The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1912-07-26
new NEWS OF YESTERDAY
Interesting Bit of History Never
Before Written.
Gustavus v. Fox, Carrying Message
to Gar, Crossed Ocean in Mons
itor Miantonomah TO Prove its
Seaworthiness.
BY E. j. EDWARDS.

BY E. J. EDWARDS.
Ito Gustavus V. Fox, assistant sec.
rotary of war during theEClyil war,
was popularity credited, and rightly
the plan for opening the mississippi.
for the capture of New Orleans, and
the selection of Farragut for high
command said Frederick w. Seward,
assistant secretary of state during the
war and also under Johnson.
Il think am safe in saying con
tinued Mr.. Seward, who is now in his
eighty-first year. that of all the men
who had an influential part in public
affairs during the war Fox was the
most modest and the freest from any
of the tricks of self-advertisement
But while he was personally one OF
the most retiring of men, he was q
curious combination of great bravery,
great ability, and a tremendous ca
pacity for work and self-assertion
when important official action was de.
manded of him.
often during the war the closest
cooperation was necessary between
the state and navy departments. At
such time my father would ask Fox
to take dinner with us, and while at
dinner the whole subject would be
threshed out, Fox never failing us
with pertinent suggestions and ad-
vice. He was a nan who ecI'd al
ways be deper 9ed upon, and al sole
aim was TO 90 what he could and do
1t as we'll as he could, for the Union
After the war was over it seemed
to my father that there should be
some high official recognition OF Mr..
Fox's work during the war. Others
high in the administration agreed
with the secretary of state, and so
hint was carried to Fox that II he
would ask for appointment as rear
admirable had served for eighteen
years in the navy before retiring to
private life as a wool manufacturer
in 1S56-that appointment would
surely be made and confirmed But
Fox absolutely declined to ask for the
appointment. | knew the reason; he
felt that high appointment should al
ways come unsolicited; he had never
asked for any appointment under the
government. Lincoln's selection of
him as assistant secretary of the
navy coming as a complete surprise
to him.
But shortly after he had refused
to become rear-admiral, he did
break, in a way, his well-known rule
of asking anything for himself But
he did this not for his own advance
ment, but to prove practicable a
theory he had long held And here
comes in bit of unwritten history.
After the failure of the attempt to
assassinate Gar Alexander H., in
1866, congress by resolution expressed
its sense of gratitude that the life of
the European sovereign who had been
so friendly to the Union in our own
time of great emergency should have
been spared President Johnson at
once decided that this eongratulatory
resolution should be delivered to the
car by a special representative of
the government, and he designated
Mr.. Fox for the mission.
AT that time there was serious
question of the seaworthiness OF the
type of war vessel known as the mon
itor The marine engineers We're prac-
tically unanimous in declaring that
the monitor was unfit for any service
except that which was near shore.
But Mr.. Fox had long been confident
that the monitor was perfectly sea
nd hn had etc fnH n
times that he would be willing, should
opportunity offer, to risk his own life
and stake his reputation as a naval
authority upon an experiment which
would decide once for all the question
of the seaworthiness of the monitor.
When he was asked to carry the con,
gratulatory message TO the czar he at
once saw an opportunity of putting
the monitor to the test he had long
had in mind, and he stated that he
would be glad to undertake the mis-
sion provided the monitor Miantono-
nah was commissioned to take him
across the Atlantic as the official rep
resentative of the United States.
His request was granted He
boarded the monitor with perfect con
fidence. She steamed easily across
the ocean. demonstrating beyond the
shadow of q doubt that this type OF
vessel could cope with any emergency
of wind or weather which any other
type of vessel could meet. And when
this had been demonstrated Mr.. Fox
was never happier. He was, be
lieve. prouder of his victory over the
marine engineers than of the i'm
portant part he played in opening the
Mississippi, one of the greatest feat'
of the war"
downright. 1911. by f. J. Edwards Az
Rights Reservedl