Corsair (Yacht); World War, 1914-1918 -- Naval operations
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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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