sheathe the sword

My wish and hope, therefore, is, that it will be rejected by this House; and that another, dutiful yet decent, manly address, will be presented to his majesty, praying that he would sheathe the sword, prevent the further effusion of the blood of our fellow subjects, and adopt some mode of negotiation with the general Congress, in compliance with their repeated petition, thereby restoring peace and harmony to this distracted empire.