The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1898-06-08
A DARING DEED.
American Sailors Blew Up the
Collier Merrimac.
Lieut.. Hobson and Seven Companions Took
the Ship Into the Harbor of Santiago
and Under Fire of Shore Bat
teries Sank the Vessel and
BIOckadeG the Entrance.

On board the DlSpatch BCeft DaunJ-
less, off Santiago de Cuba, via Port
Antonio, Jam 4ica, June 6.-By one Of
the most brilliant exploits in naval
annals, the cork has been driven into
the battle of Santiago de Cuba and the
Spanish fleet could not be more secure
were the entrance to that harbor door
ed, barred and double-locked and the
key dropped into the sea.
Lieut.. Richmond p. Hobson, of the
flagship New York, with a volunteer
crew of seven men, under cover of tie
darkness after the moon had set,
shortly after o'clock Friday morning
.an the big collier Merrimac into the
throat of the harbor, swung her broad
side to across the channel and then en-
ploded and sank her. He succeeded
in this desperate enterprise under the
fires of the batteries and forts which
guard the entrance, without support
from the fleet
Ensign Powell, also of the New
York, with a steam launch, crept close
under the guns of Moro castle to
take off the heroes of the Merrimac
and remained there pluckily until day
light. without seeing trace of the
Merrimac's crew. To have remained
longer would have been madness. AS
it was, he retired under a heavy fire
from Mauser rifles and the heavy guns
of the batteries.
Lieut.. Hobson and his men are now
Spanish prisoners, as flag of truce
announces, and will be exchanged in
due course of time, but their mission
was successful. Lieut.. Hobson planted
her at the very point he had selected.
Cushing's memorable feat in blow
ing up the Confederate ram Albemarle
is overmatched by Hobson's act, for
Cushing's men crepJ up Albemarle
sound at midnight and fell upon an
unsuspecting foe. Hobson took his
ship, over 300 feet long, into the very
focus of the battery with the enemy at
the guns and blew her up. Discovery
at the end of his journey was newt
able and death was almost certain. No
name, therefore, can be written higher
on wars temple of fame than his.
When Rear Admiral Sampson joined
Commodore Schley on Wednesday the
latter had already ascertained that it
would be impossible for the fleet to
crawl into the rat hole into which the
Spanish fleet had taken refuge. The
mines across the entrance and the bat
teries which commanded it made it
an act of folly.
| Commodore Schley was inclined to
think the dynamite cruiser Vesuvius
might be able to countermine, but the
ships would have to go in single file
| and if one were sunk in the channel
the progress of the others would be
blocked. 1t was then that Lieut.. Hob
son conceived the scheme of sinking a
big collier across the harbor entrance
and asked to be allowed tc execute it
himself. 1t seemed certain death and
almost certain failure, as the odds
were overwhelmingly against reaching
the entrance before discovery, but
Hobson was so enthusiastic that his
confidence was infectious, and the ad-
miral finally gave his consent.
The Spanish feet is now helpless,
being held captive in the harbor. The
narrow channel leading into the har-
| DOT was conDlelely plockeu Wnen lhe
Merrimac was sunk across its en-
trance. 1t is now impossible for the
Spaniards to get out, and it is equally
impossible for any vessel to get into
the harbor. Therefore the Spanish
first class armored cruisers Maria
Teresa, Cristobal Colon. Vizcaya and
Almirante Oquendo, with the two tor
pedo boat destroyers, Furor and Plu-
ton. are no longer of any use to Spain.
This result was accomplished by
the heroism of Lieut.. Richmond p,
Hobson, assistant naval constructor
and Daniel Montague. George Charctte
]. c. Murphy, Oscar Beignan, John P
Philips, John Kelly and H. Claussen
The latter, coxswain of the New York
took part in the expedition against
orders. They were all captured by the
Spaniards, but the Spanish admiral in
recognition of their bravery sent word
to the American admiral, under flag
of truce, that he was willing to ex'
change the prisoners and assuring the
American commander that they would
be treated with the greatest kindness