The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-12-22
ENSIGN WARD VISITED THE EN-.
EMY's COUNTRY.
Went to cadiz, Spain, and Gathered
Much Observation-Disclosures Mon
tojo's Graphic Account of the At
fair at Cavite = Admiral Samp-
sons Plan to Capture Havana.

| eStlng. phases of the war. Almost in the
beginning, in the brief record of the
proceedings of the naval war board, an
unknown hero IS brought to light in
the person OF Ensign H. II. Ward, who,
at the beginning of the war, was on
duty in the navigation bureau, alter
mating with Lieutenat Whittlesey in
| the heavy duties of assistant to the
chief of the bureau. He volunteered for
| secret service duty, and his exploits,
about which nothing has been said in
the past, may well be placed on rec
ord beside those of Lieutenant Rowan
in Cuba and Lieutenant Whitney in
! Puerto Rico.
Within a week after the declaration
of war Ensign Ward distinguished him
self and went straight into the heart of
the enemy's country, making his head
quarters at Cadiz, the principal Span
ish naval station, and informing the
navy department here of the actual
strength of the Spanish naval vessels
! and their movements. Then he went
to the West Indies and reported every
| thing that was going ON there of i'm
portance to the American navy. Next
he went again into the enemy's coun-
! try in disguise, this time to Puerto
Rico, where he was arrested as a sus-
picious character and a spy. BY adroit-
and, escaping from San Juan, cabled to
| the navy department a full account of
| the state of the defenSeS there and the
preparations making for the reception
! of the Spanish squadron under Cervera.
All this time even the officials of the
navy department were under the i'm
! preston that Mr.. Ward was engaged
in installing a system of coast signals
on the New England coast
While Ward was in Puerto Rico En-
/ sign Buck, another attache of the nav
! igation bureau, was on the shores of
the Mediterranean. in disguise, watch
ing every mo- -emenl of the squadron
of Admiral Cervera, which started for
the Philippines, but turned back.
STRATEGY BOARDS DUTIES
OF the strategy board itself, it is said
that it was part of it's duty to keep in
formed of all of the movements re-
sources and plans of the Spanish naval
| forces, through secret agents. and it is
now known that the navy was thus in
formed of all important movements At
times, however information was con-
fiicting, and decisions had to be made
as to which report was true. Under
| the head of precautionary, orders ap-
pear in the volume of instructions to all
the United States ships abroad to stock
! their bunkers with the best coal OBJ
tainable and to keep them full. Adj
miral Dewey was told long before the
declaration of war, on Feb %, in the
! event of war with Spain your duty will
be to see that the Spanish squadron
does not leave the Asiatic coast, and
| then offensive operations in the Philip
! pines. Keep Olympia until further or
/ ders." The latter order is explained by
the fact that the flagship had been
ordered back to the United States for
overhauling.
Admiral Howell then in the Medit-
erranean with his squadron, was told
| TO wait in neutral waters for orders,
and the ships in the South Atlantic
were instructed to move northward so
as not to excite suspicion.
MONTOJO'S REPORT.
The report of the famous naval bat
/ ties of Cavite includes one from United
! States Consul Williams, rather I'M
! usual thing in a report of a strictly
naval character, but fully justified by
J its picturesque and untechnical de
| scription Of Dewey's great victory. Fol-
/ lowing 1t is a report to his government
/ on the same engagement by the COM
mander-in-c chief Of the Inflated Span
( ish fleet. Montojo. The admiral depicts
the bad conditions of the Spanish fleet
and defenses. He says that the cruiser
! Castillo was incapable of maneuverine
! on account of her bad condition. while
! the defenses at the entrance of Subic
! bay were very backward. With much
! disgust he found that the guns which
| should have been mounted were de-
! layed a month and a half. and he was
/ no less Disguised to find that reliance
was had for the defenses of the port
J upon q few torpedoes not properly
| placed. Finding Subic bay defenseless.
/ the Spanish squadron repaired to the
/ Bay of Manila to meet battle under less
unfayorable conditions. The admiral
| avoided the city, not wishing to draw
/ fire from it, and prepared his fleet for
action, painting his vessels a dark gray
and having the fires spread and springs
on the cables The admiral describes in
/ vivid language the terrible effect of the
Americans onslaught on the Spanish
vessels. He says:
The, Americans fired most rapidly.
There came upon us numerous projec-
| tiles as the three cruisers at the end
of the line devoted themselves almost
entirely to fight the Christina, my 1ag-
| ship. a short time after the action
! commenced one shell exploded in the
! forecastle and put out of action all
those who served the four rapid-fire
| cannons.
Meantime another shell exploded in
| the foretop. setting fire 10 the crew bags.
At 1880 O'Clock a shell completely de-
! stroyed the steering gear; another de-
! stroyed the mizzen, bringing down my
! flag and ensign: another shell exploded
on the poop and put out of action nine
men. A fresh shell exploded in the
officers cabin, covering the hospital
with blood, and destroyed the wounded
who were being treated there Another
exploded in the ammunition room. 1
had to flood the magazine when the
cartridges began TO explode.
"One large shell penetrated the fire
room, putting out of action one master
gunner and twelve men serving the
guns. Another rendered useless the
I increased astern, another fire started
side guns continued firing until there
were only one gun and one seaman re-
naming unhurt for serving. The shin
being out of control the hull, smoke
pipe and the mast riddled with shot or
confused with the cries of the wound
ed half of the crew out of action,
among whom were seven officers,
gave the order to sink and abandon
the ship before the magazines should
explode"
Apparently the first suggestion of the
organization of the flying squadron
which was to divert Admiral Camara's
squadron from its voyage to Manila,
came from Dewey, for in a dispatch of
June q, he says:
In my judgment, if the coast of
Spain was threatened, the squadron of
the enemy will have to return"
And that was exactly what happened.