The National tribune., 1910-10-06

Federal fire in a warehouse near ths
wharf
It was due principally to Lieut.. Com
mander Bunce and Capt. the late Vice
Admiral Rowan, that /. in August. 1864.
after passing a strict examination, hav-
ing served over three years as an en-
listed man. received my commission as
! an Ensign in the volunteer navy. a
grade corresponding to Second Lieu
tenant in the army. There is no doubt
| had / at an earlier date accepted the
appointment as Masters Mate, the COM
mission of Ensign would have come to
me sooner. Officers and men looked
| tesy. it being neither fish, flesh nor
fowl"
Promotion i'm the Navy.
Promotion in the Navy during the
civil war was.a most uncertain. bureau
cratic, neglected quantity. Your conf
panions of the army were treated more
literally in this matter. Youth. doing
a mans duty, was the only official
hindrance to advancement in my case.
What contrast to the promotions and
rewards given for the Spanish-Ameri-
can War, skirmish it was. compared
to the four years of the civil war.
In the Fall of 1864 I served part of
the time in command of gunboat in
the inland waters and sounds of North
Carolina Tho not being actually en-
gagged in the destruction of the Confed-
crate ram Albemarle. Lieut.. Cushing
acknowledged that my assistance to
him in repairing his lanch at Roanoke
Island made it only possible for him to
keep on his way to Plymouth, N c. l
participated at the bombardment and
apture of Plymouth, the cutting out of
the steamer Philadelphia, in numerous
boat pNnpCitinnG hlOwn
board the double-ender gunboat Otsego
when she was sunk by a torpedo in the
Roanoke River. n. C, and was in the
assault and capture of Fort Fisher, jan
| Is, 1865, when we. from the fleet,
stormed the fort from the sea face
while the army attacked from the rear.
The end of the civil war found me
not 21 years old
In the Spring of 1856 Congress passed
a law, ard If I remember rightly re-
garding the actual numbers. that "150
volunteer Navy line officers, after due
land competitive examinations. should
be admitted into the Regular Navy"
The grades were to be from Command
er to Ensign. The Navy Department
ordered large corps of regular officers
to Hartford, Conn, as an Examining
Board, and established the syuopses for
the examinations. which were rigidIy
adhered 10. The examinations were
several of the board that few of thsm
could solve the questions in mathe-
matics-
Rigorous Examinations.
Some 1900 out of the many thou
sands of volunteer Navy line officers
presented themselves. Many were re-
jected physically; there was no age limit
and many left when they read the rig
orous. almost prohibitory. questions.
After nearly two years-the work might
readily have been done in one year
the Examining Board reported in 1868
that Sc officers had qualified, five for
Lteutenants, 20 for Masters fcorre-
spending to a First Lieutenant in the
army and the remainder for E,nsigns
My name was number seven as Ensign
was the youngest officer in age. Sew
eral officers were over 50 years old.
Two-thirds of them had held a higher
rank in the volunteer navy. Many of
them had served gallantIy as Lieuten-
ants and acknowledgements You
companions of the army, who held high
rank in the volunteer forces. and who
In 1855 entered the Regular Service,
had a similar experience
During the two years of our so-called
examination whole classes from the Ma
val Academy were promoted, one class
| in one month. from Midshipnen to
Masters, in year to Lieutenants and in
another year to Lieutenant Command
ers, thus filling up the extra numbers
created for US by Congress and outrank-
ing us when in March. 1868, we were
admitted into the Regular Navy. Years
afterwards we tried to have this wrong
made right" but we were unsuccessful
After the civil war I advanced thru
the various grades in the line of senior
| fty by slow promotion. The Spanish
American War found me in command
of the cruiser Monocacy, on the Asiatic
Station, but unhappiIy + was not with
Admiral Dewey at Manila. 1 was kept
in the Yangtze River for the protection
| of missionaries, and how we did bless
| them! In April. 1901. after serving 40
years, asked for voluntary retirement
| had yet many years to serve before I
would have to retire, according to exist
ing laws, at the age of 81. My request
for retirement was granted in Septem-
Der, 1901.