He invited his father and stepmother to attend the graduation exercises, and they came. When they arrived they were astonished to see the honors heaped upon their son, and the high estimation in which he was held. They, too, were overwhelmed with attentions on his account. Prominent seats were found for them, and the professors came up to pay their respects to the parents of the first graduate, and to congratulate them upon his remarkable talents and promise.
CHAPTER V
NEWPORT
Crowned with these well-earned honors, and promoted to be second lieutenant of engineers, July 1, 1839, he accompanied his parents home, expecting to enjoy a long and delightful vacation; but his anticipations were speedily cut short by orders to proceed to Newport, R.I., to take part in the building of Fort Adams, so that he was permitted to spend only the Fourth of July in Andover.
Phrenology was in vogue then, and the young man, on his way through Boston, had his head examined by a professor of the new science, who, much to his amusement, pronounced him a poet. He reached his station early in July, and took quarters with Miss Castoff, who kept a boarding-house on the corner of Spring and Ann streets. Lieutenant James L. Mason, also of the engineer corps, boarded at the same place. The two young men became warm friends and companions. Daily they rode over to the fort together in the morning, and returned in the afternoon. Lieutenant P.G. T. Beauregard, afterwards the well-known Confederate general, was also on duty there as an engineer officer, and remained several months after Stevens’s arrival. Fort Adams was garrisoned by a detachment of the 2d artillery, officered by Lieutenants Lewis G. Arnold, Arthur B. Lansing, and Henry J. Hunt.
Fort Adams, commenced twenty years previously, and now nearly completed under the able superintendence of General Joseph G. Totten, was the largest defensive work in the country, Fortress Monroe only excepted, and, as General Cullum declares in his biographical sketch of General Totten, “the first in its combination of the principles and details of the art of fortification.” It must have afforded a most gratifying field for the energies of the ardent and accomplished young officer, fresh from the military academy, and eager to test his acquirements and abilities in real work. The redoubt, the inner and separate stronghold in rear of the main work, was mostly built under his superintendence, 1839–42. Entering upon this duty with his accustomed zeal, his sound judgment in laying out the work for the workmen, and energy and diligence in pushing it, soon attracted attention. He took control with the self-reliance and habit of command of a natural leader. He was strict and exacting with the employees, but at the same time just and considerate, and took a real interest in them. He soon won their respect and goodwill. Even the man who groomed his horse, John A.C. Stacy, long years afterwards, when he had himself become a wealthy contractor, spoke of Lieutenant Stevens with the greatest admiration. His unconscious success in this direction nearly led to a breach with Mason. The latter became cold and distant in manner, and openly avoided him. Stevens demanded an explanation, whereupon Mason burst forth indignantly with the charge, “You are destroying all my influence with the men on the work. When you appear, they hang upon every word you utter, and cannot do enough for you, while they scarcely notice me, although I am the senior, and have been longer on the work.” But Mason was soon satisfied by his friend’s remonstrances, and his own good sense, that Stevens was not to blame for that result. Mason was a man of remarkable talents, brilliant in conversation, and fascinating in social intercourse.
Newport at this time contained many old families, among which the traditions of colonial grandeur, when the port was the largest and most flourishing city in the colonies, mingled with the fresher recollections of the Revolution, the British occupation, the battle of Rhode Island, the romantic capture of General Prescott, the English commander, the brilliant though brief sojourn of the French allies under Rochambeau, and the visit of Washington. The town was celebrated for beautiful and charming girls. It was the resort in summer of the cultivated, wealthy, and fashionable from other parts of the country, especially from the South. The Hazards, Lymans, Randolphs, Vernons, Lawtons, Hunters, Kings, Turners, Gardiners, Fowlers, Gibbs, Tottens, Perrys, and others, all more or less related, afforded a cultivated and high-toned, yet simple and cordial society, free from the ostentation of wealth and the absurd pride of caste. The army and naval officers stationed there, and the families of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, the hero of Lake Erie, of General Totten, and of others who had served their country, added a patriotic and military element. Into this charming society the young officer entered with keen enjoyment, and his modest demeanor and sensible conversation, not less than his reputation for ability and scholarship, soon made him welcome.
One of these Newport belles thus described him:—
“The first time I saw Mr. Stevens was in church. He sat in the pew behind ours. He was very young, of small, alight figure, had a very large head, with fine carriage,—a noble head, thick, bushy, black hair, and dark complexion. He was considered very homely, but he had a large, dark hazel eye, which looked one through and through, and compelled one’s attention.”
Notwithstanding that “he was considered very homely,” young Stevens took an active part in the social life and festivities of the town, calling upon the old families, escorting with other young men bevies of young ladies on delightful long walks to the beach, along the cliffs, the Blue Rocks, Tammany Hill, and other resorts, and attending the numerous parties.