Chapter 18. for the relief of the survivors of the exploring steamer Jeannette, and the widows and children of those who perished in the retreat from the wreck of that vessel in the arctic seas
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CHAP. 18.— An Act for the relief of the survivors of the exploring steamer Jeannette, and the widows and children of those who perished in the retreat from the wreck of that vessel in the arctic seas.Jan. 3, 1887. Whereas, the steamer Jeannette, while engaged in an exploring expeditionPreamble. by authority of Congress and under the direction of the Secretary of the Navy, was wrecked in the arctic seas, on the thirteenth day of June, eighteen hundred and eighty-one, and in consequence thereof the lives of many of her officers and crew were lost; and Whereas, a court of inquiry appointed in pursuance of a joint resolution of Congress to investigate the circumstances attending the loss of the said steamer Jeannette, and the general conduct and merits of all the officers and enlisted men of the expedition, reported, alters thorough investigation, that, while every officer and man so conducted himself that there was no occasion to impute censure to any member of the expedition, the constancy and endurance with which they met the hardships and dangers that beset them entitle them to great praise:
Therefore, *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled*Jeannette survivors.Appropriation to pay for losses incurred., That to reimburse the survivors of the officers and crew of tho said steamer Jeannette for losses incurred by them, respectively, in consequence of the wreck of that vessel, there shall be paid, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the following sums, to wit : To George W, Melville, chief engineer, one thousand dollars; to John W.
Danenhower, lieutenant, one thousand dollars; to Raymond L. Newcomb, naturalist and taxidermist, six hundred dollars; to John Cole, acting boatswain, six hundred dollars; to W. F, C. Nindemann, seaman, six hundred dollars; to 883 James A. Bartlett, fireman, six hundred dollars; and to the remaining survivors of the crew of said vessel, namely: Louis P. Noros, Herbert W. Leach, Henry Wilson, Frank E. Manson, Charles Tong Sing, seamen, and John Lauterbach, coal-heaver, the sum of six hundred dollars each.
Sec. 2. That the twenty-third day of March, eighteen hundred andDate of decease of officers, etc., to be deemed March 23, 1882. eighty-two, being the date of finding the remains of the, commanding officer and others of the said expedition, shall be deemed and taken to be the date of the decease of the following named officers and enlisted men of the expedition who lost their lives in the retreat from the wreck of the said steamer Jeannette, namely : Lieutenant-Commander George W.
De Long; Lieutenant Charles W. Chipp; Passed Assistant Surgeon James M. Ambler; Jerome J. Collins, meteorologist; William Dunbar, ice-pilot; Walter Lee, machinist; Henrich H. Kaack, Carl A. Gortz, Adolph Dressier, Hans II. Erichsen, Ah Sam, Alfred Sweetman, Henry D. Warren, Peter E. Johnson, Edward Star, and Albert G. Kuehne, seamen; Nelse Iverson, George W. Boyd, and Walter Sharvill, coal-heavers; and seaman Alexy. Sec. 3. That the accounting officers of the Treasury be, and they areTwelve months’ pay to heirs of deceased officers and men. hereby, authorized and directed to allow to the widow of any deceased officer or enlisted man named in the second section of this act, or if there be no widow living, to the lawful child or children of such deceased, or if there be no widow or child living, to the surviving dependent parent or parents of such deceased, if any, a sum equal to twelve months’ pay according to the rate of pay at which the name of such deceased was borne upon the pay-rolls of the said steamer Jeannette: *Provided,* That the legal representatives of the deceased officers and*Provisos*.Legal representatives to have arrears of pay. enlisted men named in the second section of this act shall also be paid from the Treasury any arrears of pay due such deceased, the same to be computed up to and including the said twenty-third day of March, eighteen hundred and eighty-two: *Provided further,* That the relatives, in the order herein named, of Seaman Aniguin, one of the crew of theSeaman Aniguin.Payment to relatives. steamer Jeannette, and who, while connected with said expedition, died at Irkutsk, Siberia, January fifth, eighteen hundred and eighty-three, shall in like manner be entitled to receive twelve months’ pay in addition to the amount due said deceased at. the time of his death: *Provided further,* That the surviving child of Henry D, Warren, one of the crewHenry D.
Warren.Payment to child of. of the Jeannette, shall in like manner be entitled to receive twelve months’ pay, and also the amount found due said deceased Warren at the time of his death; and that no moneys shall be paid the widow of said Warren under this act: *Provided further,* That in any case whereAmount herein appropriated to be deducted from pension. heretofore a pension has been granted, or may hereafter in fact be granted, to any such widow, child, or dependent parent, by reason of the death of any of the persons named in the second section of this act, in the payment of such pension account shall be taken of any sum paid under this act, and to the extent of its amount said sum shall be in lieu and stead of such pension, and no further.
Approved, January 3, 1887.