Quite a number of years ago the Museum was given a
collection of naval papers pertaining to the Newman family. William D. Newman (ca. 1800-1844) and his
sons, Langford Howard Newman (1830-1866) and William Bogert Newman (1834-1912)
were all U.S. Navy officers. William met a tragic death in 1844, but his sons
went on to follow him into naval service. Last year a second gift of papers was
given to bolster the collection, adding new information about the family.
Additionally, the Museum was able to purchase a letter written by Washington
Irving in 1847asking New York Congressman Moses H. Grinnell to arrange an
appointment to midshipman for seventeen-year old Langford. Irving had
previously attained the same appointment from Grinnell for Langford’s father,
William. In a snippet from his letter to Grinnell, Irving points out the specifics
of the matter regarding William and his son:
“His
[William’s] melancholy end you may recollect when in command of the UStates
Brig Bainbridge at MonteVideo. It is supposed he drowned himself from a too
morbid sensibility to his professional reputation; apprehending he might incur
popular reproach for his conduct in a transaction in which his superior officer
acquitted him of all blame. He left a
family with, I apprehend, but very moderate means; I heard there were, I
believe, three or four boys, who when I visited him some few years since
appeared to be in excellent training. I now come to the point of this long
story. It is to interest you in favor of
his eldest son, about seventeen years of age, apparently a very fine lad, who
had recently finished his studies and is bent upon a sea faring life. I have applied for a midshipmans appointment
for him; but as vacancies are rare and applications many, and as in nine months
he will be past the limits as to age (18 years) exacted in such appointments, I
fear his chance as to success is but small.”
The Museum also owns
the letter from Langford to Irving requesting this action from the famous
author. Langford did indeed get appointed and served aboard a number of ships
before, during and just after the Civil War. Unfortunately, he died at an even younger
age than his father while in command of the U.S.S. NYACK while the ship was
patrolling the west coast of South America in 1866, protecting the interests of
Americans during Spain’s conflict with Peru and Chile over the Chincha Islands.
He was not yet 36 years old.
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| Langford Howard Newman, upper right, shown aboard the U.S.S. MONITOR during the Civil War. From The Photographic History of the Civil War in Ten Volumes. |