uere, in war, siiotilil it bo required, we
could assemble from the tut, the G'ulf of
.Mexico, tho Mississippi river and its
tributaries all the forces, the means and
implements of war which the boundless
resources of that magnificent valley af
ford. In tho very heart of this country,
midway between the regions of the Gulf
and the Lake?, is to stand the important
Dock-Yard of Tennessee: from its am
ple work-shops and magazines of warlike
stores, eacli river boat, as it passes North
ward in war, may bo equipped with hol
low shot and shells, mounted with the
most terribio engines of destruction, and
hastened on lo repel invasion ; or they
may procure commissions to toam the
Lakes, bum, unit and destroy. In one
mouth's tiinii or less, it would bo in the
power of the General Government to con-!
CCIltralC on Lake .Michigan such an as-I
scntblage of steam men-of-war from the j
valley of tlio west, as the world never
saw. Prom this place of rendezvous,
cnleriiiK tho irreat Lake chain, mid w a v
between Erie and Superior, they would
bo convenient and ready for any point of
attack. In the last war tho contest on
the Lakes was a contest of .hm.l.;i,i;,,
r ' ""
The enemy began to build and launch,
and wo did tho same ; the fortune of war
was on our side, and wo captured two of
his fleets. Defeated, but not conquered,
ho began to build ships of the line. We
did tho same. When peace came it found
an English ship of 1 (10 (runs actually afloat
on the Lakes, and two American lines of
battle-ships of equal size on the stocks
And on tho stocks they still remain.
