The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1899-02-01
SAMPSON As seen BY
AGERMAN NAVAL MAN
An Expert Observer on the
San Juan Fiasco.
Bombardment Witheut Warning to
Helpless Women ami Children.
How the "idmirnI' Peppercd FOrts
with Medieval Cans or
Nome at All.

Commander Jacobsen of the German pro-
tected cruiser Geier, which was stationed
in the West Indies, in the vicinity of
Cuba, during the war with Spain. and was
permitted to pass in and out of the
blockaded ports. This report is entitled
Sketches from the Spanish American
War" and was translated from the Ger
man at the Navy Department
Certain statements of the German COM
mander are not very creditable to the al
legged prowess and ability of Rear hdmi-
raj Sampson, upon which his bureau
cratic and political friends are basing
their arguments for his promotion by Con-
gress. In fact they rather tend to show
Sampson in the light of an incompetent
naval commander.
Referring to the bombardment of San
Juan, Porto Rico. Commander Jacobsen
describes the peaceful conditions of the
city, the primitive seacoast defences, and
the utter unpreparedness of the garrison
for defence, when on May u part of the
fleet commanded by Acting Rear Admiral
Sampson appeared at o'clock in the
| morning in front of San Juan and without
any notification to the inhabitants opened
the bombardment.
Bombnrdment without Notice.
"The Spanish complained bitterly of this
surprise" says the report, which did not
give them a chance to remove the sick
and the women and children to places of
safety, and did not give foreign repre-
sentatives and warships time to leave the
city or the harbor."
The German commander then quotes as
follows from the Porto Rico Gazette:
There are no international agreements. it
is true, as to previous notice of lombard
ment but in practice the custom prevails
among all civilized nations to give notice
of the bombardment of a city or fortih
cation. For no Christian soldier. no civil
lied nation, will want to take the terrible
responsibility Of butchering defeneeless
women and children. The soldier fights
against those who carry weapons, but not
| against the weak and the sick.
Commenting on this, Commander Jacob
| sen says: THE Spanish are not entirely
wrong on this. A real surprise could have
| been of advantage to Admiral Sampson
| only in case it had been his intention to
| force the harbor. II it was simply a ques-
ton of reconnaissance. he might have
| granted a delay of two or three hours
| without in any manner prejudicing the re-
suit of the bonibardment. AS it was. the
inhabitants were rudely awakened from
| their sleep. The troops and volunteers at
| once hurried to their posts: but old men,
women, and children sought their safety in
| the fields and roads outside of the city.
veritable emigration of fleeing people was
moving along the road to Cangrejos but
! all were quiet and orderly. Meanwhile the
| American pfoEeetiies were steadily falling
upon the city md its vicinity; some passed
| over the citySand fell into the bay. The
| American squadron was composed of nine
! larger ships and two torpedo-boa de-
| stroyers.
Several OF the American ships succeed
! ed in passing so close to the fortifcations
that the nearest batteries could not fire
upon them. The distance was probably
| 500 or 900 metres. The Spanish infantry.
too took advantage of the opportunity OF
| joining in the battle with musket fire.
| This musket fire, with the connection OF
the fire of battery at a greater distance,
| caused the American ships to withdraw. 1t
is said that the Americans fired in all from
800 to 600 shots from their heavy and
medium calibre guns.
No Damage Done.
THE Spanish batteries were unable to
answer the lively fire OF the American
ships. This was due to the fact, aside
from the defective service OF the guns, that
many of them could not reach the Amer
lean ships at all On the Spanish side
about 400 projectiles were fired in all. The
guns in the Notifications are all of me-
dium calibre aud their piercing power is
to cause serious injury to a modern ship.
The number of American proiectiles fired
is out of proportion to the material dam
age caused by them. A large number of
shells are said not to have exploded OF
course, the Notifications were injured to
some extent, but not one of the guns
was put out of action. a few of the
buildings visible at great distance, like
s-e barracks, the jail the Hotel lngla-
| terra. and a few private residences suf-
fered froSn the bombardment. A large
number of projectiles fell into the har-
bor. Some of them even reached the
little town of Catano, on the other side
of the harbor. The French cruiser Ad-
mral Rigault de Genouilly. which was ly-
ing in the harbor at the time, as also
three small Spanish gunboats, received a
shot in the rigging and smokestack. The
Spanish casualties We're twenty dead
among them several civilians, and twenty
wounded.
IT we enquire into the advantages
which Admiral Sampson expected from Il
bombardment of San Juan, we are probably
not mistaken in the assumption that is was
merely Il question OF reconnaissance Prob
ably the forts served as a general target.
and number Of shots that went beyond
speak in favor of the assumption that it
was also intended to reach the Spanish
I warships which were supposed to be in
the harbor l will state it as my opinion
that a reconnaissance of the place and
there can be no question of anything else.
since the American fleet withdrew. could
have been made with a much smaller ex-
penditure of ammunition.
The Santiago Hiockndc
Referring to the naval blockade of Santi-
ago, Commander Jacobsen says: Incl
dentaIly the batteries OF the MORO. Socapa,
and Punta Gorda were bombarded by the