Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1917-06-15

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1 suppose that very few casual |
readers of the New York Herald of |
August 18th observed, in an obscure |
corner, among the Deaths" the an
nouncement:
"NOLAN. Died, on board U. S. Cor
vette Levant, Lat. 20 IL" s.. Long. 1872
W., on the 18th of May, Philip Nolan"
I happened to observe it, because |
l was stranded Mt the old Mission |
house in Mackinac, waiting for Lake
Superior 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 have
paused at that announcement, if the
officer of the Levant who reported ii
had chosen to make it thus: Died,
May 18th, The Man without Coun-
try" For it was as The Man with
out Country" that poor Philip Nolan
had generally been known by the Off
GERS who had him in charge during
some fifty years, as, indeed, by all
the men who had sailed under them.
l dare say there is many a man who
has taken wine with him once n fort
night, in n three years cruise, who
never knew that his name was mo
LAM" 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 adminiStra-
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, l think, to the
country at large also.
/ have reason To think, from some
Investigations i made in the naval
archives when | was attached to the
bureau of construction, that every Of
fetal report relating to him was burned
when Ross burned the public buildings
ut Washington. one of the fuckers,
or possibly one of tlfe Watsons, had
Nolan in charge at the end of the war I;
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 il was a non mi ricordo, de-
termined on as II piece of policy, l dc
not know. But this l do know, that
since 1877, and possibly before. nj
naval officer has mentioned Nolan in
his report of cruise.
AS / say, there is no need for Sc
crecy any longer. And now the poo
creature is dead, ii seems to me wortl
while to tell little of his story, b!
way of showing young Americans 8
today what it is to be
A MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY.
Philip Nolan was as fine Il youn;
officer as there was in the Legion o
the West" as the western division o
our army was then called. Whel
Aaron Burr made his first dashing ez
petition down to New Orleans in 1S05
ut Fort Massac, o. somewhere abov
on the river, he met, as the dew
would have ii, this gay. daShing, brigh
young fellow, ut some dinner party
l think. Burr marked him, talked t
him, walked with him, took him Il da
or two's voyage in his ilatboat, anC
in short, fascinated him. For the mex
year barrack life was very tame
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 be
wrote and re-wrote and copied. 81
the gay deceiver. The other boys
the garrison sneered ut him, becaus
he sacrificed in this unrequited affe
ton for politician the time whiC
they devoted to MonOngahela, sledg
and high-low jack. Bourbon, euchr
and poker were still unknown. b
one day Nolan had his revenge. TIL
time Burr came down the river. not ;
an attorney seeking place for h
Office, but as disguised conQuero
lie had defeated know not how mar
district attorneys; he had dined at
know not how many public dinners;
had been heralded in l know not no
many Weekly Arguses; and 1t was r
mored that he had an army behind hi
and an empire before him. 1t was
great day-his arrival-to poor Nola
Burr had not been at the fort an ho
before he sent tor him. That eveniI
he asked Nolan to take him out In b