Haven, Samuel Cushman

SAMUEL CUSHMAN HAVEN. Second Lieutenant 162d New York Vols. (Infantry), September 20, 1862; First Lieutenant, February, 1863; died at Baton Rouge Hospital, La., June 23, 1863, of disease contracted in the service. SAMUEL CUSHMAN HAVEN was born at Nauvoo, Illinois, February 19, 1843. His parents were James Henderson Haven and Elizabeth, daughter of the late Hon. Samuel Cushman, both natives of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Through his father he was descended from the venerable Samuel Haven, D. D., for more than half a century pastor of a church in Portsmouth, and from the Sheafe family, which for several generations, held there a prominent position in social and public life; while through his mother he traced a direct line of ancestry to the Elder Cushman, so celebrated in the early history of the Plymouth Colony. Mr. Haven's residence in the Mormon city was very brief. He soon removed to Quincy, Illinois, and thence to St. Louis, which was the earliest residence of which the subject of this memoir retained a remembrance. Cushman, - as he was always called by his family, - though not morbidly precocious, exhibited, from the first, plain tokens of mental quickness, activity, and vigor. His father was by education and profession a chemist, and the son early took a vivid interest in the father's pursuits. He recalled with entire distinctness in after years the details of experiments and chemical processes which had been exhibited and explained to him in his early childhood. His curiosity was thus early awakened with reference to machinery, the applications of steam-power, and the various industrial operations that lay within the range of the long walks on which his father was accustomed to take him. His friends at that period cherished high expectations of his future, and discerned in his observing, reasoning, thoughtful boyhood the promise, if not of surpassing eminence, at least of substantial ability and usefulness. In the summer of I848 his mother brought him to Portsmouth, with the design of spending the winter with her father. On the 26th of January, 1849, Mr. Haven died suddenly of cholera, and his widow and her children for the ensuing six years lived together in Portsmouth. During this period Cushman was under the charge of several different teachers, and was with all of them a favorite pupil. At the same time he gained possession of Silliman's Chemistry, and, it is believed, studied it understandingly, without the aid of an instructor; while, with such simple apparatus as he could command or construct, at little or no cost, he repeated many of the chemical experiments which he had witnessed at St. Louis, and tried many others indicated or suggested by his text-book. He also attempted by himself the study of the German language, which proved a profitable mental exercise, though he then attained no great proficiency in it. With a rare amount of scientific and general knowledge for one of his age, and with singularly studious and reflective habits, yet with a rather desultory school education, he was placed, in the autumn of 1855, at Phillips Exeter Academy. Here, without confining himself to the prescribed course, he soon formed the habit of regular and systematic study. He assumed and steadily maintained a high place in his class, while his conduct evinced that he was under the control of the purest principles. He had at once the confidence of his instructors and the love of his fellow-students. Mirthful, fond of play, with an already outcropping vein of wit and humor, he was far enough from being a bookworm, though the extent and variety of his converse with books might have made him appear so. He took a very active interest in "The Golden Branch," -the old academy debating-society, - whose exercises gave at once strength, direction, and culture to a habit of argumentative conversation which characterized him from early years. Here, too, it may be supposed that he first practised [sic] the art of English composition, though his Exeter themes, still preserved, manifest a correctness of diction and a maturity of thought which would have done credit to one several years his senior. At Exeter he remained four years, completing the subcollegiate course of study, and then pursuing with an advanced class the course of the Freshman year in college. In 1859 he entered Harvard University as Sophomore. His three years at Cambridge were eminently happy. Domesticated with near kindred, who fully appreciated him and strongly sympathized with his tastes and pursuits, he was relieved of the loneliness and exempted from the temptations (if temptations they would have been to him) of the barrack life which to most young men is a sad but inevitable necessity of our college system. He was rather a diligent learner than a hard student. He did not aim especially at college rank, though, as he was conscientiously faithful in all his college work, it was impossible that he should not attain a high rank, even if he fell short of the leading place which his partial friends believe might have been his. He read many of the best books both on the subjects connected with the academic course and in general literature; and always seemed solicitous to look beyond his text-books and to follow out the subjects of inquiry suggested by the lessons. As may be supposed, his early fondness for chemistry was now renewed; and under Professor Cooke's tuition he pursued his favorite study with avidity and with signal success, acquiring with his theoretical knowledge skill in the manipulations of the laboratory. He distinguished himself also as a mathematical scholar, taking the advanced mathematical course with Professor Peirce during his Junior and Senior years. At the close of his Senior year he received the Gray prize for proficiency in mathematics, —a prize the awarding of which depended on a prolonged and thorough examination. In addition to. this he received, by vote of the Faculty, high college appointments at the Junior and Senior Exhibitions, and at Commencement. His performances on these occasions, and his themes and forensics, indicate the habit of independent and continuous thought, and a command of words which would with competent practice have made him an able and efficient writer. This is especially the case with his Dissertation at the Senior Exhibition of his Class, on "The Judicial Corruption of Lord Bacon," - a very happy discussion and refutation (in brief) of Hepworth Dixon's defence[sic] of' his noble client. It is believed that Haven passed through college with the cordial esteem of all who knew him, and the affectionate regard of all who knew him well. His character had developed itself with no unlovely attribute, and with no habit or tendency that could give the most watchful friend uneasiness as to his future career. Of the sentiments of his fellow students towards him there can be no better proof than his having been chosen a member of at least four college societies, of which one only —the Phi Beta Kappa -professes to follow any rule in its elections except the elective affinities of its members. At the same time he had every college honor to which he was eligible, together with numerous tokens of the sincerest esteem and of strong personal friendship from those of his teachers with whom he was brought into intimate relations. Though one of the youngest of his Class, he had a thorough manliness of spirit and character, and had learned to look on life, not as a mere play-ground, but as an arena for earnest and faithful endeavor. Yet with a manifest tendency to topics of graver discourse, he retained a boy's love of fun and frolic; and in the commerce of joke and repartee, in young and gay society, he left no one his debtor. No doubt a somewhat premature manliness may have grown out of his position as his mother's eldest son, her natural protector and helper, and capable by example and influence of moulding the character of a younger brother. Then, too, he shared with many others that rapid maturity of thought and action which come through the influence of patriotic feeling. On graduating he was for a little time in serious doubt as to the course which it was right and fitting for him to pursue. His strong sense of his country's rightful claims upon her youth led him from the first to look to the military service as a part of duty. On the other hand, there was not an element in his nature or a habit of his life which did not seem averse from the military profession. There were, moreover, circumstances which at that time rendered his sympathy and services peculiarly needful to his mother, and for her sake rather than his own he delayed a decision in which she had so precious a stake. Meanwhile his friends sought to obtain employment for him as a teacher, but were repeatedly disappointed when they supposed that they had made success certain. In August, 1862, about a month after his graduation, he resolved to enter the army, and went immediately to New York to put himself under the tuition and drill of Colonel Tompkins, being determined to qualify himself thoroughly for his duty before seeking or accepting a commission. In connection with the regular exercises of his novitiate, he did all in his power to prepare his system for exposure and fatigue, taking long walks, and simplifying his mode of living in every possible way. He was commissioned as Second Lieutenant in Company B, One Hundred and Sixty-second Regiment New York State Volunteers, the commission dating from September 20, 1862. In October he joined his regiment, then waiting orders at Ricker's Island, in New York Harbor. Thende the regiment was first ordered to Washington, next to Annapolis, and then to Hampton Roads. While lying near Fortress Monroe, the superior officers of his company left him for a little while in command, and during that period his courage and presence of mind were severely tested by the mutinous behavior of a portion of his men; but by his resolute bearing and prompt and decisive measures, order was soon restored, and the recusants returned to duty. After a few days' detention the body of troops to which he was attached sailed for the Mississippi. They encountered a heavy storm off Cape Hatteras, stopped for coal at Key West, and arrived at New Orleans on the 16th of December. They immediately proceeded up the river to Carrollton, where they went into camp and remained till March. During this interval, on a brief expedition to Plaquemines with two companies besides his own, Lieutenant Haven found himself under fire, and the troops remained by night for several hours exposed to the artillery of a United States gunboat, whose officers took them for Rebels. In February, while as officer of the guard he was engaged in quelling a disturbance in the camp by night, a stand of arms was thrown down, and a ball, thus accidentally discharged from a loaded musket, was lodged in his leg, inflicting a flesh-wound which rendered it necessary for him to go into a hospital in New Orleans. The day after this accident he was appointed to a First Lieutenancy. His early promotion, when we consider his extreme youth and his lack of influential friends, affords no slight corroboration of the statement made at that time by his captain, that he was the best-drilled officer in his regiment. Indeed, until this accident, he had had for the most part the command of his company; the captain and his senior lieutenant being on detached service. The major of his regiment writes that the field officers were unanimously in favor of recommending him to the Governor of New York for immediate promotion to a captaincy, - a measure prevented from being carried into effect only by his death. While Lieutenant Haven was confined by his wound, his regiment went to Baton Rouge to take part in an attempt on Port Hudson. Finding the place then impracticable, the loyal army took Fort Bisland, and then followed the enemy up Western Louisiana as far as Opelousas, where they halted a few days for supplies. During this halt Lieutenant Haven, though by no means fully restored, rejoined his company, foreseeing active and perilous service, and unwilling to remain absent from his post at so critical a period. It was probably during his stay in the hospital that his resolution and patriotism had their severest trial. An academic life had held a foremost place among the day-dreams of his youth. His attachment to his Alma Mater was intensely strong, and his fondness for literary and scientific pursuits could not easily have been greater. His letters show that he felt nothing connected with the military service so painfully as his separation from books and the means and opportunities of a higher culture. He had been a favorite pupil of Professors Peirce and Cooke, and they both now sought his services in their respective departments; the former nominating him to a vacant tutorship in mathematics, the latter requesting his appointment as assistant instructor in chemistry. A letter was written to him, informing him that either of these situations was at his command, if he saw fit to resign his commission. It was thought and suggested by his friends that the lameness occasioned by his recent wound, and a slenderness of frame and constitution that seemed ill adapted for prolonged exposure and hardship, might justify his leaving the army. He replied promptly and decisively that, though life at Cambridge was what he desired more than anything else, yet every principle of honor and duty made it his imperative obligation to remain in the service of the country so long as he was needed. No one who knew him can doubt that this answer involved for him the sacrifice of all that for his own sake seemed most precious, and demanded the highest effort of courage and self denial. From Opelousas the division of the army to which Lieutenant Haven belonged proceeded to Port Hudson by the way of Red River, crossing the Mississippi at Bayou Sara, sixteen miles above Port Hudson, then marching rapidly down, and effecting a junction with the division that had moved up from Baton Rouge, - a series of operations which was attended with an unusual amount of fatigue and anxiety, especially for the officers, and which must have seriously impaired the general health and strength of one still suffering from a local injury. On the 27th of May a general assault was made upon the enemy's works and in this Lieutenant Haven behaved with such distinguished gallantry as to receive the special encomiums of his commanding officer. A few days later he wrote to his mother: - " No mail is allowed to leave here, for obvious reasons; and in fact I was in doubt whether it would relieve your mind to hear from me before the fight was over, but finally concluded to take the opportunity of a special messenger to say that I am safe and in perfect health. The 27th was quite destructive, and it is possible that the capture of the place will be left to the artillery, in which case I shall be in no danger. But if anything else should befall, you know, my dear mother, where to look for comfort. Don't take thought for the morrow, at any rate. As soon as the siege is over, I will write you again." There was not another general assault till June i4th; but meanwhile there was a great deal of hard and dangerous duty to be performed in the digging of rifle-pits and establishing an advanced line of pickets. In all this work and peril Lieutenant Haven sustained his part with unabated energy. On the 13th of June a demonstration preparatory to the attack on the morrow was made under the direction of General Dwight. While this was in progress Lieutenant Haven applied to the surgeon of the regiment on account of painful and annoying symptoms of throat disease. The surgeon forbade his participation in the contemplated assault, and advised him immediately to go into the hospital. An ambulance was in readiness for Baton Rouge, and he was carried at once to the hospital at that place. His ailment proved to be diphtheria. The symptoms do not appear to have been alarming at the outset, -certainly they did not appear so to him. He wrote to his mother, "I have a bad sore throat which may keep me here a week or ten days. As soon as my throat grows a little less painful I shall write again." This was his last letter. There was no moment of convalescence. The attack was not violent, but it probably came upon a system that had borne to its utmost capacity, and had no reserved strength to resist disease. Everything that skill and kindness could do for him was done, and his few remaining days were made tranquil and happy. Not without the hope of recovery, he yet became gradually aware that the issue of his case was very doubtful; but his cheerful self-possession, sustained, to all appearance, by firm religious faith, forsook him not for a single moment. He sank day by day, and died on the 23d of June, 1863. His body was interred in grounds near the hospital. His grave was at first a rude mound, with a board to mark the spot. Friends who became strongly attached to him while he was in the hospital at New Orleans, - sisters of charity whose chosen work it was to minister to the sick and wounded of the loyal army, -have attested their kind remembrance of him by enclosing and sodding the grave, and placing over it a slab, on which are inscribed his name and age, with the text of holy writ, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God"; and beneath it the stanza from Longfellow, - "He, the young and strong, who cherished Noble longings for the strife, By the roadside fell and perished, Weary with the march of life." Lieutenant Haven gave presage of an unusually accomplished man; and all who were conversant with his intellectual capacity and development anticipated for him distinguished success in whatever might be his chosen sphere. He had no glitter, show, or pretension; but he had a mind remarkable for its working power. He acquired rapidly; he systematized what he learned; he made his knowledge a part of himself by the digestive and assimilating processes of his own intellect; and he imparted what he knew, thought, or believed, with clearness, precision, and directness. He would probably have chosen chemistry as his specialty; and had he been permitted to enter on a scientific career, he must have made himself early and favorably known as a teacher, lecturer, and writer, and, we can hardly doubt, as a pioneer mind in the advancement of his cherished science. But here we have only the broken column, and can barely conjecture what would have been its finished proportions and beauty. Not so, however, as to his domestic and social character. Here his kindred and friends know all that they have lost, and feel that he could not be more to them than he was from early boyhood till the day he left them. As a son and brother he was not only affectionate, but thoughtful, selfforgettingly kind, watching for opportunities of filial and fraternal service. For similar traits of character he was dearly cherished in the entire family circle and among his classmates and associates. Unassuming, generous, genial in speech and manners, loving society, and always glad to contribute his full portion to its entertainment, he made many warm friends, and can have been well known to none who were not his friends. As regards his moral character his life was blameless and pure. As we look back upon it we can see no portion of it to be recalled with other than grateful emotions. His tastes and his principles were equally averse from the indulgences through which so many young men are led into ruinous and degrading vices. Religiously educated, and reverent in spirit, he had that profound sense of obligation and accountability to the Supreme Being which is the one sure safeguard of character. His life was such that we can only think of his death as a summons to "go up higher."