The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-07-24
BRAVE WORK OF BROOKLYN.
HAVOC PLAYED BY HER
SECONDARY BATTERY.

HgIf of the Damage to the Almirante
oouendo Inflicted by One and Six
Observation-Disclosures Six-POunder
..o,ss FOUND on the Ship-The Viz
,,vo struck by Eleven Six-pOund-
and Dozens of One-POunders.
,s+ouces of Personal Bravery
rorrespondence of the. Associated Press.
O4s santiago de Cuba, July 2.-"The
-o.,ordarv battery fire of the Brooklyn
- ,aa1Iv terrible. 1t drove my men
S., the, guns and when you were at
olosa range did frightful work." said Capt.
17,1ste two days after Commodore
ccbley's defeat of the Spanish squadron,
and a rescued officer of the Oquendo said
,bat nearly one-half of the terrible dam
40, 70 that ship was done by the one
and six-pounders which constitute the
second battery.
The board OF survey ordered by the
,oromand er-ln-chief found fortysix g.
nounder holes in the Oquendo above her
arnor belt, and evidence that nearly all
had entered and exploded.
In the Vizcaya there were eleven g.
nounder holes and dozens of one-pounder,
and on these two ships the tattoo of death
dealing shell must have been appalling.
The terrible work of secondary bate
ries on the Oquendo is somewhat explain
ed by the fact that she was the last ship
ont and nearest the torpedo boats and
tbe Brooklyn, Texas and Iowa simply
rtddIed her as she attempted to defend the
two destroyers.
Az xuQG
done by the Brooklyn alone, because no
other ship was near enough TO her to use
the small guns.
The men on board the ships who man
these batteries are marines, and they
fight them in the most exposed parts of
tbe ships, with little or no protection.
Cant. Paul st. Clair Murphy of the
Brooklyn was the senior ma
rine officer present on the
ships that did the fighting on July
q. and he commends greatly the valiant
work done by the men in his corps.
Speaking Of the men on the Brooklyn,
he tells one very thrilling incident He
SAYS: THE men were full Of enthusiasm,
but there was no excitement or disorder,
and apparently no concern for personal
safety. The battery was handled with ad-
rnirable GOODNESS and deljberation. Great
er care could not be taken in getting sights
and aiming if the men had been at target
practice. and each man striving to make
a record score.
Considering the fact that the enemy
were within effective range during the
greater part of the action the fire of the
secondhand battery must have been most
destructive to his men and material, and
contributed it's full share to bringing the
battle to an end so speedily and with so
little loss to ourselves.
when all did their duty so manfully 1t
Is a difficult matter to select individuals
for special mention. There are some,
however who deserve to be brought 20
notice by name for conduct that displayed
in a conspicuous manner, courage, inteli-
gence and devotion to duty.
During the early part of the action
cartridge jammed in the bore of the star
board forward 6-pounder, and In the effort
TO withdraw it the case became detached
from the projectile, leaving the latter fast
in the bore and impossible to extract from
the rear. Corpl. Robert Gray of the port
gun asked and obtained permission to at
tempt to drive the shell out by means of
the rammer To do this it was necessary
20 90 out on the gun hanging over the
water and the undertaking was full of
difficulties and danger; the latter due in
great measure to the blast of the S-inch
turret guns firing overhead. The gun
was hot and It was necessary to cling 10
the Jacob ladder with one hand while
endeavoring with the other to manipulate
the long hammer.
After brave effort he was forced to
give up and ordered an.
quarter Gunner Smith then came, sent
by Executive Officer Mason, and promptly
placed himself in the dangerous position
outside the gun port, where he worked
ana tailed, as the corporal had done
Nelther had been able to get the ram
iner into the bore and there seemed moth
'Ilg lett TO do but dismount the gun
AZ this juncture Private MacNeal one
OF the guns crew, volunteered to go out
ana make final effort. The gun was so
important, the starboard battery being en-
Stged that as a forlorn hope he was per-
hutted TO make the attempt He pushed
OUT boldly and set to work The guns of
tne forward S-inch turret were firing all
most knocking him overheard and the enc
ihy snots Were coming with frequency
mo ms immediate neighborhood 1t was
al mat time time that the chief yeoman
was Killed on the other side of the deck
MacNeal never paused in his work The
Edllrner was finally placed in the bore
una the shell elected and MacNeal re-
tuined his duties as coolly as Il what he
ndd done were a matter of every day rou-
tine"