MORE WORK DONE BY THE NAVY.
I have not told you all the brave deeds done by our Navy soon after
our ships had reached Cuba, but I will go back, for a few minutes, to
the 11th of May. A very sad affair took place at Cardenas, a port
about twenty miles east of Matanzas, the place where the first shots
were fired. Some of our smaller vessels blockading Cardenas were bold
enough to go into the harbor to fight some Spanish gunboats. Though,
our men gained a victory, it was dearly bought, for our torpedo-boat
Winslow was nearly destroyed, and five of her men were killed. That
same day, across the island, at Cienfuegos, on the south shore of
Cuba, our men succeeded in cutting the cables under the water, the
story of which I have told you.
Before the Cubans began to fight the Spaniards, in 1895, Cardenas was
a very pleasant city in which to live. So many Americans who had
business interests in Cuba lived there, that it was frequently spoken
of as the American city. Like Matanzas, it was the shipping point for
a great sugar-growing district, and one of the finest sugar
plantations in Cuba was in the vicinity of the city. The bay used to
be a famous resort for pirates, but they were exterminated a great
many years ago by war vessels of the United States. Now I will tell
you the story of the Winslow.
The blockading vessels off Cardenas were the Machias, the Wilmington
and the Hudson. It was determined to enter the inner harbor and attack
three small gunboats which were known to be there. While preparations
for the attack were being made, the Winslow came in from off Matanzas,
for coal, and was given a place in the attacking force. The Winslow,
Wilmington and Hudson entered the inner harbor through a small channel
to the eastward, near Blanco Cay. The Winslow went in closer than the
others, and almost before her plucky commander knew it, the fire of
the Spanish gunboats and of some shore batteries was concentrated on
this frail craft.
The Winslow was a torpedo-boat, and this class of vessels do not have
very thick sides or carry heavy guns. They are very fast and the
powerful torpedoes they carry can destroy the largest and heaviest
ship afloat.
The Winslow returned the Spanish fire splendidly, but at last a shot
crashed into her bow and disabled her boiler. Another tore away her
steering gear; and then she rolled helplessly while the Spaniards made
her a target for every gun they could bring to bear. Seeing her
helpless condition, the Hudson came to her assistance and tried to get
a line on board. After awhile she succeeded, but when she attempted to
tow her away the line parted. She made a second attempt, but just at
the instant the little group on the Winslow caught the line, a shell
burst in their very faces. Several of the crew, including the
commander of the Winslow, were wounded, and Ensign Bagley and four
seamen were instantly killed. There was scarcely a man left on the
torpedo-boat to make the line fast, but it was done at last, and the
Hudson towed the shattered Winslow out of danger. It was a very brave
thing that the officers and men of the Hudson did, and later they were
thanked by Congress, and a medal of honor was presented to each of
them.
I think you will be pleased to learn that the next day the Wilmington
went into the harbor again, and with her big guns tore the forts and
batteries to atoms, sank two gunboats and two other vessels, and
burned a blockhouse.
[Illustration: Ensign Worth Bagley.]
Ensign Bagley, the first and the only line officer in the navy to fall
in the war with Spain, was one of the most popular of young naval
officers. While at the Academy at Annapolis he became known as an
all-round athlete, but his greatest triumphs were on the foot-ball
field. His record throughout his naval career was stainless, and the
news of his death was received with sorrow by the people of the United
States.
Now I will tell you the story of how the United States flag was raised
for the first time on the island of Cuba during the war; and I will
tell it in the words of Ensign Willard, of the Machias, the officer
who performed the deed. It was done while the fight was going on in
Cardenas harbor.
"The Machias drew too much water for the channel to the eastward, and
moved up the main channel to within one mile of its narrowest part
abreast of Diana Cay. This channel was supposed to be mined and the
mines operated from the blockhouse and signal station on Diana Cay.
This place was shelled, and, under cover of this fire, a boat's crew
of nineteen sailors and marines, under my command, made a landing on
the opposite side of the Cay.
"The Spanish hastily left the place, disappearing completely. A
Spanish flag, signal flags, etc., and a quantity of ammunition, were
captured, and the United States flag raised. Then search was made for
mines and the channel dragged for two hours. Before leaving,
everything at the station was burned or destroyed, including nine
large row-boats. For the raising of this flag I was later awarded,
through the New York 'Herald,' a prize of one hundred dollars, which
was divided pro rata by me among the men who accompanied me on the
expedition."
Early in June, brave work was done by our sailors at Guantanamo, a
short distance east of Santiago. They took the harbor and destroyed
the forts there, in order that our ships might have a place where they
could get coal without going far from Santiago. The coal steamers
could not supply the whole fleet, so our vessels had been going for
coal all the way back to Key West, south of Florida. It was a great
help to have a coaling place at Guantanamo, but our sailors had much
hard work to take the place. Now I will tell you about some of this
hard work, and something about two men who made it possible to land
the marines and establish a coaling station in Guantanamo Bay. The men
were Commander McCalla, of the Marblehead, and Captain Brownson, of
the Yankee.
[Illustration: Commander B.H. McCalla.]
Long before the Spanish fleet put into the harbor of Santiago, the
Marblehead was along the southern coast of Cuba, poking her nose into
every inlet, cutting cables, and communicating with the Cubans.
McCalla had her stripped of everything but her guns and her steering
gear, and everywhere she went she became a terror to the Spaniards.
She dared to go anywhere and do anything. Every man on the ship was
devoted to McCalla, and every gunner on board was a crack shot,
because they were kept shooting at something all the time. If they
couldn't find a Spanish gunboat to shoot at, they fired at floating
targets.
When it was decided to clear everything Spanish out of the bay, so our
ships could use it, McCalla and Brownson were sent down there to do
the work; but first I will tell you a story about Brownson, so you can
see that he was just the right kind of a man to go along with McCalla.
In the early part of 1894 there was a civil war in Brazil. The entire
Brazilian navy had taken sides with the insurgents and completely
blockaded the harbor of Rio de Janeiro. Ships of all nations were
there, waiting to enter the harbor, but the insurgents would not let
them. Admiral Benham was sent there to look after American interests,
with his flagship, the San Francisco; and Captain, then Commander,
Brownson, was there with his ship, the Detroit. The blockade had to be
broken, and Brownson was selected as the man to do it.
One morning there was a stir on board the Detroit. The awnings came
down, her flag was sent aloft and her guns were shotted. Brownson
ordered the anchor hoisted, and, with the men at the guns, the cruiser
headed towards the city. The flags of the English, German and Italian
ships were dipped in salute as she moved ahead. Two American ships,
the Amy and the Good News, were anchored under the guns of two of the
insurgent fleet. As the Detroit passed close by the Trajano, a marine
on that ship raised a musket and fired a bullet over the heads of the
sailors on the Amy, which was following close behind the Detroit.
[Illustration: Capt. Willard H. Brownson.]
When the shot was fired Brownson turned to a gunner and ordered him to
shoot into the Trajano at the water line and about six feet from the
stern. The order was misunderstood and was sent across the Trajano's
bow instead.
"Trajano, ahoy!" hailed Brownson. "If you fire again I will sink you."
Not a shot was fired.
"You go ahead," shouted Brownson to the Amy, "and I'll protect you";
and although there were insurgent ships all about, the Amy passed into
the harbor unmolested, with the ships of other nations closely
following her. Then the Detroit returned to her anchorage. Brownson
had raised the blockade.
Guantanamo Bay is one of the most famous harbors on the southern coast
of Cuba. It is deep, wide and smooth as a mill pond. At the entrance
the harbor is broad and open, but afterwards it is narrower, and in
this place the Spaniards had placed a lot of mines and two little
gunboats.
[Illustration: A Marine.]
When the Marblehead and the Yankee steamed into the bay they began to
make trouble for the Spaniards at once. There was a blockhouse on a
hill, but they quickly knocked that to pieces. Then they silenced the
fire of the fort and chased the gunboats as far as they could go. Next
they shelled the woods, and, having made a general cleaning out, they
sent word to the fleet that they could land the marines at any time.
On June 10, a detachment of marines from the Oregon landed, and soon
afterwards six hundred more were landed from the troop-ship Panther.
They found plenty of evidence that the Marblehead's shells had
induced the Spaniards to depart in a hurry. Watches, hammocks, two
field guns, and a lot of ammunition, were lying around. There were a
few buildings left, but the marines soon set fire to them. They then
drove off a few Spaniards who were about, and then pitched their
tents. Pretty soon they were attacked by a large body of Spaniards,
but they drove them off after having several men killed and quite a
number wounded. The place of encampment was named Camp McCalla, in
honor of the gallant commander of the Marblehead.
Before the marines were reinforced they were fighting nearly all the
time. It was the first time that most of them had been in battle, but
they fought like veterans. The Spaniards were very cunning and
constantly planned surprises for them, but the marines finally drove
them away and held their position until reinforcements came. One of
the marines, in writing home, said:
"They fight Indian fashion, and the guerillas strip off all their
clothing and dress themselves with leaves and crawl along the ground
like snakes, and at night it is very hard to see or hear them. Then,
again, they dig holes in the ground and cover them over with brush and
conceal themselves there until their prey comes along. Their signals
are very hard to understand, and they sound like birds and are very
deceiving.
[Illustration: A Spanish Guerilla.]
"We have to carry our rifles and ammunition with us wherever we go.
Yesterday morning, while we were eating our breakfast, they fired
upon us, and we immediately pursued them. We had quite a battle and
came out victorious by a big score. We killed sixty and left about
fifteen or twenty badly wounded. We had a lucky escape, only two men
being wounded. We stayed out all night, and were relieved by another
company this morning, and we had nothing to eat for forty-eight hours;
but this is not the first time that we have missed our meals--it is an
every-day occurrence. We had four hardtacks, a little piece of butter
and a cup of coffee.
"We were reinforced by sixty Cuban insurgents last night. They were
fitted out with uniforms and rifles by the Marblehead, and they all
carry that deadly-looking weapon, the machete."
The machete is the national weapon of Cuba. It looks somewhat like a
sword, but instead of being pointed like that weapon, it is broader at
the part farthest from the hilt. A strong man can strike a terrible
blow with it. It is used all over the island as an agricultural tool
as well, for it serves the purpose of a scythe or an axe.
[Illustration: In the Trenches at Guantanamo.]
A brave deed was done by a young officer of the Navy all by himself--a
deed as brave as that done by Lieutenant Hobson. It was not really
known how many Spanish ships were in the harbor of Santiago. I have
told you that they could not be seen by our ships on account of the
narrow entrance and high cliffs. It was very important to know how
many Spanish ships there were. So Lieutenant Blue went ashore at some
safe point, and climbed round the hilltops of Santiago at night,
looked at the harbor, and counted the ships twice, in order to make no
mistake. It was a long journey and full of danger. Lieutenant Blue
might have been taken as a spy, but he reached our ships again, and
made his report to Admiral Sampson.
Early in June our blockading ships made efforts to destroy the forts
at the harbor of Santiago, but did not succeed, though the shells from
our ships did a good deal of harm. It was on account of these attacks
that Lieutenant Hobson and his crew were removed from their cells in
Morro Castle and taken to another prison, as I have told you. The
English Consul at Santiago, a wise and good man, told the Spanish
general that Lieutenant Hobson and his men could not, in honor, be
kept where they might be killed by shells from their own ships. So the
prisoners were removed.
[Illustration: Lieutenant Victor Blue.]
The forts at Santiago received a terrible punishment, if they were
not destroyed, and one of Admiral Cervera's ships, the Maria Teresa,
was considerably damaged by shells that went over the forts into the
harbor. There were several other warships in the harbor besides those
that came with Admiral Cervera. The Reina Mercedes was nearly
destroyed by the shells from our ships. Our old friend, the Oregon,
sent a big shell over the hills that swept nearly everything off her
decks. Other shots riddled her hull and sank her.
The Santiago fortifications were bombarded a number of times and some
splendid shots were made. There was a battery to the west of the
harbor that fired more accurately than the others, and so the Texas
got the range and dropped a shell into the powder magazine one day.
Everything about that battery seemed to be in the air at once when
that shell exploded. Nothing was left of it but a pile of ruins and a
big hole in the ground.
There is a ship in the United States navy that is unlike any other in
the world. She has three long guns which are built into the ship and
do not turn to one side or the other. The whole ship has to be pointed
at the object which the gunners wish to hit. She does not fire shells
loaded with powder, as other warships do, but uses a long shell filled
with gun-cotton, or dynamite, both of which are deadly explosives.
When one of these shells strikes anything the effect is terrible. The
Vesuvius, for that is the name of this ship, fired several of these
shells over the fortifications at Santiago, in the direction where
the Spanish fleet was lying. She did not hit any of them, but she tore
great holes in the sand and rocks near by. It is said that the
Spaniards called the Vesuvius "The Hurler of Earthquakes" because of
the damage her shells did. The guns of the Vesuvius are really firing
tubes. No powder is used in them, compressed air being the power that
expels the shells. Very little noise is made, and there is no smoke.
[Illustration: Forward Deck and Guns of the Vesuvius.]
If one small shell should strike the Vesuvius it would send men and
boat to the bottom at once, because she has so much deadly gun-cotton
on board. Her crew is almost afraid to move.
"Why, I'm afraid to even snore in my sleep," said one of them, "for
fear I'll discharge the gun-cotton; and as for kicking in my
sleep--why, I'm as quiet as a drugged snake."
[Illustration: A Jacky.]
"We slide along," said another; "we're afraid to walk at first. I went
on tiptoe for the first three days."
"Well, I went on my hands and knees the day it was so rough," said a
third. "A fellow has to learn to walk on any part of his anatomy in
this ship when the sea is rough."
The Vesuvius has been described as a ship which fights and then runs
away. That is, she fires three shells and then takes herself out of
the range of an enemy's fire.
I think this is a good place to tell you about a few more of the odd
ships that belong to Uncle Sam's navy, for no nation beside ours has
anything like them.
The Katahdin is an armored ram which relies upon her sharp prow to
disable an adversary. Her armament is only four six-pounder rapid-fire
guns.
Then there is a fleet of vessels whose duty it is to repair the
damages that ships receive in battle, supply fuel and water to
fighting ships, and to care for the wounded. All of these are novel
additions to the navy, but are practical auxiliaries in modern naval
operations.
The Vulcan is one of the repair ships. It is, in fact, a navigable
machine shop, fitted with steam tools for executing any work in metal.
It carries duplicates of nearly every article belonging to a modern
warship; and when you understand that some of these contain nearly
seventy sets of engines, you can easily see the advantage of having a
repair ship attached to a fleet.
Then there are the refrigerating ships, or "pantries," as the sailors
call them. Their mission is to assist in feeding the navy. They are
most valuable additions to a fleet, for they supply fresh meat and
vegetables to improve "Jack's" diet of "salt horse."
Next come the ships that supply fresh water to the crews of our
warships. These are fitted up with distilling apparatus, which
converts salt water into fresh. The Iris, as one of these is named,
belongs to the "sweet water squadron." The water consumption of a
vessel is enormous. A battleship will use seven thousand gallons every
day, which gives you an idea of the work such vessels as the Iris have
to perform.
Now we come to such ships as the Solace and the Relief. These are
hospital ships, and are provided with every appliance and convenience
to be found in a modern hospital, including X-ray outfits to aid in
locating bullets, a microscopic department, and a carbonator for
supplying mineral waters. The hull of the Solace is painted white,
with a wide stripe of green along the sides, and, as befits her
mission, carries no guns or weapons of any kind. Hospital ships fly
the "Red Cross" flag from their mastheads.
[Illustration: (Ships at sea)]
Our ships could guard Santiago and fire at the forts, but our naval
officers had good reasons for thinking that they could not take the
city unless our soldiers were on shore to help in different ways. Our
ships could not go safely into the harbor till the "mines" under the
water had been removed; the "mines" could not be removed till the
forts on the cliffs had been taken. So now the time had come for our
soldiers to go to Cuba.