No country had ever been more grossly insulted; and we were justified in applying the well known maxim, " tread on a worm, and it will turn," not that the worm has any means of defence, but it turns, to show you that it eannot remain motionless and passive under the insult. When the war question came up in the British parliment, one noble Lord arose, and with an indignant frown demanded why the house condescended to discuss the paltry subject, A war with the U. S. Pray, who and what are these madmen with a few fir built frigates, with a patch of striped bunting at their mast heads, and no seamen to man them! This noble lord fairlv scouted at the idea.
And sure enough, what preparation had the U. S. for this formidable contest. Not a ship of war of any size fit for service until repaired. The following list comprises the names of all the vessels belonging to the United States Navy in 1812, before the late war with Great Britain. Those marked in italics were lost during the war. The Boston, burnt at Washington, was a mere hulk, not worth repair, as was also the New York, which escaped the flames. Ship United States - Boston Essex ----John Adams
Besides gunboats, bombs, &c, and nothing larger than a frigate. No navy yards of any magnitude, except at Washington, no money in the treasury, no materials for shipbuilding at hand, no preparation on the frontiers, no facilities for transportation or carrying guns, and the necessary articles required in war, including provisions and the numerous requirements for ship building, from the Atlantic States to the Lakes. TE. RATE. Ship Hornet - 1 i Syren - i i Nautilus
G3 No array, no horses, scarcely any copper, but a small amount of iron in the country, very little hemp or rigging, and a very small supply of duck fit for war-ships sails. Here we were, in this comparatively destitute condition, and more than all this, an important question arose how were we to get these articles in sufficient quantities for our present use. Our ports would of course he immediately blockaded: but we were now "in for it" war was declared, and all we have to do now is to go ahead.. Here was another item on the catalogue of our troubles; very soon, in all probability, our coast would be lined with British men-ofwar, an.d many of our harbors were without any protection whatever.
And it would take some time before we could erect any sort of defence. It would also require several weeks to repair, and equip our ships of war for actual sea service. Before an efficient army could be recruited and properly drilled, tiie enemy would have landed upon our shores, many of her veterans from Europe, that had been cradled among battles; the heroes of Waterloo, and of other conquests; where the legions of Bonaparte had been put to flight. All these, with their well-trained officers, who had gained experience on the battle-ground, must be met and repulsed too. But how can our raw recruits meet these well disciplined and hardy English, Scotch, and Irish regiments, who never retreat from the point of the bayonet or seldom turn their backs to the enemy except for stratagem.
Have we officers well enough versed in military tactics, to meet this formidable foe? And then, our Lilliputian navy must go out upon the ocean and cope with the heroes of the Nile, Trafalgar and Copenhagen. This fearful odds we must contend with. WE DID, and history tells the sequel; our cause was a just one, the contest was for the honor of our country, and for our national rights. The Gocl of armies was with us, and we can truly say, that " the battle is not to the strong, nor the race to the. swift. But we had among us, an enemy far more potent than the one we met. G The strong opposition party, who, I believe would at one time have given up the country to the enemy if it had been in their power.
But the patriotism of '75 preponderated! Ships were built on the lakes, harbors fortilied, armies raised, roads cut around the frontier, naval depots, and cannon founderies established, the seaboard put in a state of defence, war-ships of every class were built, armed, equipped, and manned with noble fellows, and the result of our first naval battle is too well known to be repeated here. I have dwelt longer on these details than I had intended at the commencement; but as they came along in the course of my aprenticeskip, I felt as though they belonged to the story. The enemy had now partially blockaded our eastern coast, or what amounts to the same thing, they had cruisers all along our eastern shore, for the purpose of destroying the lumber and fishing business.