The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1895-07-26
sERYEp ON BorH SIDES.
Varied Experience of Captain David Ro
of East Haddam.

Varied Experience of Captain David Ross
of East Haddam.
Since the death in New Haven recent
ly Of a gentleman who had held gen
erals commission in the Confederate
service, probably the only man now left
in Connecticut who held an officers
commission from a southern governor
is Captain David Ross of East Had
dam.
From his long service on the Hart
ford and New York boats few men are
more widely known than Captain Ross,
yet very few persons have heard the
story of his adventurous life. He was
born in Maine, and in common with
many New England boys before the
war, he drifted to the south. The year
Of 1855 found him steamboating on the
Mississippi and Red river lines from
New Orleans, and when the war broke
out in 1861, he had, by his enterprise,
worked himself up to the place Of the
first officer of the big steamer Natchez,
plying between New Orleans and Gin
crowd in the military fever Of that day,
and joined several Of his friends In en-
listing In the "Grenta Fire Guards,
Louisiana Fire battalion, First divi-
sion, Louisiana militia The battal-
ion was composed wholly of f1remen
from New Orleans and other cities, the
Gretna being New Orleans company.
He went as a sergeant, and on De-
cember "a Governor Moore gave him a
commission as first lieutenant Of the
guards.
AT this time his company was at Fort
Jackson, on which an attack was anti
cipated by General Butler by land.
His company, and the whole battalion,
In fact, were there nearly eight months
before the bombardment by Commodore
Porter's mortar vessels opened on the
18th of April. 1t was a, terrible day in
the fort, with the bursting shells and
the burning of one building after anoth-
err. The bonbardment continued at in
tervals for ten days, when the garrison
surrendered, leaving the fort as de-
scribed in Commodore Porter's report,
ia perfect wreck"
Lieutenant Ross and his brother Of
f1cers were taken to New Orleans and
held prisoners in the custom house for
two weeks. They were then released on
parole, and after many weeks of wait
ing to ind transportation to the north,
Lieutenant Ross finally secured passage
on the steamer Roanoke and reached
New York. His brother was engaged
at Goodspeed's Landing in building a
Union gunboat, and Lieutenant Ross
joined him and set to work on the Fed
eral side this time. After three years
at Goodspeeds he entered the service
of the Hartford and New York line,
and served altogether for eighteen
years. He was first on the City of
Hartford as first officer, and later on
the Granite State until she was burned
in May, 1883. After this he sought
shore life for a change, and mangled
the Champion house at East Haddam
for a while, and later had a hotel at
Stony Creek. Since leaving the latter
hotel he has lived quietly at his home
in East Haddam, engaged in no ac-
tive business.
While first officer OF the Granite State
he had an exciting adventure when
the boat was passing through Hell
Gate one afternoon fifteen years ago.
The steamer Seawanhaka of the then
Glen Cove line caught fire and was in
a blaze in an instant. The Granite
State went to the rescue and Captain
Ross did excellent work. Among those
he saves by his personal efforts were
Mr.. Harper, q member of Harper Broth
ers, the wealthy New York publishers,
and a fifteen-year-old daughter of
Mayor Grace. He has had good reason
to remember the names because of the
substantial recognition of his services
from both Mr.. Harper and Mr.. Grace.
Captain Ross treasures his commits
sion from the Louisiana governor as
one of the choicest souvenirs of those
days of trial and danger. The docu-
ment is on heavy paper of light blue
color, well printed, and the written part
is scarcely faded.