File:The boys of 1812 and other naval heroes (1887) (14578565039).jpg

Identifier: boysof1812othern00sole (find matches)
Title: The boys of 1812 and other naval heroes
Year: 1887 (1880s)
Authors: Soley, James Russell, 1850-1911
Subjects: United States. Navy
Publisher: Boston, Estes and Lauriat
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: Sloan Foundation

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, partly for old friend-ships sake, and some with the British, because from them hadcome the lesser evil. Between these two factions party spiritraged with bitterness and rancor; so that it sometimes almostseemed as if men thought themselves the citizens of one or tlieother of the opposing States, and forgot that they were all Amer-icans. Finally, matters came to such a pass that somethingmust be done to protect our commerce, and as a war with bothStates at once seemed to be too great an undertaking, and Francewas at this time the worse offender, the new President, JohnAdams, whose party leanings were all upon that side, urged thata navy should be fitted out to make reprisals upon the Fi*enchcruisers and privateers. HOSTILITIES WITH FRANCE. 91 In this way the summer of 1798 came to be a time of prepa-ration for war. The larger frigates were completed, and severalsmall ones were begun. The merchants in the diiierent citiesraised large sums of money to build ships by subscription, to be
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EVERYWHERE THE SHIP-YARDS WERE BUSY. repaid later by the Government, and everywhere the ship-yardswere busy getting ready the new fleet. Congress declared thatthe treaties with France were at an end, and authorized thePresident to instruct our ships-of-war to seize all French armedvessels that might be found at sea. Officers were selected, 92 THE BOYS OF 1812. crews were recruited, and the Marine Corps, which has alwayssince that day done most efficient service, was first created. Anew Department of the Navy w^as established as one of thegreat divisions of the Government; which showed that all thispreparation was not the mere whim and fancy of the moment,but that the country was at last resolved to have a naval forcewhich should continue for all time. The new Secretary of the Navy, Benjamin Stoddert, proposedthat a small force should remain to defend the coast, and that allthe other ships should go to the West Indies, which swarmedwith French cruisers and privateers, and attack the en

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