The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-08-29

courage in the conduct of Captain George Napier, who, being struck In the | breach at Ciudad Rodrigo, at the head of the stormlng party, his arm shatter- ed by cannon ball, kept cheering and directing his men as he lay bleeding and helpless, trodden on, buffeted by the charging soldiers, He would not have himself removed until he heard the place was won, and then, With his sash binding his arm, he walked quiet | ly to the amputating place, waited his turn, and had to listen to the dlscus- sion of point of etiquette between two surgeons as to which of them was en- titled to perform on him.
 That was cool daring on the part of rough Irish private in the Peninsplar war who when thirteenth-inch shell fell in the crowded work, knocked out the burning fuse with a blow of his spade, picked up the shell and carried | 1t to his officer. with the quaint re- mark, There she Is now, your honor. She'll do nobody any harm now, for it's meself has knocked the life out av the crature!"
 | Who does not remember the noble stoic courage and discipline of those recruits who stood in their ranks on the deck of the Birkenhead troop ship, waiting for the ineveitable death that was imminent, while the women and children were being saved?
 | A Briton myself, have ties with the great republic, and for that reason cherish the knowledge of some acts of courage of the stamp I specially ad- mire, performed by Americans-acts | which probably are not widely known among the countrymen of those brave men,
 It was in the late Admiral John Rodg- CTS first action in the Galena that shell crashed into the turret in which he was with the gunners, and half smothered him with the blood and brains of an adjacent sailor. Others were struck down by the explosion, and panic was setting in, It's pro- gress Rodgers stayed, not how ever, by angry voice and loud ob- 1 jurgations, but by the quiet, rum inative, half-complaining remark, as he wiped his bespattered face, And they told me these things were she'll proof!' The utterance and the man ner thereof appealed to the ever alert American sense of humor. The gunners rallied and renewed the fight.
 On another occasion, I think when the ship the Weehawken was in &C., tion with the Confederate ironclad At lanta, Rodgers, having gone below sor a moment, found a man Of the turret gun crew wandering about between decks. When challenged to answer for conn ardice in deserting his post, the man made no reply, and was put in irons by Captain Rodgers orders.
 The fight over and the Atlanta a prize, one of his officers, entering his cabin represented to him that the man was no skulker, but, on the contrary, one Of the best men on the ship, who had been dazed and stunned by the im- pact of hostile missile on the turret, against the inside of which he had been leaning; that he had been ordered be- low, and that when challenged by the commanding officer he had not yet re- covered from the shock.
 Rodgers ordered that the man should be immediately unironed, and at quar- ters next day when officers and ships company were mustered, he thus curt ly but pointedly addressed the sailor:
 My man, called you coward yes- terday. I find was mistaken, and, lifting his cap. T beg your pardon"
 Surely than this no commanding off, cer ever did nobler and more gallant act, and one ean well believe that for a chief so loyal in in his manhood to his fellow citizens, so generous and whole l souled in owning his error, the Wee- haken's crew would have died to a man.
 It Is remarkable with what different sentiments commanders regard the eff forts of their subordinates to gain re- nown.
 Lord Wolseley, for example would have every officer burn to seize every opportunity to obtain personal distinc- tion. Steady old Lord Clyde, on the other hand, held that an objection to the Victoria cross was it's incentive to aides -de-camps and staff officers to place themselves in prominent post tions for the purpose of attracting at tention.' And he continues, ITO such, life is of little value as compared with the gain of public honor but their con- | duIt i5 ct Sluek ltiJuSllCt tO OLnGE gal lant officers, who, in all the excitement of action, have important responsible and f-abnegatory duties to perform. '
 I have seen Skobeloff dash into the turbulent heart of half dozen actions, conspicuous above all men by the white , coat he wore and the white charger he bestrode, and I have seen him stand on the parapet of our earthwork for an hour at time, the target for heavy fire. Those things seem to savor o1 sheer recklessness, but they were done in the intensity of devotion to a pur- pose, that purpose being to gain pres tige to inspire his men with confidence to follow whither he led, to intimidate them to daring by the force of example
 He worked for results; and he mostly attained them: when he failed it, was for no want of endeavor to succeed How he strove is vividly described 1T MacGaban's powerful etching of hin returning from an effort which failed for want of support. Your gifted ant lamented countryman wrote:
 "He was in fearful state of excite ment and fury; his uniform was cover. ed with blood and mud; his swore ! L .sx.Az