The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-09-13

buejackets, at least, the pros and cons
of every action with the army were dis
cussed with animation
The war games period was begun at
midnight of Aug. rs. and ended at noon
on Aug. 20 During the two days of prep
aration allowed the army, Admiral Bar
ker's Red Fleet had been lying at anchor
of Seguin Island about twenty-five miles
from Portland
At the very moment that the period OF
hostiities began. the battleships, the cruisers
the gunboats, the destroyers and all the
other craft Of Admiral Barker's command
stole out through the misty night in the
direction of Portland. With the exception
of two little glimmers. one forward and the
other aft, TO serve as guides and prevent
collisions, not one of the war vessels showed
light.
Guard rails had been taken down and a
single life line substituted Hatches had
been covered. Every opening through
which light might send gleam from below
was carefully closed. Actual war cond-
itions were simulated closely.
TICKLIsH WORK WITH BIG SHIPS.
1t was ticklish work, this navigating
big ships of war in almost total darkness
with only one dim sliinmcr ahead to tell
how near was your leader, and one equally
dim glimmer behind to be seen by the
floating mass Of iron and steel that followed
and that might bear down on you before
you knew II and send you to the bottom.
To those aboard the ships in that long line,
creeping along, grim and myst erous, there
was not given the moral comfort of know
ing hat there might be some glory In going
to the bottom. such as there would be in
real war.
But the commanders and the navigators
to whom the safety Of the ships was en-
trusted during that night run, did not have
time to think Of glory or the lack of it.
They had their hands full in making sure
that their ships behaved themselves and
did not run down or get run down by other
ships.
Powerful searchlights flashing here and
there from under the dist ant horizon told
where Portland lay. As the battle fleet
drew nearer the electric CLEANS became
more and more vivid. but still shot sky
ward, none OF them sweeping the sea on
its level
1t was shortly after A. NJ. on Aug 20,
{ hat the kearsarge, flagship of Rear Admiral
Barker, leading the line of the fleet, came
to stop and signalled for the other ships
to do the same. The searchlights still
flashed, sometimes their brilliant glare
resting full on one of the men-of-war and
bringing her into bold relief But the light
ly IL Il i, hnl
thus indicating that the vessel had NOT
been seen by the watchers ashore
At times the glare was 80 intense hat
print could be read on he vessels
upon which it rested There was a slight
mist, but the atmosphere was by no means
thick
Those on the ships thought that the
presence Of the fleet had been discovered
every time a searchlight flashed in its di-
rection but the erratic movements of the
CLEANS showed that this was not So But
ADMIRAL BARKER's PLAN.
Admiral Barker's plan of attack con-
four separate operations. Three
of them were aimed directly at the defences
Of Portland the other was the seizure of
a base at some convenient place out of
reach of the army guns With the battle
ship squadron, which included the three
best vessels of the feet. the Kear sarge, the
Illinois and the Alabama. Admira Barker
was to attempt the passage of the main
ship channel after some Of his smaller
craft had countermined it under cover of
the darkness.
To Rear Admiral Coghlan. whose flag
ship was the Olympia. was assigned the
AJAX of passing into Hussey Sound and
Idckse's Sound, engaging the forts where
ever opportunity occurred, and attempt
ing to get around Great Diamond and Cow
Islands, and attacking these places from
he rear, in addition to cutting telegraph
cables. razing signal stations. knocking
out searchlights and doing some counter
mining.
The division under Rear Admiral Sands,
with one battleship, a protected cruiser,
and the Hartford, was to start up along
the shore of Cape Elizabeth from Rich
mond's Island destroying searchlights,
signal stations &c, and, keeping close
enough under the shelter Of the land to bs
out of reach of the enemy's guns, was to
try to send -fgurative shells, of
course--into Fort Williams on the main
ship channel.
The work of securing the base was as
signed to the training squadron under Rear
Wise
THE ATTACK
At the first streaks of dawn-and actual
daylight did not come until after o'clock
on that misty morning the several squad
rons closed in each to do its allotted work.
For nearly an hour the ships exchanged
shots with the forts, running past them and
turning in such way as to bring the great
est number of guns into action the ranges
being from 4,5O0 yards to $50 yards
cease firing" sounded at 5;l5 and the
vessels of the fleet came to anchor near the
city, but to remain there for less than two
hours. At the end of that time they re-
tired to the base established by Admiral
Wise in Middle Bay, a channel of Casco Bay,
sixteen miles from Portland by the route
taken, and the first phase of the war games
came to an end
The spectacular features of that early
morning engagement have been told in
press dispatches Some people have also
attempted to tell who won, but il might he
well to leave tat to the Boa rd of Arbi ra-
ton which il not to be carried away by
the excitement of supposed victory. There
were some things about the action which
did not quite coincide with the army's CON