The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1899-05-06
DESTRUCTION OF CERYERA'S FLEET


of the loss Of the naval battle of Santa
go de Cuba In it the author says that
he is surprised at the duration of the
battle and at the escape Of the Spanish
fleet from total destruction while 1t was
In the channel. He says that all the Of
fcers on the ships foretold the loss Of
the ships when orders were received at
the Cape Verde islands to start for Cuba.
Admiral -Cervera SO advised his govern.
ment, and the official kilograms are still
in existence. The greater part Of the
coal which the ships contained when at
Cape Verde islands was used in the voy>
age to Santiago Lieut.. Tejeiro points
ouI now useless was Cervera's attempt
at escape. He says that If the ships had
been In cleaner condition and had more
coal In their bunkers they might possibly
have escaped: He praises Cervera for
the manner in which he managedsto bring
his fleet to Santiago de Cuba. He says
that every one believed it then to be
SAFE. ~ g. 49, ..' ..'f.- 81. .~ 49,
by everybody" he says, ct do not
mean the public only, but also the official
element Gould there be any better proof
that Admiral Cervera complied with the
wishes Of his government? ~
THE fleet received definite orders from
the captain general to leave the harbor,
which, In spite of the admirars protests,
were reiterated. After that what was to
be done? Only one thing. Go out to
death, as, indeed, they did, those heroes,
for they deserve TO other name, calm and
serene.
Calm and serene they were and I shall
repeat 1t always, for only by men in that
condition can ships be unanswered, with
out any of them running aground in so
dangerous and narrow a channel Tho
sortie of these ships, under the circum-
stances in which 1t was effected, L do not
hesitate to call the greatest act of valor.
fearlessness skill, intelligence and prac-.
tn Cnov ~
be conceived. This statement is borne
cut by the officers, of the English cor
Vette Alert and the Austrian cruiser Ma
ria Teresa, who. it may be said, wit
tssed the battle. %. :.
but there is much more to be added in
order to explain what happened In the
battle ct Santiago, the greater part of
which is not known to the people in
Sp' in.
II have already said that the Colon, the
only really protected ship of the four, did
not have her turret guns. OF the 14-cm.
guns of the Teresa, Oquenlo and Viz
caya, which are the ones that did most
of the firing, six had been declared USE
less; and, while the Teresa could change
hers, the Oquendo and Vizcaya could not
do so, and had to fight, the former with
one, the latter with two useless guns
Moreover the supply of ammunition
for the ships was inadequate, the Teresa
having seventy useless charges. The
greater part, of the primers were no good
and consequently the guns did not go off;
the brcech plugs were imperfect, SO that
after the second or third shot they no
longer closed. The firing pins blew out,
and from many Of the survivors I have
learned thai a number Of the men were
wounded by their own pieces.
1.-THE majority of the shells did not have
the required diameter, and in the Maria
Teresa it SO happened that seven had
~ Hog 4 Ir,vs ci1 hafn Cd rS1o
could be found. - 49, s.. - -.
after what I have written can the
result of the battle of Santiago be won
dered at? Certainly not. The only thing
that may appear strange is that, under
such conditions fleet should have been
sent out to the scene of war;
Lieut.. Tejeiro compares the battle of
Santiago to the one of Trafalgar In 1905.
He says:
1--WE are proud Of the battle of Trafal-
gar on account of the heroism which
our navy showed. The battle of Santiago
de Cuba is much more glorious to us even
than the enc of 1905. In the latter bat
tie thirty-two allied ships of "a, 80 and
100 guns fought with twenty-eight English
ships, also of 100, 80 and Ga guns. In
the battle Of Santiago six ships Of the
Pluton and Furor may be called such)
had to fight against twentyfour that were
better protected and armed"
According to Lieut.. Tejeiro, the Reina
Mercedes was sunk by it's own crew. This
was done in order to close the mouth of
the harbor, which had been left open
by the removal Of six torpedoes. All
the wounded and the valuable papers and
| instruments were removed from the
| doomed ship to the steamer MEXICO.
The Mercedes left the harbor at II 80
| o'clock on the night of July 4. She was
instantly discovered by the American
fleet, which began terrific fire. 'Nev-
erthless," says the author, 1.-The ship
| went down at the designated place. I'm
fortunately, a shot from the enemy sew
cred one of her anchor chains, and she
swung around to one side, leaving the
| port open and making her sacrifice use-
less one. However, the sinking of the
| Mercedes prevented her from falling into
the hands Of the enemy" IT.
The author discusses in detail the bat
ties of Ell Caney and San Juan in chapter
| twenty-four. Under the date of July 1
in his diary, he says: -
"At Z o'clock the sounds of cannon
and musketry firing were heard in the
direction Of Plaza de Marie least of the
city; ~
1.-THE enemy has a captive balloon from
| which it is observing our movements.
The American fleet has opened fire. The
majority of the projectiles clear the city.
Some, however. have landed in the city,
a few without exploding. A 20-centimetre
shell, watch fell in the house Of the chief
pilot of the harbor, did not explode. Sew
eral persons have been wounded and
| many houses injured. The ships which
| are firing from Aguadores are the New
York and the Oregon. The streets of the
town are nearly all deserted. Occasional
| ly regulars and volunteers are seen going
! to their posts. Many shells are falling in
! the cay. &C
lat IL. O'Clock the fire from the ships
ceased. q
cat IL o'clock a tremendous firing was
heard in the direction of Ell Caney. At
haIf-post twelve the firing of cannon was
| hes I'd
! "At O'Clock the firing resembled a pro-
Il nged roar, in which firing by volleys
could occasionally be distinguished. At
o'clock the firing decreased.
'At 6 o'clock in the morning the larger
part Of the enemy's force, which Is in
charge of Gen. Shafter, and which. at
the very lowest estimate, numbers $4,000
men, with many modern artillery pieces,
not counting the insurgents, attacked our
hr es at Ell Caney, which were defended
by Gen Vara de Rey, with. $40 men and
| two field pieces, and San Juan was oc-
Cupied by $50 soldiers.
/ 1.-The attack was made under Gen.
Wheeler's orders, who commanded about
$4,000 men. One brigade. about $500
strong and directed by Gen. Wheeler, at
tackled Ell Caney. A little later Col Chat
fee, with 1000, charged the hill and fort
at San Juan.
1.-THE Americans. it must be acknowl-
mirable courage and spirit. The houses
in Ell Caney, which had been turned into
veritable forts by Gen. Vara and his $40
men. vomtted a perfect shower Of bullets
i against the enemy, which by companies,
unprotected and with tremendous fury,
Il rSoo Nam y