ing tribute from American or any other vessels that traded up the Mediterranean sea.

THE FOURTH WAR.

9. This broke out in 1812, and in our histories and conversations is generally called the war of 1812, because it was commenced in that year. This was our second war with England, and lasted nearly three years. The reasons for it were very different from those which brought on the first; and may be given as follows: England claimed the right to board our ships, either national or private, wherever she found them, and to search them under pretense of searching for her seamen, who had deserted from their vessels, and were now employed on board of ours; and also for men who had once been subjects of the British government, but had subsequently emigrated to America, and became citizens of the United States. This right she claimed and actually enforced on many occasions, by carrying off every man of this description she found on board our ships, upon the assumption that if a man had ever been a subject of hers he must always remain so; and that he had no right to become a citizen of any other country: we did not subscribe to such a doctrine, but held that if any body wished to expatriate himself from his own country, and to become a citizen of ours, he had a perfect right to do so, and that when he did, it was as much the duty of our government to protect him as it was to protect a native citizen.

10. Such antagonistic principles, if carried into action as they were by the English, must necessarily end

in an appeal to arms. On the 19th of June, in conformity with an act of Congress, the President proclaimed war with England.

The contest, with varied success on both sides, was continued until the 8th of January, 1815, the day on which General Jackson defeated the British at New Orleans. Soon after, news reached the United States that the American and English commissioners, who had met at Ghent, had, on the 24th of December, 1814, concluded a treaty of peace. As soon as this was known, hostilities ceased on land. Several battles occurred at sea after this, for the news of peace did not reach the contestants until some time after it was known at home. By the treaty of Ghent, simply a treaty of peace was negotiated, seemingly because both parties had become tired of the war. The issue upon which the war broke out, was left unsettled by the commissioners, who ignored that question, but agreed to stop fighting. England has not since enforced her doctrine of the right to search our vessels, and to carry off our men, although they may have once been her subjects. The war was prosecuted principally on the seas, where a number of severe naval battles were fought, and many captures of ships made on both sides. Although England had a far more powerful navy than we had, yet in victories and captures the odds were on our side.

THE FIFTH WAR.

It com

11. The fifth war was that with Mexico. menced on the 26th of April, 1846, and grew out of the annexation of Texas (early in 1845), to the United

States. Mexico had not yet entirely abandoned her claim to, and authority over Texas, which had so recently revolted against her government. She could not but look with great disapprobation and jealousy upon the action of the United States in taking her revolted province under their protection, and then annexing it to their own dominions. The people of Texas were afraid that Mexico would make an attempt to regain possession of the country, and called upon the United States government to protect them.

12. James K. Polk, of Tennessee, was then Presi dent, and had taken, before his election, a very prominent part in the annexation scheme. He was therefore quite ready and willing to defend this, our newly acquired territory, and promptly sent Gen. Taylor to the western part of Texas, under the pretence of guarding the frontiers against any invasion of the Mexicans. Gen. Taylor, in obedience to orders from the President, marched his army quite up to the Rio Grande, which Mr. Polk claimed as the western boundary of Texas. But this the Mexicans, (with good reason too,) disputed; declaring that the western boundary of Texas was far to the east of that river, and remonstrated strongly against the action of the United States, in sending a hostile army into her territory, and hence took measures to expel the invaders. As before stated, -on the 26th of April, 1846, a small number of the hostile parties met, and a fight between them ensued.

Thus the war begun, and continued with almost unvaried success on the part of the United States army till the 2nd of February, 1848, when a treaty of peace was concluded.

During this short war of less than two years, we took all their strongholds of defence, including the city of Vera Cruz, together with their capital, the city of Mexico itself. Indeed the whole country was occupied, and might have been kept had we chosen to retain it. But in the treaty of peace we restored a part of their country, and retained all we desired of it, towit: California and New Mexico, and (in short) all the northern part of the country. But, to make the whole affair look less like robbery, we paid the Mexicans $10,000,000 for what we kept-which was nearly onehalf of the whole country.

14. By this war we very much enlarged our territory, but gained very little military glory, and added nothing to our character for justice and magnanimity. We, a powerful nation, fell upon a weak one, crushed it, and took so much of its territory as we pleased; and that to say the least of it-for a very trifling cause. A little wisdom, a little discreet diplomacy, would have averted this war, saved thousands of lives, millions of money, and preserved our character for justice and magnanimity.

THE SIXTH WAR.

15. This was by far the greatest, the most expensive, and most bloody war that was ever carried on upon this continent. In magnitude, in expense, in the lives it cost, and in the evil consequences which resulted from it, it surpassed all the preceding wars combined, and verified the old adage that "civil wars are the worst of all wars." This, as everybody knows, was a civil war; a war between the people of the same

country and government, having the same interests and the same destiny.

16. Right here we might expand our remarks to an extent exceeding the whole contents of this volume, in tracing the causes, detailing the operations, and noticing the results of this most terrible and cruel war. Then we might dwell long upon the consequences which must inevitably follow in all coming time. But this would be foreign to our purpose. We have only undertaken to give the veriest outlines of our various wars, the time when they commenced, the time of their duration, and the results produced. Just so much we will say of our civil war-between the North and the South. It was begun on the 12th of April, 1861, by the bombardment of Fort Sumpter in Charleston harbor. It was closed in April, 1865, by the surrender of Gen. Lee, the Southern commander-in-chief, with his army, to Gen. Grant, the commander-in-chief of the National forces, having lasted four years with varied success on both sides. All the details of this desperate struggle have been written and published by many able historians, to whose works I must refer the reader who wishes to peruse a complete history of this great event.

17. Here we will only add that it is impossible to say how many lives were lost in this devastating war; 500,000 on both sides is probably as correct an estimate as can be made. Eight or nine billions of dollars is probably as near an estimate of its cost as can be calculated. Other disasters and evils almost inconceivable followed in its train. It furnished the whole world with one of the most awful examples of the folly and the wickedness of war.