Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1889, volume 6).djvu/516

484 and to lieutenant, 14 Sept., 1855, and was attached to the steam frigate " Niagara " when the first Atlantic cable was laid in 1857. He was execu- tive of the sloop " Vandalia " at the capture of Port Royal in 1861, and commanded the steamer " Wyandotte " on the South Atlantic blockade and in the Potomac flotilla. Lieut. Whiting was pro- moted to lieutenant-commander, 16 July, 1862, and in the gun-boat "Ottawa" participated in the at- tacks on the defences of Charleston, engaged Bat- tery Gregg and Fort Wagner, and assisted in the capture of the lower end of Morris island in 1863-4. In 1864-'5 he commanded the " Savan- nah," in the Eastern Gulf station. He was com- missioned a commander, 25 July, 1866, had the steamer " Tioga " on the coast of Maine and in the Gulf, was at the New York navy-yard in 1867-9 and 1871-'2, and commanded the sloop " Sara- toga " and the monitor " Miantonomoh " in the North Atlantic squadron in 1869-70. He was promoted to captain, 19 Aug., 1872, and command- ed the steam sloop " Worcester," flag-ship of the North Atlantic squadron, in 1871-'5. In the first year of that cruise he took out. contributions of food and clothing from the American people for the relief of the French sufferers "in the Franco- Prussian war. Owing to the want of means to transport these contributions to the needed dis- tricts in the east of France, the stores were taken to Liverpool and London, where a favorable mar- ket realized a much larger sum of money than that which was expended for the purchase of these stores in this country. The American relief com- mittee in France also urged that the money was more needed than contributions in any other shape. He was present at New Orleans during the political excitement owing to the overthrow of the Packard government, and won the confidence of the citizens by wise measures, contributing to allay the excitement. On 11 June, 1878, he was ap- pointed chief of bureau of navigation and office of detail, with the rank of commodore. Failing health and almost total blindness resulting from exposure incidental to the service compelled him to be relieved from this duty, 12 Oct., 1881, from which date he was placed on the retired list, with the rank of commodore, by special act of congress.

WHITING, William Henry Chase, soldier, b. in Mississippi about 1825 ; d. on Governor's island, New York harbor, 10 March, 1865. His father, Levi, a native of Massachusetts, was an officer of the regular army from 1812 until his death in 1852, when he was lieutenant-colonel of the 1st artillery. The son was graduated at the U. S. military academy in 1845 at the head of the class in which were Charles P. Stone, Fitz-John Porter, and Gordon Granger. He was assigned to the engineer corps, and engaged in the construc- tion of forts and internal improvements in the west and south, becoming a captain, 13 Dec, 1858. He resigned on 20 Feb., 1861, entered the Confed- erate service, and in June and July of that year was chief engineer, with the rank of major, of the Army of the Shenandoah, under Gen. Joseph E. Johnston. He was promoted brigadier-general on 27 Aug., 1861, and commanded the brigade whose timely arrival won the battle of Bull Run for the Confederates. He took part in the battle of West Point, Va., 7 May, 1862, was made a major-general in 1863, and buiit Fort Fisher, N. C, of which he took command in the autumn of 1864. He de- fended the fort during the unsuccessful attack by Gen. Benjamin F. Butler, and the successful one by Gen. Alfred H. Terry (q. v.), and on its cap- ture was severely wounded and taken prisoner.

WHITMAN, Bernard, clergyman, b. in East Bridgewater, Mass., 8 June, 1796 ; d. in Waltham, Mass., 5 Nov., 1834. He early decided to enter the ministry, and earned money to defray his expenses by working in factories. He entered Harvard in 1818, but was rusticated for a breach of discipline in 1819, and, on joining a lower class at the expira- tion of a year, asked and received an honorable dis- missal. He then taught and studied theology till 1824, when he was licensed to preach, and on 15 Feb., 1826, he was ordained pastor of the 2d church in Waltham, Mass., where he remained till his early death from consumption. This church had just dismissed an orthodox clergyman, who had carried with him a large part of the congregation, and thus Mr. Whitman was led to a bold exposition of Unitarian views which he had adopted some time before. His published sermon on " Denying the Lord Jesus " (Boston, 1827) went through several editions, was widely circulated, and placed him in the front rank of the defenders of his faith. He was also successful as a lecturer on temperance. His works include " Two Letters to the Rev. Moses Stuart on the Subject of Religious Liberty " (1831) ; "Village Sermons" (1832) ; and " Friendly Letters to a Universalist on Divine Rewards and Punish- ments" (1833). — His brother, Jason, b. in Bridge- water, Mass., 30 April, 1799 ; d. in Lexington, Mass., 25 Jan., 1848, was graduated at Harvard in, studied theology, and was pastor of Unita- rian churches at Saco, Me., in 1830-'4, at Portland in 1835-'45, and at Lexington from 1845 till his death. For one year, in 1834-'5, he was general secretary of the American Unitarian association. Besides numerous sermons, he published memoirs of his brother, Bernard (Boston, 1837), and their father, Deacon John Whitman, who lived to the age of 107 years (1843); "The Young Man's As- sistant in Efforts at Self - Cultivation " (1838); " Young Lady's Aid to Usefulness " (3d ed.. 1845) ; " Discourses on the Lord's Prayer " (1847) ; and, with William E. Greely, "A Brief Statement of the Unitarian Belief " (1847). See a sketch of his life contained in a volume of his sermons (1849).

WHITMAN, Ezekiel, jurist, b. in East Bridgewater, Mass., 9 March, 1776; d. there, 1 Aug., 1866. He lost his parents in early life and was brought up by his uncle, Rev. Levi Whitman, of Wellfleet, who opposed his desire to go to sea and induced him to prepare for Brown university, where he was graduated in 1795 after supporting himself during his course by teaching. He then studied law, was admitted to the bar of Plymouth county in 1799, and removed to the district of Maine, where he practised in Turner, and after 1807 in Portland. He was an unsuccessful Federalist candidate for congress in 1806, but was elected two years later, and served in 1809-'ll. In the election of 1810 he and William Widgery had each 1,639 votes, and at a second trial the latter was successful. Mr. Whitman then devoted himself to his large practice and was a member of the executive council of Massachusetts in 1815-'16 and of the Constitutional convention of 1819. In 1817-'23 he was again in congress. On the admission of Maine to the Union he became a judge of its court of common pleas, serving from 1822 till 1841, and in 1841-'8 he was chief justice of the state. In 1852 he retired to his native place. Judge Whit- man was one of the last of the " old-school " lawyers in his state. He presided in court with much dignity, and his judicial opinions, which were reported by John Shepley in volumes xxi.-xxix. of " Maine Reports." are characterized by simplicity and directness of application. In congress he at-