Then we wiped our tears away, and every man, woman and understanding child, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from the Lakes to the Gulf, arose and took an oath that that cruel and bloody nation of Spaniards should leave this hemisphere, bag and baggage, and that we should make them! Then the shout, "Remember the Maine!" was heard all over the land. Congress demanded Spain’s withdrawal from American waters; or else that war should be levied on her forthwith. Now did the regent mother country send letters to all the magnates of Europe, begging them to intercede, and make peace between the Americans and Spaniards. But from all quarters came the same reply, "You and the Americans help yourselves; this is not our war. Hold the Ever-faithful Isle—if you are able!" While the war clouds were gathering the Spaniards still ran around Europe, praying and screeching for help. Uncle Sam went swiftly to work laid down fifty million dollars instantly, and quickly bought up a number of newly-built and powerful men-of-war from foreign nations—bought and hired swift and powerful merchant vessels, and swiftly clad them round their sides and all over their decks with steel-mail, so that they might boldly plough the waves, and do as useful service as the very best of iron-clads of effete Old Spain. Uncle Sam made two swift calls for troops, and almost every white and colored man replied, "We come, we come!" So terrible, indeed, was the impression produced by the loss of our poor ship, and the murder of 266 men at Havana, that almost every colored and white man in this nation seemed even to sigh and thirst to go and fight with Spain! Women by thousands and tens of thousands offered themselves as nurses, and to be used in any way that the Government pleased. Our colored men, once slaves, or the children of slaves, but now loyal freemen, came forward almost to a man, and with quite as much patriotism as their white brethren, at least, offered themselves as ready, quite ready to march to the war. Uncle Sam’s great difficulty lay in his having too many offers on his hands, so he picked and chose, and did his best. The fleet, of course, encountered a little more difficulty in filling up; but the flower of our youth—even the sons of millionaires among the rest—came trooping on in thousands, and our fleet was manned splendidly. Men were sent South by thousands and tens of thousands; the trains carried them down every day, accompanied with immense loads of ammunition, and all the appliances of war. Our new and old war vessels were gathered about Key West, etc., and others were placed near our great harbors, which harbors were defended by torpedoes and other means of offense and defense. By this time our demand upon Spain to get out of the West Indies had been received by the proud Dons, and had been refused by them, as we expected. So we moved on with the war, and our own four regiments of regular colored United States troops, the Ninth and Tenth Cavalry, and