Huntsville gazette., 1889-05-04
A ElIIlN0 TRIBUTE.


| the Survivors Needs No Investigation;
1t Speaks for Itself.
| WASHINGTON, April l2S.-Secretary Tracy
| yesterday addressed the following letter
to Rear Admiral Kimberly, commanding
| United States naval forces on the Pacific
station at Apia, Samoa:
SIR-The department is in receipt OF your
cable dispatch OF March 81, from Auckland,
and also OF your letter of March 10, from Cap
| tain Farquhar, Commander Mullan and Lieu
tenant Carlin, narrating the circumstances OF
| the overwhelming disaster which has recently
befallen your squadron in Apia harbor. need
not say that this event has caused the depart-
ment profound sorrow, which, as the appalling
extent and character of the catastrophe be-
came known, was reflected throughout the
country. Even If the navy were possessed of
an adequate number of ships to supply the
necessities Of service, the loss OF three at ono
blow would be serious diminutiou OF the
cruising force To navy passing, as is that OF
the United States, through q stage of transi-
tion, when most OF its preyously-exist-
ing vessels have disappeared, and
its fleet is only the threshold
| OF existence, the blow came with cripplng
| force. The department learns with the deep
est pain that the wreck at Samoa resulted in
| the death OF four officers, Captain Schoon-
| maker, Paymaster Frank H. Arms, First Lieu.
| teudul Tduh L. SutbOH. VI tNS COip
| and Pay Clerk John Roche. and thirty
| men OF the Vandalia seven men Of the n psic,
| and one man OF the Trenton. However severe
ly the destruction OF the vessies may be felt by
the navy, the loss Of SO many valuable lives is
far greater and more irreparable misfortune.
Captain Schoonmaker died, as he had lived, at
the post OF duty, gallant and generous officer,
and devoted servant of his country to the last.
Weakened by long effort, he was swept by the
sea from the deck of his vessel soon after she
had drifted to her final resting place. The hur.
rlcane at Samoa has brought its afn ctious G
many American households which will receive
| the sympathy OF the Governments yet it can
not be said that those who died thus, manfully
| facing danger in the execution of their duty,
| have died in vain.
| The department. having closely examined
| the reports of the circumstances under which
| the disaster occurred, learns that on the 18th
| OF March, when indications OF bad weather first
appeared. every preparation was made to meet
| the coming gale. The ships were stripped, and
| steam was raised The force OF the approach.
| ing storm could not be foreSeen and there was
every reason to hope and believe that the ves-
| sells would ride it out at their anchorage in
| safety. The extraordinary violence OF the gale
rendered this impossible while the crowded
condition of the harbor, where the vessels lay,
| exposed to the full force of the nd and sea,
| yet shut in on both sides by the sharp edges OF
| coral reefs, made their position one of extreme
| danger. The Nipsic, Commander Dennis W.
| Mullan. the innermost vessel of the fleet, was
| enabled to reach place OF comparative safety
| on the beach, where her gg's crew were lost
| while galantly attempting torun line ashore.
| The Vandalia. commanded by Captain Schoon-
maker, and upon his death by Lieutenant j. w.
| Carlin, after skllfuily avoiding collision,
| washed into the inner harbor struck the point
| Of the rect not far from the Nipsic. Here she
| remained exposed to the fury Of the storm, her
| officers and men taking refuge in the rigg ng,
| while the sea swept over her and the spray and
| surf were flying to her mast-heads. Many Of
| her crew were lost in the attempt to swim
| ashore, and one man, E. NJ. Harman, seaman
met his death in a brave but fruitless effort to
| carry line to the Nipsic. The survivors,
| after remaining for eight hours in momentary
| expectation of death, were finally rescued.
| The latter vessel, Captain FarQuhar command
| ing, had the misfortune, early on the morning
| of the 10th, to lose her wheel and break her
rudder. Soon after the heavy sea, forcing its
way into the hawse-holes, in spite
| of distractions, filled the furnace rooms, and
| put out the fires. The flagship, without steam
| or rudder, her anchors dragging. drifted almost
| at the mercy OF the gale, along the edge Of the
eastern reef, at times not more than twenty
| feet from total destruction. Every endeavor
| was made TO control her movements. and her
| commanding officer states in his report that
upon at least one o 'caSion, it was through the
| excellent Judgment Of Lieutenant r. M. G.
| Brown, the navigating officer, that the shin
| cleared the reef and the four hundred and fiftv
lives on board were saved. The departmen
| notes with satisfaction your commcndaton OF
| Lieutenant Brown, and also OF Lieutenant
| Commander H. w Lyon, the executive officer, for
| their efforts to save the ship. After a collision
| with the Olga, the Trenton passed over to the
| western reef, where she drifted with the cur
| rent until she struck the ground near the Van
| daia.
From your own report, and from other ac-
| counts. that have reached the department. it
appears that the conduct of those under your
4 command evinced that courage. resolution ard
| fortitude which the United States has learned
| always to expect from the officers and seamen
| of its navy. When Her Br tannic Mojesty's
ship Calliope, fortunate in the possession OF
| more powerful engines succeeded in her gal
| liant effort to pass the Trenton and steam out
| OF the harbor against the hurricane the ringing
cheer from the American flagship as her crew
| were standing facing death showed a spirit
| alike generous and dauntless. During the
| whole Of Saturday. when the Trenton was help
| lessly dragging her anchors on the verge OF de-
| Structon, the officers preserved their compoS-
| ure and heroic conduct. and directed her move
| ments with consummate skill The crew were
thrown into the rigging as a substitute for
| sails, and through the cool and exact judgment
| of those charged with her guidance, she was
enabled to escape the extremity Of peril.
Finally at tneuaS, the Gose Of the day.
| the Vandalia, her officers and men, not
| withstanding the suffering through which they
| had passed and the dangers by which they
| were still surrounded, thought only OF doing
| their utmost to aasist their comrades OF the
Vandalia whose danger was greater than their
| own, and by firing rockets with lie lines over
| the mastS and rigging Of the Sun&eD vessel,
| they ceeded in rescuing all of those who haC
| taken refuge there; while under the inspira-
| ton of a sentiment which has awakened re-
| sponse in every American heart, the band OF
| the flag ship. to encourage those who, dazed
| with fatigue and weakened by exposure, were
still clinging to the rigging, played the National
| anthem.
In reply to your request and that OF Captain
| Farquhar for court of inquiry. the depart
| ment has to say that 1t deems such court un
| necessary. 1t is satisfied that the officers in
| command Of the ships at Apa, did their duty
| with courage, fidelity and sound Judgment and
| that they were Zealously and Loyalty sec conde6
| by their subordinates; that the hurricane
| which caused the destruction of the vessels and
| the loss OF so many lives was one of those vls
| tations of Providence, in the presence of which
| human efforts are OF little avail; that
| the measures actually taken by youseil
| and the officers under you. were all
| that wisdom and prudence could
| dictate. and that it was due to these measures
| that so large proportion of the crews were
| saved; that the one step which might have
| averted the catastrope, namely to have put to
| sea before the storm had developed, could only
have been justified, in view of the grave re-
sponsibilites resting upon you at Samoa by
the certainty of overwhelming danger to youI
| feet, which of course could not then be fore
seen; that you rightly determined to remain at
your post. and that the department, in the
face of the terrible disaster which it involved.
approves absolutely your decision, which has
set an example to the navy that should never
be forgotten
To convene a court of inquiry under these
circumstances would seem to imply doubt on
the mart of the 0eOartment where no dOuht Y