Identifier: reminiscencesthr00youn_0 (find matches)
Title: Reminiscences and thrilling stories of the war by returned heroes
Year: 1899 (1890s)
Authors: Young, James Rankin, 1847-1924 Moore, J. H., joint author
Subjects: Spanish-American War, 1898 Spanish-American War, 1898
Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa., Elliott Publishing Co
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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ternly, with that risinginflection known to all who were with the fleet: What ship is that? Theastonished British captain, thus bearded by a mere towboat, replied withnatural choler: This is Her Majestys ship Talbot The man on the bridge of the Leyden saw something humorous in thesituation, and shouted, facetiously : Good night, Talbot! In solemn tones there came from the outraged cruiser the reply:You may go, Leyden. And the Leyden went. The Talbots com-mander was not disposed to think the thing funny, and his opinion, like hisbattery, was the weightier. Commander Todd, of the Wilmington, confessed that he was about tosink the Herald dispatch boat Albert F. Dewey one night when he discoveredher close inshore and mistook her for a Spanish gunboat. All the port gunswere trained on her, but, holding her safe, he waited a second or two beforegiving the order to fire, and that space sufficed to give him a better view ofher. The Deweys men did not know for a week or more how near they were
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278 BOMBARDMENT OF SAN JUAN. to death. Some of them never knew, for there are tales one never tells tofiremen and deck hands who pine for simple towing in peaceful waters. So much to show you how ticklish was navigation by night off the coastwhere Sampsons unlit ships watched the Spanish batteries on the one hand andscanned the sea on the other for Cerveras torpedo-boat destroyers. Men weresent to general quarters time and again these wakeful nights, and in time thecontinued tension began to tell. The Furor and the Pluton were held almostincredibly fast in those days, and the orders were to sink any suspicious craftwhich prowled about the fleet and failed to answer the night fleet signal. Grim Scout Duty. It was the Porters business to prevent any Spanish vessel from creepingupon the blockading squadron unawares. The American ships, at all hazards,must be apprised of the approach of an enemy. The Ardois system of signallights includes a signal which, flashed for a second in the darkne

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