Charles V. Gridley, USN-- Part 7: Back Home and Command of the USS Olympia

The year 1894 found Charles "Steve" Gridley back with his family as he served again as Inspector of the 10th Lighthouse District.  Happy times for him.  During his duties, he would have contact with the senior member of the Lighthouse Board, George Dewey, and the Board's secretary, Robley Evans.

In March  of 1897, Gridley was finally promoted to captain.  On June 10, he was ordered to take command of the USS Olympia, relieving J.J. Read in Yokohoma, Japan.  He embarked on the steamer Gaelic and arrived aboard the USS Olympia.

He didn't stay on board long, though, and returned to Yokohoma to visit friends he knew from his days on the USS Marion.  The formal transfer of command came four days later.  Captain Read's voice cracked as he read his farewell comments, and he was heartedly cheered by his men.  Gridley evidently had some "large shoes to fill."

Apparently he did well.  During his brief tenure aboard the Olympia, he appears to have been well-liked and respected by the ship's crew.  In one instance during Christmas of 1897, he raised all of the crew  one class (meaning he  reduced the length of  punishment of any man on report, and restored "liberty" privileges to many).

This had never been done on the Olympia before.  One  crewman recorded that Gridley was "one that loves his fellow men" an unusual sentiment between a crew and their captain.

--Cooter

Charles V. Gridley-- Part 6: Washington Navy Yard, USS Marion in the Far East and a Typhoon

In 1821, he was detailed to the Washington Navy Yard as Ordnance Instructor.  This was not a favorite duty of his.  Ordnance was not one of his major interests or areas of expertise.  In the  spring of 1892, however, he found himself back at sea.  Gridley was detailed to the USS Marion and ordered to report to  Admiral David Harmony, the commander of the U.S. Asiatic Squadron.

His duties in the Far East led him to visit Manila Bay in 1893.  Knowledge of  the harbor he gained on this visit was undoubtedly useful to him  in the future (as we know).

He almost did not return from the Far East, however.  The Marion was caught in a terrible typhoon as it was beginning to cruise to the U.S. West Coast.  The force of the storm broke the ship's boilers loose from their saddles.

Things were so desperate that Gridley even released prisoners he had in the ship's brig believing that they should at least have an equal chance in case the ship was lost.  Luckily the ship  survived and limped back  to Yokohoma, Japan, for temporary repairs before making a second successful trip  to Mare Island, California.

--DaCoot

Charles V. Gridley-- Part 5: Service in Europe, Rhode Island, Training Ships and Lighthouses

Charles Gridley's next duty was one of the naval service's  epitomes.  He was assigned to duty with the European Squadron aboard the USS Trenton.  Basically the duty involved  sailing from port to port, showing the U.S. flag and attending dinners and ceremonies.  Unfortunately, the U.S. Navy by then was at its lowest ebb, with its vessels considered to be antiques by most nations.

(The USS Trenton, however, was a very new ship, having been commissioned in 1877.  It was wrecked in a huge storm at Apia, Samoa, in 1889.)

After a wait of 14 years,  Charles "Steve" Gridley finally received his next promotion.  On March  10, 1882, he was appointed commander, and was immediately sent to Newport, Rhode Island, to study at the torpedo school for three months.  Torpedoes were one of the  highly-vaunted new weapons of the age, and though the United States did not yet have a torpedo boat, the advance in technology was noted.

After this stint, Gridley was assigned as navigation officer at  the Boston Navy Yard, and then to Cruising Training Squadron.  He was the commanding officer of  the USTS (United States Training Ship) Jamestown and the USTS Portsmouth.  This duty was extended from  1884 to 1886.

Beginning in 1887, Commander Gridley began serving as Inspector of the 10th Lighthouse District, which included the 114 miles of the St. Lawrence River as well as Lake Ontario, Lake Erie and the Niagara River.  He held this post until 1891.  This duty brought him close to his family, a luxury for a naval officer.  Luckily for him, his in-laws had  political connections that would allow him to again gain this position later in life.

--Cooter

Charles V. Gridley-- Part 4: Stationed at Erie, Pennsylvania and Back to USNA

In 1871, Charles Gridley was posted to the USS Michigan, the only American warship on the Great Lakes and home harbored at Erie, Pennsylvania.  Being there over a period of time gave him the chance to socialize with the fairer sex.  The Michigan would be   confined to dock by the Lake Erie ice.

He soon met Ellie Vincent, the daughter of Judge John V. Vincent.  The two were married on May 10, 1872.  Thenceforth, Gridley would always consider Erie his home.  It was here that his family, which by 1880 included two daughters and a son, would continue to live.

By 1875, Lt. Cmdr. Gridley found himself with orders to report to his alma mater, the USNA, to teach seamanship, naval tactics and naval construction.  Throughout his career, Gridley was to experience an ever-growing reputation for his abilities and knowledge in sail shiphandling and navigation.  Now, he was training the officers of the future aboard the USS Monongahela and USS Constellation.

He is buried in a cemetery in Erie, Pennsylvania, which would explain how he came to be there.

--Cooter

Charles V. Gridley-- Part 3: Promotions Then None

In October 1865, Charles Gridley was transferred to the USS Brooklyn, the flagship of the South Atlantic Squadron.  The end of the war brought a spate of promotions, as the Navy returned to peacetime footing and many officers left the service.  Gridley remained and rose through the ranks rapidly.  

He was promoted to master on November 10, 1866, to lieutenant on February  21, 1867 and lieutenant commander on March 12, 1868.  By this time, however, the Navy had entered a long period of decline.  The number of ships declined, new state-of-the-art ships were not built and the need for officers declined.

Promotions of lower rank officers depended on the retirement or demise of officers in the higher ranks.  As was common with the times, Gridley did not get his next promotion until 1882.

By 1868, Charles Gridley was serving aboard the famed  USS Kearsarge (which had defeated the CSS Alabama), cruising in the South Pacific.  Three years later, he was serving aboard the  USS Michigan in te Great Lakes.  This warship was the only  U.S. Navy vessel on the Great Lakes and it operated out of the port of Erie, Pennsylvania.

--Cooter

Charles V. Gridley-- Part 2: The Battle of Mobile Bay and Afterwards

"Steve" Gridley graduated in 1864 (moved up because of the war) in the bottom half of his class.  Some of his classmates would go on to be well-known during the Spanish-American War like  Robley Evans, who commanded the USS Iowa at the Battle of Santiago, and Charles Sigsbee, who was in command of the USS Maine at the time of her loss, and commanded  the USS St. Paul during the war itself.  (Both Evans and Sigsbee were at the Battle of Fort Fisher during the Civil War).

Gridley's first assignment was to the USS Oneida, which was part of Admiral David G. Farragut's blockading squadron.  It was at the Battle of Mobile Bay where Acting Ensign Gridley got his baptism of fire.  He would not experience another large action like this for thirty-four years, at the Battle of Manila Bay.

During the Battle of Mobile Bay, Gridley was [placed all the way forward on the USS Oneida, where he would watch the  the channel for mines and give steering directions to  Commander  J.R.M.  Mullany (the ship's commander).  During the battle, the Oneida had eight men killed and thirty wounded (including Mullany).

Though a shell hit the Oneida close to where Gridley was stationed, he was unscathed.  His commanding officer had this to write about his young ensign:  "The conduct of Acting Ensign  C.V. Gridley is beyond all praise.  he had charge of the master's division and assisted in conning the ship from the topgallant  forecastle."

When the war ended,  Gridley was  detailed to transport  a group of Confederate prisoners to Texas who had accepted the option of going into exile in Mexico.  On arriving, it was found the former Confederates would have no way of continuing south, as the bridges over the Rio Grande had been destroyed.  In spite of them having been former enemies, Gridley did not abandon his passengers.  He took it upon himself to transport them across to Mexico.

--Cooter

What Is This RoadTripping Through History?

Roadtripping Through History is something I do often with all these blogs.  I start with a story and see how far I can take it, kind of like the old Paul Harvey's "Rest of the Story" in those interesting newscasts he used to do.

This particular (I guess you could call it a thread) started with a story I wrote about in my Running the Blockade: Civil War Navy blog about five U.S. Navy Medal of Honor recipients buried in cemeteries around Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

I then found out when I looked for more information on each one, that there might have been confusion on one of the names as there was someone else with nearly the same name.  His name was John Jones.  Then the other man was John E. Jones.  John Jones (buried in Portsmouth) got his Medal during the rescue of crewmembers of the sinking USS Monitor.

The John E. Jones got his for action on the USS Oneida at the Battle of Mobile Bay (along with seven other recipients from that ship).  Well, the commander of that ship must have been quite busy writing out the recommendations and the Wikipedia article said the commander was C.V. Gridley.

The name Gridley immediately brought to mind the "You may fire when you are ready, Gridley" quote from George Dewey at the Battle of Mobile Bay in the Spanish-American War.  Was this the same guy?  As it turns out, he was, but he had not been the commander of the Oneida at the battle of Mobile Bay.  However, he was on that ship as a junior officer, but not the commander of it.

And, that is how I have come to writing about that here.

In addition, earlier this month in this blog, I wrote about the USS Zafiro which transported the stricken with illness Gridley off the USS Olympia after the Battle of Manila Bay.  Then that led to the Dewey Medals given to U.S. participants at that battle.

So, You Never Know Exactly Where You're Going to Go When You Roadtrip Through History.  --Cooter

Charles V. Gridley-- Part 1: Born in Indiana, Moved to Michigan, Appointed to USNA

I have been writing about this man in my Running the Blockade: Civil War Navy blog and this one as well.  This is a part of my Roadtripping Through History approach to these blogs.  

From the Spanish-American War Centennial website.

Charles V. Gridley was the commander of the USS Olympia, the flagship of Commodore George Dewey's Asiatic Squadron at the Battle of Manila Bay in the Philippines.  Dewey was in command of the whole fleet, but was aboard the Olympia.  At the beginning of the battle, Dewey uttered the sentence that became one of the most famous statements in U.S. Naval history and which immortalized the Olympia's ailing commander (he died less than a month after thee battle.)

"You may fire when you are ready, Gridley."

Charles Vernon Gridley was born in Logansport, Indiana, on November 24, 1844.  But, when he was three months old, his family moved to Hillsdale, Michigan.

At the age of 16, Gridley received an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland.  However, within a year, the Civil War broke out.  The Naval Academy was in dire straits.  Many of its students went south to Fight for the Confederacy.

Those that remained stayed with the Union, including the young man who had somehow acquired the name of "Steve" Gridley.

The Academy was deep within the state of Maryland which had a lot of Confederate sympathizers which put it in danger, so, for the duration it was moved to Newport, Rhode Island.

--Cooter

The Sgt. Floyd Monument-- Part 5: His After Death Saga

From Wikipedia.

On 1857,  erosion had caused most of Charles Floyd's  grave, even the original cedar post left as his marker, to  slide into the river and wash away. Concerned citizens recovered most of his skeleton, including his skull, and buried it 200 meters east of its original spot.  A forensic  reconstruction of Sgt. Floyd's probable facial appearance  based on a plaster cast of his skull is on display at the Sergeant Floyd Riverboat Museum in  Sioux City, Iowa.

After Floyd's expedition journal was published in 1894, new interest was taken in him and  his remains were reburied again on August 25, 1895, the anniversary of his death.    Sioux City residents Thomas J.  Stone,  John H. Charles, George G. Perkins,  C.R. Marks and G.W.  Wakefield established the  Floyd Association to erect a monument.

It took five years to raise $20,000 and development began in 1900 with the pouring of a concrete base.

Floyd's remains were reinterred a final time on August 20,  1900, the anniversary of his death.  The obelisk of white sandstone, standing  100 feet high was completed on May 30, 1901.  In 1960, the monument was recognized by the  U.S. Department of the Interior as the first National Historic Landmark on June  30, 1960.

The Sgt. Floyd Monument in Iowa-- Part 4: Four Burials for Floyd

In 1857, erosion by the Missouri River partially exposed Charles Floyd's grave.  Local settlers recovered  and reinterred most of the skeletal remains in a different location on the bluff.  The grave was moved again in 1895.  

The Sgt. Floyd Monument, a 100-foot tall sandstone obelisk was built in 1901.  Floyd's remains were moved a third time and reburied at the base of the monument.

Located along U.S. Highway 75 in Sioux City, Iowa, the monument is within a 23-acre park overlooking the Missouri River valley.

--Cooter

The Sgt. Floyd Monument in Iowa-- Part 3: A River and a Bluff Named for Him

Charles Floyd died on August 20, 1804, after becoming violently ill the day before (likely peritonitis caused by a ruptured appendix) 

William Clark wrote:

"we Came to make a warm bath for Sergt. Floyd hopeing it would brace  him a little, before we could get him in the bath he expired, with a great deel of composure, haveing  Said to me before his death that he was going away and wished me to write a letter  -- we tool

"Buried him to the top of a high round hill over looking the river & Countre for a great distance Situated just below a Small river without name  to which we name & call Floyds river, the Bluffs Sergts.  Floyds Buff -- we buried him with all the honors of War, and fixed a Ceeder post at his head with his name and title & Day of  the month and year"

"Capt Lewis read the funeral Service over him after paying everry respect to the Body of the desceased man (who  had at All times given us proofs of his impatiality Sincurity to ourselves and  good will to serve the Countrey) we returned to the Boat & proceeded to the Mouth of the little river 30 yd. wide & camped a butifull evening."

Again, William Clark had some interesting spelling.

Sergeant Floyd would be the only member of the Corps of Discovery to die on the expedition, which was surprising considering the great unknown they were going through.

--Cooter

Denny and Sgt. Floyd

On July 7, I wrote about this monument and just recently, my buddy Denny Gibson stopped at it on his drive from the western terminus of US Highway 20.  I told him about it on a conversation we had to get together at some point on US 20 in Illinois.  I discovered that while doing research on Sergeant Charles Floyd, the only member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition to die on it.  Sgt. Floyd's 100-foot tall monument is at Sioux City, Iowa, which is on US-20 and Denny would be driving through that place on his trip back home on that highway.

I had come across the Sergeant Charles Floyd name while researching a man named Patrick Gass whose name I had come across in a War of 1812 Google Search and wrote about him in my Not So Forgotten: War of 1812 blog.  Gass replaced Floyd as the Corps of Discovery's sergeant on Floyd's death.

Denny said that the Sergeant Floyd Monument was already on his list of things to see when his US-20 cruise entered Sioux City, Iowa.  He took four pictures there of the obelisk, the view and previous burial sites.  I found his flag shot of interest as it had 15 stars and 14 stripes.  (Well, now I see that the top red stripes was not shown.  But the stars were arranged in five rows of three.)

Of course, I ended up finding about Sergeant Floyd because of my Roadtripping Through History.  This is where I start with a story and connect it with others and see how far I can get with a common thread.  I started with Patrick and went to Charles.

You can see what Denny saw by searching Denny Gibson and going to Denny G's Road Trips.  He's a Real Back Roads Kind of Guy.

That U.S. Travelin' Denny Guy.  --Brock-Perry

The Sgt. Floyd Monument in Iowa-- Part 2: His Death and Monument

William Clark wrote this about Charles Floyd's death"

"...Serj. Floyd died with a great deal of composure.  Before his death, he said to me, "I am going away.  I want you to write me a letter."   We buried him on the top of the bluff 1/2 mile below a small river to which we gave   his name.  He was buried with the Honors of War much lamented.

"A seeder post with the (I)  Sergt. C. Floyd died here 20th of August 1804 was fixed at his grave.  This man at all times gave us proofs of his firmness and determined resolution to doe service to his countrey and honor to himself..."

Today, part of a 23-acre park, a 100-foot obelisk of heavy  Kettle River  sandstone marks the final resting place of Charleston  Charles Floyd, Jr.

The Sergeant  Floyd Monument  is a High Potential Historic Site on the Lewis and Clark  National Historic Trail.

Interesting Speller, That William Clark.  --Brock-Perry

William Charles Fitzgerald, USN-- Part 2: Mortally Wounded in Action Versus the Viet Cong

Following duty on the USS Roan, Fitzgerald attended  counterinsurgency training at the Naval Amphibious  Base in Coronado, California.  Upon completion, he was assigned duties as senior  U.S. advisor Coastal Defense  Group Sixteen in Vietnam.

Here, he advised the Vietnam Navy on defense measures and the capture of military supplies and contraband destined for the Viet Cong forces.

About 0300 on August 7, 1967, Coastal Defense Group Sixteen 's compound came under heavy attack by two battalions of the Viet Cong.  The assault began with an intense mortar bombardment followed immediately by the advance of troops.

Fitzgerald, the senior American commander, immediately ordered a retreat of civilians in the compound.  Because of the compound's location and proximity of the Viet Cong, the only escape route was by water.

Lieutenant Fitzgerald and three others delayed their withdrawal as long as they could to provide covering fire and to direct fire from surrounding friendly forces.  The Viet Cong attack was swift and well-planned and it soon became apparent that the South Vietnamese forces were decimated and that the American bunker was the sole place of refuge.  Fitzgerald ordered the other three to retreat while he provided  covering fire to cover their escape.

It was during this action that he was mortally wounded.

The USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) is named after him.

A Hero in the Truest Sense.

William Charles Fitzgerald, USN, Navy Cross Recipient, Vietnam War

From Wikipedia

I have been writing about the Guided Missile Destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) in the three previous posts and got to wondering about who the ship was named after.

William "Bill" C. Fitzgerald (January 28, 1938 to August 7, 1967) was a United States naval officer who was killed in action during the Vietnam War, while serving as an advisor to the Republic of Vietnam Navy.  He received the Navy Cross posthumously for his rile in fighting  off a Viet Cong attack.

From Vermont, his father was a career Navy man who retired as a chief petty officer.  After high school graduation, he followed his father's footsteps and enlisted in the Navy.  Seaman Fitzgerald eventually earned selection for officer training by appointment to the  U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis with the Class of 1963.  He excelled there.

Midshipmen Fitzgerald graduated and was commissioned into the U.S. Navy on June 5, 1963 and then reported to the destroyer USS Charles H. Roan (DD-853), where he rose from "boot ensign" to weapons department head.

Some More on the USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62)

From Wikipedia.

The ship was named after  U.S. Navy Lieutenant  William Charles Fitzgerald and is an Arleigh-Burke-class  destroyer.

In the early morning hours of 17 June 2017, the ship was involved  in a collision with the container ship MV ACX Crystal, seriously damaging the Fitzgerald.    Seven crew members were killed and  several others injured, including the ship's commanding officer, Commander Bryce Benson.

The collision took place about  56 nautical miles from the Fitzgerald's homeport of Yokosuku, Japan.

The starboard side of the Fitzgerald was seriously damaged and the Crystal's bulbous  bow penetrated the destroyer's hull below the waterline., flooding a machinery space, the radio room and two berthing spaces.  The captain's cabin was crushed.

The U.S. Navy was found to be at fault for the accident.

After extensive repairs and modernization, the Fitzgerald is back in service.

--Cooter

U.S. Warships, USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62)-- Part 3: Damaged in 2017 and Restored and Modernized

The guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald conducts sea trials off the Mississippi Gulf Coast.  The underway reflects nearly two years worth of effort in restoring and modernizing one of the Navy's most capable warships after it was damaged during a collision in 2017 that claimed them lives of seven sailors.

The Fitzgerald has been undergoing repairs and upgrades at the shipyard under the supervision of the Naval Sea Systems Command's Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion and Repair, Gulf Coast.

--Cooter

U.S. Warships, USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62)-- Part 2: About Weapons and Aircraft

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

ARMAMENT

Two Mk 41 VLS for Standard missiles, Tomahawk

Harpoon missile launchers

one Mk 45 5-inch/.54 cal lightweight gun

two Phalanx CIWS

Mk 46 torpedoes (from two triple tube mounts)

AIRCRAFT 

None.

LAMOS 3 electronics installed on landing deck for coordinated DDG/helicopter ASW operations.

Sure wish I knew what all the abbreviations are.

--Not Much of a Clue Here.  --Cootless

U.S. Warships, USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62)-- Part 1

From the Paralyzed Veterans of America July 2021 calendar.

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

BUILDER:  Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine

LAUNCHED:  January 29, 1994

HOMEPORT:   Yokosuku, Japan

DISPLACEMENT:  Approximately 8,300 tons full load

LENGTH:  505.25 feet

BEAM:  65 feet

DRAFT:  30.5 feet

CREW:  23 Officers, 24 Chief Petty Officers and 291 Enlisted

--Cooter

The Sergeant Floyd Monument in Iowa-- Part 1

From the National Park Service.

The Sergeant Floyd Monument commemorates Sergeant Charles Floyd, Jr., the only  member of the Corps of Discovery to die on the journey

Writing in his diary on July 31st, Floyd noted, "I am very sick and has ben for Sometime but have Recovered  my helth again."

However, that recovery proved short and he soon took a turn for the worse.  The night before his death, William Clark remarked, Serjeant Floyd is taken verry bad all at once with a Biliouse Chorlick we attempt to relieve him without success as yet, hr gets worst and we are much allarmed at his Situation, all attention to him."

In August 20, 1804, Floyd passed away, most likely from peritonitis, caused by  the inflammation or rupture of his appendix.  He died from an illness that even the best doctors of the day could not have cured.

--Cooter

Charles Floyd-- Part 4: Significance

From the National Park Service

SERGEANT CHARLES FLOYD

SIGNIFICANCE:  Member of the Lewis & Clark Expedition.    Only expedition member to die on the journey.

DATE OF BIRTH:  1782

PLACE OF BIRTH:  Likely born at Floyd's  Station, just east of Louisville, Kentucky, a log fort established in 1789 by his uncle,  John Floyd.

PLACE OF DEATH:  Near today's Sioux City, Iowa.

DATE OF DEATH:  August 20, 1804

PLACE OF BURIAL:  The sergeant's remains are buried  under the 100-foot obelisk near Sioux City, Iowa, which stands  in a location near the original site, a lasting tribute to this outstanding young soldier and member of the Corps of Discovery.

--Cooter

Charles Floyd-- Part 3: Four Burials and a Memorial

After Floyd's expedition journal was published in 1894, new interest was taken  in him and his grave marker which was stolen quickly. He was reburied once more on August 20, 1895 with a monument as well.  A marble cornerstone three feet wide and seven feet long was placed in 1900.

When the  100 feet high obelisk of white sandstone was completed on May 30, 1901, Floyd's grave was moved for a fourth time to rest nearby.

It was designated a National Historic Landmark on June 30, 1960.

Charles Floyd is the namesake of Floyd County in Iowa as well as the Floyd River in that state.  The Interstate 129 bridge between Sioux City and Sioux City in Nebraska is named the Sergeant Floyd Memorial Bridge.

--Cooter

Charles Floyd, Sgt. with Lewis & Clark-- Part 2: What Did He Die Of and His Legacy

William Clark diagnosed  the condition which killed Floyd as bilious colic, though modern doctors and historians believe Floyd's death was more likely to have been from a ruptured appendix.  The brief "recovery" Floyd recorded may have represented the temporary relief brought about by the bursting of the organ, which would have been followed by  a fatal peritonitis.

If that was the case, because there was no known cure for appendicitis at that time, he would have been no better off had he been with the best physicians of the day.

***************************

LEGACY

Floyd's Bluff is currently within the city limits of Sioux City, Iowa.  The Sergeant Floyd Monument on it was declared  a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1960.  This monument is now located in a 23-acre park that offers an astounding view of the Missouri River Valley.

Floyd's actual body, however, is buried on old U.S. Highway 75 in the southern part of Sioux City.

--Cooter

Charles Floyd, Sergeant with Lewis & Clark Expedition

I have been writing about Patrick Gass in my Not So Forgotten:  War of 1812 blog a lot during June.  Patrick Gass was elected sergeant of the Expedition after the death of Charles Floyd.  Like with Gass, I had never heard of Floyd, so Wikipedia, here I come.

From Wikipedia.

CHARLES FLOYD

(1782 - August 20, 1804)

American explorer and non-commissioned officer in the U.S. Army.  He was the quartermaster of the Lewis & Clark Expedition.   It is thought that he might have been related to William Clark.  He was one of the first men to join the expedition and the only one to die on it.

While exploring the Louisiana Purchase land with Lewis and Clark, he took ill near the end of July 1804.  On July 31, Floyd wrote in his diary, "I am very sick and have been for some time but have recovered my health again."

However, this proved a premature diagnosis as he got much worse soon afterwards.  William Clark described Floyd's death as one "with a great deal of composure" and that just before he died, Floyd told Clark, "I am going away.  Please write me a letter."

--Cooter