Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-07-28

H.,
be obeyed. I'll let you know that i am
bishop of this diocese"
Capt. Peroival.- or Mad Jack" as he was
generally called, was another one of the
characters of the old navy, and many are
the stories related of him. He was very
eccentric. and his reports to the depart
ment, as well as his private letters. were
very brief and epigramatical. A book could
be filled with specimens of his epistolary
talent, but one or two will suffice 10 show
the character of the man. One time the
son Of an old friend was appointed to
ridshipnan's berth, and was assigned to
PercivaTs vessel. He wrote to his friend to
announce the arrival of the son, and in the
course of the letter said that the lad had
entered upon profession where he would
go down to his grave, wept. honored and
sung, OF unwcpt. unhonored and unsung."
Percival with all his eccentricities was very
irascible. and the young midshipman. had
not been long on board before he aroused
the ire Of his captain, who at once sat down
and wrote to the father as follows: Dear
Sir: Your son is going down to his grave
unwept. unhonored and unsung." At an
other time he was member of. the board
for the examination of midShipmen, and
wrote to the father of one of them to an
nounce that his son had passed the exami-
nation. and made the announcement in the
following equivocal language: Dear Sir:
Your son has passed. Do you recollect our
taking the Columbus out of dock? She just
grazed."
Our Governments Neglect.
Prior to our late war our government was
negiectful in rewarding its naval officers.
and many times was unjust. England, on
the other hand. has always been prolific in
it's distribution of honors and more sub
stantial recognitions of the gallant actions
of its seamen. 1 call to mind just now an
incident that strongly shows the contrast
between the governments in this respect,
In 1855 Lieut.. Pegram was in the Chinese
waters in command of one Of our vessels.
The coast of China at that time was a nest
OF pirates preying upon commerce. Pegram,
in conjunction with Capt. Fellows of the
British navy, conceived a plan of destroy
ing the pirates, and organized a boat ex-
petition for that purpose. Pegram took
something over 100 OF his men and was
Joined by Fellowes with about sixty British
tars. In the little harbor where the pirates
were hidden were a number of junks, arm
ed with more than a hundred guns and
1000 men. Most OF them were destroyed or
captured, and the piratical nest completely
broken up. For his share in the expedition
the British officer was promptly promoted,
while the United States Secretary of the
Navy contented himself by writing to
Pegram that the correspondence which
had taken place. between the British adj
miral and himself would be placed on file.
. Old Commodore Porter, the hero of 1912,
was driven from the navy he had so great
ly hOnOred for an act that had he been in
the English service would have won him an
admirals flag. The story of that crime
of our government is well worth repeating.
His last service in our navy was in COM
mand of the fleet in the gulf. which was, at
that time. infested by pirates A robbery
of American property had occurred on the
Island of St. Thomas, and the goods had
been carried to Porto Rico by the pirates.
Lieut. Plat, in command of one of Por-
terS vessels, heard of the robbery and I'M
dertoOk to recover the property. He pre-
scented himself with his vessel at the port
to which the stolen property had been car
ried. and demanded its return He was
roughly received by the authorities, being
placed under arrest.
4 Staivart Commodore.
After being detained sometime he was
finally released. As he left the port he met
Commodore Porter coming in with his flag
ship. the John Adams. Plat narrated the
indignity put upon him, and the commo-
dore determined to at once resent the af-
fair as a gross insult to the flag. He en-
tered the harbor with three of his vessels
and sent a message to the alcalde of the
town demanding satisfaction, and threat
ening, in case of refusal to take possess
sion of the place. One hour only was given
for the decision. A battery that was about
to fire on his party was captured and it's
guns silenced. Porter landed with about
two hundred men and proceeded to march
against the place, when the authorities, see
ing his determination, agreed to Apologize.
For this prompt vindication of the honor
Of his country the commodore was at once
recalled and court-martialed for transgress-
ing his orders, and was sentenced to sus-
pension for six months. This act of gross
injustice cost the navy one of it's bright
est ornaments, for Commodore Porter re-
signed his commission and entered the
service of Mexico. President jackson after
ward offered to restore his commission, but
he would not accept because of the old unre-
versed censure. However he left the Next
can navy and entered the United States
diplomatic service. and was finally made
minister at Constantinople, where he died.
He Was Commended.
Naval officers were not always treated
with this same injustice for upholding the
honor of the country in foreign waters
A good example OF this kind occurred in
cur intercourse with Japan in the earlier
days. An expedition to that country was
sent out under the command of Capt.
Glynn. AS he approached the shore Japa-
reese vessel came out and handed the Amer
lean officer parchment warning the cap
tain from approaching any nearer the shore
The captain threw the parchment into the
water. He was then warned by the inter-
prefer, but the Yankee commander assured
him he would go just where he pleased He
sailed on until he found an anchorage that
suited him. The next day the prince of the
district visited him with a great retinue.
ON entering the ship the prince started to
go forward, when the captain clapped him
ON the shoulder and said: Look you here
friend, you must so the other way" Such
Iamllldrlty startled the Japanese, who
thought their prince was about to be muir
dered. After some pareying Capt. Glynn
told the prince he had come for some ship
wrecked American sailors who had been
made prisoners by the Japanese, and that
they must be given up Immediately. The
prince replied that il would take forty days
TO go to Yeddo for them. To that Glynn
would not listen, but finally compromised
by allowing four days. The prisoners We're
released within the allotted time ard
Capt. Glypn was promptly complimented
by his government.
A Gallant officer.
! cannot conclude these sketches with
out relating a story of conspicuous gal
lantry by a midshipman during the Next
can war. While the port of Vera Cruz was
blockaded by our fleet a Spanish vessel
managed to slip in without being discover
ed. The idea was conceived of capturing
the schooner by a night attack, and Mid
shipman Hynson was the moving spirit.
The schooner was captured, but could not
be taken out. as she lay directly under
the guns of the fort. so she was fired. In
firing the vessel Hynson had both arms
badly burned. A few days afterward his
vessel was capsized and sunk by a squal1.
Hynson. Notwithstanding he was carrying
both arms in a sling, managed to get hold
of a Spar with another man. Finding the