become greater than them all.

And now, my son, let us hie to the siege of Washington. Washington
was besieged and Washington was saved; and the history of its
salvation must not perish. Rome, you know, was saved by the cackling
of a goose. And when I tell you that Washington, the capital city of
this great nation was saved by the too free use of a barrel of
whisky, you must not be surprised. When its great circle of
fortifications, now bristling with cannon, and filled with busy
soldiers, shall become so many grassy mounds, their history must
still live to excite the patriotism of those who come after us.

Remember, my son, that had Washington fallen the nation had
perished. To this remarkable siege, then, and its results, let all
the succeeding glories of this great Republic be attributed.

As I have told you before, my son, after the first battle of
Manassas, when our militia did such good running, there was nothing
to prevent the rebels from entering and capturing it but the few
hastily constructed forts, or tˆtes de pont, on the Virginia side.
Nor could these have offered any resistance worth naming. Our
demoralized troops, however, never halted until they got safe inside
of them. And but for these forts, weak as they were, the city would
have fallen. When General McClellan assumed command, he saw at once
the necessity of properly fortifying the city. And the nation ought
never to forget him for his decision. Experienced engineers, with
large gangs of laborers, were set to work throwing up these huge
masses of earthwork. To this was added the labor of a large number
of the troops of the Army of the Potomac, during its organization in
the autumn and winter of 1861 and 1862. When, therefore, the army