The herald., 1898-03-13
HEROES OF THE MAINE
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There are bright spots in the midnight
blackness of the Maine catastrophe In
the hour of her grief for the loss of so
many of her brave sons, Columbia mas
| found some solace in the deeds OF herolsm
that shine conspicuously amid the wreck
and ruin that form the basic details of the
story. The news dispatches have referred
briefly to these incidents.
| Beneath the blue coat of William An
| thony, a marine on board the ill-fated
| warship, there beats a heart that shows
the stalwart stuff of which Americas S de-
tenders are made. 1t is Captain Sigsbee
who tells the story of William Anthony
heroic devotion to duty. disregard Tor
aught but the discipline of the service, and
GOODNESS in the hour of death.
! When the Maine received her deathblow
and the first impulse of the living was to
get away from the disastrous scene, Cap
| tain Sigsbee ran from his cabin to reach
the deck. In the passageway outside his
cabin door Captain Sigsbee ran into man,
who, cool as on ordinary parade day,
tdrew himself up and saluted his superior
officer Beyond the spot where stood the
erect and soldierly form of the marine
| Captain Sigsbee could hear the cries and
groans of his wounded men, and could
see the reflection of the flames that had
shot up from the inferno whence came the
devastating explosion.
AS he wondered what on earth or on sea
this marine meant by barring his way at
such terrible hour, the figure gave utter
ance to words that should become histor-
ical:
Sir" said William Anthony. II have to
inform you that the ship has been blown
up and is sinking"
1t is a pleasure to know that this hero
of the lost Maine lives and is at the SER
vice of Uncle Sam for peace or war. Well
may Spain endeavor to appease the anger
of power that numbers among its defend
ers such men as William Anthony.
ANY Yankee marine would have done
the same" was the modest reply of An
thony to the eulogisms of men who heard
of his bravery in the terrible moments
following the explosion. And Anthony is
doubtlessly right.
Anthony was evidently destined to be a
soldier. He enlisted almost as soon as
his school days were over, twenty-eight
years ago, and has worn the uniform of
Uncle Sam ever since. He first saw SER
vice during the old days of the Ku Klux,
and later drifted into the marine corps as
q volunteer. 1t suited him so well that a
marine he has remained ever since. Pre-
vious to joining the marine corps Anthony
had done good service on the western
plains, where his conspicuous GOODNESS and
bravery marked him for a man of iron
the only thing that stood in the way of his
getting commission, during his career
both as a land and a sea soldier.
OF his stern sense of duty many stories
are told The best is this: While he was
stationed at the Brooklyn navy yard his
old mother, whom he had not seen for many
years, came over to see him. 1t happened
that Anthony at the time was on sentry
duty and when he saw the gray-haired
mother his first impulse was to drop the
rifle and clasp her in his arms. But this
would have been a violation of the rules
of the service that only an ordinary man
would have been guilty of. Anthony was
not an ordinary man, and so, with the i'm
pulse struggling in his heart, he begged
the old lady to go and wait for him in the
guard room until, duty done, he could let
heart feelings have the mastery with
out trampling on discipline.
Anthony would doubtless have contin-
ued his tramp until the regular hour of re-
lief had not the officer of the day been no.
titled of the situation by one of Anthony s
comrades. When this was done the ma
rine was relieved and allowed to welcome
the venerable mother. 1t is simple lit
tie story, but 1t shows the stuff of which
Anthony is made.
And Lieutenant Jenkins? What was he
doing that he failed to reach the deck with
the rest of the survivors? 1t reads like a
romance of ancient sea battles to know
that this hero of the Maine was seeking at
the last moments of his life for means to
answer back, shot for shot, the enemy that
he supposed was shatterng the ship with
shells. The body of Jenkins has never
been recovered, but enough is known con-
cerning his movements. after the first of
the double explosion that wrecked the
Maine, to know that this heroic officer was
struggling, when death overlook, to reach
the gun that would have been under his
charge in action.
What thoughts the brave young officer
had as he made that death rush to the post
of duty will never be known. Self-preser-