To William W. Belknap
28 August 1874 • Elmira, N.Y.
(MS: ViU, UCCL 01119)

[Elmira, N.Y., ]
Aug. 28.

My Dear General:1

I believe I never have asked even m the most [t◇rifling ] favor of the Government of the United States, in behalf of any friend or relative of mine, although I have a number who are suffering for office——but when I come forward to confer a vast kindness upon the country, I feel a grandeur in keeping with the greatness of the situation, & a just pride in it, withal.

But skip

My sister’s boy, who will be fourteen 6 months hence, wants to go into the Navy. He lives in Mr. Sessions’s District (State of New York)2 but there is no vacancy belong in its gift now., or shortly to occur. From my experience I should say that there is a sufficiently large proportion of leatherheads in the Navy, now, & what I want to do is to increase the proportion of officers with brains in that department of the public service. This lad’s head eats up his body, but he has no disease. He ought to pass medical examination. He has never been allowed to go to school any worth mentioning, but it is considered safe, now, to let him begin.3 He could pass that Naval examination, though, simply on what he has picked up by being allowed to listen to High School pupils recite, without taking ‸any‸ part.4

I can get him plenty of positions, but I say a perfectly sincere thing when I say I think his brains (& those of boys like him) ought to be secured to his country. Statesmen could not be much better employed than in looking out for the country’s future a little in that way, perhaps.

Now I have gathered the idea somewhere, that the Secretary of the Navy has power to appoint a few cadets at large, himself. If this is so, will you kindly ask him, when you see him, if he would object to making this appointment provided I can demonstrate that I have not overrated this boy’s promise?5

Please pardon me for occupying so much of your time.

Yrs Truly

Saml. L. Clemens.

Explanatory Notes | Textual Commentary

Editorial Signs

Click to add citation to My Citations.

1 Clemens’s only known contact with Belknap, a Civil War brigadier-general and the secretary of war since 1869, had been in Washington in 1871 (see L4, 454n. 1).

Click to add citation to My Citations.

2 Walter Loomis Sessions (1820–96), a Republican, served in the House of Representatives in the Forty-second, Forty-third, and Forty-ninth congresses (1871–75, 1885–87).

Click to add citation to My Citations.

3 Samuel’s health—in particular, an unidentified nervous disorder and an eye condition that made reading impossible—had been a concern for years (see L4, 332–33, 403, 411; L5, 230, 232 n. 6). Presumably it had improved enough to meet the naval academy’s standard:

All candidates must be over fourteen and less than eighteen years of age, and no one is examined whose age does not fall within the prescribed limits. They must be physically sound, well-formed, and of robust constitution. To test this, they are required to pass a satisfactory examination before a medical board, composed of the surgeon of the Academy and two other medical officers designated by the Secretary of the Navy. Any one of the following conditions is sufficient to cause the rejection of the candidate: Feeble constitution, greatly-retarded development, permanently-impaired general health, decided cachexia, diathesis, or predisposition, and all chronic disease, malformation, or results of injuries, that would permanently impair efficiency. Attention is also paid to the stature of the candidate, and no one manifestly under size for his age is admitted. No candidate rejected by the medical board is allowed a re-examination. (Soley, 151–52)

Click to add citation to My Citations.

4 The academic examination was comprehensive:

Candidates must pass an examination before a committee of the Academic Board in reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic, geography, and English grammar. All the examinations, except in reading, are written. Candidates who fall below the standard (62.5 per cent. in each branch) receive a second and final examination in the subjects in which they fail. Deficiency in any one of the subjects at the second examination is sufficient to insure rejection. By the Revised Statutes, § 1515, “candidates rejected at such examination shall not have the privilege of another examination to the same class, unless recommended by the board of examiners.” (Soley, 152)

The examinations were given on 21 June and 12 September (Soley, 151). Samuel would be fourteen on 5 November 1874, and therefore, if nominated, first eligible for examination on 21 June 1875.

Click to add citation to My Citations.

5 Belknap’s reply does not survive, but he offered to use his influence, and may also have contacted George Robeson, secretary of the navy since 1869, on Moffett’s behalf (see 5 Sept 74 and 24 Sept 74, both to Belknap, and 21 Sept 74 to OC). For information on the secretary of the navy’s part in nominating applicants to the naval academy, see the previous letter, n. 2.

Description of Texts and Provenance

Source text(s):

MS, Clifton Waller Barrett Library, Alderman Library, University of Virginia, Charlottesville (ViU).

Previous publication: L6, 211–213.

Provenance:The MS, owned in 1930 by Daniel P. Woolley, vice-president of Standard Brands, was deposited at ViU by Clifton Waller Barrett on 15 May 1962.

Emendations and textual notes:

Elmira, N.Y., • [possibly inserted; ‘E’ malformed; possibly ‘S Elmira’]

t◇rifling • [partly formed character]