The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1898-06-02
STORY OF BOMBARDMENT.
Schley Easily Silenced the Several
, Batteries and Badly Damaged the
CriStObal Colon. Americas
Fifty Shells Showed v
CerVera'S Weak
ness,
DONS WILL FIGHT HARD.

yora's fleet and take Santiago to-day.
Admiral Sampson is now off Santiago
do Cuba in command Of the combined
fighting fleet, comprising the battleships
Iowa, Indiana, Massachusetts,, Oregon aao
Texas, the armored cruisers New YORK
and Brooklyn, besides monitors, cruisers
and SMALLER craft with Commodore Sch!oy
commanding the second division, prepar
ed to overwhelm the San tiago fortillca-
tions, and tho four armorcd cruisers and
the torpedo boat destroyers under Admir-
al Ccrvera's command, lying in the bottle
shape harbor behind them.
The expectation is that without wait
ing for the landing of troops to take the
Santiago Notifications III the rear, Adj
miral Sampson and Commodore Schley
will end the war before the sun goes down
to-day.
Spain's sea power in the Atlantic is to
be dealta crushing blow at Santiago de
Cuba, just as it was overwhelmed i'll the
Pacific at Manila.
For the time being all other projects
against Spain OIL this side Of the globe arc
10 be suspended aud the army and navy
arc 10 unite in delivering II blow at oanti-
Tgo which will render Spain powcrloss to
undertake any offensive naval movement
and which will at the same timu give the
United States tlrm foO5holu On Cuban
territory
: The change in tho administrative
plans, which gives Admiral sampson and
Commodore SCh!ey their present great op-
pOrtunity, was made possible by the re
connoiss ,nce which Commodore Svhicy
made of the Notifications at Santiago on
Tuesday.
Although he only expended fifty sho.l.,
while the spanish ii,od three times rs
many and suffered all the loss, he dlscur-
cred that both Qualifications auu ships
were So inefficient il uusion thai they
could be taken by ships without TING nuce5.
Eity of assistance f.Om troops.
Admiral Cervtra cannot be surprised
as Admiral Muniijo was surprised by AL
mlral Dewey, and the outraucc 10 SAINT.
Hgo hurbor is US narrow us the entrance
tU Manila harbOr was wlGc, and lheie
may bu danger in its uUrgUWups, aul tor
tuousness indepen Gently Of mines and tor
pedoes and oil the raking Il OF the shore
batteries. A ship or SLIPS may Lo !ust
The Spanish ships will a.iIoat certainly
not be captured intac., although they may
NOT u!l be badly damaged.
Kingston, Jamaica, June LII ltty-
Ave minutes after the iirso gun Was fired
the squadron OF Commodore SCIIloy com.
pletely slloncod three cut OF four bat, erics
guarding the entrance to san iagU Han.
Dor, badly damaged the big Spanish arlnor
clad Cristobal Colon, the flagship Vi Ad-
Miral Cervcrl's fleet, located tho masked
batteries Of the Spaniurds aud prepared
the way for the final attack to DC made
later, when the ARMY Of Invasion has az
rycd Oh the scene.
This is,the net result of tho lombard
ment of Santiago on the afternoon Of Tues
day last, the full details Of which have just
been brought here.
Not an American blurj JACKIE. was injured
in the fight. Nota single ono OF the ships
was hit by the Spanish shells, whl.c Ad-
miral Cervera was taught u lesson as to
what he may expect from Yankee gunncrs
when his fleet Is finally compelled to 90 in
~ action.
On Sunday Commodore Schlcy learned
definitely that all CGrvera's squadron was
within santiago harhor
At noon On Tuesday tho Commodore
went aboard the Massachusetts and
short time after his flag had been ra sci to
ma theal Tho bell to the engine room jim
gled for full speed ahead Tho big battle.
ship headed almost direct for the harbOr
mouth.
,ehiud her came the cruiser New Or.
! Aus then the Iowa, with "ligntingBoA'
Eyans on the bridge The litllJ converted
yacht Vixen followed the Iowa. Only II
cable length separated the ships in the
moving column. The Other ships of the
squadron lay leIsuroly ut their stations off
shore.
The Massachusetts kept on her cvuisc
until within 400 yards Of the hnrbor en-
france. She was moving 1T the rate Of six.
teen knots an hour
Suddenly pull Of whit slUoko dartcd
from her bow. Tho rel ort Of an eight inch
lo broke the peace Of the haryor and roll.
I'd upward through the surrounding hills
ln ,l,r ,F "a IriT .l,,Il
the water.
Then came crash from the west side
Of the harbJr. One Of the batteries there
had opened. A battery on the cast sido
followed suit, and the Massachusetts re-
piled with her l3-inch gun, and close to
the bow Of the Cristobul Colon huge
column Of water rose 40 feet in the air and
fell with splash. 1t must have almost
spruklol the decks Of thcS panish flagship
Then u shot from the Iowa struck dircc-
fly under the Colen. Fora short time the
Spanish warship eemcd to be on hIe' In
a)ittle while, however, the fro seemed to
have been extnguishud, Several shells
are thought to have hit her, but the cx.
tbnt Of the damage to her is not known.
Key West. Juno l,-Itis reported horo
Chat the Spanish troopShip Alfonso NH,
formerly o! the CoIupania Transatlantica
Espanola, but chartered by the spanish
Government and converted into an aux
Hilary cruiser, has been captured.
SIt is reported here that the Alfonso XII
had but few Spanish trOops aboard, but
was full to ovcrilow!ng OF supplies and
Coal 1t was believed in the blJcknding
feet that the Alfonso had but recently left
Cienfuegos and was bound for Porto Rico.
Another story was that she was endeavor-
ing to steal into Santiago, past Schley's
feet and broul the block AIDE Of tlut port
At Is also reported that the Spanish ship
had TRANSATLANTIC mails aboard for Blanco
end Cervera.
K The prize, 1t ID believed, was taken day
before yesterday off the eastern end of
Cuba by tho auxuiliary cruiser St. Paul
captain Sigsbeo. The chase was exciting
md the St. Paups speed stood hor in good
stead, for the Spaniard was in fair sailing
Arim.
4 fThs 81 Paul fired seventeen shots at
A