| In 1866, the court martial of Captain Richard
W. Meade was being held in Philadelphia for the
loss of the United States steamer "San
Jacinto" January 1, 1865 on the Bahama
Banks. He was being defended by John Wayne
Ashmead, who as a district attorney 15 years
earlier, had been in charge of the case that was
referred to as "the opening struggle of the
Civil War". Within just two pages in a
rich 1904 historical and genealogical reference
source (Historic Homes and Institutions and
Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Chester and
Delaware Counties, Pennsylvania) can be found
some interesting family ties, through both birth
and marriage, of attorney and author John Wayne
Ashmead.
They include Dr. Benjamin Rush (a signer of
the Declaration of Independence), General
"Mad Anthony" Wayne, Major-General
Thomas Mifflin (the first governor of
Pennsylvania), President William McKinley, and
George Graham (the inventor of the chronometer).
The source did not say how the "San
Jacinto" was lost, but I wonder if the
chronometer could have played a part?
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