The Sunday Oregonian., November 22, 1914, MAGAZINE SECTION, Page 6, Image 72

TTTTE SUNDAY O-RTCGOXTAN. POTTTLANTI. XOVKSFBITR 22, 1914.
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Lieutenant W. B. Cushing, Destroyer of
the Albemarle.
DEEDS of remarkable heroism are straight at the ironclad, which to those
so numerous in time of war that on the little launch looked like a great
the annals of every country would mountain of iron,
be obliged to devote many great vol- Fr0ra the ship and from troops sta-
umes to their recital if they were to be tloned on shore a heavy flrfe was poured
properly recorded. But there are other on the launch, but failed to disable her
deeds which show not alone Invincible The llttln launoh Knvi Ba-iftiv n ,t
courage and willingness to give up life
on the altar of a country's need but
also such an unusual degree of alert
ness of mind, inventiveness and intre
pidity In the midst of danger that one
cannot but'lament that the waging of
battles of progress in times of peace
seem so rarely to call forth such re
markable qualities of mind and soul
as those made manifest in every great
encounter by arms.
But before mentioning incidents of
special prowess It may be interesting
to recall that unique and most spec
tacular exploit of history, the capture
of the Dutch fleet in the campaign of
1794-95 by a division of French cavalry.
Charles Plchegru, a brilliant French
general, whose .later career was marred
work. The Confederates had by this
time started a huge fire on the shore,
and by Its glare Lieutenant Cushing
discovered to his momentary dismay
that the Ironclad was protected from
torpedoes by a boom of logs which
completely encircled her and stood well
out from her sides.
Lieutenant Cushing, after an exam
ination of the boom, during which he
took the enemy's Are while he ran
alongside the ram, decided that the
logs might have been long enough in
the water to be coated with slime, so
that under full steam he could force
his boat over them. It was a desperate
chance, for if the launch went over the
boom Into the pen with the ram it
could never come out again. Neverthe-
by disloyalties and the betrayal of his less, there was no other way of ap-
Ap
proaching - the vessel close enough to
torpedo her, and Cushing sent his
friends, commanded the French troops
in Holland when this extraordinary
capture of a fleet took place. It was
one of the many brilliant exploits con
ducted by this military senius, who
instead of going into Winter quarters
conducted a campaign which ' resulted
In the occupation of the whole of Hol
land. When the French came to the Helder
they found the Dutch fleet frozen up.
and it occurred to Pichegru that here
was his one opportunity for winning a
naval battle. He therefore ordered his
cavalry to proceed across the ice and
make the capture. When the Dutch
commander beheld the approach of the
hussars the audacity of the enterprise
completely overwhelmed him. . The
Dutch had practically no way to defend
themselves and It was even less pos
sible for them to retreat. They there
fore capitulated to the enemy without
entering Into an engagement. The epi
sode furnishes perhaps the most strik
ing example of the triumph of paro
doxlc unorthodoxy which has ever been
Included In military annals.
In September, 1864, the world at large
heard with wondering admiration of
the extraordinary exploit of Lieutenant
W. B. Cushing, U. S. N., which resulted
In the destruction of the Cenfederate
Ironclad Albemarle.
In April the Alljemarle had recap
tured Plymouth, N. C, and beaten the
Federal fleet. In May she had entered
Into an engagement with seven Federal
steamers and had injured them severely
while remaining practically unhurt her
self. ' The powerful ram lay at Ply
mouth, out of reach of the fleet,' which
at that time had no ironclads of suffi
ciently light draught o get at her.
Cushing had already become famous
In the Navy for the many daring ex
ploits which he had arranged and con
ducted. When the Federal Government
needed an agent who could Invent and
carry out designa for the destruction
of the ram Cushing ' therefore was
selected.
With the knowledge that he was to launch squarely at the boom at right he supposed the fleet mignt be Lieu
face both the guns of the ironclad and angles, using all the force of the en- tenant Cushing finally sighted one of
those of the land Datteries, uusning ae- Biae. . . the vessels, and after a long while
cided to attempt his dangerous mission . was able to hail the watch. Boats
In a small open launch. The fire from the boat was very were lowered to pick him up, but it
The launch was 45 feet long. It was heavy, and It came close enough- to was a long time before the men would
I i Marshal Ney. Called by Napoleon's SolTiV
Alexander SuvorofT. the C'ojueror of
th6 Grand Vizier.
such as having taken place during the
Napoleonic wars. Among the many
glorious figures which appeared upon
the stage of war at that nerlod none
is more likely to win and hold our ad
miration than the strong and gallant
Marshal Ney.
"What a man! What a soldier!" Na
poleon is declared to have remarked on
Gumbinnen, Germany, the first place
across the border where the army could
rest, Ney encountered General Dumas,
who failed to recognize the powerful
figure with powder blackened face and
unkempt hair.
"I'm sorry, but I don't seem to recog
nize you," said the puzzled Dumas.
'I am the rear guard of the Grand
one occasion when the splendid charac- Army of France Marshal Ney," was the
ter and achievements of his favorite reply.
marshal had shown forth with unusual
brilliance. At another time Napoleon
declared that Ney was the bravest man
he had ever seen. When Ney was sup.
posed to have been lost during the Rus
sian campaign the Emperor asserted
that he had 800,000,000 francs in his
coffers at the Tullleries, all of which
he would gladly have given rather than
to have lost Marshal Ney.
One of the early exploits which won
UNDER FIRE
(Continued From Page 3.)
and by day dodged arrest and other
things on the firing line, or as near
it as they could motor without going
to Jail. For these Maxim's was the
promotion for Ney was the taking of clearing-house for news of friends and
2000 prisoners by a cavalry force of 100
under his command. Shortly after this
Ney led two cavalry columns straight
into the river In the face of cannon
which lined the opposite bank. He
forced the banks and captured For-
1
:l?C?2 V III VH'V
tevfiiy wivnuty up live niusiiiuiiy . "l
Vf h rrn th. HI
BcTlbDer Sum.
ML
vr
4'
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The Relief ot LiicKnow
to Lucknow. The Sepoys had erected in command, and young Havelock sheim, after which he was promoted
over the bridge a barrier seven feet dashed away to an officer who was in fmm ih. nr cmn ,
high, with six guns, one of which was command of another detachment, but and given the command of a brigade,
a 24-pounder. who also refused to make a charge Ney always scorned to take a Bhel-
Leaving the eick and wounded under without orders from his superior. tered position, and at the battle of El-
especially fitted for the occasion with Cushing to tear away the back of his Deiieve thlt the gallant lieutenant was Brlti.h advanced to the b,Wu M h L - ' re!UrC,eful chlnen: dre88ed ,n fu "niform. he
a 12-pound howitzer and a 14-foot boom coat and the top of one shoe. himself. They declared that Lieutenant m the (it 8 Und ot the Sepoys tL t.T,k f h ', marched at he head of hls troops under
swung to the bow by a goose-neck The Captain of the Albemarle hailed Cushing had died the night before. aga"nsi the , oncomta troops whose !,,J f ,7 , " ,0 cf eIe" h "ulleU It was said
hinge. This boom was raised or low- again. Cushing's men, even at that feadin cofumr? I., inl, th-J, disappeared in the direction of his of him that he seemed to court death
hv a tonDinir lift, which was car- moment of supreme daneer. reDlied When CuBhlng reached the flagship s s unaer me commana father's headquarters. and the army voted him the "bravest of
- ' ' - ' ... - . .... vl iuajur-vjenerRi iiurram run 0-11 n
inounced that his mission had H , Back again he gal
battles. Where once were the supper
girls and the ladies of the gold mesh
vanity bags, now were only men in red
and blue uniforms, men in khaki, men
in bandages. Among them were Eng
lish lords and. French princes with
titles that dated from Agincourt to
Waterloo, where their ancestors had
met as enemies. Now those who had
succeeded them as allies were, over
a sole Margucry discussing airships,
armored automobiles and Mitrailleuse.
At one table Hugo Frazier of the
American Embassy would be telling an
English officer that a captain of his
regiment who was supposed to have
been killed at Coutral, had like a hom
ing pigeon found his way to the hos
pital at Neullly and wanted to be re
ported "safe" at Lloyds. At another
table a French Lieutenant would de
scribe a raid made by the son of an
American banker in Paris who is in
command of an armed automobile. "He
swept his gun only once so," ' the
Frenchman explained, waving his arm
across the champagne and the broiled
lobster, "and he caught a General and
two staff officers. He cut them in
half."
Or at another table you would listen
to a group of English officers talking
in wonder of the Germans' wasteful
advance in solid formation.
"They were piled so high." one of
them relates, "that I stopped firing.
They looked like gray worms squirm
ing about in a bait box. I can shoot
men coming at me on their feet, but
not a mass of arms and legs."
"I know," assents another. "When
we charged the other day we had to
advance over the Germans that fell the
night before and my men were slipping
and stumbling all over the place. The
bodies didn't give them any foothold."
Then another takes up the tale. "My
sergeant yesterday," he relates, "turned
to me and said: "It isn't cricket.
There's no game in shooting into a tar
get as big as that. It's Just murder.'
I had to order him to continue firing."
They tell of It without pose, or emo
tion. It Is all In the day's work. Most
of them are young men of wealth, of
ancient family, cleanly bred gentlemen
of England, and as they nod and leave
the restaurant, we know, that in three
hours, wrapped in a rreat coat, each
will be sleeping in the earth trenches,
and that the next morning the shells
will wake him. ,
(Copyright. 114. by Wheeler Syndicate, Inc.)
Captain Maude of the British
forces hurled his men against the Se
poys and succeeded In silencing the
guns. With the object of diverting .... ,
. . f , j 1 nH V. a .nil... . i 1 i . ! - . . d n il nnv
riea w a Buc,uun, - . .7 , , Z." ""t " , I , dlrected a deadly fire on the British
iiiiea mio an irun bijuo a. u. laics cu ui ..u.. u ., u mo jauni.ii o - - - - t.
the beam. The torpedo was to oe ae- 'uuijr, ana in a secona tne launcn vucci icauuuueu irum ov-
tached from the boom by one line and was over the logs, while the seven men ery vessel of the fleet,
to be exploded by the operation of an- board her looked into the muzzle , ' J- R. Soley, writing in "Battles and
other line. Engineer Lay, of the Unit- of a rifled cannon 10 feet away. Leaders of the Civil War," points out
ed States Navy, had Invented this tor- On that night Fate - seemed deter- the remarkable skill as well as the un-
pedo, mined to show her power to protect Paralleled audacity necessary for the
Thousands of Confederate soldiers as well as to destroy,, for while Cush- achievement:
were stationed" at the town and forts InK stood in the bow, the lines control- "When it is reflected that Cushing
of Plymouth and on both banks of the llng tne torpedo in his hands, bullets bad attached to his person four separate
Roanoke River. Plymouth, where the arouna mm, so mat oil mo ""s lanyaro, mo
Measure of Cossacks
e-allonorl. nftor th the brave."
passage of a few minutes, and. pausing When asked if he had ever felt fear f",I,ttI v-ossacK is a corn norseman.
in front of General Neill, he saluted- the Marshal replied. "I never had time." Before he can walk he has set on
and said respectfully: It was during the retreat of the one of the small, strong and swift Cos-
Orders are for you to charge thq Grand Army of France from Russia that sack . horses the real horses of the
dge. sir." ' Ney's qualities shone most surprisingly, steppe, therefore almost wild and ex-
Young Havelock had been gone far In command of the rear guard, he saw traordinarily intelligent,
the enemy from the main division, the
triv. iv . . 1 1 . , v...A
' Br uenerai uutram, . n my,nrt y,,w P.Mrfen his hla in onn mon riwinriia oti.o v try. 1 ; nun Removed th-v om frnm the nriil.
then deDloverl to t h a rlcht s nil hsin n . . . . . - .
" T it trlPT hdQlntl n rtaru and hanlr h It tuhlla Ta nrai-flaii rf annlhd.tlnn fTftm TlftrV nnnillATlnn nntottctftiir tunniln
the excitement of the moment the older the main body of the retreating army. rights, bearing arms for so many years
Although Napoleon was aware of the and growing up with only one career in
of the time. The bugles sounded the tremendous strain which Ney had un- view, it Is only natural that the Cos-
the dergone during the first part of the sacks should have but one idea, and
Instantly retreat, he did not dare to relieve him that is to serve faithfully and blindly
to clear the garden of the scattered
troops of the enemy, who were acting - . . , , , .,
. . s officer failed to make any calculations
iioanoke Kiver. piymoutn, wnere tne , . , " - - .- ' " -, h , f, -, tVl .
ram lav wa about -is-ht miles from clothing was riddled with them, but trigger line and two lines to direct the "J1 tn the bridge were the charge and the men dashed .upon
Madras Fusileere under the command hriii h. nr.t o-rn k.u, in.t.
the mouth or the river. The wrecKed . - ri.uf..,., . n,,,, . , " um m icucvo """"'J
KouthflMd which lav about a mile be- was flowered until the motion of the was fastened to the wrist and the other , """""i Arnoia. uirectiy in front shot down. Only Havelock on his horse of the command of the rear guard, but the government, which has always
ooumneio, wnicn lay itoui a raue oe i,...., j . K ... , r .v.. .ao. n.t v, of the bridge, facing the enemy's bat- nr, A , , . , 1Vl- . .. . . T ' v, ,..,. , . , . . ..
low the ram, was used by the Confed- " "c""-"-" - " - - ter wlth . n.w ,, .
... ram's overhansr Than rnihlnir nnll WHa ilin rllt-oftlTio- lh nrliiiRtmAnt rt Lt3ry wlLn only lo llgnt guns to their enemv'a cnr. Tk t- rll Mil a
wa,eto prevent unexpected approach to t?VtT"BO" whlch tached and ex- the spar by the halliard; that the man- MauaLieutenan?1 Naill"" bU"et P,erCed bI" U
the Albemarle ploded the torpedo. agement of all these lines, requiring -Maude. Lieutenant Neill waited with he yelled a triumphant call to his i
out disposal. During the hideous hardships toward them. They are far less clvi
but of the retreat this second army of the Haed In many ways than other Russian
the Albemarle. - i""u,,u l"o lurpoag. isomcui oi ui mese lines, requiring --- - no jcnea m. n lumijimui can iu aia cuui- rear guard melted away and at the pas. peasants, tor tne communities naving
"We determined to overcome all ob- As tno "Plosion took place a huge as much exactness and delicacy of lu" lno oriuso unui panions and they came on with a rush, sage of the Bereslna Ney stood again remained isolated for centuries, their
stacles" said Lieutenant Cushing in his mass of water' displaced by It fell on touch as a surgical operation, where tjenerai Outram, who, under Major-Gen- taking the barrier and the bridge. The between the Grand Army and the Rus- traditions of hostility to other "camps"
account of the affair in "Battles and tne men ,n tno launcn and 100 pounds a single error in their employment, even eraI "avelock, was In command of the Seventy-eighth Highlanders were given slan hordes with the mere handful of have not been greatly modified by out
Leaders of the Civil War " When the of raPe at 10-foot range struck them. Pull too much or too little, would P era t,on; 8 ?" d dIrect blm to go to the task of holding the bridge until the men left in the rear guard. side influence.
expedition entered the i-lver on the Tno launcb- was instantly disabled, and render the whole expedition abortive, the relief of Maude British forces were over and safely on In aspect they are picturesque and
nisrht of October 27 therefore a small aa sank the men Jumped into the was carried out directly In front of t n way city. Fighting Bide by side with the sol- have retained the characteristics which
cutter was taken in tow, on which were r'" "'"" ouc nxo e river, me muzzie or a xuu-pounaer rine, unaer seemed to bv Vini.i.i rVnm th -"" uuumra diers, Ney. arrived at the NIemen again have belonged to the coseacKs ror cen-
several men whose duty it was to over. " " ,J""":"" "l ODVC"'1' scene. In carrying out the earden , " bereft of his troops, who had little by lus- ' a rulH l"CJ' miermarry
. . . ates and others were drowned, but bullets passed through bis clothing,. tarrying uui tne garaen Havelock for the Victoria Cross In rec- .., . ' . ,., ' amonir their own kind
come the guard, so that they should be , IT...", maneuver he had got out of sight with ., , ., Mu ,- litUo 'alien victims to the terrible rav- am,ns tneir own .
. r r . h 1 mon r.,.t. - .... 7. . .. . . . . asfes oi cold and huneer as well as to &1 " " "
prevented from sending up a warning
rocket. There were 20 men In the Cush
ing party ail volunteers.
In the darkness the launch and her
convoy were able to slip by the guard
without being perceived. Lieutenant
Cushing now decided that inasmuch as
posite shore. ' it is safe to say that the naval history
When dawn came Lieutenant Cush- of the world affords no other example
ing was' ooiigea to lake to a cypress
swamp in order to elude the Confeder
ates. For five hours with bare feet,
head and hands he made his way
through a thicket of thorns and briers
of such marvellous coolness and pro
fessional skill as were shown by Cush
ing in the destruction of the Albe
marle." One of 'the dramatic episodes of the
relief of Lucknow was that in which
trntli.0 'T7 U 1 1 eAn n C(.
As night approached he was lucky Henry Havelock. who commanded the de.?rat.In:
finnnrh tt . - . - . can t Kt
" " uyun . uxu ucai i encv lilts lorces, lUUtt (mupuraijr tym
the river, and possessed himself of a mand of the forces.
boat moored to the bank.
After cutting loose the boat he al Indian troops under the command of
floated behind It until sheltered from General Havelock arrived at the Alum
observation by a bend of the river, bagh, the beautiful park and garden of
Then hA trOt nn hnn rd n ii ,1 nola.1 all . Y i . -v 3 . mi .
cast off and to proceed to cover the through the evening and far Into the retreated to the Charbagh bridge, fol-
tie men oraerea an nignt. Alter steering by a star for lowed by the British.
woufc. uea,ny two bouts, in tne direction where
the crew of 20 men remained intact It v, j . . . . .
, , . . . . . which had never been disturbed by
. . .. . , , ... man before.
sei xrom me land siae, surprise mose
on board and capture the vessel, which
they could then take out into the
stream and tarn against the land forts.
This movement was interrupted by a
sharp hail from the ship. Lieutenant
Cushing at once ordered the cutter to
his men. and as further orders must edly saved the day for the British, but
come from him Maude and his gun- tha aide-de-camo harl nreviouslv been
ners were exposed without protection granted the decoration for another ex-
to the fire of the enemy. At last plcrtt of equal bravery and the British
Maude and one subaltern remained in -war Office conferred no further honors
charge of the two guns. "Young" on hjm for his later exploit. The "V. C."
Harry Havelock, who was an aide-de- ..,. o-ronti cantoin XTnuriA who
camp on the staff of his father, was had stood so nobly before the fire of comrades crossing out of the country in cerned such is the Cossack
near by and Maude called to him In the enemy.
acres of cold and hunsrer as well as to
the attacks of the enemy. With a few average Russian. Strongly built and
hundred troops obtained at the bound- bearded, with high cheek bones and
ary. he again made a stand to keep the tho far-seeing eye of the steppe
enemy back while the remnant of the df""' 'il,',,"- k Vt'
, . , , used to physical fatigue and hardshio
Grand Army passed over the border. lndifferent to pain and suffering both
Into Germany. But the sight of their where he himself and others are enn-
keep it up much longer; can't Alexander Suvaroff, the Russian sol-
fight their guns." dier, who played so brilliant a part In
On September 23 the British and loy- .v, ., . . . . ...t ' ., K
, . . . ... . further instructions, but dashed off on hero of the Russian army, and his
his horse to where Nelll was stationed, many remarkable achievements while
which they had suffered so terribly was
too great a strain on the fortitude of
the men, and the next morning Ney's
few soldiers deserted him and started
to follow the army, leaving Ney almost
alone.
In time of war the Cossacks suonlv
Russia with 900 squadrons of cavalry
and 108 companies of infantry, with
236 guns that is. with more than 180.
000 soldiers, 160,000 of them invaluable
for reconnoiterlng ser'ice. It is
natural that men such as are the
With 30 men Ney continued to guard Cossacks, strong and courageous, with
begging him to bring his troops up in in command of the Russian forces are the retreat until the
guard in the rear.
itteazn on his own craft
and.
30 also deserted an inherited instinct for guerrilla war-
a charge and so relieve the men at the related with pride by every subject of and Ney fought alone, slowly retiring - e" P,a8
bridge. . the Czar. through the streets with his face to the .Sraddo
Nelll declined to take the Initiative Those who have a taste for brave enemy and crossing the river, the last cf the army to which they axe attached
. - . IV. -.- ja A M A1A,..T3ii I - A 4- v . . . 1 1 w
Tho Char-bach bridge barred the way In the matter, however, aa he wai pot and noble deeds may remember many o the Grand Army to leave Russia. At Outlook
A