rrison Gray Otis_ (2 vols., 1913), gives a fresh
account of the disaffection in New England and of the Hartford
Convention. The peace negotiations at Ghent are set forth
circumstantially by Henry Adams in his _History of the United
States_ (9 vols., 1889-91).

CHAPTER XIII

THE RESULTS OF THE WAR

In a message to Congress transmitting the treaty of peace, President
Madison congratulated the country on the termination of a war "waged
with a success which is the natural result of the wisdom of the
legislative councils, of the patriotism of the people, of the public
spirit of the militia, and of the valor of the military and naval forces
of the country." The verdict of history does not sustain this paean of
victory. "The record, upon the whole," declares Admiral Mahan, "is one
of gloom, disaster, and governmental incompetence, resulting from lack
of national preparation, due to the obstinate and blind prepossessions
of the Government, and, in part, of the people." Public opinion indorsed
the President's estimate of the late struggle.

As a matter of fact, the people of the United States had seen little of
the disasters and ravages of war. All the important battles took place
on the borders. The great mass of the people were undisturbed in their
vocations. There was hardly a day during the war when a farmer could not
till his acres in tranquillity. Not an important city save Washington
was taken during the war. Nor was the loss of life large in proportion
to population. All told, the killed and wounded did not exceed five
thousand men. Napoleon lost nearly two hundred thousand French soldiers
in his disastrous Russian campaign.

American character appeared at its best and at its worst in these three
years of war. Even the British press could not gainsay the
resourcefulness and intelligence of the American soldier and sailor,
though the phrase "Yankee smartness" conveyed also the unpleasant
imputation of trickiness and moral laxity. Wherever conditions permitted
a fair test, the superiority of the American gunner was incontestable.
The greater losses of the British whenever the armies met on even terms
proved the superior marksmanship of the American militiaman. The
adaptation of the fast-sailing schooner to privateering was further
evidence of an alert intellect which was quick to adapt means to ends.
This quality, to be sure, has been bred in every frontier folk by the
very necessities of