tina, Castilla, Don Juan de Austria, Don Antonio de Ulloa, Isla de Luzon, Isla de Cuba, Marques del Duero, El Cano, Velasco, and General Lezo.*

It was a half hour after the Spanish guns had opened upon their opponents that the order was given to return their fire. Throughout the battle Commodore Dewey stood on the forward bridge of the Olympia and by his side its captain, Gridley. He perceived that the strain of waiting, intensified by the terrific heat of the Philippine May morning, was beginning to tell on the men, so when a range of about three miles had been attained, he called to the captain of the flagship: "If you are ready, Gridley, you may fire." At his word one of the 8-inch guns in the forward turret roared forth its salute of death to the Spanish fleet. At the sound of the great gun, it is said that the shout "Remember the Maine" rang out on all of the ships, and soon the guns of the whole fleet were in play. The firing from both fleets became more and more furious as the distance between them lessened; the American ships steaming back and forth in front of the Spanish line, delivering terrific broadsides now from the port, and again

from the starboard batteries.

At 7 o'clock, in apparent desperation, the Spanish flag-ship, the Christina, slipped her cables, and with splendid audacity, steamed out toward the American vessels. She became, immediately, the target for

Maclay, History of the United States Navy, vol. iii., pp. 205-206.

every available gun of the fleet, and soon the effects of the fearful punishment she was receiving became apparent. For a while she staggered forward, the escaping steam from her injured machinery and the clouds of smoke from her hatches revealing how desperately wounded she was. At last aware of the folly of further effort, and in immediate danger of sinking, the ship was put about and made for the shallow water as fast as the crippled engines could propel her. Even in her death struggle, she was not to go unscathed, for before the survivors could escape, an 8-inch shell from the Olympia exploded in the engine-room, making havoc of the already ruined vessel, killing wounded and unwounded, and starting a fire that was soon beyond control. Orders were given to sink her, and the other ships closed around to pick up the survivors, among them Admiral Montojo, who was severely wounded.

While the attention of the fleet was held by the daring but foolhardy maneuver of the Christina, two small launches put out from Cavité, purposing, apparently, to attack the Olympia with torpedoes. * But the fate of the great cruiser was theirs also. They became in a few moments centres of a perfect storm of shells from the secondary batteries of the ships, one being sunk, and the other driven to the shore.

At

Five times the American fleet had steamed back and forth in front of the Spanish line of battle, and as yet there was no evidence of great damage having been done to the opposing squadron. The Reina Christina had been destroyed, and others of the ships had been on fire several times, but so had one of the American ships, and the enemy's firing was still as vigorous as at the beginning of the action. 7:35 o'clock, the Olympia displayed the signal: " Cease firing, and follow the flag-ship." In obedience to this In obedience to this command, the fleet silenced its guns and withdrew out of range. This movement so astonished the Spaniards that they immediately cabled to Madrid the defeat of the American fleet. The cause of the withdrawal was a matter no less serious than a report from the ships that the ammunition was running low. When the ships were beyond the danger zone, orders were given to pipe the men to breakfast, much to the disgust of the guncrews who grumbled and expressed the sentiment," To hell with breakfast!" The order, however, brought a blessed relief to the engineers, stokers, and magazine attendants, who had been working for two hours in a temperature ranging from 110° to 160°.

A conference of the captains was called by Commodore Dewey, and when their reports were brought in, to the delight of all it was learned that the ships were practically uninjured. In addition there had been no loss of life, and the rumor that the ammunition was growing short was proved to be

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erroneous. The moment of gloom was dispelled in a twinkling, and at once all were eager to complete the work. That it could be done no one had the slightest doubt.

During this interim, Commodore Dewey sent a flag of truce to the batteries at Manila announcing that if they did not cease firing he would shell the city. This had the desired effect and the batteries were silent during the remainder of the action.

After a rest of three hours, the fleet again steamed down in battle order, the Baltimore this time in the lead. It was then perceived that the work of destruction was almost complete. the Spanish ships showing clearly the fearful effect of the American guns. Only one of them, the Don Antonio de Ulloa, was able to make effective resistance, and its guns were soon silenced. The shore batteries, however, were still active, and two shots from them did considerable damage to the Baltimore, wounding two officers and six men.

Steaming up to a distance of less than two thousand yards, the American fleet in obedience to its order to capture or destroy, completed its work, and soon the Spanish fleet was but a tragic array of battered hulks, whose exploding magazines continued the devastation begun by the American shells. The ships directed to destroy the arsenal and the batteries at Cavité were no less thorough; the battle virtually ceasing when a wellaimed shot blew up the powder magazine of the arsenal. At 12:40 the guns