The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-04-27
SPAIN'S LAST
NAVAL BATTLE.
After Disastrous Defeats by Chile
and PaFu.

and Peru.
From the TimesHeTald.
Those who have followed Spanish his
tory have title fear of the result of a
naval war between that country and
the United States. Since the battle of
Lepanto in 1j7O,when Spanish and Ven
etians together fought the Turks and
won after q long and bloody contest,
Spain has not won a notable victory on
the sea. Her naval prowess has stead
lily declined, and today few of the little
South American republics who were her
former colonies, would confess that
they We're afraid of her
The last naval battle fought by Spain
in the new world showed conclusively
how her maritime power has decreased.
she was defeated by Peru, with Chile's
aid, and since then the Spanard has
kept away from the Pacific coast Of
South America.
The story of that war and it's disas
trous results to Spain is told in the
Army and Navy Journal. In 1864 Spain
sent q squadron of seven vessels,
mounting 2ll guns, to punish the Peru
vians for the maltreatment of Spanish
subjects. The Peruvians had nothing
on the water with which to oppose this
| force, but Chile came to her aid with
three vessels-the Esmeralda, carrying
forty-two smootlbOres; the Victoria,
a small gun monitor, and the Loa
a diminutive Merrimac, plated with
iron and mounting two siXty-eight-
| Founders. The Esmeralda met the
! Spanish gunboat Cavandago Ghree
guns) and captured her in twenty min
utes without the loss of man. The
! Spaniards fired only three shots. They
! had two men killed and fourteen
wounded. The loss of the Cavandago,
| followed by the capture of an armored
launch, SO chagrined the Spanish ad-
| miral, Pareja, that he blew out his
brains in his cabin.
SPANISH GUNNERY.
Admiral Nunez who succeeded Pare
ia, then gallantly assailed the defense
less Valparaiso, where not a single gun
was mounted except few saluting
pieces. Not a shot was fired from the
town and the inhabitants promptly
evacuated it. This Spanish admiral, in
| spite of the protests Of the foreign
men-of-war in the harbor, threw from
1000 to 5000 shells into it from his fleet
of six vessels. The Spanish gunnery
was so wretched that little damage was
done except by fire, which destroyed
so, 900 900 worth of neutral goods, 1t
was a most wanton piece of barbarity,
for if the Spaniards had had a landing
force they could have taken the town
without firing shot.
The gallant Nunez next assaulted the
City of Callao, which taught him the
difference between an open town and
one that was adequately defended. In
four or five hours the Spanish squadron
was badly used up and was glad tC
crawl back to Spain as best it could
i'm it's crippled condition. The Villa dc
Madrid, fifty-siX guns, got a shot in
her steam chest and was towed out OF
action; the Berenguea, thirty-siX guns
had a hole twenty feet square knocked
into her near the water line by an ex,
ploding shell and crawled out of range
to repair damages.
SPANISH HAD TO RETIRE
The ammunition in two other Span
ish vessels gave out after a two hours
fight, and they had to retire, one Of
them having been twice on fire in the
neighborhood of the magazine. Thi;
/ ltlA lNO NtSStiSI NilC ANuulduNltt, lIpll
! clad, and the Almanac. Two hours
later these two vessels ceased their fir,
and withdrew, the Chileans firing a
them until they We're beyond range. Tn,
! Spanish loss is not exactly known, hu
it is supposed to have been about 200
Commodore Rodgers, u. $. N, estimat
ed the loss Of the Chileans at eighty
though others give a larger number
No serious damage was done TO eithe
, ships or forts by the fire, byond tina
r named. The Spaniards then Withdrew
, discounted from the Pacific, beinl
, short of stoics and ammunition an,
with their vessels foul for want o
docking. They had established a bas
: at the Chincha Islands but they had N
/ facilities for repair,
Spain has shared in the movement o
] naval progress and is far more formid
t able in ships and guns than she was il
5 1864, but not relatively. We have n
} reason to suppose that her sailors ar
p better though IL may be that the us
of range finders may improve thei
lgunnery