The Portland daily press., 1898-07-26

| upon the Spanish admiral q decision, our
vigilance Increased. The night hlockad-
ing olsGance was reduced to two miles for
all vessels and battleship was placed q
long slde the searohlight ship, with hel
proaaslde trained uPon the channel in
readiness to fire the instant "A Spanish
snip should appear. The commanding
o1lcers merit the greatest praise for the
peIIecG manner in which they entered IN
10 Thls plan and put 1t into execution. !
| Inc massachusetts, which according to
Tou1lne, was sent that morning to coal AT
Guantanamo, like the others had spent
weary nights upon this work and de-
served q better fate than to be absent tnat
morning.
enclose, for the information OF ths de-
partment, copies of orders and memoranda
Issued from time to time relating 10 the
manner of maintaining the blockade.
When all the work was done SO well IL is
difficult to determinate in praise. Inc
object of the blockade of Cervera' 8 squad
ron WAS fully accomplished and each in
dividual bore well his part IN 1t, the
Commodore in command of the second
division, the captains of ships. their
officers and men. The fire of the BATTLE
ships was powerful and destructive, and
the resistance of the Spanish squadron,
they had got beyond the range of their
own forts. The fine speed Of the Oregon
enabled her to take front position in the
chase and the Cristobal Colon did not
give up until the Oregon had thrown u
l3-iDch she'll beyond her. This perform
ance adds to the already brilliant record
Of this fine battleship and speaks highly
OF the skill and care with which her ad-
nirable efficiency has been main taineN
during service unprecedented in the
history of vessels of her class. The Brook
lyn's westerly blockading position, gave
her an advantage in the chase which she
maintained to the end, and she employed
hor fine battery with telling effect The
Texas and the New York were gaining
on the chase during the last hour and had
any accident befallen the Brooklyn, or
the oregon, would have speedily over.
hauled the Cristobal Colon From the
moment the Spanish vessel exhausted her
nrst burst of speed, the result was never
in dou BIT.
She fell, in fact, far below what might
reasonably have been expected Of her.
Careful measurements of time and dis
tance caves her average speed, from the
time she cleared the harbor mouth, until
she was run on shore at Rio Tarquino
OF 1877 knots. Neither the New York nor
the Brooklyn stopped to couple up their
forward engines, but ran out the chase
with one pair, getting steam OF course as
rapidly as possible on all boilers. Sew
lyn more often than the others, but very
light material injury was done, the great
est being aboard the Iowa.
Our loss was one man killed and one
wounded, both on the Brooklyn. 1t is
difficult to explain this immunity from
loss Of life or injury to ships in a combat
with modern vessels of the best type, but
Spanish gunnery is poor at the best, and
the superior weight and accuracy of our
fire speedily drove the men from the guns
and silenced their firing. This Is borne
out by the statement of prisoners and by
observation. The Spanish vessels as they
dashed out of the harbor were covered
with the smoke from their own gins, but
this speedily diminished in volume and
soon almost disappeared.
The fire from the rapid-fire batteries of
the battleships appears to have been re-
maTkably destructive An examination
of the stranded vessels shows that the
Almirante Oquendo especially had
suffered terribly from this fire. Her sides
are everywhere pierced and her decks
were strewn with the charred remains of
those who had fallen.
The reports of Commodore W. s. Sohley
and the commanding officers are en-
closed.
A board appointed by me several days
ago has made critical examination of
the stranded vessels, both with view of
reporting upon Ghe result OF our IRE and
the military features involved and of re-
porting upon the chance of saving any of
them and of wrecking the remainder.
The report Of the board win be speedily
forwarded.
Very respectfully,
VT. Sampson,
Rear Admiral, U IS. Navy.
Commander in Chief U. s. Naval force,
North Atlantic Station.
10 Secretary of Navy, Navy Depart
ment, Washington, d. G.