At that time the vessels of the blockading squadron were at varying distances of from three to ten miles from the harbor entrance. Most of the American cruisers were at the usual Sunday morning quarters, and not one ship was really prepared for immediate action. Almost as soon as the batteries opened fire a Spanish cruiser, the Cristobal Colon, was seen to emerge from the channel entrance and head toward sea, firing her forward battery as she came. Then the signals hurried from one ship to another, and on every American vessel there was a rush of activity. In every engine room there was a signal for full speed. The entire fleet began to move in toward the shore, heading for the channel entrance. At 9:45 the Oquendo slipped out of the channel. By this time the Cristobal Colon had turned to the west, and with a good headway was attempting to slip past the blockaders. The Maria Teresa, the Vizcaya, the two torpedo-boat destroyers, the Furor and the Pluton, and a gunboat were all clear of the channel entrance and racing for liberty when the American vessels opened fire at long range. The Brooklyn, Massachusetts, Texas, Oregon and Iowa bore down upon the Spaniards and opened fire, but they were too far away to get a good range. As for the Spaniards, they began to shoot as soon as they came out of the harbor and continued to blaze away until they were utterly defeated, but they showed poor judgment and bad marksmanship.
THE GLOUCESTER'S GOOD WORK.
As the Americans came in closer and closer the fighting became general. The Gloucester had been lying off Aguadores, three miles east of Morro, when the Spaniards came out. She hurried to join in the attack, and at first opened fire on one of the large cruisers. Already they were being pounded with terrific effect by the battleships, however, so the little Gloucester turned her attention to the two torpedo-boat destroyers which had slipped out of the harbor behind the cruisers. The Gloucester was one of the swiftest boats in the navy, and although she was equipped with nothing heavier than six-pound guns she made a resolute attack on the two destroyers, and the chase began. They headed to the west at high speed, and she flew after them, pouring shot after shot with such wonderful accuracy, that by the time the destroyers were five miles to the west of Morro both were on fire and plainly disabled. They had persistently returned the fire, and a shower of little shells fell around the yacht, but once more the American gunners showed their superiority, for the Gloucester was comparatively unhurt.
The Furor turned at last and gave battle to the Gloucester. Here was another instance of American good luck and Spanish inefficiency. The Furor sent torpedoes against the Gloucester, but they failed to explode. As soon as the Spanish destroyer stopped the Gloucester simply raked her fore and aft with rapid-fire guns, and the Furor again headed west to escape the terrible punishment. The smoke was pouring out of her sides, and soon she turned in toward shore, evidently in a sinking condition. The members of the crew flocked to the small boats and abandoned their craft. Later on most of them were taken prisoners on shore. The Furor was floating about, a mass of flame.
The Pluton also was disabled, and headed for the shore. She was beached under a low bluff, where a heavy sea was running, and was soon pounded so that she broke in two in the middle. Only about half of the crew reached the shore alive.
Having disposed of the two destroyers the Gloucester lowered her small boats and sent them ashore to rescue the Spanish sailors. The Furor drifted about until the fire reached her magazines, and then there were two terrific explosions which shattered her hull. Her stern sunk quickly, and as it went down her bow rose until it stood almost straight up in the air, and in this position she disappeared from sight.
TEST OF BATTLESHIPS.
While the little yacht had been gaining this notable victory over the two famous destroyers the big battleships had been following the line of Spanish cruisers and pounding them with great persistence. The four Spanish cruisers were under the direct fire of the Brooklyn, and the four battleships, the Massachusetts, the Texas, the Iowa and the Oregon. It was the first time that any first-class battleship had ever been put to the test in a naval battle. The huge fighting vessels kept close after the fast cruisers and fired their big guns with deadly certainty. The American fire was so rapid that the ships were surrounded by clouds of smoke.
The Spanish gunners seemed unable to get the proper range and many of their shots were very wild, though a number of them fell dangerously near to the mark.
Two guns of the battery just east of Morro also took part in the game and their shells fell around the American ships. Many of them struck the upper works of the fleeing Spaniards and must have resulted in killing and wounding many of their men.