Daily Kennebec journal., 1898-11-26
H,sroRIc..sEA FIGHTS.
salami., 3. c. 4s0, Was the First, Manila
the Last.


From the naval battle Of Salamis to
the great sea fight at Manila is far
cry-B. C. 480 to A. d. 1898, more than
$500 years. Salamis was the first great
recorded battle of the world. Salamis
drove the Persians from the Greek soil; !;
Manila drives Spain from Asiatic
waters. The loss Of life at Salamis has
been variously estimated at from 5000
to $4,000; at Manila, 400 to 1000. Tri-
remes were at Salamis and shield and
sword and 1rute numbers; at Manila
the hell of monster guns and ironclads.
the scream of shell and the carnage OF
high explosives. Salamis was fought In
the youth Of nations; Manila in the
dawn of the greatness of the American
people, the night of Spain. One notable
parallel of Manila is found in the bat
tie of the Nile. fought August |, 1888
Lord Nelson and the English fleet
against Admiral Brueys and the
French fleet. Nine French line of bat
tie ships were taken, two burned and
two escaped. The French rOrient. with
Brueys and 1000 men on board. blew up
and only seventy or eighty escaped.
Nelson's cry for this engagement was:
Victory or Westminster Abbey"
Other famous sea contests Of the world
are:
Winchelsea-English defeat forty
Spanish vessels and capture twenty
six, August 20. 1850.
Harfieuer-English capture or des-
troy 500 French vessels. August Is,
1416.
Gibraltar Bay-Dutch defeat the
Spanish, April 25. 1907.
Dover Strait-Dutch destroy the
English fleet. November 20. 1852.
Observation-Disclosures defeat the
Dutch and destroy eleven men-of-war
and thirty merchantmen, February IL,
1858.
North Foreland-One hundred Eng
lish and Dutch men-of-war engaged,
eleven Dutch taken and six sunk. June
2, 1853.
Coast of Holland-English sink thir-
ty Dutch men-of-war. July 81, 1858.
Santa Cruz-Spanish fleet burned by
the English April 2, 1867.
Harwich-Dutch lost eighteen ships
to the English. June 3. 1865.
Thames-Dutch lose to English
twenty four men-of-war, four admirals
killed and 1000 seamen, July 25. 1866.
Messina-Spanish fleet, twenty-nine
vessels, destroyed by the English, July
81, 171s.
Gibraltar-English defeated combin-
ed fleets of Spain and France, Septem-
ber 13, 1882.
Trafalgar-Nelson sunk nineteen
French and Spanish vessels, after
fighting, with twenty-seven ships,
thirty-three of the combined fleet;
Nelson killed: October 81, 1895.
Navarino-The fleets Of England,
France and Prussia destroy thirty Tur-
kish men-of-war, October 20. 1927.
Most notable American battles pre-
ceding Manila are the following:
Coast of Scotland-Paul Jones cap
lures the Scraps and Scarborough, ~
guns, September 90, 1873.
Off st. Kitts-The Constellation. 36
guns, captures the French pInsurgent,
40 guns, February 8, 1899.
Coast of United States-Constitution
"A guns. sinks the Guerriere. IS guns, in
thirty minutes. August 10, 1872.
Madeira-United States, A guns, cap
lures the Macedonia, 40 guns, october
25,s 1872.
Brazil-Constitution captures the
Java, December 20, 1872.
Demarara River-Hornet captures
the Peacock, February "a, 1918.
Lake Erie-Perry, with 54 guns. de-
feats English fleet, with 6S guns, Sep
tember 10, 1913.
Lake Champlain-McDono with
Sc guns. defeats English fleet with 96
guns, September II, 1914.
In all of their naval conflicts with
England, France, Spain and the Tri-
poli pirates the United States never
has sustained what would be consider
ed a crushing defeat. They have lost
individual vessels, but only after the
most desperate resistance, giving
proof of the saying that Americans
do not fight to save their skins" For
instance, September 26, 1914, the Arm
strong, in the harbor of Fayal, was at
tackled by British squadron. Captain
Reid of the Armstrong, with his seven
guns, repulsed three attacks of the
squadron, then scuttled his ship and
got ashore. The British loss was 800
killed and wounded, the American two
killed and seven wounded.-St. Louis
Republic.