The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-08-12
Some inaccuracies of History
Real Facts in the Lives of Famous Heroes

well be that at the sunset of life he
grew morbid and came to believe n
mere fancy that had grown up in his
mind.
! Even today / can recall wildly the
| closing words of his dramatic story as
my father repeated them to me.
" dom I know whether shot Gen
ieral Wolfe or not, the old man was
! wont to say, but l do know that at
close range | took deliberate aim at
him and saw him fall when / pulled
the trigger. -
The last words of great men in his
| tory have ever been a fruitful source
of hero worship. For example, where
is the school boy in all the wide eoun-
| try whose pulses have not quickened
at the story of the death of Captain
Lawrence, commander of the luekless
frigate Chesapeake in the battle with
the British ship Shannon off Boston in
the war of 1927
| ''Don t give up the shipl'' cried the
/ indomitable sea fighter, according TO
! all of the standard school histories
Highly dramatic and eminently appro-
PIRATE to the occasion, as must be adj
United, but not strictly in accord with
facts. There is excellent reason to sup
pose that Lawrenee's "'last words
were the creation of a Boston editor q
fertile brain.
| When the news of the Chesapeake IS
capture and the death of her famous
commander reached the city the people
were fred with excitement. The editor
was put to it to give dramatic ae-
count of the battle that should thrill
his patriotic readers.
"What were his last wordsf'' he de-
manded of those who were giving HIM
the details. His informants could not
recall that Captain Lawrence had given
utterance to single word after he fell
mortally wounded on the deck of his
ship; in fact, they were sure he had
said nothing.
"Oh. but he must have said some
| thing" insisted the editor. cat any
rate, he should have done so.
| And thereupon he penned the words
that have thrilled every generation
from that day to this.
The dramatic death of John Quincy
Adams on the floor of the house of con-
gress gave the writers of his day an
opportunity for putting fine words In
his mouth and rearing another historic
hero. At that time Dr. w. A. Newell
was a member of congress from New
Jersey, and subsequently became gov
ernor of his state. He was the first to
reach the stricken man as he sank to
the floor.
DIR. Newell later in life insisted that
Adams S last words, spoken to him,
were:
"This is the end; quick, little
brandy
Which doesn' accord with popular
histories of the event by a long shot.
In the records of the war department.
at Washington is certain dispatch
from General Hooker giving some of
the details of the battle of Chaneel
louisville, in which he was in command
of the army of the Potomac. The dis
patch modestly announced that during
the progress of the battle the Federal
commander had been severely "stun-
ned by the eoneusson of a cannon ball
against column at the front of his
headquarters, on which he was lean
! ing at the moment.
If any credence may be placed in
unofficial reports that came back to
Washington later, and eventually
reached the ears of President Lincoln,
it WASH t a cannon ball that "stun-
ned General Hooker, but large jug
of excellent old bourbon. This report
was eorroborated by Mr.. Wand. the
artist, who coRfded to some of his
friends the fact that during the battle
he had seen the Federal commander
more than once with his mouth fear
lessly at the muzzle of the jug.