The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1898-03-23
SOLDIERS BUDGET.
He Fought the Chen Yuen.

Capt. Philo N. MEG fin was the
young American naval tficer, who at
the breaking out of the Japan-China
war distinguished himself by extraor-
binary bravery while in command of
the battleship Chen Yuen at the battle
of the Yalu. Captain McGiffin was in
service of the Chinese government be-
fore the war with Japan was begun.
He had established and was at the head
of the only naval school in the country,
and he had modelled it somewhat after
the plan of the Annapolis Academy,
from which he had been graduated in
1882. He was in poor health and had
obtained leave of absence, and was
about to start for this country when
the war talk started. He had left this
country's service because there was lit
tie chance for promotion, and he saw
in a war between China and Japan
chance to earn honor and rank. So he
offered his services and was made
Fighting commander" of the Chen
Yuen.
The story of the battle of the Yalu
has been told many times. 1t was
chiefly interesting to civilized countries
because it was the first time that mod
ern warships had been in actual engage
ment. The Chen Yuen was one of the
few Chinese ships that survived the
battle. She was hit more than four
hundred times, but she was still able to
fight when the Japanese feet withdrew.
Every man on board of her had been
wounded and many had been killed.
McGiffin himself had been wounded
| mi, rrxy
coming from one of his own guns. The
ship was on fire on the port side. The
Japanese kept their guns pounding on
the part of the vessel that was burning
80 that the men on board would not be
able TO put the fire out. Captain Nc
Giffin called for volunteers to face the
bullets and the shells of the japanese.
None of the seamen would go without
an officer, and the Chinese officers were
not in that line of business. McGiffin
himself stepped into the breach and led
party of seamen to fight the fire. They
had been at it little while when a
shell from one of the japanese ships
struck the crew of one of the Chen
Yuen's big guns and killed the gun
crew, but did not damage the gun. The
ne Xt man who took command of that
gun did not know that McGiffin and his
men were working at the fire, and he
had the gun swung around to port. A
moment before it was fired Captain
McGiflin saw its muzzle pointing al
most at the men at work. He leaped
back. The gun went off. Most of the
men at work on the fire were killed by
the shock and the fire and smoke that
belched out. McGiffin was knocked
down. His hair and eyebrows were
burned off. The sight of one eye was
almost destroyed. The moment he re-
covered from the shock he was up anC
fighting again. Ten minutes later 6
shell struck ladder near him, and I,
81 Inter of the ladder was driven deel
into his hip. He probed for it with
pair of pinchers and got it out, ant
went on fighting. Later he was sho
in the head and in dozen or NOR,
places in the body; but he kept OIL
fighting until the battle ended.
At the conclusion OF the war witt
Japan Captain McGtlin got leave o
absence for an indefinite time, and b
came back to America to try and re
cover his health He was receive
here as a hero. He spent some tim
visiting, and then he wrote several al
ticles on the war.