The Sunday Oregonian., July 12, 1908, Magazine Section, Page 5, Image 51

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BY JOHN I. IIARWOOD.
IT is no exaggeration to say that the
Army and Navy for some months
past probably more In the rmbllc eye
than In any other time of peace to
day literally swarm with representa
tives of practically all those old fight
ers who. In the years that are gone,
made fhe Army and Navy world-famous
In history by their Btlrring victories
gained by daring strategy and equally
daring personal bravery.
Many of these heroes of the Repub
lic are represented in one or the other
branch of the service, and sometimes in
both, by men who bear the family
name. Of such are the Stevenses, the
Brcckinridgcs, . the Porters, the Bid
dies, the Grants and the Washingtons,
collateral descendants of the immortal
George. Others of the old-time war
riors are represented through the
female line; and not Infrequently it
happens that one officer will repre
sent the blood of several famous war
riors in the cause of liberty. The two
Cravens now In the Navy, for example,
have back of them the fighting blood
not only of the Cravens, but also of the
Truxtons, the Beaies, the Houstons and
the Tingeys. ' And not a few of the
old fighters have been represented un
interruptedly in the service, directly
or indirectly, right down to the pres
ent day. The Rodgers family, for one,
has been In the Navy ever since there
was a navy on this side of the water;
and a Rodgers married a daughter of
Oliver Hazard Perry, the hero of Lake
Erie, so that the family represents the
Perry blood in the service.
The Rodgers now in active service
number eight, one is on the retired list,
and all are in the Navy. They are
Frederick Rodgers, Rear-Admiral, re
tired four years ago; Christopher Ray
mond Perry, a young ensign; Frederick,
Jr., a midshipman; John, an ensign on
the battleship Nebraska; John A., a
captain, now on duty with the Light
house Board; Raymond Perry, chief of
the Bureau of Intelligence: John, a
"midshipman; Thomas, a commander,
now captain of the cruiser Dubuque,
and William L. on special duty at the
Naval War College at Newport. Rear
Admlral .Frederick Rodgers was chief
of the Board of Inspection and Survey
during the Spanish War. He was
graduated from the Naval Academy
while the Civil War was going on and
saw service in various blockade fleets.
After that he was assigned to many
Important commands on foreign sta
tions, and now, from the "Admiral's
Corner" in the Metropolitan Club at
Washington, he can look back on a
long and useful career spent In the
service of his country. In an Inferior
grade to that which they now hold,
the two Captain Rodgers saw service
during the Spanish War and have done
their share of cruising and exploring
In many quarters of the globe.
One of the many picturesque Rod
gerses of years ago was that Captain
John who commanded the frigate
President In 1811. Captain Pechell, of
the British frigate Ouerriere after
ward destroyed by the Constitution
I ko&rdod-jkt as th Amexlcaa brig Spit
fire and Impressed a native American
seaman. Natural lv. the Yankees were
Indignant, and Captain Rodgers. when
he heard of it, was especially so. To
make matters worse. Captain Pechell
had a big sign painted with the name
of his ship on it and went sailing up
and down the coast. Captain Rodgers
got on board the President and went to
sea. He had the name President paint
ed on his foresail in big letters and
went looking for the Guerrlere. There
was no war between Great Britain and
the United States then but It was
coming.
About 40 miles west of Cape Henry,
Rodgers sighted a British man-of-war
which he thought to be the Guerrlere.
He hailed the ship and she responded
!th a shot In his mainmast. It took
Rodgers about five minutes to stop
that, for he opened with broadsides.
The stranger proved to be the British
mon-of-war Little Belt, Captaii. Arth.-r
Butt Bingham, and after standing by
htr all r.ight and getting her capialti
01 board to explain. Rodgers sailed
away. Captain Rodgers' fire had killed
11 and wounded 21 on board the Brit
isher. The Rolcerses have had two Admi
rals on the list at the same rime, Ad
n iral Christopher and, Admiral John.
AdnJral Christopher used zo be called
' the Chestc: field of the American
Ntvy."
The present Rear Admiral Holdup
Stevens, retired, is the most prominent
representative today of the several
Stevenses. whose fighting fame is
woven with that of the Rodgerses and
the Perrys. There is a Stevens in the
Army, but it is as a naval family that
it- is best known.
When the battle of Lake Erie was
raging and veterans of Nelson's fleet
were being Hcked by the sailors whom
Perry had brought overland not onlv
to build ships, but to fight them. Lieu
tenant Thomas Holdup of Georgia had
command of the sloop Trlppe, which
carried one lone S2-pounder gun. Lieu
tenant Holdup ranged himself alng
side of the Queen Charlotte. He was
so close alongside that the Queen Char
lotte could not bring her guns to tear
only a few of them and Holdup waa
pumping Iron Into her hull as fast as
his gunners could load. Down upon
him bore the bigger ship, the brig
Niagara, Master Commandant Elliot In
command.
"Get away from there!" shouted El
liot through his trumpet; "let me
tackle her."
Holdup made no reply except to urge
his gunners to hasten their work. El
liot was afraid that the little Trippc
would be sunk. Also his orders had
been disobeyed.
"Get away from there!" he shouted;
"I am going to sink her. Get away, or
I will Are through you!"
"Fire and be damned!" answered
Holdup, and the Queen Charlotte sur
rendered. After the war of 1812 Captain Hold
up added, the name of Stevens to his
own for family and financial reasons,
and Hold-up Stevens the family has
been ever since, though its member
refuse to use the hyphen. Soine one
once asked Rear Admiral Thomas
his coat of arms. He had at the time
a miniature of the old fighter of Lake
Erie In his hands. "Fire and be
damned," said the Admiral.
The elder Admiral Thomas Holdup
Stevens was a valiant officer who kept
good, fts all his people have Hie tradi
tions of the family. He was in com
mand of the Ottawa In Dupont's expe
dition, the Winnebago in the battle of
Mobile Bay, and. In fact, had a long
and honorable career as a fighting man
in the United States Navy. One of his
sons went into the Army, another was
secretary to Vice-Admiral Rowan, with
the rank of lieutenant, and the other
is the present Rear-Admiral Holdup
Stevens, retired, who entered the Naval
Academy in 1863. It was too late
when, he was graduated to play a
part in the Civil War. In the years of
peace that followed Stevens went
through the usual course of a naval
officer when no war is going on. He
cruised In men-of-war all over the
seven seas and studied his profession.
He was one of the officers of the
Franklin when that big sailing frigate,
now the receiving ahip at the Norfolk
Navy-Yard, made her trip to Europe
shortly after the Civil WTar, and once,
in the North Sea, showed his seaman
blood by the magnificent way In which,
as officer of the deck, he handled her
In a sudden gale.
Admiral Stevens has written some
very good poetry. His father also
wrote poetry, as did his brother Ro
wan, now dead. The Stevenses have a
curious combination of the fighting
sailor and the poet in their composi
tion. When the war with Spain broke
out the present Admiral was captain
of the yard at Norfolk. He was sent
out to the Philippines after Dewey's
victory, and after seeing service afloat
about and among the islands was made
Naval Commandant at Manila, where
he was on duty until his promotion
and retirement a short time ago.
The celebrated Breckinridge family
of Kentucky Is a service family to the
extent of generally keeping a repre
sentative in both the Army and Navy.
Lieutenant H. B. Breckinridge distin
guished himself in the War of 1812 by
his defense of Craney Island, aear
Norfolk, and before that there wero
Brecklnridges fighting in the War of
the Revolution. In the Army, Inspector-General
Breckinridge became well
known in recent years, and there is
also a Lieutenant Ethelbert L. D.
Breckinridge of the Tenth Infantry.
James C. Breckinridge Is (or was a
few years ago) an officer of the Ma
rine Corps, and Lieutenant Castleman
of the Navy is a nephew of the late
Judge Breckinridge, of St. Louis. Take
Hoidtip. gMvuu wbat th moUo'a oa-ivy aa eid Jjtmz sad list of IMm
past years and you will be sure to
find the name of Breckinridge in it, no
matter what the vintage of the list.
Inspector-General Breckinridge was
a young man when the Civil War
broke out. He chose the side of the
North and went into the volunteers as
a lieutenant. He was transferred
shortly to the, regular establishment,
becoming a second lieutenant jf artil
lery. He 8a w much service and so
distinguished himself in the battles
about Atlanta that he received the
brevet of captain. When the war was
over he was breveted major "for gal
lant and meritorous services during
the war." When the Spanish War came
on Breckinrdge was a brigadier-general
and inspector-general. He was
made a major-general of volunteers
and went to the front. At one time,
when the American Army lay before
Santiago and General Joseph Wheeler
was ill, there was a plan to give Breck
inridge an active command commen
surate with his rank. But before it
was decided to give General Breckin
ridge General Wheeler's command "Old
Joe." with the wonderful pluck and
vitality which always permeated his
meagre frame, recovered, and Breckin
ridge continued his inspector-general's
duties. He was many times under fire,
and had a horse shot under him in the
fights of Santiago. -
Another name more "august" even
than Breckinridge is seldom absent
from the Army or Navy lists. It is the
name of Washington. The Army and
Navy career of the Washington family
seems to have begun on this side of
the water when George Washington's
brother Lawrence got his commission
in the British navy and went with Ad
miral Vernon to fight at Cartagena.
George took more to the Army than
the Navy with what results it is hard
ly necessary to say. But from the
days pf the Revolution until now the
name of Washington appears again and
again in naval and military lists. -
It is the Washington collaterally re
lated to the immortal George, of course,
who now represent the family in the ser
vices. Some few years ago Paymaster
Washington, of the Navy, represented the
family. Now the best known representa
tive of it in the service is Lieutenant
Commander Thomas Washington. The
list also. shows a Lieutenant Pope Wash
ington. Lieutenant-Commander Thomas
Washington, after graduating from the
Naval Academy, began his nautical career
as an officer of the Coast Survey. Then
he was on duty in Washington and then
he went to sea again. In the Spanish
lu b saw service with tim fleet and.
took part in the battle of Santiago. He
now is commanding the Government yacht
Dolphin. Lieutenant Pope Washington
comes from the North Carolina branch of
the Washlngtons. He entered the service
In 1SS2, and during the Spanish War was
an officer of the gunboat Yorktown.
Guthrie Is another name which Is seldom
absent from either the Army or Navy list.
Passed Assistant Surgeon J.A.Guthrie rep
resents the Virginia Guthries In the Navy
at present. Dr. Guthrie has seen service
In all parts of the world, especially In re
mote parts of the Philippines; has visited
many little-known Pacific islands and has
written several pamphlets on the treat
ment of dlsea-es peculiar to the tropical
East. His house at Portsmouth, Va., Is
the same house in which old Commodore
Richard Dale once lived, and is filled with
rich and rare curios brought by his an
cestors from all parts of the world or
descended to him from his fighting' for
bears. Formerly the Guthries were an Army
family, the doctor's father being the first
to take to the water. This Captain Guth
rie was with Perry when he opened Japan
and he distinguished himself at the battle
of the Canton forts when Commodore
Foote found it necessary to teach the
Chinese a lesson. When the Civil War
broke out Captain Guthrie "went with
the state," and, reverting to the older
traditions of the family, took a commis
sion in the Confederate army. When the
war was over he was made a superin
tendent of the life-saving service along
the Virginia Coast, and died in a gal
lant attempt to rescue the crew of the ill
fated Huron when that man-of-war
went ashore on Virginia Beach.
In speaking of the service families of
the South it is interesting to observe that
no sooner was the Civil War over than
the names which had dropped off the lists
for a time appeared again as of old. The
Lees of Virginia, as every one knows,
have been an Army family from Revolu
tionary days, beginning with Light' Horse
Harry. . A direct representative of the
family In the Army today is Fitz Hugh
Lee, son of the late Confederate and Fed
eral General of the same name. . Captain
Fitz Hugh Lee entered the service as Lieu
tenant of Engineers at the outbreak of
the Spanish War and was honorably dis
charged at the close, of that short con
flict. He then went into the Regular In
fantry, and from there was transferred
to the cavalry. .e has seen service in
the Philippines and keeps up the military
reputation of the family.
The Wheelers are another Southern
family whose names appear Again upon
low of both getting out at once.. "Aftsi
you, sir," said Craven to the pilot. "But,"
says the pilot in telling the storv. ''there
was nothing after me: the whole ship
dropped from under me."
. -
Like the Truxtons, represented nv the
Cravens, the Biddies of Philadelphia have
been a Navy family from the earliest
times of the Republic. In the war with
Tripoli, in 1S02. James Biddle. one of
Bainbridge s officers, was taken prisoner
and confined by the Bey for some time.
It was tms same James Bioaie whp after
ward, in the War of 1S212, commanded
the American " man-o'-war Hornet and
fought the British ehip Penguin with her.
But it was Nicholas Biddle who laid the
foundations of the family's naval great
ness. The naval histories are full of this
enterprising and gallant Nicholas. He
sailed at the beginning ot the War of
the Revolution In the 14-gun brig An-j
drea Doria in the expedition against
New Providence. A little later he went
cruising oft the coast and soon senc
ten prizes to port, two of which were
transports loaded with Highlanders
sent over to "whip the Yankees." After
a gallant career, he was killed when
his ship, the Randolph, blew up In her
fight with the British ship, Yarmouth,
in 1778.
The two Biddies now In the Navy are
Clement C., medical inspector, and
William P., a Colonel of marines." Col
onel Biddle entered the Marine Corps In
1875 and has served about everywhere
on land and sea since then. He saw
sea service in the war with Spain and
then went out to command the marines
at Cavite and take such part as he
could In suppressing the Filipino insur
rection. The medical inspector has been
In the service since 1878, taking the
usual routine of land and sea service.
During tie war with Spain he was sur
geon of the Texas.
Commodore Balnbrldge, the famous
sea fighter of the early days of the Re
public, Is now represented most directly
In the service by Lieutenant-Commander
Arthur Balnbrldge Hoff. There is
said never to have been a generation
since the famous Commodore that the
Bainbrldges have not been represented
In the Navy. Lieutenant-Commander Ar
thur Bainbrldge Hoft entered the Naval
Academy In 1885, making his final grad
uation six years later. His service has
been varied and extensive, but as yet
the opportunity has not been afforded
him to emulate the deeds of his an
cestors in sea battle. The exploits of
the founder of the family are almost
too well known to need referring to.
He distinguished himself In the war
against the Barbary States, and it was
he who commanded the Constitution in
the War of 1812, when she destroyed
the British ship Java.
the Army list. Major Joseph Wheeler,
Jr., is the son of that cavalry leader who
fought so gallantly in the Civil War in
his youth and in the Spanish War in his
old age. Major Wheeler was graduated
from West Point In 1895, and assigned to
the cavalry. When the Spanish War
came he was made a major of volunteers
and a chief of ordnance officer on staff
duty. Before the war was fairly over
he managed to see some service at the
front and in the Philippines afterward.
People say he is a "chip of the old
block." '
The two officers of the Navy who carry
on in the service the honored name of
Craven are Commander John E. and
Lieutenant Thomas T. Besides represent
ing their own name in the service, the
Cravens represent that curious old-time
Commodore Thomas Tunis Macdonough,
the victor of Lake Champlain, and Cap
tain Thomas TIngey, a famous fighter of
the Revolution, who also distinguished
himself In the naval war with France.
Through marriage also the Cravens rep
resent the name of Truxton, a name
which has but recently disappeared from
the roll of officers. The Truxtons came
in - with the Navy itself, and It seems
strange not to see the name in the
register. Probably the best-known Trux
ton was Commodore Thomas, who, with
the Constellation, won such famous vic
tories over the French in the West Indies.
Admiral William Truxton distinguished
himself during the Civil War, and before
on many expeditions and "little wars
with the heathen." There is a torpedo
boat named Truxton to keep the name
still alive, at least on the records. The
Cravens,, the Tingeys, the Truxtons, the
Houstons, the Beaies, have all' intermar
ried, being Navy families of the "first
chop." The Beaies are now represented
in the service by. Grafton A. Beale, a
young ensign. Truxton Beale former
Minister to Greece, is well known in civil
life.
John E. Craven entered the service in
1874, going to the Naval Academy under
an appointment at large. He was grad
uated in 1880 and saw much service, both
on home and foreign stations. During the
war with Spain he was attached to the
Solace. Lieutenant Thomas Tingey Craven
was graduated from the Naval Academy
just in time for the Spanish War and
the operations about the Philippines.
It was one of the Cravens, Thomas
Augustus Tingey Craven, who command
ed the Tecumseh when she was blown up
by a torpedo at the battle of Mobile Bay.
Craven and the pilot were in the pilot
house when the explosion came. The pas
sageway out waa not large enough to ai-
A family which for several genera
tions has been in either the Army or
the Navy, is that of the Caseys, of
Rhode Island. Admiral Silas Casey,
now retired, is a son of General Silas
Casey of the Army. General Casey dis
tinguished himself in the Civil War,
and it was a brother of the Admiral,
Edward Casey, who undertook to or
ganize the Brule Sioux lnto:.a .regiment
of the regular Army and was killed by
his own men. Casey had had great suc-
(CoacludeA oa Pace 10.),