Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-02-27
WRECK OF THE kEARSARGE.
Scene Yesterday Afternoon In the
Court of Inquiry,

Scene Yesterday Afternoon I'm the
Court of Inquiry.
With show of gold lace and official i'm
portance the court appointed to inquire
into the grounding and the wrecking of the
kearsarge began its work in the navy
yard at Brooklyn yesterday. Rear Admiral
Bancroft Gherardi, president of the court,
sat at the mead of the long table. The
court of inquiry is to decide whether Com
mander Oscar F. Heyerman, Lieut.. Charles
II. Lyman and Lieut. F. r. Brainard shall
be tried by Court-martial The official pa
pers were read for the benefit Of the offi-
GERS of the Kearsarge.
Then Mr.. Kelly turned to Mr.. Heyerman.
Commander" he said do you desire to
appear before this court voluntarily
Il do, answered the commander.
do y3u wish to be represented by coun-
SELF"
mo, sir: 1 do not
Mr.. Lyman was asked the same questions
and made the same answers.
MIR. Kelly then asked them whether they
had any cause to challenge the officers of
the court. They said they had not.
The interesting ceremony of swearing in
the officers of the court followed.
]. W. Crawford and w. j. Woods, the
stenographers, were introduced to the
court and sworn. This finished the organi-
zation of the court. and notice was given to
Capt. Miller, who is in command of the re-
ceiving ship Vermont. to have the officers
and crew of the Kearsarge mustered at
pm. that there might take place what
proved to be one Of the most impressive
ceremonies known to the navy yard.
The entire crew and officers were mus
tered on the spar deck of the old ship. on
the starboard side the crew were massed
closely in long lines Among them was
Admiral Gherardi in fatigue uniform. All
OF them, officers and crew, bore marks of
their experiences. This was shown in their
clothing and in their faces from which the
bronze is slowly disappearing.
Are all the survivors mustered who can
be assembled" asked Admiral Gherardi,
turning to Commander Heyerman.
Yes; all that can be assembled" replied
the commander.
The president of the court directed the
judge advocate to read the narrative, as it
is called officially of Commander Heyer-
man to those assembled.
dressing the crew, Admiral Gherardi said
Now. lads. 1 am about to swear yOu and
not only you, but the officers of the ship
as well, and certain questions will be put
to you. You have all heard the report of
the commanding officer and the indorse-
ment of the commander-in-chief of the
North Atlantic station. l want one and all
of you to bear in mind the solamnity of the
oath you are to take. and remember that
there will be certain questions put to you
which 1t is your duty. both officers and
men. to answer. no matter how painful 1t
may be to any of YOU. i shall give you a
few minutes to think over exactly what
you want to say, for. remember. subSe-
quently to this you have to swear to all
you say here. "a solemn pause) Gentle
men and crew, please raise your right
hand
When all had been sworn the president
turned to Commander Heyerman. and
these questions and answers followed:
Q.-Is the narrative read to the court a
true statement of the grounding and wreck
of the United States late ship the Kear-
Att Is. sir.
Q.-Have you any complaint to make
against any of the surviving officers and
crew of said ship on that occasion?
A.-None whatever.
Admiral Gherardi then addressed the Off
GERS and crew: Have you anything to ob-
ject to in the narrative just read to the
court or anything to lay to the charge of
any officer men with regard to the loss
of the United States late ship, the kear-
sarge?"
There was no movement among the crew
nor among the officers.
Admiral Gherardi turned to the former
and said: Now I want to impress upon
you that this is not a question of spite. 1t
feel that you have a dislike against some
Individual. but 1t is a question of duty
simple plain. straightforward duty. There
fore any of you who have a complaint to
make will step forward and make that
complaint to the judge advocate. who will
take it down in writing
Not one of the men moved. The admiral
turned to the officers. They had nothing
to say.
ually they shook their heads This ended
the proceedings of the day. The men were
dismissed, and the court adjourned until
TODAY