The Story of the Atlantic Telegraph

by Henry M. Field

These public demonstrations culminated on the first of September, when the city authorities gave a public ovation to Mr. Field and the officers of the expedition. In accepting these honors, Mr. Field had taken good care that the British officers should be included with the American. At St. John's he had been notified of the intended celebration, and at once telegraphed to the British Admiral at Halifax:

"I should consider it a very great personal favor if you would permit the Gorgon, Captain Dayman, to accompany the Niagara, Captain Hudson, to New York. English officers and English sailors have labored with American officers and American sailors to lay the Atlantic cable. They were with us in our days of trial, and pray let them, if you can, share with us our triumph."

The request was granted so far as this, that the officers were allowed leave of absence, and came on to New York to take part in the celebration, and in all the honors which followed, the officers of the Gorgon were associated with those of the Niagara.

The day arrived, and the celebration surpassed any thing which the city had ever witnessed before. It was a mild autumn day—warm, yet with a sky softly veiled with clouds, that seemed to invite a whole population into the streets. The day commenced with a solemn service at Trinity Church, which was attended by the city authorities, the representatives of foreign powers, and an immense concourse of people. The vast edifice was decorated with evergreens; in the centre hung a cross, with the inscription: "Glory to God on high; and on earth, peace, good-will towards men." When the audience were assembled, there entered a procession of two hundred clergy, headed by Bishop Doane of New Jersey, who was to deliver the address. Prayers were offered and Scriptures were read, and at intervals the choir gave voice to the general joy in the anthems in which for ages the Church has been wont to pour forth its exultation: "O come, let us sing unto the Lord," the Gloria in Excelsis, and the Te Deum Laudamus.

At noon, Mr. Field and the officers of the ships landed at Castle Garden and were received with a national salute. A procession was formed which extended for miles from the Battery to the Crystal Palace, which stood on the plot of ground now known as Bryant Park, between Fortieth and Forty-second streets. In the procession were Lord Napier, the British Minister, and officers of the army and navy. For the whole distance the streets were crowded. The windows and even the tops of the houses were filled with people. Everywhere flags and banners, with every device, floated in the air. So dense was the crowd that it was five or six hours before the procession could reach the Crystal Palace.

Here its coming was awaited by an assembly that filled all the aisles and galleries. An address was delivered, giving the history of the Atlantic Telegraph. The Mayor then rose, and presenting Mr. Field to the audience, spoke as follows:

"Sir: History records but few enterprises of such 'pith and moment' as to command the attention and at the same time enlist the sympathies of all mankind. In all ages warlike expeditions have been undertaken on a scale of grandeur sufficient to astonish the world; but the evils which are inseparable from their prosecution have always sent a thrill of horror through the anxious nations. The discovery of the Western continent even, the grandest event of modern times, was made by an insignificant fleet which left the shores of Spain without attracting the notice of the civilized world. Far different has been the history of the daring and difficult enterprise of uniting the Old World and the New by means of the electric telegraph. From the very outset the good, the great and the wise of all lands beneath the sun, have watched with intense anxiety, and even when doubt existed, with warm interest, every step taken toward the accomplishment of what was universally acknowledged to be the most momentous undertaking of an age made marvellous by wonderful scientific and mechanical achievements. The two greatest and freest nations of the globe, by independent constitutional legislation, and by the aid of their finest ships and their ablest officers and engineers, combined together to insure success. Capital was liberally subscribed by private citizens in a spirit which put greed to the blush. The press on both sides of the Atlantic recorded the details of the progress of the undertaking with cordial interest, and secured the generous sympathies of men of all kindreds and tongues and nations in its behalf. You were thus fortunate, sir, in being identified with a project of such magnificent proportions and universal concern. But the enterprise itself was no less fortunate in being projected and carried into execution by a man whom no obstacles could daunt, no disasters discourage, no doubts paralyze, no opposition dishearten. If you, to whom the conduct of this great enterprise was assigned by the will of Providence and the judgment of your fellow-men, had been found wanting in courage, in energy, in determination, and in a faith that was truly sublime, the very grandeur of the undertaking would only have rendered its failure the more conspicuous. But, sir, the incidents of the expedition, and the final result—too familiar to all the world to need repetition here—have demonstrated that you possessed all the qualities essential to achieve a successful issue. It is for this reason that you now stand out from among your fellow-men a mark for their cordial admiration and grateful applause. The city of your home delights to honor you; your fellow-citizens, conscious that the glory of your success is reflected back upon them, are proud that your lot has been cast among them. They have already testified their appreciation of your great services and heroic perseverance by illuminations, processions, serenades, and addresses. And now, sir, the municipal government of this, the first city on the Western continent, instruct me, who have never felt the honor of being its chief magistrate so sensibly as in the presence of this vast assemblage of its fair women and substantial citizens, to present to you a gold box, with the arms of the city engraved thereon, in testimony of the fact that to you mainly, under Divine Providence, the world is indebted for the successful execution of the grandest enterprise of our day and generation; and in behalf of the Mayor, Aldermen, and Commonalty of the City of New York, I now request your acceptance of this token of their approbation. In conclusion, sir, of this, the most agreeable duty of my public life, I sincerely trust that your days may be long in the land, and as prosperous and honorable as your achievement in uniting the two hemispheres by a cord of electric communication has been successful and glorious."

To this flattering address, Mr. Field replied:

"Sir: This will be a memorable day in my life; not only because it celebrates the success of an achievement with which my name is connected, but because the honor comes from the city of my home—the metropolitan city of the new world. I see here not only the civic authorities and citizens at large, but my own personal friends—men with whom I have been connected in business and friendly intercourse for the greater part of my life. Five weeks ago, this day and hour, I was standing on the deck of the Niagara in mid-ocean, with the Gorgon and Valorous in sight, waiting for the Agamemnon. The day was cold and cheerless, the air was misty, and the wind roughened the sea; and when I thought of all that we had passed through—of the hopes thus far disappointed, of the friends saddened by our reverses, of the few that remained to sustain us—I felt a load at my heart almost too heavy to bear, though my confidence was firm, and my determination fixed. How different is the scene now before me—this vast crowd testifying their sympathy and approval, praises without stint, and friends without number! This occasion, sir, gives me the opportunity to express my thanks for the enthusiastic reception which I have received, and I here make my acknowledgments before this vast concourse of my fellow-citizens. To the ladies I may, perhaps, add, that they have had their appropriate place, for when the cable was laid, the first public message that passed over it came from one of their own sex. This box, sir, which I have the honor to receive from your hand, shall testify to me and to my children what my own city thinks of my acts. For your kindness, sir, expressed in such flattering, too flattering terms, and for the kindness of my fellow-citizens, I repeat my most heartfelt thanks."