The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1920-10-14
BY Logan e. Rusgles, U. s. NJ.
The New Iowa.

1886, she was considered the worlds
most formidable fighting ship. Al
though there were ships Of greater
tonnage, with heavier guns n
heavier me the Iowa was he
swiftest ship OF her class in the
navies of the world. One predomi-
mating feature that lowered above all
others was built in the Iowa. Instead
OF having 13-inch guns, as many of
the larger ships carried, she was Civ
en- q battery of 12-inch 3b calibre.
And it should be remembered that at
the time this famous old ship was
commissioned a So calibre gun was
considered some calibre.
1t was found with other ships, built
before the Iowa, that they were top
light; that is when all the guns were
ain broadside the ship would list,
this gave the enemy OF the opposite
side of her a decided advantage, as
even the list OF one point is considered
by the builders.
Exceiled II. M. S. Majestic,
A British naval authority in COM
pairing the Iowa with H. NJ. S. Maj
este, had this to say:
t h Iowa throws 1852 pounds OF
metal at a broadside, While the MAJ
este only throws 1000, the Iowa hasS
an armor belt of IA inches to Me
others nine and her armor upon heavy
gun positions are Is inches to the
Majestic's IS. Moreover, the Iowa
could keep the sea for five weeks In
the Majestic's four. The Iowa IL Il
good match for the Majestic despite
the latters greater size"
We gain from this the Iowa was
conceded a mighty fine ship at the
time she was placed in commission.
She displaced 1858 tons, 800 feet in
length and rs foot beam. Her keel
was laid at Cramps, Philadelphia, in
August, 1898.
But the supreme test for the Iowa
to show her real worth never came.
Although she was looked to by Amer
lea to beat any ship of her class in
the world, she never met that ship.
The Iowa was in the line of battle at
Santiago de Cuba, when the hot,
'ropical sun of the West Indies beat
down upon our ships on that
able Sunday morning of July 8, 1898.
While our ships ~out-fought, o%ut-gen-
eraled and had better disciplined and
trained crews tina the Spanish yes
sells, the latter were no match for us
in tonnage and batteries. But aside
erom the shells of the Spanish fleet,
we were confronted with those of the
shore batteries, which opened fire on
our vessels as soon as the Maria
Teresa commenced firing.
1t was 9:31 in the morning that
the lookouts on the American ships
reported the first signs of the Span
ish fleet emerging from the harbor.
The Oregon fired the first shot of the
battle, a six-pounder, but only as a
signal for the other ships of the
squadron. The first ship to show her
nose was the Maria Teresa, the flag
ship of Admiral Cervera, command
ing the Spanish fleet. The Maria
Teresa was rated as a 2o-knot ship,
h could not make it. Following the
flagship was the ViScaya, Colon and
the Oquendo at intervals of 500
yards, while closely behind were the
d~eStroyerS Euro and Pluton.
Spanish Fleet Demolished.
The Americans were laying about
three miles off shore, and as soon as
the Spanish fleet was sighted they
commenced to close in toward the en-
trance of the harbor. Although the
Spanish flagship was hit several
.AAASc WAN JIG Hiot ploJCSlllSS hlSu
by the American squadron, and those
which followed were considerably
damaged, the direction of the fire
from the Americans was centered on
the Spanish destroyers, and a 13-inch
shell from the Indiana cut the Pluton
in half, while the Furor turned, Grip
pied, like a wounded sea gull, and
sought refuge among the rocks on
the beach Tho fire. pf tho VanRao
gunners was SO true, considering that
we did not have the facilities then as
we nave now, hat these direct hits
were made at a distance Of nearly two
miles, and the targets were only
smal destroyers not more than 100
feet in length. And as soon as these
two little ships had been placed en-
tirely out Of the battle, the larger
uns of the squadron kept literally
cutting the Maria Teresa to pieces,
and the explosion Of the projectiles
was terrific.
The Iowa and the Texas passed the
Teresa as she struck the rock, badly
battered and her commanding officer
was making an attempt to beach her,
and she was almost obscuFed from
view by the smoke belching forth
from her burning decks. The crews
of the American battleships, espe-
cially the Iowa and Texas, could
plainly see the horror upon the Span
ish flagship. The Yankee sailors
commenced to cheer and it was here
that Captain Philip, Of the Texas,
said to his men:
DON'T CHEER. THE POOR
DEVILS ARE DYING"
One of the IS of the quartet Of
Spanish ships was the Oquendo, aft
er having received the combined fire
OF all American ships, headed, fam
Ing to the beach. She struck the
rocks at full speed, her bow going
high and dry and her stern settling
and with a mighty crash she broke
in two amidships. This was at 1920
o'clock, just 40 MINUTES after the first
ship was sighted coming out of the
harbor entrance. The Vizcaya re-