Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-10-14
T0GS |h.T:HE 0LO NAVY
Many a Fight Won 4, in n!.s a Stove
pipe Hat.
BEFORE The, REGULATIONS
Washington's Knee Brooches and the
Naval Calf.
STORIES Or THE. SERVICE
Rough School Out of Which Heroes
Came as Fittest Survivals, Ply
sically and Morally.
STORIES Or THE. SERVICE
Written for The Star.

around various. phases, of naval life the talk
would dip and skim like swallows round a
lake" - 80. 5'tt' --. 'tsr--'.t
II see." remarked the navigating officer
that there Is some talk OF further changes
in the uniform. I wonder just how many
times the naval uniform has been changed
since the first one was ordained. Every
now and then some man millner or group
OF men milliners assault Washington with
the assertion that they have q heaven-sent
mission to reform the uniform of the navy
and our troubles begin. How 1 hate the
man who. instead Of devoting his thoughts
to the real things of the service, lays
awake nights inventing uniforms" The
junior lieutenant. who had secretly been
working over a set of drawings designed to
convince the department of the desirablllty
of reef1ng the bottoms of the sailors trous-
ers and brailng up their shirt collars al
ways favorite plan of reformation of the
uniform with the tailor officer), blushed be-
hind his cigar, but consoled himself with
the thought that the navigator was an
"oId fogie"
Well spoke up the executive. lat any
rate the uniform for officers, at least has
been improved with the revolving years
Why. up to period subsequent to the
war OF 1917. the regulations provided that
only officers who had reached the grade of
full lieutenant should wear two epaulets--
tire othSIS WoTc Only one. LINK OF q man
IN full dress going about with one epaulet,
The veriest dandy in the service must have
looked lopsided in such a coat
1T was In the early part of the last CEN
fury that some inspired tailor officer con-
vinced the department that it would be
good thing to approximate the naval uni
form to the style of dress affected by
George Washington. Therefore, when in
full dress. officers went about clad in
broad-fiap, double-breasted coats. with
skirts turned up at the points. white knee
breaches. silk stockings and buckled shoes
This. with cooked hat and dress sword
made very fair imitation of colonial gen.
tlemen going to sea in the nineteenth GEN.
fury. Out Of consideration for the exigen-
cies of the service the powdered hair worn
In a queue, or a wig substituted for ii,
was not ms sted upon-which must have
broken the heart of the brilliant deviser Of
this uniform.
Midshipmen in Masquerade.
There are probably two or three men on
the retired list today who. as midshipmen,
wore this masquerade uniform. The life OF
this uniform was short. for the entire navy
list rose UP as one man against it and the
author Of the sartorial innovation. when
he saw what he had done. must have wept.
TT was a question of calves, and hardly
a ship afioat could boast of a decent pair
in the whole outfit. Men who follow the sea
have their muscular development mostly
-
those days. when there was little or no
drill in landing parties and the naval bri-
gade' was practically unknown. In knee
breeches and silk stockings an officers
legs had the pleasing symmetry OF capstan
bars. and human nature could, NOT stand it.
''Oh. WELL" said the paymaster, 1T was
not so very long ago-oRly a little prior to
the revolutionary war. that there was no
such thing as naval uniform. The officers
wore civilians clothes, or some sort of an
adaptation of; an army. uniform. as suited
their fancies, and the men dressed anyhow,
though they generally agreed in wearing
their hair long and done up In a queue or
pig-tail. and with love-lock or two stray
Cling down on either side of the face.
Also, the sailor seems always to have
been given to wide trousers, experience hay-
ing taught him that his neither garments
must be SO, constructed that they could be
easily rolled above the knees when washing
down decks. t'-
Sometimes the old-tme sailor did not
wear any trousers at all, but sort of kilt
like a Highlander's. Look at any old print
showing a man-of-wars crew even as late
as 1913. and see what a motley lot of gar
ments are shown on the crew. Why, some
of them even wear battered old .stovepipe
hats en- their heads.
Shaved for Battle.
Before uniforms became so universal
and imperative as they are now-when they
were being first Introduced into the navy
a captain sometimes would prepare him.
self for battle by shaving and putting on
his best suit of civilian clothes. Then he
would don his tall hat and take the deck
Many a hard fight has been won In a stove
pipe hat. Officers Of. ariStocTatie tenden-
cies at first looked rather askance at uni
forms, regarding them as a sort of livery.
81 always fight like gentleman. and 1
intend to be dressed like one while I am
doing it,. said one old fellow. when re-
monstrated with for going into battle at
he we n
tea" - gag
Il believe" spoke up one Of the junior
lieutenants, In strictly obeying the regula-
lions in regard to uniforms as well as
anything else am something of the mind
of old Commodore Creighton, who. having
settled in his mind what the word short
meant in the passage of the regulations
declaring that the full dress coats of mid
shipmen should have short tails mustered
the young gentlemen of his ship on deck
in full dress, and sent the ships tailor
along behind them to snip off the tails of
every coat whose length exceeded his ideas
of official propriety, without regard to
whether the MILDLY was tall or short, fat
or lean" - . .,.
Sailed to Certain Death.
Good boy!" cried the first lieutenant
"Obey orders IL you break owners. In the
navy you get into trouble If you don't obey
orders and sometimes into worse trouble
If you do Which. reminds me of the loss
Of the Huron In how short a period that
disaster has been forgotten by the general
public. along with the tragic evidence 1t
bore to the navy's devotion to orders.r'
Il have heard of it in q general way"
observed civilian who happened to be
present. She was wrecked on the Virginia
coast, But how was her loss illustrative
Of the principle of which you speak?'
1.-THE Huron" continued the first lieu
tenant, was lying in Hampton Roads when
orders came from Washington for her to
proceed to sea Immediately. A fierce easter
ly gale was Slowing and a tremendous sea
was running outside the capes1 of Virginia.
The captain telegraphed back that, with the
Hurol's small steam power. he did not
think 1t safe to put to sea in the teeth
of the gale. The answer was an order to
proceed to sea at once. So out she steamed.
every man jack aboard knowing that they
were going to almost certain death, but
never fiinching.
THE Huron got outside the capes and
tried to make an off1ng, but the wind and
the sea were too mucirs for sAer, and she
was driven on the Virginia beach below
Norfolk and smashed to pieces few of
her crew escaped. but most OF the ships
company were drowned in obedience to
orders 1t requires peculiar kind of
bravery. that sort of thing-a bravery dis
cipl;ned to the highest point. - satf's
I'm the history of naval warfare there
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