Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1898-05-12
AMERICAN VESSELS TRAPPED.
I4urcd Into Havana Harbor and Fired Upon
by Spanish Batteries Bad Marks
manship Saved Them.

i
craftsmanship on the part of the Span
ish gunners saved the Vicksburg and
the cutter Morrill, from destruction off
| Havana Saturday morning. For over
| half an hour they were under the hre
| of the guns of the Santa Clara water
| batteries, but both escaped without
material injury, although shrapnel
shot, from s-inch guns, exploded all
about them, and both now show the.
pitted scars of the Spanish bullets.
| The willy Spaniards had arranged a
trap to send couple of our ships to
the bottom. They baited it as a man
would bait trap. A small schooner
was sent out from Havana harbor
shortly before daylight to draw
some of the Americans into the
ambuscade. The 'ruse worked like
a charm. The Vicksburg and the
Morrill,, in the heat of the
chase, and in their contempt for Span
| ish gunnery, walked straight into the
trap that had been set for them.
4 Had the Spauiards possessed their
souls in patience but five minutes
longer, not even the bad gun practice
would have saved our ships, and this
morning two more of our vessels would
lie at the bottom, within two lengths
of the wreck of the ill-starred Maine.
Friday evening the Vicksburg and
the Morrill,, cruising to the west of
MORO castle, were fired upon by the
big guns of the Cojimar batteries.
Two shots were fired at the Vicksburg
and one at the Morrill, Both fell short
and both vessels without returning the
| fire steamed out of range. 1t would
have been folly to have done otherwise.
But yesterday morning the Spaniards
had better luck. The schooner they
had sent out before daylight ran off to
the eastward, hugging the shore with
the wind on her starboard quarter.
About three miles east of the en-
trance of the harbor she came~ove on
the port tack. A light haze fringed
the horizon, and she was not discov-
cred until three miles off shore, when
the Mayfower made her out and sig
nailed the Morrill, and Vicksburg.
Capt. Smith, of the Morrill,, and Com
mander Lilly, of the Vicksburg, i'm
mediately slapped on all steam and
started in pursuit.
| The Morrill, and Vicksburg were
| about six miles from the schooner when
the chase began. They steamed after
her at full speed, the Morrill, leading
until within mile and a half of the
| Santa Clara batteries. Commander
Smith, of the Vicksburg, was the first
to realize the danger into which the
reckless pursuit had led them. He
concluded it was time to haul off, and
sent a shot across the bow of the
| schooner.
| -s~1, Ill
| brought his vessel about, but while
she was still rolling in the trough of
| the sea with her sails tapping, an s.
inch shrapnel shell came hurting
through the air from the water bat
terry, mile and a half away 1t
passed over the Morrill, between the
exploded less than so feet on the port
| quarter. The small shot ratified
against her side. 1t was a close call
Two more shots followed in quick
succession, both shrapneL One burst
close under the starboard quarter, fill
| ing the engine room with the smoke of
the explosion of the shell, and the
other, like the first, passed over and
exploded just beyond. The Spanish
| gunners had the range and their time
/
| of both ships were at their guns.
Lieut.. Craig, who was in charge of the
bow 4-inch rapid-fre gun of the Nor
rill, asked for and obtained permission
to return the fire. At the first shot the
| Vicksburg, which was in the wake of
the Morrill,, slightly in shore, sheered
| off and passed to windward under the
| Morrill's stern.
/ In ha OLE
put his helm to port, and was none too
soon. for as the Morrill, stood off, a
solid S-inch shot grazed her starboard
| quarter and kicked up tons of water as
it struck wave 100 yards beyond.
| Capt Smith said afterward that this
was undoubtedly an s.inch armor-pierc-
| ing projectile, and that it would have
passed through the Morrill's boilers
had he not changed her course in the
nick of time.
All the guns of the water battery
| were now at work. One of them cut
the Jacobs ladder of the Vicksburg
adrift and another carried away por-
ton of the rigging. AS the Morrill,
and the Vicksburg steamed away their
aft guns were used, but only few
shots were fred. The Morrils 6-inch.
gun was elevated for 1900 yards, and
struck the earthworks repeatedly.
| The Spaniards continued to fire shot
/ and shell for 20 minutes, but the shots
| were ineffective. Some of them were
| so wild that they aroused the Ameri.
can tackles" to jeers. The Spaniards
only ceased firing when the Morrill,
and Vicksburg were completely out OF
/ range.
If all the Spanish gunners had been
/ suffering from strabismus their prac-
tice could not have been worse. But
! the officers of both the Morrill, and
| Vicksburg frankly admit their own
recklessness and the narrow escape OF
their vessels from destruction. They
/ are firmly convinced that the pursuit
| of the schooner was neatly planned
trick which almost proved successful.
The accurate range of the first few
shots is accounted for by the fact that
| the Spanish officers had ample time to
/ make observations. The bearings of
| the two vessels were probably taken
with range finder at the Santa Clara
battery, and as this battery is probably
/ connected by wire with Moro. thev
were enabled to take bearings from
both points, and by laborious calcula.
| tions they fixed the positions of the
vessels pretty accurately. With such
| opportunity for observation it would
| have been no great trick for an Amar;