10

42.

150

District of Pennsylvania, to wit:

فيز

BE IT REMEMBERED, That on the twenty-ninth day of December, in the forty-second year of the independence of the United States of America, A. D. 1817, Mitchell & Ames, of the said district, have deposited in this office the title of a book, the right whereof they claim as proprietors, in the words following, to wit:

"A Narrative of a Tour of Observation, made during the summer of 1817, by James Monroe, President of the United States, through the north-eastern and north-western departments of the union: with a view to the examination of their several military defences. With an Appendix."

In conformity to the act of the congress of the United States, entitled, "An act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts, and books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned."And also to the act, entitled, "An act supplementary to an act, entitled, 'An act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts, and books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies during the times therein mentioned,' and extending the benefits thereof to the arts of designing, engraving, and etching historical and other prints."

D. CALDWELL,

Clerk of the District of Pennsylvania.

INTRODUCTION.

A CONSIDERABLE degree of public interest having been excited by the late tour of the President of the United States, undertaken soon after his induction into office, and constituting one of the first important acts of his administration, the editor has thought himself warranted in the publication of the following account of its course, and of the events attending it. In the numerous addresses, delivered to him by the citizens, and in the replies which they received, the sentiments of the people, and the views of the executive, are constantly developed; and the preservation of these could in no way be more properly effected, than by collecting them under one general head, and blending them with intermediate descriptions of his journey, in the form and character of a Narrative.

During the late war with Great Britain, a practieal opportunity was afforded to the government of the United States, to discover the relative importance of the defences erected along the frontier, dividing the American and British possessions, and the strength and utility of the various fortified places on the marine exterior. The frequent and sometimes successful, incursions of the late enemy, enforced the necessity of selecting new points for the erection of strong and efficient batteries, to protect

the country against future invasion; of demolishing such works, as were thence found to have been constructed in improper situations; and of concentrating the regular forces, at such positions as should render their co-operation speedy and effective.

Impressed with the magnitude of this subject, Mr. Monroe had no sooner passed through the forms of his inauguration, than he directed his attention to the means by which to accomplish so desirable an object. A mere theoretical knowledge would be insufficient for the consummation of his views; and, indeed, could not be entirely depended upon. Availing himself, therefore, of the experience acquired before the close of the late contest, he determined to engage in a personal examination of the situation, strength, and condition, of all the citadels and military posts in the northern and eastern departments of the union. To the early execution of this intention, he was urged, as he has himself intimated, by a desire to look into the economical expenditure of the public monies, which had been liberally appropriated by congress; to facilitate the completion of these measures; and to ascertain the propriety of adopting plans, suggested by the agents employed in the service of fortification.

Not long after the expiration of the congressional term, in the spring of 1817, the President entered upon this laudable undertaking, and prosecuted his route through all the principal towns and cities, which he had marked out for his first tour of observation. Departing from the capital, he passed