Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-10-16
BATTLE OF MANILA
Raising of Ships Of Spanish
Fleet.
FACTS DEVELOPED,
FEW OF THEM WERE HIT BELOW
WATER LINE.
Those Already Raised and Those Ens
amined by Divers Seem to Have
Been Scuttled,

Recent copies OF the Manila American
Just received at the War Department cons
tain interesting matter. Under date Of Au.
gust % the paper says:
THE raising Of the Spanish gunboat Maj.
Quez del Duero near Cavite by the Philips
pine Engineering and Construction Come
pany developed some facts about the fa>
nous naval battle in Manila bay. May ],
1898, which may affect history materially
When the gunboat was examined 1t waD
found that but one shot took effect on thai
vessel. 1t pierced the bow above the water
line and the shell exploded In the vessel.
This goes to prove that the guns OF the
fleet never put this little gunboat In the bots
tom of the bay. and the only conclusion aA
to its destruction is that the Spanards scut.
tied her rather than have her fall into Ad.
miral Dewey's hands. This version of the
battle gained some circulation at one time.
but was denied. Now that the seventeen
vessels which lie in the bottom Of the bay
are to be raised. ell doubts as to the man-
ner in which the fleet was sent to the bot.
tom will be settled
While this is true of the g,1nboat rec
ferred to. there Is every reason to believe
that few, If any, Of the vessels were sunk
by the fire from the American fleet The
engineers are now busy raising the steel
cruiser UHoa. one of the largest vessels In
1t Is reported that this vessel shows no
Indication of being riddled below the water
line, and 1t is the impression that she was
also scuttled and abandoned.
The fact, however, remains that Admiral
Dewey pounded the Spanish fleet enough to
make the officers decide at an early hour
that there was little chance of escape
Rather than surrender their vessels TO the
enemy they decided to scuttle them, and
from the developments made recently they
succeeded"
As to Other Vessels.
Under date of August 81 the same paper
says:
Much comment has been aroused by The
Americans discovery that the MARQUEE del
Duero, the first Of the Spanish fleet to be
raised. was not so badly damaged as one
would have expected from the official &C.
counts of the battle. From information re.
celved from a diver who made an investiga.
tlon or the hulks under water q year or
more ago. 1t is likely that when the re-
mainder Of these vessels are raised It wifi
be found that the battle of May 1 was mora
of an opera bouffe affair than the land
battle of August 10. of which the hero Of
the hrst affair has spoken SO disparagingIy,
The diver referred to made at the time A
careful inspection Of all the hulks, and his
findings, which he has made into a tahulst.
ed report, will be of interest and will per.
maps send another historic fable to ioIn
George Washington's hatchet
he 1ound In the whole fleet about twenty
hits few, If any, of which would have been
fatal to the respective ships. The General
Lea, a steel gunboat Of about 800 tons.
was found to be entirely dismantIed above
decks by fire. but below the water line there
We're absolutely no evidences of gInshot
holes; There is one large hole In the star.
Doard SIDE. as If the magazine or boilers
had exploded. but no others. The hull is
small holes in the port side She was an
1noffensive little coast survey boat and
would scarcely seem to have deserved even
this much ammunition.
THE Velasco has four small holes in
the port side above the water line The
Re1na Cristfna, the flagship, is the only ona
OF the fleet that seems to have sustained
any severe fire. She has seven holes in her
port side and three in the starboard The
Castillo, which Dewey reported to be rid
died with shot, is an insignificant old
any holes at all in her The Ulloa a steel
cruiser, is reported clean and clear of wreck
age and has two small holes on the port
side aStern.
A Case of Willful Destruction.
THE firing on the Isla of Mindanao seems
to have been a case Of willful destruction.
She was a troop ship. and an immense one,
of 5000 tons. 400 feet long, a regular liner,
She was loaded with supplies and was found
by the diver to be still full of bales and
cases below decks. When the American fleet
appeared in the harbor she started to run
for Baccoor, and the admiral sent a gum
boat after her. She received one shot in the
stern. near the stern post, and one small
one in the starboard side. The hole in the
stern was made by an explosive shell and
is very large. 1t is said by some that the
reason that the Mindanao was beached at
Baccoor is that she was loaded with the Of
ticers of the Spanish fleet. who deserted
their ships, already scuttled, according to
this version. All of her upper works are
burned away.
of course, an examination made under
water is cursory and not conclusive but
in view of the question that has been
raised, the raising of the ships will b
watched with interest by naval people and
the general public"