The Morgan City daily review. (Morgan City, La.) 1916-1920, 1917-08-07

: work Of literary art and high !
) souIed patriotism.1 8
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
! suppose that very few casua
readers Of the New York Herald O;
August 18th observed, in an obscure
corner, among the Deaths" the an
nouncement:
NOLAN. Died, on board q. s. Cor
vette Levant, Lat q IL" s., Long. 1871
W., on the 18th Of May, Philip Nolan
I happened to observe 1t, because
I was stranded at 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
I 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 had reason enough to
remember Philip Nolan. There are
hundreds of readers who would have
paused at that announcement, II the
o1acer Of the Levant who reported 1t
had chosen to make 1t thus: "Died,
May 18th, The Man without q Coun-
ty." For 1t was az 1.-The Man with
out Country" that poor Philip Nolan
had generally been known by the OH.
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 q man who
has taken wine with him once q fort
night, in Q three years cruise, who
never knew that his name was mo
Ian" 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
DOW, ever since Madison's administra-
hon 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 e.
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 at large also.
I have reason to think, from some
Investigations I made in the naval
lrchives when I was attached to the
|ureau Of construction. that every Of
lcial report relating to him was burned
Vhen Ross burned the public buildings
t Washington. One Of the fuckers,
Y possibly one of the Watsons, had
1olan in charge at the end Of the war;
nd when, on returning from his cruise,
le reported at Washington to one Of
he OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES was in tho
avy department when he came home
he found that the department ig-
lored the whole business. Whether
hey really knew nothing about 1t, or
7hether 1t was a non mi ricordo, de-
on a. q piece Of policy, I do
ot know. But this I do know, that
ince 1917, and possibly before, no
avail officer has mentioned Nolan in
is report Of q cruise.
As I say, there is no need for Sc
recy any longer. And now the poor
reature Is dead, 1t seems to me worth
vhile to tell little Of his story, by
ray Of showing young Americans Of
oday what it is to be
A MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY.
Philip Nolan was as fine q young
hicer as there was in the Legion Of
be West" as the western division of
Or army was then called. When
laron Burr made his first dashing ex-
edition down to New Orleans in 1906,
t Fort 'Massac, or somewhere above
q the river, he met, as the devil
'ould have 1t, this gay, dashing, bright |
Dung fellow, at some dinner party, |
think. Burr marked him, talked to
I'm, walked with him, took him a day
: two's voyage in his flatboat, and.
short, fascinated him. For the next !
ear barrack life was very tame to
DOR Nolan: He occasionally availed
the permission the great man had
wen him to write to him. Long, high
'orded, stilted letters the poor boy
roee and re-wrote and copied. But
ever Z line did he have In reply from
,e gay deeeiver. The other boys In
70 earr1son sneered ct him, because
D secri1eed In this unreQuited a6ec-
On for . politician the time which
ley devoted TO 1onoaSahela, Sledge.
y hig1+3ow-hek Bourbon. euehre.
y Dn16e Wuse TIN uhknoW6 8ut
= ~ 1eslan' - - ssvsaGA II