The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1898-07-29
COMMODORE WATSON.

.rr w W ne " ~
and newspaper gatherers, the reading
public have been made quite familiar
with the personality and naval record
of two of the men in command of our
sQuadrons in West Indian waters. But
there Is a third commander down there,
an able and efficient officer, as modest
as he is able, and a royal good fellow
to boot, who is performing a duty of the
utmost Importance n value to the
country, concerning whom very little
has been printed.
h man is Commodore John Crit
tenden Watson, who, with a fleet com,
posed for the most part Of small ships,
is maintaining the blockade of Havana
n other north Cuban ports in a man
ner which must win for him the ad-
miration of his superior officers and
who by virtue of his commission is the
senior of both Sampson and Schley,
and yet reports to the former. Com
modore Schley is. on the naval register,
acting Rear Admiral SIMPSONS senior
by two numbers, m by the same token
Commodore Watson ranks ahead of
Schley.
1t is probably not remembered by
many that it was this same Commo-
uOle "dISOA, Iucu d yOuIS lleuCeudLl,
who dashed Farragut to the rigging
during the battle of Mobile bay. That
incident Of the great struggle between
the states long since became historic,
n poets and artists AVE Gun in it
the inspiration for some of their best
and most spirited work. This is the
story briefly told:
The powerful confederate ironclad
Tennessee attacked the Hartford fierce
ly. Farragut took up his position in
the port mizzen rigging, the better to
observe the progress of the fight M
to direct and cheer on his men. Lieu
tenant Watson, seeing the great dam
ger to which the intrepid admiral was
exposing himself, procured a rope n
dashed himself in his place. In a letter
which Lieutenant Watson wrote to his
mother after the battle he mentions in
detail the reckless bravery of Farragut,
and adds:
Eat length 1 dashed him to the rig
ging with my own hands, having in
vain begged him not to stand in such
an exposed place."
The relations which existed between
Admiral Farragut and his flag lieuten-
ant were of the most affectionate de-
scription. In his official report of the
Mobile battle Farragut showed What
he thought Of young Watson:
Lieutenant Watson" he wrote, has
been brought to you attention in for
mer times. He was on the poop at
tending to the signals, and performed
his duty, as might be expected, thor
oughly. He is a scion worthy of the
noble stock from which he sprang, n
I commend him to your attention"
There is no better blood in the navy
than flows in the veins Of Commodore
Watson. He was born in Frankfort,
KY, August "a, 1912. His father, Ed
ward Howe Watson, was a skilled n
popular physician Of the old school,
and his mother, Sarah Lee C%rittenden
Watson, was a daughter Of John Jor-
dan Crittenden, the famous Kentucky
statesman, rival Of Henry Clay, govern
or at one time of Kentucky n at
torney general in William Henry Har-
rison's cabinet.
Governor C~rittenden's first wife was
Miss Sarah Lee. Some years after her
death he married the widow of John
Harris Todd. By his first wife he had
a large family, including General Thos.
l.. C%rittenden of the United States
army. Among the children Of his Sec
ond wife was Henry I. Todd, a we'll
known Kentuckian and father of Chap
man c.. Todd, U. S. NJ, now command
ing the gunboat Wilmington Of Com
modore Watson's fleet. Another of her
sons was George r. Todd, former mayor
of Louisville, KY.
Commodore Watson was married in
1873 to Miss Elizabeth Thornton, a dis
tant connection, and daughter Of Judge
James Thornton of San Francisco. The
result of this union was eight children,
seven of whom are living. The eldest
son, John Edward Watson, is an ensign
in the navy and is now attached to the
cruiser Detroit. Commodore Watson's
naval career has been a notable one.
He was Immediately assigned to the
rank Of midshipman, and August Is
joined the Susquehanna in that capac-
ity for a cruise to Europe. While he
was abroad the civil war broke out.
and he returned at once to take part
in it.
He was promoted to the rank of mas
ter August 81, 1861. His career as a
fighter did not really begin, however,
until January 10, 1852, when he was or
dered to the Hartford as navigator.
This was Admiral Farragut's flagship.
He was commissioned a lieutenant July
16, 1852, and in January, 1854, he was
made flag lieutenant to Farragut. He
was at the battles of New Orleans, Mo-
bile bay, Vicksburg and Port Hudson.
In a letter to his son Loyal during the
war, Admiral Farragut tells him Of
Watson's volunteering to slip off and
blow up a blockade runner. Among
other things he says:
."It was an anxious night for me, as
T am about q G FIND of Watson oe r on,