“W. T. SAMPSON,
“Rear-Admiral U. S. Navy, Commander-in-Chief
U. S. Naval Force, North Atlantic Station.
“The Secretary of the Navy, Navy Department, Washington, D. C.”
A letter from Captain Chadwick of the flag-ship New York, to his wife, is an entertaining addition to the story of this most marvellous sea fight:
“Flagship New York, July 4, 1898.
“Yesterday was a wonderful day, as you will know in a few hours after my writing this.
“We were in a rather disgruntled frame of mind on account of a little note from Shafter. He wanted to know why the navy could not go under a destructive fire as well as the army. It was decided to go and have a consultation with him, explain the situation, and lay our plans before him, which were to countermine the harbour, going in at the same time, and also trying to carry the Morro by assault with one thousand marines landed in Estrella cove.
“It was arranged we were to go to Siboney about 9.30, so Sampson, Staunton, and I put on our leggings, got some sandwiches, filled a flask, and the ship started to go the seven miles to Siboney, where we were to find horses and a cavalry escort.
“We were within a mile or so of the place when a message came to me that a ship was coming out, and by the time I was on deck I found the New York turned around, and headed back, and there they were, coming out one after the other, and putting west as hard as they could go.
“The situation was one which rather left us out of it. We were too far off to shoot, but could see the rest banging away. The last to come were the two torpedo-boat destroyers, so we headed in to cut off any attempt on their part to return to port, and we saw Wainwright in the Gloucester firing at them for all he was worth, [pg 286]and soon one evidently had a hole through her boiler, as there was a great white cloud of steam which shot into the air. We fired two or three 4-inch shots at the other, which was moving back toward the entrance, and then left him to Wainwright’s mercy, as it was a clear case, and stood on; in a few moments we came, first to one and then the other, but a little way apart, the Infanta Maria Teresa and the Oquendo afire and ashore.