Part 18

In March, 1814, the Essex, off the coast of South America, was attacked by two English vessels and captured after a desperate fight in which the Americans lost one hundred and twenty-four men. Farragut was “a man on occasions,” and Captain Porter commended his battery in this action. The American sailors were made prisoners on parole and they were exchanged only a few weeks before the treaty of peace was made. The time was improved by Farragut in attending school. Between his cruises he was generally at school studying diligently, and at eighteen he stood the examinations required for a lieutenant, though he did not receive his promotion till several years later.

In 1822 Farragut went with his friend, Commodore Porter, to fight against the pirates which thronged the West Indian waters. The American fleet was composed of small fast-sailing vessels and of boats called the “mosquito fleet.” They had some exciting adventures and encounters with the pirates, whom they succeeded in driving from most of their haunts. A more formidable foe than the pirates was yellow fever. Twenty-five officers were attacked and of those twenty-three died; Farragut was one of the two who recovered. Soon after his return to America, Lieutenant Farragut was put in charge of the Brandywine to carry Lafayette to France.

In 1833 he went to Charleston under orders to uphold the revenue laws of the United States which South Carolina had threatened to nullify. The danger was averted and for the present he was not called upon to serve against his countrymen. During the years which followed he made many cruises but saw no active service. He was an excellent officer. One who knew him said, “Never was the crew of a man-of-war better disciplined or more contented and happy. The moment all hands were called and Farragut took the trumpet, every man under him was alive and eager for duty.”

In 1850 Farragut and three other officers were appointed to draw up a book of regulations for the navy. They devoted eighteen months of hard work to the task and made an excellent manual. A few years later the book appeared with a few changes; the names of the four men who had prepared it were omitted and the credit was given to men who had really done none of the work. The fair-minded and hard-working young officer was naturally indignant at this injustice.

Later, he was sent to California and spent four years establishing navy-yards near San Francisco. He was now captain, which was then the highest rank in the American navy. On his return to Washington in 1858, he was put in charge of a new vessel, the Brooklyn. This was very different from the old sailing-ships on which he had served, being one of the first steam war-vessels in our navy.

The clouds of the War between the States were now gathering over the country, greatly to Farragut’s distress. He was a southerner by birth but from boyhood he had been in the nation’s service and his strongest affections were for the American navy.

“God forbid that I should raise my hand against the South,” he said.

Yet when the war broke out he felt that he must choose the national cause. In January, 1862, he was sent in charge of a squadron to secure the Mississippi River for the Union. He was to capture Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip which defended New Orleans, then take the city, and afterwards sail up the river, subjecting the forts along the banks. He was in charge of the largest and best-equipped fleet that had ever been led by an American commander. It consisted of forty-eight vessels. An army of fifteen thousand soldiers under General Butler was sent to aid in the capture of New Orleans. Below the forts commanding the city, was a barricade of old vessels and logs fastened together with iron chains; above these was the Confederate fleet of fifteen vessels. For a week Captain Farragut’s mortar boats rained shells on the forts, then his gunboats broke the barricade. At four o’clock on the morning of April the twenty-fourth, his squadron passed the forts which had held back the British in 1815. Then they engaged in a desperate battle with the little Confederate fleet. Every vessel of it was captured or wrecked. Four days later the besieged forts surrendered, and on the first of May the Union troops under Butler took possession of New Orleans. Farragut was ordered to “pass or attack and capture” the Confederate forts between New Orleans and Memphis. He accordingly went to Vicksburg, but his expedition failed for lack of land-forces to support the attack. July 4, 1863, Vicksburg was taken by General Grant, and a few days later, Port Hudson was surrendered. This gave the Union forces entire control of the river. For his valiant and efficient service, Farragut was rewarded in 1862 with the rank of rear-admiral, created for his benefit. Thus he was the first admiral in the United States navy. Later he was made vice-admiral, and in 1866 he became admiral, each of the three ranks being created in his honor.

While Farragut’s squadron was striving to gain control of the Mississippi, a battle took place on the Atlantic coast which marked the beginning of a new era in naval warfare, the end of wooden war-ships and the use of iron vessels. The Confederates captured a United States vessel, the Merrimac, removed its masts, covered it with iron, and fitted it with an iron prow. This iron-clad vessel attacked and destroyed several Union vessels. It was attacked by the Monitor, an iron-covered vessel designed by Captain John Ericsson and commanded by Lieutenant Worden. It carried larger guns than had ever before been used on a vessel. A fierce battle was fought in which neither of the iron-clads was seriously injured, and the Merrimac finally withdrew.

Leaving the Mississippi squadron in charge of Porter, who was also a rear-admiral now, Farragut went to the Atlantic coast. As soon as vessels could be refitted, he set forth in the summer of 1864 to capture Mobile, an important seaport of the South. With twenty-four war-ships and four iron-clads he entered Mobile Bay which was commanded by two strong forts. In order to overlook the fleet and direct its action, the admiral stationed himself in the rigging of his vessel, despite the protests of his men against his occupying a place of such danger. A submarine mine sunk one of his vessels with almost its entire crew; at this disaster the vessel which was leading the fleet stopped. Admiral Farragut ordered his own vessel, the Hartford, “full speed” in the van and led the way into the bay. The entire Confederate fleet was destroyed, and the forts were taken in a few days, thus giving the Federals control of the Gulf. Of the battle of Mobile Bay Farragut said, “It was one of the hardest-earned victories of my life, and the most desperate battle I ever fought since the days of the Essex.”

While Farragut was in the Gulf making ready to attack Mobile, in June, 1864, a brilliant naval battle was fought off the coast of France. This was between the Federal Kearsarge, commanded by Captain Winslow, and the Confederate Alabama under Captain Semmes. After an hour’s desperate battle, the Alabama was sunk.

A few months later, occurred one of the most daring deeds of the war. The Confederate vessel, the Albemarle, was destroyed at night by a torpedo from a little boat commanded by Lieutenant Cushing. Lieutenant Cushing had volunteered for the service, fully recognizing the danger to which he would be exposed. His boat was sunk, and only he and one of the crew escaped by swimming.

Clara Barton

The President of the American Red Cross Society

War at best brings with it terrible suffering, hardship and sickness, wounds and death. Gratitude is due those who labor to alleviate such sufferings. Among these, women have ever been foremost. During the Crimean War in Europe, Florence Nightingale and other noble Englishwomen went to the Crimea to nurse the sick and wounded soldiers.

In our War between the States a few years later, similar services were rendered by many self-sacrificing women, both North and South. Two great organizations, the Sanitary Commission and the Christian Commission, were formed in the North to collect supplies and forward them to the needy and suffering soldiers. Mary Livermore, who was at the head of the Sanitary Commission, wrote an interesting account of its work.

While these were busy at home, other women were at work in the hospitals and on the battle-fields, caring for sick and wounded soldiers. One of these nurses was Dorothea Dix. During the war, she was a superintendent of hospital nurses; after the war, she devoted herself to improving the conditions of prison life.

Another hospital nurse was Clara Barton, afterwards so prominently identified with the Red Cross movement. She was born in Massachusetts in 1830. In young womanhood she taught several years, then she secured a clerkship in Washington. At the beginning of the War between the States, she resigned her position to work in army-hospitals, where she was called “an angel of mercy.”

After the war, broken down in health, she went abroad. In Europe she became interested in the work of the Red Cross societies, which were doing a noble work and had already secured the co-operation of twenty-two nations. These organizations were due to the efforts of a Swiss gentleman who in 1859 visited the field of Solferino where, in a battle between the Austrians and the French, thousands of soldiers were killed and thousands were wounded. The medical aid at hand was pitifully inadequate; the sight of the sufferings of the wounded soldiers led this Swiss to plan the formation of societies for the relief of wounded soldiers. Such a society was formed at Geneva in 1864, and a badge, a red cross on a white ground, was adopted which was to be worn by those in its service.

By the efforts of Miss Barton, in 1881 the United States co-operated in this work. A Red Cross society was formed of which Miss Barton became president. In 1896 its members helped in the relief of the Armenians; they did noble work in the Spanish-American War in 1898, and in the Boer War the next year.

The work of the Red Cross society is not limited to the relief of the victims of war. In times of calamity and disaster, it takes speedy relief to those stricken by flood, famine, or pestilence. During the floods of 1884, Miss Barton in a relief-boat traveled thousands of miles up and down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, distributing food, clothing, and supplies. The Johnstown flood of 1889 left four thousand people dead and twenty thousand homeless. The Red Cross Society hastened to the relief of the sufferers. For five months its agents worked amid scenes of want and distress, distributing over two hundred thousand dollars’ worth of food, clothes, furniture, and other supplies. They did similar work at the great flood of Galveston in 1900, and are always ready to extend a helping hand where it is needed.

George B. Dewey

George Dewey, the third admiral of the United States navy, was born in Vermont, December 26, 1837. He was descended from a Puritan who emigrated to Massachusetts about 1633. As a boy, George Dewey was mischievous and daring and not fond of study. His father, however, realizing the importance of education, kept him at school and insisted on his applying himself.

He entered the Naval Academy when he was seventeen and was graduated in 1858, fifth in his large class. His first active service was in Farragut’s attack on New Orleans, and here he showed courage and coolness under fire.

In attempting to pass Port Hudson, his ship, the Mississippi, was riddled with shot and shell. Then it was run ashore and set on fire by Captain Smith and Dewey to prevent its falling into the hands of the Confederates. In his official report of this affair, Captain Smith said, “I consider that I should be neglecting a most important duty should I omit to mention the coolness of my executive officer, Mr. Dewey, and the steady, fearless, and gallant manner in which the officers and men of the Mississippi defended her, and the orderly and quiet manner in which she was abandoned after being thirty-five minutes aground, under the fire of the enemy’s batteries.”

After the war Farragut said to Dewey’s father, “Your son George is a worthy and brave officer and some day will make his mark.”

It was long, however, before the opportunity came for him to do so. Meanwhile he went quietly on, performing the duties of his profession. For two years after the War between the States, he was instructor in the Naval Academy. In 1884 he was promoted captain and in 1897 commodore. He was now sixty years old, and while he was recognized as a brave and able officer, the prospect seemed that he would be retired at sixty-two, according to the rules of the navy, without gaining special fame.

But this was not to be the case. His opportunity was to come, and because he was ready for it, he was to attain a fame equal to that won by any other naval commander of his country. In January, 1898, he was ordered to take command of the Asiatic squadron; that spring while he was on Pacific waters, war was declared between the United States and Spain.

Cuba, one of its first discoveries, had remained subject to Spain while one after another of her New World possessions slipped from her grasp. Instead of ruling the colony wisely, Spain governed it with severity and injustice. The oppressed people made more than one effort to gain freedom. One attempt after another was unsuccessful, but in 1895 there broke out a rebellion so desperate that the Spaniards were not able to suppress it. The cruel General Weyler was put in command of the army in Cuba. In order to keep the natives from taking part in the insurrection, he formed what were called “concentration camps;” towns were surrounded by barbed wire fences and the inclosures were guarded by Spanish soldiers; in these were confined men, women, and children. Foul water, lack of food, and lack of proper sanitary regulations killed thousands in these camps. Through the Red Cross Society, the Americans sent food and supplies to the sufferers.

When our Consul in Havana reported that many Americans were among the starving sufferers, the United States protested; finally, Weyler was recalled and the American prisoners and the helpless natives were released.

In the winter of 1898 the Maine, an American battleship commanded by Captain Sigsbee, was in Havana harbor on a friendly visit. On the fifteenth of February, it was blown up by a submarine mine and two hundred and sixty-six Americans were killed. No one could find out who put the mine there nor who exploded it. This incident excited such indignation in America that Congress authorized President McKinley to use the army and navy to force Spain to give up Cuba. This caused Spain to declare war against the United States.

The war with Spain began, April 21, 1898. Three days later, orders were cabled to Dewey, who was at Hong Kong, China: “Proceed at once to the Philippine Islands. Commence operations, particularly against the Spanish fleet. You must capture or destroy the vessels. Use utmost endeavor.”

As Dewey sailed from Hong Kong, he signalled to his fleet: “Keep cool and obey orders.” The night of April the thirtieth the vessels reached Manila; ignoring the mines and batteries, they steamed in single file between the forts which guard the wide entrance of the bay. A little after five o’clock on the morning of May 1, 1898, began the battle of Manila Bay. The Spanish fleet was commanded by Admiral Montojo, one of the ablest of the Spanish officers. His fleet and the batteries opened fire on the Americans. Two submarine mines were exploded; fortunately, they did no damage and they did not deter Dewey, who had been with Farragut at the battle of Mobile Bay when the brave admiral sailed over torpedoes.

Dewey coolly watched the Spanish cannonade for awhile, and then quietly said to the captain of his flag-ship, the Olympia: “You may fire when ready, Gridley.” With a shout, “Remember the Maine,” the Americans fired. Their vessels, single file, passed the Spanish squadron, firing broadsides with deadly effect. Then they turned and repeated the maneuver. This was done five times in the course of two hours. The Spanish ships one after another were sunk, disabled, or blown up. At half past seven o’clock Commodore Dewey withdrew out of range of the Spanish batteries, and breakfast was served. He then returned to the attack and in two hours the Americans completed the destruction of the Spanish fleet, which was superior to their own in ships, men, and guns. The Spaniards fought bravely, but they were poor marksmen; they had two hundred men killed and lost their squadron of twelve vessels. The Americans did not lose a ship and they had only seven men wounded and none killed.

Dewey received from Congress a vote of thanks and the rank of rear-admiral. He remained in charge at Manila till relieved by a military governor. The war was over then, Spain was defeated, and Cuba free. There was no further occasion for his services. In 1899 he left Manila; after a leisurely cruise, in the autumn he reached the United States, where he was received with enthusiasm.

Andrew Carnegie

The Steel King

The United States has been called “the land of the poor man’s opportunity.” More than one barefoot boy in it has passed from a log cabin to the White House. In no other country have there been such rises from poverty to wealth and position. There is often much to condemn in the methods by which vast wealth is acquired, but the task requires ability and talent of a kind, and the careers of these “captains of industry,” as they are well termed, are regarded with interest.

A typical man of this class is Andrew Carnegie, who has risen from extreme poverty to vast wealth. He was born in 1837 in Scotland. His father, a master weaver, lost work when machines took the place of hand-looms; he emigrated to the United States when Andrew was a boy of eleven. Andrew began work when he was twelve as a bobbin-boy in a cotton factory in Pennsylvania, at weekly wages of a dollar and twenty cents.

When he was fourteen, he became a telegraph messenger boy and earned three dollars a week. In his spare time, he learned telegraphy and became an expert operator.

He was shown a model of a sleeping car of which he was quick to see the advantages; his first business investment was in a sleeping car company, and the success of this laid the foundation of his fortune.

Later on, he became interested in iron works of various kinds. He foresaw that iron bridges would largely take the place of wooden ones. He formed a company to make the parts for iron bridges. Later, he saw the superiority of steel over iron. In 1868 he introduced into America the Bessemer process of making steel. He acquired one after another seven great iron and steel works; moreover, he acquired coal and iron fields and railways and steamboats to control transportation.

In 1889 his plant at Homestead was the scene of a strike, one of the fiercest contests in America between capital and organized labor. A number of workmen and detectives were killed, and the militia had to be called out to put down the riot.

In 1899 Carnegie’s interest in different iron and steel plants were consolidated; in 1902 there was formed the United States Steel Corporation, a vast trust with a capital of over a billion dollars, which employs forty thousand people. The year that this trust was formed Carnegie retired from business: he received for his share in the trust two hundred and fifty million dollars’ worth of bonds bearing five per cent. interest, thus securing him an income of about fourteen million dollars a year. The Steel King, his wife, and daughter, make their home at Skibo Castle, a magnificent residence in Scotland.

Mr. Carnegie says that a man who has accumulated a great fortune ought to share it with the people. Among the objects which he considers most worthy the aid of men of wealth, he names universities, free libraries, hospitals, public parks, swimming baths, public halls, and church buildings. His own favorite charity is the aid of public libraries to which he has given millions of dollars. In 1902 he gave ten million dollars to found Carnegie Institution in Washington “for promotion of study and research.”

THE END

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:

Italicized or underlined text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_.

Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.

Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized.

Archaic or variant spelling has been retained.

Some illustrations have been moved to locations near the text they represent.