The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1917-04-01
"A NAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY


I suppose that very few casual read
ers of the New York Herald" of Au-
gust 10, 1863 noticed, in an obscure
corne-, among the Deaths" the an
nouncement: Nolan. Died. on board
U. S. Corvette Levant. Lat. 2 degrees.
II minutes south, Long 1871 degrees
west, on the nth OF May. Philip No
lam"
I happened to observe it, because
was stranded at the old Mission House
in Mackinaw. waiting for n Lake Su-
perior steamer which did not choose
to come, and was devouring to the
very stubble all the current literature
could get hold of, even down to the
deaths and marriages in the Herald"
My memory for names and people is
good. and the reader will see as he
goes on, that l had reason enough to
remember Philip Nolan. There are
hundreds of readers who would nave
paused at that announcement. If the
officer of the "Levant" who reported it
had chosen to make it thus: Died.
May II, THE MAN WITHOUT A
COUNTRY" For it was as 1.-THE Man
Without Country" that poor Philip
Nolan had generally been known by the
officers who had him in charge during
some so years, as. indeed, by all the
men who sailed under them. l dare
say there is many man who has
in three years cruise. who never knew
that his name was Nolan" or whether
the poor wretch had any name at all.
There can now be no possible harm
in telling this poor creatures story.
Reason enough there has been till now.
ever since Madison's administration
went out in 1917. for worry strict Sc
crecy, the secrecy of honor itself,
among gentlemen Of the navy who had
had Nolan in successive charge. And
certainty il speaks we'll for the esprit
dc corrs of the profession, and the
personal honor Ct its members, that to
the press this mans story has been
wholly unknown--and, think. to the
!, country at large. also. have reason
to think, from some Investigations ]
made in the naval archives when I was
attached to-the bureau of construction,
that every official report relating to
him was burned when Ross burned the
public buildings at Washington. One
of the fuckers. or possibly one of the
Watsons, had Nolan in charge at the
end of the war; and when, on re-
| Washington one of the Crowninshields,
who was in the navy department
when he came home.--he found that
the department ignored the whole bust
ness. Whether they really knew moth
! ing about it. or whether it was a "New
mi ricordo" determined on as piece OF
policy, do not know. But this dc
know. that since 1917. and possibly
before. no naval officer has mentioned
Nolan in his report of a cruise.
But. as say, there is no need for sc.
crecy any longer And now the poor
creature is dead, it seems to me worth
while to tell little of his history, b!
way Of showing young Americans Of
today what it is to be A MAN WITH
OUT A COUNTRY.
Philip Nolan.
Philip Nolan was as fine young Of
ficer as there was in the Legion o
the West" as the western division o
our army was then called. When Aaror
Burr made his first dashing expedi
ton down to New Orleans in 1908, a
Fort Massac, or somewhere above OF
the river, he met, as the deYil woul,
have it, this gay. dashing. bright younl
fellow. at some dinner-party. l think
Burr marked him, talked to him. tool
him day or two voyage in his Nat
boat. and, in short, fascinated him
For the next year, barrack life wa
; very tame to poor Nolan. He occa
sionally awaited himself of the permits
sion the great man had given him I
write to him, Long. high worded. silt
ed letters the poor boy wrote and re
lwrote and copied. But never a lin