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to start early the following morning. He then seemed sad and gave me manly advice as to my future and talked with me in the fullest confidence of my future prospects and career in the Navy, the maintenance of the highest principles of honor and respect for rank, &c, &c, which I must ever hold in view. These have been remembered and cherished as his last words and thoughts.
In a few weeks after my father's death I received my first orders to report to Comdre [William] Bainbridge to the Independence, 74 guns, in Boston Harbor, & having completed my outfit, I set off to join the ship and reported to Comdr Bainbridge who received me with great kindness and gave me orders to report to Capt [William B.] Finch,[1] then in Command of the Ship. There were 54 midshipmen attached to the Ship & attendant on the school then held on board. The ship was in winter quarters, lying in the stream off Long Wharf, dismantled. It was a new experience for me and one which few can understand unless they have but just joined the Navy. I was not a greenhorn and probably, at that time, a better sailor than any one of the mids on board but, of course, I knew little about the etiquette of the Naval service. Of the number of Midsn there were many of what was then termed the war midshipmen, of advanced age and whose habits were by no means correct.
I was extremely fortunate in joining or being assigned to one of the best messes in the Steerage of which there [were] five; several of the noted old Mids, among whom were Jack Palmer, Peleck [Peleg K.] Dunham, [Henry] Dyson, [William] Walker, [Stephen] Wilson, [John] Bubier, [William] Rice, and [George] Izard besides others whose dissipated habits soon marked them out as those to be avoided by me. The first few days were indeed those which long remained impressed upon me, and gave me time to understand something of the fellows I was thrown among. The appearance of the conduct of the difference of the messes was very striking; Palmer's mess, of which he was caterer, was the most remarkable. They had little mess furniture, a few broken cups, Plates & dishes and less to provide, living principally upon Ship's provisions; a whiskey jug the most prominent article of the mess, and was usually replenished at the Spirit room when the noon grog was served to the crew, at which time Walker was the officer in charge.
Several young officers joined the ship at the same time I did and among them my friend [George] Blake, who was assigned to Palmer's mess, and at the first meal he was presented with a quadrant case for a soup plate, bean soup being the ration for that day. This caused a great deal of merriment and what was calculated to add to it, he was required to pay his entrance fee to the mess for his share of the crockery, a sum of $25. He bore it with great good humor and enjoyed the joke.
- ↑ William B. Finch was a Lieutenant when Wilkes entered the Navy. Promoted to Captain in 1831, he shortly thereafter, for some reason, changed his name to William C. Bolton. He appears under both names in this manuscript.
