WHICH TELLS ABOUT THE CALLING OUT OF H COMPANY, NAVAL BRIGADE.
Meanwhile, and while the infantry were getting in readiness,
Springfield had already sent some of her sons on duty. The naval arm of
the service was in a far more advanced state of preparation than was
the army and it was the general opinion that of necessity the war would
be one in which the navy would take the most prominent part, leaving
but little for the land forces to do except garrison duty. Springfield
had taken great pride in her company of the Massachusetts naval brigade
since its organization and expected great things of it in the event of
its being called upon for duty.
On April 2 came the first intimation that Springfield was to be called
upon for men. Although war had not been declared and strenuous efforts
were being made to head it off by the peace-at-any-price men, the navy
department had set about getting into commission all the vessels that
it could. At the League Island navy yard, Philadelphia, there lay a
number of the old time monitors, some of them having been moored there
since shortly after the close of the civil war, and it was decided
to put them into condition for harbor defense purposes. Two were to
be assigned to Boston harbor and on April 2 came orders to Lieut. J.
K. Dexter, the commander of H company naval brigade, to proceed to
the League Island yard as an officer of one of the monitors. Lieut.
Dexter left that night and remained on duty at the yard until April
16, when he returned to bring down the detail of his company which was
to form part of the crew of the single turreted monitor Lehigh. It was
not until April 17th that the Lehigh detail left for the Philadelphia
navy yard although there had been many rumors as to when the men would
go and the quarters of the company at the state armory were filled
every night with the men and their friends. On the 16th Lieut. Dexter
returned unexpectedly from Philadelphia and at once set about getting
his detail together. It was on Sunday, but with the aid of the alarm
list system, the telephone and special messengers the men were soon
notified and assembled at the armory. The detail as finally made up
was: Lieut. Jenness K. Dexter; Chief Boatswain's Mate, Frank H. Bowen;
Boatswain's Mates, Robert T. Whitehouse, A. T. Wright; Gunner's Mate,
F. W. Baum; Coxswain, W. S. Johnson; Acting Coxswain, S. L. Ruden;
Quartermaster, W. A. Sabin; and Seamen Paul H. Lathrop, R. H. B.
Warburton, W. F. Bright, R. P. King, A. Mellor, A. N. Luce, and L. E.
Ladd. The detail marched to the union station at about 8.30 and took
the 9 o'clock train for New York, receiving an ovation as it passed
through Main street and again at the station as the train pulled out.
On the same day Lieut. (junior grade) Henry S. Crossman, who was in
command of the company during the absence of Lieut. Dexter, received
orders from Capt. Weeks of the naval brigade to hold himself in
readiness to proceed to the Brooklyn navy yard and there report to
Admiral Bunce, commanding the yard, as watch officer of the auxiliary
cruiser Prairie to which the Massachusetts naval brigade was to be
assigned. Lieut. (junior grade) W. O. Cohn was ordered to be in
readiness to proceed to Boston and report for duty on the U. S. S.
Minnesota, Ensign W. S. Barr was ordered to be in readiness to go to
the Brooklyn navy yard as one of the watch officers of the Prairie and
Ensign Fred T. Ley was ordered to the same ship as watch officer and
Captain's clerk.
On April 22d these orders were changed, Lieut. Cohn and Ensign Barr
being ordered to report for duty on board the monitor Lehigh on her
arrival in Boston harbor.
On April 23d, Lieut. Crossman received orders to proceed with the
remaining men of H company to the Brooklyn navy yard there to go on
board the Prairie as part of her crew during the war. These orders were
received on the morning of the 23d and as soon as it became known about
the city that the men were to go, the war time scenes of 1861 were
re-enacted. It was at first planned to have the company take an early
evening train but as Lieut. Crossman found they could go just as well
on the early morning train from Boston he decided to take that, thus
giving the men more time in which to settle up their affairs and get
everything in readiness for leaving.
Information about the Prairie had already been pretty well disseminated
about the city. It was known that she was formerly the fast steamer,
El Sud, of the Morgan line and was capable of doing excellent duty
as one of Uncle Sam's auxiliary cruisers. At the time she was in the
Brooklyn navy yard being changed over from a passenger and freight
vessel to a war ship and the job was requiring longer time than had
been anticipated.
[Illustration:
Lieut. Paul R. Hawkins.
Adjutant.
Major F. G. Southmayd.
Lieut. E. E. Sawtell.
Quartermaster.
]
The quarters of H company and the state armory were the busiest places
in Springfield that afternoon and evening. The "jackies" were getting
their dunnage rolls and equipment together and relatives and friends
were on hand to say farewell and see their "boys" off. Owing to the
time at which the company had orders to leave the armory, 1.30 A. M.,
it was hardly expected there would be much of a crowd on hand to give
the command a suitable farewell but this was a mistake. Long before
the hour at which the company was to leave the streets leading to
the union station were crowded and more enthusiasm was shown than had
been the case in Springfield for many a day. It was at 1.30 o'clock in
the morning of the 24th that the company, fully armed, equipped, in
the regulation uniform of the jackies of the navy left the armory and
marched through Main street to the union station to take the 2.20 train
for New York, special cars for the company having been attached to the
train. In spite of the lateness of the hour Springfield's citizens and
the relatives, friends of the company were determined not to let the
command leave the city without some demonstration. All night long up
to the time for leaving the armory the building was filled with the
relatives, friends of the members as well as those who while not bound
to them by any intimate ties yet wished by their presence to show
appreciation of the spirit which had prompted the young men to answer
their country's call, even though it involved sacrifices hard indeed to
make.
From midnight until the hour for departure Main street was well filled
with a waiting crowd and when the company marched from its armory,
swinging into Main street, a cheer went up which was continuous
until the train had borne the company out of sight of the assembled
thousands. Rockets and colored fire lent brilliancy to the march and
as the station was neared the denser grew the crowd until it was with
difficulty a way was cleared for the company. Thousands, men and women,
had gathered at the station and it was a scene worthy the pencil of a
great artist, that farewell as the men marched up and boarded the cars
with military precision. There were cheers and good wishes, personal
farewells and tears, all commingling in one mass of sound that the
station space had never heard before. But as the engine bell rang and
the train began to move with slowly increasing swiftness out of the
station all sounds merged into mighty cheers, which rose thunderously
from the thousands of people. In that uproar of cheers were submerged
for the time the sobs of a few whose near and dear ones were on the
train.
So Springfield sent her first contingent to serve under the old flag in
the war against Spain.