The War Between Spain and the United States, Part III, Chapters VII-X [pp. 155-173]

CAMP MERRITT, SAN FRANCISCO, COLORADO REGIMENT AT DINNER
Photo by Taber
the way out of the harbor mouth, followed
shortly by the Cristobal Colon, the Vizcaya,
and the Almirante Oquendo, the ships spaced
in admirable order. The attempt to block
the harbor mouth by the Merrimac had
been a failure. From their funnels poured
the black smoke under the forced draft
from their furnaces, and as they cleared
the harbor mouth they increased their
speed. Behind them came the two torpedo
boat destroyers, Pluton and Furor. It was
to be a dash for freedom for the whole
squadron.
As the Infanta Maria Teresa issued from
the harbor mouth the Spanish commander
turned his course to the west. The Texas
was the first ship to engage the enemy, and
with a few shots put a shell through the
side armor of the flagship. The swift
cruisers drew away from the battleship,
however, and it was not until the Vizcaya
came along that she was able to engage to
effect. The Brooklyn, Iowa, and Oregon,
hastened up within fighting distance, and a
furious cannonade began between the two
squadrons, the Brooklyn taking the first
place in the American line. The Cristobal
Colon proved by far the fastest of the Spanish ships, and drew to the head of the column, the Brooklyn hammering away in hot
haste. The Iowa at first maneuvered to ram
167
the Maria Teresa, but failing in this, gave
her the full force of the starboard battery
and tried to head off the Almirante Oquendo.
The Cristobal Colon passed the Iowa, and
planted two six-inch shells in the bow where
the battleship's armor plating is light. The
damage was not great enough to interfere
with the fighting efficiency of the Iowa, and
she turned her attention to the Oquendo.
At a distance of eleven hundred yards the
entire battery was discharged at the cruiser.
Two twelve-inch shells from this discharge
smashed through the Oquendo, one forward
and the other aft. The Oquendo reeled
with the shock, and lost headway, but before further damage could be done by the
Iowa, recovered speed, and passed ahead
to meet the fire of the Texas and the Oregon.
The Pluton and Furor now drew forward
and attracted the attention of the Texas,
the Iowa, and the Gloucester, the latter
a small gunboat under the command of
Lieutenant- Commander Richard Wainwright, who had been executive officer of
the Maine at the time that battleship was
blown up in Havana harbor. A shell from
one of the battleships struck the foremost
destroyer, a great spout of black smoke
sprang upward, and when it cleared away
the torpedo boat destroyer was a helpless