Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1891-01-14
CAPT. BARTLETT's DEFENSE.
His Argument in Favor Of Marines
on Shipboard

His Argument i'm Favor OF Marines
on shipboard.
Capt. Henry A. Bartlett. United States
marine corps, commanding the marine
barracks. Naval Academy. defends the
Marine Corps from the recent criticisms
by Lieut. W F. Pullman, United States
Navy, in his paper before the United
States Naval Institute on the subject of
naval training and discipline. in which
Lieut. Pullman recommended the with
drawal Of marines from service afloat,
because, in his opinion. 1.-THE presence of
the marine on board ship degrades the
whole service in that IL dspriyes the sail
OF Of military training"
Capt. Bartlett, among other things,
says: Il have had as mEch experience
as any officer in the service with marines
afoat, having done duty on over twenty
men-of-war, all large ships. Lieutenant
Pullman, in his paper. would give the
impression that marines were non-com-
balants. On every ship TO which have
been attached they have been a great
gun division. During the war the ma
rine divisions that had charge of were.
on more than one occasion, held up to
the crew at general muster as an exam
pie Of excellence for their proficiency at
the great guns. On every ship / have
served on the marine guard has been
fully instructed in working all the guns.
The marines have been, and in fact, al
ways are, instructed in all kinds of mill
tary duty in addition TO their regular du-
navy was the marine corps; they were
the original fighting men of the ship.
The sailors, in my long experience have
always shirked military duty, and are
now, aud always will be, lax in every
thing pertaining to military discipline.
On more than one occasion have known
the chief petty officers of ship to be the
leaders in mutinous conduct, and If there
had been no marine guard on board there
ID no telling what might have become of
the ship. | remember well one night
aboard the new Ironsidss. She had
crew of over 500 men, The ship anchor
ed of Port Wagner. We had been in
action that day. About 9 T.. NJ, / was
sent for by the first lieutenant. as the ex
ecutive officer was then called. He in
formed me that there were q number of
men drunk; the marine guard was order
ed 10 muster on the spar-deck. | inspec-
ted them and found nearly every man
perfectly sober. This great crew were
nearly all, more or less. intoxicated, and
fighting was going one yery-where. Our
chief quartermaster and nearly every
petty officer was ia irons that night Eve
~ pair of irons was in use, and fully two
hundred sailors were dropped down in
the forward hold and the old frigate I'M
der the enemy's guns. What would have
happened had there been no marines on
boardl
Again, remember well the occasion
when the grand old frigite Wabash
grounded off Frying.Pan Shoal with
some 700 souls on board. The marines
got out launch, manned her, carried
out an anchor, and etc, and Captain De
Camp in his official report to the Navy
Department said that the chip was saved
by the efficiency of the marine guard.
at is well-known that the number of
different things that the men as we'll as
the officers should have some knowledge
are many more now than formerly, and
il is also certain that they cannot have
thorough knowledge Of all. The advisa-
bility is argued of giving officers differ
emit specialties. and the argument applies
with as much, If not more, force to the
men. Why, then, is it not better to keep
the different branches to their own APP
propriate duties, the engineers to the
steam department, where they will be re-
qHired in action, with enough knowledge
of drills and firing for cases Of emergen-
cy; the marines to the preparation for
action and guard duty and the sailor to
preparation for action and cleaning duty,
sail and spar drills and boat duty, which,
with our small crews often takes most of
the available men from the deck. Why
do away with an already trained and
tried corps of men 6ustly admitted to be
such) for what seems the almost impos-
sible elevation Of the sailor to the militia
nv plane of the mariner