The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1898-08-14
ENEMY HAD THE RANGE
AND THEIR SHELLS SCREAMED
ABOUT THE SHIPS.
SAN FRANCISCO ALONE WAS TOUCHED
And The Damage Done her was 7rifling-- Three
Of our Vessels Were in Range, and
There Were Twenty Two Shells
7 THROWN.

brown.
Key West. Fla. August 13.-9 p. H.
The flagship San Francisco, the monitor
Miantonomah and the auxiliary yacht
Sylvia were fired upon by the Havana
batteries shortly before ) o'clock yester-
day morning. One ten or twelve inch
shell struck the San Francisco's stern
as she turned to get out of range, ana
tore hole about u foos In diameter,
completely wrecking Commodore How
ellis quarters and smashing his book case
to fragments. Nobody was injured, ana,
being under orders not to attack the bat
teries. the ships retreated as fast as
their engines would carry them.
The flagship and the Sylvia Jay parallel
to each other not more thar IL mile from
MORO Castle. and separated from each
other by distance of between three
Fights and one quarter OF . mile. The
Miantonomah lay about three quarters
of mile to the rear of the others. All
were within range of the Spanish bat
teries, and the temptation was too strong
to he resisted.
While the ships of the Havana block
AIDE squadron have been Keeping at Il
distance of six miles or more during day
light they have been accustomed to draw
ing in much closer at night. MORO
Castle light has burned steadily through
out, serving as good beacon for the
American ships.
Thursday evening the warships of the
squadron Immediately off Havana were
the San Francisco. Sylvia and the Man
tonomah and with nightfall they drew
in closer to the shore than ever before,
and took positions as before stated. All
night the ships rolled at their stations
with lights out, according to the block
AIDE regulations. Another twelve hours
of dreary duty had passed with the
same unvarying monotony, and what
happened soon afterwards was as I'M
expected as it was unwelcome.
The first gimmer Of dawn was break
ing through the Eastern skies when
without an instant's warning the look
out on the flagship saw jet of smoke
puff from one of Morro's big guns. Al
most before he could pun himself to-
gether sufficiently to make a report of
the incident ten and twelve inch shells
We're screaming all around the ships.
The Spaniards had the range and APP
parently were grimly in earnest in tseir
last efforts to wreak injury on their too
mighty enemy. 1t was, however, almost
as futile an effort as in every preceding
struggle. Shells fell between the San
Francisco and Sylvia; some fell short
few went over them. and still others
fell short. The flagship signalled the
Sylvia to get out of range without delay,
and both ships swung round and made
for the sea.
II yI,1,. l. .t,,I .,@, u, 41,.x
San Francisco's stern and sent its frag-
ments into the after cabin, wrecking
Commodore Howell's library. The com
modore was on deck with Captain Leary
when the shell struck.
The Miantonomah was in less danger
tran the two other ships. being farther
out TO sea; but when the firing COM
menced they all moved out about three
miles. Here the men on the flagship
were speedily put to work patching the
ragged hole which a shell had torn in
the San Francisco's stern. The damage
was found to be trhing.
All the shells fired at the vessels were
from ten or twelve inch guns, and there
were exactly % in number. As they fell
around the ships one of the Sylvia :
men stood calmly on the deck of the
ydtDt. watch III Ddilu anu tOuHttu TWIN.
MORO Castle fired several of the missiles,
but how many is not known. The others
came from two sand batteries east OF
Moro.
The firing lasted twenty minutes. No
attempt was made to return the fire,
the blockading squadron being under
specific orders not TO make any sort OF
demonstration against Havana partak.
ing of the nature of an attack Even il
such had not been the case it would
have been almost suicidal for the three
ships one of them Il yacht. to have
faced such odds as the land batteries
offered. The big turret guns of the
Miantonomah and the San Francisco'S
main battery of 6-inch guns could have
done much damage: but the Spaniards
had the range. and to attempt to combat
the almost impregnable Notifications Of
Havana would have been hopeless.
The one-sided engagement had scarcel,
ended when Captain Boilers was giver
packet of private documents which
he was ordered to take into Hayan;
under a flag of truce. This was dom
without incident, the Sylvia delivering
them to the officer of the Spanish gun
boat Martin Y. Pinzon.
The big Spanish transatlantic line
Montserrat is still bottled up i'll Man
tanzas harbor.