Washington sentinel. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1853-1856, 1855-11-03


his post. He had done nothing since to forfeit
the respect of the department, yet he found
himself retired on furlough pay
1t may not be amiss to say he was the only
one of an extensive family who held any office
under Government. His grandfather had
raised the first company Of minute men in
| Virginia in the Revolution--rose to the com
mand of the sixth regiment-served through
out the war, and died of wounds received in
it-having lost two sons in the service while
a third continued in command to the end Of the
war. Commander Green's father, General NJ
Green was in the war of l8l2-hmself in that
with Mexico, having obtained permission from
the Navy Department to go with land troops,
there being no prospect OF service at sea. He
entered the navy in 1918, served several years
IN the West Indies in search of pirates where
he narrowly escaped from two severe attacks Of
yellow fever. Has never avoided duty, but has
sought it whenever he thought there was
prospect of efficient service to his country.
Blessed with strong constitution, as good
now, as IN the fierce energy of his youth, he
possessed great strength of mind and person;
was remarkably skilled in all the weapons of
warfare, and on several occasions had added
to the national reputation by his triumphant
superiority IN foreign ports, was always emu
lous when IN command to discharge his duty,
and control his ship, with distinguished credit,
and was not aware Of having failed, till re-
Gently notified of his Notifying discrimination
for reasons undiscosed and unknown.
An anecdote of his younger days showed
deliberate GOODNESS in times of trial that might
have been efficient" and would still be, for
his country, If the opportunity presented. Hav-
ing, IN the heat of excitement, given a grave
afront to brother officer, he was called to the
/ Fall IF u.
the offence was considered too grave for such
adjustment, and he returned his adversary's fire
by discharging his pistol in the air. Another
fire was demanded, and second time he fired
in the air. A third was demanded by the adj
versary, Ia brave and honorable man, who
had been much offended, and seemed deter
mined that g. should return his fire, when the
second OF G.. said to him, you have fired twice in
the air, and unless you now promise me to do
| your best the next time, | will leave you in
stantly His reply was, swell, / was wrong in
the beginning, and was willing to atone for it /;
| but think have got right now, and you may
| say where l shall hit him." "In the right
ARM" said his second "Very well, / will
strike the knuckle of his fore finger pointing
to the spot. The firing on both sides was ex-
| ceedingly quick; the adversarys little the
| first, and that and the consequent slight de-
preston of the hand, probably prevented a
centre shot, instead of cutting only the coat of
the arm, and perhaps making a slight wound
near the shoulder. This account was given
the writer by the second of g.
Yet this officer, without one moral faint, with
every qualification of seamanship, high sense
OF honor, of as much efficiency" lin the COM
mon acceptaton of that term) of mind and
body, as at any previous day of his life, is now
put on the retired list, when captaincy has
been the aim of his thirty-seven years service;
and without conceivable cause, except it be-
that he, too, aohen not on duty, has occasionally
taken his glass OF brandy or wine more than
was necessary. But he has never done so on
duty, and no one can say he has been less "ef
fcient,' in its rational sense, on that account
The case of Lieutenant Rhind is, perhaps,
even more extraordinary. An accomplished
son of South Carolina, an elegant gentleman,
Chevalier Bayard, without fear and without
reproach," yet he is dropped from the navy,
possi6ty for the like imputaton; and if there
| be any foundation for it, the occurrence must
have been almost a single one, as few of his
brother officers ever dreamed such an obiec-
ton could be made to him.
| Again: Lieutenant A. ID. Harold, equally
high toned, did, on one occasion, some seven or
eight years ago, get into frolic with mess Of
brother officers, and for that single act, it is
/ supposed, has been struck from the rolls
against the deliberate testimony of his com
handing officer, that he was the very best off,
Ger with whom that superior had ever sailed
BY this sort of wholesale condemnation of
one-third of the whole navy, wound has been
inflicted not only on the officers themselves
but the national escutcheon, under an errone-
GUS Interpretation of the law and of its require
4 oantu ,o, IL LIZ IL
could have taken pleasure in the widespread
denuncation; but, whetherin voluntary or other.
wise, the honor and pride ofthe nation, its pro-
per sense of impartial justice, call for further
investigation. If it shall result in painful ex-
posures in some instances justice to others re.
quires 1T. If, on the contrary, it shall appear
that bare majority Of the board, without even
the responsibility OF an oath, and against the
remonstrances of the large minority, not only
misnterpreted the law in assuming powers
never intended to be granted, but so errone-
ously executed those assumed powers as to
deny all opportunity Of explanation, (which
might perhaps have been easily given,l the
| grand inquest of the nation would redress the
wrong by declaring that officer illegally dropped
from the rolls, we're still in commission, and
that those illegally retired should be restored
to their positions, which, not having been lie
galy vacated, left no vacancies for the intended
promotions under the law If the law has been
correctly Interpreted and executed as Congress
intended, there is an end of the matter, as va
cancies lawfully made can only be filed by the
President and Senate.
am no apologist for intemperance; but il
does seem to me to be an outrage on propriety
to dismiss from service or to degrade or assail
the official honor, dearer than life, Of our brave
officers, merely because they may, occasionally
have adopted the habit o oar 1ohole land-the
highest and the poorest, the ablest statesmen
and jurist-that of drinking more than was ne
cessary. II carried to habitual intemperance,
it is voluntary disqualification for the per.
Torrance Of duty, and no complaint can be
made for their dismissal. But ,cten the fact is
denied on the integrity Of gentleman, he is
entitled to trial, and in such case it is an
outrage not to investigate the truth Of the
charge-a charge upon which he and his chill
dren are to sufier-made by majorityof an ir.
responsible board, perhaps on the vaguest ru.
NOR or delusive impressions Of their own