The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-06-21
Richard somerxI Naval Hero.
Froro The Chlcaro Times-Herald.

Gran naval officer, "suCh exploits as that
OF Lieut. FTobson and his daring crew will
be duplicated more than once by Ameri-
can sailors If this war with Spain con-
tinues for any length. of time"
He had just finished reading the story
of the magnificent bravery Of the men of
Hobson's choice and had tossed the paper
aside
THE history Of our navy is rich with
the records of such deeds as that" con-
tnued the veteran. "Who is there who
hasn't read especially of late, OF the
burning or the Philadelphia to keep ner
from serving in the navy of the Trip'i-
tan pirates after she had run aground
back in 1884 and Of Lieut.. Cushing &C.
structon of the Albemarle during the
civil war? Those were brave deeds, but
no Drawer than Hobsons Neither was it
braNer nor a bit more hazardous than the
expedition in which Master Commandant
Richard Somcrs and a crew of ten sailors
We're blown to atoms in the harbor of Tri-
poll during the war with the Barbary
states.'
And then the veteran went on to relate
from mis- knowledge of the history which
he had read more than once the story of
how Somers and his men coolly set out to
meet an almost certain death, a story of
which the record of Hobson's expedition
is almost an exact reproduction except in
the most important feature-the result.
1t was soon after the burning Of The
Philadelphia that Commodore Preble, in
charge of the American ships in the har-
Dor, figured out a scheme for further har-
assing the enemy by sending "A fire ship
ana exploding it among The shipping. The
kctch Intrepid, which had served so ad-
mirably in the Philadelphia expedition
was selected for this new service, and the
sacrifice. She was loaded with 100 barrels
of powder in bulk. $50 fixed shells and a lot
of old iron to be hurled in every direction
among the enemy's ships when the eXplo-
sion took place. 1t was the intention to
send the ketch in as a blockade runner,
and when she had reached the center of
the fleet of ships in the harDor have her
crew apply the torch to the powder train
and make their escape before the explo-
sion came. Two small rowboats were
fastened to the ketch 10 facilitate the es-
cape, and small vessels followed as Powell
did after Hobson to pick up the crew after
their work was done.
The glory which had fallen to Stephen
Decatur and has men for their burning of
the Philadelphia had inspired the entire
American fleet with a desire to do some
thing to share the record for bravery, and
when the call came for volunteers to go on
the Intrepid there was almost as great an
embarrassment of riches as when 900 men
presented themselves to go on Hobsons
hazardous errand.
somers wanted but ten men, with Mid
shipman Henry Wadsworth second In COM
mand but just before the start they found
a stowaway-M ldshipman Joseph Israel
He was more fortunate or less fortunate
which ever it may be-than Hobson S
stoWaway for he was permitted to 60
! Every man in the crew knew the peril
| of the venture and they all declared they
| would never be taken alive. Before the
! departure Somers removed from his finger
| a gold ring, and breaking it in three pieces
! gave one TO Decatur and another to Mas
ter Commandant Charles Stewart The
/ third piece he kept. The pieces given
/ away were to be preserved as mementoes
in case Somers did not return The men
| in the crew disposed of their effects as
they would have done had they been going
| out to be shot.
1t was on the night OF Sept L. 1904, that
the Intrepid and her intrepid crew left
the rest of the American fleet and sailed
away through the fog toward the Tripoli-
| tan gunboats. Three small cruisers-the
Argus Vixen and Nautllus-stood over
! toward the harbor with her I'm order 10
| cover her retreat should she be assailed
| before entering. The crews of these YES
sells silently watched the ketch fade away
in the misty gloom. They had taken fare
| we'll of the daring band and never saw
them more. Tho last glimpse they had
| of the ketch before she blew up was as
she glided like dark shadow before the
| Tripohtan gunboats. But unfortunately
| her presence there was discovered by the
| enemy zoe soon TO make is possible for
the crew to get away with their lives. A
signal was fired from shore, and in an
instant almost every gun that could bear
ON the steadily intruder was blazing away
Tor all 1t was worth.
Al that moment the crew of the Nauti-
LUIS saw lantern passing along what they
supposed was the deck Of the Intrepid,
doubtless carried by some member of he
| little boats crew. IL paused at the mid
ship hatch, over the spot where the pow
der was stored, ana then dropped out Of
sight The next instant there was q flash
that lit tho sky, ana a stream Of flame
shot up from where the lantern had dsap.
pearcd. 4 shock thai made every ship In
the harEor culver and roar that startled
the astonishod Tripoltans into trembling
fear to,d all too plainly what had hap
pyncd on board the ketch. while the echoes
of the roar were still resouudng splIntcrs
of timber and fragments of shell were
heard dropping into the water in ala direo.
tions around the spot where tne explosion
had occurred.
All through the night American sailors
cruised about the mouth of the harh1r in
the hops Of picking up some OF thcir dac-
ing comrades who had been lucky enough
70 ESCAPE, but their search was in vain.
Pieces OF the bodies of white mon were
lbuuN +tl the hdIDOI WNeH NaAHENt came,
and fragments OF clothing were found
oven upon the shore. Nothing. however.
was identified as belonging to any of the
crew They had been literally blown TO
pieces. SOY had some of the ships of the
enemy and others wero badly shattered.
Just how it all happened never was
known and never can be, but lt has al
ways been supposed that Somers. finding
lis expedition discovered, deliberately fred
the mine and destroyed himself ana all his
men rather than fail into the hands of the
enemy The passing Of the lantern ind,-
Gates that he could not wait for the pow
der train, Dut carried the blaze himself
where IL would be most effective.
Hobsons expedition was 'nol much diff
forent from Somers'. How fortunate It
| did not end In the same disastrous wayl
After recent railway collision Scots
man was cxtrtcatod from the wreckage by
a companion who had escaped uuhurt
Never mind, Sandy" his rescuor remark
/ a. ppt