Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-01-24
THE SILVER SERVICE.

winch. for all We knew. was sown with
mines such sunk the Maine and whose
browning h:lsides formed natural battery
Improvements. When well within the
trance we saw on the port side of the
gloucester puff of white smoke an in
slant later the echoes of the mountains
Were walked by the report of gun and the
crash of a shell exploding near a block
house some distance back from the shore.
Immediately thereafter came a roar from
the starboard side, and then followed the
rattle of the smaller quick-firing guns and
a general spitfire action that looked as
though Wainwright were trying to make
the Spaniards think that he and his outfit
were the whole United States navy.
Lieut.. Huse and landing party of blue
jackets We're sent ashore and captured the
Spanish port flag now in the museum at
Annapolis) while under fire of the sole de-
Tense of the town-a small body of infan-
try. whose Mauser action, from places of
concealment. became so eXasperating that
Huse signaled for reinfOrcements. VAIN
wright at once signaled the two transports
which were in advance. the Lampasas and
Nucces, the former carrying the provisional
battalion of engineers dncluding Company
H) and the latter Battery b. 9Th United
States Regular Artillery, and the two ships,
which. after a slight pause at the entrance.
had followed the Gloucester in. moved in,
full speed, to anchorages near the Glouces-
ter.
District Troops Landed.
THE troops from both We're instantly
rushed ashore in boats that We're handy at
the davitS. there being no time for the
elaborate plan of landing in large force,
with the large number of ships boats and
pontoons carried on our decks. which had
all been studied out and rehearSed. and in
this scramble for the shore our Washing
ton boys. though in the rear transport.
beachcd their first boat ahead of all the
others. the Spanish fire being directed now
against the boats.
The moment that the various companies
secured enough men ashore to effect an
organization they We're thrown out as skir-
mlsherS. and nothing more heard of
the Spanish until next morning at day
break. when GarretSons brigade was am
pushed from strong rife pits within sight
and sound of the transports irfsthe harbor.
and for short time made an ugly resist
ance. While his own men We're ashore
Wainwright put a shell down amid a body
of cavalry. coming down from Yanco to
the help of their comrades. and sent them
scattering. The Strategical value of the
hills surrounding the harbor was at once
recognized by Gen. Miles, VINO ordered the
construction one of them of the redoubt
named Fort Capron, and built mainly by
Company H. Torpedo defense was so easy
that had one of our own harbors been left
in such condition in the presence of a hos
tile fleet the responsible officer would have
been deserving of national execration. All
these marvellous capabilities for defense
must have been noted by Wainwright a. he
ordered full speed ahead through the
rocky gateway, and to us who were follow
ing in plain sight, fearing that at any mo-
ment we might the Gloucester reduced
to n shattered mass by a mine or the oh
Ject of the plunging fire of several masked
batteries. to us his utter disregard of
danger which We thought It criminal in the
Spanish not to provide will live in our
memories as long as those other incidents
of his career in which the danger was real
and actually present"