The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1901-08-01
ORIGIN OF CONTROVERSY.
ssampson's Famous Dispatch the Begin
ming of Trouble.

ming of Trouble.
The Sampson Schley controversy be-
San as the result of the dispatch from
Admiral Sampson announcing the VIC
tory at Santiago. 1.-THE fleet under my
command" it said, "offers the nation
as a Fourth of July present the destruc-
ton of the whole Of Cervera's fleet"
From this message the nation inferred
that Sampson was in the thick of the
battle and he was regarded as the hero
of the day. When it was learned short
ly afterward that the flagship New
York, with Sampson on board, had been
absent from the engagement, and that
Schley had been the ranking officer on
the squadron, a revulsion of sentiment
set in. It was declared that schley had
won the victory and that Sampson was
trying to rob him OF the credit
The controversy SO started was ex-
tended by the friend, of Admiral Samp-
son to cover the couy sc Of Schley in the
operations of the flying squadron and
in the battle itself schley left Key
West May IS with a powerful squadron
to intercept Cervere., whose destination
was supposed to be Cienfuegos, on the
ron arrived there the navy department
learned that the Spanish fleet had
reached Santiago Sampson sent q
cruiser with orders to Schley to proceed
at once to Santiago and blockade TIE
port. Schley had been blockading
Cienfuegcs two days before he received
the message. He waited another day,
during which Captain McCalla learned
definitely that Cervera was not in the
harbor, and then started for Santiago.
The distance is 800 miles, but it took
the squadron four days instead Of one
to cover it. Leaving Cienfuegos May
"a the fleet arrived thirty miles from it's
destination on May 26. The next day
Sehley turned westward again, signal
ling the squadron that it was to return
TIC. Key West for coal. Then he changed
his mind and on May % began the
blockade. During the nights the fleet
lay ten miles out to sea until the ar
rival of Sampson June /, when it moved
up within a mile of the harbor en-
trance.
On the day of the battle the New
York had started to take Admiral
Sampson to a conference with General
Shafter, when Cervera tried to escape.
The file g5hip returned at full speed, but
did not get into the engagement, al
though a court of claims has held that
1t was near enough SO that Sampson
was technically to be considered in
command.
Schley's coursein the battle which was
criticised was in relation to maneuyer
VI LIE DIOOhiyIlsSs TO escape DelnS
rammed. The Maria Teresa headed for
1t and the cruiser turned to the east
and south to escape. In this maneuver
1t narrowly missed colliding with the
Texas. The captain of the Texas re-
ported that the action of the Brooklyn
was the proper one under the circum-
stances. Admiral schley, however, was
apparently made nervous for fear 1t
would be taken for cowardice. He gave
ont two fhpna fof 80 q.
that conflicted. He was also led into
securing the denial Of an Interview on
the subject by his executive officer, al
though the officer later said the inter-
view was substantially correct. He had
been urged on several occasions to ask
for court of inquiry, but had declined,
as he said, on account Of the hostility
to him in the nav:- department.
A CHARGE AGAINST SAMPSON,