The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1898-06-17
TO CONVOY TIL TROOPS:
Powerful Fleet Assemblies 0f
Port Tampa.
SIXTEEN BIG WARSHIPS
Extra Guard 10 Due to Reports that
spanish Vessels We're Lurking
In Florida Waters.

Washington, d, G., June Ia. Another
formidable American feet has been as
sembled, consisting of sixteen warships
of various classes, headed by the big
battleship Indiana, which for all-round
effectiveness stands at the head Of the
navy. This fleet is assembled at Port
Tampa and is to serve as q convoy for
the troop transports from that port,
The formation Of this formidable con-
roy fieet IS due to the reports, more or
less indefinite, that Spanish ships were
lurking between Florida and Cuba with
view of intercepting the transports.
The navy department has not given Sc
rl0us credit to these reports, yet they
were more or less cireumstantial.
In order to avoid the slightest POSSIBLE
ity of q dash by some Spanish ships
against the troop transports, this new fleet
Of sixteen warships was determined upon.
Whether it was ordered from Washing
ton or was due to the precautionary
measures of the officials in command in
the South is not disclosed. 1t is only
known that Commodore Remey, COM
mander of the naval base at Key West,
has brought together this powerful feet
Of conveys. II is strong enough, both in
number of ships, size of individual ships
and armament, to cope with any Spanish
vessels that might be at large in the
West Indies, and it entirely eliminates
any possible danger that might attend the
transporting of the army of invasion to
Cuba. ~
Capt. Taylor, who commands the In
diana. is available as commander of this
squadron, although it is not disclosed def
nitely who will be it's chief. Commodore
Watson is with the blockading fleet off
Havana and cannot well be spared from
that position, which will be maintained
efficiently Notwithstanding the drafts
made to create this convoy.
Capt. Taylor is regarded as one of the
most judicious and capable officers in the
service and should the squadron command
fall on him it is felt that it will be in
able hands. The Indiana probably will be
the flagship of the convoy squadron.
There probably will be other battleships,
but it is not deemed advisable. for pru-
dental reasons, to give the full list of the
ships in exact detail. The Indiana is con-
sidered one of the most formidable ships
af1oat, being regarded by naval experts as
superior as a fighting ma chine to the ships
OF the Terrible class in the British navy.
She has displacement of 1O,28S tons and
has main battery Of sixteen large guns
besides many smaller rapid-fre and ma
chine guns in her secondary battery. Her
largest guns are of the 13-inch class, four
in number, mounted in turrets. two for
ward and two aft.
The desirability of forming this feet
was suggested by the information, COM
ing through official channels, that Spanish
ships left Barcelona some days ago, bound
for Cuban waters. This information came
to the state department.. 1t was to the
effect that the ships included three Span
ish warships and one transport. The in
formation was regarded as trustworthy.
1t was communicated to the navy depart
ment and led to careful consideration.
A little later came the reports from the
ships off Florida that suspicious-looking
vessels, with military tops, had been seen
in the offing. These last reports were re-
ceived with some credulity, but naval Off
GERS were disposed to dismiss them as
myths. They were treated lightly and
some officials spoke of the matter US an
other case of the phantom ship Flying
Dutchman."
But the better-advised ones, knowing
of the reports as to the sailing of Span
ish ships from Barcelona, looked upon the
matter as one which should not be dis
missed too lightly A single troop trans
port, carrying nc armor, might be at the
mercy of some stray Spanish ship and
there was no purpose to hazard the lives
Of 1900 men on any Of our ships when re,
ports came from Two widely separated
sources, one Of them quite in detail, of
the approach Of Spanish ships. {
While it is inexpedient TO give the
makeup of the convoy fleet, yet some gen
eral idea may be given of the warships
which might be drawn upon for this serv-
ice. There are a number of ships which
have been doing scout duty and others
held in reserve, while Commodore Wat
Havana gives another source from which
the convoy feet can be made up. The
fine auxiliary ships like the Yale and
Harvard, with the torpedo boats, could
be used for scout duty, their swiftness
permitting them to go far ahead as pick
cts for the approaching feet. The small
er cruisers, gungoats and torpedo-boats
which could be used with the Indiana are
the Helena, Bancroft, Marietta, Newport,
Wilmington, Castine, Cincinnati, Detroit,
Montgomery, Annapolis, Vicksburg,
Ericsson, Dupont, Gushing and Foote.
AS stated, there is no desire to give. this
as an exact list of the convoy squadron,
but it merely indicates with what facili-
conditions, without in any way weakening
Admiral SIMPSONS command off Santiago
or Commodore Watson's command of
Havana. Admiral Sampson will still have
ten or more ships. including the formida.
bic battleships Iowa, Texas, Massachu.
sets and Oregon, and the armored cruisers
/ New York and Brooklyn. The blockad.
ing squadron will continue to have twelve
or more ships, including the four big moni.
tors, Puritan, Terror. Amplitude and
Miantonomah. H - *# Fl
Besides the feet of sixteen convoy YES
sells there will be from thirty to sixty
transports, making in all remarkable
fotilla of transports and naval conveys.
The war department today gave out an
official list Of transport ships thus far
hired, in order to clear up erroneous re-
ports. The list shows fifty ships char
tered along the Atlantic coast and ten on
the Pacific. Those along the Atlantic will
be used in the main for embarkipg troops
from Florida and those on the Pacific for
the troops going to Manila. H..
DpnTNcn EpAM .IADAN