. The story of American heroism; thrilling narratives of personal adventures during the great Civil war, as told by the medal winners and roll of honor men . rced ournuiin steam pipe, and glancingoff, shattered the safety valve. As a matter of course theengine and fire rooms werefilled with steam in an instant,and the fireman on watch, notknowing the extent of thedamage, rushed on deck, withthe exception of McClelland,Rush, Hickman and myself. It was necessary for thesafety of the ship that some-thing be done at once, and webest knew what that some-thing was. The fires mustbe drawn from under
. The story of American heroism; thrilling narratives of personal adventures during the great Civil war, as told by the medal winners and roll of honor men . rced ournuiin steam pipe, and glancingoff, shattered the safety valve. As a matter of course theengine and fire rooms werefilled with steam in an instant,and the fireman on watch, notknowing the extent of thedamage, rushed on deck, withthe exception of McClelland,Rush, Hickman and myself. It was necessary for thesafety of the ship that some-thing be done at once, and webest knew what that some-thing was. The fires mustbe drawn from under the in-jured boiler; but to do that itwould be required of us thatwe remain where the steamwas not only blinding, butscalding, until tons of the glowing coals were hauled Scene in thk Fire K(m,m .>i- the \D. from the fire boxes. I tore off one of my shirts, divided it into four parts, and saturated thewhole in a bucket of water. Each of us tied one of the pieces over his faceto prevent him from inhaling the steam, and then, with great difficulty, wemanaged to draw all the fires, thereby preventing the ship from beingset on fire. A. H.—39. 682 THE STORY OF It is said that the soldier on the battlefield is brave because of theexcitement around him; that the presence of his companions in arms servesto nerve him to valiant deeds; but in this case theie were no suchaccessories. Four firemen, unaware of what was going on above them,knowing only that one of the wounds which the ship had received was intheir department, faced death while hidden from view of all theirshipmates, and it is well a grateful country should give to them medals forconspicuous heroism. McClelland has answered to the last roll call; taps have been soundedover the mound which covers all that remains of a brave man, and, inPhiladelphia, his shipiuates each year strew with flowers his final restingplace in this world. It has been impossible to learn anything regarding Hickman. John Rush, who is in the
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