Inside of half an hour a fierce battle was in progress, with twenty-eight warships on the American side, and thirty-two on the side of the allies.
The din was terrific, as broadside after broadside was poured forth from one ship or another.
The first vessel to go down in the dreadful encounter was the German cruiser Berlin. She was quickly followed by the Italian gunboat Carlos II. and the French frigate Siene. In the meantime one of the British cruisers had caught fire and was burning fiercely.
But now the Americans began to catch it, and presently the cruiser Utah took fire. Her magazines blew up, and this set fire to the Tennessee, which happened to be close at hand when the explosion occurred.
In the van of the fight was the noble Oregon, with the Brooklyn beside her. These old ships had done wonders in the Spanish-American war, and they were now adding nobly to their laurels.
To the right of the line, the New Jersey was having a sort of private duel with the English cruiser Windsor. The Windsor had pumped three ten-inch shells into the New Jersey, but still our cruiser held her own, and let drive with two of her thirteen-inch guns. Both shots hit below the water-mark, and the Windsor slowly sunk, many of her crew swimming to the neighboring warships.
To the left of the line was the New York, fighting two French ships whose names could not be ascertained. The Frenchmen were plucky, and poured shot and shell hotly into the New York. But presently one was sunk by a ten-inch shell, and rushing around in a semi-circle, the New York managed to ram the second, nearly cutting her in two.
But now more foreign ships were coming up and the fight became hotter than ever, until the surface of the sea was filled with nothing but waterspouts and thick clouds of smoke. At times but little could be seen, and it is no doubt that on more than one occasion a friendly ship fired into one of its comrades without knowing it.
But though the American ships were doing nobly, it was seen by nightfall that the battle was slowly but surely going against them. They still had sixteen ships fit for service, but the other foreign war vessels had come up, and the good ships on the other side numbered twenty-six, just ten more. The newly arrived warships were big ones, and the outlook for the Americans became blacker and blacker.
"If only we had the new Holland here," sighed Admiral Fielding. "I believe she could turn the scales in our favor when morning comes."