of Governor Herbert R. O'Conor 595

the Battle of Bladensburg during the war of 1812. It was said then, as it is
said now, that the enemy was too far away to be taken too seriously. There
was then, as there is now a rightful but slightly over-emphasized confidence in
the ability of our navy to keep the enemy away from our shores. As a result
of this, a bold British admiral sailed into the Chesapeake, landed and caught
the Maryland militia off guard.

The Marylanders under Commodore Barney and General Winder fought
bravely, but they lost the first skirmish, and with it the National Capitol. To
be sure, this state of affairs was quickly reversed when the enemy attacked a
thoroughly infuriated Baltimore. Our forebears won the Battle of North Point
and saved Fort McHenry, but there was a price to pay.

I cite this example only to point a moral. The time for all-out prepara-
tion is now—not later. We must come to realize that Home Defense is not
merely a matter of protecting our homes, our families and communities. It is
just as much, a matter of carrying on battles against the enemy. It must be
abundantly clear by this time that the Battle of Britian has not been won ex-
clusively on the playing fields of Eton. Nor has it been won exclusively by
those valiant youngsters of the RAF at Dunkirk. No, the turning point came
when the shopkeepers, the homeowners, the factory workers, the farmers—in
a word, the British civilians—proved to Hitler's great dissatisfaction that they
could hold the fort.

Hold it they did—and hold it we must. And we need not wait for the
battle to come to us, either. On the contrary, we must so buttress and arm
our fortress that it will withstand the most savage and unexpected assaults.
We must be ready now! Not out of fear—but out of common sense. The
, better we keep our posts, the harder we will fling back the enemy. The more
thoroughly we organize, the smoother we will function in time of stress. The
firmer our ramparts at home, the more punishing will be the attacks which our
fighting forces can press upon the foe.

So here we stand on trial, before the world, and before our own consci-
ences. If these gifts have made us soft, then we shall suffer. If we are not
willing and able to harness our strength and our skills to the giant task ahead,
why then, all our happy yesterdays shall become the dreadful nightmare of
tomorrow. If we have not learned that liberty deserves sacrifices, then there is
a bitter lesson in store.

But I do not—and I cannot—entertain pessimism. If our people have been
slow to anger, so we shall be strong to strike. Out of this testing, we shall
discover our finest hour. Let us then glory in the strife that shall bring us the
greater appreciation of our many blessings. Let us bend our united wills to
the high purpose of restoring God's peace upon the earth. And when we have
conquered the bloody-handed, godless demons, let each of us be able to look
back and to say in his heart "In those dark days, I stood and battled for the
Right. I did the good work. I have deserved the rest that cometh after
Victory. "