THE PLEASANT INTERLUDE AT LISBON
I like the look of khaki and the cut of army wear,
And the men of mettle sporting it, at home and over there;
But there’s something at the heart-strings that tautens when meet
A blue-clad sailor-man adrift, on shore leave from the fleet.
From flapping togs his sea-legs win some rhythm of old romance
That’s proper to the keeper of the paths that lead to France;
For what were all the soldiers worth that ever tossed a gun,
Without the ships and sailor-men to pit them ’gainst the Hun.
* * * * *
His hands are often cruel cold; his heart is oftener warm,
For in its depths he knows ’tis he that shields the world from harm.
Because I know it too, my heart beats warmer when I meet
A blue-clad sailor-man adrift, on shore leave from the fleet.
M. A. DEWOLFE HOWE
Portuguese troops were fighting in France and the sentiment of the
people was very strongly with the Allied cause. They realized that the
hope of ultimate victory lay in the tremendous energy with which the
United States had finally hurled itself into the war, but there had
been no opportunity to behold and applaud the valiant soldiers from
across the seas. Now, at length, there came into the harbor of Lisbon
two war vessels of the powerful Uncle Sam, a large and graceful yacht
and a bulldog of a destroyer, and the blue-clad sailors who flocked
ashore were the first to set foot there since Portugal had entered
the war. The _Corsair_ and the _Preston_ were something more than
storm-tossed ships in quest of a haven. To Lisbon they were a memorable
event and one worthy of a celebration.
The colony of foreign diplomats and military officers, British, French,
American, Spanish, and all the rest, accepted the entertainment of the
American officers and sailors as a social responsibility. And they were
quick to recognize the fact that in the war-time American Navy the
“gob” was as likely to be a young gentleman of manners and education
as the ensign or the lieutenant. Tactfully and easily the barriers of
shipboard discipline and ceremony were ignored for the time, and the
invitations to teas, garden parties, receptions, and theatres seldom
raised lines of distinction between the youthful seaman with the flat
cap and the rolling collar, and the gold-striper severely buttoned to
the neck in his service blouse. This might have been awkward in some
circumstances, but the crew of the _Corsair_ knew how to carry it off.
They met the loveliest girls of Lisbon and were gallantly attentive, as
was quite proper.
The American Minister to Portugal, Colonel Thomas Birch, fairly adopted
the whole ship’s company. They might have been so many long-lost sons
and nephews. The Legation belonged to them as long as they stayed in
port, and he appeared to enjoy it all as much as they did. Captain
Ross, who was representing Gaston, Williams, and Wigmore of New York,
was ready with help, advice, and hospitality, and as a host and friend
the _Corsair_ found him true blue. The American Consul-General, Mr. W.
L. Lowrie, was also most courteous and friendly and took particular
pains to make these American exiles feel at home.
In letters written home by one of the petty officers, you may read
between the lines and conclude that there might have been worse fates
than to be marooned in Lisbon for seven weeks:
_December 24th._ You cannot imagine what a sensation it is to find
yourself all of a sudden walking down fine, broad streets with rows
of palm trees, and geraniums and other flowers in bloom. The leaves
are falling now and the rainy season is beginning, but as they have
had no rain in five months we ought not to complain. There are many
picturesque street scenes, flocks of turkeys driven by small boys with
long sticks, and if you want a turkey you halt the procession and pick
out your bird and carry it home under your arm; little donkeys almost
smothered in vegetables are led gingerly along;—everywhere women are
selling fish which are carried in baskets upon their heads. Lottery
tickets are shoved at you from every corner. A crowd gathers wherever
we American sailors stop or loiter, and we are great curiosities. At
the best hotel, the Avenida Palace, several of us ran into a bazaar
for the benefit of the French and Portuguese war widows and orphans.
The American Minister, Colonel Birch, a fine old boy, introduced us
to all the girls, English, French, and Portuguese. There were some
beauties among them, and although it is a long time since I talked
to a girl I sailed right in and had no trouble.
[Illustration: LISBON HARBOR AND THE TUG THAT TOWED THE CORSAIR TO THE
DOCKYARD]
[Illustration: THE AMERICAN LEGATION AT LISBON, WHERE THE CORSAIR’S
CREW FOUND A HOME]
I also met the French and Chinese Ministers and talked to them. I get
along in French now and carry a conversation with ease. One of the
most attractive girls was the daughter of the chief of the British
Military Mission, Lieutenant-General Barnardiston, a soldier and
gentleman of the finest type. He commanded the British forces which
operated with the Japanese at Kaio Chao. Yesterday I saw them after
church and met the mother who is an American. She asked us to tea.
Four of us went and stayed two hours. The General was tremendously
interesting, of course, but he would have been more so if one of our
men had not tried to talk him to death.
To-morrow being Christmas, we are trimming the ship with greens and
flags and have hoisted a Christmas tree clear to the top of the
foremast. Mr. J. P. Morgan, the owner, is very kindly blowing us off
to a dinner by cable, and we are looking forward to the occasion.
It is the first Christmas away from home and I know how you’ll miss
us all, but it should be very joyous because we passed through that
hurricane in safety. We have a fine large cat as a mascot and as one
of the men said, “Tommy used up eight of his nine lives in the big
blow.”
_January 2nd._ Our gaieties continue and we are having the best
time since leaving New York. Colonel Birch gave us a reception at
the Legation to meet the diplomatic corps. The officers and fifteen
men went from this ship. All nationalities were there, from Brazil,
Uruguay, Belgium, Spain, and of course Portuguese, French, and
English. It was great fun to meet them, and most of the diplomatic
people could talk to us in English. We had some dancing, the first I
had done since February, and everybody was in the finest possible
spirits. The girls were stunning. The Spanish Minister is a delightful
man and has spent a lot of time in Mexico and the United States. Our
host, the genial American Minister, resembles former President Taft in
size and quality and seemed to be having the time of his life.
New Year’s Eve we were all on board ship and celebrated it in
combination with a French destroyer which lay alongside us. At the
stroke of midnight we banged out eight bells for the old year and
eight more for the new, and then both ships opened up their whistles
and we startled the Portuguese with the pandemonium. The Frenchies had
a terrific siren. After this outburst we sang the “_Marseillaise_”
together and the effect was stirring. Then we sang the “Star-Spangled
Banner,” and the Portuguese sailors who had come aboard from the Navy
Yard sang their national anthem and everybody cheered everybody else,
and it was a grand old time.
On New Year’s Day I went sight-seeing with a buddy from the ship and
visited several cathedrals. In one of them all their dead kings are
tucked away, and they lift the lid off so you can look right down at
the relics of royalty. As they have been dead for hundreds of years
they are none too attractive. We had a fine dinner on board ship
in the middle of the day, turkey, mince pie, etc., and another in
the evening at the hotel. It is mighty pleasant to have all these
distinguished people so polite to us and we also appreciate the
attitude and the courtesy of the officers of the _Corsair_.
_January 9th._ Last evening six of us called on those delightful
English people, the Barnardistons. The Spanish Minister and his two
daughters were there. The General played the piano for us and is very
musical. Miss Barnardiston played beautifully and the Spanish young
ladies also performed. We were represented at the piano by Tibbott
who upheld the honor of the _Corsair_. You ought to see the row of
decorations on General Barnardiston’s coat—Victorian Order, Rising Sun
of Japan, African Campaign, and so on. Yesterday afternoon we went
to tea at the Girards, the French people. The night before we were
invited to amateur theatricals at the British Club, given to entertain
the _Corsair_ and the _Preston_ and the French destroyer. It was very
cleverly done. The actors were Portuguese and the girls were very
pretty. They sang, in English, lots of American songs. Between acts
they served cake and tea and afterwards we sang the national airs. I
was fussed to death to have to get up on the stage and lead the whole
outfit in the “Star-Spangled Banner,” giving the key, etc., but our
captain made me do it. Our jolly American Minister, Colonel Birch,
gave me a wink which made me feel more comfortable.
I went to the English church last Sunday and they had a special
service, appointed by the King, to pray for Allied victory, and it was
fine. The English always pray for the sailors and soldiers—sailors
first. They certainly are devoted to their Navy. After church another
man and I went over to the Legation with Colonel Birch and sat around
in his biggest armchairs for an hour. He treats us like princes and we
can’t say too much in appreciation of all he is doing for us. He is to
give us another party next Saturday and we are looking forward to it,
for he has promised to have all the charming Portuguese girls there.
We are lucky young sea-dogs to have tumbled into all this, and we are
having the time of our lives. I was made quartermaster, first class,
the other day, and am naturally very much pleased. I shall be glad
to get back and finish my examinations for a commission, but since
the hurricane little things like that don’t bother me very much. We
have not forgotten the storm and still talk about it—all the acts of
courage and the many close shaves.
_January 14th._ Last night there was another dramatic performance by
the Portuguese young people, so that the whole ship’s company could
see the show. This time I sat with the pretty French girls and it
seemed almost like New York. I dropped in to call in the afternoon.
We sat in front of a log fire and it was cozy and homelike. Their
father, M. Girard, was French Minister to Haiti for two years, during
a revolution down there, and had some very unpleasant experiences. The
Haitian President was dragged from the Legation and butchered before
their eyes, and other acts of savagery committed, but our marines and
bluejackets landed soon after and promptly had the situation well in
hand.
Ensign Schanze enjoyed himself as much as the rest of them and
described the hospitality of Lisbon as follows:
Here we are, still in Portugal, where we have been undergoing
extensive repairs and entertainments. Never in all my experience away
from home have I come across people who were as strenuously cordial
as our hosts of the city of Lisbon. There are two leading social
elements, the native Portuguese and the foreign colony. Both have gone
the limit to make us welcome and the result has been that we have
never had less than two engagements a day, most of the time three.
The usual routine runs about like this—in the forenoon some
Portuguese, French, or British officer blows on board to take us in
charge to see the points of interest; in the afternoon there is a tea
to attend at some one of the various homes or legations; and in the
evening there is a dinner party followed by a theatre party or its
equivalent. These things do not simply occur frequently. They are
daily in their rotation.
We, on our behalf, make our best effort to counter with teas on board
the ship; also lunch parties and dinners whenever we can wedge them
in crosswise. Functions have become so numerous that the captain
has found it necessary to detail certain officers to attend certain
festivals daily. There have not been enough of us to go around, even
at that. This is the first war that ever made me keep such late hours.
It should not be inferred that life was an incessant round of parties,
teas, and receptions for all hands of the _Corsair_ while at Lisbon.
Many of the young men had other inclinations and fought shy of “the
society stuff.” The city itself was fascinating to those who liked
to wander and explore with their eyes open. In groups they loitered
through the dark and narrow streets of the ancient quarter of the
Alhama or enjoyed the noble prospect of fine buildings and open spaces
along the Tagus, or strolled with the colorful crowds in the Praca do
Commercio and investigated the luxurious shops and cafés of the Rua
Augusta and the Rua da Prata. Automobiles could be hired, and parties
of bluejackets might have been seen in the royal palaces, the storied
old churches, and the monastery whose walls were built in 1499, on the
spot where another sailor, Vasco da Gama, had embarked on a famous
voyage two years earlier.
The water-front of every large seaport is notorious for low-browed
rascals who look at Jack ashore as easy prey, and it was not in the
least to the discredit of the hospitality of Lisbon that a pair of
_Corsair_ men should have run afoul of one of these land-sharks when
they first hit the beach. The business-like manner in which the
youthful seafarers handled the matter discouraged further attempts to
molest them. One of the pair mentioned it in his diary:
Got shore liberty and landed in jail one hour later. The way it
happened was that the driver of the car we had chartered tried to rob
us and we refused to stand for it, so he had us pinched. We explained
the case in French to a generalissimo and he turned us loose at once
and said we were dead right. He would see that it didn’t happen again.
The tough driver was laying for us when we walked back to the ship
and he tried to get me with a knife and a machinist’s hammer. Dave
stopped him, and I got a big club and we organized to clean up, but
a crowd gathered, so we decided to quit and go on our way as a bunch
of sailors from the _Corsair_ and _Preston_ hove in sight and were
all set to make a battle royal of it. I knew this would get us into
serious trouble, although I did hate to let that auto bandit get away
with it, so we withdrew in good order.
[Illustration: THE CORSAIR IN DRYDOCK AT LISBON]
[Illustration: AT HER MOORING BUOY, BREST]
Yeoman Connolly improved the opportunity to see the sights of Lisbon
and some of his impressions ran like this:
The city is the finest I have seen in Europe, barring Paris only. The
public buildings are works of art and you see splendid architecture
everywhere. The street cars are the most modern I have seen since
leaving home, but why shouldn’t they be? I was sitting in a car the
other night and happened to look around at the advertisements when I
alighted on the builder’s name, “John Stephenson, Elizabeth, N.J.” It
made me homesick to see the familiar name. I didn’t hesitate to tell
some of the Portuguese sitting alongside me that Elizabeth was my home
town, and they seemed very much interested.
I was taken through one fine building yesterday by a very
distinguished-looking gentleman, elderly and good-natured, who showed
a lot of interest in me and who introduced me to the Lord Mayor
of the place and to some of the Cabinet members. He himself is a
member of the Cabinet and one of the best-known men in Portugal, I
later learned. I walked through some of the streets with him and his
gold-headed cane, and almost everybody bowed to him or looked at him
with awe. He understood English very well and told me a whole lot
of the history of the country. As a plain American gob I got all I
deserved, and then some.
This is a great old town. I suppose you have heard of the revolution
that is going on here. We came just in time to see the skirmishes that
are featured daily. A funny thing occurred last night. We were loafing
along one of the main avenues when we came to a big bulletin in front
of a newspaper office. About a thousand people were gathered in front
of it and reading a notice. To catch your eye there was printed a
huge hand holding a dagger dripping with blood, and beneath it the
announcement of another episode of the revolution which was scheduled
to take place on the following Saturday afternoon. Some class to this
burg. They are not satisfied with trouble as it comes along, but even
advertise it in advance.
We are all going uptown to see a bull-fight on Sunday. They have them
two afternoons a week, but we have picked Sunday as we want to take in
part two of the revolution as duly announced for to-morrow. In spite
of the political rough-house the city is really wonderful and we are
very lucky to be laid up here, even if we do miss out on a few weeks
of the war. The only thing that gets me is how the deuce to talk this
Portuguese lingo. We were all learning French very rapidly and can
get along O.K. in that language, but the stuff these people patter is
simply terrible to make out. Here we have to turn to and learn a third
language, and by the time we return to God’s country we ought to be
linguists of note.
The money here is very different from France. It is the _reis_, not
the franc, that demands your careful attention. It takes sixteen
hundred reis to make an American dollar, and when you get change
for ten dollars or so, you get a basketful of junk that looks like
so many United Cigar Store coupons. It costs about a million reis
to buy a good meal, but the food is excellent and we get real
honest-to-goodness hot rolls, just like back home, but about as big
as a football. I brought a dozen back to the batteau last night and
when I came to pay for them I handed the gink about seventeen hundred
thousand reis, more or less. It makes you swell up and feel richer
than Rockefeller to be handing out fortunes in this careless way,
and it’s lucky for us, as the ship has not been paid off in the Lord
knows when and most of us are flat broke. However, the moving-picture
theatres are good and fairly cheap, and Charlie Chaplin is here, and
we are allowed to stay ashore until eleven-thirty at night, which is
a long liberty for a foreign port.
It was difficult for the officers of the _Corsair_ to maintain the
customary round of duty and discipline while the ship was under repair,
with a crowd of Portuguese artisans aboard, many distractions ashore,
and things more or less upset, but they succeeded in enforcing the high
standards of the United States Navy aboard. No more gratifying evidence
of this could be desired than the following letter from the Secretary
of the Navy:
_March 11th, 1918_
To Commanding Officer, U.S.S. Corsair.
” ” ” ” Preston.
_Subject_: GOOD BEHAVIOR OF MEN IN LISBON.
The Department is much gratified to receive through the State
Department an excellent report of the behavior of the men of the
_Corsair_ and _Preston_ during their stay in Lisbon. The following is
an extract from the letter of the American Minister:
I am sure that the Department will be pleased to know, as well, that
all the men behaved splendidly and made a very creditable impression
in Lisbon. It is needless for me to say that I was very much
gratified by it all and personally felt that our men were worthy of
the cordial attention and generous hospitality bestowed upon them by
the Portuguese people and others.
This evidence of good discipline reflects credit alike on the officers
and men of the ships and on the Naval Service.
(Signed) JOSEPHUS DANIELS
To be caught in the midst of a Portuguese revolution caused the crew
of the _Corsair_ more amusement than alarm, and the only regret was
that they could find no lawful excuse for taking a hand in the shindy.
It was largely a local affair, between the military and naval forces
of the Provisional Government, and Lisbon seemed less disturbed about
it than if the street railways had gone on strike. The shooting and
commotion were mostly confined to the water-front, and the experience
of Quartermaster Bayne, for example, would indicate that the American
sailors really enjoyed it:
_January 1st._ It was my day’s duty on board, so could not go to the
party at the American Legation. Everybody said it was a bully good
game. We created a large disturbance last night. When we blew our
siren to welcome the New Year, it brought the entire town out all
standing, as they thought it was the signal for another revolution.
The Portuguese troops were ordered out and started to march at the
double-quick to the Navy Yard, as they took it for granted that the
Navy had touched off an uprising. The situation might have been
serious, but some general or other found out that it was us and what
we were doing, and the soldiers were ordered back to the barracks. The
Lisbon newspapers gave us a write-up, and we ran true to form as the
gallant but quite unexpected and unaccountable Americans.
_January 4th._ This has been an exciting day. I went ashore at two
in the afternoon and was to meet the rest of the crowd for dinner at
seven. They did not show up, and I learned later that the harbor was
so rough that the ships had to shove off and anchor in mid-stream
for a while, and no boats could come ashore. I spent the evening at
General Barnardiston’s and then started to foot it back to the ship.
The gates of the Navy Yard were locked, but the Portuguese guard let
me pass through. As I wandered along to the wharf, I noticed that all
lights were out in the buildings, but I didn’t think much about it,
although several squads of soldiers looked me over pretty carefully.
When I got back aboard the _Corsair_, I saw that our guns were manned,
and I was greeted with, “Thank God, you got through. How did you do
it?” I asked what was up, and got this story. The Army and Navy were
pulling off another revolution. Fighting had been going on between the
War Ministry and the Naval Ministry buildings. Our ship was close to
both. One of our coxswains, Lindeburg, was in a motor-boat at the foot
of the Army Building and as he left the boat and started to beat it
for the ship, he was fired at while running along the wharf. He ducked
back to his boat, and the _Corsair_, getting uneasy about him, ordered
a rescue party away. They were shot at, too, and had to seek cover.
This was a bit too much, so the battery was loaded and trained on
the buildings, while an armed guard, carrying the Stars and Stripes,
marched to both buildings. Meanwhile the captain had sent a radio
message to the authorities, demanding an instant explanation and
apology for firing on our men. This second party of ours was not
attacked and soon returned with the other men. Half an hour later we
received an official apology. Knowing nothing about all this ruction,
I had walked through the Navy Building, right between the lines, and
aboard ship. Copeland and Ashby were with me and for some reason we
were not shot at.
That about ended the trouble, as far as we were concerned, but it
looked like business for a little while, because if they had fired
on our flag we should have knocked their buildings over for sure. I
understood that our skipper sent them the message, “If you fire on
our flag we shall attack at once.”... During the afternoon the wind
and sea had been so high that most of the ships in the harbor dragged
their anchors and the French destroyer next to us had to move out
after knocking a hole in our side which probably means dry-dock again.
_January 7th._ The revolution is still on, and we are advised to keep
off the streets, more or less, as there is plenty of rifle-firing, and
when these Portuguese get excited they mistake our uniforms for their
own Navy and so take pot shots at us.... _January 8th._ Big revolution
to-day. The Army opened up with about a hundred shells on the flagship
_Vasco da Gama_, and it was lots of fun. The shells passed almost over
us and we watched the scrap. The Navy didn’t shoot back. The shrapnel
was falling fast and the ships hauled down their colors. The whole
Portuguese Navy tried to crowd aboard the _Corsair_ for protection,
but we wouldn’t stand for that. There was a good deal of machine-gun
and rifle shooting uptown all day. There was no liberty, but the
captain sent for me and five others and gave us special liberty to
go to Mme. Girard’s for tea. Had a fine time. We were warned to be
careful, as the soldiers fired at any naval uniform they happened to
see. They did not bother us, although we passed a lot of infantry
heavily armed.
[Illustration: “DOC” LAUB AGREES THAT “THIS IS THE LIFE IF YOU DON’T
WEAKEN”]
[Illustration: COXSWAIN DAVE TIBBOTT WAITS WITH THE LAUNCH]
At dinner ashore, the programme was interrupted by a battle in front
of the hotel, and almost everybody, excepting ourselves, left the
dining-room because the bullets were popping about. We refused to
budge, for there was a corking good dinner on the table and the
Portuguese soldiers are pretty rotten shots. They played a dirty
German trick to-day. Some of their Navy men shoved off unarmed in
small boats and tried to row ashore, but the troops opened fire
on them, not far from our ship, and killed a couple of the poor
Portuguese gobs. It made us so sore that we felt like cutting loose on
them.
_January 9th._ No revolution to-day. The French officers on the
destroyer _Intrepide_ have behaved splendidly to us chaps. Of course,
association with enlisted men is unknown in the French service, that
is, in a social way. At first they couldn’t quite understand how we
happened to meet them at these various teas and receptions, but after
a time or two they grasped the situation and have since put themselves
out to be agreeable to us.
The report of Commander Kittinger is an accurate and interesting
summary of the episodes of this sputtering little revolutionary
outbreak in which the _Corsair_ played a part during her pleasant
interlude at Lisbon. He wrote as follows:
About 9 P.M., January 4, 1918, the U.S.S. _Corsair_, being moored
to the dock at the Naval Arsenal, desultory small-arms firing broke
out in the Naval Compound. The firing was observed to come from the
windows of the second floor of the east wing of the building forming
the Arsenal Compound. It was reported that the coxswain of the motor
dory was in the immediate vicinity, securing his boat for the night.
At intervals the firing was resumed, but the object which drew the
fire could not be made out from the ship. Lieutenant Commander
Porter and Ensign Schanze, with four bluejackets, left the ship for
the Arsenal offices to arrange for the safety of the coxswain. On
approaching within about fifteen feet of the door in the centre of the
north wing, firing was opened, apparently at the _Corsair_ party, from
the same place, the bullets hitting the walls and pavement near them.
The party entered the building without casualty.
Intermittent firing continued after this. After waiting a reasonable
time for the return or for news of the first party, a second party led
by Lieutenant McGuire left the ship, carrying a flag. The searchlight
from the ship was used to illuminate the flag. This party was not
molested and returned with the first party and the coxswain. It
developed that the firing came from the windows of the Colonial Office
and was directed at Portuguese bluejackets passing across the open
space from the shore end of the wharf to the main entrance.
About 11 P.M. a military aide of the President called on board and
presented the compliments of that official with the usual courtesies,
and inquired as to casualties, if any, in our force. He was informed
of what had taken place and that no damage was done. A report of the
riot was made to the American Consul-General, Mr. W. L. Lowrie, whose
reply is herewith attached:
_From American Consul-General, Lisbon,_
_To Commanding Officer, U.S.S. Corsair._
_I have to acknowledge the receipt of your memo. of January 5th
concerning the firing in the Arsenal Compound during the evening of
January 4th. Personal representations have been made and I trust
there will be no recurrence of the rioting, although as you are fully
aware conditions here just now are most unsettled. I am extremely
thankful that no one was hurt during the rioting and that no damage
was done._
Beginning January 3rd it was noticed that conditions in Lisbon were
unsettled politically. On that night some rifle-firing took place
in the streets between Portuguese sailors and soldiers on patrol
duty. Shots were exchanged nightly up to January 8th when the
counter-revolution took place. The situation briefly is this:
The Portuguese Navy has been the controlling factor in the politics of
the country. The Army has been the opponent, but has been negligible
because of its ineffectiveness. The Navy deposed the King in 1910 and
set up a Republic which has been perpetuated until the present time,
the last incumbent being President Machado. When Portugal entered the
war, the Army was largely increased and equipped, and forces were sent
to the Western Front and to the Portuguese African colonies. Army
preparations continued in Portugal and there is a large mobilization
at present.
On December 5, 1917, the Army started a revolution and succeeded in
overthrowing the Government two days later, the President being exiled
on that date. As a precautionary measure, the naval forces present at
Lisbon were disarmed. In spite of this, the Navy prepared plans for a
counter-revolution. The present Provisional Government took steps to
send the majority of the sailors to the Portuguese African colonies
because of the serious reverses suffered by their troops in Africa
while fighting the Germans.
The Navy took steps to defeat this manœuvre and on January 8, 1918,
the _Vasco da Gama_ (flagship) anchored off Lisbon. At 10.45 A.M. a
battery of three field pieces at Saint George’s Castle in the middle
of the city, opened fire on the _Vasco da Gama_. The flagship fired
five shots in return and hoisted a red flag under the ensign. The
shots of the shore battery were dispersed, but some seemed to strike
the ship. Shrapnel and projectile were fired. At 11.10 A.M. the
_Vasco da Gama_ hauled down her flag and hoisted a white flag at the
foremast and abandoned ship. A number of shots were then fired at the
destroyers _Douro_ and _Guardiana_, which also struck their colors
and hoisted white flags. The cruiser _Almirante Reis_, a transport,
and several gunboats did likewise. At 11.20 A.M. firing ceased at the
shore battery. Rifle fire continued in the city streets. The Arsenal
plant closed down at the beginning of the firing and the workmen
employed on board the _Corsair_ stopped about 11 A.M. No further work
was done by the Arsenal force that day.
On January 9th (the next day) the Arsenal resumed operations as usual,
and I was informed that the trouble was over and work would continue
as before. The _Vasco da Gama_, with the _Guardiana_ and _Douro_,
stood down the river on January 11th, apparently undamaged.
The crew of the _Corsair_ felt a personal interest in the Provisional
President, Sidonio Paes, as some of them had sat at the table next to
him in the dining-room of the hotel and one or two of the officers had
met him at the theatre. One of the street spectacles was a huge parade
in honor of Sidonio Paes, and a bluejacket described it as “tremendous
enthusiasm, everybody yelling to beat the band and waving their hats,
and the Portuguese thought it was great, but it wasn’t as good a show
as when the Seventy-First Regiment came back from the Mexican Border
and marched up Fifth Avenue.”
What the _Corsair_ considered the big moment of the long stay in Lisbon
was when the landing party marched off the yacht to rescue the two
officers and the four men who had gone ashore to look for the coxswain
and find out what the row was all about. The ship’s searchlight was
turned and held to illuminate the bright folds of the Stars and Stripes
while the gun crews stood ready for action, every sight-setter,
plugman, and shell-handler taut upon his toes and blithely confident
that the _Corsair_ could knock the adjacent buildings into a cocked hat.
It was discovered that the first party had been mistaken for Portuguese
sailors and fired at from a window only fifty feet distant. The bullets
spattered the doorway into which they turned, and they proceeded
upstairs to hold emphatic discourse with an excited Portuguese
naval officer and the chief of the radio service who were earnestly
telephoning to ascertain what the ruction was and who had started it.
Coxswain Lindeburg had the largest grievance, however, for he had been
almost potted while securing his motor-boat at the wharf, and it was
solemnly affirmed that he was combing the bullets out of his hair after
being escorted aboard by the comrades who had sallied forth to find him.
It seems extraordinary that in this affair at Lisbon the _Corsair_
should have seen more actual fighting, with rifle and shell fire, than
during her many months of active service with the American naval forces
in the Great War. And even when the fleets in European waters, under
the general direction of Admiral Sims, had increased to four hundred
ships and seventy thousand men, none of them saw as much action as
this almost bloodless little outbreak in Portugal, as action had been
regarded in the days before the German doctrines of submarine warfare.
It goes to show how new and vastly different were the problems which
had to be solved by the Allied navies.
This does not mean that American ships and sailors went clear of
danger and disaster, but almost never was the chance offered to fight
the hidden foe. The fine destroyer, _Jacob Jones_, of the Queenstown
flotilla, was blown to pieces by a torpedo and sixty-four officers and
men died with her. The Coast Guard vessel _Tampa_ was blown up and
vanished with all hands, a crew of more than a hundred. Many a time the
naval guard of a merchant steamer stood by their guns and were drowned
when the ship went down. These, and the yacht _Alcedo_, and all the
other brave ships which are listed upon the American Navy’s roll of
honor, were worthy of the spirit and the traditions of John Paul Jones,
although to them was denied the privilege of signalling the enemy, “We
have not begun to fight.”
[Illustration: THE CHEERY FRENCH PILOT, LIEUT. MEJECK]
[Illustration: CHIEF QUARTERMASTER BENTON]
The badly damaged _Corsair_ required a long and costly overhauling
to make her ready and fit for service, and this work was undertaken,
and well done, by the organization of the Portuguese naval docks and
arsenal. With a most admirable spirit of friendship and coöperation
between two allies in the struggle against a mutual enemy, the
Government of Portugal refused to accept any payment whatever, although
every effort was made to obtain a bill for services rendered. Commander
Kittinger explains this handsome incident in the following report:
The U.S.S. _Corsair_ arrived at Lisbon, Portugal, on December 19,
1917, in need of repairs to make her seaworthy. The matter was
taken up with the Portuguese naval authorities by the American
Consul-General and the Commanding Officer. An engineer and a naval
constructor were immediately sent off to the ship from the Naval
Arsenal to estimate and report. The same day the Director of the
Arsenal stated that he could and would do the work, and that the ship
would be berthed at the Arsenal on the following day.
As promised, the Arsenal workmen came on board and started the work,
and in the afternoon the ship was moored to the Arsenal dock. An
estimate of time and cost was requested. The time was estimated at
from one month to six weeks, but the cost estimate could not be given.
It was suggested that the cost be made actual for labor and material,
plus a reasonable overhead. To this the Director replied that the
Minister of Marine had ordered the work done free of charge to the
U.S. Government, stating that repairs had been done to British and
French Government vessels gratis.
The work proceeded rapidly and efficiently. I made periodical calls
at the office of the Chief Engineer and Naval Constructor to obtain
a cost estimate. This was promised for my information, but never
received. Finally I was told that if the Consul-General would write
a letter on the subject to the Minister of Marine, the estimate would
be given and a basis of payment arranged, but that the money would be
turned over to the Red Cross.
The reply to the Consul-General’s letter is herewith attached,
the substance of which is a refusal on the part of the Portuguese
Government to accept payment.
I requested the Consul-General to keep at the business of trying to
obtain a basis of settlement. Later on, I was informed through the
Consulate that the Provisional President, to whom the Minister of
Marine had referred the matter, had decided to accept payment. This
was the status of the question until January 25th, the day before the
_Corsair’s_ departure, when the Commanding Officer, accompanied by the
Consul-General, made leave-taking calls upon the Arsenal officials.
The Director of the Arsenal at this time stated that he had orders
from the President to render no bill to the U.S. Government. As our
Government had not recognized the officials in power in Portugal
during this time, the American Minister could take no action.
The cost of repairs to the U.S.S. _Corsair_ by the Portuguese
Government during the period from December 20th to January 25th is a
gift to the U.S. Government.
A translation of the letter in which the naval authorities of Lisbon,
with the most courteous obstinacy, decline to permit the _Corsair_ to
pay for the valuable services received, reads as follows:
_Office of the Minister of Marine
Administration of Repairs and
Equipment, Naval Arsenal_
I have the honor to accept the receipt of your communication dated the
second instant and to transcribe the decree of the fourth instant by
His Excellency, the Minister of Marine, concerning the matter, viz:
_The Minister of Marine, appreciating the spirit of the note,
No. 830, and taking into consideration the fact that the damages
were suffered in the service of the Allied Cause which we jointly
defend, and desiring to have the approval of His Excellency, the
Consul-General, and therefore of the Government which he represents,
has decided that payment cannot be accepted for the repairs made._
_It is our pleasure and privilege to give all that is within our
power, and we pledge our word to coöperate with our most earnest
efforts for the cause of humanity and justice._
(_Signed_) PELO, _Director_
_To His Excellency_ “_To our Welfare and Fraternity_”
_The Consul-General of the
United States of America_