The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1898-05-04
NO SAFE PLACES IN A SEA FIGHT
The Danger to Men on Deck and Below is
About Equal.
Ph,ladezphio Eccning Telegram

lately as to the safest spot on mou-
ern man-of-war in sea-fght. 1t has
been asserted that men below in the
engine and fire rooms and in the bunk
ers are bound to have the best OF 1t,
not only because their duties keep
most Of them below the waterline, and
therefore out of the way of the raking
Of rapid-fre batteries, but also be-
cause they are shielded above by pro-
tective decks and all around BY boiler
and machinery protecting armor. The
: men who hold to this view forget all
{ about the matter of torpedoes. Some
other amateur sea fighters Of the
land, landly, take the view that the
men on deck have q better show IN a
naval engagement, for the reason that
they have a chsnce to swim for it, and
{ be picked up by the enemy as prison
ers Of war, if their vessel is sunk.
They assume, Of course, that the en-
emy is in the habit Of picking up the
castaway members Of a defeated and
% submerged ships crew. This is by no
means a safe assumption. The enemy
mas often rescued and held as prison
sers of war the members Of the crew OF
beaten ship, but just as often has
permitted them to keep right on
swimming. So long a period has
elapsed since there have been naval
fights between entirely civilized Pow
sers that the two countries that next
engage in battles at sea will have the
responsibility Of creating new rules OF
warfare. and one Of the rules ought to
cover this point.
In any event, speculation as to
whether the deck force or the gang
below will have the better OF the bar
sl gain in a pitched sea fight must be
I based almost wholly on theory. Capt.
McGiAin, the lion-hearted American
naval officer, whose observations on
the sea fight Of the Yalu form about
the only practical basis for considera-
4 tions about battles between modern
ships, should surely have known
4 something about the safe spot on
board a naval vessel. He was on the
deck Of his ship, the best of the Chi
nese feet, during the entire action on
The Yalu. The writer asked him,
soon after his return from China, if
there we're not moments during the
fight IN which he felt like making a
run for it.
Run where?'' was McGifin's in
quiry. sI,can't truthfully say that |
felt like boiling for it at all, during
that mix. Ididn't have time to think
OF anything like that. There was too
much going on on deck, anyhow, and
] didn't want to miss anything. The
most cowardly man becomes quite for
getful Of danger in sea fight, as a
rule. We had three men-lubberly
coolies-who were found hiding away
up forward on the berth deck when
the fight was finished. The men who
found them nearly sat them to death.
A very great feeling of curiosity ami
mates all hands in battle at sea.
Cinnamon are about the least curious
men in the world; yet the deck Off
GERS on my ship had great trouble in
Keeping the members of the black
gang, she fremen and coal-passers and
even the machinists, down below dur
ing the action. They kept pokiDg
their heads above the main deck, lift
ing off the matches for the purpose, to
see how we were making out. On the
whole, think the men below are more
sneryous during fight than the men
.on deck. They are bit afraid Of
what they cant see. It's just like
the fear Of man lying in bed in a
dark room when he knows there is a
burglar within few feet Of him. The
men on deck can see the whole game,
and the smoke and the roar infuse the
devil Of battle into them, and they
simply don't care whether the ship
remains on top or goes down. They
literally enjoy the fun. A lot Of our
gunners were positively hysterical
with delight. Some of them laughed
like wild men. They muttered to
themselves and howled like arunkards.
Indeed, half the ships company look
ed to me as if they were three parts
drunk after the fight, yet there was
no grog. They reeled about, with
silly, drunken expressions on their
faces, although they knew we were
licked.
sBut as for running, where would
man with any sense run during an
action, even if he felt that thematines
of the ship wouldn't shoot him down