nynsy

This mass took place on May 24, 1908

See page 6 of The Stark County Democrat (Canton, Ohio), May 26, 1908, (WEEKLY EDITION)
- www.loc.gov/resource/sn84028490/1908-05-26/ed-1/?sp=6&amp...

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Mass Held For Dead of Army and Navy Largely Attended
New York, May 24.-There was a large attendance at the military field mass in the Brooklyn navy yard today.
As early as 9 o'clock the people began to gather at the navy yard gates although the mass was not to begin until 10:30. Every building facing the parade ground where the mass was celebrated was adorned with American flags and a profusion of the fags hung over the balconies of the marine barracks, before the center of which the elaborate altar wast erected.
Before the mass there was music, both religious and secular, ranging from "Onward Christian Soldiers" to "Auld Lang Syne," "Annie Lauri," and "Marching Through Georgia."
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See:

For information about the event, see

Major General and Mrs. Frederick Dent Grant were among the VIPs on the launching platform near the bow of the Vestal.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Dent_Grant
"Frederick Dent Grant (May 30, 1850 – April 12, 1912) was a soldier and United States minister to Austria-Hungary. Grant was the first son of General and President of the United States Ulysses S. Grant and Julia Grant. He was named after his maternal uncle, Frederick Tracy Dent."

His wife was en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ida_Marie_Honoré
"Ida Marie Honoré Grant (June 4, 1854 – September 5, 1930) was an American socialite, philanthropist, and ambassador's wife."

Thanks TVL1970 and swanq. We'll add some of this information to the photos in this series.

William J Baxter, responsible for the launch of the collier Vestal.
An article he wrote about the process of launching is at
- www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1892/january/statics-l...
The Statics of Launching, By Assistant Naval Constructor William J. Baxter, U.S. N.
January 1892
Proceedings Vol. 18/1/61

See

I was looking of information on William J. Baxter in newspaper articles and found one from April 11, 1908 in the Washington Post that said he had been informed that a dog that bit him at the Navy Yard had tested positive for rabies and he would have to undergo treatment.