The Last Cruise of the Saginaw Part 6

I do not know that I sufficiently express my deep sense of their devotion and gallantry; words seem to fail me in that respect.

Previous to the sailing of the boat from Ocean Island I had enlisted John Andrews and James Muir as seamen for one month.

Since I have ascertained their fate I have ordered them to be rated as petty officers (in ratings allowed to most of the "fourth rates"), as I have thought that all the crew of that boat should have stood on equal footing as regards the amount they might be ent.i.tled to in case of disaster, as they all incurred the same risk.

Andrews and Muir belonged to the party of Mr. G.W. Townsend (the contractor at Midway Islands), and it was made a condition, by them, of their enlistment that it should not interfere with their contract with Mr. Townsend. It was intended as the security of their families against the risk incurred while performing the great service for the shipwrecked party. I have forwarded their enlistment papers to the Bureau of Equipment and Recruiting.

I am very respectfully, Your obedient Servant, MONTGOMERY SICARD, Lieut. Comdr. U.S.N. Comd'g.

HON. GEORGE M. ROBESON, Secretary of the Navy.

_In G.o.d's Country again_

_San Francisco, February 8, 1871._ After a pleasant voyage in the Moses Taylor we are again, all hands,--minus our gallant comrades,--on American soil, and the cruise of the Saginaw is officially closed. The officers have taken up quarters on sh.o.r.e, and the crew temporarily transferred to the U.S. Steamer Saranac for discharge or detail as their period of enlistment may require. The gig came with us and will be temporarily stored until it is decided as to her future. We have started a subscription for a suitable memorial to the gig's heroes, and the other ships of the squadron have generously offered their help. The most approved plan seems to be a marble tablet on the walls of the chapel at the Naval Academy, and the captain has made a sketch of one as it would appear there.

(_Note. November 1, 1871._ The tablet as designed has been completed and delivered at the Naval Academy. The following picture shows its appropriate character, and I deem it a fitting conclusion to my story.

The gig is also to go to the Naval Academy to be deposited in the Museum.)

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE TABLET Now on the walls of the chapel at the United States Naval Academy]

THE END

APPENDIX

I

I have been asked several times how it came about that our good ship could have met her sad fate when so recently out of port, her officers knowing the existence of the dangers so near. I have confined my narrative to personal experiences and to incidents of the life under the conditions surrounding us. However, as such questions may arise in the mind of some readers and in order to enlighten them, I set down below some copies of the results from official investigations by those higher in authority.

First: There is the report of the Court of Inquiry held upon our arrival in San Francisco, which reads thus:--

The Court is of the opinion that the wrecking of the Saginaw was caused by a current, as the evidence shows care in running the vessel at a safe rate of speed and the log-line was found to be correct two days before and had been used only ten hours at sea afterward, and that Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Sicard used due vigilance and care in the navigation of his vessel, and after striking upon the reef that he exercised sound judgment and exhibited great skill and prudence.

This was followed later by the Secretary of the Navy's annual report to the President, from which the following is an extract:--

Leaving Midway Islands on the 28th of October, Commander Sicard, of the Saginaw, determined to run to Ocean Island, a small island lying about one hundred miles to the westward of Midway, to rescue any sailors who might have been wrecked there and who, being out of the ordinary track of vessels in that part of the Pacific Ocean, would have little chance of relief from any other source. This expedition, though in the direct line of his duty as the commander of a naval vessel, was fraught with the usual perils of navigation in unknown and dangerous waters, and about three o'clock on the morning of the 29th of October, the Saginaw, running slowly in the darkness, was wrecked on a reef outlying the island for which she was bound. With much exertion and the exercise of much energy and skill, all on board, including the officers and men of the ship and the working party from Midway Islands, were safely landed, with a small allowance of provisions and materials rescued from the wreck.

Cast upon the sh.o.r.es of an uninhabited island with scanty means of subsistence, out of the line of travel, and more than one thousand miles from the nearest port of refuge or relief, then it was that the commanding officer of the Saginaw ill.u.s.trated the benefits of the comprehensive education and strict training which he had received at the hands of the Government and exhibited the high personal qualities which characterize him as an officer. Ably seconded by his subordinate officers of every grade, Commander Sicard took immediately every possible means for the health, safety, and final relief of those who were committed to his command. Whatever could be saved from the wreck was at once secured; measures were immediately taken to keep up the health, spirits, and discipline of the men: fresh water was distilled by means of an old boiler, and everything was organized so that there was no waste of either provisions, material, or labor.

The boat fittest for the service was promptly repaired, provisioned, and equipped, as far as might be, for the perilous voyage. Manned by one officer and four men, all of whom volunteered for the service, it was dispatched to Honolulu, the nearest port from which relief could be expected. After her departure work was vigorously pushed on the island; and when finally rescued, the shipwrecked marines with well-directed labor had almost completed, from the material of their old ship, a new schooner perfectly seaworthy and sufficient, under favorable circ.u.mstances, to carry the whole shipwrecked party to a port of safety. I have thus collated some of the facts of this case to ill.u.s.trate my high opinion of the energy and ability displayed by Commander Sicard and his comrades on this occasion and to show how well such conduct repays the favor of the Government.

After relating the history of the boat's voyage which we have already read, the Secretary concludes as follows:--

The death of Lieutenant Talbot closed a career of unusual promise, and in it the Navy lost a brilliant and beloved member.

A skillful sailor, an accomplished officer, and a Christian gentleman, his self-sacrifice has arrested the attention of his comrades and will remain an example to the Service which in life his virtues adorned and whose highest qualities were ill.u.s.trated in the crowning heroism of his death. His comrades of humbler rank will not be forgotten; with him they faced the dangers of the lonely ocean and offered their lives with his to save their shipwrecked messmates, and no one can estimate how much of danger and suffering, perhaps death, was saved through the courage and endurance of the sole survivor of that gallant boat's crew.

II

The following is a list of the officers and crew of the Saginaw as it appeared on the pay-roll at the time she was wrecked; I feel that I should name them all in recognition of a comradeship in suffering never to be forgotten where each one performed his duty unflinchingly:--

_Officers_

Montgomery Sicard, lieutenant commander.

John G. Talbot, lieutenant.

J.K. Cogswell, Perry Garst, and A.H. Parsons, ensigns.

George H. Read, pa.s.sed a.s.sistant paymaster.

James b.u.t.terworth, pa.s.sed a.s.sistant engineer.

H.C. Blye, pa.s.sed a.s.sistant engineer (in charge of contractor's party).

John J. Ryan, C.D. Foss, Herschel Main, and Jones G.o.dfrey, second a.s.sistant engineers.

George H. Robinson, master's mate.

_Petty Officers_

Peter Francis, quartermaster.

Nicholas Barton, quartermaster.

Thomas Hayes, sailmaker's mate.

John Lane, boatswain's mate.

James Foschack, gunner's mate.

J.M. Logan, yeoman.

William Halford, c.o.xswain.

Samuel A. Thompson, master at arms.

Charles Hale, paymaster's yeoman.

A.E. Myfinger, cabin steward.

Solomon Graves, cabin cook.

Joseph Ross, wardroom steward.

George D. Wauchoss, wardroom cook.

Henry B. Clark, third-cla.s.s apothecary.

William Edman, ship's cook.

Henry Wallace, steerage steward.

L. McCabe, steerage cook.

_First-cla.s.s firemen_, Francis Scott, Lorenzo Coburg, George White.

_Second-cla.s.s fireman_, George Hubert.

_Seamen_, William Cairns, Michael Lynch, Henry D. Vivian, Daniel Collins.

_Ordinary seamen_, Joseph A. Bailey, John H. Wallace, Dennis A.

Fitzgerald, John Daley, Charles Brown, Dennis M. Hayes, Michael Jordan, Edward James.

_Landsmen_, James Nichols, W.J. Evans, Edward O'Brien, Thomas Kearney, J.R. Miller, Martin Doran, William Fallon, Thomas Larkin, Joseph McLaughlin, George Saunders, William Combs, Joseph A. Agarrie, Michael Garvey, John Murphy, John Downs, James McNamara, John Riley, Thomas Melody, James M. Nolan.

_Marine guard_, Charles A. Martin, orderly sergeant; John G.