Acting Assistant Surgeon under Rear-Admiral S. F. Du Pont
(1861-1864).
Midshipman JOSEPH COHEN (1826).
GUSTAVE DUVAL, U. S. Steamer Pawnee.
WILLIAM DURST, U. S. Monitor,
one of the few survivors of the memorable fight between the Monitor
and the Merrimac. Admiral Worden expressed himself that Durst was
not only a brave, fearless and patriotic man, but eminently worthy
to be recognized by some action on the part of Congress (1862-1864).
CHARLES EDELMAN, U. S. Steamer Ohio.
JONATHAN MANLY EMANUEL,
Past Assistant Engineer, served under Commodore Mead. Twice
shipwrecked (1862-1891).
Purser GRATZ ETTING.
Captain HENRY ETTING,
entered as Midshipman, promoted to Purser, Navy Paymaster and
retired with the rank of Captain--1818-1861.
Lieutenant THEODORE MINIS ETTING,
was appointed Acting Midshipman when a little over sixteen years
old, promoted Midshipman, Ensign, Navy Paymaster, Lieutenant
(1862-1877).
Acting Ensign ISAAC N. GOLDSMITH,
Mate, Acting Ensign (1863-1865).
Mate NATHAN A. GOLDSMITH,
(1864-1866).
JEROME HAAS.
Lieutenant E. C. HAMBURGER;
promoted step by step, finally commissioned Lieutenant.
Captain LEVI MYERS HARBY (1793-1870).
At the age of fourteen he was Midshipman in the U. S. Navy. During
the War of 1812-1814, he was captured by the British and confined
for eighteen months in "Dartmoor Prison," from which he finally
escaped by swimming. In December, 1823, he served as sailing-master
on the U. S. Vessel Beagle. He served for fifty-two years under the
U. S. flag and rose to the rank of Captain. He participated in the
Texan War of Independence and in the Mexican War. He also served
in the Seminole War of Florida, and had command of a vessel in the
expedition against the pirates of Algiers and Tripoli. On leave of
absence he also fought in the Bolivian War of Independence. In 1861
he resigned his commission and entered the Confederate service with
the rank of Commodore, distinguishing himself as Commander of the
Neptune, capturing the Harriet Lane at Galveston, Texas. He was
subsequently in command of a fleet of Confederate gunboats on the
Sabine River.
SOLOMON HARBY,
died in the service.
J. HARRISON, U. S. Steamer North Carolina.
SAMUEL HERFORD, U. S. Steamers Richmond and Wyoming.
FREDERIC D. HENRIQUES,
Acting Second Assistant Engineer (1864-1865).
Midshipman ISRAEL ISRAEL,
midshipman (1813-1818).
Midshipman JOSEPH ISRAEL,
distinguished himself, died in the service (1801-1804).
JACOB JACOBS, U. S. Steamer Portsmouth,
was on board the Ida when she was blown up by a torpedo.
AUGUSTUS JACOBSON,
transferred from Twenty-seventh Pennsylvania Regiment.
Midshipman and Master HENRY M. JACOBY, Shenandoah, Wachusett,
Worcester, Yantic, Lackawanna (1866-1883).
Surgeon GERSHOM R. JACQUES,
promoted from Surgeon's Mate to Surgeon (1800-1808).
Mate SAMUEL JESSURUN (1863-1864).
S. S. KRAUSS, U. S. Steamer Raritan,
served four years.
C. C. KEANE.
DAVID J. KING, U. S. Steamer Wissahickon.
ISAAC M. KING.
NATHAN LANG.
ALEXANDER A. LAZARUS, U. S. Steamer Horace Beals, also Rhode Island.
HENRY LEVI, U. S. Steamer Princeton,
transferred to New Ironsides, Vandalia, etc. (1862-1865).
Master MEARS LEVY (1812-1813).
Second Assistant Engineer CHARLES H. LEVY (1857-1861).
Mate CHARLES LEVIN (1870-1874),
died during his service.
M. LINDHEIM, Pocahontas.
HENRY LYONS.
Commodore URIAH PHILLIPS LEVY,
one of the best known American naval officers of former days. At
the time of his death, 1862, he was the highest ranking officer
in the U. S. Navy. He served in the War of 1812, being the master
of the brig of war Argus, which ran the blockade to France with
Mr. Crawford, the American Minister to that country, on board. The
Argus destroyed twenty-one British merchantmen. In recognition of
his valuable services to the nation the Common Council of New York
City honored him with "the freedom of the city." Commodore Levy
vigorously opposed the application of the lash to seamen. Upon his
tombstone at Cypress Hill is recorded the fact that "he was the
father of the law for the abolition of the barbarous practice of
corporal punishment in the U. S. Navy."
Captain JONAS P. LEVY,
commanded the U. S. Steamer America during the Mexican War and was
active in the transportation of U. S. troops to Vera Cruz. At the
surrender of that port he was appointed its captain by General
Winfield Scott.
MARX MAAS, U. S. Gunboat No. 29.
JACOB MAAS, Gunboat.
A. MEYER.
HORACE MOSES,
served in the U. S. fleet during the Mexican War and was Secretary
to Captain (afterwards Admiral) S. P. Lee.
FLORIAN MOSS,
on Commodore S. F. Du Pont's blockading squadron Vermont and
Massachusetts (1862-1865).
Midshipman PHILIP MOSES.
JOSEPH MOSS,
Mate and Acting Ensign, (1861-1863).
Acting Master EDWARD MOSES,
(1862-1864); died while in service.
WILLIAM NOAH.
LOUIS NEWBERGER, U. S. Gunboat Pawpaw.
JOSEPH B. NONES, Guerriere.
In 1814, when seventeen years of age, he accompanied Henry Clay,
Gallatin and John Quincy Adams on the Frigate John Adams to Europe
on the Ghent Mission; severely wounded and obliged to resign from
the service (1812-1822).
Master NEWMAN MORRIS (1801-1803).
Captain HENRY BENJAMIN NONES, Revenue Marine,
promoted from 3d Lieutenant; served from 1831; died in 1868.
Chief Engineer HENRY BEAUCHAMP NONES,
served on various vessels; rose from Second Assistant Engineer; has
served since 1853.
Midshipman JEFFERSON H. NONES, 1840-1846.
Second Assistant Engineer WASHINGTON H. NONES (1850-1853),
died while in service.
Midshipman ABRAM PHILLIPS (1812-1813).
Drowned, 1813.
Paymaster EMANUEL J. PHILLIPS.
Captain ISAAC PHILLIPS (1798-1799).
Assistant Surgeon MANUEL PHILLIPS (1809-1824).
SOLOMON PINHEIRO, Juniata.
Wounded in the attack on Fort Fisher (1863-1866).
MILTON JOSEPH ROSENAU,
Past Assistant Surgeon in the Marine Hospital Service.
Acting Ensign ALBERT P. SAMPSON (1862-1865).
Acting Ensign ISAAC P. SAMPSON (1863-1865).
J. SCHLESINGER, U. S. Steamer Pocahontas.
M. J. SIESEL, U. S. Steamer Hartford.
Sergeant SIEGMUND SILVERBURG, U. S. Marine Corps.
Midshipman BENJAMIN SOLOMON (1809-1810).
Purser EZEKIEL SOLOMON (1814-1816).
CHARLES STEIN, Marine Corps,
Died of exposure in the service.
Lieutenant EDWARD TAUSSIG,
served fourteen years on sea and did seven years' duty on land.
CHARLES WIENER
served four years.
LEO WISE, U. S. Steamer Springfield.
A PAGE FROM THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE CIVIL WAR.
As a fitting prelude to the record of Jewish activity in the War of
the Rebellion, there may be cited here an episode in its history which
has had no counterpart in the course of the world's affairs. Recondite
and romantic incidents are present in the annals of all nations, and
the history of the Jewish people especially is fraught with many
striking instances of unhoped and unexpected deliverance from impending
calamity, but they were largely the outcome of times and conditions
widely at variance with those of the present day. The narrative of Haym
Salomon's sacrifice in behalf of American freedom and the cause of
human liberty forms a singular chapter in the annals of the American
Revolution. But a yet more remarkable incident, one that appears wholly
foreign to the _laisser-faire_ spirit of our modern time, and which is
likely in the future to centre a much greater degree of attention than
it has yet received, is a transaction that has but lately become part
of the history of the Civil War.
On October 2, 1863, the British Government seized in the shipyard of
the Lairds, at Birkenhead, two armored vessels which had ostensibly
been built for the government of China, but which, according to
constantly reiterated reports, had been built for the Southern
Confederacy in rebellion against the United States. The contemporary
chronicles of the Civil War contain at most only such reports of that
incident as became public in the course of the controversy over the
subject, but the inner details of the occurrence, notable enough even
in its most obvious features, remained for many years a diplomatic
secret until revealed by the then Register of the Treasury, Mr. L. E.
Chittenden, in his "Recollections of President Lincoln."
The two vessels had indeed been embargoed by the British Government,
but under conditions which had been settled upon by the advisers of
the Crown with the almost clearly manifest purpose of permitting the
vessels to escape, while at the same time apparently complying with
the requirements of international law and the representations of the
American Minister. The sympathies of the ruling powers in Great Britain
were strongly with the Southern cause; the fact that the success of
that cause meant the perpetuation of negro slavery, against which
the English people had constantly inveighed, was held by many of the
leaders of the party in power to be of small moment in comparison
with the advancement of British interests, which these leaders
believed would result from the disruption of the American Republic.
They were accordingly ready to take advantage of a virtual breach of
international comity and law, under cover of a technical compliance
with its provisions, and incur the risk of all the terrible outcome
of a war between the two great Anglo-Saxon nations of the world. That
such a war would surely have resulted if the two armored corsairs had
eventually been let loose upon this country, no student of history
can doubt. It was being busily fomented by that arch enemy, both of
England and America, Napoleon III., who had assiduously been seeking
an adequate pretext to recognize the independence of the Confederate
States. He was actively conferring with British parliamentary leaders
with the purpose of a joint intervention in our struggle, and if these
ships were liberated to prey upon our commerce, lift the blockade of
the Confederate ports, weaken the Federal power and strengthen that of
the Rebellion, he would then assuredly be able to build up his empire
in Mexico. That empire was already planted on the soil of the Mexican
Republic, and the triumph of the Southern cause meant the success
of the foolhardy and villainous undertaking which Napoleon III. had
established under Maximilian. If the outcome of British co-operation
for the disruption of the American Union were eventually to be a war
between England and the United States, it would but be further grist
for the mill of the French usurper.
From all of this procession of possible and unmeasured evils it appears
that the world was saved through the timely and powerful interposition
of a single will. It was the will of a man who was manifestly near
enough to the mainspring of affairs to be aware of its primary
movements, who was yet so hidden from public view that his action
would remain as secret as he himself determined it to be; whose purpose
was clearly in opposition to the motives of the ruling powers, and who
possessed the means with which to effect his purpose.
Who was it that so signally changed the current of the world's affairs?
Whose influence yet remains as mysterious as it was far-reaching? The
question has been often asked and still remains unanswered. He still
remains unnamed on the page of history. His position, his motive and
his means of action appear to be defined, and it was clearly with these
considerations in view that Mr. Chittenden wrote the letter which is
here subjoined. The "process of exclusion" to which he so pointedly
adverts leaves but very few among whom he is to be sought, and to the
almost unerring indication which Mr. Chittenden has given is to be
added a still nearer one which the author of the present work obtained
from another source. Miss Kate Chase, daughter of Salmon P. Chase, the
then Secretary of the Treasury, while assuring Mr. Wolf that the name
of the mysterious personage was unknown to her, was yet able to inform
him that the man was a Jew. That it was a Jew, one well known for his
outspoken admiration and love for our country as the home of religious
liberty, a man who was not of the unsympathetic government, nor of the
hostile aristocracy, nor of the jealous manufacturing class, might well
be surmised from all the circumstances of this remarkable occasion,
and his identity can scarcely be misinterpreted in the light of Mr.
Chittenden's indications.
The following is a copy of Mr. Chittenden's letter, which may well
serve as an author's preface to the chapter of his "Recollections" to
which it refers, in which the incident is narrated in detail, and which
we shall quote in full:
11 PINE ST., NEW YORK, May 7, 1892.
DEAR SIR:--
It would give me great pleasure to answer your letter of April 26th
and a large number of others on the same subject. You will readily
see that the name may be reached by a process of exclusion as
definitely as by its direct statement. The extraordinary character
of the incident did not occur to me at the time, or I should have
probably suppressed it. As it is I have no alternative but silence.
However, it gives me pleasure to say one thing. The experience of
an active life now drawing to its close has taught me that race
prejudices have no place in the heart of a true American, and I am
certainly not conscious that I have ever entertained a shadow of
them against any one of Hebrew origin. On the contrary I have found
much in the history of that persecuted race to respect and admire.
Illness has delayed this reply to your note.
Yours truly,
L. E. CHITTENDEN.
Mr. SIMON WOLF,
Washington, D. C.
A REMARKABLE EPISODE.
EXTRACT FROM "RECOLLECTIONS OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN AND HIS
ADMINISTRATION," BY L. E. CHITTENDEN, HIS REGISTER OF THE TREASURY.
(Chapter XXV, Pages 197-203. N. Y., Harper & Brothers, 1891.)
Mr. Charles Francis Adams (our minister) had for several weeks been
aware, and had communicated the fact to his government, that the
Messrs. Laird, extensive ship builders, were building at their yards
in Birkenhead, near Liverpool, two armored vessels for the Confederate
government. They were to be furnished with powerful engines, and
capable of great speed. When completed they were to proceed to a small
unfrequented British island in the West Indies, where they were to be
delivered to the agents of the Confederacy. They were then to receive
their armament, previously sent thither, take their crews on board,
and then set forth on their piratical cruises, after the example of
the _Alabama_. After sweeping our remaining commerce from the seas, by
burning and sinking every merchantship bearing our flag, they were to
come upon our own coast, scatter our blockading fleet, and open all the
Southern ports to British commerce, which would no longer be required
to take the great risk of breaking the blockade. This feat was to be
accomplished by vessels which had never entered a Confederate port,
nor, indeed, any harbor which was not covered by the British or some
other flag which protected the ironclads against pursuit or capture by
vessels of the United States Navy.
Greater danger than these vessels never threatened the safety of
the Union. In tonnage, armament and speed, they were intended to be
superior to the _Kearsarge_, and every other vessel of our navy. Their
armor was supposed to render them invulnerable. If the blockade was
not maintained, an immediate recognition of the belligerent character
of the rebels by Great Britain was anticipated. Even if that did not
take place, all the cotton gathered in Confederate ports would be
released and find a profitable market, while the old wooden vessels,
now principally constituting the blockading fleet, would not resist one
of these iron-clad vessels long enough for a second broadside.
The impending danger was fully appreciated by Mr. Adams. With his
accustomed energy, notwithstanding the secrecy in which all the
Confederate movements in Great Britain were shrouded, he had collected
and laid before the English authorities clear proofs of the rebel
ownership, and intended unlawful purpose of these vessels. He had even
procured copies of the contracts under which the Messrs. Laird were
building them, and had ascertained that payments on their account
had been made from proceeds of cotton owned by the Confederacy. He
had represented that the evidence furnished by him, verified by the
oaths of credible witnesses, was sufficient not only to justify their
seizure, but to secure their condemnation in the courts, and he had
insisted with a force apparently unanswerable, that it was the duty
of Great Britain to prevent the vessels from leaving the Mersey and
setting forth upon their piratical career.
But, unfortunately, the sympathies of the party in power in England
were not with the Union cause. It suited the view of of the
law-officers of the Crown not to interfere, and to excuse their
inaction by raising objections to the legal sufficiency of the
evidence. The situation was perfectly comprehended by the President
and his Cabinet, but remonstrance appeared to be unavailing, and the
departure of the vessels was expected at an early day.
Hopeless as the task appeared to be, neither Mr. Adams nor his active
agents relaxed their efforts for a moment. Their recent investigations
had been prosecuted with such energy that the minister had finally
been able to furnish the British premier with the sworn affidavits of
some of the officers and men actually enlisted in Liverpool, and other
English cities, for service on these vessels; that the advance payments
to these men had been made by Confederate agents, that the ships were
to leave the Mersey at an early appointed date for an island near
Bermuda; that their guns and ammunition had already been sent thither.
Mr. Adams had also secured the names of the ships' officers, with
copies of their commissions, bearing the signature of President Davis
and the seal of the Confederacy.
The last instalment of affidavits forwarded by our minister proved to
be more than the crown lawyers could digest. They covered every defect
named in their former objections; they could not be answered even by
a special demurrer. They were reinforced by the caustic pen of Mr.
Adams, whose arguments so clearly pointed out the duty of the English
government in the premises that it would obviously be regarded as
conclusive by every one but these lawyers, who possessed the exclusive
power to move the slow authorities of the customs to action. The crown
lawyers finally decided that the demand of Mr. Adams must be complied
with, and that an order must issue, prohibiting the departure of these
vessels from the Mersey until the charges of the American minister had
been judicially investigated.
There were, however, some incidents attending this most important
decision, which prevented its communication from giving to Mr. Adams
a satisfaction wholly unalloyed. The decision had been withheld until
the vessels were on the very eve of departure. The order must be
immediately served, and possession taken by the customs authorities, or
the vessels would escape. The crown lawyers, properly enough, observed
that the affidavits furnished by Mr. Adams were _ex-parte_--the
witnesses had not been cross-examined. If Mr. Adams should fail to
prove his charges by evidence which would satisfy the judicial mind,
and the vessels be released, the damages caused by arresting them might
be very heavy. It was a settled rule of procedure in the courts in such
cases to secure the payment of such damages beyond any peradventure.
The restraining order would, therefore, be issued, but it would not be
enforced against the vessels until these damages had been secured by a
deposit of £1,000,000 sterling _in gold coin_.
The situation was well known to be critical. Within three days the
vessels were to sail for their destination; if necessary, they might
sail forthwith. The cable was useless, broken or disabled--and
Mr. Adams could not communicate with his own government. Without
such communication he had no authority to bind his government as an
indemnitor, or to repay the money if he could borrow it. Even if he had
the fullest authority, where was the patriotic Briton who would furnish
a million pounds on the spur of the moment to a government which was
believed by the party in power in Great Britain to be _in articulo
mortis_? Unless, therefore, the crown lawyers supposed our minister to
have anticipated their decision by providing himself with this money,
they must have known that this condition could not be complied with,
and that they might just as well have declined to interfere. If they
had intended that these ships should not be prevented from making
their intended crusade against our commerce and our cause, no better
arrangement could possibly have been devised. It is not to be denied
that suspicions existed that such was their purpose.
But the unexpected sometimes happens. The event which prevented these
floating engines of destruction from entering upon their intended
work was as unanticipated as a miracle. It constituted, possibly,
the most signal service ever rendered by a citizen of one country to
the government of another. It was all the more noble, because it was
intended to be anonymous. The eminently unselfish man who performed it
made a positive condition that it should not be made public, that not
so much as his name should be disclosed, except to the officers of our
government, whose co-operation was required in order to transact the
business in a proper manner and upon correct principles. So earnest
was his injunction of secrecy that his identity will not even now be
disclosed, although he has long since gone to his reward.
Within the hour after the crown lawyers' decision, with its conditions,
had been made known to Mr. Adams, and when he had given up all hope of
arresting these vessels, a quiet gentleman called upon him and asked
if he might be favored with the opportunity of making the deposit
of coin required by the order? He observed "that it had occurred
to him that if the United States had that amount to its credit in
London, some question of authority might arise, or Mr. Adams might
otherwise be embarrassed in complying with the condition, especially
as communication with his government might involve delay; so that the
shortest way to avoid all difficulty would be for him to deposit the
coin, which he was quite prepared to do."
Had a messenger descended from the skies in a chariot of fire, with
$5,000,000 in gold in his hands, and offered to leave it at the embassy
without any security, Mr. Adams could not have been more profoundly
surprised. He had accepted the condition as fatal to his efforts;
he had concluded that nothing short of a miracle could prevent the
departure of the vessels; and here, if not a miracle, was something
much like one. He made no secret of the pleasure with which he accepted
the munificent offer, provided some method of securing the liberal
Englishman could be found. The latter seemed indisposed to make any
suggestion on the subject. "It might be proper," he said, "that some
obligation might be entered into, showing that the American government
recognized the deposit as made on its account; beyond that he should
leave the matter wholly in the hands of Mr. Adams."