The morning times., 1896-12-27
OUR LATE WAR WITH SPAIN
How Yankee Ingenuity Aided BY Electricity, Trumphed
Over the Squadron of the Allied Powers
and Save1 the City.

at Sandy Hook flashed the news to the
city OF hostile smoke on the horizon.
For weeks the work had been pushed on
the dynamite battery in the lower bay. But
good as had been the work OF the Zalinski
guns in practice, there was no doubt OF their
absolute inability to defend the channel
against vigorous and concerted attack Of
ironclads To be sure, the channel was
network of torpedo fields, and the little
Cushing lay with steam up at Governors
Island ready for d night dash down the bay
whenever the word should be given.
More than that, work had been pushed
day and night at the Brooklyn yard on an
immense steel whaleback contrivauce that
was more of a mystery than was the Moni-
tor when Ericsson first planned the little
fighting machine that was to turn the tide
of war and of naval history in Virginia
waters,
Grim Old Warships.
The New York and the Massachusetts had
been ordered into the bay at the first ru-
NOR of the attack from the sea, and the
grim old Puritan, finished just in time
after three decades OF waiting, showed
her teeth TO the crowds at the Battery.
curious mixture of the old and new in
naval architecture, but ready to shoulder
her burly way into any sort OF fight
with anything afloat.
The Indiana had been ordered to New
York, but she had not arrived, and when
the dark huils of the enemy's fleet began
TO gather in the offing there were many
shakings of heads anI grave fears expressed
that she would run into the visitors off
shore in an attempt to make the port
Daylight on the Goth saw the first real
demonstration Of the allies as a dozen
ironclads, in line OF battle, with their how
ering-out runners OF torpedo catchcrs,
closed in on the waiting battery at the
Hook.
The enemy knew the dynamite guns We're
there but the masked ws>ks were indis-
tinguishable from the sea ward, and the
battleslips crept on in narrowing cres-
cent, planting shells more or less at ran
dom from a five-nile range, Feel as they
would, they could not find their mark,
and emboldened by the silence, pressed
in, in hopes of drawing the masked fire.
Four miles, three and "A half. three, and
they were within sweep OF the deadly pneu
matics Still, there was no sign of life
along the waste of sand beach.
The ProjectIle's Mark.
Then the Spanish flagship made a fcint
Of steering at full speed for the entrance
of the bay. From the crest Of the hills
inland thousands of eyes behind strong
field glasses watched the bold maneuvre
Then from the sand spit there rose whiff
of vapor, and a black, fishlike proiectile
darted into the air. Rising high above the
water, il skinned along swiftly, but not
too swiftly to be followed in its flight
and, descending in gentle curve, flashed
between the smoke stacks Of the battle
ship and into the water on the other side.
The gunners had overshot their mark
An instant later tower Of foam arose
where the projectile had disappeared, and
springinE in huge waterspout, a hundred
feet in the air, fell back with a crash, tons
upon tons OF water laundering upon the
decks Of the battleship and sweeping her
from stem TO stem. She shivered at the
blow, and swiftly changed her course, at
tempting to make again for the open
sea, and leaving trail of splintered boats
and wreckage in her wake.
a moment afterward there was a second
puff from the sand spit, ana this time the
gunners had found their range The great
black flying fish, with a thousand pounds
of explosive gelatine in its head, dartcd
down on tile deck of the battleship The
hills around felt the jar as the explosion
/ capIe, and the dull roar drifted up 10 them
| from the water.
| Clouds OF smoke steam and spray over
| hung the doomed ironclad for a minute or
two, but when they drifted away there
was no ship TO be seen. She had been lit
orally torn to pieces by the explosion and
had sunk before the smoke had time 10 dis
appear. An angry swirl on the CLASSY sur
| face OF the water, with bits OF fIotsam
here and there, was all tnat was left.
Hurricane of Shells.
But if the men in the battery had found
| their range the enemy had not been slow
to take advantage of it also. a hurricane
of shells burst from the great guns in the
| turrets, tossing tie earthworks into the
air like snow and disabling one Of the
| pneumatic guns at the first discharge.
The enemy had been taught their lesson
| however, and, wheeling in obedience to i
signal without breaking their formation,
they steamed swiftly sea ward out OF range
| Of tie deadly battery, but with every stern
| chaser and midship turret that could be
brought to bear hurting its blast of steel
into the fated works.
| Escape was not SO easy. The long black
pro jectiles of the air guns followed the re-
treating fleet and staggered first one and
then another with avalanches of water
that rose close beside them and tumbled
| with the shock Of a waterfall on their
decks.
The French torpedo chaser Arele in the
rear of the retreating squadron was the
| victim of the next center shot and was
| fairly blown to pieces on the surface OF
| the water before she had chance to sink
Then the Italian Numancia was crippled
| by shot that graZed her stern and tore
out screw propeller and stearing gear
Her water tight compartments alone saved
her from foundering, and she drifted a
! helpless wreck within the circle of fire
till towed out of reach 10y her sister ship,
the Vittoria.
Flight of the Enemy.
The running fight did not last more than
fifteen minutes all told before the enemy
were out OF range of the pneumatic guns
Once safe themselves, they wheeled and
lay at ease, dropping shells inland and
silencening the battery completely, though
from their position it was impossible for
then 10 tell the exact amount of damage
they had done.
1t was enough, however, for those on
shore TO know it, and to know that with
this defense gone there was nothing bu
the feeble fleet in the upper bay with odds
of three to one against it to stand between
the enemy and the shellng of New York
That a second attack would be made at
: nil orht nd a IN,