St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1899-01-25
Damage by Spanish Shells on the
Cruiser "3r0Oklyn."

Whatever may be said about Admiral
Schley as tactician, there is one sIgn'h-
cant fact in the naval campaign IN me
West Indies which his tetraclors would
do we'll to keep in mind, fact OF kind
which is popularity supposed to bring
more glory to him whom it concerns
than do any other of the happenings OF
battle.
Admiral Schey's ship, the "Rrooklyn,"
came out of the campaign carving more
o the scars OF battle than were left by
the war upon any other ship in the whole
American navy. After the Santiago
fight she showed more shot holes than
the "Oregon," Indiana" Iowa."
Texas" Gloucester" and New York"
CONT ined, and in the number OF separate
hits recorded she was exceeded by only
one Of the Spanish cruisers, the Admir-
ante Oquendo."
When the Spanish fl ct left the harbor
and turned to The westward, the Brook.
lyn" was the only ship that stood direct
" in their way, and, in accordance with
a prearraI grd plan, the fire of the Span
iards was concentrated upon her in the
hope OF "winging" our fastest vessel,
and so enabling the fl ct TO escape. She
was ihus exposed to the united attack OF
the Spanish ships at the only period OF
the fight when hey seemed to have had
the range OF our vessels; that is to say,
during the first exchange OF shots. For
it is a curious ana very significant TACT
that when our men went aboard the
Spanish cruisers alter the surrender the
sights on their guns were found to be
still set at the 1000 to 5000 yards
range at which the enemy opened hire.
1t is evident that the txcitable Spanish
gunneIs completely lost their heads, and
tailed to make the necessary changes IN
the sights as the ships closed in on each
other.
THIS error on the part of the eunners,
coupled with their own statement that
the "Brookl,n" was the object OF their
first and concentrated attack, goes tar
to explain the severe punishment OF this
vessel compared with The comparative
immunity of the other shius OF our fl ct.
When Sch'ey saw the "Vzcaya" alter
her course so as to head directly for his
ship, he naturally supposed that it was
the intention of the Splnlards to close IN
and sink him with the ram a matter
easy OF accomplishment where it is case
of tour vessels against one), and with
excellent judgment he swung his vessel
to starboard, making complete halt
turn, and took up position Tor run
ming fight down the coast with the flying
Spanish vessels.
Investigation of the Spanish ships
shows that in the larger rapid-fire cali
bers the greatest number OF hits was
made by the inch gun, the Teresa"
being hit by 8, the "Oquendo" by 3, the
"Colon' by 2, and the "Vzcaya" by 7
inch shells. As the Brooklyn" was
the only ship that carried this caliber'
these hits must have been made by her
gunners.
This, then, is the record of Admiral
Schley's ship in that tour hour engage
ment: She was the first under fire, she
was the leading ship in the chase, she
made the best practice with herguns, and
she carried more of the honorable scars
of battle out of the fight than were to be
found on all the other ships of the squad
ron combined.
we tIlnk tndt IHc SaiidHt duuiii al
may well rest on his laflres as fighter
and treat the criticisms of his tactics
with the dignifed silence which has
characterized his bearing throughout the
war.
The general testimony of our officers
is that the Spanish shells burst with
great efficiency, flying into numerous
fragments, each OF which cut its way de-
structively through the partitions, bulk
heads, etc, OF our ships. Our own shells,
owing to the excellent quality OF steel,
did not burst eff ctively, that is to say,
the steel was too strong Tor the powder
to fracture it into small pieces. This
will be remcdied in the future.
The "Brooklyn" was placed in dry
dock soon after her arrival at New York,
where all the injured plates and other
scars OF active service were removed or
else covered up by a new coat OF paint
When she lett the yard not trace of the
At wounds and scratches she received
could be noticed by the casual observer
Il Scientific American.