The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-05-20

One of the valuable and interesting de-
partments of the Military Order of the
! Loyal Legion of the United States" is the
library of each State organization, in which
are collected not only works relating to
the civil war, but memorials, such as ORR
ginal dispatches concerning movements of
armies and fleets, records of military and
naval departments, and relics of munitions
of war, uniforms. etc. The library of the
New York Commandery is not second to
that of any other State department, as is
, evidenced in the large collection of selected
works on those phases of the civil war
period which the old veterans and their
sons find much interest and pleasure in re-
viewing and studying.
The library committee of the New York
Commandery spends much time and labor
in the establishment of its library; not
only in its general administration and the
classification of books, but also In care
fully and judiciously scrutinizing such
pamphlets and bound volumes as may be
donated by its members and friends. with
view to preserving only those Of real
worth; also in delving among the old shops
and auction rooms where are often picked
up by chance books of real merit and value
TO war library. The library has books
written by Confederate authorities as well
as by Federal authorities, historical works
that give the most trustworthy information
about the forces, the battles, ETC., of the
civil war; histories of corps, of divisions,
of brisades, of individual regiments, OF
fleets, of squadrons, and of single ships;
also books written by members of the or
ganization on various subjects.
har in
of the old book-shops a register or roster
of the Confederate navy, which contained
not only the names and ranks of its Off
GERS, but also the several laws for its gov
eminent enacted by the Confederate Con,
gress, orders issued by the Confederate
Secretary Of the Navy (now United States
Senator from Florida), S. R. Mallory. etc
The list of officers begins with Admiral
Franklin Buchanan, who commanded the
Confederate naval forces at Mobile at the
time Of Admiral Farragut's memorable vic
tory of Mobile Bay. The record of Admiral
Buchanan shows that he was a captain in
the United States Navy when South Caro-
lima seeded, and though a Marylander, he
went over to the South and rendered his
services, for which he was dismissed from
the United States Navy on May %. 1861
His commission in the Confederate navy
was that of captain, dated September g.
1861, and his commission as admiral was
dated August 81 1862
The Confederate Congress- on March 16 |
1861, enacted law which authorized the |
President OF the Confederate States to
nominate by and with the advice and con-
sent of Congress mot the Senate" as
was the United States law], all officers of |
the United States Navy who have resigned, |
or shall hereafter resign, their commits |
sions in the United States Navy, on ac- |
count of the secession of any or all of the |
Confederate States, to the same rank and |
position in the navy of the Confederate |
States which they held in that of the |
United States" The records show that. |
in addition to Admiral Buchanan, the fif-
teen captains of the Confederate navy had |
been captains or commanders in the United |
States Navy; Of the forty commanders,
all but three had been in the Union Navy;
OF seventy nine first lieutenants, seventy
six held commissions from the United
States, and of the sixty eight second leu
tenants. twenty-four were from the United
States Navy. OF the 33T staff officers, sur
geons, paymasters, engineers, gunners, and
marine officers ninety We're csicers in the
United States Navy before the Confed-
eracy was started. OF the fifteen captains,
seven We're dismissed on the charge OF
desertion, and the others resigned to enter
the Confederate service. Raphael Semmes,
who commanded the privateer Alabama
was one of the fifteen, but he resigned his
commission in the United States Navy on
February To- 1861.
OF the class of officers referred to above.
three were New York men. and one of
these, Lieut.. W.. Windsor Pollock, went
over to the Confederates nearly two years
after the civil war began, was dismissed
or cashiered from the United States Navy |
on January -, 1863, and his Confederate
commission was dated March G. 1868. The
twenty-five surgeons Of the Confederate
Navy were all officers of the United States
Navy when the Southern States seeded
New York Eveneing Post.