The National tribune., 1907-01-10
WRECK OF THE STEAMER GOV
ERNOR.
Desperate Battling With the Waves For
Days.

Desperate battling With the waves FOL
Days.
Editor National Tribune: 1t has been
over As years since this accident oc-
CURED, but l can remember il as dis
tinctly as tho it happened yesterday
There were four companies or US, ma
rines, Cos. A, B, C and d. 1 belonged
to Co. D, and we were commanded by
Maj. John G. Reynolds, a veteran of the
Seminole and Mexican Wars. Most of
us had been in the battle of Bull Run,
and We're picked men from the Marine
Barracks at Washington We left the
barracks about Oct. "a. and went on
board the Governor at Hampton Roads
about the 27th, and left with the fleet
on the 29th to take Port Royal, S. ..
All went well until the morning of Nov.
1, when the wind began to blow and
the sea grew rough. We had a little
rain and saw a rainbow, which some
of the sailors said was bad luck. a II
proved, i-3ced, to be very bad luck
The wind blew harder every ,iour, and
the waves ran higher, and in the after
noon heavy sea struck the Governor,
breaking her port hog-brace. All hands
worked with ropes to make it secure,
but in a little while after that the star
board hog-brace broke. We made that
secure, when the ropes that held the
smokestack parted, and that went over
board about two feet above the hurri-
cane deck. To make matters worse, 4
steam pipe burst, and we had no steam
to run the engine We ran up the sig
nal of distress, flag at half mast, Union
down, when the Governor sprung a.
leak. We threw everything overheard
to tighten her except a few casks of
water and two barrels of whisky. We
cut holes in the deck to bail water, and
part of the men engaged in this work,
while the rest held the ropes to keepl
the hog-braces from falling into the
sea, for if they fell overheard they
would take the side of the vessel with
them, when the Governor would fill
with water and sink About night we
sighted a steamer, the Odion Queen.
We sent up six rockets, all we had, and
some of the men fired their muskets
at the same time. She answered our
signal, but could do us no good, as the
sea was too rough and the wind too
strong. Our Quartermaster-Serge
would bring around a mess kettle filled
with whisky and a tin cup, and the men
were told to take all they wanted, butt
I saw the signs of liquor on no man.
During the night our rudder-chain was
carried away; then, indeed, were we
at the mercy of wind and wave. Heavy
seas would strike the Governor broad
sides, and the men bailing water would
Dt lHTONI III dll ulEeCllOflS. oH the
morning of Nov. 2 things looked very
bad for US. The gunboat Isaac Smith,
Capt. Nicholson, saw our signal of dis
treSs, and came to our assistance. They
got hawser on board of us, but it
slipt; then the crew of the Governor
launched a boat, all the boat they had, |
for over $50 men, Thru carelessnesA
the boat went adrift; then the Smith
gave us another hawser, but the plung
ing of the vessel and the heavy seas
parted it as before. Then Capt. Nichol- |
son threw his battery overheard tol
Tighten his vessel and tried to get US
on board the Smith, and about noon the |
propeller bark Young Rover came up, |
and its Captain said he would stand by |
us to the last. He also said there was
large sailing frigate cruising near
Georgetown, S. c., and he would go
after her. It proved to be the Sabine, |
commanded by Capt. Ringgold, and a |
better seaman or more humane man
never walked the deck of an American
man-of-war. When the Young Rover
got near the Sabine she ran up the rebel
flag, and the Sabine Immediately gave |
chase. Then the Young Rover ran up
the signal of distress. Late in the after
noon the Sabine came to us and anchor |
ed a short distance ahead of us. Capt. |
Ringgold assured us he would take US |
all aboard of the Sabine. Several haw- |
sers Were past TO US, but all parted by |
the plunging of the waves. All the
battalion will remember that night until
their dying day. The water was gain
ing on US very fast, the hogbraces la |
BILE to go over at any time, and the wind /
blowing perfect gale. Our port-bow
was close to the Sabine's starboard |
quarter, and a number of our men man |
aged to get on the Sabine at the time |
q heavy sea caused the Sabine TO strike |
the Governor. The sea carried away