Brave old salt : or, Life on the quarter deck ; a story of the Great Rebellion

Front matter

J

OLIVER OPTIC 6 OLIVER OPTIC'S 1 a

ARMY and NAVY STORIES. RIVERDALE STORIES.

Preface

This volume, the sixth and last of "The Army and Navy Stories," is a record Of " Life on the Quarter Deck," mostly in the squadron of Vice Admiral Farragut, one of whose familiar appellations, used in the ward-room and on the berth deck, has furnished the leading title of the book. The terrible war which devastated our country for four years has given to history two generals, Grant and Sherman, and one admiral, Farragut, whose achievements are unsurpassed, if they are equalled, in the annals of military and naval warfare ; but while the author, in this work, has gratefully rendered his tribute of admiration to the distinguished naval commander, he has not attempted to present a complete biography of him.

Those who have read the preceding volumes of this series need hardly be told that this is a book of adventure — of personal experience in the great struggle of the nineteenth century. Jack Somers, "The Sailor Boy," Mr. Somers, " The Yankee Middy," and Captain Somers, Lieutenant Commanding, are the same person ; though often as he changes his official position, he is still t^e same honest, true, and Christian young man.

in our completed sixth volume we take leave of the Somers

6 PREFACE.

family with many regrets. If our young friends in the army and navy had been less true, noble, and Christian, we could have parted with less sorrow. Yet the army and navy, as they crushed the Rebellion, have given us many young men just as true, just as noble and Christian. Let us gratefully cherish these living heroes, and they will not pass away from us " like a tale that is told."

To the readers, young and old, who have perseveringly followed my heroes through the two thousand pages of this series, I am even more than grateful ; for I feel that they have sympathized with me in my desire to present a lofty ideal to the young man of to-day — one who will be true to God, true to himself, and true to his country, in whatever sphere his lot may be cast, whether on the forecastle or the quarter deck ; as a private or an officer, in the great army which must ever battle with life's trials and temptations till the crown immortal be won.

WILLI AIM T. ADAMS.

Harrison Square, Mass., March 13, 1866.

Contents

CHAPTER PAGH

I. LlEUTENxVNT PlLLGRIM 11

II. Waiting for the Ship 23

Chapter I. Lieutenant Pillgeim

Q^(^</^/ELL, Prodigy, I congratulate you on your promotion. I even agree with your enthu_ siastic admirers, who say that no young man better deserves his advancement than you," said Miss Kate Portington, standing in the entry of her father's house at Newport, holding Mr. Ensign John Somers by the hand.

" Thank you, Miss Portington," replied the young officer, with a blush caused as much by the excitement of that happy moment, as by the handsome compliment paid by the fair girl, who, we are compelled to acknowledge, had formed no inconsiderable portion of the young man's thoughts, hopes, and aspirations during the preceding year.

(ID t 12 BE AVE OLD SALT, OR

John Somers had been examined by the board of naval officers appointed for the purpose, had been triumphantly passed, and promoted to th£ rank he now held. A short furlough had been granted to him, and he had just come from Pinchbrook, where he had spent a week. A visit to Newport was now almost as indispensable as one to the home of his childhood, and on his way to join the ship to which he had been -ordered, he paused to discharge this pleasing duty.

Ensign Somers was dressed in a new uniform, and a certain boyish look, for which he was partly indebted to the short jacket he had worn as a midshipman, had vanished. Perhaps Miss Portington felt that the pertness, not to say impudence, with which she had formerly treated him, though allowable, under a liberal toleration, towards a boy, would hardly be justifiable in her intercourse with a young man. Though, from the force of habit, she called him " Prodigy," there was a certain maidenly reserve in her manner, which rather puzzled Somers, and he could not help asking himself what lie had done to cause this slight chill in her tones and actions.

Undoubtedly it was the frock coat which produced this refrigerating effect ; but it was a very elegant and wellfashioned garment, having the shoulder straps on which glistened the " foul anchor," indicating his new rank, and each sleeve being adorned with a single gold band on

LIFE ON TIIE QUARTER DECK. 7.3

the cuff, also indicative of his new position. The cap, which he now held in his hand, was decorated with a band of gold lace, and bore on its front the appropriate naval emblem. In strict accordance with the traditions of the navy, he wore kid gloves, without which a naval officer, on a ceremonial occasion, would be as incomplete as a ship without a rudder.

We have no means of knowing what Mr. Ensign Somers thought of himself in his " new rig,"- which cer-w tainly fitted with admirable nicety, and gave him an appearance of maturity which he did not possess when we last saw him on the quarter deck of the Rosalie. We will venture to assert, however, that he felt like a man, and fully believed that he was one — a commendable sentiment in a person of his years, inasmuch as, if he feels like a man, he is the more likely to act like one. As we can hardly suppose he soared above all the vanities of his impressible period of life, it is more than probable that he regarded himself as a very good looking young fellow ; which brilliant suggestion was, no doubt, wholly or in part due to the new uniform he wore.

If not wholly above the weakness of a young man of twenty, possibly he had a great deal of confidence in his own knowledge and ability, regarded some of the veterans of the navy as ." old fogies," and looked upon his own father as " a slow coach." But we must do Mr. Somers the justice to say that he tried to be humble in 2 his estimate of himself, and to bear the honors he had won with meekness ; that he endeavored to crush down and mortify that overweening self-sufficiency which distorts and disfigures the character of many estimable young men. His native bashfulness had, in some measure, been overcome by his intercourse with the world, and the humility of his nature, though occasionally assaulted by the accident of a new coat and an extra supply of gold lace, or by the hearty commendations of his superiors, was genuine, and, in the main, saved him from the besetting sin of his years.

Standing in the presence of Miss Kate Portington, after an absence of several months, wearing a new coat glittering with the laurels lie had won on the bloodstained decks of the nation's ships, he would have been more than human if he had not felt proud of what he was, and what he had done — proud, not vain. He was happy, holding the hand of her who had occupied so large a place in his thoughts, and whose image had fringed with roseate hues his brightest hopes and strongest aspirations.

Kate was not so free with him as she had been, and her reserve annoyed and perplexed him. He had anticipated a much warmer welcome than that which greeted him on his arrival. lie was slightly disappointed, though there was nothing in her manner for which he could have reproached her, even if their relations had

LIFE 02J THE QUARTER DECK. 15

been more intimate than they were. She was less stormy, but still gentle and kind ; a little more distant in manner, though her looks and words assured him she regarded him with undiminished interest. Had he known that the elegant frock coat he wore produced the chill in the lady which so vexed and disconcerted him, lie would willingly have exchanged it for the short jacket in which he had won his promotion.

They were standing in the entry. When the servant admitted Mr. Somers, Kate had heard his voice, and perhaps from prudential motives — for there was a visitor in the parlor — she had preferred to nieet him in the hall.

" You have been very fortunate, Mr. Somers," added she, gently releasing her hand from that of the ensign.

Mr. Somers, instead of " Prodigy" !

" I have. I don't deserve my promotion, I know ; but I could not help taking it when it was within my reach," replied Somers ; and her words, though so slightly chilled that the frigid tone could not have been noticed by any one who did not expect an unreasonable warmth, took half the conceit out of him, and let him down a lono; reach from the liiirli hopes and brilliant expectations with which he had looked forward to this meeting.

u On the contrary, Mr. Somers, I think you deserve even more than you have received."

u Thauk you, Miss Portington ; you were always more lavish of kind words than I deserved."

16 BRAVE OLD S^-LLT, OR

"Why, Prodigy — "

She suddenly checked herself. It was evident to Somers that she intended to say something pert or saucy. Perhaps she choked down the impertinent words from the fear that the honorable secretary of the navy, if such wild and wayward young ladies as herself were permitted to contaminate the plushy air of Newport society, would remove the Naval Academy back to Annapolis, where it is better to be " proper " than to be loyal.

" You were about to say something, Miss Portington," said Somers.

" I was, but it was saucy."

" I am sorry you did not say it."

" I am glad I did not, for you must know, Mr. Somers, that mother has scolded me so much for being saucy, that I have solemnly resolved to be proper in all rhings henceforth and forevermore."

" I am sorry for it," answered Somers, with unaffected earnestness.

"Sorry, you wretch?"

Somers laughed.

" There's another slip. I have done my best to reform my life. I am afraid I shall never succeed. Now, Prodigy — "

Somers laughed a<2;am.

" Again ! " exclaimed Kate.

" I wish to ask one favor of you, Miss Portington."

LIFE CLV THE Q UAH TEE DECK. 17

" It would afford me more pleasure to grant it, than it does you to ask it. Name it."

" That you will never call me Prodigy again."

" I had firmly resolved before you came never to do it," laughed she.

" Well, I only asked it in order to help along your good resolutions."

" Then you are making fun of me?"

" Like yourself, I am very serious."

" But I am in earnest, Mr. Somers ; I mean to reform. Now, father and mother will be very glad to see you, Mr. Somers."

"Your father?"

" He was temporarily relieved to attend a court martial. He is going away again to-morrow."

" You have other visitors ? "

" Only Lieutenant Pillgrim."

" I have not the pleasure of his acquaintance."

" He is a Virginian, I believe ; at any rate he is from the South, and has just been restored to his rank in the navy."

Kate led the way into the parlor, where he was first welcomed by her mother.

" Mr. Somers, I am glad to see you, and to congratulate you on your promotion," said the commodore, as he grasped the hand of the young officer.

" Thank you, sir," replied Somers. " The only ungrat- 2* ified wish I Lad was that I might be appointed to your ship."

'*My ship!"

" I should have been glad to serve under so able and distinguished a commander."

" I wouldn't have you in my ship," promptly returned the commodore, shaking his head energetically.

Somers looked abashed, and Kate wore a troubled expression.

" I should endeavor to do my duty," he added.

" I have no doubt of it, but I wouldn't have you in my ship."

'• Your remark is not very complimentary," said Somers, his face beginning to flush with indignation at what seemed to be an assault upon his professional character.

" It is the most complimentary thing I could say to you. And I mean what I say : I wouldn't have you in my ship."

" Why not, father? " demanded Kate.

" Because I like the young dog, and because I believe in discipline. I never indulge in partiality on board my ship, and it is better to keep out of temptation. I am under obligations to you, Mr. Somers ; I am happy to acknowledge them, but they must not come between me and duty. Mr. Somers, Lieutenant Pillgrim," continued Commodore Fortiugton, turning to the visitor.

Somers looked at the officer thus indicated, and as his eyes rested upon him, he started back with a momentary astonishment, for the face had a strange look of familiarity to him.

" Mr. Somers, I am happy to meet and to know you. Your name and reputation are already familiar to me."

" I am glad to know you, sir," replied Somers, with some confusion. " Your face looks so familiar to me, that I think we must have met before."

" Never, to my knowledge," answered the lieutenant, with easy self-possession.

" I was quite sure I had seen you before."

" Possibly ; I do not remember it, however."

" If I had met you without the favor of an introduction, I should certainly have claimed the honor of your acquaintance."

" I should have been proud to be so claimed, but I must confess you would have had the advantage of me."

" Of course, I must be mistaken, as you suggest."

" It is not unlikely that we have met in some anteroom where we were dancing attendance on the powers that be, in search of employment ; but I am quite sure, Mr. Somers, that I should have been proud and happy to number you among my friends."

"It is not too late now," said the commodore.

" Certainly not. I should be but too happy to have as my friend one who has served his country so faith- 'fully," added Mr. Pillgrim, as he bowed gracefully to

Somers, " especially as I understand we are appointed to the same ship."

" Indeed ! "

" I am ordered to the Ckatauqua."

" So am I."

" Then, Mr. Pillgrim, you will take care of our Prodigy ; you will be excellent friends, I trust," said Kate, beginning very impulsively in her old way, and suddenly checking herself when her resolution to be "proper" interposed itself.

"What is the matter, Kate? Have you and Mr. Somers had a falling out ? " demanded the commodore.

" 0, no, father."

" You talk as though you had had a quarrel, and for a moment had forgotten to be savage."

" "We have had no -quarrel, pa," replied Kate, blushing. " I was going to be saucy, but ma says I must not be saucy, and I shall not be saucy any more. I only hoped the two gentlemen who are going to live together in the same ship would be good friends."

" Of course they will. Officers never quarrel."

" Perhaps they don't ; but they are not always as good friends as I hope these gentlemen will be," laughed Kate.

" Perhaps he will be my friend for your sake, if he is not for mine," added Pillgrim.

" I do not wish that. I don't like to have anybody do anything for my sake, unless it be to take paregoric when I am sick."

LIFE ON TEE QUARTER DECK. 21

" I trust I shall not be paregoric to him," said Pillgrim.

" Then he will not take you for my sake."

<s As Lieutenant Pillgrim is my superior officer, I should be likely to court his good will, and prize his friendship very highly. If we are not friends, I am sure it will not be my fault."

At this moment the dinner bell rang; ; and although Somers did not feel intimate enough with the family to invite himself to dine, he was easily prevailed upon to remain, and gallantly gave his arm to Mrs. Portington, as Kate, for some wayward reason of her own, had already seized upon that of Lieutenant Pillgrim.

At the table Somers sat' opposite the lieutenant, and he found it impossible to avoid looking upon him with a strange and undefinable interest. Since his first glance at the commodore's visitor, who seemed to be on the best of terms with the family, he had been perplexed by some strange misgivings. lie could not banish from his mind an assurance that he had seen him before ; that he had talked with him, and even been, to some extent, intimate with him.

The thought that Kate was somewhat changed in her demeanor towards him did not contribute to increase his satisfaction. She had contrived to take the lieutenant's arm instead of his own, and perhaps he had come as the successor of Phil Kennedy, who had been reputed to be high in her good graces. Bat Mr. Pillgrim was a gentleman of thirty-five, at least, and this was not probable, in his view of the matter. Somers, being disinterested, was more worried to know when, where, and under what circumstances he had met the lieutenant.

Chapter II. Waiting For The Ship

OMERS was utter!}'' unable to satisfy himself in regard to Lieutenant Pillgrim. The face was certainly familiar to him, not as a combination of remembered features, but rather as an expression. To him the eye seemed to be the whole of the man, and its gaze would haunt him, though his memory refused to identify it with any time, place, or circumstances. Though his reason compelled him to believe that he was mistaken, and that Mr. Pillgrim was actually a stranger, his consciousness of having seen, and even of having been intimate with, the gentleman, most obstinately refused to be shaken.

" Of course, gentlemen, you have no idea to what point the Chatauqua has been ordered ? " said the commodore.

" I have not," replied Mr. Pillgrim.

" I have heard it said that she was groins to the Gulf," added Somers.

" Very likely ; there are two points where extensive naval operations are likely to be undertaken — - at Mobile and at Wilmington. The rebellion lias had so many hard knocks that the bottom must drop out before many months."

"I am afraid the end is farther oil than most people at the North are willing to believe," said Mr. Pillgrim.

" Every thing looks hopeful. If we can contrive to batter down Fort Fisher, and open Mobile Bay, the rebels may count the months of their Confederacy on their fingers."

" I think there is greater power of resistance left in the South, than we give it the credit for."

" The rebels have fought well ; what of it? " continued the commodore, who did not seem to be pleased with the style of the lieutenant's remarks.

" As fighting men, we can hardly fail to respect those who have fought so bravely as the people of the South."

" People of the South ! " sneered the commodore. " Why don't you call them rebels? "

" Of course that is what I mean," answered Mr. Pill- *grim, a slight flush visible on his cheek.

" If you mean it, why don't you say it? Call things by their right names. The people of the South are not all rebels. Why, confound it, Farragut is a Southerner ; so is General Anderson ; so are a hundred men, who have distinguished themselves in putting down treason. It's an insult to these men to talk about the people of the South as rebels."

LIFE OX THE QUABTEIi DECK. 25

" I agree with you. Commodore Portington, and what I said was only a form of expression."

" It's a very bad form of expression. Why, man, you are a Southerner yourself."

"I am ; and I suppose that is what makes me so proud of the good fighting the people of the South — I mean the rebels — have done. We can't help respecting men who have behaved with so much gallantry."

" Can't we?" exclaimed the commodore, with a sneer so wholesome and honest, that Lieutenant Pillgrim withered under it. "I can help it. I have no respect for rebels and traitors under any circumstances."

" Nor I, as rebels and traitors," replied Pillgrim, mildly.

u As rebels and traitors ! I don't like these fine-spun distinctions. If a man is a traitor, call him so, and swing him up on the fore-yard arm, where he belongs."

" You are willino; to acknowledge that the rebels have fought well in this war?" added the lieutenant.

" They have fought well : I don't deny it."

" And you appreciate gallant conduct? "

" That depends on the cause. No, sir ! I don't appreciate gallant conduct on the part of rebels and traitors. It is not gallant conduct ; and the better they fight, the more wicked they are."

" I can hardly take your view of the case."

" Can't you? The best fighting I ever saw in my life 3

26 LEAVE OLD SALT, 0%

was on the deck of a pirate ship. The black-hearted villains fousrht like demons. Not a man of them would yield the breadth of a hair. ATe had to cut them down like dogs. Is piracy respectable because these men fought well?"

" Certainly not ; but the bravery of such men — "

" Nonsense ! I know what you are going to say ; but you can't separate the pirate from his piracy, nor the traitor from his treason," replied the commodore, warmly. " The other day I saw a little dirty urchin fighting with his mother. The young cub had run away, I suppose, and the woman was dragging him back to the house. He was not more than six years old, but he displayed a power of resistance which rather astonished me. He kicked, bit, scratched, and yelled like a young tiger. He called his mother everything but a lady. The poor woman tugged at him with all her strength, but the little rascal was almost a match for her. 1 wan^d to take him by the nape of the neck, and shake the ugly out of him : nothing but my fixed principles of neutrality prevented me from doing so. I suppose, Mr. Pillgrim, you would have sympathized with the brat, because he fought bravely."

" Hardly," replied the lieutenant, laughing at the simile.

" But he fought like a tiger, and displayed no mean strategy iti his rebellious warfare. Of course he was worthy of your admiration," sneered the commodore.

LIFE ON THE QUAE TEH DECK. 27

" That's hardly a fair comparison."

" The fairest in the world. The rebels have insulted their own mother — the parent that fostered, protected, and loved them. They undertook to run away from her ; and when she attempts to bring them back to their duty, they kick, and scratch, and bite ; and you admire them, because they fight well."

" I stand convicted, Commodore Portington. I never took this view of the matter ; I acknowledge that you are right," said Mr. Pillgrim.

Somers, who had been an attentive listener to the conversation, thought the lieutenant yielded very gracefully, and much more readily than could have been expected ; but then the logician was a commodore, and perhaps it was prudence and politeness on his part to agree with his powerful superior.

After dinner the party took a ride to the beach and to the Glen ; and after an early tea, Somers and Pillgrim, who were to be fellow-passengers to Philadelphia, ~ here the Chatauqua was fitting out, began to demonstrate in the direction of their departure. Kate, though she had been tolerably playful during the afternoon, had, in the main, carried out her good resolution to be proper. She had not been impudent — hardly pert ; and deprived of this convenient mask for whatever kindness she might have entertained towards the young ensign, she seemed to be very cold and indifferent to him. She was more thoughtful, serious, and earnest than when they had met on former occasions. He could not help asking himself what he had done to produce this marked change in her conduct.

" Good by, Miss Portington," said he, when he had taken leave of her father and mother.

" Good by, Mr. Somers. Shall I hear from you when you reach your station ? " she asked, presenting her hand.

" If you desire it."

" If I desire it ! Why, Mr. Somers, you forget that I am deeply interested in your success."

" Perhaps, if I do anything of which you would care to learn, the newspapers may inform you of the fact," replied Somers, with a kind of grim smile, which seemed actually to alarm poor Kate.

" I would rather hear it from you."

" I judge that you are more interested in my success than you are in me."

" Ah, Mr. Somers, you cannot separate the pirate from his piracy, pa said ; nor the hero from his heroism, let me add."

" Thank you, Miss Portington."

"I cannot forget how deeply indebted we are to you, Mr. Somers."

" I wish you could."

"Why do you wish so?" demanded the astonished maiden ; more astonished at his manner than his words.

" I am sorry to have you burdened with such a weight of obligation."

" I think you mean to quarrel with me, Mr. Somers. I beg you will not be so savage just as you are going away," laughed Kate, though there was a troubled expression on her fair face. " I asked you if I should hear from you, Mr. Somers."

" Certainly, if you desire."

" Why do you qualify your words? I should be just as glad to hear from you as I ever was."

" Then you shall, at every opportunity."

" Thank you, Mr. Somers. That sounds hearty and honest, as father would say."

" I do not wish you to feel an interest in me from a sense of duty. I shall not write any letters from a sense of duty, or even because I have promised to do so. I shall write to you because — because I can't help it," stammered Somers, almost overcome by the violence of his exertions.

" I thank you, Mr. Somers, and I am sure your letters will be all the more welcome from my knowledge of the fact."

" Good by," said he, gently pressing the little hand he held.

u Good by," she replied ; and to his great satisfaction and delight, the pressure was returned — a kind of tele- 3*

SO BRAVE OLD SALT OB

graphic signal, infinitely more expressive than all the words in the spelling-book, strung into sentences, could have been to a young man in his desperate condition.

Mr. Ensign Somers was now entirely satisfied. That gentle pressure of the hand had atoned for all her reserve and coldness, real or imaginary, and made the future bright and pleasant to look upon. Undoubtedly Mr. Somers was a silly young fellow ; but there is some consolation in believing that he was just like all young men under similar circumstances.

Mr. Pillgrim followed him out of the house, and they hastened down to the wharf to take the steamer for New York. On the passage the two officers treated each other with courtesy and consideration, but there appeared to be no strong sympathy of thought or feeling between them, and they were not drawn so closely together as they might have been under similar circumstances, if there had been more of opinion and sentiment common between them.

On their arrival at Philadelphia, they found the Chatauqua was still in the hands of the workmen, and would not go into commission for a week or ten days. They reported to the commandant of the navy yard, and took up their quarters at the " Continental," where Somers found his old friend Mr. Waldron, who had been detached from the Tlo alie at his own request, and ordered to the Chatauqua, in which he was to serve as executive officer. This was splendid news to Soraers, for he regarded Mr. Waldrou as a true and trusty friend, in whom he could with safety confide.

" Do you know Lieutenant Pillgrim? " asked Somers, after they had discussed their joint information in regard to the new ship.

"I am not personally acquainted with him, though I have heard his name mentioned. He is a Virginian, I think."

" Yes."

"If I mistake not, there were some doubts about his loyalty, though he never tendered his resignation ; he has been kept in the background."

" He seems to be a loyal and true man."

" No doubt of it, or he would not have been appointed to the Chatauqua."

" He has some respect for the rebels, but no sympathy."