The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1908-08-19
Commandant of Brooklyn
Yard Now Senior Rear Adj
miral in u. S. Navy.
THE LAST SURVIVOR
OF CIVIL WAR HEROES
Man Who Ranks Next TO Dewey
One of Observation-Disclosures
Recalls Reuterdahl Case.

Rear Admiral Caspar Frederick Good
rich today became senior rear admiral
3n the navy, heading the list Of rear
.admirals, and ranking second 10 Ad-
= miral Dewey, who viii head the list
FOR the rest Of his life. through spe-
cial act OF Congress.
Admiral Goodrich is now cOmmandant
OF the Brooklyn navy yard, II. y, and
IS the last remaining ofhcer Of the
navy on the active list who has seen
civil war service. His service was
brief but notable. and he marks the
.3ine between the commonly termed
"ssa captains Of the old school" and
the pTesent-day men. Although Ad-
miral Goodrich is of the type that
has always stirred the patriotism IN q
small boys breast, his ideas have more
than kept pace with the rapid evolu-
zion OF naval affairs in general. and
construction. armOr. and armament In
particular.
He distinguished himself In the Sran-
ism war and gained wide reputation
as q sea fighter.
Admiral Goodrich was but seventeen
years old when he WAS graduated from
the Naval Academy and assigned 10
duty on the Macedonian, which was
bound out IN 1864 on the mission Of
running down the Confederate com
merce destrOyers Florida and ITALIA
Born in Philadelphia.
He was born IN Philadelphia IN 1847,
IN the romantic day when youth bark
ened TO the call of the sea at an early
age, and he became a midshipman
when he was but fourteen, only two
years behind Admiral Farragut, who
did his first duty as a midshipman
when he was but twelve years old.
For years afterward he worked his
way slowly up through the various
grades, stationed on different ships
IN the Atlantic and the Pacific. He
passed the last three years of his first
decade OF service at the Naval Acad-
envy at Annapolis, and at the close
OF this tour OF duty, in 1874, he mar
Tied Eleanor Minor, daughter of q
wel-kuOWn New Yorker.
He served two years on the Tennessee
and the kearsarge and In lSS4-So on the
torpedo board. After a tour OF duty as
inspector OF ordnance, ne was pu back
on torpedo work, his specially, and
made commandment OF the torpedo sta
ton. He also served as president Of
the Naval War College for q year pre-
Vious 10 the Spanish war
In the spring OF 1883 he was placed in
command OF the cruisers st, Louis and
Newark and sent on the work OF scout
ing and cable cutting along the Cuban
coast He also organized the coast sig
nal service which was to De used in
giving an alarm by the naval militia
should the Spaniards invade the coast.
Cuts Santiago Gable.
At daylight on May IS. he performed
his remarkable feat Of cutting the cable
from Santiago to Jamaica and Hay..
and with his small guns. actually sue
ceeded in sllencing two of the most OBJ
streperous Spanish shore batteries that
kept up a continuous fire upon him.
With his ship Admiral Goodrich was
also one Of the scouts VINO located and
followed CeTVera's fleet.
The task of landing an army Of 1900
mS4 also tell TO him, and without light
erst he successfully accomplished this
feat, landing the men, stores and equi-
page in five days.
Since that day, he has held many
important posts in the navy, as COM