He graduated near the foot of his class, so he could not have been verystudious, however, his after career has been one series of brilliantsuccesses.
Commodore Schley was born near Frederick, Maryland, in 1839, and{408}even as a baby came under military influence, for his father,who had served in the navy in the war of 1812, was very friendlywith General Scott, and named the child after that warrior. His earlyancestors were stanch Huguenots, coming to this country after therevocation of the Edict of Nantes, and one of them was afterward aGovernor of Georgia.
He entered the Naval Academy in 1856, remaining there till 1861. Hewas given duty then, being assigned to the frigate Potomac, and a yearlater received command of the Winona, which belonged to the blockadingsquadron of the West Gulf. He knew real war, for he was in manyskirmishes on the Mississippi, and in July, 1862, became Lieutenant,serving with distinction from 1864 to 1866 as executive officer of theWateree, a steam gunboat, at the Pacific station.
He received a gold medal from Congress, and the position of Chief ofBureau of Equipment from President Arthur, afterward being made Captain,for his bravery in rescuing Lieutenant Greeley and six others at CapeSabine, and carrying them safely home.
He wedded a lovely young woman, Miss Nannie Franklin, at that time thebelle of Annapolis. He has two sons, one Frank, an officer in the army,the other, Winfield Scott Schley, Jr., is a physician of great repute inNew York City. His daughter, Virginia, is the wife of an Englishman ofposition.
ENSIGN WORTH BAGLEY.
|Life is sweet to all--especially so to the young. And yet it is sweeterto die for one's country; to know that the last throb of the heart beatfor the cause of liberty and humanity. Such a fate was that of youngEnsign Worth Bagley, the first officer to fall in our late war withSpain. The life of this young man was brief, to have achieved so much;he was only twenty-four years old, having been born in Raleigh, NorthCarolina, on the 6th of April, 1874. Yet he had known in that short timeall of life's experiences--pleasure, pain and honors--all compressedinto the {409}few years of his existence. His father was an editor and alawyer, and enlisted in the first company raised on the Confederate sidein the county in which he lived. He fought bravely, and never abandonedthe fortunes of the Confederacy until 1864, when he went home on parole,and was elected to the Senate of his State.
His son, young Worth, a fitting name for the boy, had cause to be proudof his ancestry, on both sides, his father's family being well versedin law, politics and business, and his mother's family being originallyQuakers. She was the daughter of one of the governors of Virginia.
But Worth Bagley's boyhood engages the attention of the young, most. Hegrew up under good influences, and as a boy was a model of courtesyand gentlemanly bearing; a favorite in the schoolroom or playground, heloved his home, and was equally beloved within its walls. Possessed ofa noble and unselfish nature, how could it be otherwise than that he metappreciation? He was a very apt scholar, learning rapidly, and retainingit as firmly.
His father died when he was twelve, and it is a beautiful record that hebecame his mother's comfort. He was the oldest son, and seemed to feelthat she needed his counsel and protection.
When only ten he entered a classical school, with the intention ofpreparing for college. He loved the sea, and was appointed a cadet atthe naval academy at Annapolis, when he was a little over fifteen, theyoungest member of his class. How happy he was when he received theappointment. He was of a sunny temper, full of jests and laughter,writing the most loving letters to his "dearest little mother," as hecalled her. He despised anything that took on the character of tattling."Hazing" was strictly forbidden at the Academy, but he was subjectedto it, and when called before the commandant and asked the names of theclassmen who had participated in it, he answered firmly that he meant nodisrespect, but he considered it dishonorable to tell on his classmates.He was threatened with punishment, unless he would tell, but he stillrefused, {410}and was sent to a ship which was used as a place of severediscipline for cadets who disobeyed any of the rules. Here he was kepteighteen days in confinement, and possibly he would have remained a goodmany days longer, had not the cadets who had done the hazing confessedtheir share in it, and begged for his release.
When the time came for his examination he fell below the mark, and hewrote at once to his mother, giving her the reasons for his failure,and saying that he hoped the Hon. B. H. Bunn, Member of Congress whoseinfluence had secured him the appointment, would use it in his behalfonce more. Mrs. Bagley took the letter to that gentleman, and hepromptly made out the papers for the grateful boy. All went smoothlyafter this, and he graduated in the class of 1895, when he was put onthe receiving ship Vermont, and one month after he went to the cruiserMontgomery. Again he was transferred to the Texas in October. On the20th of January, 1896, he was sent to the ill-fated Maine, where heremained six months, then being sent back to the Texas, which boathe remained with till he returned to Annapolis to take his finalexamination, which was successful, for he was made an ensign on the 1stof July, 1897.
He was quite a musician, and sang in the Naval Academy choir. Hisletters home were gems of wit, breathing the most sincere devotion tohis friends.
His first service as ensign was on the Indiana, but three months of1897, from August 17 to November 19, were passed on the Maine, asexecutive clerk to Captain Sigsbee. He was then ordered to Baltimore asinspector of the Columbian Iron Works, which firm was fitting out thetorpedo boat Winslow.
When Lieutenant Bernadou was given command of this boat he sought forthe best junior officers, and among the names presented Worth Bagley'sstood high, but he was reluctant to leave Captain Sigsbee, to whom hewas much attached, and to whom his services were almost invaluable. Buthe was persuaded to accept the post offered, and on the 28th of Decemberhe entered on his duties.
He {411}was a hero. He went out in a lifeboat, with two sailors, andrescued two men who were adrift on a scow some fifty miles from NewYork, with a frightful storm raging, and brought them aboard. TheSecretary of the Navy wrote a letter of approval to Lieutenant Bernadou,Ensign Bagley and the crew, commending the heroism of all on theWinslow.
Of the fatal engagement in Cardenas Bay, May 11, 1898, the whole worldknows. He gave his life for his country on that day, without fear orflinching, his last words being as cheerful as though it was aholiday. There was some delay in heaving the towline and he called outcheerily--"Heave her. Let her come--it's getting pretty warm here." Theywere the last orders this brave and grand young officer ever gave. Thenext moment the bursting of one of the enemy's shells sent Ensign Bagleyto his last home.
May his life be an incentive to the young, to do their duty in allsituations and in all places as nobly and faithfully as did this braveboy.
OUR NAVY.
|Nearly every one understands the terms used in the military branchof service, but since the war has had such extensive use for the navalforces, and so many engagements have taken place on the sea, it has beenthe source of much perplexity as to the various titles in use by thenavy department.
When older and wiser heads are puzzled by the many terms, it isnecessary that our young readers receive a little instruction as totheir meaning. We therefore give them in full, knowing that the boys(and the girls also) will be pleased to learn that officers are dividedinto two classes--the line or navigating, and fighting officers, andthe staff, or specialists, such as engineer, medical, pay, constructioncorps, the civil engineers and chaplains. The grades of theline officers are rear admiral, commodore, captain, commander,lieutenant-commander, lieutenant, lieutenant junior grade, ensign, navalcadet.
Of the staff officers the engineers have three grades--chief engineer,{412}passed assistant engineer and assistant engineer. The medical corpsis divided into medical director, medical inspector, surgeon, passedassistant surgeon, assistant surgeon. The pay corps includes in orderpay directors, pay inspectors, paymasters, passed assistant paymasters,assistant paymasters. The construction corps comprises naval constructorand ass
istant naval constructor. Then there are the chaplain, civilengineer and professor of mathematics. Before one comes to the enlistedmen are the boatswain, gunner, sailmaker and carpenter; the enlisted menor crew are divided into three classes--seamen, artificers and _special_class.
The pay of the officers varies from $500 a year, which the naval cadetsget, to $6,000 paid rear admirals. Each officer at sea is allowed thirtycents a day for rations. This thirty cents he may turn into cash andpocket, for officers pay for their food and uniforms out of their ownsalary. If he desires the officer may actually draw the rations instead,but most of them prefer their private larder.
The enlisted men in the navy are paid from $9 a month--apprentices ofthe third class--to $65 or $70 a month--chief machinists. The insigniaof their rank worn by the multitude of officers great and small is quitebewildering and unintelligible to the uninstructed dweller on land, somany and different are the stars, crosses, bands, colors and chevrons.
CONCLUSION.
|The authors labors are finished; but it is with almost a feeling ofsadness that he parts company with those for whose pleasure he has toldhis experiences. In the pages of this volume the man has lived againhis days of boyhood when his heart was aglow with the fire of youth andpatriotism, as his country called him to the battlefield. Of the manypainful scenes, of the tedious marches, privations and dangers, thatwar ever brings, he has told the boys and girls who have followed histranscript of those days. Another war has been forced upon us, and theman {413}feels the same ardor burn within his breast, the same longingto join the ranks as he did in the far-away days of '61.
True, this war that has just ended was not so terrible in its aspect aswas that one which roused his youthful energy, for that was a contestbetween brothers, the late one was between our forces and those ofanother clime, but none the less sad and gloomy were its accompaniments.But one glad ray of brightness cheered the gloom. The nation has joinedhands and those who were once divided have together fought valiantly forone common cause--the honor of their country. From the far-off North andthe sunny South, the boys in blue and gray have taken up arms and stoodside by side, equally heroic, equally ready to defend the right. Is notthis a cause for thankfulness?
Shall we not have still greater cause for joy when strife shall ceaseforever--the strife that brings bloodshed in its train? Will not thewhole earth be purer and better were it to accept the grand invitationof the Czar of all the Russias, to consider a plan by which friendlyrelations shall be established all through the world? He proposes layingaside the weapons of war, and disbanding great armies--thus bringingabout a time of universal peace, when questions of possession andprecedence may be decided by arbitration. This noble plan is a steptoward that brotherhood of nations which alone can make them trulygreat. No exigency could arise which could not be settled by an appealto the calm judgment and love of fair play which would prevail.
This beautiful thought is possible, and we welcome the coming of thatglad day when "wars and rumors of wars shall cease."
The Blue and the Gray; Or, The Civil War as Seen by a Boy Page 27
