Dewey and Other Naval CommandersEllis, Edward Sylvester
History
Dewey and Other Naval Commanders
Ellis, Edward Sylvester
Dewey, George, 1837-1917; United States. Navy -- History
After resigning this position Captain Schley commanded the cruiser
_Baltimore_, which bore the remains of Ericsson, the great Swedish
inventor, to his native land, whose king presented Schley with a gold
medal in recognition of this service. He won the commendation of the
Navy Department for his tactful success in settling threatened trouble
over the stoning of a number of American sailors from the _Baltimore_ by
a party of Chilians at Valparaiso. Commodore Schley is a fine tactician,
possesses a winning personality and his work with the _Brooklyn,_ off
Santiago, on July 3, was neither more nor less than his friends expected
of him.
Robley D. Evans, known everywhere as "Fighting Bob," was born in
Virginia in 1846. When his father died he made his home with his uncle
in Washington, D.C., where he attended Gonzaga College. In 1859 a
Congressional Representative from Utah appointed him to the Naval
Academy. It was necessary for the boy to take up a nominal residence in
that distant territory, and on the journey thither and back he
encountered many personal dangers through all of which he conducted
himself with the pluck and bravery which afterward distinguished him in
the service of his country. He entered the academy in 1860 and upon his
graduation became a midshipman and ensign, first on the frigate
_Powhatan_, and before he had attained his majority took part in the
desperate assault on Fort Fisher. He was stretched on the ground,
dreadfully wounded and with so many dead men piled upon him that he
barely escaped suffocation. He was wounded twice in the body and shot
through both legs. It seemed scarcely possible for him to live, and he
lay in the hospital for months. But when a surgeon prepared to amputate
one of his legs Evans, who had managed to procure a revolver, warned him
that upon his first attempt to do so he would shoot him. The leg was
saved, but Evans was lamed for life.
[Illustration: CAPTAIN ROBLEY D. EVANS, OF THE "IOWA."]
As soon as he was able to get about he applied for active service and
his application was granted. He was engaged in various duties and in
October, 1891, he arrived in command of the _Yorktown_ at Valparaiso,
directly after the attack of a mob of Chilians upon the sailors of the
_Baltimore_. When some of the refugees fled for safety to the _Yorktown_
and the Chilians demanded their surrender "Fighting Bob" replied that he
would defend them until the _Yorktown_ went to the bottom. Some time
later the captain's launch was stoned, for the Chilians hated the
Americans as intensely as did the Spaniards. Captain Evans placed a
rapid fire gun in the bow of the launch, filled her with armed men and
went ashore. Hunting out the authorities, he notified them that if any
more stones were thrown at his launch he would make life a burden for
every Chilian within reach of the Yorktown's guns. The launch was not
stoned again.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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