The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1902-03-06

under the fire of the batteries, ant
herself fired couple of shots at tn,
torpedo boat. Of course Admira
Sampson was present and in com
mand. l received no signals fron
! the Brooklyn, and would hot have
noticed her at all had it not been fol
| the fact that when the other vessel:
closed in she made what has sine,
been called the loop SO that my at
! tention was attracted by not seeing
the Texas because she stopped, anC
by not seeing the Brooklyn because
| she went to seaward, away from the
Spaufxh vessels. Iu other words, the
left or Westward part Of our line wa.
refused. and this attracted my atten-
tention. because it seemed to ms
from where | was that this permitted
the Spanish vessels to try to escape
to Westward"
INJURIES TO SPANISH SHIPS.
The survey of the damages of the
four Spanish war vessels shows that
in addition 10 several score hits by
the 6-pounder and 1-pounder guns Of
the American fleet, they were struck
43 times by the larger guns Of four
inches caliber and over. The Colon,
which came out inside the others and
did comparatively little fighting, re-
ceived but three of these hits. The
other three ships which bore the
brunt of the action, received 40 among
them. OF these 40, II according to
the report of the Board which exam
ined into them, were by finch guns,
ten by 5-inch guns. four by either
or 5-inch 0he Board could not deter
mine which,, while one was by either
5 or 6inch, - we're by S-inch. and
two by 12-inch guns.
All of our big ships except the
Texas had s-inch guns. Only the
Texas and Iowa had 12-inch guns.
The Oregon and the Indiana had 49,
inch guns; and they and the Texas
had 6-inch guns. The only 4inch
guns were on the Iowa; the only B.
inch guns on the Brooklyn. There
fore on the three Spanish ships which
did the bulk of the fighting, out of
the 40 large caliber shots that struck
them IL certainly came from the
Iowa, 10 certainly came from the
Brooklyn, i from either the Iowa or
the Brooklyn, and two from either the
Iowa or Texas.
BROOKLYN'S FIvE-INCH GUNS.
OF the three which struck the Colon
two were 5inch and must have come
from the Brooklyn; one was either a
5-inch Or 6-inch. 1t must be remem-
bered that the 4 and 5-inch guns were
the only quick firers above 6-pound-
ers in our fleet, and that they were
not only much more rapidly, but
much more surely handled than were
the larger and slower firing guns.
The damage and loss of the American
vessels were trivial. The only loss
suffered was aboard the Brooklyn.
where one man was killed and one
wounded. In damage the cost of the
repairs shows that the Iowa suffered
most and the Oregon least.
The American ships engaged pos
sessed a more than twofold material
superiority over the Spanish ships,
and the difference in the handling of
their guns and their engines was
even greater. We have just cause to
be proud Of the vigilance and instant
readiness our ships displayed and the
workmanlike efficiency with which
they were handled. Tie most striking
act was that of the Gloucester, a con-
verted yacht, which her commander,
Wainwright, pushed into the fight
through hail of projectiles, any one
Of which would have sunk her, in
order that he might do his part in
destroying the two torpedo boats,
each possessing far more than his own
offensive power.
HOW THE BATTLE WAS FOUGHT.
From the statements of the captains
above. from the official reports and
from the testimony before the Court
of Inquiry, the fight can be plotted
with absolute certainty in it's impor.
tant outlines, though there is conflict
as to minor points. When the -four
Spanish cruisers came out Of the har
Dor the New York had left her posi-
tion in the blockading line 40 or 4;
minutes before. She had hoisted the
signal, Disregard the movement. oI
the Commander-in- Chief, but had no,
hosted the signal to the second il
command to take charge, which. as
appears by the signal book. wa:
| sometimes, but not always, used
when the command was transfer.
red.
As soon as the engagement begar
the New York turned and steamed
back, hosting a signal to close in
which, however none of the squadron
saw. She was in plain sight and no,
very much farther from the Eastern
most blockading ships than the latte
were from the Brooklyn, which wa
the Westernmo of the line. As soor
as the Spanish ships appeared thu
I five big American blockaders started
toward thsm in accordance with th
standing orders Of Admiral Sampson
After this first move each acted pure
ly on his own initiative. For som
minutes the Spanish and American
vessels steadily approached on
another, aud the fighting was at it
| hottest.
THE BROoKLYN's LOOP.
Then the already damaged SpanisI
ships turned to the Westward, Will
at the same time the Westernmos IS
American vessel, the Brooklyn. " hicl
wa. nearest the Spanish line, turne'
to the Eastward. making a loop o
three-quarter circle. at the end O
which she again headed Westward
farther off from. and farther benin
the Spanish vessels than before th
loop had begun. but still ahead {
any of the American vessels, althoug
farther outside. The Texas, the ne,
ship to the Brooklyn. either was c
conceived herself to be in such jeopa
dy by the Brooklyn's turn toward h'
that she backed her engines. comm
almost or quite to = s,andstilli 4
that both the Oregon and the low
which were originally to the Eas
ward OF her. passed her, and it W,