About midnight of April 20th, a fire was started in the yard, which
continued to increase, and before daylight the work of destruction
extended to two immense ship-houses, one of which contained the entire
frame of a seventy-four-gun ship, and to the long ranges of stores and
offices on each side of the entrance. The great ship Pennsylvania was
burned, and the frigates Merrimac and Columbus, and the Delaware,
Raritan, Plymouth, and Germantown were sunk. A vast amount of machinery,
valuable engines, small-arms, and chronometers, was broken up and
rendered entirely useless. The value of the property destroyed was
estimated at several millions of dollars.
This property thus destroyed had been accumulated and constructed with
laborious care and skillful ingenuity during a course of years to
fulfill one of the objects of the Constitution, which was expressed in
these words, "To provide for the common defense" (see Preamble of the
Constitution). It had belonged to all the States in common, and to each
one equally with the others. If the Confederate States were still
members of the Union, as the President of the United States asserted,
where can he find a justification of these acts?
In explanation of his policy to the Commissioners sent to him by the
Virginia State Convention, he said, referring to his inaugural address,
"As I then and therein said, I now repeat, the power confided in me will
be used to hold, occupy, and possess property and places belonging to
the Government.
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