Re: Herndon Va. ( Wm. Lewis Herndon). --Maury
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In reply to:
Re: Herndons of Herndon Va
Jill Herndon 8/20/01
The town of Herndon, Virginia was named in his honor. Captain Herndon's rank was Commander (not "Commodore). He was the captain of the sidewheel steamship Central America that picked up passengers and gold bullion on the Gulf side of the Panama. People had sailed from San Francisco to the isthmus and took a three hour train ride to cross to the Gulf side. The Central America (44th trip) was old and should have been decommissioned but her owners renamed here and repainted her. There was a stop at Cuba and then off Cape Hatteras (known as "the graveyard of the Atlantic"; over 200 ships sunk there inc. CSS Monitor) they encountered a fierce storm that lasted three days and nights. All men worked at pumping water out and using a bucket formation tossing water out but it was hopeless as the Central America, America's riches ship in history sank.
A ship came to the distress calls and Captain Herndon was able to save all women, children and many of the men. The lifeboat came back but Captain Herndon ordered that lifeboat to back away because the ship was going under and it would have pulled those in that lifeboat down. Captain William Lewis Herndon was dressed in his finest and saying prayers at the ship's helm as the ship sank beneath the waves in the night. His last words were "Tell my wife..." but he choked up. He gave his gold watch to one of the men on the lifeboat to send to his wife. There is a Monument erected in his honor at the U S Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland (a school that his cousin Commander Matthew Fontaine Maury fought long and hard for and achieved).
That Monument is, in my opinion, abused every year as naval "plebes" place a cup on top of it and grease the monument and try to see who can get that cup indicating the one who does will be the next to be of some great worth. I had photo website on this and probably can place it back on internet.
Maury