The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1898-06-13
NewHerO.
TheNavy

NuVdl OOuhtTuctOI nACuuloAu ooisoh
Hobson had commanded the Merrimac
In her perilous undertaking In the chan
mel Of Santiago harbor, naval officers
were astonished. Their surprise was not
due to the belief that Hobson was not
capable Of performing such da.sng
deed. for he was considered . man of
undoubted courage. but over the selec-
tion for the work Of q member of corps
that is less concerned with hostilities.
than any other branch OF the naval es-
tablishmcnt The idea Of puttinga con-
structor In charge Of the most important
project that has been undertaken in the
West Indies since the war begun was
novel one to Hobson' s brother officers.
They were wondering what 1t all meana
A constructor In supposed to stay ashore,
looking after the building and repairing
Of ships in which others must do the
fighting. But Hobson had formed his
plans to be in the thick of the present
trouble, and aaving been successful in
overcoming the prejudice against as
signing constructors TO sea duty had
grasped his opportunity and turned out
o hero.
"He il of the stuff that they make
heroes OF, ;" said Colonel Hilary A. Her
bert. former secretary Of the navy, who.
as a representative in congress from AL
ALBANIA, appointed young Hobson to the
Naval academy. Everybody else in
Washington thinks the same. and those
who know the hero of the Merrimac are
recalling incidents In his career 10 show
how well fitted he was for performing
deed of remarkable gallantry and judg-
ment.
Like most geniuses Constructor Hob
son is regarded as peculiar. Men who
were at the Naval academy while he
was there say his classmates at first at
tempted to make life miserable for the
quiet, studious boy, but found that he
could resent their actions In a way that
made them desist before he had been In
the academy very long. He was only 10
years old when he went 10 Annapolia
and his most marked characteristic was
the use Of words seldom In the vocabu-
larry of youngster Of his age. One OF
his classmates said recently that Hobson
was hazed great deal in his plebe year,
and many dignitied officer had tho
honor Of standing him GA mis- head and
making him do all sorts Of ridiculous
things in the hazing curriculum. One
day Robson resented thetannpyance to
which he was subjected by older cadets
in these words:
IT Go not desire, and neither will I
tolerate, any moro of your scurrilous
contumely."
At another time Hobson wss fishing
from the end Of the old Santee wharf,
and passing classmate asked him what
he was doing. Merely indulging in
piscatorial pursuits, - said the future
hero of the Mer1imac exploit. But while
other cadets had fun at his expense,
Hobson plodded away and graduated
from the academy second in his class.
He was the captain of Company A Of
the Cadet battalion. His choice OF the
construction corps was not surprising to
his friends. for it offered opportunity
for the pursuits Of mathematical studies.
Mr.. Hobson 10 not yet 20 years Of age.
He was born Aug. IL, 1870, in Green's
boro. Hale county, Ala, where he at
tended tho Southern university, grad
uating at the head Of his class Then he
wanted to 90 to the Naval academy,
and the chance was afforded when Colo
mel Hilary A. Herbert, the representa-
tive in congress from the Montgomery
district, had vacancy at the academy
60 fill. Colonel Herbert and Judge Hob
son of Mobile, the father Of the con-
structor, were in the same regiment in
the Confederate army. They fought side
by side at the battle Of Sharpsburg.
Colonel Herbert held q competitive ex-
animation, and young Hobson made the
highest percentage. He received the ap-
pointment and went TO the academy in
September, 1888. After graduating in
1889, tho youngest man in his class, he
was sent as cadet on the fiagship Chi
cago with a squadron Of evolution and
cruised in the Mediterranean and South
American waters until October, 1890.
Then he was ordered to special course
in construction at Paris He spent one
year at the Ecole Nationale Superieure
du Mines and two years at the Ecolo
Applications du Genie Maritime. In
the summer months he studied ship con-
struction at the French shipyards. Sow
eral diplomas for distinction wero con-
ferred ON him by the French schools
which he attended. After visiting the
English shipyards be returned to the
United States In December. 1893, and
was on duty at the navy department as
an assistant naval constructor from jan
uary, 1894, to April, 1898. During that
time he wrote a number Of papers on
technical subjects which attracted wide
attention.
In 1895 and tho following year he
was ON duty at tho Brooklyn navy yard,
and in the summer of 1895 went to sen
with Commodore Bunces squadron. II
was Mr.. Hobson who proposed the es-
Enlistment of postgraduate course at
the Naval academy for cadets who in.
tended to enter the construction corps.
Before that time all constructors were
educated abroad. Mr.. Hobson was plac-
cd IN charge Of the course, and through