American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1917-05-18

the needless, no more inspiring Z
y appeal to the spirit Of true Amer :
z icanism, than this memorable (
: work Of literary art and high :
( souled patriotism.l Z
E%%%E%A&%tAE$EE%
1 suppose that very few casual
readers OF the New York Herald Of
August 18th observed, in an obscure
corner, among the Deaths the am
nOuncement:
"NOLAN. Died, on board e. S. Cor
vette Levant, Lat. @ II" s., Long. 1872
w, on the 18th of May, Philip Nolan"
l happened to observe It, because
! was stranded at the old Mission
house in Mackinac, waiting for a Lake
Superior steamer which did not choose
to come, and I was d%evouring, to the
very stubble, all the current literature
I could get hold of, even down to the
deaths and marriages in the Herald"
Ny memory for names and people is
good, and the reader Will see, as he
goes on, that I had reason enough to
remember Philip Nolan. There are
hundreds of readers who would have
paused at that announcement, If the
officer of the Levant who reported 1t
had chosen 10 make 1t thus Died,
May 18th. The Man without a COun-
try" For it was as The Man with
out a Country" that poor Philip Nolan
had generally been known by the Off
GERS who had him in charge during
aAv.L a.anm a.L.a. ~ fAIAaI I~ all
the men who had sailed under them.
l dare say there is many q man who
has taken Wine with nin once "a lOtl-
night, In "a three years cruise, who
never knew that his name was "No-
Ian or whether the poor wretch had
any nalae at all.
There can now be nc possible harm
IN telling this poor creatures story.
Reason enough there has been till
now, ever since Madisoh's admiuistra-
ton went out in 1917, for very strict
secrecy. the secrecy of honor itself,
among the gentlemen of the navy who
have had Nolan in successive charge.
And certainly it speaks well for the es-
prit de corps Of the profession and the
personal honor of its members, that to
the press this mans story has been
wholly unknown, and, 1 think, to the
country at large also.
l have reason to think, from some
Investigations 1 made in the naval
archives when I was attached to the
bureau of construction, that every Of
fetal 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 returning from his cruise,
he reported at Washington to one of
the OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES was in the
navy department when he came home
he found that the department IL
nored the whole business. Whether
they really knew nothing about it, or
whether it was a non mi ricordo, de-
termined on as a piece Of policy, l do
not know. But this 1 do know, that
since 1917, and possibly BEFORE, nc
naval officer has mentioned Nolan in
his report of u cruise.
AS l 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 a little of his story, by
way of showing young Americans Of
today what it is to be
A MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY.
Philip Nolan was as fine a young
officer as there was in the Legion O
the West as the western division o
our army was then called. WheI
Aaron Burr made his first dashing ex
petition down to New Orleans in 1SOd
ut Fort Mussac. or somewhere abOy.
on the river, he met, as the devi
would have it, this gay, dashing, brigh
young fellow, at some dinner party
l think. Burr marked him, talked t
him, walked with him, took him a da
or two's voyage in his flatbOat, ant
in short, fascinated him. For the mex
year barrack life was very tame t
poor Nolan. He occasionally availe
OF the permission the great man ha
given him to write to him. Long, higl
worded, stilted letters the poor DO
wrote and re-wrote and copied. BIZ
never a line did he have in reply frol
he gay d~eceiver. The other boys
the garrison sneered at him, becaus
he sacrificed in this unreQuited affe0
ton for n politician the time whic
they devoted to Monongahela, sledg
and highlow-jack. Bourbon, euchr
nnd poker were still unknown. 81
... l.c Nolan had his revenge. Til
tule Burr came dowu the river, not