The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-02-26
NEW STORY OF SEA FIGHT
CAPTAIN CONCAs TELLS HOW GER
VERA LOST HIS SQUADRON.
Spanish Version of the Battle of SAM
tiagO HarbOr That Does Not Agree
with Other Accounts.

Naval Intelligence has issued a fresh vol
ume Of its war notes series and probably
the last of them which will bear on the
battle of Santiago harbor. The present
publication is translation from the Span
ish of Captain Victor NJ. Concas Palau,
formerly commander of the cruiser In
fanta Maria Teresa and chief of staff to
Admiral Cervera in the battle of July 3.
Like a number of previous articles from Of
fcers of the Spanish squadron bearing on
the same subject. Captain Concas devotes
considerable space TO the lack of naval
preparation in Spain prior to the war and
also to condemning the political party in
Spain which was responsible for offering
up the crippled squadron as a sacrifice on
the altar of a historic ideal All this has
been covered more fully in Admiral Ger
yera's published defense.
The vital section of the narrative Re-
gins with the exodus of the devoted squad
ron from Santiago harbor. Captain Concas
says in accordance with previous instruc-
tons the Teresa was headed toward the
Brooklyn, hoping to ram her. This was
frustrated by the B-ooklyns frequently
discussed loop" to starboard, which. Con-
cas- says, brought the Texas and Iowa
between her and the Teresa" A footnote
inserted In the narrative at this point
reads: 1.-THE turn was made to starboard
though it would seem reasonable for IL to
have been made to port" There is nothing
III the bureaus publication to indicate
whether this footnote is by Captain Concas
or not.
Continuing his story Captain Concas tells
of the successive sinking of the Teresa
and the other vessels of the squadron. He
dwells strongly on a point which. he de-
clares, all other critics have overlooked.
namely, that owing to the narrow and tor
tuous channel past the MORO, the Spanish
vessels had to come out so far apart that
they were each attacked by the combined
force of the American squadron and de-
stroyed in detail, making it practically a
series of combats, each time a single ship
against a squadron. He calls attention also
to the probability that the American eStl-
mate of per cent. of hits out of the shots
aimed at Cervera3 fleet is too low. He
says the most horrible mortality in every
case was in the upper works where the
shots left marks, except those wiped
cut by fire. He says per cent. OF hits
probably would not be too high
In defense of the Spanish gunnery the
writer says that Cerveras ships fought
| either bow or stern on nearly throughout
| the battle. This reduced the number of
guns they could bring to bear But he
points out, that the Brooklyn, which was
| the only vessel keeping up parallel
| broadside fight at close range for any
length of time, was struck forty-one times.
| AS she was under fire only of the ViZcaya,
| the Teresa, and for short time or the
! best guns of the Colon, Captain Concas
| gays the Spaniards gave very good proof
| of their ability marksmen.
| He credits the Iowa with landing the
two twelve or thirteen-inch shells which
| burst the Teresa's main steam pipe and
! Put her out Of action when her command
| ers thought she had fair chance to es-
claimed both by the Oregon and the In
| diana, but he adduces considerable evil
| dence that they came from the Iowa.
| Another peculiar incident brought out In
| the narrative and a striking example OF
| Yankee luck was that the Oregon in her
| pursuit of the Colon remained uRcon-
sciously in the dead angle" between the
only guns on the Colon powerful enough
| membered, did not have her big thirty
| ton guns. and in the long stern chase the
Oregon happened always to keep just in
the spot where the upper deck guns could
| not be trained on her. and the Colon could
| not fire without heaving to and losing
| valuable time.
The author Indignantly denies that the
| Colon was wrecked by her crew after she
| had surrendered. He says she was run
| ashore and her sea valves opened before
| her flag hauled down. Regarding this
| incident the writer says: THE 'Cristobal
| Colon was less fortunate than any of the
others, for, although going at a speed OF
| thirteen knots, she ran ashore on sand
| and if Admiral Sampson. with more sea-
| manlike spirit, had ordered the divers to
| close the valves he could most certainly
| have saved the cruiser, but with feverisf
| impotence he towed her off with his own
| flagship, the New York. Hardly had the
| ship been floated when she began to list
at which moment with great dexterity he
| pushed the Colon back again with the ram
| of his own ship toward the sandy shoals
| but it was too late, and. turning over, that
| noble and Inflated cruiser went to the bot
| tom of the sea forever. The few Ameri.
| cans and Spaniards who were still or
| board hastily saved themselves"
| Speaking of the nature OF the wounds
| inflicted by modern naval shell fire, Capt
| ConcaS declares them more horrible thar
| can be described. A bOatswain of the
| Teresa had fourteen wounds. None of the
| men injured at all escaped with less thar
two. Many. he says, were blown into un
| recognizable fragments. Captain Larzasa
| of the Oquendo, was killed, his executive
| officer, Lola, cut in two with shell, the
third officer Matos. and the three lieu
| tenants next in rank all killed beside ~
men of the crew. The total mortality In
| the fleet reached the awful figure OF % pei
cent. of the men engaged.
| In closing the account of the battle the
| author says: I'VE could never complete
| this chapter IL we were to relate the in
| Vulnerable acts of courage, but I canno
| do less than to mention one which saw
| with my own eyes. The Maria Teresa had
| already been abandoned, the flames mount
ing up TO the height of the tunnels ant
! projectiles exploding on all sides; and
| when everybody thought that no living
soul was left on the ship suddenly a mar
| appeared there calling for help. Instantly
| Jose Cascade cried, II will not let that mar
| die!" and threw himself into the water
He climbed up the blood-stained sides OF
| the ship, seized the man, carried him dowr
| on his shoulders, and, swimming with hin
| to the shore. laid his burden on the beach
| 1t was hardly possible to believe that tina
| shapeless form was a man with fourteen
| wounds, who must have been left aboard
| as dead