A Gunner Aboard the Yankee | Page 3

APPENDIX

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
THE NAVAL RESERVES LEAVING NEW YORK--GOING OFF IN THE TUGBOAT TO MAN THE "YANKEE" Frontispiece
"THAT FAT MAN IN THE CELLAR WANTS ME TO SLEEP IN A BAG--"
"THE GIG WAS LOWERED"
"THE MEN ON THE STAGES"
"STAND BY, MEN. BE READY FOB INSTANT ACTION"
"THE 'YANKEE' DROPPED HER ANCHOR OFF TOMPKINSVILLE"
"WITH A FRIGHTFUL ROAR THE DEFECTIVE CARTRIDGE EXPLODED"
"THE SIX-POUNDERS ON THE 'YANKEE'S' FORECASTLE JOINED IN THE CHORUS"
"CLEAR SHIP FOR ACTION!"
THE BOMBARDMENT OF MORRO CASTLE, SANTIAGO
ON THE GUN DECK DURING THE BOMBARDMENT
THE SEARCHLIGHT "SWEEPING BACK AND FORTH ACROSS THE BLACK OF THE HORIZON"
"THERE WAS TEMPORARY CONFUSION"
"THE FUSILLADE WAS LIVELY"
"THE SPAR DECK WAS COVERED WITH RED SHELLAC"
"THE MARINES AIRED THEIR HAMMOCKS ON THE FORECASTLE DECK"
"HE GOT HIS ORDERS FROM THE BRIDGE"
"ALL YOU MEN WHO WANT TO GO IN SWIMMING MAY DO SO"
MARCHING THROUGH CITY HALL PARK, NEW YORK CITY

PREFACE.
When the important events of the first part of April, 1898, were shaping themselves toward an inevitable conflict between Spain and the United States of America, the authorities at Washington began to perfect their plans for an immediate increase of the navy. The Naval Militia of the country, of whom Assistant Secretary Theodore Roosevelt had a very high opinion, came in for early attention, and word was sent to the different States to prepare for service. Several days previous to the actual outbreak of war, messages were forwarded from the Naval Reserve receiving ship "New Hampshire," lying at a dock in the East River, to a number of young men, members of the Naval Militia, residing in New York City. These summons contained simply a request to report at once on board the ship, but they resulted in a most curious and interesting transformation--in fact, they formed the foundation of a chain of events which was destined to amalgamate into a common grade--that of a naval bluejacket--several hundred young Americans, who, in their natural characters, were sons of rich men and of men of moderate means, of doctors and lawyers and brokers and clerks and bookkeepers, and of all sorts and conditions of respectable citizens. Patriotism was the incentive which called these youths of various stations together, and sheer love of country and the courage to fight her battles formed the cement which bound them cheerfully to their duty. To fight for pay and as a profession is one thing; to offer your freedom and your life, to endure discomforts and actual hardships, to risk health in a fever-stricken foreign country, and to sacrifice settled ambition for mere patriotism, is another. It is the latter which the Volunteer Naval Reserve of the United States has done, and every American citizen with a drop of honest blood in his veins will surely give the organization the praise it so richly deserves.
On the third of May, while Cervera's whereabouts was still an absorbing mystery, the "Yankee" (an auxiliary cruiser, converted from the steamship "El Nort") went into commission at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. She was manned entirely, save for the captain, executive officer, navigator, paymaster, and the marine guard, by members of the New York State Naval Militia. For four months she remained in commission, weaving the threads of a glorious record which will ever redound to the credit and honor of the Volunteer Naval Reserve. Truth is ever stranger than fiction, and the simple story of the boys of the gallant "Yankee," as set forth in the diary of Number Five of the After Port Gun, should appeal to the heart of every reader in this great country of ours--a country made grander and better and more potent in the world's history by the achievements of such brave lads as those who formed the crew of the "Yankee." Number Five's diary was written simply for his family, but the fame gained by the "Yankee" leads the publishers to believe that it will prove interesting to Americans far and wide. It is set forth in narrative form, but the incidents and the straightforward, simple, and sailor-like words are those of the actual participant. This is his story.
CHAPTER I.
IN WHICH THE "YANKEE" GOES INTO COMMISSION.
U.S.S. "NEW HAMPSHIRE," April 26, 1898. Report at "New Hampshire" immediately, ready to go on board auxiliary cruiser "Yankee."
(Signed) JOHN H. BARNARD, Lieut, commanding 3d Division, N.Y. State Naval Militia.
It was this telegram, brief but extremely comprehensive, received early on the morning of the twenty-sixth of April, which sent me post-haste to the old receiving-ship "New Hampshire," moored at the end of an East River dock. The telegram had been anxiously expected for several days by the members of the First Battalion, and when I reached the ship I found the decks thronged with excited groups.
"War was a certainty, and the very air was filled with rumors. The prevailing topic was discussed from every point of view, and within sixty seconds as many destinations had