The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, July 28, 1898, Page 3

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, THURSDAY, JULY 28, 1898. SAMPSON HAD TAKEN EVERY PRECAUTION Obedience to Orders Made the Escape of Cervera Impossible. Captains of the New York, Indi- ana, Texas and Gloucester Tell of the Big Battle. —Among the | point where she can read the signal ral Sampson’s | Disregard of the directions he to be | already been given on this head to endless confusion. Many times during | the day the fleet is ttered that it 1 oy | would be perfectly pc e for the enemy bl g the | to come out of the harbor and meet wi very little opposition. The commander-in-chie strict attention will be gi hopes n this ord: U. 8. FLAGSHIP |OBSERVATIONS ON THE 1 FLAGSHIP NEW YORK | WASHINGTON, July The fol- | Port & :IO\\mg reports of Captain Chadwick of the New York, Captain Taylor of the | Indiana, Captain Philip of the Texas | and Lieutenant Wainwright of the| | Gloucester on the destruction of Cer- | vera's fleet, which are included in Ad- miral Sampson’s report, were made public to-da | _U.S. FLAGSHIP NEW Playa del Este, July YORK, First- 4, 1898 —Sir: I i b the honor to make foliowing th report of the part taken this ship in | Scat b on of yeaterday, during and fol- | the sortie of Admiral Ce | for the ship had started at §:50 landing at Siboney, the c« ? ving an appointm wi army. | A been | once put ovs k called to 1 signal *‘cl in toward | entrance and attack vessels’ given to spread all k crew fol- | until (which followed | mored cruiser (¢ he’ torpedo | luton. | arer ships had immediately en- | time we were off the | gship was afire and soon e Indlana and Gloucester were | € ged with the torpedo boat ip fired hi ¢ ships of pe will occupy h one had blown up, | mn of conde time the we had vas During this whose line of ire, fell within en we were over d and we had out of range. the G If so capable, in the torpedo cond cruiser was shell from the w M vards of th « r e and burning (the Almirante | 'ndo) while the third, the Vizcaya, | Cristobal Colon were still steam- ldly w d. The Indiana was a. m.) to return to her | to look after any ght be there. Shortly af- shoreward, her after- s ashore on | The Iowa gave | Isll;mcu in the rescue of the Viz- | {p stood on in chase of the Cris- | on, with ahead of us the Brook- on, Texas and Vixen, the Oregon the much nearer in shore of the | most ships, but not in gunshot. | vere rapidly {ncreasing our speed., | It was evident, howev that the Colon | uld give us a lengthy chase, and at he crew left quarters and went to | 12:50 o'clock the Oregon opened nd some of her shells were ohserved rike beyond the Colon. This made ture” a foregone conclusien, and after 1 o'clock she turned in to- struck her colors. at_a small inlet By the time we ngside her from aptain _Cook, the . came alongside this ship s ship then sent a boat | the commanding offi- | boat. I was recelved by | of thé squadron, Captain reporte take beam of light. lank—the Brookl > western slde, : New Orleans on th, take two hours in turn archlight from time to coast line, swinging It to- rro, but avoiding the Illumi- flanking videttes on the in- The light should never be ed off more than five minutes at a From time to time the horizon will ept. et b rl;“: milio Mores and Captaln | i - ' sta- | de Davio of the class, and Don Jose | L ot Morro ,7“,] ove to | de Pa on. The latter had been | T the other sufficiently to get | Santiago, and had only | d to the squadron. I ar- ged fer of the crew and oo%s; @ division to.each ship present, 1 the engineer force to be left aboard. wboard, however, the Resolute ar- i and it was arranged to transfer the 1had taken with e th had take: h me the fleet surgeon, Ine and make gecure everything necessary. ;”i(“ €ngineer reported to me that she was aking water aft. I had previously had :‘;‘g} ngs taken, and found eight feet at | the bow and seventy at the stern, so that but 2 small portion of the ship was left ashore. T returned as quickly as possi- yn ttention is called to bad and careless | ble to the flagshi o 8 AgShip to report i handling of searchlights. Last night | The Oregon w sFlmml‘rd’rm!th;ki“cuifr&g. me of the s were kept high in tho | 204 the men were hastened on board. & number being sent Our work of closing t partments was of alr and agaln S0 from the ship. he water-tight com- h no avail, however, were swept rapldly from worse than useless. The|some of the sea valves rected to the horizon | treacherously opened and L,,“,?“!g,’z,e;*‘f;'; d very steadily and }.;l-nk(»n 715 to make it impossible to close | less than thre ' minutes | S ERE $HIP thus slowly sritien At d In sweeping through | out into deeper wm:r M’T‘::- ?rl;'f]t;’ce:m?e The best way to| charge, Lieutenant Commander Colzsrj discover a torpedo boat is by its smoke, | Well, had let go an anchor, but it srag and ¢ then this will not b = - | clear that If she went dow: vy less the light we -\:1:1&" Un" | the deNh in which .‘hf'n“v?u!lnfl)?fla‘:r‘:ufg et g : g never be recovered. This ship: randun 7—The Commanding | placed against her quanfrh, At ey and later, a | own boat to | in shore. It| but, using a able to force the on the blockade, ves- less for some special » for the contia; head toward line being taken from ou hers, the Colon was forced was by this time dark, searchlight, we wera tem- ¥, habitual- lead instead of away Froni 16 ship on the beach, the chain being patd ‘ out at the same time. Sh Memorandum No. 18—Sir: While block- | a very moderate depth of ‘f-a"’é‘r“‘fi.“d"n 'r: ading th fleet In Santlago de | Very probable she may be saved. Cuba v ding distance h At 11 p. m. the flagship returned to San. tlago, leaving the Texas an n in charge of the prize, i peeh after maintain @ four miles during ay time. This distance will not be ? 2 2 2 « e Though the ship was not ab e d except permission or under | to action with any of the lares :Ri;:'g: special circumstances account of her distance to the eastward Memorandum No. 20—Sir: The com.| eVETY, DeFve was strained to uo so. xnd nder-1n-chiet desires again to call the | By Gongyihat could be done. Our speed had rapldly Increased, so that w fmlnx sixteen knots at the end. Wse ‘35?‘; mmediately astern, while others wers considerably to seaward. We were thus attention of commanding officers to the positions occupied by the blockading fleet, especlally Quring the day time, and it is now directed that all ships keep | i & Position to prevent a -ossible doub- within a distance of four miles of the | Lo, '° the Té8r and escape to the south- entrance of Santiago, and this distance must not be exceeded. If the vessel is coaling or is otherwise restricte in her movements, she must, nevertheless, keep within this distance. "If at any time the flagship makes a signal which is not visible to any ves- eel, each vessel must at once approach thq flagship or repeating vessel to a The officers and crew, as th - ways have done, aicted in the moss Sathas slastic and commendable manner. They have worked into a system which is prac. tically instantaneouslv ready for action, and while all are deserving of commenda. tion_and credit, I think it no derogation from the deserts of the others to narticu- ..rx)" naxge Lieulennn!t‘ Con;nmandsr Pot- ter, to whom as executive officer 59 muc) af tha shin’s efficlency is dna. .nX m.a.lz Alg | and the torpedo boat | ton. | take effect on these ve | angles on the tops of the rear ships. | pounders. | we resumed SOME SOP GIVEN THE CUBANS SHUT : OUT OF SANTIAGO Songo Surrenders to the Ameri- cans and Cast mitted to Occupy the Town. Special cable to The Call and the New York Herald. Copyrighted, 189, by James Gor- don Bennett. SANTIAGO DE CUBA, July 27— Balm has been applied to the injured feelings of the Cubans, who resent the fact that they were not permitted to enter the city of Santiago. Songo, a small town eighteen miles from here on the railway line, has been sur- rendered to the American forces, and the Cubans under General Castillo have been permitted to occupy it. It was held by a garrison of 350 Spanish soldiers, Captaln Carvahal, the com- mander, gave up the town as soon as officially advised of the capitulation of General Toral's army. Dr. Joaquin Castillo, brother of the general, will leave for Washington in a few days with the petition from Cuban residents in which President McKinley is asked to permit the Cuban forces to enter Santiago. The troops which recently came here are fretting under the monotony of gar- n duty., Colonel Howard of the Eighth Ohlo Regiment has cabled to President McKinley asking that his corps here be dispatched to Porto Rico for active service or sent back home. General Wood, military governor, illo’s Men Per- has issued orders prohibiting the col- lection of municipal and Government | taxes on merchants’ goods for con- | sumption here as well as small taxes upon small packages for the transient ! population. The local board for harbor | improvements has notified the Govern- or that it has received no taxes, It has been seeking to have collecied taxes authorized by the proclamation of | General Shafter. | Orders have also been issued to every | householder to report to the Mayor or | Military Governor every death occur- ring in his household. The penalty for non-compliance is thirty days’ hard la- | bor in the streets. Policemen have been ordered to report all cases of malignant disease in their district and | all unsanitary conditions which they | may observe. The surgeon in charge | informs me that there are 2000 cases of | fever among the troops, of which more | than 500 are yellow fever. A new field hospital will be established near Gen- 1 eral Shafter's headquarters near the | trenches. | | It has been decided that the four merchant steamers and the gunboat found in tie harbor of Santiago at the time of the capltulation are military prizes. Colonel Weston of the commissary department has been appointed Col- lector of Customs. { kusiness drops Engineer McConnell. who has kept the machinery in the admirable order which has enabied us at all times to develop the ship's full speed. Respectfully, F. E. CHADWICK, Captain U. S.'N., Commanding. The commander in chief, United States naval forces, North American station. INDIANA'S CAPTAIN PROUD OF HIS MEN WASHINGTON, July 27.—Captain Tay- lor of the Indi, reports as follows: J. INDIANA, FIRST RATE, de Cuba, July 4.—Sir: honor to submit the Santiago have the ina in the action of July 3 with the squadron off Santlago de Cuba: a. m., while the crew were at quarters preliminary to general muster, noted two guns fired from the Iowa and general order, “Enemy’s ships escap- ing,” flying. At once cleared ship for ac- | tiorf and the crew were at the guns in a remarkably short time, all offcers and men showing an alacrity that indicated clearly thefr pleasure at the opportunity offered them. The Spanish squadron was seen emerging from the harbor and in a few moments a general action ensued. The 1 which proved to be the In- fanta Maria Teresa, flying the flag of Vice-Admiral Cervera, was followed by the other vessels of the squadron as fol- lows: Vizcaya, Cristobal Colon, Oquendo stroyers Furor The enemy's vessels head- ed to the westward and our ships head- ed in the same direction, keeping as nearly abreast cf them as possible. This ship fired on all of them as they came out, one by one, and continued the action later by firing principally on_the Maria Teresa, Oquendo, Furor and Plu- Several of our shells were seen to 1s. Our sec: e directed par- ship, and Pluton. ondary battery guns ticularly on the destrovers, as also were | the six-inch guns. The destroyers were sunk through the agency of our guns and those of the Gloucester, which vessel had come up and engaged them in close board. The initial fire of the last two ships was directed at this vessel, and although falling very close only struck the ship twice, without any Injury to the ship or crew. Our ranges were obtalned by angles on Morro as the ships emerged and then by The ranges were from 4500 to 2000 yards, ob- served from the top. From the bridge 1 could see that our shooting was excellent and showed its effect. One of our thir- teen-inch shells was seen to enter the Maria Teresa under the quarter-deck and explode, and that ship was observed on fire very shortly afterward. About 10:15 a. m. we observed the Ma- ria Teresa and Oquendo on fire and head- ing for the beach, the fire from their guns having ceased. We then devoted special tention to prevent the escape oY the de- ers, which appeared more than a h for the Gloucester, she being the small vessel near to engage them. were soon seen to blow up, appar- struck by our six-inch and six- We now fired our large guns at the Vizcaya, which was at long range. She made for the shore after being on fire, and her battery was silenced. These ships hauled down their colors as they made for the beach. The Spanish flag- ship hoisted the white flag as she grounded. We now ceased firing. The Colon was observed well over the western horizon, closely pursued by the firnoklyn. Oregon e flagship New and Texas off shore. York, aming full speed to the west- ward, as soon as the Vizcaya surrendered. eignaled, “Go back and guard entrance of the harbor.” Several explosions were observed on board the burning ships. At noon we turned and stood to the east- ward for our station, In obedience to the above signal. We observed the Harvard and several transpotts standing to the westward. At 12:30 o'clock the Resolute came within hail and informed us by mega- phone that a battle-ship was sighted to the eastward, standing toward us, Later the Harvard passed, confirming the infor- mation, and adding that the ship wasg painted white. We made oyt the vessel ahead and stood for her with our guns bearing. She proved to be the Austrian | armored cruiser Kalserin Maria Theresa. | She sent an officer on board and request- ed permission to enter the harbor. T re- ferred him to the commander-in-chief, She then stood on to the westward and our station. During this action we used no ar- mor-piercing shell except the smokeless. powder six-pounders, and the good effect of the common shell is shown by the effect on the enemy’s ships and the short time taken to disable them without pierc- | ing their armor and with almost no in- jury to our ships. e guns and mounts worked well; only two failures of electric primers d. ngleding the afternoon sent boats with surgeon on shore to burning vessels to assist In cnrlni hoats returned, bringing one squad of of- ficers and fifteen men as prisoners. The conduct of the officers and crew was In every respect commendable. Cool- ness and ~good discipline prevailed, coupled with a marked enthusiasm. This desirable condition of affairs is largel: due to the efforts of the officers, and destre to commend to the commander-in- chief the executive officer, Lieutenant Commander John A. Rodgers, and all the officers of the ship for the part taken by the Indiana in bringing about this great vietory and the complete destruction of the enemy’'s squadron. —Very r‘eispect- i oty Commendnt, : commander-in-chief 17n tates Tmnavsl forces on the North Atlanfic station. THE TEXAS CLAIMS HER SHARE OF THE GLORY WASHINGTON July 27.— Captain Philip of the Texas reports as follows: UNITED STATES SHIP TEXAS, oft Santiago, July 4—8ir: In accordance with the requirements of navy regulations, I respectfully submit the following state- mant in regard to the part the Texas took lowing report of the operations of the | for the wounded. The | in the engagement with the enemy yes- terday. At daylight on the morning of the 3d the Texas stood out from the en- trance to the harbor, taking day block- | ading positions about three miles from Morro (Morro bearing N.N.E.). At 9:35—Morro bearing N. by E. % E., distant 510 yards—the enemy’s ships were sighted standing out of the harbor. Im- mediately a general signal was made. This signal was followed by the Iowa's almost at the same time. The s as per orders, was heading in | toward the entrance; went ahead at full | speed, putting helm hard starboard, and | ordering forced draught on all boilers the | officer of the deck, Lieutenant L. M. Bris- | tol, having given the general alarm and | | beat to quarters for action at the same | time, | As the leader, bearing the admiral's | ag, appeared in the entrance, sne opened h at 9:40 returned by the 2t & range of 4200 yards while clos- | £ p leading was of the Viz- caya class and the flagship. Four ships | came - out—evidently the ' Vizeava, the | O,lxnndm the Maria Teresa and the Colon ollowed by two torpedo boat destroy- | ers. Upon seeing these we immediately | opened fire on them with our secondary | battery, the main battery at the time be- | ing engaged with the second and third | ships in line. Owing to our secondary | battery, together wita the Jowa and | Gloucester, the two destroyers were | forced to beach and sunk. | Whilst warmly engaged with the third in line, which was abreast and engaging | the Texas, our fire was blanketed for a slort time by the Oregon forging ahead and engaging the second ship. This third | ship, after a spirited fire, sheered in | | shore, and at 10:35 ran up a white flag. | We then ceased fire on the third and | opened fire with our forward. guns at long range (6600°yards) on the @écond ship (which was then engagéd with the Ore- { gon) until 11:05, when she (the second ship) sheered on to the beach on fire. At 11:10 she struck her colors, when we ceased fire and gave chase 'with the Brooklyn and Oregon for the leading ship until 12:20, when the Colon sheered Inte the beach and hauled down her colors, | leaving them on deck at _the foot of her flagstaff. We then shut off forced draught and proceeded at a reduced speed to close We feel the effect of war— unseasonable weather — lack of crops. No use playing hide and seek. We simply make a fact of it and devise some means of disposing of our tremendous stock by mak- ing big reduc- tions. up. Y would state that during this chase | the Texas was holding her own with the | Colon; she leading us about four miles at | | the start. The reports of the executive | officer and the surgeon are transmitted. | T have the pleasure of stating that the | entire battery of the Texas is in a most | excellent condition and ready for any service required by the commander-in- chief; especially calling attention to the efficiency of the two turret guns, due | to the alterations recently made by Lieu- tenant F. M. Haesler of this ship. That Stir Unseasonable Weather, Lack of Crops, - War Is there any wonder that for a time considerable ? That money lacks circulation ? The first to feel the effect of a crisis like the present condition is the mer- chant. The first to reap the benefit is the consumer, for in order to create a demand the merchant is compelled to make large reductions, and make them with a firm and steady hand. Like all other large merchants we ADVERTISEMENTS. Men’s Souls! Our great re- ductions com- prise suits in which are em- bodied quality thattells—price that sells. For the past few daysithas been simply play work to sell them. Theyare as advertised. The prices are pulled down The bearing and performance of duty of all officers meet with my entire ap- | proval. Very respectfully submitted, | J. W. PHILIP, Captain U. 8. N., Commanding, To Commander-in-Chief, North Atlantic Station. in the latest New York —_—— [HEROIC WORK OF THE LITTLE GLOUCESTER WASHINGTON, July 27.—Lieuten- | ant Commander Wainwright of the Gloucester submits the following: U. 8. 8. GLOUCESTER, off Santlago on several hundred all-wool single and double breast Sack Suits made up tailored garments in the land. Earlier in the season some of them sold as high as $18.00. During this sale they go for dresser in the land cannot wear finer than the these garments, for they are all trimmed with rich mohair serge or Farmer’s satin, and embody weaves of Cheviots, Worsteds, Cassimeres, Serges and Tweeds, shades of browns, grays, slates, blue and black, plaids, overplaids and pinhead checks. fashion—the richest, rarest and most artistically $7.65. ;oo Displayed in our show windows. |de Cuba, July 6 —S8itr: I have the honor to report that at the battle of Santlago on July 3 the officers and crew of the Gloucester were uninjured and the vessel was not injured in hull or machinery, the battery only re- | quiring some slight overhauling. | T inclose herewith a copy of the re- port of the executive officer, made in| compliance with paragraph 525, page 110, Naval Regulations, which report I belfeve to be correct in all particulars. I also inclose coples of the reports of the several officers, which may prove valuable for fu- ture reference. It was the plain duty of the Glouces- ter to look after the destroyers and she was held back, gaining steam, until they appeared at the entrance. The Indiana poured in a hot fire from all her sec- ondary batfterles upon the destroyers, but | Captain Taylor's signal, “Gunboats close Your in,” gave security that we would not be | fired upon by our own ships. The lead- ing destroyer was injured. r course was converging, necessarily, but as soon as she slackened her speed we headed directly for the vessels, firh both port and starboard batteries, as the occasion offered. | All the officers and nearly all of the | men deserve my highest praise for their conduct during the action. The escape of the Gloucester was due mainly to the ac- curacy and rapldity of her fire. The effi- clency of this fire, as weli as that of the ship generally, was largely due to the in- telligent and unremitting efforts of the executive officer, Lieutenant Harry P. Huse. The result Is more to his credit when it is remembered that a large pro- | portion of the officers and men were un- 18 As a guarantee that these suits are all that we claim for them—that is, that the only thing cheap about them is the price—we further make the unpre- cedented offer to return the purchase price, without question, if, after one week’s use, the buyer is not satisfled with the garments. - WOOD & CO. Money Back. Market Street. | trained when the Gloucester was commis- sfoned. Throughout the action he was on the bridge and carried out my orders with great calmness. That we were able to close in with the destroyers—and until{ we did so they were not seriously injur- ed—was Jargely due to the skill of Passed Assistant Engineer George W. McElroy. The blower was put on 2nd the speed in- creased to 17 knots without causing a tube to leak or a brass to heat. Lieutenant Wood, Lieutenant George H. Norman Jr. and Ensign John T. Edson not only con- trolled the fire of the guns in their di- vislons and prevented waste of ammuni- tion, but they also did some excellent shooting themselves. Acting Assistant Surgeon Burgess took charge of one of the guns and fired it himself occasionally. Acting Assistant Paymaster Alexander Brown had charge of the two Colt mored cruisers, when their guns were be- ing discharged by the heat, and their magazines and bollers were exploding. They showed great skill in landing and taking off the prisoners through the surf. Of the men mentioned in the several reports, 1 would call especial attention to John Bon, chief boatswain’s mate, who should have been recommended to the de- artment for promotion prior to his gal- [ant conduct during the action of July 3. ‘would also recommend your attention to Robert P. Jennings, chief machinist, mentioned in the report of Mr. McElroy. 1 belleve it would have a good effect to recognize the skill of the men and the danger incurred by the engineer force. I would also recommend that the scting appointments of those men mentioned by tge officers in their divisions be made ns, guns, firing one himself, and they did excellent | permanent. . work. Assistant Engineer A. M. Proctor | The wounded and exhausted prisoners carried my orders from the bridge and | were well and skilifully attended by As- occastonaliy fired a gun when I found it was not being served quite satisfactorily. All were cool and active at a time when they could have but little hope of escap- ing uninjured. fleulenmls Wood and Norman, En- sign Edson ax:ld Alsls'm.nmt Ebr‘l’sl‘naer Proc- tor were in charge of the boats engaged They risked their lives sistant Surgeon Bransford, assisted by l'gnlln Edson, who is also a_surgeon. The admiral and his officers were treated with all the care possible. They were fed and clothed as far as our limitec means would permit. Very respectfully, RICHARD WAINWRIGHT, Lieutenant Commander U. 8. N. United in savi lves. To _the Commander-in-Chief, repeat in_boarding and remaining Btates Naval Forces, North Atlautic near th 0 destrovers and the two ar- Station. | GUANTANAMO TROOPS | surrender, refused to credit the message | and accept rations, answering Admiral HAVE SURRENDERED | sampson to that effect. Admiral Samp- son then sent a copy of the terms of Condition of the Town Described as | surrender, whereupon General Paroja Awful, the Garrison Literally decided to inquire of General Toral at Starving. Santiago whether the news was true, Copyrighted, 188, by the Associated Press. and Lieutenant Colonel Rosell was ap- SANTIAGO DE CUBA, July 27.— pointed to come here. He returned with this confirmation and the surrender of Lieutenant Colonel Angel Rosell, who, after taking confirmation of the in- Guwumamo took place yesterday. Ci structions to surrender from General onel Rosell says the conditions of Guantanamo are awful and the troops are literally starving. For the last Toral to General Paroja, Military Gov- | eight days they have had no food. On ernor of Guantanamo, returned here this afternoon, said to an Asso- clated Press correspondent that the mounting guard the soldiers werz obliged to sit. being too weak to stand, first intimation that Guantanamo had of the surrender of Santiago and the and it was impossible to make them terms thereof was on July 23, when build trenches, as they fell from ex- haustion. There are 2000 sick in Guan- tanamo, suffering from diseases in- creased by hunger. The conditions of Rear Admiral Sampson sent a letter to | Guantanamo, Colonel Rosell says, are General Paroja asking what number of rations should be sent to his garrison, as they had been surrendered on the 17th. worse than those at Santiago. General Paroja, being ignorant of the Lieutenant Colonel Ewens of the Ninth Infantry received the surrender of Guantanamo yesterday. The Span- ish troops will remain in the town un- til transported.