The times., 1898-06-13
HEROES OF THE NAVY.
The brave Deeds of These HeI
Bring Fame.

Ahe hrove Deeds OF These Men
Bring Fame.
New York. June lz.-The history OF the Ameri-
can Navy is succession Of daring feats by Off
GERS and men. but in the long list there are
but two that rank with the sinking OF the Merri-
mac in the entrance to the harbor of Santiago
The heroes Of these were lieutenlnts Of the same
rank as Lieut.. Richmond P Hobson who sank
the Merrimac In each instance the volunteer
officers and crews faced what looked like certain
death.
On the night of February 1s 1906 Lieut. De-
eatur. with crew of seventy picked officers and
men, entered the barber of Tripoli and destroyed
the frigate Philadelphia. which had fallen into
the hands of the enemy. under the FIRE Of over
one hundred guns. Not an American life was
sacrificed in the destruction Of the boat
On the night OF October 2T. 1864, Lieut. VIII
liam B. Gushing steamed up the Roanoke River
at Plymouth Harbor and. under fire Of the YES
sells guns and shore battery sink the Con-
federate ironclad Albemarle with TORPEDO. He
and another officer alone escaped Tho rernainder
Of the small crew were drowned or taken prison
ers.
On the afternoon "a JUNE g. 1905 Naval Con-
struetor Richmond p. Hobson. with the rank Of
Lieutenant. with a handful Of volunteers. sank
the auxiliary cruiser Merrimac in the narrow
channel at the entrance Of Santiago Harbor 70
shut in the Spanish feet No lives were lost The
officers and men prisoners of war.
The most picturesque and daring officer in the
United States Navy during the wars against
TrPoli and the then feared Barbary States was
stephen Decatur. who entered the service as 4
midshipman.
On May 70. 1901. the Pasha OF Trip5fi declared
war against the United States When news Of
the loss Of the Philadelphia by running. on reef
near Trpon was received Commodore Preble sail
ell for the Mediterranean in the frigate Constitu-
tion. taking Decatur with him.
It was determined to destroy the old frisate
before she could fight under the flag Of TrfpoIi.
She had been raised. repaired and hoated into
the harbor. Decatur volunteered TO do the work
On the night Of February Is, 1s0l. the Intre-
pid. with Decatur in command sailed into the
harbor and was warped alongside the PhiisdeIphia
without exciting any suspicion she having as
sumed the character Of vessel in distress
Decatur and his men boarded the ffigate. and
after desperate hand-to-hand fight killed her
defenders drove them into the sea The Phila-
delpha then set on fire. amid the roar OF
cannon from the land batteries and two corsairs
cruising in the harbor.
Decatur and his men succeaded in boarding
the Intrepid and escaping. Not an American was
killed and only four wounded
The entire world rang with the praises Of
Decatur and his gallant crew. Admiral Nelson,
England's greatest naval hero pronounced it 'sthe
most daring act Of the age" For his heroism
/ Decatur was made captain. and al the officers
| of the Intrepid advanced IN rank
] Ultimately Decatur WAS appointed Commission
er OF the Navy A misunderstanding with Com
missioner Barcn led TO duel. in which Decatur
was fatally wounded On March -. 1920.
Commander William B. Cushing. L. s " was
born in Wisconsin in November. 1872. and NJ the
age Of fifteen appointed to the Naval Academy.
In March. 1861, he shipped as an acting mas
ter's mate the Cambridge. In October Of that
year he restored 70 his rank IS midshipman.
1 In ls62 he was promoted . the rank Of leu
| tenant During tha next three years his record
was a succession Of ieats Of daring
| His greatest feat and the one which cIazscd
him among the immortals was the destruction
| OF the iron-plated ram Albemarle in the harbor
Of Plymouth. y. c.. on the night of October 27,
| 1894.
| The Albemarle was anchored al a wharf A
guard Of logs had been placed around her for a
| distance ef thirty fees. Her armament was
heavy and effective for those days On shore
| there was land force armed with small arms
/ and howitzers- The fact that a torpedo boat had
been prepared for use there had been printed and
! every provision made against a sudden attack
The barrier Of legs was considered the most ef-
I
| woe rather crude affairs With 4 crew Of pick
ed volunteers Cushing boarded the launch. ar
ranged the torpedo and put Tor the h1rbor. In
years and appearance he WIS mere Toy. with 4
/ pais cleaT-cut face and the eyes Of the enthu-
| siast. Exposed 20 the greatest dInyer he stood
in the bow encouraging and cheering his men-
| As soon as the Yankee craft entered the Roam
oke River the shore batteries opened IRE. shot
and shell fell about the launch thick and fast,
/ but Gushing, nothing daunted by the fire or the
1 apparent h0pelessness Of his task, put on more
steam and made for the battleship
A hundred yards from the Aibeularie Cushing
for the first time discovered the barrier Of logs.
He simply gave orders to put on more steam
! With a shock the launch jumped ihe loGs and
| Cushing. in the INST deliberate manner lower
! cd his torpedo and blew up the ironclad Just as
/ q shell from the shore went crashing through his
| launch, cutting it N two.
The explosion OF the torpedo tore a large hole
| in the iroucIad's side. She sank at her moor
| ings and WAS never raised. Telling his compan-
| ions to look out for themselves Cushing jumped
into the water and swan down the river, reach
| ing the bank thoroughly exhausted hall I mile
| below.
The following night he reached United States
gunboat at the mouth CT the river OF the volun-
teer crew only one escaped beside Cushing. Two
were dEowned and the others captured Cush-
ing was the hero OF the hour. He received the
thanks OF Congress and was made = lieutenant
commander AT the age of twenty-twO. On jan
uary 81 1872, he was advanced 10 the rank OF
commander. and enjoyed the distinction OF being
the youngest officer Of that rank in the service.
in 1874 he was stricken with severe fevo- and
died after a brief illness in his thirty-secon5
year.