The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1898-05-21


went on deck when the battle began:
John ynrvares. thesoter John Donlef.
and John Meek. the Ifirerren, were both
on watch with me and had theyfre-!!
MANNED below they would probably not
have been killed. After the Airing boz
gansIbwent below again to attend 10 the
boilers, and few minutes later u solid!
shot came crashing through the side OF
the boat and Into the boiler, where II
exploded md destroyed seventy of the
boiler tubes. AT first ~ stunned me.
When the shell burst In the boiler. ~
threw both the furnace doors topentand
the fuse from the shell struck OF my feet.
Two pieces OF the shell also came ,out!o
tho door, and3II am taking them home
within as souvenirs OF the war. 1t
was n terrible crush and report alto-
gether, and the boiler room was filled
with, dust landEstea For several 7secy
cndsEI was partially stunned. and my.
cars rang sol could hear nothing. ]
went upon the deck 10 report to- Cap-
tain Dcrnadou.tsS
whit did you tsny5to him !?
III saw him near the fore-castles gun
limping about withia towel bound about
his left leg, He WINS shouting and the
noise OF NIL the guns was like continu-
Gus thunder Captain I shouted. the
forward boiler Ia disabled. a shell has
gone through her.
4i"Get out the hose, he said, and
ed to the gun again. j went backtlnto
the boiler, room and In n few minutes I
went up on the deck again and the fight
Ing had grown shotter than Sow
lcral, of the men were missing and lnok-
led around. Lying In a heap on ttetaf-
ter deck In the starboardi quarter, near
the after coming tower, Igsaw five OF
our men where they had Swilted down
after the shell had struck them. In
other places were men lying grooming
or dragging themselves about wounded
and covered with blood. The deck had
blood on 1t, and It was strewn with
fragments md splintcrs. I went over
where the five men were lying In a,heap
and saw that they were not all dead.
John Meek could speak and move one
OF his hands slightly. I went up 10 him
and I put my face down close to his.
"t'Can lido anything for you. John?'I
asked, and he replied, NO, Jack, I'm
dying; goodbye and he asked me to
grasp his hand. GO help there, he
whispered, gazing with fixed eyes where
Captain Bernadou was still firing the
forward gun. The next minute he was
dead. He was my friend"-and there
was a pause in O'Hearn's story.
Ensign Bagley." he continued, after
a little, was lying ut the bottom badly
torn to pieces. and the bodies OF the
other three were on top Of his. The col
ored cook was, lying a little apart from
the others, badly mangled and in a
cramped position. We supposed he was
dead, and covered him up the same as
the others. Nearly half an hour after
that we heard him calling and making
a slight movement under the cloth. We
went to him and he said, oh. boys, for
Gods sake move me. I'm lying over the
boiler and burning up It was time:
the deck was very, hot and his flesh had
been almost roasted. He also complain
ed that his neck was cramped, but did
not seem to; feel his terrible wounds.
We moved him Into. an easier position
and gave him some water. Thank you.
SIR he said, and In five seconds was
dead"
Then O'Hearn told OF the brave con-
duct Of the gunboat Hudson's crew in
Egetting the Winslow out Of her perilous.
situation. That story was fully told on
the day after the battle.
O'Hearn Is thirty-five years OF age and.
has served eighteen years in the United.
States navy. He went on the .Winslow
last January, and had previously served,
on the Puritan, the Katahdin, Texas and
other vessels of the navy. While on the
Puritan In the Brooklyn navy yard, last
July. he prevented q catastrophe by
saving the ship, from being blown up
when the boiler room was on fire. For
this act of bravery he was given a
medal which he now years He will re-
turn to some place in the navy after! a
few weeks rest in Brooklyn.