United States Naval Academy - Lucky Bag Yearbook (Annapolis, MD)

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History of the Engineer Corps. i w 159 715 kd 0 . . ' . 1' . N the morning of june 4th, amid a crowd of cheering spec- : tators, and before an assemblage of august personages, fig?-4,1 there came into existence the Engineer Corps of the Class of '98, and those who constituted it were indeed f proud, and cheered time and again. A 1 The following day we embarked on the U. S. S. , 'wx kv lg? Standish for the summer's cruise. Knowing her Q to be but a tug, we expected little in the way of ff M' comfortable quarters, and upon finding her fitted up I j fi if 1 inside like a yacht, were doubly surprised and eager I D I I to embark. , . .... The last tragic sight that blessed our vision f f J 3 before casting loose from the dock to hide ourselves 'HY' l ' 't t behind the dingy Monongahelan was a lovely maiden C.. on the dock, Zeke on one side and Brownie on the Z , - other, each dewberrying on the other. Later, we started down the bay, the lVlonongahela in tow. The watches were long and lonely, five hours from breakfast till dinner, five hours from dinner till supper, and an age from supper till breakfast. But each spent the time as best suited him, jake immediately proceeded to take a time sight with a Crosby indi- cator, Ikey cried, I-lullup, fellows, lemme oil the stern gland, and the Piute complacently slept. We towed till the night of june 9th, when we left the Mononga- hela about fifty miles at sea, and made the best of our way back to Newport News. It was then that the work began, ashore each morning to take notes, and on board each afternoon to write them up. We visited the ship-yard, and paid a visit to the New York and one to the Texas, We had occasional glimpses of their engines and made minute examinations of their steerages. Here we received our first written orders, just befo1'e going on liberty one Saturday afternoon. They were to the effect that when on shore we should not drink water, milk, or lemonade. Henry interpreted them to mean that we should drink orange cider, called for in a very loud, high-pitched voice, and so brought disgrace on the rest of us, who were trying to pose as tough old salts. 33 qfsgvul 1 r snnimunoo, W H l

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They quailed the hearts of some of us, and quailed the marks at the same time, so that three of our noble number were unsat. at the Semi-Ann. Of course, they will be safe in the end, but we feel so sorry for the poor creature that lost his mind when he heard of his fate. Since becoming First Class men, we have learned many things, among others, table manners. We feel so indebted to the kind officer in charge who wastes so much of his valuable time giving us lectures on how to appear rm fait at the table. You must know that this branch of our training has been sadly neglected till now, but we think that by the time we graduate we won't drink out of our soup plates, and, even now, there is none of us that ever eats julie? with a spoon. It has been a custom, heretofore, at the Academy to have a public burial of the life- less bodies of Math. and Skinny after the Semi-Ann., for, at that time, these ungainly creatures, who have followed us through three and one-half years with faithfulness untiring, are supposed to be dead. They may have died this year as they are said to have died before, but they were immediately reincarnated in full force in the Departmentslof Ord- nance, Navigation, and Steam, so that, out of respect for these departments, we omitted that joyous event. After the Semi-Ann., we ran into the English Department again-our high speed, non-return, great unwashed English department-the benefits of which we felt before we left high school. We are now learning how to make our letters and say our A, B, Cls. But the department in which we have shone this year is that of seamanship. This department has already blossomed forth in seventeen pamphlets, numerous drawings, blue prints, plates, and smoking privileges, beside some verbose extemporaneous works, so extemporaneous in some places that it would make Billy Fay run his hands through his hair and cuss. If you have never experienced the feeling of reading page after page of matter without having any idea conveyed to your brain, read Nawz! Colzstafuctzbfz Notes by the Seamanship Department. But let us talk of something cheerful. There are not many days more, as the days grow longer, the time grows shorter-a seeming paradox. We are now waiting with anxious hearts for the day when we go to dress parade for the last time, when we march up to the band stand, seize our diplomas in both hands and yell, when we can stroll outside thepgate, light a cigar, and throw the match back inside. 32

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From Newport News we went to Chester. Having liberty, we took precautions against further disgrace by speaking French exclusively, very much to the surprise of the natives, and often ourselves as well, especially on such occasions as when the Major should ask, Qu'est-ce-que vous avez fr bouvoir? Nevertheless the manager of the Tuxedo Athletic Club was kind enough to invite us to an exhibition on the quiet, in which boxing ,was to be an especial feature. An invitation of a different kind, but one more appreciated by us, was one from the Alpha Boat Club, extending to us the privi- ll: I' leges of the club. From Chester we went on up to the League Island Navy Yard, and thence to Philadelphia. ,M While at League Island jake became , ,,fl 4 very much interested in the wigwag signal ,N ff- code, he boned it assiduously, and used to X 1 M 5 spend hours in the very hottest part of the day, sending messages to the Richmond. We learned later, when we went on board I the Richmond to a candy party that some one on her, too, was just learning the signal code. At Philadelphia we worked hard, and were rewarded by having much liberty- The first Sunday spent here Sandy and Jake went to church, and they have never ceased talking of it, declaring that they 4 l W' ,... wau.,sw,, WL ' z I i f K 1, 1 5 lll !ss Xl XX li CX- A . C ra ' M 4 . ,,., -- I if . X I 'lull witnessed the process of excommunication. nkl W-N. R mm-4 A visit to the Richmond followed, and oguqaw-Q--is -ro we b :X .gr the party returning about supper-time made 5 if il ' a grand charge on our larder. Johnnie was X i ,XM asleep at the time, or no doubt he would NX, X have repulsed the charge. He has never lx l Xsyv recovered from the remorse which followed. Xxx, Our excursion to the Bethlehem Iron 6 , ,egg-?4 Works was one long to be remembered, 1+ r -A-' especially the dinner and other refresh- ments, and more especially the other refreshments. Having liberty on July 3d, 4th, and 5th, we almost ran wild during that time. Guy and Ikey went on three days' leave. Mate became enamored with a certain stage fairy, and spent most of his time and money on boxes, etc. The rest of us scattered about, some going to Narberth, some to Frank- ford, but always' assembling at a certain inn of German repute, where some spent all their time. From Philadelphia we went to New Castle, where we were threatened with a new 34