The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1898-07-21
(Atlanta COnstitutiOn.)

(Atlanta Constitution.)
Naval Cadet Howell Woodw ard, of
Atlanta, a relative of Commodore
Schley, now on the flagship Brooklyn
with the Commodore, has written an
interesting letter from the front to
his mother, Mrs. Park Woodward, of
this city, telling of the engagement
with the Spanish fleet, on July 3rd.
The minute details are very inter-
esting and told as only one who was
currence of the fight.
His vivid description of the run
ming fight of Sunday morning shows
the great excitement that the fleet
was under and the GOODNESS with
which the men at the guns pounced
the ships of the enemy.
He praises Commodore Schley for
his magnificent handling of the fleet
and gives him great credit for the
brilliant victory. He said the Span
iards when captured and brought on
the American ships shouted words of
praise to their captors.
The letter is as follows:
"United States Ship Brooklyn, Off
Santiago de Cuba, July 4, 1s98.-My
Dear Mother: To-day, July 4th, is
a glorious day for America and will
be doubly celebrated, especially by
the United States navy. We met the
enemy yesterday and demolished
them. The morning was bright and
we had not been rudely awakened
for the purpose of attending quarters,
as had been the case for the two
mornings previous. At 9;3O O'Clock
the work was passed about the ship
for the men to shift in clean white,
hats and shoes for the general
muster, which always takes place on
the first Sunday of the month. At
$50 o'clock assembly was sounded
and every officer and man, dressed
in clean white, went to their places.
Muster had hardly begun when
the executive officer, Lieutenant
Commander Mason, ran forward from
the quarter deck shouting Clear
ship for action In trice every
man was at his post and the guns
we're trained at the entrance of the
harbor, from which the Spanish fleet
were issuing. Every man realized
that there was work ahead. The
Spanish fleet were trying to escape
and we were to prevent them or sink
in the attempt. The port battery
opened fire first, and l being in
charge of the starboard turret, re-
mained on top to see the fun.
THE Spaniards continued to come,
one by one, in the following order:
Infanta Maria Teresa (fagship,) Girls
tobal Colon, Vizcaya and Almirante
Oquenda, followed by the torpedo
boat destroyers Pluton and Furor.
1.-The Spaniards formed line
quickly and stood to the westward.
The Brooklyn being the farthest ship
to the westward, was fired upon by
all four vessels. As the New York
had left for Guantanamo an hour be-
fore, the Brooklyn was the flagship
of the fleet, and this was an ad-
ditional reason for being a target for
the four Spaniards. Another thing
we were the fastest vessel, and
should any endeavor to escape, it
would be we'll to have us out
of the way. Considering all these
points the Spaniards determined to
sink us, but we are still afioat-the
finest vessel on the seas to-day. We
have, as result of the scrap, holes
all through us, fifty shells having
left their prints on our side. One
eleven-inch shell went through the
ship, about twenty feet from where I
was, and exploded on the berth deck,
and although the compartment was
filled with men, not soul was hurt.
"Well, to continue with the scrap
the four Spaniards being we'll out
of the harbor-the entire fleet
jumped on them. Two the Almirante
Oquendo and the Maria Teresa
were ended up in short order, officers
and men being killed in large num-
bers, and shells exploding all around
the ships. They headed for the
beach and purposely run aground
and the surviving men escaped to
shore in boats and by swimming.
In the meantime shot from the
Iowa ended the existence of the
Pluton. The shell struck her in the
bows and she shut up like knife,
diving bow foremost into the sea.
She has not been seen since. The
Furor suffered similar fate, being
struck amidship by shell from
either the Oregon or one of the other
battleships. The Vizcaya and Girls
tobal Colon continued to the west
ward, the former making a stubborn
fight. Having lost 120 men, however,
and having one of her magazines ex-
ploded by a shell from my turret,
She also headed for the beach, but
those who swan ashore went to face
the rifles of band of Cubans that
happened to be in tn" vicinity.
The Cristobal Co, on steamed on,
the Brooklyn and Oregon pursuing.
A number of shells were fired at her
for a while, but she began to dis
tance us, and the firing ceased. See
ing she was likely to escape, more
boilers were connected up and after
steam was sufficiently up to be used,
we began to gain.
The firing having ceased. some
one asked the Commodore if he would
like to have a basin of water. His
reply was: No don't want any water,
l want that ship, and will have her
if have to follow her to Spain"
'.For forty-tive miles we continued
the chase, the Oregon keeping up
with us pretty we'll. We continued
to gain, and the Spaniard being close
to the beach, was being closed in
upon by the Brooklyn and the
Oregon. Seeing no way of escape,
she run upon the beach and waited
for us. hauling down her colors as
she went ashore. We went up to