"Thus does party prejudice at times outweigh patriotism; and thus the best interests of the country are often neglected or jeopardized in obedience to the behests of a political boss, or in deference to the supposed necessities of a partisan organization.
It is difficult at this late day, to conceive of such a state of affairs as this..."

Not so much a story as an advertisment to try to get the american government to invest in the merchant navy and coastal defense.
Also given the authors preference for one particular type of harbour defense craft i would not be surprised if it turns out he had shares or a patent on it :lol .

Only a small amount is actually about a battle. Not greatly compelling but i found a fair bit of historical food for thought.

Made available by the Merril Collection. ( )