Rescue by Ida Lewis

Ida Lewis effected several more dramatic rescues, but the one that earned her nationwide fame took place in the winter gale on March 29,1869. She was sick with a severe cold at the time and huddled beside the kitchen stove much of the day. Late in the day her mother cried out to her. The big waves churned up by the storm had thrown over a boat in the harbor, and men were drowning. Although her mother tried to stop her, Ida ran for the lifeboat. With no shoes and her stockinged feet immersed in freezing water, she fought off one big wave after another. If she had reached the capsized boat only a few moments later, the two numb and exhausted soldiers struggling nearby would haved slipped under the water. Ida pulled them aboard, but the rescue would not be a complete success. Although she rowed in circles and called out, the boy who had piloted the soldiers' boat did not answer. He was gone forever.

The story of this exploit reached the pages of most of the major newspapers in the country. Engraved pictures of Ida and her Lime Rock Lighthouse were published in Leslie's magazine and in Harper's Weekly.