Daily new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1897-1906, 1902-02-20

(other than the Brooklyn and New
York, the fagships of the two adj
mirals) which were actively engaged
in the fight Admiral Philip is dead.
/ quote extract from his magazine
articles on the fight, written imms-
diately after it occurred; closing with
an extract from his letter to the
Secretary of the Navy Of FEBRUARY
81, 1899.
Here follows the extract from
Philips article, then statements from
the different then captains and also
Wainwright.
Survey of Shots Effects.
The survey of the damages of the
four Spanish war vessels shows that
in addition to several score hits by
the six-pounder and one-pounder guns
of the American fleet, they were
struck 43 times by the larger guns
OF four inches calibre and over. The
Colon, which came out inside the 9TH
ers and did comparatively little fight
ing, received but three of these hits.
The other three ships, which bore the
brunt of the action, received 40
among them. OF these 40, IL, accord
ing to the report of the board which
examined into them, were by four
inch guns, 10 by five-inch guns, four
by either four or five-inch (the board
could not determine which,, while
one was by either five or six-inch,
10 were by eight-inch and two by IL
inch guns. All of our big ships ex.
cept the Texas had eight-inch guns.
Only the Texas and Iowa had 12-inch
guns. The Oregon and Indiana had
13-inch guns, and they and the Texas
had six.inch guns. The only four.
inch guns were on the Iowa; the only
five-inch guns ON the Brooklyn
Where Shots Came From.
Therefore on the three Spanish ships
which did the bulk of the fighting
out of the 40 large calibre shots tina.
struck them II certainly came from
the Iowa, 10 certainly came from the
Brooklyn, four from either the Iowa
or the Brooklyn, and two from either
the Iowa or the Texas. OF the three
which struck the Colon two were
five-ineh and must have come from
the Brooklyn; one was either a five
inch or a six-inch. 1t must be remem
bered that the four and five-incf
guns We're the only quick firers above
six-pounders in our fleet, and thai
they were not only much more rap
al 1.,xX A1v L.
than were the larger and slower
firing guns. The damage and loss oil
the American vessels were trivial
The only loss suffered was aboard TIL,
Brooklyn, where one man was killed
and one wounded. In damage, The
cost of repairs shows that the lowe
suffered most and the Oregon least
Act of Gloucester Most Striking.
The American ships engaged pos
sessed more than twofold materia
superiority over the Spanish ships
and the difference in the handling q
their guns and their engines was ever
greater. We have just cause to bt
proud Of the vigilance and instan
readiness our ships displayed, and tn.
workmanlike efficiency with which
they were handled. The most strik
ing act was that of the Gloucester, {
converted yacht, which her comman
der, Wainwright, pushed into the
fight through a hail of projeetiles
any one of which would have SUM
her, in order that he might do hi:
part in destroying the two torped,
boats. each possessing far more thar
his own offensive power.
How the Battle Was Fought.
From the statements of the cap
tains above, from the official reports
and from the testimony before the
court of inquiry, the fight can bt
plotted with absolute certainty in tt
important outlines, though there II
conflict as to minor points. Whel
the four Spanish cruisers came OH
Of the harbor the New York had lef
her position in the blockading lin,
40 or IS minutes before. She ha,
hoisted the signal Disregard tht
movements of the commandment
chief, but had not hoisted the sig
nal to the second in command to tax,
charge. which. as appears by the sig
nal book, was sometimes, but not al
ways, used when the command wa
| transferred. AS soon as the engage
ment began the New York turned
and steamed back, hosting a sigma
to close in, which, however, none .
the squadron saw. She was in plail
sight and not very much farther from
the eastermost blockading ships thai
the latter were from the Brooklyn
which was the westernmost of the line
According to SIMPSONS Plan.