Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1898-05-05
A Famous Sea Fight.

/ Wan lronclads on the coast OF bo.lN!a
in 1879. Nj. Wetmore says
From the first of the battle the en-
couaging voice of Grau had come to
the men in the turret through the
| speaking-tube from the conuing-tow-
er; but when the Blanco crowded IN
to the thick oft, and great shot struck
/ the Huascars sides as regularly as
blows of a battering-ram, the orders
Of the commander were no longer
| heard. The officer in charge of the
turret called to his superior. There
was no answer, and when Commander
Elias Aguerre ran up the narrow 1t
tie ladder that led to the tower, he
stumbled over the dead body Of hi,
admiral. \ she'll had struck the con-
ning-tower, and had taken off Graus
head as neatly as if the decapitaton
had been by the guillotine. This
shell also killed Lieutenant Ferre, the
admirals aide. There was only time
to push the corpses aside, and the
new commanding officer pulled back
the tube-hap to give his directions;
but as he did so the Huascar stagger-
ed, keelei over, then shook in every
plate, while a conclusion more terrific
than any 60 far told that a shell had
entered the turret and had burst
there. When the fumes had cleared
away so that a person could speak, a
midshlpman called out that one ofthe
great guns had been dismounted, and
twenty men killed. The survivors
tumbled the bodies through the hatch
that opened into the deck below, thus
releasing the clogged machinery; and
as the corpses ratified down other men
rushed up, throwing off their clothing
as they Jumped into the pools Of blood
to seize hold Of the gear and swing
the remaining gun into position, that
it might train upon one of the ships
they could no longer make out which,
nor did they caro-aud it was dis
charged again.
Once more all silent in the coming
tower. Lieutenant Palicois FASTENED
there, but before lie could enter he
was compelled to push three bodies
out Of the way. He had barely given
his first command when a bullet from
the well-aimed rifle Of a marine in an
enemy's top lodged between his eyes.
Then the fourth to command the
Huascar that day, Lieutenant Pedro
Garezon, took the place, and as he
did 90 he called through an aperture,
telling the quarter master to put the
helm to port for he had determined
to ram one Of the adyersaries, and
sink with her if necessary. over and
over spun the wheel, but the Huas-
cars head still pointed between the
ChiIeaus.
Port! Port, l say !" screamed the
commander.
"She won't answer, came back the
sullen reply from the only one Of four
quartermasters alive; the bodies Of
the others were lying upon the grating
at his feet
"A shot has carried away the star
board steering-gear sir, reported an
ensign and lie dropped dead as the
words left his mouth.
The Huascar now lay drifting in a
hell Of shot aud flame, but all the
while the red, white and red futter-
ed from the peak. One by one, in
twos and in threes, the men in the
turret dropped at their posts, and at
last the remaining great gun was ST.
lent, ITS tackle literally choked with
dead. The turret could not be turned
for the same reason. CorPses hung
over the military top; corPseS clogged
the conning-tower.
With coats and waistcoats off, the
surgeons had been laboring in the
wardroom upon the wounded, who,
shrieking in their agony, had been
tumbled down the companionwsy like
50 much butchered beef for there
was no time to use stretchers or to
carry a stricken cOmTdde 10 uOcloT
care. Steam and smoke filtered
through the doorways, and the apart
ment became sitting While they
were saving, amputating and bandag-
ing, shell tore into the ward-room,
burst, and fragments wounded the az
sistant surgeons, the chief Of the med
ical staff having been killed earlier in
the conflict. Those unfortunates who
were stretched upon the table await
ing their turn under the knife, and
those who lay upon the floor, suffered
no more pain they were killed as
they Law groaning. This shell tore