The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1895-07-17
WHOLE NO. 220I.

W iicu she DfOuEuJ a- 4 prisoner from
Alexandria, Egypt, TO Washington,
John III. Surratt, one of the eonspirs,-
tors against President Lincoln. His
| duties have called him to the ports of
Europe, Asia and Africa, North and
South America and To many Of the
islands OF the sea. He has been hy-
drographer for the navy department,
light house inspector, and has COM
manded a numberof our finest vessels,
including the ''Kearsarge," the
Charleston" and is at present in com
mand OF the Minnesota. Last year as
the chief officer in command in Brazil
ian waters his communications with
the state department kept our govern
ment advised as TO the condition of the
insurrection i'm that country. In 1852
rs an acting master on the frigate "St.
Lawrence" he was a witnessOftheb bat
tie between the Monitor and Merri-
mack, one of the most famous and i'm
pOrtant of the naval battles of the
world. Rev. David II. Ellis ROW of
Rpci;woo1, was one of the forty-thrcc
brave men composing the crew of the
Monitor under the command Of Lieut..
John l.. WOr'ien. The rebel ram, Mcr-
rinack, an iron-clad, ON the sth of
March, lst2, had sunk the L. :. frigate
Cumberland ami burned the frigate
Congress, and on the morrow purpOsed
destroying the steamer Minnesota, n
well as the Roanoke and 1t. Lawrence.
All being wooden vessels their destruc-
ton was inevitable, but the timely ar
rival of the little Monitor changed the
fortune Of the day. Singie-handed and
alone she fought the Nerrimack 50 that
b. noon Lieutenant Catesby Jones was
glad to Withdraw to the Norfolk Navy
Yard for the repairs now necessary To
the saving of his own vessel, as the un-
precedented pounding it had received
had lOosened her plates and she was
fast becoming leaky This battle not
only demonstrated that the day of
wooden sailing vessels for naval war
fare was over, but it pat an immediate
check upon the terrible work of de
struc;ion that otherwise would have
been accomplished by the Merrimack,
for there was nothing To prevent her
from sinking every vessel in the Union
navy and laying waste every city on
the coast Congress Immediately made
liberal appropriations for the construc-
ton Of other vessels of the Monitor
pattern, and in a few months we were
fully protected upon the water.
Other representatives in the navy are
the two sons Of Oliver Knepper Esq,
of Somerset. Ensign Chester NJ. Knep-
per, who graduated at the Naval Acad-
emy in 1854. WAS for time attached to
the Philadelphia and was present at
Honolulu, Hawaii, during the transfer
nation of that island kingdom TO the
present Republic. Returning To san
Francisco lie WAS transferred to the L.
> :. Yorktown, dispatched to Chinese
waters to look after American inter
ests in the troubles between China and |
Japan, and is at present at Chee-foo,
China.
Orlo :. Knepper graduated at the |
Naval Academy in June 1875. As Past
he has been assigned to
the double turretted monitor, "Amphi- !
trite," now at Fortress Monroe.
The great number Of enlistments
from Somerset county aud different or
CARNATIONS we sent out forbid my fol- |
lowing in detail the history of any.
Each i different, yet all have much in
common. We remember in ISL Ofthe |
stirring news from the seat Ofwar; how
the firing upon Sumter, the attack
upon the Massachusetts soldiers in
and the killing OF Colonel /
aroused our deepest emotions. /
The music OF the fife and drum filed
the land. IOI who were soldiers re-
solved to put down treason. You en-
listed your company went into camp
at Pittsburs or Harrisburg; you were
there uniformed and drilled your reg
organization was completed
and then YOU We're hurried on 10 Wash
ingtOn. You crossed the long OF the
chain bridge to be swallowed up in the
Army OF the Potomac in Virginia.
There You were in camp drilling, doing
guard duty, standing picket, or, in a
skirmish, or, standing in the thick of
battle as YOU saw your comrades fall
ing lifeless about you or borne away
sorely wounded, you experienced war
in its most terrible aspect. Ii unfort-
innate enough TO have fallen into the
hands of the enemy then the horrors
of AndersOnville, Libby or other prison
pens of the South had to be endured
for months before you could escape, be
paroled, exchanged and sent back To
your regiment or discharged and sent
home-a physical wreck.
After thirty years, a you call to
mind the scenes of those days, You re-
member many of them with pleasure
and are ready to admit there il no cloud
without a silver lining.
The letter from home, the newspaper
with all the war news, how eagerly
read What an appetite YOU had for
bean soup and hard tack How you
enjoyed that tin-cup full of coffee after
the days march, and how soundly you
slept wrapped in your blanket under
the open sky. The stories around the
the foraging expeditions,
the raids on the camp sutler and the
practical jokes you played on the awk-
ward squad and others of your conf
rades, are pleasant recOllections- The
honorable mention of your name in the
report of your superior officers, and the
brevets and promotions that followed
were gratifying To you. And the
day that You were ordered home your
heart was ~ light As on that You
marched away TO the tune Of ''The girl
/ left behind me-" These experiences
filled up the sum of the soldiers life.
The name of every soldier and sailor
is borne on the roll of honor-is in the
custody and keeping Of the state and
national governments. Their deeds
are history, their achievements the
proud legacy bequeathed to their
grateful eountrymen.
Local monuments commemorative of
.I.s. L.. .,,i - h.,,-.. l.,..r, .r...t