Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1898-08-04
THE LESSONS OF THE NAVAL BATTLE.
London Spectator, July 9th.

in regard to the naval battle is that the
American tieet did its work splendidly.
The whule performance Of Admiral
SIMPSONS feet was In accordance with
the hest traditions of the Anglo Saxon
nayies, and every Englishman has read
OF their doings with flush OF pride.
There was the old hard pounding such
as the Elizabethan seR- dogs used, and
the same curious mixture OF steauiness
and daring, GOODNESS and reckless dash.
No doubt the comparative strengths
were very different. but as one reads of
the Spanish ships tearing full speed up
the coast of Cuba, closely pursued by
the relentless Americans, who poured
in a continuous aud we'll directed fire,
1t ia impossible not to think of the
Armada as IL passed up the channel in
light. Drake's ships hanging on its
flank and Kidding the Spaniard's bulls
with their ceaseless iire--a fire which,
as on last Sunday, always hit and
always did damage. Had, indeed, the
Spanish ships been more numerous
and larger. and had most of the Ameri-
can Bhips been the size of the GlouceH-
ter, the battle. after the Spanish ships
emerged, would have been a working
model of the battle which began the
destruction of the Armada. In word,
the moral aspects Of what was almost
the first, and may be tho last, fleet
action between the Spanish and the
English RACES were very much alike.
In both cases it was the man behind
the gun who, in the last resort, won
the battle.
\ The technical lessons of the last
naval battle will have, OF course, to he
fully worked out by the naval experts.
but even the most superficial visw shows
one or two facts of great Importance.
They are not new facts exactly, but
old facts with new faces, aud therefore
well worth considering. The first thing
that strikes one ia the practical futility
of passive courage, especially at sea.
One might almost as we'll be coward
as man who runs headlong ON his
death, careless whsther he loses his
own life, but also careless whether he
kills his enemy. II the Spaniards had
been as cool and dashing as they were
indifferent to death, they might not
have beaten the Americans. but at least
thay would have done an immense
deal OF damage to the American feet.
Granted that Admiral Cervsra had
formed the resolve of breaking out Of
Santiago by daylight, how should he
have aGtedp How, that ia, could he
have sold his ships and ths lives of bis
men ararestY That surely should have
been the question put to himself by
! the Spanish Admiral. III il had been
put, could the anewer have been any
other than something of this kind?-'I
will order each of my ships aH she gets
clear OF the neck OF the bottle which
fnr ho hax .,e Cn D. -.
one OF the American ships, and to fly
| straight at her as a savage dog flies at
q man. My ship shall ram the meri-
can IL she can. but il not, assail her as
furiously as possible. If the american
ship gives way before the Spanish on
slaught, the SpaDiard can get out to
sea and escape. II, on the other hand,
the American closes with her, then
there will be- fisrce fight, in which
one or the other. or probably both, will
60 to the bottom. This will prohnbly
happen, but meantime some of the
| Spanish ships will have had time to get
| into the open sen. Once there, scatter
and fly is to be the order If Admiral
Csrvera had adopted these bold, or, il
| you like, mad, tactics, he wouln no
doubt have lost most of his ships, but
thsn he would have probably sunk or
damaged three or four of the American
vessels, while one or two o. his own
wopld very likely have got away scot
frse.S, AB ii was, he lost all his ships
and did no damage to the Americans
He secured this really astonishing re-
suit by, instead of flying at the threats
of the Americans, attempting to run
| along the shore with the American feet
between him and the open sea. As HI
and his ships ran. the Americans
poured upon them a storm of shot and
shell, and showed once again that he Who
runs away is in far greater danger than
even he who waits TO be- killed, but in
tends to sell his life as dearly as pos.
sible. That is An old time lesson to be
drawn from the battle of Santiago.
Another is equally clear. equally inn
portant, and almost equally old. 1t Ii
that in naval war what really matters il
not the armour plating, the build
of the ship. or even the power OF the
engines, but the man behind the gun.
When Capt. Mahan was entertained
in England at a naval elmer, the
speech Of the evening was admitted by
all TO have been made by the American
admiral. He reminded his bearers that
strategy, and armour, and new types Of
gun, and scientific lodges, and all the
rest were very goud things. but in the
last resort what really mattered was thu
man behind the gun. That was true
in the old wars, and has been proved
true again, both at Manila and al
Santiago. Straight shooting is, after
all, what wins the battle. OF course
you had better have gun that viii
fire, and fire powerful shot at q
longish range. but even If you hav,
got it, it ia perfectly useless il the mer
behind il are too excited or have hat
too little practice to be able to fire i
straight, and SO to hit with it. TIL,
most deadly patent shell, fred frou
the newest and most expensive anC
most scientific of guns, is no bette
than an old rounds shot fred from
gun of Nelson's day il it drops in th,
water and does not strike the enemy
hull or deck. In other words, su
periority of gun-fire is now, as in thu
days of old, the chief thing to look for
! No doubt you should, as we have said
give your men as good gun to fir,
with as possible, but teach their officer
and them to rely. not upon the ship
,, armour, or the range Of her guns, o
the weight of the metal discharged, o
the speed OF the engines. but upon th
, power. II need be, to make the enemy'
. hull look like a porous plaster. Lool
at the heroic fight made by the littl
Gloucester. BY the way. the peuple O
the old city should send greeting AMI
. a silk fiag to the little ship that ha
done their name such credit. VIVA
gave the Gloucester her victory, an,
also allowed her to escape. was hs
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