PIGAL SERIES: 2ko. 7 10°C ENT r reze00d JS aS ee 3 4 TRELT& SMITH, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK. LIFE OF BY WILL M. CLEMENS, Author of ‘‘Theodore Roosevelt, the American; His Life and Work,” “The Life of Mark Twain,” ‘The Depew Story Book, “Life : and Times of John Brown,” ‘The Mark Twain Story Book,”’ etc., etc. ILLUSTRATED. STREET & SMITH, 238 WILLIAM STREET, NEW YORK. Copyright, 1899, BY WILL M. CLEMENS. All Rights Reserved. Entered at STaTioNER’s HAuu, London, England. JNA 2 oS SS PAGE ewey to ' in Con- unily in Student oe re eee 5 SLOUp™ it ppi— sombard- = ment of Fort St. Philip and Fort Jackson—The Battle Below New Orleans—Fight with the — Confederate Ironclad Steamer Louisiana....... 1V CONTENTS. Vv. 5 THE BATTLE OF PORT /HUDSON. pee Under-the Guns of the Shore Batteries—The Fate of the Sloop Mississippi — Among the Dead and Dying—Bravery of Lieutenant George Dewey—‘“‘ The Coolest Man on the Ship”...... 48 a VI. IN THE YEARS OF PEACE. : Varied Career of George Dewey as Lieutenant, Commander, Captain, and Commodore—His Marriage in 1867—Death of his Young Wife— On Duty at the Navy Department in Washing- MOD. ieee a eee VII. LIFE IN WASHINGTON. Chief of the Bureau of Equipment and Recruiting —Member of the Lighthouse Board—President a of the Board of Inspection and Survey—Com pc. mander of the Asiatic Station — Ordered to Neaa a ee es ie TE VII, THE BATTLE OF MANILA BAY. Commodore Dewey Leaves Hongkong with his Fleet—Off the Philippine Coast—The Entrance at Night into Manila en Destruction of Pe the Spautsh Piect..... 3.5. ies soa oe ; IX. THE OFFICIAL RECORDS. Reports of Commodore Dewey to the Navy Depart- ment and the Government on the Battle at CONTENTS. Vv PAG Manila—Official Comments by Consul Williams —Dewey Made a Rear-Admiral and Thanked by Congress... .. Ce eee 1038 2G DEWEY THE HERO. Applause and Cheers Over the Manila Victory Echoed Around the World—How the News , Was Received at Home and Abroad—Lessons Drawn from the Success of the American Fleet 122 XI. AFTER THE BATTLE. Subsequent Developments at Manila—Evacuation of Cavité—Capture of a Belated Spanish Reve- nue Cutter—Dewey Improves Sanitary Con- ditions—Advantages of the Philippines........ 187 XII. DAYS OF VIGILANCE. The Blockade of Manila—Capture of the Spanish Gunboat Leyte—Actions of the German War- ships—Arrival. of Major-General Merritt—Re- inforcements for Dewey ...............00e00es XTi. THE FALL OF MANILA. Arranging the Terms of Surrender—An Ultimatum from Merritt and Dewey—The Bombardment of Malate—Capture of the Insurgent Steamer Abby—A Diplomatic and Patient Representa- dive Of the Goverament.. ..- ... 2.4... cs 169 CONTENTS. XIV. FIGHTING THE INSURGENTS. PAGE Christmas with the Fleet—Demands of the Filip- inos—The Battle of February 4th—Slaughter of the Rebels by Dewey’s Guns—Many Villagers Captured—The Enemy in Retreat.............. 180 | XV. ADMIRAL OF THE NAVY. Elevation in Rank as a Reward for His Victory in the Philippines—Desultory Fighting Around Manila—The Capture of Hoilo—A Tribute from Below Decke's 32g s2 62a. 6 oe oe iW FURNISPE CONNECTICUT JN IG ‘LIFE OF ADMIRAL GEORGE DEWEY. Wh} I. THE DEWEY ANCESTRY. An Honored English Name—The First Dewey to Colo- nize in America—An Early Settler in Connecticut —Nine Generations of the Family in New England. THE original Deweys were English. The family pedigree is traceable directly to Thor, the Saxon hero-god, who was the god of thun- der, son of Odin and earth. His palace, sup- ported on 540 pillars, was called Thrudwanger, and it was there he received his warriors after a battle. The thunder was caused by the roll- ing of his chariot, which was drawn by he goats. Thor had a red beard, and was the strongest of all gods and men; the gods even called in his assistance when they were in straits. He was a terror to the giants, with whom he was constantly at war, and whom he s 10 THE DEWEY ANCESTRY. struck down with his hammer, or miolner, meaning mauler, which had the property of be- ing returned to his hand after being hurled. The sign of the hammer was, among the heathen Teutons, analogous to that of the cross among Christians. From Thor the lineage descends through Woden and Hengst, King Dieteric and Wite- kind, Robert-fortis and Hugh Capet, Alfred the Great and Anne of Russia; Robert, Earl of Leicester, and Gilbert, Baron de Unfraville, to Richard Lyman, whose great-granddaughter married a Dewey. The male ancestry is traced back to one Will- iam de la Wey, or de Wey, a Norman soldier who went to Britain with the Conqueror, and there founded a family that remains under the various nomenclature of Davy, Davies and Dewey. The Douai and Douay families of France are of the same stock, and certain Du- higs, of Ireland, have changed the name to Dewey. The coat-of-arms of the Dewey family bore the motto, ‘‘Corono ventet delectis,”’ meaning ‘‘a crown will come to those deserving THE DEWEY ANCESTRY, 11 it,’? in anticipation, no doubt, of the Dewey who was to achieve fame at Manila Bay. In 16338, the first American colonist bearing the name of Dewey arrived at Dorchester, Mas- sachusetts, with a party under charge of Rev. John Warham. His name was Thomas Dewey, and he came from Sandwich, County of Kent, England. In 1636 he removed to Windsor, Connecticut, where he married the widow Frances Clarke, by whom he had five children. He died on April 27, 1648. One of the neigh- bors of Thomas at Windsor was Matthew Grant, first town clerk. He also came from England. General U.S. Grant was one of ‘his descendants. Both Dewey and Grant re- sided within what was known as the ‘‘pali- sado,’’ which is better explained by Dr. Stiles in his ‘“‘History of Windsor:’’ ‘‘Upon the break- ing out of the Pequot war, in 1637, the Wind- sor people, as a precaution against surprisal by the Indians, surrounded their dwellings with a fortification, or palisado.’? Hlsewhere in his book, Dr. Stiles says: ‘“‘The Palisado Green, the veritable shrine of Windsor history and & 12 THE DEWEY ANCESTRY. romance. Very pleasant it is as we see it now in the warm sunset light of a summer day, lined with noble trees, behind whose waving tracery, neat and elegant dwellings assert the presence of happy homes, On this spot, more than two centuries ago, our fathers dwelt. Here, protected by the rude log defense which their own hands had thrown up, they slept, se- cure from savage foe. Here stood the meeting house wherein the gentle Warham and the ear- nest Huit preached and prayed. Here, too, was the little village graveyard, close under the pali- sado wall, where one by one they put off life’s toils and cares and laid them down to an eter- nal rest.”’ Josiah Dewey, son of Thomas, was born at Windsor, Connecticut, in October, 1641. He was married on November 6, 1662, to Hepzibah Lyman. They lived for atime at Northamp- ton, Massachusetts, and at Westfield, finally removing to Lebanon, Connecticut, where he died September 7, 1732. The wife, Hepzibah Lyman, was the daughter of Richard Lyman, of Windsor, Connecticut, who died in 1662. Rich- THE DEWEY ANCESTRY, 13 ard Lyman was the sixth in descent from Eliza- beth Lambert, who married Thomas Lyman, of Navistoke, Essex, England, who died in 1509. Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry Lam- bert, of Ongar, Essex, who was the seventeenth in descent from Princess Edgina, the grand- daughter of Alfred, and the daughter of King Edward the Elder. She, after the death of her first husband, Charles III. of France, married Henry, third Count de Vermandois and Troyes, Her granddaughter married the son of Henry: I. of France, and their son Robert was the first Earl of Leicester. Robert’s great-grand- daughter married the first Earl of Winchester, — and her granddaughter married a descendant of Donalbane, King of Scotland. Josiah Dewey, Jr., was born at Northamp- ton, Massachusetts, December 24, 1666, and was married to Mehitable Miller, January 15, 1690., He died at Lebanon, Connecticut, in 1702. His son, William Dewey, was born at West- field, Massachusetts, in January, 1691. In July, 1713, he married Mercy Bailey, and died on November 10, 1759, at Lebanon, Connecticut. ct re eee j i 14 THE DEWEY ANCESTRY.’ Simeon Dewey, son of the foregoing, was born at Lebanon May 1, 1718. He married Anna Phelps, March 29, 1739, and died at Lebanon, March 2, 1751. His son, William Dewey the second, was -born at Lebanon, January 11, 1745. He mar- ried Rebecca Carrier, in 1768, and died at Han- over, New Hampshire, June 10, 1813. Simeon Dewey the second, known to local history as Captain Dewey, was born at He- bron, Connecticut, August 20, 1770. He married Prudence Yemans, February 27, 1794, and died at Berlin, Vermont, January 11, 1863. With his brother Simeon Dewey removed from He- bron, Connecticut, to Hanover, New Hamp- shire, and thence to Berlin, Vermont, where they were the early settlers, Their farms were ad- joining on the banks of Dog River, not far irom the present site of Montpelier. Julius Yemans Dewey, son of Simeon, was born in Berlin, August 22, 1801. He married Mary Perrin, June 9, 1825. After her decease he married Susan Edson Tarbox, August 3, 1845, and upon her death married Susan Lilley, oo aaa ie eee ee JNA THE DEWEY ANCESTRY, SED March 9, 1855. In early life he studied medi- cine, and settled in Montpelier as a physician. He continued active practice until his fiftieth year. He then founded the National Life In- surance Company, and devoted his time and money and energy to the success of that institu- tion. By his first wife, Mary Perrin, he had a daughter, Mary, and three sons, Charles, Ed- ward, and the immortal George, the hero of Manila Bay. The family home was an old colonial house on State Street, Montpelier, oppo- site Vermont’s State House. Dr. Dewey was a fine gentleman of the old school, remembered and honored for his integrity and force of char- acter. The old colonial house at Montpelier was long the center of the best society in the State, and, besides being noted for her beauty, Mrs. Dr. Dewey was famed for her hospitality and social graces. Only once was she known to have been at a loss for a, courteous answer to put a guest at his ease, so they still tell this story at Montpelier: Judge James Barrett was Mrs. Dewey’s guest at a tea party—Judge Barrett lived at en SE orn 16 THE DEWEY ANCESTRY. Woodstock, and frequently went to Mrs. Dew- ey’s entertainments. This time the Judge, usu- ally courtly, had drunk his cup of tea. ‘‘Mother,”’ said Dr. Dewey, ‘‘Judge Barrett’s cup is empty.”’ “‘Oh, Judge,’’ cried Mrs. Dewey, ‘‘let me give you some tea.”’ ‘‘Madam, I thank you,’’ answered the J udge, “but I will have no more tea.”’ ‘But these cups are so small,’’ she insisted. ‘‘Madam,”’ said the Judge, bowing, ‘“‘I am hot responsible for the size of your teacups.”’ The Dewey family always retained an old- | time style. Mrs. Dr. Dewey drove about Mont- pelier in a low-hanging barouche, on whose horses silver-plated harness clanked. When the townspeople saw the barouche approaching they said, half in awe, half-jesting: _ ‘‘Here comes the Prince of Wales’ carriage.” : Dr. Dewey was the founder of Christ Epis- copal Church of Montpelier, anda man of deep religious convictions. He died, after a long life of success and honor on May 29, 1877, at the age of seventy-six. THE BOY GEORGE. IL. THE BOY GEORGE. Young Dewey as an Athlete—The Schoolboy Cham- pion—How He Whipped His Teacher—Early Edu- cation—A Passion for the Sea. ADMIRAL GEORGE DEWEY was born in the colonial house of Dr. Dewey at Montpelier, — on December 26, 1837. He was a sturdy, well- built youngster, who passed successfully through the perils of infantile life with rare hardihood. To the rear of the family home on State Street the ‘‘Onion’’ River swept through the meadows, and many were the days of his childhood that young George played on the banks, with rude boats of wood, carved with his own knife. One can imagine him there on pleasant days, bareheaded and barefooted, early learning the primitive ways of the sailor man. A wicked newspaper humorist has written 18 THE BOY GEORGE. somewhere that from his cradle the boy ‘‘showed an inborn taste for the sea. At five months he could put a sailor’s slip noose in his bib-strings, and his nurse noticed with surprise that no matter how hard she rocked him he never showed signs of seasickness. This sur- prised her all the more because the first words he uttered were ‘Heave yo!’ When he yelled it was usually on the high O, and his first at- tempt at walking—although erroneously attri- buted to bow legs, was really a clever imitation of the rolling gait of a seasoned navigator.’’ The death of his mother in 1842 left the boy to the care of his sister Mary, two years his senior, and to his father, until Dr. Dewey mar- ried a second time, in 1845. Heattended church and Sunday school before the secular district school claimed him as a pupil. His father, having been a man of deep religious convic- tions, had had the boy baptized as a babe at Christ Church, Montpelier, and he there was received into the Protestant Episcopal Church. As a pupil in the district school, he was at once a. leader in boyish games and pastimes. THE BOY GEORGE. 19 He developed his strength by activity in skat- ing and swimming and running. On the day of the meeting of the legislature, when crowds thronged to the capital city of Vermont, and the boys feasted on gingerbread and sweet ci- der, the stalwart boys and young men of the several towns represented competed in athletic sports. Young Dewey was a participant in these contests, and always gained the victory. At the swimming pool in the ‘‘Onion’’ River, near his home, he excited the wonder of small boys and the envy of boys of his own age by staying under water longer than any other of the swimmers. The district school was a bar- ren place, with stiff wooden benches and rough desks, upon more than one of which he surrep- titiously carved his initials, G. D., in big let- ters with his ever-haitly knife. There is no object in my disguising the fact that George Dewey was a bad boy at school; not bad in the moral sense, but bad just as Mr. Thomas Bailey Aldrich depicts his famous ‘‘bad boy.’? He was pugnacious; he fought his schoolmates, and he fought his teacher. 20 THE BOY GEORGE. ““T want to visit all the countries on earth,” he said to his teacher, ‘“‘and get acquainted with all the rulers.”’ The teacher smiled grimly. ‘‘Here’s one ruler I’ll introduce you to right now,’’ he said to George, and thereupon gave him a trouncing with a wooden ruler. George was the species of boy the teachers dreaded and the school trustees feared. He was the ringleader and foremost among three, stronger and larger than most of the other pu-— pils, who gave their best energies to provoke — the distress of their teacher. Several: instructors suffered from the three bad boys, and discipline waned until to the school came a stout young man, fresh from a coilege campus, Z. K. Pangborn. It is remem- bered by many of the old@ residents of Mont- pelier that the first meeting of the new teacher and the worst of his pupils, ‘‘that Dewey boy,”’ as he was called by the neighbors, was signifi- cant of trouble. The bad boy Dewey was ina tree, from which he was throwing stones at passing boys, some of them smaller than-him- THE BOY GEORGE. 21 self. The new teacher told him to stop throw- ing stones, as such conduct could not be toler- ated. “Oh, you go to Hades,’”’ answered George Dewey, thus early showing that fine sense of repartee that later found expression in the fa- mous remark to Prince Henry of Prussia. The new teacher nursed his temper, and waited for hostilities from the other side. At twelve years of age George Dewey did not wait for an opponent to begin an attack. He formed his companions into a company, secured a store of ammunition, in the shape of frozen snow- balls, and gathered his force of other armed boys along the roadway. When the teacher was walking home he was attacked, first by the snowballs hurled at close range, then by the fists of the boys. ‘‘That Dewey boy’’ was soon on the back and shoulders of the school- master, trying to throw himdown,. ‘The result was not decisive, and the teacher had to re- treat, the boys holding the field. On the following day the teacher said noth- ing of the attack the day before. But he very 22 THE BOY GEORGE. promptly told a boy who was disorderly to take a seat on the front bench. George Dewey and his wicked companions immediately walked to the front seat near the culprit. Then young Dewey politely informed the teacher the boys were going to “‘lick him.”’ The Dewey boy began the fight. The teacher reached for a rawhide that he had considerately put in a convenient place. Dewey struck out boldly, but his blows were futile. The raw- hide fell on his head and shoulders and legs, Other boys engaged in the contest. The teacher grasped a hickory stick from the woodbox, and sent them to the floor. Some hours later the teacher escorted young Dewey to his home, and reported to his father that he had brought him his son ‘‘somewhat the worse for wear, but still in condition for school work.’? The court- ly and dignified Dr. Dewey thanked Mr. Pang- born for his attentions to his boy, and promised that he should be at school the next day. “Then came the reform of the Dewey boy,”’ says the historian of the Dewey family. ‘fand he soon became the best scholar in the 8 THE BOY GEORGE. 23 school. Under his inspiration and admonition the other boys fell into line, and the Montpelier district school became as famous in after years for its studious and orderly attendance as it had once been notorious for its want of study and lack of discipline.”’ In after years there was a meeting between the teacher and the pupil. ‘‘I shall never cease to be grateful to you,’’ said Dewey, then a lieu- tenant in the navy. ‘‘You made a man of me. But for that thrashing you gave me in Mont- pelier I should probably have been in State _ prison ere this.”’ For a year the boy George attended the Mor- risville Academy, and then his father, who had chosen for the lad an army life, sent him to Norwich University, a military training school, in preparation for the course at the. West Point Military Academy. Incidentally, he had some very good training, for one form of discipline at the Norwich school was to pun- ish an offender by making him walk, shoulder- ing a musket, a certain number of times around a big elm tree on the school grounds. This big a TT sss? Se ee a a nT isin te 2 ha) § st 24 THE BOY GEORGE. elm had very wide-spreading roots, so that the punishment was more severe than it sounds. George was a quiet young fellow. His father did not approve of fighting. He told his son: “Never fight; but when you do, fight for all you are worth.’? It would seem that the son has borne in mind this advice. He remembered it at the Norwich school—and so he walked around the elm tree once in a while. The boy was in favor of the navy rather than the army, and after many pleadings urged his father, much against his inclination, to use his influence to secure his appointment to the Naval Academy. Young George was griev- ously disappointed when the appointment to the Naval Academy was given to a schoolmate, ~ George Spaulding, instead of to him. Young Dewey was named as alternate, and after the examinations it was the alternate who entered the academy, while George Spaulding turned from war to theology. It has been said that George Dewey was in- fluenced in his strong passion for the sea by a favorite poem of his childhood, often repeated ae THE BOY GEORGE. 29 to him by his father. The poem, if such it may be called, tells of a sailor child, and is as foliows: ‘In a little blue garment, all ragged and torn, With scarce any shoes to his feet; His head all uncovered, a look quite forlorn, And a cold, stony step for his seat — «« A boy cheerless sat, and as travelers passed, With a look that might avarice bar, ‘ Have pity,’ he cried, ‘let your bounty be cast On a poor little child of a tar.’” The boy was begging, as the verse describes, because his mother is dead and his father is at sea fighting for his country and fame. “Thus plaintive he cried, when a traveler who passed Stopped a moment to give him relief; He stretched forth his hand, and a look at him cast— A look full of wonder and grief. ““-What, my Willie! he cried. ‘My poor little boy, At last I’ve returned from the war, Thy sorrows shall cease, nor shall grief more annoy The poor little child of a tar.’ ” 26 AT THE NAVAL ACADEMY. III. AT THE NAVAL ACADEMY. Examination for the Academy at Annapolis—Daily Life of the Cadets—Young Dewey as a Student—His Graduation in 1858. GEORGE DEwey entered the Naval Academy at Annapolis September 23, 1854. The school had been opened nine years previously, and was then, as now, ruled by strict discipline. The bad boy Dewey could not follow his bent at Annapolis. Here he was expected to attend strictly to business. He was then a slender young fellow, with rather high cheek-bones, and a piercing eye—a Yankee through and through. It is no easy matter for the candidate to pass the examinations at Annapolis. Candidates must be over -fifteen and under twenty years old, and the boy who passes the best examina- AT THE NAVAL ACADEMY. 27 tion is usually selected, and the next best in line is made alternative to take the place of the first one, if for some reason the more fortunate one is rejected at the academy. Having passed the first ordeal the prospective Farragut presents himself at the academy, where he has his first meeting with the authorities who, if he is successful, will watch over, direct and instruct him for four years in the academy, and for the two years following on board ship. The examinations for admission take place either in May or September. Three medical officers of the navy make a thorough examina- tion of the candidates, and reject all those who show any sign of feeble constitution or inher- ited or acquired disease. The examination is rigid, and while weakness of eyes or impaired hearing, impediment of speech, and similar im- perfections are certain barriers against entering the academy, “‘generally unsound,”’ or the loss of many teeth, will also end a cadet’s career at its very beginning. After the doctors have pronounced in favor of the candidate, the Academic Board takes 25 AT THE NAVAL ACADEMY. him in charge, and examines him in reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic, geography, Eng- lish grammer, United States history and alge- bra. Deficiency in any one of these branches will insure the rejection of the candidate, and many a young man has gone back to his home, from which he went to Annapolis with flying colors because he had passed his competitors in the preliminary examinations, taking back with | him a sad story about ‘‘bad eyes,’’ when really his return was because of his inability to grap- ple successfully with the ‘‘Three R’s.”’ Of all the bright boys who go to Annapolis with high hopes and aspirations, about for*y per cent. fail to pass the two boards, and of _ those who do pass and obligate themselves by oath to serve in the navy of the United States for eight years unless sooner discharged, only about fifty per cent. finish the course. The rest find that the studies and discipline are too se- vere, and they fall by the wayside, while the boys who are made of sterner stuff and stronger metal forge ahead and reach the coveted goal. ‘The candidates who pass the board must deposit AT THE NAVAL ACADEMY, 29 twenty dollars with the superintendent of the institution, to be expended under the direction of that officer for text books, and a deposit must also be made sufficient to cover the amount expended for such clothing as is re- quired by the regulations. This is an easy mat- ter, inasmuch as the cadet is not only held free for tuition and living while at the academy, and for his expenses in reaching the institution, whether it be from the city of Annapoiis or from the remotest point in the United States, but receives also from the time that he is ac- cepted an allowance from the government of $500 a year. When the new cadet arrives at the academy in May or September, the upper class men are away on their cruise, and he is spared thé heart-breaking experience which marks the first day of a cadet at West Point. There the upper class men are in camp when the fledglings come, and thessa young fellows at once become the prey of the older cadets, who haze them un- mercifully and make life a burden at the Mili- tary Academy. At Annapolis the new men 30 AT THE NAVAL ACADEMY, | learn the first rudiments of discipline, take ath- letic instructions, and begin a long and tedious course, which is known even in other vocations as “‘learning the ropes.’”’ The cadets who be- long to the higher classes remain away on their cruise until October 1st, and in their absence the new men have the place practically |to them- selves, and become acclimated and accustomed to the surroundings, The new cadets are marched regularly from their quarters to the main building for their meals, which they take in the large mess hall, at tables each of which represent a gun’s crew. With the first step into the academy the new man learns that the cadet organization should be as nearly as possible like that ofa ship of war. The cadets are divided into four divisions, and each division into four crews, and when the upper class men return and the organization becomes complete, each crew con- tains a proportional number of each class as far as practicable. As at West Point the new men are called plebes, but in Annapolis there is a still lower oo AT THE NAVAL ACADEMY. 31 title or nickname. The graduating exercises take place in June, and those who were ad- mitted in May and before the first class was graduated are called ‘‘functions,’’ until gradu- ation day, When they advance along with all the other students in the institution, and while the third-year men, or youngsters, become sec- ond-class men, the ‘‘functions’’ advance to the high degree of ‘‘plebes.”’ Annapolis was an admirable school for young Dewey. The discipline kept him in bounds, but did not forbid his fighting for his personal rights. While not quarrelsome, he promptly resented insults from other and older cadets and while ‘‘he would rather study than fight, he did both equally well.’’ His record shows he fought more than one fistic battle at the academy, and on one occasion he was chal- lenged by a fellow cadet to a duel with pistols, and promptly accepted the challenge. The duel certainly would have been fought had not some students informed the officer of the day on which the meeting was to take place. The ‘‘plebe’’? at Annapolis is made to feel i 32 AT THE NAVAL ACADEMY, that he is new and unschooled in many ways; but this is never done to his bodily discomfort, nor to the sacrifice of his self-respect. Good- natured jokes are played on him, and the men who have passed this stage inculcate in him by the practice of unwritten laws the respect for superiority and appreciation of discipline, which must be developed before the student at the Naval Academy may be qualified to fill the — place to which he aspires. He sits at the same table as the upper classes. The cadet officer sits at either end of the table, and on either side of these sit the upper class men, and next to these in turn second and third-year men, and then the “‘plebes.’’ But every ‘‘plebe’’ is given to understand that while others may be pardoned for so doing, he must. never lay his hands upon the table. He also discovers soon after his entry that in going up and down- stairs his side is at the wall, and it does not take him long to find out, no matter what he thought on the subject before he came to An- napolis, that he does not care for dancing ex- cept for instruction. Dancing is on the fourth © AT THE NAVAL ACADEMY. 33 year course of instruction, along with seaman- ship and other branches which one would natur- ally look for ina Naval Academy, but at the dancing classes which the ‘‘plebe’’ may attend he dances with one of his class, while those who have passed the early stages whirl to the music of the Marine Band with pretty girls in the armory. : To those persons who know the various rules established in the Naval Academy, the members of the various classes are known by the walks which they frequent, and the benches which they occupy on the ground. One promenade walk is by common consent the second-class walk, and used only by members of that and the first class, and ‘‘Love’s Lane’’ is barred against the “‘plebe.”” Two big benches which stand near the entranee of the main building are one for the first class, and the other for the second and third classes. Under ordinary circumstances a 66 49? ““plebe’”’ must ‘‘sir’? an older cadet, and the older man ‘‘misters’’ the younger one in a strictly formal manner. If for family or social reasons an upper class man wishes to waive his 34. AT THE NAVAL ACADEMY. prerogative, the “‘plebe’? may have the un- speakable satisfaction of calling the upper class man ‘‘Smith,’’ ‘‘Brown,”’ or ‘‘Jones,’’ and may be treated with equal cordiality by the higher man. It is equal to the ‘‘Bruderschaft,’? which ~ removes all bars in the leading universities of Germany. Cadet Dewey found the work hard at An- napolis, for in the daily routine which is laid out for the cadets there was little time left for entertaining. The morning gun is fired at six o’clock and roll call takes place thirty-five min- utes later, with breakfast immediately after roll call. From then until taps, at 10 P. M., the cadet’s time is all taken up with his studies. The departments in which the cadets must pass muster are: Discipline, seamanship, ordnance, navigation, steam engineering, mechanics, phys- ics, mathematics, English, languages and drawing; but athletic drills and formations and reviews take up much of the time. There were fourteen men in the graduating class of 1858, and George Dewey of Montpelier, Vermont, stood fifth in the class. After his AT THE NAVAL ACADEMY. 35 graduation he was ordered to the steam frigate Wabash, which cruised with the Mediterranean squadron until 1859, when he returned to An- napolis to receive his final examination. When Fort Sumter was fired on Dewey was in Montpelier. But he did not stay there. His Yankee blood was up. Just one week later, April 19, 1861, he was commissioned lieuten- ant, and was assigned to duty. THE YOUNG LIEUTENANT. IV. THE YOUNG LIEUTENANT. On Board the War. Sloop Mississippi—Bombardment of Fort St. Philip'and Fort Jackson—The Battle Below New Orleans—Fight with the Confederate Ironclad — Steamer Louisiana. LIEUTENANT GEORGE DEWEY was assigned to the sloop of war Mississippi, which was destined to take an active’ part in the fierce fighting of the West Gulf squadron. The Mis- sissippi was a side-wheel steamer of seventeen guns, and with a tonnage of 1,692. She was commanded by Commander Melancthon Smith. The Western Gulf blockading squadron wag under command of Captain David C. Farragut, and the vessels that assembled at the mouth of the Mississippi River in March, 1862, consisted of four screw sloops, the Hartford, Pensacola, Se BIS PONG ge Ee eet THE YOUNG LIEUTENANT. 37 Brooklyn, and Richmond; one side-wheel steamer, the Mississippi; three screw corvettes, the Oneida, Varuna and Troquois; and nine screw gunboats, the Cayuga, Itasca, Katahdin, Kennebec, Kineo, Pinola, Sciota, Winona and Wissahickon. On April 7th the Pensacola and the ‘‘Mis- : sissippi, after several futile attempts, were dragged through the mud by powerful auxil- — iary tugs and steamers, into the mouth of the great river. They were two of the heaviest ves- sels that had ever entered the Mississippi. The first obstacle to the progress of the fleet up the Mississippi was at Plaquemine Bend, ninety miles below New Orleans, where, on the banks of the river permanent fortifications ex- isted, the one on the left called Fort St. Philip, and the one on the right called Fort Jackson. In Fort St. Philip were no less than forty-two guns commanding the river, besides two mor- tars and a battery of four seacoast mortars, situated below the water battery. Fort Jack- son had sixty-two guns and a water battery. But these guns, although many in number, were the firing was renewed. .Farragvt’s squadron, stripped of every spare 38 THE YOUNG LIEUTENANT. smallin caliber. Out of 109 guns in the two works fifty-six of them were 24-pounders. In addition to the forts the Confederates had four- teen vessels as a defense fleet, above the forts. Farragut’s fleet moved slowly and cautiously up the riverandon April 18th, at ten o’clock in the morning, the bombardment of the two forts began. Fort St. Philip and Fort Jackson re- plied with heavy shot, and before noon two of the vesse!s dropped out of the firing line. The flotilla continued firing until 6 P. M., when they ceased by signal. On the following day The bombardment continued for three days without noteworthy incident. In the forts the quarters were burned and the magazines endan- gered. The garrison of Fort Jackson was compelled to live in the casements, which were partially flooded from the high state of the river. Onthe night of April 23d the vessels of rope and spar, formed in single line. At two o’clock the flagship hoisted the signal, and the fleet started to run past the forts, the Cayu- THE YOUNG LIEUTENANT. 39 ga leading, - The Pensacola followed, with the Mississippi, on board of which was young. Lieutenant Dewey, the third in line. Then came the Oneida, the Varuna, and the others. The Confederate fire commenced as the Pensa- cola passed the forts. The Mississippi followed, and as the old side-wheeler came abreast of Fort St. Philip the rebel ram Manassas, coming down the stream, charged at her, striking on the port side near the mizzenmast, at the same time firing her single gun. The jar caused the ship to list slightly, and the blow, a glancing stroke, only inflicted a wound seven feet long and four inches deep. At this point the current of the river caught the Mississippi on her starboard bow, and carried her across to the Fort Jack- son side of the stream, “The History of Our Navy’’ thus describes the rough work the men on the Mississippi experienced when they passed Fort St. Philip: ‘‘The Pensacola and the Mississippi steamed slowly, with their black hulls at regular intervals sheeting the air with lurid fire as 40 THE YOUNG LIEUTENANT. they replied to the forts. Abreast of St. Philip, where the Confederate fire was hottest, they drew in so close that the gunners afloat and those ashore heartily cursed each other as they worked.”’ The flagship Hartford, in making the pas- sage, was assaulted by a burning raft sent by the enemy, and pushed by the tug Mosher, a craft of but thirty-five tons, with a crew of eight men. ‘“‘On that eventful night,’’ writes the naval historian, Captain Mahan, ‘‘when so many hundreds of brave men, each busy in hig own sphere, were plying their work of death, surely no one deed of more desperate courage was done than that of this little band. ‘The assault threatened the very life of the big ship, and was made in the bright light of the fire under the muzzles of her guns. These were turned cn the puny foe, which received a shot in her boilers and sunk. It is believed that the erew lost their lives, but the Hartford had caught fire and was ablaze, the flames darting up the rigging and bursting through the ports; but the discipline of her crew prevailed over THE YOUNG LIEUTENANT, 41 the fury of the elements, while they were still receiving and returning the blows of their hu- man antagonists in both forts; then, working herself clear, the Hartford passed from un- der their fire. The Brooklyn and Rich- mond followed the Hartford, behind them the gunboat division. By this the enemy had better range, and at the same time the smoke _ of the battle was settling down upon the face of the river. The good fortune which carried through all tho vessels of the leading column therefore failed the rear. The Brooklyn lost sight of her next ahead, and as she was passing though the hulks, using both broadsides as they would ‘bear, came violently into collision with the Kineo. The gunboat heeled violently over and nearly drove ashore; but the two ves- sels then went clear, the ‘‘Brooklyn’’ fouling the booms of the eastern hulks, breaking through them, but losing her way. This caused her to fall broadside to the stream, in which position she received a heavy fire from St. Philip. Getting clear and her head once more up the river, the Manassas, which had been 42 THE YOUNG LIEUTENANT. lying unseen close to the east bank, came but- ting into the starboard gangway. The blow | was delivered with shght momentum against the chain armor, and appeared at the time to have done little damage, but subsequent ex- amination showed that the Brooklyn’s side was stove in about six feet below the waterline, the prow having entered between the frames _ and crushed both inner and outer planking. A little more would have sunk her, and, as it was, a covering of heavy plank had to be bolted over the wound for a length of twenty-five feet before she was allowed to go outside. At the same time that the Manassas rammed. she fired her single gun, the shot lodging in the sand bags protecting the steam drum. Grop- ing on by the flash of the guns and the light of the burning rafts, the Brooklyn, just clear- ing a thirteen-foot shoal, found herself close under St. Philip, from whose exposed barbette guns and gunners fled at her withering fire, as they had from that of the Pensacola. Naval history tells in detail the story of how each of the other vessels of the fleet passed the vt THE YOUNG LIEUTENANT. 43 forts. As the corvette Iroquois, after pass- — ing the danger line successfully, moved rapidly toward the north bank above Fort St. Philip she collided with the Confederate ironclad steamer Louisiana, lying at the levee just above the fort. The Lousiana opened up all her guns and the men swarmed her decks to re- pel boarders. It was a hot, short fight, but the ‘Iroquois won, with a loss of eight men killed and twenty-four wounded. An hour and fif- teen minutes after the first vessel had passed the forts the fleet had successfully run the chan- nel. Above the forts they met the Confederate flotilla, the small vessels of which were soon put to flight or disabled. Five miles above the fort the Cayuga discovered a Confederate camp on the right bank of the river, and shell- ing the shore, a pavt of the troops encamped there surrendered. The rebel ram Manassas meanwhile had quietly followed the Union fleet upstream, but when she came near the flotilla the ‘‘ Mississip- piturned her guns loose, and the young lieu- tenant from Vermont participated in another 44 THE YOUNG LIEUTENANT. quick and exciting battle. The light weight Manassas, with her three hundred and eighty-four tons, was no match for the big side- wheeler, so the communder of the ram watched his opportunity and ran his vessel ashore. The crew escaped over the bows, while the Missis- sippi poured several broadsides into her, final- ly leaving the ram a complete wreck. At daybreak the Union fleet anchored five miles above the forts, and early the next morn- ing proceeded up the river. ‘‘As they ad- vanced,’’ writes Captain Mahan in his book, “The Gulf and Inland Water,”’ ‘burning ships and steamers were passed, evidence of the panic. which had seized the city. Four miles below . ~New Orleans, the Chalmette and McGehee bat- teries were encountered, mounting five and nine guns. The Cayuga, still leading and steaming too rapidly ahead, underwent their fire for some time unsupported by her consorts; the Hartford approaching at full speed un- der a raking fire, to which she could only reply with two bow guns. When her broadside came to bear she slowed down, porting her helm; A. : ey ; THE YOUNG LIEUTENANT. 45 then, having fired, before she could reload, the Brooklyn, compelled to pass or run into her, sheered inside, between her and the works. The successive broadsices of these two heavy ships drove the enemy from their guns. At about the same moment the Pensacola engaged the batteries on the east bank, and the other ves- sels coming up in rapid succession, the works were quickly silenced.”’ The fleet attack on the river forts, called the battle of New Orleans, practically decided the | fate of that city. On April 25th the fleet an- chored opposite the city, where the levees were ablaze and ships on fire, and everything ashore was in utter confusion. Marines were sent ashore and the public buildings guarded until the arrival of General Butler on May 1st. Seven vessels of Farragut’s fleet were sent by him, after the occcupation of New Orleans by Butler’s troops, further up the river, and ~ Natchez and Baton Rouge quietly surren- dered. At Vicksburg the fleet of seven vessels, . under Captain Craven, of the Brooklyn, met with refusal. On the 18th of June the fleet 46 THE YOUNG LIEUTENANT, anchored below Vicksburg, and _ shortly after- ward Farragut arrived with the Hartford, the Mississippi remaining at New Orleans. It is not within the province of this chronicle to follow the fortunes of the Union fleet, or to dwell in detail on. the engagements that took place above New Orleans during the summer of 1862 and the winter following. The squadron, in the interval, made its head- quarters at New Orleans and Baton Rouge. On March 12, 1863, Farragut, hearing of re- verses to some of his veesels up the river, in- spected the ships of his squadron, and then moved to a point near Profit’s Island, seven miles below Port Hudson. It was at this time that Admiral Farragut came aboard the Mississippi on several occa- sions to steam up the river to reconnoiter. The Southerners had a way of rushing a field-piece to the top of the high bank, firing point blank at the vessel, and then backing down again. Upon one such occasion Farragut saw Dewey dodge a shot, ‘“Why don’t you stand firm, lieutenant?’ - THE YOUNG LIEUTENANT, AY said he. ‘‘Don’t you know youcan’t jump quick enough?”’ / The next day the admiral dodged a shot. The lieutenant smiled and held his tongue, but the admiral had a guilty conscience. He cleared his throat once or twice, shifted his at- titude, and finally declared: 3 ‘“Why, sir, you can’t help it, sir. It’s -hu- man nature.”’ 48 THE BATTLE OF PORT HUDSON’ V. THE BATTLE OF PORT HUDSON. Under the Guns of the Shore Batteries—The Fate of the Sloop Mississippi—Among the Dead and Dying— Bravery of Lieutenant George Dewey—‘‘ The Cool- est Man on the Ship.” Port Hupson is at a bend in the Missis- sippi, where there are bluffs a hundred feet high. The Confederates had mounted nineteen heavy guns on the bluffs on the east bank. On the opposite shore just below the bend a danger- ous shoal was located. : Commander Farragut’s purpose in moving on Port Hudson was simply to pass the bluff batteries, in order to blockade the river above the bend. He had with him the flagship Hartford, the Monongahela, the Mississippi, the Richmond, ‘Genesee, Albatross and Kineo- It was ten o’clock at night, March 14, 1863, THE BATTLE OF PORT HUDSON, 49 that the signal to advance. was given, and the ships weighed anchor in the following order: Hartford, Richmond, Monongahela, Missis- “gippi, with smaller boats; the Albatross, Kineo and Genesee accompanied the first three ves- sels named. ‘*As they drew near the batteries,’ says A. T. Mahan, in his book, ‘‘The Gulf and Inland Waters,” “the lowest of which the Hartford had already passed, the enemy threw up rock- ets and opened their fire. Prtidence, and the fact of the best water being on the starboard hand, led the ships to hug the east shore of the river, passing so close under the Confederate guns that the speech of the gunners and troops could be distinguished. Along the shore, at the foot of the bluffs, powerful reflecting lamps, like those used on locomotives, had been placed to show the ships to the enemy as they passed, and for the same purpose large fires, already stacked on the opposite point, were lit. The fire of the fleet and from the shore soon raised a smoke which made these precautions useless, ’ while it involved the ships in a danger greater 50 THE BATTLE OF PORT HBUDSON, than any from the enemy’s guns. Settling down upon the water in a still, damp atmos- phere, it soon hid everything from the eyes of the pilots. The flagship leading had the ad- vantage of pushing often ahead of her own smoke; but those who followed ran into it and incurred a perplexity which increased from van to rear. At the bend of the river the cur- rent caught the Hartford on her bow port, sweeping her around with her head toward the batteries, and nearly on shore, her stern touch- ing the ground slightly; but by her own efforts and the assistance of the Albatross she was backed clear. Then, the Albatross backing and the Hartford going ahead strong with the engine, her head was fairly pointed up the stream, and she passed by without serious in- jury. Deceived possibly by the report of the howitzers in her top, which were nearly on their own level, the Confederates did not de- press their guns sufficiently to hit her as often as they did the ships that followed her. One killed and two wounded is her report; and one marine fell overboard, his cries for help being eo en THE BATTLE OF PORT HUDSON. 51 heard on board the ues ships as they passed - by, unable to save him.’ The Richmond and her consort, the Gas see, met with no better success, and after being damaged were compelled to turn downstream, with three killed and fifteen wounded. The Monongahela went aground, finally getting free, drifting downstream, with a loss of six killed and twenty-one wounded. Then came the Mississippi steaming ahead to meet a still werse fate, whilé Lieutenant George Dewey, with the others of her crew, were to fight not only for their flag and their country, but for their lives in tne muddy wa- ters of the river of rivers. Admiral Porter, in his ‘‘Naval History of the Civil War,’’ thus describes the end of the old oe Mis- sissippl. ‘‘The steamship Mississippi, Captain Me- lancthon Smith, followed in the wake of the Monongahela, firing whenever her yuns could be brought to bear. At 11:30 o’clock she reached the turn which seemed to give our ves- sels so much trouble, and Captain Smith was 52 THE BATTLE OF PORT HUDSON. congratulating himself on the prospect of soon catching up with the flag officer, when his ship grounded and heeled over three streaks to port. “The engizes were instantly reversed and the port guns run in in order to bring her on an even keel, while the fire from her starboard battery was reopened on the forts. The engines were backed with all the steam that could be put upon them, and the backing was continued ' for thirty minutes, but without avail. *‘Tt was now seen that it would be impossi- ble to get the ship afloat. ‘‘Captain Smith gave the order to spike the port battery and throw the guns overboard, but it was not done, for the enemy’s fire was be- coming so rapid and severe that the captain deemed it judicious to abandon the ship at once in order to save the lives of the men. **While preparations were being made to de- stroy the ship, the sick and wounded were low- ered into boats and conveyed ashore, while the men at the starboard battery continued to fight in splendid style, firing at every flash of the enemy’s guns. The small arms were thrown THE BATTLE OF PORT HUDSON, 53 overboard, and all possible damage was done to the engine and everything else that might prove of use to the enemy. ‘‘The ship was first set on fire in the forward storsroom, but three shots came through below her waterline and put out the flames. She was then set afire in four places aft, and when the flames were well under way, so as to make her. destruction certain, Captain Smith and his first lieutenant (George Dewey) left the ship, all the officers and crew having been landed before. ‘“‘The Mississippi was soon ablaze fore and aft, and as she was now relieved of a great deal of weight—by the removal of her crew and the destruction of her upper works—she floated off the bank and drifted down the river, much to the danger of the Union vessels below. But she passed ‘without doing them any injury, and at §:300’clock blew up and went to the bottom. ‘‘The detonation was heard for miles around, and exceedingly rejoiced the hearts of the Con- federates along the banks of the river.”’ A marine on the ill-fated Mississippi relates the following story of the disaster: ‘‘The crew THE BATTLE OF PORT HUDLSON. a4 were told to save themselves. Lieutenant Dew- ey could have escaped easily, as he was a bold, powerful swimmer, but he was too unselfish to think only of himself so long as any of his comrades were in danger. Not far from him he spied a seaman who was trying his best_ to keep above water, after his right arm bad been paralyzed by a bullet. Dewey struck right out for him and gave him a lift, till they reached a floating spar. Then the wounded man was towed ashore in safety.”’ Another of the crew of the Mississippi at Port Hudson describes Lieutenant Dewey as the coolest man on the ship, and tells of an or- der that signifies the genius of this officer: “The order to attack Port Hudson came at night. Dewey, on his own responsibility, or- dered us to whitewash the decks so that the gun crews would have a chance to see the running gear of the guns. Such an order had never been given before to the crew of a man-of-war.”’ It may not generally be known that the Mis- sissippi met the same fate that befell her sister ship, the Missouri, some twenty years before, in rr fil ees j ‘ ‘ PE RENN # : ae eae THE BATTLE OF.PORT HUDSON. 58 the harbor of Gibraltar. The exact number of lives lost on the Mississippi was never known. When the ship’s company was mustered after the action, sixty-four were found missing out of a total crew of 297. Fully twenty-five of the missing were believed to have been killed. After the loss of the Mississippi Lieutenant Dewey was transferred to one of the smaller gunboats in Admiral Farragut’s squadron, which patroled the river from Cairo to Vicks- burg during May and June. Vicksburg sur- rendered July 4, 1863, and the Mississippi was open from Cairo to the gulf. Admiral Porter was given the command of the river down to - New Orleans, while Farragut was ordered to confine himself to the coast blockade. ; Early in 1864 Lieutenant Dewey was trans- ferred to the North Atlantic blockading squad- ' ron, and assigned to the gunboat Agawam, an unarmored side-wheel steamer of 974 tons, car- rying eight guns. Dewey was made executive officer of the vessel. Tbe chief engineer of the Agawam was Clark Fisher, now retired, — who tells an interesting story of how he once 56 THE BATTLE OF PORT HUDSON. became custodian of the savings of Lieutenant Dewey, and was relieved of them by a guerrilla while on his way North. Dewey and Fisher were messmates on the Agawam, which was aiding General Grant in his operations around City Point and Petersburg. The Agawam was in the heat of battle much of the time, and was kept busy dodging torpedoes released up the river by the enemy. At that time Mr. Fisher says Dewey was considered one of the best men in the service. He was active, energetic, alert, © a good disciplinarian, and prompt in everything without being hasty. During the course of their service together, Dewey and Fisher became very chummy, and when Fisher secured a furlough of twe or three — months Dewey asked him to do him a favor while in the North. , “Tt came about this way,’’ said Fisher, speak- ing of the incident. ‘‘I was busy one day pack- ing my trunk when Dewey came up with his hands in his pockets. He was always a reti- cent sort of a fellow, even when with his most intimate friends, and he hadn’t talked long be- THE BATTLE OF PORT HUDSON, 57 fore I knew that he wanted to say something that he hated to, so I finally asked him why he didn’t drive straight at the mark, I told him that I knew he was simply beating around the bush, and suggested that we had been good friends enough for him to speak right out and let me know exactly what he wanted. ***Well, Fisher,’ said he, ‘you know I don’t like to trouble anybody, but I do want you to do mea favor if you will when you get North.”’ ‘* “Now,” said I, ‘what is it, old man?’ ***You see, Fisher,’ said he, ‘a fellow corked up here like a mouse in a trap hasn’t much use for money, and I have saved a little. It has been rattling around in my trunk for several months doing nobody any good, and I want to_ get it to my father; he might invest it for me, and when I need it it may amount to some- thing. I thought that it might not be too much trouble for you to take it to the old gen- tleman while you are up in his neighborhood. I'd mail it, but you know that under the pres- ent circumstances it would probably never reach him.’ THE BATTLE OF PORT HUDSON. 55 ‘*