The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-06-16
MAN BEHIND THE GUNS
Tells in His Own Language the
Never Too Often Told Tale of
Glorious rIanila Bay.
sGUNNER EVANS STORY
He Worked For Seven Hours the Gun on the Boston
GUNNER EVANS S
He Worked For Seven Hours the Gun on the Boston
That Threw the S-Inch Shell That Set
Fire the Reina Christina.

| in case had life enough to fire second
| shot, to put the next bullet into the root
| Of my mouth. 1t was not long before the
! looked for happening came. Two shots
were fired by the Spaniards as We passed
the forts. u.ts
| From that moment my nervousness was
| gone, for 1 knew that we had now settled
| down to business, and my mind was toe
much occupied with what was going on
| around me and with my work to give
much time for meditation The shot had
come from shore battery on the left side
| of the island. The gunner. Sullivan, who
was in the turret with me. happened to
| have his eye at the portfolio, and saw the
| fash of the first shot. When the second
came he answered without waiting for
orders. His gun was elevated at 4,40C
| yards. and he did not stop TO alter the
elevation, and that shot dismantled one
of the guns in the battery and killed thirty
| or forty Spaniards.
After we passed the forts the ships
steamed ahead slowly. for it was still five
| hours till daylight. and Manila and the
| Spanish fleet were only two miles dis
| tant. AS there was not likely to be any
| firing for some time, I had my men dror
down beside the guns and sleep as best
| they could. They were thoroughly tired
and all except one or two slept soundly
If man slept at all, he slept wherever
his post of duty happened to be.
The officers conversed in low whispers
so as not TO disturb the slumbering men.
I took run down into the magazine and
looked over everything for the last time,
and the guns in the turret were loaded
and ready to sight at the first occasion.
We were steaming very slowly, but in
creasing speed as the dawn increased.
| In the gray daylight we could make out
a line of ships anchored in front Of the
city. Then we steamed ahead faster. The
ships ahead proved to be merchantmen,
and at daylight we could discern the
Spanish fleet further down the bay, and
then it was Full ahead" The Spanish
fleet did not advance to meet US, and ap-
parently made no move on the defensive.
Possibly our audacity had for the moment
paralyZed them. But 1t was not for long.
In twenty minutes or so they opened a
terrific cannonade at long range. The bat
teries and forts around Manila opened
fire at the same time. Every man on the
ship was now wide awake and at his post
I knew that it would not be long before
there would be some hot work, and I
served my men with cup of coffee and a
piece of bareback, and a little later gave
them each a drink of whisky and water
1 had eaten nothing myself since the
night before except a little coffee and a
little bareback with the men, and I did
not drink all the coffee, and only nibbled
a little of the bareback
According to orders we did n3t respond
to the Spanish guns until our ships came
into position. Then the flagship cpened
fire, and 1 followed with two hours of
cannonading which I do not believe has
ever been equaled in naval warfare. The
shots from the Olympia were the prear-
ranged signal for the other ships TO do
the same.
We soon discovered that the batteries
OF Cavite were very heavily mounted, and
the ordnance included several lcjnch
guns. and we were not long in discovering
that theDon Antonio de Ulloa and Reina
Christiana, the flagship, carried much
n
to fear that our ships had met heir
match. Shots shrieked above and around
Us. but our men showed that they had
pluck, for they were giving the Dons q
It takes time to thing aOINEIAO;EA
battle royal
what was the end to be? No man knew.
II takes time to think, and each man was
working with every nerve strained. As
hot as the battle was the heat of the sun
was equally 50, and I had my men who
were bringing up the ammunition throw
off every vesdge of clothing except their
shoes.
The Spanish guns mad opened upon US
at $40 a. m, and 1t was fully $40 before
We began to reply. But when we did, we
made every shot tell for our gunners
demonstrated that their opponents were
no match for them IN accuracy. although
the Spaniards had every advantage a
should have known the exact range of
every point in the harbor, while Of the
American feet not q gunner had ever as
much as been in the harbor before. re
began circling in front of the Spanish
fleet. each time getting a little closer. We
IRIS. fred the port battery. and then
swung round and fired the starboard bat
teries.
By $50 We had circles three times and
were starting for the fourth when the
Spanish admiral came out IN the Reina
Christina and CALAMITY assai,ed Us. bu:
we made 1t hot for him. don't know now
il the world he escaped with his life.
While ne was standing on the bridge a
shot from one Of our ships. I think il was
the Concord. blew the bridge clean over:
n fact. shot II right from under him. bu.
the admiral was apparently uninjured. for
a few minutes later ! saw him walking the
deck as calmly IS though he vas OF pa
rade. I; was getting too hot for him and
ne evidently saw that his snip vas no
match for Us, and ne turned % get back
% his fleet.
Just as tae Reina Christina swung
around an esght-inch shell from the port
battery, which I vas tending struck her
square as5ern. and SCI her on FIRE By this
time other gunners had GOT The range.
ard Il ever q ship was riddled * was the
Relna Christina. &C not think E. was
dftean minutes from tns tire ne shell
from the Boston strgc . Ter Wien she w=nt
down wi-h. q j. SAT- over two hundred
men. The admiral, however. had escaped
IN a sinai boa. and made Tor The Isla Go
Cuba, where ne again holsted his fag.
tank that one % the miracles OF the
battle wss the escape % ire admiral %
she Isla d. Cl13 under rain q shell he
never could hsye done & had De not pun
the Reina Chrl;tiaa 50 close - she forts
ina; We were AFRAID 70 ges in 100 close
pursuit Every minute THAI could spare
7 D., Z - the poE;holes. foz never ex-