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"The trains came together at Kipton, the fast mail at full speed and the accommodation under brakes, because it was nearing the station. The engineers of both trains were killed, and the dead bodies of nine clerks were taken from the kindling wood and broken iron of the postal cars. The railroad sustained a heavy loss in property, and a large quantity of mail matter was either lost or destroyed."
 
Does anybody really know what time it is?  Before Web Ball and Standard Railroad Time, the anwer was, tragically, "No."  As America's train traffic increased, so did the risk to the traveling public, because without an accurate time standard, it was up to individual railroad employees to decide when to move on or off common tracks.  Ball stepped in and created business success for himself and safety for the traveling public.
 

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"But another disappointment was in store for him. About two hundred miles of cable had been laid, when it broke as did the former one, and once more the labor of months was swallowed up by the sea. The defect this time appeared to be in the construction of the cable itself, as it was repaired several times, and finally abandoned. It required all of Mr. Field's eloquence to induce the investors to make another attempt; he himself was greatly chagrined at the failure; but he still saw that the difficulties to be overcome were not insurmountable, and that perseverance would finally win."
 
Today, we are accustomed to communication which is instant and universal.  But before Cyrus Field, information took a week to cross the Atlantic.  He reduced that time to seconds, but it took nine years and multiple failures to accomplish.  Nothing great ever comes easy.
 

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“It is high time to teach the boys and girls of America lessons of patriotism. Why, I have found many cases where the children did not know how to salute the flag of the United States. We intend to teach them, and in giving them ideas of American patriotism we shall also instill in them a love of America and its great historical events which have made us the land of freedom.”
 
How different was education when "The Greatest Generation" was growing up from what the youth of the Republic receives today? The difference is stark, and even a cursory review of the present situation would lead any objective observer to note that the changes have not been beneficial.  The following is an overview of how patriotism was nurtured in one school 100 years ago.  
 

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My husband said but little that morning. He seemed serious and thoughtful; but never seemed to hesitate as to the course of his duty. As he led the company from the house, he turned himself round, and seemed to have something to communicate. He only said, "Take good care of the children," and was soon out of sight.  In the afternoon he was brought home a corpse. He was placed in my bedroom till the funeral. His countenance was pleasant, and seemed little altered. 
 
We've all seen the bumper stickers: "Freedom Isn't Free." How many friends and neighbors have died to first gain, and then retain the rights that many Americans today cannot even recite?  Lives cut short.  Families torn apart.  We should know their names.  Issac Davis was a patriot who gave all for the Cause.  We should remember and honor him.
 

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"When within sure distance the Constitution opened her battery with round and grape-shot upon the thirteen gun-boats and galleys which had engaged the Americans' small craft.  This storm of shot sunk one of the gun-boats, disabled two and put the rest to flight.  Commodore Preble then ran in along the batteries, within musket-shot distance and fired three hundred round shot besides grape and canister into the Bashaw's castle, the town, and the batteries.  He silenced the castle and two of the batteries and then hauled off. No lives were lost on the American fleet."

"Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute."  In 1794 Congress commissioned the construction of six frigates to give teeth to that bold declaration.  One of the new navy's first tasks was to protect American shipping from the Barbary States, what is now Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya.  We sent Preble.

  1. George Croghan - Savior of Fort Stephenson
  2. The Real Ichabod Crane
  3. Remember the Jersey
  4. Esek Hopkins - Our Forgotten First Admiral

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