TATTNALL. 209 



Tattnall's judgment in diplomacy was excellent. This may be in part due to 

 the great interest in history which he had from early youth. When at 16 years 

 of age the ship in which he was leaving England for America was held up at Cowes 

 by adverse winds, he says: "I resided on shore and visited places of historical 

 note in the vicinity, thus indulging a natural taste which has increased with the 

 years." Later, when with Decatur's squadron in the Mediterranean, he profited 

 by a long sojourn to examine its historical surroundings. When off duty and not 

 otherwise employed, he was much given to reading. With a well-stored mind, 

 stored especially with historical data, he was able to act wisely, whether in dis- 

 agreeing with superior officers, preventing a war with Spain over Cuba, or han- 

 dling a delicate situation with Chinese officials. His judgment in maneuvering 

 his section of the impotent Confederate navy was excellent, and when he was 

 overruled disaster followed. His act in saving the Saratoga by cutting away its 

 masts was a novel but an extremely wise method of meeting the emergency. His 

 father, also, must have shown good judgment to gain the ever-increasing regard 

 of his fellow-citizens, which during war brought him rapid promotion and during 

 peace carried him to the governorship of Georgia. 



Tattnall had a keen sense of honor. When criticized unjustly by a superior 

 officer in the navy he resigned. At Valparaiso he fought one duel and was ready 

 for a second, but could find no antagonist. After the English naval officer had 

 helped him off the shoal of the Pei-ho, on which his vessel had struck, he felt it 

 his duty to help the English officer when he was getting badly whipped in battle 

 with the Chinese fort. He insisted on a court of inquiry and court-martial when 

 criticized for his course in the Confederate navy. 



Generosity was a marked trait of Josiah Tattnall. He twice made large 

 loans while on the Mediterranean, "as he was easily prevailed upon to do." The 

 first debtor died before he had a chance to repay; with the second Tattnall later 

 quarreled and when, through a friend, the loan was returned, Tattnall, remarking 

 "Tell the gentleman the debt is paid," tossed the money into the sea. 



He was affable and companionable in his intercourse with his fellow-officers, 

 and with his friends joyous, guileless, and playful. His conversation, "adorned 

 by anecdote, and with a remarkable felicity of illustration, enlivened by humor, 

 and sparkling with wit was genial and charming in the extreme; with an over- 

 flowing spirit of kindliness at the helm, neither severity nor sarcasm ever entered 

 there." 



He loved the excitement of warfare. He writes: "The belief that, even in 

 these dull times, there is a possibility of seeing some service more exciting than 

 mere making and taking in of sail, has given us something of a war animation." 

 When shot, at Tuxpan, it is stated that he cared little for the wound, since the 

 expedition was successful. It is interesting that his father was a successful Revo- 

 lutionary general and that his mother's sister's son, Christopher Gadsden, com- 

 manded the United States brig Vixen. 



"No man that trod a deck ever came to a decision more promptly than he, 

 or forced its execution through all opposing circumstances with more energy and 

 resolution." His perception was like the lightning's flash. The execution followed 

 and with a force sufficient to overcome the resistance to be encountered. This 

 rapidity of thought and action gave to his conduct, at times, an appearance of 

 rashness. 



