The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1898-07-27

LIZA II b lOtCAl 0t HSCCe
yachts-and when they wore avsilsbl,
one or two of bin itSrpc1o thdsxs. Meit
this arranedms at there Hvas at lsa1t
certainty that atoahihg douid ut but d
the harbor undetected.
i DeAtrlactioniof the Wizcaya.
! Afssr fthe arrival sof THE army, whe
the situation forced supoh the SPANS
admiral decision, our vigilance i'm
creased. The night bIockading distanc
was reduced 10 two mites for all yes
sells, and a battlsship was placed along
side the searchligiit ship. with he
,bsoadsb1e trained lpon the ct1anHel II
| readiness ito fire the instant Spanlsl
ship should appear. The commandini
officers merit the greatest praise for tn,
perfect Manner In which they entered
into this plan land put It into sx
iecation. The Massachusetts,, which, &c
'coEdtng to routine, was sent that morn
ing to coal at Guantanamo. LIKE the
others, HAD spent weary nights upon
This work, and deserved a better late
Than to be absent that morning.
i enclose, for the Information Or the
department. copies Of iordeys and mem
:orandums issued from time 70 time, re-
aating to the naaifrIer OF maintaining
the blbckade. when all the work was
dDne $50 well 1t is difTicuIt to dlstrim,-
nate in praise. The object Of the block
ade of 'CsrNerass squadron 'was 1ullyl
accomplished, ;a1d each individual bofe|
we'll his part i'm 1t, the teomr1otfore In:
aCofnntatd 7of the second division, thei
captains Of ships, fheir officers and
men. The fire Of the battleships was
powerful and destructive, and the re
sistanne of the Spanish squadron was,
In great Dart. broken almost before
they had got hayond the range OF their
own forts. The fire speed OF the Ore
son enabled her TO take a front posi-
Sion In thu chase, and the CEistobal
Colon did not give up until the Oregon
had Thrown a % inch shell beyond her.
The performance adds to the ALREADY
brilliant record of this fine hattleshtp,
and speaks highly Of the Skill and care
with which her admirable efficiency has
been matrituined during q service un-
preceeented in the history of vessels Of
her GLASS.
The Breoklyn's westerly blockadink |
position gave her an advahtaee IN thu |
chase, which she maintained to the |
end. and she employed her fine battery
with telling effect. The Texas end the
New York were gaining On the chase
during the last hour, and had any ac-
tcfaent sbefahea the Brooklyn or the
oregon would have speedily overhariled l
the Crfstobal Colon. From the rnament
the Spanish vessel exhausted her first
burst OF speed the result ,vas ;sexsr In
doubt. She fell, in feet, far below what
might reasonably have been expected
Of her. Careful measurements OF rtyne
and distance give her an average speed
from the time she cleared the harbor
mouth until the time she was run an
shore at Rio Tarquino, of 1877 knots.
Neither the New York nor the Brook
Ign stopped to couple up their forward
engines, but ran out the chase with one
pair, getting steam, of course, as rap
IDLY as possible on all boilers. To stop
to couple up the forward engines would
have meant a delay of Is minutes, or
four miles In the chase.
Our Ships But Slightly Injured.
Several OF the ships were struck, the
Brooklyn more often than the others.
but very slight material injury was
lone, the greatest being aboard the
Iowa. Our loss was one man killed
md one wounded, both on the Brook
yn. 1t Is difficult to explain this i'm
nunity from loss of life or injury to
hips in a combat with modern vessels
II the best type, but Spanish gsinnery
S poor at the best, and the superior
ntrrt,t
irove the men from their guns and
ilenced their fire. This Is borne out
" the statements of prisoners, and by
observation. The Spanish vessels, as
hey dashed out OF the harbor, were
overed with the smoke from their own
,uns, but this speedily diminished In
olunfe and soon almost disappeared.
'fe fire from the rapid fire batteries
the battleshtps appears to have been
destructive. An examina-
ion Of the stranded vessels shows that .
he Almirante Oquendo especially had
Uttered terribly from this fire. Her
ides are everywhere pierced and her
ecks were Btrewn with the charred
emains of those who had fallen. !
The reports Of Commodore W. 8. Il
chley and the commanding officers a
re enclosed. q
A board, appointed by me several q
avs ago. has made a critical examina- u
on of the stranded pesseis, both with
view of reporting upon the result of .
II fire and the military features in
olved, and of reporting upon the b
lance of saving any Of them and of II
rocking the remainder. The report Il
the board will be speedily forward n
!. Very respectfully, p
W. T. SAMPSON, o.
Rear Admiral United States Navy.