188 GEORGE W. MELVILLE 



a thoroughly practical knowledge of engineering in the works of 

 James Binns of that city. Stirred to patriotic effort by the out- 

 break of the rebellion, he entered the Navy July 29, 18G1, and 

 became an officer of the Engineer Corps of that service before 

 attaining his majority. Constantly on sea duty, Melville saw 

 service on the Great Lakes, in the North Atlantic blockading 

 squadron, at the capture of Norfolk and in the operations on 

 James river, on the Mississippi river, in the capture of the Florida, 

 and as a volunteer in one of the torpedo boats at the capture of 

 Fort Fisher. His most conspicuous war service was in connec- 

 tion with the capture of the Florida in the harbor of Bahia, Bi-azil, 

 Melville, in civilian clothing, boarding the vessel in broad day- 

 light and gaining the desired information as to the strength of 

 her batter}^ and the location of her machiner3^ In the capture 

 of the Florida on the following morning Melville displayed Ids 

 usual braver}^ and was one of the three men Avounded in the 

 affair. His war services were such that Engineer-in-Chief Loring 

 officially wrote, " With the high reputation this gentleman has 

 throughout the service for professional skill, executive ability, 

 energy, and zeal, . . . it is no disparagement to his fellows 

 to say that he has not his superior in his corps." 



The dangers of war past, Melville sought the first opportunity 

 for adventurous service elsewhere, and volunteering for service 

 in the Tigress, formed one of the search party for the missing crew 

 of the Polaris. The Tigress, under Commander Greer, reached 

 the deserted camp of the Polaris, near Littleton island, the suc- 

 cess of the voyage being largely owing to Melville's " great fer- 

 tility of resource, combined with thorough practical knowledge." 



His most conspicuous arctic service was under Lieut. D. W. 

 De Long in the Jeannette, which attempted to solve the polar 

 problem via Bering strait. As will be recalled, the Jeannette, 

 beset by the pack in the neighborhood of Wrangel island in Sep- 

 tember, 1879, drifted almost steadily to the westward until she 

 was crushed b}'- ice-floes and sank June 12, 1881, in 77° 15' N., 

 155° E. During this long and monotonous drift Melville's quali- 

 ties as a man and his efficiency as an officer were conspicuousl}^ 

 displayed ; now it was a series of engineering problems which 

 saved from foundering the leaking Jeannette, again it was ph3^sical 

 endurance and will-power as the leader of an exploring party 

 that enabled him to reach and survey Henrietta island, the first 

 of De Long's discoveries. It was under the most desperate con- 

 ditions, however, that Melville's spirit and abilities were })racti- 



