The Coolidge examiner., 1933-03-24


report thereon for the chief of his bureau
His knowledge OF ships fitted him for the task
and he had already showed his courage when he
worked the range-fnder the New York dur
ing the bombardment of San Juan de Porto Rico
About two hundred men were employed in
stripping the Merrmac, for II was intended 10
send her in just before daylight next morning
However after stripping her, ii was necessary
to fit her with torpedoes that would sink her in
stantly when the time came, and this took so
long that day had arrived on June before
she was ready Hobson was anxious to go then
but the admiral ordered him to wait
Meantime a crew of six men had been Sc
lected from among the hundreds that crowded
aft to volunteer. They were Daniel Montague
chief master-at-arms of the New York George
Charette, gunner's mate, first class, Of the New
York; J. f. Murphy. coxswain on the Iowa
John p. Phillips, a machnst; Oscar Deignan
coxswain. and Francis Kelly, a watertender, all
of the Merrimac. To this crew of six men Coxs
vain Rudolphy Clausen of the New York added
himself by eluding the vigilance of the Of
ficers
AT 3 O'clock on the morning of June 3 these
men headed away for the harbor. steam launch
from the New York under Naval Cadet Joseph
w Powell followed to pick up the crew of the
Merrmac, should they succeed in getting away
the rowboat or the liferaft that had been pro
vided for them.
1T was a cloudy night but because the chan
mel was so narrow it was absolutely certain
that the Merrimac would be discovered before
she reached her destination. and that a heavy
fire from the batteries of all kinds would en-
filade her. while the scntinels and the troops
camped along the shore were likely to spatter
her deck with Mauser bullets as a tropical rain
storm would pelt her with drops of water In
short, there was not one chance in thousand
apparently. for any of these men to live through
that adventure and yet they had eagerly voun
teered for it, and one had slowed himself away
on board without permssionl Nor was the
chance of Cadet Powell and his men much bet
ter, for 1t was his duty to follow the MerrimaC
to the mouth of the harbor where he, too. would
he as easy target as the men on the ship, and
there to wait until after daylight.
Getting his bearings by the outlines of the
MORO against the sky Hobson drove the old
ship into the center of the narrow channel. A
hell of flame leaped out both sides as she
passed the Morro while the Vizcaya. that was
on guard just around the bend. began firing
with her broadsde battery. The Spanards
thought we were coming with our squadron to
force the harbor and all the guns. big and
little that would bear and many that would not
were fired with feverish rapidity. Immediately
the shots began to reach +he ship but no vital
damage done.
"Then the time to sink her had come and
Hobson pressed the electric button. Three OF
the torpedOes that were placed at her water.
line exploded tearing open her sides. The man
| at the anchor cut it loose bringing up her head
just opposite the point, while her stern swung
slowly around with the tide. 1t seemed for a
moment that she must sink they wished right
across the channel, but she filed so slowly that
she lay lengthwse of the channel and well al
one side before she finally struck bottom"
| Spears then quotes Hobson's narrative of the
rest of the action follows: I'VE were all aft
| lying on the deck. Shells and bullets whistled
around Six inch sheus from the Nzcaya came