The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-11-27
Also How the Burning of Six Block
Houses Changed Cervera's Purpose
to Sail Saturday Night.
INCIDENTS OF THE FIGHT
AWFUL EXECUTION OF SHELL FROM
THE AMERICAN FLEET.
An Austrian War ship That Decided
of the Battle Ground.

NEW YORK, Nov. 26.-Rear Admiral
Schley was the guest of honor at a banquet
given tonight by the Lotus Club at its
magnificent home on Fifth avenue. Seated
at the board to greet him were gentlemen
prominent in the Spanish-American war
and Others well known in professional and
| commercial circles. The banquet room of
the club was richly decorated with cut flow
ers palms and potted plants and immedi-
ately behind the AdmiraPs chair were
draped the star and stripes with the flag the
Admiral brought back from Santiago.
Seated at the guests table were Bishop
Potter, Admiral Erben, Captain Sigsbee,
Chauncey M Depew, Robert C. Ingersoll,
Rev. Minot ]. Savage, Captain A. L. Mahan
and Admiral Schey.
When Admiral Schley arose to speak he
was accorded a tremendous ovation.
He said: Il do not think L deserve so much
praise as you are willing to accord me. L am
simply a sharer in a great event and had
| the pleasure of assisting others to a result
which has been glorious in our history. 1t
ought to be said that the matchless victory
of the peerless Dewey on May and that of
July at Santiago. supported by the beauti-
full work of our army in the field before San
tiago, eliminated the vigilance of the navy
department and it's otncers. How well our
work was done the wrecks lying on the east
ern end of Cuba tell the better story.
Curious how little things determine re-
suits. 1t had been the determination for the
fleet of Admiral Cervera to have left on the
night of July 2. BY some one of the strange
emotions of telepathy l felt that an outward
movement had been determined and decided
to connect the after and forward engines of
Chi OF 7 IN bp in
operation of hardly an hour, but was told
that the full speed of four engines and one
half boiler power was greater than two en-
gines and full boiler power, so l risked it.
Much has to be risked in battle 1t ap-
peared that at the very hour L was occupy
ing my mind with this question, Cervera
had planned his attempt to escape.
Another curious fact was their army's
retreat to hills west of Santigo and our
army closing rapidly about them. The in
surgents took possession of the blockhouses
to the number of six and burned them. That
was the number of ships in Cerveras fleet
and he thought it was signal to us of their
intended movement. And he thought to fool
the Yankees and remain. That little fact de-
termined the result.
A TERRIFIC COMMANDMENT.
"The discipline so complete and the
men off Santiago so vigiant that the move
ment of the enemy's fleet was simultane-
ously discovered on every ship. The mo-
ment chosen by Admiral CerYera was $3.50
o'clock in the morning. He assumed that
we would be at quarters, and we were. In
three minutes the action had commenced.
They came out in beautiful order, tech
nicaly a column, under high pressure of
steam. Signals We're to close in and clear
movement. Guns were opened. Such
bombardment as followed in the next fif-
teen minutes rarely fails to the experience
of any one The batteries east and west
of the harbor opened on the vessels. The
firing was of kind that can only come
with modern rapid-firing guns. The storm of
projecties that passed about us was simply
terrific. l stood on the bridge to better de-
termne which of three methods to pursue.
The movement was made westward, the
most vulnerable to the enemy. We fol-
lowed at high speed until we determined
that the attitude of the enemy was flight
rather than fight. Fifteen minutes would
have been lost had not this been the case,
masking the enemy against our fire. The
result in twenty-nine minutes was that four
of the enemy's ships were destroyed and on
fire and in retreat to the beach and two re-
mained-the Vzcaya and the Colon-who
put their helms to port and attempted to
escape to the west, pursued by all of our
fleet except the two that remained behind
for humanitys sake and to save life. which
is common to civilized warfare.
'Fifty-nine minutes from the time the
Teresa and the Oquendo commenced flight
they suffered terribly. 1t was the first time
1 have ever seen shingles literally fly from
a ship. They were pierced by one hundred
proiecties, the water mains cut and set
on fire. One shell alone killed and wounded
eighty persons. At HOS o'clock the Teresa
made movement as if to set to sea. She
received three shells, one striking the soft
part of the ship and the others in the for
ward parts above the belt. Fire and smoke
burst from her port holes, fame and smoke
from her hatchways 1 thought she would
capsize so heavy was her list to port She
fired one shot, hauled down her colors and
made for the beach to save her men.
TRIBUTE TO COAL HEAVERS
"The Colon steamed up then out of range.
directed Captain Cook, of the Brooklyn,
to go to dinner, and the same signal was
sent to the Oregon. Then l set to work the
iremen and coal beavers, those NOBLE ST.
lent, effective workers upon whose efforts
much depended. / stood on the bridge and
/ heard coming through the hatchways the
song Of Old Johns Body Goes Marching
on while those sterling fellows were SHOW
cling coal. and we bounded forward. After
thirty minutes of good feeding we gained so
much on the Colon that signaled Captain
Clark, of the Oregon, to let go one of his
railway trains. One of his thirteen-inch
guns hred and the shell fell just astern.