Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1898-06-17

a Church Gould Be Dropped.
All the Batteries Shelled, Except
Moro, Where Hobson and His
Crew Are Confined.
Copyright Associated Press)
On Board the Associated Press Dis
| patch Boat Dauntless, off Santiago De
| Cuba, Thursday, June Is, noon, via
| Kingston, Jamaica, Thursday, June 16,
| p. m.-Rear Admiral SIMPSONS fleet
bombarded the batteries at Santiago
| de Cuba for the third time at daylight
| this morning. For hours the ships
| pounded the batteries at the right and
left Of the entrance only sparing Ell
| MORO, where Lieut. Hobson and his
companions Of the Merrimac are in
prison.
The western batteries, against which
| the main assault was directed, were
| badly wrecked. One was utterly de-
stroyed. In others many guns were
| dismounted.
At first the Spaniards replied pas
sionately and wildly but impotently.
Then most of the guns were deserted.
| Not a ship was struck nor man in
| jured on the American side.
| 1t is believed that the enemy's loss Of
| life was heavy
AS a preliminary to the hammering
given the batteries, the dynamite cruz
| ser Vesuvius last night at midnight
| was given another chance. Three 250-
pound charges of gun cotton were sent
over the Notifications at the entrance.
| The design was to drop them in the bay
around the angle back of the eminence
| Of which Ell Moro is situated, where
| it is known that the Spanish torpedo
| boat destroyers were lying. Two charges
! went through, as no reports were
| heard-a popularity of the explosion
! Of gun cotton in water. Whether the
destroyers were demolished is not
known, but the destructive area Of gun
cotton is large and it would not be sur
| prisirg if it is subsequently ascertained
| that one or both were destroyed.
| The third charge exploded with ter
rife violence on Cayo Smith. From
| where the fleet lay the entrance of the
harbor looked, in the black night, like
a door opening into the livid fire of
| Titanic furnace. A crater big enough
to hold a church was blown out of the
side of the Cayo Smith and was clearly
seen from the ships this morning.
Admiral Sampson issued the orders
for the bombardment last night. Cot
fee was served to the men at half
past three this morning, and with the
| first blush Of dawn the men were called
quietly to quarters. The ships steamed
| in five knot speed to a three thousand
yard range, when they closed up,
Droadside on, until distance of three
cable lengths separated them. They
were strung out in the form Of cres-
cent, the heavy fighting ships in the
center, the flagship on the right flank
and the Massachusetts on the left flank.
| The line remained stationary through
out the bombardment. The Vixen and
Scorpion took up positions on Oppo-
site TANKS, close in shore, for the pur-
pose of enfilading any infantry that
might fire upon the Ships
When the ships got in position it was
still too dark for any firing. The adj
| miral signalled the ships not to fire I'M
| til the muzzles of the enemy's guns in
the embrasures could be seen by the
gun captains.
| Fifteen minutes later, at 5:25 a. M,
| the New York opened with broacs1de
from her main battery at the works on
i the east of the entrance to the harbor.
All the ships followed in red streaks of
! flame The fleet, enveloped IN smoke,
pelted the hills and kicked up dirt and
| masonry. 1t was magnificent specta-
| Gle. The Dons responded spiritedly at
! first, but their frenZied, half-crazed fire
could not match the cool nerve, trained
eyes and skilled gunnery of the Ameri-
can sailors. Our fire was much more
effective than in preceding lombard
| ments The measured crash Of the big
thirteen-lnch guns of the battleships
sounded above the rattle of the guns Of
the secondary batteries like thunder
claps above the din of hurricane.
In fifteen minutes one western bat
terry was completely wrecked. The
Massachusetts, tore gaping hole In the
emplacement with thousand pound
projectile and the Texas dropped a she'll
into the powder magazine. The explo-
sion wrought terrible havoc.
The frame was lifted, the sides were
blown out and shower Of debris flew
in every direction. The loss of life
must have been great
The batteries on the east OF Moro
were harder to get at, but the New Or
leans crossed the lows Of the New
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