Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1898-05-18
ANOTHER LIFE LOST.
Seaman Raglan of the Marblehead
is Killed During an En-
oaOemant

! gagement.
| Key West, Fla, May 14.-The United
| States cruiser MarbIehead, the gunboat
Nashville and the auxiliary cruiser Win
dom, steamed up to the harbor of Glen
fuegos early Wednesday morning with Or
| ders to cut the cable connecting Havana
with Santiago de Cuba. This task was
accomplished, but only after a terrific
| fight between our warships and several
| thousand Spanish troops which lined the
shore and lay concealed behind impro-
vlsed breastworks. One man, a seaman
named Regain, of the Marbehead, was
! Killed outright III one of the working small
boats and six men were severely wounded
| In addition large number on board the
| ship received minor wounds.
Capt. E. Mcguire of the Window be-
lieves that several of the six badly
wounded men who were brought to Key
| West this morning on the Window can
not recover.
The following is the list of killed and
| badly wounded:
Killed: sin
REGAIN, seaman Of the Marbehead. II
Badly wounded: "a
John Davis of New York. 3
John J. Donran Of Fall River, Mass.
Ernest SunZanickle
Herman w. HOchmeSter
Harry Hendrickson, all of the Marblehead.
Robert Boltz, Carter county, n c., of the
! Nashville.
Soon after the arrival of the warships
Off Clenfuegos, four boats were launched
and proceeded in shore for the purpose of
graphing for the cable in order to cut it.
The warships lay to about 1000 yards or
| more off the harbOr
1t was observed that the Spanish troops
had assembled ashore, but it was not
known that heavy guns had been placed
in bod I.,+4 IL
| lighthouse, far out on a neck of land, had
been transformed into formidable fort.
The small boats proceeded cautiously
| and Tor more than an hour worked unmO-
Tested Oh the cable. Suddenly, just as the
work was about completed, the shore bat
terry fired shell at the boats. 1t was fol
lowed by others and the Spanish infantry
opened fire then, with their rifles.
Then, like flash, the Marblehead sent
a shell inland, and followed it with a per-
feet shower of shot.
The Nashville was quick to follow suit,
and the little Window cut loose with her
4-pounders.
In the meanwhile Spanish bullets fell
in every direction around the small boats.
Though the attack had come suddenly
and fiercely, the bluejackets were not dis
mayed, and, protected by the terrific re-
turn fire of the warships, work was con-
tinued and the ca bic cut.
When the boats returned to the ships,
Regain, who was in one of the Marble
heads boats, of which there were two,
was found to have been killed. Six men
were badly wounded.
The Spaniards had by this time suf-
| fered severe loss. Their shot from the
lighthouse struck the warships several
times and, although they did not do much
| damage, the fire aroused the determina-
ton of the American officers to exter-
inmate the fort. Thereafter the fire of
| the Warships was concentrated upon the
! lighthouse, and the improvised fort was
numbers of Spaniards in and behind the
| fort at the time, there is no doubt that
many of them were killed.
The Marblehead and the Nashville used
their heaviest guns, as well as their small
rapid-tire guns and hundreds Of shots
were thrown into the Spanish troops.
On board the ships a number Of men
! were slightly wounded.
| Commander Washburn Maynard of the
| Nashville was slightly wounded by a spent
| bullet.
The dispatch adds that the Spanish loss
is estimated at 400 and that of the United
States four killed and four wounded. The
| lighthouse was demolished, it is reported,
the arsenal destroyed and the batteries on
shore silenced. The town was set on fire
by shells from the American feet.
Key West, May 14-When the COM
manders of the Marblehead and the
Nashville called for volunteers to man
the boats and cut the cable the men re-
sponded with a jump.
Lieut.. G. MGR. Winslow of the Nash
vile took command of the Nashvilles
boats.
| The shore surrounding the entrance of
the harbOr was first shelied and then the
| boats proceeded in. The cable was deep
in the channel and was found with diff
Guilty. One of the relays of the cable
had been cut when the Spaniards opened
fire.
The marines in the boats replied at once
and a machine gun from the forward
launch sent in stream of bullets, while
heavy shells from the warship drove the
Spaniards from the rifle pits at the shore
many of them seeking refuge in the light.
house fort, which was afterwards torn to
pieces by a shell from the Window.
With desperate courage the American
sailors remained calmly at their posts and
| succeeded in dragging up the second re-
lay of the cable and severing it.
Seven men badly wounded was the
count, and one of them, Regain, died
Winslow was shot in the hand and a num-
| Der of others were more or less injured
On the Nashville, Capt. Maynard was
standing forward, with an ensign, when
Spanish bullet passed through the en-
signs shoulder and struck Maynard on
the chest, wounding him only slightly.
The Marblehead was struck scores of
times by bullets from machine guns and
the Nashville suffered to about the same
extent. The Window also had many
marks of the fray. Her shell blowing
up the lighthouse and scattering the
Spaniards in all directions ended the bat
tie.
Boltz and Hendricks, who with four
others of the wounded are at the naval
hospital here, are expected to die. The
remains of Regain were buried at sea.
TO BURN THE COAL.