Chapter VIII: The Return of the Fleet

On the 13th and 14th of May, there was a thick fog, which rendered it impossible to see anything at a greater distance than a few yards. It did not extend more than a mile or two inland, but shrouded the whole coast in an impenetrable darkness.

The rejoicings and congratulations still continued in New York and Brooklyn; but in a diminished degree. Even patriotism requires breathing spells, and the citizens were fairly worn out with their celebration.

A quiet air of cheerful contentment, under which was plainly evident a feeling of serene self-satisfaction, had replaced the boisterous and exuberant manner of the previous two days; and when the sun rose clear and bright on the morning of the 15th of May, aside from the super-abundance of American flags, which gave the city a holiday look, there was nothing to indicate any unusual excitement.

Although the weather was perfectly clear in the city, the fog still continued very thick in the lower bay, and outside of Sandy Hook, so that until nearly noon, when it began to clear away, nothing could be seen from the Highlands.

About noon, however, despatches began to arrive from the operator there, describing the gradual lifting of the fog.

"11.45 A.M. Fog lifting slowly. Sandy Hook now plainly visible.

"11.55 A.M. Scotland Lightship now in sight. Several coasting vessels lying near her at anchor. Nothing else in sight.

"12.10 P.M. Sandy Hook Lightship now visible. Several vessels lying near her. Impossible to make out just what they are. Weather still hazy.

"12.30 P.M. British fleet evidently not all gone yet. Probably waited for disappearance of fog. Forty or fifty large and small vessels lying near the Lightship."

"1.15 P.M. Smoke now issuing from the funnels of several of the fleet. They are evidently about to get under way."

"1.30 P.M. A small vessel, evidently a gun boat, is now steaming rapidly in towards Sandy Hook. She probably desires to communicate with the shore; but shows no flag of truce as yet."

"2 P.M. British gunboat referred to in last despatch has just passed Sandy Hook, and is now heading up the Swash Channel at somewhat reduced speed."

"2.45 P.M. Gunboat, after stopping and apparently examining the battle ground of the 11th, now steaming slowly up towards the Narrows."

These despatches attracted considerable attention in the city, and when they appeared in the evening papers, there were numerous surmises as to the reasons for the return of the English gunboat. Not much attention was paid to the matter, however.

And now, in order to render this narrative as brief and explicit as possible, I will quote from the official report of the British Admiral, as the best and most reliable authority as to the occurrences of the next few days.

"After the severe action on the night of the 11th, which resulted in the loss of three of our most formidable ships, and the serious crippling and disabling of several others, as hereinbefore described, I deemed it advisable to withdraw from the outer harbor to an anchorage near the bar, to gain time for consultation with the officers of the fleet, as well as to ascertain exactly the amount of damage we had sustained, and our remaining effective force available for a renewal of hostilities.

"At daybreak on the 12th, the fleet, much scattered, was all outside the bar; some of the commanders having either from an excess of caution, or a misunderstanding of orders, proceeded so far out to sea, that recall signals could not reach them. By nine o'clock, however, they had all returned within call, and were anchored in the vicinity of the Sandy Hook Lightship. This vessel lies about eight miles E. by S. from Sandy Hook, and although in heavy Easterly or Southerly gales, the position is a very exposed one, yet in ordinarily fair weather, such as is usually had hero in May, it is a perfectly safe anchorage, especially for steam vessels with banked fires. A council of the flag officers of the fleet was called to meet on the flagship at 1 P.M.

"At this meeting, detailed reports of the condition of each vessel were made; and to my great satisfaction, I discovered that the 'Sansparei,' although two of her compartments were full of water, and her main engines were disabled, was entirely unhurt--so far as her armament was concerned; and that if she could reach a position where her guns would be effective, was as formidable as ever for offensive purposes. The 'Howe' had also had a hole knocked into her by a torpedo; but the damage was not such as to interfere with her effectiveness in the slightest degree. The damages to the other vessels were trifling, and interfered neither with their motive nor their fighting powers.

"The absolute destruction of the 'Victoria' and 'Camperdown' by the enemy, by means of self-destroying torpedo boats, and the complete inability of our other vessels to defend themselves against similar attacks, had been the cause of my withdrawing the fleet beyond their reach. And the first question to be discussed and decided, related to the probability of a similar attack being made upon us in case we returned to the harbor. If the enemy had a force of these self-destroying torpedo boats, equal in number to the vessels composing our fleet, it would be simple madness to undertake further hostilities.

"These boats were swifter than our swiftest ships; and were so large and heavy that they could go right through our torpedo nets and booms, and pierce the hulls of our ships far below the water line; and the thorough manner in which they had blown the 'Victoria' and 'Camperdown' to pieces, had convinced me that nothing afloat could withstand their destructive efforts. Indeed I have since learned that there were two tons of dynamite in each discharge--an amount sufficient, if properly directed, to lift the heaviest vessel ever built, bodily out of the water. It was, therefore, of vital importance to us, to find out, if possible, whether the enemy had any more of these boats, and if so, how many; and for that purpose I called a council of officers, in the hope that some of them might have more definite knowledge on the subject than I had.

"During this council, the opinion was expressed by the commanding officer of the converted merchant cruiser, 'City of New York,' that he had some men on board his ship who knew something about it, and at my request he went on board his vessel to make inquiries. He returned shortly, bringing with him an assistant engineer, who had been employed on the 'City of New York,' when she was engaged in the merchant service between New York and Liverpool; and after considerable objection on his part--although he was a Scotchman, and not an American--he admitted that on one of the last voyages of that vessel, he had visited Philadelphia, and had seen the two self-destroying torpedo vessels on the stocks, in the shipyard of the Messrs. Cramp, in that city. They were unfinished then, and regarded more in the light of curiosities than anything else. The Government did not even own them; but they were being built by private parties for experimental purposes; and were the subject of much ridicule among the workmen. He explained the principle upon which they were to operate. A hollow ram at the bow contained an enormous charge of dynamite, which was connected by an electric clock-work arrangement, with the pilot house, and was to be exploded by the pilot after he had run her into the hull of the hostile vessel; the pilot and the crew jumping overboard with life-preserving suits on, and taking their chances of being picked up after the explosion.

"This description tallied so exactly with the manner in which the 'Victoria' and the 'Camperdown' had been destroyed, that the conclusion was irresistible, that it was the work of these two experimental vessels; and that (there being no more of them; or, the enemy being out of ammunition, so to speak) there was really nothing to prevent us from renewing our attack at the earliest possible moment; towing the 'Sanspareil' and the other disabled vessels to a point where their guns would be effective for bombarding purposes.

"It was therefore decided to send a swift gunboat in to reconnoitre the lower bay early the following morning; and if her report was favorable, the whole fleet was to follow her in, and take a position as far up the harbor as was practicable. A dense fog prevented any action being taken until the second day afterwards--the 15th. On that day, about noon, the fog lifted, and I sent the 'Orlando' in to reconnoitre, and instructed her commander to push forward towards the Narrows, until stopped by torpedoes or other obstructions, or until the fire from the forts became too hot; when he was to return to the fleet and report.

"Meanwhile the remainder of the fleet got under way and with the 'Sanspareil' and 'Howe' in tow of the 'Umbria' and 'City of New York,' proceeded slowly towards Sandy Hook. By 3.30 P.M. we had reached the point where the battle of the 11th had been fought. There were no signs of the enemy in sight below the Narrows; but the reports of heavy guns, and the smoke over Staten Island and Long Island showed that the forts on both sides of the Narrows had opened fire on the 'Orlando.'

"I ordered the fleet to anchor, partly in the Swash, and partly in the main ship channel, and hoisted the recall signal for the 'Orlando.'

"Owing to the smoke or the distance, or both, her commander failed to obey the signal, and kept exchanging shots with the forts; so I sent a despatch boat up the bay with peremptory orders for her return. About 5 o'clock she came down, and anchored with the remainder of the fleet, and her commander came on board the flagship, and reported verbally that, he had proceeded up the main ship channel to the Narrows. That he had drawn the fire of the forts on both Long Island and Staten Island; and had developed the fact that the guns were old-fashioned smooth bores, which would have little or no effect upon our heavily armored vessels. That several of the large solid shot--apparently ten inch--had struck his armor belt, near the water line, without inflicting any damage beyond making a deep indentation; and that several torpedoes had exploded near his vessel, but none directly under her--therefore he could not report as to their efficacy. With a good stout ship, however, properly divided into water-tight compartments, he thought he could safely defy any obstructions or torpedoes that might be placed in the Narrows; and in response to the direct question, whether he thought it was feasible to take the fleet into the Upper Bay, answered unhesitatingly in the affirmative.

"In consequence of this information, but more especially as I was already in a position to shell the lower part of New York City, and nearly the whole of Brooklyn, I issued the following proclamation, which I sent up that evening by a despatch boat, under a flag of truce, to the City:

"'To the Mayors and Citizens of New York and Brooklyn:

"'As Admiral commanding Her Britannic Majesty's Expeditionary fleet, I hereby give notice that at 12 o'clock noon, on the 18th day of May, 1890, the bombardment which I am ordered to inflict upon the cities of New York and Brooklyn will be commenced. While I deeply regret the painful necessity which compels me to be the agent in such a terrible destruction of life and property as this bombardment will involve, yet my orders are peremptory; and I shall, to the best of my ability, obey them to the letter. I can, however, postpone the evil day; and instincts of humanity would impel me to do so, even if they were not re-inforced by my own personal wishes in the matter. In order, therefore, that non-combatants,--and especially women and children--may be removed to a place of safety, I give this public notice, more than two days in advance of the bombardment.

"'Signed,
"'ADMIRAL FREEMANTLE,
"'_Commanding H. B. M.'s fleet_.'"