Evening star., 1901-09-20

1
Admiral Higginson, commander-in-chief
/ of the North Atlantic squadron, was the
| first witness called. He gave his full name
as Francis ]. Higginson, rank as that of
| rear admiral. said he now was in command
| of the North Atlantic squadron: that he
| had, as captain. commanded the battle ship
| Massachusetts during the Spanish war,
| ana that for part of the time the Massa-
chusetts had been part of the flying
/ squadron" of which Admiral Schley had
been In command. He told of joining the
| neet at Newport News; of going to Key
| west and then, on the 22d of May, of going
to Cfenfuegos Cuba, to discover the where
| abouts of the Spanish fleet. Key West had
been left May 10, 1893, and Cienfuegos
| reached on the 22d.
What was then done to secure commu-
nication with the Cuban forces on shore?"
Captain Lemly asked
Nothing to my knowledge" the witness
replied. Il didn't see that anything was
done, but l understood that information
concerning the Cubans was received
through Captain McCalla.
! Admiral Higginson said in response to
questions that this was later He also told
in reply to questions of the presence of the
collier Merrimac and of the departure of
the flying squadron from Cienfuegos and
the arrival at Santiago on the evening of
the 18th In reply to questions he said
that the Massachusetts had at that time
taken on about 40 tons of coal, but that
as the weather was rough this was done
with difficulty.
The witness also told of the fleets leav-
ing Santiago for Key West on the night
of it's arrival at the former place and of
how, after steaming westward for some
time, the vessels all, in response to Com
modore Schley's signals. returned and
steamed to within two three miles OF
the mouth of the harbor
What happened to cause the decision to
return to Key West?' the witness was
asked.
Il don't know" was the reply
What was the condition of the weather
at the time for coaling at sea?''
1t was not impossible to coal, l think"
DID you have any conference with the
commanding officer in regard to returning
to Santiago after you had gotten on the
way to Key West?''
None. We acted under general orders
All we did was to follow the signals of
the f1agship-the signals of the commander
iE-chief."
Speaking OF the conditions when Santiago
harbor was again reached the admiral said
that he could see well into the harbor and
that he saw the Spanish ship Colon lying
IN the outer harhor He did not remember
seeing other vessels, but the Colon was
then 1000 yards beyond MORO castle The
vessel had lain there until she was fired
upon, which was done on May 81, and had
then retired.
Describing this enga cement Admiral
Hisgnson said it was on the day before
the arrival of reinforcements under Ad-
miral Sampson. lie said that Admiral
Schley had come aboard and said that he
wanted to go in and fire on the Colon"
Firing on the Colon.
so we went in and fired on her" con-
tinued the witness. He said the shots fell
short of the Colon and that the Spanish
shore batteries had in turn fired at the
hombarding ships. He was ordered to sail
in toward the harbor 1000 yards from the
Colon, firing on her as they went near the
harbor. He continued:
I'VE commenced firing at 1880 yards, as
we went by the entrance. We didn't go in
.hooo yards. Our shot fell short and none
OF them hit her. The first shot fired from
the Massachusetts fell short 500 or 1000
yards.
In reply to questions as to what had been
accomplished by the bombardment the wit
ness replied that it had served to draw the
fire of the Spanish shore battery and to
give an idea of what ii was composed of
What idea did you get Of it's compost
tion?'
Il didn't think it amounted to anything
Where was Admiral Schley during the
bombardment? ?"
AT one time he was with me in the
coming tower, but most of the time he was
on the outside of it,"
Describe the admiral's manner In this
enga cement
Il hardly know how to answer that qucs-
ton, except to say that his manner was
that of a commander-in-c chief"
The judge advocate then asked, What
impression did the admirals manner in
that engagement make upon your
Mr. Rayner of counsel for Schley OBJ
jected to this question: and after some con-
tention the question was withdrawn.
Judge Advocate Lemly stated before
Withdrawing the question that he consld-
cred the point embraced in the precept,
and said that while the task was a disa-
greeable one he considered it his dury TO
press it, and intimated that he would do
SO at another time
why did You not go in and destroy the
Colon in the engagement on May 3l?'
Judge Advocate Lemly asked the witness
Because we were not ordered to do so,'
replied the witness.
Later on the witness volunteered the
statement. Il think the Colon could have
been destroyed where she lay at anchor
that day.
Commodore Schley's Orders.
The witness said that the Massachusetts
fired nine efght-inch shells and five
thirteen-inch shells on that occasion
Commodore Schley had come on board his
vessel. He could not remember any fur
ther conversation other than Commodore
Schley's order that he go In nearer the
harbor and fire on the Colon. He said
that he got the idea that it was better
to turn to starboard rather than to port
helm after they made the first run. He got
this idea from Commodore Schley.
Q. did you see whether any of the
shots of the enemy fell near the Massa-
Chusetts?"
A. Yes. There was a shot from the
battery. l think, went over us. 1t was
from the battery on MORO Hill. Tney
were firing at US all the time
Q. Did they fire from the Colon?'
A. "Yes. They fired from the Colon, but
their shots fell short
Q. do you know whether other ships
fired on you besides the Colon?"
A. mo, sir; l do not
Q. How long did the entire lombard
ment last?"
A. Il think we were firing seven or eight
minutes, altogether
Q. Were you much or little with the
commodore during this bombardment?"
A. Il was acting under his orders all the
time. He was near me all the time
Q. What impression did his manner
make upon your
Counsel for Admiral Schley again OBJ
jected to this question. Mr.. Wilson said
that counsel could ask any question In re-
gard to the actions, appearance or be-
havior of the commander-in-chief on that
occasion, but that the question as To the
impression that was made upon the witness
was not in order. The court ruled to sus-
tain this objection.
Describe the order of battle for the full