Evening star., 1898-07-16
ARMY OF THE SEA
Transfer of Troops Under Convoy of
the Navy.
LIEUT.. PAUL PRINCE TELLS THE STORY
The Forts AfIoat in Presence of
Forts Ashore.
KEY WEST TO SANTIAGO

KEY WEST TO SANTIAGO
A Washington High School boy of '94.
| Paul c. Prince, is a lieutenant on the L.
| 8. s. Manning one of the revenue cutters
| assigned to duty with the navy. The Mal-
| ming was one of the fleet which conveyed
| Gen. Skaters army to Cuba, and Lieut..
Prince writes his father a journal letter
descriptive of the voyage and incidents of
| the lardirg at Santiago, as follows, under
| date of June II:
| I'VE to sail this afternoon and will
meet the Indiana outside where she has
been lying near Sand Key, for two or three
weeks. We infer that the fleet is to SAIL
| as other ships have orders, and that the
army is at last en- route. Since We arrived
| here from Bahia Honda we have twice
| prepared to get under way. Monday morn
ing at o'clock We were all ready. but the
| commodore's launch came around at the
| last moment and told us that the move
| ment was postponed for thirty-siX hours.
| So now, We leave at O'clock unless one
| of those puffy little launches comes and
| breaks up our plans again. Whenever We
| see cne every man straightway lays down
| his work or rises from his couch with the
firm assurance that all existing plans and
| speculatio1s are reversed.
| L had to go on deck just for few
| moments, when all hands were called AMI We
| are really under way, and fast nearing the
| Indiana in company with the Bancroft. the
| Oneida and tug. The old Passaic came in
| just now with some naval reserves on
| board. Her little battle-scarred turret and
| funny deck works looked very green as she
lay off Fort Taylcr, with three of her
| mighty descendants, the Puritan Amphi-
| trite AMI Miantonomoh around her The
Lancaster is here, too. and criticism in
| her case can only be favorable whiie her
lofty spars, with their cobweb rigging
| tower above the floating forts Of today.
| So, side by side we have the evolution of
| the battleship from go to '9S, from the
| Lancaster to the Indiana.
| Excited Indignation.
| I'VE were all very indignant over the
| published article criticising our marksman-
| ship at Cabanas. The Wasp did something
! but not all, as the results showed: and in
! deed, she couldn't do much with only four
| siN-pounders in her battery. We certainly
| did wonderfully well, considering that the
| men We're all green-with no training ex-
| cept that on revenue cutters-and that we
| had had no target practice whatever. We
| have had considerable since.
AS to the bad craftsmanship at Arboli-
| tos, the report of the Spanish commander
delighted us greatly. He had 150 men, and
| reported that he had driven in the troops
| but was unable to follow up his advantage
owing to the fire of the gunboats Uhree-
| fourths of which was ours), and that he
| suffered considerably, one shrapnel shell
| alone killing and wounding one officer and
| twelve men. The Wasp having only six
| Founders cannot use shrapnel. How'S that
| for a vindication of our -Dutchman? Our
| Spanish friends are not given TO admitting
| losses either. The second day at Mare
| the shooting was excellent.
East of Fort jefferson.
June 15.-Today we have been lying with
| the feet, which left Key West last night,
just east of Fort jefferson. We formed in
| column off Sand Key last evening and
steamed in that formation TO our anchor
age of today, which we reached early this
| morning. The flagship Indiana, Captain
| Taylor, who will command the conveying
| fleet, was in the lead, followed by the Ban
croft, Detroit, Manning, Wasp, Eagle,
OSceoia and Wampatuck, in the order
named. The run over was very quiet. eX-
cept for us. We have never been in fleet
before, and the effort to keep our place was
troublesome. 1t doesn't seem possible to
regulate the speed exactly, and, in conse-
quence, the engineers are worried to death.
The officer on the bridge has his hands full,
watching and making signals and direct
ing the engineers. We are anchored just
south of the spot where We lay last win
ter, Our way to Pensacola, and just
where the North Atlantic squadron was
lying at that time. We sent scouts to the
nortnWafQ 10 look the transport Meet.
The first Indication of its approach was the
appearance about sunset of bank of
smoke, WI ich hung over the horizon, and, like
the pillar, cloud or smoke or whatever 1t was
that the Israelities had, has accompanied
us ever since. After dark they were still
but a long row of twinklng lights. making
a crescent at first, and then gradually re-
solving themselves into a long line, which
went southwark through the keys, while
We steamed slowly along few miles from
them. At first it looked like city bearing
down upon us, and well it might, for there
were thirty transports and three -warshipS
Helena, Castine, Newport. We all got to-
gether next morning and formed in our
cruising order.
June 16.-This morning our cruise really
began about o'clock. After we had been
in two scattered columns all night
stopped and formed in three columns and
two divisions. The Indiana was the right
guide for the first division and the Detroit
for the second. The vessels on the fianks
were scouts, and lay two three miles
outside. 1he distance between vessels
was 400 yards and columns so yards. We
formed somewhere southeast OF the Tor
tugas, so when 1 came on deck we were in
the midst of a great naval parade, steam
ing slowly over a smooth sea in three long
lines, with their naval leaders and scouts
around them.
The formation was usually about four
miles long and a mile wide. 1t was very
imposing sight, and one of the things you
don't see often in a lifetime. 1t is some
compensation 10 1eel that one is seeing
and doing things little out of the ordi-
nary. At all times the smoke makes a
haze about u.s. and it must be much worse
in the rear. Our transports are mostly
coasting passenger steamers. The old
Iroquois that l used 10 see so often in
Charleston looks very queer out here, with
her decks covered with troops. There is
great fascination in watching the vessels
We have picked out most of their names
now. They have each a different disposi-
tion and we know them all.
Cross in Field of Blue.
1.-THE 9TH Corps flag, with its white Malt
ese cross in field of blue, waves from the
masthead of the Seguranca, on board
which is General Skaters headquarters.
She is very officious and is always run
ming out of line to talk to other boats. The
Olivette is the hospital ship. We are all
likely to peril our souls swearing at the
Breakwater just ahead. She is balky and
stops on the least provocation, balling up
everything behind her. Then some
laggards and some are free lances, SEEM
ing to think that they have a rowing COM
mission, and in consequence go all over the
fleet and mix up with everybody else.
Such q great fleet as this, like all other