270
WRITINGS OF SAi'.\'I HOUSTON, 1856
-"I beg leave to call your attention to one or two facts, which, if rightly considered, will, I hope, tend to relieve me from the censure of the inspecting officers, and after the impression which may have been formed from it, injurious to my professional reputation." They passed no censure on him: they reported the facts, and no censure is stated, but it is implied in the facts themselves. The facts are a condemnation to the officer: "It is within the recollection of the Department, that the San Jacinto was exactly two months absent from the United States upon her late cruise. Just before sailing from Philadelphia, more than fifty men were added to the crew, to replace those who had been sent to the hospital, discharged by order of the Secretary of the Navy, and deserted." And who were they? Was it so difficult to incorporate fifty men with more than three hundred men on board the ship? Some of them were sailors reenlisted ; but he wishes to say the fifty had tainted the whole, and ruined the discipline of the whole ship. "This change of more than one fourth of the working men of the crew required an almost entire change of the stations of the men at quarters and other stations." Now, he had a complete crew without them; and, as he was going into dangerous seas, and carried the commodore on board, it was very important to have the vessel in perfect trim. He had this addition to his force for that reason: "This change of more than one fourth of the working men of the crew required an almost entire change of the stations of the men at quarters and other stations; consequently, the drill and exercise of the crew had to be commenced anew. When it is considered that but two months had elapsed from this time until the inspection of the crew and ship at New York, to apply the same rule, or to expect the same expertness, under such circumstances, as would be expected from a crew returning from a three years' cruise, I do not think fair or just. This fact does not appear to have been noticed by the inspecting officers." It was not their business to notice it. "In these two months there had been one thorough practice at target with the great guns. As to there not having been any target practice with the small arms, I did not consider it proper to commence target practice until the men were more thoroughly drilled."
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