The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-10-09
excused. Commander Wainwright was

excused. Commander Wainwright was
| called.
| Capt. Lemly began his examination
| by drawing from the witness the fact
| that he had been a member and lat
| terly senior member of the board which
had officially acted in making the chart
| showing the positions of the American
and Spanish ships at Santiago. The
| witness told how conclusions were
reached by that board. He said:
Chiefly Guess Work.
There was a great deal of discus
sion as to the relative positions. 1t
| was of course impossible to get any
| position by bearings and there was
| nothing known about the relative po-
sitions. We also knew that the dis
tances on the chart were somewhat in
correct and the final decision of the
| board was to reconcile each one as near
as possible. but none of the positions
/ was considered exact positions"
| Asked by Mr.. Rayner about the
! places assigned to the Brooklyn and
| the Texas while the former vessel was
making her loop Commander VAIN
wright said he did not consider them
| correct.
For myself" he said, 'I was never
| On redirect examination Commander
| Wainwright said that the chart was
a compromise of opinions.
In response to further questions the
witness said he did not see the Brook
lyn on the day of the battle off San
tiago.
Just General Discussion.
Questions were put by the court and
! answered as follows:
Were the positions of the ships as
shown on the chart in question obtain
ed from testimony taken by the board
or from general discussion by the
members of the board?"
Almost entirely by general discussion
by the members of the board. Capt.
Chadwick and Capt. Cook appeared and
| discussed the matter with the board -
From the position of the Gloucester
at the commencement of the battle of
July could you see both the Brooklyn
and the Texas?"
81 do not remember seeing the Brook
lyn and Texas at the commencement
of the battle"
What orders, if any, were signalled
by the Brooklyn to the fleet during the
engagement of July 80"
Il saw none"
Mr.. Rayner: 'This does not mean
that no signals were displayed, does
it?"
mo, it does not"
BY the court: Did anyone of the
Spanish vessels change her course to
| the southwark as If intending to ram
one of the fleet?"
| II saw no signs of it."
Lieut. Bristol, speaking of the block
ade of Cienfuegos, said that during the
day the ships lay from five to ten miles
from the shore, steaming in nearer at
night; then going farther out and re-
! turning nearer at daybreak. He had, he
said, observed the signal lights on the
shore near Cienfuegos but had not un-
derstood their significance.
The witness described also the block
ade of Santiago, saying that it was
maintained by steaming back and forth
| In front of the mouth of the harbor at
as slow a rate of speed s~the ships
could travel Cat 500 yards, or double
| distance apart.) The line was about
one and half miles long. The vessels
generally steamed from 31a to miles
to either side of the harbor, going and
coming practically over the same line.
| The Marblehead and Vixen were on the
inside, but could only be seen at cer-
! tain times even when the weather con-
ditions were favorable, he said. Fre-
quently, in fact, he said. only the YES
sci next ahead could be seen.
No General Orders.
Mr.. Hanna here asked the witness:
''If the vessels of the Spanish squad
ron had suddenly appeared, what or
ders had you to meet such a contin-
gency?"
mo orders were turned over to me
in regard to a contingency of that
kind" replied the witness.
Lieut.. Bristol stated that the fleet
| lay outside of Morro from six to eight
miles during the day. He spoke of the
Spanish shore batteries, saying:
II personally examined the day we
arrived there and satisfied myself that
| the batteries amounted to nothing"
Lieut. Bristol said that on the morn
ing of July 3 he had fixed the position
of the Texas and also generally of the
other ships of the fleet, and had pre-
pared a chart showing these positions.
He considered the initial positions as
signed to the Texas, the Brooklyn and
the Iowa as accurate.
The witness described the engage
ment of July 8, saying that the Span
ish fleet had come out only sufficient
ly far to clear the shoal near the
mouth of the harbor before turning to
the westward. He did not think this
was to exceed 1,500 yards from Cay
Smith, which is inside the harbor.
Lieut.. Bristol said he did not see the
loop made by the Brooklyn.
Lieut. Bristol then detailed the part
the Texas played in the battle, giving
the details of the chase up the Cuban
| coast.
AS to the relative positions of the
ships at the close of the chase he said
Brooklyn WINS Leading.
"The Brooklyn and Oregon were
| considerably closer to us than the CO.
Ion. The Oregon was closer than the
| Brooklyn, so that the Brooklyn was
leading as regards the distance from
us that she was out on our bow"
In response to questions from Mr.
Rayner Lieut.. Bristol said that he had
| made his chart because of his inter-
est in the battle, and that he had pre-
pared it a few days after the battle
He had started the work the day after
| the engagement and had depended
partly upon his mmory in its prepar'
alton.
Mr.. Rayner asked the witness If his
| chart was not wrong except IN the
first positions assigned.
The witness: ITO the best of my
knowledge and belief 1t is right"
Hodgson's Statement Disputed.
Mr.. Rayner caleld attention to the
fact that the witness had said that a.
the beginning of the battle the Brook
lyn was heading north and east, while
Lieut.. Commander Hodgson, who hac
been aboard the Brooklyn, had said the
vessel was heading north and west.
(Which is right?' Mr.. Rayner asked
"I believe 1 am right" the witness