Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1898-04-29
A FAMOUS SEA FIGHT.

ENGAGEMENT BETWEEN CHILEAN AND
PERUVIAN IRONcLADS.
In The Century Claude II. Wet
more has an article on ga Famous
Sea Fight" describing the engage
meut between Chilean aud Peru
wan lroncladS off the coast OF
Bolivia in 1879. Mr.. Wetmore
says:
From the first of the battle th'
encouraging voice of Grau had
CONE to the men III the turreI
through The speaking tube from
The coming tower, but when thu
Blaueo crowded INTO the thick OF
1t and great shot struck the huas-
cai's sides as regularly as blows
of 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, aud when
Commander Z las Aguerre ran Hp
The narrow little lad-itr that led to
The rover lie stumbled over tht
dead body Of his admiral. A she'll
uad struck the c nnlng tower all
uad taken of Grams head a.
neatly as if the decapitauon ha
Ueen b, he guillOtlnr. This shel'
also killed Lieutenant Ferre, the
AL d.,iIaPs aid. Tuere was Onl
tlme TO push he corpse aside, AN
The new commanding Office pulled
hAck he luhr flap 10 u eh'N DIR
rcton<, nnt AS nr dld SO he Hu
scar staggered, ke led owe The
shoOk in every plate, whl'e = Coll
cussiOn more terrific than any 81
far told that a she'll had tnitrr'
The turret aud had burst there
When the fumes had Gle red AWAY
So that pc, son could speak. d
mldShipmau called out th It Que oi
the great guns had bern di-mOunl
ed and 20 men killed. The sur
vivOrS tumbled the bodies thrOngi
tho hd'c0 that opened into TIT
deck below, thus rea 'izing the
clngged machinery, and as tbs
corpSes ratified down other mel
/, rushed mp throwing off thei
clothing as they jumped into tn
pools of blood to seize hOld of thu
gear and swing the remaining
Gun into position that it Nigh
train upon one OF the ships-thel
could no longer make out wbict
nor did tley re-and it wa
discharged, hauled In, loaded an
discharged again.
Once more all was silent IN I'll
rs coming tower. Lieutenant Pa
acios FASTENED there, but before b
?, could enter he Was compelled /
y push three bOdlrs out of the wa.
+ He bad barel, given his 6rst cou
mand when a bullet from the we
AIMED ufle of marine in a
I euemy's top lodged betweeI
his eyes. Then the fourth to con
mand the Huascar that da
u Lieutenant Pedro GareSon; to-
D. the place, aud as be did so he Cal
- ed through an aperture telling Il
anartermaster 10 put the helm
port; for he had determined to ra
Ole OF the adversaries and slI
with her II necessary. Over Al
a. at over spun the wheel, bot the Hu
NJ scars bead still pointed betwe
a. a. the Cbileans.
N. "POrll Port, | sayp scream'
,r the commander.
.She wont answer came ba
the snllen reply from the Ouly Ol
NE of for qaartermasters alive. L
% bodies of the others we're lyl
upon the grating at his feet.
"A shot has carried away
starboard steering gear, sir"
ported an ensign, ana he dropp
dead as the words left his mou
The Huascar now lay drifting
a hell of shot and flame, but
the while the red white and
auttered from the peak. One
by one, Ill twos and in threes,
men in tue turret dropped at tn
posts, and at last the repainl
great gan was silent, its tacl
literally cboked with dead. !
,urret could not be turned for
same reason. Corpses hung o.
the military top; cOrpses clogs