'Hero of the Merrimac' visited Evergreen 114 years ago in Jan. 1906

Richmond Pearson Hobson

This week marks a somewhat interesting anniversary for Evergreen and Conecuh County. It’s the 114th anniversary of the day that Richmond Pearson Hobson, the “Hero of the Merrimac,” delivered a public lecture at the Conecuh County Courthouse in Evergreen.

This lecture, which was delivered on Jan. 1, 1906, came about seven and a half years after Hobson became a naval hero and received the Medal of Honor for intentionally sinking his own ship, the USS Merrimac, on June 3, 1898 during the Spanish-American War.

Many of you will remember from your high school American History classes that this short war between the U.S. and Spain lasted just over three months and resulted in an American victory. Hobson’s role in the war began when he arrived in Santiago, a major Cuban port, on June 1, 1898. The Spanish squadron of Admiral Pascual Cervera was at Santiago, and Hobson hatched a plan that many called a suicide mission.

Early on June 3, the 27-year-old Hobson, who graduated at the top of his Naval Academy class, seized command of the USS Merrimac, a steamship used to carry coal, and attempted to sink it in the channel to bottle in Cervera’s squadron. The Merrimac took heavy fire from the Spanish, and the Merrimac’s steering gear became damaged, which prevented Hobson from sinking the ship exactly where he wanted it.

Cervera took Hobson and his crew of six prisoner, and Hobson was eventually released during a prisoner exchange on July 6. Later, he was presented with the Medal of Honor, and his official citation read as follows – “In connection with the sinking of the U.S.S. Merrimac at the entrance to the fortified harbor of Santiago de Cuba, 3 June 1898. Despite persistent fire from the enemy fleet and fortifications on shore, Lt. Hobson distinguished himself by extraordinary courage and carried out this operation at the risk of his own personal safety.”

Hobson, who was born in Greensboro in 1870, resigned from the Navy in 1903 and launched a political career. He went on to serve as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Alabama’s Sixth Congressional District from May 4, 1907 to March 3, 1915.

During this time, he made at least one more trip to Evergreen. According to local newspaper reports, Hobson visited Conecuh County on March 31, 1914 and “spoke before a large crowd” at the Conecuh County Courthouse in Evergreen. Many in this “large crowd” may have been local ladies.

According to one article I read, Hobson became a hero of the American press during the Spanish-American War, and his picture appeared in hundreds of newspapers across the country. After the war, wherever he went, he was greeted by large crowds, and he was known for “his enthusiasm for kissing admiring young women.” Hobson exploits in Cuba basically turned him into a sex symbol and he was often called the “Most Kissed Man in America.”

In the end, Hobson passed away in New York City at the age 66 on March 16, 1937. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., not far from the nation’s capital in Washington, D.C.