The Savannah morning news., 1902-08-25
LOST GAME, FIGHT
WHITE SQUADRON, SURROUNDED
AND oyERPOWERED, YIELDED.
THE NAVAL WAR IS ENDED.
RUSHING TOWARD SALEM, THE
HOSTILE FLEET is DETECTED.

Massachusetts Effected the Cap
ture - elimination of Stirring
Chapter of Peace History-Came at
End OF Exciting NiEht-Fiuke Saw
ed Higginson-Capture Occurred
Eight Miles OF Thatcher's Island,
at $40 O'CIocI<-Surrender of Pills
bury-Higginson Well Pleased.
Roclzport, Mass, Aug. 24.-The naval
search problem on the New England
coast was terminated at $40 this morn
ing by the signal, Surrender, demand
is unconditional" from Rear Admiral
Higginsons flagship, and the reply,
accept surrender from the fore
truck of the Prairie, Commander
PIlsbury's flagship. The battle be-
tween the Blue, or defending squad
ron. and the White, or attacking squad
ron, was thus ended eight miles south
of Thatcher's Island. The enemy had
most signally failed to make a harbor
having had Salem for it's objective.
A preponderance of fighting strength,
relatively Ga points, represented by the
battleships Kearsarge, Alabama and
Massachusetts,, the gunboat Scorpion
and torpedo boat had overwhelmed
the As points represented by the aux
iliary cruisers Prairie, Panther and
Supply. Theoretically, the White
Squadron was entirely destroyed by
the guns of the defending battleships.
Thus on the fourth night the game of
naval strategy was brought to an end,
1t having covered a period of unceas-
ing toll. sleepless nights, of anxious
and wearing vigil and of grave I'M
certainty to it's participants.
Occurred on TEACHERS Island.
The destruction of Pillsburys
squadron occurred at $40 this morning
at point just within the outer limit
of Gloucester harbor, not over eight
miles south of Thatcher's Island, where
the heavy ships of Admiral Higginson
had been anchored since Wednesday,
when the game was declared opened.
The surrounding and putting out of
action of the squadron in command
of Commander Pillsbury was the Gull
e1ninating incident in one of the most
interesting chapters In the peace his
tory of the American navy. For the
placing in operation of the maneuvers
of the warships off the coast of New
England, the navy had long prepared
itself, and had long looked forward to
them with keen anticipation.
AS planned by the naval authorities
at Washington, two squadrons were to
be put into the game, one the Blue, the
defending fleet, and the other, the
White, to be the hostile fleet iJent upon
effecting an anchorage in some unpro-
tected harbor on the coast from Cape
Elizabeth to Cape Cod, opposed all the
time by the first named fleet. This
anchorage had to be maintained
against the defenders for a period of
six hours.
Composition of the Fleets.
Commander Pillsbury's White Squad
ron consisted of the auxiliary cruisers
Prairie (fagship), Panther and Supply.
The two former boats were assigned
twenty points of fighting strength,
while the Supply assumed. too,
some protective points. Admiral
Higginson's fleet was actually supe-
rior in the number of its members.
and by the same arrangements made
as to the Pillsbury Ships it repre-
scented grand total of 81 points of
strength. The Alabama, the Kear-
sarge and the Massachusetts,, battle
ships, were given 20. the cruisers
Brooklyn and Olympia EACH the
Leyden and Montgomery, Glouces-
ter, Mayt1ower and Scorpion points
each, while a number of torpedo boats
made up the remaining numbers.
To win the mimic war the Blue
Squadron had to bring against the at
lacking vessels, as it did early this
morning, warships superior in their
combined assumed fighting power.
oC1a CT -
dividual craft of the other fleet by
overcoming them in point of strength
and under the rules of the game the
captured vessels were to retire alto
gether from the field of action.
In the defeat of Pillsbury, the de-
tense, with three battleships, the
Scorpion and a torpedo boat, had Ga
points, so that the balance was against
the attacking squadron. Throughout
the mimic war there was placed in
operation a system of coast defense
Which was admittedly of credit to
those who engaged in it.
Satisfied With Maneuvers.
The problem was so complete that
on the war vessels here Tonight the
weeks work is viewed with sarisfac-
ton for the one reason, if for no other,
mat the squadron has had invaluable
practice.
The final event of these war moves
was the sequence of many complicat-
ing developments. The capture came
at the end of a night filled with ru
iHofs as to the location of the attack
ing squadron. At $50 o'clock last
night three battleships of the Blue
squadron got under way in a hurry
and sailed to the eastward. The in
tentlon was to move on to Portland,
ana II that had been carried out, Ad-
HllraI Higginson. as it later developed,
would have unconsciously swung the
balance of his fighting force to that
ehQ of the coast line, as Pillsbury had
intended he should, but which was not
uoi-e on account of heavy seas run
HlnS outside Cape Elizabeth.
A4lgglnson, however, detected his
course back to Gloucester after
swing seaward, in response to a report
that the enemy had not been sighted
Nhen IT was believed he had been. but
III the last hours of the night Pills
nUry sailed toward Cape Ann from
we outside, and. as IL proved. right
unaer the very guns of the defending
squadron.
sight of Hostile Fleet.
Commander Pillsbury. when still out
sea, after maneuYering. headed
sFelght for Salem Harbor But the
sltea vantage point was never
leoched, When his boats had
rived on Magnolia they We're
'bhted by the signal station on Va
island. a message was seat 10