Chapter V: Appendix: I

I have been asked several times how it came about that our good ship could have met her sad fate when so recently out of port, her officers knowing the existence of the dangers so near. I have confined my narrative to personal experiences and to incidents of the life under the conditions surrounding us. However, as such questions may arise in the mind of some readers and in order to enlighten them, I set down below some copies of the results from official investigations by those higher in authority.

First: There is the report of the Court of Inquiry held upon our arrival in San Francisco, which reads thus:--

The Court is of the opinion that the wrecking of the Saginaw was
caused by a current, as the evidence shows care in running the
vessel at a safe rate of speed and the log-line was found to be
correct two days before and had been used only ten hours at sea
afterward, and that Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Sicard used
due vigilance and care in the navigation of his vessel, and
after striking upon the reef that he exercised sound judgment
and exhibited great skill and prudence.

This was followed later by the Secretary of the Navy's annual report to the President, from which the following is an extract:--

Leaving Midway Islands on the 28th of October, Commander Sicard,
of the Saginaw, determined to run to Ocean Island, a small
island lying about one hundred miles to the westward of Midway,
to rescue any sailors who might have been wrecked there and who,
being out of the ordinary track of vessels in that part of the
Pacific Ocean, would have little chance of relief from any other
source. This expedition, though in the direct line of his duty
as the commander of a naval vessel, was fraught with the usual
perils of navigation in unknown and dangerous waters, and about
three o'clock on the morning of the 29th of October, the
Saginaw, running slowly in the darkness, was wrecked on a reef
outlying the island for which she was bound. With much exertion
and the exercise of much energy and skill, all on board,
including the officers and men of the ship and the working
party from Midway Islands, were safely landed, with a small
allowance of provisions and materials rescued from the wreck.
Cast upon the shores of an uninhabited island with scanty means
of subsistence, out of the line of travel, and more than one
thousand miles from the nearest port of refuge or relief, then
it was that the commanding officer of the Saginaw illustrated
the benefits of the comprehensive education and strict training
which he had received at the hands of the Government and
exhibited the high personal qualities which characterize him as
an officer. Ably seconded by his subordinate officers of every
grade, Commander Sicard took immediately every possible means
for the health, safety, and final relief of those who were
committed to his command. Whatever could be saved from the wreck
was at once secured; measures were immediately taken to keep up
the health, spirits, and discipline of the men: fresh water was
distilled by means of an old boiler, and everything was
organized so that there was no waste of either provisions,
material, or labor.

The boat fittest for the service was promptly repaired,
provisioned, and equipped, as far as might be, for the perilous
voyage. Manned by one officer and four men, all of whom
volunteered for the service, it was dispatched to Honolulu, the
nearest port from which relief could be expected. After her
departure work was vigorously pushed on the island; and when
finally rescued, the shipwrecked marines with well-directed
labor had almost completed, from the material of their old ship,
a new schooner perfectly seaworthy and sufficient, under
favorable circumstances, to carry the whole shipwrecked party to
a port of safety. I have thus collated some of the facts of this
case to illustrate my high opinion of the energy and ability
displayed by Commander Sicard and his comrades on this occasion
and to show how well such conduct repays the favor of the
Government.

After relating the history of the boat's voyage which we have already read, the Secretary concludes as follows:--

The death of Lieutenant Talbot closed a career of unusual
promise, and in it the Navy lost a brilliant and beloved member.
A skillful sailor, an accomplished officer, and a Christian
gentleman, his self-sacrifice has arrested the attention of his
comrades and will remain an example to the Service which in life
his virtues adorned and whose highest qualities were illustrated
in the crowning heroism of his death. His comrades of humbler
rank will not be forgotten; with him they faced the dangers of
the lonely ocean and offered their lives with his to save their
shipwrecked messmates, and no one can estimate how much of
danger and suffering, perhaps death, was saved through the
courage and endurance of the sole survivor of that gallant
boat's crew.

II

The following is a list of the officers and crew of the Saginaw as it appeared on the pay-roll at the time she was wrecked; I feel that I should name them all in recognition of a comradeship in suffering never to be forgotten where each one performed his duty unflinchingly:--

_Officers_

Montgomery Sicard, lieutenant commander.
John G. Talbot, lieutenant.
J.K. Cogswell, Perry Garst, and A.H. Parsons, ensigns.
George H. Read, passed assistant paymaster.
James Butterworth, passed assistant engineer.
H.C. Blye, passed assistant engineer (in charge of contractor's
party).
John J. Ryan, C.D. Foss, Herschel Main, and Jones Godfrey, second
assistant engineers.
George H. Robinson, master's mate.

_Petty Officers_

Peter Francis, quartermaster.
Nicholas Barton, quartermaster.
Thomas Hayes, sailmaker's mate.
John Lane, boatswain's mate.
James Foschack, gunner's mate.
J.M. Logan, yeoman.
William Halford, coxswain.
Samuel A. Thompson, master at arms.
Charles Hale, paymaster's yeoman.
A.E. Myfinger, cabin steward.
Solomon Graves, cabin cook.
Joseph Ross, wardroom steward.
George D. Wauchoss, wardroom cook.
Henry B. Clark, third-class apothecary.
William Edman, ship's cook.
Henry Wallace, steerage steward.
L. McCabe, steerage cook.

_First-class firemen_, Francis Scott, Lorenzo Coburg, George
White.

_Second-class fireman_, George Hubert.

_Seamen_, William Cairns, Michael Lynch, Henry D. Vivian, Daniel
Collins.

_Ordinary seamen_, Joseph A. Bailey, John H. Wallace, Dennis A.
Fitzgerald, John Daley, Charles Brown, Dennis M. Hayes, Michael
Jordan, Edward James.

_Landsmen_, James Nichols, W.J. Evans, Edward O'Brien, Thomas
Kearney, J.R. Miller, Martin Doran, William Fallon, Thomas
Larkin, Joseph McLaughlin, George Saunders, William Combs,
Joseph A. Agarrie, Michael Garvey, John Murphy, John Downs,
James McNamara, John Riley, Thomas Melody, James M. Nolan.

_Marine guard_, Charles A. Martin, orderly sergeant; John G.
Moore, corporal; Phillip Morris, corporal.

_Privates_, D.G. Brennan, Thomas Wiseman, David Muir, James
Sarsfield, Thomas Jones, John McGrath, Lewis Peck.

The Riverside Press
CAMBRIDGE . MASSACHUSETTS
U.S.A

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End of Project Gutenberg's The Last Cruise of the Saginaw, by George H. Read