The Gallant Young: Heroism, Audacity, And Controversy Of A Kentucky Naval Officer (Part Five)
By: Joe D. Friday Jr.
Note: This is the fifth part of an ongoing multi-part series that will be presented once a month until completion. For further context of this story, please read the previous part in this series.
In October 1893, Boston was recalled to the mainland. In December Congress summoned the ship’s officers to Washington to testify about the Hawaiian situation.86 Young and the other officers of Boston testified before Senate hearings and said they had no knowledge of any conspiracy involving officers of the U.S. Navy.87 Young must have known the objectives of the businessmen because he spent so much time ashore with them and he shared the same opinions regarding the monarchy, the Hawaiian race, and American expansionism.88 In response to Young’s congressional testimony, the Hawaii Holomua-Progress called him a “champion liar,” and said he “couldn’t tell the truth even if offered a free drink of whiskey, and we know no stronger incentive for him.”89 In its reporting, The Army and Navy Journal added this wry note about him; “If the monarchy is ever restored, his head will be one of the first to fall into the basket.”90
Fourteen citizens of Hawaii sent sworn statements to Secretary of State Walter Gresham, contradicting Young’s congressional testimony. Eight men signed a statement that said Young was lying about the conditions in Hawaii. They also said that the naval forces were landed within thirty minutes of the committee of safety’s declaration, surrounded the government buildings, and worked in concert with Dole and his associates.91 John Cummins, a Hawaiian-born businessman and minister of foreign affairs for the monarchy, said Young took advantage of the hospitality of residents, made himself a nuisance, was often “so intoxicated as to make himself offensively boisterous and boorish,[…] and was seen frequently intoxicated on the streets of Honolulu.”92 William Seward, a former U.S. Army officer, who held the rank of major in The Civil War, said Young’s conduct while he was in Hawaii was, “unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman, so much so that he soon became an unwelcome guest at most of the houses where he at first was received.”93
Young later compiled a memoir about his experiences in Hawaii in which he wrote about Liliuokalani and Kalakaua and related the events of the revolution from his perspective. He justified the overthrow of the monarchy by writing, “ever since their family came to power, [they] have constantly been the center of a baleful, degrading influence, exalting immorality, drunkenness, heathenism, and race hatred, for their own personal selfish ends.”94 President Cleveland barred Young from publishing his book, and it wasn’t until William McKinley became president in 1897, taking office with a more favorable view of Hawaiian annexation and American expansion, that Young’s book got to press. The annexation of Hawaii occurred formally on July 7, 1898, despite strong opposition from the native Hawaiian population. After the annexation was completed, Young sent the American flag he had saved back to Hawaii and it was raised again over the Honolulu executive building.95 In 1901, The Independent of Honolulu said of Young, “we know of him in Honolulu as a black guard, a liar, and a low bum. There is not a man here who knows his conduct who has a good word to say for the fellow.”96
After detaching from Boston, Young served in Washington at the Bureau of Naval Records for two years. While doing his time in Washington, Young again found a way to make news. On November 1, 1895, The Philadelphia Times reported an incident where Young’s pride and temperament were challenged with predictable results: Young was attending a dinner at the Chamberlin hotel in Washington when the former Kentucky Governor, Joe Blackburn, by then a U.S. senator, was overheard criticizing Young’s friend, Secretary of the Treasury John G. Carlisle. This was the same Blackburn whom Young had approached about the pardon many years prior. Young took offense at Blackburn’s remarks about Carlisle and confronted him. Blackburn replied that his dislike for Carlisle extended to Carlisle’s friends and supporters. This comeback prompted Young to tell him that his remarks were likely to get him slapped in the face. Blackburn told Young that he would kill any man who attempted to slap him. With that, Young punched Blackburn, knocking him backwards. After he recovered from the blow, Blackburn tried to retaliate. Young was ready to fight, but others at the table restrained and separated both men and hustled them away to different rooms to cool off.97 Blackburn was running for reelection at the time, and it was thought that publicity about the incident would hurt his campaign, so he kept a low profile afterwards.98 That an active-duty Navy lieutenant would punch a sitting U.S. senator without repercussions seems audacious and foolhardy, but then Lucien Young had a knack for doing and getting away with audacious things. He also demonstrated that he was willing to burn bridges when his honor was at stake.
Young continued to make himself popular with those in power during this time. The Louisville Courier-Journal said of him, “he hobnobs with senators and representatives and can be found at Shoemaker’s almost any afternoon amusing a party of them with good stories.”99 He also spent time on Capitol Hill lobbying his friends in Congress. Young sought to have one of the battleships from the new appropriations bill named after his home state.100 He had broad support at home and from the Kentucky congressional delegation, and the bourbon distillers said they would christen the ship with a bottle of bourbon instead of champagne.101 All the lobbying must have paid off, because the battleship Kentucky, with a displacement of 11,520 tons, and designated BB-6, was commissioned on May 15, 1900.102
In between his duties and other activities, Young found time to attend the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show in April 1895. He saw the show in Philadelphia which included about one hundred Native Americans in a skit where they attacked a wagon train and a miner’s camp, along with shooting exhibitions by Buffalo Bill, Annie Oakley, and Johnnie Baker. There were also bronco busting demonstrations, roping, and riding demonstrations, and a review of U.S. cavalry troops from Fort Riley, Kansas, among other attractions.103
Accolades and praise seemed to follow Young everywhere. In December 1895 the John A. Rawlins post of the Grand Army of The Republic in Washington, D.C. selected him as an honorary member.104 Newspapers across the country continued to heap praise on him: “Young is said to be the bravest man in the navy, and his career surely renders that statement probable.”105
It might have been during his time in Washington that he met Mary Belle Parker Kirkpatrick, the estranged wife of Charles Kirkpatrick. Lucien and Mary Belle fell in love, and Mary Belle was granted a divorce on June 17, 1896. She and Lucien obtained a license and got married the next day.106 The honeymoon was brief, and the newly wedded Young was ordered to the cruiser Detroit, bound for the Pacific and China. He was attached to that ship for only a few months when he then transferred back to Boston in Honolulu. He then transferred to Yorktown in San Francisco for one month and then was assigned as executive officer of Alert in December 1897. USS Alert was a sister ship to Huron and one wonders if the assignment stirred any memories of the Huron tragedy in Young.107
Young’s tenure on board Alert was short-lived. In January 1898, he came down with appendicitis, which required his evacuation and return to the U.S. for extensive rest and convalescence. He was hospitalized in San Francisco for a short while and then returned home to Kentucky in early April, where he was able to recuperate.108 Meanwhile, the battleship Maine had blown up in Havana harbor on February 15, killing 266 men and precipitating the Spanish-American War.109
Young was still in Kentucky, recovering from his appendicitis, when war was declared. It seems fate smiled on Young once more in its unusual way, because had he still been executive officer on board Alert and stationed with the Pacific squadron, it’s possible he would have had no combat role in the war, or had his illness been more severe, he might have missed the war altogether.
In June, Young received orders to command USS Hist, a 174-foot yacht converted to serve as a gunboat. Hist was armed with one 3-pounder 47mm rapid fire machine gun and four 1-pounder Mk6 Maxim-Nordenfeldt machine guns. Originally slated for duty patrolling the east coast, the Navy sent Hist to Santiago to assist with blockade duty. Hist arrived at Santiago on June 29, and Young took the gunboat into action the next day. Alongside the gunboat Hornet, Young captured a Spanish schooner and took it as a prize. He then engaged and sank a Spanish gunboat. The two U.S. ships were joined by the gunboat Wompatuck and set course for the port city of Manzanillo, located in the central part of the southern coast of Cuba. At Manzanillo, the flotilla engaged a Spanish torpedo boat, four gunboats, several pontoon boats, and shore batteries firing artillery and light machine guns. The Americans sank three boats and damaged the others, taking no casualties themselves, although Hornet was disabled and had to be towed away. Young’s Hist was only slightly damaged.110
Young returned to Manzanillo on July 18, and the U.S. gunboats sank ten Spanish boats and damaged many others. For his part in the engagement, Lt. Young and Hist received a commendation from the Cuban commander, General Rios.111
On the afternoon of August 12, Young took Hist, in concert with Suwanee and Osceola, into Manzanillo harbor and shelled the surrounding forts and barracks. Meanwhile Cuban troops assaulted the harbor town from the west and north.112 Counterfire from the shore batteries was ineffective. White flags were soon flying throughout the town and a ceasefire ensued, although it was short-lived. Firing from the U.S. gunboats resumed when a stubborn shore battery fired on them.113 The Americans continued their fire through the night. At daylight, white flags were seen flying again. An armistice had been declared during the night and the war was effectively over.114
Forays by Hist at Manzanillo Bay and along the southern Cuban coast proved Lucien Young to be an active and aggressive commander. After the war, Young took the gunboat to Pensacola, where Hist was decommissioned on January 24, 1899.115 In recognition of his record during the war, the Navy advanced Young three numbers on the seniority list, which earned him a meritorious promotion to Lieutenant Commander on March 3, 1899.116
Following the end of the war, Young was assigned as the commandant of the port of Havana.117 As a naval officer stationed in Cuba, Young had ample exposure to the Cuban nationalist movements and the sentiment and unrest of the Cuban people. The premise of America’s entrance into the Spanish-American War had been, in part, to assure Cuban independence, but many Americans, including Lucien Young, were advocates of Cuban annexation. Young spoke freely of disarming Cubans who wanted independence. He publicly endorsed Cuban annexation by the United States, which was a position that conflicted with the officially stated policy of the U.S. Regarding Cuban independence, Young is quoted as saying, “The best Cubans do not mention it. They only talk of annexation to the United States and American control…The Cubans who persist in retaining their arms and howl about Cuba Libre are irresponsible and must be dealt with accordingly.”118 Young’s comments circulated widely throughout the US.119 These and other comments like them would eventually come back to bite him.
Young had always held a reputation for bravado and gregariousness, and it was about this time in Havana that a news story circulated which highlighted Young’s outgoing and boastful personality. Reportedly, a handful of naval officers were engaged in a discussion about who was the longest-winded talker in Navy. The talk circled around to Lucien Young, and bets were wagered to prove the point. The officers arranged for Young to meet another long-winded officer, named Smith. At the meeting, all the officers shared drinks, and a topic that Young and Smith were both familiar with was introduced. Soon, Smith and Young were engaged in a vigorous debate. For two hours, the men went back and forth across the table from each other while the other officers watched on, smoking cigars. Smith finally had enough. He banged his fist on the table and declared that Lucien Young was the longest-winded man he ever knew. The rest of the table erupted in laughter, and the bets were paid off before the joke was explained. The prank made it to the newspapers, and more than a dozen headlines around the country proclaimed Young as “the greatest talker” in the U.S. Navy.120 In early October, Young took leave and traveled home to Kentucky for a visit. While there he took in the local horse races at the Lexington track.121 Before returning to Havana, friends and admirers presented him with a silver tiffany loving cup inscribed to honor his service during the war.122
Note: Please stay tuned for next month when part six will continue this multi-part series.
Notes
86 Abstracts of Service Records of Naval Officers, 51.
87 “The Senate Inquiry,” The Meridian Daily Republican, January 9, 1894, p. 1.
88 The Army and Navy Journal, January 6. 1894, p. 324.
89 Hawaii Holomua-Progress, March 19, 1894, p. 1.
90 The Army and Navy Journal, March 3, 1894, p. 462.
91 “Affidavits of C.J. McCarthy, Edmund Stiles, Fredrick Harrison, et al. made to the Secretary of State, March 24, 1894,” Miscellaneous Letters of the Department of State, 1789-1906, General Records of the Department of State, Record Group 59, National Archives and Records Administration.
92 Affidavit of John Cummins made to the Secretary of State, March 24, 1894, “Miscellaneous Letters of the Department of State.
93 “Affidavit of William Seward made to the Secretary of State, March 24, 1894,” Miscellaneous Letters of the Department of State.
94 Young, The Real Hawaii, 64.
95 “Hawaii. The Raising of The Stars And Stripes,” Harper’s Weekly, Vol 43, No 2177, September 10, 1898, p. 902; Young, The Real Hawaii, 303.
96 The Independent, (Honolulu, Hawaii), July 5, 1901, p. 2.
97 “On The Nose,” The Lexington Herald-Leader, November 2, 1895, p. 8.
98 “Blackburn’s Face Slapped,” The Philadelphia Times, November 1, 1895, p. 1.
99 “A Kentuckian’s Soft Snap,” The Courier-Journal, December 10, 1895, p. 4.
100 “Lieut. Lucien Young,” The Weekly Leader, (Lexington, Ky.), February 21, 1895, p. 2.
101 The Courier-Journal, April 28, 1895, p. 13.
102 USS Kentucky (BB-6), Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Naval History and Heritage Command, Website: https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/k/kentucky-bb-6.html, (Accessed October 15, 2025).
103 “The Real Wild West,” The Philadelphia Times, April 23,1895, p. 2.
104 The Washington Post, December 3, 1895, p. 7; The Weekly Leader, (Lexington, Ky.) December 12, 1895, p. 7.
105 “Brave Lieutenant Young,” Middletown Daily Argus, (Middletown, N.Y.), December 27, 1895, p. 2.; The Weekly Calistogian, (Calistoga, Calif.), December 7, 1895, p.4; Albuquerque Journal, (Albuquerque, N. Mex.), December 7, 1895, p. 3.
106 “Divorces Granted,” “Marriage Licenses,” Evening Star, June 17-18, 1896, p. 12.
107 Annual Reports of the Navy Department For the Year 1899, Report of the Secretary of the Navy, Washington, Government Printing Office, 412.
108 The Courier-Journal, April 9, 1898, p. 4.
109 “The Maine Blown Up,” New York Times, February 16, 1898, p. 1.
110 USS Hist, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
111 USS Hist, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
112 “After Action Report,” Lucien Young to Captain Casper F. Goodrich, US area file of Naval Records Collection, 1775-1910, National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 45, NARA Catalog # 1756234.
113 “After Action Report,” Lucien Young to Captain Casper F. Goodrich.
114 “Spanish-American War: Naval Operations Manzanillo,” Documentary Histories, Naval History and Heritage Command, https://www.history.navy.mil/research/publications/documentary-histories/united-states-navys/naval-operations-man.html. (Accessed September 17, 2025)
115 Annual Report of the Navy Department, 1899, p. 426.
116 John D. Long. Recommendations For Promotions Of Certain Naval Officers. 56th Congress, Second Session, Senate Document No. 155, Government Printing Office, February 1, 1901.
117 The Washington Post, August 9, 1900, p. 3.
118 “Cuba Libre,” Lexington-Herald Leader, February 10, 1899, p. 2.
119 “Insurrection Predicted,” The Des Moines Register, December 21, 1901, p. 2.
120 “The Greatest Talker,” The Pittsburgh Press, September 22, 1899, p. 12; “Boss Talker Of The Navy,” New York Herald, September 3, 1899, p.28; The Inter-Ocean, (Chicago, Ill.), September 10, 1899, p. 31; The Kansas City Times, (Kansas City, Mo.), October 1, 1899, p. 14.
121 “One Trot Seven Heat Affair,” The Courier-Journal, October 7, 1899, p. 10.
122 “A Loving Cup,” The Courier-Journal, October 9, 1899, p. 5.