The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1888-05-03


submit TO the outrageous and annoying little
tax of an affidavit, when his own certificate, on
honor, should be all required. Ii he has been
indulging in bad habits that has interrupted
his work, it would speedily become known, and
detection would be followed with summary
action that would prevent further conduct of
that kind and would warn others. The tax is
trifiing, to be sure, but no matter how small it
is, it is an unjust extortion, and deserves the
attention of Col. Villas and his c0uteres in the
Cabinet. There is another large class of en-
ployes that is recruited very largely from tho
widows and daugteTs of veterans that suffer
alike by this extortion, and for most of these
the tax becomes a serious burden on their
seanty pay.
THE "swAMP ANGELS" BUILDER.
The recent death of that excellent soldier,
Gen. Quincy A. Gilmore, much of whose fame
during the late war was won by his engineer
ing operations in the reduction OF Fort Pulaski,
N Savannah River and other great works, has
revived many recollecti0ns of the famous bat
terry, that was known all over the land as the
"Swamp Angel" in front of Charleston. This
has reminded me that while Gen. Gilmore COM
manded the troops in front of Charleston in
1863 and designed the famous battery as
means of reaching Charleston with the shells,
the officer who really conducted the work and
succeeded in finally building gun platforms in
that seemingly fathomless marsh, is now an
artillery officer in the Regular Army, who is
often seen on the streets of Washington, al
though he sticks very closely to his military
duties, aud is not given much to garrison leaves.
Col. Charles Sellmer, First Lieutenant, Sd U.
S. Art is a German by birth, and was educated
in engineering before he drifted to this coun-
try early in the SOS. He had been a soldier
abroad, and when he failed to obtain the class
OF employment he desired he naturally turned
to the army and served in Battery ID, LIST u. 5.
Art, from 1854 until June, 1868. Gen. Gil
more knew something Of his aptitude for mill
tary engineering and in the month named the
General procured for First SeEgt Sellmer dis
charge and commission At First Lieutenant
in the 18th Me-, III the Tenth Corps under his
command, and placed him in immediate charge
of building the swamp battery. The peculiar
geography of the surroundings forced the seec-
tion of point in the marsh Of the sluggish
tidal creek that flows between Morris aud Folly
Islands for the battery; and such marsh as
that was to work in! Huge piles set on end
sank, of their own weight, down until no trace
OF them could be found by probing, But pile
after pile went into that place until, after thou
sands had been used, the tops appeared above
the surface, and then others were used that lay
in rows, with other rows above them crossways,
rs children build their cob houses The layers
would sink Of their own weight for long time,
and when at last they began to lay the gun
platform the mass was really log crib nearly
platform was at last laid, with slight semicir-
cular breastWork ofearth around it, a 200-pound
Parrot rife was mounted and trained. One
clear, still night IN August 1863 the gun was first
fred, and shell WAS thrown across the five and
over miles OF marsh and water 10 the battery
parade on the edge of Charleston. The gun
only lived for 80 or SO rounds, but 1t created a
commotion that extended far beyond the city
of the birthplace Of the war. IL revolutioniZed
modern artillery, just as the little iron monitor
with its turret reVoutiOniZed the building of
ships OF war. Before that such q thing as
throwing shell over i've miles had never been
heard Of aud hardly dreamed Of Lieut.. Sell
mer soon became a Captain in his Maine regi-
ment, and was engaged in various staff duties
until the end of tbs war, during which time he
was breyetted to Lieutenant Colonel for gall
antry in action, as well as for his great service
oil Charleston. In 1867 he was appointed Lieu
tenant in the Regular Army; was promoted to
First Lieutenant 10 years later and has held
that rauk nearly IL years. He is a tall man,
rather spare of build, and so modest that you
can rarely get him to talk of his great achieve
ments.
LANCHTNG NAVY VESSELS.
/ The great event Of the past week in Wash
| ington was the exodus last Saturday to Phila-
! delphia, when nearly all the Senator'S, much
more than a majority of the Representatives in
4 Congress and host Of Navy officials, wentaW
on special trains to see the ships Of the New
/ Navy lanched there. The crowd was so big
( that the train was divided into two parts and
/ there was a goodly load Of newspaper men in
one Of the roomy cars. The excursion was to
see the first Of the new gunboats and the dyna-
/ mite cruiser lanched, and Miss Cameron, a
daughter Of Senator Don Cameron, was of the
party, to christen the new gunboat, while Miss
Breckenridge, the gdaughter Of Representative
Breckenridge, of Kentucky, Christened the
Dynamite" Pretty little Mrs. Whitney chap
eroned the party OF ladies that went from here,
and kept her handsome husband in good shape,
IS well as her aged father, the dignifed Senator
/ Payne, of Ohio.
While this excursion was apparently eng-
! neered by the Secretary Of the Navy think
can see between the lines the fne Italian
hand of Don Augustus Cesar Buell., the long
time correspondent and editor here. Buell.
/ wrote such spicy letters for years that he made
many enemies; then edited The Critic during
Gen. Brady's period Of judicial purgatUry, and
then drifted away from newspaper life TO be-
come an agent or attorney for the great fra of
Cramp Brothers, the ship-builders. Buell. was
soldier during the war, aud is never weary
OF telling Of his experience as a Sergeant of Ar
tllery Ia the Regular Army He IS from New
York, and landed here in Washington in 1873.
Vel, the lanching Of both the vessels went OFF
successfully, but IN Difference to the temper
ance element Tor, may be, the requirements of
the excursion), the christening was done on
each with wreaths Of roses, instead Of the ira
diti0nai bottles of champagne.
The writer had one of the blue tickets Of in
YitstiOn for the trip, but calmly rejecting over
q similar trip made more than 10 years ago to
see the great iron maii-steamer City of Toxic
launched, concluded not to be one of this last
party. From all / can learn, / think l did
well. l don't like champagne, and pate de foie
gras sandwiches give me an internal dyspepsia
that is worse than that which cod-liVer oil
brings me.
There were two trains Of nearly dozen cars
each, and almost half of each train was loaded
going aud coming, with things to feed as well
as cheer the inner man. There were no ambu-
lances in waiting when the train reached here
returning, to carry home the disabled ones, fol-
despite the opportunity, every one was enabled
TO 90 home without such help.
A VETERAN OF TWO WARS
blind old man Of striking appearance wht
is now staying in this city, has had career O
unusual interest His name is GustaVe Wag
ner, and by birth he is a Hungarian nobleman
He was one Of the Hungarian patriots who
under Kossuth in lS4S, attempted to secure tn,
independence of their country from the crush
ing despotism Of Austria A letter from Kos
suth gives a fiattering record of his services
lie was first appointed Captain and, afte
having distinguished himself in battle, wa
promoted to Major in the artillery lie tool