History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century/4/Orsborn W. Deignan
ORSBORN W. DEIGNAN, the Iowa hero of the Merrimac, was born at Stuart, Iowa, in February, 1877. His father was conductor of the passenger train which was wrecked near Grinnell in the tornado which destroyed the college and a large part of the town. Young Deignan was industrious and ambitious, taking an especial interest in history. At the age of fourteen he went to the far West to make his own way in the world and shipped as a seaman. After several years he entered the service in the United States Navy and was first rifleman on the cruiser Lancaster. He enlisted in the Spanish-American War and to his disappointment was assigned to a coal boat, but by this means was enabled to be with Lieutenant Hobson in one of the most thrilling episodes of our naval history—the sinking of the Merrimac in the channel of Santiago Harbor. Through the efforts of the Iowa delegation in Congress Deignan was offered a course of study in the Naval Academy at Annapolis, which he declined. He has since served in the navy as boatswain and has visited many parts of the world in the various cruises.