German sub surrenders at Portsmouth. 
Photo courtesy of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Civil War hero haunts Quarters 'A' at Navy yard By Herb Perry
hperry@seacoastonline.com
PORTSMOUTH NAVAL SHIPYARD - The shipyard has received many an important visitor in its 201-year history. But one famous visitor from long ago refuses to leave, instead making Quarters "A", the shipyard commander's residence, his home.
Adm. David G. Farragut, a hero of the Civil War, died in Quarters "A" in 1870, and now haunts the residence. He has made his presence known to some, but not all, of the building's numerous inhabitants throughout the years.
"Our introduction to Quarters "A" and the ghost of Admiral Farragut was in June of 1956," wrote Cynthia H. Banister Raymond in a short memoir about the home.
"We had just been settling into the grand old house for about a week when there was a most important launching of a submarine built, just across the way. We entertained all the dignitaries for luncheon.
"Admiral Morton Deyo, Commandant 1st Naval District, our dear friend, toasted and introduced the two state Senators Humphrey and Muskie; Admiral Moore, in command of the ship construction; my husband, Capt. Alan B. Banister, shipyard commander, as our first 'exposure.'
"We also raised our glasses to Admiral Farragut, whom Admiral Deyo told us had died in this very room - by the fireplace, and quoted, 'Damn the torpedoes - and full speed ahead!'
"From that day on, for our two years in residence, we felt the admiral's ghost 'looking after things' in Quarters 'A.' He was there, constantly on alert, as one after another of the Navy families came and went through the years."
Adm. David G. Farragut
David Glasgow Farragut was born July 5, 1801, at Campbell's Station, a few miles southwest of Knoxville, Tenn., according to a U.S. Navy Web site. He was the second of five children of Jorge Farragut, who was born on the Spanish island of Menorca, and Elizabeth Shine Farragut of North Carolina.
The Spanish mariner served his adopted country throughout the American Revolution in which his heroic exploits earned him the special thanks of the governor of South Carolina.
Jorge joined the U.S. Navy in 1807 as a sailing master and fought the British during the War of 1812. Farragut's mother died when he was 7, and his bereaved father Jorge sent him to live with the family of a close friend and fellow naval officer, David Porter.
Porter adopted the young boy and two years later helped him receive an appointment as a midshipman in the Navy.
During the course of his career, Farragut held various positions before his distinctive service in the Civil War. Of the many notables, Farragut served as naval aide to the American minister to Tunis, and later established Mare Island Navy Yard in California. During that time, he learned to speak French, Italian, Spanish and Arabic, and studied the social, economic and political history of the Mediterranean area.
The Civil War brought great credit to Farragut. During the famous 1862 Battle of New Orleans, Farragut barked the now-famous expression, "Damn the torpedoes! Full steam ahead!"
Farragut had been appointed commander of the West Coast Blockading Squadron and was ordered to open the Mississippi to Union vessels and to attack New Orleans. He opened the Battle of New Orleans, April 18, 1862, and 10 days later, Confederate forces surrendered.
Farragut had proved then-President Abraham Lincoln's trust in his selection by this victory, and Lincoln was the first to acknowledge it by submitting Farragut's name to the Congress for promotion.
On Dec. 23, 1864, Congress commissioned Farragut a vice admiral. On July 26, 1866, Farragut made history by becoming the first Hispanic four-star admiral.
Quarters "A" history
From its establishment on June 12, 1800, and until the War of 1812, the shipyard was under the supervision of a "naval agent," a civilian position, according to Jan Hussey, a shipyard public affairs officer. The first military commandant was Commodore Isaac Hull, who assumed command of the shipyard on March 31, 1813.
Commodore and Mrs. Hull lived in a house in Portsmouth as there was a lack of "suitable" housing on the shipyard for a commandant. Because of the nature of his position, it was rather inconvenient for a commandant to live off the shipyard - particularly because he had to come to work by boat. For this reason, Commodore Hull requested permission from the secretary of the Navy to build a "modest home" suitable for the commandant of a naval facility.
On Feb. 3, 1814, Hull received permission and funding to build a home, provided that the cost did not exceed $5,000. He immediately employed John Locke, a joiner from Portsmouth, to design and build the new commandant's quarters. The house and surrounding grounds of Quarters "A" have survived nearly 190 years with only a few minor alterations and the addition of modern conveniences.
The house has 8,700 square feet of living space. It is surrounded by the shipyard industrial and administrative complex, yet gives the impression of being remote and peaceful.
Quarters "A" has been the site of receptions for many important individuals throughout the years. Visitors were often hosted at dinner parties and teas by the commandant. On Aug. 14, 1870, Adm. David G. Farragut, the first admiral of the United States Navy, was at the shipyard visiting his brother-in-law, Commodore A.M. Pennock, the-then shipyard commander.
That day, the admiral passed away in Quarters "A" at the age of 69. In 1908, a bronze plaque was placed on the front of Quarters "A" in a panel to the left of the main entrance to honor the memory of Adm. Farragut. The plaque was later relocated to the iron fence in front of Quarters "A," where it remains today, a memorial to one of America's great naval heroes.
More hauntings
"As we all know, each family has their own familiar things to make them feel comfortable and at home," Raymond wrote. "It was our good fortune to have come from a large house in Washington, so we used almost entirely our own furniture. However, there had been some time since the quarters had been redecorated and we had the good fortune of new paint and, at my request, the Indian shutters were made to operate.
"... But, Farragut's ghost liked the Indian shutters as we sometimes found them pulled across during the day and no one would admit to having done it."
Capt. William D. McDonough spent five years in Quarters "A," from 1974-79, as shipyard commander, with his wife, Nancy, and their seven daughters. He knows a lot about the history of the residence.
At his Kittery home recently, McDonough said he never experienced Farragut's ghost.
"My kids, when I asked them about it, whenever some liquor was missing, they always said, 'Admiral Farragut took it,'" he said with a grin.
But on a floor plan in a book on Quarters "A," he pointed out the section where others have experienced hauntings. It's in the rear of the house in the ex-stewards' day room, which is accessed by a rear stairway.
Raymond, who now lives in York's Sentry Hill retirement community, recently asked her daughter about the hauntings she and her siblings encountered. The children used to run up and down the back stairway.
"They felt it very definitely," Raymond said about her children, "and felt he was very much in charge. He was just there. It was not frightening to them. We just all felt he was right there, looking after things."
Shortly before the Banister family left in June 1958, they had a last dinner at the Quarters.
"We had the honor of Admiral Mort Deyo presenting my husband with his stars, making him a rear admiral because of his two Navy Cross's," Raymond wrote in the memoir. "Again, Admiral Farragut was there. He tipped over a glass of champagne in the midst of speeches.
"We most heartily enjoyed our interesting, rewarding stay with Admiral Farragut's ghost and wish him well in his stewardship of the lovely old mansion."
| Back to the Portsmouth Herald | Email this Article | 
|
