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A CHAPLAIN'S EXPERIENCE
ASHORE AND AFLOAT

The "Texas" Under Fire

REV. HARRY W. JONES, A.M., D.D.,
Chaplain U. S. Navy.

New York:
A. G. Sherwood & Co.
47 Lafayette Place.

Copyright, igoi,
by
Harry W. Jones.

Or\ii4;IG5j

DEDICATION.

To the memory of Rear, Admiral John W.
Philip, United States Navy, the beloved
Commanding OfiScer of the battleship
"Texas," under whom it was my honor to serve
during our war with Spain, and who on June
30th, 1900, in obedience to the summons of his
Great Commander-in-Chief, passed away from
the battles of earth to the rest and the rewards of
heaven, this book is most tenderly and reverently
dedicated.

PREFACE.

1HAVE been frequently requested by many
friends to put in book form the experiences
in life through which I have been called to
pass. Hitherto I have declined to do so, and have
only consented now with the hope that perhaps
something in' the following pages may be help
ful to young men who are contending with dis
couragements and whose pathway seems beset
by peculiar difficulties. If there is anything nar
rated here that will cause some despondent
brother to "take heart again," I shall find in this
my greatest joy and richest reward.
The experiences especially of the past two or
three years as Chaplain in the Navy often seem
to me more like a dream than a reality. Of these
thrilling events I have endeavored to place be
fore the public a true and faithful account.
Perhaps I may add that twenty-five per cent.
of the profit from the sale of this book is to be
given to the Trustees of Wake Forest College,
Wake Forest, North Carolina, for the purpose of
aiding deserving young men who are struggling
to obtain the advantage of an education.
H. W. J.

CONTENTS.

PART I.
Chapter I.
How I Came to Be a Minister, and How
I Came to Preach my First Sermon  i
Chapter II.
My Seminary Days and Theii- Trials  9
Chapter III.
My First Pastorate  17
Chapter IV.
With the First Baptist Church, Stepney,
Conn. An Interesting Wedding  27
Chapter V.
A Meeting for Men at White Hills,
Conn. An Important Person Present  41
vii

CONTENTS.

Chapter VI.
A Fox Caught in his Own Trap. An In
teresting Trial at Monroe Court House  49
Chapter VII.
A Visit from my Sister  61
Chapter VIII.
Two Peculiar Weddings  67
Chapter IX.
As Pastor of the First Baptist Church,
Arlington, N. J  71
Chapter X.
Brotherly Love  85
Chapter XI.
My Dream, and News from Washington 89
Chapter XII.
The Close of my Ministry on Shore  loi
viii

CONTENTS.

PART II.
Chapter I.
First Orders to Duty  109
Chapter II.
Chaplain of the U.S.S. "Texas"  119
Chapter III.
My First Cruise  131
Chapter IV.
A Bar Harbor, Maine, Experience  141
Chapter V.
Blowing Up of the "Maine"  149
Chapter VI.
Forty-eight Hours' Leave  1 57
Chapter VII.
The Flying Squadron Goes to Sea under
Sealed Orders  167
ix

CONTENTS.
Chapter VIII.
The Going in of the "Merrimac"  1^9
Chapter IX.
Under Fire  187
Chapter X.
A Burial under Fire  I97
Chapter XL
Going Over the Mines  211
Chapter XII.
The Landing of the Army  219
Chapter XIII.
The Army Failed to Connect  227
Chapter XIV.
Destruction of Cervera's Fleet  231
Chapter XV.
On the "St. Louis" with Admiral Cervera 247
X

CONTENTS.
Chapter XVI.
The Disappointment of my Life  263
Chapter XVII.
A Visit to my Mother  271
Chapter XVIII.
Renewing Old Acquaintances  285
Chapter XIX.
the close.
Chaplain of the "Chicago"  291

XI

PART I.
THE EXPERIENCES OF A
CHAPLAIN ASHORE
AND AFLOAT.

CHAPTER I.
HOW I CAME TO BE A MINISTER, AND HOW I CAME
TO PREACH MY FIRST SERMON.
LATE one Saturday night in May, in the
year 1886, I was sitting in the rooms of
J the Young Men's Christian Association
at Saugerties, Ulster County, State of New York,
where I was General Secretary of the Associa-,
tion ; a number of young men were in the rooms,
some were reading the various magazines, others
were amusing themselves playing chess or check
ers. I was at my desk preparing my Bible lesson
for the Bible-class which I was to conduct the
next afternoon. One of the young men sug
gested that it was time to go home, and we were
preparing to leave the rooms when Mrs. Conklin,
the wife of the Rev. J. J. Conklin, pastor of the
First Baptist Church, came in and inquired for

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN
me. I greeted her, and she informed me that Mr.
Conkhn was over at the parsonage confined to his
bed and would like very much to have me go over
and see him, if I possibly could. I went, and
found him quite sick. Extending his hand, he
said: "I am delighted to see you, my dear
brother, but I know that the request I am about to
make will be very sudden. I am ill, as you see,
and, unless I can secure some one to fill my place,
our church will have to be closed to-morrow. So
I want you to preach for me, morning and even
ing." I replied : "Well, I should say it is sudden ;
and feel I must decline, as I never preached a ser
mon in my life and could not begin to prepare two
sermons to be dehvered to-morrow." He per
sisted in his pleading, promised me the aid of
his prayers and assured me if I consented that
God would be with me, and that, if I looked to
Him, He would aid and bless me. After a great
deal of persuasion, I consented. Going home, I
went to my room, got my concordance, and im
mediately began to look for a verse for my morn
ing subject. I had no idea what to preach from,
but at last I found the words : "Behold now is the
accepted time; behold now is the day of salva
tion." I began writing and found my thoughts
came much faster than I ever anticipated, and by
daylight I had prepared a sermon for the morn
ing service. 2

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

At ten o'clock, I left the house, after
having asked God to bless me, and went over to
the church. I felt very nervous as I went up into
the pulpit ; in fact I was never so nervous before
in all my life. As I rose to give out the first
hymn, to my joy and delight, who should come
in but dear old Dr. Longyear, who at one time
was pastor of the church. At the close of the
hymn, I invited him into the pulpit. As soon as
he had taken his seat I announced to the congre
gation my pleasure in welcoming to his old pul
pit our beloved Doctor, and at the same time as
sured them of the great treat in store for them,
as they would listen again to his familiar voice,
expounding God's truth that morning. I felt
greatly relieved, and requested the Doctor to give
me the chapter he wished me to read. He replied :
"Read the chapter you intended to read, my dear
brother." This I did; at the close of which I
asked him to lead us in prayer. In a very firm,
earnest manner he commended me to God and
asked Him to bless the young speaker of the
morning, as he would preach his first sermon. I
enjoyed the prayer, but at the same time was
greatly disappointed, as I fully expected the
Doctor would come to my assistance. I an
nounced the second hymn and sat down by the
side of the aged minister. He took me by the
hand as a father would his son, and, looking right
3

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

in my face, said : "My dear boy, you would have
preached if I had not come this morning, so go
right along and forget that I am here. Should
there be time at the close of your remarks, I will
have something to say, but I cannot preach for
you, as there is no knowing what the conse
quences would be if you disobey what I consider
a direct call from God to speak to-day." Sum
moning up sufficient courage, I gave out my text
with fear and trembling, and then began speak
ing on the subject, pleading the importance of
the present time and presenting the blessed as
surance of reward should we obey the invitation
of the text. I spoke about twenty minutes, when
I took my seat. Before I had time to say a word
to the Doctor, he was on his feet, beseeching God
to bless the message which had been delivered to
them. Then, addressing the people, he told how
pleased he was that I had done the sensible thing
in selecting for my first text a verse from the
blessed Book that was so simple, and one that I
understood so thoroughly. Continuing, he said
many men in their first attempt at preaching
tried to deal with difficult portions of the Book,
and their efforts proved a failure; but he was
convinced that if I decided to enter the minis
try, and continued to preach the simple Gospel as I
had done that morning, God would give me many
jewels for my crown. I was greatly overcome
4

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

by the earnestness with which he spoke, and with
the kindly way in which he had endorsed my
feeble effort. After the benediction many of the
people of the church thanked me for the helpful
message, and said they would ever remember the
service of that day.
Returning home, I got on my knees and ren
dered thanks to God for His assistance, and
asked Him to bless the service which I was to
conduct that evening. I was led to select a sub
ject especially adapted to young men, and as I
was engaged in young men's work, felt more at
home in treating a subject addressed to them. I
prepared therefore more of an informal talk on
"Spiritual Railroading; or, the Reasonableness
and the Desirableness of Religion," and had a
blessed time speaking that night. The church
was crowded. I returned to my home feeling
that possibly it was Providence that had placed
me in the pulpit that day. I felt different from
what I ever had before in my life. I promised
God that if it was His will that I should be a
minister, and He would make it plain to me, I
would obey.
The following Thursday evening I was
unable to attend the prayer-meeting, but
Friday morning the aged clerk of the church
came to the rooms and handed me a letter. I
opened it and found there a certificate. The old
5

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

man was staring at me, his face all aglow, as I
read the license authorizing me to preach, and
which made me practically a minister, excepting
that I was not allowed to administer the Lord's
Supper or to baptize. Then he said: "Brother
Jones, the church voted you last night this li
cense, giving you its endorsement to preach
whenever the opportunity presented itself, as the
members felt that you deserved it." It was not
long after this that I began receiving invitations
from all the small churches of the surrounding
country, to go out and speak for them. I ac
cepted many of them, and had a grand time visit
ing these outlying fields. At last I was called
to Wisconsin to take charge of a Young Men's
Christian Association in that State. At Little
River there was a French Presbyterian Church
without a pastor, in fact the church was too poor
to engage one. A committee waited on me, and
asked me to go out and preach for them Sun
day evenings. I consented to do this, and for a
year or more preached in that church. I had
every reason to be encouraged, the congregation
kept increasing, but still I fought the idea of de
voting myself wholly to the Christian ministry.
The urgency of the impression wore off, and I
promised God that if He would allow me to enter
again my business calling, I would serve Him
as best I could with my means and otherwise,
6

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

Going to church one morning I heard the
Rev. Doctor Chadwick, the Methodist minister,
preach an earnest sermon to young men, plead
ing with them to devote their lives to the cause
of the Master, and if they felt called to enter the
ministry, to yield to the invitation. Then, in a
tone of voice which I shall never forget, he said :
"Young man, will you be a minister of Jesus
Christ?"' As he said it, he pointed his finger di
rectly at me. I was overcome, but said nothing.
After he had pronounced the benediction he
came right over to where I was and said :
"Brother Jones, why do you strive so against the
Spirit? I really believe that God has called you
to the ministry and it is sinful for you to fight
against His will." Still I did not give him any
answer that would cause him to think that I
would be a minister. The next day he called to
see me, prayed with me, and talked with me
about the seriousness of my procrastination.
Before the week had ended, I told him that I
would prepare myself to enter the ministry of
Jesus Christ, and immediately began making my
plans to enter a seminary, putting myself in
communication with the various theological sem
inaries of the country. I received favorable re
plies, but selected from the many the invitation
to attend Rochester Theological Seminary, of the
State of New York. I closed my work with the
7

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

Association and, early in the month of September,
1889, bade farewell to that Western country, and
came East to prepare myself for the work to
which I was then thoroughly convinced I had
been called. During these early days of preach
ing all the additions to the churches were young
men, and that was one reason why I was loath to
give up my work with the Young Men's Chris
tian Association, but God, unseen by human eye,
was constantly leading me.

CHAPTER II.
MY SEMINARY DAYS AND THEIR TRIALS.
1 ARRIVED in the city of Rochester the day
before the studies commenced at the sem
inary. Immediately I ¦ went to see the
president, and talked matters over with him. I
found him a very genial Christian gentleman,
thoroughly consecrated to his life work of fitting
young men for the ministry, and I could readily
understand why such a man as Dr. J. H. Strong
had been selected as president of Rochester
Theological Seminary. He asked me various
questions regarding my financial condition, in
quiring specially whether I was prepared to go
through the seminary, and pay my own way, as
I would have to do. I told him that I was. He
asked me if I had friends that would help me.
I told him "No," many of them could do so if
they wished, but I felt certain that none of them
would aid me in educating myself for the minis
try. Then he said: "Mr. Jones, as president of
this institution, I would like to know just how
you are situated, because all that the seminary
9

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

provides for its students is a room in the dor
mitory." I answered : "Well, Doctor, to be frank
with you, I have at my immediate command the
sum of nine cents." "Then you expect to receive
a remittance from some one or some place
shortly." I answered, "No, sir, I do not." "Well,
then, my dear brother," he answered, "I am very
sorry to be obliged to inform you that the sem
inary is not in a position to pay the way of its
students." I replied : "Well, Doctor, it would be
time enough for you to mention that fact to me
when I sought aid from you." "Well, what do
you expect to do?" he asked. I said: "I do not
know, sir; but I have come here to go through
this seminary and I am going to do it by God's
help. Give me until to-morrow afternoon and I
will tell you then what I have done, and I feel
sure that I will be able to tell you that the way is
opened and I am going to work my way through
this institution." He said: "Very well, I wish
you every success ; see me at my office to-morrow
afternoon, but in the meantime take this dollar to
help you until then." I said: "No, thank you,
Doctor, I do not wish to take one cent."
I went out into the city, not knowing where
to go, or what to do, but assured that God would
lead me in the path He would have me go, and
would show me just what to do. I sauntered
along through one street after another, and at
ID

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

last came to the business part of the city. I no
ticed a magnificent restaurant, beautifully fitted
up, and thought: "Here is my opportunity." I
was then beginning to feel a little hungry. So I
walked up to the desk and met the pleasant-faced
gentleman who was the proprietor, when I said :
"Excuse me, sir, but I have come to this city as
a student of the Theological Seminary. I want
to educate myself for the ministry, and I want
some work to enable me to pay my way." He
said : "What can you do ?" I answered : "Well,
sir, I can eat." With a hearty laugh, he said:
"You don't look very hungry." I said : "No, sir,
perhaps not ; but I begin to realize that I have an
appetite, and if I am to go through the semi
nary, it will trouble me more or less during my
stay in this city. I understood you to say that
you were busy between twelve and two. I would
be glad to come down every day at that time, if
you could use me as a waiter for my dinner and
twenty-five cents a day." He looked at me and,
laughing, said: "That would not pay you very
much." I answered: "No, sir, the twenty-five
cents may not ; the dinner will though." He said :
"I will take you on, but will pay you three dol
lars a week. I presume, however, you are a good
waiter." I said : "No, sir, I never waited on table
in my life, but I know just how to do it." He said :
"How do you know you do?" I answered:
II

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

"Well, I have had men waiting on me, and I know
just how they did it."
I went back to the seminary after having
taken my dinner, feeling as happy as a bird.
Doctor Strong had gone home. I could not wait,
however, until the next afternoon to see him,
but immediately went down to his house and
told him I had succeeded, having obtained a
position at three dollars a week, with my dinner
each day. He was as delighted as I was, and
said: "Jones, you have the material in you that
is going to make you succeed. Keep right along,
my boy, and some day I shall hear great things
of you."
The next day the classes were made up and I
entered the junior class, after having qualified for
it. I found my class work exceedingly difficult.
I believe I studied as hard as any student at that
school. I would have my lessons well prepared,
but just as soon as I was called upon in the class
room to recite, when I got on my feet, every
thing I had committed to memory left me, and I
would stand there as though I knew nothing. I
was greatly mortified, and would have to say:
"Excuse me, Doctor, but I cannot answer your
question." I was called upon about twice a
week, and every time had the same experience.
At last I made up my mind that I had enough of
that. I knew that I was simply "class-room
12

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

scared." So I went to the Doctor at the close of
the exercise one afternoon and said: "Doctor, I
fear you will think that I am shirking my duties
and neglecting my studies, but I assure you, sir,
that I work hard and faithfully, and in my room
could answer any question a student might put
to me, but when I get to the class-room before all
the students, were you to ask one of the same
questions of me, I would not be able to answer
it." He said: "Evidently you are frightened
when you get on your feet." I said : "That is just
it, sir, but I want to conquer that feeling, and can
do it with your assistance." He answered:
."Well, I will do all that is in my power for you."
I said : "Well, sir, you can help me ; if instead of
calling upon me to recite once or twice a week, as
you have been doing heretofore, you have me re
cite every day until I get over this embarrass
ment." "I will do it with pleasure," he replied;
"but that will make you work very hard, because
you will have to prepare thoroughly every lesson
during the week." I said : "Well, sir, that is what
I want to do, and that is what I will do." Never
after that did I fail in a single recitation.
At last my turn came to preach a sermon.
The text was given me by our Homiletical Pro
fessor. I had two weeks in which to prepare my
self. Putting on my best suit of clothes, as I
was to be the speaker of the occasion, I looked
13

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

into the glass and saw many white patches show
ing through the worn black cloth of my frock
coat. I got the ink bottle and commenced cov
ering up with the black fluid the white lining that
was showing through the cloth. Going down
into the class-room, I took my seat behind the
desk in the little room arranged as a chapel. I
announced my text and commenced my sermon.
One after another of the students began taking
notes of what I said. The professor took none,
but I could tell that he was taking it all in and
would know just the value of my effort when I
had finished. The custom was after the preach
ing was over that the students and the professor
would criticise the sermon from a homiletical
standpoint and also in style and delivery. At
times they were very severe in fault-finding.
The professor stood up and looked at me.
He said: "Brother Jones, that is the finest text
that I have ever heard preached from." There
was a twinkle in his eye, and I felt highly com
plimented. "But to be frank with you, it is the
worst sermon I ever listened to in my life." And
then he began picking it all to pieces and by the
time he got through there was very little of my
sermon left. After he had finished, one after an
other of the students had something to say in the
shape of criticism. I thought to myself: "Never
mind, boys, your turn will come as well as mine 
14

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

if I don't give it to you, my name is not Jones."
I went to my room feeling, after the overhauling
I had had, I was surely a ministerial failure, and
from that day I denounced the idea of pulpit
criticism. But, looking back to-day, I can see
what a blessing that experience was to me.
I was at the seminary about a year, when I
was called to mission work in New York. I
went there feeling that it was a good opportun
ity for me to put in a year or so at that work and
get sufficient money to enable me to go through
school without having to pinch and strive as I
had done during the year that had passed, hoping
also that later I would be able to go either to
Spurgeon's or Moody's school to complete my
studies.

^5

CHAPTER in.
MY FIRST PASTORATE.
I WAS at St. Bartholomew's Mission, 42d
Street, west of Third Avenue, New York,
about a year, and obtained quite an insight
into New York City charitable work. This mis
sion was conducted by St. Bartholomew's
Church, and was chiefly maintained with money
received from the late Cornelius Vanderbilt, who
about five years before his death, erected the mag
nificent building known as St. Bartholomew's
Parish House, east of Third Avenue, on the
same street. Friday nights the old building
presented scenes I shall never forget. The doors
were opened at seven o'clock sharp. It was the cus
tom on those nights to give a cup of coffee and
a sandwich to men who were in need. Long be
fore the time of opening the doors, hundreds of
these poor unfortunate fellows would be block
ing the street, and when the doors were thrown
open, these poor hungry mortals would rush in
and take their seats in the large hall where the
meetings were conducted. At the close of the
17

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN
religious exercises, twenty or thirty men would
pass around large trays laden with sand
wiches, followed by men bearing large pitchers
filled with the finest coffee, which they would
pour into the cups with which the men had been
furnished. This feeding of New York's hungry
poor was carried on largely through the gener
osity of the gentleman mentioned above. I en
joyed my work there very much indeed, and it
will not be out of place to say right here, there
was a very charming young lady who devoted her
evenings to presiding at the organ or piano, to
the great delight of the men. I will admit I was
greatly impressed with her musical talent, and
saw a great deal of her, as I conducted services
in the building every evening. But at the close
of my engagement there, I left to complete my
studies without having once mentioned to her
how much I admired her. It was not strange,
therefore, that, after having completed my studies,
I should return and seek out this young lady, who
has since become the one who has shared my joys
with me these past eight years of our married life
and has proved a blessing to me in every way,
filling that most important position, viz., that of
a minister's wife.
Soon after our marriage I received a call to go
to Suffern, Rockland County, New York, to en
gage in two weeks' evangelistic services with the
i8

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

First Baptist Church of that city. I went there,
and found the church in a most deplorable con
dition. It had been closed for the ten preceding
years ; and its membership had united with sev
eral churches of other denominations. I saw the
opportunity for a good wOrk there, and immedi
ately had circulated necessary advertising mat
ter, informing the people that services would be
conducted in the First Baptist Church every
night in the week, Saturday excepted. I com
menced these meetings Sunday morning. A fair
audience greeted me, but I had a much larger
congregation at night. At the close of the meet
ing Friday night of the following week, we had
the gratification of receiving twelve persons for
membership, a family of four being among them.
At the close of the Sunday night service, I was
requested to leave the church, as there were mat
ters the members wanted to talk over, so I went
to the residence of old Deacon Quackenbush. As
I could not return to New York City, I always
remained there over night. I was occupying my
time reading a book I had found lying on the
table, when in came the deacon, the church clerk,
and three or four other members from the
church. They informed me that the church had
extended to me a unanimous call to become its
pastor. I read the invitation, and told them I
would give them an answer the following
19

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN
Sunday morning. At the specified time I
told the church that I would accept the
call, providing it would be understood from
the commencement that in calling me to be
their pastor it did not mean that they
called my wife as my hired assistant. She,
by the way, was always perfectly willing to
do her part in aiding me in my ministerial duties.
I further stated that under no consideration
would I accept their call unless the church would
be known as the People's Church. The poorest as
well as the wealthiest brother should have equal
rights to a vote at church meetings. The only
leader should be the meek and lowly Master, and
should they at any time see anything amiss in me,
their pastor, they were not to go unto Sister So-
and-So, or Brother So-and-So, and talk about it,
but come to me, and tell me of my faults, and I
would take them by the hand and thank them if I
w^s in the wrong ; and should I see anything out
of the way with any of them, they could expect
an early visit from me, as I would treat them in
the same way that I had requested them to treat
me. That night my terms were accepted, and we
started out feeling that a great work was in store
for us, and that God would bless us as pastor and
people. I was not ordained at this time, but in
vitations to the ordination were sent out,
inviting the pastor with two delegates from
20

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

each church of the Southern New York
Baptist Association. The day was set, March
9th, 1893. We had had a tremendous snow
storm the first of the month. On the sev
enth it was quite warm, and by the ninth the
roads were flooded nearly all the way from our
church to the station, the ice and snow having
melted. You could not go about by sleigh or
wagon with any satisfaction. I went to the depot
and met the delegates with the various turnouts
that were provided for the purpose of transpor
tation. Some were closed carriages, some bug
gies, the others sleighs ; but the people who chose
the sleighs to take them over to the church had a
great experience. The horses could not draw
them through the mud, and to walk in the road
was simply impossible, so they pulled the sleighs
over as close as they could get to the stone walls
that were on either side of the thoroughfare.
Getting out from the sleighs, the people com
menced to walk a distance of three miles over
these stone walls, having to dismount every now
and then where the road turned off or where there
was an opening leading to a private estate. After
a great deal of perseverance, they reached our
church. At ten o'clock that morning a very fair
number had assembled, taking into considera
tion the inclemency of the weather, and I was in
troduced as the candidate for ordination. I was
21

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN
asked the usual questions regarding my call to
the ministry, etc., and at five o'clock in the after
noon the council adjourned to compare notes. At
six o'clock I was informed that the council was
satisfied, and wanted to know my wishes as to the
ordination. It was decided I should be ordained
that night, and at half-past seven the ordination
services took place. The Rev. E. S. Hollo-
way, of New York, preached the ordination
sermon, choosing for his text the fourth chap
ter of the Second Epistle of Timothy, a part of
the last verse — "Preach the Word." The Rev.
James Francis, of New York City, delivered the
charge to the candidate, and the Rev. A. C.
Arnold delivered the charge to the church. At
the close of this service, I was introduced to the
congregation as the Rev. H. W. Jones, and was
requested to pronounce the benediction, which I
did. My first pleasant duty as pastor was to bap
tize the twelve people who had professed conver
sion during the revival services. I started in to
work with a great deal of zeal and determina
tion, the church edifice being in a terrible condi
tion from being closed so many years. The first
thing we did was to raise money to put in new
windows, which were to be stained glass; the
male members agreeing to put the glass in, if the
church would buy it. After this was finished, we
22

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

raised money for repainting the church and put
ting in a new pulpit. And by the time this was
done, we had a nice, cosy-looking church build
ing. At a church meeting, it was decided to re-
dedicate the building, and we invited the Rev.
R. S. MacArthur, D.D., pastor of Calvary Baptist
Church, New York, to preach the dedicatory ser
mon, requesting several other ministers to join
us in these pleasant exercises. A very interest
ing and gratifying congregation filled our church
and listened to the Doctor as he preached to them
the same old story, and yet, in every word he ut
tered, brought out the joyfulness and blessedness
of serving God, and congratulated the people upon
the marked success pertaining to the pastorate.
It was a moonlight night, and the vast audience
was invited to go down to the Cooper Lake, where
four young people were to be baptized by the
pastor. As we were leaving the church Mr. E.
Degrot and his wife, from Ramsey, met me at the
door and said: "Brother, we too wish to follow
the Lord Jesus into the baptismal waters. Can
we be baptized to-night ?" I replied : "As far as
I am concerned, I will -gladly immerse you ; but
I presume the better way will be to present the
matter to the church." We called a meeting
there and then outside of the building; Brother
Degrot and his wife told their experience, and
they were unanimously elected for membership.
23

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN
Instead of baptizing four that evening, it was
my pleasure to baptize six. As I went down into
the waters, the shores were black with people,
who had come from all the surrounding country
to witness this moonlight baptism. We had gone
there the night before and had selected our place
for immersion. I went into the water just as
the moon was coming over the hill top, spreading
its rays across the water, where I stood. The
water looked like silver, or as though the blessed
Spirit was shedding His influence across the deep.
As the candidates were led into the water, the
women dressed in white, the men in black, they
presented a most beautiful picture, and several of
the onlookers who had come there just out of
curiosity were convicted of their sins. Four of
these that stood amid that multitude of people
saw, as they had never seen before, the beauty of
following the Master in baptism and of obeying
His divine command. These were baptized by
me two Sundays later.
The fourth of June, 1893, I had the unutter
able pleasure of leading into the waters my es
teemed wife ; it was, in fact, the greatest joy that I
had ever experienced. Just before descending into
the waters of Cooper Lake, my church presented
me with a magnificent baptismal gown. I used it
for the first time to baptize Mrs. Jones, and have
used it ever since, as I preach in it to this day.
24

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

The next work I undertook to do was to erect
a parsonage. Deacon James Quackenbush pre
sented the church with a lot loo by 125 feet, al
most opposite the church, on which site the house
was built. Just as we were about to occupy it, I
received and accepted a call to become pastor of
the First Baptist Church of Stepney, Conn., and
closed my labors with the Suffern people, after
having been with them a little over a year, dur
ing which time there were twenty-eight additions
to the church.

25

CHAPTER IV.
WITH THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, STEPNEY,
CONN. AN INTERESTING WEDDING.
GOING to Stepney, I found many charm
ing peopk there, several of whom
were devout, consecrated believers.
The church property consisted of a church and
parsonage, which was in very good condition.
There was a membership of about one hundred.
I preached my first sermon as their pastor the
first Sunday in November, 1893. A good con
gregation greeted me, and we started in for ear
nest, zealous work, commencing as I did at Suf
fern, with two weeks' revival services, which re
sulted in five conversions — four young men and
one young woman — who were baptized by me in
the Hawley Brook. My experience with these
people proved more exciting and varied than I
expected when I first entered upon my duties
there. The first thing of any importance that
occurred was on a Saturday morning. It was
raining very hard, and as fast as the rain fell on
the ground it would freeze, making the roads
27

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN
and sidewalks like a sheet of glass. To enable
me to reach my barn, I had to take with me a
coal scuttle filled with ashes, and as I went along
I would drop sufficient of the ashes in places to
step on to avoid falling down.
Going back to the house, the door bell
rang, and as I opened the door a lady
of fine appearance was standing there. Out
side my gate was a closed carriage with a
magnificent team of horses before it, and
the coachman dressed in such a way as to show
he was driving for a very wealthy family. The
lady inquired if I was Mr. Jones, the Baptist
minister. I told her I was. Then she said: "I
have come over from New Haven, having driven
from there this morning to find out whether you
practise what you preach. Could you give me
about three hours of your time, as I have a matter
of great importance I wish to consult you about ?"
I said: "Yes, madam; I shall be delighted to
devote this morning to you; but if you are very
anxious to find out if I practise what I preach,
I would suggest that you ask Mrs. Jones, as she
would be the only person to answer that inquiry."
She remarked: "It is not so much that, but I
heard you preach once, or rather lecture, and I
wish to find out for my own satisfaction whether
you are as sympathetic in your nature as you ap
peared to be in your lecture." 28

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

I was somewhat surprised at this, and
scarcely knew how to take it. So I ven
tured to ask where she had heard me lec
ture. She informed me at New Haven,
when I spoke on the subject of "Fallen Women,"
and it was on that account she had ventured to
travel the distance she had through the blinding
storm then raging. I told her that I thought
I was prepared to live up to all I had stated
that night, and if there was anything that I
could do to assist any unfortunate creature who
had fallen, I stood ready and willing to do what
God would have me do. Then she said : "I have
been to see seven or eight ministers, every one of
whom refused to listen to my appeal, and as a
last resort I have come to you ; but before I con
tinue my story I wish that you would kneel down
with me in this room, together with your wife,
and ask God to grant that I may not utter one
harsh word here, and that, no matter how I have
been wronged in the past, I may have a Christian,
charitable feeling toward those who have injured
me and mine."
As we arose from our knees, she unfolded
to me one of the most pitiful stories I
had ever listened to. She stated that somewhere
in New York, in a home for fallen women, she had
a niece, who had been deceived by a man living
in Astoria, N. Y. And, after getting this
29

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

girl, who was merely a child, into trouble — she
was only fourteen years of age at the time — he
forsook her and went away. This aunt believed
he was somewhere in the State of Connecticut,
and her mission to me was to have me find him
and try to convince him of his sin. I asked her
if she knew in what city or town he was. She
said she did not. So I reminded her that
while it was true that Connecticut was a very
small place on the map, it was a large place to
search to find a man, and I could not see how I
could help her, unless she could tell me where he
was, or give me some idea where to commence my
search. She could not do this, so I had to again
blight her hopes by showing her that I was utterly
unable to render her any assistance, and I shall
never forget her look as she left my house, sad
and broken in spirit, feeling that her last hope
had fled. She thanked me for my kindness to
her, and appreciated my willingness to assist her
in offering to do anything that was in my power.
I told her if I should hear of him I would let her
know, but not to build any hopes, as I could not
hold out any encouragement to her.
The next day turned out to be beautiful and
warm, so I drove my wife and little baby down to
Bridgeport, a distance of eleven miles from Step
ney. Driving through Broad Street, I met the
postmaster of the city, whom I knew very well. I
30

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

asked him if he knew a man called R  in
Bridgeport. He said: "Yes, there is a John
R  just below herel" I said: "Well, it is
Frank R  I am looking for ; but I will try it
anyway." Driving on to the number he gave me,
I got out of my carriage and rang the door bell.
A young man answered it, and I said: "Is this
Mr. John R  ?" He said: "Yes, sir." And
without the least thought, I said: "How is your
brother Frank ?" "Oh, he is fine ; doing nicely,"
he replied. I asked him where he was now, as
I would like to see him, having been a pastor
once not far from their home in Astoria. He
said : "Well, Frank got into a little trouble some
time ago, and mother thought it best for him to
leave home, so she bought a farm called the
H  farm, in Monroe, where they are now set
tled, and Frank is running it." I knew the farm
and said: "That is strange, he is only about a
mile and a half from my church ; I will call and
see him." I had a hard time to conceal my joy
over the fact that I had located him. Driving
back to Stepney, I hitched up my other horse,
telling Mrs. Jones as I drove out of the gate that I
should not be long, as I was only going over to
Monroe. I drove over quite fast, and just as I
reached the farm, the young man for whom I was
searching made his appearance. I recognized
him from the likeness to his brother. I thought :
31

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

"Now I will try this fellow by making him think
I am a detective." I was clad in an ordinary citi
zen's suit, which would not indicate that I was a
minister, so I said to him: "Hitch my horse
somewhere out of the wind ; blanket him well, as
I am very choice of him." If I had never been
informed of the character of this man I should
have known there was something about him that
was wrong, and that he was expecting trouble.
I carried out my object of deception for several
minutes, then told him I was the Baptist minister
from Stepney, and was out making acquaint
ances in that part of the country, and was ex
ceedingly glad to meet him, and gave him a cor
dial invitation to call on me, and attend our ser
vices, which he promised to do. As I left him,
I said : "Frank, we are both young men ; the only
difference between us is I am trying to follow the
Saviour, who, when He saw a woman in distress,
pitied her, and I hope some day to see that same
character portrayed in Frank R  ." I
thought possibly that might cause him to think of
the past. I saw nothing of him at the church, so
three weeks later called upon him, inquiring after
his health and so on, at which time he introduced
me to his mother. I found her such a person as
I could well understand would teach her boy al
most anything that was bad.
After my return to the village that morning,
32

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

I telegraphed Mrs. B  , whom I had learned
was the wife of one of the wealthiest merchants
in New Haven, that I had found the young man
whom she had been seeking, asking her to come
over and see me, which she did that afternoon.
And when I told her where he was, she imme
diately wanted to go to him and plead with him
to do what was right by her niece. I begged her
not to do it, however, and asked her to leave it
entirely with me, and give me plenty of time, and
I thought it would be all right. This she agreed
to do. I saw a great deal of Frank the next four
weeks, and then sent this message to Mrs. B  :
"Go to New York on the morning train, get
Annie and the child. Return on the 7:15 this
evening. I will meet you at the station. Don't
fail." I went down to the station to see if she
was on board the train, as she had to pass
through Stepney on her way to New York, and
found she was. I had no time to speak to her ex
cept to say, "Good morning," as the train only
stopped a few seconds. I met the evening train,
taking my man with me, he driving my surrey — I
was in a buggy. They arrived, the aunt, niece,
and little girl, who was then four years old. I
whispered to Mrs. B  : "Say nothing to this
driver, but go with him over to the parsonage."
She asked: "Where are you going?" I an
swered : "I am going over after Frank, as I in-
33

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

tend to marry him to your niece this evening."
She said: "What! have you told him?" I said:
"No, he does not even surmise I know anything
about it." "Then how do you know you will
marry him?" she asked. I answered that I was
reasonably sure I would be able to accomplish my
purpose; for her to do as I requested her and
wait the result.
It was dusk when I arrived at the H 
farm. Frank was coming out of the gate
way bearing a pail of warm water intended
for the poultry, as it was an exceedingly bitter
cold evening. Hailing him, I said : "I wish to see
you, Frank, when you are through. I will meet you
up by the bam." After waitirig a few minutes,
he appeared. Extending my hand to him, I said :
"Frank, do you think I am your friend or your
enemy ?" He said : "I think you are my friend."
Then I said : "Have I at any time, by any word or
act, showed you that I knew you to be one of the
most contemptible men that God ever allowed to
live ?" He looked at me in amazement, and asked
me what I meant. I said : "Do you know Annie
C  ?" He said: "I do." "You know what I
mean then, Frank, as I know the whole story, and
have known it since the day before I first met
you, and I have two witnesses to prove your
guilt." "I know better," he said ; "but I presume
you mean the girl herself and Bessie S  ." I
34

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

answered: "I never heard of Bessie S  ; that
makes three, as I simply had Annie's statement
and the little girl's face: for believe me, Frank,
Edna is the image of you." He asked how I
knew that, and if I knew where the little one was.
I told him she and her mother were at my house,
where they would stay, and if he would not pro
vide for that child, I would. "What do you wish
me to do then?" he asked. I said: "All I wish
you to do, Frank, is to be a man: marry Annie
simply to give her little innocent tot a name."
He said : "I never will !" I said : "Yes, you will,
Frank, I feel sure." After pleading with him
some time, he said : "Well, sir, I will do it if my
mother will allow me to."
Taking him at his word, I asked where
his mother was. He informed me that she was in
the house, so we went there to tell her, and I
never in my life experienced such a time as I
did then. Never had I received such a tongue
thrashing as that woman gave me. I stood there
looking at her, but never said a word until she
was through, then, turning so as to point
at her daughter, a young lady sitting in the room,
I said to this unnatural mother : "My dear wom
an, you may talk as you see fit ; but I have never
yet seen any one who was guilty of a crime, but
that in some way or other it has come back to
them. Remember that you have a daughter, and
35

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN
take care that God does not punish you for the
way you are standing between this man, your
son, and the right." She was rather ashamed of
herself and said : "Well, he can do as he sees fit."
Turning to Frank, I said : "You hear that, Frank.
What will you do?" He said : "Well, I will do it,
sir, and will be over to your place in about an
hour's time." I asked him what he meant. He
answered : "I will have to shave and change my
clothes, and will hitch up my horse and come
right over." I said : "No, you wont, Frank ; we
lost you once, but we don't propose to lose you
twice. My buggy is large enough for two — you
will come just as you are, with me." He did not
want to do that, but at last yielded to my en
treaty. We drove over to the parsonage and,
opening the door, there stood Annie with the
little tot by her side. I said : "Annie, Frank has
come over to see you and Edna." They greeted
each other, and the facial expressions exhibited
by them will never be erased from my memory.
I told Annie that Frank had come to do what
was right by her, and, calling the aunt aside, said:
"Before I can marry them, I have to get a li
cense, and the town clerk is four miles from
here. I would rather not go for him, as I want
to be with Frank." Then she said: "Spare no
expense, but send for him." I went down to the
36

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

Methodist minister and asked him if he would
allow his coachman to go over to Monroe for me
on a matter of importance. He consented gladly,
and I said to Mr. Powell, his man: "Make the
best time you can. Tell Mr. Nicolson, the town
clerk, to come over to the Baptist parsonage im
mediately, and bring a marriage license with him,
as I would pay him well." It was then 8:30.
Two hours passed, still no town clerk appeared.
Frank was getting rather restless and he said:
"Mr. Jones, I will have to be going." I assured
him they would soon come, and just then, to my
great delight and relief, Mr. Nicolson appeared.
I went out to the dining-room where the town
clerk was and speaking to him said: "You know
this young man well ; I want you to give him a
kind word and encourage him for the stand he
is about to take." He took my hand and prom
ised me he would do so. "But I thought some one
was dying," he said, "as I could not imagine why
you would send for me in such haste such a night
as this." We filled out the license, then went into
the parlor, the town clerk and Mrs. B  acting
as witnesses. Taking my place in the centre of the
room, I told Frank and Annie where to stand;
little Edna, their child, walked over of her own ac
cord and took the hand of her mother. Looking
at them, I said : "I am not going to ask you to
make one promise that you will not keep. I will
37

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

simply ask a promise of you which when you
make it will be immediately fulfilled, and all else
we will leave with God." So, looking at Frank, I
said : "Frank R  , will you take Annie C 
to be your wife?" He said: "I will." Then I
asked Annie : "Annie C  , will you take Frank
R  to be your husband ?" She said : "I will."
After this I simply said : "In accordance with the
laws of this State and by the authority vested in
me as a minister of the Gospel, I pronounce you
husband and wife. I have not asked you to
love each other or anything of that kind ; I have
simply accomplished what I was anxious to do —
the giving of this little one a name."
I then asked Frank to kiss the child. He picked
her up in his arms, tears running down his cheeks,
and nestled her close to his bosom. Then I said :
"Kiss your wife, Frank." He replied: "Never,
sir, I cannot do that." I said : "Very well, then I
will not urge you to." Before leaving his home,
I promised his mother that I would take him
back that night, so we started out, and had driven
about a mile when the two front wheels of my
vehicle refused to turn. We got out and found
that we had two hot boxes; it was then nearly
one in the morning. We pounded on the door of
a farmhouse right near where we had stopped.
Getting the farmer up, we asked him for some
kerosene oil to pour on the axles. He gave it to
38

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

us, and after working about fifteen or twenty
minutes, we could turn the wheels around. Get
ting backinto the carriage, we continued our jour
ney, reaching Frank's home in safety. I took him
by the hand and said: "Frank, may God bless
you ; and remember that if all others should turn
their backs upon you, I will still be your friend.
Do what is right and I will stand by you." I re
turned home greatly satisfied with what had been
done. I tried to see Frank after that, but could
find no trace of him, so we decided that he had
run away.
About three months after the marriage, at the
close of the service one Sunday morning, going
back to the parsonage, Mrs. Jones met me at the
front door and said: "Frank R  is here; he
has come for Annie." Realizing what the man
had been in the past, I was a little suspicious, so
went in and said : "Frank, what does this mean ?"
He said: "Well, sir, after I returned home the
night you married me, my mother made it so un
comfortable for me, I decided to leave the farm,
so went to New York and obtained a position. I
have furnished an apartment there and have come
now to get my wife and child." They left us
that night and started for their New York home.
We corresponded with them, but all of a sudden,
they dropped entirely from our view.
Many of my church people criticised me for
39

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

having married them, but I maintained that if the
ministry was not to lift up the fallen, then I had
mistaken my calling, because in helping them
morally, I was simply doing what Jesus did when
He said to the woman: "Woman, neither do I
condemn thee : go, and sin no more."

40

CHAPTER V.
A MEETING FOR MEN AT THE CHURCH AT WHITE
HILLS, CONN. AN IMPORTANT
PERSON PRESENT.
WHITE HILLS was about eight or nine
miles from my church. One even
ing I received a pressing invitation
to go over there and conduct a meeting for
men only at the First Baptist Church. I con
sented to do it and drove over the first Sunday
morning in September, 1894. A large number of
men were present. In fact, I was surprised to
find so many men in that community, but I
learned after the meeting that many of them had
driven over from Shelton and other nearby towns.
I took as my subject: "Be men," urging them
to realize the true meaning of the word "men"
and holding up to them that true type of manhood
as it was portrayed in the life of our Lord and
Master, Jesus Christ. We had a blessed meeting,
and at the close of my remarks I gave an invi
tation for any young man to hold up his hand
who felt that he wanted to turn over a new leaf
41

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

and start anew, striving to do what was right.
A number of men accepted the invitation. After
the audience had dispersed, I noticed, besides the
committee who had invited me to speak, a gentle
man who was a stranger to me. I could tell, how
ever, from his appearance, that he was a man
well-to-do, but I never dreamed who he was. He
came up to me, and, taking me by the hand, said :
"Mr. Jones, I heard you were to be here this morn
ing, so I came to hear you. You certainly seem to
have the right way of getting along with men.
You are the kind of a man that should be a chap
lain either in the Navy or in the Army. Why
don't you go in the Navy?" I replied: "Well,
sir, if you will tell me why the President of the
United States has not appointed me, I will tell
you why I am not a chaplain, as that is the only
reason." Then he asked me if I had ever applied
for the position; to which I answered in the
negative. "Would you like to be a chaplain?"
he inquired. I said: "Yes, sir, it has been the
height of my ambition and the aim of my life
ever since I became a minister, to be a chaplain
in the Navy, but I don't know what to do to ob
tain such an appointment." Then he said: "I
will tell you, and if you will do it I will aid you .
all I can, as I really believe you to be a man es
pecially adapted for that calling. You get up an
application, have it endorsed by ministers and
42

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

prominent men; do not make the mistake that is
usually made in having a number of ward politi
cians to endorse you, but get letters from clergy
men and men of good standing in your district,
and if you will send them to me, I will present
them to the Secretary of the Navy myself." I
thanked him, and inquired whom I had the honor
of addressing. He said: "I am D. N. Morgan,
the United States Treasurer, and anything I can
do for you, I will gladly do it." You can imagine
my surprise. I thanked him and left the church,
got in my buggy, and drove back home. I
thought a great deal of what had happened as I
drove along the road. Going into the parson
age, I told Mrs. Jones all about it. She was not as
favorably impressed with the idea as I was, be
cause the first thing that she mentioned was that
it would separate us, as I would have to go to sea.
I told her I was going to think it over and in all
probability would file an application, and after
due consideration prepared the following :
Stepney, Conn.,
September i8th, 1894.
To THE Honorable the Secretary of the
Navy, Washington, D. C.
Sir:
The undersigned respectfully applies for an
appointment in the Corps of Navy Chaplains and
43

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

represents that he was born on the I2th day of
July, 1864, that his legal residence is at Stepney,
Fairfield County, Connecticut, that he is a mem
ber of the Baptist denomination and at present
pastor of the First Baptist Church at said
Stepney. Respectfully,
Harry W. Jones.
Stepney, Conn.,
September i8th, 1894.
We, the undersigned, recommend the Rev.
Harry W. Jones for the foregoing appointment,
knowing him to be thoroughly competent for the
position for which he applies, and we respectfully
ask that he be appointed thereto.
We believe that his appointment would give
general satisfaction.
This was endorsed by clergymen of all denomi
nations, among them being a Roman Catholic
priest who was the rector of the leading church
of his faith in Bridgeport. Besides obtaining the
signatures of ministers, I had merchants of good
standing, physicians, the Board of Education, to
gether with several men of prominence in our
community. To strengthen this application, I
also sent letters from persons who knew me well :
a few of which were as follows :
44

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

20 East 120TH Street, New York,
October 24th, 1894.
To THE Honorable the Secretary of the
Navy.
Respected Sir:
I hereby most earnestly recommend the Rev.
Harry W. Jones for the position of Chaplain in
the Navy. I have been personally and intimately
acquainted with him for years, and know him to
be a man of most excellent Christian character,
bright, wide awake, and especially attractive to
young men. I believe him to have rare and pe
culiar gifts that fit him for the position for which
he has applied. Respectfully yours,
J. L. Campbell, D.D.,
Pastor Lexington Avenue Baptist Church,
New York City.
358 West 57TH Street, New York,
October 24th, 1894.
To THE Honorable the Secretary of the
Navy.
Dear Sir:
I have learned that the Rev. H. W. Jones is
seeking an appointment in the Corps of Navy
Chaplains. His application, with its list of en
dorsements, I have read with interest and ap
proval. He has been known to me for the past
45

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

few years as a consistent Christian man, an ear
nest preacher and a devoted pastor. It would
give me much pleasure to know that he had re
ceived the appointment for which he makes ap
plication. I feel assured that he will earnestly
strive to do his whole duty toward those under
his ministry, toward the Government which may
appoint him, and toward the common Lord and
Master of us all, whose servant he is.
Very truly yours,
R. S. MacArthur, D.D.,
Pastor Calvary Baptist Church.
Bridgeport, Conn.,
October 30th, 1894.
To the Honorable the Secretary of the
Navy.
My Dear Sir:
As a neighboring pastor, I have known person
ally and by reputation the Rev. H. W. Jones as a
Christian and courteous gentleman, spoken well
of and looked up to with respect by those in the
community where he resides. I believe he is well
qualified for such a position as he seeks. He is
earnest, sympathetic, and desirous of doing good
and elevating and saving especially the young
men. He loves men for their souls' value.
Yours very truly, G. W. Nicholson,
Pastor First Baptist Church.
46

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

These and several others I forwarded to the
Honorable D. N. Morgan, together with my ap
plication, and on November 2d, 1894, received
this letter from him :
Treasury Department, Office of the Treas
urer, Washington, D. C,
November ist, 1894.
Rev. H. W. Jones, Lock Box 213, Stepney,
Conn.
My Dear Sir:
Your esteemed favor of the 30th of October is
just at hand. I have placed the enclosed letters
with the Secretary of the Navy with my endorse
ment of their standing and worthiness of full
consideration. I do not think you can do more,
and hope among the many applications that you
may be successful. Respectfully yours,
Daniel N. Morgan.
At the time I made application, there were
two vacancies existing in the Corps of Navy
Chaplains. I watched the papers daily to see if
any Chaplains were appointed. On the 2d of
March, 1895, 1 read in the New York Herald that
the Rev. John B. Frazier of Tennessee and the
Rev. John P. Chidwick of New York had been
appointed Chaplains of the Navy. There being
47

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

only two vacancies, I of course gave the matter
up and settled down once more for good, earnest
work with my people, realizing that though I had
not been appointed, much as I would like to have
been, I had not left unturned one stone that might
have done me good, and I was encouraged with
the thought that I had applied for the Chaplaincy
before I passed the age limit, because if anything
should ever happen in my life to cause me to look
back to days gone by, I would not be able to
accuse myself by saying: "You should have
applied to be a Chaplain when you had an oppor
tunity," believing that if God did not want me in
the Navy, I would succeed as a pastor on shore.
I wrote to Mr. Morgan, thanking him for his
kindness to me, and then let the matter of the
Chaplaincy drop from my mind, informing my
people I would still remain with them as their
pastor, for how long though I could not say.

48

CHAPTER VI.
A FOX caught in HIS OWN TRAP. AN INTEREST
ING TRIAL AT THE MONROE COURT HOUSE.
ONE Sunday while my application for the
Chaplaincy was pending, a young
lawyer who was chairman of our So
ciety's Committee or, as they are termed in some
States, Board of Trustees, called at the study to
see me. He was a man anyone would believe was
greatly interested in Stepney, judging from the
way he acted. He resided there with his parents,
but practised law in the city of Bridgeport. The
object of his call was to induce me to start a Law
and Order League. The aim of this League was
the enforcing of the law. Stepney had voted no
license, but there were a number of the farmers
throughout the section continually violating the
law by selling liquor without a license. Two or
three of these farmers were Irishmen, and my
lawyer friend remarked that he was determined
to break up this system of violating the law,
and put a stop to it. He said: "I wish, pastor,
that you would take hold of this matter, and every
49

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

case we find, I will prosecute free of charge. I
am especially anxious," he continued, "to catch
these Irishmen." I said: "Well, my brother, I
will not pose here as a fanatic or attempt anything
as an individual pastor or independent church, but
if you will persuade the other ministers of the
place to join you in this matter, I will do my part ;
but as to my going ahead alone, I absolutely re
fuse." Then he said : "You will assist if I can get
the other ministers to co-operate with you?" I
said: "Certainly; anything for the good of the
community that the churches may agree upon, I
am with them." He said: "All right, I will see
you as soon as I have consulted the other minis
ters and report my success or failure." I said:
"Very well, I shall be glad to hear from you."
Later that evening he returned and was delighted
over the fact that all the churches had consented
to his plan, and had requested him to have me call
a union meeting to be held in our church the fol
lowing Friday night. I said: "Very well, I will
announce it this evening." Going to the church
at the usual hour, before preaching the sermon, I
announced that the chairman of our Society's
Committee had interested himself in the commun
ity, he being very anxious to enforce the law in
regard to the selling of liquor without a license,
and through his efforts we would hold a union
meeting in our church the following Friday even-
So

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

ing at eight o'clock, as all the churches had agreed
to co-operate with us in forming a Law and Order
League.
i Friday night came, and we had a tre
mendous turn out, and were fortunate in having
with us the State Secretary of the League, whose
headquarters was New Haven. He gave us a
very practical talk on the workings of the League,
urging the people to organize a branch to be
known as the Monroe Branch of the Law and Or
der League of the State of Connecticut. At the
close of his remarks, the young lawyer sprang to
his feet, and was very enthusiastic in all he had
to say, dwelling upon the way these Irishmen
were bringing disgrace to the place, and he, as a
lawyer, was determined to put a stop to it, and
every case we had, he would prosecute without
expense either to the League or State. Then he
proposed me as the Secretary of our local League.
I jumped up and declined. My wife also begged
me not to take the office, as the duty of the Secre
tary was to seek out persons who were violating
the law, then enter a complaint and procure a
search warrant for the League's detectives to
search the various buildings, all of which I knew
would tend to make me, a minister, very unpopu
lar. Turning to the lawyer, I said: "Should I
take this office, remember, were I to catch my own
father violating the law, I would have him ar-
51

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

rested just as quickly as I would yours." He
said: "That is just it, brother, that is entirely what
we want — a man who will have no fear." And
after a great deal of persuasion, I accepted the
office, much against the wishes of Mrs. Jones,
however. We adjourned to meet at some future
date, it being left to me as Secretary to call the
next meeting.
Three months had passed and nothing
had been said or done publicly of the
work accomplished by the League. The news
papers were making a great deal of sport of this
Law and Order League that had sprung up so
suddenly in the Baptist Church of Stepney one
night, and to all appearances had died there and
then a natural death. I said nothing, but all the
time I was getting my information, and watching
suspicious places, keeping three in close surveil
lance where I was sure rum was being sold. At
last the time arrived when I was ready to search
the premises. How to get my detectives into the
village without their being seen was a study. At
last the idea presented itself to me. Our ladies
were going to have a new carpet in the church.
It was to be brought from Bridgeport the next
Friday, and it so happened that Friday was the
day one of these farmers went to Bridgeport
with his produce and returned with his rum. I
went to Bridgeport early that Friday morning
52

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

and telegraphed to the head office of the Law
and Order League at New Haven to send me six
detectives, so that they would arrive in Bridge
port that afternoon. Then I went to the mer
chant from whom our ladies had purchased the
carpet for the church, and asked him if he was
ready to fulfil his contract and deliver to us that
day the carpet our ladies ordered. He said: "I
am; our wagon will be ready in about twenty
minutes' time." "Well, then, you hold it until I
return," I said. "I will be here about four
o'clock; it will not be necessary for you to send
any men, as I will have six men with me who
will go up with your driver in the wagon."
I was delighted with the scheme. I went down
to the station at Bridgeport and met the detectives
on their arrival, and took them over to the store.
Revealing to them the secret, they all agreed that
the scheme was an admirable one. Getting into
the wagon, they proceeded to Stepney. I re
turned in my private carriage, which allowed me
to reach the parsonage some time ahead of them.
I had the church door open ready for them as
soon as they appeared ; and it was amusing to see
those great, big, burly fellows tugging at that
carpet, as they took it into the church. After
they had taken it in, the wagon returned to
Bridgeport. I shut the doors and then the de
tectives commenced hammering, to make the
53

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

passers by believe they were laying the carpet.
After a while the hammering ceased. Letting
them out through the rear door of the church,
they went over to the parsonage, where we had
supper prepared for them. After supper we went
down to the bam, it then being dark, hitched my
horses, one to the surrey, the other to the buggy ;
and when all was ready, I returned to the house ;
but before going, I told the detectives that when
I lighted the lamp in my study, they should drive
out of the gate, as that would be a signal that one
of the men I was looking for had returned from
Bridgeport. I did not have to keep them waiting long be
fore I saw a light drive in the gateway
leading to the farmhouse we intended searching,
and very soon there were lights coming from all
directions, as the men of the community, carrying
lanterns, would go over to get what they had or
dered. I lighted the lamp, then ran downstairs
and met the detectives at the front of the parson
age. We drove into the farmyard. I left two
detectives in charge at the wagon, which had just
returned from Bridgeport, two I stationed at the
front door of the house, and two I took with me
around to the rear. A great, gruff farmer met
me and said : "What do you want here ?" I re
plied : "I want just what I am after, sir ; I have a
warrant to search your premises." Then he said :
54

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

"You will search them over my dead body." I said :
"We are willing to do that if it is necessary. Do
not stand in the way of the law, as I have a war
rant to go through your house ; and go through it
we will, dead or alive." He dared us. Looking
at the detectives, I said: "Gentlemen, proceed."
And in they went, leaving the farmer gazing after
us, but never attempting any violence. While we
were searching the house, the other detectives
searched the wagon, and before we left the prem
ises found quite a quantity of liquor. We ar
rested the man and took him before Justice
Hayes. Then I went for the young lawyer, and
told him we had a case for him, and he was de
lighted. He said : "I was sure the thing existed,
and now we will make an example of this case."
We went to the house of the Justice of the Peace,
and, to the amazement of the young lawyer, who
should stand before him as the first prisoner to
be tried, but his uncle, and I never saw such an
indignant man as this young attorney was, when
he saw what we had done. I don't know whether
he knew his uncle was in the business or not, but
I knew it the night we organized, when I made
the statement that, should I catch my own
father violating the law, I would arrest him just
as soon as I would his. The case was set for
the next Tuesday, so his nephew went his bond.
Leaving the house of the Justice of the Peace,
55

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

I led the detectives to the next place where I was
satisfied the same state of affairs existed. Arriv
ing there, we got out of the carriage and com
menced pounding on the door of the farmhouse,
but received no reply. At last a man put his head
out of the bedroom window and shouted:
"Who's there?" I said : "It is I, the Baptist min
ister. Open the door." "Oh," he says, "it is you,
is it ? Then I will see you somewhere else before I
will ever open my door to let you in." I said:
"I will give you just one minute to open the door.
If it is not opened at the end of that time, I will
break the door down, as I have with me six
officers of the law." The door was promptly
opened. Our Irish host greeted us most cordially,
and said : "Come in, gentlemen, make a thorough
search — I know what you are up to." And we
commenced searching, first the house, then the
barn, and all the outsheds, and found nothing.
The detectives said to me: "Mr. Jones, there is
nothing here, we had better go home." I said:
"There is one place we have not searched, and
that place will be searched before we leave this
house." The old Irishman eyed me, and then he
said: "Go ahead, search any place you like."
Then I said; "Gentlemen, follow me." We re
turned to the bedroom, where the man's wife was
still in bed, it being a large box-shape folding ar
rangement. Now I said: "Gentlemen, if you had
56

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

come to my house to search my premises, my wife
would have been out of bed before I was. I will
admit it is not very polite for me to request it,
but I must do it ; this lady must get up and let us
look through that bed." Her husband protested,
and the more he protested, the more we were con
vinced there was something besides a woman in
the bed. She refused to get up. Then I said:
"Madam, if you will not get up, these detectives
will lift you out of the bed, so you had better
throw the bedding around you and get up of your
own accord." This she did when she saw we
were determined. We searched the bed and
found several pints of Uquor under the mattress.
We arrested the man and took him before the
same Justice of the Peace that the other prisoner
had been taken before, and he, likewise, was held
under a hundred-dollar bond until the next
Tuesday. The trial took place in the Monroe Court
House. The young lawyer had previously sent
word to me that he would not be able to prose
cute the cases, so I had better get some other at
torney to attend to them. I went down to Bridge
port and secured the liquor prosecuting attorney
to come up and attend to the cases for us. And
instead of the worthy chairman doing as he so
treely offered to do at our first meeting of the
League, he secured a Newtown lawyer to defend
his uncle. His uncle, after being accused, pleaded
57

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

not guilty. Then I took the stand as chief witness
for the State. His lawyer, after I was sworn,
commenced his examination; he made me state
all I knew of the case, which I did in very quick
order. Then, looking at me, he said: "What is
your name?" I said: "Harry W. Jones." "How
old are you?" he asked. I replied: "I don't
know." He said: "You mean to tell me, you
don't know how old you are?" I said: "I mean
to tell you, sir, just that." Then he said: "Do
you dare to pose as an intelligent man, and have
the audacity to tell me, before this court, that
you do not know your age?" I said : "I do, sir."
Then, turning to the judge, the lawyer requested
him to compel me to answer his question. The
judge, addressing me, said: "Mr. Jones, you are
to answer these questions if you can." I said:
"Well, your honor, my mother told me I was born
the 1 2th day of July, 1864, but when she told me
it, she was not under oath ; I am." Continuing, I
said : "If my mother was correct, I am thirty-one
years of age." The lawyer then asked me : "Is it
true, Mr. Jones, that you have been to State's
prison?" I said : "Yes, sir, it is." "I thought so,"
he said, "from what I have heard." Then, turn
ing to the court, he said: "Gentlemen, you see
this man, who is a jail bird himself, now trying
to be a New York City Parkhurst on a small
scale, and seeking only notoriety and his own
popularity." "Mr. Jones," he said, "you will in-
58

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

form the court why you were sent to prison?"
Turning to the judge, I said : "Your honor, who
is on trial here, the prisoner or H. W. Jones?"
The judge repHed: "The prisoner; but I think
the question asked you is in order." "Then, your
honor," I replied, "when I was connected with
the Y. M. C. A., I was chairman of the prison
work, and went to the prison every Sunday after
noon to hold meetings; that was why I went to
jail." The lawyer became furious. The prose
cuting attorney, before I took the stand, said : "If
you can only rattle this lawyer, Mr. Jones, we
have our case ; he will undoubtedly ask you mean
and contemptible questions; but if you can only
keep cool, we will come out on top." So I knew
what I was doing all the time I was evading his
direct question, and at last he informed me that
would do. Then different witnesses took the
stand, and, after a thorough examination, the
prosecution was finished. And at three o'clock
that afternoon, a verdict of guilty was brought in,
with $138 fine and six weeks' imprisonment. The
case was appealed, and though I was in the State
nearly a year after that, there was sufficient in
fluence brought to bear to keep it out of
the higher courts, so I don't know to this day
what became of the case.
After the first case was finished, the other
prisoner was tried, and in a very short time he
59

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

was found guilty and fined $58 and costs, which
he paid immediately.
The young lawyer made a statement after the
trial that he and his people would run me out of
the town in less than three months, as they were
all members of my church excepting the uncle
who was arrested. I told him : "Go ahead and do
your best ; I am only doing my duty, and will do
it to the end." Instead of injuring me at the
church, my congregations continued to grow;
there were a number of additions to the member
ship; and everything flourished until early in
June, when my little girl was taken ill. Her
sickness was such that it completely wore her
mother and myself out, we being up so much
with her, so I was compelled, on the sixth of July,
to close my ministry with this people, intending
to take a rest, and I preached my farewell ser
mon that night, and the following Wednesday
our little darling passed away. Saturday, when
we left the place, a white hearse led the way for
us, bearing the remains of our only child. We
drove to Bridgeport, where we took the New
York, New Haven & Hartford cars for Wood-
lawn Cemetery, New York, where the interment
took place. I committed the little darling to the
grave. From there we went to my wife's home
in New York, and for several weeks her life was
despaired of. 60

CHAPTER VII.
A VISIT FROM MY SISTER.
WHEN our little one died, we expected
my oldest sister to arrive from Eng
land the following Saturday. That
was the reason why we kept her little body so
long; but late on Friday night I received a tele
gram from the Cunard Steamship Company, in
forming me that, in all probability, the steam
ship "Umbria" would not reach New York until
late on Sunday night, or early Monday morning.
I immediately consulted the undertaker as to the
advisability of keeping little Mabel's body until
Monday afternoon, as my sister had never seen
her, notwithstanding the fact that the child was
fifteen months old when she died. He strongly
advised me not to do it, but to have the funeral,
as we had arranged, on Saturday, so we did as he
suggested. When I arrived at New York Satur
day evening with Mrs. Jones, after we had buried
our little one, I was greatly surprised to learn that
the "Umbria" had arrived. I immediately went
down to her dock, but could find no trace of my
sister. I then visited the hotels where she would
6i

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

be likely to go, but still could learn nothing of
her. I gave up the search until Sunday morn
ing, when I visited two or three hotels, with the
same result as the day before — only to find disap
pointment awaiting me. I then went to the New
York Central Baggage Room, thinking I might
possibly see her baggage there. It not being
there, I went over to the New York, New Haven
& Hartford Baggage Room, and the first thing I
saw there was her baggage. The next question
was, What had become of Emma? I asked the
baggage master if he knew anything of the lady
to whom these trunks belonged? He replied:
"Yes, sir, she has gone to Stepney, Conn., to see
her brother." I said: "Well, sir, I am that
brother. When did she leave here?" He an
swered: "On the three o'clock train Saturday
afternoon." Then I knew that she had passed
Woodlawn Cemetery while I was conducting the
services for our little pet, as the cars had to pass
there. I telegraphed inquiring about her to Mr.
A. B. Curtiss, one of the members of the Stepney
Baptist Church, who was a very prominent mer
chant at that place. I received an answer saying
she was there, and would return to New York
that evening. My wife and I met her at the sta
tion, and it was a very sad meeting for us, for
my sister, when leaving England, had not even
heard that our child was seriously ill.
62

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

After we reached the home of my wife's people,
she commenced relating her experiences by say
ing how disappointed she was at not finding me
at the dock to meet her, as she expected I would,
on the arrival of the ship, and that, being a
stranger in New York, she did not know where to
go; so she thought the best thing she could do
was to go to Stepney, as there she would be sure
to find me ; but, continuing, said : "You can im
agine my disappointment when alighting from the
cars to find not a single person at the station. I
stood there for some time ; and at last Mr. Curtiss
came up and very politely inquired if I was ex
pecting any one. I replied: 'Yes, I expect my
brother, the Baptist minister, at any moment, as
I telegraphed him before leaving New York that
I would be on this train.' He replied: 'Well,
madam, I am sorry to inform you that your
brother evidently did not get your telegram, as
he left here this morning with Mrs. Jones. They
took their little baby away with them.' 'That is
impossible,' I said, 'as he would not go away when
he knew I was coming to visit him.' " Mr. Cur
tiss, realizing that she was not aware of the sad
news, informed her that we had gone away to
bury our little child. "Can it be possible," she said,
"that Harry's baby is dead ?" "Yes, Miss Jones,"
he replied, "I am sorry to say it is; and Mrs.
Jones is in a terrible condition over her sad loss."
63

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

That ended the conversation on this solemn
subject that evening, as I was very anxious to get
Mrs. Jones's mind away from her trouble. I was
so glad that my sister had come, as she was of
the greatest assistance when going around to var
ious places of interest with us, trying, as she did
all the time, to divert our thoughts from the past.
The time arrived for her to leave us, and we felt
very sad. Before going that morning, she said :
"Harry, mother sent some things to little Mabel.
What shall I do with them?" I said: "By all
means leave them." Then she began to take from
her trunk first the little slippers, then the tiny
dresses, and a little baby hood, which actually
caused us to feel we were burying our little one
again. My wife picked them up and kissed them,
saying : "Our little darling will never wear these
things." I said : "No, Anna ; baby has no need of
such. She has been plucked as a tiny lily from
our little garden, and has been transplanted by
the Heavenly Husbandman into that garden
where death and sorrow will never mar her hap
piness again. She is clothed now in the pure,
spotless garments of the Saviour, who is the same
Christ who, when on earth, picked little ones up
in His arms, 'put His hands upon them, and
blessed them,' and He has picked up our little
darling and nestled her fondly to His bosom, and
by and by when all is ended here for us, we shall
64

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

meet her again in His kingdom." After, this con
versation, my wife seemed to feel more composed,
but it was several weeks before she was herself
again. Looking back to-day, we can thank God that
even our sorrows have been a blessing to us. We
both feel, when called upon to mourn with those
who have been bereaved of loved ones, that we
can approach them in a different spirit, having
passed through the same waters that they are
passing through ; and we can see how everything
in our lives, even our sorrows, have been the
clipped-winged messengers of God's love. My
sister left us, after being with us about two weeks,
to visit our relatives at Toronto, Canada. A few
weeks after her departure, my youngest sister,
Bessie, arrived from England, remaining with us
a short time, when she, too, left us to visit our
people in Canada.

6$

CHAPTER VIII.
TWO PECULIAR WEDDINGS.
AS I had concluded not to accept a call to
any church until my wife had thorough
ly recovered, I frequently went to
churches just to supply their pulpit for one or
two Sundays. The church at Mariner's Harbor,
Staten Island, where I was acquainted, invited
me to occupy the pulpit during the month of
August, when their pastor was away on his va
cation. I also went there and conducted the
prayer-meetings on Friday evenings. These
meetings were exceedingly helpful to me, and
though only with this church a brief period, I
learned to love them, and have cherished the
kindliest feelings toward them ever since. Go
ing there one Friday night, I told Mrs. Jones I
would return home about ten o'clock. I was
delayed, so did not return until 1 1 :30. When
I reached the house, I was surprised to see it
brightly lighted up, as there was nothing going
on of any importance, that I knew of, when I
left. As I opened the door, a young man was
standing inside of the room, and, with a most
67

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN
peculiar grin and broken accent, said, laughing
between every word: "I guess you know, sir,
what I want." I said: "Oh, yes, I can surmise.
I presume you want me to marry you." Continu
ing to laugh, he said : "Yes, sir, that is just it." I
asked him if he had waited long. He said : "No,
we got here about seven o'clock; I went out for
half an hour and tried to get another minister,
but could not find any, so I came back, and we
decided to wait for you" — which caused me to
see he had waited about four hours. I filled out
the license, and was about to perform the cere
mony, when he said: "Make it as brief as you
can, please, sir ; we are in a hurry." I said : "Oh,
yes, I will." So, in less time than it takes me to
write it, I pronounced them husband and wife.
After I had united them in wedlock, I went into
the study and brought out a large batch of certifi
cates, to allow them to select the one they liked
best, as I granted this privilege to all couples I
married. They selected the best certificate I
had — costing me one dollar and eighty-three
cents. I told them I would fill it out and they
could call for it the next day. The groom thanked
me and said: "Good-night, sir; I am much
obliged for your kindness. I left an envelope on
the table for you — I put it under your Bible." I
thanked him and said : "Good-night." Naturally,
the first thing I did was to go and inspect the
68

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

envelope to see what was in it, and, to my amaze
ment, found the whole sum of fifty cents enclosed.
I was indignant; so, getting a certificate that
cost about five cents, I filled it out and wrote a
letter saying that the certificate they had selected
having cost me nearly two dollars, I could not
very well afford to let them have it for so small
a fee as they had given me for marrying them.
I enclosed the cheaper certificate, and told them
that if they wished to remit one dollar and fifty
cents, I would forward the certificate they had
selected; but I heard nothing from them, so I
presume the cheaper one answered every purpose.
A few days later I went down to the Y. M. C.
A. Rooms, 23d Street and Fourth Avenue. I
visited the library and, as I was coming down
from there, I met a young man who asked me
whether I was a minister ? I said : "Why do you
wish to know ?" He replied : "Because they told
me in the office there was a minister up in the
library. I have been up there and, not seeing
any one, thought perhaps you were the one."
"Well, I am a minister," I replied. "What can
I do for you?" He said: "Well, sir, I have a
girl around the corner here on Fourth Avenue
I want to be married to; but if you marry me,
you will have to be quick about it, for her brother
is on his way from Boston, and he swears he will
shoot me on sight." I asked him why, think-
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THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

ing naturally it was a runaway match. He said :
"Well, sir, I forged a certificate which went to
show Dr. Judson had married us, but the young
lady's brother was shrewd enough to write to
the minister about it, and he replied that we were
not married by him." I said: "Then come
around to my house and I will be pleased to help
you do what is right." So, going there, I very
soon pronounced them husband and wife. They
agreed to come for their certificate the next day.
I filled it out, and left word that, should they
come, I wanted at least one dollar and fifty cents
for it. I did not care about the fee, but as the
certificate cost me that much, they would have
to pay me for it. Instead of the young man com
ing for the certificate, he sent his wife. She
looked at it and then, putting it up the sleeve of
her jacket, remarked that it was a very pretty
certificate and that "George would call later and
pay the minister for it." When I was informed
what she had said about having her husband call
and pay for it, I replied : "I guess he never will."
Several months passed, and still I heard nothing
from them, but at last I received a letter from
him, enclosing a check for twenty-five dollars.
At the same time he stated that he and his wife
were doing nicely, went on to congratulate him
self for having found so charming a helpmate,
and thanked me for the way I had helped them.
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THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH AND PARSONAGE, ARLINGTON, N. J.

CHAPTER IX.
AS PASTOR OF THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH,
ARLINGTON, N. J.
THE second Sunday in September of the
same year, I received an invitation to go
to Arlington, N. J., and supply the pul
pit of the First Baptist Church there, with a view
of accepting a call to the pastorate. I went and
preached for them, and at the close of the even
ing services received a cordial invitation to return
there the following Sunday, which I di^. The
first week in November, I received a very gratify
ing call to become their pastor, and accepted it
the second Sunday of that month. The church
was then meeting in a building which had been
previously used as a gymnasium, and when it was
offered for sale, the congregation of the First
Baptist Church purchased it for $i,8oo. The
Sunday after I accepted the call was very stormy.
I entered the pulpit of the church and, looking
down the long, narrow hall, I was surprised to
hear such a tremendous noise on the roof caused
by the rain. I gave out the first hymn, but people
standing at the rear of the building could not hear
71

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

me preach, so I left the pulpit and, walking half
way down the aisle, commenced to talk just as
loud as my lungs would permit. I embraced the
opportunity under most favorable conditions of
commencing a building fund for the erection of
a new church edifice, as I certainly could advocate
the necessity of such a step, judging from the
racket on the roof. My congregation admitted
that the plan was a good one, but advised strong
ly my postponing it until we could advertise we
were going to do it. This I agreed to, announc
ing I would preach a sermon on Sunday, Decem
ber 8th, when an offering would be taken for that
purpose; and as I was informed that this dis
course proved a blessing to many, I insert it here,
with the earnest prayer that it may prove helpful
to the reader. The theme was "Removal, and its
Responsibilities." "If Thy presence go not with me, carry us not
up hence" (Ex. xxxiii. 15).
This is a prayer which has been used hundreds
of times, and which is found quite appropriate
for almost all occasions. Moses was in the
wilderness when he offered it, and about to lead
the children of Israel into Canaan, the land that
flowed with milk and honey ; yet he felt he would
sooner put up with the inconveniences of tent life
in the wilderness, so long as God was with him,
than to enjoy the fatness of the land of Canaan
72

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

without Him. The desert, to Moses, through the
blessings of God, had become like a garden; he
realized that all the gardens and vineyards of
Eshcol would avail him nothing, should God
withdraw His presence from him. All through
the history of the Church Universal, and es
pecially this Church, there have been times when
men have been compelled to fall upon their knees
and earnestly offer this prayer. We can imagine
our Puritan fathers, as they left their native land
to come here to seek the liberty they could not
find at home, bowing their knees before they
boarded the "Mayflower" and devoutly crying:
"If Thy presence go not with me, carry us not up
hence." We see John Bunyan, whom we heard of at Dr.
Chambers's lecture, delivered here on Tuesday
night — after twelve years' confinement in prison,
he had become almost habituated to it — ere he
crossed the threshold, when the time of his im
prisonment was over, looking upon the cold,
damp walls of the prison over the walls at Bed
ford, and saying: "If Thy presence go not with
me, carry us not up hence." Let the dreamer
still remain in his dingy cell, with his God, rather
than permit him to go out into the world, leaving
his Master behind him. When you called me as
your pastor, my prayer was, "If Thy presence go
not with me, carry us not up hence." When you
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THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

have to pass through any of the great changes of
life, and when, in the providence of God, you are
removed from one community to another, you
may well look up to God in prayer and say, "If
Thy presence go not with me, carry us not up
hence." And when our weary pilgrimage is
over, and the hour has come for us to die, when
we stand with one foot on our mother earth and
the other stepping out into eternity, when we
must wade through the Jordan of death, leaving
our friends behind us, what prayer would be more
appropriate than this: "If Thy presence go not
with me, carry us not up hence"? To go any
where, or to do anything without God is terrible ;
but dying without Christ is too awful for me to
describe. To go out trembling Into the cold
waters of death without any helper, or to step
out into the darkness without the kind, gentle
voice saying: "Fear not; my rod and my staff
shall comfort thee, and I am with thee," must be
awful indeed.
We are contemplating the advisability of for
saking this building and erecting a more suitable
structure, with better facilities for church work;
still, inadequate as this building is, there are many
hearts, I hope, who will ever cherish the mem
ories of this place, because Christ has often been
visibly placed before them, and, by the grace of
God, in this hall they were born again. Though
74

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

many advantages will, we hope, follow us when
we shall enter upon a larger and more public
place of worship on Kearny Avenue, where three
times as many people will have the opportunity
of listening to the Word of God as can listen
here, still we all unite in prayer and earnestly de
sire, "If Thy presence go not with me, carry us
not up hence." Here we will remain, unless
Thou, the Shekinah of the Highest, will accom
pany us when we go, and permit Thy loving coun
tenance to ever shine upon us and cause us to be
hold Thy glory. Oh, brethren, pray, not only
here and now, but in the home at your family
altar : "If Thy presence go not with me, carry us
not up hence."
Now let us try and ascertain what the pres
ence of God really means. We hope to erect
a church of architectural beauty, as I do
not believe God's house should be any meaner
than our own; we hope to have many luxuries
provided for this house, for the greatest riches are
not too good to be devoted to the service of our
God. Though Kearny Avenue is one of our most
fashionable avenues, it is not our intention when
over there to court the wealthy and pass the needy
by; rather we hope that there the rich and the
poor will congregate together on one level, to
worship the humble though mighty Christ, and
give reverence to His holy name.
75

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN.

Our building may be the grandest that was ever
erected, its very walls may glisten like diamonds,
still it will be a gloomy place unless God's pres
ence is with us, as it is the divine presence we
need to complete the glory of His house. What
is it that dries the mourner's eyes? Nothing but
the sight of Christ, and a vision of that glorious
face when Christ wept. He is able, He is willing
to bind up every broken heart. And if we mem
bers of the First Baptist Church expect to be a
holy people, we can only be such by looking at
the holy face of Christ and endeavoring to be
come conformed to its image. Though we preach
very earnestly, unless Christ is held up in every
sermon, men will not become Christlike, as His
presence is the most essential feature to enable
us to grow in grace. We must have Christ, or
all our efforts will avail us nothing. Oh, I feel
the need of Christ more now than ever before, as
I can never reach men for Him unless I have
His presence always with me. May He grant us
success, and if we enter our edifice, which we ex
pect to ere long, may He help us to be humble,
and may our doors swing wide open to welcome
the vilest of the vile ; and if perchance a drunk
ard wanders in among us, may God enable him to
exchange his deadly cup for the cup of salvation,
that is filled with the water of life, and may he
drink of it evermore. We shall have such glori-
76

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

ous sights as these if His presence go with us ;
but even now, dear Father, we pray : Unless Thy
presence go with me, carry us not up hence. i
But now for the thought innermost in our
hearts : we want to move from this building. If
God's presence accompanies us, shall we do so ? I
answer. Yes, by all means ; we must, we can, we
shall. I feel this place is not a suitable place for
pubhc worship ; I feel it as a minister of the Gos
pel ; I am quite sure you must feel it as a people.
See last Sabbath, when that large company as
sembled here, our ventilation was very poor, so
poor that one or two fell asleep ; I do not blame
them, the wonder is that you did not all become
drowsy. We hope to see as large an audience at
all our services over there, for we are going to a
place of which we entertain great expectations.
Here on Beach Street we meet a handfulof peo
ple, we put forth great efforts, all of which virtu
ally are lost, because we must all admit we are
really out of sight here ; therefore we are anxious
to move to a locality where the Baptist Church
will be of prominence, where we shall be able to
accommodate all that come to listen to God's
Word, many of whom we trust will be converted.
We believe over there our young men will enlist
in the army of our great Commander and be loyal
soldiers of the cross of Christ ; but we are draw
ing pleasing pictures which will never be realized
77

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

unless God's presence go with us. When we
go to the north side, we go to a place of great
opportunities: all of you will have a marvellous
scope of work, and as your pastor I shall have a
wider door, which will ever be open before me
for work of the grandest kind ; but your greatest
dread and fear is that our new home will involve
greater responsibilities, and you wonder whether
we can carry them. Man is weak, and of his own
strength must fail. I reply: We cannot carry
them any more than we can carry our load of sin ;
but if we put our responsibilities on the back of
our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, hoping, trust
ing, believing that He will help us, then we can.
Over there our church will be in the most promi
nent place in our town ; so may God grant that we,
as its members, may be a holy people, "a city set
upon a hill." God has done great things for us
here and I believe He is going to do greater
things still in our new edifice ; but our watchword
must be "Onward!" God will not allow us to
sleep, we must be active, and if we follow our
great Commander into the thickest of the fight,
He will encourage us by His loving voice and
bring us out at last more than conquerors. But
even now we pray, oh, God : "If Thy presence go
not with me, carry us not up hence."
And should God's presence go with us we can
act in such a way as to drive Him from our midst.
78

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

As soon as we have erected our new house of
worship, if we should stand inside of the porch
and boast of the house we have built, God will
leave us to our fate, as a proud heart is never
God's palace, neither a proud church will He
honor. And if we become dormant we can easily
drive the Spirit away; but the quickest way to
drive Him out is by disunion. I delight in the
union which is manifest in our church now, as far
as pastor and people are concerned, and as Chris
tian men and women we should always be willing
to bear with one another's infirmities — perhaps
we have a great deal to put up with from one an
other, as there is always some one to give and take
offence, and when the ship is sailing in smooth
waters you will find the devil every time stowed
away aft to try and scuttle her ; and he would have
succeeded long ago, were it not for the fact that
some of our loyal workers have been ready to
stop the leakage, and by their loving spirit would
not allow members to disagree. If any of you
have any disagreements, I pray you settle them,
and leave them here behind you. Let us go up
into our new building a loving and united people,
which I believe you will, for I have the honor of
being the pastor of a praying people; your
prayer-meeting is the gauge of the church. Oh,
how it helps me, to feel my people are praying
for me, not only in the meetings of our church,
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THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

but in their homes also. Pray, brethren, pray,
for more faith, and for the strength to undertake
great things and to expect great things in return ;
and, whatever you do, be humble, be patient
toward all men ; be nothing, and then you will be
something. For God's sake, for Christ's sake, for
the Church's sake, and for each other's sake, let
us be humble ; and above all, as I said before, let
us be united. You remember what Paul said : "I
beseech Euodias and I beseech Syntyche that they
be of the same mind in the Lord." They were
two women, and some women will quarrel. But
what did that matter? — ^you will say. It matters
a great deal in this case, for they were members
of the Church, and Paul did not like even two
women who were members of the same church
to disagree. What shall I, your pastor, say to any
two male members of this church who are not at
one with each other? Oh, let me beseech you in
God's name, do not dig up the old bodies to in
vestigate them, for by so doing you will only stir
up a putrid smell, and as God has promised to
forgive those who are willing to forgive one an
other, I beg of you, bury your grievances. Biiry
them, bury them, bury them now! Come, my
brother, give me the unspeakable honor of com
mitting them to the grave of forgetfulness for
you. Are you willing? Yes, if you are Christian
men I know you are only too willing. Then
80

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

bring the corpse of grievance hither, have no
name plate on the casket, and while you stand
with uncovered hearts at the grave of forgetful
ness, it is by the help of God accomplished. Lis
ten to the committal: Earth to earth, ashes to
ashes — bury them deeply, bury them beyond the
power of resurrection, and then we are assured
the presence of Giod will go with us, for He will
go with a united people every time.
Let us go up to our new church determined to
work. Let every man say : "I will do something."
I cannot plead with you as earnestly as I Wish to
God I could to-day, but I know you are as anxious
as I am to go up into a better equipped edifice, and
we can if we all will do our best. To-day I am
going to ask you to deposit what you can in God's
great savings bank of the First Baptist Church of
Arlington, which every year will pay a dividend
on every dollar you put therein, and the interest
on it will be paid in the salvation of precious
souls. God help those of you who can deposit a
good amount to do so ; and those who cannot de
posit a large sum, deposit what you can in this
bank of safe keeping for Jesus Christ, and God
will bless you for so doing.
After I had preached this sermon, the first
offering was taken up, and $700 were raised for
the building fund. The next day a very promi-
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THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

nent printer of our town spoke to me of the ser
mon I had preached the day before. He said:
"Mr. Jones, I have heard a great deal about your
sermon of yesterday; and if your people can sell
5,000 copies at ten cents each, I will print them
free of charge." Accepting his most generous
offer, we got out the sermon in pamphlet form,
the first page, having a lithograph of myself,
bearing this inscription:
"Sermon by Pastor H. W. Jones, of the First
Baptist Church, of Arlington, N. J."
"The members of this church have decided to
erect a new house of worship in Arlington, and
in view of this fact, on Sunday, December 8th,
1895, this sermon was delivered, after which an
offering was taken up and $700 were raised for
the Building Fund. As it touched our hearts and
pocket-books so powerfully, we have, in order to
raise additional money, had 5,000 copies printed,
which we offer to our friends at ten cents each,
thus making our pastor's discourse a three-fold
blessing." After these sermons were printed, we ap
pointed several committees from among our
young men, who went with me to the different
churches in New York and New Jersey, where I
would speak, and at the close of my remarks
would announce that as our people were about to
build a new church edifice, they had adopted this
82

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

plan of raising money, and our young men would
be at the doors as the people were leaving the
church and would be glad to sell them a sermon
for the small sum of ten cents, or as much more
as they saw fit to give. This plan worked grand
ly, the sermons sold anywhere from ten cents to
$ioo apiece— ^Miss Peddie, of the Peddie Memor
ial Church of Newark, N. J., being the first lady
who sent a check of $ioo for one. We found the
plan working so well we were greatly encouraged,
and our building committee, which we had ap
pointed, decided they would immediately pur
chase a new site, appointing me a committee of
one to select such a location as I thought best for
the church. The next day I found a place which
I was satisfied would be the best situation in the
town, so, calling my committee together again, I
consulted with them. They decided that the site
was all right, and requested me to wait on Mr.
Elsheimus, the owner of the property, and see
what I could do with him. I saw him, and in
formed him that we wanted three lots, with the
refusal of the fourth, for the erecting of a
church and parsonage thereon for the congrega
tion of the First Baptist Church, the church to be
erected immediately; so I asked him to give me
his lowest price for the ground. He agreed to
sell it for $1,200, and as a donation would give
$300 toward the church building. We accepted
83

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

the proposition, and in less than a month the lots
were ours. Then we consulted the various archi
tects, giving them an idea of what kind of build
ing we wanted, and asked them to furnish us with
plans. The plans of Mr. George E. Teets, of
Arlington, met with great satisfaction, and we ac
cepted them. Then we commenced in earnest to
raise money for our church building and had
wonderful success in this matter.
When going to Arlington, I found there were
two brothers of the church who had some kind of
grievance against each other which would not
allow them to speak one to the other. That was
why I made special reference in the sermon of
December 8th as follows: "What shall I, your
pastor, say to any two male members of this
church who are not at one with each other?"

84

CHAPTER X.
BROTHERLY LOVE.
THE first week of January, 1896, was ob
served by the Presbyterians, Methodists,
and our church as a Week of Prayer,
and we held union services nightly, alternating in
the different churches. On Thursday night, the
Rev. John Hutchison, pastor of the Presbyterian
Church, took charge of the meeting in his
church, but I made the address on the subject of
"Brotherly Love," pleading with the people to
cultivate love and charity toward all men. At the
close of my remarks, Mr. Hutchison called
upon Brother  , who was the member of
our church that was not on speaking terms
with Brother  , to lead us in prayer. He
offered a beautiful petition, asking God to give
to all men that love for their brothers that Jesus
Christ had, and to be charitable to all. As he
said "Amen," I could not restrain the impulse of
the moment to jump from the rostrum, and,
going over to him, took him by the hand and said :
"Brother, do you wish God to answer the prayer
you have just made?" "Why, most assuredly I
85

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN
do," he replied. Then I said : "You do your part
toward answering it, then God will do His." He
said: "I don't understand you, pastor." I re
plied: "Then I will make myself plain; I want
you to go at once with me from this meeting to
the house of Brother  , and there become
friends with him." He said: "Oh, no, I cannot
do that." Then I pleaded with him. Tears came
into his eyes, but he still persisted in refusing my
request. At last I said : "Brother, then don't you
hereafter ever dare make in my presence such a
prayer as you have offered here to-night ; if you
do, I shall most certainly have something to say —
for no man who is not one with his brother has a
right to offer such a prayer as the one you have
just made." Then he said: "Pastor, I will do it;
I will go with you right now." "Now," I an
swered, "you are talking like a Christian man."
Getting our hats, we immediately left the church,
and went over to the residence of Brother  .
After arriving there we found the brother had
just returned from his business in New York. I
said: "Brother  , here is Brother  , who
has come here to take your hand, and to bury
with you whatever grievances you two may have
had." I knew all the time he had been only too
anxious to have things settled between him and
the other brother. Extending his hand, he said :
"I am delighted to see you; come in." Then,
86

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

looking at his friend, he said : "We have not acted
at all right : for we have been a hindrance in keep
ing many of the young people out of our church,
but now all that is past; and as we have freely
forgiven each other, so let us pray to be freely
forgiven." Then I suggested that we all kneel
down and ask God to bless us before we separated
that night. Each of us led in prayer, and when
we were through, I arose to my feet, asking the
two brothers to remain kneeling and join right
hands. And in that position, I put my hand on
theirs as I would with a couple I was uniting in
marriage and said : "Now, what God hath joined
together, let not Satan ever put asunder."
From that time on, they became the closest
friends; and the brother to whom I had spoken
in the church, after a little while was received
back as a deacon in our church, where he is to
day united with his people; and the only reason
that he had withdrawn from them was on ac
count of this misunderstanding he had with
Brother  , who also was a deacon of the
church ; and the most singular thing of the case
was that neither knew the reason why their
friendship had been severed.

87

CHAPTER XI.
MY DREAM, AND NEWS FROM WASHINGTON.
WE held a meeting of our Building
Committee at the church on a
Friday night in the latter part of
March, 1896, which detained us there until nearly
midnight. The reason we were so long in ses
sion was owing to the fact that we were perfect
ing the plans for our new building, and a great
deal of detail work had to be entered into. When
I reached the parsonage, I was exceedingly tired,
having been about the greater part of the day,
seeking funds for the church from one source
and another. So, soon after I retired, I was
sound asleep. In the morning, when I came
down to breakfast, I said to Mrs. Jones : "I have
had the most singular dream I ever had in my
life; I cannot understand it, nor can I imagine
what it means." She looked horrified, and
asked me if I really meant to infer that I was get
ting superstitious. I rephed: "Of course not;
but I will admit I cannot help thinking of it."
She then asked me to relate it, which I did, as
follows: "About two years ago a number of my
89

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

friends, ministers and others, gave me a tre
mendous basket, filled to the brim with eggs.
Having no use for them at the time, I put them
up on a very high shelf, and you, in the dream,
asked me what I had done with those eggs that
were given to me so long ago. I told you, and
you requested me to get one from the basket. I
secured a step ladder, and, mounting it, put my
hand in the basket; and, instead of getting hold
of an egg, my hand grasped a little mite of a
chicken. So, taking the basket down and in
specting it, I found that all the eggs were hatched
and the chickens were there on top of each other,
just as the eggs were." She laughed heartily,
and said: "It certainly is peculiar, but I would
not take any notice of it." I told her I did not in
tend to, and our conversation drifted to other
subjects. I left the house about ten o'clock and went
down to the post-office, and, unlocking my letter
box, I found this letter :
Navy Department, Washington, D. C,
March 26th, 1896.
Rev. Harry W. Jones, Stepney, Conn.
Dear Sir:
Referring to your application, dated August
30th, 1894, for the position of Chaplain in the
United States Navy, please inform me whether
90

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

you still desire this position. If you do, it is nec
essary that you should send to the Department
some recommendations from your immediate
ecclesiastical superiors, as to your fitness for the
position. Very respectfully,
W. McAdoo,
Acting Secretary.
I looked at the envelope and then looked at the
letter. The Rev. George Thomas, of North New
ark, was with me. I handed him the letter. He
said: "That certainly looks encouraging." I in
vited him to take a walk up to the house with me
and I would attend to the matter he wished me to
that day. As I opened the door, I called out to
my wife; she, answering, said: "What is it?" I
replied : "The eggs are hatched." She answered :
"What do you mean?" I said: "Never mind;
those eggs are hatched." Then she began to
scold me for teasing her and requested me to tell
her what I meant. So I handed her the letter.
She glanced at it, and then said : "I will not allow
you to take that position." I said : "Why not ?"
"Well, we are doing nicely in our church work,
and if you go into the Navy, it will take you away
from home." "That is the old story gone over
again," I said. "I will give you until noon, when
I want your frank opinion." So Mr. Thomas
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THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

and I left the house. I returned at the hour
agreed upon, and found my wife all smiles. The
thought suggested itself to me: "She is deter
mined to persuade me not to enter the Navy, and
thinks she is going to succeed." So I said:
"Anna, what is your decision ?" Looking at me,
she said : "If God wants you in the Navy, I will
never stand in your way." I said : "That's right ;
that is the proper way to talk. Now I will tele
graph that I am open for the appointment." And
then, with tears in her eyes, she said : "But sup
pose we should have a war !" I, laughing at her,
said : "War— don't think of it, the United States
will never go to war." "Well, I hope not," she
said. As my communication had been forwarded
me from Stepney, I did not know whether it was
absolutely necessary for me to telegraph from
there or from Arlington ; and as I was going to
New York that afternoon, I went to the Astor
House and sent this message :
Arlington, N. J.
W. McAdoo, Acting Secretary, Navy Depart
ment, Washington, D. C.
Sir:
Your communication just received. Am open
for the position of Chaplain in the United States
Navy, but regret very much to state it is impos-
92

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

sible for me, a Baptist, to be appointed as such,
when I am required to send the endorsements of
my immediate ecclesiastical superiors, there being
no such heads in our denomination. What fur
ther can I do ? Respectfully,
Harry W. Jones.
I received an answer telling me to come to
Washington the following Tuesday for the pur
pose of meeting the President and the Secretary
of the Navy. I arrived in Washington the first
of April. Going to the Department, I first met
Mr. McAdoo, who then introduced me to the
Secretary. The Secretary took me over to the
Mansion to meet the President. I waited outside
the President's room, while the Secretary went in
to inform him of my arrival. At last I was an
nounced, so, going in before the President, he
extended his hand to me, as the Secretary intro
duced me, greeted me very cordially, and said:
"Mr. Jones, the Secretary and myself spent a
great deal of time going over the list of applicants
for the position of Chaplain in the Navy, and we
have selected you, and have asked you to come
here so we could see what kind of a man you
were ; of that we had little doubt, as I am pleased
to tell you that wherever we have heard of you as
a pastor, it is with the highest endorsement of
93

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

your method of reaching and helping young men ;
and as this will be, in all probability, the last
Chaplain I shall create, I am very anxious to make
no mistake in the appointment. What is wanted
in the Chaplain is that he be a man who cannot
countenance conceit, a man that will be simple in
all his doings, and a man who will be a man
among men of the Navy; and I am exceedingly
anxious the Chaplain that I shall have the
pleasure of nominating will be a man that will be
a friend to those poor fellows, deprived as they
are of mother's influence and home comforts, and
not simply a ward-room figure-head."
And then, looking at me, he said : "Mr. Jones,
your last communication came from New Jersey."
I said: "Yes, sir, it did." "Your application,
however, was made from Connecticut." I said:
"Yes, sir, it was." He then asked me whether
Connecticut was my native State? I said: "It is
not, sir." Further questioning me, he said :
"Which state is, then?" I replied: "Well, Mr.
President, I was born in England; I could not
help it, however — my parents did not consult me
in the matter, so I had to be born where they saw
fit ; but if I had my way, I would have been born
in America." "Well, you are naturalized, I pre
sume," he said. I said : "Yes, sir, I have been for
several years." Then he said : "That is all right."
He then asked me whether I was a Democrat ? I
94

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

said: "No, sir, I am not; but I assure you I am
not a Prohibitionist." He said: "Well, it does
not matter what you are, as a Chaplain in the
Navy, as politics will never enter into that ap
pointment ; but we find it will be necessary, as you
have left the State of Connecticut, where your ap
plication was filed, and now being in another
State, for you to send an endorsement from the
church you are now pastor of, and such other en
dorsements as you may secure that will help you
in securing the appointment. I think I shall
appoint you," he went on to say ; "but do not be
too positive, as there are hundreds of applications
for this one vacancy." Then, extending his hand,
he said: "Good day." I said: "Good day, Mr.
President ; I am pleased to have had the honor of
meeting you, sir, and will say, before parting, if
I am honored with the appointment, I will strive
to do my whole duty to my God, my country, and
the men of the Navy, believing if God wants me in
the Navy, I shall be there, whether the President
of the United States wants me there or not."
Then, in a very gruff manner, he said: "Very
well, sir, good day." And from the way he said
it, when I left the room, I thought to myself. Evi
dently God does not want me in the Navy — as I
felt I had offended him. Nevertheless, on return
ing home, I secured and forwarded the following
recommendations : 95

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

Newark, N. J.,
February 14th, i8p6.
To THE Honorable, the Secretary of the
Navy.
My Dear Sir:
I have just learned that the Rev. Harry W.
Jones is considered for an appointment in the
Corps of Navy Chaplains, and hasten to add a
word to the endorsement he has already filed.
Mr. Jones is our near neighbor in the town of
Arlington, where he has already accomplished a
magnificent work and endeared himself to the
whole community. His simple, evangelical piety
has given him a remarkable hold on all classes.
As a worker among men he indicates marked
ability. I can think of no one who would more
conscientiously enter upon religious work among
seamen, with wisdom to meet its great difficul
ties and patience to compass its noble ends.
Since the idea has long seemed to Mr. Jones a
direct call of God, and to his brethren generally
a fitting one, I shall wait with earnest hope to
hear of his appointment. I am, my dear sir,
Yours very truly,
Chas. Hastings Dodd,
Pastor First Baptist Peddie Memorial Church.

96

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

Arlington, N. J.,
April 4th, i8p6.
To the Honorable, the Secretary of the
Navy.
Sir:
Having learned that our pastor, the Rev. Harry
W. Jones, is considered to fill a vacancy in the
Corps of Navy Chaplains, it was resolved at our
regular monthly meeting, held at our church on
the evening of April 3d, 1896, that we, as a
church, do most heartily recommend him as a
man of noble Christian character, an earnest and
faithful minister of the Gospel, one who has,
since coming to us, exerted a great influence over
young men; and we do hereby authorize our
board of deacons and church clerk to endorse him
as a man possessing all the qualities which emi
nently fit him for the position for which he ap
plies. We shall feel his loss deeply, still we shall be
glad to learn that he has received the appoint
ment.
Cornelius B. Van Dyke,
Chas. N. Beekman,
E. A. Hoagland, Board of Deacons.
E. R. Downing,
Clerk of the First Baptist Church of Arlington,
N.J. 97

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

First Presbyterian Church, Arlington, N. J.,
Thursday, April 2d, 1896.
To the Honorable, the Secretary of the
Navy.
Sir:
The pastor, officers, church and congregation
by a unanimous vote endorse the application of
the Rev. H. W. Jones for a place in the Corps of
the Navy Chaplains in the following terms :
We recognize in Mr. Jones a man of sturdy
piety, a preacher of force and eloquence, a pastor
faithful and devoted; we believe him to be well
fitted to deal with men in the position for which
he is nominated.
This is the action of a church and congregation
numbering five hundred. Yours respectfully,
John Hutchison,
Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church,
Arlington, N. J. Arlington, N. J.,
April 4th, 1896.
To the Honorable, the Secretary of the
Navy,
Sir:
I have learned with pleasure that the applica
tion of the Rev. H. W. Jones, pastor of the First
Baptist Church of Arlington, N. J., for the posi^
tion of Chaplain in the United States Navy, is
98

ASHORE AND AFLOAT..

now before yoti for consideration, and I desire to
add my testimony to those that you have already
received certifying to the sterling integrity, hon
esty of purpose and general fitness for a position
such as Mr. Jones desires in the application that
has been made.
As pastor of the Arlington Church, Mr. Jones
has shown his ability, and it has been particu
larly pleasing to me to note the success he has
had, particularly among men.
I feel that if he is appointed he will fill with
credit the position and also be able to exert a
wonderful influence for good among the men that
will be given into his charge.
I certainly shall be very pleased to know that
the appointment has been awarded to him.
Yours truly,
T. R. Cornwall,
President Board Trustees, First Baptist
Church, Arlington, N. J.
It is also a pleasure to have attached hereto the
signatures of the Board of Trustees of the First
Baptist Church, who have all expressed a desire
to second the application that has been made ; and
in our official capacity our endorsement of the
Rev. H. W. Jones is attached hereto.
E. A. Hoagland,
Richard Morrison,
W. H. Latham,
E. T, Fanning.
99

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

First Baptist Church, Newark, N. J.,
April 6th, 1896.
To THE Honorable, the Secretary of the
Navy.
Sir:
At the regular monthly session of the Baptist
Ministers' Association of Newark and vicinity,
held this 6tli day of April, the following resolu
tions were unanimously passed :
Resolved: That, having learned that the Rev.
Harry W. Jones, a member of this Association,
is now before the Department of the Navy for
the appointment as a Chaplain in the United
States Navy, we, the members of this Associa
tion, most heartily and voluntarily testify to his
high standing as a man and as a minister, and to
his eminent fitness, in our judgment, for such a
post. We know him to be an earnest, practical
man, eminently qualified to work with men of all
ranks and devoted to the good of his fellow-men.
Resolved: That the President and Secretary be
empowered to sign these resolutions, and that
they be placed in the hands of the Rev. Mr. Jones
to be forwarded to the Secretary of the Navy.
F. C. a. Jones,
President Baptist Ministers' Association of
Newark and vicinity.
R. M. Luther,
Secretary Baptist Ministers' Association of
Newark and vicinity. 100

CHAPTER XII.
THE CLOSE OF MY MINISTRY ON SHORE.
HAVING sent in the various endorsements
to Washington, time passed, yet no
news from the Navy Department. At
last I began to think I was again to experience
disappointment in not being appointed, but on the
twenty-third day of May I received this letter:
Navy Department, Washington, D. C,
May 22d, 1896.
Rev. Harry W. Jones, Arlington, N. J.
Sir:
Having been selected for appointment as a
Chaplain in the U. S. Navy, you are hereby au
thorized to report to the Commandant of the
Navy Yard, New York, N. Y., for the physical
examination preliminary to appointment required
by the U. S. Navy Regulations. Very respectfully,
W. McAdoo,
Acting Secretary.
Accordingly, on the twenty-fifth of that month,
I reported to Commodore M. Sicard, U. S. Navy,
lOI

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

who was then Commandant of the Navy Yard.
He referred me to Medical Director C. H. White,
U. S. Navy, President of the Board that was to
examine me. I was requested to go into an ante
room and prepare for the physical examination.
Just as the twelve o'clock whistles blew, four
officers in full dress uniform came in, they being
four surgeons of the Navy, who constituted the
Board. They commenced the examination; and
at five minutes after one they left the room and
told me to prepare for the eye-sight test. Leaving
that room, I entered another and went through
that part of the examination ; and after they had
found my eye-sight satisfactory, they all ad
journed, and told me I could get ready to leave the
laboratory. At five minutes of two the Board
came back, and the President of it, extending his
hand, said : "Well, Chaplain — as you will be a
Chaplain in a very few days — I have to congratu
late you ; you have qualified, and can expect your
commission very soon after our report goes in."
I said : "Well, gentlemen, I thank you, and shall
leave here to-day believing I have a new lease of
life after the overhauling you have given me." I
then returned to Arlington.
On the evening of the sixth of June, Postmaster
Stewart, of that place, called at the parsonage.
Extending his hand to me, he said : "Good-even
ing, Chaplain Jones." I said: "Good-evening,
102

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

Mr. Stewart ; but you are a little premature." He
said: "Oh, no, I am not," and handed me the
Evening News, a Newark, New Jersey, paper,
saying: "Read this," as he pointed to the notice
of my appointment. On the thirteenth day of
June I received the following communication :
Department of the Navy, Bureau of Naviga
tion, Washington, D. C,
June i2th, 1896.
Chaplain Harry W. Jones, U. S. N., Arling
ton, N. J.
Sir:
The President of the United States, by and
with the advice and consent of the Senate, having
appointed you a Chaplain in the Navy, on the act
ive list from the sixth day of June, 1896, I have
the pleasure to enclose herewith your commission,
dated the ninth instant. Please acknowledge re
ceipt. " Respectfully, J. M. Ramsay,
Chief of Bureau.
This was the first communication I had re
ceived addressed to me as Chaplain of the U. S.
Navy. Having been informed of my appointment, I
had the sad duty of reading the following, my
resignation to my church :
103

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

Study of the First Baptist Church, Arling
ton, N. J,,
June 14th, 1896.
To the Board of Deacons, Officers and Mem
bers of the First Baptist Church, Ar
lington, N. J.
My Dear Brethren:
A year has almost passed since I had the pleas
ure of first addressing you as a church, and seven
months next Sunday have passed since I accepted
your call to become your pastor. As I look back
over the brief period of my pastorate, I am com
pelled to say. Surely God has been good to us, as
He has showered blessings upon us all along the
way, and my heart is filled with gratitude to Him
for all that He has done. Especially do I thank
Him for the love and unity He has permitted to
remain in our midst, as from the very commence
ment of my ministry in Arlington the hearts of
the people and pastor have been closely knit to
gether. It appeared as though we would be allowed to
labor together for some time to come ; but God, in
His all-wise Providence, has willed it otherwise,
so that to-night I have the painful necessity of
aying that our most happy and cordial relation
ship must soon be severed, I having been ap
pointed a Chaplain of the United States Navy, a
nosition I have long desired and often prayed for.
104

SHAM BATTLE BETWEEN THE APPRENTICES AT TRAINING STATION, NEWPORT, R. I.

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

Recognizing the hand of God in the appoint
ment, I feel called upon to tender you my resig
nation, to take effect July 15th, 1896. In doing
so, permit me to most heartily thank you, one and
all, for your co-operation so freely given in all
things that I have advanced for the good of the
church ; and my prayer is that God will continue
to smile upon you ; and may He grant to send an
under-shepherd to you, one that will lead you in
to pastures green and feed you constantly with the
manna of Heaven, and build you up into a strong
Church of Jesus Christ.
Yours for the good of the cause.
Your loving Pastor,
H. W. Jones.
On the evening of the fifteenth of June, having
received my commission, I went to the residence
of Judge M. M. Forrest, a gentleman of high es
teem in our community, and a very dear friend of
mine, as I would rather have him than any other
person administer the oath of office to me, and
found he was just as pleased to do it as I was to
have him.
My friends immediately took steps to give me
a banquet in New York and it was tendered me at
the Hotel Bartholdi, 23d Street and Broadway,
on the evening of June 30th, in honor of my ap
pointment. A very enjoyable evening was spent
105

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

there, and though there were sixty-nine gentle
men present, it is very gratifying for me to state
that not a drop of intoxicating liquor was drunk,
nor even asked for, throughout the evening. The
toasts were as follows, but were more in the style
of addresses than anything else :
Toast Master  Michael M. Forrest.
With Eulogy of Chaplain Jones.
Response  Rev. Harry W. Jones.
President of the United States
Hon. Joseph P. Mullin.
"Our Country"  Wm. J. Gorsuch.
The Navy  Joseph Parker, Jr.
Connecticut Rev. Geo. W. Nicholson.
New Jersey  Michael M. Forrest.
Late that evening, we returned to Arlington by
a special trolley car from Jersey City. As we
were nearing the outskirts of the city, an old lady,
taking our car to be a regular passenger car,
boarded it, with a tremendous watermelon in her
hand. One of our company, a good-natured fel
low, assisted her in getting on the car, taking the
watermelon from her, then very politely gave her
his seat. Holding up the watermelon as high as
he could, addressing our party, he said : "Gentle
men, what is the pleasure of this august assem
blage regarding the dispoeal of this magnificent
io6

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

watermelon ?" One of the company shouted out,
"I move it be cut up and distributed." Then the
one with the watermelon said: "Is there a
seconder to that motion ?" And one of the com
pany shouted, "I will second it." TlTe vote was
taken and unanimously carried. Then he, smiling,
said : "If the gentleman who made the motion will
kindly come forward and cut the melon, the vote
will be carried out." He never came. The old
lady all that time sat there looking in amazement
at us, when he turned to her and said : "Madam,
allow me to present you with this beautiful water
melon, which I really thought you had brought as
a present for us."
I preached for my church from Sunday to Sun
day until the time of the expiration of my resig
nation, and sweet indeed were those closing days
of my ministry ashore, and many times do I look
back and recall them. Not that I would have
them return to me, but simply as a sweet memory
of the past.

107

. Z"''"*' It ^

TRAINING STATION, NEWPORT, R. I.,
Showing Tents for Summer Quarters,

PART II.

THE EXPERIENCES OF A
CHAPLAIN ASHORE
AND AFLOAT.

CHAPTER I.
FIRST ORDERS TO DUTY.
ON the thirtieth day of July, 1896, I re
ceived orders from the Secretary of the
Navy to proceed to Newport, R. I., and
report to the Commandant of the Naval Training
Station there for duty on the U. S. T. S. "Con
stellation," and for such other duty as might be
assigned me. Accordingly I reported on the
third day of August and was met very cordially
by Commodore R. R. Wallace, U. S. Navy, he
being the Commandant. He informed me of the
duties I would be expected to perform. Besides
being Chaplain, I found I had to be a sort of over
seeing schoolmaster. At this station there were
three hundred and eighty-seven boys, ranging
from fourteen to seventeen years of age. The
various periods of education were conducted
109

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

hourly during the day. I had three assistants
with me in the class-room, who carried on the
educational work under my supervision. Sunday
came; the boys were mustered as the bugle
sounded, and all marched in a very orderly man
ner into the gymnasium, where divine services
were to be conducted. The Stars and Stripes
were lowered, and above them went the Church
pennant, which is a white triangular flag with a
blue Roman cross in the centre. I took my place
behind the desk and commenced my first service
as a Chaplain in the Navy. All the Protestant
boys were compelled to attend this service. The
Roman Catholic boys were sent ashore to attend
Mass. I never spoke to a more attentive lot of
boys in my life than I did that morning. In fact,
I never addressed a more attentive gathering any
where. Instead of preaching a sermon to them, I
gave them a talk as to what they might expect
from me, and what I should expect from them,
urging them to be obedient to orders and do their
utmost to conduct themselves in an orderly man
ner, assuring them that if they did what was
right, they would never get into trouble, and
would grow up to be men such as our country
would be proud of. At the close of the service, I
told the boys I would be pleased to see any of
them at my office, at any time, who wished to
consult me upon any subject. IIQ

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

The next Sunday, after I had preached to them,
I extended an invitation to all boys desirous of-
becoming Christians to come to my office and see
me. I continued this custom three or four Sun
days without result, when finally I went to the
office as usual after the close of the service, and
was taking off my gown, when I heard a gentle
rap on the door. I said : "Come in" ; and a little
fellow — who in fact was the smallest boy at the
station — came in, appearing very timid. I recog
nized him as George Scull, and I said: "Well,
George, what is it ?" He replied : "Chaplain, I
have come to see you to-day, sir, to ask you if I
can say my prayers in my hammock, instead of
kneeling down on the floor ?" I said : "Why do
you ask me that, George ?" He said : "Well, sir,
when I left home I promised my mother I would
never retire at night without first asking God to
bless me and forgive the sins that I had com
mitted during the day." I said : "That is right,
George ; but why do you wish to say your prayers
in your hammock?" He said: "You see it is just
this way, sir : when I came to the station, before
turning in the first night, I knelt down on the
floor in the upper part of the gymnasium, where
I swing my hammock at night, and whilst I was
saying my prayers, first a rubber boot came at
my head, then a cake of soap, a scrubbing brush,
^nd all sorts of things, until finally I had to give
III

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

it up. As I tell you, sir, it is mighty hard to pray
under those conditions." I said : "Well, my boy,
there is no necessity of your kneeling down and
causing the boys to sin by interrupting your de
votions ; you can pray anywhere. If you are aloft
furling sail ; out on the field at battalion drill ; in
fact, anywhere, in any position, you can make that
a place of prayer." He said : "Well, sir, then I
will say my prayers in my hammock hereafter."
He then left the office.
The next Tuesday night, going over to the
gymnasium about half past seven o'clock, I saw
George. He seemed to be very happy, and came
over to me and said: "Chaplain, I feel so much
better, sir, now that I have started to pray again.
I feel like a different boy." I encouraged him,
then went upstairs to my office ; and when I came
down, saw a group of boys off in the far comer of
the gymnasium. I walked over to see what was
going on, and there was little George in the midst
of them, telling them how sweet it was to follow
Jesus and have Him love us. I was greatly re
joiced to find the religious influence of that little
disciple was permeating the boys.
One Sunday morning after service, George and
seven other boys came to my office. He, being
spokesman for them at first, said : "Chaplain, we
boys have learned to love Jesus Christ, and we are
very anxious to follow Him into the baptismal
112

UNITED STATES S. S. "CONSTELLATION," NEWPORT, R. L
Dressed in Honor of the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Day She was Launched, 1797-1897.

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

waters, and would like you to baptize us, sir." I
looked at them, and, just to test them, said : "You
wish me to sprinkle you?" Every one of them
spoke up and said : "No, sir, we want it done the
way Jesus had it done ; we want to go right down
into the water." I told them I would have to con
sult the commanding officer, and see what he said
about it, promising them that, if I possibly could
arrange it, I would baptize them the next Sunday.
I communicated with my own church, the Lex
ington Avenue Baptist Church, situated on Lex
ington Avenue and iiith Street, New York, ask
ing permission of the church to baptize these boys
and receive them into the fellowship of that
church; for when the boys would leave the sta
tion, in all probability. New York would be their
headquarters, and I felt that if they were mem
bers of a church in New York City, it would be
very helpful to them when going there, as they
were almost certain to do later on. The church
was most happy to grant my request. The Com
mandant also gave his permission, so I made ar
rangements with the Second Baptist Church of
Newport to baptize the boys in their baptistery.
The second Sunday in September was selected
for the administration of the ordinance. That
afternoon I was talking with the candidates, and I
found them true, conscientious followers and be
lievers of Jesus Christ. I said : "Boys, I will go
"3

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

and telephone to Dr. Caswell, the senior deacon of
the church, and see if everything is all right for
this evening." So I went into the Executive
Officer's office and telephoned to the doctor, ask
ing him to have the chill taken from the water, so
that it would not be too cold for the boys. The
boys overheard me, and came into the office and
said: "No, Chaplain, we don't want any warm
water about this ! We don't believe the waters of
the Jordan were warmed when Jesus went into
them." I said : "All right, boys ; I will telephone
cancelling that order." My colored mess attend
ant aboard ship went over to the church to assist
me in robing. He had my long rubber boots with
him. When we boarded the launch which was to
take us over, he accidentally allowed the boots to
open out. The boys looked at them for some
time, and finally one of them said: "Excuse me.
Chaplain, but are you going to wear those boots
to-night ?" I said : "Yes." Then they all seemed
to meditate for some time and looked rather seri
ous, when the little Scull boy spoke up and said :
"Chaplain, do you think, sir, that John the Bap
tist wore boots like that?" I said: "I guess not,
George." Then, after a little more pondering,
they said : "Sir, if you don't mind, we would like
you to do it the way that John did it." I said :
"All right, boys, it shall be done that way ; but I
have only one pair of trousers with me." They
114

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

said: "Well, sir, you can baptize us in your
trousers and go home in your boots."
Fortunately, I was able to get a message to the
ship for an extra pair of trousers. The church
was crowded when we reached there. The eight
boys, accompanied by eight others and a school
master, who were to assist them, were all
dressed in their blue uniform ; each candidate had
his white duck uniform under his arm, and they
presented a very pretty picture as they walked
down the aisle of the church. I preached the ser
mon that night, choosing for my theme "Who
should be baptized ?" — my text being, "If thou be-
lievest with all thine heart, thou mayest," from
Acts eighth chapter, a part of the thirty-seventh
verse. I had good attention during my remarks,
and at the close gave out the hymn that was to be
sung during the baptism, selecting the same hymn
that was sung the night I was immersed,
"Ashamed of Jesus."
"Jesus, and shall it ever be,
A mortal man ashamed of Thee ?
Ashamed of Thee, whom angels praise,
Whose glories shine through endless days?
"Ashamed of Jesus ! sooner far
Let evening blush to own a star :
He sheds the beams of light divine
O'er this benighted soul of mine.
"5

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

"Ashamed of Jesus ! just as soon
Let midnight be ashamed of noon ;
'Tis midnight with my soul, till He,
Bright morning star, bid darkness flee.
"Ashamed of Jesus, that dear Friend
On whom my hopes of heaven depend !
No, when I blush, be this my shame,
That I no more revere His name.
"Ashamed of Jesus ! yes, I may.
When I've no guilt to wash away,
No tear to wipe, no good to crave.
No fear to quell, no soul to save.
"Till then, nor is my boasting vain,
Till then I boast a Saviour slain ;
And O may this my glory be,
That Christ is not ashamed of me."
The boys shifted from their blue into their
white duck suits. Little George Scull was the
first lad to enter the water with me, and as we
stood there, and as that immense audience gazed
upon him, I said : "George, my boy, do you love
the Lord Jesus Christ with all your heart ?" And
with a beautiful smile and a clear toned voice he
said: "Yes, sir, I do." Then I said: "Are you
willing, George, to trust Jesus and serve Him, no
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ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

matter where you may be?" He said: "Yes, sir;
because I know He will help me." I then uttered
the usual words, "Upon profession of your faith
in the Lord Jesus, and in obedience to the great
commission, I baptize you, my dear boy, into the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost. Amen." A great silence followed
the immersion, and while George was being led
out of the water he joined in the singing of the
hymn with the congregation. One after another
of the boys I baptized, asking each of them the
same questions I had asked George. Three of
them had been Roman Catholics. The next Sun
day night I immersed five more boys in the same
church, and sweet indeed was the pleasure of la
boring with these coming men of our Navy.
I was detached from Newport on the fifteenth
day of October, 1896, with orders to proceed to
Tompkinsville, N. Y., and report to the Com
mander-in-Chief of the North Atlantic Station
for duty on board the U. S. S. "Texas." Leaving
the station that night, the boys assembled on the
dock, where I was to board our steam launch,
which was to take me to the Fall River boat. As
I stepped aboard the launch, the boys commenced
cheering and shouting, and I had no idea until
then how closely they were knit to me, and I to
them. I shall never forget the pleasant duty I
had at Newport — my first duty in the Navy.
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U. S. BATTLESHIP " TEXAS.'

CHAPTER II.
chaplain of the U. S. S. "TEXAS."
IN obedience to my orders, I reported on board
the flagship "New York" off Tompkinsville,
N. Y., on the nineteenth day of October, to
Rear-Admiral F. M. Bunce, Commander-in-Chief
U. S. Naval Forces on North Atlantic Station.
He directed me to report to Captain Henry Glass,
U. S. Navy, commanding the U. S. S. "Texas." I
was taken over to her on one of the "New York's"
steam launches, and, climbing the gangway of the
"Texas," I was amazed at her gigantic structural
beauty. The Officer of the Deck met me
cordially and directed me to the Captain's cabin.
After reporting for duty, I was introduced by the
Captain to his Executive Officer, Lieutenant-
Commander J. D. J. Kelley, U. S. Navy. I found
him a very genial gentleman, and he very kindly
introduced me to all the officers on board, after
which he assigned me to my room, the sixth on
the port side, that being the Chaplain's room on
every ship, and the port side being the side Staff
Officers occupy. A little later, I went on deck.
Gazing up and down, I was impressed with the
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THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

beauty of the quarter deck, which is known to be
the best deck any ship of the Navy has, and, as
I stood there, I soHloquized thus: Here I am.
Chaplain of this magnificent ship, manned by
three hundred and ninety-eight men, including
officers. In fact, this is my parish. These men
are intrusted to me for their spiritual upbuilding,
and what a wonderful field for work in trying to
remodel the characters of some of these young
men! I found the men exceedingly glad that they had
had a Chaplain sent to them, and they expressed
themselves frequently as being determined to
stand by me, and assist me in all that I did. After
breakfast that day — the breakfast being served on
board a warship at noon — I walked about the ship
and thought I would venture down below; so,
going down one of the ladders, I commenced to
go through the redoubt and presently was travel
ling in very crooked paths, frequently coming up
against a solid bulkhead, instead of finding a door
as I expected. I thought: "This is peculiar; I
had better try and find the main deck"; but, to
my astonishment, I was lost in the bowels of the
ship. Meeting a man in one of the passage-ways,
I was tempted to inquire the way, but refrained
from doing it, for fear the officers and crew would
laugh at me ; so I kept going for some time until
at last, to my joy and relief I was back on deck.
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ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

Having seen a great deal of the men through the
week, I talked with them freely on the relationship
of the Chaplain to his men, trying to impress them
with the fact that, while being an officer in the
Navy, I wished them to consider me their friend,
put there by my country to help them in becoming
men who would be a credit to our nation, assur
ing them that whatever was in my power to
assist them to become manly men, I would do
with the greatest pleasure.
One thing that greatly touched me was the way
several of them spoke of their mothers, their
home, and their sisters ; still, many had left them
of their own accord, and I could not but feel how
happy a young man must be who appreciates his
sacred obligations while he yet has the pleasure
of being a member of the home circle and, by his
words and deeds, is able to voice his appreciation
to those who are most interested in him. I had
often heard my own dear mother say : "A boy that
is good to his mother will make a good man."
Thinking over my work, I frequently reminded
them of that.
This important fact staggered me, as I viewed
it seriously, that a Chaplain on board a battle
ship was the sole representative of the religion of
Jesus Christ, and I knew these men were going to
be governed largely by the way they saw him act
in their presence. Many people had said to me
121

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

that a Chaplain's life was an exceedingly easy one.
I beg to differ with them, however, and say, not
with the spirit of egotism, but because I think it
is an absolute fact, a minister on shore has twice
as easy an occupation as a Chaplain aboard a
ship. A minister is known best by his own im
mediate family. In fact, no one knows him as
well as his wife and children, and no one sees the
minister as he really is, but those of his family
circle. His congregation see him in his pulpit
at different times, and he is with them on their
prayer-meeting nights during the week, but they
don't see that minister as a man. They simply
see him as a pastor and preacher ; and I don't be
lieve there is a minister in the world who would
be willing to live with his whole congregation
seven days in the week, that is, to have each
member of it become one of his immediate family
— ^but that is what the Chaplain has to do. He
preaches to the men on Sundays, and during the
week has extra meetings, but he has to live with
his men all the time, and he is constantly watched,
to see whether he is a man after the calling of the
Lord Jesus Christ, and, if there is the least incon
sistency exhibited by that man in their presence,
his influence with them is gone forever. In fact,
I think a Chaplain's life is the hardest one a Chris
tian man can live. He has no encouragements to
help him in his work, no loved ones to stimulate
122

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

him, nothing of the sweet discipleship of noble
Christian women that the minister is blessed with
at home; he has to stand there alone, single
handed, to fight against the tremendous army of
Satan. Many times, however, he is privileged to
find sweet Christian men among the officers, and
oftentimes in the crew are noble Christian fel
lows, striving to live for the Lord Jesus Christ ;
and where he is fortunate enough to find such
men, it is of great assistance to him in reaching
others, as example counts for much in the Navy.
If the Commanding Officer absents himself from
the divine services, it does tremendous injury in
the matter of attendance ; but if the Commanding
Officer feels that it is his duty to recognize the
services for the sake of the men, the effect is won
derful in influencing many of them to attend.
The first Sunday morning I was on board ship,
the bugle sounded, calling the men to church at
lo :30. The service was held on the gun deck. As
I gave out the first hymn, I was standing along
side of a modern six-inch gun. The contrast was
very noticeable. There I stood, speaking of peace
and love, and yet beside me was this then silent
messenger of destruction; this idea seized me,
however, that a warship is not made to destroy —
she is made to prevent war ; and the stronger our
Navy becomes the less is the probability of our
ever engaging in battle. I had a sweet time with
123

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

the men that day, telling them what I would ex
pect of them and what they could expect of me,
and trying to impress upon them this truth : That
I knew there was not a man there, a true man-of-
war's man, that loved his country and his flag,
who would ever think of bringing disgrace to
either, and yet reminded them that in the short
time I had been on board I had seen two or three
men returning from liberty intoxicated. If those
men would only look at their uniform, and try to
realize that it stood in the place of their flag, I
knew they would never bring disgrace upon it.
After I had pronounced the benediction, I went
up on the quarter deck. The Church pennant
was still flying above the Stars and Stripes. So I
ventured to ask an officer why the Church pennant
always went above the national colors. He re
plied: "Well, Chaplain, that is the only pennant
that is allowed to go over the flag. If the Presi
dent should visit this ship^ his flag goes up on the
mast-head, but as soon as a Chaplain takes his
place behind the desk, to hold divine service, the
flag is lowered, and the Church pennant goes
above it, which means this — God is over all."
I learned to love these men as I continued with
them. In fact, the more I saw of them, the more I
was impressed with their singleness of purpose
and sincerity of heart. Whenever a man came to
me and told me that he wanted to live a different
124

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

life, I knew he meant it: you will never find a
hypocrite among the enlisted men of our Navy,
for they have nothing to gain in trying to live
dual lives. And, moreover, they have to continue
to live in the presence of the men that they have
been in the habit of sinning with, and they are
very likely to have a great deal of sport on the
coming out of a man on the side of Jesus Christ.
I had not been on board long before I com
menced receiving letters from many of my
friends, inquiring why I had been assigned to the
"Texas," as she was known to be a hoodoo ship,
and wondering whether the Department had any
thing against me, feeling sure every man sent to
that ship would sooner or later come to grief. I
heard so much about this thing that it became
very annoying. I even read that a Congressman
from the State of Texas got up on the floor of the
House and requested to have the name of the bat
tleship "Texas" changed, because she was a dis
grace to his State. I don't know how true that
is, whether he ever said it or not ; but yet it must
be true — for I read it in a New York news
paper. We remained at Tompkinsville until the middle
of November, when we went up to the Navy Yard
to be dry docked ; and while there the Secretary
of the Navy received this letter from Galveston,
Tex.: 125

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

Galveston, Tex.,
December loth, 1896.
Hon. Hilary A. Herbert, Secretary of the
Navy, Washington, D. C. :
Dear Sir:
At a recent meeting, participated in by the dif
ferent commercial organizations of Galveston, at
which were present officers of the Cotton Ex
change, Chamber of Commerce, Maritime Asso
ciation, Board of Trade, Freight Bureau, Deep
Water Utilization Committee, and resident rail
road officials, the undersigned were appointed a
committee to correspond with Hon. Hilary A.
Herbert, Secretary of the Navy, in an effort to
secure a visit from the White Squadron, or at
least a portion of the Squadron, including the bat
tle-ship "Texas," to Galveston, February i6th,
1897, on the occasion of the twelfth annual con
vention of the National Education Association,
to be held at Galveston. The last report of Major
A. M. Miller, of the Government Engineers, cov
ering the December survey, shows a good twenty-
five foot channel leading into Galveston Bay.
By popular subscription, the people of this
State raised $5,000, which has been expended in
the purchase of a silver service for the battle-ship
"Texas." This service is now ready for presen
tation. It is the desire of those having the matter
in charge, if agreeable to the Honorable Secre-
126

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

tary of the Navy, to present this silver service to
the "Texas" at Galveston on the date above
named. In view of the fact that Galveston has deep
water and that the Atlantic Squadron, or a por
tion of said Squadron, has been invited to visit
New Orleans during the Mardi Gras festivities,
in behalf of the commercial interests of Texas
and the West, we desire strongly to urge the Hon
orable Secretary of the Navy to take such action
as will secure to Galveston on the date above men
tioned a visit from the whole or a portion of the
Atlantic Squadron.
We respectfully request the Honorable Secre
tary of the Navy to take this matter under ad
visement, and let us know his decision as soon as
he may find it convenient. Very respectfully,
Clarence Ousley,
John R. Hedges.
To which the Honorable Secretary replied as
follows : Navy Department, Washington,
January 8th, 189J.
To the Committee Representing the Com
mercial Organizations of Galveston :
Gentlemen: I have given orders to have the "Texas" at
Galveston on February i6th. I have looked into
127

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

the matter of the depth of water over the bar, and
it is somewhat doubtful whether the "Texas" can
get over. Her captain will be instructed to ex
amine carefully and go in if he thinks he can do
so safely. Otherwise she will anchor out, and
you will be able to visit her by boat. I hope she
may be able to get in, as I am sure you will all
appreciate having her in the harbor, but I do not
like to take the responsibility of deciding this
matter for myself. The Captain, when he is on
the spot, can best determine whether to take her
over the bar. Yours respectfully, H. A. Herbert, Secretary.
We came out of dry dock early in January,
and as I held my services on board the ship
while she was at the Navy Yard, I had a great
deal of outside help at the services. One dear
brother I recollect to-day, J. M. Wood, a mis
sionary who had once been an enlisted man; he,
having become converted, labored in the Navy
Yard in the interest of the men. He and his wife
frequently came on board ship, she to sing, he to
speak. She was a beautiful singer, and he such a
speaker as any of the men could understand. It
has often been a difficult problem for many to
solve, why this noble man, doing the good that he
128

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

was in reaching the sailors, was snatched away so
suddenly and returned to the God whose servant
he was ; and yet "God doeth all things well" ; for
through his death many of his old associates saw
the beauty of a Christian life and a Christian
death portrayed in him. Often have I attended
in the past his meetings at Cob Dock, when the
number of men present went to show how he was
beloved by the men of the sea, and I believe this
true though humble follower of Jesus Christ
found many a star in his crown representing sail
ors when he entered the portals of bliss: for he,
as the instrument used of God, has been the means
of converting hundreds of them. May we ever
cherish the memory of our faithful friend, J. M.
Wood, and may all his old shipmates strive to
meet him up there, where he is waiting for them.

129

CHAPTER III.
my first cruise.
AS soon as it was learned our ship was to
proceed to Texas, the men were put to
work getting her in as fine condition as
she could possibly be put in. All the officers were
required to inspect their uniforms and see that
they were .supplied with everything. The Chap
lains at this time had no prescribed uniform out
side of a regular clerical suit, which was a
straight-cut, seven or nine button, single-breasted
coat of blue or black material. The hat was an
inch high in the crown, flat brim, made of felt
similar to that used by the Quaker brothers, or
very High Episcopalians. I had usually worn an
ordinary Alpine hat, which I would turn down,
making it as low as possible to comply with the
Regulations. The Commanding Officer, however,
informed me, a few days before sailing, that I
would have to furnish myself with one as pre
scribed in the Navy Regulations, as we were
going to Galveston under very auspicious cir
cumstances, and undoubtedly there would be a
great deal of function pertaining to our visit. I
131

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

tried to be excused from obeying the order, but he
insisted; so, leaving the ship, I went over to
Broadway to a clerical outfitter and found he had
not my size in stock, but he promised to send me
one by express, so that it would reach me by the
time we arrived at Galveston.
On the ninth of February we left the Navy
Yard for our Southern trip. From the day we
started until the day of our arrival, six days later,
we experienced gorgeous weather. The nights
were grand, and to watch the wake of the ship
with the phosphorus all glittering astern of us
was a magnificent sight. In fact, that cruise to
me was more like a trip on a gentleman's yacht
than cruising on a warship. I found I could
get much closer to our men while at sea than in
port, as our services were far better attended.
During the week I conducted classes and looked
after the men's library, and would visit the men
frequently, going to the engine room, fire-room
and every part of the ship. Going down into the
fire-room, however, was a great task, as the ther
mometer would average 117 degrees there, but I
felt the men would come to me and my services
if I went where they were. We had various
games on the quarter deck during the day, and at
night our volunteer band would play selections,
then there was singing and everything to make
life as happy as one could expect while on the
132

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

briny deep. On the fifteenth of February, we
arrived off Galveston, reaching the bar about
noon, and came to anchor, waiting for high tide.
Long before we arrived, we met excursion boats
on the Gulf, all out looking for us. They were
decorated with flags of all nations, their bands
were playing, and all boats were loaded down to
the water line with a most enthusiastic crowd of
spectators, who greeted us in a very hilarious
manner. We had remained at anchor about an hour out
side of the bar, when the pilot who had previous
ly boarded us, a man selected by the townspeople
for his ability and long term of service, he being
the oldest pilot of the Pilot Association of that
port, informed the Captain that the tide was as
high as it would get, and suggested that we up
anchor and go in. Carrying out his suggestion,
we proceeded in between the passes which extend
out into the Gulf from the city about three and
one-half miles. The "Texas" was the first ship
of any great draft that had entered the port — she
was then drawing twenty-four and one-half feet —
and went over the bar without any trouble, com
ing to anchor about three-quarters of a mile from
the city wharves. The committee appointed to
welcome us came on board, and the Mayor, on be
half of the City, extended an address of welcome
on our deck. The next day the Governor of the
133

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

State arrived and was saluted when he left the
ship by seventeen guns. The following morning,
at nine o'clock, the people began to swarm out to
the ship. Every boat that could be secured was
put in commission, and lighters were placed on
either side of the ship to enable excursionists to
board us more easily, and from the time the ship
was thrown open until sunset she was a floating
mass of humanity, and continued as such daily
during our presence in those waters.
One thing I regretted exceedingly, as the ex
press package came on board, was the arrival of
my hat. It did not become me at all. I had to
wear it, though. The day we were to receive the
silver service, the officers and men were taken
ashore in the ship's boats. We were met with a
great deal of pomp and ceremony as we landed on
the dock. The city was in her gala dress in honor
of the occasion. Coaches were provided for the
officers; the men in marching order. I had the
honor of sitting in the coach with the Command
ing Officer in the rear of the leading band in the
procession, and as the line advanced the familiar
airs were struck up and we commenced to march
through the streets, lined as they were on either
side with people, many of them being cowboys.
As our coach proceeded, we caught the refrain of
that old familiar song: "Where did you get that
hat? Where did you get that hat?" Looking at
1134

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

the Captain, I said: "Sir, is that your hat, or
mine ?" He said : "Evidently, it is yours."
The presentation was to be at the Beach Hotel,
there being magnificent grounds around it, and
the hotel itself looked like a tower ; its balconies
were crowded with people, and the grounds were
black with them. All the officers took their places
on the grand stand. The Governor of the State
made the address, presenting the silver service,
which had cost $5,000 — the gift of the State to the
ship. He spoke in glowing terms of the valor of
our men, and incidentally said that he expected to
hear from them should the ship ever get into
action, as he believed there would be a good ac
counting from all on board. The Captain re
ceived the gift, and, in a few well-chosen words,
thanked the people of the State on behalf of the
Navy Department and the officers and crew of the
"Texas." That night there was a grand recep
tion in honor of the officers, all of us attending in
full dress uniform, the citizens turning out to wel
come us. It really seemed that the city had
thrown its portals wide open to receive us : for if
we hired a coach to go anywhere, at the end of the
drive the driver refused pay and would inform us
that the city was paying for that. Even on the
street cars, the conductors would not collect our
fares, and every home in the place was open to us.
Receptions were given nightly, excursions were
135

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

gotten up for the crew, and they were taken to
different resorts where they would have oyster-
bakes, and such like. A great deal of credit is
due the State for the attention paid to the en
listed men. Most States seem to lose sight of the
fact that the men are very important individuals,
making up the fighting complement, and are just
as much entitled to recognition as any of the
officers. The first Sunday in port, it was intended to
have a large representation of the city people on
board at our services — they having promised to
come out and render us what assistance they
could in the singing. A storm came up, which
prevented them from reaching the ship. The next
Sunday, however, was grand. A large company
from the different churches came out and ren
dered valuable assistance, some of the ladies sing
ing solos; we were also favored with quartettes
and chorus singing. Our men enjoyed it ex
ceedingly, and all the visitors were delighted at
having the opportunity of attending service on
board a war-ship.
The night before leaving a large farewell re
ception was given the officers on shore. We were
to have sailed the next morning at daylight, but
a terrific storm came up and our steam launch
was unable to leave the ship that night to come
in to the dock for us, so we chartered a tug. The
136

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

Captain was doubtful of making the ship, but he
was urged by the officers to make a bold attempt.
We went out about a mile and a half, the ship
having gone outside the bar, where she was
anchored. All of a sudden the Captain of the
tug said : "Gentlemen, we shall be swamped ; we
had better turn and put back to port." In making
the turn, we really thought we would be cap
sized, but reached the dock all right. We waited
on shore until six o'clock, when our Executive
Officer went over to the light-house tender
"Armeria" and got her Commanding Officer to
take us out to the ship. The sea was very boister
ous, so we steamed around our ship three or four
times before lowering a boat. A boat shoved off
from the "Texas," but was unable to make us.
Then the life-boat was lowered from the tender,
and, suspending ourselves over the side, clinging
to a rope as the boat would come up on the crest
of a wave, we would drop into it. At last we all
got in, and then the great, stalwart fellows who
manned her pulled with all their might for our
gangway. After a very trying experience, and
with great difficulty, they reached the ship. With
great caution, one at a time sprang from the boat
to the platform at the foot of the ladder. After
leaving us, it seemed at times as though the boat
could never live in such a sea, but they got back
with her to the tender. Then the "Armeria" blew
137

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

her whistle three times, saluting us, which we ac
knowledged. After getting our anchor, we put to
sea, headed for New Orleans, where we were or
dered to participate in the Mardi Gras celebration.
Going up the Mississippi River we passed through
the midst of beautiful scenery, passing also the old
forts where Farragut made the celebrated run,
and where his words have come down in history :
"Never mind the torpedoes; go ahead!" The
hamlets on the banks of the river — some in very
good condition, others most desolate looking —
were all occupied by the same kind of people,
true Americans, who shouted as loud as their
lungs would permit as we steamed by. Arriving
off Canal Street, we found the U. S. S. "Maine,"
in command of Captain Crowninshield, U. S. N.,
lying at anchor.
The morning after our arrival, King Rex came
up the river, and we saluted him with twenty-one
guns, after which he was received on shore by our
men with military honors. The day procession
was very grand, but the procession that night was
the grandest sight I have ever witnessed. There
were thirty-seven floats, representing the various
States and the seasons of the year. We remained
in New Orleans a week, and were received as cor
dially and as heartily as we had been in Galves
ton. I found the people just as anxious to attend
divine service on board ship there as they had
138

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

been in other ports, and several of them availed
themselves of the opportunity and assisted us
greatly in the services.
From there we went to Port Royal, S. C, where
we tested our great guns and found them in good
condition, but very slow for modern warfare; as
it took seven minutes to fire, reload and fire again.
Leaving there, we proceeded to Hampton
Roads, where we remained two weeks, when we
were ordered to Tompkinsville, N. Y., and were
welcomed home by those so dear to us. I shall
never forget this first cruise of mine on a war
ship, and shall ever look back to it with a great
deal of pleasure.

139

CHAPTER IV.
a bar harbor, MAINE, EXPERIENCE.
IN March, 1897, our Commanding Officer was
detached, and Captain William C. Wise,
U. S. N., was ordered to the command.
We found him to be a very charming gentleman.
He was a strict Churchman, and never failed to
attend divine service on board ship while at sea,
but in port always attended the Protestant Epis
copal services. He was a strict disciplinarian, yet
had the respect and love of every one on board.
As a Commanding Officer he got a great deal of
work out of both officers and men, more on ac
count of the respect they had for him than on ac
count of the authority vested in him by his rank.
We made several runs from New York during his
command and for the summer marioeuvering went
to Portsmouth, N. H., Portland and Bar Harbor,
Me. Admiral Sicard was then the Commander-
in-Chief on the North Atlantic Station. As the
fleet dropped anchor off Bar Harbor, the flagship
displayed the signal : "Give the men all the liberty
they want; there is no rum in this State." Our
men were delighted, and all who could obtain lib-
141

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

erty very soon left the ship. The Saturday after
our arrival, the U. S. F. S. "New York" and U.
S. S. "Massachusetts" base-ball nines played
a match game, which the "Massachusetts" crew
won. This was the first time the flagship's nine
had been defeated, and naturally the men were
elated over the victory, which caused them to act
in such a manner as to make one believe the town
belonged to them. About eight o'clock that even
ing the town officers sent off word to all ships
that the men were acting disorderly on shore. A
corporal's guard was sent from each ship, with
orders to arrest all men overstaying liberty and
order all others back, and I have never, during my
experience in the Navy, seen so many drunken
sailors as I saw there in that prohibition port.
Sunday on board ship we held divine service as
usual at 10:30. It was a pretty sight to see all
the ships with their Church pennants flying, and
it was the first time I had seen six Chaplains to
gether with the fleet.
In the evening, I was invited to open a meeting
at the Congregational Church. Being informed
it was a union service, I accepted the invitation,
and when I entered the church, found a very large
audience present, and on the rostrum sat seven or
eight ladies, who were the speakers of the occa
sion. There were no gentlemen with them, as it
was purely a woman's meeting. I was asked to
142

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

open the meeting with prayer, which I did, and
prayed for everything except the one thing I
should have, namely, temperance, not being in
formed beforehand of the character of the service.
The president arose and made a magnificent
speech on the subject under discussion. She was
followed by a lady, the world's secretary of the
W. C. T. U., who based her speech on the con
duct of our men the previous day. She was very
bitter in her denunciation of the sailors of the
United States Navy, and the way she reflected
upon them and complimented the policemen for
doing their duty made me very indignant, which
caused me to ask the chairman for permission to
speak, after the present speaker was through. I
was informed that the world's president had the
programme in charge, and I would have to get her
consent; so immediately sent word to her that I
would like permission to speak at the close of this
lady's remarks, and if I could not speak with her
consent would speak anyway. The permission
was gladly granted. So, arising, I said I thought
it was very poor taste for a person to visit this
country from a foreign land and speak disparag
ingly of our men in the Navy, and, if I held my
peace at that time, should not consider myself fit
to hold the commission I held as an officer. I
knew my men better than she did, and I rather
scoffed at the idea that she should say that the
143

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

whole of Europe was looking with envious eyes
upon the State of Maine on account of the control
they had in that State of the liquor traffic ; but I
excused her, because, before visiting the State with
the fleet, I was almost as big an idiot as she was,
as I actually believed rum could not be bought
there. Then, continuing, stated that I had visited
the hotels with friends to get our meals, and if
any wanted liquor to drink they would sign a card
for the waiter and he would take it out and return
with a sealed package known as a package of
mystery ; and instead of complimenting the police
men as she had done, she should have urged every
resident of that community to see that they were
turned out of office, as our men were not to blame
for getting intoxicated the day before — the fault
lay with those very policemen she had praised, for
they had failed to enforce the law that the people
had made. I would not say a word against prohi
bition, but I have yet to see where the benefit of
that law comes in. The law itself is all right, but
the enforcing of it is all wrong ; so my idea was
that if they were very anxious to cross swords
with the saloon and defeat it, there was a way
they could accomplish their purpose much sooner
than mixing up with politics, as politics and rum
are too closely united. My opinion for putting a
competent rival in the field to compete with the
gin-mill was to erect a coffee house next door to
144

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

these dens and, in place of the liquor that made
the saloon the curse it was, put in coffee, lemon
ade, milk, tea, and such like, and have these rooms
in charge of men with a similar disposition to that
the saloon keepers were blessed with; for if it
was not natural, they usually managed to manu
facture it for the occasion, as the saloon keeper
was always a hail fellow, well met. The majority
visiting the saloons did it simply for the sake of
company and pastime, and if they could find the
inducements the saloon held out to them in other
places, they would very soon abandon the saloons
and visit the better resorts. These remarks
caused a great deal of stir in the meeting, for I
was talking there against great odds, as nearly all
of the eight hundred people present were in favor
of prohibition ; still, at times they freely applaud
ed some of my remarks.
We left Bar Harbor with orders to visit the
Southern Drill Grounds, and at that time Spain
did her utmost to prevent the Squadron appearing
off the coast of Cuba; the orders were issued,
however, for the fleet to proceed to Dry Tortugas.
That was even distasteful to Spain ; no attention,
though, was paid to what she did or said ; for the
orders were carried out. The "Texas" touched
at the New York Navy Yard and remained there
for two weeks.
Our Commanding Officer was relieved October,
145

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

1897, and Captain J. W. Philip, U. S. N., was
assigned to the command. He was a tremendous
help to me in my religious work, and the first
Sunday we held services while at the Yard, Mrs.
Philip came on board and sang for our men. She
is blessed with as sweet a voice as I have ever
listened to, and we all heartily appreciated and
enjoyed her kindness in condescending to sing for
us. We were ordered from the Navy Yard to join
the Flag off Key West, which we did. Arriving
there the third Suiiday morning in November, we
anchored for a few hours, and the ships carrying
Chaplains held service at the usual hour. Ours
was held on the quarter deck under the awning,
as it was a beautiful day, in fact, it was more like
an August day would be North. We proceeded to
Dry Tortugas and came to anchor; had various
manoeuvres, and at times would weigh anchor
and cruise around the Gulf for practice.
After being there three days, the lookout an
nounced that the battleship "Maine" was ap
proaching. She came right near us and was or
dered to anchor off our port quarter. The signal
was then displayed on the "New York" directing
the "Indiana" and the "Texas" to transfer the ap
prentice boys they had on board intended for the
"Maine." The "Indiana" had thirty-nine boys;
we had eighteen. The former ship transferred
146

THE LATE ADMIRAL PHILIP, U. S. NAVY.
Taken When He Commanded the " Texas."

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

them as ordered, but the signal went up directing
us to defer transferring ours until morning, so the
boys had to pick up their bags and hammocks and
go below. They were very much disappointed,
and exceedingly so that night, when they learned a
torpedo boat had come down from Key West with
orders for the "Maine" to put to sea, and at day
light the next morning she left, without our ap
prentices going aboard. We knew not where she
had gone; all were of the opinion, though, that
she had gone to Havana. That was the last we
saw of the "Maine" as a ship of our Navy.

147

CHAPTER V.
blowing up of the "MAINE."
THE "Maine" had been at Havana some
weeks, and, while the fleet was still off
Dry Tortugas, it appeared in the New
York newspapers that she would proceed to New
Orleans to participate in the Mardi Gras celebra
tion and the "Texas" would go to Havana.
Those orders, however, were revoked, and we
were ordered for the second time to Galveston,
where we were received with just as much cere
mony as we had been on the previous visit and
were taken care of just as cordially as we were
the year before. We arrived off the bar on the
morning of February 15th, 1898, and went in
side, coming to anchor about half past three
o'clock in the afternoon. Most of the officers
went ashore to a reception that was to be ten
dered them. A storm came up while we were
there, which prevented our getting back to the
ship, so we put up at the Tremont House. Re
tiring about midnight, we were awakened at i :20
A.M. by some one knocking on the door. Arising,
we found four young men, who inquired whether
149

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

we were officers from the "Texas." We told
them we were. Then they said: "Well, gentle
men, we have bad news for you. We are re
porters, and have called to inform you that the
'Maine' blew up, in the harbor of Havana, at 9 : 15
last night." We looked at them, dumfounded.
At last one of the officers said: "We appreciate
your kindness in coming to inform us; but we
are from New York, the birthplace of yellow
journalism, and don't wish it to follow us down
here. We cannot believe the 'Maine' has blown
up." So, wishing them good night, we tried to
get a little rest, but none came to us. We talked
about the possibilities of the "Maine" having
blown up. One of the officers said : "Well, if she
has, there is treachery at the bottom of it."
Leaving the hotel at six in the morning, upon
reaching the street we found the newsboys
busy selling their papers. We bought one or two,
and, glancing over the article on the "Maine," to
our horror found it only too true. The "Maine"
had blown up, for no newspaper could manufac
ture so accurate a description of the ship, giving
the names of the missing, as these had. Buying
several more papers, we returned to the ship, tak
ing with us the first news of the destruction of
the "Maine." Our Captain met us on the quarter
deck and, as we handed him a newspaper, he
looked at it. His face turned deathly pale. Then,
150

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

addressing us, he said: "If that is true, we will
see war before we see New York." We talked
much about the "Maine," and all were of the
opinion that it was very suspicious that she should
have blown up in the harbor of Havana. Know
ing how we were detested by the Spaniards,
everything pointed to a most fiendish crime.
After I had taken my breakfast, I went up for
ward to the men, and found them busily engaged
reading the papers we had sent to them. As soon
as I reached the berth deck, a number of the crew
gathered about me. A lad, being one of the ap
prentices who had been intended for the "Maine,"
said: "Chaplain, if it had not been for Provi
dence, I might not have been here now, as I see
every boy that left the 'Indiana' but two are miss
ing, and maybe our crowd would have suffered a
similar fate." It had a good effect on the appren
tices detained on our ship, and I think made dif
ferent boys of all.
Then one of the men spoke up and said : "Do
you really think, sir, the 'Maine' has blown up?"
I said : "I know as much about it as you do ; all
the information I have is what I have read in the
paper, but I fear it is only too true." Then a lit
tle fellow came to me and said: "Chaplain, do
you think if she has been blown up, the Dagoes
(sailor term for Spaniards) did it?" I said: "I
don't know that either, my boy." Then, clinching
151

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

his fist, he stamped his foot on the deck and said :
"Well, I pity them if they did, should they ever
run in with the 'Texas.' " I looked at him, and
wondered what that little mite of a fellow would
do, if perchance we should go to war.
We received orders from Washington to stand
by ready for sea at six hours' notice, but no orders
came. So we spent the week at Galveston, as it
was first intended we should. It was a sad sight
in the harbor the day after the destruction of the
"Maine." Ships of every nationality had their
colors at half-mast. Half-mast flags were flying
over every store and House in the city ; everything
seemed to speak the word "death" wherever we
went; and our hearts were filled with sorrow as
we remembered the widows, the fatherless chil
dren, and the mothers who had lost their boys on
that noble ship of ours.
When we returned to Dry Tortugas, we found
that every preparation vsas made for war; every
precaution taken, so that an enemy could not steal
through the darkness of the night and take ad
vantage of us. The channels were patrolled by
the picket boats, and a r^ular signal system was
inaugurated for the occasion. On Sunday, Feb
ruary 27th, I preached a memorial sermon to our
men and officers, and was greeted by the largest
turnout of men that any Chaplain had ever had
the pleasure of addressing on board a sea-going
152

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

ship — every man of our crew being present ex
cepting those who were compelled to be on duty.
This service was held off Dry Tortugas. While
in the city of Galveston, I got out memorials in
the form of an invitation and sent one to every
member of our crew, so that he could keep it and
remember the warning that came so forcibly to all
of us by the sudden ushering of our comrades into
eternity. On the front of the Memorial were the
words: "In Memoriam Officers and Men of the
U. S. S. 'Maine.' " On the inside was inscribed :
Battleship "Texas," Off Galveston,
Febmary 2ist, 1898.
By the consent of the Commanding Officer, the
Chaplain of this ship will conduct Memorial Ser
vices on board at 10 :30 Sunday morning, Febru
ary twenty-seventh, eighteen hundred and ninety-
eight, in memory of the gallant men who lost their
lives in the terrible catastrophe which befell the
"Maine" on the evening of the fifteenth.
Out of respect to our noble dead, I invite you to
participate by your presence in the sad services.
Yours in our Country's Sorrow,
Harry W. Jones,
Chaplain U. S. Navy.
Around this invitation was a deep black mar
gin. They were sent to the Commanding Officers
153

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

of all the ships present, the Secretary of the Navy,
and the Chief of the Bureau of Navigation, he be
ing Captain A. S. Crowninshield, U. S. N., who
was the "Maine's" late Commander. He sent me
this very kind note :
Department of the Navy, Bureau of Naviga
tion, Washington, D. C,
February 28th, 1898.
Chaplain Harry W. Jones, U. S. N., U. S. S.
"Texas," Key West, Fla.
My Dear Jones:
I only send you a line to acknowledge the re
ceipt of the notice signed by yourself, announcing
the Memorial Services held on board the "Texas"
in memory of the gallant men who lost their lives
on board the "Maine." All of which is very much
appreciated by myself and other officers of the De
partment. With kindest regards, believe me.
Yours very sincerely,
A. S. Crowninshield.
The "New York" and the "Iowa" had returned
to Key West, so that the Admiral could be in easy
communication with the Department. This left
Captain Philip Senior Officer present. We re
mained as such for several days when the "New
York" and the "Iowa" were seen approaching.
154

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

The "Iowa" was flying the Senior Officer's pen
nant, as Captain Sampson was the Senior Captain
of all the Captains in those waters. Our Senior
Officer's pennant was immediately run down, but
we could not understand what had happened to
the Admiral. We were of the opinion, however,
that he was either sick, dead, or had gone to
Washington to consult with the Navy Depart
ment; but found out later that he was seriously
ill, and Captain Sampson had been ordered to re
lieve him.
About the middle of March, we had orders to
proceed to Newport News for coal, which we did,
and just as the lighters came alongside, we had
orders to defer coaling until the next day. At
nine o'clock that night, however, we received our
orders to proceed to the New York Navy Yard
for work on our turrets. As I mentioned before,
our great guns worked very slowly for modern
warfare, and Lieutenant Francis J. Haesler,
U. S. N., who had charge of the starboard twelve-
inch turret, and Lieutenant Mark L. Bristol,
U. S. N., who had charge of the port turret, with a
great deal of tenacity had devised a scheme which
had been submitted to the Department for their
consideration, for remodelling the system of
operating our turrets. This plan was approved,
and we were granted six days and nights for
working on them. The old system, which con-
155

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

sisted of a hydraulic rammer outside the turret,
only allowing the guns to be loaded in two posi
tions, was taken out, and a telescopic rammer was
placed inside of the turret, so that it followed the
gun wherever it went, permitting it to be loaded
in any position. After six days' faithful work,
the system was completed. Then we had orders
to paint the ship a dark gray color, and we knew
that war was expected.
On the sixth day of April, we left the Navy
Yard at 8:io a.m. The Brooklyn Bridge was
crowded with people, all along the docks to the
Battery were packed with the most enthusiastic
crowds, who shouted and cheered for us as we
steamed by. The ships and the vessels in the har
bor saluted us in a grand manner until we were
out of hearing distance of the blowing of their
whistles. We arrived at Cape Henry Light-house
the next morning at 6:45 and proceeded to
Hampton Roads, where we anchored at 9 :50 and
saluted the flagship "Brooklyn" with eleven guns,
opposite Fort Monroe, and that morning became
a part of the Flying Squadron, which consisted of
the U. S. S. "Brooklyn," flagship; battleships
"Massachusetts" and "Texas"; cruisers, "Co
lumbia" and "Minneapolis."

156

CHAPTER VI.
forty-eight hours' leave.
ON the ninth of April, a Spanish merchant
man passed up the Roads and saluted
the Squadron by dipping his flag. This
being Sunday, we held divine service on board.
Mrs. Philip, wife of the Commanding Officer,
was present, and sang. All the married officers,
excepting myself, had their families at one of the
hotels at Fort Monroe. We were allowed to leave
the ship every afternoon at four o'clock for one
hour. Whenever we went, all the officers would
try and tease me about not having my family
with me; but jokingly I would reply: "Never
mind, wait — maybe you would rather yours were
not with you a little later on." An order had been
given that, should a gun be fired, it would mean
that the Squadron would proceed to sea within
an hour, as we were standing by for one hour's
notice. Wednesday, the thirteenth, the gun was fired.
The windows at the hotels went up, and the ladies
were seen looking out at us, and in a little while
they were all down upon the beach ; some getting
in the launches from the ships, others hiring
157

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

private boats to take them off to the vessel where
their husbands were. As they approached us, the
officers, as they walked up and down the decks,
watched them. I said: "Well, gentlemen, don't
you wish the madam was in New York, or some
where else just now ?" They said : "Never mind ;
they are not there." I said: "No, but mine is."
It was so good to get even with them. We were
going to sea under sealed orders, and when the
time came for the ladies to leave the ship, it was a
very sad parting indeed. They wept bitterly at
the thought of perhaps never meeting the one they
loved again, and when they were told to leave the
ship, it seemed as though they could not give
their loved ones up. Caressing each other, they
bade one another an affectionate farewell, leaving
each to the tender mercies and watchfulness of
God. As the Squadron got under way, we went very
slow until the Cape was reached, but no one was
aware of our destination. As we neared Cape
Henry, we put on a little more speed and, instead
of heading south, as we expected to, we headed
north. Then we began to try and surmise what it
meant. One officer said: "We are going up
around the coast of New England, as they are
pretty scared up there, and that is going to be our
part should we have war with Spain." At seven
o'clock that evening, the signal went up on the
158

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

flagship, "Come to anchor." Of course this was
mysterious, but one of the officers offered a very
good solution of the problem by saying that in all
probability it was the intention of the Commodore
to remain there until after dark, then he would put
out to sea, and, after having gone out some dis
tance, would head south, so that no one would
find out where we had gone, and thus steal a
march on the Press. We remained at anchor
until 9:30 the next morning, when the flagship
ordered us to heave up our anchor and follow the
flag. The sea was very rough, and our gun decks
were flooded frequently. General quarters was
sounded and we had battery drill and manoeuver-
ing in different forms until eleven that morning,
when we again came to anchor. At two o'clock
we got under way again for similar drills, com
ing to anchor at 5 p.m. We were tired from our
day's exercises, and turned in early, but at nine
o'clock, sharp, the alarm was sounded for general
quarters. It was only a drill.
The next day was overcast. We had general
quarters and sub-calibre practice at 9:30 a.m.,
got under way before dinner, and headed for
Hampton Roads, and at 5 :30 p.m. we anchored
off Old Point Comfort, when over came the ladies
again, delighted at the fact that we had been to
war and whipped the Spaniards so easily and all
had returned safe and sound. When the officers
159

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

were received back by their wives and children,
their welcome was the grandest I had ever wit
nessed. We remained at Fort Monroe, having
various drills daily. On the nineteenth things
began to look as though war was coming, so I
asked permission of our Commanding Officer to
apply for forty-eight hours' leave. He consented.
So, going to the flagship, I saw the Commodore
and made known my wishes to him. He received
me very kindly, but said: "Chaplain, I am ex
ceedingly sorry that it is impossible for me to
grant your request, as my orders are to stand by
for one hour's notice, and the fleet is apt to be
ordered out any moment ; but you may telegraph
the Secretary of the Navy saying you have my
permission, and if he grants it, then all right."
This I did, and at 6:30 p.m. my request was
granted by telegram. Running down to the pier,
I boarded our steam launch and made for the ship.
The Cape Charles boat was then in sight, so rush
ing up our gangway, I informed the Officer of the
Deck that my leave was granted, then, going to
the cabin, told the Captain. Getting my Japanese
boy to hurry with my dress case we hastened on
deck, as I had just ten minutes then to catch the
boat. I told the coxswain as I boarded the launch to
make the best time possible over to the pier where
the Cape Charles passengers landed. They
160

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

crowded on all steam, but very soon the coxswain
shouted to me : "The Cape Charles boat is headed
out, sir." I said : "Never mind ; make for her."
He then said: "She is going twice as fast as I
can, sir." Then I told him to give her the toot.
So he blew our whistle four times. No notice was
taken of it. He then blew again, and the Cape
Charles boat answered and stopped her engines
to allow us to go alongside. They naturally
thought that the Commodore or some other big
man was coming, so when I got on board I found
an anxious lot of people watching to see who was
coming. Thanking the Captain, I said no more,
and was glad to be in New York the next mom-
ing at seven o'clock, and was delighted to reach
Bensonhurst, my home, at 8 :45.
My wife and babies were happy to see me, but
the first thing Mrs. Jones asked was : "When are
you going away?" I said: "Never mind that;
don't talk about it." She was more in the habit
of having me absent than she was of having me
with her, and I hadn't the heart to tell her that
fourteen hours of my leave was already spent and
fourteen hours more would be required for me to
return to Hampton Roads, allowing me to remain
with them only twenty hours. Brief as my visit
was, it was the happiest I had ever spent with my
loved ones, as I knew how to appreciate it. The
next day, at 6 a.m., I had to leave the house. My
i6i

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

little boy was two years old that day. Going into
his room, where he lay fast asleep, I fondled him,
and, leaving him, went into the little girl's room,
and, as I watched those two little babes that
morning, I realized the solemnity of being a par
ent. I was almost positive war was coming, and
I wondered whether I should ever see those little
tots again, so, kissing them an affectionate fare
well, had to say good-by to the wife. It was an
exceedingly hard parting, but part we must, and
I thought the quicker it was done the better, so
hurried from the house and did not look to the
right or left, but kept my eyes straight ahead until
I reached the cars. It was my custom when leav
ing home to turn around and wave my hand in
adieu, but that day I could not do it. I arrived
at Fort Monroe at 8:io that night, and when
reaching the ship was informed that Congress had
taken action, and had sent the bill to the Senate
declaring war.
The next morning I received a letter from
home, and in it Mrs. Jones informed me as soon
as my little boy Harry had gotten up he asked for
his papa. His mamma had to tell him papa had
gone away. He seemed to doubt it, as he remem
bered I was home the night before. He wept
bitterly, then, of his own accord, toddled over to
his little chair, and, kneeling down, put his little
baby face in his little baby hands and said :. "Dear,
162

MY LITTLE SON, CHARLES HARRY, WHEN THREE
YEARS OLD.

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

dear papa, come back." Getting up from off his
knees, he went over to the door, held up his little
finger, and said : "Back, papa, papa." Child-like
faith; but how it comforted me. Ammunition
was gotten up and placed alongside of the guns ;
the men in charge of them slept at their post until
daylight. The twenty-fourth was a very stormy day, and
we learned of the declaration of war with Spain,
as the bill had then passed the House and the Sen
ate, and been signed by the President. Govern
ment tugs were busy all day laying mines in the
Roads. We sent out, with the other ships, at dark,
our steam launches armed with one-pounders, to
do picket duty down the Bay.
The next morning the "Montgomery" and
"Vicksburg" passed out to sea, bound south.
Our men cheered them as they went, and they
cheered us in return.
The thirtieth was a beautiful day, and the col
lier "Merrimac" passed out on her way to sea.
We did not know her destination, and little
dreamed how famous she would be in a little over
two months from then.
May 1st was a beautiful day. Held divine ser
vice on the spar deck, all the wives of the officers
attending ; the men turned out in goodly number.
Mrs. Philip again sang. That afternoon the
"Scorpion" joined the Squadron, and anchored
163

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

off our port bow. Our men and all on board were
greatly elated during the latter part of this week
over the news of Dewey's victory, and we all were
very anxious to try our hand on the other fleet.
The hospital ship "Solace" passed out to sea and
the "Suwanee" joined the Squadron on the
seventh. On Sunday morning. May 8th, we had divine
service, and several visitors were present. Mrs.
Philip sang for us. Her sweet voice, with its
clear tone, began :
"My Jesus, as Thou wilt; oh, may Thy will be
mine;
Into Thy hand of love I would my all resign ;
Thro' sorrow  "
Here she broke down and, weeping bitterly, left
the services, as it was so hard to even sing "Thy
will be mine." It had a tremendous effect on all
present. After the service, the Captain said:
"What did you give her that piece for ?" I said :
"Well, sir, she selected it herself." "Well, it is
all right, anyhow." He said it in a gruff manner,
but nevertheless, he was thinking much. That
evening the "Vesuvius" came in and anchored.
From that time on we had sub-calibre practice
until Thursday.
On the ninth two transports went out with
164

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

troops on board headed for Tampa, and the way
they were cheered by our men was simply won
derful, and they cheered us just as heartily in re
turn. On the twelfth we heaved up our anchor and
put out to sea for target practice, testing our
twelve-inch guns, and fired five shots from the
port one in the morning and five from the star
board one in the afternoon — the ten shots taking
nineteen minutes to fire. The old system would
have taken that long to fire twice. Any shot
would have hit a vessel, so accurately were they
pointed at the target. We got back to Hampton
Roads at seven o'clock that evening, and came to
anchor. Spent a pleasant evening. The families
of the officers came over to the ship and remained
quite late. My thoughts all the time, though,
were carrying me off to Bensonhurst, and I won
dered what my loved ones were doing there.

!r6g

CHAPTER VII.
THE FLYING SQUADRON GOES TO SEA UNDER SEALED
ORDERS.
QUITE early the next morning. May 13th,
the flagship made signal to be ready
for sea at daylight. We immediately
made preparations for getting
under way. The order, however, was revoked,
and we were ordered to coal ship until noon, at
which time the signal was made directing us to be
ready to sail at three o'clock in the afternoon.
The wives of the officers came on board at one
o'clock and remained until just before our de
parture. They did not seem to be nearly as cast
down as they were when we first put to sea, on
April 13th, and, when leaving the ship, they were
buoyed up with the hope that possibly a similar
experience would be ours again, and that we
would simply go outside for practice, and soon re
turn. There were some tears shed; but, on the
whole, it was a good thing that we had gone out
under similar circumstances before. Soon after
they had left the ship, the Squadron got under
way, with the exception of the "Minneapolis" and
"New Orleans," the latter having quite recently
167

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

joined the fleet. As we passed the Capes, we
steered south by east quarter east, which told us
plainly that we were bound this time for Cuba.
All day Saturday, we made about thirteen and
one-half knots. It was a beautiful day. Sunday
morning was as fine a day as I had ever experi
enced. We held divine services on the quarter
deck. I took for my subject "Patriotism," men
tioning to the men that we were at last bound, in
all probability, for war; urging them to be loyal
to their flag and their country. At five o'clock
that afternoon we were off Charleston, S. C, and,
as we neared the bar, found a light-house tender
waiting for us, with despatches for the Com
mander-in-Chief. They also had mail on board
for us and we, in turn, sent mail ashore by them.
We got under way as soon as the orders were
read, when the "Brooklyn" signalled: "We are
bound for Key West with all possible speed."
The "Texas" started to make thirteen knots, but
we were ordered to reduce our speed to eleven
knots. Monday passed uneventfully. Tuesday
was exceedingly hot; the awnings were spread
and the crew ordered to put on their white uni
forms. On Wednesday morning. May i8th, we anchor
ed off Key West and, after partaking of break
fast, began coaling ship. The "Scorpion" came
alongside and coaled from the same lighter. The
i68

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

"New York" and "Iowa" came in from Porto
Rico, where they had been bombarded, and an
chored near us. They were both stained with the
smoke from the powder, and it was plainly visible
they had been in a regular engagement. The
"Brooklyn" saluted Admiral Sampson's flag with
thirteen guns. The "New York" returned the
salute with eleven guns. We were through coal
ing at eight o'clock that evening, when our men
immediately began to clean the ship. At 7 :30 the
next morning, the "Brooklyn" made signal to get
up anchor, as the Flying Squadron would pro
ceed to sea. We were again going out, not know
ing where we were bound. So Captain Philip had
our signal boy wigwag his compliments to Ad
miral Sampson on the "New York" and state we
were all interested in this matter, but would like
to know where we were bound, as we were ignor
ant as to that ; and if the Admiral knew our desti
nation, we would appreciate it if he would inform
us. The Admiral directed the signal boy of the
flagship to wigwag this message : "You are bound
for Cienfuegos, Cuba, to bag the Dons ; and may
good luck go with you!" This, of course, was
read by every ship in the fleet. Our men were
delighted: they chased one another around the
decks, jumping high-backs and speculating with
each other as to who would get the first shot at the
Spaniards when we met them. Soon after we
169

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

left Key West, we passed the "St. Paul," "Mont
gomery," 'Indiana," and "Nashville." The
"Scorpion" toward evening fell back alongside of
us, directing us to steam with all precaution,
keeping a good lookout for the enemy during the
night. Should we engage him and be overpow
ered, causing us to separate, we would rendezvous
the next morning, in such and such latitude. The
night, however, passed by without our encounter
ing anything to disturb its quiet.
The morning of the twentieth, while our men
were at breakfast, the bugle sounded to clear ship
for action. The flagship made signal, "Strange
vessels on the horizon." Our magazines were
opened, ammunition was speedily gotten up, and
the men began clearing the ship with a ven
geance, throwing tables, benches, and ditty boxes
overboard, but they were told to quit that, and it
was fortunate they were : as I believe they would
have thrown the whole "Texas" overboard that
morning to have made room around the guns.
To the discomfort of the officers, the first thing
that went into the briny deep was our refrigerator
and all our fresh provisions, excepting what lit
tle could be saved. This was an absolute neces
sity, as it stood right between two of our six-inch
guns and the splinters would have been very dan
gerous in action. W<e crowded on all steam, our
guns were loaded, and the men strained their
170

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

eyes to sight them on the approaching foe, but
waited for the signal to commence firing. One
after another of the gun's crew would state:
"Well, I will plunk that fellow first." Another
would say: "No, you wont; I will." Those of
us not engaged with the guns went on deck.
The little fellow who had spoken to me while
at Galveston, saying: "I pity the Dagoes if they
should ever run in with the 'Texas,' " came up to
me and said : "Chaplain, we have those fellows for
fair." I said: "How is that, WiUie?" He re
plied: "Can't you see, sir, it is two to four? We
have four ships, and the other fellow has only
two." And sure enough he was right, as there
were only two volumes of smoke then in sight
above the horizon. We could tell by the density
of it, however, that the ships approaching were
warships. On they rushed, and on we rushed.
Our lookout shouted down from the top: "They
are cleared for action, sir ! Their battle flags are
flying," and that day we found out, if never be
fore, the calibre of the men of the United States
Navy, as the two ships supposed to be the enemy's
proved to be the "Cincinnati" and the "Vesu
vius," our own ships. Two to four, or really one
to four, as the "Vesuvius" was never intended to
fight a fleet at sea; she was made to fire earth
quakes into Santiago de Cuba after the sun had
gone down. 17V

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

When the "Cincinnati" came near enough to be
spoken, our Captain shouted out to Captain Ches
ter: "Have you seen anything of the enemy?"
"Enemy!" he replied; "I thought you were the
fellow." In fact they all thought on those ships
we were the enemy, but they rushed on to meet
us with Old Glory at the fore, and sooner than
have lowered it those ships would have gone down
with all their gallant men on board, rather than
have brought discredit to the flag by turning
to run away. A large ship was seen approaching
under sail. The "Cincinnati" and the "Vesu
vius" both started to intercept her. We continued
on our course, and during the afternoon made out
Cape San Antonio light-house on our port bow,
and about 5 :30 that evening a light from a
steamer was seen about four miles distant toward
the shore. The "Brooklyn" flashed her search
light on the vessel, which made some signal that
proved satisfactory to the flagship, as she was al
lowed to go on her course unmolested.
Things went on quietly until seven o'clock Sun
day morning, when we arrived off the entrance
to Cienfuegos harbor. We loaded our guns and
closed in, quite close to shore, steaming past a
couple of small forts at the mouth of the harbor.
We had orders to fire should the enemy fire at us.
No shots were fired, however, as we steamed past,
but, as we commenced steaming out to sea again,
172

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

a troop of Spanish cavalrymen were seen in the
mountains. They began to fire at us with their
Mauser rifles. We turned our guns as if we were
going to fire at them, and the way those horses got
out of there, with their brave riders, beat any
horse race you ever saw. At 7 :30 the smoke of a
steamer was sighted to the southward and shortly
after the flagship made signal to clear ship for
action. We again made ready for an engage
ment; had no fight, though, as the smoke came
from our own torpedo boat, "Dupont." She
brought word to us that the "Iowa" would join
us during the day, and that afternoon we were re
inforced with that magnificent battleship. We
were told by her Captain that the "Castine,"
"Marblehead," and a collier would join the
Squadron very shortly. The "Scorpion" and
"Dupont" went close in shore that night to watch
and block any attempt that any Spanish craft
might make to get out. Three gun vessels and
some torpedo boats were reported inside of the
harbor. The sunset that evening was particularly
beautiful. In fact it was the grandest that I had
ever beheld.
The converted yacht "Hawk" came in the next
morning, and, upon hailing her for news, we
learned that the Spanish fleet had arrived at San
tiago on the twentieth and was supposed to be
still there. Shortly after she arrived, the "Cas-
173

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

tine" put in an appearance, convoying the collier
"Merrimac." About noon, the former put out
after a steamer that was sighted to the eastward
and brought her in. A boat from the flagship
was sent over to the stranger, and she was soon
afterwards allowed to enter the harbor; she was
the "Adula," a supposed English ship belonging
to the Atlas Line. After she had entered the
harbor, the "Brooklyn" signalled that the Span
ish fleet had left Santiago on Friday morning and
was believed to be at Cienfuegos. If such was the
case, we had them in a trap, from which there was
no escape, as the harbor entrance was too narrow
for more than one vessel to pass at a time. Dur
ing the night, the "Scorpion" left us. The sig
nal lights of the Cubans and the Spaniards were
visible all through the night. The next morning.
May 24th, the "Marblehead" and the "Eagle"
joined the Squadron. The former was directed to
communicate with the insurgents, who informed
Captain McCalla, the Commanding Officer,
that the Spanish fleet was still at Santiago. Sev
eral small boats of the Squadron were engaged
during the day, trying to find the remaining
cable, but without success.
At five o'clock that evening we left for San
tiago de Cuba. That night and the day and night
following, we encountered our first real disagree
able weather. About 9:30 p.m., on the twenty-
174

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

fifth, the "Marblehead," which was about two
miles ahead of the Squadron, sent up two red
lights, a signal meaning that a strange vessel was
sighted. We went to general quarters at once,
but nothing more than a schooner proved to be
anywhere near us. On the twenty-sixth, at 9 :30
A.M., we had general quarters simply for drill, and
in the afternoon, when nearly down to Santiago,
we sighted three columns of smoke on the hori
zon, and again went to general quarters. The
ships that we had cleared for proved to be the
"Minneapolis," "St. Paul," and the "Yale." Our
men said : "What do you think of it. Chaplain ?"
I replied: "It is exceedingly good practice."
They said: "Yes, practice that is all right for a
parson; but we want to fight." So I reminded
them of Fort Monroe, and told them to have
patience. The "Yale" was commanded by our late Com
manding Officer, Captain William G. Wise,
U. S. N., who shouted over to Captain Philip that
the Spanish fleet was inside of the harbor at San
tiago, but he did not know whether we could go in
after them or not. After awhile, the flagship sig
nalled, to our amazement, that we would return to
Key West. We went ahead until midnight, and
then stopped. The next day we spent steaming
around the coast, and at nine o'clock in the even
ing the collier "Merrimac" came alongside of us
175

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

and we coaled until noon on the twenty-eighth,
which was the hottest day we had experienced.
The pitch ran out of the seams of the deck like
water. The "Minneapolis," "Yale," and "St.
Paul" all left us that day, each going in different
directions. At 5 :30 p.m. we started on what the
men called dress-parade, which was steaming
back and forth before the forts of Santiago, about
eight miles distant. This- we continued every
night until daylight. The cruiser "Marblehead"
went close in shore, but the Spaniards did not fire
a shot. The next morning, five warships were
seen from the bridge of our ship, lying in the
harbor, and we rightly supposed that at last we
had found the Cape de Verde Fleet.
Held divine service that morning, and at 10
P.M. a ship near the shore fired two red rockets,
followed by a green one. Our men were sleep
ing at their guns, and in a trice they were awake,
on their feet, and opened fire with the second
battery upon what they then supposed to be a
torpedo boat. Whatever it was, it was speedily
demolished by the torrents of deadly missiles our
men poured into it. The next morning the "Chris-
tobal Colon" was plainly visible all day, as she lay
right across the mouth of the harbor. The morn
ing of the thirtieth, we were ordered to coal
ship. The "New Orleans" and "Sterling" joined
the fleet, and early Tuesday morning we began
176

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

coahng ship again. At 2:20 p.m. the "Massa
chusetts" ran up Commodore Schley's flag, as he
had transferred it from the "Brooklyn," and, to
gether with the "New Orleans" and the "Iowa,"
steamed in to about six miles from the forts, and
opened fire as they passed twice. The "Colon"
was still lying across the mouth of the harbor.
We immediately stopped coaling as the first shot
was fired, and cast loose from the collier. The
fleet ceased firing just then, and withdrew. As
the "Iowa" came near enough so that we could
speak to her, Captain Philip shouted out to Cap
tain Evans : "I have been trying to get the Chap
lain to swear for me." Captain Evans shouted
back: "Shoot the Chaplain! I have been doing
it myself all the afternoon. I have strained one
of my twelve-inch guns trying to hit the 'Colon.'
I think I did hit her once. We should have sunk
her though, but we kept too far out." It was
very amusing to see the tug "E. E. Simpson," of
Pensacola, Fla., chartered by the New York Jour
nal, with a large flag bearing the words "New
York Journal" in large letters flying at the fore,
steam in past the Squadron, full speed ahead,
rushing toward the forts. She went away inside
of the firing line, but when the enemy fired on her,
the balls falling quite near her, she came steaming
out like a scared dog. That night it began to rain
in torrents, lasting two or three hours, during
177

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

which time we could scarcely see the length of our
ship. Early in the morning, four lines of smoke were
sighted. An hour later, the "New York," flag
ship, battleship "Oregon," and converted yacht
"Mayflower," together with the torpedo boat
"Porter," joined us. We greeted them with loud,
rousing . cheers, especially the "Oregon," as we
were aware of the magnificent run she had made
from San Francisco. As soon as the "New
York" came near enough to us, she directed all
Commanding Officers to report on board for a
council of war. Commodore Schley and all the
Commanding Officers present immediately left
the ships to board the flagship.

178

ADJVIIRAL CERVERA.
Commander-in-Chief of the Destroyed Fleet.

CHAPTER VIII.
THE GOING IN OF THE "MERRIMAC."
AT noon the same day, our Commanding
Officer returned from the "New York."
Coming on board, he told the Officer of
the Deck to have all hands called. Lieutenant H.
Phelps, U. S. N,, the officer addressed, immedi
ately called out: "Boatswain's Mate McCarty!"
McCarty shouted back: "Aye, aye, sir!" He was
told to pipe all hands on deck. Going to the dif
ferent hatchways, he piped his whistle and
shouted down: "All hands on deck!" In a few
minutes we were all standing on the quarter deck.
The Commanding Officer, going to the centre,
and looking at the officers, said : "Gentlemen, you
will not be included in the request I am about to
make; I wish to address the men." We had no
idea what was coming. The Captain's face, how
ever, denoted that some important business was
about to transpire. He continued : "We have had
a council of war on the flagship and Admiral
Sampson intends to send into the channel leading
into the harbor the collier 'Merrimac,' with the
intention of sinking her, in the hope of locking the
enemy in." Then, looking at his crew, number-
179

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

ing about three hundred men, he continued thus :
"The 'Merrimac' will be ready for the attempt
to-night, but will not go in before morning, or an
hour or so before daylight. The Admiral is
anxious to give each ship an opportunity of shar
ing the glory, or the misfortune ; before I say any
more, permit me to state that every man putting
his foot on the deck of the 'Merrimac' to-night
will take his life right in his hand." Here he
paused, then calmly said: "Who will represent
the 'Texas'?"
Had he touched an electric button, every
hand could not have gone up sooner, nor could
every throat have yelled out the response quicker :
"I will go, sir ; please let me do it, sir !" The Cap
tain, looking over the men, selected a great, big
strapping fellow by the name of O'Boyle. He
was an Irishman ; that is, he was once, but was
an American then; a good, honest, straightfor
ward man, as good a man, in fact, as we had on
board the ship. He was in charge of the dyna
mos, and was thoroughly reliable. Later on in
the day, I went below to his station ; he was all
smiles. Looking him straight in the eye, I felt
very nervous, but ventured to say to him : "Well,
O'Boyle, I trust God will be with you to-night."
His face brightened up, as he replied : "I believe
He will, sir; I do not wish to appear conceited,
but you know. Chaplain, I am handy at nearly
i8o

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

anything; I can run the engine or do anything
else that will be required of me on board the
'Merrimac,' so I am glad I am chosen; then,
again, if I am killed there will be no one to mourn
me, as I am all alone ; so I can go on board, and
am not worrying as to how others will feel about
me. I shall do my best, however, to live. I am
a fine swimmer. If we can only sink her, I know
I can get off all right."
The "Vixen" came alongside about four o'clock
in the afternoon, and called through her mega
phone, "We have come for your volunteer." We
all wanted to say something to O'Boyle before he
left, but we did not have the courage to.
He was clad in his blue uniform as he went
smiling over the side of the ship, just as happy
looking as he would be were he going to a re
gatta. As he left us, we thought: "That is the
last we shall see of you, poor fellow." When I
relieved Lieutenant Radford, of the Marine
Corps, on the morning of the second, to stand my
watch until daylight, as he and I stood watch and
watch during the blockade — "Should the 'Merri
mac' come in, Chaplain," he said, "please send
below and call me." I told him I would, but no
"Merrimac" appeared that morning.
About 10 A.M. the "Vixen" came alongside,
lowered a boat, and O'Boyle was rowed over to
the ship. As he came on board, I saw he was
i8i

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

very chagrined. Going to him, I inquired:
"Why, what has happened?" He said: "Chap
lain, I am going to be stamped as a coward." I
asked him why? "Well, sir," he replied, "I went
over to that ship last night ready to die for my
country if I had to. They could not get her
ready; another crew will man her to-night, as
they say we cannot stand the strain two nights in
succession." I looked at him and took his hand,
trying to cheer him, answering: "No, my dear
fellow, you are no coward ; you were prepared to
do your duty, and you have done it in obeying
your orders to return to your ship." Very little
has been said of O'Boyle or any other man that
went on board the "Merrimac" to take her in on
the morning of June 2d, but every one of them
was just as great a hero as Hobson or any of the
men that took her in the morning of the third.
They would gladly have gone, but a sailor or a
soldier can do no more than obey his orders.
Soon after O'Boyle returned to the ship, the
"Merrimac" steamed inside of the blockade line
with her cargo ports open right near her water
line. She remained there until after dark that
night, when she steamed outside. At i a.m. the
morning of the third, Lieutenant Radford re
lieved me. As I went below, he promised to have
me called if the "Merrimac" came in. I turned
in, and was soon sound asleep. At 3:45 an or-
182

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

derly came below, and calling me stated, "The
'Merrimac' is headed in, sir." I was soon dressed,
and up on deck. There she was, stealing along
right close to the shore, hidden in the shadow of
the mountains the friendly moon had cast over
the waters ; for, by the way, it was bright moon
light. She had to pass an opening in the side of the
hill where the enemy had a battery, and where we
expected to see her sacrificed; the whisper went
along the deck: "She has passed it; they never
saw her." Nor had they. At last sh« is headed
in. Again the whisper went around, "They don't
see her yet!" Right under the guns of Morro
Castle she got before they picked her up, then it
appeared as though their alarm had made them
see sixty-seven warships coming in, judging from
the way they opened on her — from the north, the
east and the west a continuous stream of fire ; it
was terrific. They kept it up from 4:10 until
4:28, and the way they poured their shot and
shell into her ! I have often wondered what they
thought when they saw that great black hull,
looking like a phantom of the deep, steaming
slowly in; no sign of life on board; not a gun
fired from her, as she had none, they having been
taken off before she went in.
The firing ceased, and a deathlike stillness
reigned. The general belief on board our ship
was that no man could live in such a fierce fire
183

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

as was poured upon them. As the eun came up
over the hill-top, a steam launch from the "New
York" was seen steaming about the entrance, bul
lets and shells falling all around her ; she had fol
lowed the "Merrimac" in, with the view of res
cuing the crew when they should leave her. At
last she withdrew, coming alongside our ship, and
announced the belief that all had perished, as they
had seen nothing of the men from the "Merri
mac" after she went down. We gave her crew
three rousing cheers ; cheers that were caught up
and reiterated by the crew of every ship of the
fleet. As we looked in the harbor, we could see
the smoke stack and mast of the "Merrimac"
above the water, and discovered, to our sorrow,
that the work had been in vain : for she was not in
the channel.
Our ships were ordered to close in, as close as
they could to the shore, in the hope of seeing the
men, but not a glimpse of any did they see. A lit
tle after 9 a.m.. Lieutenant Bristol, U. S. N., was
making good use of his binoculars as he looked
toward the Castle. I was standing near him.
Addressing me, he said: "Chaplain, there are a
number of soldiers going into the Castle; I be
lieve they have some of our men" ; but it seemed
to me too good to be true.
At 2 P.M. Ensign Gise was on the bridge, he
being on watch. Calling a messenger, he said:
184

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

"Tell the Captain a tug is coming out of the har
bor, flying a flag of truce." The "Vixen" was
ordered in to meet her, and we were surprised to
see her headed in toward the forts without dis
playing a flag of truce. The reason for her not
doing so, however, was owing to the fact that
she had none, for the only flag our ships have ever
flown was the Stars and Stripes. The Officer of
the Deck on the "Vixen" shouted down to the
ward-room steward to take the table cloth from
the table and bring it up on deck, and as they ran
it up on the masthead, it was the largest flag of
truce we ever saw. A Spanish officer boarded the
"Vixen," from the tug, and was taken over to the
flagship "New York." A few minutes later we
found out there was at least one man, gentleman,
and officer in Santiago de Cuba, he being Admiral
Cervera, who was humane enough to recognize an
act of heroism, even when exhibited by his enemy.
The Admiral sent this message to Admiral Samp
son : "The Spanish Admiral congratulates the
American Admiral on having such men under his
command as those that took the 'Merrimac' in this
morning ; he is glad to state they are all safe ; two
wounded, but will recover; all are badly in need
of clothes." The clothing was sent to them from
the ships by the tug. This act of Admiral Cervera
endeared him to all the fleet, and from that mo
ment he had our undivided love and pity ; for by
185

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

sending out this message he prevented many a
heartache that would have been felt by the loved
ones of the crew of the "Merrimac," fearing they
were dead.
The going in of the "Merrimac" goes to show
the kind of material the men of the United States
Navy are made out of, and I trust, as you read
this description of that heroic act, it will help each
one of you to appreciate the work these men stand
ready to perform for their country amid every
kind of danger.

i86

CHAPTER IX.
UNDER FIRE.
AT 2 :30 the day after the "Merrimac" had
been sunk in the harbor, the fleet was
ordered to steam past the forts with the
intention of trying to draw the enemy's fire, as
the Admiral had been ordered by the Department
not to engage the forts unless they opened fire
first. As we were steaming in, Boatswain Brooks
and Cadet Pressey were standing on deck, quite
near the muzzle of our twelve-inch gun, which
was loaded. The men in the turret locked the
breech, which caused an electric cross-current,
permitting a premature explosion. The boat
swain and the cadet turned three or four summer
saults, and when they stopped their fantastical
movements along the deck, we found they were
nearly bald-headed, as well as their clothes being
literally torn from their bodies ; blood was rush
ing out of their ears, and they were very badly
shaken up from the concussion.
The enemy did not fire at us, so we steamed
past twice and then withdrew. That night Ad
miral Sampson organized the blockading fleet in
to a half circle. We had been in such formation
187

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

before since his arrival, but that night it was
strengthened by putting the "Oregon" and "Mass
achusetts" inside of our fines. The "Oregon's"
battery was loaded, and the "Massachusetts"
played her search-light in the harbor. We re
mained there from dark until sunrise, to prevent
the enemy from even trying to come out. Inside
of those two battleships were the torpedo boats
and the smaller craft of the fleet. When this
was done, Cervera could no more escape from the
harbor of Santiago at night than a man could
jump to the moon. It was by far a stronger
system of bottling up a fleet than the old arrange
ment carried on by the Flying Squadron, in
steaming up and down past the forts. We re
mained in this position during the day, 3,700
yards from the forts. At night, we would close
in to 2,700 yards, and the two inside ships would
be 1,000 yards from the enemy's guns. This was
a strong cork that Admiral Sampson put into
the neck of the bottle of the harbor leading into
Santiago de Cuba.
The next morning all Commanding Officers
were ordered to report on board the flagship.
Our Captain returned to our ship late that even
ing, and had all hands called on deck. He in
formed us that at daylight the fleet would bom
bard the forts, and if the men had anything they
wished to attend to, they had better see to it.
188

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

Long and anxious had been this waiting for the
opportunity on the part of the men to avenge the
"Maine" ; and as soon as they heard that they
were really going into battle within a few
hours they were in the very finest kind of spirits.
In fact they were in their element. They ran
around the decks, jumped high-backs, and car
ried on in the most ridiculous manner, so de
lighted were they at the prospect of trying their
skill in knocking the enemy's forts to pieces.
About nine o'clock, they began to realize that
there might be danger in exposing themselves to
the enemy's fire. I was in my room with my cur
tain drawn to prevent the light being seen from
the outside. Hearing some one at the door, I
called out, "Come in," and in walked little Wil
lie. I said: "Good-evening, my boy, how are
you?" He replied: "I am well, thank you, sir;
hope you are." I said I was.
Then he said : "Please, Chaplain, will you take
charge of this letter for me?" I repHed: "Cer
tainly;" and looking at it saw that it was ad
dressed to Mrs. George Rigby. I asked him if
he had written to his mother? He said: "Yes,
sir, and I want you to send that letter to her."
I consented, but said: "There is no mail leaving
here until Friday, if all goes well in the morning,
though, I will send it then." This greatly
startled him, and he exclaimed : "Oh, please don't
189

THE EXPERIENCES T)F A CHAPLAIN

send that to my mother unless I am killed to
morrow, sir." I said: "Why not, Willie?"
"Well, sir, because I told my mother in that let
ter just how I had died." I looked at him, and
asked whether he had been hit by a shell, or
what ? He said : "No, sir ; but before I left home
I promised mother I would continue to love Jesus.
and I have, sir; and have written to her, telling
her, if I am killed to-morrow, not to mourn for
me, as I would go to Jesus, and wanted her to
hurry and come to me." I said : "That is proper,
Willie; but I don't believe I will have to send
the letter to her." He said : "Good-night, Chap
lain," and went below.
A little later on, a finely built fellow came to
my room with a large bundle; knocking at my
door, he said : "Good-evening, Chaplain ; I hope
you are well, sir, and not too badly scared, sir."
"I am well ; but I cannot say I am scared," I re
plied. He spoke up and said : "Well, I can't say
that I feel scared either ; but I thought I had bet
ter bring this to you, and ask you to keep it," and
handed me the bundle. I said : "What is it ?'^ He
repHed: "A keepsake, sir." I said, jokingly:
"For me?" He said: "No, sir; my— my  "
and stammered and blushed. Finally he hurried
it out: "My young lady gave it to me, sir, and
if I am killed to-morrow, I would like her to get
it back, and would appreciate it if you would
190

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

send it to her." I told him I would, but, laugh
ing, said : "I think you are very foolish to send it
back." He said: "Why is that, sir?" "Why, be
cause if you are killed, and I send it to her, some
other fellow will get it." "Oh, no, he wont, sir. i
You don't know my sweetheart, or you would not
say that." Then, wishing him good-night, I told
him I guessed he would live to see her again.
After he had gone an officer came to me and
said: "Chaplain, we are going into action to
morrow, and I have a kind of misgiving that I
may be killed, and I want you to promise, if I
am, to exert your influence to have my body
shipped home. Were I to be buried overboard,
in these waters, packed as they are with sharks,
my wife would go out of her mind. Should you
succeed in having my remains shipped home, tell
my wife she need not have me buried at Arling
ton, but can bury me anywhere she wishes. Ask
her to bury me somewhere where she can rest by
my side." I said: "Are you really in earnest?"
He replied : "Certainly, I am." "Well, then," I
asked, "what are you fellows going to do for
me, if I get killed, as I do not believe there is
any more metal around me than there is around
you ; but, to be frank with you, I do not believe
any of us will be killed to-morrow, as God is
with us. When the Asiatic fleet steamed into
Manila Bay, it was only Dewey and his men ; to-
191

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

morrow we steam in with our Commander-in-
Chief, and our men, and back of us the prayers
of every praying man, woman and child of our
country, and God will answer their petitions, and
stamp His seal of approval upon them by giving
us a glorious victory. I feel it, and believe it."
We then parted for the night.
All hands were called at daylight the moming
of the sixth, ships were cleared for action, maga
zines were opened, and the guns loaded. We
formed the line of battle at 8 a.m., at which time
the "Oregon" opened fire upon the forts; a few
seconds later we followed the example; and a
deadly fire was kept up until twenty-one minutes
after ten, when our last shot was fired. The forts
to all appearance had been demolished in the two
hours and twenty-one minutes we were firing on
them. The enemy returned our fire vigorously,
but their aiming was simply ridiculous. When
we headed in, bow on, fighting with our port
battery, a number of us not engaged with the
fighting force went on deck and stood on the fore
castle. There were sixty-five or seventy-five men
standing there in a group. One fellow by the
name of Dixon, our ship's blacksmith, a most
comical genius, was sitting on the capstan dan
gling his feet, and the first shell from the enemy,
going three times as high as our mast, was heard
and seen by us. Dixon pointed at it, shouting
192

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

out: "High ball!" — and when it dropped about
two miles out to sea, in a very serious, sancti
monious voice, said : "The batter is out on base,"
which caused a hearty laugh to be raised from all
hands. As the fleet was withdrawing, the enemy
managed to find one gun which had not been dis
abled. This was placed in commission and fired
at our ship, the shell, however, going away over
us. Well do I recall the articles which we read in
the New York papers, received a few days
later, with copies of dispatches from Madrid,
which had appeared in the Spanish newspapers.
"Tremendous Spanish victory off Santiago de
Cuba! Forts were engaged by the enemy, who
lost three ships outside Santiago de Cuba, and a
tremendous loss of American life was sustained.
Captain Philip shot dead on the bridge of the
'Texas.' " The announcement of the Captain's
death was in three-inch block letters on the front
page, and his picture was in the centre of the
article. As he opened the newspaper, I was
standing by his side; he glanced at the paper,
then, glancing at me, tried to speak, but seemed
appalled, but managed to utter: "Chaplain, that
makes me feel mighty peculiar." I said : "I don't
doubt that in the least, sir ; but you are a pretty
lively corpse yet." Thea we read as follows this
article from the New York Evening World:
193

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

"WAS HE KILLED BY A SHELL?
PRESIDENT GETS SAD NEWS
OF THE DEATH OF THE
NAVAL CAPTAIN IN
BATTLE.
{Special to the Evening World.)
"Washington, June 8th.
"The President has just received a telegram
stating that Captain Philip, of 'the battleship
'Texas,' was struck by a shell and instantly
killed. It is not yet known whether this occurred
during Monday's engagement or in a subsequent
action. The news was brought to the President
from the War Department. Senator Thurston,
who saw the President, stated that the dispatch
announcing the death of Captain Philip, of the
battleship 'Texas,' came from Madrid, and that
the President does not credit it. He has received
nothing from Sampson in regard to it."
As regards the loss of life sustained by us,
very little, if anything, has ever been written on
that subject; but a great deal of merriment was
excited when Blanco, in his dispatch to Madrid,
announced the engagement at Matanzas, inci
dentally mentioning that he had lost a mule in
the fight. I believe that yarn, as I really think a
194

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

mule was killed, and I would not be surprised if
his rider and several other mule drivers were
killed in that self-same action.
There were two lives sacrificed in this, our
first engagement off Santiago de Cuba — one on
the "Iowa," the other on the "Texas." Captain
Evans, when going to his post on the bridge that
morning, had the misfortune of allowing his lit
tle pet dog to follow him from the cabin ; it was
a pretty little Scotch terrier, which, when the
"Iowa" opened fire, ran along the deck as fast as
its little legs would permit ; and when it came to
the end of the ship forgot to stop, went over
board, and was drowned. That was life number
one. On the "Texas," we had a little English
fox terrier by the name of Daisy, the pet of the
ship. When the men had to drill the dog would
take her place in the front line, and at sunset, at
colors, when all hands would stand at attention,
the dog would stand up on its hind legs, always
facing the colors with the men. This dog, to the
sorrow of all on board, fell in a fit when our
guns commenced to roar, and by the time the
fit was over our dear little friend was no more,
so she was committed to the deep by her many
shipmates, and many a tear was shed by the men
as she sank from their view. So the loss sus
tained that day turned out to be two dogs. Dur
ing this fight, it did not appear to us that we were
195

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

in action. It was more like a regular target prac
tice. The next day the converted yacht "Gloucester"
brought us some mail. The ninth was the hot
test day on record, and a very slow one, too, but
on the morning of the tenth, the "Yosemite" and
the "Panther" came in from Tampa, the latter
having 900 U. S. marines on board. She left
later for Guantanamo, which the "Marblehead"
and the "Dolphin" had captured for a coaling
station; and it was the intention to land the
marines there. These men had been on board
ship several days and were delighted to find
mother earth, even in the enemy's country. The
"Texas" was ordered there a little later, for
coal, and upon our arrival we found the marines
encamped on a little hill, which they had called
Camp McCalla. They had thrown up slight
breastworks, as protection from the Spanish
sharp-shooters ; and if they had not done this, it
would have appeared more like a summer's
camp than a camp pitched on a battle-field. We
coaled from the collier "Abarenda" until 3 p.m.,
when we shoved off and went back to Santiago to
take our place on the blockade line, arriving there
just about dark.

196

AN EXCITING FUNERAL.
Burial Under Fire, Camp McCalla, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, June j2th, 1896.

CHAPTER X.
a BURIAL UNDER FIRE.
AT 3:30 A.M., on Sunday, June 12th, we
started for Guantanamo to finish coal
ing. We knew the previous night the
ship would return there in the morning, and
that, being Sunday, I would not be able to hold
divine service on board ship, as the regulations
say : "Divine service shall be conducted on board
ships carrying a Chaplain, should weather and
other circumstances permit," so I intended ask
ing permission to visit one of the ships at Guan
tanamo, carrying no Chaplain, or else try to
visit the camp and speak to the marines. I was
in my room about 7:30 a.m. and had my Bible
open, reading a chapter, in preparation for the
expected service. While I was thus engaged, I
heard a very rapid volley firing. Jumping from
my room into the passage-way, I ran along it
and up the ladder leading to the deck. As my
head appeared above dack, I noticed a young
man in citizen's clothes running as fast as he
could toward our six-inch gun house, where all
the sailors had gathered. They shouted to
197

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

me : "Look out. Chaplain, the Dagoes are on the
beach shooting at us, and if they hit you, you will
get it in the head." Turning back, I went down
the ladder quicker than I ever went before,
reaching the next deck in about two steps. After
the firing ceased, I returned on deck, and found
that the young man whom I had seen running
had been hit in the toe of his shoe, which was
of very bright russet leather, in fact it was too
yellow to be punctured — ^he was a New York
Journal reporter.
Just as I reached the deck. Captain McCalla
came alongside in his gig from the "Marble
head," and informed us that the marines had had
a most trying experience during the night, hav
ing been fiercely attacked by the enemy. Three
men were dead at the camp, and thirty-nine others,
and an officer, were still missing, and he did not
know whether they were dead, captured, or sim
ply detained in the thicket. Lieutenant Cyrus
Radford, of the U. S. Marine Corps, asked Cap
tain Philip to allow him to visit the camp with
his Marine Guard, numbering forty-one men, to
render Lieutenant-Colonel Huntington any as
sistance that they could. The permission was
granted, and the marines were ordered to be
ready to board the boats to go over to the camp.
Captain Philip sent over two of our Colt's auto
matic guns, which are capable of firing 378 times
198

ASHORE And afloat.

a minute — the two making 756 shots every sixty
seconds for the enemy. These guns he sent with
his compliments to Lieutenant-Colonel Hunting
ton. While the marines were preparing to leave
the ship, I asked the Captain if he would allow
me to accompany them, and render any service I
could to the men who had been wounded over
there, or, at least, bury the dead, if they had not
already been buried. He gladly consented. As
the marines went over the side of the ship and
Lieutenant Radford was about to descend the
ladder, I stepped up to the Officer of the Deck,
and, saluting him, told him I had permission to
leave the ship. The Lieutenant looked up and
said: "Where are you going?" I said: "To the
camp." He replied: "I guess you are not." I
said : "I guess I am." Then he said : "What are
you going for?" I answered: "I am going to
render any assistance I can to the wounded, and
to bury the dead." "Well," he said, "I don't be
lieve you will ; we don't want a Chaplain tagging
us up; you had better give us a chance to get
wounded or killed before you come." I rephed :
"You don't seem to comprehend the situation;
we have been informed that several men have al
ready been wounded over at the camp, and some
are dead." "Oh ! excuse me," he said, "I had for
gotten that ; I thought you were coming over to
bury some of us." 199

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

When we were in the boats, we shoved off
from the side of the ship, and our steam launch
towed three of the ship's boats over to the shore.
Reaching the end of a wooden pier that extended
about twenty-five feet out into the Bay, we
jumped from the boat to it, and as we reached
the land we fell into line to march up the hill
where the marines were encamped. I stood there
a moment as though in a dream. It was a beau
tiful morning — the sun was shining brightly, the
birds were singing, and there was just sufficient
air stirring to wave the great palm-trees, as they
stood like gigantic banner bearers.
Reaching the camp, we told the Colonel why
we had come. He seemed to appreciate it great
ly, and said: "Chaplain, would you like to visit
the hospital tent? Our dead are there." I said:
"Yes, Colonel, I would." So, going over there, I
beheld the ravages of war; it was all too true
then. There lay a young Past Assistant Sur
geon, Dr. John Blair Gibbs, U. S. N., who had
given up an excellent practice in New York City,
and had volunteered simply for the war. On
either side of him lay two privates. Very sug
gestive. It seemed as though, even in death, they
were guarding their superior officer. When the
camp was attacked the night before the doctor
was in his tent. A marine had been shot right
through the hand, and was taken to the surgeon
200

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

for treatment. Dr. Gibbs had irrigated the wound
carefully, and, taking his bandages from the
medicine chest, was applying one when the camp
was attacked. He said to the marine: "I must
go outside and see what is going on." The
marine, who was experienced in military life,
said : "Don't you do it, doctor ; lay prone on your
stomach. If you go outside, the enemy will see
you, and the chances are, you will get hit." He
said: "I cannot help it; I cannot be shot down
here like a dog. I must see what is going on."
So, with one end of the bandage tightly wrapped
around the hand of the marine, and the other end
in his own, he stepped outside the tent; a bright
light was behind hinT, making him a magnificent
target for any sharp-shooter. An enemy, seeing
him, took advantage of the opportunity, and,
taking deadly aim at him, fired, the bullet enter
ing his left temple and coming out at the right.
He fell dead at the feet of the marine he was
aiding, still holding the bandage in his hand.
The other two marines that had been killed
were shot down soon after the surgeon had fallen
— one shot through the lungs, the other through
the head. They were Private Donnelly and
Private Murphy. The Colonel immediately gave
orders to prepare the bodies for burial, and to
dig their graves. Then I saw for the first time
what constituted the casket for our country's
20I

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

heroes. They had fallen in their uniform — one
in his bare feet, the other with his shoes and
campaign uniform on ; the doctor in his blue ser
vice uniform with his leggins and shoes on.
Their rubber blankets were placed over their
heads, tied around the neck; and around the
chest another blanket was then added, and they
were pronounced ready for the sad committal.
The bugle sounded for the men to muster. The
Colonel, Surgeon Edgar, U. S. N., and myself led
the line of march ; then came the three bodies on
stretchers, followed by as many men as could be
spared from the trenches. We marched to the
place where the silent graves were ready to re
ceive the bodies; a body was laid by the side of
each hollow tomb. I was told to take my position
by the centre grave, which was that of Dr. Gibbs.
Doctor Edgar stood at my left, and the Colonel
was on my right. I took out my Bible, and was
about to commence the service when I heard a
whistle. Turning to the Colonel, I said: "Sir,
what is it ?" thinking he had whistled. He said :
"Nothing." I said : "I thought I heard a whistle,
sir." He said : "No, Chaplain, I did not whistle ;
that was a Mauser bullet ; we are attacked."
The order had been given to uncover, and the
marines from the "Texas," the funeral escort,
stood at parade rest; not a man stirred, as they
stood in the very jaws of death. Captain Harper,
202

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

U. S. M. C, shouted out: "The camp is attacked !
Fall in. Company C, E and A to the right, and
engage the enemy." The men slid for the
trenches with their rifles over their shoulders.
Two reporters rushed in from the thicket, where
the Spaniards had concealed themselves, and the
scared expression on their faces really made me
feel as though I would like to run myself, as this
was the first time I had ever been under fire to
realize it. An officer shouted to me: "Chaplain,
fall back ; go over there by the side of the block
house; it will afford you some protection." The
block-house was really the foundation only, as
the house itself had been demolished when our
ships had captured the place. There was a trench
around the ruins, and the marines were in it firing
at the enemy. As I stood on the edge of the
trench, some of them said: "Chaplain, you had
better get in the trench, sir ; the bullets are thicker
than hail around here." So I jumped in, and
soon heard the deadly missiles striking on the
dirt behind me.
I was in the trench up to my waist, and I began
to consult seriously with myself whether I was
not very foolish to stand there in that position, as
I could tell the enemy had our range, and were
concentrating their fire on that place, so I said to
the marines : "If I am going to get hit, I would
rather get it from my waist down than from my
203

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

waist up ; this is sixteen to one, and as I am no
Bryanite, I would rather be out in the open." So
I got out. The Colonel was still standing by our
dead, giving his orders with his cap in his hand,
as the last order he had given was to uncover,
which order he had not forgotten, and he was
perfectly composed as he directed the men in that
engagement. Seeing me standing over by the
trench, he beckoned me by moving his head to
one side. Upon my going over to him, he said :
"Chaplain, do you feel like continuing the ser
vice ?" I said : "Yes, sir, with your permission."
Then he said : "Go ahead." So, taking my place
where I had stood a few moments before, I com
menced the service, and was just uttering the
words: "Man that is born of woman  " when
up rushed three of the marines with one of our
Colt's automatic guns, and some others with a
three-inch field piece, planting them on either
side of me, and all through the service those
two guns seemed to chant the prayers with me;
it was a peculiar sensation, yet it was very com
forting to know, notwithstanding the fact that
my back was to the enemy, as they fired at us,
these marines were protecting me by firing at
those who fired at us. Not a bullet passed me
during the Committal Service, but as I closed my
eyes, asking God to bless the men of that camp,
I heard them whistling around me Hke so many
204

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

bees ; but even then, I could hear that little baby
lisping prayer: "Dear, dear papa, please come
back," and for the time being became as good a
fatalist as ever lived. It was a very consoling
beUef that, if my time had come, it had; but if
not, I was just as safe there as though I was at
home with those I loved.
After completing the services, I wished the
Colonel, together with the other officers, good-
day, saying I hoped I would not have to visit
them again under such sad circumstances. The
Colonel replied : "Chaplain, if you don't have to,
some other Chaplain will, as we cannot all ex
pect to leave this place." A Mr. Coffin, an artist
for the New York papers and magazines, came
to me and asked whether he could go over to the
ship with me in our launch. I told him: "Yes,
I had no objections." So we walked down the
hill, together with a Mr. Duaide, of the New
York Sun, who had joined us. They commenced
talking to me of the service under fire, agreeing
it was the most dastardly act that any people pre
tending to be civilized could perpetrate. As we
talked thus, we reached the foot of the hill, and
just as we entered the path under the cliffs we
heard a rifle snap. Looking at my companions, I
said: "Gentlemen, that gun is pointed at us."
They laughed at me, and said I was rattled from
being under fire so long. I said: "No, I am not;
205

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

but there is a peculiar ring about a gun when it is
pointed toward you, and that gun certainly had
that kind of a ring." They were satisfied, how
ever, that it was not fired at us. So we walked
leisurely along, when suddenly we heard three
or four shots in succession. Looking up on the
cliffs, we saw some regular guerrillas. They
were naked and their bodies were painted green
to look like the grass they had secreted themselves
in as they stole up to us.
The men at the Quartermaster's Department,
down near the landing, shouted at us to run for
our lives, and spoil the enemy's aim. Mr. Coffin
spoke up and said: "Yes, Chaplain, my name is
altogether too appropriate for this business — I
guess we had better run," and away we went, the
bullets stirring up the dirt all about our path, and
whistling all around us; and not until then did
any of us realize how fast we could run. In fact
I ran so fast that, to my surprise, I reached the
launch first. Getting in, I said to the coxswain :
"You will have to be careful, Coxswain, on re
turning to the ship, as evidently the enemy will
fire at us." I had on my regular clerical coat,
as the Chaplains at that time had no uniform, and
I think the enemy mistook me for an officer of
high rank, and that was why they fired at us. As
we got out into the open, bullets began to drop all
around the launch, and were so thick we expected
206

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

every moment to be struck. We signalled our
ship that the enemy was on the point of the
cliffs, firing at us. She immediately opened fire
on them with her six-pounders and drove them
away. We reached the ship safely, through the
goodness of God ; and if His mercy and protection
had ever been realized by any person before, it
most surely was proven to me that day, for
mercy and goodness were standing by my side.
We returned to Santiago that night and re
ported the matter to Admiral Sampson. The next
morning we returned to Guantanamo and found
two marines had been killed during the night.
One was Sergeant-Major Goode, as fine a man as
there was in the whole Marine Corps. Had his
life not ended so suddenly, he would have
been made a Junior Lieutenant, as his name had
been sent in. The other was a private by the
name of Goode Taumann. I went over to bury
them; their bodies were prepared just as those
were the day before. The burial took place a lit
tle lower down than where the others had been
committed. After I was through with the ser
vice, the officer in charge said : "Men, we have no
blank cartridges, so put regular clips in your
pieces ; turn your faces toward the enemy's coun
try, and fire tbe salute over our noble dead ; and if
you hit a Spaniard, all the better." Three vol
leys were fired, after which the bugle sounded
207

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

"Taps." This was a most impressive service. As
we were leaving the graves, the enemy attacked
us ; that time having the decency to wait until the
service was completed, when a very lively brush
took place.
In the afternoon we proceeded to Santiago,
arriving there at eight o'clock. We were rather
tired from our day's experience. Shortly af
ter our return, we learned the "Vesuvius" had
joined the fleet. At eleven o'clock, I was sitting
on the gunnel of a boat that was on our deck with
Naval Cadet Henderson; he had his banjo with
him, and was playing some familiar tunes. We
were suddenly interrupted by a most unearthly
noise, the like of which we had never heard be
fore. It sounded as though a hundred horses
had coughed simultaneously — then there was a
deathlike quiet, followed by a most terrific ex
plosion, which shook our ship from stem to
stern. The vibration was never so perceptible
when our whole battery had been discharged.
Trying to imagine what had taken place, we were
startled by the flash of a gun from the western
battery, and heard the shell tearing its way
through the air toward us. Henderson and my
self sprang off the boat, and, as though it would
be any protection, got underneath it as rapidly as
we could. The shell passed over the ship without
doing any damage. Another explosion followed
208

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

this, rapidly followed by a third. They were
three dynamite shells that the "Vesuvius" had
fired into the harbor, each one of them landing
inside; all taking effect, the result of which we
had no means then of ascertaining. Later on,
however, we were informed that the effect of
these shells was most amazing, as thery tore up the
earth for yards around, to all appearance as if an
earthquake had visited the place. The next mom
ing the forts opened jire on the "New Orleans,"
which she returned with interest. She was right
near them, and, being fitted up with modern rapid-
fire guns, gave the enemy about eight shots to
their one. Daylight was just breaking, and this
duel between the "New Orleans" and the forts
was a beautiful and most invigorating sight.

209

CHAPTER XI.
GOING OVER THE MINES.
THE flagship signalled to the "Texas" early
on the morning of the fifteenth: "Pro
ceed at once to Guantanamo and destroy
the forts, and return to the blockade station this
evening." We reached the entrance leading into
Guantanamo about noon. Captain McCalla, of the
"Marblehead," sent an insurgent pilot whom he
had on board over to us. Our Captain inquired
of the pilot whether there were any mines in the
harbor, and if there was plenty of water to enable
us to steam any further up the Bay than we had
been in the habit of doing? He said there had been
no mines planted, to his knowledge, and he thought
there was plenty of water for us. We steamed in
slowly. The Commanding Officer said to the
pilot : "You run me aground, and I will swing you
up on the yard arm." Of course he did not mean
it, but the poor insurgent thought he did, and was
frightened almost to death. Just then the
"Marblehead" signalled: "There is something
foul with my propeller." I had some articles of
value with me, which I wanted to secure in a safe
211

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN
place, so went down to the forward handling room
to deposit them. As I entered there, our colored
barber was standing right inside of the passage
way, all smiles, and, addressing me, said : "Well,
Chaplain, if the Dagoes shoot across our decks to
day, they wont hit me ; I have been sent down here
to stand by to assist when the magazines are
opened." I said: "No, William, the Spaniards
wont hit you down here ; but if we should happen
to strike a mine, you will not be around to tell the
story of how it happened." I turned around to put
down my belongings, and started to leave, but no
William was anywhere to be seen. In going be
low, he did not seem to realize any danger from
coming in contact with mines, but soon discovered
it when I mentioned the fact to him. Returning
to the deck, I found that we had just struck two
solid substances, and had picked something up
with our propeller. Men were put over the side
to secure it, and, to our horror, discovered two
contact mines of French design.
We made very careful soundings, until it was
discovered the water was getting rather shallow
for us, so the Captain ordered the Officer of the
Deck to bring the ship to anchor. We were then
resting in nothing but slimy mud. At 3 :30 p.m.,
our guns were loaded and pointed at the forts at
Caimanera, around which were standing scores of
soldiers, as they never expected we would be able
212

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

to reach a position where we could do them any
damage, being aware of the deadly mines we
would have to go over, and expecting, of course, to
see us at any moment blown into eternity. We
opened fire with our twelve-inch gun, and the sol
diers, hearing the tremendous missile of destruc
tion coming toward them, commenced to scatter
in every direction. It was quite an open country
around there; so we could see them running for
some time. One of our twelve-inch shells fell
right on top of the brick fort and literally tore it
to atoms, blowing the roof completely off. The
walls soon commenced to crumble and fall from
our accurate aiming. We had been informed that
a number of the Spaniards were concealed in a
railroad station, so, just as a gentle reminder of
our presence, we dropped two shells right in
amongst them. The Spaniards who had not been
killed were seen leaving there very hurriedly.
During the bombardment they returned our fire,
but only one shot touched the "Texas," that be
ing a shrapnel which landed in one of our whale-
boats, and which our Captain kindly made me a
present of, later on.
After we had demolished the forts, our
launches, together with the launches from the
"Marblehead," with the "Suwanee" as a convoy,
started to go up the river in search of mines. A
number of Spanish sharp-shooters were concealed
213

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

among the brush, on a little island in the middle
of the river, and immediately opened fire on our
small boats. They had concealed themselves
there, thinking our ship would be blown up, and
then those of us fortunate enough to escape with
our lives, in trying to reach the shore, would be
shot down by them. The "Suwanee" made a
fierce attack on them, firing her rapid-fire guns;
the rapid-fire guns from the launches were also
brought into play, and very soon the enemy was
driven out. We returned to Santiago at 8:30
P.M., and reported to Admiral Sampson that we
had fired twelve twelve-inch shells and fifty-six
six-inch shells at the fort at Caimanera and
destroyed it.
The "Marblehead" sent word to the flagship
later on that evening that she had picked up
twenty-nine contact mines, all of which the ships
had gone over, and all of them were charged with
a good amount of gun cotton ; but barnacles had
grown over the wooden firing pins, preventing
their working when the ships came in contact with
them, so the mines did not explode.
Many people have said : "God was not in this
our war with Spain." If He was not with us that
day, it is difficult to determine what influence was
guarding us. We received one of the mines on
board — a wicked-looking thing; and, while
examining it, I said to the officers, who so often
214

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

had grumbled because barnacles so quickly
formed on the bottom of our ships in Southern
waters : "What do you think now, gentlemen, of
the nuisance of barnacles?" Some of them said
they would never complain again, as evidently
they had saved our lives. The next morning we
were called to general quarters, and the "Texas"
alone commenced firing at the western battery at
5 :25. We did good service, firing about an hour ;
in fact, it was so good that the flagship "Brook
lyn" signalled : "Well done, 'Texas.' " The next
morning, about the same hour, the "Vixen" was
fired upon from a battery known as Mazamarra
Battery, which the Spanish had erected in a
block-house to the westward of Santiago. We
cleared for action and entered the fight with her,
and in very quick order there was no block-house
to be seen. About eleven o'clock the next night,
the "Vesuvius" fired three dynamite shells into
the harbor; the enemy fired a shell at us, which
went over us, as the one previously had done. At
12:50, the "Massachusetts" signalled that the
"St. Paul" had found, and cut, the cable. We
could hear the men cheering on the decks of the
"St. Paul." Sunday morning the sun was shining
as bright as ever ; it was a perfect day ; the bugle
sounded the church call, and about two hundred
of our men mustered to attend divine service.
Our Church pennant went up, together with the
215

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

other Church pennants of the ships of the Squad
ron. The contrast was most striking: here we
were telling the men of Jesus and His love ; and
yet at any moment we might have to cease
our discourse and enter an engagement. Our
men were very attentive all through this service,
and they seemed to have far greater interest in
spiritual matters every time I preached to them
during those days, when we were standing by
ready for action.
The next day, the U. S. Army transports ap
peared in the offing and remained there. They
were convoyed by the battleship "Indiana." A
torpedo boat brought our mail to us. The even
ing of the twenty-first, a tug brought orders from
the Admiral to get out our boats and assist in
landing the army. At lo :30, the "Vesuvius" fired
her three shots at the fort; and the western bat
tery fired three shots at the "Iowa" as she was
throwing her search-lights in the entrance. The
"Iowa" immediately returned the fire, and the fort
quit. The transports then began to steam off to the
westward, and that night there were sixty-seven
American ships lighted up, so that the enemy
could see them, and, at the same time, permit him
to see what an array of vessels we could produce
at one time ; then we quieted down for the night,
having received our orders from the flagship what
to do the following morning. 2l6

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

While we were peacefully slumbering that
night, the "Ericsson" stole in to the old position
of the "Vesuvius" on the western entrance of the
harbor. Directly east of her the powerful search
light of the "Iowa" was staring straight into the
harbor's mouth, and a mile to the westward our
search-light was trying to clear up suspicion along
the shelving cliffs, where enemies might abide.
The valiant little boat was thus wedged between
the two lights. To have entered into either
sector might have meant instant destruction,
either from the batteries ashore or from our own
ships, as our men were not taking any chances
with torpedo boats sighted inshore on dark nights.
Fortunately for her, our men did not get a
glimpse of her, but toward morning the Spaniards
saw the loom of her dark hull lying close in shore,
and a few minutes later a large shell went scream
ing over her. It was quickly followed by three
others, one of which went right between her
smoke stacks, but luckily none of them struck her.

217

ADMIRAL SAMPSON, U. S. NAVV.
Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet ofE Santiago de Cuba.

CHAPTER XII.
THE LANDING OF THE ARMY.
ALL hands were called at 4:30, and the
ship was cleared for action. The Ad
miral had sent four transports to us,
loaded down with men, with the intention of de
ceiving the enemy. All the other transports,
looking like so many fire-flies to decoy the enemy,
with running lights all ablaze, the night before
had steamed out of sight to the westward. All
on board them were at this time wholly in the
dark as to what the movements meant, comment
ed idly on the vagaries of direction, and won
dered if every one had gone stark mad ; but when
they returned to the eastward and landed the
army down at Baiquiri, they knew what it had
been done for. As a further decoy some five
hundred Cubans were marching and counter
marching on land to the westward of Santiago
and making as much racket as was possible. The
"Texas" was ordered in alone, to make a demon
stration in the way of a feint. We commenced
firing at 7:30 a.m. at the batteries of Santiago,
principally engaging the Socapa battery, which
was to the westward. The Spaniards returned oiir
219

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

fire. The other ships remained on the blockading
line ; the transports steamed in, and we could see
the Spanish rushing off to where they expected
our men would be landed.
At 8:45 a shell entered our port bow on the
gun deck, cutting a stanchion in half as it came
through, then breaking a heavy wooden reel used
to wind the hawsers on. Striking the starboard
side, but not penetrating it, as its force was
spent, it fell back and exploded, killing F. J.
Blakely, and seriously wounding R. E. Russell,
an apprentice. Seven others were wounded by
the same shell. Blakely's time was up just three
days before he was killed, he having reached the
age of twenty-one. Captain Philip offered to
send him home on the "Supply," but he elected
to stay and see the war out. The shell which
killed him was the last the battery fired. Our
men aimed their guns wonderfully — the shells
would strike the parapet at every discharge. We
dismounted three of their guns, which the com
bined force of the fleet had been unable to accom
plish heretofore. As our men were lying on the
deck, blood streaming from their wounds, Sur
geon W. R. Du Bose, U. S. N., and myself rushed
in to them. We could scarcely see for the blind
ing smoke caused by the exploding of the shell.
Reaching a young fellow by the name of Geo.
Mullin, we found him standing up, revealing an
220

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

awful gash in the back of his thigh, about three
inches wide, cut right to the bone. As he stood
there holding his poor wounded leg, he shouted
out to the men around him : "Oh, fellows, look at
this! ain't that a dandy? Now where is your
first aid to the wounded?"
One of the men was busy picking up the frag
ments of poor Blakely's body, as he had been
badly torn by receiving the full shock of the ex
plosion, and was blown to atoms, the under part
of the deck above being smeared with blood,
burnt flesh and hair. One of his hands was found
twenty-five feet from where the shell exploded.
Passing the awful sight, I went over to where
Russell was lying on the deck. Stretchers were
hurriedly brought in, and the men were taken
to the sick bay. Russell was the first one to be
treated, he being the most seriously injured, hav
ing received eleven pieces of shell in different
parts of his body. Addressing him, I said : "Rus
sell, my poor fellow, I am so sorry for you." He
said : "Well, Chaplain, I cannot see out of my left
eye." I said: "No; you are cut over that eye,
and I think the blood is interfering with your
sight." Then he brightened up and said : "Don't
you think I have lost the sight of that eye, sir?"
I said: "No, I don't." Then he said: "I don't
care, then ; the Dagoes haven't killed me anyhow
— so I have that laugh on them."
221

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

I immediately took the names of the wounded
and the addresses of their people, taking down
messages for them that they wanted me to wire
to their homes, so that their friends would not
be too much broken up when reading the possible
exaggerated newspaper reports regarding their
injuries. We withdrew at 10:45. The "Brook
lyn" came alongside and congratulated us; and
when we informed her that we had lost one of our
crew said: "You have our sympathy, as well as
our congratulations, then." As she was coming
toward our ship, she again ran up the signal:
"Well done, 'Texas.' " During that engagement,
we fired 200 shots. The "Brooklyn" signalled:
"Do you want any assistance, 'Texas,' in caring
for your wounded?" Our Captain replied: "No,
they are all being treated, and are quite com
fortable; all I want is some more ammunition, as
our supply is getting low."
We steamed outside at 2 p.m., to bury our dead.
The body of poor young Blakely was wrapped in
his hammock, securely sewn, and weighted with
a six-inch armor-piercing shell, so that it would
sink. Boatswain's Mate McCarty, in a very
solemn tone of voice, shouted down the hatch
ways: "A-1-1 h-a-n-d-s o-n d-e-c-k — t-o b-u-r-y
o-u-r d-e-a-d." Poor Blakely was placed on a
stretcher and was borne by four of his shipmates
to the starboard side of the quarter deck. Our
222

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

men mustered for this, our first funeral at sea. I
took my place by the side of the remains and
commenced this my first Committal Service
where I had to commit a body to the deep. While
uttering the words, "We therefore commit his
body to the sea to be turned into corruption," the
men who had carried the remains to the side of
the ship lifted up one end of the stretcher and
our late shipmate's body rapidly slid from it into
the sea and disappeared from our view. Just as
it reached the water, the bugler stepped up along
side of me and sounded that most solemn call of
all, that of "Taps," which is always sounded over
the dead. It was a very impressive service, and
our men seemed that day to recognize the fact
that, even though things were going pretty much
one-sided with us, yet we were standing side by
side with death, not knowing whose turn would
come next. The saddest duty I had to perform
during the war was to write to Mrs. Blakely,
the mother of our hero, at Providence, R. I., and
inform her that her dear boy had fallen while de
fending his country's honor.
All the time the "Texas" was thus engaged, the
army was being landed unmolested down at Bai
quiri — and here came in the great triumph of
strategy of our beloved Commander-in-Chief,
Admiral Sampson. All the officers admitted
that it was a most brilliant piece of strategic work
223

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

on the part of our grave yet ever courteous Ad
miral, in landing an army on a hostile coast un
hindered and unharmed. His plans were as per
fect as ingenuity could possibly make them, as
not even the Commanding Officers present knew
where the army was to be landed until the plan
disclosed itself, when the transports were brought
to anchor off Baiquiri, and the boats prepared to
land the troops.
Between Baiquiri and Santiago lay the ports of
Aguadores and Ensenada. Both places showed
vistas of railroad embankment and trestlework.
The road alongside of the track led into Santiago,
and it was not the intention of Admiral Sampson
to have his well-laid plans foiled by allowing the
enemy to use this road in hurrying reinforce
ments to the point of attack at Baiquiri. So he
ordered his ships to fire at the trestlework. The
gunboats closed in, and very soon the trestlework
came tumbling down. Rapidly the army was
landed, and, as fast as they reached the shore,
formed into companies, the companies into regi
ments, the regiments into brigades, and all moved
quickly and without confusion into preconceived
positions. Each man took with him two days'
rations and 250 rounds of ammunition.
To think of what was accomplished that day
by Admiral Sampson! Never before in history
has such a thing been known as the landing of an
224

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

army in an enemy's country without resistance
or the loss of a single life. Yet this is what
that great and noble man, Admiral Sampson, did,
when he landed our army in Cuba. As I recall
all the magnificent achievements he performed off
Santiago de Cuba, I feel that, if such a thing were
possible, I would rather stand for a single day be
fore the people of America as Admiral Sampson,
than to stand before them for a life-time as any
other man living.

225

CHAPTER XIIL
THE ARMY FAILED TO CONNECT.
AT 3:30 A.M., June 23d, we got under way
for Guantanamo, where we had been or
dered to replenish our magazines with
ammunition. Arriving there at 8:30, we went
alongside the "Resolute." While we took on
ammunition, we also sent all of our empty powder
cans over to the "Panther." During the day we
took on a large quantity of six and twelve-inch
shells, and left for Santiago at 3 :30 a.m., arriving
there at 8 :30 the same evening. On our way back
we passed the "Wasp," "Bancroft," "Ericsson,"
"New Orleans," "Porter," and the "Vesuvius."
The camp-fires of our army were plainly visible
on shore as we steamed past and a number of
transports and gunboats lay at anchor near the
landing place. Friday, the twenty-fourth, the
"Scorpion," "Vixen," "St. Louis" and "New Or
leans" shelled the eastern shore all the morning.
Saturday passed very quietly until the afternoon,
when the "Scorpion" hailed us and said the army
had captured six hundred prisoners and had two
thousand Spaniards surrounded — which informa
tion naturally caused us to rejoice. Sunday we
held divine service as usual; the men attending
227

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

in large numbers, taking part heartily in the sing
ing, and the responsive service. Things went on
very quietly until the evening of the twenty-sixth,
when the provision ship "Celtic" came in with
fresh provisions for the fleet; and that night we
had the first fresh roast meat we had had in about
three weeks, which tasted most delicious. I really
believe it was the finest piece of beef I ever ate
in my life.
On the twenty-ninth, at i a.m., we left for
Guantanamo to coal ship and, reaching there at
6 A.M., made fast to the collier "Kingtor"; re
turning there also from Santiago on the thirtieth.
We were assisted each time in coaling by a num
ber of Spanish prisoners, who were kept on board
the collier for safe keeping, and they worked like
heroes. The morning of July ist dawned clear,
and the flagship signalled for a general bombard
ment of the forts ; but while we went to quarters,
we did no shooting — the "Iowa," "New York"
and "Newark" doing the whole thing. On the
morning of the second the signal was made : "We
will storm the forts, and after we have silenced
them, the army will come in at the rear and take
possession of them."
All hands were up bright and early the next
morning, took our coffee, etc., and cleared ship
for action, and at 5 :30 opened fire on the west
ern battery, keeping up a continuous fire, which
228

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

the enemy returned vigorously, until 7 :30, when
the firing ceased. The forts began firing as we
were drawing off and fired several shots at us,
but none of them took effect. The army failed
to put in an appearance, notwithstanding the fact -
that the eastern battery was silenced and every
thing was in readiness for them to make the ad
vance. The "Suwanee" came alongside of our
ship and said : "The army could not pass where
the trestlework had been knocked down; the
water was too deep for them, and that is the
reason they failed to connect." We had been
fighting that day bow on, from our port battery.
During the bombardment, a number of us were
standing on the bow of the ship, watching our
shells drop, but when the ship turned to withdraw
I started aft to see the finish of the fight. Just as
I reached there, I noticed some smoke hovering
over the western battery and wondered where the
shell was. I was not kept long in doubt, for just
then I heard it coming toward us, like the Em
pire State Express train, through the air. It
seemed to explode right over me, though some
distance up in the air, causing me to jump, and
doubling me completely up. There were some
men standing near me, and one of them said:
"Well, Chaplain, that got your wind, didn't it,
sir?" I was in the act of answering when blood
poured from my mouth, and inside of twenty
229

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

minutes I had six hemorrhages. I was taken be
low and put in my bunk; the two doctors at
tended me, and watched me closely all the after
noon. Dr. Biddel was on board to relieve Dr.
Du Bose, who was ordered to the New York
Naval Hospital for duty, but Dr. Du Bose was
not detached until the morning of the fourth.
It was determined, if I did not recuperate
quickly, to send me to the hospital ship "Solace"
for a few days, and if that did not prove bene
ficial, I was to be sent home. I could not make
myself believe I was very seriously injured. The
Captain came to my room, and, in his good-
natured way, endeavored to encourage me. I
said: "Captain, I shall be all right, if we don't
have any more bombardments for the next few
days, as the powder smoke will, in all probability,
start me coughing, and I fear it may cause more
hemorrhages." He said: "Well, then, I guess
you will soon be all right — as I do not think we
shall have any more bombarding to do in a
hurry." That evening, while in my room alone,
I had plenty of time to think, and, opening my
Bible, read the sixth chapter of Ezekiel, little
realizing how soon that old prophecy was again
to be fulfilled, as I little knew we were standing
on the eve of one of the greatest naval victories
of all the ages. 230

CHAPTER XIV.
DESTRUCTION OF CERVERA's FLEET.
ON June 22d, the day our army was
landed at Baiquiri, Admiral Sampson
sent around a general order, which
closed as follows: "The attention of Command
ing Officers of all vessels engaged in blockading
Santiago de Cuba is earnestly called to the ne
cessity of the utmost vigilance from this time for
ward, both as to maintaining stations and readi
ness for action and as to keeping a close watch
upon the harbor mouth. If the Spanish Admiral
ever intends to escape, that attempt will be
made soon." Sunday morning, July 3d, was a
day hard to be beaten, even in that sunlit country
of Cuba. About eight o'clock. Surgeon Du Bose,
U. S. N., came to my room to examine me. My
temperature had been taken, when a messenger
boy came down from the bridge, with a mes
sage from Lieutenant Bristol, Officer of the
Deck, asking whether I would conduct divine
service that morning. I sent back this answer to
Lieutenant Bristol : "I am very sorry ; but do not
believe I am strong enough to hold service ; any-
231

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

way, I cannot, as I am on the sick list." This
was the first time I had to say "No" about hold
ing service since I had been on board.
At nine o'clock. Captain Philip came to my
door and asked how I was getting along. His
good-natured face, with the smile it always bore,
cheered me exceedingly. Then, in his jocular
manner, he said: "Well, Chaplain, I guess you
want to go out on a farm." I said : "No, sir, not
exactly." Then he said : "You want to go home,
then." I replied : "Yes, Captain ; if I am going to
be sick I want to go home, as I do not care to be
ill down here, but do not want to shirk my duty."
"Well, we will see how you are a little later," said
the Captain, and, with a word of cheer, he disap
peared. At 9 :30 the doctor returned, in company with
the apothecary, who had brought some medicine
for me. As they were standing by the side of my
bunk. Lieutenant F. L. Haesler, U. S. N., came
below, exclaiming: "They are coming out, fel
lows!" Just then the general alarm rang, and
the doctor left. I got my clothes on as rapidly
as I could, as I was still very weak, and could
scarcely get around. One of our young officers
was in the barber's chair, getting his whiskers
trimmed when the bell rang; he had a beautiful
auburn crop, which had become too bushy to suit
him in that hot climate, so he decided upon the
232

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

Van Dyke style. The tonsorial artist was cut
ting away, and had finished trimming one side
(the starboard) down to perfection. Suddenly
the alarm sounded, and, without waiting a mo
ment, our handsome shipmate hurried to his sta
tion with a decided list to port so far as his whis
kers were concerned; there was no list about his
sight, however. As the magazines were opened,
the men slid down the hawsers like so many mon
keys sliding down a pole; so active and anxious
were they to be ready for the fight. The first
twelve-inch shell that came up was for Lieuten
ant Haesler's gun, on which the men had in
scribed with chalk, down in the magazine :
"In God we trust.
This shell will bust.
And blow the Dagoes
Into dust."
"In memory of the 'Maine,' from her beloved
sister ship, the 'Texas,' off Santiago de Cuba,
July 3d, 1898."
After I had completed dressing, which was
simply to pull my trousers and thin jacket over
my pajamas, which I had not time to take off, I
went to the after port, and, looking out, saw the
biggest ships I had ever seen in my life —
Cervera's magnificent ships of war. The
233

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

cruiser "Infanta Maria Teresa," Cervera's flag
ship, was in plain view, coming around Smith Cay
in front of the Punta Gorda battery. From our
signal halyards flew the flags representing general
signal No. 250 : "The enemy is attempting to es
cape." Lieutenant Mark L. Bristol had the bridge,
and the order had gone down to the men in the
engine room: "Full speed ahead!" and the dear
old "Texas," the mighty black bulldog of war
that she was, rushed on to meet the foe, and
was churning a white wake before the first black
prow of Cervera's Squadron had fairly showed
around Puntilla. Notwithstanding the long,
tedious waiting for the Spanish Admiral to come
out. Admiral Sampson's orders had been faith
fully obeyed, and the blockade was conducted
with a success exemplified only by the result.
Within three minutes of the time when the alarm
was given, the "Texas" was under way, at full
speed, firing, every man at his post. What
greater perfection can be demanded? On each
side of the "Texas," the "Brooklyn" and the
"Iowa" were coming up with a tremendous msh.
The dash they made for the enemy, with the
water pouring over their bows, was beautiful be
yond description. Farther east were the "Ore
gon" and the "Indiana," also headed in, ready
for business. As soon as our Captain reached the
234

STRIPPED FOR ACTION.
U. S. Battleship ''Texas " Engaging the Fleet.

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

bridge, Lieutenant Bristol hastened to his post at
the port twelve-inch turret gun. Captain Philip
saw at a glance that the purpose of Cervera was
to run his ships in column westward in his effort
to escape between the "Brooklyn" and the shore
before our heavier ships could come up to stop
him. Cervera miscalculated his speed, as well as
the speed of our battleships, also had very little
idea, perhaps, of the deadly accuracy of the aim of
the men behind the American guns at long range,
as before he had found himself fairly outside of
the Morro, our whole Squadron — "Oregon," "In
diana," "Iowa," "Brooklyn" and "Texas"— was
after him, and the way the shells were fired into
him virtually decided the issue of the battle in a
very few moments.
It was exactly 9:40 a.m. when a great puff of
smoke came from the forward eleven-inch gun
of the "Maria Teresa," the shell dropping short,
but right in line with us. I remembered what
Captain Philip so often had said about the War
of the Rebellion, which he was in, claiming that
whichever side opened fire on the Sabbath was al
ways defeated, so I felt rejoiced that the enemy
had fired the first shot. I really believe I was a
little superstitious just then. The battle was now
raging in deadly earnest. Shot after shot was
fired at the various ships. The "Maria Teresa,"
being in the lead, received the concentrated fire of
235

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

our ships for some time. Then the two torpedo
boats rushed out and the shout went along our
deck : "Torpedo boats, sir, in our smoke !" Our
hearts began to beat very rapidly, as the destroy
ers were the instruments of death we dreaded
most ; but, to our surprise, instead of heading for
us, they rushed on like two race horses close to
the shore, each trying to outpoint the other.
Knowing what these swift little crafts were
capable of accomplishing, all the ships poured a
deadly fire right in on them, and I think all took
a turn in the destruction of them ; but a great deal
of the credit of their destruction is due to the un
protected auxiliary vessel, "Gloucester," com
manded by Commander Richard Wainwright,who
was on the "Maine" when she blew up in the
harbor of Havana ; and surely he remembered his
beloved ship and her gallant men that morning.
She made a very plucky fight, rushed in and, at
close range, poured shot after shot into the
"Pluton" and the "Furor." The "Pluton" was
run on the rocks, after being disabled, and very
soon blew up. The "Furor" sank in deep water a
few minutes later; this was at 10:30.
Our ship had been struck a few minutes before
that, right in the smoke stack ; and here again is
shown the hand of Providence directing our be
loved Captain. The firing from the enemy's ship
had become very general, shells were screaming
236

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

around our bridge, and the Captain said to the
officers up there with him: "We had better go
down to the lower bridge." Going down the only
remaining ladder for them to descend, they had
just stepped off it, when crash went a shell, right
into the pilot house where they were standing
only a moment before. Had they not left when
they did, one or more of them would probably
have been killed. We were then rushing on in
the thick of the fight, when suddenly our navi
gator. Lieutenant Heilner, happened to remark
that the Spanish cruisers had a plenty of colors
flying, and they wanted us to believe they meant
business, whether they did or not, as their great
yellow and red flags were flying at their signal
halyards. This caused him to look aloft and say :
"Why, where are our battle flags ? What is a bat
tle without battle flags?" He then hurried a
messenger after them. The messenger returned
with the information that the flags were in the
locker and that the Chief Quartermaster had the
key. The Signal Quartermaster just then was
very busy, and somewhat inaccessible, being at
his post of duty in the fore upper top. Then the
navigator said: "Smash the locker." This be
ing done, we were furnished with the battle
flags; up they went, but I don't believe the old
ship fought any better after that, though doubt
less it made the Lieutenant very much happier.
237

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

"Captain," he said, "those fellows got enough
battle flags up, but I guess they have their white
ones ready for an emergency."
The smoke was dense around us at this time,
and we could not see very far ahead. The shells
were screeching like so many screech owls above
us, and yet our brave, noble and heroic Captain
stood on the lower bridge, never flinching in
this, his hour of danger. As the "Texas" veered
westward, the "Brooklyn" was plowing up the
water at a great rate in a course almost due north,
direct for the oncoming Spanish ships, and was
nearly a mile away from the "Texas." The
smoke from our guns just then began to hang
heavily and densely over the ship for a few mo
ments, but it seemed more like an hour that we
were hidden in this cloud, as it hovered over the
waters. To use the Captain's own language : "I
might as well have had a blanket tied over my head
as to be there with the smoke completely blinding
me"; but suddenly a whiff of the breeze and a
lull in the firing lifted the pall, and there, bearing
toward us and across our bow, turning on her port
helm, with big waves crawling over her bows,
great clouds of black smoke pouring from her
funnels, was the "Brooklyn." She looked as big
as half a dozen "Great Easterns" and seemed so
near that it took my breath away. "Back both
engines hard!" the Captain shouted down the
238

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

tube to the engine room ; and in the twinkling of
an eye the old ship, that never refused to obey
either her engines or her helm, was racing
against herself, and by this cool, level-headed-
ness and seamanlike ability on the part of our
Commanding Officer the collision, which seemed
inevitable, was averted. And as the big cruiser
went rushing by us, all on the bridge with the
Captain gave a sigh of relief: for had the
"Brooklyn" struck us then, the "Texas," in all
probability, would have sunk with her five hun
dred men on board, and if the "Texas" had col
lided with the "Brooklyn," her fate would have
been almost as disastrous, as she would have
doubled up like a hoop, not having been built for
ramming. This happened shortly after we com
menced the fight, and just before the torpedo
boats were destroyed.
We again began to exchange compliments with
the "Maria Teresa," who was firing at us as rap
idly as she could, but the aiming of her men was
exceedingly poor. At last she was forced to sur
render; and at 10:35 her white flag went up, as
the yellow and the red came down. The flames
were roaring out of every side of her, and curl
ing up twice as high as her mast, and we heard
the crackling of the timber as it burned so fiercely
on that ship, then a wreck, which only a few
moments before was as magnificent a looking
239 -

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

ship as ever sailed the Carribean Sea. Just three
minutes after the "Maria Teresa" went on shore
the "Oquendo" had to follow her example, and,
hauling down her colors, hoisted the white flag.
This caused our men to feel elated, and they were
in the act of cheering, when our Captain, a per
fect man in battle, yet as soft-hearted as a child
when it was necessary, surmised what their in
tentions were, so, lifting both hands up in the air,
he stamped on the bridge, and, shouting at the
men, said: "Don't cheer, boys; those poor devils
are dying!" and it is needless to say they didn't.
The "Oregon," when the fight commenced, was
the farthest away, but almost as soon as the bat
tle commenced, she was the leading ship. The
"Brooklyn," the "Iowa" and the "Indiana," as
well as the "Texas," had all assisted in the de
struction of these two ships, the pride of the
Spanish nation.
The "Vizcaya," in command of Captain
Eulate, was then the only ship remaining for us
to engage in that immediate vicinity, as the
"Colon" had run by her and was headed up the
coast. We put a regular torrent of shells into the
"Vizcaya." The "Brooklyn" was abeam of her,
about two miles outside ; the "Oregon" was near
ly abeam, half a mile further in shore; and the
"Texas" was on the starboard quarter of the
"Oregon" and about a mile in the rear. All
240

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

three were steering parallel courses to the west
ward. We were all giving it to her, but her crew,
with a most striking and persistent tenacity,
remained by their guns, until at last she, too,
had to make for the beach, where she was hard
and fast at ii :o5. At ii :30, a terrific explosion
took place on board, as the first of her maga
zines blew up.
Then began the chase of the "Christobal
Colon," which ship was then about six miles
ahead of us. The "Brooklyn" and the "Oregon"
started in pursuit, and our Captain, fearing
something might happen to the "Oregon," and
knowing the "Colon" to be the supposed super
ior ship of the two, as compared with the
"Brooklyn," considered it his duty to force his
engines and join the race, and in a very little
while our ship was making as fine speed as she
had ever made since her trial trip. The men in
the engine rooms had been on duty for several
hours; one watch had just come off duty when
the battle commenced, having been on four hours
previous to that time, and as it was now nearing
noon, they had been in the trying fire-room for
seven hours. The Marine Guard was in charge
of the secondary battery, and, their guns not
being in service at this time, as the "Colon" was
out of range, asked Lieutenant Radford, their
Commanding Officer, to obtain the Captain's
241

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN
permission to allow them to go down and relieve
the firemen. The permission was granted, and
the marines went below; but, as they entered
the fire-room, those lusty fellows down there told
them to get out of that and go back on deck
where they belonged ; as it was their duty to be
in the fire-room, as firemen of the ship, and sup
ply the fuel in time of action, and that duty they
would do, or die; and it is remarkable to relate
that, notwithstanding that exceedingly trying ex
perience, with a temperature of 127 degrees the
greater part of the time, not one of those men was
overcome by the heat.
At 12:45 the "Oregon" sent a shell after the
"Colon," to let her know that we were still pur
suing. Finally she was hemmed in on all sides,
and at i :20 ran down her colors, as her Com
manding Officer beached her. We signalled:
"Enemy has surrendered." The signal was re
peated by the "Vixen," then coming up behind
us, to the "New York," some miles to the east
ward, but was not acknowledged. As the
"Oregon" closed in, her band was playing "The
Star-Spangled Banner." All the Spanish crew
was on the deck of the "Colon" ; the men on the
"Brooklyn" were shouting and cheering. Our
Commanding Officer came from the bridge; all
hands were on the quarter deck, as we were then
with our stern toward the enemy. Looking over
242

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

toward that ship, the last of the enemy to go
ashore, it was a beautiful picture. Had her
Commanding Officer spent weeks in selecting a
place to beach his ship, he could not have found a
more picturesque place than where he had beached
her. Off her starboard beam was the only green
field that I had seen all the time we had been
around the coast of Cuba, which served as a kind
of background for the picture. Surround
ing this field were the lofty pine and palm
trees. As our Captain came toward us he uncovered
his head, then, looking at his men, said: "Men,
I have always had implicit confidence in the
'Texas,' my officers and my crew, but my great
est confidence is in Almighty God, and I wish to
make public acknowledgment, here to-day, of my
belief in prayer; and I ask every man of you to
uncover his head with me, that is, if you have no
religious scruples, and silently thank God for our
deliverance and for the victory He has given us."
There they stood, stripped to the waist, blood
streaming from their strained muscles, their
bodies stained from the powder, the coal dust and
smoke of the fire-room, but from the heart of
every one of us that beautiful Sabbath moming
went up the most fervent prayer that ever left
the heart of man, as we thanked God for the vic
tory He had given us and for our miraculous
243

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

escape. The Captain did not know I was on deck
until after he had spoken, when he happened to
see me standing on the starboard side, so sent
an ensign to me, apologizing for depriving me of
the privilege of performing my duty of offering an
audible prayer. I sent back my compliments and,
going over, took the Captain's hand and said:
"Captain, I am glad you did not know I was here,
sir, because this act of yours has proven to me
that you are the kind of a man I always believed
you to be — that is, a man who has faith in
prayer." Later on, the Executive Officer came
to me and said: "Chaplain, did you hear those
remarks of the Commanding Officer?" I said:
"Yes, sir." He said : "That was the most manly
act I have ever witnessed in my life."
Just then the "New York" came up, together
with the "Vixen" and Commodore Schley came
alongside of our ship in his gig. He called to
Captain Philip and said : "We have no Chaplain
on the 'Brooklyn' ; we want to borrow yours.
As he buried our first dead in Cuban soil, I want
him to go with us to Guantanamo and bury
Yeoman Ellis, who was killed. Looking at the
Captain, I said: "Captain, I have your permis
sion, sir?" He said: "Yes." And I started to
leave the ship. The Austrian man-of-war,
"Kaiserin Maria Theresa," supposed to be a
Spanish ship coming to the aid of Admiral
244

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

Cervera, had been sighted, so Admiral Sampson
ordered Commodore Schley, with the "Brook
lyn" and "Oregon," to go after her and destroy
her. Expecting the ships would soon be in ac
tion, our doctor came up to Captain Philip and
said : "Don't you allow the Chaplain to go, sir."
I said to the Captain: "Oh, please let me go,
sir!" He said: "No; I had forgotten you were
ill." Sp he called down to Commodore Schley:
"Our Chaplain is too ill to leave the ship; he
has been attacked with hemorrhages ; I am sorry,
but it cannot be helped." The Commodore re
turned to his ship, and one burly fellow on our
deck shouted out: "Let us give three cheers for
our beloved Captain!" And they were given
with a vengeance. The old ship fairly shook as
the men cheered Captain Philip, the hero who had
that day led them to victory — a hero who, for the
stand he had taken that day, would, we knew,
be admired by the Christian world.
We remained by the "Colon" that night. In
the morning, when I went on deck, I was sad
dened to see that that noble ship had capsized and
was lying with her starboard guns pointing to the
sky. We started for Santiago, which was forty-
eight miles distant, and on our way thither passed
several Spaniards who had been drowned or
killed; some of them floating with their heads,
hands and feet down, and a life belt around their
245.

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

waist, which had slidden down, causing them to
drown. We reached Santiago just at noon. The
battle flags went up, as we formed the usual
blockading half circle. Three or four foreign
warships had come in, an Austrian that created
such a stir the day before, an English, and a Port
uguese. We fired the national salute in honor
of our Fourth of July, and it was a grand termi
nation of that most glorious naval victory.

246

CHAPTER XV.
ON THE "ST. LOUIS" WITH ADMIRAL CERVERA.
ABOUT three o'clock on the afternoon of
the Fourth, Captain Philip signalled
to the flagship reporting my sickness, at
the same time stating that the surgeon recom
mended my being sent North immediately. The
flagship signalled back to transfer me to the "St.
Louis" and also directed Surgeon Du Bose to
proceed by the same ship North. Accordingly
the Captain issued this order to me :
U. S. S. "Texas," off Santiago de Cuba,
July 4th, 1898.
To Chaplain Harry W. Jones, U. S. N.,
U. S. S. "Texas."
Sir:
By direction of the Commander-in-Chief, pro
ceed to New York, and report to the Medical
Director of the U. S. Naval Hospital for treat
ment. Very respectfully,
J. W. Philip,
Captain U. S. N., Commanding.
247

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN
At 5 :30 we were ready to leave the ship. There
was quite a swell on, and with great difficulty we
boarded our steam launch, which was to take us
over to the "St. Louis." We reported to Cap
tain Goodrich, in command of the "St. Louis."
He accepted us for passage, but did not endorse
our orders then. Soon after we boarded, the
Officer of the Deck announced to Captain Good
rich that a boat was coming alongside with Ad
miral Cervera and several other officers of the
Spanish fleet. This boat was commanded by
Lieutenant-Commander Rodgers, the Executive
Officer of the "Iowa."
All preparations were made to receive the Ad
miral with the honors due his rank. The full
Marine Guard was paraded. Officers mustered
on the starboard side of the quarter deck. The
officers of his own ships stood by the gangway to
receive their beloved Commander-in-Chief as he
came on board. Captain Eulate was the first to
embrace him, and, with arms around each other's
neck, they wept like two women. It was a most
pathetic sight. The guard presented arms, the
officers uncovered, the bugle rang out its flour
ishes ; and as this defeated Admiral, who had lost
so much in a few minutes, stood there, the crew
broke out into cheers, and for several seconds
Admiral Cervera stood bowing his thanks. Cap
tain Goodrich presented the officers to the Ad-
248

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

miral. As I took his hand, I said : "Admiral, I
am delighted at having the honor of meeting you,
and of taking you by the hand, as I wish to say,
sir, I have admired you ever since your manly
treatment of our men that entered your harbor
on the colHer 'Merrimac' "
Later in the evening we got under way and
started for Guantanamo Bay. Life aboard this
converted trans- Atlantic liner was altogether dif
ferent to what it had been on a warship in time of
war. The electric lights were all aglow through
out the ship. A sumptuous repast was spread on
the saloon deck. We sat around the table with
the Admiral and his Captains, as Captain Good
rich had invited Surgeon Du Bose and myself to
be his guests on that occasion. The delicacies
furnished for this dinner certainly reminded us of
home, and we enjoyed everything we partook of.
Captain Eulate sent this telegram from Guan
tanamo to his wife at Porto Rico : "Ship burned,
life and honor saved." I tried to draw him into
conversation early the next moming. He
seemed awfully cast down, but very courteously
responded to my salutation and said: "Good-
morning, Chaplain, this is a beautiful morning" ;
then, with tears running down his cheeks, said:
"But poor dear 'Vizcaya' burned and a wreck, and
so many of my noble men dead. God pity me!
I am alone — no ship, no home ; it is so hard. I
249

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

had a lovely family, but now they will be despised,
as their father lost his ship. My Government,
when we lose a ship, will never give us another.
So cruel and so unjust when we fought so hard !"
A careful watch was set over all the prisoners.
Some of the marines were sent over from the
camp before we got under way, to strengthen the
Marine Guard, as we had about eight hundred
prisoners on board, and, before we were rein
forced, only about ten marines. We left Guanta
namo Bay at 6 a.m., the morning of the fifth.
Every morning the prisoners were brought on
deck and, under the supervision of Captain Eu
late, the fire hose was played on them, affording
them a regular shower bath. The Captain said
that was his custom every day while in command
of the "Vizcaya." I found the Admiral a most
charming gentleman. Unfortunately, he could
speak very little English, but could understand it
if we wrote it, and would either answer us in
broken English, French, or Spanish. If we could
not understand either language, one of his officers
would act as his interpreter. I had many a pleas
ant conversation with him and asked several
questions on my way up the coast. I found he
was exceedingly anxious to find out where we
were going, so were all of the Captains. The
Captain of the "Colon" was among the prisoners
of war, so was Captain Senor Don Pedro, who
250

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

commanded the destroyer "Pluton," also Senor
Don Diego Carlier, commander of the destroyer
"Furor." Admiral Fernando Villamil, command
er of the destroyers, was on board the "Furor,"
and was killed toward the close of the engage
ment. I learned from the Captains of these tor
pedo boats that there were seventy-eight men on
each boat. Fifty-six were killed on one of them
and fifty-one on the other.
Admiral Cervera said to me : "I do not under
stand why I lost so many men, and the Americans
only one." I said : "Admiral, we are a praying
people, and God answered our prayer." He re
plied : "So are we — as our people pray." I said :
"Yes, Admiral ; but the Americans know God well
enough to go to Him direct — we have not to go
second-handed to Him in the person of the Vir
gin Mary." "Well," he said, "a few of my coun
try people are Protestants, too."
Captain Don Pedro was a whole-souled man, as,
in fact, all the officers were, and I became greatly
attached to them during the cruise. They per
sisted in their inquiry as to our destination, and all
that I could say was that I had no idea where we
were going, as my orders simply said : "Proceed to
New York for treatment," but outside of that I
knew not where the ship would land. They seemed
very anxious to be kept as prisoners of war by the
Navy, and did not want to be transferred to the
Army. 251

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

Captain Eulate, on one occasion, asked us what
we thought of the fight of the "Vizcaya." We, of
course, spoke in complimentary terms of it.
Then, in glowing words, he spoke of his men and
of the able manner in which they had fought their
guns against such powerful odds the moming
of the third. I could tell he loved his ship dearly,
and also his men. He would visit them frequently
in their quarters, and so would Admiral Cervera.
The men would kiss their hands every time they
went to see them, as they were a very affectionate
lot of people.
I asked the Admiral on one occasion why he
did not come out and engage the fleet at night.
He said: "That was an impossibility after Ad
miral Sampson organized the blockading squad
ron." I said : "Why did you come out, then,
when you did ? Did you imagine it was less likely
to be disastrous in daylight than at night?" He
said: "I was ordered out." I asked him: "By
whom?" He said: "By my Government." I
said: "By letter or telegram?" He said: "Tele
gram." Then I asked: "Was not the cable cut
before you came out?" This question I wrote
in my memorandum book, and he wrote under
neath : "When I came out, we had communication
with every city of the world." I knew then
that of all the cables that we had been cutting,
the one we wanted most to sever was not among
them. 252

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

I further asked him if he came out immediately
after getting his orders? He said: "No, I was
first ordered out to engage the fleet. I answered
that telegram : 'It is useless to attempt it.' The
reply came from Madrid, 'You go out and fight.'
I wired back : 'It is suicidal to attempt it.' When
the final message came : 'No matter what the con
sequences are, you go out and fight,' there was
no alternative to this : the only thing I could do
was to obey those orders ; and, embracing the op
portunity when the 'Massachusetts' went away
and the 'New York' also going away to the east
ward and thinking the 'Massachusetts' was the
'Oregon,' I thought my chances were as good then
as they would ever be. My plan was to rush by
the 'Texas,' ram the 'Brooklyn,' and put to sea,
as I had no idea of the speed of the 'Texas' or the
'Oregon,' which I thought was the 'Massa
chusetts.' My plan was good, but my accomplish
ment was bad. I did the best I could, though,
and our men put up a desperate fight in the face
of death. Almost the first shell that your ships
fired disabled the 'Maria Teresa.' That shell en-
tered my cabin and set that part of the ship on
fire. The second shell entered the engine room,
causing our main exhaust pipe to explode. I sig
nalled down to the engine room that the cabin was
on fire, to turn the fire hose on, but received no
reply, and then it was we discovered that about
253

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

eighty men in the fire and engine rooms had been
suddenly killed by being scalded to death. My
aide said to me: 'Admiral, the ship is on fire,
the engines are disabled. Shall we not, for
humanity's sake, run the ship aground?' I told
him 'Yes, to do it'; but we had not acted until
about one-half of our gallant crew was sacrificed.
I have heard a great deal of the American people,"
he continued; "but neither my Government nor
myself had any comprehension of the kind of peo
ple the Americans were, as their treatment of my
wounded and dying comrades after we sur
rendered has been the wonder of our lives."
I then asked him how he got off from his flag
ship. He said: "I am a heavy man, and not a
very good swimmer, so I took off my uniform
and sprang overboard in my underclothes ; I was
struggling for the shore, and the surf, being ex
ceedingly rough, kept tumbling me about in such
a manner as to completely exhaust me. I was
about to give up, when I felt some one pushing
me from behind, and I made better progress for
the shore. Upon reaching the shore, I found it
was my own son that had come to my rescue."
This son was on board the "St. Louis" with him ;
and a fine specimen of manhood he was — splen
did physique and an excellent scholar.
A day or so later I engaged the Admiral in
conversation again, and we talked about our fight.
254

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

I found him a wonderfully clever gentleman to
approach. No one would have ever taken him
to be the Spanish Admiral. He looked more like
a retired merchant as he walked up and down the
decks of the "St. Louis" in the blue serge citizen's
suit which one of the officers had given him. In
speaking of the way his ships were destroyed, he
said: "Chaplain, I have come to the conclusioa
that heroism and gallantry do not amount to
much in modern warfare." I said: "How is
that. Admiral ?" He replied : "Simply because it
is the instruments that are used against each
other." I said : "Yes, Admiral ; that is true ; the
instruments of war that the American nation used
in the battle of July 3d were turned out from
our public schools, they being young men who
could read, write, and count, and it was the
school training which they had had that made
them so accurate with their range-finding." He
said: "Well, yes; there is a great deal in that."
I said: "Yes, Admiral, a great deal indeed, as I
understand nearly all of your men could neither
read nor write." He said: "Yes, that is, I am
very sorry to say, a fact."
At last we were off the New England coast
headed for Portsmouth, N. H., where we
anchored at l p.m. on the eleventh, after a splen
did run up the coast. Large sheds were in
course of erection on the shore off the mouth of
255

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

the harbor, where the prisoners were to be kept.
A strict quarantine was placed on the ship so far
as communication with the city was concerned.
The health officer, however, was willing that Dr.
Du Bose and myself should go ashore, provided
we would land on the Navy Yard side, so we were
very soon ready to leave the ship.
Arriving at the Navy Yard, the doctor said:
"I will get permission of the Commandant of the
Yard to take our belongings out. Chaplain, and
you go and get an expressman to take them to
the station." I went through the gate in search
of a livery stable, and engaged a man to take
the doctor and myself, together with the doctor's
trunks, down to the station. The man was getting
ready when the doctor appeared and asked if I
had engaged an express wagon. I said: "Yes,
and a coach." He said : "Well, there is no need
of a coach; the trolley cars pass the station." I
said : "That is all right, but I notice they are run
ning few and far between." As we had nearly an
hour to catch our train, he was satisfied we could
do it by taking the trolley to the ferry ; then, going
across on the ferry and taking a trolley on the
other side to the station, we would reach there in
time. This we did, and, arriving at the depot,
found our baggage there ; the train had come in
and, before we knew it, had pulled out and was
gone, leaving us behind. There was no other
256

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

train until the next morning, so our only alter
native was to remain and put up at one of the
hotels. Before the war, I had sent nearly all my
belongings home, not knowing what might hap
pen, and had kept only a few necessary clothes on
board, and what few I did take from the ship
when I left I simply put into a brown paper par
cel. I was dressed in the only clerical suit I had
kept out, which, by the way, was pretty well
stained from the powder smoke; and I looked
more like a minister in distress than a Chaplain
of the Navy. The doctor wanted to make a call
on his way leading to the hotel, so, agreeing to
meet there a little later, we separated.
Going up to the "Buckingham," the leading
hotel in the city, I asked the book-keeper if he had
a room ; he said : "Yes." Then he looked at me,
sizing me up from head to foot, inquiring : "Have
you a trunk, sir ?" I said : "Yes, sir, here it is,"
and deposited my brown paper parcel on the
desk. He stared at it, and then at me. Sur
mising he was after security, I said : "Shall I pay
you in advance ?" at the same time pulling out a
roll of bills. He said : "No, that is not necessary,"
and turned the hotel register toward me to reg
ister. I signed as Chaplain Jones, U. S. Battle
ship "Texas." When he saw that, he almost
jumped over the desk to take me by the hand, and
was very profuse in his congratulations.
257

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

As this was Sunday, I was very anxious to at
tend divine service at one of the churches, so I
asked the clerk if there was a Baptist church any
where near. He said: "The church itself is
quite a distance from here, but the minister's
house is down the hill by the second comer — it is
the third house from that corner on the right
hand side." So down I went and rang the door
bell, but received no reply. Going to the next
house, I said: "Does the Baptist minister live
next door ?" The lady said : "He used to, but has
left the city ; they have no minister now." I said :
"Do you know any of the Baptist people of the
city you can direct me to ?" She said : "Yes," and
directed me to a house, a certain number on a cer
tain street. So to that house I went and rang
the door bell, but had forgotten to ask the lady
this person's name. I realized my mistake after I
rang the bell, so, when the door opened, I looked
at the lady and said : "Excuse me, madam, but is
this number so and so of such and such a street ?"
I knew it was, full well, but had to say something.
She said : "Yes, sir, it is." And then I said : "A
friend of yours, living in the next house to the
Baptist minister, directed me to you." She said :
"There is no Baptist minister in the city now ; he
has gone away." I said: "Yes, that is true; if
there was a Baptist minister in town, I should
not be here to interview you." So, looking at me
258

"ASHORE AND AFLOAT.
and my stained clerical clothes, she finally said :
"Well, who are you, anyway?" I replied : "I am
a Baptist minister in distress." Then, to continue
the joke, said : "Do you think your people would
treat me kindly, if I went around there to-night?"
She said : "There is no doubt but what they will
receive you all right, but they have had so many
things to contribute to lately, they begin to feel
the strain." I said : "If you will direct me to the
church, I will go around there, anyway." These
directions she furnished me.
Just as I was about to leave the house, a lady
came down the stairs which led into the hall.
Advancing toward me, extending her hand, she
said: "Did I understand you to say you are a
Baptist minister?" I said: "Yes, madam, you
did." Then she said: "I am a Baptist mission
ary, and have just returned from China, where
I have been trying to convert the heathen." I
said : "I am glad to meet you ; I am a Baptist
minister, a Chaplain in the Navy ; and have just
returned from Santiago de Cuba from the battle
ship 'Texas,' on which ship I have been trying
to lead the noble men of our Navy to the Lord
Jesus Christ." The first lady spoke up and said :
"Oh! wont you please come in?" I said: "No
thank you, madam — you are looking now at me
as Chaplain Jones; before when you looked at
me, I stood in your sight as a simple minister of
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THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

the Gospel in distress; and your actions toward
me certainly indicated I was not welcome in your
home. The Bible says: 'If they will not receive
you, shake the dust from off your feet,' so I guess
I will shake," and left her standing there, feeling,
I believe, mortally ashamed.
Upon returning to the hotel, I found the Rev.
Dr. Gile, who was supplying the church each Sab
bath, waiting to see me; he being exceedingly
anxious to have me speak for his people that
night. I told him I was not feeling very strong,
but would do the best I could, as I should cer
tainly enjoy the privilege of addressing a con
gregation in my own country. The time for ser
vice arrived and the minister, in a very unique
way, introduced me to the congregation. There
was an extraordinarily good gathering and, as I
stood on the rostrum, he commenced to pick out
certain gentlemen by pointing to them, saying,
"Brother, you remember three weeks ago last
Monday morning, you, and you, and you, had
been appointed a committee to intercede with the
Governor of this State to protect this, our coast,
as we were expecting then at any moment to see
the Spanish Squadron appear off the coast and
bombard our city. We all sat in the car together
and did not hesitate to express our great dread
of an attack ; but I have the pleasure of introduc
ing to you this evening a gentleman who has Just
260

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

returned from Santiago de Cuba, where he acted
as Chaplain of the battleship 'Texas,' and he will
tell you to-night just where that Squadron is."
I had a fine time speaking to them, and was sur
prised, notwithstanding the fact that it was the
Sabbath and that I was in a church, to find they
lost their church decorum, and applauded me just
as they would were I delivering a lecture to them.
After the service, every man, woman and child
in that great congregation came and shook my
hand most heartily, and I had no idea until that
very moment what it meant to go to war and re
turn home. It is hard to part from those we love,
but it certainly is a most blessed privilege to re
turn home and receive the welcome.

261

CHAPTER XVI.
the disappointment of my life.
WE arrived at New York early on the
morning of July 12th. As I left the
Grand Central Station, I went across
42d Street to the corner of Park Avenue, where
Dr. F. W. Shoonmaker, one of my sincerest
friends, has his business. I had received a let
ter from him a few days before I left Santiago,
referring to the "burial of the marines under fire."
I answered this letter, telling him that I hoped we
would be spared to meet again, and thanked him
for the kindly sentiment expressed in his message
to me. Approaching his store, I saw him stand
ing outside, looking at his windows, which had
been newly decorated. Going up behind him, I
said : "Hello, young man ! Allow me to take the
hand of a good American," and extended my hand
to him. Turning around, he was amazed to see
me standing there, as he thought I was still down
with Admiral Sampson's fleet. He was delighted
to see me, however, and immediately invited me to
accompany him to the Transportation Club. I
said : "Not at present, thank you, I must go down
town and try and find a ready-made suit of clothes
263

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

to fit me." He said : "Oh, no, you will come just
as you are ; I want to have the honor of exhibit
ing you to my friends in your war suit." Nothing
else would do but that I must go with him over to
the club just as I was. Arriving there, I found a
number of prominent railroad men, who were
very profuse in their congratulations.
After we had partaken of luncheon, I went over
to the Naval Hospital and reported to Medical
Director Wood, who was in charge. He took my
orders, and, after he had endorsed them, handed
them back, saying : "Chaplain, where is your fam
ily?" I repHed: "They are at Bensonhurst, Doc
tor." This being only an hour's ride on the trolley
cars from the hospital, he suggested that, instead
of settling down there as a patient in a private
ward that night, I should go home to those I
loved. Naturally, this just suited me, and I was
very soon on a car with the sign Bensonhurst on
the front. Arriving at 86th Street and Twenty-
second Avenue, I jumped off the car and proceed
ed to my home, the second house from the comer.
Very quietly on tiptoe, I went up the steps and,
with my thumb on the electric bell, commenced
ringing it, intending to ring until they would open
the door from the inside ; then I was going to see
the look of surprise as they beheld me standing
there. I knew it would be a surprise, because the
last letter I had received from my wife was writ-
264

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

ten over three weeks ago. It proved to be my sur
prise instead of theirs, as the door was not
opened; so I began to make an examination.
Everything seemed securely fastened. I could
not imagine what it meant. Opening the shutter,
I discovered, to my astonishment, that the house
was empty !
What had become of my wife and two little
children was a question I naturally asked myself.
I made inquiry in the neighborhood, and received
that afternoon, the thirty-fourth anniversary of
my birthday, the disappointment of my life. I
was expecting to spend a part of that day at least
with them. I went back to the hospital feeling
greatly cast down, as up to that time I had found no
trace of those I loved. All I could find out from
the people of Bensonhurst was that my family
had gone somewhere in the mountains, but where,
they did not know. I informed the Medical Di
rector, and asked whether he would allow me to
go over to New York and see my mother-in-law,
who probably would be able to enlighten me as
to where my wife had gone. The permission was
granted, and I further requested to be excused
from quarters the following moming. This re
quest was also acceded to. So I went over to New
York to call on my wife's mother, who was over
joyed at seeing me, as she also was of the opin
ion that I was still on board the "Texas."
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THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

My first question was: "What has become of
my wife and babies ?" I was informed that they
were up at Lee, Mass. It was then 2 p.m., and I
knew there was an express train going up to Pitts-
field at 3 P.M., so, excusing myself, I hurried off to
the New York, New Haven & Hartford railroad
station. My friend on the corner of 42d Street
saw me, and inquired where I was going. I told
him to Lee, Mass. "Well," he said, "I will get
you up there" ; and, going over to the general pas
senger agent of the road, he told him that I had
just returned from Santiago, having been in the
fight, and he wanted him to put me up to Lee
and return free of expense. The pass was gladly
granted. I telegraphed my wife that I would be
up on the train reaching there at five o'clock that
evening. This telegram was a great astonish
ment to her, as she had been writing me daily to
Santiago de Cuba, and could not understand how
I could be in New York, when that moming she
had read in the newspaper the "Texas" was at
Guantanamo. As I alighted from the cars, I looked about the
station, but saw no one there that I knew ; when
suddenly I heard little steps pattering along the
platform toward me, and there came running my
little boy, the little fellow who had asked in his
little baby petition : "Dear, dear papa, please come
back." Following him was his mother and the
266

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

baby, and that meeting, that twelfth of July, as I
received a birthday greeting from them, they hav
ing remembered it to be my birthday, made me
feel it had paid me to go to war. The home com
ing is certainly worth the privations we have to
suffer through separations. I remained with
them the next day, and on the fourteenth returned
to the hospital and found, after the surgeons had
carefully examined me, there was nothing the
matter with my lungs; in fact, it was hard for
them to determine where the blood had come
from. They suggested that the best thing for me
to do was to take a rest somewhere in a quiet,
healthy place, so I secured a week's leave to try
the atmosphere of Lee. I found that it did me
so much good that I applied to the Department
for one month's leave of absence, which was
granted. I had a lovely time there in the Berk
shire Hills and recuperated in wonderful style.
On the fifteenth of August the unexpired por
tion of my leave was revoked and I was ordered
to proceed immediately to Tompkinsville and re
port on board the U. S. S. "Texas," which had
arrived from Santiago de Cuba. I reported on
the sixteenth and went up with her to the Brook
lyn Navy Yard, and after she had received a
thorough overhauling, we were ready for sea, and
left the Navy Yard in time to welcome Admiral
Sampson and his fleet off Tompkinsville, proceed-
267

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

ing with them up the North River as far as
Grant's monument the day of the Naval Review.
This was the grandest sight I had ever witnessed
in New York harbor. All of our ships, still in
their war-paint, steamed up the river in single
file. The shores were black with people and the
house-tops so thickly packed, one would have
imagined, from the enormous weight, they would
cave in. When we got further up the river, near
One Hundredth Street, the crowd was denser yet.
The banks of the river, both on the New York
and New Jersey side, are very steep up there,
and we could see nothing of the grass or anything
else belonging to the embankments on either side
of the river, for the people covered every spot.
The shouting and cheering were deafening, and
the blowing of the whistles almost made us go
wild. When we arrived off Grant's tomb, ship after
ship fired the national salute of twenty-one guns.
One of the officers said: "Well, we certainly
struck New York on a lucky day." We said:
"Why, how is that?" "Why," he said, "to get
here on Grant's birthday." "Why," we said,
"Grant's birthday was the twenty-seventh of
April." And then he wanted to know why we
were firing the salute, then. We informed him
it was in honor of our own return, though we
went alongside the resting place of one of our
268

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

greatest heroes to fire that salute. The Squadron
began to steam slowly down the river, and as the
"New York" turned, she, being ahead of us, went
on the opposite side of the river to return to come
to anchor. When she was off our beam, some one
on our deck shouted : "Three cheers for Admiral
Sampson !" And we cheered and cheered for that
gallant officer who had commanded us in Cuban
waters. After the water celebration, we were
tendered a reception at the Union League at night,
and each of us was treated just as though he was
a hero. In fact, I believe we could have secured
anything in New York we wanted simply for the
asking. The following Sunday I spoke in the Grand
Opera House at 23d Street, and at night in the
Academy of Music in Brooklyn. Both of these
buildings were packed to their roofs with people,
the seating capacity of each house being about
7,000. Notwithstanding this was Sunday, the
energetic minister who had invited me there to
speak made each person pay in advance as he
went in. A silver collection was thus taken at the
doors, and in this way a large amount of money
was received that day for the People's Church. I
had a grand time telling the people the way we
did it down in Cuba, and the way they clapped
and cheered certainly showed they appreciated
the work of the men behind the guns, if not the
269

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

lecture, as I was very emphatic in the statement
that the men who had made that victory possible
were the men behind the guns.
The following Sunday, I visited Camp Voor-
hees, at Sea Girt, N. J., as the guest of Governor
Voorhees. Spoke there to the regiment then in
camp, and sympathized with the men in their dis
appointment in being compelled to remain there
all through the war, when they volunteered to go
and fight in Cuba. At the same time, I im
pressed upon them the fact that their having gone
there in obedience to their orders made of
them just as good and heroic soldiers as the men
who had been in the fight. Time after time, they
would applaud the work done by the men, both of
the Army and Navy, as I related it. We had a
fine time on Little Round Top, as they called it,
where this service was conducted.
The following Sunday, I was at Crescent
Beach, Conn., and addressed a regiment of sol
diers there, and found them very enthusiastic on
the subject of our war. No matter where I went,
whether of a week night or of a Sunday, I found
the people thoroughly patriotic and very appre
ciative of the manner in which the men had con
ducted themselves on board our ship, as I spoke
more of the work done by the "Texas" than that
done by any other ship, knowing from experience
what our dear old ship had done.
270

CHAPTER XVII.
A VISIT TO MY MOTHER.
AFTER the Naval Review, there were re
ceptions of different character almost
nightly for some time. We were ban
queted and entertained in a most elaborate man
ner. I made several addresses in different cities
of the country, and wherever I spoke of "Our
War with Spain," I was always greeted with an
enthusiastic and large audience.
On September 19th, I was detached from the
"Texas" and ordered to proceed to my home,
which was at Arlington, N. J., that being my
official residence. As I left the "Texas," the
twenty-first of that month, I felt very sad when
going over the side of the ship to think my sweet
connections with the dear old "Texas" were
severed. I have often looked back to the days
spent on board of her, and shall always think kind
ly of her and ever remember and admire her gal
lant officers and men ; in fact, there will never be
another "Texas" for me; I may be ordered to
every ship in the Navy, but none of them will
take the place of that ship in my affection. Men
271

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

of the sea differ from men on land. A sailor al
ways loves, and will stand by, his first ship, be
cause she is his first love; but I have noticed in
mingling with men on shore that the majority of
them who have secured their second wives think
a great deal more of the second than they did of
the first.
On the twenty-second, I received orders from
Washington, granting me two months' leave of
absence, with permission to leave the United
States, and, on the twenty-fourth, took passage
on the "Teutonic," of the White Star Line, for
Liverpool, to visit my mother, whom I had not
seen since the winter of 1883. We had a most
delightful passage over, and I met some very
charming people on board the ship, who, like my
self, were visiting the old country after having
been absent for several years. We arrived at
Liverpool the following Wednesday noon, when
I found I would have to remain in that city until
eleven o'clock that night, so I telegraphed my
mother at Swansea that I would be at home the
next morning at 6:30 o'clock, arriving at the
High Street Station.
The day we reached Liverpool was a typical
English day, foggy, damp, and such a day as
would be most likely to make one feel homesick.
As I walked up the street, I passed a hotel flying
the flag of our country, the Stars and Stripes. I
272

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

knew it was only done to catch the traveller com
ing from America. I did not go there, but passed
on until I came to the Royal Hotel, which was
kept by the railroad company. After supper that
night, I felt that I would like to visit a church,
so called a hansom and told the driver to drive me
around the city until he found a church lighted
up, preferably a Baptist church, if he knew where
there was one. We drove for some time, when
he announced that the Temple, a Baptist church,
was open. Stepping out, I gave him his fare,
which was half a crown, and went into the church,
which was, I found, pastorless, the former pas
tor, the Rev. Dr. Jones, having gone into Wales
to occupy a pulpit there.
I was met at the door by one of the deacons,
and, as I had on a clerical suit, he mistook me
for one of the speakers of the evening. (The
meeting that night was to be devoted to mission
ary interests.) As he spoke to me, he invited me
into the vestry, I said: "No, thank you; I pre
fer just sitting here by the door, as I simply came
to listen to the Gospel and do not care to meet any
one." He insisted, so I accompanied him to the
vestry, where a number of ministers were
seated. I was introduced to them, and later the
secretary of the church came in and I was intro
duced to him as Chaplain Jones of the United
States Navy. He extended his hand, but looked
273

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

at me rather suspiciously, then, addressing one
of the ministers, said: "Before we go into the
church, let us have a word of prayer; I would
like you to lead us," but, in a low tone of voice,
"don't you ask this Chaplain, because there is no
telling who he may be." We knelt down, and
when I arose I went over to the secretary and
said: "Having overheard your remarks, did I
understand you to insinuate, sir, that I am not a
Chaplain of the United States Navy ?" He said :
"I have not seen your credentials, and do not pro
pose to be imposed upon." I said: "Well, sir,
there is no necessity of my showing you my cre
dentials ; I simply came here to-night after having
been away from this country so many years, and
this being the country where I was born, I
sought out a Baptist church, that being my
church. I came here to render thanks to God
for permitting me to meet with a congregation
once more in this country." "Well," he
said, "that is all right; but you cannot blame
me for not inviting you into the pulpit." I said :
"Don't mention inviting me into the pulpit: for
I have not intimated to you that I wished or
would accept any such invitation." He said: "I
hope, then, you will take a seat in the congrega
tion." I asked: "Who will dehver the first ad
dress?" He said: "I shall." Then I answered:
"My dear sir, I would rather sit down and Usten
274

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

to a gin-mill keeper deliver a lecture on the virtue
of temperance than sit here and listen to a man
like you talking about the Gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ. I shall, therefore, beg to be ex
cused, as I consider this treatment I have received
from you one of the greatest insults that a Chris
tian brother, or at least one professing to be a
Christian, could heap upon the head of his
brother man, and if this is the country where I
was born, I thank God to-night that I am no
longer an Englishman, but an American, as
America is a place where they raise gentlemen,
and men who understand their Christian man
ners." After saying this, I left the church, as I
knew the service would do me no good after re
ceiving such a reception. About ten o'clock, two
of the ministers entered the hotel, and, seeing me
in the office, recognized me and came over and
apologized for the treatment I had received from
the secretary of the Temple Church, and said
how sorry they felt that they should appear as
though they were party to the treatment I re
ceived from one who, of course, was the head of
the church, as the secretary took the head when
the pastor left the church. I, of course, told them
I knew they had nothing to do with it.
At eleven o'clock I boarded the train, and
found there were no sleepers on the London ex
press bound for South Wales, so had to be satis-
275

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

fied with a pillow and a rug and one side of a sec
ond-class carriage, as they are called in that coun
try. The next morning I was awakened by hear
ing a man shouting out : "St. Helen's Road." I
knew then that I was at Swansea, and the next
stop would be the main station, but was surprised
that I was at St. Helen's Road, as I expected the
train was going up to High Street Station, the
ticket agent at Liverpool having informed me
that that was where I would arrive. I knew if
my mother was able she would meet me at the
station, and I was wondering whether she had
discovered the mistake, or if she had gone up to
the High Street Station, which was at the other
end of the city. While I was considering the
probabilities, a gentleman of fine appearance,
rushing by the compartment of the carriage, saw
me sitting near the door, paused a moment, and
then said: "Excuse me, but is this the Rev.
Harry Jones ?" I recognized him immediately by
his voice, so I said : "It is, sir. What have you
done with your moustache?" as when I left that
country, so many years ago, he was decorated
with a most luxuriant one. He was also very much
stouter than when I last saw him. Taking me by
the hand, he said: "Well, Chaplain Jones, I am
delighted to see you." I said : "Excuse me, sir ;
but don't call me Chaplain Jones ; I am still the
same Harry you knew when I was your scholar."
276

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

I was addressing Professor John Williams, my
old school-master of days gone by.
In a few moments we were at the London and
North- Western Railroad Station, where we got
out, and engaged a coach to drive us over to my
mother's residence. After my luggage had been
put on the conveyance, I got in, and Mr. Williams
was in the act of following me when a porter came
up and said: "Excuse me, sir, but were you ex
pecting any one ?" I said: "I don't know. Why do
you ask me?" "Well," he said, "an elderly lady
was looking for some one just now." I said : "I
guess that must have been my mother." He said :
"Yes, it must have been, for she told me to look
out for her boy and tell him to wait until she re
turned, as she had gone up to the High Street Sta
tion ; but," he said, "when she asked me to look
out for her boy, it caused me to keep looking
about here for a youngster — I was not expecting
to find a man."
Telling the driver to wait, Mr. Williams and I
walked out to the street ; it looked very familiar to
me, and yet many changes had been made during
my absence. We were strolling along, talking
over old times, when suddenly I saw a short,
thick-set lady walking down the street. "Excuse
me, Mr. Williams," I said, "but there is my
mother coming." He said: "No, it is not; you
are mistaken." "I know I am not," I answered.
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THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

"I can never forget my mother's walk ; I will go
up and meet her." I walked up the side of the
street she was coming down, having told the pro
fessor to remain behind, as I was anxious to see
whether the dear old lady would recognize me.
She stared at me, and I looked right at her as we
passed by. Just as she passed me, I turned and
said : "Well, that is a nice way to treat a fellow af
ter he has been away all these years !" She turned
about as though she had been struck by electric
ity, and, with outstretched arms, she said:
"Harry, is it possible that you are my boy?" I
said : "Yes, mother, I am a possibility" — and, at
the same time, picked the dear old soul up in my
arms and fondled her to my bosom. The tears
rolled down her cheeks, not from sorrow, but for
joy that her only boy had returned home and the
prayer that she had so often offered to her
Heavenly Father had been answered, and she
was granted the privilege that morning of meet
ing that boy again.
We went back to the station, got into the coach
and drove out home, where I found a most in
viting breakfast spread for me. I sat down and
partook of a good meal, as I was very hungry,
then began to go through the house — my old
home. Every room I entered, I became sadder
and sadder, until at last I broke down, and said :
"Mother, I cannot stay here ; I shall have to go
278

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

away." She said: "Why, Harry, my son, what
do you mean ?" I said : "Well mother, father has
been dead these past three years. When the news
came to me in America telling me of his death, I
could scarcely realize what it meant, but now,
when I am here, and do not meet him nor hear
his voice welcoming me back to the home I love,
knowing how proud he would have been of his
only boy this' morning, it is too much for me —
my heart will burst, if I stay in this house."
So, after breakfast, I walked about the city and
called on several old acquaintances, the first be
ing an old friend of ours, Mr. Steven Jones, who
formerly was our next-door neighbor. When I
was a boy at home he had a son about my age, by
the name of Fred. This boy decided one day to
run away from home, and was never heard of
afterward. When I rang the door bell, the house
keeper opened the door. I inquired: "Is Mr.
Jones at home?" She said: "Yes, sir," and im
mediately disappeared. Mr. Jones came to the
door, his eyes staring so that they fairly glared as
he looked at me in amazement, and then he said :
"No, it is not; but it is Harry, my old friend's
son. The woman told me," he continued, "that
it was Fred, my boy. I would love for it to have
been so, but the next pleasure to that is the pleas
ure of seeing you, my lad, because I know how
fond your father was of you, and how proud he
279

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

would have been to see the boy who went away
so many years ago, now returned, still his son,
but instead of the boy he was, now a man." We
had a splendid chat that morning, and every
where I went, people spoke to me in most glow
ing terms of that father I would only meet by
passing through the vail to the other shore.
I found many faces at Swansea that were fa
miliar; and many people who remembered me.
The first night I was at home, I stole into the
Baptist church where I had formerly been a mem
ber, to attend prayer-meeting, unseen by any one
inside, and when the meeting was thrown open
for prayer, I lifted my voice in earnest thankful
ness to Almighty God for permitting me to meet
with the old church family in the church that I
so dearly loved. Some of the members recog
nized my voice, and, when I said "Amen," came
rushing over and gathered around me, and sweet
indeed was the reunion that night, and I believe
each one of us present was drawn closer to our
Father than we had been for some time.
This return to my home was sweet beyond de
scription. My dear old mother would get a coach
and drive me around to the old friends that knew
me when I was a school-boy in that city, and
wherever she would go, she would have the same
introduction: "This is my boy, Harry; he has
been to war, and the boy was so brave, even if
280

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

he is my son." And then the old lady would look
at me with delight beaming from those motherly
eyes, rejoiced at the opportunity of presenting me
to the friends she thought so much of.
One of the places I visited that day was a large
store, the proprietor of which was Mr. David
Richards. I knew him as soon as I saw him,
and, going up to him, said : "Good-morning, Mr.
Richards." He said: "Good-morning, sir; but
you have the advantage of me." I said: "Yes,
perhaps I have ; but can't you think who I am ?"
He said : "No, I cannot." Then I said : "I was at
one time a clerk in your store; I am Harry
Jones." "Why, yes," he said, "I recognize you
now." Then, looking at my clerical suit: "But
is it possible that you are a minister?" I said:
"Yes, sir, I am a minister and a Chaplain in the
United States Navy." He was most delighted to
see me. We took dinner together, and then went
for a beautiful drive out to the Mumbles, which
is a peninsula running from Swansea out into the
sea about twelve miles, a most beautiful place to
visit at certain months of the year. It was grand
down there the day we went; but everywhere we
drove, every lane we entered, and every gate we
drove through brought back recollections of the
time when my dear father and I so often roved
around that part of the country. My mother at
last decided to go with me to my sisters', at Coal-
281

THE EXFERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

ville, Leicestershire, but before leaving Swan
sea, it was arranged that I should give a lecture
at the Albert Hall on "Our War with Spain."
The mayor of the city introduced me at the hall,
which was well filled. I advanced to the front of
the stage, and, looking into the faces of so many
people I knew, said: "Ladies and gentlemen: I
am proud of the honor of standing here to-night
— not because I am an old resident of this city,
nor because I am an Englishman, as I am not;
for I am proud to state I stand here to-night as
an American, and I do not simply stand here as
an American, but as a Chaplain in the United
States Navy. As I stand here before you, I pre
sent a living testimony of that land of the free —
a country where any man who has a will can suc
ceed ; a country where determination and grit will
help our young men accomplish their purpose,
and a country to which I went in 1883 a stranger,
not knowing a soul in the land, and which received
me and adopted me, and has permitted me to re
turn to this my home country, occupying the most
exalted position that it is possible for a minister
of the Gospel to occlipy, as I really believe it is a
far greater honor to be selected by my country
as a Chaplain in the Navy than to be appointed
a Bishop. I am also proud of the honor to stand
here as a representative of the American Navy,
and prouder still to be connected with a Navy
282

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

that there is not a navy afloat can whip."
This was too much for an old gray-headed gen
tleman, sitting on one of the front seats. He
jumped up, shaking his hoary locks, and, point
ing his finger at me said : "But what about Eng
land?" I said: "England is not in it." He
looked surprised, but before he had a chance to
say anything more to me, I continued : "For the
simple reason that England, in our late contro
versy, has exhibited her love for her children of
the Western Hemisphere and invited nations in
such a manner to keep hands off that we real
ize o-day England is our friend. Hers is the
only Navy afloat that it is pos^ible to whip the
American Navy with, and it is absolutely impos
sible for either America or England to declare
war against each other." At the close of this lec
ture, my friends rallied around me, and all ex
pressed their surprise that I could return to Eng
land and give such a glowing discourse as that
which they had listened to that night.

283

CHAPTER XVIII.
RENEWING OLD ACQUAINTANCES.
AFTER the lecture at Swansea, I received
very many complimentary congratula
tions from the many friends of my old
home. About two o'clock the following after
noon, I left Swansea for Coalville, Leicestershire,
with my mother and afflicted sister, who is the
eldest of our family. Going through the country
on the cars, I saw many marked improvements
since I was last there, but could not help remark
ing the difference between America and England :
America was all hustle and bustle, everything
business ; England, on the other hand, seemed the
old, slow, easy-go-lucky place it was when I left
for America. I became thoroughly homesick for
the "land of the free," and everywhere I went,
meeting new faces and seeing new surroundings,
only tended to make me all the more long for my
American home. I was never so homesick in my
life as I was when over there. My mother
thought I was very ungrateful, but then she ex
cused me, knowing that in America I had a wife
and two little children. Arriving at Coalville, I
285

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

found the members of our family waiting to wel
come me at the station. One of them was very
nice to me all the time that I was with them, and
was very particular to show me every place of im
portance on their own property. One piece of
ground was pointed out as a site for my mother's
new home. I failed to see why she wanted to
erect a home in that place, and especially at her
time of life, but he was very persistent, and en
larged on the comfort it would be for my mother
to be near them, especially as she had my poor sick
sister with her. The more I thought it over, the
more I was convinced that something was
wrong, and was not slow in telling him just what
I thought. He was supposed to be a Christian
man, and my mother naturally had implicit con
fidence in him, she being a widow; but such a
tangle of real estate that he was trying to ensnarl
her in was something beyond comprehension.
One could not realize that such rascality could ex
ist in the bosom of any man. I told my mother
of my fears and doubts, but she felt that I was
mistaken and, for a time, I allowed her to retain
her opinion. I remained with his family about a
week, when I went to my youngest sister's home
to be entertained there. I found them of the same
opinion I was regarding this smooth-tongued
relative of ours, but they, like myself, had been
unable to open the eyes of my mother, who was
286

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

going blindfolded into his scheme, having listened
to all his smooth talk, and was on the point of
launching out into this new enterprise.
The day after I reached this sister's home, the
Baptist minister called upon me and invited me
to occupy his pulpit the following Sunday even
ing, which I did. The church was well filled, and
I had a very attentive audience as I preached to
the people upon "The Promises of God." My sis
ter and this brother-in-law were very ready to
congratulate me as soon as I joined them after the
service. I had a joyous time telling the people
the same old story and preaching to them the
same old Gospel, so full of love and interest, that
we have in America.
The following Wednesday, my mother pro
posed that we should go to her summer home at
Budleigh Salterton, Devonshire ; and, as I had to
preach the following Sunday at Swansea, I went
there, agreeing to meet her at her Devonshire
home the next week.
Going to Swansea, I was entertained by David
Jenkins, Esq., a very wealthy gentleman who had
a beautiful residence. The picture of myself on
the next page was taken in his greenhouse. His
was a most charming family, and they did all they
could to make me comfortable. I preached for
the Rev. Dr. Williams, of the Memorial Baptist
Church of that city, and found many of my old
287

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

friends o.ut tp hear me, among them being my old
school-master. Professor WiUiams. He met me in
the vestry and said : "I used to enforce my argu
ments upon you, young man, with a rod. You
will not be able to do that this evening, however."
I said, jokingly: "You just wait, sir!" My
theme was "The Character of Christ's Children."
After I was through, I was met by the Professor,
who said : "Why, Chaplain, I thought I said you
would not be able to thrash me this evening ; but
say," he continued, "I never had such a tongue
whipping in my life." The next night I lectured
to a large audience in the same church on "The
Life of a Chaplain in the American Navy." The
day after I left for Budleigh Salterton, where I
found my mother had as sweet a place as one
could wish for, right on the English Channel.
The town itself was a very fascinating place,
quaint and old-fashioned, like many of the ancient
places of England. I enjoyed myself immensely
going around with my mother, meeting her many
friends; and while I was there I had an oppor
tunity of talking to my mother of our relative
without interruption, and was successful in open
ing her eyes against a man she had put her entire
trust in, and I believe she saw him then as one
who was willing and waiting to rob her of her all.
I preached the following Sunday evening in the
Baptist church, and my mother was in the con-
288

IN THE CONSERVATORY OF DAVID JENKINS, ESQ.,
SWANSEA, SOUTH WALES.

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

gregation. It was a happy day for me. I can
see the dear old lady sitting there now as she was
that evening, taking in every word that I uttered,
as the tears trickled down her cheeks, to the end
of my discourse. As I left the church, she was
waiting for me at the door, when she said:
"Harry, my boy, I am so happy to-night; my
prayers are answered, and I have at last had the
pleasure of listening to my own boy preaching
the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ; but," she
said, "I had no idea, lad, you were such a
preacher." I laughed heartily and said: "Well,
mother, I am glad it suited you."
From there we returned to Coalville, where I
remained until the middle of November, when I
took passage on the steamship "Umbria," leaving
Liverpool bound for my own land. We had a
very delightful passage over. There were many
real good people on board the ship, and we
formed quite an acquaintance. Many were, like
myself, returning from England after having been
away for many years from that land and had just
made a flying visit over there, such as mine had
been. We were all of one opinion — that there was
no place on the face of the earth like America,
and all were delighted to be returning to that
country. I delivered a lecture for the benefit of the or
phans and widows of the Seaman's Aid Society
289

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

on board about midway over, and a goodly sum
was raised for that noble object.
On reaching Sandy Hook, the pilot boat came
alongside, and one of the pilots shouted out that
"Teddy" Roosevelt had been elected Governor of
New York State. There were quite a number of
his admirers on board, and we gave vent to our
feelings by giving three rousing cheers for
"Teddy." On reaching the dock, we found our friends
and loved ones waiting to welcome us back, and
sweet indeed was our home-coming to us as we
disembarked from the steamship "Umbria" and
planted our feet on the terra Hrrna of America.
We all felt like singing "Home, sweet home," and
never until that visit to England did I know how
to appreciate the grandest country the sun ever
shone on ; but well indeed did I learn that lesson
then. The next day Mrs. Jones and I took a drive in
New York. As we drove through 83d Street, a
little girl ran after us, and asked if I was Mr.
Jones. I told her I was. She said: "Then my
mamma would like to see you. She is back there
on the doorstep." Driving back, to our surprise,
there stood Mrs. R  whom I had married to
Frank R  at Stepney. Her husband was
doing well. They had another child, a boy, and
their home was bright and happy. How thankful
I was that I married them. 290

CHAPTER XIX.
CHAPLAIN OF THE "CHICAGO."
ON December 9th, 1898, I received orders
from the Secretary of the Navy to re
port to the Commandant of the Navy
Yard, New York, N. Y., on the twelfth instant,
for duty on board the U. S. S. "Chicago." I re
ported, in obedience to my orders, and found her
Commanding Officer, Captain Cooper, a very
charming gentleman, who was always most will
ing to help me in everything I undertook for the
spiritual upbuilding of the men. We were at the
Navy Yard until the first week in February of
1899, when we were ordered to New Orleans to
participate in the Mardi Gras celebration. Leav
ing the Navy Yard on February 9th, we steamed
down the river, and such a reception did the old
"Chicago" get as she passed the various crafts on
the water. She had been at the Navy Yard sev
eral years, where she had been laid up since she
had returned with Admiral Walker from the
European Station, when she was the flagship of
the original "White Squadron." We were due at
New Orleans on the fourteenth, but encountered
291

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

very trying weather all the way down, more espe
cially so as we entered the Gulf. It was so bad
there we had to reduce our speed two-thirds one
day, which caused us to be a day late in arriving
at New Orleans. A part of the exercises was
postponed until the fifteenth, instead of the four
teenth, on our account. We acted as flagship.
There were three or four foreign ships present,
together with the U. S. S. "Detroit." Our men
were landed for the day parade, and at night all
the officers went to the Boston Club to view the
Mardi Gras procession. It was a magnificent
sight, but as the thermometer was down around
freezing point, we pitied the people participating,
who were dressed apparently in nothing but
tights. We remained in New Orleans a week, when we
were ordered to Havana to join Admiral Samp
son and become a part of the North Atlantic
Squadron. We arrived there the last week in
February, and the first week in March the ship
was ordered to Fort Monroe. We left on a
Wednesday night and arrived at Fort Monroe
at lo A.M. the following Sunday morning. We
had no sooner dropped anchor than we received
orders to proceed immediately to Havana to con
voy the transport "Meade," with $3,000,000 in
tended for the Cuban Army.
We left the next morning at nine o'clock and
292

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

arrived at Havana the following Thursday after
noon. The Cuban army was to come into the city
the following Saturday to be paid off, and I shall
never forget the appearance of those men as they
came marching into the city. They were headed
by Garcia, and the city was gaily decorated in
honor of them. They marched to the City Hall,
where a reception was tendered to their chief. It
was a very impressive sight to see those worn
veterans returning from their hazardous duties on
the field. We found many improvements in the
city of Havana. The streets were perfectly clean,
and the city could boast of a fine police force.
We saw them turn out for their first street parade,
and a very creditable showing they made. I
drove around a great deal. Going over to the
fort, we saw the various dens of horror where
such barbarous treatment had been practised by
the Spanish officials. The dead line was still
there. This was a long black stripe painted along
the white walls where a man would stand, which
line would show the marksmen where to aim for
the heart.
We drove out to the Christobal Colon Ceme
tery. Some beautiful monuments had been
erected there, one of the finest to the memory of
the firemen who lost their lives in the destructive
fire of Havana ; another, a most magnificent piece
of work, which had been put up in memory of the
293

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

young students who had been shot as spies. These
young men were caught with their books in the
fields one day, and were arrested and taken before
a drum-head court martial and immediately shot,
by order of Blanco, a most cowardly and das
tardly act, as everyone said they were innocent of
the charge. Over in one corner of the cemetery
was a large enclosure, forty feet square and a
hundred feet deep, called the "Bone-heap." Peo
ple could not buy a grave in any Spanish city, they
simply leased it by the year. If the lease was not
renewed promptly, the remains were taken out of
the grave, which was of brick, built up to the sur
face. Should there be any flesh still remaining,
the body was placed in quick lime and burned,
and then the bones were piled up in an ox cart
and dumped on this heap. It was estimated that
100,000 skeletons had been thrown in there. The
day I looked inside of this enclosure, it was a
most grewsome sight; there were skeletons all
dislocated. Standing on top of the heap of bones,
and right in the middle of them, were a number
of women weeping. Somewhere in amongst those
bones were the bones of their loved ones. Oh,
how cruel and un-Christian was such conduct !
In another part of the cemetery was a large
square plot with a black cross bearing the words :
"To the memory of the men who lost their lives
on the U. S. S. 'Maine,' which was blown up in
294

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

the harbor of Havana on the night of February
15th, 1898."
We were ordered out of Havana to proceed to
Kingston, Jamaica, to overtake the trans-Atlantic
liner, "City of Paris," which ship had a tourist
party on board surveying the battlefields and the
waters of the naval victories at Santiago and
Porto Rico. Ex- Senator Sherman was among
the passengers, and had been taken seriously ill,
so ill that his life was despaired of. The Presi
dent immediately dispatched the U. S. S. "Chi
cago" to convey Mr. Sherman to a Northern
port, as the "Paris" had at least two weeks more
cruising before she would arrive at Fort Monroe,
and it was feared he would die before reaching
there. Just as we were off Kingston, we saw the
"Paris" coming out. We hailed her and she hove
to, and our Captain shouted out: "Is Mr. Sher
man on board ?" The reply came : "He is." Then
said Captain Cooper : "The President has sent the
U. S. S. 'Chicago' to be placed at his disposal, and
we will convey him to any port he may designate,
if he desires to be transferred to this ship." In
a few moments a strong voice shouted back : "Mr.
Sherman will accept, and greatly appreciates this
kindness of the President." The hundreds of
passengers cheered and cheered when they heard
the announcement, and shouted out: "What is
the matter with Uncle Sam?" "He's all right!"
295

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

they replied; and then they gave our men three
cheers, and our men returned them with interest.
We were to transfer Mr. Sherman at Guanta
namo Bay the next morning, but when reaching
there found we had to take on more coal, so our
Captain decided not to transfer him until the ship
should reach Santiago. We commenced coaling
ship. In the afternoon I went over to the old
battlefield at Camp McCalla. I stood by the side
of the graves of our marines, and there and then
gave thanks to God for sparing my life, as I buried
them during the action of June 12th, 1898. As I
was standing there a number of the crew had been
landed on the hill where the enemy had attacked
us. They had gone over for target practice and
shot right across to the opposite hill, the bullets
going directly over me. I was greatly startled
when I suddenly heard a bang, and then ciz-ciz-
ciz — as the bullet flew. It was very natural for
me to duck my head, as we call it — it certainly
seemed very real indeed.
Later on in the day we received word that Mr.
Sherman had died on board the "City of Paris"
at Santiago. The Captain made for Santiago,
however, and as we entered the port, the third
Thursday of March, we found the flags at the
entrance of the harbor and on several of the city
buildings flying at half-mast out of respect to ex-
Senator Sherman. One can scarcely imagine our
296

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

surprise, therefore, when we learned, in speaking
to the "Paris," that Mr. Sherman was feeling
much better. He was transferred to our ship, and
we left immediately for Fort Monroe, where he
was placed on board a Washington boat and taken
to his home in that city. He was firmly of the
opinion that the act of the President of the United
States in sending the ship for him had saved his
life. We were all of the same opinion, as he was
certainly a very sick man when we took him on
board our ship. We were ordered to New York
the last week of April, to become the flagship of
the South Atlantic Squadron.
I was detached from the ship on April 8th,
1899, and ordered to proceed to Newport, R. I.,
and report to the Commanding Officer of the
U. S. training ship at that place for duty on board
the U. S. training ship "Constellation." I re
ported to Captain McGowan, the Commandant,
and found that, besides six officers, there were
three hundred and ninety-one boys at the
station. A week or so later, we were reinforced
with a new draft of boys from Chicago and differ
ent cities of the West, making a total of over five
hundred boys. I found these lads fine boys to
work with, and had most pleasant duty there with
them. I lectured to them every Monday and
Friday night, showing stereopticon views to im
press upon them what I said. After I had been
297

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

there about two months, I received an appropria
tion for an Edison kinetoscope outfit, so went
to New York and purchased it. The boys were
photographed at the various drills, and then we
would reproduce them on the screen. We found
this a very beneficial method of increasing the
efficiency of the boys at drill, because the least de
fect would be brought out on the canvas. After a
most pleasant stay with them, toward the end of
November I began to lose my health, and on the
first day of December, the Secretary of the Navy,
after having had me examined by a Board of
Medical Officers, issued orders detaching me and
granting me two months' sick leave. I was de
tached on December 5th. The night before this
was our regular entertainment night. I showed
the boys the kinetoscope pictures for the last time
that night, and at the close of the meeting, to my
surprise, A. B. Kimball, Apprentice First Class,
sprang up alongside of me and commenced read
ing the following set of resolutions :
Newport, R, I., March 4th, 1899.
To THE Rev. Harry W. Jones, D.D., Chaplain,
U. S. Training Station :
Dearest Friend:
A week ago last Saturday the whole nation was
called upon to mourn the loss of its Vice-Presi
dent, the Hon. G. A. Hobart ; but, exclusive of his
298

ASHORE AND AFLOAT.

immediate friends and relatives, the people of his
country did not, nay, could not, feel the loss of
their representative as the boys of this station feel
the loss of their true friend, the Chaplain. Hav
ing learned that our Chaplain is about to leave us,
we, the apprentice boys of the U. S. Training
Station, wish to express our hearty appreciation
for the way in which he has endeavored to help
us in our life at this station. He has zealously en
deavored to maintain among us the principles of
Christian manhood. His sermons have always
been the pure, simple. Gospel truth, such as we all
needed, and could put into practice in our every
day life ; ever holding up to us Jesus as our Model,
and unceasingly reminding us of home and loved
ones and endeavoring to lead us in the right way.
He has always proved himself a friend, ever ready
to help us in our troubles, ever ready to make
our burdens light. Who are we to thank for our
many entertainments, so interesting and so in
structive? Who but our Chaplain, who has in
terceded with our Commandant in our behalf?
Wherever our beloved Chaplain may go, he takes
with him the best wishes and love of every boy
of this station, and as long as the sun shines on
this old earth he may feel that he has a devoted
friend in each and every one of us. It is our ear
nest prayer that we may have the good fortune to
meet again, and, if God wills it, be assigned to a
299

THE EXPERIENCES OF A CHAPLAIN

ship of which he is the Chaplain. But if we
should never see one another again, may we meet
in Heaven. Our prayers will ever go with him,
and we trust that God will grant him a long and
peaceful future. These are the sentiments and
prayers of five hundred grateful apprentices.
I was thoroughly overcome by these remarks.
I tried to make a speech to the boys at the close of
them, but was utterly unable to control my emo
tion, and was able only to say : "My boys, I thank
you." Many of the officers congratulated me at
receiving such a testimonial from the apprentices
of the Navy. I shall ever prize it, and look back
to the days spent with them with a great deal of
satisfaction and pleasure.
I left Newport on the thirteenth day of the
month, together with my wife and two children,
for Orlando, Fla., where I am glad to say I re
gained my health through the balmy breezes of
that beautiful Southern state.
And here I will bring "The Experiences of a
Chaplain Ashore and Afloat" to a close, trusting
that the simple manner in which I have tried to
express myself will cause some people to see some
of the pleasures of the minister's life afloat, and
to sympathize with him, as they also will be com
pelled to see that his life is filled oftentimes with
sorrows and hardships. 300

"I give theft Boiki
foi- the /(mnding ef a. College In. thts Colony"

Gift of
Robert W. Neeser
1927

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