Not-so-good old days

Our ancestors of the 1850s were pretty much as aware of how things really worked in the nation's capital as we are today. The only difference seems to be that in the 1850s "dog-and-pony shows" actually were a familiar form of traveling entertainment.

But that's not to say the as-yet-unnamed "military-industrial complex" hadn't already perfected the art of presenting one to important members of Congress at budget time, as the May 2, 1856 Oxford Democrat reported:

Saturday, a large number of members of both Houses, upon the invitation of the Secretary of the Navy, visited the Naval School at Annapolis, in Maryland; and also went on board the war steamer Merrimac, commanded by Captain Pendergrass, now lying about four miles down the Harbor. This is one of the six war steamers built by order of the last Congress.

The party was taken from Annapolis in a small steamer and three barges, which were in tow, each boat being well filled with gentlemen and ladies. The day was pleasant and the blue sea calm and unruffled. On arriving alongside we were cordially welcomed on board this gigantic man-of-war, by its gentlemanly commander who spared no pains to make our brief visit, not only pleasant, but instructive. The Merrimac is in every sense a noble ship, and a splendid specimen of Naval architecture. It is built in the most approved modern style and mans sixty-four guns.

The men were piped into "motion." In a moment each of the crew was at his post, and every gun manned. Broadside after broadside was discharged from this powerful battery, while the thundering echoes rolled all over the water, giving those on board a fancy sketch of a battle scene upon the waters. Shells were then thrown off, and as they whistled through the air, bursting in the far distance, it was easy to imagine with what terrible effect they may be used as instruments of death and destruction in time of actual war.

Modern readers may know that only five years later, in 1861, the U.S.S. Merrimac was burned in Norfolk to keep it from falling into rebel hands. The effort failed and the hull was reused to build the C.S.S. Virginia, one of those newfangled "ironclads." The only shots fired from the old Merrimac were against the guys who originally sailed her to entertain the congressmen.

It was only the next year, in the April 17, 1857 paper, the old Democrat's correspondent in Fryeburg reported the irony in the conduct of clergy and congregations in his area toward other sects. The local news "story" would today be called an opinion piece, or extended letter-to-the-editor, and not run on a page that contained news. Editors and readers were a lot less formal about such things back then. It was far too long to include here and a certain knowledge of nineteenth-century sectarianism would be necessary for comprehension, but the gist of the writer's message lies in the following excerpt:

While in Concord, N. H. lately, I was shown a magnificent and superbly bound Bible, intended as a present to the new Congregational church in Fryeburg. It is a beauty and reflects great credit on the donors, young men of Concord, whose names I believe are Blanchard and Hurd. One is a Unitarian, and the other is said to be a Universalist; but they have shown their love for the Bible, and the public services of the sanctuary, buy giving to this church this gift. And yet the creed tells these young men they are "reprobates, incapable of a good word, thought or action," and doomed to spend an "eternal misery in Hell-fire for Adam's sin." But who believes such nonsense! I am sure I do not think these young men are led on by the devil. If all persons who make it their practice to give away Bibles, are instigated by the Old Scratch, as somebody has called Marm Eve's serpents — then I am thinking there is very little hope for the church — any how, for a wonderful fewer of this kind is now prevalent.

Note that at the time this was written Unitarians and Universalist had not yet become formally joined. They were often despised as "unchristian."

As is our custom, we try to exactly reproduce the grammar, spelling, punctuation and style of the original. Commas might appear where least expected and remain absent where we’d expect them if the item was written nowadays. On the other hand, consistency was not considered of utmost importance, so variations of a spelling might appear within one story. In addition, some words were abbreviated differently than today.

Where brief explanations of terms are considered necessary, they are presented in brackets [] within the quote. Otherwise, explanations appear at the beginning or at the conclusion, without quotes. Parenthesis () used in a quoted passage appeared in the original.