The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1917-05-17

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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. 90 IL" s., Long. 1872
W., on the 18th of May, Philip Nolan"
happened to observe it, because
was stranded at the old Mission
house In Mackinac, waiting for Lake
Superior steamer which did not choose
70 come, and / was devourlng, to the
very stubble, all the current literature
l 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 1t
had chosen to make 1t thus: "Dled,
May 11th, The Man without a Coun-
try" For 1t 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.
/ dare say there is many man who
has taken wine with him once fort
night, in u three years cruise, who
never knew that his name was No
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, think, to the
country ut large also.
/ have reason to think, from some
Investigations l made in the naval
archives when l was attached to the
bureau Of construction, that every of
fcial 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 Crownlnshlelds-who was in the
navy department when he came home
he found that the department ig
nored the whole business. Whether
they really knew nothing about 1t, ol
whether 1t was non mi ricordo, de
termined on as piece of policy, l dc
not know. But this l do know, tina
since 1917 and possibly before, M
naval officer has mentioned Nolan IL
his report of a cruise,
As | say, there is no need for Sc
crecy any longer. And now the poo
creature is dead, it seems to me wort
while to tell little of his story, b,
way of showing young Americans o
today what it is to be
A MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY.
Philip Nolan was as fine a youn
officer as there was in the Legion o
the West" as the western division o
our army was then called Whe
Aaron Burr made his first dashing eN
pedition down to New Orleans In 1SO'
at Fort Massac, or somewhere abov
on the river, he met, as the dew
would have it, this gay, dashing, brigh
young fellow, at some dinner part!
think. Burr marked him, talked
him, walked with him. took him da
or two's voyage in his flatboat, ant
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. Bl
never q line did he have in reply frol
the gay deceiver. The other boys
the garrison sneered at him, becauS
he sacrificed in this unreQuited affe
ton for a politician the time whic
they devoted to Monongahela, sledg
and high-low-jack Bourbon, euchr
and poker were still unknown. B1
one day Nolan had his revenge. TIL
time Burr came down the river, not
an attorney seeking place for h
Office, but as a disguised conquero
He had defeated know not how maj
district attorneys; he had dined at
know not how many public dinners;
had been heralded in | know not ho
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 Nolo
Burr had not been at the fort an no
before he sent for him. That evenil
he asked Nolan to take him out In b