the two brothers while here at school was +playing at war, as perhaps was natural at such a period. They were +accustomed to collect the peasant boys of the village and divide them +into two rival armies, Fritz commanding the one, and Hellmuth the +other. Once, when the mimic warfare was at its height, the weaker +force of Hellmuth was routed, and some were taken prisoners. Called +upon to surrender, Hellmuth cried out, "All is not lost!" and hastily +rallying his men he marched them straight to a pond in Pastor +Knickbein's garden, and hurried them to a little island which the boy +himself had constructed with great labor, and accessible only by a +single plank. Facing the enemy with <span class="pagenum"><a id="page396" name="page396"></a>(p. 396)</span> a few of his strongest +men, he kept them at bay until all his troops had passed into the +fortress, he himself being the last to enter. Then the drawbridge was +raised and the victory won. The island, preserved by the good pastor, +long since gone to his rest, still exists, and is pointed out with +great pride by the villagers to curious visitors as the scene of one +of the early exploits of Germany's greatest strategist.</p> + +<p>His experiences at the Royal Academy at Copenhagen, to which he was +sent at the age of twelve, were not of the happiest. Relating his +reminiscences of that period, in reply to the question, "Do you retain +pleasant recollections of cadet life?" he remarked, "I have little +reason to do so. Without relations or acquaintances in a strange city, +we spent a joyless youth. The discipline was strict, even hard, and +now, when my judgment of it is unprejudiced, I must say that it was +too strict, too hard. The only benefit we received from this treatment +was that we became accustomed to deprivations."</p> + +<p>Passing over the period of his service in the Danish army, and his +entrance into that of Prussia, we find him, after making heroic +efforts on his scanty pay to acquire foreign languages, in which he +attained in after-life so remarkable a proficiency, attached to a +commission for topographical surveys in Silesia and the Grand Duchy of +Posen.</p> + +<p>Consolidating and extending his knowledge of military science and of +foreign peoples, as in the case of his visits to the East, Russia, +Rome, and elsewhere, Moltke rose steadily in his profession. In 1845, +he became aide-de-camp to the invalid Prince Henry of Prussia, uncle +of the king; and subsequently, after holding commands of increasing +importance, he was made first aide-de-camp to the Crown Prince +Frederick. Ultimately, in 1859, he was appointed permanent chief of +the staff. His later military career, and brilliant successes against +the Danes, Austrians, and the French, and the various honors accorded +him, are so well known and have been so often and so recently +narrated, that any further reference to them in this present sketch is +unnecessary, the purpose of our notice being to briefly indicate some +of the leading points of the great field-marshal's character. One fact +is memorable, that he had passed the age when men frequently retire +from the public service before the time of his greater achievements. +His splendid career began to the eye of the world at sixty-five.</p> + +<p>The guiding principle of his life is well illustrated by the ancient +motto of his family, <span class="italic">Caute et candide</span> (warily and gently), and by +his own favorite maxim, <span class="italic">Erst wägen, dann wagen</span> (first weigh, then +venture). He was slow, cautious, and careful in laying his plans, but +having formed his design, he was bold, daring even to the verge of +apparent recklessness in its execution. The same calm, immovable +spirit characterized him even in moments when most ordinary +mortals—he was a man <span class="italic">sui generis</span>—might, with some show of reason, +be perturbed or excited. Even in the most critical period of the +Franco-German war his unruffled quietness remained the same, sterner +perhaps in look, more silent than ever. Though the warrior king, +amidst the carnage of the battle-field might feel depressed; though +Bismarck, man of "iron and blood," might be anxious at the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page397" name="page397"></a>(p. 397)</span> +progress of events, Moltke, seated on his great black horse, calmly +surveyed, telescope in hand, the movements of the troops, or later, +resting quietly in his room at Versailles, awaited the result +undismayed. When war was declared, a friend met him with the remark: +"You must indeed be overworked at present." "No," replied the General, +"the work was done beforehand; all orders are gone out; I really have +nothing to do."</p> + +<p>Married in 1842, shortly after his return home from the East, to Miss +Burt, an English lady, he lived with her in the bonds of a rare union +of happiness, concord, and mutual sympathy. On the occasion of her +death, which took place Christmas Eve, 1868, he withdrew still more +from public life, and found in quiet, studious, and laborious life +some slight relief for his grief. Very touching was his devotion to +the memory of his wife. Upon his estate at Kreisau he built a little +mausoleum, situated on a beautiful eminence, embowered in foliage. +This little chapel, constructed of red brick and sandstone, was lined +inside with black and white marble, and in front of the altar was +placed the simple oak coffin in which the remains of his wife reposed, +covered at all seasons of the year with wreaths. Sculptured in the +apse was a finely carved figure of our Lord in an attitude of +blessing, copied from Thorwaldsen. Above were inscribed the words of +St. Paul, "Love is the fulfilment of the Law." When at his +country-seat the aged warrior visited the tomb morning and evening. +Now at her side slumbers the veteran, awaiting with her the signal of +the resurrection.</p> + +<p>Of his bearing in the time of his bereavement, the following incident +was related by the late Mr. George Bancroft, the distinguished +historian, at that period United States Minister at Berlin. Mr. +Bancroft was one of the favored few who were accustomed to accompany +Von Moltke in his daily rides in the Thiergarten or to the Grunewald. +Seeing the general on horseback, "my first impulse," said Mr. +Bancroft, "was to trot into another lane. On second thoughts, however, +I turned my horse alongside his, remembering that it was for him to +talk or be silent. To my surprise, he forthwith began a lively +conversation, describing the happiness with which Miss Burt had +blessed her husband, and expatiating upon her manifold virtues as one +crushed by an overwhelming, irreparable loss. Then of a sudden he grew +silent, as if a new current of thought had carried him sheer away. 'Do +you know,' he said, when his lips were again opened, 'it has just been +brought home to me that, after all, perhaps it was better that this +happened now than at another time? You see, I am convinced that a +French invasion is impending; it will burst upon us sooner or later, +whatever the plea may eventually be. Now think if the fortune of war +was to be adverse to our arms! Why, her grief over the country's +adversities must have cut her life short. No, no; that would have been +worse!'"</p> + +<p>Von Moltke was a passionate lover of children, and is said to have +been quite the slave to the caprices of his little grandnephew, the +son of Major Hellmuth von Moltke, the aide-de-camp of the count, whom +the emperor, as a special mark of his royal favor, immediately after +the funeral of his chief, made one of his own aides-de-camp.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page398" name="page398"></a>(p. 398)</span> As far as Count von Moltke's religious views could be +ascertained, they were of a simple type, and characterized by a strict +adherence to the path of duty and virtue. Daily was he accustomed to +read his Bible, one of ancient date, its well-marked pages indicating +how frequently its owner was in the habit of consulting its inspired +pages. An extract from a letter the aged field-marshal wrote on the +eve of his eightieth birthday is peculiarly interesting. "I stand," +said he, "close upon the end of my life; but how different from that +here will be the measure in a future world according to which our +earthly actions will be judged! Not the brilliancy of success, but the +purity of our endeavors and faithful perseverance in duty, even when +the result was scarcely visible, will decide as to the value of a +man's life. What a wonderful displacement of high and low will be +witnessed at that great review! We do not even know ourselves what we +have to ascribe to ourselves, to others, or to a higher will. It will +be well not to set too great a value on externals." In a passage in +one of his books, referring to our Lord's life here upon earth, he +remarks: "His life was humble. He was the descendant of a people in +bondage, and He had not a place where to lay His head. To the +fishermen He talked in parables about God; He healed the sick, and +died the death of an evil-doer. And yet there has never been anything +on this earth that could be purer, more elevated, and also—even seen +from the worldly point of view—more successful than His conduct, His +teaching, and His death."</p> + +<p>The old soldier's habits of life were, like those of the majority of +really great men, extremely simple and singularly free from +ostentation of any kind. Very characteristic of the late field-marshal +are the following data of his life, written by himself on the occasion +of his ninetieth birthday. An Austrian Association for the Promotion +of Popular Knowledge addressed a number of interrogatories to various +European celebrities of great age, which were to explain the +circumstances and conditions under which an exceptionally long life +might be attained. The answers received were collected in a book and +subsequently published.</p> + +<p>Field-Marshal von Moltke answered the questions submitted to him in +his own peculiarly laconic manner, as follows:</p> + +<p><span class="italic">Q.</span> In which year of your life and on which date did you begin to +learn, and for how many hours a day?—<span class="italic">A.</span> 1808, in my eighth year, +with four; after 1810, with ten hours a day.</p> + +<p><span class="italic">Q.</span> Was your health in your youth delicate or robust?—<span class="italic">A.</span> Tough +nature.</p> + +<p><span class="italic">Q.</span> Did you grow up in the country or in town?—<span class="italic">A.</span> Up to my tenth +year in the country.</p> + +<p><span class="italic">Q.</span> How many hours did you spend in the open air? Regularly?—<span class="italic">A.</span> +Irregularly, and but few hours.</p> + +<p><span class="italic">Q.</span> Did you cultivate hardening games and other exercises?—<span class="italic">A.</span> Not +methodically.</p> + +<p><span class="italic">Q.</span> How many hours did you sleep in childhood?—<span class="italic">A.</span> Ten hours.</p> + +<p><span class="italic">Q.</span> Special remarks?—<span class="italic">A.</span> Joyless youth, scanty nourishment, absence +from the paternal home.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page399" name="page399"></a>(p. 399)</span> <span class="italic">Q.</span> Where did you complete your studies—in town or in the +country?—<span class="italic">A.</span> In town.</p> + +<p><span class="italic">Q.</span> How many hours a day do you devote to mental work?—<span class="italic">A.</span> Very +different.</p> + +<p><span class="italic">Q.</span> Do you attribute to any particular habit of your life a favorable +influence upon your health?—<span class="italic">A.</span> Moderation in all habits of life. In +all weathers exercise in the open air. No day altogether at home.</p> + +<p><span class="italic">Q.</span> How long did you sleep at a mature age?—<span class="italic">A.</span> From eight to nine +hours on an average.</p> + +<p><span class="italic">Q.</span> What alterations have you made at an advanced age in your mode of +life?—<span class="italic">A.</span> None.</p> + +<p><span class="italic">Q.</span> How long did you work daily in your fiftieth, sixtieth, +seventieth, eightieth years?—<span class="italic">A.</span> Quite as circumstances required it; +often, therefore, very long.</p> + +<p><span class="italic">Q.</span> What were your recreations?—<span class="italic">A.</span> Riding on horseback up to my +eighty-sixth year.</p> + +<p><span class="italic">Q.</span> How many hours do you spend in the open air?—<span class="italic">A.</span> Now, in summer +on my estate, half the day.</p> + +<p><span class="italic">Q.</span> How long do you sleep at present?—<span class="italic">A.</span> Always eight hours still.</p> + +<p><span class="italic">Q.</span> What are your habits with regard to eating, etc.?—<span class="italic">A.</span> I eat +very little, and take concentrated food.</p> + +<p><span class="italic">Q.</span> To what circumstances do you particularly attribute your stalwart +old age (which may God long preserve!)?—<span class="italic">A.</span> To God's grace and +temperate habits.</p> + +<p>An interesting anecdote is related, apropos of his dislike to display, +on the occasion of the opening of new barracks at +Frankfort-on-the-Oder, to which, as the oldest and most distinguished +officer of the regiment in which he first served, he was invited. His +acceptance of the invitation was accompanied by the stipulation that +no ceremony should be made; but the officers, desiring to do honor to +their illustrious guest, had provided the best carriage that the town +afforded to meet him at the station. On his arrival, the field-marshal +thanked the officer in waiting, took a common cab, and with his +nephew, who was with him as aide-de-camp, drove off to the barracks, +to the astonishment of the honest burghers.</p> + +<p>His favorite recreations were chess, in which he excelled; music, +especially that of the school of Schubert and Mozart—he entertained +very decided opinions about the "music of the future"—and whist, +which he rarely missed playing after dinner, even when at the seat of +war. The count was an authority on the culture of roses, and at +Kreisau, where he spent most of his time after his retirement from +more active service, he possessed one of the finest and most unique +collections of roses in Germany, a fact which lends an additional +grace to the tribute of respect paid to the field-marshal's memory, +when, the day after his death, the empress visited the head-quarters +of the General Staff and placed a magnificent wreath of his favorite +flower upon the bed of the departed hero.</p> + +<p>Had not his reputation as a military strategist overshadowed his other +gifts, the count would have gained distinction in the world of +letters. In the twenties, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page400" name="page400"></a>(p. 400)</span> while engaged in the Topographical +Department, he wrote a pamphlet, published at Berlin, entitled +"Holland and Belgium," by H. von Moltke, in which he calls the +attention of Europe to the Belgian Revolution; this was followed, in +1845, by a critical military work of great merit, "The Russo-Turkish +Campaign of 1828-29 in European Turkey," which created a deep +impression in military circles, and proved of considerable service in +the Russo-Turkish campaign of 1877-78. Moltke's pithy and laconic +style was founded on the model of his chief, General von Müffling, his +instructor in practical and theoretical tactics, in which the members +of the German General Staff are required to excel. He was a graphic +writer and shrewd observer of men and things, as his charming letters +from Russia, France, Turkey, and other places show. Especially +sagacious were his observations on the Turks, made to his sister, +married to Mr. John Burt, an Englishman settled at Holstein, in which +he affirms that the kingdom is rotten, that Turkey had fallen under a +ban, and that ban the Koran, which teaches so warped a doctrine that +its laws and decrees must of necessity oppose all social progress. His +views on Russia, as indicated in his letters written in the form of a +diary to his wife on the occasion of his visit in 1856, when +accompanying Prince Frederick William at the coronation of the Czar +Alexander II. at Moscow, show the same keen powers of observation. He +considered that Russia had a great future before her, but this could +only be realized when her officials became more honest. "Honesty among +Russian officials," he thinks, "can only be brought about by many +years of iron severity." Of the difficulty of governing the French +nation, he wrote, when visiting the court of Napoleon III.: "It would +be as impossible to allow the liberty of the press in France as to +admit discussion of the orders given by generals to their armies when +in the field." We have not the advantage of knowing his views on +England and the English on the three occasions, in 1856, 1858, and +1861, when he visited the country in company with the crown prince to +be present at his betrothal and marriage to the princess royal, and +again at the funeral of the prince consort. How highly his opinion as +an authority was esteemed as early as 1867, is seen by an incident +which occurred during the Universal Exhibition, when Count Moltke, in +company with King William of Prussia and Count Bismarck, dined with +Napoleon III. at St. Cloud. Subsequently, the emperor and Moltke +engaged in an animated conversation apart from the rest. At this +moment Marshal Randon, Minister of War, walked across the room, and +the emperor, noticing him, raised his voice, saying, "Come here, +marshal. General Moltke says that with the needle-gun he would be +strong enough to fight even the French army." Marshal Randon drew +near, and, turning toward Moltke, said, in a tone loud enough to be +heard by all in the room, "Pardon me, general; but, in spite of the +high opinion I have of your judgment, I cannot share your belief. I +venture to affirm, that even with the needle-gun, the French army +would not suffer the fate of the Austrian army;" and the conversation +continued without the bystanders being able to follow it. But after +the departure of the King of Prussia and his suite, Napoleon III., +struck by these words, energetically <span class="pagenum"><a id="page401" name="page401"></a>(p. 401)</span> busied himself in +overhauling the equipment of the French army. He examined various +models of guns that were submitted to him, and among these the Martini +rifle, which he found excellent, but which was after all rejected for +the Chassepôt. The making of this gun was pushed forward so actively +that the French army was provided with it by 1870.</p> + +<a id="img053" name="img053"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/img053.jpg" width="400" height="544" alt="" title=""> +<p>Moltke at Versailles, 1870.</p></div> + +<p>In respect of his literary efforts, as of his military achievements, +Moltke was singularly modest. Herr G. von Bunsen tells us how, +"meeting the general one day at a dinner-party, I expressed my regret +at his having neglected to write some letter-press to accompany his +well-known map of the environs of Ancient Rome. 'But a companion book +for it was written,' he replied; 'or rather,' correcting himself, 'he +had begun writing one at Rome, and was prevented from finishing the +MS. when the Government ordered him to convey Prince Henry's body to +Berlin, and there set him engrossing tasks to do.' Hereupon I ventured +to ask him for a loan of this fragment. Of course he believed it to be +lost; but, as a matter of course likewise, it was brought to my door +by an orderly at an early hour next morning. When returning the MS., I +advised the publication of parts of it, which would be found +acceptable independently of his being the author; and if my humble +advice should be followed, would he accept my humble services as +editor? His reply," adds Herr von Bunsen, "has been carefully +preserved. Its purport was that he must lay down three conditions: +First, I must omit what I pleased; secondly, transpose at my pleasure; +and thirdly, <span class="italic">alter the text</span> wherever it seemed desirable." "Will any +editor in the world," Herr von Bunsen pithily remarks, "hesitate to +confirm my belief that no MS. of the last unfledged stripling of an +author was ever offered on similar conditions?"</p> + +<p>Fitting tributes of respect and admiration were paid to the aged +field-marshal on the occasion of his celebrating his ninetieth +birthday, on October 26, 1890. Telegrams from all sorts and conditions +of men poured in upon him, including, among the princes and sovereigns +of Europe, one from Queen Victoria, who held Count von Moltke in high +esteem. The 26th falling upon Sunday, the schools throughout the +length and breadth of Germany were closed on the previous Saturday to +enable the scholars to add their quota to the general rejoicing. In +Berlin a torchlight procession of vast extent, composed of 20,000 +students, artists, members of trades and guilds, marched with banners +and groups of historically dressed personages and impersonifications, +from the old gray Schloss down the Linden, through the Brandenburg +Gate to the Königsplatz, where are situated the buildings of the Grand +Staff. Here addresses were presented to Von Moltke.</p> + +<p>On the following day, in the Conference Hall of the General Staff, the +emperor, surrounded by the military magnates of the Reichsrath, the +generals of the twenty army corps specially summoned to be present, +the officers of the General Staff, Chancellor von Caprivi, successor +to Prince Bismarck, the King of Saxony, the grand dukes and the Duke +of Connaught, addressed the marshal in the following terms:</p> + +<p>"I thank you in the name of those who have fought together with you, +and <span class="pagenum"><a id="page402" name="page402"></a>(p. 402)</span> whose most faithful and devoted servant you have been. I +thank you for all you have done for my House and for the greatness of +the Fatherland. We greet in you not only a Prussian leader who has won +for the army the reputation of being invincible, but one of the +founders of the German Empire. The presence of the King of Saxony, who +has made a point of personally congratulating you, recalls the time +when he and you fought for Germany's greatness. The distinctions +conferred upon you by my grandfather leave nothing in which I can +personally show my thanks to you.... I call upon all those present to +express their feelings of gratitude that Field-Marshal von Moltke has +known how not to stand alone in his greatness, but to form a school of +leaders of the army for time to come, and for all future generations, +by giving cheers for his excellency."</p> + +<p>This, the last occasion on which public honors were accorded to the +field-marshal during his life, appropriately emphasized the universal +esteem in which "Father Moltke," as he was affectionally designated by +the army, was held as one of the founders of the German Empire.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + + +<h3>GEORGE DEWEY<br> +By <span class="smcap">Major-General Joseph Wheeler</span><br> +(Born 1837)</h3> + +<a id="img054" name="img054"></a> +<div class="floatleft"> +<img src="images/img054.jpg" width="250" height="249" alt="George Dewey." title=""> +</div> + +<p>Every occasion finds a <span class="italic">man</span> to meet the exigencies of the hour, every +conflict brings forth its hero, and every war educates soldiers for a +war to come. War begets the warrior. Washington came out of the French +and Indian wars, Jackson from the Creek wars; Scott and Taylor both +emerged from Chippewa and Lundy's Lane, Grant and Lee from Mexico. So, +George Dewey came out of the fierce internecine strife of our Civil +War. He came, too, from one of the great sources of the best elements +of our American population. The Puritans of New England and the +Cavaliers of Virginia sprung from the same soil and a common ancestry, +worked side by side, in a widely different manner, but to the same +end; and from these two classes have sprung nearly all our great +soldiers, statesmen, and authors. From the former came the great naval +hero of the Spanish-American War.</p> + +<a id="img055" name="img055"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/img055.jpg" width="400" height="594" alt="" title=""> +<p>Admiral Dewey at Manila Bay.</p></div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page403" name="page403"></a>(p. 403)</span> George Dewey was born in Montpelier, Vermont, on December 26, +1837, of direct descent, in the ninth generation, from Thomas Dewey, +who came from Sandwich, England, to Dorchester, in the Massachusetts +Bay Colony, in 1633.</p> + +<p>His father, Dr. Julius Dewey, was a physician, eminent in his +profession, and loved and respected, not only for his ability but for +his innate nobility of character; and his mother was Mary Perrin. His +ancestors on both sides were patriots in the days that tried men's +souls, the hard and bitter days of the Colonial and Revolutionary +Wars. He was the third of four children, and even in his boyhood he +was a leader among his fellows. His breaches of discipline culminated +in his heading an insurrection against the village school-master; but +the pedagogue came off victorious, and administered a severe flogging +to the young rebel, which punishment his father is said to have +reinforced with some home-brewed medicine. The lesson was well +learned, for we hear of no more insurrections.</p> + +<p>George Dewey entered the Naval Academy September 23, 1854, and was +graduated fifth in a class of fourteen. He was attached to the frigate +Wabash of the Mediterranean Squadron, and after his two years' cruise +as a midshipman passed his final examination, in which he stood number +one, gaining a final rating of three in his class. War was already +imminent, and rapidly passing through the next grades he was on April +19th attached as lieutenant to the Mississippi, belonging to the West +Gulf Squadron. Early in 1862 Commodores Farragut and Porter prepared +to capture New Orleans. Throughout this campaign Lieutenant Dewey +distinguished himself by his cool courage, quick perception, and ready +skill, winning the praise of Commodore Farragut. In running by the +forts, he stood upon the bridge of the Mississippi, unmoved amid a +storm of shot and shell, and unerringly guided her up the river, +although he knew not a foot of the channel. The next year he was +attached to one of Farragut's gunboats, and later to the Monongahela, +which he commanded temporarily. In 1864, attached to the Colorado, he +again distinguished himself in the attack on Fort Fisher, by a display +not only of great courage, but of marked tactical skill, and by the +fighting of his ship, which, though a junior, he really directed, and +won the enthusiastic congratulations of his superior officers. Made +lieutenant-commander March 3, 1865, Dewey emerged from the Civil War a +matured naval officer at the age of twenty-seven, ripe in experience +and ready for any service or sacrifice for the welfare of his country.</p> + +<p>His career from this time until the close of the year 1897, although +important in his development and replete with valuable services in all +directions, must be summed up in a few words.</p> + +<p>For two years subsequent to the war, he served with the European +Squadron, first on the Kearsarge, later on the Colorado. 1867 found +him at the Naval Academy. Promoted commander, April 13, 1872, he was +assigned to the Narragansett until 1875. After seven years of bureau +duty in the Navy Department, October 18, 1882, he commanded the +Juniata of the Asiatic Squadron, and then learned the topography of +Manila Bay, where he gave his first lesson <span class="pagenum"><a id="page404" name="page404"></a>(p. 404)</span> to the Spaniard +in the person of the Port Captain of Manila, who impudently proposed +that he "parade his crew," so that some sailors accused of riot might +be identified, Dewey's reply being: "The deck of this vessel is United +States territory, and I'll parade my men for no foreigner that ever +drew breath."</p> + +<p>Dewey's health broke down, and in 1884 he was at the Navy Department, +but September 27th was commissioned captain and took command of the +Dolphin, one of the "White Squadron," the beginning of our "New Navy." +He reached the rank of commodore February 28, 1896. On shore he has +served as a member of the Lighthouse Board, Chief of the Bureau of +Equipment, and Chief of the Board of Inspection and Survey. Late in +the year 1897 it became necessary to select a commander of the Asiatic +Station. War with Spain was a possibility. It was therefore essential +that the Asiatic Station be in command of an able and experienced +officer.</p> + +<p>It has been said that Commodore Dewey, as also the other commodores, +sought the North Atlantic and European Stations, believing that the +Atlantic would be "the theatre of the war," and that he was averse to +service in the Asiatic. It has also been said that the appointment of +Dewey was a mere chance, a matter of routine. I think that these +statements are not correct. I believe that Commodore Dewey was too old +a sailor, too good a sailor, and too experienced a sailor to attempt +to dictate his own orders. Furthermore, in a conversation with the +President, this subject being mentioned, the President told me that he +had carefully considered the appointment of an officer to command the +Asiatic Station and had finally determined upon Dewey—that he wrote +upon a card which he sent to the Secretary, of the Navy: "Appoint +Dewey to Asiatic Squadron."</p> + +<p>In pursuance of the President's action, Commodore George Dewey was +detached on November 30th from Bureau work and ordered to the Asiatic +Station, of which he took command on January 3, 1898. The opportunity +came, and the right man was in the right place.</p> + +<p>Commodore Dewey's squadron was composed of four protected cruisers, +two gunboats, and a despatch-boat, as follows: The Olympia +(flag-ship), a protected cruiser of 5,870 tons, mounting fourteen +guns, Captain Gridley and flag-officer, Captain Benjamin P. Lamberton; +the Baltimore, a protected cruiser of 4,413 tons and ten guns, Captain +Nehemiah M. Dyer; the Raleigh, a protected cruiser of 3,213 tons and +eleven guns, Captain Joseph B. Coghlan; the Boston, a protected +cruiser of 3,000 tons and eight guns, Captain Frank Wildes; the +Concord, a gunboat of 1,710 tons and six guns, Commander Asa Walker; +the Petrel, a gunboat of 892 tons and four guns, Commander Wood; and +the revenue cutter McCulloch, despatch-boat. Also the transports +Zaffiro and Nanshan with provisions and coal. There was no armored +vessel in the squadron.</p> + +<a id="img056" name="img056"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/img056.jpg" width="400" height="556" alt="" title=""> +<p>Admiral Dewey Loving Cup.</p></div> + +<p>From the day Commodore Dewey took command of the Asiatic Station until +April 24th, active preparations for war were going forward. The ships +were kept stored to their full capacity with provisions, coal, and +ammunition, and there was a continuous round of drill, target +practice, manœuvres, and <span class="pagenum"><a id="page405" name="page405"></a>(p. 405)</span> evolutions. Dewey would be +ready when action should become necessary. On April 24th the British +authorities notified the American commander that he must quit Hong +Kong within twenty-four hours. Dewey moved his squadron to Mirs Bay +immediately. At six o'clock on the evening of April 25th, he received +the following despatch:</p> + +<div class="quote"> + +<p class="right"> + "<span class="smcap">Washington</span>, April 24, 1898.</p> + +<p>"Dewey, Hong Kong:</p> + +<p>"War has commenced between the United States and Spain. Proceed at +once to the Philippine Islands. Commence operations at once, +particularly against the Spanish fleet. You must capture vessels or +destroy. Use utmost endeavors.</p> + +<p class="right"> + <span class="smcap">Long</span>."</p> +</div> + +<p>These orders were all sufficient for Dewey. Even without them he had +no alternative. Obliged to leave British, he would soon be debarred +from Chinese, waters; he was nearly 8,000 miles from a home-port, and +Honolulu, his nearest coaling station, was 6,000 miles away.</p> + +<p>The following day was spent in consultation with his commanders in +final preparation for his campaign, and waiting for the arrival from +Manila of Williams, the American Consul, until the evening of the +27th, when at two o'clock he sailed out of Mirs Bay to find the fleet +of Spain. Proceeding across the China Sea, the squadron sighted Cape +Bolinas one hundred and fifteen miles north of the entrance to Manila +Bay, at 3.30 <span class="smcap">A.M.</span>, on Saturday, April 30th. About thirty miles north +of the entrance, a conference of commanders was held. Dewey announced +his plans. Rumors of mines and torpedoes had no terrors for Dewey, +and, steaming slowly into Manila Bay, his squadron passed between +Corregidor and Caballos about midnight.</p> + +<p>They arrived opposite Cavite about five o'clock, and, as daylight +increased, the Spanish fleet could be seen in the harbor. This fleet, +under Admiral Montejo, comprised ten vessels, viz.: The Reina Maria +Cristina, a protected cruiser of 3,520 tons; the Castilla, a wooden +cruiser of 3,340 tons; the Don Antonio de Ulloa, Don Juan de Austria, +and Velasco, steel cruisers of 1,152 tons each; the Isla de Luzon and +Isla de Cuba, gunboats of 1,040 tons each; the General Lezo and El +Correo, gun vessels of 524 tons each; and the Marques del Duero, +despatch-boat of 500 tons; besides tugs, transports, and launches, the +latter used as torpedo-boats. There was no armored vessel in this +fleet.</p> + +<p>Though counting more fighting vessels, the Spanish fleet was inferior +to the American squadron in size and armament. The Spanish vessels +mounted 116 guns, the American 135. But the Spanish fleet was +protected by land batteries and forts armed with modern guns. The +Spaniards were, therefore, much superior to the Americans in force and +armament.</p> + +<p>At ten minutes past five the battle began, the Spaniards opening fire +from ships and forts, at a distance of more than four miles. Two great +mines were exploded in the path of the Olympia, but too far away to +cause damage.</p> + +<p>At twenty-three minutes past five Dewey said to Captain Gridley: "You +may fire when ready." Almost instantly an eight-inch gun roared out +American <span class="pagenum"><a id="page406" name="page406"></a>(p. 406)</span> defiance. As with one voice the blue-jackets of the +squadron gave forth the American war-cry, "Remember the Maine!" and +the battle was on.</p> + +<p>The Castilla lay moored head and stern under the protection of the +guns, and surrounded by barges, which made it impossible to strike her +below the water-line. The Reina Cristina, Admiral Montejo's flag-ship, +and the other vessels of his fleet moved out to the battle protected +by the forts and batteries. The Olympia in the lead, followed by the +other vessels of the American squadron, headed straight for the centre +of the Spanish line; then changing course, ran parallel to the Spanish +line at a distance of four thousand yards. After passing the Spanish +position the American squadron turned and again passed the Spanish +line, decreasing the distance. The Spaniards were in strong position +and fighting with consummate courage, but it soon became apparent that +nothing could withstand the effects of American gunnery. Still, the +Spaniards, knowing the exact distance of our vessels, were doing some +damage. Early in the battle a shot struck and passed clean through the +Baltimore, and another disabled a six-inch gun and exploded a box of +ammunition, wounding eight men but killing no one. The Olympia was +struck by a shell which, exploding outside, did little damage, and the +signal halyards were cut out of the flag-officer's hands. The lines +were immediately replaced by a blue-jacket. The Boston was struck by +three shells, one starting a fire in a stateroom and another in the +hammock-netting, while a third passed through the foremast near +Captain Wildes. The squadron passed four times before the enemy, +slightly decreasing the distance on each run, and on the fifth, +believing that the depth of water was greater than he had supposed, +Dewey took the Olympia closer, until on this last run he was within +two thousand yards of the enemy. The Spaniards were suffering terribly +and fought with courage and desperation. Admiral Montejo on the Reina +Cristina sallied forth alone and made straight for the Olympia at full +speed, but the concentrated fire of the whole American squadron drove +him back to the protection of the breakwater, and as the flag-ship +sped away, a shell from the Olympia struck her, passed through her +entire length, and set her on fire.</p> + +<p>Captain Cadarso was mortally wounded. Admiral Montejo in an open boat +transferred his flag to the gunboat Isla de Cuba. The Castilla was +repeatedly hit and was soon burning fiercely. The Don Juan de Austria +was blown up by a shell entering the magazine. The other Spanish +vessels and all the forts and batteries maintained a terrific firing. +The heavy guns of Manila took part in the fight until Dewey sent a +message to Governor-General Augusti, that unless they were immediately +silenced he would shell the city. The message had its effect. Two +small launches or torpedo-boats started out from the Castilla, headed +for the Olympia, but the danger to her was averted by the concentrated +fire of the squadron, and they hasted in their backward flight. A +shell struck and sank one; the other was disabled. A Spanish gunboat +slipping out of line made for the McCulloch, lying off with the +transports, but nothing escaped the eagle eye on the bridge of the +Olympia, and a hail of shells sent the adventurer scurrying back to +cover.</p> + +<a id="img057" name="img057"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/img057.jpg" width="400" height="501" alt="" title=""> +<p>The Dewey triumphal Arch.</p></div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page407" name="page407"></a>(p. 407)</span> It was half-past seven; the battle had raged incessantly for +two hours, during which Commodore Dewey with his flag-officer had +remained exposed on the bridge of the Olympia. The men had been +undergoing a constant strain for twenty-four hours and had been served +only with coffee, so at a quarter before eight the Olympia ceased +firing, and the Commodore ordered the squadron to retire. It was time +for "Dewey's Breakfast."</p> + +<p>When the marvellous news was signalled from ship to ship: "No damage, +not a man killed," the joy and enthusiasm was unbounded.</p> + +<p>The Spanish Admiral, not comprehending the meaning of the American +withdrawal, wired to Madrid a report of a wonderful victory. The +Minister of Marine replied with fulsome compliments. This was the last +news sent out of Manila by cable, and for a week the American people +were in painful suspense.</p> + +<p>In the meantime a sumptuous breakfast was served aboard the American +squadron and a conference of commanders held. The two functions +consumed more than three hours, and at a quarter after eleven the +battle was renewed. The big guns at Cavite were hard at work, and the +Baltimore was ordered to silence them. This she speedily accomplished, +destroying the entire battery. The Olympia and other ships soon took +part, and in an hour nothing was left of the Spanish fleet except +sunken and burning hulks. More than a thousand of the enemy were +killed and drowned and six hundred wounded. At half-past twelve the +Americans ceased to fire, and at twelve-forty the Spanish flag was +lowered and the white flag of surrender took its place.</p> + +<p>Commodore Dewey immediately requested Governor-General Augusti to +allow him to cable to Washington. On the Governor-General's refusal +the Commodore promptly cut the cable to Hong Kong. The only means of +communication left to him was by despatch-boat to Hong Kong, but he +was unable to start the McCulloch for several days, when he sent two +despatches, one penned on the day of battle, the other on May 4th. +These two telegrams, announcing what Captain Mahan has characterized +as "the greatest naval victory recorded in history," reached Hong Kong +on the 8th of May, one week after the battle, and were received in +Washington on the same evening. The intense anxiety which had pervaded +America and the whole English-speaking world, from the day Dewey +sailed from Mirs Bay, was changed to enthusiasm and gratification. +These two despatches, which will go down in history alongside Perry's +from Lake Erie, formed the clearest and most concise account of the +Battle of Manila and its immediate results.</p> + +<div class="quote"> +<p>The first despatch: "May 1st.—Squadron arrived at Manila at daybreak +this morning. Immediately engaged the enemy and destroyed the +following vessels: Reina Cristina, Castilla, Don Antonio de Ulloa, +Isla de Luzon, Isla de Cuba, General Lezo, Marques del Duero, Correo, +Velasco, Isla de Mindanao, a transport and a water battery. The +squadron is uninjured, and only a few men are slightly wounded. Only +means of telegraphing is to American Consul at Hong Kong. Shall +communicate with him.</p> + +<p class="right"> + <span class="smcap">Dewey</span>."</p> +</div> + +<div class="quote"> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page408" name="page408"></a>(p. 408)</span> The second despatch: "Cavite, May 4th.—I have taken +possession of naval station at Cavite on Philippine Islands. Have +destroyed the fortifications at bay entrance, paroling garrison. I +control bay completely and can take city at any time. The squadron is +in excellent health and spirits. The Spanish loss not fully known, but +very heavy; one hundred and fifty killed, including captain of Reina +Cristina. Am assisting in protecting Spanish sick and wounded; two +hundred and fifty sick and wounded in hospitals within our lines. Much +excitement at Manila. Will protect foreign residents.</p> + +<p class="right"> + <span class="smcap">Dewey</span>."</p> +</div> + +<p>Cavite in his possession, Dewey now entered upon the most difficult +part of his enterprise. Although to take possession of Manila would be +comparatively easy, to hold it with his force would be another matter. +He had to cope with Spanish deceit and Malay craft, with the +ill-concealed antagonism of the German and the unexpressed jealousy of +Japan. Not knowing when to expect another Spanish fleet, he was +obliged to force the representative of Germany to observe the decorum +and etiquette demanded by the situation. Hence the friction with Von +Diederich, when Dewey demanded to know whether his country and ours +were at war, for if so, he was ready to do his part of the fighting. +By July 31st troops in sufficient numbers, under General Merritt, had +arrived; and on August 13th the city was assaulted and surrendered.</p> + +<p>The grade of Admiral has been revived by Congress and bestowed upon +Dewey. Never was enacted a more dramatic scene in the House of +Representatives than that when Mr. Moody of Massachusetts, fearing +that in the hurry of the latter days of the Fifty-fifth Congress the +bill passed by the Senate might be overlooked, offered it as a new +section of the Naval Appropriation Bill then under consideration. The +suggestion was received with bursts of applause and acted upon +immediately. A few days afterward the senate bill was passed by the +House.</p> + +<p>Only twice before has the grade of Admiral been conferred on an +officer of the United States Navy. Farragut and Porter earned it by +their work in the Civil War. Numerous as are the heroes of our naval +history, none surpass Dewey, and the country is grateful to the +President and Congress that his worth has been recognized.</p> + +<p>The fighting in the Philippines is not over, and Dewey remains to +secure the territory won by his fearless entry into Manila Bay and the +magnificent plan of battle that made him victorious on that first May +morning of 1898.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<a id="sig010" name="sig010"></a> +<div class="right"> +<img src="images/sig010.jpg" width="150" height="78" alt="Author signature." title=""> +</div> + +<p><a id="footnote1" name="footnote1"></a> +<strong>Footnote 1:</strong> It was the evening succeeding this battle of Leuthen that +Frederick, himself leading the advance after the flying Austrians, +entered the little town of Lissa, where a body of the enemy, never +dreaming the pursuit could reach so far, were resting for the night. +Frederick was as surprised as they when, on entering a room of the +principal inn, he found it filled with Austrian officers. He had but a +handful of troops with him, and, had his enemies known it, was their +prisoner. But with the utmost coolness he saluted them, "Good-evening, +gentlemen. Is there still room for me, think you?" Whereon the +frightened Austrians, thinking themselves surrounded by the whole +Prussian army, decamped in wild haste, and getting their troops +together as they could, fled from the dangerous neighborhood.<a href="#footnotetag1"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote2" name="footnote2"></a> +<strong>Footnote 2:</strong> This battle of Torgau, Frederick planned to win by a +flank attack; but the flanking column was delayed in its march, and at +evening the king found himself everywhere beaten back. His last chance +of success against his many opponents seemed lost: and he spent the +night seated in the church at Elsnig, in such mood as may be imagined. +During the night the flanking column at last arrived, fell on the +enemy, and crushed them. This was the last of Frederick's great +battles.<a href="#footnotetag2"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote3" name="footnote3"></a> +<strong>Footnote 3:</strong> Copyright, 1894, by Selmar Hess.<a href="#footnotetag3"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote4" name="footnote4"></a> +<strong>Footnote 4:</strong> Copyright, 1894, by Selmar Hess.<a href="#footnotetag4"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote5" name="footnote5"></a> +<strong>Footnote 5:</strong> Copyright, 1894, by Selmar Hess.<a href="#footnotetag5"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote6" name="footnote6"></a> +<strong>Footnote 6:</strong> Copyright 1894, by Selmar Hess.<a href="#footnotetag6"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote7" name="footnote7"></a> +<strong>Footnote 7:</strong> Copyright, 1894, by Selmar Hess.<a href="#footnotetag7"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote8" name="footnote8"></a> +<strong>Footnote 8:</strong> Copyright, 1894, by Selmar Hess.<a href="#footnotetag8"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote9" name="footnote9"></a> +<strong>Footnote 9:</strong> Copyright, 1894, by Selmar Hess.<a href="#footnotetag9"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote10" name="footnote10"></a> +<strong>Footnote 10:</strong> A Copyright, 1894, by Selmar Hess.<a href="#footnotetag10"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote11" name="footnote11"></a> +<strong>Footnote 11:</strong> Copied, with the kind permission of the publisher, G. W. +Dillingham, from John Esten Cooke's Life of Lee.<a href="#footnotetag11"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote12" name="footnote12"></a> +<strong>Footnote 12:</strong> Copyright, 1894, by Selmar Hess.<a href="#footnotetag12"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Great Men and Famous Women. Vol. 2 of 8, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GREAT MEN, FAMOUS WOMEN, VOL. 2 *** + +***** This file should be named 26422-h.htm or 26422-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/6/4/2/26422/ + +Produced by Sigal Alon, Christine P. 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