The herald., 1898-12-19
UP TO THE COMPARTMENT OF
CIENFUEGoS
REPORT OF ADMIRAL SCHLEY
The Most Interesting Feature OF the
Early Campaign Was the Dinl-
Guilty of Coaling
Associated Press Special Wire

Dartment today maue pupiie iSP
Admiral Schley covering that part Oh phe
operations and movements OF the hylne
souadron from its sailing from Key west
for Cienfuegos up to, but not including, the
first bombardment. The report Is as ioi'
lows: ,u,-,,.,
Flying Squadron, U. S. Flagship brookivn'
off Santiago de Cuba, May ~, 1878.
Sir: | have the honor to report that the
rouadron sailed from Key West on the morn
inc of the 10Th instant for Cienfuegos, Oupa,
in obedience to orders from Rear Admiral
Samnson. In company with the hagshlp
were the Massachusetts, Texas and SCOT
NON En- route were passed the Marble
head Nashville and Wasp, communicating
with the last named vessel. On cape AN.
tonio. communicated with the Olncinnati
and Vesuvius, scouting.
. On the morning of the I'd instant, the
souadron stood in for the entrance OF Oieh'
fnegos harbor to reconnoiter and later IN
tbe dnv passed the entrance tw1ce close 1n'
As I heard the firing of guns on the previous
afternoon in the direction Of the port, ana
as There was considerable smoke IN the
barbor I was led to believe that the Span
That day the Dupont Joined me wlpn as
patches from Admiral Sampson, directihg
that the blockade of Cienfuegos be preserved
and the Scorpion be sent to communicate
with the Minneapolis and Harvard oil san
tiago. Also on this day the Iowa joined
the squadron.
2 a line of blockade was established
about four miles off shore and at night an
inshore line was maintained, consisting main
lv of the Scorpion, Dupont and Castne.
tbe last named vessel arriving on the go,
conveying the Merrimac.
4. Also on the 23d instant the Hawk ar
rived with dispatches from Admiral Samp-
son, directing me to move eastward win
the SQUADRON to Santiago, il satisfied that
the enemy's vessels were not in Cienfuegos.
Not being satisfied at this time that they
were not here, 1 held my position, being
further strengthened in my opinion by the
fact that I was informed by the captain OF
the British steamer Adula that when he left
Kingston a cablegram had been received,
on the Thursday preceding my arrival off
Cienfuegos stating that the Spanish squad
ron had sailed from Santiago.
5. The Iowa, Castine and Dupont took
coal from the collier ON that day, the Iowa
particularly needing coal, as she had sailed
from Key West to join the squadron before
completing loading and consequently was
considerably short.
6. On the oath instant, the Marblehead,
Vixen and Eagle joined the squadron and
the Marblehead and Eagle were immediate
" sent to communicate with the insurgents
to the westward of Cenfuegos and to fur
nish them with ammunition, clothing and
dynamite Upon Commander McCalla' re-
turn, in the course of the afternoon. he re-
ported to me that he obtained Information
that the Spanish squadron was not in Glen
fuegos. Dispatches were at once sent by
Dupont to Admiral Sampson and to Com
modore Remey for the department, inddcat-
ing that this squadron would move toward
Santiago de Cuba.
7. Great difficulty has been experienced
in coalng the Texas on account of her
projecting sponsors, in any seaway whatever,
and only under the most favorable conditions
can she go alongside a collier. In any
thing more unfavorable than absolute smooth
water there is great danger of injury
either to the Texas herself or the collier.
In this connection the advantage Of tum-
blehome to the side is very marked, insur-
ing great freedom from accidents due to
projections on the ships side.
s. After dark on the evening of the 25th
the squadron stood to sea, to the eastward,
with the Brooklyn, Massachusetts,, Iowa and
the Texas in column, natural order; the
Marblehead, Vixen and Eagle on the outer
flank and the collier inshore of the battle
ship. The Castine was left at Cienfuegos to
notify the Scorpion on her return, should
she not be sighted by us, TO proceed to Key
West in company.
9. The run to Santiago was marked by
rain and rough weather to such an extent
that the Eagle was unable to keep up a
speed of rs to S.5 knots, and fell behind
so much as to seriously delay the squadron,
which was forced to slow to a speed of from
four to five knots for her to regain and hold
her position. As this rough head-sea con-
tinued with no apparent prospect Of abat-
ing, and as the Eagles supply was becom-
ing dangerously low, she was sent to Port
Antonio for COAL with directions to make
the best of her way back to key West.
10. On arriving off Santiago, the collier
Merrimac was disabled by the breaking
of her intermediate pressure valve stem
and the cracking Of the stufting box. This
served as a further embarrassment to the
squadron and a source of considerable anx-
iety, as, with the weather conditions that
had prevailed since leaving Cienfuegos. IT
absolutely necessary to abandon the
position off Santiago and seek place where
the vessels could be coaled and the Golfers
repaired.
IL. OF Santiago, the st. Paul, Yale and
were sighted and communicated
with. The Minneapolis reported that she
had only sufficient supply of coal to reach
Key West and that her machinery was in
bad condition. The coal supply of the
other two scouts waa also' much reduced.
were at once made whereby
the Yale was to tow the collier and as the
did not seem favorable for replen.
ishing the meager coal supply of the other
vessels, the squadron stood to The west
ward, towing the collier. The operation of
taking the collier in tow proved to be quite
owing to the size and weight of the
two ships and the repeated parting of the
row lines. Finally, however after twenty
four hours unremitting eNertons. the col
ller's chain cable was gotten to the Yale and
the squadron proceeded. The st. Paul was
ordered to remain off Santiago until her coal
supply would no longer permit Of her delay.
y. After standing to the westward for
about three hours, or about twenty-five
miles, the conditions became less unfavor-
able and the squadron stopped. The Texas
and Marblehead were sent alongside the
collier, whose injury had been Temporarily
and coaled during the night.
Ii. lnasmuch as it was known that in