E 
 
 119 
 T94 
 
 THE UNION. 
 
 AN ADDRESS 
 
 ON THE 
 
 
 DESTINY OF THE UNITED STATES, 
 
 DELIVERED BY 
 
 "^ti^:^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 Wm 
 
 DR. HENRY m/pRICE 
 
 AT NICHOLAS C. H., VA., 
 
 On the 22nd (Saturday 21) February 1857. 
 
 RICHMOND: 
 MACFARLANE & FERGUSSON. 
 
 ■ 1857. 
 
 
 
THE UNION. 
 
 AN ADDRESS 
 
 ON THE 
 
 DESTIiY OF THE UNITED STATES 
 
 DELIVERED BY 
 
 DR. HENRY M. PRICE, 
 
 AT NICHOLAS C. H., VA., 
 
 On the 22nd (Saturday 21) February 1857. 
 
 RICHMOND: ^ 
 MACFARLANE & FERGUSSON". 
 
 1857. 
 
r^^ 
 
CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 Dr. Henry M. Price: 
 
 Having heard your address ou the 21st inst., and being desirous 
 that the same may be printed, we ask of you a copy for publication. 
 Respectfully, 3'ours, &c., 
 
 R. DUNLAP. 
 
 JOHN McANEARY. 
 
 F. DUFFY. 
 
 D. O. KELLY. 
 
 JOHN F. CAMPBELL, 
 
 JOHN A. CALLOWELL. 
 
 J. M. MOORE, 
 
 JOHN DUFFY. 
 
 A. J. NABBGALL. 
 
 JNO. W. POWELL. 
 
 Nicholas C. H., Va., Feb. 21, 1857. 
 
 Messrs. Dcnlap, McAxearv, and others: 
 
 Gentlemen — Your note of the 21st inst., asking a copy of the 
 Address I had the honor to deliver before you is at hand. I feel highly 
 gratified that my humble effort should have so far met your approba- 
 tion. A copy is at your disposal. 
 
 With feelings of esteemed respect, 
 
 HENRY M. PRICE. 
 Nicholas C. II., Ya., Feb. 21, 1857. 
 
THE UNION. 
 
 Frietids and Fellow Citizens : 
 
 We have assembled this clay to commemorate the birth of 
 "Washington. One hundred and t^venty five years ago — 
 even within the space of life granted to some — was born him 
 whose birth day every American delights to honor. How 
 short, yet how momentous the events embraced within that 
 short period of time ! Then, where we now stand was the 
 footpath of the savage. Civilization had not extended her 
 benign influences beyond the Eastern ridge of our now 
 mighty State. One vast illimitable wilderness, — occupied, 
 alone, by the rude Indian and the wild denizens of the for- 
 est — save, perhaps, some solitary French Jesuit — extended 
 from the Blue Ridge to the Pacific, its awful stillness unbro- 
 ken, save only by the deadly warwhoop, or the angry growl 
 of the Avild beast. 
 
 Then, a few scattered and thinly settled colonies, bordering 
 the Atlantic — driven from their homes by oppressions all- 
 poAverful hand, alone constituted the civilized strength of the 
 land — owing and paying tribute to task masters, who respec- 
 ted neither right, justice, or religion ; but whose stubbon yoke 
 was upon them, as out of, and beyond the pale of law, rea- 
 son, justice, or humanity. The hand of Poiver was upon 
 them ; and oppression loaded them with her chains, — draw- 
 ing a laborious support from the untenanted soil, rifle in hand, 
 under the constant alarms of the savage warwhoop, or the 
 dread of the deadly tomahawk, and scalping knife. Yet, 
 they grew. The Eye of the Almighty was upon them, and 
 He held them in His right hand. Him, who scanned and 
 fixed the destinies of vast worlds upon worlds from the be- 
 ginning. Him, who spake nations into existence. Him, 
 who raised up the mighty Babylon, and promised the king- 
 
6 THE UNION. 
 
 dom of tlic Meade and the Persian. Him, who prospered 
 the Greek, to carry out His purposes. Him, Avho foretold 
 the destiny of the Jews, and the vast power of Rome. He 
 had his eye upon them — waiting the fulness of time to raise 
 up a mighty nation — composed of all nations, sects, religions, 
 to fulfil his Almighty idea — a self-governing people. A 
 people, free from King, Prince or Potentate, who should pos- 
 sess within tliemselves the power of self-government, without 
 anarchy or confusion. An idea. He had in vain impressed 
 upon His chosen people, the Jews, as essential to their hap- 
 piness and well being — but, who being a stiff neck and rebel- 
 lious race, hearkened not to his voice, and were deaf to his ad- 
 monitions. Centuries had rolled round — nation upon nation 
 had been raised up, and been cast down. Civilization and 
 knowledge had vanished from earth, under the rude hand of 
 despotism. The world groaned with ignorance ; and the 
 very Heavens were rent by its blindness and idolatry. God's 
 purpose was unalterable. The fulness of time was at last 
 come. The faint glimmerings of Protestantism had shed its 
 cheering rays into the vast depths of this illimitable and pro- 
 found darkness. Men at last reasoned, — thought, spoke. 
 The power of God Avas upon them ; and even the fear of tor- 
 ture, or death, failed to suppress the mighty heavings and 
 force of truth, and growing knowledge. True religion, like 
 Noah's dove, now waived her snowy pinions over the hitherto 
 impenetrable abyss; and the Almighty saw His fixed purpose 
 to man in his creation, — to prove his self-government — might 
 be accomplished. Men, impressed by the same sublime idea, 
 alone were wanting ; but, God had prepared the way for their 
 impress. Statesmen, Philosophers, Warriors were wanted : 
 men possessing vast powers of mind, without the sordid am- 
 bition of rule. And these the Almighty formed — creating 
 the men for the times and purposes. 
 
 Upon the banks of the smooth flowing Potomac was born 
 George Washington — he whose destiny it was to play the 
 most important and conspicuous pai't in this great develop- 
 
THE UNION. 7 
 
 EQent : to lead his countrymen to victory, to glory, and to 
 liberty. Of him, eulogy to Americans is a work of supere- 
 rogation. His epitaph is indelibly engraved upon the 
 heart of every freeman. While earth shall revolve in the 
 vast sphere of creation — and the sun "give forth day unto 
 day;" and nightly the glittering stars deck the blue illimita- 
 ble expanse of Heaven ; while freedom shall meet a respon- 
 sive echo in the chaos of desolving worlds, or Liberty find 
 an accordant beat in the heart of one solitary being of the 
 future — Washington's name will be remembered, revered and 
 cherished ! 
 
 Of him we shall not speak : but of the mighty people — 
 extending from the broad Atlantic to the confines of the 
 vast Pacific — whose hearts this day beat responsive to ours, 
 in offering thanks to the Almight}'- for his generous care and 
 protection of us as a Nation ! 
 
 Freedom's last expiation had been made upon the utter- 
 most limits of our native State. The sandy shores of York- 
 town smoked with the blood of the last victims that were sac- 
 rificed at her shrines. The lamented Montgomery had shed his 
 last blood and rendered up life at Quebec. The gallant Moul- 
 trie had defeated the British fleet of Charleston. The lion- 
 hearted Allen had demanded the surrender of Ticonderoga 
 " in the name of the Great Jehovah and the Continental 
 Congress." Marion had signalized himself by prowess and 
 bravery in the swamps of South Carolina. Warren had of- 
 fered up life as a libation to freedom at Breed's Hill. Gates 
 had reaped the fruits of Schuyler's admirable arrangements 
 in the surrender of Burgoyne. Washington had crossed the 
 DelaAvare, and gained the success that cheered the last expi- 
 ring sparks of freedom. The brave Stark had sworn the de- 
 feat of the Hessians at Benington — or Molly Stark's as 
 widow. Col. Washington had made his mark at the Cow- 
 pens and Col. Howard his decisive charge. The battles of 
 Brandywine, Germantown and Monmouth had been fought. 
 The hardy mountaineers had fought and won the battle of 
 
8 THE UXION. 
 
 King's Mountain. • The Vale of Wyoming had felt the ruth- 
 less fury of the British savage. Lafayette had distin- 
 guished himself. The gallant De Kalb had fallen glori- 
 ously at Camden and Pulaski at Savannah. 
 
 Every section had equally felt the ruthless fury of vrar, 
 and each Colony had oflered up her devoted sons upon the 
 altars of Liberty. The blood of the foreigner had flo^ved 
 commingled with the blood of the American. The life of 
 the Catholic had been offered as a propitiary sacrifice with 
 that of the Protestant in behalf of our land of freedom, 
 which should know no people, no country, no sect, no religion — 
 but as the blood of all had equally flowed in the sight of 
 High Heaven — and as all had equally undergone the same 
 privation and suffering, it should be free to all, irrespective 
 of nation, or religion — but, that the inhabitants of every 
 land, and every clime, might shelter under its protection, 
 and worship the "Living God" in their own ways — "Under 
 their own vine and fig tree," with none to molest them, or 
 to make them afraid. 
 
 Great Britain had exhausted her strength and her trea- 
 sure. Her children, "flesh of her flesh," and "bone of 
 her bone," inured to danger in the howling wilderness to 
 which she had forced them — together with those whom the 
 oppressions of their own mother lands had forced to their 
 bosom, and to their aid, to exercise the dictates of conscience, 
 were too powerful for her — the freedom of the Colonists was 
 declared — throbs of revolution and war had given birth to a 
 new nation. Puritan, Quaker, Unitarian, Catholic, Episco- 
 palian, Baptist, ITugcnot, Methodist, were all alike declared 
 free and independent. Free to select their own rulers — free 
 to worship God in their own way. Here Avas indeed a Millen- 
 ium! The Lion and the Lamb of Europe did indeed lie 
 down together. But they had all united in the cause of 
 freedom, and were equally entitled to her blessings. All, 
 from Harmon Husband, the soul of the llegulators of North 
 Carolina, to John Adams of Massachusetts, each and every 
 
THE UNION. 9 
 
 sect, from the "strait homespun coat" to the "frill shirt 
 bosom," had done their duty. North Carolina had fought 
 the battle of Alamance, as Massachusetts had that of Breed's 
 Hill ; and while the present assigns the first stroke for Liberty 
 to the latter, impartial history will award it to the former. 
 While Massachusetts has justly raised the colossal stone to 
 commemorate the life blood shed upon her soil — the heroes of 
 Alamance are unknown and unnoted. They who did indeed 
 resist oppression unaided, are forgot — while others claim the 
 honors. But their blood has ascended to High Heaven as 
 the first sweet incense of Liberty, and their worldly reward 
 is yet for them. The little North State can always claim of 
 her sisters homage for the first blood shed in the cause of 
 Freedom, though her Bay State sister now wears the laurel 
 unjustly snatched from her brow. 
 
 Peace extended her benign influence over three millions of 
 freemen, composing thirteen colonies, possessing diversified 
 views and interests. Debts were to be paid from an already 
 over exhausted Treasury — provisions to be made for those 
 who shed their blood for their country — marching naked over 
 the frozen hills of the North, the burning sierras of the 
 South, and starving through the almost impassable mountain 
 defiles — commercial relations to be established ; and defence 
 provided for the extended frontiers, both by sea and land. To 
 establish a Central Government, which should supervise and 
 consolidate the strength of the whole, without infringing upon 
 the rights, interests or internal affairs of either, required the 
 discretion of the sage, the wisdom of the philosopher, and 
 the deep forecast of the Statesman. But the Almighty had 
 raised up the men for the times. That glorious instrument — 
 the palladium of our liberty and strength — the Constitution, 
 was the result of their united wisdom. Its trunk was set 
 deep in soil enriched by the blood and suffering of our com- 
 mon ancestors ; and all the thirteen branches engrafted upon 
 it, to be equally nourished, vivified and supported ; and each 
 respectively put forth its own foliage, blossoms and fruit — 
 
10 THE UNION. 
 
 and drawing nutriment from the sun of Liberty, in return 
 furnish sustenance to strengthen and sustain the common 
 centre. Thus creating one Avhole, entire Union. And while 
 that glorious stock, the Constitution, remains unmutilated, 
 unscathed, so long Avill branch upon branch put forth in every 
 direction — drawing more sustenance, and returning more nu- 
 triment to strengthen the whole, until its dimensions shall be 
 coextensive with the great North American Continent, and 
 extending protection to the isles of the two vast oceans — and 
 shielding the inhabitants of every nation and every clime : — 
 the Tartar and the Chinese ; the Russian and the Turk ; the 
 German and the Italian ; the Anglo-Saxon and the French- 
 man ; the Spaniard and the Moor ; the Portuguese and the 
 Japanese : the Greek and the Persian ; the oppressed Son of 
 the Emerald Isle and the brave and free son of the Helvetic Re- 
 public ; the Thug of India and the " Cannie Sawnie'' of 
 the North Highlanders. The Mosque shall be reared with 
 the Cathedral — the Synagogue with the Protestant Chapel. 
 The serf of Europe shall find employment and support in the 
 North and vast immense West ; and the sooty African be 
 protected, supported and Christianized in the sunny South ! 
 But, alas ! if the rude hand of vandalism be lain upon the 
 trunk, or the devastating shocks of fanaticism and sectional- 
 ism should rend it in twain ; and sever its now rich, fair and 
 glorious branches, the heating rays of oppression would ex- 
 foliate its bark. The trunk would become dry and worthless. 
 Noxious germs would exude from its body, loathsome excre- 
 scences form upon the surface, the rents and rottenness would 
 domiciliate every loathsome insect ; its revivifying juices would 
 be extracted. Trunk — limb — branch, would undergo prema- 
 ture decay. No blossoms — no fruit ; and in a few years, this 
 now noble tree would be blasted to the very roots. The lo- 
 custs of arbitrary power, would destroy the living fruits, 
 now protected by its genial shade and the mighty Sirocco of 
 despotism would sweep over the land with its devastating in- 
 fluences. Liberty would retreat in despair to the snowy re- 
 
THE UNION. 11 
 
 cesses of Helvetia — and freedom be dragged in the car of 
 some modern Tamerlane. Ignorance and barbarism would 
 again assert their prerogative. The rich flowing field would 
 give place to the wilderness ; the well drained surface to 
 swamps and morasses — breeding only the noxious reptile — 
 the lowing kine to the howl of the wild beast. Fair cities 
 would be forgot — New York would become some fishing vil- 
 lage whose only tonage some small fishing smack, without 
 trace of former greatness — New Orleans a bed for the mus- 
 quito and alligator — Boston would be undistinguishable save, 
 perhaps, by the monument erected to her departed patriots. ; 
 Cities, towns, villages Avould be blotted from existence — and 
 pass away as speedily as they sprang forth. The bison would 
 again resume his native haunts — dark, deep, impenetrable ^ 
 
 barbarism cover the whole land. Man w^ould seek in vain / 
 
 for traces of former empire, art or science. f 
 
 Is this picture too highly wrought? Go, seek in the vast | 
 and arid desert for Thebes ! Dig deep into earth's bowels for ( 
 some relic of Ninevah or Babylon — as the lion stares with » 
 fiery eye upon you — the Hyena bristles at your approach — or ■ 
 
 the gilded serpent hisses as he darts from you. Ask for the 
 site of ancient Troy — or seek in vain the cities of Eutrusca. 
 Go, fix yourself upon some smouldering ruin of Carthage, or 
 look in vain for the ancient beauties of Jerusalem. Ask, 
 where is Tyre ? or seek in the decaying ruins of Greece or 
 Rome for traces of former greatness. Alas ! if we do not » 
 profit by example, a similar fate may speedily await us — 
 leaving only traditionary data of former greatness. / 
 
 The Israelites of old deposited the tablets of Moses with / 
 the Ark — encased in shittimwood and fine gold — the Consti- r 
 tution is engraved in the heart of every American Patriot! 
 The first Avords our sons should lisp, should be Freedom, the 
 Constitution and its Compromises. To revere this instru- 
 ment, the result of the combined wisdom and forecaste of our 
 forefathers, should be impressed upon them, from the very 
 cradle, and faithfully to carry into effect its compromises, as 
 
12 THE UNION. 
 
 a first duty, tending to the perpetuity and glory of this vast 
 Republic, should be as strictly inculcated upon them, as the 
 commandments — for He that was wanting in respect to the 
 former, will have none for the latter. We see the very men, 
 now, who infringe the requirements of the Constitution, or 
 would do so if they could, are calling aloud, not only for 
 another Constitution — but, alas ! for another Bible and 
 another God. Sacrilege to Heaven is but a step from sacri- 
 lege to country. 
 
 When I hear men calculating the value of the Union in 
 sordid dollars and cents — as they would some worthless mer- 
 chandise — it seems as if some Medusa head had turned every 
 patriotic throbbing of the heart to stone. Such ivretches are 
 unworthy the rich boon of Freedom. No patriotic pulsation 
 throbs within their breast. Revering not the memories of 
 the mighty dead they would incite political storms, hoping 
 to arrive at power on the crests of its mighty waves. Trust 
 not such men in office ; their soul is a charnel house for cor- 
 ruption, for bribery, and for treasons ; they would sell their 
 noble birthrights for a mess of pottage, and give the locks of 
 our strength for the smiles of some specious Deliah. 
 
 Would they value the Union ? Let them go to the mani- 
 fold fields of carnage, in every State of the Union — let them 
 gather up, drop by drop, the blood shed for freedom and the 
 Union — weigh them, value them, if they can or dare. Let 
 them sum up the suff"erings of our forefathers, by heat and 
 by cold, on the burning sands of summer and in the chilling 
 blasts of winter ; let them follow them naked and starving 
 over frozen hills and icy plains ; let them go to the prison 
 ship, and hear the agony of groaning despair ; let them go 
 to the savage stake, and witness such torture, as one moment, 
 were more than the price of an empire ; let them sum up the 
 rapines and murders, houseless women, and starving children ; 
 let them sum these up ; then let them fix the price thus, not 
 till then can they dare place estimates upon the Union and 
 the Constitution. The price is Liberty and Strength. But, 
 
THE UNION. 13 
 
 we indeed despair of the Union, and all its concomitant bles- 
 sings, %Ylien we witness a grave Senator — upon whose should- 
 ers had fallen the mantle of a Webster, a man of acknowl- 
 edged literary ability — prostituting the rich mental gifts of 
 the Almighty Creator in defamation of any of the departed 
 heroes of the Revolution, using his powers in order to gain 
 the plaudits of hotel servants and chamber maids, and the 
 ephemeral praise of a sect of fanatics in libelling one section 
 of the Union ; and suffering his mental vigor to become so de- 
 praved, as to resort to language that would have put the 
 commonest huckster of Billingsgate to the blush. Me- 
 thought the shade of Webster would have raised and torn 
 the senatorial mantle from his shoulder. That as he turned 
 to face Mount Vernon, the countenance of the Father of his 
 Country scowling upon him, would have made him shrank 
 abashed in his place. That as he uttered his malign villifica- 
 tions, the spirits of Hancock, Adams, King, would have 
 hurled him from his seat. And, when he returned to his na- 
 tive State, if he dare face Breed's Hill, the angry ghosts of 
 the departed patriots and heroes would have dragged him to 
 the nethermost depths of the deepest damnation. We 
 know not the feeling of Massachusetts, the Gods have blind- 
 ed her and made her mad. But had any Southern Senator 
 so far have forgotten his dignity, and the reverence due to 
 the things and men of the Revolution, as to cast implications 
 upon any of our sister States or her departed heroes, no mat- 
 ter his position, his talent, or his party, he would have been 
 forced to resign his undeserved honors and be cast into the 
 very deepest depths of oblivion. The very mention of his 
 name would have caused a pang of horror, this very sight 
 would be the signal of the most damning insult. Sunk, de- 
 graded indeed, must be that mind that could touch with scof- 
 fing the mains of the mighty dead. Reviled on earth, rejec- 
 ted by Heaven, and scowled upon by devils, the nethermost 
 pits of damnation were a paradise to him. 
 
 In the year 1787, just sixty-nine years ago, the Federal 
 
 \ 
 
14 THE UNION. 
 
 Constitution was adopted. What changes have been wrought 
 within that period! Self-government was then deemed a 
 chimera. The Sovereignties of Europe deemed that anarchy 
 must result from what seemed to them only an idle and vain 
 experiment. To them, the idea that a mighty nation, strong 
 in both its internal and external resources, without some ar- 
 bitrary sovereign rule, should spring up, seemed an Utopia. 
 Even the mother country deemed it but the wild and way- 
 ward experiment of restless and prodigal children, who soon 
 tiring, would be forced to return by necessity to the parent 
 fold. But day by day we grew in ppwer, in wealth, and in 
 greatness. Extending our open arms to the suffering masses 
 of Europe, Avhose hearts panted for freedom, offering them 
 homes, protection, freedom, and a brothers' welcome beneath 
 the broad segis of the Young Republic, millions flocked to 
 our shores to aid, enrich and strengthen us ; and daily Ave 
 grew in population, in wealth, in power, and all the charac- 
 teristics of national greatness. Mighty forests sank before 
 the sound of the pioneer's axe; meadows of living green 
 replaced the brambles of the brooklet ; rich fields of waving 
 grain supplanted the rank vegetation of Nature ; the |,wild 
 beast of the forest retired trembling at the lows of the do- 
 mestic kine ; the red man and the buffalo, at the hum of the 
 bee. Wild savannas waved with fields of tall maize and cane, 
 and the variegated blossoms of the cotton. The fertile banks 
 of the beautiful Ohio, and the broad plains of theturbid ]Mis- 
 sissippi, sound with the busy voices of teeming millions. The 
 snow-capped Cordilleras of the Rocky Mountains have in 
 vain towered upwards to the Heavens, to restrain the mighty 
 and magical progress of the Anglo-Saxon. The last resting 
 place of the Red man, on the fertile and genial plains of the 
 Columbia, has felt the resistless force of the Avhite man. 
 Civilization and freedom, now perched upon the highest 
 crests of the lofty Cordilleras, smilingly extending fi-om 
 ocean to ocean — behold the results of their Union ! They 
 turn to the east, or to the west; to the north, or to the 
 
THE UNION. 15 
 
 south : thousands of steamboats ply the streamlets of the 
 vast Continent ; the shrill whistle of the engine startles the 
 repose of every quarter ; sail and canal boats ply to deliver 
 the superfluous produce of the groaning earth ; the ports of 
 the vast oceans are dotted with the snow white sails that 
 waft the superfluous foods of this bountiful country to a star- 
 ving world. The busy spindle twirls with untiring zeal, to 
 clothe naked millions. The careless, happy, and contented 
 African of the sunny South, chaunts his way as he capers 
 to the fields that furnish the necessities and luxuries of the 
 earth ; and the daily laborer of the North thoughtfully plods 
 his way to ply the machinery that supplies a thousand hands. 
 The sturdy laborer explores the bowels of the Alleghanies for 
 coal and iron ; and the reckless adventurer washes the sands 
 of the Sierra Nevada for gold. Nature has yielded to the 
 power and resistless energy of the engineer : mountains tun- 
 nelled, and deep ravines and gorges filled up, and the iron 
 bands of the rail-road now unite, connect and cement us. 
 Space has been annihilated by the powerful but secret force 
 of magnetism. Cities, towns, and villages have sprang 
 into existence with a magic before unknown to the Universe* 
 Thousands of spires ascend the skies, to mark the House of 
 the Almighty ; and millions of bells send forth their deep, 
 sonorous sounds to summons the countless millions to worship 
 the Living Grod, and return him devout thanks for his watch- 
 ful care of them as a nation, and to entreat a continuation of 
 His protection and strength for the future. 
 
 Even the few remnants of the once barbarous and savage 
 sovereigns of this mighty land, feel the resistless energy and 
 force of Civilization. Within the small confines allotted 
 them by the restrictive force of the white man — the toma- 
 hawk is giving place to the plough-share ; the scalping-knife 
 to the pruning hook ; the hieroglyphic and wampum bead to 
 the printing press. Who shall say, but after the lapse of a 
 few years, vrhen under the powerful force of civilization and 
 knowledge, they shall assume a political position in the coun- 
 
16 THE UNION. 
 
 cils of the nation — but that some descendant of Tecumseh, 
 Logan, Cornstalk, Black Hawk, or Osceola, endowed with 
 the keen perceptions, extensive abilities, and true eloquence 
 of the aborigines, may not rule the destinies of the Republic, 
 and lead it to more extensive fields of glory and poAver ! 
 Nor have our commercial relations, as a nation, been behind 
 that of our internal advancement. Without a navy at the 
 formation of the Constitution, and with the very barest ex- 
 cuse for shipping, and strong prejudice unjustly existing 
 against that arm of defence ; yet, possessing all the elements 
 of commercial greatness, vast wildernesses of ship timber, 
 rich soil for the production of cordage, extensive fields of 
 pine for the yield of pitch, and withal, a brave, hardy, and 
 indefatigable race of men — our vessels dot the vast expanse 
 of waters. On every ocean, on every sea, and in every port, 
 waves the Star Spangled Banner of our beloved Country. 
 The whalers of Nantucket pierce the frozen barriers of the 
 Northern and Southern zones ; the merchantmen of Boston 
 and New York seek "a market" in every clime; and the clip- 
 pers of Baltimore outstrip the wind in search of a "ready 
 market." Our navy has shown its prowess on the ocean, sea, 
 and inland waters ; causing by their skill, bravery, and un- 
 conquerable determination, the name of an American to be 
 respected in every country, every clime, and every zone. 
 The names of Decatur, Lawrence, Perry, Bainbridge, Hull, 
 Jones, Allen, Burrows, Porter, McDonough, Blakely, and a 
 host of others, have been crowned with imperishable honors. 
 Nor, while evincing gallantry and bravery in battle, have 
 they been wanting in aid to science : Maury's reputation is 
 co-extensive Avith the civilized world ; Lynch has explored 
 the Jordan, and Span the Asphaltic lake ; Wilkes breasted 
 the very uttermost limits of the icy barriers of the Southern 
 pole ; Herndon and Gibbon exhibited the vast resources of 
 the Amazon and its tributaries ; Gillis pursued his Astronom- 
 ical and Scientific pursuits on the heaving earth of Ohili : 
 Indeed, wherever science, literature, or philanthropy called, 
 
THE UNION. 17 
 
 some one of our hardy seamen has responded, and they have 
 been found ready for every danger, every enterprise, and 
 every suffering. 
 
 Nor have our armies shown less devotion, bravery or 
 prowess. Twice has the tocsin of war sounded through our 
 beloved land, and nobly been responded to by thousands of 
 volunteer citizen soldiery, whose souls panted within them, 
 to achieve high, chivalrous deeds ; and with rare exceptions, 
 nobly have they performed their duty — proving themselves 
 equal to any troops in the world, in all the characteristics of 
 the good soldier; in the camp, in the force march, in the 
 battle, in the siege, in the storm — but seldom in the retreat. 
 OflScers would spring up, as by magic, on all sides, ready to 
 lead in any danger, and capable for any emergency. They 
 dared mighty deeds for honor, and achieved great things for 
 the glory of their country. When duty no longer called, 
 quietly they retired to their social avocations, to show, per- 
 haps, some honorable scar, or recount the daring or reckless 
 deeds in danger shown by each other ; while the heart would 
 swell with high emotion, and memory's unbidden tear dim 
 the eye. With such a race, we need no standing army ! 
 Nor fear the combined troops of the world ! We are uncon- 
 querable ! 
 
 Nor have our international affairs been managed with less 
 wisdom, justice, or discretion. Keeping free from all entan- 
 gling alliances ; knowing our rights, we have, in every in- 
 stance, strenuously and firmly caused them to be respected. 
 Willing to take active part with the world, in all that may 
 extend commerce, or mollify the horrors of war, we have 
 rent the last relics of feudalism, which perched upon the 
 rocks of Thor, and enchained the roaring Baltic. Desiring 
 peace, but fearing not war, we have said to the Monarchies 
 of Europe, "So far shalt thou go, but no farther!" Settle 
 among yourselves the balances of power, but let no eye be 
 turned, no hand extended, no foot-print made upon the sands 
 of this mighty hemisphere. 
 
 / 
 
I 
 
 / 
 
 in THE UNION. 
 
 Such is now our national position. But, alas ! Eden had 
 her serpent, and the deadly asp coils beneath the fairest 
 flower. Sectionalism now tempts with the apple of bastard 
 philanthropy, on the one hand; and the asp of Disunion 
 coils beneath the flowery meads of the other ; the one Avould 
 rend the Constitution ; the other would strike the vitality of 
 the Union. But, thank God ! there is too holy a reverence 
 in all patriotic hearts for the one, and too powerful an anti- 
 dote in Union for the other. The hissings of both will have 
 but an ephemeral existence, and leave only a terrible warn- 
 ing to the Country in the awful crisis they have passed. 
 
 Then, what a destiny looms up before us in the dim, sha- 
 dowy outline of the future ! While the lion of Great Britain 
 and the bear of Russia contend over the yet breathing corse 
 of Persia ; while Greece, resuming some part of her pristine 
 prowess, snatches the vestiges of her former greatness from 
 the Turk; while France rent with the mighty throes of rev- 
 olution, upon revolution ; while Central Europe convulsed 
 with the reiterated efforts of Poland and Hungary to assume 
 their lost political positions ; while Spain and Portugal dream 
 over past greatness, and former fabulous wealth ; while a 
 world shall agonize with the horrors of ruthless war — this 
 mighty republic, strong in Union and all the internal elements 
 of greatness, will extend her arm to the North, and the land 
 rich in the memories of Montcalm, of Wolf, and of Mont- 
 gomery, gather in her fold ; turn her eye to the South, and 
 the fairy lands of the Montezumas Avill be one in her bright 
 galaxy, to be strengthened and protected from internal an- 
 archy and confusion ; the Central American States be pros- 
 pered under her wing ; Cuba become a glittering star in the 
 constellation, her genial breezes, loaded with earth's richest 
 perfumes, be softened by the refreshing blandishments of 
 Liberty; Jamaica, under a mild servitude, resume her former 
 position in supplying the luxuries of man ; the semi-barba- 
 rous hordes of Hayti, be again reduced to former, and pro- 
 per, social position ; Brazil, under the force of just and im- 
 
THE UNION. 19 
 
 peritive international principles, be compelled to open the vast 
 inland waters of the Amazon to the free commerce of the 
 world ; and the energy and enterprise of the Anglo-Ameri- 
 can will draw from its immense valleys a commerce and a 
 wealth, to which that of fabulous India were but as an idle 
 tale. Then, this mighty Union, with a territory to satisfy 
 the most exalted ambition ; a population to which that of 
 China will be as nothing ; a commerce to which the present 
 tonage of the world, thrice told, would be inadequate ; with 
 machinery to which the countless spindles of Great Britain 
 would be as a comparison ; with gorgeous cities upon the 
 Atlantic and the Pacific whose population and magnificence 
 would be deemed an idle fable ; and Avith a wealth and a lux- 
 ury which the most gorgeous eastern imagination could never 
 encompass ! Then, when the Anglo-Saxon shall be the dialect 
 of the whole earth, the Anglo-American may decide the des- 
 tinies of the world in some terrible and hard fought battle 
 on the plains of Palestine, and proclaim, that the Prince of 
 Peace shall reign triumphant for a thousand years, and 
 Christ dwell in the hearts of the whole earth, forever more ! 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 011 528 119 7