Evening star., 1898-11-12
ADMIRAL CERVERA'S REPORT
Spanish Commanders Story of the Fight of
July 3.
His Plan Was to Escape and Avoid
Engaging the Enemy, If
Possible.

Copies of the official report of Admiral
Cervera to the Spanish minister of marine
IN regard to the battle of July 3, which re-
suited in the total loss of his feet have
been received here and read with in
terest in naval circles. The admiral says
that, on leaving Santiago harbor July 3 at
y a. M, he telegraphed Captain General
Blanco at Havana follows:
In compliance with the orders of your
excellency and appreciating the fate that
will befall my squadron, as 1 have already
announced, leave the Bay of Santiago on
July for the sea-
The Order of Sailing.
1.-The order of sailing Admiral Cervera
reports, had been fixed as follows: In the
first place, the Infanta Maria Teresa and
afterward, in this order, the Vizcaya Colon
and OQuendo, and lastly the destroyers all
going under full steam and proceeding as
rapidly as possible. The Marie Teresa was
| to commence the battle giving the other
| ships the direction to the westward
| That he was justified in taking this action
the admiral states, is shown by the praise
| winch he has obtained from American Off
| GERS.
The destroyers were not to take part in
| the hghting, continues the admiral nor
| In fact, were any of the ships, the plan
| pelnS to make our escape best we could
| anu dNtlu tDSdSillS tne enemy II possible.
| 1t was about twenty-five minutes to ten in
| the morning when the Maria Teresa at
| tackled and opened fire upon the enemy's
battle ship of the type of the Indiana and
| upon the Iowa, launching herself particu-
| larly against the Brooklyn which was the
| most dangerous obstacle in our path.
| The Brooklyn was stationed on the right
side of the mouth of the bay, and her great
speed gave her an advantage which made
her especially dangerous to my command
The remainder of the ships were at this
| time attacking other vessels OF the enemy"
| Admiral CerVera gives list of the YES
| sells comprising the powerful American fleet
| which he was compelled to engage, and es-
| pecially calling attention to the armored
| cruiser New York, which carried the flag of
| Rear Admiral Sampson; the Brooklyn, fly
| ing the flag of Commodore Schley, and the
| battle ships Iowa, Oregon, Indiana and
| Texas.
"Realizing what the departure of my
| squadron would mean,' says the report, Il
took the course which l had determined
| upon before sailing, fully understanding
| the desperateness of the venture and ap-
| preciating beforehand what the result
would be. The American men-of-war We're
| alongside of ships and after a short
| time the battle became general.
| Result Never in Doubt.
| ''The result of the battle was never In
doubt, but 1 never thought that my vessels
would be so quickly destroyed. The enc
| my's fire produced terrible injuries on
| board the Maria Teresa, destroying her
| auxiliary steam pipes and fire mains. In
| such a horrible moment the commander of
| the Teresa, Commander COnca, fell, wound
| ed, and 1t was necessary to remove him L
myself took command of the ship, it hav-
| ing been found impossible TO find him at
| this critical period
| The dead and wounded were falling
| without cessation. Shortly afterward l was
| informed that in consequence of the eX-
p.csion of a shell of 81 nm, my apart
ments had taken fire. The fire, which soon
| spread, commenced at the same time on
the other side of the ship, also as a result
| of the explosion of a shell. Sufficient water
| could not be obtained to keep the flames
under control.
| II gave instructions to my adjutant to
open the valves in the after part of the
| ship, but it was Impossible to do SO. a
| thick wall of smoke prevented passage
through the ship below deck and my in
structions couldn't be carried out In view
| of the utter impossibility of defending the
ship any longer in such a position, she was
directed, with the greatest rapidity, to the
| shore to the westward of the Cabraera,
| where she was stranded at the same mo-
ment that her machinery stopped.
| The second and third comma nders agreed
with me that it impossible to longer
prolong the fight. We proposed to haul
| down the flag, but it was impossible on ac-
count of the great headway made by the
| flames. At this time the fire had made
such headway that it became necessary to
| abandon the ship, and those who were able
| to do so threw themselves in the water,
where they We're saved by two American
| boats, which had approached"
| Admiral CerVera gives the names of
| wounded and dead officers on the Teresa. A
| Spanish boat was lowered in the water. but
! filed on account Of the injuries 1t had sus-
| tanned under the terrific fire of the Ameri-
can ships Another steam launch met the
| same fate. The admiral then jumped into
the water, followed by his son and two
| sergeants.