The Savannah morning news., 1901-12-20
WAS WITH THE FLEET.

Ex-CorrespOndent Sill on SIMPSONS
victory at San Juan de Puerto Rico.
The coming appearance in Savannah
nj stuart Robson brought to Savannah
Yesterday to complete arrangements
for the engagement, the comedians
personal representative. William Ray
,nond Sill of New York. Mr.. Sill, dur
.Ig the war with Spain, was corre-
snondent for a New York newspaper,
and saw much of the naval operations
off Cuba and Porto Rico. He was on
various dispatch boats with Walter
Howard and Maj. John S. Cohen.
In speaking of the Schley case Mr..
sill said: Mine out of every ten cor
respondents who We're in Cuban waters
undoubtedly are enthusiastic Schley
nartisians. and they all consider the re-
mort of Admirals Benham and Ramsey
as unjust and malodorous. So much
has been said and written regarding
the Cuban operations that it is use
less for me to discuss it, or give voice
to my humble opinion as to what I
saw But 1 have to smile when ] read
that Schley has been condemned by
the wooden-hull admirals of the old
navy because he failed to destroy the
Cristobal Colon. In all this talk of
Santiago 1 have not seen one word
printed of Admiral SIMPSONS glorious
victory at San Juan de Puerto Rico"
You may well inquire what that
was" Mr.. Sill said. 'That
superb naval demonstration seems
TO have been lost sight
of in all the hubbub occasioned by the
humiliation of Cervera's fleet, but
there are plenty of correspondents
who recall it wildly enough. 1t was on
"A warm tropical morning in May that
Sampson and his fleet approached the
harbor of the capital of Puerto Rico, 1
was on my papers yacht, the Anita,
chartered from its owner, John NJ.
F7agler. The sun was blood red as 1T
rose over the Moro of San Juan.
Sending some small boats into the har-
Dor to feel for torpedos. Sampson, ON
his superb fighting machine, the New
York, and followed by the mightiest
fleet ever gathered under one COM
mander in time of war, finally entered
the harbor. l cannot recall the names
of his vessels now without consulting
the notes ! made at the time. There
was the Indiana, the Iowa, the Massa-
chusetts, several armored cruisers and
converted cruisers, three or four gun
boats, torpedo boats and torpedo boat
destroyers-a fleet, 1 should say, of
four times the fighting strength of that
under Schley when he met and destroy
ed Cervera.
Proudly, def1antly, this fleet sailed
under the MORO. The rusty brass guns
Of ancient Spain blazed forth, but were
at such an angle their shot could have
hit nothing save birds on wing. Bang
went the guns of the New York,
and then Numbered out the
giant bull throated tones of the battle
ships like basso notes to the tenor
sputterings of the little craft Cover
ing over in one corner of the land
locked harbor were the Spanish war
ships Isabella Secundo, Concha and
four others, I think, whose names 1
do not recall. Huge thirteen-inch
shells, each one of sufficient intrinsic
value to support an ordinary family
of five year, went hurting through
the air. The mighty Chadwick, the
fiery Fighting Bob Evans and the
rest commanded those guns and
hit nothing. One commander did, he
stove hole in the side of a French
merchantmen lying peacefully at her
berth. flying the tri-color of France.
I think a few bricks from the Cathe-
dral of San Juan and a flag pole of
the captain generals palace were also
destroyed; but that was all, and after
an expenditure of something like $125.-
900 in ammunition, Sampson and his
fleet left the harbor.
mot many weeks thereafter" said
Mr.. Sill, 81 entered San Juan with
the late Gen. Guy V. Henry. There I
saw negro children playing in the
streets of the city with unexploded
13-inch shells worth a fortune. Yes,
it was a glorious victory. that of
SIMPSONS. that hot May morning and
it has always been a source of won
derment to our correspondents Nthat
Historian Maclay and Admiral Crown
inshield and even Admiral Sampson
himself, has not elaborated more fully
upon it, for surely, it would make a
bright and proud page in American
history"