The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-07-27
SAMPSON AND SCHLEY
Continued from First Page.)

This order I did not modify. The Cris- tobal Colon was not injured by our fir ing and probably is not much injured | by bleaching though she ran ashore at high speed. The beach was so steep that she came off by the working of the sea, but her sea valves were opened and broken, treacherously l am sure, after her surrender and despite all ef- forts she sank. When 1t became evi- dent that she could not be kept afloat, she was pushed by the New York bod fly upon the beach-the New Yorks stem being pushed against her stern. Had this not been done she would have gone down in deep water and would have proved a total loss.
 il. regard this complete and impor- tant victory over the Spanish forces as the successful finish of several weeks of arduous and close blockade, so stringent and effective during the night that the enemy was deterred from making the attempt to escape at night and deliberately elected to make the attempt in daylight. That this was the case, I am informed by the commanding officer of the Cristobal Colon.
 12. It seems proper to briefly describe here the manner in which this was ac- complished. The barbor of Santiago is naturally easy to blockade, there being but one entrance, and that a narrow one. and the deep water extending close up to the shore line presenting no diffi- culties of navigation outside of the en- trance. At the time of my arrival be- fore the port-June 1-the moon was at its full and there was sufficient light during the night to enable any move- ment outside of the entrance to be de- tected, but with the waning of the moon and the coming of dark nights there was opportunity for the enemy to escape, or for his torpedo boats to make an attack upon the blockading vessels. It was ascertained with fair conclusiveness that the Merrimac, so galantly taken into the channel on June 8, did not obstruct it. therefore maintained the blockading as follows: To the battleships was assigned the duty in turn, of lighting the channel. / Moving up to the port, at distance of from one to two miles from the Moro dependent upon the condition of the atmosphere, they threw a searchlight beam directly up the channel and held it steadily there. This frightened up the entire breadth of the channel for half a mile, instead of the entrance so brilliantly that the movement of small boats could be detected. Why the bat teries never opened fire on the search light ship was always matter of sur prise to me, but they never did. Near the coast I kept three picket launches. With this arrangement there was at least a certainty that nothing would get out of the harbor undetected. Af- ter the arrival of the army the situa- tion forced upon the Spanish admiral a decision, our vigilance increased. The night blockading distance was reduced to two miles for all vessels and a bat tleship was placed alongside the search light ship, with her broadside trained upon the channel in readiness to fire the instant a Spanish ship should ap- pear. The commanding officers merit the great praise for the perfect man. ner in which they entered into this plan and put it into execution. The Massachusetts, who, according to rou- tine was sent that morning to coal at lihc Illc OtlI6IE, udu SpGIlL weary nights upon this work, and de- served a better fate than to be absent that morning. I enclose, for the infor- nation of the department, copies of or- ders and memorandums issued from time to time, relating to the manner of maintaining the blockade When all the work was done so well 1t is difti- cult to discriminate in praise. The ob- ject of the blockading of Cervera' S squadron was fully accomplished and each individual bore well his part in it, the commander in command of the second division, the captains of ships, their officers and men. The fire of the battleships was powerful and destruc- tive, and the resistance of the Spanish squadron was, in great part, broken al- most before they had got beyond the range of their own forts. The fine speed of the Oregon enabled her to take 8 front position in the chase, and the Cristobal Colon did not give up until the Oregon had thrown 13-inch shell beyond her. This performance adds to- the already brilliant record of this fine battleship, and speaks highly of the skill and care with which her ad- rnirable efficiency has been maintained during a service unprecedented in the history of vessels of her class. The Brooklyn's westerly blockading posi- ton gave her an advantage in the chase which she maintained to the end, and she employed her fine battery with telling effect. The Texas and the New York were gaining on the chase during the last hour, and had any accident be- fallen the Brooklyn or the Oregon would have speedily oyerhauled the Cristobal Colon. From the moment the Spanish vessel exhausted her first burst of speed the result was never in doubt She fell in fact, far below what might reasonably have been expected of her Careful measurements of time and dist ance gave her an average speed, from the time she cleared the harbor mouth until the time she was run on shore al Rio Tarquino of 19.7 knots. Neither the New York nor the Brooklyn stopped te couple up their forward engines, but ran out the chase with one pair Tc stop to couple up the forward engines would have meant a delay of ten min utes or four miles in the chase.
 14. Several of the ships were struck the Brooklyn more often than the oth
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