The record-union., 1897-12-02
HONOR MEDAL SAVED HIM.
Magic Effect Of It's Presence on thu
Breast of an Old Sailor.

1t is seldom that the naval officers
assigned to court martial duty are dis
turbed by the sight of a medal of hon
or While there are many brave men
in the service and many heroic deeds
have been performed by them, only a
few have received any recognition from
the Government, and fewer still med
al of honor The army is full Of medal
of honor men," So, when a man IS
found in the naval service who has re-
ceived the medal he is not only looked
upon as very exceptional person. but
the utmost respect is paid him. This Is
true in the case of Alexander Parker,
on board the United States cruiser San
Francisco.
Parker was one of the oldest sail
makers mates in the service. He had
seen duty on nearly all the ships in the
navy. He is looked upon by the Of
ficers as a valuable man; it was often
said that he worked harder than any
three men on board the ship.
AT quarters and inspections Parker
always wore a long string of good-con-
duct medals and the badge of the
Grand Army of the Republic. The 9TH
er men of the crew envied him. With
all this the old man." as he is now
called, had his faults. He worked hard
and seldom asked for liberty He
would, however, go ashore" occasion
ally, and when he did his fondness for
'the cup that cheers" would get the
better of him, and he would return TO
his ship, always on time. but invariably
three sheets in the wind" SO often
did this happen that it was expected
when Parker asked for liberty he would
come back drunk.
Just before the cruiser San Francisco
left the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and
while she was getting ready to join
the European station in 1894, Sailmak-
er's Mate Parker was assigned to duty
on her. Although having been in the
| service for many years, none of the
officers knew him. One day he asked
permission to so ashore and it was
granted. He returned to the ship at
the end of his leave, and was under
the influence of liquor. He was repri-
| manded by the officer of the deck.
AS he had never been censured before,
he took the matter to heart, and re-
turned to his quarters crest-fallen.
The men noticed something was wrong
with the old man, and tried to cheer
| him up. 1t was not, however until a
| bottle Of whisky had been brought out
| and he had partaken generously of it
| that Parker told how a young officer
reprimanded him. His thirst for liquor,
with the censure soon got the old man
| in trouble.
! While on duty the next day he was
| found to be under the influence of liq-
uor. The officer, thinking 1t was from
the effects of his liberty, let the matter
pass, but when for three days he was
in the same condition, it was found
necessary to report him to the skipper,
| and he was reported as having been
| drunk while on duty on board ship"
| For this he was ordered to appear be-
fore a court-martial.
| This was new experience for the old
man, and he felt his position keenly.
| He Gid not know whether he would
| be put in irons or dismissed from the
service. The men had told him of sim
/ liar cases on board the vessel and the
sentence inflicted by the Captain, who
was a srict disciplinarian.
| The day was set for Parkers trial,
and Lieutenant L. was assigned as
counsel for him. The court convened
in the ward room Of the vessel. and the
officers of the court, in full dress uni
| form, had taken their places at the
| table.
| Parker, in order to make a good i'm
preston on the court, arrayed himself
in his best uniform. Before being
called before the court he put his med
ais on. Instead of the two he usually
wore, and which the officers and men
| had seen, Parker had a third medal on
| his breast. 1t was pinned between the
| long string of good-conduct medals
and the badge of the Grand Army
| None of the men and but few of the
officers had seen one like it before. 1t
was this medal that saved Parker from
being PUT in the ships brig" and, as
one of the officers said, completely
| busted the court"
| 1t was one of the few mada1s award
ed by Congress to a sailor in the
| United States service for heroic deeds
! Parker was called before the court
| and duly sworn. Before however, he
was asked to plead to the charges, one
| Of the officers saw the medal and told
the President what it was.
What is that medal, Parker, you
| have on?" asked Lieutenant Command
er s., President of the court.
Although old in the service, Parker
blushed and stammered, 1T is a medal
| Of honor, sir, given me by Congress
while l was on the Cayuga in the at
tack on Forts Jackson and ST. Philip,
and in The taking Of New Orleans, April
"a and %. 1862"
| "All right; you are excused" said the
| President of the court. go back to
your quarters, and don't get drunk any
more
After Parker had left the wardroom,
one Of the officers said it was necessary
to continue the court and forward it's
findings to the Navy Department
What could you do to a man who
wears the medal of honor and who is
charged with such an offense?'
1--WE win find him guilty and recon-
mend extreme mercy"
Parker was found guilty anu ordered
to be put in the ships brig. The or
| ders were never carried out for when
the Captain of the vessel heard that
| Parker was an honor man." the orders
were revoked and Parker is still at
work, making sails and bags for the
cruiser San Francisco
| An officer who was in the court said: ::
! Il have been on many courts and tried
| all kinds of men for different offenses,
but this one of Parker's was the only
one where the court became completely
embarrassed, and it didn't take five
minutes to bust it up. There was not
| an officer in the ship that wouldn't
| have given five years pay to have won
and worn such medal."-New York
| Times.