New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-08-04
THE UNSEEN HEROES.
WORK OF THE MEN WHO COULD NOT
VIEW THE BATTLE OF JULY 3.


advantage we may gain said Commodore
Schley. and speaking loudly to overcome the
noise Of the frightful guns. the gallant captain
~ tho Rrooklvn said. with smile Il always
do that sir | consider it necessary FOR the
esnrit de corps" and. stepping into the coming
tower he called down the tubes: Tell the men
below that the Maria Teresa Is running ashore
At the same time Executive officer Mason rush-
es to the firing turrets and calls III 10 '"e '"'"
tho same joyful news
II was on July ,. and the excitement OF ''c
first call to battle had hardl" subsided on 'ne
big cruiser Brooklyn when the foregoing '''''
dent occurred. Commodore Schley stoon upon
a small temporary bridge running ABOUT '"c
coming tower while Captain COOK spent MS
time between the interior OF the tower "here
he directed the machinery. and the pia'ioi'''
where he could see the enemy.
Fighting. fer the honor of America. three pet
,or.rrenored and more heavily armored ships OF
Spain this splendid type of The American NAVY
was one mass Of flame and smoke. Only one
third Of the entire crew could see the enemy Vi
any mart NJ the fight In the big turrets half
naked mon worked behind the steel walls with
no knowledge Of how the battle went until they
,,ora f., formed nv Mr. Mason and below the pro-
tective deck fully three hundred or more men
worked under the glare OF electric light. keeping
,bis Great engine of destruction mechanically at
work The blg-turret S-inch guns could not
have done their deadly shooting. even with the
trained eyes guiding them. had not the men he
low sent I'D the ammunition. and the Brook
lvn could not have kept side by side with the
escaping vessels had It not been for the engl-
,eer and nreroom force working below the deck
like hends.
WORKING THE BIG GUNS
The men I'm the turrets Of five-inch steel see as
little as the men below deck. except that once
I'm a while they get a glimpse OF the OBJECT Hreu
at When the ships Of Spain were sighted com
ing out on this eventful morning the S-inch ana
J-inch guns were all loaded. and in each turre''
within two minutes after the summons. eleven
men stood. half-naked. awaiting the "oro 10
fire The chief Of the turret lieutenant is IN
the mood his eye to the telescope he gets the
line Of his gun the harbor ana awaits the
signal Five thousand yards" sings out an
orderly in the turret opening. and the gun goes
-, ~ tho nroper elevation as the lieutenant In
the mood orders the elevatlng gears turned Inc
No man at the guns connects the electric wire
- rho nrimer with the hoods hand-fring appa-
ratus. and all are waiting. Commence hrhg
comes the order. and quickly the answer comes
The ,urret Ucutenant's hand closes on the cleo
trio apparatus and the gun jumps back as llo
pounds OF exploding powder drives a COMPOUND
shell from the muzzlc Of the great piece al
rate Of 20SO feet a second. Then. before inc
roar has ceased the hand Of the man In charge
y, ,ha, turrat touches the electric lever. and the
great 700 tons If steel moves quickly around
until another gun Of the twins was In the same
posItion as the first one had been.
HOW THE LOADING rs DONE.
Hardly has Gun No belched forth It's def
ance 10 the group OF Spanish ships than the
Ave men behind It. until this minute statues
Of inactivity spring into life Nos. and
onen the breech, wash OF the mushroom ana
Gas check with a sponge. oil tho breech-plug
extract the exploded primer. and see that the
Won, "a clcar No 4 seizes the long bristle
snoneo wet with water. and. assisted by NO s.
spongcs the gun. lays aside the sponge ana
seizcs tho hammer. ready to drive home the
new charge
While they have bern working there mas mp
peared at the top Of the ammunition hoist new
shells and new ammunition. and the ofncer IN
command oi tie turret cries Load
No ; raises the ammunition corner OF 'he
hoist ani. with the assistance Of No. . OF the
other gun grasps the handles upon the carriage
and swings II to the rear Of the gun. No s
q rams home the projectilc. Then in quick sue
cession No ,. No and No ram In the two
charges 81 powder in packages OF hfty-hve
pounds each done up in serge or muslin and II.
grains Weighing an our CO and quarter each
No closes tho breech. No. | again connects
the wire and the gun is ready 70 IRE Al! THIS
has taken just four minutes. end with two guns
the big turret Is shooting once every two
minutes.
UNDER THE PROTECTIVE DECK.
But where are the mysterious hands that send
up these death-dealing charges TO the guns IN
such a ghosilIke way. Down below the water
line Of the ship. beneath the protective deck that
in too many battles has proved the lid 10 the
steel coffin OF hundreds OF brave men, Is a naked.
pcrspiring crowd OF heroes. their eyes ctually
closed 70 the changing scene Of battle. but
their senses kcenly alive TO the fact that n
torpedo or shell below. through the nrmor
belt may mean death These men worked with
an energy that proves their patriotism and
devotion TO the flag on this day they sent up
to the various turrcts and guns over 10000
pounds OF ammunition. taking It carefully out
OF the big magazines without accident.
The men detailed In the handling rooms OF the
Brooklyn are from the nth or pow lrr fi"s!on.
composed Of those not detailed guns crews.
such as carpenters and gunners' mates. SER
wants. idlcrs Of all kinds. AMI the relief watch
of the engineers division. This m ,,llev Of men
is OF many nationalities m * known on tc0id
the Brooklyn "Coxay's Army" and Is COM
mandcd by senior deck officer. DR.. Griffin. with
four or five other officers ass!stln-s each as
sistant having charge OF n section OF dt, ut
forty or nifty men, the whole division taking
charge Of all magazine holds md all space be-
tween decks during action.
WORK OF THE POWDER DIVISION
At the clang of the alarm for general quar-
ters" the men rushed for their stations struc-
Cling through a small steel hatch in the pro
tcctiy, deck and down narrow and o,r,o.,