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PROLOGUE

THE BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;

He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;

He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword; His truth is marching on.

I have seen Him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps;

They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;

I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps.

His day is marching on.

I have read a fiery gospel, writ in burnished rows of steel; “As ye deal with my contemners, so with you my grace shall

deal;

Let the hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with his heel, Since God is marching on."

He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat; He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment-seat; Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet!

Our God is marching on.

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me;
As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,
While God is marching on.

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MAP OF THE UNITED STATES SHOWING THE IMMENSE LENGTH OF COAST-LINE TO BE DEFENDED

CHAPTER I

THE CALL TO RIGHTEOUS BATTLE

Another Great Event in April, the Month of Great Events — A Memorable Session of Congress The President's Address Calling for a Declaration of War with Germany - His Review of the Train of Events and Grievances which had Led to that Necessity-A War to be Waged for no Selfish Purpose, but for Humanity and for the Freedom of the World - Full Text of a Memorable Message - Its Favorable Reception by Congress and the Nation - How It was Regarded in Foreign Lands - Prompt Action by Congress in Adopting a Resolution Declaring that Germany had Begun War Against Us-The President's Proclamation of Our Entry into the World War.

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IT WAS April, the most famous month in American History. It was in April, 1135, that the Norsemen discovered Greenland on their way to the pre-Columbian discovery of America, and it was in April, 1492, that Columbus was recalled to the Spanish Court and was commissioned to sail upon his epoch-making voyage. It was in that same month, the "Month of Openings," that Ponce de Leon landed in Florida; that Cortez began the conquest of Mexico; that the Virginia colony was chartered; that Henry Hudson began the voyage in which he discovered the river which bears his name; that the Plymouth Pilgrims received their patent; that La Salle took possession of the Mississippi Valley for France; that the French and Indian War was begun; that taxation of the Colonies by Parliament without their representation was first proposed. It was in April that our Revolution began at Lexington, Concord and Boston; that the American navy took its first prize in war; that Lafayette landed on our shores; that Arnold began his treason;

that the first American man-of-war was built; that the British Government sent peace commissioners to meet our own; that George III ratified the treaty of peace with America, and that the ending of the War for Independence was proclaimed. It was in April that Washington designed the Stars and Stripes, and that the flag in its present form was first displayed. It was in April that Washington was elected and inaugurated President; that Louisiana was purchased; that the United States Mint was established; that the Mexican War was begun; that the Civil War was begun, and ended; that the Spanish War was begun and that the treaty of peace at its end was proclaimed. It was in April that Putnam, Jefferson, Monroe, Clay and Grant were born, and that Lincoln suffered martyrdom.

It was the latest April in our history, in the year of our era 1917, and the second day of the month. Woodrow Wilson had less than a month before been installed as President of the United States for a second term. He had severed diplomatic relations with the German Empire, because of its atrocious and intolerable disregard of our rights and of the rights of humanity in the war which for two and a half years had been convulsing the continent of Europe; and he had called the newly elected Congress together in special session to consider what further steps were necessary for the safeguarding of American citizens and the vindication of the honor of the nation.

Washington was thronged with interested citizens of eminence and influence from all parts of the country. The streets were crowded with spectators as the President, accompanied by a glittering cavalcade of guards, passed from the White House to the Capitol on one of the most momentous errands ever undertaken by an American

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Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States

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