Evening star., 1902-09-01
BLOCK ISLAND TAKEN
Navy Scores First Blood in
War Game.
ARMY MEN DEFEATED
SIGNAL STATION AT WOODS
HOLE DESTROYED.
Navy Will Establish Base at Block
Island and Try to
Hold It.
ARMY MEN DEFEATED

FORT TRUMBULL, NEW LONDON.
Conn. Headquarters Army of Defense, Sep
tember 1-Dispatches announcing the cap
ture Of Block Island and the seizure Of the
signal station at that point and at Wood 5
Hole were received by Major General Mac
Arthur this morning Some of these dis
patches were given out to newspaper men,
the first announcing that the first scout of
the enemy had been sighted off Point
Judith at 1:30 am, and that they had
stopped a sound steamer off the point.
This scout was thought by the observer to
be either the Gloucester or Hist.
Following this was dispatch saying that
the kearsarge, Massachusetts,, Scorpion,
Panther and Nina had been sighted five
miles south of Point Judith, and that they
exchanged signals with the Iightship and
then headed out.
Then came the following dispatches:
THE Brooklyn and Indiana captured
6:15 a. m. Fleet will undoubtedly establish
base at Block Island. Brooklyn landed
marines on Block Island. presumably to
capture signal station there"
THE seven vessels sighted Off Point Ju-
dith were reported approaching Block Is
land at 5:iQ'
Moods Hole, signal station destroyed by
Olympia at 80 a. M
Beacon Hill signal station. Block Island
captured at a. IN. by landing party. All
signalmen escaped except two
Early Morning Action.
BLOCK ISLAND r. T., September l.
The Beacon Hill signal and wireless te!e-
graph station, established by the army in
connection with the extensive war maneuv-
ers was captured by the fleet representing
the enemy under command of Rear Ad-
miral Higginson, just after 6 o'clock this
morning. The station was abandoned after
a bombardment of two hours and quarter
by the battle ships, and the guard es-
capped before a superior force of marines,
which had landed under cover of the fire
from the vessels at Great Salt Pond har-
Dor. Eight hundred marines are now hold
ing the station and guarding the ap-
proaches, while the fleet is anchored off
shore.
1t was scarcely midnight when the pa
troll of the Block Island life-Saying station
discovered the fleet off the eastern side of
the island. The signal station at once was
warned and the men considered an attack
imminent They had four hours leeway. AT
4:15 the battle ship ran in and opened fire
on the island. The range raked the Great
Salt pond and the Beacon Hill station. The
reverberation shook the island to its base.
The firing was continued until $50. when a
collier and dispatch boat entered the harbor
and landed force of men. Before the at
tack of this detachment having been re-
duced by the previous bombardment the
men at the station made their escape. The
landing force of 500 was divided and squads
were stationed on. each side of the break
water and at other points along the shore,
while ample force was sent to occupy
the Beacon Hill signal station. AS the
fleet lay off shore seventeen vessels could
be counted, including colliers.
Details Of the Capture.
WOODS HOLE, Mass, September 1.-Of
course, the seizure and the destruction Of
telegraphic and cable facilities were figura-
tive, and it required the decision of an UNI
pire TO make plain whether or not the point
attempted by Admiral Higginson had been
Won. AS the landing was made, the tele-
graph and phone offices were entered by
sufficient force to have destroyed the prop
erty, or at least the instruments, and at
the same time a boats crew had locat
the cables with graphing hooks and had
held them a sufficient period to have al
lowed for the cutting of them. there SEEM
ed to have been no question that the move
had been entirely successful.
The Olympia appeared off this port sud
denly early this morning and Immediately
two boats put Off toward shore. One was
a launch and the other whaleboat and
in them was detachment under Lieut. L.
NJ Eyerhardt. The launch landed here
while the whaleboat lay off shore and at
once began graphing for the cable The
men under Lieut. Everhardt rushed to the
office of the Martha's Vineyard Telegraph
Company and then to the telephone station
and carried out their orders to make the
seizure. Having accomplished this work
they returned to their launch, Joined the
whaleboat and returned to their ship
This move cut off the only communication
with the islands of Nantucket and Martha s
Vineyard, which are very important obser-
walton stations.
Tha Guna In, fho