Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1901-10-28

1 ndQ recommended InaL on InlS account
| coaling operations be suspended.
Here Admiral Schley brought his mar
rative up to Santiago and said In that
| connection that he had regarded the ord
ers of the department concerning the
| probable presecne of the Spanish fleet at
| Santiago as more of a suggestion than
a mandatory order. He considered that it
would take only little while to get back
| in any event. He reported that the prop
| er military vancouver would be to pro-
coed westward toward the bases at Ha-
vana and Key West.
He arrived with the squadron off San
| tiago about o'clock D. m, May %, he
said, and took up his position five or six
miles out afterwards holding the fleet
in formation day and night. On that
| first night he sent the Marblehead closer
| in with instructions to keep close watch
| on the mouth Of the harbor. That night
he noticed the signals on the shore
| known as blinkers, and also observed
| lights on a lower plane which he had
since become convinced were from the
Colon lying in the harbor.
The next day he discovered the pres
! ence of the Spanish vessel there, as he
| had also that OF the other enemy's war
vessels He said that when he had thus
secured irrefutable proof of the fact that
| the vessels were there and told Captain
| Sigsbee of the fact, that officer expressed
surprise that such was really the case
1t was at this period that he sent his
dispatch to the department giving alb
solute information of the presence of the
Spaniardsy and Sigsbee took this mes
sage to Mole St. Nicholas. =
Coming to the reconnaissance of May
31st Admiral Schley said:
ION the 31st, while the Brooklyn and the
Marblehead and the Texas were coaling
transferred my flag to the Massachusetts
and determined to develop the facts be-
cause of information we had on board the
flagship from the photographic ofice-my
impression now is it was rather undeter
mined. think one source stated that the
batteries were old and another that the
Krupps were mounted. The general belief,
however, was that all of the southern
places were very heavily fortified. In fact,
we knew very little about the effect of
higher powered artillery either on shore
or aboard ship, and feeling that ought to
know something about the Notifications
which defended that place, / determined
to go in and take advantage of what 4
believed to be a longer range of our guns
and develop fully what these defenses
were and incidentally, If we could, get a
shot into the Colon that was lying ex-
posed.
I think we were lying in position per-
haps four or five miles to the westward.
The steaming in was at slow speed. /
transferred my flag, and went on board
the Massachusetts,. When / boarded her
IL was near the dinner hour and Captain
Higginson suggested that we postpone un-
Til 1 o'clock the going in to develop these
batteries. i assented. After the meal
we steamed in pretty nearly head on.
There was not much opportunity for any.
body to seek cover behind turret unless
he got behind the protecting plate which
was a guard to the entrance to the rear.
Some weight had been laid upon the fact
that we We're in white clothes. I would
like to invite attention to the fact that
1t was a matter which controlled entire
~ for my squadron and about the only
suitable dress for that region"
Once on board he said, he - engaged
in a conversation with Captain (now Ad-
miral)5 Higginson. ..f Nl5g v-!L.
II was not excited."Ghe went on. NOR
nervous, for need not have undertaken
the reconnaissance had 1 not desired to
do so. / had some regard for those stand
ing turrets. thinking they were exposing
themselves to danger from shock which
was unnecessary, though I was different
ly circumstanced, and 1 so expressed my
self Commander Potts is in error in say
ing that I took advantage of cover. j
did not, for 1 was not concerned about
myself" 'f
He went on. The shore batteries re-.
sponded some of them using smokeless
-popgders There was quite Stream of pro-
iectiles. and 1 was impressed with the
idea that they must be from guns OF 8
or S-inch calibre The shot from the So
cana battery evidently reached the fleet.
Some went over our ships and one went
beyond and over the, Vixen, which was
half a mile distant. ... .,..,..-.. &
seThe strength of the batteries being es-
tablished it would have been military fol-
ly to have rlsked the battfeships further
to fire from these shore batteries under
my instructions. If we had lost one or
two of our six or seven vessels. the loss
would have been very great disadvant-
age. and it might have invited attack
with disastrous results. thought 1T bet
ter policy to save the ships for wider ana
better use, and subsequent events Jusu-
fed the decision. .-s, ...
On the 31st he received, he thought, by
way Of press tug from Port Antonio the
dispatch from Admiral Sampson dated
MAY 3Oth congratulating him upon the To-
cation of the Spanish fleet. In reply to
questions by his counsel Admiral Schley
explained that Cape Cruz avas an exposed
place 100 miles from Santiago and he did
not regard 1T as an available place for
coaling. Some of the smaller ships might
have been sent there, but with a squad
ron such as he had, practically of the
same size as the Spanish fleet, he had
never considered the question of separat-
ing the ships from his fleet. He regarded
it as of prime Importance that the feet
be kept together.
After this DEPRESSION the admiral re-
turned to the reconnaissance of May 81.
That some of the younger officers who
testified regarding that occurrence were
mistaken, he said, was proved by the fact
that there was today on the deck of the
Indiana plate showing where an, S-inch
shell from the land Notifications entered
July and wrecked her ward room. The
officers referred to had testified that there
were no guns over inches in Santiago
land batteries The admiral said the shell
which wrecked the ward room of the In
diana might possibly have been fired from
a mortar, of which there were several,
but that the range of the batteries was
beyond the ships as they went in for the
reconnaissance was evident not from the
fact that there were one or two shells
which went over the American ships.
There were, he said. many more, perhaps
fifty. "In fact" said he, lit was very
lively for a few minutes"
Again leaving the question Of the May
reconnaissance the witness related the
particulars of the arrival of the New Or
leans. May Both, conveying the collier
Sterling Captain Folger had, the ad-
miral said, brought instructions to sink
the collier, the details of which perform
ance were to be left largely to Admiral
Schley's discretion. ..-
II did not" he said, understand that
this passage was to be blocked up except
in case we should be compelled to ahan-
don the port, in which event that ex-