The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1806-07-11
MoND, FRIDAY MORNING, JULY IL, 1906.

leet truly difagreeable. Be:ny ont Of lerpit
tlcan take 20 eogciSanee of its contents
therefore fend it to you.''
10 this let there be fuperaddcdl the follow
ing extract from Com. Truxtun's anfwer o
March 20, 1909. to the Sccretary's letter accept
ing his resignation.
But | NUT remark that the cold reception
OF the PreGdent at Warrington and the con
du9 met there (unneceiary to mention
here) was far from inducing me to believe
that TIE appointment held was congrnial to
T" the feelings of Mr.. Jefferfon."
And then let it be afked does Com. Truxtuu
, again Propofs vaIorouay to a1ert that here alto
ne had fome how or other in both theft. cafes
forgotten and omitted the word Medtetrane.
an-betore' the word /irziee in the one and be-
fore the word appointment in the other letter :
Or what in the name of decency does he mean
to do! After the ihiswreck of all his atTertious
and all his principles, where is the plank upon
which ne expects 20 get into port ?, Alas
n1herabie man there is not one within his
reach! Sinking as he is, he is catching at the
ffrawAthat by his letter of March 8, soy, he
meant a redsnation, not IL toto but ouly pro
tanto.
| Riixn fe1eati5, a1,:ei.
| :, What are the reafons Offered by Commodore
\
! nation of March Sd, sos They are different
I at different times. In the letter itfef, upon
| which alone by the by, the government had to
ACT, he tfated, that as commodore Dale had in
ms IMP under him 2 captain Of the navy. he,
! Thomas Truxtun, in Iutice to his high-famed
| Fenown and to the valued honor of bis Ea.1ily,
could not proceed without being placed in the
ias-e ltua'ioa. Upon this background he made
| his brit ftaud. And hence it was, that the Sc
cretary of the Navy, perceiving this to lie the
only principle aiiumed in his letter, merely
ftated to him in his reply" 1t is we'll known
toyon there is not at this time within the II. S.
a captain effbe nayr that we could require to
| take fecondary Cation on board iliip.''
The commodore has fince found it expedi-
ent to ihitt his ground. He now iays, if a Sap
| tain ofthe nasy could not have been fent to him,
he expected government would have let him
have a MGRer Comma1dant or a LieateYa7.
Come1andGHt. IF fuch had really been his ex-
Peetation, one would imagine, that, in his let
ter rendering his resignation, he would natural
~ have aiked for an officer of either of theie
grades in cafe catf4in of the navy could not
have been feat to him. But as fuch arequelt was
not made, how could the government have
Prefumed fnch an expectation againft the ex-
preis and pointed language of his letter. Be- |
ndes, as at that time there was not in our navy
any fuch officer as Matter Commandaut or a |
Lieutenant Commandant, how, in the name of |
all that is wonderful, coald the .SeGGstagy Of
have been expecting what he mutt have k"osyn
did not exit.
The plain truth is, that at the time of writ
ing his letter of March Sd, 1902, commodore
Truxtun could not but have known, that there
was not in the United States captain of the
navy that could have been required to take a
Gecoudary ftation on board irgate, and that
there was not in our navy any tuch officer as
either Matter Commind or Lieutenant |
Commandant.
But whence is it,, that this infatuated man
has e. often and 70 roundiy aferted, that a |
Lieutenant Commandant ought to have been at |
tached to his trigate. Circumfcrbed as lave
been his opportunities of acquiring eorrea ideas
in naval affairs, he yetreaity ought te have
known; that there cannot be attached to a fri
gate any fuch officer as Lieutenant Command
ant. This is we'll known all navy officers of
REGULAR education. But for the information of
Others would remark: -
1T. There is not in either the American or
the Brtifh navy any fuch officer as a eomnD
toned Lieutenant Commsndant. No iuch COM
milton is fiued in either country
"a. d1y lieutenant of the navy, who may,
under orders, have the command Of public
| faaH vefel of war, becomes thereby LisMe-
nant Commandant that is, lieutenant COM
| N7HHdiH1. 1t is tue fleTe cITCumH2nce or UeU-
tentut commanding vetiel that creates the title
| of Lieutenant Commandant. So that any lieu
tenant whatever, old or young, without regard
| To the date of his commiiiion, may become fnch
| an officer. And whenever he ceafes to be the
commander of fuch veiel, he thereby ceafes to
| be Lieutenant Cammandant.
Atthe time commodore TrUxtun had the
command of the Cheiapeake, lieutenant Sterrett
was the commanding officer of the fchooner En-
tcrprze, g. as foch was Lieutenant Command
ant Bu, if Mr.. Sterrett had been, as propof-
| ed, transferred to the cOrpmodore's fhip, he
| would thereby have ceaied to be Lieutenant
Commandant, and further, If any one of the
eutenants attached to the Chefapeake had
been transferred to the command of the Enter
prize, he would thus have become Lieutenant
! CommaDdant.
What Gays commodore Truxtun in his PRINT
cd illeets) could he more degrading than the
combination of the officers In aniwerng this
queftion it is proper to- enquire what officers
were coniulted ! They were captains OF the
navy, who had richly nerited and had deferyed-
Iy acquired the highet honors of rtreir country |;
who mad moreover been for years alliduouny
avalllng themfslves of all the advantages of i'm
proyement, which the Mediterranean had af-
forded them, and who had returned TO the ".
s. with VAT acceiIion of profefiiOnal know
ledge. Was il then, let it be aiked, degrad-
ing 20 commodore Truxtun, that government
ihuuld have taken neanfes to- afcertain wne-
ther fuch officers would qOiii:1gI dcquieice in
a = Ill.