The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, June 19, 1898, Page 18

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, JUNE 19, 1898. “THAT'S THE SH SIS OT THAT HOW THE SHELLS AND GREAT GUNS THUNDERED WHEN TOLD. HURAH ! SHE’S STRIK]NG HER COLORS! WE DESTROYED THE SPANISH FLEET AT MANILA. BY J. L. STICKNEY, Copyrighted, 1538, by 308 108 0% 08 30K 30% 308 30500 308 108 308 30K 308 308 306 06 30K 108 308 08 308 40 0% 1 ke | = o f=3 ADMIRAL DEWEY’S HIGH TRIBUTE TO JOSEPH L. STICK- & o NEY, THE CALL CORRESPONDENT, FOR HIS o g SERVICES DURING THE BOMBARDMENT. ‘5' o “J. L. Stickney, formerly an officer in the United States navy & © and now correspondent for ths Call-Herald, volunteered for o & duty as my aide and rendered valuable service.”—Admiral Dewey o € in his official report of the famous battle of Manila to the Navy De- $© partment. o =3 ped feieReReReReR:BeReReR=FaRaReReReRPoRrReFoReFeRePaP:FaFsReRoR R Fa e ANILA, May 5.—It was in the | stripped for battle also, and the com- latter part of last February | modore was naturally greatly pleased that Commodore George De- | With the quick and thorough response wey, commanding the atic | to his signal. squadron of the United States | When the squadron left Mirs Bay navy, began to feel that the drift of | no official notice that war existed had events was toward a warlike rather | been received from Washington, but than a peaceful settlemen: of our dif- ferenc with Spain. At any rate he decided to bring all his squadron to- gether, and he chose Hongkong as the place of rendezvous for strategic rea- sons, the importance “and value of which were fully justified by subse- quent events. Commodore Dewey withdrew from the harbor of Hongkong on Monday, the 25th of April, in response to a re- quest from ' the acting Governor of Hongkong. The commodore remained at Mirs Bay, in Chinese waters, about thirty miles from Hongkong, until the afternoon of Wednesday, the 27th, when he sailed for the Philippines. uwing to the necessity of economy in the use of coal, as 1 the danger of driving into the rather heavy sea that s running, speed of : eight knots was maintained in making the trip to the Philippines. Even at | this slow s the heavily laden Nan- and Zafiro made a decidedly wet and the Petrel also pitched and eeply. Gun drills and other exercises kept the officers and men occupied continu- ously during this run, and from the time the squadron left Mirs Bay until it came into the presence of the enemy | there was not an hour in which prepa- rations for battle were not under way. When the tired ship's company had finished its day’s work on Wednesday, and the Olympia had settled down to the quiet of the first watch, the still- ness was broken with abrupt harshness by the flare of the bugle, red and white lights flashed up and down the masts of all the ships in response to the com- modore’s peremptory sig: : “Prepare for action,” and in two minutes each vessel was alive with men, who, only a few minutes before, had been sleeping soundly. From the bridge of the flag- ship sharply uttered orders proceeded, and In seven minutes the executive of- ficer was able to report to Captain Gridley: “The ship is ready for action, sir.” Looking back along the line of ships, dimly visible in the moonlight, it was easy to see that every one of them was private cable messages on Tuesday had brought the news that Congress had declared war upon Spain to date from April 21 Accordingly, at the usual “quarters for inspection” Wednesday evening the division officers made the Tnnouncement to the men that war ex- isted, and the rousing cheer that went up from every division showed that the men regarded the long expected news | with the keenest satisfaction. | A little while later, when the men | read on the bulletin-board the bom- | bastic proclamation of the Governor of the Philippine Islands the roar of de- risive laughter that went up from the whole berth deck was an indication that the men were only anxiously 'long- ing for a chance to show the new Fu- rioso what they thought about him and | his proclamation. Bandmaster Valifuoco selected the music for the evening concert on Thurs- day with especial reference to rousing the patriotism of the “boys in blue,” choosing many of the airs that were popular in the North during the Civil ‘War, but, though these were favorably | received, it was not till the band struck | up “Yankee Doodle” that the Jackies | cheered. = When the concert closed | with the “Star Spangled Banner” the voices of at least fifty men took up the words of each verse, the young appren- | tices particularly being prominent in| the lead, and the chorus spread through the ship from fo’castle to cabin with an enthusiasm that carried the hearts of all on board. Searchlight and night signal exercise took place during a large part of the “first watch” Thursday night, and the progress made in working both the lights and the signals was very satis- factory. Friday was passed without incident, except that the weather be- came very warm and muggy, and the work of the men below—particularly in the firerooms and engine-rooms—was exhausting, far beyond what it had | been at any time this year. In spite of the heat and the rather heavy sea, however, the men did their work so thoroughly that every ship kept her po- } James Got sition with a that I have never en in merely practice evolutions. Land—the island of Luzon—wz sighted early Saturday morning, an being now in close pros to the Lemy whole squad n its final preparations for the that every one knew was near at hand. Aboard the Olympia and Bi d possit 1eet chain ca the them cc little a son the coiled was “bighted” ammuni hoist id bt that these have kept out shot s of as n around to give tection. There improvised shiel man shell if the Spaniards str ht enough to hit them. tough, pliable manila rope thick as one's little finger —were stretched beneath all the boats - and were drawn the front of the wardroom bulkheads. nets were intended to prevent the wood- work from becoming deadly missilgz when struck by shot or shell. All unnecessary material was thrown overboard and in most of the ships the men preferred to dispense with many of. their usual comforts rather than keep dangerous woodwork in the parts N about across |'of the ship where they would have to do thelr - fighting. Mess chests, mess tables, diddy-boxes, chairs, wardroom bulkheads and a vast quantity of other impedimenta went swimming astern and if the currents happen to take'the stuff ashore the Luzon Islanders will reap a rich harvest. ‘When a few, miles distant from Subig Bay, a rather deep opening in the bold | and rugged coast, the Boston and the Concord were sent ahead to learn whether any part of the Spanish-squad- ron was hidden there. Later they were reinforced by the ‘Baltimore, the three vessels moving at a speeds of about fifteen knots, while the,other three re- mained with the {ransports and steamed at only six:knots. * In the afternoon the three scouting vessels came back, having explored Subig Bay without finding any craft there, except a few small sloops and schooners which were overhauled, but not otherwise dis- turbed. Cominanding officers now came over to the flagship, all vessels lying motion- less on an absolutely calm sea. When the war council broke up we soon learned that the commodore had told his captains that he intended to enter Manila Bay that night, largely because he felt sure the Spaniards would not expect him until that favorite reckon- ing day in Spanish affairs—‘‘Manana.” Then our ships idled along at a speed of about four knots, not wishing to ap- pear off the entrance to Manila Bay too early. The moon had:risen and al- though it was occasionally obscured by light clouds the night *was.not one i which a squadron ought to have been able to run through a well-defended channel without drawing upon itself a hot fire. Consequently at 9:45 the men were sent to their guns, not by the These “splinter” | ) usual bugle 1, but by stealthily whispered word of mouth. Every man | was nce ready and the final steps of battle clearing were completed-in deathly silence in a very few minutes. Off to port we could see the sullen “loom of the land” where, fog all we | knew, the enemy was already watch- ing our approach. Astern we coulddim- it the phantomlike hulls of our consorts. Not a light was permit- ted to show in any vessel except one at the very stern, which was neces- 'y as a guide for the following ship, and this one was shaded on each side. Th peed was increased to eight knots and we slipped past the batteries that we believed existed on the point north of the entrance without seeing anything to lead us to think we had been seen. 'hen Corregidor Island came abeam and every glass was ' turned on its frowning front. But not till we had wung into the chief channel—Boca irande, as it is called—did the lookouts on Corregidor catch sight of us. Then a bright light fldshed up in the center | of the island and it was answered by | & similar one on the north shore. |, At last a rather feeble rocket stag- ‘gerad aloft over Corregidor and we felt | sure we should soon hear their guns. | But no. On we went, deeper and deeper into the bay, and still no hostile | move was made. ly | Not until most of the squadron had | passed the narrowest part of the en- | trance did a gun greet us. | Shortly after 11 o’clock a bright | flash from our port.quarter-was fol- | lowed by a boom of a heavy gun, and | simultaneously we heard the vindic- | tive whistle of a shot far over our | heads. The first hostile shot Ihd been fired and the fight was on! ‘The battery whence this shot .had come was too far astern to receive any return fire from the Olympia, but the commodore - was somewhat uneasy about the three non-combatant ships. He therefore signaled to the McCul- loch to take position on -the flagship's port quarter, as in that place she and | the two that were following her would | be less exposed to attack. A few minutes later the McCulloch signaled that her chief engineer had been taken with a stroke of heat pros- tration, and medical consultation was asked for. Chief - Engineer Randall ‘died twenty minutes afterward, and his was the only life lost in the operations before Manila. The Raleigh, which was steaming along the third in line, had the honor of firing the first shot in anger on our side. One of her five-inch - guns roared a ready response to the Span- iards’ tardy salutation, and ’prelantly the Boston followed suit. - Then an- other shot came from the shore bat- tery, and, as dur ships were on the close lookout for the flash, the Con- cord placed a six-inch shell so exactly over the spot where the enemy had fired that we felt confident of its good results. .Judgment of the navigator We heard “afterward - that ¥ this shell had burst among the Span- | ish gunners, killing several, and if this report was true it was a marvel- ous shot. At any rate, there wer2 no more shots from shore, and, as the commodore did not wish to waste time on the batteries, the squadron kept on its course. Speed was now reduced to less than three kncts, as there was no haste. The commodore wished to arrive off Manila at the first peep of dawn, but not earlier. The men were allowed to lie down beside their guns to get what sleep they could, but the very lockout was kept for the enemj and torpedo boats. At 4 o'clock coffee and hardtack were served out to the men and the officers | were glad to get the same frugal prov- | ender. The lights of the city of Manila had | lorg Dbeen in sight, and Lieutenant Calkins, the navigator, knew his posi- tion to a nicety. Indeed, much of the success of this bold entry into Manila Bay by night was due to the skill and who contin- | ued his patient and harassing labors | all through the battle with never-fail- ing accuracy and success. It should be | remembered that navigating a harbor | that is well lighted and buoyed is not | always the easiest thing in_the world, | and in this case Lieutenant Calkins had | no lights nor range marks to guids him. I am informed that speclal mention of this officer was made in the official dis: patches, and he certainly deserved it. The dawn began about 4:30 o’clock, when we were almost six miles from Manila. As the sun came up exactly behind the city, the shadow cast by the land obscured the harbor fore- ground. Finally we made out the pres- ence of a group of vessels in the port, but before 5 o'clock we were able to | recognize them as merchant ships. Our cruisers were now in close battle order, the flagship leading, followed by the Baltimore, the Raleigh, the Petrel, the Concord and the Boston. We had passed to the northward of Manila and were heading to the south when we sighted the .Spanish squadron in the little bay of Cavite. At this point, we knew, the Spaniards had a well- equipped navy yard, which they called Cavite Arsenal. The Velasco was also in the harbor, but she was undergoing repairs, and her guns, three 5.9-inch and two 2.7- inch rapid fire guns, were mounted in earthworks on shore. There were sev- eral torpedo-boats, two of which were sunk during the action, and two fine transports, the Manila and the Isla de Mindanao, one of which was captured and the other sunk. It will be seen that the Spanish squadron was inferior in every way to the attacking fleet. If it had .been obliged to come out into the open sea to fight us it would not have had the ghost of a chance. But that which gave the Spaniards an equalizing ele- ment was the position they had taken under protection of the shore batteries. It is estimated by all experts that one gun mounted on shore is worth sev- eral aboard ship. It has a fixed plat- form, and is therefore able to fire with much greater accuracy. Another great advantage our enemy had was the knowledge of the exact distance of our ships at all times during the action. Having no range marks to go by and receiving no aid from the few range finders installed in our vessels it was an exceedingly difficult matter for our officers to determine the proper eleva- tion to be given to our sights. We were constantly moving—some- times in and sometimes across the line of filre—so that even when one shell was seen to strike in the right spot it ‘was no guide for the next one. \ At a distance of 4000 yards or less the | TR = 0 s Z e one shot in five, especially from their | shore batteries, and the fact that we suffered so little is the best evidence that our enemies were not capable of taking advantage of all their opportu- nitles. Five times we made the circuit in front of the Spanish position, as T have already fully described in my cable dispatches. From the bridge of the flagship I was able to watch every move cf our own and the enemies’ vessels, and see- ing the storm of shells striking about us or bursting close aboard the ships of our squadron we had good reason for. fearing that our loss had been heavy. Of course, we knew that the Olympia had escaped without casual- ties, but as we had had a dozen hair- breadth misses it did not seem that all our consorts had been equally fortu- nate. I began at first to kéep count of the shells which had jusi barely cleared our hull or which burst right in our faces, for I had an idea that the fight would not last more than half an hour at the outside and I thought it would be interesting. to know how many times we had, just escaped being hit. But I got tired of - that very soon. When a shell comes straight along through the air one doesn’t have time to catch sight of it until it has passed, although one has no difficulty in know- ing that it has been trying to 'scrape an acquaintance—as many shells did— it creams out its salutation only a few feet away from one’s head; but when it bursts in the air before one's faceand the air seems to'be full of chunks of metal, some of them apparently about the size of a wash boiler, one is liable to lose the faculty of differentiating between the fragments and the whole shells. So I stopped trying to*count for fear I should be accused of exag- geration. % Another very unpleasant thing about the Spanish shells was the way they had of coming at us even when they had not been properly almed. Thus it often happened that a projecrile which not only fell short, but which was not even a good line shot would be “‘upset by its impact with the water and wouid come tumbling, end over end, far ont of {ts original direction. And how those fellows did roar! They jwere plainly Soaniards ought not to have missed | visible, if they came anyWwhere near us, o | ErrecrorThe mice /il Two OVERTURNED |/ ! GUNS ABOARD THE i rsLa pELLZON and as they rose from the water and spun around and around, they seemed to be about the size of a barrel, es- pecially if the observer happenei to be close to the line of their eccentric dighi. When the Baltimore went in and cleared out the shore batteries in the second action what rousing cheers she got from the Olympia’s men, who had been in the forefront during the first fight! And they yelled with glee when the little Petrel went into the inner harbor and finished off the craft that were still afloat. It was not long then ere the Span- ish flag came down from the arsenal and the white flag took its place; whereupon, of course, everybody on our side cheered some more. The affair was thus all finished between 5 and 12:30 o’clock. Commodore Dewey took the squadron back to an anchorage off Manila and sent word to the foolish braggart of a governor that if one shot were fired at our sqnadron from the Manila batteries he would lay the city in ashes. Up to the time I left Manila Bay in the dis- patch boat McCulloch the governor was caretully refraining from doing any- thing to displease the commodora, The submarine cable tq Hongkong was cut by the steamer Zafiro on the day after the action, because the gov- ernor would not permit the eable opera- tors to transmit our messages. The next morning the Baltimore and the Raleigh went down the bay and destroyed six batteries at the entrance. The Spanish garrisons did not find it convenient to be ‘“‘at home” when this was done and therefore there were no “hard feelings” created at the time, On Monday also we took possession of the arsenal, as I cabled you as soon as I reached Hongkong. We wound up by the burial of the Spanish dead and the transfer to Ma- nila of the Spanish wounded, to save them from the swarm of native “loot- ers,” who had been informed of the Spanish defeat by the burning war- =hips in Cavite Bay. On Thursday the McCulloch sailed for Hongkong and so ended the first chapter of the Manila campalign, i