New-York tribune., 1891-05-03

Admiral Ammen's memoirs cover period OF
more than half century and include the most
striking and important changes which have taken
place In our naval architecture, armament anu
general system. When the author was mio-
,hipman none but wooden ships were anoaD'
there were no guns Of large calibre; scientiio
knowledge was not expected Of naval officers, and
the service afoat retained most OF the character-
istics of the old school, so graphically described
by Captain Marryatt. Admiral Ammen appears to
have kept log all his life, for it would De I'M
possible for any man to trust TO his memory
for the crowd of details chronicled in these pages.
II was not his fortune to see anything OF war
until the Rebellion but before that he had seen
service all over the world, had done much ma
rine surveying and had had opportunities OF eX'
tending his professional knowledge in many ways
When he entered the Navy there appears to nave
been a good deal Of favoritsm, and as usuai Ia
those days the Southern men had special advan'
tages. In the Navy, however there was no 1eei'
Ing against the South down to the actual out
break of civil war, and even then-no doubt prin-
cipaly because little interest was felt IN pohlcs
on board ship-scarcely any acrlmony entered INTO
the discussions Admiral Ammen himself exhibits
this liberalism. or perhaps it should De calieo Id
difference quite markedly at times.
Apart from his naval services, the gallant Ad-
miral has claim upon National consideration of
a peculiar but indefeasible kind Born in Ohio,
he was playfellow of Ulysses s. Grant and one
day he and young Grant went fishing in time
of food and Grant slipped off log into the river
and would have been drowned but for Ammen, who
succeeded in pulling him out of the water Gen
eral Grant, writing TO his old comrade In 1877,
makes humorous reference TO this Important cpl
sode in his life. He says that he has been talk.
ing to the officers of the Vandalia then ot Nice,
where the General staying and proceeds
"Of course told them that l owed you an OLD
grudge as being responsible for the many trials
and difficulties had passed through In the last
half century, for nearly that length OF time ago
you rescued me from watery grave. | am of
forgiving nature, however. and forgive you-but is
the feeling universal? II the Democrats get into
full power, may they not hold you responsible?
But as you are about retiring, / hope no harm
will come to you from any act of kindness done to
me-" IL is hardly necessary to say that General
Grant was always warm friend to Admiral
Ammen, though their occupations so separated
them that some times they did not meet for years
The first decade of his naval experience SO dis
appointed the future Admiral that more than once
he almost made up his mind to leave the service
Promotion was discouragingly slow, and the duty
generally was uninteresting, while the mode OF
living at sea was on the whole we'll calculated
denotes. The American Navy of forty or fifty
years ago was q collection of rotten and unsea
worthy old tubs, generally of bad model, slow,
awkward in stays, bad steerers, and fitted up
without the least regard for the comfort or con-
venience of those who had to inhabit the vessels.
All the ships that had been to the Mediterranean
or oh the Asiatic or West India stations were in
tested by enormous cockroaches; not the winged
hut wi
and carrying an odor powerful enough to make
the ward-room scarcely habitable The provisions
served out were of the coarsest kind and not
infrequently damaged. Weevilly biscuit, which
had to be rebalked before they could be eaten,
salt horse Of the kind from which the sailors
used to carve snuf-boxes, fat salt pork, and pea
soup constituted the staple seafare for officers
as well as seamen. No wonder the men were
prone to desert when they found themselves in the
tropics, or that when fresh fruit and vegetables
were to be had they ate voracousy that dysen-
terry, cholera and fevers followed, decimating the
crews. 1t was the closing period Of the old bar
barous naval system, and the Ohio boy had his
full share of all it's dscomforts and hardships.
1t was time too, when captains of war-vessels
were sometimes what would he termed "hard
cases" nowadays Ammen was under one Of
these: a good man when in his right mind, but
ultimately, of drink, when once he had passed
the threshold of indulgence. While under " the
influence" this officer came creating an inter-
national complication by seizing and carrying of
the Governor of the Falkland Islands on the CON-
plant of an American citizen that he had been
ill-used. Fortunately Mr. Ammen warned the
complainant in time and by refusing to certify
under oath TO the story he had told, he deprived
the aggressive captain of all excuse for his pro-
ected raid.
Between voyages Ammen utilized his leaves Of
absence by visiting various places He went TO
Europe. and passed through Holland Germany
Switzerland and Italy, meeting much kindness
from many persons of note, and taking shrewd OBJ
servations wherever he went. His narrative is
characterized by refreshing simplicity and mod
esty. Always he puts himself in the background.
and dilates only upon the people he has met and
the places and things he has SEEM. While, too
there is in his memoirs little of an extraor-
dinary kind. few halr-breadth escapes or stirring
adventures. there is decided charm in the plain
recital OF events which, If not romantic or sensa-
tional, possess certain value marking the hab-
Its and the civilization of times which are past
and Of countries which strange even now TO
most readers. Before reaching his Eeutenantcy,
Admiral Ammen had served on every kind of ves-
sci the Navy of that period contained. and he
does not appear to have thought much of any of
them. But like true seaman he loves ship
when he has left her. and the old wooden tubs be-
gan to assume heroic proportions when the new
Navy hove in sight. During the rebellion he COM
manded gunboats. monitors, and frigates, and it
is interesting TO note that he got on
very we'll with naval anomalies like
the Patapsco which he fought with
yallantry through the TWO attacks on Fort Fisher
IL. A. Il.
and joined the other moSitor commanders in a re-
port 10 the Department setting forth these defects
very plainly, with apparent result for the report
was incontinently pigeon-hoed. Had it been in
tclligently considered the disasters which after
wards attended efforts 10 treat the monitors of the
time as efficient seagoing vessels might have been
prevented, and many valuable lives have been