Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-04-11
"REMINISCENCES OF coCKBuRN.
The British Admiral Who Burned washing
ton Was More Agreeable In the south.

AhhlNASCENCES OF COCkbURS.
The British Admiral Who Burned washing
ton Was More Agreeable In the south.
HIS VISIT TO THE WIDOW OF GEN. GREENE
SOUVENIRS OF THE GREAT NAPOLEON NkAR
JACKSONVILLE, rLA-INrEREsrISa INCIDENTS
RECALLED By RECENT STAR PUBLICATION.
correspondents OF The Evening star.
JACKSONVILLE, FLA, March 81 1891.
VIE ARTICLES IN THE STAR" FROM
- Mr.. John +. Coyle must be full of interes,
to all intelligent readers who take pleasure
IN learning OF the past from one so well in
formed as Mr.. Coyle. The public are indebted
to The STAR for the special effort made every
few years to give the history Of and to illustrate
the federal city.
Mr.. Coyle has known men who we're de-
tenders of the city in the British attack Of 1914
and who were in the disastrous battle OF
Bladensburg and who surrendered then. His
tory gives the commanding officer Of the in
vasion. Admiral Cockburn. the character Of a
pretty severe marauder Of the Chesapeake and
the approaches to Washington.
HIS VISIT IN THE SOUTH.
After Cockburn left the Chesapeake he kept
prudent distance from that fearful hundred
mile reef, known as Cape Hatteras which has
been 30 broadcast Of late with the precious
seeds Of wreck, but bending into the safer curve
OF the coast south, and passing near the green
islands which skirt the shore Of the United
states, we hear Of less marauding. but rather
OF friendly visits to the sea island planters
along the route. The last place he visited i,
not further from Jacksonville than is Balti-
more from Washington. the home of the relici
OF Gen. Greene of the revolutionary army.
Dungenness. That was on Cumberland Island
the last OF the English islands and hence sur
rendered to the Americans largely through the
aid OF Gen. Greene himself. Here the gallantry
OF Cockburn was the more exercised toward
the fair owner. legend, perpetuated by per-
sons near the location. is that the admiral
courtesies were not wholly ignored. but were
carried, like those Of the Misses Carroll, whose
mansion near the navy yard the British officers
In Washington occupied. as far as propriety ad-
mltted. There was an old citizen on the island
who has been living within the last fifteen
years who knew of Cockburn's landing upon
1t and whose narrative the writer has heard.
He referred TO those pleasantries Gen.
Greene's death occurred about the close of the
last century. His widow married Mr. Phinias
Miller. He finished the mansion about 1905
and died and Mrs. Greene became a widow q
second time
DUNGENyEss THEN AND NOW.
The island is about eighteen miles long. In
fact those green Georgia islands are in chain,
about six of them, between Savannah and Flor
ida All the way from Cape Henry a channel
exists between the reefs and islands and the
mainland. useful for inside navigation. L,
might seem as if the ocean is building its own
sea wall In Hatteras and that the green island,
south were once a solid chain. which in ages
past the ocean surges broke, leaving entrances
between the fragments and great estuaries in
SIDE Tor ships to move in safety. Dungenness
Is the name of the old Greene estate occupying
the south extreme of the island. In the neigh
borhood now, no doubt can be found persons
VINO preserve the memory of Cockburns pleas
ant visit from the hearsay of their parents az
vividly as old people III Washington do his hos
tile acts. The fine old stone mansion of Dun.
genness stood there, filed with paintings OF
the revolutionary times and other relics dear
to the owners. Great groves of olives grew in
the gardens, and other inatured tropical fruits
to verify the statement of the interest Ogle-
thorpe took in planting Mediterranean fora on
the Islands OF his realm. Beauty was kept in
view in all the arrangement.
The place remained in the Greene family
until our civil war. Then the old mansion was
abandoned and the pictures and furniture OF
the house were removed TO Brunswick, Ga
Shortly after the house was burned. The ruin
remained until after the war. The place
changed hands. 1t is now the property of the
rich iron king of Pittsburg Mr.. Carnegie Hi.
ness is among them. The old mansion has beer
removed or replaced by a finer one and, as the
rural Flagler, he has put his Midas touch upor
the place.
CoCKBURN AND NAPOLEON.
Cockburn was appointed to convey England,
great prisoner. Napoleon Bonaparte. to Cor.
sica, and a hundred "reminiscences linger about
Florida of the history of that prisoner. In
Jacksonville are the grandchildren of one OF
the officers of the East India Compauy's navy
who was In command Of a guard ship When
Napoleon was safe on the rock island. The
island then belonging to the East India Com.
pany there were differences between the ccm.
pany's officers and Sir Hudson Lowe, who had
the prisoner IN charge as to his treatment
These differences were strongly shared
by Commander Phillips, grandfather o.
tho survivors alluded to. few
Years ago one could talk with a son and daugh
ter of the commander and have their own nara
tive as children on the island. The son told. o.
his own knowledge, of his fathers dissffection n,
to the harsh treatment by Sir Hudson Lowe OF
Napoleon. and the daughter said that as a child
she was permitted to go to the prison cottage
at Longwood on the high cliff. and that there sh,
had often sat on Napoleon's knee. Commander
Phillips resigned and settled in st. Augustine
There are "reminiscences attaching to the
reference to Admiral Cockburns advance on
Washington. In their contemplation Washing
tou, SuluDerldnu lslanO dLu 81 Helena are
drawn close together.
OTHER MEMENroEs OF NAPOLEON.
There are other mementoes Of Napoleon in
Florida. The fine marble bust Of his sister
Caroline, by Canova, was here for fifty years.
and was only returned to France in 1880 Ii
came from the Murat palace in Naples One of
Napoleon's aids, who babe him goodbye on the
last fatal night of Waterloo, was an officer in
the United States engineer corps. and was on
duty in Florida after the fall of his great SOW
ereign. A loved relict of one of his chief mar
shals sleeps in Florida grave.
So much more of kindred association fingers
about what was only of late the wilds of Florida
that one ceases to write for fear of being called
an apochryphal recorder. c. DREW.