The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1878-01-10
How Men-Of- Wars Boys Are Trained
for Sea.

Va ehO AmcIlcdH navy Win trained sea-
men OF native birth has been long felt to
be gTievous evil by the officers who.
when ships went into commission. were
TO fill up their complement
with men from all nationalities, of whom
the percentage of American seamen was
lamentably small, and thus eked out by
iandsmen, whom it took a two years
cruise 10 fashion into the shape of man.
of-wars men. While the powerful
haVles OF other maritime powers have
had IN successful operation for many
years weil-organiZed systems of training
seamen, the United States has been
utterly destitute of any provision of the
sort and has had to depend to man her
war vessels In the main upon stray drift
1ngs from the merchant service
In order to remedy this, Secretary
Robson, under special act of con-
gress, issued an order on April s, 1875,
providing for the enlistment of boys,
between the ages of seventeen and
eighteen, to serve until the age of twenty
one, the purpose of the enlistment being
to educate them as seamen and thus
IN measure keep up the supply. The
first enlistments were made In New York,
where, on board the United States,
~AAHhOoOIoJ GnCAO dIC HOW
two hundred and ffty bows
being carefully trained. There are also
some forty or fifty now on board the u.
S. ship Saratoga In Hampton roads, a
few on the U. s. steamer Monongahela,
at Baltimore, and at the San Francisco
station twenty-five. The Constitution,
after having been rebuilt just before the
Centennial, was stationed as a sort of a
show ship at the Philadelphia navy-yard
during that year of Qualification. On
the 18th OF January of this year she
went into commission, and at once the
enlistment of boys at this station began.
There are now on board the Constitu-
ton 146 boys, leaving four vacancies.
her allotment being $50, which, with 100
sailors and petty officers and a marine
guard, make up the ships company.
The boys were hard at work on the
gun deck Monday morning, engaged
in heaving up the anchor, a task which
occupied them until late in the after
noon, the anchor having during the
storm OF Saturday fouled with another
with which one OF the monitors in.
shore was moored. A more athletic
set of youngsters it would be hard to find
or such collection of cheerful, intelli.
gent and in many instances even refined
faces. Besides, they are all American
boys. am surprised" says Captain
Cook, sat the character of many of the
boys brought here to be enlisted. Many
of these who you now see are of excel
lent and well-to-do families, and of I'm.
doubtedlg good character. We do not
get the riH-raff of the streets, nor young
scoundrels who, their parents having
Ia vain endeavored to reform, are glad to
be got rid OF. We have the choice oil
excellent material, and of those who
| apply perhaps two-thirds are rejected,
mostly for physical Disqualification.
The boys when entered are rated
second-class, and receive SO so month.
| The outfit, which is furnished by the
| paymaster, costs about forty dollars. The
boys are generally kept aboard at first
for three months without liberty, partly
to make the ship good against the cloth
ing advance, but more particularly TO
break the youngsters in. After that,
unless misconduct bars the way, each
boy has liberty OH shore once every
fortnight, and if his parents or relatives
live in the city or near by from Saturday
to Monday. From forty to fifty bows
are thus let loose on every Saturday, and
the captain asserts with pride that in
but w instances have any OF them over
stayed their time and none returned
under the influence of liquor.
They mess and sleep on the gun-deck,
the berth deck being appropriated to the
men. Their morals are under the especial
care of the officers, who display the
greatest interest in the welfare of their
charges. For the purposes of discipline
the boys are divided into gun crews Of
| seventeen each, two of which form 8
| division, each division being in charge o.
| lieutenant. Once a week the bag.
containing their clothing are brought OF
| deck and the contents OF each carefully
| inspected. Besides this there is a daily
morning inspection, and one afternoon
each week is devoted to mending, ole
sailors being detailed tn teach them the
mystery of mending ard making theil
garments The course of instruction s
| divided into two hours in the morning
and two in the afternoon, and. thI
boys being detailed in four divisions
each division goes at the enc
of each hour to a different course of in
structiOn, in training at the guns, broad
sword exercise, single stick and infantry
drill, or, consolidated into two divisions
take turns at practical seamanship, such
as making and shortening sail, bendins
and unbending sails, sending down wards
etc. Their lessons, studied of evenings
are also recited in the morning hours
Three schOolmasters teach reading, writ
ing, spelling, arithmetic, grammar, geog
raphy and history. Swimming is ais
taught. OF evenings the boys are en-
cOuraged TO amuse themselves in singin,
and instrumental music "The grea
idea," said Capt. Cook, ''is to keep then
always engaged"
Or the result of the training of thes,
boys the officers of the Constitution speaI
with ore accord. Their good behavior
their desire to learn, their alacritv to ODE,
are warmly praised, and while it seems t
be admitted that when their time of en-
listment expires with their twenty-firs
year the majority will leave the navv
vet it is firmly believed the country will
be benefited by the infusion into he
merchant service of body of skillfu
seamen of native birth, who, in time O
war, would be quick to return to a ser
vice in which they will always be appre
ciated.
AS one years service in the trainins
ship is required before the boys can b
sent on cruise, none of those on tn,
Constitution have yet seen blue water
but Captain Schey, of the Essex, anC
Captain Adams, of the Hartford, both o
which vessels have drafted boys from tn,
Minnesota, speak in the highest terms O
their proficiency and availability as sea
men. One excellent thing in the system
Is that no favoritism, political or other
wise, can secure an enlistment. Tn
chance Is open to every boy of good NOR
ais, who can secure the consent of hi
parents or guardian, and who can pas
the very severe physical examination
required by the navy department. An
other very pleasant idea will suggest it
self to the most casual observer WIN
visits the Constitution, and that is tn
kindly, careful interest taken by tn