The San Francisco call., 1901-10-17
BROOKLYNS OFFICERS GIVE PRAISE
TO SCF1LEY FOR GOODNESS IN BATTLE

..Xas We're : you present when Ellis was killed"
:. How near was Ellis to the commodore when
He was standing right next to me. He
was about fifteen feet from the commodore.
Lieutenant McCauley described the incidents
OF the battle of July g. saying that he had
the ship for action and that when he had
reported this action to the commodore the lat
Recurrng to i the TO bombardnent OF the Colon
May 81 the witness said that Commodore
Schley's bearing on that occasion had not
been different from what it had been on other
occasions.
Signal to the Oregon.
The cross-examination was conducted by
Hanna, who questioned the witness in detail
her 13-inch guns, asking the witness why he
remembered it especially.
Because / sent it myself was the reply.
did you also send the others on which you
have refreshed your memory by referring to
The witness said that he had made them. He
did not recall that the oregon mad made any
response to the signal to that vessel. Hanna
also called attention to an entry in the signal
books of the Brooklyn and the ST. Paul of a
message fol, Admiral Sampson 1t appeared
that as read by the st. Paul the signal was
as follows:
IF Sampson comes here tell him that half
the squadron is out of coal and that the en-
Upon reading the entry Of this signal Lieu
comes here tell him half of the squadron is
short of COAL" He said, however that the
Short & vas was very E fs 1dstne said Tne slgna
flying until we discovered the Oregon on our
quarter" Several Of the ships had their an
swering pennants flying; he remembered es-
pecially that the Oregon had been among the
ships which had made no response.
Lieutenant Charles Webster was called. He
said he had been watch officer on the Brook
lyn during the campaign of 1893 and began his
fuegos He thought the distance out at night
was seven or eight miles, with picket boats
inside the line. The sea was moderate, he
said, between Cienfuegos and Santiago the
occasion of the flying squadron's voyage, max
custom at Santiago was to lie off the port four
or five miles during the day. The vessels
steamed back and forth at night about the same
distance out Asked if he had seen any suspl-
the evening of July 2. the witness replied:
II remained on deck on July 2. and saw col
umns of smoke rising and apparently moving
as though vessels were steaming in the harbor.
Also in my watch I remember the burning OF
which 1 reported to the commanding officer"
What was the conduct and bearing Of Com
modore Schley in the different engagements
u never saw Commodore schley during the
fight. 1 saw him Immediately after the battle
of July and he was perfectly cool and con-
tanned"
Lieutenant Webster gave brief account Of
the battle of July 3. He said that when the
signal was given to clear ship for action ne
had run forward, having charge of the for
ward gun deck battery He had then seen the
Texas and the Iowa a little abaft the Brook
Iyn's beam. When the engines We're started
the Brooklyn had headed directly toward the
until after firing was begun. when the helm
was put hard aDort. He estimated that the
enemy's vessels were 1400 to 1900 yards distant
when the Brooklyn began its turn and that
after the loop was completed it was 23o0 yards,
increasing to $500 yards when the Viscaya
turned in.
SpaaLino of tho I,orobardment of +he Colon
May 81; the witness said he had observed it
from the Brooklyn and that while he had
noticed that the first shots fell short he had
seen one later which he thought had fallen
under the Colons counter. He had got the
batteries We're stronger than they had pre-
viously been supposed to be. He thought after
that time that those batteries were manned
with S-inch guns
On cross-examination Captain Lemly had the
witness read from the log Of the Brooklyn an
steamed out at night. The judge advocate
asked only a few questions on his own ac-
count, but put two or three at the instance of
''when the flying squadron blockading
Cienfuegos did the column of vessels at night
keep on line nearly perpendicular to the shore
line or on a line nearly parallel to the shore
lins?" me-, ,,..o - -
pendcular to the shore line
How did the Spanish ships bear from the
Brooklyn when the Brooklyn's helm was put
TT seems to me the Teresa nearly broad
on. the port bow, the Viscaya perhaps three
points on the port bow. The helm had been
eased aport before that so it had changed their
bearings 1t was hard to tell at the beginning
of the turn how they bore
What the relative positions of the
Brooklyn and Colon when the Colon passed the
Viscaya? How was the Brooklyn heading at
this timer
1.-The Colon passed inside the Viscaya at
distance of about 1000 yards so at that time
her range would have probably been 45G0 yards.
She bore the same bearing the Colon at
that time forward of the starboard beam,
about ten points The Brooklyn was heading
probably nearly west
The court adjourned until tomorrow.
a