New-York tribune., 1902-02-20


orders-of course we could do nothing else. Until |
the Teresa and the Oquendo ran ashore the
tC -" was close behlnd the Oregon and ahead of
me 1eXas, and all of US were firing steadily at
the Spanish ships. The Texas then recovered
ner speed-fOr she was dead in the water after
ndVlng backed TO avoid the Brooklyn when the
brooklyn turned-and she went ahead of the
Iowa Both of US continued to fire at the Viz
Caya unit! she went ashore Then I stopped.
put the Texas followed the Brooklyn and the
oregon after the Colon.
When the battle began the New-York was
not nluch further to the eastward Of me than
the Brooklyn was to the westward After the
Nlzcaya had grounded the New-York overlook
me ana sgnalled me 10 return to the mouth Of
Lhe ndrbor 10 prevent any other Spanish ship
rom coming out and attacking the transports.
received no signals of any kind from the
brooklyn. All we had to do was TO close in on
the spanish squadron as ii came out of the
naroor. IN obedience to the orders of Admiral
Sampson and then, when the heaviest fighting
VS. over and the Spanish ships were trying TO
escape TO the west to follow them-and of
course there was no signal necessary to tell
US 20 follow fleeing enemy.
The machinery Of the Iowa was not in con-
ultlon TO get the best speed, though every effort
nu hAu Deen made to make 1t Her cylinder
headS mad not been off for more than six
months, owing to the service she was perform
ing. her bottom was very foul, as she had not
neen locked for a period of seventeen months
shape.
The New-York had left the blockading line
ny lying the signal Disregard the movements of
the Commander-in-Chief' a signal frequently
mace, and we'll understood by the entire fleet
@ Mas Hade ior the second in command to
SuHe command of the fleet, which was usually
zone zone by the Commander-in-Chef before reach
LIS .Ils ne unit or signal distance when he pro-
posed for any reason temporarily to relinquish
MS command TO the next ranking officer"
CONSIDERED SAMPSON IN COMMAND.
The following is Admiral TayIor's statement:
Al the beginning Of the fight the New-York
Ro " as apout as far to the eastward of me the
Brooklyn was to the westward. The only sig
nal received from the New-York was at the
very close OF the fight when she signalled to
ME 10 return and guard the mouth of the harbor
so that nothing should come out to attack our
uAnsportS. l received signal whatever from
the Brooklyn. and should not have needed anv
II one had been made. as I considered Admiral
sampson present and in command. From her
position the Indiana took full part in the actual
ilSHt as the spanish ships came out of the har-
Dor When they to the westward the IN
ulana teL behind but continued firing at them
- a. lHe torpedo boats until all but the
-, '0ti Neie sunk or Deached. l saw the Brook
Iyh turn and run out seaward seemingly over
mlie; about the time the rear one of the
SP-i!an SPIi sLIp5 turned TO the west If instead Of
making this loop lie BROOKLYN had stood
stIalght IN toward the Spaniards. as the other
American ships did. 1t seemed TO me thar tbe
need Of the long chase N'
s,dtne, me following is Commander wainwright's
AT the outset of the fight the NeU-Yorl. was
tiot Huch FURTHER away from me in one direction
man the Brooklyn was in the other and was i'm
Pii SlshI A signal from Admiral TAYLOR in
connection with my moving forward 10 attack
ny Cng @loIpedo boats was the only signal l re-
- ~, Hlaue one to the New-YOrk Just be-
Iofe the last torpedo boat sank The New-ynrl
az az mat tlIne was coming up under the fire of
tHe batteries, and herself fired a connie Of shots
at the torpedo boats. OF course Admiral Samnson
was present and in command. I received no sig
t.e4H oHl Ihe BroOklyn, and would not have no
tced her al all had IL been for the fact thar
when the other vessels closed in she made What
has been since called the loop So that INV ar
teIIlIoh was attracted by not seeing the Texas
because she stopped and by not seeing the
f1 pIooA!yh because she went 10 seaward. away
| from the Spanish vessels. In other words the
IeIt OF Westward part Of our line refused,
and this attracted my attention because il
seemed 10 me from where I that this per
NIllIeu the spanish vessels 20 try TO escape to
The survey of the damages Of the four Span
ism war vessels shows that in addition IN COY
eral score hits by the 6-pounders and 1-pounder
SuEs OF the American feet they were struck
forty-three times by the larger guns Of four
incnes cal!bre and over. The Colon. which came
out Inside the Others and did comparatively little
nghting, received but three OF these hits. The
action, received forty among them OF these
forty, eleven. according 70 the report OF the
board which examined into them. We're by /
'I'- guns. Ten Dy .1-lnch guns. four by either
or - inch lthe board could not determine which,
while one was by either a : or Is inch. twelve
We're oy S-lhch and TWO by l2-tnch guns All OF
our big ships except the Texas had S-inch guns
! only the Texas and Iowa had l2-inch guns
The oregon and the Indiana had l3-nCh guns.
and they and sthe Texas had G-inch guns. The
only 4-inch guns were on the Iowa. the only =
inch guns on the F3roOkI,n Therefore on
the three Spanish ships which did the hulk OF
the fighting. Of the forty large calibre shots
that struck them eleven certainly came from
the Iowa, ten certainly came from the BROOKLYN.
four from either the Iowa the Brooklyn. and
two from either the Iowa the Texas. OF the
three which struck the Colon two We're 5-nCh.
and must nave come from the Brooklyn; one
was either 5-nch a 6-inch. II must be
remembered that the i and ; inch guns were
the only quick fTeTs above 6-pOunders 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
American vessels
| The only loss suffered was aboard the Brooklyn,
where one man killed and wounded. IN
| damage the cost OF the repairs shows that the
| Iowa suffered most and the Oregon least.
SHIPS HANDLED WITH EFFICIENCY.
The American ships engaged possessed more
than twOfOld material superiority over the Span
| lsh 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 ships displayed and
! handled. The most striking act was that
| Of the Gloucester. a converted yacht. which her
! commander Wainwright, pushed into the fight
! through a 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 often
/ sive power.
! From the statements Of the captains above.
from the official reports and from the testimony
| before the Court of Inquiry, the fight be
! plotted with absolute certainty in its important
| outlines. though there is conflict as to minor
| points. When the four Spanish cruisers came
| out Of the harbor the New York had left her pc
| siton in the blockadng line forty fOrty-fve
minutes before. She had hoisted the signal
| Disregard movements Of the commander-in-
chief" but had not hoisted the signal to the
! Ond in command 10 take charge, which ap
| pears by the signal book, was sometimes but
| not always used when the command was trans
! ferred. AS soon the engagement began the
| New York turned and steamed back, huisting a
| squadron saw She was in plain sight and not
| very much further from the easternmost block