| Show II 14 h im Jill L I T FIGHTING m G TrL L BOB EV EVANS NJ ONCE oN J E EI EO I r rI OF O UT UTAH J b 1 1 oc ochO o oho entrance examination to 10 hO I 1 passed my the tho Naval Academy September 16 l 1 UGO n a and reported nn a an nn acting midshipman G on en board the itie frigate OId u Ut Hon the tile twentieth th of ot thu same mime month The Tho examination for tor fortunately II I I for tor many of ot u Willi wa n ti 1 very verb en 11 simple one nothing like Ilku the Ihl elaborate t I and trying ff lr of today otherwise iI t many of us ti would wouW not ot have followed J the Iho navy ns us ft a II profession The fhe candi candidate candir candidate date d le hat had to 1 bit be sound Mound physically and atul n r which to to 10 have h ve a fair foundation on ou build the education required of a n sea sen s n gl Pt officer who was not In that day ex cx expected j to 10 be an tO engineer t a 11 chemist a 1 scientist an electrician a It lawyer an artist OB OH he Is a II seaman ti ond a II gunner Kunner with the ary Knowledge of that pertained to toL the tha son en Tho superintendent Captain L George S Juke wan wai anointed n l ted by 11 half bait baita a n dozen selected for or their lit Aai AU n I no ng n ninni m int l Among n t tine the lC officers were w i tw two brother k C 0 H IL t P and ledgers Heuten ants ante both of whom made mado their mark markIn markt i In the th service wrote their unmet numen t high up UI In Ui the tine history of the navy I which they loved lo in so well vell and dill did so tiO much to 10 honor We Ve e had never had hadr r two officers whose standards were higher or conduct n H greater credit to the country than that of those tho e two C 0 H n 1 was wal commandant of ot midshipmen and anul II wall of the Constitution and to 10 them I owe every everything thing In my professional life 1 I I We Se had one olle hundred and twenty seven men In the tho when we wo settled down to 10 work an nil average lot from all nil parts of the country and representing I I the various classes of nt American life North South louth East ast nod West Wesl I wa wn U It the wily only one Olle from Utah and I believe the tho one ever appointed from that Territory either cither In III the nay navy III or nr tho the 2 army Our life on board ship was pleasant and novel noI and anil our education on the lines line that t would fit III us UK u for tor the tine duties we should In Irl the future have to III perform English I occupied a n considerable part of ot our time but practical were vero J I considered the and they thov were ere Into us so 80 hard by b our honored captain pIl that we wo had I to learn them thrill In spite of lit ourselves our Jinny dany showed showell wonderful after r n a few fo months month tine the clans claMs standing In seamanship placed the Iho men about os is they have since stood In the tho service The flie Constitution was moored at tho tim end of a Ion long lonK marrow wharf which wan 1111 the only means of approach unless by boat boal BO so that the china elites was wal cone com completely Isolated from froni the older classes We never neer came caine In contact with them except when WInce on shore for drill II rill or on Saturday when we Passel passed III their tern on our way IIa oy to tine the town lown on lib liberty erty All our recitations recitation and most of ot our drills took tock place on hoard ship Un lie lieder der del such luch conditions the disgraceful lutz haz hazing leg ing which later on gave the Navel Naval r I Academy a n bait bad Jill name Mme was Impossible ethic sible even cven mad had the temper of the tine mid until been such as us to 10 tolerate It At Atthe Atthe I the time of which I nm am writing hazing j was ivan absolutely absolu tel unknown and I am mire eure that Ihal any attempt to practice It have hae led letl to 0 a fl duel behind old Fort Severn It was sas not until wo we reached Newport cad and tIne lie senior classes hUt luI been ordered Into service that this I brutal and I must enlist I say cowardly p pate ac tire took look root and grew until It was wasa a disgrace to 10 nil all those thos engaged In Iii It Uy lIy sonic some means the classes es entering nf nt ter 1862 got liot the Idea from freon fro III West Point lit and nn In their zeal steal zen I to emulate really went far tar beyond the practices of oC that ex cx excellent Institution where hazing of n a certain kind hInd WOK wan a n tradition and non con considered considered necessary to 10 tho the discipline of the lie cadets among themselves With us the proper r class clans distinctions anti re a were traditions which dill did not re rt milro to enforce them I Ire re cc remember member very ver well one Saturday titter after noon two of us UR both bolh very YH small were iere passing pl the quarters of the Hint class classon H Hon on our way wa to town on oil liberty when two seniors thought It would be Jc good fun tun to put pul us tie down on the grass and fill mit lt on us They promptly carried out their plan and ml sat nt on nfl us tiM live minutes or Oi BO 80 and ona then let in lii tl go We returned to ta the ship mad mud all nil over 01 coil and III In n a few minutes we swarmed hark with most of our class and aunt titers there was Wall a beautiful light lIht which resulted In many mall mail black yes eyes eY ft This Thin was the nearest ap to hazing we ci ever eer had HE WAS ir GOING TO BE im HANGED Tho Tine discipline was iva as strict aboard ship fram the tho start and we were expected to observe the regulations regulation as os soon loon as ns they had lied been made mailo clear to u us I mail vS formed a 11 friendship for tor a it young n fellow ii Irene named Baldwin cud he ins somehow became In Inh h In III a II quarrel with it IL man mail twice his size the Iho quarrel soon Hoon led to n a light and the largo man attempted to strike with u it 1 camp tool stool when I 1 grabbed him bun from behind preventing the blow and nn titus thus became part hart of ot the tho row rui ro The rho hie next morning I Vuis sent for on the quarterdeck and nf nt ter ler having the tho tic Articles Articled of War Var read to tome me nil anti receiving a u long lecture on the tho enormity of ot my offense locked up liP liPIn In u a dark room In III tine the wardroom Sortie Some Someone one had hod reported that Johl win had n it knife In his hand during the fight and that hunt I called out to him to 10 use uso It antI and Unit that I would help him After Atter being locked up U I rends made up tip lilY tny mind that my time hail had come corne In vow view of the tho ninny many of offenses fetuses mentioned In the Articles of War Var for tor which the punishment death or such mich other punishment as ns u n acourt court martini martial may mulct I wrote wroten a n hurried note to my uncle In Wash Washington ington to come nt at once It If ho he wished to set see me toe alive olive an ilK I was sure Huro that I was noon COOn to bo be hanged nt III the lie yardarm Ho lie that discipline was good for Cor me into and IntI that he lie would wait a IL few I days or until sentence was pronounced three days confinement I was sent for by the Iho commanding officer cud told him exactly how I became In Involved In tho lie fight filth when I WAS tas wa nt lit once tileS sent Rent to duty ond some one else pise took my dark room On board ship situ we WI had our hammocks tl to sleep In Instead of bunks ana our messing was wao regulated Just ns as It would have been on a II cruising vessel III In fact we WI lived under un ler service conditions and though It It Is now the fashion to 10 decry such training In favor of barracks on nn shore I 1 have yet to be Je convinced that for tine the conditions then existing It was not tine the best Many Man officers of that lint school have achieved great success II both afloat and ashore and have certainly cr airily met all nl the tine requirements lents of ot the I servIce ns as fully tull as O those of ot the now MW school can cnn ever meet the tine that will face tace them Our ur first Impressions Inn Jires of the service were received on un ship hip and the discomforts of ship shill situ life lICe were tere met mel and overcome In n II way that made such luch mini event even much greater ones seem scent very ery trivial afterward We grew into ship life lite gradually unit our knowledge of the tho ship and nil all 11 her parts artH wan Willi complete such lIuch knowledge can be he acquired In no other uther way though many able out officers cers hold that mat this Is tint not n a 1 matter of Importance on this point I have haa also alsoto to 10 be convinced of the lie soundness of their reasoning During tine tho winter of tho the anxious faces of our officers foretold tho the storm of Will war that broke so 80 sudden suddenly Ru den ly Iy In iii April of ot the latter year It t was wasn n it 1 time of great anxiety for tor all hands naturally the tha greatest strain came on those In authority hut but Urn lie midshipmen men teen had lied their loads to 10 bear as us well Many Mony of us cane corle from tine the Ih South and andas as aft the States Stalen one ono after otter another either seceded acceded or threatened to do d so vo wo had hud to make up our ur minds what hint we wore were going to do 10 Conferences were frequent anti serious but never Ir Jr one ono of them there ft a disloyal word wont uttered tittered Every ger man followed thus the example set by II hI the Southern men among the out cers So long hong lon na ns were ere Inside the thu Aca Aea Academy demy deiny limits or until our resignations I Iwen were wen accepted wo te were wre of the tine navy and would behave as ns such Lieu Lieutenant tenant Hunter Davidson on afterward the torpedo expert of the Confederacy wins probably more mOrt responsible for Cor this position tion titan than any uny o hel man though both bothO bothe O e It n P antI George Gergo were con coni constantly giving ui us good advice During the month of April 1861 our studies stud lea were practically preparations were made to defend the Academy and the tine ship Constitution In Incase Inease ease case of attack Drills DrUh were constant every over precaution taken to 10 give the enemy a n warm reception In III case tw M came callie A Confederate cavalry corn com company pany IllIn was van organized on the north ba b ak V of if the Severn river and for tor days they drilled thrIlled In plain sight of oC th the shIp but hUI when n a few boats were sent after them they disappear lr th the next soldiers we saw wore blu blue uni uniforms forms form Wo We had harl been Jeen told that th the Confederates In inn Baltimore had organ zed lied nn on expedition antI and were coming down In steamers to capture u tic lIe A Abright Abright bright lookout was Wll kept for tor them and andone andone one lark dark night about two In Inthe Inthe the morning tho tine lookout reported a alane large lane steamer stell mer coming In lit from the bay General quarters were sounded and In iii Inn Ina a n tell few fe minutes we were wert ready nady and welt wait waitIng wailIng Ing leg for this tho word to fire tire The cabin bulkheads had nil all been taken laken four run out the cabin stern ports and loaded with grape and canister The fhe steamer slowly carne came on until she could be plainly plainy seen with the naked eye ere moving up tip directly astern of us a as asIf asIf If to avoid our o r broadside ant carry us bv liv boarding Captain clear voice rang out Ship ahoy aho What hat ship shill Is III that The gun un captains had tine the guns trained on the mass of men we could now seo see crowded about the decks deck crud not aol more tutu than three hundred yards away Twice more moro tho the clear voice olce rang tun out Ship ahoy Keep Jeep off or I will sink you And then lieu n it we all recognized For Iuds Clods sake dont ont lire We are friends It was the lie voice of ot our chaplain who wino hind been beti North on onu a n short leave unit and on III his hla return found Colonel U JJ V p Hutler Butler and tho the Eighth Massachusetts regi regiment ment meet at Havre de da Grace Irace Maryland I blocked In their effort to 10 reach Wash Washington asin ington HEN lIEN IN 10 A ENT Colonel Hutler Buller had seized the forty steamer amid embarking his regiment on board lioard of her tier sailed Balled for Annapolis fortunately bringing with him mine our I say fortunately because ho ito seemed scented the tue Ih only one ona on onboard hoard board who knew enough to answer tine the haIl from Crom role the tho Constitution and In a fow seconds moro more we should have opened lire fire and Ind no one ono can doubt douht what the tho result rosult would have been heen The fhe splendid record of this flue fine regiment would never noer have been written and what one may fairly call the tine variegated career of ot General P o Butler Hutler would lIQuId have inive been hel very cry short and an Inglorious As iM noon ns RH the thc character of the tine strange craft sits satisfactorily stab established sue was directed to haul haiti up tip alongside of us which she did and antil re to remained thore until daylight when hell the tho midshipmen were mailed landed under arms formed with those on shore marched marchel to 10 the wall wail In tho the vicinity of oC tine the gate leading to tine the town of Anna Annn polls and there theme deployed In III line of buttle to 0 cover coor the landing of the tine Eighth Massachusetts We WI stood In Inthis inthIs this position lion until tho the last soldier was WIlS ashore and tho tine regiment re had hud formed line In rear of oC the Ihu Iuar quarters quarters and anil d their arms when son non tries from Crom our battalion were posted and alii the tine rest rP t of ut us ins returned to oUr quarters Not Nut a n shot mad had been tired fired by hy either Hide aide though the excitement was Intense and there lucre wins 18 a II readiness Oil i both sides to light fight Doth Both parties hesitated to lire the Ih first shot and the tine Confederates contented themselves with pitching stones over tho the wall willi which we te e caught and tossed back The Tine newspapers gave graphic ac lC accounts counts of how Hutler nut his mis men hall had recaptured the tho Constitution und and tho Naval They never niever fired a 11 ashot shot eliot nor saw sass nn an enemy to shoot at atThe atThe The Tine magazines of the time Constitution were I mined nud she and tier her crew cres would have been blown to 10 atoms atounia before sur surrendering surrendering rendering It if tho the enemy had attacked nt her Iner he Everything was now made ready ns us lIoon as os possible and tine the ship hauled out Into tine tho buy bay and ond prepared lIre pared to port us tie to 10 some Northern port pori The Tue on shore emote gave up their quarters to tine the officers of ot the Iho Seventh New York Infantry and the First Rhode Island artillery under Colonel these thes regiments having arrived Immedi Immediately after the Eighth Massachusetts Our routine sas entirely broken our time given ghen to guard and picket du duty dUt duty ty t until all preparations had hIlt been made for our trip trill North when orders were given to tn assemble ready for fur em embarkation Then rhea followed a 11 scene which those of ot us tie who participated In Incan inella ella can never meyer recall without a 11 tendency ncy to 10 moist eyes Th The good fellows from the tha tt South gouth who wino determined to 10 go with their States said goodby goo by to their as the tine rest of ot us its formed form ell ranks ronks to 10 embark Captain C It hi V 1 Kod Hol gets ferl stepped out Oll t to say oy a u tow few words to us before leaving the dear ld alma mater After a I strong effort he lie man managed managed aged to say My ty boys boy stand by the tho old 1111 flag neil then broke down We Wo were all nil In tears anti |
