The story of the U.S.S. "Yosemite" in 1898, compiled from available records by Joseph S. Stringham.

THE U. S. S. "YOSEMITE"

In peace and deep content;
He will swing his 'ammick and take his rest
From a life so nobly spent.
And we who call him Chief will come
And talk of our good old craft,
Where he lives at his ease 'neath the shade of his trees,
With his pipe and his awning aft.
Edwin Denby
Of all the members of this crew, none was more beloved
than Edwin Denby (dear old Ned), whose rating was gunner's
mate, 3rd class. Of giant physical proportions, with a football record as center-rush at the University of Michigan, he
was also great in brain and heart. He lent himself energetically
to the work on the forecastle, and his charming personality
and kindly interest in his associates endeared him to all.
After the Spanish-American War, Denby was elected to
Congress from Detroit. During the World War, he enlisted
as a private in the Marine Corps, U. S. Navy, and rose to the
rank of major, being retired as a lieutenant colonel. Under
President Harding, he was Secretary of the Navy and the
duties of this Cabinet office were not unfamiliar to him by
reason of his experience in the two previous wars.
He represented Mrs. Willis E. Buhl and Mrs. Irving J.
Coffin, both widows of shipmates, in giving flags to the
Michigan Naval Battalion.
He was a thirty-third degree Mason and laid the cornerstone of the new Masonic Temple in Detroit, using the same
trowel for spreading the mortar and wearing the same Masonic
apron, which George Washington used and wore when laying
the corner-stone for the National Capitol in Washington.
The passing of this great and kindly man, on February 8,
1929, was mourned by the nation as well as the community.
Our world is certainly a better place because he has lived in it.
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