Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1898-07-07
FIERCE NAVAL FIGHT
THE WYOMlNG'S HEROIC BATTLE
WITH THE JAPANESE.

THE WYOMING'S HEROIC BATTLE
WITH THE JAPANESE.
Against Overwhelming Odds the American
Commander McDUgaii Fought One of the
Most Daring and Successful Engage
ments In the History of Marine Warfare.
Strange as it may seem, the Wyo-
ming's oriental battle is an almost IN
recorded chapter of our naval annals,
though it ranks even higher in point of
daring and success against overwhelm-
ing odds than the defeat of the Ala
bama by the Wyoming's sister ship, the
Rearsarge But the Wyoming never
was in very great luck as naval star.
She had her part throughout the civil
var in all the hardest of blockading and
ruising service, and fought well when
ever she had the chance, but she did
not have the luck of getting into the
papers. She was sent off at the same
time as the Kearsarge to cruise for that
scourge of the seas, the Alabama, and
just missed her by the merest chance
on two occasions in the China seas.
1t was in 1868, toward the end of the
dual reign of the tycoon and the mika-
do, when Japan was in the throes Of
civil war, and the forces of the rebel
princes were resisting to the last the
passing Of the old feudal system. The
Prince Of Nagato was one of these, and
from his tiny kingdom that fronted on
the straits Of Simonoseki he declared
himself lord paramount of everything in
sight, including the neighboring seas,
from which he took generous toll as did
ever the pirate chiefs of Tarifa. He
had laid violent hands and hot shot
upon the vessels of various powers, in
Guiding Great Britain, France, the
Netherlands and the United States.
Meantime Prince Nagato throve and
f1ourished by the strait of Simonoseki,
and failing one day to wiring tribute or
blackmail by any other means he fired
on the American merchantmen Penn
broke and killed couple of her crew.
There was another diplomatic protest Of
the combined foreign representatives to
the Japanese government, and Com
mander McDugall, who happened to be
in port with the Wyoming, suggested
that if the mikado could not take fall
out of his rebellious subject the Wyo-
urging. This struck the government as
good thing and an easy way out of the
international difficulty, so McDugall
was given carte blanche to settle ac-
counts with the Prince of Nagato in be-
half of all the powers concerned, and
he forthwith sailed away.
1t was the middle of July when the
Wyoming found herself in the strait
of Simonoseki and in sight Of the shore
batteries which were a part of the
princes defenses to seward. Before
she had time to open on the batteries
two japanese gunboats doomed up, one
ahead and one astern, in the narrow
strait, and presently third came cruis-
ing out from among the neighboring is
lands. 1t was nasty place for fight,
McDugall being without charts or pi-
lots, and the odds were more than
enough for Nelson himself, being 48
guns Of thesthree Japanese vessels to the
26 Of the old Wyoming, to say nothing
of the batteries on shore. There was
still chance to run, barring some dan
ger of grounding in the narrow channels
among the islands, but the idea does not
seem to have occurred to any ole aboard
the frigate.
Working to windward of the nearest
Japanese, the Wyoming opened at long
range and worked down en- her till,
when close aboard, there was nothing of
the enemy left standing above decks.
The other two vessels had come up in
the meantime and engaged the Ameri-
can on either side, but she lay to and
gave them shot for shot, port and star
board, till her gunners were smoke
blind and the fame of the guns no lon
ger served to light the battlecloud that
rolled in white pillows over the smooth
waters of the strait. 1t was desperate
work in the shallow water, but the
Wyoming was the best vessel, and she
outmaneuvered her two opponents from
start to finish, though twice aground
and once atire with as many men knock
ed out from splinters and heat as from
the enemy's shot.
Fighting themselves out of one
smoke patch into another, the three COM
batants circled around like two crows
and kingbird till they had drifted
down in range of the shore batteries,
which gayly took a hand in the game.
But McDugall ran across the bows Of
one Of his enemies, raked her as he
went and left her floating wreck, and
| then turned his attention to the bat
teries. The Wyoming's men rugged the
smiths forge Gu deck and tossed hot
shot into the works ashore till they set
them afire and the soldiers fed, and the
other Japs on the remaining cruiser, de-
Gliding enough was as good as feast,
followed their example.
So McDugall mended his rigging and
patched his bulwarks, and meanwhile
sent word to the recalcitrant prince to
come down and settle or he would sail
inland and shell the royal palace about
its royal owners ears.
The prince, who was no less discreet
than Colonel Crockett's coon, came
down promptly, and Of the resulting in
demnity $500, 900 fell to the lot of the
United States. 1t was many years be-
fore this money got into the treasury of
the United States, but meantime the
state department had charge of it and
had invested it so we'll that there was
very little short of $4,000, 900 finally
turned over to the government, which,
after all, was pretty good pay for one
days fighting, with loss Of only five
killed and six wounded. Washington
Post
Misunderstood.