Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1905-11-10
BRIEF HISTORY OF
MISS LOUISA BAKER
She Served as a Man on Board
a Vessel During the War
Of 1912.
WAS a FAMOUS AMAZON
Once Challenged a Sailor to Fight a
Duel, but When the Preliminaries
Had Been Arranged the
Youth Weakened.
From the Kansas City Star.

From the Kansas City Star.
Although from time immemorial 1t has
been a canon in the naval profession that
women have no place in warships, 1t Is a
fact that, not only in European fleets, Dut
in our own. women have served in men-of-
war with credit to themselves ana 10 the
flag they fought under. In some OF the
greatest battles in naval history women
have taken conspicuous parts in caring
for the wounded, and. while instances Ike
that of Molly Pitcher, who took a very
active part in a land battle by loading a
cannon to which her husband was at
tached as a gunner, are rare IN sea rec
ords, il is known that women have braVed
all the dangers aboard a war craft WllIe
In action, and in attending TO the more hu-
name service of Winding the wounded, ex-
posed themselves 10 missiles of death quite
as much as the male participants.
In that greatest naval battle Of all his
tory, Trafalgar, it is on record that nearly
every snip under Nelson's there
were several women, the wives or some
members of the crews In the flagship Vic
tory, at the moment the great English he
no was s~hot-which was at the height of
the a~ction-it is recorded hat three good
women walked about the spar deck-the
most exposed place in the ship-givlng a.d
and comfort TO the wounded; seemingly
oblivious to the very great danger they
themselves were in. They were as cool
and collected as If the battle was out Of
sight and hearing.
At first glance, it might seem remark
abel that any Of the gentler sex would be
permitted aboard militant craft in time or
war, but when we recall the conditions
governing enlistment in English men-of-
war in Nelson's time the anomaly is eX-
planned.
BY resorting to the press gang, the adj
miralty caused many good citizens to be
seized in the public streets and compelled
them to serve in the navy against their
Will. Early in the nineteenth century Eng
land experienced great difficulty in filling
out the Compliments of her enormous
fleets and had recourse to the questionable
methods Of coercion. The commander OF a
frigate on finding himself. short of men.
would arm six or ten of his best men, send
them ashore, usually at night, under the
care of a petty officer, with instructions to
seize any able-bodied man they met and
bring nm aboard,
By this method it frequently happened
that grave injustice was inflicted on the
victim, and, as some palliation Of the out
rage, If the man CHANGED to be married,
his Wife, by a special dispensation from
the admiralty, was permitted to live with
him aboard the warship during his term
Of service which usually was for life.
Women in the War of 1912.
From the dairy of an American seaman
by the name of White, who served in the
war OF 1872, we get an interesting side
light on this peculiar phase of naval life.
White, in December, 1914, shipped in q
famous American privateer, and, when
only a few days out from Boston, was
captured and taken aboard the English
60-gun ship Leander. Captain Sir George
Collier. In his graphic description of the
scenes aboard the British frigate, he tells
80 -. -lg a-l -. -.H- Il
had been together in the navy seven
years. having been shipped from one
man-of-War to another.
The gunner had been a Woodworking
tTadesman in london From small be-
ginnings he accumulated a small capital,
and opcned d little store on the Surrey
side of the Thames. Having well estab-
llshed himself in business, he married a
woman Of refinement and influential con
nections. One night, after locking up his
store a little later than usual, he was re-
turning home when a press gan5 seized
him and hurried him aboard a man-of-
war, despite his pleadings ana protests.
His care was one of nan and his pray
erS fell on deaf ears. Through the in
fluencc of his wife's relatives he obtained
permission from the admiralty TO have his
wife aboard with him; and so for seven
years they had sailed together, changing
about from one ship to another as the
e~Xigencics of the service required. How
many more years they served Mr.. White
does not inform us, but as impressed men
generally were kept as long as the officers
deemed it necessary for 1.-THE good Of the
service it is highly probably that their
involuntary stay was indefinitely pro-
longed.
They were assigned, with several other
couples aboard the Leander. 90 a quarter
of the berth deck, slightly removed from
the rest of the crew. where they slung
their hammocks and Jared much the same
as the ordinary seamen. White records
that these women were treated with the
utmost respect by the rough meE around
them, and that the mere presence of good
women seemed to have a refining and
elevating influence on the entire ships
company.
An American Amazon.
We have had, however, a we'll authenti-
Gated case of a woman serving for three
years in our navy, and during that period
she took her part in three of the most i'm
portant sea ights In the war of 1872. Her
career is one of unusual interest.