Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1901-10-28
.SCHLEY TELLS HOW
FIGHT WAS WON
"a WAS NOT NERVOUS" HE DE-
cLAREs, "AND THERE WAS NO
PLACE TO HIDE"

WASHINGTON, Oct. 24.-Every avail
able seat in the large room in the gun
ners' work shop at the navy yard, where
the Schley court of inquiry is sitting, was
occupied half an hour today before the
court was called to order at II o'clock.
Lieutenant b. w. Wells, was the first
of the former witnesses called for the pur-
pose of correcting testimony. He said In
response to a question from Captain Lem
ley that he had made a translation or a
cipher dispatch prepared at Commodore
Schley's instance on May "a, 1898, but
which was never sent and to which ref
erence was made while Lieutenant Wells
was on the stand yesterday.
"Was the dispatch sent?" asked Admir-
al Dewey, and when he was told that II
had not been, the admiral said 1t was not
relevant.
1--WE only want the facts" he said.
Major Murphy corrected his testimony
of yesterday so as to say that the vessels
of the flying squadron in steaming back
and forth at night in front of the mouth
of the harbor at Santiago had gone only
about 500 yards to either side of the har-
Dor instead of 1900 yards as stated yes
terday.
In response to a question by Mr.. Ray
nor, Major Murphy detailed an incident
in which Commodore schley figured at the
close of the battle Of July Sd.
Major Murphy said:
II remember the incident distinctly, be-
cause 1t made great impression on me
at the time. 1t was when they were
preparing to send a cutter to take Cap
tain Cook to the Colon to receive the
surrender of that ship. She had hauled
down her flag and was ashore. The ofh-
GERS and many of the men were gathered
forward in the neighborhood of the fore
castle, and Commodore Sclnley addressed
the men, cautioning them not to cheer
when the Spanish captain came on board.
He spoke of their gallantry-that they
had made a good fight and that they
should not be humiliated-that we should
treat them chivalrously and not humili-
ate them by cheers 1t was gallant
speech and we all felt 1t very deeply.
The commodore made the same speech
about midnight of the same day, when we
were ranging alongside the Iowa, and we
had learned that Admiral Cervera and MS
officers were on board that snip; II az
forwards developed that Admiral Cerve-
"a heard Commodore Schley make the re-
mark and he approved it very much, so
we were told"
Major Murphy was then excused and
Commander Harlow called He said that
on the 18th no one would have attempted
to coal ship and that without experience
COaunR cOulu not nave bCCA uAANSA eS'ANSAA
in the forenoon of the 18th.
Notes taken by himself during the bat
tie of July Sd did not, he said, give the
exact time consumed by the Brooklyn in
making its turn, but showed the time to
be less than % minutes. When asked
how much time elapsed after the Spanish
vessels came out of the harbor before
they turned TO the westward the witness
said that the time was only such as
In VOfnC 81 few
ships lengths.
He said he remembered the incident of
Schley's transferring his
flag from the Brooklyn to the Massachu-
setts on May S1st for the purpose of max
ing a reconnaissance, the Vixen having
been used for that purpose.
what, If anything, was said when re-
turning about the guns that were discov-
cred or DEVELOPER?
"a remark was made, I think, by my
self that at any rate we had developed
the battery. Commodore Schley replied
that. That was what we went in for A
remark was made by Commodore Schley
about the 13-inch gun in a disappearing
carriage. which we did not believe. We
found afterwards the disappearing car
riage was a tree"
What was the manner and bearing of
Schley on this occasion?"
Commodore Schley looked badly, and
as 1 would have suspected from a man
who probably had been up a great deal
at night and laboring under a great deal !
Of feeling of responsibility. From the i'm
preston at the time, he seemed to be Sc
riously affected by the situation as a re-
suit of his watching and feeling of respon- |
sibility."
"I saw the Brooklyn receiving and re-
turning almost the entire fire of the two |
leading Spanish ships with an occasion |
al Shot from the Colon. 1 was in po- |
sition to see a flash, and shortly after |
ward the fall of the projectile, and this |
showed that a large ship was about the |
The Colon evidently was using |
smokeless powder, and 1 was not able |
to tell so well where her shots fell"
The witness said he was satisfied that |
the fire from the Brooklyn set the Wis |
caya on fire. There was no other ship |
wi hin range of the Viscaya at that time, |
he said. The Maria Teresa, the witness
SAID was driven ashore by the concen- !
trated fire of all the ships of the Ameri- |
can fleet The Oquendo was so far in the |
rear he could not estimate what vessel |
caused her destruction.
The witness also said that he did not |
consider that the Texas was near enough |
to the Brooklyn at the time of the loop |
to render a collision liable or that the |
Viscaya made an effort to ram.
Lieutenant Harlow was then excused |
and Captain c. E. Clark. of the Oregon, |
was called
At the request of Mr. Rayner he began a |
description of the battle Of July 8, as fol- |
lows:
when we discovered the Spanish ships /,
coming out our fleet closed in at once to |
attack them, each ship trying to keep her |
head directly toward the harbor entrench- |
ment The Spaniards turned to the west |
ward to attempt. breaking. through our |
line or crossing it, and our ships swung |
off to the westward in pursuit. Both sides |
opened fire promptly and fired rapidly. |
Dense smoke soon obscured the vessels, |
making it difficult to distinguish them.
1.-THE Oregon ran between the Iowa and |
the Texas the next ships to the west |
ward in our line, and soon after we sight /
ed four Spanish ships ahead, apparently /
uniniured at the time. They had gained /
so much ground that 1 believed they had /
been successful in attempting to escape, /
but 1t was soon evident we were gaining /
at least on one of them. which proved to /
be the Maria Teresa, the flagship. and l /
thought we should bring her to close ac-
tion but might be exposed to the cOncen-
trated fire of all the ships.
Just then the smoke lifted or broke ,
away to the left, and 1 discovered the
She was well forward of our
port beam and brOadside to the enemy's |
fleet Her course was perhaps a little
divergent from ours, because the Oregon
,UaS attpmpting to draw IN uDOn the Te-