Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1898-05-19
UNDER HOT FIRE
'"" ""an's Forts Were Eidd,co-s,.
Loss on American sido.

Loss on American Side.
oh Board the Flagship Iowa. off San
Juan de Porto Rico, May l6.-Tbo
eheilys loss In the attack by part ~
N"mpson's fleet on the forts of San Jron
is believed to be heavy. The Amer;c,n
loss Is two men killed and seven men
injured.
After three hours firing, the adj.
miral withdrew the fleet, heading 70,
Key West. He said:
l am satisfied with the mornin,,s
WORK. could have taken San Jpan
out nave no force to hold it. ONLY
wanted to administer punisbmort
ms mas been done. l came for tha
spanish neet, and not for San Juan. "
The men killed were:
Seaman Frank Widemark. Of New
York. AVE-"
"A gunner's mate, of the Amphitrite.
The latter died from the effects of tho
extreme heat.
VI the injured men, three were on
the Iowa and four on board the Ne,y
AA'S AihhiSS VI tllOSe slightly ln-
lured on the Iowa are: Seaman
Mitchell, Private Marine Merkle, Ap-
prentice Hill. Injured on the New
York: Seaman Samuel Feltman, seri-
ously; Seaman Michael Murphy.
The four above-named were injured
by the bursting OF shell on the New
York This is a complete list of the
killed and wounded.
The American ships are uninjured.
The engagement began at 5:l5 A. M.
and ended at Sis A. NJ. The enemy's
batteries were not slenced. The town
In the rear of the Notifications probably
suffered. The ships taking part in the
action were the Iowa, Indiana, New
York. Terror, Amphitrite, Detroit,
Montgomery, Waumpautuck and Porter
The enemy's firing was heavy, but
wild, and the Iowa and New York
were probably the only ships hit.
They went right up under the guns in
column, delivering broadsides and then
returned. They passed in front of the
forts. pouring tons of steel ON shore. 1t
is impossible to judge the amount of
damage done to the buildings and forts
They appeared to be riddled with shot,
but the Spaniards were plucky.
The after-turret Of the Amphrite got
out OF order temporarily during the en-
ga2ement, but she banged away with
her forward guns
After the first passage before the
forts, the Detroit and Montgomery re-
tired, their guns being too small to do
much damage. The Porter and Waum.
pautuck also stayed out OF range.
The smoke hung over everything,
spelling the aim OF the gunners and
making it impossible to tell where our
shots struck. The officers and men of
the ships behaved with GOODNESS and
bravery. The shots few thick and
fast over all our ships.
The men who were hurt during the
action were injured by splinters thrown
by an eight-inch shell, which came
through boat into the superstructure,
and scattered fragments in all direc-
tons The shots course was finally
ended on an iron plate an inch thick.
Merkle was struck in the arm and may
lose it. A fire was started in the boat,
but was quickly extinguished.
Moro battery, on the eastern arm OF
the harbor, was the principal point Of
attack.
Rear-Admiral Sampson and Captain
Evans were on the lower bridge of the
Iowa, and had narrow escape from
the flying splinters, which injured
three men.
The Iowa was hit eight times, but
the shells made no impression on her
armor. The weather was fine, but the
heavy swells made accurate aim diff
cult. The broadsides from the Iowa
and the Indiana rumbled in the hills
inshore five minutes after they were
delivered. Clouds OF dust showed
where the shells struck, but the smoke
hung over everything.
The shells ecreeching overhead and
dropping around showed that the Span
iards still stuck to their guns
At 7:45 A. NJ, Admiral Sampson
signaled "cease firing" Return"
was sounded on the Iowa, and she
headed from the shore. The Terror
was the last ship In the line, and, fail
Ing 10 see tne SlBHaI, Biz DaHSeu away
alone for about half an hour, the con-
cert of shore guns roaring at her and
the water flying high around her from
the exploding shells. But she pos
sessed charmed life, and reluctantly
retired at S:15.
AS at Matanzas, the unsatisfactory
conditions, the smoke and the dis
lance, prevented any important con-
illusions being drawn. The town OF
San Juan must have suffered. AL
though somewhat protected by the
hills, the high shots must have reached
it. No traces of the bambardment
were discernible on the forts, except
small fires, which were apparently ex-
tinguished before the fleet left.