Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1916-02-04
PROF. STEVENS SPEAKS
AT SEvERNA PARK
Gives Interesting Talk to Boys of
Severn School.
DEFINES TERM "MIDSHIPMEN. "
Prof. of English Department at Naval
Academy Talks On "The Story Of
the Grade of Midshipmen"---
An Interesting Address.

Prof. w. o. Stevens, of the Depart
ment of English at the Naval Academy
gave a most interesting talk TO the
students of the Severn School. at Sew
ern Park. last Wednesday evening un-
der the title of The Story of the Grade
of Midshipman.
Professor Stevens explained the
origin of the term, how the midship-
men We're selected; their mode of liv-
ing and treatment aboard ship: how
promotion was obtained. interspersing
his talk with humorous anecdotes thar
evoked shouts of laughter from his
hearers. His story was complete his
tory OF the grade from its inception In
the English navy, down to the present
time.
The English, Professor 5: avens d.
We're the first to depart from the prac-
tice of using generals to command. and
soldiers to fight the ships, and to train
officers and crews especially for fight
ing on the sea. On account of the CON
struction of the ships at that time.
which were about 140 feet long with
decks rising one above the other as
high as so feet above the water line.
and with numerous communicating
ladders, it was necessary to have some
one to carry messages from one part
of the ship to the other This duty was
given 10 young boys and they were
called midshipmen. because OF their
station in the middle Of the ship.
The midshipmen were. chosen from
the ranks of the nobility and were ad-
vanced only through favorjtism. This
practice extended to our own nav.
Before the days of the Naval Acadamv.
Professor Stevens said, the middies he
ing chosen from the so-called first
families and from the richest fami-
speaker dwelt upon the excellent serv-
ice rendered in the war of 1912 by the
young officers who were midshipmen
at the time of the trouble with France
in 1898. and with Tripoli shortly after
ward. He mentioned Decatur. Porter
Morris. Lawrence and others He also
spoke of the wonderful record of Far
ragut, who became a midshipman at
the age of nine years. and shortly af-
Il
prize from Ecuador to Valparaiso
Describing the conditions under
which the midshipmen of early times
lived, Professor Stevens mentioned
their fare of hard tack, corned beef and
grog, with pea soup Plum duff was
an occasional luxury. on which to fill
UP. The hard tack came in for bit
of humorous description, when he told
how the midshipmen preferred to eat
it after it had been roasted. "in order
to prevent it from walking away"
Clothing was held in common. no
uniform being prescribed until a COM
paratively later date, and midshipmen
considered themselves lucky when
there was enough clothing to fit out
one-third of their number when a shore
party was proposed.
The midshipman's schooling was
CLEANED from a cursory reading OF a
few textbooks on mathematics and ex
aminations for promotion were held by
the officers on board ship. Sometimes
schoolmasters were placed on board
and lived among the midshipmen. but
attendance at classes was not compul-
sorry and the lot of the schoolmaster
was, usually, a most unhappy one
What may be called the first Nava.
Academy, Professor Stevens said. was
founded in a prison in Tripoli. where
some American officers were held by
the Tripolitans Textbooks in mathe-
matics were obtained and one of the
officers held daily classes in these
subjects.
Later the officers began to manifest
a keener interest in the technical side
of their profession and the agitation
for a Naval School began The op-
position Of the politicians who were
against the project eventually was
overcome and George Bancroft. then
Secretary of the Navy. was enabled to
found the present Naval Academy in
1S45.