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Title: The battle of the Swash and the capture of Canada
Author: Samuel Barton
Release date: November 12, 2023 [eBook #68344]
Language: English
Original publication: United States: Charles J. Dillingham, 1888
Credits: Al Haines
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BATTLE OF THE SWASH AND THE CAPTURE OF CANADA ***
THE BATTLE OF THE SWASH
_AND_
THE CAPTURE OF CANADA.
_BY_
SAMUEL BARTON.
NEW YORK:
CHARLES T. DILLINGHAM,
718 AND 720 BROADWAY.
Copyright, 1888
by
Samuel Barton
[_All Rights Reserved_]
DEDICATION
To the Senators and ex-Senators, Members and ex-Members,
of past and present Congresses of the United States
of America, who, by their stupid and criminal
neglect to adopt ordinary defensive
precautions, or to encourage
the reconstruction of
THE AMERICAN MERCHANT MARINE,
have rendered all American seaport towns liable to such
an attack as is herein but faintly and imperfectly
described, this historical forecast is
dedicated; with much indignation and
contempt, and little or no
respect, by
THE AUTHOR.
CONTENTS
Chapter
Introduction
I. The United States Prior to 1890
II. Secretary Whitney's Efforts to Rebuild the Navy
III. Canada and the United States
IV. Retaliation
V. The English Fleet
VI. The British Fleet Arrives off Sandy Hook
VII. The Battle of the Swash
VIII. The Return of the Fleet
IX. The Panic and Flight
X. The Bombardment
XI. The Armistice and Treaty of Peace
XII. Conclusion
Appendix
INTRODUCTION.
The only apology which I offer for this authentic account of an event
which (having occurred more than forty years ago), can scarcely be
supposed to possess much interest for the reader of to-day, is, that
having been a participant in the battle myself, I feel a sort of
pride in having an accurate and complete account of it handed down to
posterity.
In my humble judgment no such account has ever yet appeared; and
although I am but indifferently equipped for the task--having dabbled
but slightly in literature, during my busy life of three score and
ten years,--yet I trust that my earnest desire to relate the facts
just as they occurred--and which I propose to do, without fear or
favor--will atone for any shortcomings from a purely literary point
of view. Although I have said that no accurate and complete
narrative of this occurrence has ever been published, the reader must
not therefore assume that there exist no published accounts of it
whatever. On the contrary, it has been described more or less at
length, by so many different writers, both in transitory and
permanent form, that my chief embarrassment arises rather from a
superabundance than from a paucity of materials.
In the library of the N.Y. Historical Society are to be found no less
than ninety-seven books and pamphlets giving what purport to be
"full, true and particular" accounts of the attack upon New York by
the British fleet in the year 1890.
The titles of some of these contributions to contemporaneous history
are decidedly amusing and suggestive of the sensational spirit which
was such a marked characteristic of the general literature, and
especially of the newspaper press of that period.
For instance, we have among them, "The New Armada;" "The British
Blackmailer;" "Modern Piracy;" "The Doom of the Iron Clads;" "The
Disappearance of the British flag from North America;" and one, more
pretentious than the rest, is entitled "An inquiry into the causes
which led to the acquisition of Canada by the United States of
America."
In addition to these numerous books and pamphlets, the newspapers of
the period contained page after page of the most vivid and
sensational accounts, in which truth and falsehood, and sense and
absurdity, are so evidently mingled, that no conscientious historian
would be willing to utilize them as reliable authorities.
Nevertheless, a perusal of them even at this late day, may be found
interesting to many of my readers, and as they are kept on file in
most of the leading city libraries, they are within easy reach of all.
The reader of to-day will be vastly amused in looking over these old
journals, at the evidences to be found on every page, and in almost
every column, of intense and bitter rivalry and jealousy between
their several editors and proprietors. Indeed the journalistic world
at that period seems to have been suffering from an absolute epidemic
of sensationalism, which extended not only to the reading matter, but
to the "make up" as well; and in addition to the prurient details of
social scandals, divorce proceedings, and horrible crimes, the
reader's attention was sought to be attracted by glaring and
suggestive head lines, such as would be tolerated in no respectable
metropolitan journal of the present day. As an evidence of how our
tastes are influenced by our surroundings, I may here state, that
while I am now shocked at the total lack of good taste and the
superabundance of sensational vulgarity displayed by most of the
newspapers of that day, yet I cannot remember that I regarded them
with any such feelings at that time, although I was a man, and
certainly is competent a judge of propriety then, as I am now. But
this is to be a history, not a moral treatise.
With such a mass of material at my command, it will be apparent that
it has been no slight task to sift out the grain from the chaff, and
to condense the vast accumulation of authorities into a comparatively
brief volume like this.
I am fully aware that there are many defects in it, both of omission
and commission; but of one thing the reader may rest assured.
I have at least been conscientious in my efforts to get at the exact
truth, and to correct numerous errors which previous historians have
made, either through carelessness, prejudice, or willfulness.
With this brief introduction, and with extreme diffidence, I submit
my work to the consideration of the candid, unprejudiced, and I
trust, kindly disposed reader.
SAM'L BARTON.
NEW YORK, October, 1930.
THE BATTLE OF THE SWASH
AND
CAPTURE OF CANADA.
CHAPTER I.
THE UNITED STATES PRIOR TO 1890.
Before entering upon a detailed account of what naval experts of all
nationalities have conceded to be the most interesting and important
naval event of that remarkable century (the nineteenth), whose later
years many of my older readers can doubtless remember, I will
endeavor to present in as brief and concise a manner as possible, a
summary of the events which preceded it, and the causes which led up
to it; as without such an explanation the story of the battle itself
would possess little or no historical value.
The first thing which it is necessary for me to explain, is my reason
for choosing the title "_The Battle of the Swash_."
I am not aware that this title has ever been used before, but if the
reader will consult a chart of the Harbor of New York, he will at
once see the propriety of it.
It will be seen that what is known among pilots as the "Swash," is a
straight channel, forming a sort of a hypotenuse to the two sides of
the main ship channel, which bends almost at a right angle at the
Southwest spit.
Assuming, therefore, that the Narrows is effectually blockaded with
torpedoes or other obstructions, and that an attacking fleet desired
to bombard New York at long range, and at the same time be in a
position to withdraw easily and quickly in case of repulse or
accident, the Swash Channel is the point which would naturally be
chosen. The British Admiral was undoubtedly familiar with the upper
and lower Bays of New York, and therefore it is not at all strange
that he selected this spot as a base of his operations against the
city.
Here he anchored his fleet; and here the battle--such as it was--was
fought. I therefore claim that the title which I have chosen, is a
most appropriate one; and if this little work is to possess any value
as a historical authority, the remarkable contest herein recorded,
will be known to future generations as "The Battle of the Swash."
Having thus "made my title clear," I will endeavor to summarize
briefly the events, which either directly or remotely, contributed to
the final catastrophe, and induced Canada to declare war against the
United States.
And here at the very outset of my task, I am confronted with greater
difficulties than at any other portion of it.
Our ancestors of the Nineteenth Century were so constantly occupied
in making history, that they seemed to have little or no time to
record it; and therefore there will probably never be any adequate
historical record of the settlement, improvement and development of
the vast continent of North America. I regard this as in a measure a
calamity to the whole human race; for I think that history may be
searched in vain for any such grand and marvelous example of progress
and development, as that exhibited by our ancestors of the last
century.
In consequence of this dearth of detailed information, I have been
obliged to rely upon such data as could be collected from the files
of newspapers, magazines and similar publications, for the following
meagre sketch of the industrial and political condition of the United
States previous to the year 1890.
What has been called the "War of the Rebellion" occurred in the years
1861-5 inclusive; and was an attempt by the southern slave holding
States, to secede from the Union, and establish a separate
confederacy, based upon Free Trade and Human Slavery. Although the
rights of the slaveholders were fully acknowledged by the law of the
land, yet the growth of the sentiment in favor of abolition of
slavery was so rapid throughout the Northern States, that the
Southerners became alarmed lest their property rights should be
ignored and denied; and after several years of defiant wrangling and
threatening, at length formally seceded from the Union, and by the
attack on Fort Sumter--a fort in Charleston Harbor--inaugurated the
long and bloody conflict which finally resulted in the total
abolition of slavery, and the restoration of the authority of the
United States Government, in all portions of United States territory.
Previous to this war, the United States occupied a front rank among
the maritime powers of the world.
The "American Clipper Ships" (vessels propelled entirely by sail
power; which for purposes of ocean navigation is now practically
obsolete) were considered the perfection of marine architecture, and
bore the stars and stripes proudly and triumphantly upon every sea.
Over 2000 establishments were engaged in the shipbuilding industry,
giving employment to over 20,000 skilled laborers, whose wages
amounted to more than $12,000,000 annually; and who built from
$30,000,000 to $40,000,000 worth of vessels each year.
During the ten years immediately preceding the "War of the
Rebellion," 67 per cent. of the vessels entering the ports of the
United States, carried the American flag; as against 33 per cent.
carrying foreign flags.
In 1887 only about 15 per cent. were American, as against 85 per
cent. foreign.
Several causes had conspired to bring about this vast and disastrous
decline in American ownership.
The first, and most effective of these, unquestionably grew out of
the almost unconcealed and anxious efforts of England, to prevent the
Northern States from bringing the war to a successful issue, and thus
assuring the restoration of the Union.
The cause of this _animus_ on the part of England, was, as is always
the case, where any of her interests are involved, a purely and
intensely selfish one.
The Northern, and especially the New England States, were mercantile
and manufacturing States, and had become formidable rivals to England
in the two great interests in which the latter power had hitherto
deemed herself unapproachable. The American shipowner outsailed and
underbid his English competitor in all parts of the world; and the
American manufacturer, by improved methods and ingenious mechanical
appliances, had begun to successfully compete with his English rival,
not only in American markets, but in foreign ones as well; and
Englishmen viewed with unconcealed dismay, the imminent prospect of
having their immense carrying trade as well as their enormous
manufacturing interests, ruined by the competition of their
enterprising and ingenious American rivals.
Indeed, so marked had this development been, that an eminent French
writer, De Tocqueville, in a book called "Democracy in America,"
written nearly twenty years previous to the outbreak of the "War of
the Rebellion," in a chapter entitled "Some considerations on the
causes of the Commercial prosperity of the United States," wrote as
follows:
"The inhabitants of the United States constitute a great civilized
people, which fortune has placed in the midst of an uncultivated
country, at a distance of three thousand miles from the central point
of civilization. America consequently stands in daily need of
Europe. The Americans will, no doubt, ultimately succeed in
producing or manufacturing at home, most of the articles which they
require; but the two continents can never be independent of each
other, so numerous are the natural ties between their wants, their
ideas, their habits, and their manners. The Union has peculiar
commodities which have now become necessary to us, as they cannot be
cultivated, or can be raised only at an enormous expense, upon the
soil of Europe. The Americans consume only a small portion of this
produce, and they are willing to sell us the rest. Europe is
therefore the market of America, as America is the market of Europe;
and maritime commerce is no less necessary to enable the inhabitants
of the United States to transport their raw materials to the ports of
Europe, than it is to enable us to supply them with our manufactured
produce.
"The United States must therefore either furnish much business to
other maritime nations, even if they should themselves renounce
commerce, as the Spaniards of Mexico have hitherto done, or they must
become one of the first maritime powers of the globe.
"The Anglo-Americans have always displayed a decided taste for the
sea. The Declaration of Independence by breaking the commercial
bonds which united them to England, gave a fresh and powerful
stimulus to their maritime genius. Ever since that time, the
shipping of the Union has increased almost as rapidly as the number
of its inhabitants. The Americans themselves now transport to their
own shores nine-tenths of the European produce which they consume.
And they also bring three-quarters of the exports of the New World to
the European consumer. The ships of the United States fill the docks
of Havre and of Liverpool, whilst the number of English and French
vessels at New York is comparatively small. Thus, not only does the
American merchant brave competition on his own ground, but even
successfully supports that of foreign nations in their own ports.
This is readily explained by the fact, that the vessels of the United
States cross the seas at a cheaper rate....
"It is difficult to say for what reason the Americans can navigate at
a lower rate than other nations; one is at first led to attribute
this superiority to the physical advantages which nature gives them;
but it is not so.
"The American vessels cost almost as much to build as our own; they
are not better built, and they generally last a shorter time. The
pay of the American sailor is more considerable than the pay on board
European ships, which is proved by the great number of Europeans who
are to be found in the merchant vessels of the United States. How
happens it then, that the Americans sail their vessels at a cheaper
rate than we can ours? I am of opinion that the true cause of their
superiority must not be sought for in physical advantages, but that
it is wholly attributable to moral and intellectual qualities....
"The European sailor navigates with prudence; he sets sail only when
the weather is favorable; if an unforeseen accident befals him, he
puts into port; at night, he furls a portion of his canvass; and when
the whitening billows intimate the vicinity of land, he checks his
course, and takes an observation of the Sun.
"The American neglects these precautions and braves these dangers.
He weighs anchor before the tempest is over; by night and by day he
spreads his sheets to the wind; he repairs as he goes along, such
damage as his vessel may have sustained from the storm; and when he
at last approaches the term of his voyage, he darts onward to the
shore as if he already descried a port.
"The Americans are often shipwrecked, but no trader crosses the seas
so rapidly. And, as they perform the same distance in shorter time,
they can perform it at a cheaper rate.....
"I cannot better explain my meaning, than by saying that the
Americans show a sort of heroism in their manner of trading. The
European merchant will always find it difficult to imitate his
American competitor who, in adopting the system which I have just
described, does not follow calculation, but an impulse of his
nature.....
"Reason and experience prove that no commercial prosperity can be
durable if it cannot be united, in case of need, to naval force.
This truth is as well understood in the United States as anywhere
else; the Americans are already able to make their flag respected; in
a few years they will make it feared.....
"Nations, as well as men, almost always betray the prominent features
of their future destiny in their earliest years. When I contemplate
the ardor with which the Anglo-Americans prosecute commerce, the
advantages which aid them, and the success of their undertakings, I
cannot help believing that they will one day become the first
maritime power of the globe. They are born to rule the seas, as the
Romans were to conquer the world."[*]
[*] "Democracy in America," by Alexis de Tocqueville. Translated by
Henry Reeve, Esquire. Edited with notes by Prof. Francis Owen, of
Harvard University, Cambridge, 1863, Vol. 1, p. 648 to 552.
To a reader of the present day, these words, albeit they were written
nearly a hundred years ago, seem to have been almost inspired by
superhuman wisdom, so accurately do they describe the present
position of the United States as a maritime power; but if any
American could have read them about the time of the "Battle of the
Swash," they would have seemed either to convey the severest sarcasm
of which human speech is capable, or else to have been the wild and
unmeaning utterances of drivelling idiocy. For at this time, thanks
to English privateers, and American stupidity and indifference, the
American flag had practically disappeared from the ocean.
As has been already mentioned, English shipowners and manufacturers
were suffering severely from American competition; they therefore
hailed the possible or probable dismemberment of the American Union
with delight, and immediately upon the outbreak of the "War of the
Rebellion," determined to aid the seceding States in every possible
way. These States were exclusively agricultural communities, raising
most of the cotton which formed such an important portion of the raw
material required by English factories. Like all partially developed
agricultural communities, they had no capital to invest in vessels or
factories; and in case they secured their independence, they were
pledged to Free Trade, and would thus offer a vast and profitable
carrying trade to English ships; and a vast and profitable market for
English goods. The temptation was a great one; too great in fact to
be resisted; and a short time after the commencement of the war, a
number of so-called "Confederate cruisers," which had been built and
fitted out in English ports with English money, were scouring the
ocean, capturing and destroying American merchant vessels wherever
they could find them, and compelling the transfer of such as were not
destroyed, to the protection of some neutral flag. As our ancestors
were at that time engaged in a life and death struggle to maintain
their national existence, they could only protest against this
selfish and unfriendly action of England; but the guilt of the latter
power was practically conceded at an arbitration conference held at
Geneva several years later, at which the sum of $15,000,000 was
awarded as damages to be paid by England for the depredations
committed by these piratical cruisers upon American commerce. The
mischief, however, was done; our ocean commerce had been ruined; and
England could well have afforded to pay $15,000,000 _annually_ for
having thus paralyzed her great maritime rival.
Concurrently with this wiping out of our shipping by English
cruisers, iron and steel began to be used as a substitute for wood in
ship building; and by the time that the rebellion had been finally
crushed, our shipbuilders found themselves utterly unable to compete
with those of Great Britain on account of the greater cost of
materials and wages here, as well as the absence of machinery and
appliances for building iron and steel vessels. Gold remained at a
premium for several years after the conclusion of the war; and this,
together with the tariff on imported materials required in ship
building, rendered competition with foreign builders absolutely
impossible. To make matters worse, all the principal maritime
nations of Europe inaugurated a system of subsidies or bounties,
which stimulated shipbuilding enormously, and increased the supply of
vessels so rapidly, that carrying rates fell to figures, with which
unsubsidized vessels could not possibly compete. England, France,
Germany, Italy, Belgium, Holland, and finally Spain, went into the
subsidy business; and the latter power actually subsidized lines of
steamers to the extent of over $1,000,000 per annum, to run along our
whole Atlantic and Pacific Coasts, trading between Mexico and Central
America on the south, and Canada and British Columbia on the north,
and stopping at all important American ports on their respective
routes.
The only demand for American built vessels was for the coasting
trade; but this demand was sufficient to induce the establishment of
several large iron shipyards, most of which were located on the
Delaware River, at or near Philadelphia, Chester, and Wilmington.
Thus was inaugurated that interest which has since attained such
enormous proportions, as to give to the Delaware River the
_sobriquet_ of "The American Clyde."
The vessels built at these yards, even in those early days, proved
conclusively that American shipbuilders were still the best in the
world, and then as now, American coastwise steamships were conceded
to be the finest and fleetest and best vessels of their class afloat.
The absolute refusal of Congress to offer any subsidy, or even to
offer decent compensation to American vessels for carrying the mails
to foreign countries, effectually prevented the building of any ships
suitable for that trade; and while England and France and Germany and
Spain were building swift merchant steamers on plans approved by
their naval departments, and paying them liberal annual subsidies for
the privilege of chartering or purchasing them at a fixed price, at
any time, and converting them into aimed cruisers; thus providing
themselves at a comparatively trifling cost with a most formidable
and efficient auxiliary naval force; the Congress of the United
States, with an apathy or indifference which seems utterly
unaccountable at the present time, absolutely refused to do anything
to encourage the rebuilding of the American Merchant Marine.
That such a suicidal policy should have been persisted in for more
than twenty years after the close of the war, at a time when the
annual receipts of the Treasury were over $100,000,000 in excess of
the government requirements, and when the extraordinary spectacle was
presented day after day, of senators and members of Congress,
wrangling and arguing over the question of "how to dispose of the
surplus," seems absolutely incredible; and yet, a perusal of the
files of the newspapers published during this period, (say from 1875
to 1888) will satisfy the most skeptical reader that it is strictly
true. For the convenience and satisfaction of such of my readers as
may not be able easily to refer to these files, I reproduce a few
articles and communications from some of the journals of that period.
SUBSIDIES TO BRITISH STEAMSHIPS--ARRANGEMENTS
WITH THE WHITE STAR AND CUNARD LINES.
_From the New York Journal of Commerce, March_ 31, 1887.
"A Liverpool cablegram received yesterday says: 'At the meeting of
the stockholders of the Cunard Steamship Company to-day the chairman
announced that the Government had granted the company an annual
subvention of $85,000 for a period of five years for the 'carrying of
the mails.'
"Details of the agreement entered into between the British Admiralty
and the owners of the White Star and Cunard companies, by which
certain of their vessels are placed at the disposal of the Government
on specified terms, are contained in a late parliamentary paper. The
White Star Line agrees to hold at the disposition of the Government
for purchase or hire, at the option of the Admiralty, to be exercised
from time to time during the continuance of the agreement, the
following vessels: Britannic, value £130,000; Germanic, £100,000;
Adriatic, £100,000; Celtic, £100,000. In the event of purchase the
foregoing prices were to be held as the values of the vessels on
January 1, 1887, plus 10 per cent. for compulsory sale, less an
abatement of 6 per cent. per annum on the depreciated annual value
for the period that might elapse between January 1, 1887, and the
date of purchase by the Government. In the event of charter by the
Admiralty the rate of hire of the before-mentioned vessels was fixed
at the rate of 20s. per gross registered ton per month, the owner
providing the crew, or at the rate of 15s. per gross registered ton
per month, the Admiralty finding the crew, all risks of capture and
of hostilities being assumed by the Admiralty. The company has
determined to build one or two vessels of high speed and of such a
type and speed as will render them specially suitable for service as
armed cruisers, and in accordance with the plans and specifications
submitted and approved by the Admiralty. In consideration of this
the Admiralty will have to pay to the company an annual subvention at
the rate of 15s. per gross registered ton per annum. On February 8,
the Admiralty accepted similar proposals made by the Cunard Line in
respect to the following vessels: Etruria, value £310,000; Umbria,
£301,000; Aurunia, £240,000; Servia, £193,000; Gallia, £102,000--a
subvention of 15s. per gross registered ton per annum, to be paid to
the company on account of the Etruria, Umbria and Aurania during the
continuance of the postal contract, and in the event of the
termination of that contract before these three vessels received five
years' payment, the company to be entitled to receive for the balance
a subvention at the rate of 20s., the five vessels being still held
at the disposition of the Government. In the event of the Cunard
Company building new vessels for the mail service, they will submit
the plans to the Admiralty for approval.
"The subvention will amount to about £6,500 for each of the new
vessels of the White Star Line, so long as they carry the mails, or
£8,500 should the mails be withdrawn. The annual charge for the
retention of the Cunarders Etruria, Umbria and Aurania is stated at
£5,400 each.
The Admiralty announce that they are ready to make the same
arrangement as with the White Star Company for the first ten steamers
that may be offered by any of the British steamship companies."
The following letter from Admiral D. D. Porter shows conclusively the
feeling which must have existed in Naval circles upon the subject of
the revival of the American Merchant Marine. The letter was
addressed to a Mr. Aaron Vanderbilt, representing the American
Shipping and Industrial League and was published in the New York
_World_ and other journals, some time during the year 1888.
DEAR SIR: I received your letter and pamphlet this morning in
relation to American shipping. It is a matter in which I am greatly
interested. I only wish I really had some influence in this country
to help forward measures for the advancement of our mercantile
marine, without which we can never be a great naval power. I have
written a great deal on the subject and the files of the Senate have
now many letters of mine in favor of granting subsidies to ocean
steamships, in order to open lines wherever they could be run to
advantage. Indeed, I have been so persistent in this matter ever
since the close of the civil war that I ran the risk of being
considered queer--for that is the term people apply nowadays to men
of progressive ideas, whose opinions come in conflict with those of
persons who are altogether guided by local prejudices.
I have written a good deal for the _American Protectionist_ on the
subject, also a long article for the Chicago _Inter Ocean_, covering
one side of the paper, which had an extensive circulation in the
West. I wrote so much that I was afraid I might come under the head
of "penny-a-liner," but all to no purpose, as the cause didn't seem
to advance an inch.
This country is a young giant, full of resources, overflowing with
wealth, and the people themselves full of progressive ideas, yet you
see how difficult it is to get anything done even for the defense of
our coast and great cities.
With all our wealth and enterprise we are, owing to the force of
circumstances over which our people seem to have no control, Bourbons
up to the hub, learning nothing and forgetting nothing.
The nation that can put the most ships and the best ships on the sea
will be the one that can set the world at defiance. No nation can
put its commerce on its bottom again, after it has been broken up as
ours has been, without subsidies, which are considered by some people
as opposed to our institutions, although I myself cannot see it: but
subsidies to steamships that must carry our products over the world
and bring back other products in return must help every industry in
the country. Every State in the Union is interested in having our
commerce re-established, no matter at what cost. Think what an
impetus the establishment of great lines of steamships would give to
our iron and steel interests. How many thousands of mechanics who
are now out of employment would again enjoy ample compensation for
their labor. What rejoicings there would be throughout the land at
such an event. How the cotton and hemp manufactories would be
crowded with workers. Think how many million yards of canvas would
be spread upon the ocean.
The great British steam lines which are running to and from our ports
so frequently, bring their coal from England and take little back
from this country. Think of the coal-mines that would be worked to
supply our great ocean steam lines should we ever establish such as
are necessary to the country. Sit down and reckon the different
industries that would be benefited by the establishment of great
steamship lines, and you will be surprised at the amount that would
be thrown into the hands of the laboring people of this country.
What is the object of a government if it is not to build up the
industries of a country, as opposed to those of other countries? A
republican government should be the best in the world. Its
legislators should advance all its industries. It should be more
paternal in its organizations than any other, for those who are
elected to office are put there by the people to promote their
interests. We have gone on for the past twenty-five years, showing
no more ability to cope with the matters to which I have referred
than the minor republics of South America, which scarcely hold any
place in the estimation of the world. Instead of being a government
for the people, ours seems to be a government made for the advantage
of a select clique.
I almost despair, although not naturally of a despairing nature. I
thought when our civil war was over and there was no longer a
question which could seriously divide the country, that we would put
our household in order and unite to become the great nation of the
world, which we are fully capable of doing; but, with thousands of
others who helped to fight for the country and put it on its legs
again, I have been wofully disappointed, particularly in the
decadence of that ocean commerce which was once second only to Great
Britain.
Even Spain, that has been for years behind all other nations, and for
more than sixty years has been considered the most effete government
in Europe--Bourbon all over--has now taken the lead of us, has voted
millions in a lump to build up her navy, and is about to establish
those very steam lines which should have been American. If this
country does not take proper steps to resurrect our commerce and
place a number of steamship lines on a footing with those of European
countries, foreigners may well say that the resources of the country
have been developed faster than the education of the people has
progressed, and that the Americans are not sufficiently advanced in
intelligence to understand that no nation can be a first-class power
that allows another to do its carrying. For my part, I expect to
step out soon without witnessing the fulfilment of any of my
cherished ideas. As for the "naval reserve" they are talking about
at present, it ought to have been established in the days of the
Revolution.
Every steamship that we build for ocean service should be able to
carry guns, and the Government should condemn her for national use
whenever it is considered necessary--in fact, exercise greater power
over the mercantile marine than over the militia. An organization of
this kind, however, can only be established by stringent acts of
Congress, without which no action of the Secretary of the Navy or a
board of officers would enable the Government to use merchant vessels.
Nothing, however, in this direction can be done the present session,
and we can only hope that a more enlightened feeling in regard to
these matters will be shown in the future than has prevailed in the
past.
The people who make this outcry against "subsidies" apparently do not
reflect that no nation in the world has gone so far in this direction
as the United States. For instance, the grants to the great
railroads which connect the Atlantic with the Pacific, by which
millions of dollars and millions upon millions of the public lands
were given, enough to have built up our mercantile marine and navy
twenty times over; yet few people have objected to these donations on
the part of the Government, as it was felt to be the only means by
which we could open the country for settlement and obtain control of
the great commerce of the East.
That was the great cry at the time, but unfortunately we only half
did the work we started to accomplish, and failed to continue the
road to China by not appropriating money to put upon the Pacific a
sufficient number of steamships to entirely control the China trade,
and give us a large number of fast and powerful vessels that could,
when necessary, be transformed into heavily armed men-of-war for the
protection of our northwest coast.
At the present time a single powerful vessel of an enemy could
devastate the whole of that coast. I remain, very truly yours, DAVID
D. POUTER, Admiral.
In a letter to the _New York Tribune_, published in May, 1887, Mr. H.
K. Thurber, Pres't of the N. Y. & Brazil S. S. Co., among other
strong language, used the following:
"'Trade is following the flag' with a vengeance. The policy that
mails on the ocean should not be paid a much higher rate than
'inanimate freight' is bringing its fruits home to us in a very
unpleasant manner. The direct contrary policy of England, France,
Germany, Spain and Italy is driving the stars and stripes from the
Ocean. Will Americans sit tamely by and see this insane policy
continued?"
The following letter addressed to this same Mr. Thurber, and,
(curiously enough) signed by a person bearing the same name as the
author of this book, (probably a member of the same family) was also
published in several newspapers about this time.
NEW YORK, Sept. 16, 1887.
_H. K. Thurber, Esq., President U. S. & B. S. S. Co.:_
DEAR SIR: I am in receipt of your pamphlet, and I beg to say that in
my humble judgment it is entirely unanswerable, and that the mere
statement of facts which it contains should bring the blush of shame
to every American cheek.
Indeed, if we were not living witnesses and victims of it, it would
be utterly beyond belief that such a stupid and vicious system as
that under which our mercantile marine is being absolutely strangled
"in the house of its friends" could prevail in any country having the
slightest pretensions to intelligence or enterprise; and it is
certainly not too much to say that if our present laws had been
framed by our worst national enemies or our bitterest commercial
rivals, they could not be more effectual in paralyzing our foreign
commerce and rendering us as nearly as possible a cipher among the
nations of the earth.
Two years ago I was obliged to give up active business on account of
ill health, and since that time I have traveled quite extensively in
Europe, and the most striking fact which confronted me at every turn,
was the enormous increase and development of foreign trade among
nations which we have hitherto regarded as only second or third rate
commercial powers. This remarkable development, in which France and
Germany took the lead, has extended to other countries, and Italy,
Spain and even little Belgium, are rapidly coming to the front as
great maritime nations. Upon inquiring into the causes of this
remarkable increase of commercial activity, I found that it was
entirely due to the policy of "protection by bounty" or subsidy.
Moreover, it has been made principally at the expense of the United
States of America.
England has of course suffered to some extent also: but I think it is
entirely within bounds to assume that at least 75 per cent. of the
foreign traffic secured by these enterprising Europeans within the
last fifteen or twenty years, is traffic which rightfully belongs to
us, and which we should have had, if our law-makers had exhibited the
slightest desire to foster our commercial interests. Walking along
the magnificent wharves of Antwerp, I saw steamer after steamer
loading and unloading for and from ports in South America, whose
trade by every natural law should come to us. It was the same at
Southampton and Liverpool and Havre, and even away down in Naples
there were evidences on every hand of how we Americans are being
robbed of what may be justly considered our birthright; that is,
South American, West Indian, and even Mexican trade. The intense and
monumental stupidity which permits this process to continue, is
doubtless amusing to those who profit by it, but it is death to us as
a maritime nation.
It seems inconceivable that with an overflowing Treasury, and with
exports of over $700,000,000 per annum, our shipping interest should
be thus wiped out of existence merely because a lot of idiots have
inherited a political superstition which invariably throws them into
spasms of indignant protest whenever the word "subsidy" is mentioned.
This inherited superstition is practically all there is behind the
opposition to a fair and reasonable system of protection and
encouragement to our shipping interest.
Of what use are arguments in the face of patent and notorious facts?
Our commerce was swept from the ocean during our civil war. Its
place has been usurped by subsidized vessels of other countries.
Against these vessels unsubsidized ones cannot compete successfully.
This is the whole question in a nutshell.
Shall we, by a judicious system of paying a fair price for American
mail service, restore our foreign commerce, and take once more the
front rank among maritime nations? Or shall we continue to yield to
the paralyzing influence of a mere word, which only represents an
idiotic and threadbare superstition; and turn our whole enormous
export trade over to our foreign competitors, who, while ridiculing
our stupidity, gladly take advantage of it, and pocket the profits
which we thus thrust upon them? Public sentiment is gradually
changing on this great subject; and the demand for reasonable and
sensible legislation in the interest of American shipowners will soon
make itself heard with no uncertain sound. Meanwhile, the fact that
practical and intelligent business men are taking part in the public
discussion of it, is one of the most encouraging signs of the times.
I remain, yours very truly,
SAM BARTON.
It is scarcely necessary for me to say that the foregoing letter
expresses what my sentiments would have been at that time, quite as
fully and as well, as I could, if I had written it myself.
Not only had our merchant marine thus been permitted to be wiped out
of existence, but our navy had also become worn out and decayed, and
our antiquated coast fortifications were the laughing stock of
military and naval experts all over the world.
Concerning the deplorable condition of the United States Navy,
Secretary Whitney, in his annual report for 1885, said, "At the
present moment it must be conceded that we have nothing which
deserves to be called a navy. It is questionable whether we have a
single naval vessel finished and afloat at the present time, that
could be trusted to encounter the ships of any important power--a
single vessel that has either the armor for protection, speed for
escape, or weapons for defense."
This was a notorious fact, as was also the defenseless condition of
our seaboard cities.
Mr. Samuel J. Tilden--who was the democratic candidate for President
of the United States in 1876, and who was believed by many to have
been elected, notwithstanding the decision of the electoral
commission in favor of Mr. Hayes--had in a public letter, made a very
strong appeal for the utilization of the so-called surplus revenues
in fortifying our coasts.
Admiral Porter in his report for the year 1887, also made the
following astounding statement in this connection:
"Two heavy iron-clads could commence at the eastern-most point, and
proceed along the coast to Texas, laying every city under
contribution. In time of war, the torpedo system will be useless for
defense in the absence of proper fortifications and guns. For the
event of war we are no more prepared than we were a year ago;
although we have made a beginning to repair simply the waste in our
navy for the past twenty-five years."
A writer in the _North American Review_ of July, 1888, had also
called attention to the utterly defenseless condition of our
seaports, and showed that a hostile fleet anchored in New York
Harbor, could destroy property valued at $1,500,000,000 in New York,
$600,000,000 in Brooklyn, and $100,000,000 in Jersey City. The only
alternative to such a bombardment would be the payment of a ransom,
whose amount would of course bear some relation to the immense amount
of property involved.
The _New York Herald_ had also, during the summer of 1887, published
a series of sensational articles, showing the enormous amounts of
property thus exposed on our Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts. It
will thus be seen that our ancestors had not even the excuse of
_ignorance_, in permitting such a state of affairs to continue. The
question had been the subject of frequent conferences and
investigations; and committees and sub-committees had reported upon
it, times without number. The fortification board had estimated the
cost of a complete system of coast defences, including armored
turrets and casemates, barbette and mortar batteries, rifled guns,
torpedoes, torpedo boats and floating batteries, at $126,377,800; and
bills had been introduced looking to the gradual expenditure of that
amount of money, such expenditure to cover a period of ten years.
But all such propositions were met by the "economical" statesmen of
that day, with howls of indignant protest; and were characterized as
attempts to steal and squander the proceeds of an excessive and
burdensome system of taxation, which was levied for the sole benefit
of a privileged class of manufacturers, monopolists and capitalists.
Thus these backwoods statesmen, nine-tenths of whom would probably
have failed, if they had attempted to carry on any business more
extensive than the keeping of a peanut stand, assumed to be the
judges of what was the best economy for a nation of over 60,000,000
of people, and exemplified their ideas of economy by rolling up an
annual pension list of about $150,000,000; spending $30,000,000 or
$40,000,000 in so-called river and harbor improvements and public
buildings in different parts of the country; and absolutely _throwing
away_ $20,000,000 or $30,000,000 in paying exorbitant premiums for
the privilege of cancelling a debt not yet due. And thus it had come
to pass, that in the year of grace, 1886, the United States of
America, with a population of more than 60,000,000, with a coast line
whose length was more than double that of any other country, with an
annual available revenue of more than $100,000,000, notwithstanding
that its system of taxation was lighter and less burdensome than that
of any other nation, and its laboring classes better paid, better
housed, better clothed, better fed, and better educated than any
similar classes in any other portion of the world; and with an annual
foreign commerce exceeding $1,600,000,000 in value, found itself
practically without any merchant marine, and actually without a
single war vessel with the "necessary armor for protection, speed for
escape, or weapons for defense;" with its coasts and harbors entirely
unprotected, and its seaports,--containing property aggregating more
than $10,000,000,000 in value--utterly defenseless, and absolutely
inviting attack from any nation which possessed a modern iron-clad,
armed with two or more long range guns, capable of throwing a shell
ten miles or so. This will doubtless seem an incredible statement to
readers of the present day; and yet it is strictly true. Moreover,
these rural solons, in their zeal for what they considered "economy,"
unsettled the industrial interests of the country by an acrimonious
discussion of the tariff; and the most lightly taxed, prosperous,
intelligent and wealthy community in the world was asked to believe
that it was ground down and oppressed by an excessive and burdensome
system of taxation; and "the surplus," "_the surplus_," "THE
SURPLUS," was held over it constantly _in terrorem_, as a monster
that was eating out the nation's vitals, and would soon involve it in
financial ruin.
Meanwhile, new fortifications were recommended year after year, and
the necessity for these was conceded by both political parties;
but--they were not built.
Elaborate estimates for the establishment of gun foundries were made
and favorably reported on; but--the foundries were not built. Huge
appropriations for formidable armored battle ships were talked over
and recommended; but--the armored battle ships were not built.
Bills looking to the re-establishment of our mercantile marine by the
adoption of a similar system of encouragement to that in vogue among
all modern maritime nations, were introduced, and debated on, and
argued over; but--the bills were not passed, and our merchants were
obliged to continue shipping their goods in foreign bottoms. And all
this criminal failure to adopt ordinary defensive precautions, was
justified on the ground of "_economy_." If history ever exhibited a
striking instance of the folly of "saving at the spigot and wasting
at the bung," our ancestors of the latter part of the nineteenth
century may fairly claim pre-eminence as exhibitors in that line.
But I must not anticipate.
CHAPTER II.
SECRETARY WHITNEY'S EFFORTS TO REBUILD THE NAVY.
Upon his accession to the Presidency in March, 1885, President
Cleveland had appointed a Mr. William C. Whitney, a New York lawyer,
secretary of the Navy; and although he had had no previous experience
in naval matters, he seems to have been profoundly impressed with the
necessity of rebuilding the Navy, and bringing it up to a standard
more in consonance with modern methods, and more in keeping with the
vast national interests which it might at any time be suddenly called
upon to protect and defend. During his entire term of office,
Secretary Whitney's reports and official communications were
invariably couched in the most earnest and vigorous language; and
bore the strongest possible testimony to the serious importance with
which he regarded his position; and it is not too much to say that
many of the features which at present cause the United States Navy to
rank first among the navies of the world, grew out of suggestions and
recommendations made by Secretary Whitney.
Like all reformers, however, his path was beset with many
difficulties; and although he persisted bravely in the task he had
set for himself, he encountered so many obstacles and
discouragements, that his health became seriously impaired, and it
was only at the earnest solicitation of the President, and leading
members of his party, that he consented to serve his full term of
four years. During President Cleveland's administration party
feeling ran very high, and the Republicans, who had recently been
ousted from power, after a continuous enjoyment of it for twenty-four
years, seemed to look upon any effort to alter or increase or improve
the Navy, as a reflection upon their previous management of the
department. Consequently, Secretary Whitney found himself opposed
and hampered at every turn; and his well-meant and intelligent
efforts in the direction of reform, encountered the open or concealed
opposition of Republican Senators and Congressmen; and as the
Republicans still held control of the Senate by a narrow majority,
but few of his recommendations were at first favorably acted upon.
Thus does party prejudice at times outweigh patriotism; and thus the
best interests of the country are often neglected or jeopardized in
obedience to the behests of a political boss, or in deference to the
supposed necessities of a partisan organization.
It is difficult at this late day, to conceive of such a state of
affairs as this; but as a partial vindication of our ancestors
against a charge of what might almost be called high treason, we must
remember that the passions and prejudices which grew out of the "War
of the Rebellion," still found a resting-place in the bosoms of most
of the older inhabitants; and these extended to the political
discussions of the day, rendering party feeling exceedingly bitter
and vindictive.
In fact, what would at present be regarded as an absurd
impossibility, was then an actual fact; and the two great political
parties of the country, twenty years after the close of the Civil
War, found themselves divided on precisely the same sectional lines,
which had existed previous to and during that conflict; and the most
casual reference to the journals of that date can scarcely fail to
reveal one or more allusions to "The Solid South," as a political
entity whose interests must have necessarily been antagonistic to the
other portions of the Union.
The vast manufacturing and mineral interests of Alabama, Georgia and
Tennessee, were then in their infancy; and the people of those States
still hugged the delusion of free trade, as a sort of an inherited
political superstition, in common with the other Southern States,
whose interests were almost wholly Agricultural, and which have since
found their proper and logical political affiliation with the
Agricultural States of the West and Northwest.
During President Cleveland's term of office, the Senate, as has
before been remarked, was Republican by a small majority. The House
of Representatives, however, was Democratic; so that there was a
practical deadlock on all party questions; and as nearly every
question that arose became more or less of a party one, scarcely
anything in the way of practical legislation was accomplished. In
fact it would seem that about the only measures which could safely
run the gauntlet of both houses, were bills of the nature of jobs to
rob the treasury, which were passed by what were called (in the
political slang of that day) "logrolling" methods.
For instance, if a river or harbor needed improvement, the member of
Congress in whose district it was situated, looked around for other
members who had one or more rivers or harbors similarly affected; and
a number of these, combining together, would originate what was
called a "river and harbor bill," in which each member's district was
to have a good slice of the total appropriation. Then, if there were
not votes enough to secure the passage of the bill, other members
were drummed up, and were offered appropriations for creeks and
harbors in their districts--the expenditure of which would of course
be under the direction of their political friends--and thus, at every
session of Congress, a gigantic appropriation bill, amounting
frequently to $20,000,000 or $25,000,000 was passed; two thirds of
which in all probability was sheer robbery. A similar system was
pursued with reference to public buildings in different parts of the
country; and the extraordinary spectacle was presented, of Senators
and Representatives meeting in Washington, year after year, wrangling
over these appropriations, and exhibiting their ignorance of the
cardinal principles of political economy, in long-winded harangues
about "the treasury surplus," while they permitted the United States
Navy to go to decay, refused appropriations to fortify the harbors
and coasts, and utterly failed to do anything to foster and encourage
the re-establishment of the American Merchant Marine, whose value as
a nursery or training school for the development of a naval force,
had been so conclusively shown in the earlier days of the Republic.
At the time of Secretary Whitney's accession to office, the whole
available naval force of the United States consisted of a few old
wooden vessels, so rotten as to be scarcely seaworthy, three or four
iron-hulled steam corvettes and frigates, of an antiquated and
obsolete type, and a few vessels of the "Monitor," or revolving
turret style (so called from the fact that the first vessel of this
type was called the "Monitor").
These latter, however, were in an unfinished, rotten and rusty
condition, having from motives of "economy" been permitted to lie and
rot at their docks ever since the conclusion of the Civil War; and
were therefore utterly useless for any sudden emergency; as several
month's work would have been required to finish the unfinished ones,
and repair the completed ones. It is true, that a commencement to
rebuild the navy had been attempted during President Arthur's
administration, and two modern cruisers, (the Boston and Chicago) and
a despatch boat (the Dolphin) were approaching completion when Mr.
Whitney became Secretary of the Navy. These vessels, however, were
only partially successful; and when finished, were found to fall far
below the requirements of the contracts; and it was only after a long
series of tests, and many expensive alterations, that they could be
rendered serviceable.
In spite of all obstacles, however, Secretary Whitney did make
considerable progress in rebuilding the Navy. During the years 1887
and 1888, several new cruisers were added to its effective force, and
the construction of two heavily armored battle ships was commenced.
Numerous experiments were also made with torpedoes, and various
submarine systems were tried with greater or less prospects of
success.
A lieutenant in the army named Zalinski, had invented a pneumatic
gun, which he claimed would safely throw a dynamite shell a distance
of two miles; and a vessel was built expressly to carry guns of this
kind. Discussion more or less heated, concerning the disgracefully
unprotected condition of our seaboard cities, had been carried on in
the newspapers, and at length, early in 1889, the city of New York
(or rather a few of its more public-spirited citizens) organized a
system of volunteer harbor defense militia.
The Legislature having been appealed to in vain, private
subscriptions were started, and a fund was raised sufficient to
charter one or two harbor tug boats, and to equip a marine battalion,
mostly of longshoremen and stevedores, who were drilled in torpedo
practice, electric light signaling, boarding, cable cutting, anchor
tripping, night attacks, and various other plans for annoying or
disabling supposed hostile ships in our harbor. This drilling and
exercise were supervised and carried on under the direction of
intelligent naval officers, detailed for that purpose by the Navy
Department, and although the limited means at the disposal of the
originators of this plan, prevented them from accomplishing any very
important results, yet their efforts were instrumental in getting
together a splendid body of men, who could be relied upon at any
time, in case of a sudden emergency, to volunteer their services; and
whose practical skill as a signal corps, and perfect knowledge of the
harbor, would render their co-operation of the utmost value to the
regular naval force in time of war.
This was in fact the origin of our present magnificent and complete
"Harbor Defense Corps," which has so often challenged the admiration
of foreign naval experts. Anybody who should at this time publicly
advocate its abolition or its curtailment, on mere grounds of
"economy," would be ridiculed as an idiot, or branded as a traitor;
and yet the Legislature of New York refused even to grant its members
exemption from jury duty, on account of the protest of a few
intelligent and incorruptible(?) back country members.
Having thus given a general resumé of the condition and situation of
the United States up to the years 1887 and 1888, I will in the next
chapter endeavor to give a succinct and intelligible review of the
events which had a more direct and immediate effect in causing the
"Battle of the Swash."
CHAPTER III.
CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES.
It would be foreign to the purpose of this work, besides being a
useless reviving of animosities and prejudices, now happily
forgotten, were I to discuss the _merits_ of the controversy between
Canada and the United States; which from trifling and unimportant
beginnings, gradually increased in bitterness and intensity, until it
finally embroiled the two countries, and England as well, in war.
The contest was long ago waged to its legitimate and final
arbitrament; and its results have been acquiesced in by all the
interested parties, and are a part of the history of the nineteenth
century.
Nevertheless a brief sketch of the origin and progress of this
controversy, seems essential to this narrative, as showing the
motives which actuated Canada and England in their final action.
This sketch I will endeavor to make as brief as is consistent with a
clear presentation of the subject-matter.
Long previous to the Revolutionary War, in which the American
Colonies secured their independence from British domination, and
founded the United States of America, the vast value of the fisheries
on the George's and Grand Banks, and along the North American and
Newfoundland coasts, had been fully demonstrated; and even as early
as the sixteenth century, nearly all of the maritime nations of
Europe sent fleets to catch the fish which were known to abound there.
The French and English, however, at length succeeded in obtaining
exclusive possession of the privilege; although as late as 1783,
Spain put forward a claim of the right to participate in it.
This claim was, however, not pressed. Previous to the successful
revolt of the American Colonists in 1770, several wars had occurred
between England and France, the final result of which had been to
expel the French from Canada, and to secure to England a practical
monopoly of these valuable fisheries. The fishing industry had by
this time vastly increased in value and importance, and was very
largely engaged in by the people of the New England Colonies.
Indeed the importance of the industry was such, that the long point
of Massachusetts was christened Cape Cod; gilded codfish were largely
used as weather vanes on church spires, and on the public buildings;
a painted codfish hung in the State House in Boston, as a constant
reminder to the law-makers of the importance of the fishing interest;
and the fortunate and enterprising fishermen, who accumulated wealth
sufficient to enable them to pass the autumn of their lives amid
quiet and luxurious surroundings, came to be known as the "Codfish
Aristocracy."
In the year 1783 a treaty of peace was finally concluded between the
United States and Great Britain, which defined the rights of the
citizens of the United States to these privileges, as follows:
ARTICLE III.
It is agreed that the people of the United States shall continue to
enjoy unmolested the right to take fish of every kind on the Grand
Bank, and on all the other banks of Newfoundland; also in the Gulf of
St. Lawrence and all other places in the sea where the inhabitants of
both countries used at any time heretofore to fish; and also that the
inhabitants of the United States shall have liberty to take fish of
every kind on such part of the coast of Newfoundland as British
fishermen shall use (but not to dry or cure the same on that island),
and also on the coasts, bays, and creeks of all other of His British
Majesty's dominions in America, and that American fishermen shall
have liberty to dry and cure fish in any of the unsettled bays,
harbors and creeks of Nova Scotia, Magdalen Islands and Labrador, so
long as the same shall remain unsettled; but so soon as the same or
either of them shall be settled it shall not be lawful for the said
fishermen to dry or cure fish at such settlement without a previous
agreement for that purpose with the inhabitants, proprietors or
possessors of the ground.
This article clearly defined the rights of the American fishermen,
and if it could have remained in force, and its provisions been
honorably carried into effect, no further trouble would probably ever
have arisen over the subject of the fisheries.
In 1812, however, the United States engaged in a second war with
Great Britain, and in the treaty of peace which was negotiated at
Ghent, in the year 1814, no mention whatever was made of the right of
the American people to take fish in Canadian waters. The reason for
this omission, seems to have been that the American representatives,
among whom were Henry Clay and John Quincy Adams, maintained that the
rights guaranteed by article three of the treaty of 1783, were not
created by that treaty, but were merely recognized by it, as
permanent rights already existing, and of such a character that they
were not to be affected or superseded by any rupture of friendly
relations, or even by war.
The same treaty, (1783) had conceded to the British the right to free
navigation of the Mississippi River, but since that treaty had been
signed, the United States had purchased the Louisiana Territory from
France, and had thus metamorphosed that great river into an
exclusively American waterway. The American commissioners therefore,
being unauthorized to concede navigation rights on the Mississippi,
in consequence of this change of ownership, the British commissioners
claimed some concession as an offset to this refusal; and a
compromise was agreed upon, by which no mention was made either of
the British claim to navigate this river, or of the American claim to
fish in Canadian waters.
The situation, however, was not satisfactory, and after a long
diplomatic correspondence between the two governments, a new treaty
was negotiated in London in the year 1818, which among other things,
contained the following provision:
"That the inhabitants of the United States shall have forever in
common with the subjects of His Britannic Majesty, the liberty of
taking fish of any kind, on that part of the southern coast of
Newfoundland which extends from Cape Race to the Ramean Islands; on
the western and northwestern coasts of Newfoundland, from the said
Cape Race to the Quispen Islands; on the shores of the Magdalen
Islands; and also on the coasts, bays, harbors, and creeks, from
Mount Joly to the southern coast of Labrador, to and through the
Straits of Belle Isle, and thence northwardly, indefinitely along the
coast. And that the American fishermen shall have liberty forever,
to dry and cure fish in any of the unsettled bays, harbors and
creeks, in the southern part of Newfoundland hereinbefore described,
and of the coasts of Labrador; but as soon as the same or any portion
thereof, shall be settled, it shall not be lawful for said fishermen
to dry or cure fish at such portion so settled, without previous
agreement for such purpose, with the inhabitants, proprietors or
possessors of the ground.
"And the United States hereby renounces forever, any liberty
heretofore enjoyed or claimed by the inhabitants thereof, to take,
dry, or cure fish, on or within three marine miles of any of the
coast, bays, creeks, or harbors of His Britannic Majesty's dominions
in America not included in the above mentioned limits. Provided,
however, that the American fishermen shall be permitted to enter such
bays or harbors for the purpose of shelter, of repairing damages
therein, of purchasing wood and obtaining water, and for no other
purpose whatever. But they shall be under such restrictions as shall
be necessary to prevent their taking, drying, or curing fish therein,
or in any other manner whatever, abusing the privileges hereby
secured to them."
This treaty, which may fairly be said to have been the cause of all
the trouble which afterwards arose on the fishery question, was
negotiated on the part of the United States, by Mr. Rush, then
American Minister at the Court of St. James, and Mr. Gallatin, his
associate commissioner; but as it was subsequently ratified by the
Senate of the United States, it would be scarcely fair to hold those
two gentlemen wholly responsible for the disgraceful and humiliating
surrender of rights and privileges which had hitherto been freely
conceded to American fishermen.
The treaty, by its very terms, invited disturbances and
misunderstandings, which were not slow in manifesting themselves.
In the very next year, (1819) the English Parliament passed an Act,
which provided that American vessels found within the three-mile
limit might be seized and condemned; and imposed fines on such as
refused to depart from such bays or limits, after being warned. The
Canadian Parliaments, taking the cue from this legislation of the
mother country, passed numerous and stringent laws and regulations,
which they claimed were necessary to carry out the provisions of the
treaty; but which the Americans claimed were needlessly annoying,
oppressive, and unneighborly.
Among other claims, what was known as the "Headland theory" was
advanced, under which the three-mile limit was claimed not to follow
the sinuosities of the coast, but to be a line three miles outside of
a straight line drawn from point to point, or headland to headland of
the coast; no matter how far apart these points or headlands might
be, or how extensive the bay or gulf might be which lay between them.
Under this construction of the treaty, Nova Scotia claimed the right
to close the Straits of Canso to our fishermen; and to make her claim
to exclusive jurisdiction over that body of water more plausible,
annexed Prince Edward's Island.
Numerous seizures of American vessels were made and a strained
condition of affairs ensued, which lasted a number of years, and
which temporarily culminated in 1843, in the seizure of an American
fishing vessel, called the "Washington," in the Bay of Fundy, at a
point more than ten miles from the nearest shore. This induced a
protest from the United States, in response to which the English
Government agreed to waive the Headland theory as far as it related
to the Bay of Fundy, but not as to any other bay or gulf.
The contention continued, and in 1851 the English Government
announced its intention of sending a fleet to the fishing grounds for
the purpose of enforcing its rights.
More diplomatic correspondence ensued, and at length, in 1853, a
board of arbitration was empowered to decide this phase of the
controversy; and decided that bays ten miles or more in width, were
to be considered as part of the open sea. This was followed in 1854,
by what has been called the reciprocity treaty; which, in
consideration of the abolition of the three-mile restriction, and of
the restoration of the rights to take fish, and to cure and dry the
same on the Canadian Coasts, which had been conceded without any
equivalent in the treaty of 1783, the United States agreed to admit
nearly all Canadian products free of duty.
This treaty by its terms was to remain in force for ten years, and to
continue in force thereafter until after twelve months' notice of the
desire of either party to terminate it.
During the continuance of this treaty, the War of the Rebellion
occurred; our national debt assumed enormous proportions; our tariff
and internal taxes were vastly increased to meet the expenses of the
war and the interest on the debt; and what in 1854 bad seemed a mere
bagatelle--viz., the duty on Canadian imports--assumed an importance,
as an item of revenue, entirely disproportionate to the value of any
additional fishing privileges which the treaty gave us.
Consequently, in 1865, the United States gave the requisite twelve
months' notice, and in 1866 the treaty came to an end. Canada,
having for twelve years experienced the advantages of an unrestricted
market in the United States (the direct pecuniary value of which in
duties remitted, alone amounted to 14,200,000, or $350,000 a year)
was naturally reluctant to give them up, so she returned to her
former methods, construed the former treaty in a narrow and illiberal
spirit, and let no opportunity slip to annoy and outrage our
fishermen.
Meanwhile the United States Government was engaged in a controversy
with the English Government over the claim for damages to American
shipping, committed by the so-called Confederate cruiser "Alabama"
during the "War of the Rebellion," and a joint commission
representing the two countries assembled in Washington in 1871 to
negotiate a treaty, which should, if possible, arrange all matters in
dispute--including, of course, the fisheries question.
Their deliberations resulted in the treaty of Washington, by which
our fishermen, in addition to the rights conferred by the treaty in
1818, received permission to fish in the bays, harbors and creeks of
Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward's Island, and
the islands adjacent thereto; and by which, also, fish oil and fish
of all kinds (except fish of inland lakes and fish preserved in oil)
were to be admitted into each country free of duty. A question arose
as to whether the admission of Canadian fish free of duty was a
sufficient equivalent for the increased fishing privileges granted to
the American fishermen. The British Commissioners insisted that it
was not; and the American Commissioners insisted that it was; but
finally offered to pay Great Britain one million dollars as full
consideration for the right to use forever the inshore fisheries in
common with the English and Canadian fishermen. The parties could
not agree, and the question was referred to a commission of three,
consisting of one American, one Canadian, and the Belgian Minister to
the United States. Six years later, in 1877, this commission--or
rather the Belgian minister (for the Canadian and American
Commissioners disagreed)--decided that the United States should pay
Great Britain $5,500,000 for this privilege; which, added to the
$4,200,000 of duties remitted under the reciprocity treaty of 1854,
made the snug sum of $9,700,000 paid by the United States for a
privilege which was conceded by the treaty of 1783 to be a vested and
permanent right.
This was bad enough in all conscience, but to make it if possible
worse, and more galling to Americans, the charge was openly made by
Professor Hind, who had been the British scientific witness before
the commission, and had acted as the official compiler of the index
to the documents used in the investigation, that the statistics in
these documents had been manufactured and forged for the purpose of
misleading the commission, and defrauding the United States.
The Professor, after trying in vain to induce the Canadian and
British governments to remedy this flagrant injustice, laid the
matter before Senators and Representatives in Washington.
Some little attention was attracted to these disclosures at the time,
but presumably from a fear that a public discussion of them would
reflect upon the party in power at the time of the negotiation of the
treaty, no official action was taken, and the matter was permitted to
drop out of sight.
The treaty of Washington also provided, that either Canada or the
United States might export or import goods, wares and merchandise
through the other's territory free of duty, and also permitted such
goods, wares and merchandise as might be carried through Canada by
rail from any point in the United States to another point in the
United States, to pass through the Dominion of Canada and re-enter
the United States free of duty. It also abandoned the right, which
the United States had always claimed--and which England had always
dreaded--to send out privateers in case of war.
Indeed, taken as a whole, the treaty of Washington may be fairly
ranked as one of the greatest triumphs of British diplomacy. Having
by their own privateers (for the "Alabama" and her consorts, although
ostensibly "Confederate Cruisers," were in reality nothing more nor
less than British privateers, built and equipped for the express
purpose of preying on American commerce) effectually driven our flag
from the ocean, they hoodwinked our diplomatists into a
relinquishment of the right to fit out similar cruisers, as a sort of
a "sop," to make the payment by Great Britain of the $13,000,000
damage award, a little more palatable. Verily, it would seem that
for the first century of its national existence, the diplomacy as
well as the financial policy of the United States was a creature of
chance and circumstance. In diplomatic matters, our representatives
seemed to be guided by no permanent policy; and to be able to see
nothing beyond the immediate question at issue; and our whole
financial policy was utterly devoid of anything like consistency or
system.
The treaty of Washington was to remain in force for ten years; and
was then subject to abrogation, as to certain of its parts, on two
years' notice by either party.
Its gross unfairness to the United States was so apparent, that on
the 3rd of March, 1883, (almost as soon as the treaty permitted)
Congress directed the President to give the requisite notice to
terminate certain articles of it, and thus, in 1885, the subject was
again a matter of dispute between the two countries. The avowed
policy of Canadian statesmen seems to have been to force the United
States into a reciprocity treaty, which would practically secure
commercial union between that country and Canada, and with that idea
in view, Canada immediately commenced to annoy and harass American
fishermen, claiming that the setting aside of the Washington Treaty
revived that of 1818, and under the provisions of the latter, the
right of our fishermen to enter Canadian harbors or bays, or to come
within the three-mile limit for any other purpose than shelter,
repairing damages, or to purchase wood and water, was absolutely
denied; and several American fishing vessels were seized and
condemned by the Canadian authorities, who were evidently determined
to enforce their own harsh construction of the treaty of 1818, in the
most offensive and unneighborly manner. Meanwhile, during the
pendency of the treaty of Washington, Canada had been investing
largely in railroad enterprises, and had subsidized one
trans-continental line (the Canadian Pacific) to the extent of about
$130,000,000. These railways, taking advantage of the clause in the
treaty of Washington which permitted the transit of goods in bond
through Canadian Territory into American, and vice versa, without the
payment of duty, had obtained control by building, purchasing or
leasing, of numerous connecting lines, which gave them outlets and
inlets to all of the principal American cities; and had thus become
open competitors with the American trans-continental lines for
American business. The following extracts from an address made by
General James H. Wilson before the Committee on Commerce of the House
of Representatives on March 15, 1888, will show to what an extent
this traffic had grown; and also that a feeling of impatience had
begun to develop among Americans at the unneighborly and piggish
attitude of Canada, in refusing ordinary hospitality to American
fishermen, while robbing the American railways of millions of dollars
worth of business each year.
"The simple fact is that while the arrangements under consideration
are reciprocal in theory they are one-sided in practice, and inure
tenfold more to the advantage of the Canadian people than to that of
the American railroads or the American people. Nevertheless, as I
have stated before, the amendments which I have had the honor to
offer to the Inter-State Commerce Act do not cover, nor are they
intended to interfere in any way with the particular transit trade
carried on under the provisions of Article XXIX of the treaty of
1871. I make this statement clear and distinct, for the special
information of the Chicago Board of Trade, and of those who have
shared its apprehensions.
"Second. Under the provisions of paragraphs 3000 to 3006 inclusive,
of the Revised Statutes, together with certain regulations
thereunder, issued by the Secretary of the Treasury, a transit trade
of great extent and value is carried on between the Eastern, Western,
and Pacific States and Territories through the agency of the Canadian
railroads, and certain American railroads owned and controlled by
them. And it is to this variety of the transit trade to which I
invite your most careful attention.
"It seems to have grown up _pari passu_ with the Dominion system of
railroads. It is now carried on principally by three Canadian
railroads and railroad systems:
"1. The Canada Southern Railroad, opened for business in 1873. It
was built, it is understood, entirely under American auspices, if not
with American capital, and is now controlled by the Michigan Central
Railroad Company in the interest of the New York Central system. Its
main line runs from Windsor, Ontario, to Suspension Bridge, and, with
its branches, is 302.44 miles long.
"2. The Grand Trunk Railway of Canada, with a main line extending
from Portland, Me., to Detroit, Mich., a distance of 861 miles;
another from Niagara Falls to Windsor, Ontario, 229 miles, branches
and extensions sufficient to give it a total length of 2,924.5 miles.
The road was opened from Portland to Montreal, mostly through
American Territory it will be observed, in 1853; from Montreal to
Quebec in 1854, from Montreal to Toronto in 1856; and from Montreal
to Port Sarnia and Port Huron, on the St. Clair River, in 1858. It
acquired by purchase and construction a line now known as the Chicago
and Grand Trunk, extending from Port Huron to Chicago in 1879, and
the whole line was opened for through business in 1880. A part of
this system, known as the Great Western Railway, was completed in
1854, but was not consolidated with the Grand Trunk till 1882.
"This system first began to do a transit business in imported
merchandise, in a small way, from Toronto to Collingwood on Georgian
Bay, Lake Huron, in 1854; but it never became a great competitor of
the American Trunk lines till 1880, nor became a great disturber of
rates till 1882.
"It was built for political and military as well as for commercial
purposes, has received frequent subsidies from the Canadian
Governments, and has always had more or less of their fostering care.
Ever since its through lines were opened, it has enjoyed the
privilege of unrestricted competition with the American roads between
the West and all points in the Atlantic States that it could reach.
It has enjoyed all the privileges of an American railroad; it has
been active, aggressive, and unscrupulous, and has inflicted great
injury upon its competitors.
"3. The Canadian Pacific Railway extends from Montreal to Port Moody
and Vancouver, on the Pacific Ocean, a distance of 2,905.3 miles. At
Montreal it connects with the Intercolonial Railway, running from
that place to Halifax, Nova Scotia, 678 miles. The latter road and
its branches are owned and operated by the Government of Canada. The
total distance from Halifax to Vancouver is therefore 3,583 miles;
and the total length of main line and branches of the two systems is
5,522 miles. Their aggregate cost and capitalization are
$206,942,852, besides a subsidy of 25,000,000 acres of public lands,
all of which, both money and land, has come directly or indirectly
from the Dominion of Canada, which guarantees the interest on the
funded debt, and also dividends upon the capital stock till August,
1893. Notwithstanding the princely subsidies which this corporation
has received, the length of line which it has constructed, the
monopoly which it has secured, and the high political mission it has
filled in binding together the widely separated provinces of the
Dominion, its managers are not yet satisfied. Spurning all
restraint, it has finally overleaped the boundary line and boldly
invaded the territory of the United States. With true English
effrontery it ignores the authority of Congress, and under the thin
disguise of a charter procured by trickery and deception, if not by
fraud, from the Legislature of Maine, it is now building a cut off
through the northern part of that State to St. Andrews, New
Brunswick, with all the rapidity that the unlimited control of men
and money can command.
"Just what the volume and value of the transit traffic is, it is
impossible for me to state, but the statistics are doubtless in the
possession of the Bureau of Statistics, or can be more readily
obtained by it than by any private individual, and I venture to
suggest that, whatever other action may be taken by your committee in
respect to this important matter, it should not fail to call for the
statistics in question. Some idea may be had of its enormous volume
from the statement made by the Chicago Board of Trade that the Grand
Trunk alone 'received from its rail connections at the Detroit River,
and at its lake ports on Lake Huron and Georgian Bay, during the year
1888, 1,629,283 tons of United States products,' which it transported
eastbound through the Dominion of Canada in bond and reëntered the
United States free of duty. This, as near as I can make out, was
something like 15 per cent. of the entire volume of east-bound
business from that region. The entire business by the various
Canadian routes east and west bound cannot be less than 5,000,000
tons dead weight, and has been estimated by an expert at 7,000,000.
"It is well known that the Grand Trunk Railway, by means of its
Chicago and Michigan connections and branch lines, and by those which
connect it with Portland, Me., under the privilege allowed it by the
laws and Treasury regulations heretofore cited, is the great
beneficiary of the transit trade. It has been shown that the
Canadian Pacific, under the same laws and regulations, has been free
almost from the day it was opened, by means of the bonded Pacific
Coast Steamship Company, and by its connections with the roads
running north and east from St. Paul to the Canadian border, and by
its connections at Niagara Falls, Kingston, St. Albans, and Montreal,
to carry any business it can secure between San Francisco on the
west, to New York and Boston on the east.
"It should be remembered that these roads constitute more than
one-half of the entire railroad mileage of the British possessions in
North America, that one of them was built for military and political
purposes by the Government of the Dominion and under the special
encouragement and sanction of the British Government, for the purpose
of carrying out its scheme for federating its North American
colonies; that both of them have been heavily subsidized by the
Dominion Government for purposes antagonistic, if not absolutely
hostile, to our national interests, and that they are not only
absolutely free from any control by us, or from the Dominion
Government to make whatever local or through rates they please, but,
as matter of fact, are frequently engaged in cutting the rates of the
American trunk lines, paying rebates, granting passes, charging more
for a short haul than for a long one, and entering into all kinds of
private arrangements with their American connections and their
American shippers, to the prejudice and injury of the American Trunk
lines, whose hands are bound in respect to all those and many other
matters by the Inter-State Commerce Act.
"It is also the fact that, while the Canadian railways are enjoying
these extraordinary privileges, unheard of in any other country, the
Dominion Government has protected its Pacific line by a practical
monopoly of all the business on or tributary to it, and positively
refuses to allow American railways to take wheat out of Manitoba,
haul it through the United States, and redeliver it in Canada free of
duty; and this is a fact which cannot be successfully denied. Not
only is it true, but it is also true that the Dominion Government has
refused, and still refuses, to permit the people of Manitoba to build
an independent railway to connect with the American system of
railroads, and this refusal is made for the avowed purpose of
continuing and protecting the monopoly which the Canadian Pacific
Railway has of the business of that region. The unjust and
oppressive conduct of the Dominion Government, controlled as it is by
the Canadian Pacific Ring, is matter of public notoriety, and has
been the subject of earnest and repeated remonstrances at Ottawa on
the part of the people of Manitoba within the last thirty days, but
so far without effect.
"But this is not all. While they or their connections at Chicago,
Detroit, Buffalo, New York, St. Albans, Boston, Portland, and San
Francisco are compelled by the Inter-State Commerce Act to make their
through rates to all American points public, the roads lying wholly
in Canada, forming parts of their through lines, existing wholly
under Canadian law, and managed by officers and directors entirely
beyond our jurisdiction, are under no restrictions whatever as to
rebates, drawbacks, passes, constructive mileage, car mileage
allowances, or any other of the numberless devices by which one line
gains advantage over another, or by which a long through line gives
advantage to a short connection.
"The trouble with Canada and the Canadian Railroads is that we have
become accustomed to treat them as though they were not foreign and
did not belong to a foreign empire. They expect to have all the
benefits of unrestricted trade without any of the limitations and
burdens which are imposed so freely upon our own railroads and
citizens.
"They and their attorneys claim that in carrying freights between
American points 'the Canadian Railroads have conformed to the letter
and spirit of the Inter-State Act as rigidly as have their American
competitors.' But inasmuch as that act requires no duty whatever
from the roads wholly in Canada, and no duty from their American
connections, except to publish their through rates, the absurdity of
this claim is at once apparent. No one in his right mind can
successfully contend for a moment that the Great Trunk or the
Canadian Pacific pays any more attention to the Inter-State Commerce
Act in Canada, than if it were so much waste paper. They are
perfectly free to violate every one of its provisions, from the first
paragraph to the last, and, as a matter of fact, its only effect, so
far as they are concerned, is to make it all the easier for them to
cheat and deceive, if not to actually pick the pockets of their
American rivals, who are bound by the law and subject to the
surveillance of the Commissioners and the punishment of the courts.
"It the Canadian railways were not subsidized and supported by the
Dominion Government, if they were not an essential part of the
machinery used for binding the British empire together, and in case
of need to transport armies and military munitions against our
frontier; if they were not free from our local and general laws, and
also free to do all the things which have been pointed out, and, in
short, were not daily doing them to our detriment and injury, we
should have no cause of complaint against them. But so long as the
facts remain as they are, so long as those railroads run through a
foreign country and are controlled by aliens, under foreign laws, and
for purposes which, to say the least, are foreign to us and hostile
to our permanent national interests, it can be regarded as no more
than prudent if we shut them out of our transit traffic along our
northern border, just as we shut foreign ships out of our coasting
trade.
"The great republic, in the words of Prince Bismarck, 'fears nothing
but God.' It has no apprehension for its safety, and but little for
its peace from its neighbors of the Dominion; but it should not
forget that the Dominion has an area of 3,500,000 square miles and a
population of about 5,000,000 souls, and is backed up by the whole
British empire, upon whose possessions it is the Englishman's boast
that 'the sun never sets,' that 'her drum beat encircles the world,'
that 'her ships fill every sea,' and that her population is not less
than 300,000,000 souls. It should not forget that it has had
difficulties before with that universal bully, and will probably have
them again; it should not forget that it has, out of its abundance
and good-nature, nurtured and fostered the British bantling on our
borders, enriched its railroads, patronized its canals, granted it
the right of free transit through our territories, enriched its
shopkeepers, and generally treated it with amiable liberality and
indifference. Now that the subject has become of enough importance
to be considered, Congress should not forget to act in accordance
with its own ideas of interest and duty, even if Canada should
'retaliate.' We have had reciprocity enough, such as it has been;
now let us try what virtue there is in insisting upon our right to
manage our own affairs in our own way, while leaving the Dominion and
the other dependencies of the British crown (if there are any others)
in North America to manage their own in a similar way. We have
played second fiddle long enough. Let the British Government spend
just as much money as it pleases for fortifications; let it subsidize
and support as many railroads as it thinks necessary to tie the
British empire together; let it open and improve one or more of its
(Canadian) seaports, and let it retaliate just as and when it
pleases. But let it do all these things without our help or
connivance; and then, if in God's Providence the Canadian Dominions
do not come otherwise under the sway and the uses of the Union, when
a great emergency arises which seems to demand it, we shall go and
take them."
CHAPTER IV.
RETALIATION.
During the period from 1885 to 1888 the ill feeling growing out of
Canada's treatment of the fisheries question increased; and began to
assume proportions which indicated a possible outbreak of hostilities
between the two countries.
A temporary arrangement was entered into between the then American
Secretary of State, Mr. Bayard, of Delaware, and the British
Minister; and President Cleveland recommended the appointment of a
commission to negotiate a new treaty. Congress, however, refused to
authorize such a commission, but in March, 1887, passed a joint
resolution authorizing the President in case vessels of the United
States were, or then lately had been denied or abridged in the rights
secured to them by treaty or law; or any rights secured by Canada to
the most favored nations, whether vessels licensed for trading or
other vessels, or have been unjustly vexed, to close our ports to
vessels of the British Dominion of North America, "and also to deny
entry into any port or place of the United States of fresh fish or
salt fish, or any other product of said Dominion, or other goods
coming from said Dominion to the United States."
President Cleveland, however, did not avail himself of the powers
granted by this resolution; but being apparently desirous of securing
a permanent settlement of the question by a new treaty, he appointed
three commissioners to meet an equal number appointed on behalf of
Great Britain, notwithstanding the fact that Congress had expressly
disapproved of such a settlement. The commissioners, thus appointed,
recommended a treaty, which was in August, 1888, rejected by the
United States Senate, by a strict party vote--the Republicans still
having control of that body.
Probably, the Republican Senators were largely influenced in their
action, by the fact that a Presidential election was then pending;
and Mr. Cleveland being a candidate for re-election, they were
unwilling that his administration should have the prestige which
might accompany the successful settlement of this great controversy.
Whatever their motives may have been, the ultimate results of their
narrow-minded partisanship--as will be seen in the sequel--were most
disastrous to the country. For the first time in its history, the
Senate had discussed this treaty in open session. Diplomatic
discussions of this kind had previously always taken place in
executive session, with closed doors. But a movement had been made
to supercede what some demagogues of that day called the "Star
Chamber" system of executive sessions, and this treaty happening to
come up for discussion at the time when this agitation was at its
height, the Senate, by a close vote, decided that the discussion of
it should be held with open doors. Much partisan feeling was
exhibited on both sides during the debates. The Republicans took
very strong ground against the treaty; claiming that it surrendered
valuable rights which had always been conceded to the United States;
and gravely charged the President and Secretary Bayard with being
desirous of fostering British interests, at the expense of their own
countrymen. The Republican press throughout the country took up this
cry; the President was roundly denounced as an English sympathizer;
and the rejection of the treaty by the Senate was hailed by these
party organs as a well-deserved rebuke to a President and a Secretary
of State who were willing to make such disgraceful concessions to
England.
A few days after the rejection of the treaty, President Cleveland
astonished the country, and especially the Republican Senators, by a
special message, in which he requested greater powers to inflict
retaliatory measures upon Canada, than had been given him by the
joint resolution of Congress passed in 1887.
This message, as a matter of course, created a profound sensation in
Canada and Great Britain, as well as throughout the United States.
The President was charged by his political opponents with
inconsistency; in that he had not attempted to use the retaliatory
powers already given him, and proved their insufficiency, before
asking for additional ones; but after considerable wrangling and
debate, Congress passed an act, giving him the power he asked for. A
strict enforcement of this would give almost a deathblow to the
Canadian Railway lines; as a very large proportion of their traffic
was American business, without which most of them could scarcely
expect to pay running expenses. The finances of the Dominion were
also in a very bad way, owing to the large subsidies paid these
railways, and to indebtedness contracted for canals, and other public
improvements; so that practical non-intercourse with the United
States meant practical bankruptcy for Canada. And now, the most
curious phase of the whole controversy developed itself. The
Canadians were divided into two parties; one favorable to continued
English rule; and the other desirous of commercial, and if necessary,
political union with the United States. Strange to say, both these
parties conceived it to be to their interest to increase the tension
between the two Governments, even to the point of war; but for
reasons which were diametrically opposed to each other. The British
sympathizers supposed that a war between England and the United
States in the then unquestionably defenseless condition of the latter
power, could not fail to result favorably to England, and that the
latter's hold upon Canada would thereby become stronger and more
direct than before. The other party desired war, because they felt
confident that no matter how successful England might be at the
outset, in bombarding and destroying the seaport cities of the United
States, yet she could never establish a foothold on shore, and that
the United States would inevitably take possession of Canada, and
thus bring about the union of American and Canadian interests which
they so much desired.
In consequence of these two sets of opinions among the Canadian
politicians, the Canadian Government adopted a plan of conduct
towards Americans which soon became utterly unbearable. American
fishing boats were seized and condemned on the most flimsy pretexts.
American tourists were stopped at the Canadian frontier, and
subjected to the most humiliating and rude treatment, under the
pretense of custom-house examination. The mails to and from the
United States were delayed and tampered with by Canadian officials,
and every possible means of annoyance and insult which Canadian
ingenuity could conceive of, was put in operation against the persons
and property of such Americans as happened to come under Canadian
jurisdiction. Concurrently with this, the newspapers on both sides
were full of denunciatory and inflammatory articles, and the old
Irish fenian party in the United States came to the front once more,
as a disturbing element.
A small body of these men established a so-called "camp of
observation," at a point on the Canada boundary line near Rouse's
Point; and with the usual flourish and bluster which characterize the
race, announced their intention to march on Montreal, as soon as
their ranks should be recruited to a certain number. The Governor of
the state of New York called out a regiment of militia to hold these
fellows in check temporarily, until a detachment of United States
troops, which had been ordered to the scene of trouble by the
President, could reach there. Meanwhile the Canadian authorities had
ordered troops to the scene of action, who encamped on the Canadian
side of the boundary line, in plain sight of the American militia and
the Irish fenians. The Canadian newspapers went into spasms of
indignant protest at what they called this "barefaced threat to
invade Canada," and altogether affairs had gotten into such a
condition that the merest spark was certain to produce an explosion.
This was in the autumn of 1889. In November of that year, the long
expected spark made its appearance, and produced the long dreaded
explosion. Several of the fenians had left their camp one afternoon,
and had visited a drinking saloon on Canadian territory, just over
the boundary line.
Meeting some Canadian soldiers there, both parties got drunk, and a
quarrel ensued, during which pistol shots were freely exchanged, and
numerous bayonet and sabre cuts were given and received. The
Irishmen being outnumbered, were gradually driven towards the
boundary line, whore they were met by a large party of their friends,
who hearing the noise of the fighting, had rushed to the assistance
of their companions. Thus reënforced, they beat the Canadians back
to their own side of the line, but not being satisfied with this,
pursued them for some distance on Canadian territory. Here meeting
further Canadian troops, the tide of battle was reversed again, and
the Irishmen were driven back to their camp. The American militia
regiment was under arms and in line, on the American side of the
boundary, having been called to arms at the commencement of the
disturbance; and as they marched towards the boundary, with the idea
of capturing the Irish men and holding them for punishment, they were
fired upon by the Canadian troops, either by mistake or designedly,
and several were killed and wounded.
They returned the volley (it is claimed, without orders) and several
Canadians were also killed and wounded.
At length, in obedience to the arduous efforts of the officers on
both sides, the fighting ceased; but not until there had been six
killed and thirty-three wounded among the Irish and Americans, and
four killed and twenty-one wounded among the Canadians.
From testimony taken in a subsequent investigation, it seems that
both commanders claimed to be on their own territory; and the burden
of evidence would seem to confirm their claims that there had been no
actual technical violation of territory on either side; but that the
two parties had simply stood each on their own ground, and shot at
each other across the boundary line.
This outbreak, however, afforded the Canadian politicians the
opportunity they had long been waiting for, and a resolution passed
both branches of the Dominion parliament, by an almost unanimous
vote, declaring war against the United States, subject to the
approval of the Imperial Government.
It being just the commencement of the winter season, and therefore a
most unfavorable time to undertake hostilities, both sides sought to
gain time, and a voluminous diplomatic correspondence ensued; during
which both the United States and England were exerting every effort
to prepare for the struggle which was considered to be inevitable as
soon as spring opened. Work was pushed night and day on the
unfinished war vessels; and a large force of men were placed at work
upon the sea-coast forts to try and strengthen them as much as
possible. Additional guns were brought from the interior and mounted
in the forts as rapidly as practicable; and the hurry and bustle of
preparation was noticeable from one end of the country to the other.
As yet, war had not been definitely declared, except by Canada, and
the President had issued no call for troops; but everybody knew that
the call could not be long delayed; and the "Grand Army Men," as the
veterans of the War of the Rebellion styled themselves, organized
themselves into battalions and regiments, and met and drilled two or
three times a week, and were ready to respond instantly to the call
of the President, as soon as it should be issued. An enrollment of
these volunteer associations, taken on January 1, 1890, showed a
total of over 300,000 veterans ready and anxious to go to the front
once more.
Besides these, there were enthusiastic young men by the million, who
had been children during the War of the Rebellion, but who were fired
with a patriotic desire to resent the outrages and insults which they
thought their country had received at the hands of Canada.
As far as the land forces were concerned, nothing more could be
desired. The Government, it was evident, would be embarrassed by a
superabundance of force, rather than a lack of it; and the
indications were that within thirty days after war was declared, a
thoroughly well drilled, well equipped, well armed, and well
officered army of at least half a million of men, would be ready to
overrun Canada in the shortest possible space of time. The more
enthusiastic ones, claimed that the campaign would be over in thirty
days after the boundary line was crossed. Others said that the war
might last sixty days, and here and there one or two might be found
who thought that possibly it might take all summer. There was no
difference of opinion as to the result. The only differences were as
to the time it would require to bring it about. The idea that this
over-whelming and magnificent force could receive anything
approaching a defeat, or even a check, in its victorious career
through Canada, never entered anybody's head. But there were
numerous bets made on the exchanges and elsewhere, as to the number
of days the campaign would last. The whole country seemed to be in a
blaze of military enthusiasm, and it became all the rage for young
men to chaff each other about "spending next summer in Canada." On
the surface, therefore, everything appeared satisfactory, and the
only apparent drawback was a feeling that Canada couldn't offer
resistance enough to make the struggle even an interesting one.
Under this apparent confidence, however, there was a vast amount of
anxious foreboding in the minds of a few of the more thoughtful
residents of our seaboard cities.
These men knew the utterly defenseless condition of our coasts. They
knew how absurdly inadequate our Navy was to cope with that of
England. They had seen the fast passenger steamships of the Cunard
and other English lines, (two of which, belonging to the Inman line,
the "City of New York," and the "City of Paris," were owned by
Americans) withdrawn from the passenger service, and transformed into
armed cruisers in accordance with the terms of the contracts by which
the English Government paid them an annual subsidy or rental,
amounting to about four per cent. of their cost. The cable had
brought news of the feverish activity which reigned in all the
English dockyards and arsenals.
Of course, details of these preparations were not forthcoming; but
the utmost reticence of the officials could not conceal the fact that
war preparations on an immense scale were being pushed forward with
the utmost rapidity.
Meanwhile the Americans were not idle. Congress had been called in
special session by the President, in view of the gravity of the
situation, and immense appropriations, aggregating between
$200,000,000 and $300,000,000 were rushed through both houses in
frantic haste; and a tremendous effort was made at a vast expense, to
lock the stable door, which had so long been invitingly left open.
There was no time to build large vessels or heavy guns; so the
greatest efforts were made to perfect a system of harbor obstructions
and torpedoes. All sorts of experiments were tried in this
direction; and the whole inventive genius of the country seemed to be
puzzling itself over the problem of self-defense.
Of course it goes without saying that the newspapers in all three
countries reaped a rich harvest. No rumor was too absurd or
sensational to find believers, and the public mind was wrought up to
an intensity of feeling on both sides, that was almost inconceivable
in its bitterness and rancor.
In March, 1890, the excitement was, if possible, intensified by a
remarkable speech delivered in the British House of Commons by Lord
Randolph Churchill. This nobleman had been a prominent figure in
English politics for several years, and had held numerous Government
positions--among them Chancellor of the Exchequer, and leader of the
House of Commons. He was a man of unquestioned ability, but had come
to be regarded by the older and more conservative public men, as too
eccentric and too unmanageable for a leader.
He had, therefore, been reduced to the ranks--so to speak--in
Parliament, and had been chafing for two or three years in what
seemed to him to be a position utterly unworthy of his talents and
experience as a parliamentarian and debater. The present occasion
afforded him an opportunity, which he was not slow to embrace, of
putting himself once more in a prominent position before the English
public.
His speech was entirely unexpected, and created the utmost excitement
on both sides of the ocean. It was during a debate on a bill
authorizing some of the extraordinary expenditures for arming and
preparing war ships, etc., which the Admiralty were then making. The
debate had gone on sleepily and stupidly, as such debates usually do,
until one evening in March, Lord Churchill threw what proved to be a
veritable bombshell into the discussion. In this remarkable speech,
his Lordship traced the whole history of the differences between the
United States and Canada, from 1783 to 1889. His point of view, of
course, was an intensely English one, and he justified Canada
entirely in the course she had thus far seen fit to pursue.
And then, as his listeners were expecting him to announce himself as
heartily in favor of the pending bill, he suddenly changed the whole
aspect of the debate by asking: "But what has Canada ever done for
England, that we should make these enormous expenditures of money,
and risk a war with such a powerful nation as the United States,
merely for her benefit? Has she ever contributed a penny to the
Imperial treasury? Never! Has she even paid the expenses of troops
and vessels sent out by the Imperial Government to protect her
interests? Never! Has she admitted the products of the Mother
Country to her ports free of duty; or, failing in that, has she ever
made any discrimination, however small, in favor of our products, as
against those of the United States, or any other country? Never!
She taxes our products, and while claiming our protection whenever
she gets into difficulty, utterly refuses to contribute anything to
our treasury. I fail, Sir, to see anything like reciprocity here.
To use a homely American comparison, 'It is like the handle of a
jug--all on one side.' If Imperial protection is worth having, it is
worth paying for; and if Canada or any other outlying portion of this
great British Empire, is not willing to contribute its share of
taxation to the Imperial treasury, I am distinctly and decidedly in
favor of having Imperial protection withdrawn."
At this point of his lordship's address, the interruptions were so
numerous and persistent, that he was obliged to suspend his remarks
for a few moments. After a semblance of order had been restored, the
Premier arose and begged the privilege of asking his Lordship one
question.
"Do I understand his Lordship to say that he is in favor of our
permitting the United States to overrun and annex Canada, without
lifting a hand or firing a gun in her behalf?"
As soon as the applause which greeted this question had subsided,
Lord Churchill said he "thanked his Lordship for having put the
question to him in that categorical manner, because it enabled him to
be equally specific and explicit in his reply."
He then went on, and in a most impassioned manner attacked the United
States as a great, overgrown, bullying and conceited nation. He
traced our wonderful growth and material prosperity, and
characterized it as a standing menace to every monarchical Government
in the world. Then suddenly changing his tone, he called attention
to our absolutely helpless condition to resist the attacks of a well
equipped fleet of modern vessels of war; and waving in the air over
his head a copy of the _New York Herald_ of some date in 1887, he
exclaimed:
"Here are the figures which prove that property amounting in value to
$10,000,000,000 or £2,000,000,000 sterling is absolutely defenseless,
and open to attack by any power which possesses one or more modern
vessels of war."
And then he continued as follows:
"His Lordship asks me what I would do. I will tell him. I would
equip one, two or three powerful fleets, and send them to bombard the
principal seaboard cities of the United States. I would give these
arrogant and conceited Americans their choice between bombardment and
ransom, and I would take good care that the ransom should be a good
liberal one. I should be inclined to put the figure at, say
£400,000,000 to £500,000,000 sterling. The Americans are wealthy,
and could well afford to pay it."
"But," interrupted the Premier, "what would become of Canada?"
"Oh! Let the United States have Canada; and much good may she do
them! I cannot see where she has ever done us much. What I would
propose in brief, is a "forced sale" of Canada to the United States;
but it will be a novelty in forced sales, in that the sale will be
forced by the seller upon the buyer."
The effect of this speech was marvelous. What was then known as the
"Jingo" element in England, cheered it to the echo; and a popular
demand sprung up for war, which was so universal and overwhelming
that the Government found it impossible to resist it, and
consequently war was formally declared in April, 1890. The words
"Ransom or bombardment" were in everybody's mouth, and Lord Randolph
Churchill became the idol of the populace. His wife, who was an
American lady, lost much of her former popularity, and with her
sister-in-law, the Duchess of Marlborough (also an American) made a
prolonged visit to the Continent, to avoid the unpleasant attentions
of the riotous London mobs.
CHAPTER V.
THE ENGLISH FLEET.
The preparations which had been going on all winter in English Naval
circles were nearly completed at the time of England's formal
declaration of war, so that there was but little delay before the
first fleet was ready to sail.
This was intended to operate against New York and Philadelphia; and
was to be followed in about a month by two others, one of which was
to operate against Boston and other New England seaports; and the
other to attack Baltimore, and thence work southward, bombarding the
cities of Washington, Norfolk, Charleston and Savannah.
The first fleet consisted of the turret ships:
Victoria, 11,470 tons, two 110 ton guns.
Sanspareil, 11,470 tons, one 70 ton gun, twelve 6 inch.
Edinburgh, 9,150 tons, four 45 ton guns, five 6 inch.
The armored ships:
Camperdown, 10,000 tons, four 67 ton guns, six 6 inch.
Collingwood, 9,150 tons, four 44 ton guns, six 6 inch.
Howe, 9,700 tons, four 67 ton guns, four 6 inch.
The partially armed cruisers:
Orlando, 5,000 tons, two 9 inch guns, ten 6 inch.
Narcissus, 5,000 tons, two 9 inch guns, ten 6 inch.
Undaunted, 5,000 tons, two 9 inch guns, ten 6 inch.
and the improvised merchant cruisers:
Etruria, Umbria and City of New York.
Besides these large vessels, were numerous second and third class
cruisers, despatch boats, and torpedo boats and launches; so that the
total number of vessels, large and small, in the fleet, considerably
exceeded one hundred--and all of the larger ones were armed with the
most formidable weapons known to modern science; many of which had a
range of more than ten miles.
The date of the sailing of this formidable fleet (the 20th
of April) was, of course, cabled over the French Cable to New
York--the English Cables, having been seized by the Canadian
Government, being no longer available to the Americans.
The destination of the fleet could only be surmised, as it sailed
under sealed orders; but it was taken for granted that it was New
York, and preparations were made accordingly. Immediately after
England's declaration of war, the President issued a call for 250,000
volunteers, which had been responded to by more than a million men.
The New York City Militia volunteered in a body to do garrison duty
in the forts of the harbor, and such of the old guns as didn't burst
at the first few experimental discharges at the targets, were
burnished up, and made to look as formidable as possible. The marine
militia drilled constantly by night and by day; and the bay and
harbor seemed fairly alive with small craft of all kinds, rushing
hither and thither, each one bent upon some offensive or defensive
experiment. Stationary and movable torpedoes were placed in the
upper Bay and Narrows, and the whole available naval force of the
nation, amounting, great and small, to about thirty vessels, were
concentrated in the harbor.
Several submarine torpedo boats--of which great things were
expected--were giving exhibitions of their prowess constantly, diving
under the bottoms of the excursion steamboats as they went up and
down the bay, and inflicting a vast amount of needless terror upon
the timid excursionists. Each and every one of these little vessels
had demonstrated the fact conclusively that she could dive under the
largest man of war afloat, and affixing a torpedo to her bottom,
could withdraw to a safe distance, and then by an electric battery,
blow the great war ship into a million smithereens. Whenever any of
them appeared on the surface of the bay, therefore, they were
regarded with great awe by the spectators, and were greeted with such
remarks as "I wonder what the Englishmen will think of that little
thing." "Who would think that such an insignificant looking little
boat could do so much damage?" "She has got dynamite enough on board
to blow up all New York," &c., &c., and a feeling of absolute
confidence in the defensive preparations, which had been so hastily
made, pervaded all classes of citizens.
Interspersed with these expressions of satisfaction, would frequently
be heard sarcastic regrets that the Englishmen were running headlong
to inevitable death and annihilation, and the comic illustrated
journals acquired great _éclat_ from their numerous cartoons, in
which John Bull was invariably represented as being _in extremis_.
Meanwhile, the volunteers who had responded to the President's call,
were being rapidly mobilized and equipped; and camps were established
at Plattsburgh and Buffalo and Detroit; as well as at a point on the
Pacific coast near Victoria in British Columbia. Thus the Dominion
was threatened with invasion at points nearly three thousand miles
apart; and the prospect was that before the summer was over, the
military operations on both sides would assume proportions as
gigantic as those which had astonished the world during the War of
the Rebellion.
Many of the volunteers were veterans of that war; and therefore the
work of drilling them and making competent soldiers of them, went
forward with incredible rapidity; and within less than sixty days
from the issuing of the President's proclamation, the United States
had a thoroughly well armed, well drilled, and well equipped force of
over 200,000 men in the field, ready to march across the frontier.
On the fifteenth of April the first entry was made on Canadian
Territory. Ten thousand men in two detachments crossed the Detroit
River, and took possession of Windsor, opposite Detroit. A slight
opposition to the landing of this force was attempted by a small
detachment of Canadian Militia, who after firing a scattering volley
at the ferry-boats containing the Americans, beat a hasty retreat
when the latter began to return the fire.
Two days later, a force of about 25,000 men crossed the Niagara River
near Buffalo, and at once marched inland, with a view of taking
possession of the Welland Canal, and damaging it in such a manner as
to prevent the passage of some British gunboats, which had been
reported as on their way from Halifax to the Upper Lakes. This was a
most wise and timely movement; for if these vessels had gotten
through the canal, the cities of Buffalo, Erie, Cleveland, Toledo,
Sandusky, Detroit and Chicago, would have been completely at their
mercy; as under an old treaty between the United States and England,
neither power could have more than one war vessel at any time on the
Lakes.
For this reason, the news of the success of this detachment in
destroying the locks of the Welland Canal, so as to effectually
prevent these vessels from reaching Lake Erie, was hailed with great
delight by the entire press of the United States, and a grand chorus
of jubilation was echoed from one end of the country to the other.
The main body of the American troops, however, had been concentrated
near Plattsburgh, in New York State, and were intended to operate
against Montreal and Ottawa. This consisted of 75,000 men, under the
immediate command of General Schofield, and this army crossed the
Canadian frontier at the point where the Irish fenians had
established their camp the preceding season, on the first day of May,
1890. No opposition to speak of was encountered, and the army
advanced at once, by easy marches, towards the St. Lawrence River,
with a view to the rapture of Montreal.
The movements of the detachment on the Pacific Coast had not been so
prompt us those of the others. Numerous delays occurred in the
arrival of equipments and supplies, and therefore that division of
the force found itself utterly unable to move at the time
specified--which had been fixed for not later than the 1st of May.
This was the general situation on the 1st of May, 1890.
CHAPTER VI.
THE BRITISH FLEET ARRIVES OFF SANDY HOOK.
On the morning of the 10th of May, the telegraph operator stationed
at Fire Island, telegraphed to New York that four large war vessels
were in sight, proceeding slowly westward towards Sandy Hook.
Later in the day, numbers of other vessels were reported as also
passing in the same direction; and it became evident that the long
expected fleet had at length reached our shores. The excitement
which this news caused in the cities of New York and Brooklyn was
intense and indescribable.
Although it had been the uppermost thought in people's minds for
months past, and in spite of the fact that there had been scarcely
any other subject of conversation among the citizens, and
notwithstanding the almost universal feeling of confidence which had
possessed them in the efficiency of their defensive preparations, the
news of the actual arrival of a hostile fleet--representing the most
formidable naval power in the world, and presumably containing all
the best and most approved offensive weapons known to modern
science--seemed to exert an almost paralyzing effect upon the
inhabitants of the two cities. The noisy and boisterous ebullitions,
which usually accompany occasions of great public excitement, were
entirely wanting. Business of all kinds was suspended, and in all of
the down-town centers, groups of anxious and pale-faced men were to
be encountered at every corner and street crossing, engaged in
earnest, but quiet conversation. The lively spirit of braggadocio
and bravado, which had heretofore been such a prominent feature of
every gathering, large or small, when the pending "invasion" happened
to be the subject of conversation, was noticeable by its total
absence. Conversation was carried on almost entirely in hurried and
anxious whispers; and anybody who raised his voice above a colloquial
tone--whether it was an excited newsboy, shouting out the latest
extra; or a half intoxicated tramp, yelling patriotic defiance to the
hated British--was looked upon, much as the deliberate violator of
some sacred spot would be regarded, by an enthusiastic believer in
its sanctified character.
A complete hush seemed to have fallen upon the two cities; and a
subdued air, as if some impending calamity had proclaimed its near
approach, seized upon the people. For the first time, a faint idea
of the real gravity of the situation seemed to dawn upon the public
mind. Here was war, bitter, relentless, destructive, cruel war, at
their very doors. In a day or two at the latest, possibly within a
few hours, the thunder of distant cannon would be faintly heard, and
the bursting and crashing of deadly shells would involve the city in
ruin and desolation. What was to be done? How could this frightful
downpour of dynamite shells be averted? What if those formidable
marine monsters were able to defy the attacks of our insignificant
looking little torpedo boats and rams. Supposing some of them should
be destroyed; what if two, or three, or even one, should remain
uninjured, and should proceed to pour its hail of deadly projectiles
upon these defenseless and exposed cities? Who could tell where the
shells might strike, or who would be safe from their deadly work?
Many of the more timid of the inhabitants took time by the forelock
and sought safety in flight. The newspapers, however, did much to
avert what threatened to become a panic, by treating the whole
subject in a light and cheerful vein, and their optimistic
predictions were regarded as gospel truths by the great majority of
the citizens.
CHAPTER VII.
THE BATTLE OF THE SWASH.
On the morning of the 11th of May, 1890, the British fleet crossed
the bar, and steamed leisurely past Sandy Hook, and into the Swash
and main ship channels. The movements of the fleet seemed to be
characterized by great deliberation; as though there was nothing to
fear, and no occasion for haste. The larger vessels were especially
slow in their movements, and felt their way along in the most
cautious manner, each one being guided or piloted by two or more
torpedo boats, which kept a good distance in advance, and sounded the
channel carefully and constantly, indicating by signals the course
for the larger vessels to pursue. There was no haste, no confusion,
no noise or cheering, and no apparent notice was taken of the balls
and shells with which the antiquated guns on the forts on Long and
Staten Islands,--with much noise and banging, but no harmful
results,--managed to splash the water about half a mile or a mile
away from anything that they were aimed at. Most of the smaller
vessels gathered together near the point of Sandy Hook, with the
evident intention of anchoring in the Horseshoe. Here the first real
fighting took place. Some old wooden gunboats, (relics of the War of
the Rebellion) had been hastily repaired and equipped with one or two
guns; and had been stationed in the Horseshoe to act as a sort of a
harassing or observing force. The intention had evidently been for
them to watch the movements of the enemy from behind the shelter of
Sandy Hook, possibly exchanging a few shots with some of his weaker
vessels; and then, having acquired some knowledge of his movements
and intentions, as well as a taste of his quality, to retire up the
harbor, and join the remainder of the American fleet in the Upper
Bay. They acquired much more knowledge than they bargained for; and,
instead of a mere taste, they got a surfeit of the enemy's quality.
As the first large iron-clad--the "Camperdown,"--came within range,
they opened fire on her from their eight-inch guns. Having to fire
across the land (Sandy Hook) their first shots went away over the
"Camperdown," and the shells exploded harmlessly in the shallow water
miles away near the Coney Island shore.
The gunboats sat so low in the water, that their crews were obliged
to elevate their guns considerably, so as to have the projectiles go
clear of the land. This, of course, sent them away over the vessels
at which they were aimed; and although the low point of Sandy Hook
afforded them protection against the guns of the British, it also
prevented their own guns from being of any service. This attack,
however, seemed to spur the British Admiral into counter-action. A
vigorous exchange of signals was made between various members of the
fleet, and in a short time several of the torpedo boats and smaller
armored cruisers ran close in, by Sandy Hook, and running up past the
point and around into the Horseshoe, brought the American gunboats
into plain sight, and point blank range. Of course the result of the
contest between these modern iron-clads and the antiquated wooden
tubs of the Americans, was a foregone conclusion, and in less than
fifteen minutes from the time that the first gun was fired, the
latter were disposed of in the most summary manner. One sank where
she lay, her wooden hull having been perforated from stem to stern
with the projectiles fired from two rapid firing machine guns on one
of the British gunboats. Another one was disabled by a huge ten-inch
shell, which struck her nearly amidships, and literally blew her all
to pieces. The third one sought such safety as she could, by running
aground, and her crew, having first set her on fire, took to their
boats, and rowing ashore, disappeared in the thick cedar forest which
covers this part of Sandy Hook. No appreciable loss or damage was
inflicted upon the English vessels--all but one of which proceeded
quietly to anchor in the Horseshoe. This one steamed rapidly out to
the Flagship, communicated the result of the action to the Admiral,
and received orders to escort the remaining smaller vessels of the
fleet to the sheltered anchorage which had been so quickly and easily
won. The merchant cruisers, "Umbria," "Etruria" and "City of New
York" also anchored in the Horseshoe. Shortly after these vessels
had anchored, fire was opened upon them from an earth-work on the
Highlands of Navesink, which had been hastily thrown up, and mounted
with five or six old smoothbore Dahlgreen guns.
A few well aimed shells soon drove the men away from this battery,
and although on occasional shell was sent in that direction at
intervals during the remainder of the day, the Dahlgreens were
thenceforward dumb.
Meanwhile the balance of the fleet, consisting of the larger
iron-clad battle ships and cruisers, had anchored in the Swash
Channel, in a line extending nearly a mile and a half southeasterly
from the point of intersection of the Swash with the Main Channel,
near buoy fourteen. This position had evidently been previously
selected by the English Admiral as the best one outside of the
Narrows; which were supposed to be thoroughly protected by torpedoes
and other submerged obstructions. Nothing had as yet been been of
the American fleet. It was known to be assembled in the Upper Bay;
but it seemed strange that it should thus permit the enemy to
establish himself in a position of his own choosing, without any
hindrance or opposition.
The position was a remote one, it is true; but, still, if the enemy's
guns had a range as claimed--of over eleven miles,--a very large part
of New York, and nearly the whole of Brooklyn, were within reach of
his shells. There has never, so far as I can learn, any satisfactory
reason been given for this strange lack of action on the part of the
Americans. The only plausible explanation of it lies in the fact
that they appreciated the vast disproportion between their own fleet
and that of the enemy, and realizing the utter hopelessness of
attacking the latter successfully by daylight, and on equal terms,
determined to husband such strength as they possessed, and
concentrate the whole of it in the night attack upon the English,
which had been determined upon.
Thus it happened that the afternoon of the 11th of May passed quietly
and uneventfully, save when the silence was broken by the distant
reports of the guns from the Staten Island forts, or by the
occasional shelling of the abandoned earthwork on the Highlands.
Towards sundown a sort of a reconnaisance was made in the direction
of the Narrows by three torpedo boats; but, as they approached within
closer range of the guns of the forts, they abandoned their purpose
without reaching the first line of submerged obstructions. One of
them was disabled by a solid shot from Fort Richmond, and was towed
back to the Horseshoe by her two consorts in an apparently sinking
condition. As nightfall approached, there was an evident increase of
excitement and activity on all the English vessels. Torpedo boats
and steam launches, darted hither and thither from one of the
anchorages to the other, evidently conveying orders and instructions
for the coming night. Torpedo booms and nets were placed in
position, and elaborate instructions were issued to each separate
commander what to do in case of attack--steam was kept up on all
vessels, and the electric search lights were thoroughly tested, so as
to leave no doubt of their being in perfect order. Every preparation
which experience or ingenuity could suggest, was made to resist any
attack, no matter what its character might be, and no matter whence
it came.
For the first time in the memory of living men, there were no harbor
lights lighted that night. Orders had been given by telegraph to all
the different light-house keepers not to light their lamps, for fear
that the enemy might want to make some movement by night, which the
lighthouses would aid him in accomplishing. So from Sandy Hook to
Bobbin's Reef, in the Upper Bay, not a light was to be seen, except
such as was shown by the English vessels.
As soon as darkness set in, the firing both from the forts and from
the ships ceased; and an utter stillness fell upon the scene, broken
only now and then by the shrill whistle of some boatswain, or the
hoarse murmur of some loud-voiced petty officer, giving orders to the
watch on duty.
This quiet condition of things continued until after midnight. At
one o'clock A.M. all the light-houses in the harbor were lighted
simultaneously, and the surprised Englishmen saw themselves
surrounded with stationary and revolving lights, from Sandy Hook and
the Navesink Highlands on the south, to Cheesequake and Princess Bay
on the southwest and west; Elm Tree and Toad Hill on the north-west,
and the Narrows and Robbin's Reef in the distant north.
A hasty consultation of their charts convinced them that these were
merely the regular light-houses of the harbor; but if so, why had
they not been lighted earlier? Evidently their darkness all the
evening, and their simultaneous lighting at this late hour, proved
that instructions had been given to their keepers in advance, and if
so, must have been given with some object in view. So guns were
fired, and signals were exchanged, and orders were given to the whole
fleet to prepare for instant action, and the whole surface of the
Lower Bay seemed to be illuminated as if by magic, by the powerful
electric search lights which were turned in all directions, making
everything plainly visible almost to the horizon.
A faint sound, as of the distant rushing of waters, was heard in the
direction of the Narrows, and the word was passed quietly from
officers to men: "They're coming now, boys. Look sharp; and be ready
for them." It was the last of the ebb tide, and aided by it the
American fleet made rapid progress down the bay.
Suddenly, to the great bewilderment and dismay of the English, a vast
number of powerful electric lights seemed to spring out of the water
in almost every direction around them. These were nearly as powerful
as the search lights on their own vessels; and dazzled the eyes of
the British so completely, that their search lights were rendered
comparatively useless. Presuming, of course, that each of these was
on board of a vessel, and therefore represented something to be
destroyed, the English commenced blazing away with their guns, both
great and small, directing them against these lights.
"I had no idea the beggars had such a big fleet," said the British
Admiral to an officer standing near him on the dock of the flagship.
"Why there must be nearly two hundred of them. But they must be
small things, or we would know all about them. We have a list of
every ship in their navy up to last winter, and all told, there were
less than forty, so I don't fear them much."
If the admiral had only known then, what he discovered later on, he
need have had still less fear of these lights, and moreover, might
have saved a vast amount of valuable ammunition which was needlessly
wasted; for these powerful lights, instead of proceeding from the
deck or spars of hostile ships, were nothing more than decoy lights
on long spar buoys, whose lower ends being loaded, permitted them to
float upright with the tide, with about half their length out of
water, thus raising the lights about fifteen to twenty feet above the
surface of the bay. The lights were fed by powerful storage
batteries, and had been turned on as they had been launched overboard
from two swift little torpedo launches about a mile up the bay. The
tide being ebb, carried them quickly down to where the enemy's fleet
lay at anchor, and the latter, almost before they could realize their
position, found themselves, as they supposed, in the midst of the
American fleet.
These "Blinding buoys" as they were called, were one of the numerous
ingenious devices which had been called into existence by the
supposed approach of war.
They served their purpose of blinding and confusing the enemy
admirably; and if the Americans had only had force enough to have
enabled them to take advantage of the fright and confusion they
occasioned, the result of the conflict would have been very different
from what it was. When we consider however, the very limited means
at their disposal, it will be seen that they accomplished results
which seem well nigh incredible. The time of launching the "blinding
buoys" had been carefully chosen, so as to utilize them for the
longest possible period. The idea was to have them reach the
anchored vessels about a quarter of an hour before the tide turned,
so that they would remain among them as long as the slack water ebb
lasted. So the Englishmen kept blazing away at them for nearly half
an hour, without either inflicting any damage, or discovering their
fraudulent character. In the noise and confusion, it became
impossible to signal the other vessels of the fleet; and the wisdom
of issuing detailed orders in advance was now apparent.
In pursuance of these orders, the "Etruria," and "Umbria," and "City
of New York," and several of the other unarmored cruisers, slipped
their cables, and ran quietly out to sea. The smaller gunboats, at
anchor in the Horseshoe, extinguished all their lights, and gave no
indication whatever of their presence. But the torpedo boats
hastened to the scene of battle, eager to come to the assistance or
the rescue of their more formidable consorts. And it was one of
these, which first discovered the fraudulent character of the
"blinding buoys."
This boat--the "Terror"--having fixed upon one of these electric
lights as her own especial prey, made a dash for it, with the idea of
affixing a torpedo to it, and blowing it skyward. Nearer and nearer
it came--its dazzling brilliancy illuminating every part of the deck
of the little vessel, whose officers and crew stood with bated
breath, waiting for the crash which would indicate that their prey
was within their reach.
"Now! Lookout! Hold fast! Here she is!" Every man braced himself
and grasped some portion of the vessel nearest to him;--the rail--a
stanchion--a rope--anything to steady himself by, until the force of
the collision should have spent itself--when--behold! the light
disappears under the bow; and reappears a moment later, swaying
wildly from side to side, a dozen yards or more astern. There is no
crash--no collision--no shock--no tangible thing against which to
launch the waiting torpedo; only an exclamation by the man who had
been quietly waiting for the proper moment to launch his deadly
missile, of--"Well! I'll be d----d!" That was all.
The true character of the buoys having been thus discovered, no time
was lost in conveying the information to the nearest of the large
ships; which immediately ceased firing, and endeavored to signal her
consorts to do the game. Owing to the smoke, however, it was some
time before she could make her signals understood; and just she did
so, an immense explosion took place under her side, which seemed
almost to lift her, (monster though she was) out of the water; a
shivering and crashing of machinery and iron work ensued, and the
rushing waters poured into her hull, through a vast yawning chasm,
which the dynamite shell had made in her side. She sank in about
fifteen minutes--the first victim of Zalinski's dynamite gun. Most
of her crew were rescued; although quite a number went down with her.
By this time, the smoke had cleared away, and the search lights were
again beginning to be of some service, because the flood tide had
commenced running, and had carried the buoys away in towards Staten
Island. The lights enabled the English to discover several vessels;
among which was the dynamite gun boat "Vesuvius," whose maiden effort
had been so successful.
The slanting muzzles of her three guns could be plainly seen
projecting above her deck; and their attendants were evidently
getting them ready for another discharge. Two fast gun-boats, armed
with rapid firing four-inch guns, were signalled to attack her, and
disable her at once--which they proceeded to do with great promptness
and despatch.
The vessel herself withstood the onslaught fairly well; but the
muzzles of the long guns being entirely exposed, they were soon
rendered useless; and the commander of the "Vesuvius," seeing that
her usefulness was ended, sought safety in flight up the Bay.
Meanwhile the numerous torpedo boats were rushing to and fro, now and
then succeeding in exploding a torpedo in the vicinity of one of the
larger English vessels; but more frequently kept at a safe distance
by the torpedo booms and nets.
The submarine boat "Destroyer," succeeded in partially destroying two
iron-clads before she met destruction herself.
As this occurred in a most unexpected and curious manner, I will give
an account of it, while describing the battle; although the
particulars as to the manner of her destruction were not known until
long after the conflict was over. She had successfully exploded
large torpedoes directly under the bottoms of two of the English
ships; completely disabling one, and nearly sinking the other; and
had retired to a short distance from the scene of conflict, where she
lay partially submerged, evidently preparing to attack the
"Camperdown," one of the most formidable vessels of the fleet.
After a delay of about a half an hour, she was seen to start in the
direction of the "Camperdown," and shortly before reaching that
vessel, to disappear under water; presumably to go under her great
adversary's bottom.
This was the last that was seen of her. The panic and excitement on
the "Camperdown" was intense, as the officers and crew waited minute
after minute for the inevitable crash, which would in all
probability, sink their vessel, and involve the majority of
themselves in certain death. But notwithstanding the suspense and
terror which possessed them, not a man left his post, or refused to
obey the orders of his superiors. The whole crew was mustered on
deck, the boats were manned, life belts distributed among the men,
crews were told off to each boat; and in a grim and deathlike silence
they awaited the shock which would be the signal for them to leave
their vessel, and trust themselves to the mercy of the waters. But
they waited in vain. The shock never came. The "Destroyer" not only
failed to destroy her vast antagonist, but failed also to re-appear
herself on the surface of the water.
"Something must have happened to her!" exclaimed the American
admiral, who was watching her movements with a night glass, as well
as the smoke and the uncertain light from the search lights would
permit, from the bridge of the "Baltimore," his flagship, which was
manoeuvring around about two miles up the harbor.
"Something" indeed had happened to her; but it was not until several
weeks afterwards that anybody knew exactly what it was. Then divers
found her "standing on her head," with her ram so deeply imbedded in
the muddy bottom of the bay, that it required the united efforts of
two or three of the most powerful derricks in the harbor, to
extricate her. When she was finally brought to the surface, the dead
bodies of her crew were found on board of her. They had evidently
tried in vain to open the manhole, and take the desperate chance of
getting out, even in the face of the inrushing water, in preference
to the certain death from asphyxiation, which otherwise awaited them.
Their efforts for some reason had been unsuccessful, and the supply
of fresh air becoming exhausted, they had evidently died from
suffocation.
As yet, the American cruisers had taken no part in the struggle.
They were unarmored, and their guns were of comparatively short
range; and it would have been folly for them to have attacked their
heavily armored and armed opponents. The three American turret
ships, however, had at length come within range, and opened fire from
their revolving turrets upon the Englishmen. The heavy balls from
their smoothbore guns seemed to have but little effect on the thick
armor coating of the English ships; and as they could only fire at
each revolution of the turret, their fire was as slow, as it was
ineffectual.
Moreover the turrets soon proved utterly inadequate to resist the
tremendous penetrating power of the heavy English guns, and were
either absolutely perforated by the shot and shells; or else were so
bruised and battered and jarred and jammed, that they could no longer
be revolved on their carriages, and became utterly useless.
The most complete and phenomenal success on the American side,
however, was achieved by two insignificant looking little boats which
involved an entirely new--albeit a very simple--principle of marine
warfare as applicable to Harbor defense. These boats had been built
by private subscription as experiments, at a cost of about $50,000
each. Their inventor had appealed in vain to Congress to authorize
the construction of at least thirty or forty of them, which he
claimed would be amply sufficient to protect all of our principal
seaports, at an aggregate cost of about $2,000,000; or less than that
of a single first class iron-clad war vessel. His idea was strongly
backed up by the Secretary of the Navy, who urged Congress to make an
appropriation for the purpose of testing it thoroughly. When,
however, the inventor explained to the members of that intelligent
and brilliant body, that the principle upon which he based his
invention was that of self-destruction; and that to use his craft in
actual warfare, was to destroy it, these back country gentleman,
whose sole idea of statesmanship seemed to be limited to posing and
shouting like howling dervishes before the shrine of what they called
"economy," posed and shouted more violently than ever; and holding up
both hands in holy horror, had exclaimed: "What! waste two millions
of the people's money on things that are good for nothing without you
destroy them? Never! never! Let us rather reduce the terrible taxes
which now burden our struggling and poverty-stricken people; or if
the surplus must be spent, let us put it in the rivers and harbors
and public buildings of the country;" and straightway the
appropriations for those admirable purposes were doubled, and the
hare-brained inventor packed off from Washington with a very large
sized economical flea in his ear.
He had, however, at length succeeded in impressing some wealthy New
Yorkers with the value of his invention, and sufficient money had
been raised to build two boats, according to his plans. These boats
being intended for harbor defense only, did not need to be especially
seaworthy; nor did they require large quarters for crew, or much
space for fuel. Consequently, nearly their whole interior could be
occupied by engines and boilers; thus ensuring them a speed which
approximated thirty miles an hour. They were propelled by twin
screws, and could therefore turn around in nearly their own length.
They carried no arms or ammunition of any kind, except a gigantic
tube or cartridge, containing two tons of dynamite, which was carried
in a hollow place left for the purpose in the long steel ram, with
which their bows were armed. A full crew for one of these boats
consisted of eight men--two engineers, four firemen, and two pilots,
one of whom acted as deck-hand when required.
These men had been carefully selected from the marine militia, and
for several weeks had been drilling constantly in the upper and lower
bays. The drill was a peculiar one, and consisted simply of running
at high speed for a mile or so; then, at the stroke of a bell, the
four firemen would rush on deck, and leap over-board; a few moments
later, at the sound of a second bell, one engineer, and one pilot
would follow them; and lastly, just as the headway of the boat began
to slacken, the remaining engineer and pilot did likewise, striking
out, and swimming away from the boat, as rapidly as they could.
Being provided with cork jackets, they had no difficulty in
sustaining themselves until they were picked up by a steam launch,
which always accompanied them as a tender, and on which they would
rejoin their abandoned boat, which by that time would be drifting
lazily about with the tide, a mile or so away. The men had become
thoroughly accustomed to this service, and enjoyed it vastly,
although the summer was backward and the water was cold. These boats
were also arranged with large water tanks, which when filled, brought
them very low down in the water. Their roofs were a sort of
combination of dome and turtle back, composed of four-inch steel
plates.
Thus, when submerged to their "fighting depth," they offered but a
small target as they approached the enemy, and if a shot or shell
should strike them, it would in all probability glance off without
injury, owing to the angle at which it would strike. An electric
wire led from the pilot house to a clock-work arrangement, attached
to a percussion cap, which communicated with the two tons of dynamite
in the hollow bow of the boat. The problem was simply to rush at the
broadside of the opposing vessel from a distance of a couple of miles
or so, and as soon as possible, to give the engineers and firemen the
signal to jump overboard. Then, the pilots having remained at their
post until they were certain that the boat would strike the enemy, to
fasten the wheel amidships, with lashings provided for that purpose,
touch the button communicating with the clock-work, jump overboard
and swim for their lives during the seventy or eighty seconds in
which the clock arrangement was doing its deadly work; and then,
after the tremendous explosion, which would blow both their own and
the enemy's vessel into a thousand fragments, to float quietly about
until picked up by their tender.
In was a perfectly simple and feasible thing to do, and in this, its
first trial in actual warfare, it worked to a charm.
The "Victoria," the largest and most formidable of the turreted
ships, and the "Camperdown," the largest of the armored ships, were
the two vessels selected for the two experimental dynamite rams to
operate against.
These rams bore the suggestive names of "Suicide" and "Samson."
The smoke having partially cleared away, the position of the two
English ships could be accurately determined, and the two small rams
at length received the expected signal to proceed to the attack.
Making a circuit of about a mile, to get under good headway, they
headed straight for their respective victims, and rushed towards them
at a frightful rate of speed. They were followed at a considerable
distance by their respective tenders. Their presence was soon
discovered by the aid of the electric search lights, and a severe
fire was opened on them from all the British vessels within range.
Owing to their peculiar construction, this fire had little or no
effect upon them; and they continued their headlong race towards the
two giant ships, lying quietly at anchor in fancied security.
Suddenly several figures were seen to rush wildly astern and jump
overboard. But still the rams kept up their tremendous speed, and
were pointed directly at the amidship section of the two iron-clads.
Nearer and nearer they came, in spite of the deadly and continuous
firing from the enemy's guns, both great and small, which seemed
utterly impotent to check their progress. At last, when they were
within a couple of hundred yards or so of the iron-clads, each blew a
short sharp single blast with its whistle, and two men were seen to
run aft, and roll down the inclined surface of the turtle-backed roof
of each ram, into the water. The rams themselves kept on, however,
and a collision was seen to be inevitable. Orders were given to the
English crews to hold themselves in readiness to repel boarders. But
in vain! The tireless little rams rushed onward--madly, wildly,
triumphantly, gladly--to their own destruction; but to the
destruction also of their enemies. A jar, a sound--not so very
loud--of snapping bolts and crushing iron plates; a sound of confused
voices, saying: "She has struck us," "She has gone half way through
us!" a few instants of comparative silence,--during which the
officers consult hastily as to what had better be done. An order or
two given in quick sharp tones; and then--with a mighty rumble and
flash; with a frightful tossing and splashing of the water; with a
thunderous roar, and a soul sickening shiver, which seemed to impart
itself even to the sea, the two great ships, and their two little
adversaries met a common fate--being both blown to atoms--and
disappeared forever beneath the waves.
The loss of life was terrific on the two English ships; as most of
their crews went down with them; but a few were rescued by boats,
which were quickly lowered from the remaining vessels of the fleet;
and quite a number were picked up by the launches, which were acting
as tenders to the two rams, and gathering up their swimming crews.
These latter had diminutive electric lights on their caps, and having
turned these on, as soon as they jumped overboard, were easily
discovered and picked up.
The effect of these tremendous explosions of dynamite was
demoralizing in the extreme, to the English officers and crews: and
although the attack was not pressed by the Americans, the order was
given, to such of the fleet as remained, to hoist anchor, and proceed
out to tea. It was now nearly daylight, and at six o'clock that
morning (May 12th) the telegraph operator at Navesink Highlands
telegraphed to the N.Y. Associated Press, as follows:
"British fleet all apparently lying at anchor just outside the bar.
Three or four of the largest iron-clads missing. They are supposed
to have been captured or sunk in the battle last night. The distance
is too great to distinguish those which remain; but there seems to be
considerable activity among the smaller vessels; and the launches are
moving about from one ship to another, as if for consultation, or
giving or receiving orders. The fleet is probably repairing damages,
as far as possible, before proceeding to sea. It is supposed here
that they will sail direct for Halifax for repairs and refitting."
This despatch was published in extra editions of all the newspapers
in New York and Brooklyn; and, taken in connection with the accounts
received from the officers and crews of the American fleet, which had
returned to its anchorage in the upper Bay after the fight was over,
and which united in describing the affair as a complete and glorious
victory, it occasioned great rejoicing in those cities. Cannon were
fired, flags were hoisted, thanksgiving services were held in many of
the churches, and the citizens testified their delight and
satisfaction in the wildest and most extravagant manner.
To add to the public excitement, and to intensify, if possible, the
patriotic enthusiasm of the people, despatches arrived from General
Schofield, to the effect that he had met a large body of the enemy,
and had not only repulsed their attack, but had put them completely
to rout and captured several thousand prisoners; and the flying
remnants had been pursued by his cavalry to the St. Lawrence River,
opposite Montreal.
So much simultaneous good news was decidedly exhilarating; and it is
not to be wondered at, that pandemonium seemed to have broken loose
in New York and Brooklyn that evening.
Bonfires were lighted; fireworks were set off; improvised torchlight
processions made night hideous with their cheers, and drums and
fifes, and cannon firings; and banners and transparencies, in which
poor old John Bull was shot, and stabbed, and drawn and quartered,
and in many other ingenious and hitherto unheard of ways, put an end
to for ever and ever, were to be seen in every street.
In one of these, Ireland, represented as a broad shouldered,
strapping young woman, with a suspiciously rubicund countenance
(especially about the tip of her nose), dressed in green
silk--_decolleté_--had thrown her brawny arms around the neck of
Uncle Sam, who obligingly bent over, half way across the Atlantic, to
permit this trans-oceanic caress. This transparency was wildly
cheered, and was followed by a tremendous crowd of shouting and
yelling men and boys, until the candles went out, and the bar-rooms
closed for the night.
The newspapers of the 13th of May, in all parts of the country,
indulged in the wildest jubilations, and the "croakers," who had
theretofore called attention to the weakness of the American navy,
and the defenseless condition of American seaports, were ridiculed
and abused in the most unmeasured terms throughout the length and
breadth of the land. American ingenuity was lauded to the skies, as
being equal to every emergency, and able to bid defiance to all the
antiquated Old World methods of war-making. The American
Eagle--never a very modest bird--flapped its wings, and screamed in a
manner which put to shame its most extravagant previous efforts in
that line.
In England the situation was exactly reversed. The French cable had
of course carried the news of the British defeat to Paris; and from
them it had been wired to London, with such additions and
exaggerations as French unfriendliness to England could suggest; and
London was in an uproar. Lord Randolph Churchill was burned in
effigy in various parts of the city and country, and a general chorus
of "I told you so's," coupled with estimates of the cost in pounds,
shillings and pence, of the destroyed fleet, went up like a National
wail, from one end of Great Britain to the other. Bonfires were
lighted on every hill-top in Ireland, and the streets of Dublin and
Cork were fairly green with millions of Irish flags. The continental
newspapers, especially the German and French ones, all contained
labored articles, giving various accounts of the battle, and paying
the highest tribute to the inventive genius of "those wonderful
Americans," and condoling with England in rather a sarcastic vein
upon her loss of prestige as a naval power. For a wonder, the French
and German journals had at length a subject upon which they could
agree, and they seemed to vie with each other in the publication of
articles in which their intense hatred and jealousy of England, was
but thinly disguised, under the most polite expressions of sympathy
for her fall from a place among the highest, to a position among the
third or fourth-rate powers of the world. The immediate dissolution
of the "so called British Empire" was spoken of as a matter of
course, and while it was generally conceded that Australia would be
able to maintain itself as an independent power, the probable fate of
British India was a subject upon which these writers displayed for
three or four days, the customary combination of ignorance and
ingenuity, for which the continental press of Europe is to justly
renowned.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE RETURN OF THE FLEET.
On the 13th and 14th of May, there was a thick fog, which rendered it
impossible to see anything at a greater distance than a few yards.
It did not extend more than a mile or two inland, but shrouded the
whole coast in an impenetrable darkness.
The rejoicings and congratulations still continued in New York and
Brooklyn; but in a diminished degree. Even patriotism requires
breathing spells, and the citizens were fairly worn out with their
celebration.
A quiet air of cheerful contentment, under which was plainly evident
a feeling of serene self-satisfaction, had replaced the boisterous
and exuberant manner of the previous two days; and when the sun rose
clear and bright on the morning of the 15th of May, aside from the
super-abundance of American flags, which gave the city a holiday
look, there was nothing to indicate any unusual excitement.
Although the weather was perfectly clear in the city, the fog still
continued very thick in the lower bay, and outside of Sandy Hook, so
that until nearly noon, when it began to clear away, nothing could be
seen from the Highlands.
About noon, however, despatches began to arrive from the operator
there, describing the gradual lifting of the fog.
"11.45 A.M. Fog lifting slowly. Sandy Hook now plainly visible.
"11.55 A.M. Scotland Lightship now in sight. Several coasting
vessels lying near her at anchor. Nothing else in sight.
"12.10 P.M. Sandy Hook Lightship now visible. Several vessels lying
near her. Impossible to make out just what they are. Weather still
hazy.
"12.30 P.M. British fleet evidently not all gone yet. Probably
waited for disappearance of fog. Forty or fifty large and small
vessels lying near the Lightship."
"1.15 P.M. Smoke now issuing from the funnels of several of the
fleet. They are evidently about to get under way."
"1.30 P.M. A small vessel, evidently a gun boat, is now steaming
rapidly in towards Sandy Hook. She probably desires to communicate
with the shore; but shows no flag of truce as yet."
"2 P.M. British gunboat referred to in last despatch has just passed
Sandy Hook, and is now heading up the Swash Channel at somewhat
reduced speed."
"2.45 P.M. Gunboat, after stopping and apparently examining the
battle ground of the 11th, now steaming slowly up towards the
Narrows."
These despatches attracted considerable attention in the city, and
when they appeared in the evening papers, there were numerous
surmises as to the reasons for the return of the English gunboat.
Not much attention was paid to the matter, however.
And now, in order to render this narrative as brief and explicit as
possible, I will quote from the official report of the British
Admiral, as the best and most reliable authority as to the
occurrences of the next few days.
"After the severe action on the night of the 11th, which resulted in
the loss of three of our most formidable ships, and the serious
crippling and disabling of several others, as hereinbefore described,
I deemed it advisable to withdraw from the outer harbor to an
anchorage near the bar, to gain time for consultation with the
officers of the fleet, as well as to ascertain exactly the amount of
damage we had sustained, and our remaining effective force available
for a renewal of hostilities.
"At daybreak on the 12th, the fleet, much scattered, was all outside
the bar; some of the commanders having either from an excess of
caution, or a misunderstanding of orders, proceeded so far out to
sea, that recall signals could not reach them. By nine o'clock,
however, they had all returned within call, and were anchored in the
vicinity of the Sandy Hook Lightship. This vessel lies about eight
miles E. by S. from Sandy Hook, and although in heavy Easterly or
Southerly gales, the position is a very exposed one, yet in
ordinarily fair weather, such as is usually had hero in May, it is a
perfectly safe anchorage, especially for steam vessels with banked
fires. A council of the flag officers of the fleet was called to
meet on the flagship at 1 P.M.
"At this meeting, detailed reports of the condition of each vessel
were made; and to my great satisfaction, I discovered that the
'Sansparei,' although two of her compartments were full of water, and
her main engines were disabled, was entirely unhurt--so far as her
armament was concerned; and that if she could reach a position where
her guns would be effective, was as formidable as ever for offensive
purposes. The 'Howe' had also had a hole knocked into her by a
torpedo; but the damage was not such as to interfere with her
effectiveness in the slightest degree. The damages to the other
vessels were trifling, and interfered neither with their motive nor
their fighting powers.
"The absolute destruction of the 'Victoria' and 'Camperdown' by the
enemy, by means of self-destroying torpedo boats, and the complete
inability of our other vessels to defend themselves against similar
attacks, had been the cause of my withdrawing the fleet beyond their
reach. And the first question to be discussed and decided, related
to the probability of a similar attack being made upon us in case we
returned to the harbor. If the enemy had a force of these
self-destroying torpedo boats, equal in number to the vessels
composing our fleet, it would be simple madness to undertake further
hostilities.
"These boats were swifter than our swiftest ships; and were so large
and heavy that they could go right through our torpedo nets and
booms, and pierce the hulls of our ships far below the water line;
and the thorough manner in which they had blown the 'Victoria' and
'Camperdown' to pieces, had convinced me that nothing afloat could
withstand their destructive efforts. Indeed I have since learned
that there were two tons of dynamite in each discharge--an amount
sufficient, if properly directed, to lift the heaviest vessel ever
built, bodily out of the water. It was, therefore, of vital
importance to us, to find out, if possible, whether the enemy had any
more of these boats, and if so, how many; and for that purpose I
called a council of officers, in the hope that some of them might
have more definite knowledge on the subject than I had.
"During this council, the opinion was expressed by the commanding
officer of the converted merchant cruiser, 'City of New York,' that
he had some men on board his ship who knew something about it, and at
my request he went on board his vessel to make inquiries. He
returned shortly, bringing with him an assistant engineer, who had
been employed on the 'City of New York,' when she was engaged in the
merchant service between New York and Liverpool; and after
considerable objection on his part--although he was a Scotchman, and
not an American--he admitted that on one of the last voyages of that
vessel, he had visited Philadelphia, and had seen the two
self-destroying torpedo vessels on the stocks, in the shipyard of the
Messrs. Cramp, in that city. They were unfinished then, and regarded
more in the light of curiosities than anything else. The Government
did not even own them; but they were being built by private parties
for experimental purposes; and were the subject of much ridicule
among the workmen. He explained the principle upon which they were
to operate. A hollow ram at the bow contained an enormous charge of
dynamite, which was connected by an electric clock-work arrangement,
with the pilot house, and was to be exploded by the pilot after he
had run her into the hull of the hostile vessel; the pilot and the
crew jumping overboard with life-preserving suits on, and taking
their chances of being picked up after the explosion.
"This description tallied so exactly with the manner in which the
'Victoria' and the 'Camperdown' had been destroyed, that the
conclusion was irresistible, that it was the work of these two
experimental vessels; and that (there being no more of them; or, the
enemy being out of ammunition, so to speak) there was really nothing
to prevent us from renewing our attack at the earliest possible
moment; towing the 'Sanspareil' and the other disabled vessels to a
point where their guns would be effective for bombarding purposes.
"It was therefore decided to send a swift gunboat in to reconnoitre
the lower bay early the following morning; and if her report was
favorable, the whole fleet was to follow her in, and take a position
as far up the harbor as was practicable. A dense fog prevented any
action being taken until the second day afterwards--the 15th. On
that day, about noon, the fog lifted, and I sent the 'Orlando' in to
reconnoitre, and instructed her commander to push forward towards the
Narrows, until stopped by torpedoes or other obstructions, or until
the fire from the forts became too hot; when he was to return to the
fleet and report.
"Meanwhile the remainder of the fleet got under way and with the
'Sanspareil' and 'Howe' in tow of the 'Umbria' and 'City of New
York,' proceeded slowly towards Sandy Hook. By 3.30 P.M. we had
reached the point where the battle of the 11th had been fought.
There were no signs of the enemy in sight below the Narrows; but the
reports of heavy guns, and the smoke over Staten Island and Long
Island showed that the forts on both sides of the Narrows had opened
fire on the 'Orlando.'
"I ordered the fleet to anchor, partly in the Swash, and partly in
the main ship channel, and hoisted the recall signal for the
'Orlando.'
"Owing to the smoke or the distance, or both, her commander failed to
obey the signal, and kept exchanging shots with the forts; so I sent
a despatch boat up the bay with peremptory orders for her return.
About 5 o'clock she came down, and anchored with the remainder of the
fleet, and her commander came on board the flagship, and reported
verbally that, he had proceeded up the main ship channel to the
Narrows. That he had drawn the fire of the forts on both Long Island
and Staten Island; and had developed the fact that the guns were
old-fashioned smooth bores, which would have little or no effect upon
our heavily armored vessels. That several of the large solid
shot--apparently ten inch--had struck his armor belt, near the water
line, without inflicting any damage beyond making a deep indentation;
and that several torpedoes had exploded near his vessel, but none
directly under her--therefore he could not report as to their
efficacy. With a good stout ship, however, properly divided into
water-tight compartments, he thought he could safely defy any
obstructions or torpedoes that might be placed in the Narrows; and in
response to the direct question, whether he thought it was feasible
to take the fleet into the Upper Bay, answered unhesitatingly in the
affirmative.
"In consequence of this information, but more especially as I was
already in a position to shell the lower part of New York City, and
nearly the whole of Brooklyn, I issued the following proclamation,
which I sent up that evening by a despatch boat, under a flag of
truce, to the City:
"'To the Mayors and Citizens of New York and Brooklyn:
"'As Admiral commanding Her Britannic Majesty's Expeditionary fleet,
I hereby give notice that at 12 o'clock noon, on the 18th day of May,
1890, the bombardment which I am ordered to inflict upon the cities
of New York and Brooklyn will be commenced. While I deeply regret
the painful necessity which compels me to be the agent in such a
terrible destruction of life and property as this bombardment will
involve, yet my orders are peremptory; and I shall, to the best of my
ability, obey them to the letter. I can, however, postpone the evil
day; and instincts of humanity would impel me to do so, even if they
were not re-inforced by my own personal wishes in the matter. In
order, therefore, that non-combatants,--and especially women and
children--may be removed to a place of safety, I give this public
notice, more than two days in advance of the bombardment.
"'Signed,
"'ADMIRAL FREEMANTLE,
"'_Commanding H. B. M.'s fleet_.'"
CHAPTER IX.
THE PANIC AND FLIGHT.
The publication of the foregoing proclamation in the late editions of
the evening newspapers of New York and Brooklyn, on the evening of
its issue (May 15th), occasioned the wildest excitement and terror in
those two cities. At first, many of the inhabitants regarded it as a
cruel hoax, and utterly refused to believe it. They had been so
thoroughly convinced that the British fleet had been practically
annihilated on the night of the 11th, and had yielded themselves up
so completely to the current feelings of joy and triumph at the
supposed success of the American fleet, that they could not seem to
realize that their rejoicings had been premature; and that, although
partially destroyed, the British fleet was still formidable enough to
carry out its instructions, and bombard New York and Brooklyn.
The transition from joy to terror was too sudden to be at once
comprehended in all of its force. The streets and squares uptown
were crowded all the evening, and late into the night; and wherever
there was a newspaper bulletin, or a transparency, thousands of
excited men and woman congregated in the hope of getting the latest
news. It is safe to say that but few people slept any that night, in
either city. Even the doubters and unbelievers tossed sleeplessly in
their beds, anxiously watching for the coming of day; or else
remained up all night, packing their clothing and valuables, so as to
be ready to start on short notice, in case remarkable proclamation,
should prove to be genuine. All doubt upon this point, however, was
set at rest the next morning.
All of the newspapers contained the Proclamation of the British
Admiral, and supplemental ones by the Mayors of the two cities,
calling the attention of the inhabitants to the imminent peril; and
advising all non-combatants to seek places of safety without delay.
The news columns of the newspapers also contained full details of the
movements of the hostile fleet, and the astounding fact was made
manifest beyond question, that British guns were even then in
positions from which they could shell the two cities.
After the first momentary paralysis which these announcements
occasioned, the whole population was seized with a wild panic. An
irresistible desire for immediate flight seemed to possess them in a
moment, and a scene began which beggared description, and whose like
has probably never been seen before or since.
"Anything to get uptown or out of town," seemed to be the cry.
Husbands who had gone to business as usual, early in the morning,
telephoned to their wives and children to meet them at High Bridge,
at the Grand Central Station, or at some of the landing places of the
steamboats going up the Hudson River. The Sound boats were tabooed,
by reason of a rumor that the attacking fleet had been divided into
two sections, and that one division was coming through Long Island
Sound to attack the city from the Hell Gate side.
By ten o'clock on the morning of the 16th of May, the flight had
fairly commenced. Frantic crowds of men, women and children,
thronged every possible avenue of departure from the doomed cities,
and pushed and pulled and struggled and wrestled with each other, in
their wild and headlong rush to reach their several points of escape.
The streets leading to the Grand Central Station in Forty-second
Street, were blocked for nearly half a mile in every direction, by
carriages, cabs, and express wagons, as well as by hurrying and
anxious pedestrians, all rushing pell mell to get beyond the reach of
the terrible bombshells.
Many amusing tales were told as tending to illustrate the absolute
and unreasoning terror of the fugitives.
"Where to?" inquired the railway ticket seller of an excited and pale
faced man, whose hands trembled violently as he handed a roll of
bills in through the ticket window.
"Oh! Anywhere! Albany; Buffalo; Chicago; Denver! Anywhere to get
beyond the reach of those d--d shells," was the trembling response.
The train service was doubled and quadrupled.
Passengers took no thought as to whether or not they could secure
seats; but packed themselves in like sardines, filling the aisles and
closets and platforms of the cars to suffocation. The entire
passenger equipment of the road was called into requisition, and
utterly failed to supply the demand; and milk, freight, and ordinary
platform and gravel cars were pressed into the service; and the crazy
fugitives absolutely fought each other for precedence in securing
positions on them.
Similar scenes were enacted at all the railway stations and steamboat
docks. The "Mary Powell," a passenger steamboat, which then ran
every afternoon up the Hudson River to Rondout, was obliged to leave
her slip more than an hour before her regular starting time, simply
because the people could not be prevented from forcing themselves on
board of her, even after she was dangerously overcrowded.
Numerous excursion steamboats were pressed into the service, and the
most exorbitant prices were paid for tugs and launches, or craft of
any kind, on which persons could reach places of comparative safety
up the river. Similarly all sorts of wheeled vehicles were pressed
into the traffic; and the east and west drives of Central Park were
crowded with hurrying fugitives of both sexes, and of all ages and
conditions, in public and private carriages, cabs, hansoms,
omnibuses, butcher carts, dumping carts, and grocery and express
wagons. Even hearses were utilized as a means of escape; and the mad
prank of a lot of Columbia College students, shocked a great many
people, and amused a great many more.
These young men, desiring to go out of town in style, went to a
fashionable undertaker's establishment, and hired his handsomest
hearse and four of his best horses, and having fitted up a lot of
seats on top of the hearse, and supplied themselves with two or three
coaching horns, drove wildly up through Central Park to Yonkers,
waking the echoes from one end of the route to the other, with the
shrill notes of their horns, and attracting universal attention to
this novel style of a four-in-hand drag.
Anything that had wheels to run on, and horses to draw it, was
eagerly snapped up at the most exorbitant price. The hegira was
something unprecedented, and almost incredible. It was estimated at
the time, that not less than 500,000 persons left the city between
the hours of noon and midnight, on that memorable sixteenth of May.
Of course there was a vast amount of inconvenience and suffering
involved in such a hasty invasion by such a horde of people, of a
country totally unprepared to receive them; and thousands of cases of
illness and death resulted from the exposures and discomforts to
which the fugitives were subjected. It was also the occasion of many
ludicrous and embarrassing incidents, which were fully described in
the newspapers in the racy and sensational style so prevalent at that
time.
I have ample material in the shape of extracts and clippings from
those journals, to make a chapter which would be both thrilling and
amusing to the reader. But I forego the introduction of such matter
here, lest it should be deemed too trivial in its nature, to be
incorporated into a sober and truthful historical work like this.
The exodus continued, but in diminishing proportions, throughout the
two following days; until by noon of the 18th (the time fixed upon
for the commencement of the bombardment) there remained probably less
than 100,000 people in the two cities of New York and Brooklyn.
Those who remained, were either unable from illness or some similar
cause, to get away; or else they had determined, through curiosity or
indifference to consequences, to remain and "see the thing through."
But their members were so few, that they merely emphasized the
magnitude of the exodus which had taken place.
Immediately upon the announcement of the intended bombardment, the
Sub-Treasurer had telegraphed to Washington for instructions. There
were in the Sub-Treasury vaults gold and silver coin and bullion,
amounting to nearly $300,000,000. In case of the capture of the
city, this would be at the mercy of the British; and as they had
practically announced money to be their chief object in coming across
the Atlantic, it was not at all probable that they would fail to
snatch such a rich booty as this. What, therefore, was to be done?
A Cabinet meeting decided to order the removal of this vast amount of
treasure to a place of safety; and instructions to that effect were
telegraphed to the Sub-Treasurer, who was also authorized to demand a
suitable Military escort from the force of regulars, which had been
hurriedly summoned to New York as soon as war was declared.
Accordingly, the Sub-Treasurer at once set about securing
transportation for the gold and silver. The proportions were about
one-third gold and two-thirds silver; and the total weight of the two
metals was found to exceed 5,000 tons. It was found almost
impossible to secure men and teams enough to transport this enormous
amount of metal. The flight of the inhabitants had taken so many
horses and trucks from the lower part of the city, that it was found
necessary to telegraph to all neighboring places; and Newark, and
Elizabeth and Staten Island, and the nearby portions of Westchester
County, were scoured for horses or ox teams, or any thing that could
draw a load of money. There were heavy trucks and brewery wagons in
abundance, which had been deserted for lighter vehicles by their
owners and drivers, so that the only imperative need was animal power
to drag the loaded vehicles.
The supply of horses, mules, and oxen having been exhausted, it was
necessary to fall back on men, and the strange spectacle was seen of
a procession of heavily loaded trucks and beer wagons being dragged
up Broadway from Wall Street to the Thirtieth Street freight station
of the N.Y.C. and H.R.R.R., by long lines of men, pulling drag ropes,
in the same manner as had formerly been the method of dragging fire
engines and hook and ladder trucks to fires. A large number of
freight trains were accumulated here by the railroad company, into
which the gold and silver were stowed; and then, with a strong
military guard on each car, the cars were made up into trains, and
taken up the river to Albany.
A very large proportion of those who remained in the city, belonged
to the idle and criminal classes, and this fact soon made itself
apparent in the sudden breaking out of what might be called an
epidemic or carnival of crime. Numerous incendiary fires occurred,
and hundreds of residences, which had been abandoned by their owners
and tenants in their mad flight, were broken into and rifled of their
valuable contents, by troops of thieves and tramps, who seemed to
rise out of the ground, as it were, by magic; and were so numerous
and so bold, that they bid utter defiance to the over-worked police.
During the days of the bombardment, these outcasts of society, would
lounge around Central Park, out of reach of the exploding shells,
which were creating such havoc in the lower portions of the city, and
then at night-fall, when the fire from the fleet slackened, they
would organize themselves into little supper parties, and
deliberately break into any private residence whose imposing exterior
happened to strike their fancy, and proceed to make themselves at
home.
As long as the bombardment and the armistice lasted, the aristocratic
regions of Fifth Avenue and Murray Hill, resounded nightly with the
songs and shouts of these rough and drunken revellers of both sexes,
who seemed never to tire of their unaccustomed surroundings, and
exhibited the most remarkable diligence and perseverance in searching
for mansions (as yet undisturbed) whose larders and wine-cellars were
liberally stocked. These little parties were sometimes broken up by
the police; but probably less than half of them were interrupted in
this way; as they were so numerous in all parts of the city, and the
police were so thoroughly over-worked and exhausted, that it was
impossible for them to afford anything like adequate protection to
the property of the absentees.
CHAPTER X.
THE BOMBARDMENT.
During the interval between the return of the British fleet, on the
15th of May, and the time fixed by the Admiral for the commencement
of the bombardment, an active interchange of messages had been going
on by cable between the Governments of the United States and Great
Britain. Inasmuch as the minister of each power had been recalled
from the other's capital, this intercourse could only take place
through the British and American ambassadors at Paris.
Protests against the inhumanity and barbarity of bombarding a
defenseless city, were met by propositions for a settlement of the
whole dispute. Great Britain offered to cede Canada to the United
States, and conclude a definite treaty of peace, and withdraw her
fleet from American waters at once, provided the United States would
pay the sum of £300,000,000 sterling (about $1,500,000,000). This
proposition was met with a howl of indignant rage, by the Senators
and members of Congress from the Western and Central States; and the
old and almost forgotten cry of "Millions for defense; not one cent
for tribute!" was resuscitated by these back-country orators, and
used with as much dramatic effect as though it had never been uttered
before.
For the first time in the history of the country, parties seemed
about to divide, on entirely new sectional lines. Heretofore it had
always been the North against the South. Now it was the seaboard
against the interior. The Pacific Coast States joined with the
Atlantic and Gulf States in advocating a settlement, even on the
harsh terms proposed by Great Britain.
They pictured the enormous destruction of property which the
bombardment of all our principal coast cities would involve, and
although they conceded the truth of the assertion of their opponents
in the debate, that there could be but one ultimate result to the
war, if fought to its natural termination, and that Canada was
practically ours already, yet they claimed that as a mere matter of
dollars and cents, it would be cheaper to pay even fifteen hundred
millions of dollars, than to go on with the war; when the enormous
amount of property involved, and the vast extent of Canadian
territory to be overrun, were taken into consideration.
The orators from the west, however, took the high and lofty ground of
"millions for defense, etc.," and numerous propositions were made to
establish navy yards at various points in the interior, on navigable
rivers a hundred miles or more from the coast, and also on the great
Lakes; thus indicating that their authors had an eye to the "main
chance," and were willing to vote for the "old flag and an
appropriation," provided the appropriation was to be expended in
their own states. The debate waxed hot, and it was with the greatest
difficulty that several personal encounters among the members and
senators were prevented.
A member from one of the so called "Granger States" even went so far
as to intimate that he would rejoice to see these soulless
monopolists and capitalists of the eastern cities brought down a peg
or two. They had for years been sapping the foundations of the
country's prosperity by vast combinations of capital; and had levied
extravagant tolls on everything that the farmers of the Great West
bought and sold, thus increasing the cost of their living, while
diminishing the product of their labor. Of course he was not
unpatriotic enough to rejoice at beholding a foreign foe upon
American soil; nor did he anticipate any such result from the present
war; which would certainly end by establishing the stars and stripes
as the sole National Emblem of the North American Continent.
"Nevertheless, while we of the Great West send our brawny sons and
brothers to the battle-field to wrest a portion of its ill-gotten
territory from the so-called British Empire, it is not too much to
expect our friends In the East to bear their proper share of the
burdens of the contest. Patriotism has its responsibilities and its
duties, and these frequently involve the sacrifice of life and
property; and I would be the last man to deprive my eastern friends
of one iota of the patriotic satisfaction which they will experience,
when some of their ill-gotten gains are sacrificed on their country's
altar,"--and a lot more rubbish of the same sort.
To which a New York member replied, by making sarcastic allusions to
the "honest Grangers," who he said had for years been going down on
their knees and begging the capitalists of the great eastern cities,
to send their money west and invest it, in railways, water-works,
gas-works and other public improvements; or to lend money to western
farmers on their farm mortgages; and then, as soon as they had fairly
gotten the money out there, they had invariably tried to steal it--or
to confiscate it through forms of law--which amounted to the same
thing. They passed laws limiting the price of gas and water to such
low figures that many of the gas and water companies were bankrupted;
they organized state boards of Railway Commissioners who assumed to
fix passenger and freight rates at figures which would scarcely pay
operating expenses; and having discovered that several hundreds of
millions of dollars of eastern capital had been advanced on what were
known as "farm mortgages," at rates of interest varying from seven to
twelve percent., passed usury laws fixing the rate at not to exceed
six per cent., and also passed laws exempting a farmer's house and
barns from sale under execution. It is true, this last law had been
decided to be unconstitutional, but it only showed the lengths to
which the "honest" agricultural toiler would go in his efforts to get
something that did not belong to him. "Why sir!" continued this
metropolitan statesman, "Who supports our confidence men? Visitors
from the country, who want to play a 'skin game' where they think
they have a 'sure thing.' How do our 'green goods' men find their
customers?'
"By mailing their circulars, offering to sell well executed
counterfeit money at ten cents on the dollar, to 'honest' tillers of
the soil in all parts of the country. Show me a man who is
constantly prating about the 'tyranny of capital,' and the 'grinding
of honest toilers' by corporate greed and individual usury; and I
will show you a man who is at heart a scoundrel and a knave; and who
will never pay even a just debt, if he can sneak out of it."
Of course these speeches were entirely foreign to the subject under
discussion, but I introduce these brief extracts merely to show to
what extent sectional feelings and prejudices ran, as well as to
explain to a certain extent, the almost incredible failure of
Congress to act promptly, and prevent the vast destruction of
property which the bombardment of our seaport cities would involve.
These discussions were continued day and night (for Congress sat in
almost continuous session) from the 15th to the 18th, without any
result being arrived at. The members and senators were flooded with
letters and telegrams from all threatened points, begging them to act
at once; to pay the indemnity demanded; take Canada, and bide our
time for a final settlement with Great Britain. But owing to the
objections of the Western and Central States, nothing could be
accomplished, and when the sun rose on the morning of the 18th of
May, it was a foregone conclusion that New York and Brooklyn were to
suffer all the horrors of a bombardment, unless (as was highly
improbable) the British Admiral should see fit to further extend the
time of probation. This he utterly refused to do; and having on the
two previous days silenced the forts on Long and Staten Islands, and
easily repulsed a feeble attack by the unarmored cruisers "Atlanta,"
"Baltimore," "Boston" and "Philadelphia," and a score or so of
torpedo boats, he prepared, on the morning of the 18th, to force his
way through the Narrows into the Upper Bay, where he would be within
easy range of the two cities. He had satisfied himself that the
torpedoes, with which the Narrows were supposed to be thickly
planted, would not be able to prevent his fleet from passing through.
Many of these torpedoes had been cut loose and destroyed by his
torpedo destroyers; and the officers of these little boats assured
him that they had cleared a narrow channel, which they had marked
with diminutive buoys; and that if he would take his fleet in, in
single file--each vessel following as closely as possible in the wake
of the one immediately preceding her--the whole fleet could
unquestionably pass through without damage.
This suggestion was adopted, and before 10 o'clock on the morning of
the 18th, the whole British fleet, with the exception of the "City of
New York," was safely riding at anchor in the Upper Bay. The "City
of New York" was one of the merchant steamships which had been
metamorphosed into a cruiser. She had formerly been plying in the
passenger trade between New York and Liverpool. Owing to the
shortsighted policy which our Government had previously adopted in
refusing to aid or encourage the establishment of American steamship
lines; this ship, although her owners were Americans, had been built
in England, and sailed under the English flag in order to secure the
subsidy of £10,000 a year, which that Government agreed to pay for
the privilege of turning her into a cruiser in time of war.
Thus, when war was declared, the American owners of this vessel and
the "City of Paris," had the mortification of seeing their own
property taken from them, to make war upon their own country. In
attempting to enter the Narrows with the rest of the fleet, the "City
of New York," owing to her superior speed, could only keep her place
in the line with great difficulty, and in sheering off, to avoid a
collision with the vessel just ahead of her, she ran out of the
channel which had been buoyed by the torpedo destroyers, and getting
directly over two large torpedoes, she was partially blown up, and
sunk in the deepest part of the Narrows in about a hundred feet of
water.
Her destruction caused great rejoicing among all classes of
Americans, who had protested loudly but vainly against this
unpatriotic use of the British flag. But after all, the owners of
the vessel were not so much to blame for it as Congress was.
As the fleet proceeded up the Bay and came to anchor between Bedloe's
and Governor's Islands, its movements were watched with intense
interest by a large crowd, which had assembled on the seawall of the
Battery. As the hour of noon approached, however, this crowd thinned
out rapidly; and at twenty minutes of twelve o'clock--at which time
it had been announced that the trains on the elevated railways would
cease running,--there were not more than a dozen persons visible
along the whole water front of the Battery. At ten minutes before
twelve, a shudder of apprehension ran through the few remaining
denizens of the two cities, as they heard the ominous boom of a heavy
gun. It was, however, not immediately followed by any others; and as
was subsequently ascertained, was only a blank cartridge, fired as a
preliminary signal to the rest of the fleet, to hold themselves in
readiness to commence firing, in ten minutes. It was like the
preparatory gun before starting a regatta. Everything was apparently
to be done in exact accordance with a programme previously agreed
upon; and the bombardment was to commence with true "man of war"
precision and ceremony.
To us of the present generation, who have never experienced any of
the horrors of war, it seems almost incredible that civilized and
Christian men, could thus coldly arrange the details of the
destruction of life and property on such a vast scale, and calmly
count the seconds on their watches as they ticked away the few
remaining moments which separated the two great cities from
destruction.
Promptly at noon, the guns on the portside of the flagship flashed
the signal to the rest of the fleet, and the work of destruction
commenced in earnest. The fire at first seemed to be directed
against the tall buildings in the lower part of the city, which were
in plain eight, and afforded excellent marks for the gunners. But as
these became rapidly battered down into masses of ruin, the guns were
elevated a little, so as to throw the shells further uptown, and the
area of destruction was thus vastly widened.
During the first day's bombardment, there seemed to be a tacit
understanding among the artillerists (probably the result of a
general order on the subject) to spare the Brooklyn Bridge; and
although many projectiles came very near to the towers and supporting
cables, and some almost grazed the structure itself, yet it remained
intact on the evening of the 18th.
On the morning of the 19th, however, when the bombardment was
renewed, these orders (if any such had existed on the previous day)
had evidently been countermanded, foe nearly the whole fire of the
fleet seemed to be concentrated on the towers and the cables, and in
less than half an hour after the opening of the second day's
cannonade, the massive granite towers gave way, and the whole
magnificent structure fell into the river beneath, where for many
months it remained an absolute barrier to navigation through the East
River and Long Island Sound.
The Brooklyn Navy-yard was also thoroughly riddled during the second
day. The British gunners had evidently been studying their charts
over night, and had gauged the distance and direction of the yard so
exactly, that before noon of the 19th, they had thrown over five
hundred shells into the yard itself, or its immediate vicinity.
Nearly everything inflammable took fire and was consumed, and all of
the buildings in the neighborhood were more or less damaged.
One rather amusing feature of the bombardment occurred here. A Mr.
Higgins had an immense soap manufacturing establishment almost
adjoining the Navy-yard and (with the ingenuity and enterprise, which
then, as now, seemed to characterize that particular industry in the
invention of novel advertising devices) had erected on his premises a
gigantic fac-simile of a soap box, the sides of which being
transparent, were brilliantly illuminated at night with powerful
electric lights. This box, being elevated on an iron frame-work more
than 100 feet high, made a most striking and conspicuous display,
plainly visible for a long distance up and down the East River, and
was unquestionably very successful as an advertisement. One of the
first shells which was intended for the Navy-yard, went crashing
through this counterfeit soap box on the morning of the 19th,
shivering it to atoms; and as a matter of course, putting an end to
its career as an advertising device.
Meanwhile, affairs in the business and residence quarters of the two
cities were in a deplorable condition. Fires were raging in every
direction, caused by the exploding shells, and although the police
and firemen stood their ground bravely, and were most efficiently
aided by such troops of volunteers and militia as still remained in
town, their efforts were entirely futile in staying the progress of
the flames; and it seemed as though any further bombardment would be
a mere waste of ammunition; as such portions of the cities as had not
been already shattered by the shells, seemed doomed to certain
destruction by fire.
The whole of the lower portion of New York was a confused heap of
ruins. The palatial business structures, many of which rose to an
enormous height, and which had been such a source of pride to the
citizens, had all been demolished, and the streets in the lower
portion of the city were rendered almost impassible, by the debris
which lay scattered about in confused piles throughout their entire
length. The numerous safe deposit vaults, which occupied the
basements of many of these mammoth structures, were buried so deeply,
that several week's excavation were required before they once more
became accessible.
In short, the destruction was about as complete as it could well be,
and the British Admiral could at least have the satisfaction of
feeling that he had carried out his instructions to the very letter.
CHAPTER XI.
THE ARMISTICE AND TREATY OF PEACE.
About 5 o'clock on the afternoon of the 19th of May, the torpedo boat
"Stiletto" was sent down from Yonkers, where the American fleet was
lying, with a flag of truce, requesting a cessation of hostilities,
pending some fresh negotiations between the two governments. The
exact nature of these negotiations was not known to the officers
making the request; but their representations were such as to induce
the British Admiral to accede to their wishes, (especially as he had
already done about all the damage that he could) and an armistice for
ten days was agreed upon.
It subsequently transpired that news had been received in Washington
that the two other British fleets, which were intended to operate
against the New England, and the Southern Atlantic and Gulf seaports,
had sailed on the 15th of May for their respective destinations, and
might be expected to arrive on our coast about the first week in
June. This announcement, coming simultaneously with the
demonstration of the utterly defenseless condition of our coast
cities, which the bombardment of New York and Brooklyn had so
conclusively shown, caused such a universal chorus of indignant
protest throughout the whole country, that the senators and
congressmen, who had previously opposed all propositions looking to a
settlement of the controversy by the payment of a war indemnity,
began to fear that a persistence in their course might cost them
their official positions; and several announced their willingness to
change their votes, in case the question could be again brought up.
With these accessions, however, the measure still lacked a majority;
and in all probability would have failed of passage, if it had not
been for the shrewd and ingenious invention of a Boston journalist,
who published a detailed description (said to have been received from
a Canadian deserter) of four formidable iron-clad gunboats, which
were said to have been conveyed in sections, by rail, from Montreal
to a place called Collingwood, on Georgian Bay, with the utmost
secrecy, during the preceding summer and autumn; and which were now
nearly ready for action, and within two or three weeks, or a month,
at the most, would bombard all of our lake cities, from Duluth to
Buffalo.
This story subsequently proved to be a complete fabrication; but it
served its purpose admirably; for the senators and congressmen from
all the States bordering the Great Lakes, hastened to announce
themselves as favorable to a compromise, on any reasonable basis.
Now that the enemy was knocking at their own doors, and pressure was
brought to bear on them by their own constituents, they seemed to
view the situation from an entirely different standpoint from the one
which they had formerly occupied; and unanimously "flopped" over to
the "peace at any price" party, as the advocates of settlement, had
been contemptuously christened by their opponents.
An act was rushed through both houses of Congress, authorizing and
directing the President to appoint three commissioners to confer with
a like number to be appointed by the government of Great Britain, to
draft a treaty of peace between the two countries, in substantial
accordance with the terms heretofore offered by the representatives
of Her Britannic Majesty's government.
A further cessation of hostilities, pending the meeting of these
commissioners in Paris, took place, and the two British fleets then
on their way to the United States were instructed, by cable, to
rendezvous at Halifax, and await further orders. The negotiations
were concluded much more promptly than such negotiations usually are.
The only serious question of difference grew out of the insistence by
the British commissioners, that the United States should assume the
indebtedness of the Dominion of Canada.
This was at length agreed to by the American representatives, and a
treaty of peace, which was subsequently ratified by both governments,
was agreed upon, by which Great Britain ceded to the United States
all of its Canadian and West Indian possessions, except the island of
Barbadoes, which was to be retained as a military and naval station;
and in return for this cession of territory, the United States agreed
to assume the indebtedness of Canada, amounting to about
$300,000,000; and to pay to Great Britain, as "purchase money,"
$1,500,000,000. The phrase "purchase money," instead of "penalty" or
"war indemnity," was inserted at the urgent request of the American
commissioners, without serious objection by their British associates.
The latter, doubtless, thought that as long as they got the money, it
made no difference what name they gave it.
Thus ended one of the briefest, and at the same time one of the most
momentous wars that ever was waged. Its brevity was obvious. Its
importance grew out of the fact that it changed the Nationality of
half a continent, and totally revolutionized existing methods of
Naval warfare. England's triumph, it is true, was complete; and
British jubilation was intense, but both were only temporary; and
this apparent success was but the commencement of the downfall of the
British Empire. That heterogeneous combination of different races
and Nationalities, had hitherto "ruled the world" by virtue of its
conceded superiority as a naval power; but this American invention of
self-destroying torpedo boats, having fully demonstrated the fact
that any properly defended harbor was invulnerable to attack even by
the heaviest and most formidable iron-clads, British threats ceased
to alarm anybody; and thenceforward England exerted only such
influence in European councils, as her military strength entitled her
to--which was very trifling.
In the great Continental war which made such radical changes in the
maps of Europe and Asia, she took practically no part; and while
Germany absorbed German Austria, and thus realized the dream of
Bismark's life--German unity,--and Vienna became in name, as well as
in fact, a German City; and while Russia seized the Danubian
provinces and European Turkey and Greece, thus possessing herself of
Constantinople, and of her long coveted outlet on the Mediterranean;
England was compelled to look idly on, and play the rô1e of a
disgusted spectator.
To the loss of prestige as a Naval power, which the Battle of the
Swash occasioned, can also be directly attributed England's
subsequent loss of India and Australia; the former by Russian
conquest, and the latter by declaring itself an independent nation.
Thus do the most momentous historical events often-times hinge upon
apparently trivial happenings; and the fate of Nations and peoples
yet unborn, may be changed by a skirmish of outposts, or the
bombardment of towns on the opposite side of the world.
CHAPTER XII.
CONCLUSION.
The treaty of peace was greatly objected to by such of the Canadians
as had favored a continuation of British rule, and the more bitter of
these attempted to organize an "Independence party."
Their numbers, however, were comparatively insignificant, and
although they made a show of organizing an army for the purpose of
opposing the United States troops, and achieving the independence of
Canada, they took good care not to risk a conflict with the vastly
superior forces of the Americans, and in less than a month, such of
them as had not deserted, surrendered; and all further traces of
opposition to American occupation disappeared. On the 4th of July,
1890, which was the one hundred and fourteenth anniversary of
American Independence, the United States took formal possession of
Canada; and the prosperity of that vast section of the North American
Continent may be said to date from that eventful day.
The war now being concluded, and the questions which had for more
than a century proved so vexatious, being permanently settled, the
people of the United States had plenty of leisure time to count up
the cost of the "economy" which their rulers had been treating them
to, ever since the end of the Civil War.
As has already been shown, these demagogues, while prating about the
surplus, and the tariff, and the down-trodden laboring man, and the
crime of spending the people's money for anything but river and
harbor and public building jobs, and exorbitant premiums on immature
bonds; had permitted the United States Navy to go to decay, from
motives of "_economy;_" had utterly refused to offer even decent
rates of compensation for the carrying of foreign mails in American
ships, for the sake of "_economy;_" had declined to encourage the
establishment of an auxiliary naval force, by the payment of an
annual rental for the privilege of employing swift American built
steamships as cruisers in time of war, because by not doing so, the
treasury would save $5,000,000 or $10,000,000 a year, and these
statesmen could continue to pose before the country as champions and
apostles of "_economy;_" and had neglected year after year to fortify
the seaboard cities, notwithstanding the constant and oft repeated
warnings uttered by military and naval experts, intelligent and
thoughtful writers, and farsighted statesmen of both political
parties; because, forsooth, when year after year the River and Harbor
Bill and the Public Buildings Bill had been inflated to the largest
possible figures that would be likely to escape a presidential veto,
they found that they could not spend any money on fortifications
without exceeding the appropriations made by their predecessors, and
would thus render themselves liable to be considered by their
constituents as lacking in the great essential element of "_economy_."
Well, these economical statesmen had had their way--and their
day--and their constituents and _masters--the People of the United
States_--said to them, "Gentlemen, render an account of your
stewardship. Let us see what your loud professions of 'economy' for
the past twenty-five or thirty years amount to. Let us have an
itemized account, debit and credit, and see how far your acts have
been justified by results."
You are clearly entitled to credit for the following amounts:
CREDIT.
Mail Subsidies saved annually . . . $5,000,000
Rental of Steamships (assuming 100 swift
ships at $100,000 each) as an auxiliary
naval force. . . . . . . . . . . 10,000,000
Adequate naval and fortification appropriations
annually. . . . . . . . . . . . 20,000,000
Total annual saving . . . . . $35,000,000
Total for ten years . . . . $350,000,000
A very handsome exhibit, gentlemen; now let us see the other side of
the account.
DEBIT.
Amount paid annually to foreign ships,
carrying American products. . . . . . . $150,000,000
Amount of wages lost to American ship-builders
and their workmen, annually
(figures previous to 1860) . . . . . . 12,000,000
Amount of domestic shipbuilding materials
not used annually (figures previous to
1860) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30,000,000
Passage money paid by Americans to foreign
shipowners annually (estimated) . . . . 5,000,000
Total annual cost . . . . . . . . . . $197,000,000
Total for ten years . . . . . . . . $1,970,000,000
To this must be added the following amounts:
War indemnity, paid to Great Britain by
reason of our not having a navy . . $1,500,000,000
Canadian debt assumed . . . . . . . . . . 300,000,000
Carried forward . . . . . . . . . $3,770,000,000
Brought forward . . . . . . . . $3,770,000,000
Amount expended by U. S. in War with
Great Britain . . . . . . . . . . . 100,000,000
Amount of damage done to New York and
Brooklyn by British fleet . . . . . 300,000,000
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,170,000,000
Less credits as above . . . . . . . . . 350,000,000
Total cost of ten years of Congressional
"economy." . . . . . . . . . . . $3,820,000,000
"There are other items, gentlemen, which could easily be made to
swell the above debit balance; but these are sufficient. You may
step down and out. The people of the United States are the most
wealthy and liberal people in the world, but ten years more of such
"economy" as yours has been, would bankrupt us. We wish you no harm,
gentlemen, but we have no further need of your services."
Of course this monologue is not to be taken literally, but it is what
the people of the United States practically said, by their action, at
the elections which succeeded the Battle of the Swash.
It is, perhaps, needless to remark, that for many years subsequent to
1890, American statesmen were not called upon to wrestle with the
difficult problem of "how to dispose of the surplus revenue."
Their "economical" predecessors had effectually obviated all
necessity for any such discussion; but the lesson which the people
had learned, was a most valuable one, and instead of considering
themselves the suffering victims of an excessive and burdensome
system of taxation, they fully realized that they were the most
favored people in the world in that respect, and cheerfully supported
the new generation of Congressmen in authorizing the liberal
expenditures, which in a few years made our coasts and harbors
invulnerable; gave us a navy superior to that of any other nation,
and placed us once more in the van among the maritime powers of the
world.
At the first glance, the Battle of the Swash seemed to have been a
most disastrous event for the United States.
England got all the glory and all the money, and the United States
got Canada and--_the experience_. But the latter proved to be worth
infinitely more than it cost, in that it exploded the absurd system
of miscalled "economy," which only "saved at the spigot to waste at
the bung."
Let us rejoice that in this year of grace 1930, we have so profited
by the errors of our ancestors, that we now occupy unchallenged, the
foremost position among the Nations of the earth; and that with our
200,000,000 of intelligent, prosperous and contented citizens--each
one a sovereign in his own right--we can afford to look with
indifference upon the wars and struggles of our less fortunate
contemporaries on the other side of the Atlantic.
Too late, alas! had the truth and wisdom of these words--written by
that great founder of the Government, Thomas Jefferson--become
manifest.
"Our navigation involves still higher consideration; as a branch of
industry it is valuable; but as a resource of defense, it is
essential.
"The position and circumstances of the United States leaves them
nothing to fear from their land board, and nothing to desire beyond
their present rights.
"But on the seaboard they are open to injury, and they have then,
too, a commerce which must be protected.
"This can only be done by possessing a respectable body of artists
and citizen seamen, and establishments in readiness for shipbuilding.
"If particular Nations grasp at undue shares of our commerce, and
more especially, if they seize on the means of the United States, to
convert them into aliment for their own strength, and withdraw them
entirely from the support of those to whom they belong, defensive and
protective measures become necessary on the part of the Nation whose
marine sources are thus invaded, or it will be disarmed of its
defense, its productions will be at the mercy of the Nation which has
possessed itself exclusively of the means of carrying them, and its
politics may be influenced by those who command its commerce.
"The carriage of our own commodities, if once established in another
channel, cannot be resumed at the moment we desire.
"If we lose the seamen and artists whom it now employs, we lose the
present means of Marine defense, and time will be requisite to raise
up others, when disgrace or losses shall bring home to our feelings
the evils of having abandoned them."
The "disgrace and losses" incurred by our ancestors in this brief but
disastrous campaign, had indeed brought "home to their feelings the
evils of having abandoned" the great interest thus earnestly pleaded
for by the greatest statesman of his day; and the absurd folly of the
so-called "economy," which prompted its abandonment, was at length
reluctantly conceded by the noisiest and bitterest advocates of free
trade throughout the land.
THE END.
APPENDIX.
AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN
AUXILIARY NAVAL FORCE.
SECTION 1. Be it enacted that from and after the passage of this Act,
the Secretary of the Navy is authorized and directed to execute
contracts with the owners or agents of steam vessels, built and owned
in the United States of America, and sailing under the American flag,
upon the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth; and the faith of
the United States is hereby pledged to carry said contracts into
effect, and to make all payments arising thereunder, in strict and
prompt accordance with the terms thereof.
SECTION 2. All vessels now built or owned, or hereafter to be built
or owned in the United States of America, and carrying the American
flag, which possess the following qualifications and requirements,
shall be deemed subject to the provisions of this Act, and eligible
to the benefits conferred thereby.
1st. The said vessels must be of at least four thousand tons burden.
2nd. The said vessels must have a maximum speed of at least nineteen
statute miles per hour, the same to be established by actual test.
3rd. The said vessels must be built, both as to their hulls and
engines, on plans to be approved by a Bureau of Naval Construction
and Engineering, consisting of five members, to be appointed for that
purpose by the President and the Secretary of the Navy; and every
such vessel shall have carriages or platforms for two or more guns of
at least eight inches calibre, and also suitable accommodations for
an auxilliary battery of rapid firing guns.
4th. Estimates of the cost of such vessels and engines--exclusive of
furniture and equipment for passengers--shall also be submitted to,
and approved by, the said Bureau of Naval Construction and
Engineering, and the amount of cost, thus approved by such Bureau,
shall be taken as the value upon which the contracts provided for in
the first section of this Act, shall be based.
SECTION 3. Upon the completion of any such vessel, and the filing in
the office of the Secretary of the Navy of certified copies of the
report of the Bureau of Naval Construction and Engineering, approving
the plans of the hull and engines of such vessel, and also certifying
that the estimate of the cost of such vessel is not excessive; and
after actual tests of the speed of such vessel, under regulations
imposed by the Secretary of the Navy; the said Secretary shall, if
requested to do so by the owner or owners of such vessel, enter into
a contract with such owner or owners, for a period of not less than
ten, nor more than fifteen years, by which, in consideration of the
privilege of taking such vessel by charter or purchase, at any time
during the pendency of the said contract, on ten day's notice, the
United States shall pay as an annual rental, to the owners or agents
of such vessel, interest on her cost, as certified by the Bureau of
Construction and Engineering, as follows:
1st. For vessels having a speed of nineteen statute miles or over,
and less than twenty statute miles per hour, four per cent.
2nd. For vessels having a speed of twenty statute miles or over, and
less than twenty-one statute miles, per hour, four and one-half per
cent.
3rd. For vessels having a speed of twenty-one statute miles or over,
per hour, five per cent.
Provided. That such annual rental shall in no case exceed the sum of
one hundred thousand dollars for any single vessel.
SECTION 4. The maximum price at which the United States will purchase
such vessel, shall be fixed at the price approved as heretofore
provided, by the Bureau of Naval Construction and Engineering, plus a
bonus of not to exceed twenty-five per cent. of such price, to cover
the outlay for passenger equipment, and as a compensation to the
owners of such vessel for her withdrawal from her regular employment.
Such valuation shall govern until such vessel shall have attained the
age of five years; and thereafter a deduction of six per cent. shall
be made therefrom annually, to cover depreciation and wear and tear.
SECTION 5. In case the Secretary of the Navy shall elect to charter
such vessel or vessels, instead of purchasing them, the rate to be
paid therefor shall be five dollars per month per registered ton;
such vessel to be at the risk of the United States during the
pendency of such charter.
SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect immediately.
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