ENTRY - John Maynard Home Page

great caution. Instead of parading the services of Elliott on the lakes, I have actually s
uppressed one or two allusions to him, that I feel ought to have been made. Let any
man look over the official correspondence of that day, and he will say the same thing.
I well know that one set would not be satisfied unless Elliott was sacrificed, but my
principles, I trust, are above those of the damned rascals, who would destroy any man
who opposed their mad political projects.
(Letters and Journals, Vol. III, p. 386, Letter 531, To James De Peyster Ogden, From
Hall, Cooperstown, June 11 th , 1839)
2) I understand there is a review in the North American – This was expected to be
done by Slidell, and to treat of the Lake Erie affair. I am told that it is favorable, to
the book, in the main.
(Letters and Journals, Vol. III, p. 432, Letter 549, To Mrs. Cooper, From
Head‘s (Philadelphia), Oct. 8 th , 1839)
3) After the success of Captain Perry on Lake Erie, the English made no serious
effort to recover the ascendency on the upper waters. During the winter of 1813-1814,
they are believed to have contemplated an attempt against a portion of the Amnerican
vessels which were lying in Put-in Bay, but the enterprise was never effected.
(History of the Navy of the United States – CSPCT, Vol. 44, Vol. II, Ch. XXX, p. 464, May
1839)
4) He [=John C. Spencer, Secretary of War from 12 Oct. 1841 to 3 March 1843] declined putting
the Naval History into the District School Library on the ground that the book was
controversial on the subject of the Battle of Lake Erie, and he had uniformly
declined admitting any controversial works. [Cooper‘s emphasis]
(Letters and Journals, Vol. IV, p. 187, Letter 645, To David Conner, From
Otsego Hall, Cooperstown, Nov. 7 th , 1841)
5) Still, I believe myself to be nearer to the truth than any other writer on the subject
of the Battle of Lake Erie. The second part of the Life of Perry will tell you more of
my opinions, and, an answer to Capt. Mackenzie‘s book, which is now in press, and
which I shall have the pleasure of sending you, will let all who read still deeper into
mysteries.
I shall be grateful for the information you name, which will reach me, if sent by
mail. I am quite aware that Capt. Perry‘s charges against Capt. Elliott will not stand
an investigation. Some of them are faulty even on their face.
(Letters and Journals, Vol. IV, pp. 383-384, Letter 719, To Daniel Dobbins, From
Cooperstown, May 20 th 1843)
3) ―PLEASANT MAY MORNING‖
There are two particularly ―pleasant‖ months in a ―Cooper Year‖ that enjoy a high
ranking: May and June. Of the two, May exhibits fewer quotes than June. In The
Pathfinder; or, The Inland Sea, Cooper even names one character Dew-of-June or,
quite simply, June. Inclement months, which are suddenly ―glorious‖ or ―pleasant,‖
enjoy either ―May weather,‖ e.g., March 5 & 8, 1845 [MAY: no. 8 & no. 9], November
18, 1845 [MAY: no. 13], September 13, 1828 [MAY: no. 3], January 1838 [MAY: no. 4], or
they are likened to June: e.g., an October day with ―an air still as the softest mornings
in June‖ [The Spy – The Michigan Historical Reprint Series, Ch. IV, p. 63]. The adjective
―pleasant‖ is frequently used by Cooper in a temporal context.
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