The Savannah morning news., 1902-01-13

| the officer, when he was a printer ap-
prentice, a school boy. and member of
| a boys circus and when ] was his
partner in a panorama. In later years
soldiered with him at Fort Pulaski,
/ and after the war 1 was member OF
| the volunteer fire company, the Metro
1 politan, of which he was president. He
is a quiet. modest man, but he comes
nearer being all man than any one
| whom I can recall.
But the incident l referred to occur
red in the sixties, those times that
tried mems souls and their bodies as
well. | remember him, when in the
same command, as always prompt in
the discharge of his duties as a soldier.
! The fortunes of war. however, separ-
ated us. He went to Virginia, and 1
became an engineer in the Confederate
states navy and was assigned to duty
at Savannah, reporting 10 Commodore
Tattnall. At that time, though prac-
tical machinist. | had little experience
in marine engines. While awaiting or
ders, which came almost too suddenly,
/ was assigned to the gunboat Reso-
Lutte which had been laid up for some
time and which had orders to proceed
down the river to assist in getting the
ram Atlanta, then ABOUT to go out to
attack the federal fleet in Warsaw
Sound. off a bank al the mouth of Au-
gustne creek.
Having no assistant engineer, and
with little practical experience,
thought that my friend Holly Estill,
then at home from Virginia, as a friend
who could help me in my new duties.
He was something of an engineer and
machinst he had run a stationary en-
gine and studied steam engineering d
little He promptly responded to my
call to go down the river and help
me out in my first attempt at steam
boat engineering. Considerable time
was lost in getting the crew aboard,
etc. and it was late in the evening
when the bell rang to go ahead and
we steamed out into the stream Be
tween the mistakes of the officer in
command and the pilot in ringing the
bells and those of the engineer (my-
self and the bad condition of the ma
chinery, the engine got on the center.
Engineers will under stand what that
means And this is where Holly Estill
came in. He rushed around with sew
eral of the crew yelling for a 'capstan
bar and succeeded in getting one, and
they pried the engine off its center. 1t
is well the harbor had few crafts in
it, or / fear we would never have
reached the ram Atlanta. At last we
got headed down the river and fortune
favored us until we arrived at our des-
tination. Preparations were made to
run out lines to the ram, but our pilot
was not a success in the maneuvers to
get alongside the iron monster; we
made several attempts to ram the ram,
and on each occasion our boat got the
worst OF It.
I'm one of these attempts the rudder
chains were carried away and the en-
gine got on its center and we struck
the ram again. Our next Governor
could stand it no longer, and he made
a leap from the starboard gangway of
the Resolute to the deck of the At
lanta. I am sure he has never forgotten
that leap. 1t was the greatest jump I
ever witnessed. Once on deck, he re-
ported the condition of affairs on the
Resolute to the commander of the At
lanta. and that officer sent additional
officers and men aboard our steamer,
and my friend Estill came back with
them. We spent all night almost under
the very nose of the Yankee battery
on Bird island in repairing damages.
and when we got back to the Atlanta
in the morning she had been gotten off.
We steamed back to Savannah, hun
CRY and worn out from our first eX-
perience as engineer and assistant in
the naval service of the Confederate
states of America"