Evening star., 1909-06-04
VALOR OF THE NAVY
Valuable Collection of Me-
MORALS and Trophies
TAKEN FROM THE ENEMY
Flags Of Famous Vessels Kept at the
Naval Academy.
PROPER REPOSITORY LACKING
Guns Captured in Different Parts of
the World-Niches to Be Ap-
propriately Adorned.
PROPER REPOSITORY LACKING
BY WILLIAM E. CURTIS.
Special Correspondence of The Star and the
Chicago Record Herald

| BY WILLIAM E. CURTIS.
| Special Correspondence of The Star and the
Chicago Record Herald.
ANNAPOLIS. June 3. 1909.
| The Naval Academy possesses val
liable collection of memorials and tro
| phies, consisting Of guns. flags and
other articles of the highest possible
historic interest, many of them having
been captured from the enemy.
/ There are also number of
models of famous ships belong
ing to the navy of the United States,
which are of peculiar interest. especial
ly to navy men and persons interested
in naval history. In making the de-
sign for the new magnificent academy
/ no provision was made for a museum,
and there is no place where the relics
can be assembled, which was a great
| mistake. There are a number of inches
| in the corridors of several of the build
ings in which trophies can be placed,
and in the latest appropriation bill
Congress provided $4,000 to pay the
expense of providing air-tight cases
in which precious flags may be DIS
played and preserved There is also
Memorial Hall, in Bancroft building.
| which Will be used for museum pur-
poses as far as possible, and the relics
will thus be slowed away wherever a
suitable place can be found for them.
There are fifteen inches in all, eleven
| in the academic building and four in
Bancroft Hall. which are now being
prepared, with the assistance of the
officials of the National Museum of
| washington.
Memorable Flags.
A list of flags. nearly one hundred in
| at nf la
superintendent, with explanatory notes
which make the blood stir as one reads
them. Among others are the ensign and
pennant Of the Guerriere, an English
| frigate which was captured by the
| frfgate Constitution, Capt. Isaac Hull
| August 49, 1872, after an enga cement
OF thirty minutes a t sea. The Guerrero
lost fifteen killed and sixty-four
| wounded. and was SO much cut 10
pieces that she was not worth taking
| into port, SO Capt Hull set fire to he:
and blew her up The Constitution lost
seven killed an1 seven wounded.
| Shortly before she made a memorable
escape off the New Jersey coast from
| an English squadron of five vessels
after being chased for three days. Capt,
Hull was awarded medal by Con-
| gress
The next is the ensign of the Rein
deer, an English brig. captured June
%, 1914. by the sloop-o war Wasp.
Capt. Johnston Blakeley. after des-
| perate battle. The Reindeer was cut
| to pieces and blown up. medal was
awarded to Capt Blakeley by Congress
for this action. The Wasp also captured
the English brig Avon and several other
prizes, but never came TO port again.
She was last heard from October 0.
1914. Since then all traces of her have
been lost
There are several other flags captured
by our ships in the war of 1872. but even
more interesting are several that fioated
| at the mastheads of our small! but gal
liant fleet. The most interesting of the
latter is the battefiag of Commodore
Oliver Fl. Perry, which was hosted at
the masthead of the flagship Lawrence
as signal for action on Lake Erie. Sep
tember 10. 1913. The flag was originally
blue and was embroidered in white let
ters Don't Give Up the Ship" the last
words Of Capt James Lawrence. after
| whom the flagship was named who had
| been mOrtally wounded in the action be-
| tween the Chesapeake and Shannon.
Another flag of equal interest is that
| which ftoated at the masthead OF the
L. S. S. Kearsarge during the engage
ment with the Confederate privateer Ala
bama off Cherbourg, France. June ~.
| 1864. The Kearsarge was commanded
by Capt. John A. Winsow. She was
built in 1861 and is still afloat. being
| a bark-rigged steamer OF 1,150 tons, built
| in England. and commanded by Capt.
| Raphael Semmes. The engagement lasted
sixty-two minutes, when the Alabama
struck her flag. sinking shortly after.
Capt Semmes and forty Of his crew es-
capped by means of the English yacht
| Deerhound, which had been lowering In
| the vicinity by a previous understand
| ing.
The night Of October 81. 1864, Lieut..
W. b. Cushing. with thirteen officers
and men, volunteers from the vessels
of the North Atlantic squadron. went
| in a launch up the Roanoke river to
| Plymouth y. c., where the Confederate
| ram Albermarle was lying alongside a
wharf, protected by boom of logs. In
the midst of a heavy fire the launch
was jumped over the boom, the torpedo
| spar lowered and fired by Cushing. which
sank the ram. At the same instant
shot from the ram sank the launch, and
all the crew except Gushing and one
sailor We're killed. captured or drowned.
| Gushing, who managed by swimming and
hiding in the swamp to reach one of the
gunboats in safety received vote of
thanks from Congress and was promoted.
The ensign of the Albermarle is preserved
Us a reminder of that gallant act.
Foreign Trophies.
| There are several Chinese and Korean
flags One Of the latter which belonged
| TO the Korean generalssimo, was cap
tured June II, 1871. Admiral John Rodg
ers had been ordered to accompany the
United States minister to China to the
Korean capital TO make treaty The
Koreans without notice fired upon the
fleet Explanations were at once de-
manded by Rodgers, and as none was Of
fered he attacked the Korean forts after
waiting ten days.
The first United States ensign ever
seen in Japan is marked No. i" in the
collection 1t fioated at the masthead
OF the flagship of Commodore NJ. Z.
Perry when he landed at traSa, Province
Of Sa cami near Yokohama. July II, 1913.
Commodore Stephen Decatur has not
been forgotten and among the other rel
ics is the ensign of the Macedonian, an
English frigate which was captured by
him October - 1872. after a terrific en-
ragemant He carried her into New York,
where she was repaired. fitted out and
used in our navy until she was broken
M at Norfolk in 1S'., Her original
fiaurehead is also preserved here
There is a tradition that the first
shot from the United States Commodore
Decatur's frigate, knocked ball from
beneath the paw of a wooden lion which
stood on the quarterback of the Mace
donian This wooden lion is also said
to have once stood in front of the
speakers chair in the Canadian parlia-
ment house. on the 4th of June. 1873.
Commodore Isaac Chauncey wrote TO the
Secretary of the Navy follows:
Sir: I have the honor to present TO
by the hands of Jiaut