Recollections of a Naval Officer

OF all men, naval officers ought to be most entertaining. In the first place, they go to sea, and it stands to reason that a great deal more of what is worth telling must happen on such an uncertain floor as the top of an ocean wave than on the fixed and stable earth. People who live in earthquake countries are the only ones who have an equal advantage. Then they have not much to do except to tell stories. The sailors do the drudgery ; the officers have to pass away the time. When they get ashore, moreover, they always form a picturesque contrast to landsmen, and are sure to introduce novel situations, as in the story of an old salt who rode by General Scott’s quarters, in Mexico, upon a donkey. Some officers standing by observed that he was, as they thought, seated too far back, and called to him to shift his seat more amidships. “ Gentlemen,” said Jack, drawing rein, “ this is the first craft I ever commanded, and it’s d—d hard if I cannot ride on the quarter-deck.”

The story is one that comes back to us from Captain Parker’s Recollections,¹ a book which keeps up the traditions of the sea ; for Captain Parker, besides his natural and professional aptitude for story-telling, shows himself to have been a generous lover of the best literature, so that the reader has the pleasure not only of hearing good stories, but of hearing them well told. When we say stories, we mean the word in its widest sense ; for while there is a good store of anecdote and jest, the real occasion of the book is in the large, retentive memory of a man who has led a varied life, and is willing to tell frankly what he has seen and heard, a large part of which he was.

Captain Parker began his naval career by being the son of a naval officer and reading Marryatt’s novels. His first public appearance, however, as an officer was in 1841, when he entered the United States navy as midshipman, at the age of fourteen. “ I well recollect,” he says, “ my extreme surprise at being addressed as Mr. by the Commodore, and being recalled to my senses by the sharp William of my father, who accompanied me to the Navy Yard.” This Tom Tucker of a midshipmite was very much perplexed by seeing the hammocks swung, but not unlashed ; and after speculation upon the difficulty of a straddling rest, which seemed the only possible one, entertained doubts if he had not better resign and go home, when he was relieved to find that upon being opened and spread the hammock furnished a much more reasonable bed. He innocently opened his trunk, when he was ready to turn in, and drew out a close-fitting night-cap, of which he had a stock, made of many colors, from the remnants of his sisters’ dresses. It was a precaution against earache, to which the little fellow had been accustomed at home ; though one wonders that a naval officer’s wife should have imagined her boy wearing such a head-piece in security. “ If I had put on a suit of mail,” he says, “ it could not have caused greater astonishment among these lighthearted reefers. They rushed to my trunk, seized the caps, put them on, and joined in a wild dance on the orlop deck, in which were mingled red caps, blue caps, white caps, — all colors of caps, — in pleasing variety. I had to take mine off before turning in, as it really did seem to be too much for their feelings ; but I managed to smuggle it under my pillow, and when all was quiet I put it on again ; but when the midshipman came down at midnight to call the relief, he spied it, and we had another scene. This was the last I ever saw of my caps. I have never had one on since, and consequently have never had the earache ! ”

Of the young midshipman’s early cruises the incidents are not many, but the reminiscences of associates are entertaining. It is not so much as a traveler that the naval officer tells his story, although there are many quick characterizations of places and scenes rather, he is one of a party of youngsters, kept in discipline by their elders, but full of life, and gaining rapidly in confidence and self-reliance as they use the little authority with which they are entrusted. An officer of the navy carries the entire United States on the quarter-deck ; and since he is brought into frequent intercourse with representatives of other governments, he acquires a dignity and sense of responsibility which are often beyond his years. At the same time, he has all the freedom of a man of the world, and, associating with his equals in close companionship, he keeps a bonhomie which makes him the envy of those who are entangled in the life of cities and the snares of competition.

When the war with Mexico came, the young midshipman, then under twenty, secured an appointment on the Potomac, which had been ordered to the Gulf, and his narrative of adventures during the war, when the navy was supporting the army, is exceedingly racy. There is an absence of any comment upon the rights or wrongs of the war; one only sees the lively young officer in for the fun of the thing, and the sailors doing their part with an indescribable drollery. The light-heartedness of the navy, its innocent bravery, its careless, happy-go-lucky style of entering upon grave situations, are all reflected in the story of the squadron. Captain Parker gives an account of the capture of Alvarado, a small town thirty-three miles southeast of Vera Cruz, by Lieutenant Hunter, of the Scourge, in the most impudently private fashion. Commodore Perry had made up his mind to take the place, and accordingly moved gravely toward it with his squadron.

“ We sailed in the Potomac, and as the signal was made to the ships to make the best of their way we, being out of trim and consequently a dull sailer, did not arrive off Alvarado until toward the last. As we approached the bar we saw that something was wrong,as the vessels were all underweigh instead of being at anchor. Very soon the Albany hailed us, and said that Alvarado was taken. ‘ By whom ? ’ asked our captain. ‘ By Lieutenant Hunter, in the Scourge,’ was the reply. And so it was. Hunter, the day before, had stood in pretty close, and observing indications of flinching on the part of the enemy he dashed boldly in and captured the place almost without firing a gun. Not satisfied with this, he threw a garrison, consisting of a midshipman and two men, on shore, and proceeded in his steamer up the river to a place called Tlacatalpan, which he also captured.

“When General Quitman arrived with his brigade, and the place was delivered over to him by Passed Midshipman William G. Temple (the present Commodore Temple), he was greatly amused, and laughed heartily over the affair. But it was far otherwise with Commodore Perry; he was furious, and as soon as he could get hold of Hunter (which was not so easy to do, as he continued his way up the river, and we could hear him firing right and left) he placed him under arrest, and preferred charges against him. This was a mistake ; he should have complimented him in a general order, and let the thing pass. Lieutenant Hunter was shortly after tried by a court-martial, and sentenced to be reprimanded by the commodore ; the reprimand to be read on the quarterdeck of every vessel in the squadron. This was done, and the reprimand was very bitter in tone and unnecessarily severe. The reprimand said in effect,

’ Who told you to capture Alvarado ? You were sent to watch Alvarado, and not to take it. You have taken Alvarado with but a single gun, and not a marine to back you ! ’ And it wound up by saying that the squadron would soon make an attack on Tobasco, in which he should not join, but that he should be dismissed the squadron. This action on the part of the commodore was not favorably regarded by the officers of the squadron ; and as to the people at home, they made a hero of Hunter. Dinners were given him, swords presented, etc., and he was known as ‘Alvarado’ Hunter to his dying day.”

One does not need to go so far as Commodore Perry in his reprimand, which undoubtedly had much to do in causing a reactionary feeling, but it is a little curious to find an officer like Captain Parker so entirely indifferent to a clear breach of discipline. If Lieutenant Hunter had not succeeded, what would have been the judgment ?

It is hard not to let Captain Parker tell over again here some of the amusing stories which make his pages a running fire of laughter, as of the captain who treated his crew by the Thompsonian method, in which all the numbers were marked from one to ten, and finding himself out of an appropriate number six dosed his victim with two threes ; of the dueling at Annapolis; of the sailor who captured a Mexican and hauled him along to the captain’s tent, inviting his friends to come along and see him shoot him after he had reported the capture, and the sailor’s discomfiture when his captive was put in the guard-house instead, and he himself narrowly escaped the cat; and of Captain Parker’s predicament when he found himself on a Fall River steamboat with empty pockets. The drollery with which his stories are told is delightful, and the good-natured criticism of himself and comrades is always in good taste.

The really important part of the book, however, is that which follows the date of 1861, when Captain Parker, then an instructor in the Naval Academy, resigned his commission when Virginia seceded, and took his stand with the Confederacy. He indulges in a little reserved comment upon the political aspects of the rebellion, but his chief contribution to history is in his account of the engagements in which he took part. His narrative is so straightforward and so free from bluster that it carries with it conviction of its truthfulness, and must take its place as a valuable report of an eye-witness. One is struck by the change in tone. The old gayety is nearly gone, and, though cheerfulness and resolution are never wanting, there is from the outset an air of resignation, as if the narrator quietly abandoned any hope of success, but never for a moment his sense of duty to the Confederacy The animus of the book is so fair and honorable that the most ardent Unionist can read it with respect for the captain, and it will go hard with him if he cannot applaud him for his manliness and devotion.

The most spirited narrative is undoubtedly his account of the engagement of the Merrimac with the Cumberland. He has an air of slighting the operation of the Monitor, but his picture of the uncouth monster which ran its snout into the wooden navy, and at once made a revolution in marine warfare, is very effective. So, too, is his account of the manner in which the Palmetto State, of which he was lieutenant, temporarily broke up the blockade of Charleston; and we close this running comment of a most readable book with a portion of this narrative, which gives a good example of Captain Parker’s more careful manner: —

“ About ten P. M., January 30th, Commodore Ingraham came on board the Palmetto State, and at 11.30 the two vessels quietly cast off their fasts and got underweigh. There was no demonstration on shore, and I believe few of the citizens knew of the projected attack. Charleston was full of spies at this time, and everything was carried to the enemy. It was nearly calm, and a bright moonlight night, — the moon being eleven days old. We went down very slowly, wishing to reach the bar of the main ship channel, eleven miles from Charleston, about four in the morning, when it would be high water there. Commander Hartstene (an Arctic man, who rescued Kane and his companions) was to have followed us with several unarmed steamers and fifty soldiers to take possession of the prizes ; but for some reason they did not cross the bar. We steamed slowly down the harbor, and, knowing we had a long night before us, I ordered the hammocks piped down. The men declined to take them, and I found they had gotten up an impromptu Ethiopian entertainment. As there was no necessity for preserving quiet at this time, the captain let them enjoy themselves in their own way. No men ever exhibited a better spirit before going into action ; and the short, manly speech of our captain convinced us that we were to be well commanded, under any circumstances. We passed between Forts Sumter and Moultrie,— the former with its yellow sides looming up and reflecting the moon’s rays, — and turned down the channel along Morris Island. I presume all hands were up in the forts and batteries watching us, but no word was spoken. After midnight the men began to drop off by twos and threes, and in a short time the silence of death prevailed. I was much impressed with the appearance of the ship at this time. Visiting the lower deck, forward, I found it covered with men sleeping in their pea-jackets, peacefully and calmly, on the gun-deck ; a few of the more thoughtful seamen were pacing quietly to and fro, with folded arms ; in the pilot-house stood the commodore and captain,with the two pilots; the midshipmen were quiet in their quarters (for a wonder) ; and aft I found the lieutenants smoking their pipes, but not conversing. In the ward-room the surgeon was preparing his instruments on the large mess-table; and the paymaster was, as he told me, ‘ lending him a hand.’

“ As we approached the bar, about four A. M., we saw the steamer Mercedita lying at anchor a short distance outside it. I had no fear of her seeing our hull ; but we were burning soft coal, and the night being very clear, with nearly a full moon, it did seem to me that our smoke, which trailed after us like a huge black serpent, must be visible several miles off. We went silently to quarters, and our main-deck then presented a scene that will always live in my memory. We went to quarters an hour before crossing the bar, and the men stood silently at their guns. The port-shutters were closed, not a light could be seen from the outside, and the few battle-lanterns lit cast a pale, weird light on the gun-deck. My friend Phil. Porcher, who commanded the bowgun, was equipped with a pair of white kid gloves, and had in his mouth an unliglited cigar. As we stood at our stations, not even whispering, the silence became more and more intense. Just at my side I noticed the little powder-boy of the broadside guns sitting on a match-tub, with his powder-pouch slung over his shoulder, fast asleep, and he was in this condition when we rammed the Mercedita. We crossed the bar and steered directly for the Mercedita. They did not see us until we were very near. Her captain then hailed us, and ordered us to keep off, or he would fire. We did not reply, and he called out, ‘You will be into me.’ Just then we struck him on the starboard quarter, and, dropping the forward port-shutter, fired the bow-gun. The shell from it, according to Captain Stellwagen, who commanded her, went through her diagonally, penetrating the starboard side, through the condenser, through the steam-drum of the port boiler, and exploded against the port side of the ship, blowing a hole in its exit four or five feet square. She did not fire a gun, and in a minute her commander hailed to say he surrendered. Captain Rutledge then directed him to send a boat alongside. When I saw the boat coming I went out on the afterdeck to receive it. The men in it were half dressed, and as they had neglected to put the plug in when it was lowered, it was half full of water. We gave them a boat-hook to supply the place of the plug, and helped to bail her out.

“ Lieutenant T. Abbott, the executive officer of the Mercedita, came in the boat. I conducted him through the port to the presence of Commodore Ingraham. He must have been impressed with the novel appearance of our gun deck ; but his bearing was officer-like and cool. He reported the name of the ship and her captain ; said she had one hundred and twenty-eight souls on board, and that she was in a sinking condition. After some delay Commodore Ingraham required him to ‘give his word of honor, for his commander, officers, and crew, that they would not serve against the Confederate States until regularly exchanged.’ This he did, — it was a verbal parole. He then returned to his ship.”