Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 37.djvu/47

Rh While absent in the Constitution, his father, who he had left in perfect health, died, and from this time his life was devoted to the task (which he made a pleasure), of assuming that father's place.

His life when not off in the performance of his naval duties was lived here among many of you, and all with whom he associated can bear testimony to his high sense of honor and unblemished life of modest worth.

In the year 1846 he began the completion of his education as a naval officer at the naval school at Annapolis, this school not having been established when he received his appointment.

Of this school and of his cruise on the Brandywine he writes: "After my voyage around the world I was granted a leave of absence of three months, but little of it did I get. Mr. Bancroft, the Secretary of the Navy, had just established the naval school at Annapolis; this was a pet scheme of his and he caught up all midshipmen he could lay his hands on and corralled them at the school; so a lot of the Brandywine midshipmen met again sooner than had been anticipated. Fort Severn had been turned over to the navy for the school. It had been unoccupied for a long time and was in charge of an old artillery sergeant. We had to shake ourselves down into quarters as best we could and we Brandywines took possession of a detached building that had, I believe, been the bake house for the garrison and called it Brandywine cottage. A row of one-story frame buildings was called Apollo row, because a lot of dilettante fellows had herded together and taken some of the best rooms. Some shed rooms leaning against the west wall which had been used as a cover for field pieces became Mustark Abbey on account of a very handsome fellow amongst those who occupied the rooms who was named Byrons. These rooms went by the name of the Abbey. A large mass of the youngsters who didn't care where they were put brought up in what had been the soldiers' barracks, a large two-story frame building, and this got the name of Rowdy Row. All those names held for years; in fact, until the place was remodeled and better quarters built. Our cottage not being quite ready for occupancy, we had to hold out temporarily in room No. 13 Rowdy Row, so numbered because