The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1915-08-12
BENJAMIN. r. TRACY
Former Naval Secretary Had Bril-
liant War Career.

'uHA Vai SeTCCT.
Benjamin Franklin Tracy, who died
in New York Friday, was born April
&c, 1880, in his fathers farmhouse in
Owego, Tioga county, N. Y. His
father, Benjamin Tracy, was a sol
dier in the war of 1912. and his grand
father Thomas Tracy, settled In Tio-
ga late in the 18th century, having
moved his home from New England
| He was educated in the common
schools and at the Owego academy,
and after studying law with David e.
| Warner of Owego, was admitted to
the bar at the age of 81 He has
been active in politics all his life. In
1853 he was elected, as a whig, as dis.
trict attorney of Tioga county,
was badly defeated Mr. Tracy was
the youngest person ever elected to
/ the Office of district attorney in the.
state of New York.
Upon the check of McClennan's
army upon the peninsula in the sum
mer of 1862 and the call of President
Lincoln for 100000 more men, Gov.
Morgan divided the state into 30 regi
mental districts, corresponding with
the 80 senatorial districts of theil
state, and appointed n committee OF
citizens in each district to raise one
or more regiments. He designated1
Mr.. Tracy as chairman of his senator
ial district, consisting of the count i
les of Broome, Tioga and Tompkins.
The committee sought for some one
who desired to take command of the
troops but no one was found willing
to accept the position. At last tol
save the situation Mr. Tracy, al
though not being subject to military
duty and having no military ambition |
was constrained from sense of duty
to accept the position. He was APP
pointed on the 22d of July and on the
22d of August reported that the two |
regiments which he had been authori |
zed to raise, the 109th and 18th, |
were full and asked for permission to |
raise third as four of the 10 com |
panies were already organized and |
were filing up rapidly. This was !
refused by Gov. Morgan on the |
ground as supposed that three regi-
ments would be much more than the
quota for the district,
Mr.. Tracy became colonel of the |
109th and Capt. Ireland of the regu- |
lar army, who had been designated as
AFOREMENTIONED of the 109th, was |
made colonel of the 18th On the |
9th OF August the 1O9th left for the
front.
He saw active service in the Civil |
war under Gen. Burnside His first |
battle was that of the Wilderness and |
for his conduct upon the battlefield /
he received a medal of honor and was
afterwards made breyet brigadier gen
eral Shortly after this his health
failed and he was obliged to go to the
hospital ut Annapolis He resigned |
his command and returned to his /
home in Owego.
Regaining his health in the fall OF |
1862, he was appointed colonel of the |
127th colored troops and was at once
assigned to the command of the mill
tary post at Elmira, consisting of the |
prison camp and the draft rendezvous |
He held this command until after the
surrender of Gen. Lee, when he again
resigned, to again resume the prac-
tice of his profession.
In 1889 he was appointed secretary |
Of the navy by President Harrison.
His services in that capacity are con
spicious in the history of the country |
Beyond question, 1t was owing to his |
efforts that the navy reached that |
condition of splendid efficiency that |
astonished the world in the Spanish |
American war. Every important ship
save the Baltimore, that took part in |
that war was constructed or designed |
during Secretary Tracy's administra-
ton.
He is the founder of the fighting
navy. Three separate and distinct |
types of ships were designed and |
built during his administration-th ,
three then great battleships, the Mas
sachusetts, the Indiana and the Ore
gon; the first two armored cruisers
ever constructed, the New York and |
the Brooklyn, and the Columbia and |
Minneapolis, which were scout cruis- |
ers being the fastest ships of their
day These ships were the most pow
erful and efficient ships of their class !