The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-05-09

ing dawn to commence hosiii4tes.
The early hours OF the morning revealed
the opposing ships 10 each other and the
Spanish flagship opened fire. Her action
was followed by some OF the larger Span
ish warships, and then the Cavite. forts
opened up and the smaller Spanish ves-
sells brought their guns INTO play.
The American squadron, which had been
led into the bay and Through the channe;
by the flagship Olympia, did not reply,
though the shells of the Spanards began
to strike the water around them.
The ships moved majestically onward
\ When nearing Baker bay sudden up
heaval of water short distance ahead of
the Olympia showed that the spaniards
had exploded mine, or a torpedo. This
was followed by a second and similar ex-
plosion. They were both utterly unsuc-
cessful.
The American fleet was then drawing
nearer and nearer to the Spaniards, whose
gunnery wass very poor. the shots from
the Cavite batteries and from the Span
ish ships being equally badly aimed, either
falling short or going wide Of the mark.
When the American fleet entered the
bay, coming through the southern channel
between Caballo and Friles Islets, the
following was their order; The flagship
Olympia, Baltimore Raleigh Concord.
AScpttti, 4 StiSi anu NdNNrtAHtNiit win tAt
two store ships, the Nanshan and zaflro,
bringing up the rear. And In that order
they swept grandly before the city and
faced the enemy in column line
The order OF battle etaken up by the
Spaniards was with all the small craft in
side the stone and timber breakwaters of
Cavite harbor. The larger ships of Spain
cruised off Cavite and Manila.
Though the SpanIards had opened fire at
.s1r -. a
fire until within 1900 Yards of the enemy,
when the real battle began.
The Rena Christina. Castillo, Don An
tonic de ulloa, Isla de Cuba, Isla de Lu-
zon and the Mindanao were in line Of
battle outside of Cavite at that time, with
four gunboats and the torpedo boats in
side the harbor.
The American ships then passed back
ward ana forward six times across the
front Of the Spaniards, pouring in upon
the latter a perfect hail of shot and shell.
Every American shot seemed to tell.
while almost every Spanish shot missed
the mark.
After thus having scattered death and
decentralization among the Spanish fleet
and In the Spanish batteries, the American
feet retired for breakfast, and, incident
ally, a council of war was held on board
the Olympia.
BY this time the Spanish ships were in a
desperate condition.
The flagship Reina Christina was rid
died with shot ana shell, one Of her
steam pipes had burst, and she was be-
lieved to be on fire.
The Castillo was certainly on fire soon
afterwards. They were eventually burn
ed to the waters edge.
The Don Antonio de Ulloa made mag
nificeut show of desperate bravery. When
her commander found she was so torn by
the American shells that he could not keep
her afloat. he nailed her colors to the mast
and she went down with all hands fight
ing to the last
Her huh was completely riddled, and
her upper deck had been swept clean by
the awful fire of the American guns but
the Spaniards, though their vessel was
sinking beneath them, continued working
the guns on her lower deck until she sank.
During the engagement a Spanish tor
pedo boat crept along the shore around the
offing, in an attempt to attack the Ameri-
can store ships. but she was promptly Gls-
covered, was driven ashore and shot TO
pieces.
The Mindanao had, in the meanwhile,
been run ashore 10 save her from sinking.
and the Spanish small craft had sought
shelter from the steel storm behind the
breakwater,
The battle, which was started at about
$50 O'Clock In the morning, and adjourn
ed at $50. was resumed about noon, when
Commodore Dewey started in to put the
finishing touches on his glorious work.
There was not much fight left in the
Spaniards by that time, and at O'clock
the Petrol and Concord had shot the Ca
vite batteries into silence, leaving them
heaps of ruins and floating the white flag.
The Spanish gunboats were then scut-
tied.
The arsenal was on fire, and the ex-
plosion of the Spanish magazine caused
further mortality among the defenders of
Spain on shore.
On the water the burning, sunken or de-
siroyed Spanish vessels could be seen,
while only the cruiser Baltimore had suf-
fered in any way from the fire of the
enemy. A shot which struck her exploded
some ammunition near one Of her guns
and slightly injured half a dozen of the
crew.
Several shots passed dangerously close
to Commodore Dewey, but little or no dam
age was done on board the flagship.
on the other hand about $50 men are
said to have been killed on board the Relna
Christina, which was totally destroyed
Admiral Montejo, the Spanish command
err transferred his flag to the Isla de Cuba
when his ship caught fire, but the latter
was destroyed also IN due course Of time.
The Reina Christina lost her captain, a
lieutenant, her chaplain and mdshipmdn,
by one shot, which struck ner bridge.
About one hundred men were killed and
sixty wounded on board the Castillo. In
deed, some estimates place the number OF
Spanish wounded during the engagement
at over one thousand men.
The Olympia was struck five times about
her upper works. and a whaleboat of the
Raleigh was smashed.
Although the Krupp guns on the espla-
made OF Manila were fired continuously
during The engagement, Commodore Dewey
did not reply TO them, and the battery af-
forwards holsted white flag In token OF
surrender.
The terms Of the capitulatlon were stll
unsettled when the McCulloch left Manila
and It was said Commodore Dewey feared
riotiug upon the part Of The insurgents II
he attempted a bombardment Of the re-
naming fortlhcaiions at Manila.
The forts az the entrance OF the bay
were dlsmantled on Wednesday, after they
had caoitulaied
1t Is said the American Commodore or
dered the cable TO be cut because the