Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1908-03-03

(which simply tore through ner rig
ging. She soon cleared the narrOws
and bore out into more open water,
where she could hit back.
"All right" sang out McDougal.
well go in between those vessels and
take the steamship" At this point a
fresh battery Of four guns opened a
raking fire on the Wyoming, which
answered with a single shell so ac-
curately aimed that it tore the entire
battery to pieces.
Dashing ahead she came abreast Of
broadsides, then opening almost 81
multaneously with her port guns on
the brig she fought the two ships at
the same time. The firing was so
close that the long guns of the Wyo-
ming seemed almost to touch the
muzze Of the enemy, and it was in
these hot minutes that most Of the
American loss occurred. The Japanese
handled their guns so rapidly that
the brig alcne managed to pour three
broadsides into the Wyoming rs she
passed. On the latter every gun was
worked to the utmost and every shot
told on the hulls Of the enemy.
Out in clear water McDougal
rounded the bow Of the steamship and
manoeuvred for a fighting position.
Then, ignoring the shore batteries
NTaT S-,.A h
11-inch Dahlgren pivot guns trained
on the steamship. Both shells took
effect on her hull, spilling officers
and crew out of her in hot haste. An
other from the forward pivot tore
open her boiler and exploded in the
town a quarter Of mile distant. In
stantly the boiler blew up, and in
cloud of smoke and cinders the
Lancefield went down. Meanwhile
the Daniel Webster had been firing
as fast as the guns could be loaded,
and the six shore batteries were a con-
tinuous line Of smoke and fame. Nc
Dougal now trained his guns to re-
ply. In a few minutes the bark was
torn to splinters, and then one bat
terry after another was silenced. When
satisfied that he had destroyed every
thing within range he turned leis-
urely and steamed back the way he
came. On the way back through the
narrows he was practically unmolest-
ed.
The action on the Fart Of the Wyo.
oming had lasted one hour and ten
minutes, i'm the course Of which she
had been hulled ten times. her rig
ging was badly cut, her smokestack
was perforated, and she had lost five
killed and seven wounded, one of
whom died the following day. But
the Japanese had lost three ships,
their batteries had been shattered
and their casualties must have been
over 100 men.
The battle was won by the GOODNESS
and nerve of the American command
er, but a fine feature of the story is
that while most of the Wyoming's
crew had never before been under
fire. even when the snip was aground
and the pilots paralyzed with terror
the Xankee tars handled their guns
like veterans. Those were the days.
too, when a white man caught by the
insurgents, endured the unspeakable
death of the torture cage" and they
knew that their captain had ordered
that If the ship became helpless by
grounding or by shot she was to be
blown up with all on board.
n rx..a h. Of a
dozen books on the orient prefaces
his account of this battle with these
carefully chosen words: "In the an
nails of the American navy no achieve
ment Of a single commander in sim
gle ship surpasses that of David Nc
Dougal at Shimonoeski.
phia Public Ledger.