Publisher's Synopsis
Detailed accounts of the affair came rapidly, but there was nothing in them to quiet the national indignation; the American flag had been hauled down by Englishmen, an American naval vessel had been fired into and captured; that was enough No matter whether the Eliza Drum was within the three-mile limit or not No matter which vessel fired first If it were the Lennehaha, the more honor to her; she ought to have done it From platform, pulpit, stump, and editorial office came one vehement, passionate shout directed toward Washington. Congress was in session, and in its halls the fire roared louder and blazed higher than on mountain or plain, in city or prairie. No member of the Government, from President to page, ventured to oppose the tempestuous demands of the people. The day for argument upon the exciting question had been a long weary one, and it had gone by in less than a week the great shout of the people was answered by a declaration of war against Great Britain.
