The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-07-02
IN OUR NAVY.
Names Which Add Lustre to the His
tory of the Country.

Families Which Have Included MANY a
Herc-Among Them the Decaturs, Rodg-
ers, Perrys. Forters, PrebIes and Self
ridges.
New York Tribune.)
whats in a name?' A great deal to
your true blue warrior of the seas, if it
| be good one, and perhaps quite as i'm
portant in its way if it be a bad one.
Like every other honest citizen, the thor
oughbred seadog prefers good name,
and if 1t has just pinch of salt in it to
give it the proper flavor of the sea, SO
much the better. In looking over the list
of American naval officers of the last few
generations one is surprised to find how
many of them bear famous naval names,
not only by Inheritance, but In their
given names. In proportion to the num-
Der in the service there have been more
officers in Uncle Sans navy who have
been descendants Of well-known officers,
| or who have received the names of naval
heroes in baptism, than in any other
navy in the world.
Take almost any name-Decatur. for
instance. There was the original Capt
Stephen Decatur, beginning his career on
the ocean under the Stars and Stripes In
theswar for American independence. He
did some pretty work for Uncle Sam in
the country's early naval engagements,
and, of course, his son, Stephen Decatur,
Jr., had to eep up the record. He not
only kept it up,ibut added materially to
1t. But Stephen got into that duel with
Barron and was killed before he had sons
born to him to keep up the famous line.
Decatur was fighter, and when Barron
went so far out of his way to pick a
quarrel, Decatur was not the man to
avoid a meeting, and the result was that
Uncle Sam was deprived of any more
Decatur blood.
But there were plenty to take up the
glorious name. Capt. Edward Trenchard
knew Decatur the elder very well, and SO
named his son Stephen Decatur
Trenchard. Trenchard entered the SER
vice-of course, he had to with such a
''front" name, besides, being the son of
a gallant navy oficer-although his
parents had fondly hoped that he would
bud out into full -fedged bishop in due
cumstances of his birth were too much
for them, and Trenchard became one of
the most valuable officers in the navy,
dying in 1880 with the rank of rear ad-
miral.
Those gallant Rodgerses have been part
and parcel of the navy ever since 1t came
into existence One must be sure to put
a ''d'' in the name in spelling it. Some
admirers Of this celebrated family have
said that the ''d'' should be put in
because they fight like the devil when
they once get started. 1t was the first
John Rodgers who sprecipitated the war
of 1919. because he wouldn't take impu-
dence from the Little Belt, and no one
has hever blamed him for it. Other
Rodgerses have kept up the good work
ever since. Comdr. George Washington
Rodgers was killed In action before
Charleston, Rear-Admiral Christopher
Raymond Perry Rodgers was the name of
q naval hOIO WIZ, WIuA OOlA IeOOp6rS,
Jf., did good ssrvice in the civil war, all
of them deserving to have 'd'' in their
names, judging from the way they
fought. And there are six of the Rod
gerses in the navy to-day-Capt. Fred
erick Rodgers, Lieut. Comdr. John A.
Rodgers, Lieut. Comdr. Thomas S. Rod
gers, Lieut.. William L. Rodgers, Guy C.
Rodgers, assistant paymaster, and that
sturdy youngster, John Rodgers, naval
cadet. Surely the Rodgerses with the ID
are not deserting Uncle Sam.
Closely allied to the Rodgerses were
the Perrys, who lore one of the most il
lustrious names in American naval his
tory The list begins with Christopher
Raymo nd Perry. in the Revolution, who
perform ed some remarkable operations,
and his son, Oliver Hazard, the gallant
hero of Lake Erie. Then there was his
brother Matthew Galbraih Perry, who
did some splendid work in the Mexican
war, but who won his last renown by the
bloodless conquest of Japan. Then there
was another brother Of Oliver Hazard
Perry, who, though only 10 years old,
took an active part in the battle of Lake
Erie, and there are to-day Comdr.
Thomas Perry, Chief Engineer James H.
Perry and Naval Cadet Newman K.
Perry, Jr. One of the fighting Rodgerses
was named after the first Perry, Christie
pher Raymond Perry Rodgers.
1t is to be expected that such glorious
name as Porter would be perpetuated in
Uncle Sans navy after all that David
Porter did in his celebrated cruiss in
the Pacific ocean. 1924. But this
Porter was not the first of that name in
the service. He had q father, David
Porter, and an uncle Samuel Porter,
who were imprisoned in the Jersey in the
time of the Revolution, and the latter
died from Entertainment at the hands of
the British. David escaped by concealing
himself in cask which was taken
ashore to be filed with water. 1t was the
son OF this David who made his mark on
the frigats Essex. His son, the third
David Porter in tho navy, was the one