The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1898-06-06
He Conceived the Scheme Of Sinking the
MerrimaC in Santiago Channel.
The Daring Enterprise Was Carried Out With Con-
sun1mate Goodness and SkI|--Carranza Must
Leave Montreal --CoxsWain Drowned.

Port Antonio. JAM. June e.-By one
" The most brilliant exploits in naval
annals, the cork has been driven into
the bottle of Santiago, and the Spanish
fleet could not be more secure were the
entrance to that harbor doored, barred
and double locked and the key dropped
into the bottomless depths of the sea.
Lieutenant Richmond p Hobson, OF
the flagship New York. with volunteer
crew of seven men. under cover Of the
darkness after the moon had Set. shortly
after 3 o'clock Friday morning. ran the
big collier Merrimac into the throat OF
the harbor. swung her broadside to
across the channel, and then exploded
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 of the
heroes of the Nerrimac. and remained
there pluckily until daylight discovered
his position, without seeing a trace OF
the Merrimac's daring crew. To have
remained longer would have been sheer
I0dunesS. AS IL Was lie fttulHtu uhdCt
heavy fire from rifles and the heavy
guns of the batteries.
Lieutenant Hobson and his men are
now Spanish prisoners. as a flag of truce
announces, and will be exchanged in
due course of time. That their mission
was successful admits of no doubt. En-
sign Powell distinctly saw the spars Of
the wrecked ship in the middle OF the
channel Lieutenant Hobson planted
her at the very point he had selected.
Cushings memorable feat In blowing
up the confederate Albemarle Is over
matched by Hobson's act, for Cushing's
men crept up Albemarle sound at mid
night and fell upon an unsuspecting foe.
Bobson took his ship. over 300 feet long.
into the very focus OF dozen batteries
with the enemy at the guns. and blew her
up. Discovery at the end of his Journey
was inevitable, and death was almost
certain. Like Cushing's deed, Hobson's
desperate undertaking was conceived by
him who executed 1t. When Rear Ad-
miral Sampson Joined Commodore
Schley on Wednesday, the latter had al
ready ascertained that 1t would be i'm
possible for the fleet TO crawl into the
rathole into which the Spanish fleet had
taken refuge. The mines across the
entrance and the batteries which COM
manded ii made the mere contemplation
OF Ii an act OF folly. Commodore Schley
was inclined to think the dynamite cruis-
er Vesuvius might be able TO counter
mine; but the ships would have to go
IN single file. and IL one were sunk in
the channel the progress OF the others
would be blocked. 1t was then that
Lieutenant Hobson conceived the scheme
of sinking the big collier across the har-
Dor entrance, and asked to be allowed to
execute it himself 1t seemed certain
death and almost certain failure, as the
odds were Overwhelmingly against
reaching the entrance before discovery.
Hobson was so enthusiastic, however,
that his confidence was infectious, and
the admiral finally gave a reluctant
consent.
lieutenant Hobson's chief anxiety was
that in the dark he might miss the mar
row mouth and run on to the shoals to
the westward. To prevent the pos
sibility of this, the plan of allowing the
Merrimac to ran in under the Spanish
flag with the fleet In feigned pursuit
firing blank cartridges and blazing the
path to the harbor entrance with search
lights was considered. but abandoned
because, among other reasons, Lieu
tenant Hobson and his volunteer crew
did not want to die. If their lives should
be sacrificed. under false colors.. They
wanted to go down with the stars and
stripes floating proudly from the Mer-
rimac.
When the admirafs consent was on
tained, Lieutenant Hobson became i'm
patient of all delay. and that very night
after the moon went down he set the
time for the attempt. Volunteers were
called for on all OF the ships OF the fleet,
and TO the credit OF the American navy
be IL said that few hinched. Whole
cheering crews stepped forward at the
summons for the extra hazardous duty.
About 300 on board the New York. some
$50 on the Iowa and like proportion
from the other ships volunteered Lieu
tenant Hobson. like the hero he Is. de-
cided to risk as few lives as possible.
He picked three men from the New York
and three from the Merrimac. The
latter were gree1 In the service, but they
knew the ship and had pleaded hard TO
go, and one man slowed away on board
the collier. Six other men. selected from
various ships with Ensign Powell in
command. manned the launch which was
60 lie at the harbor mouth and take of
those who escaped.
The Merrimac was made ready. Six