U.S.S. GLOUCESTER in Action at the
Battle of Santiago de Cuba

GLOUCESTER's attack on the FUROR, as seen from INDIANA:

"...By this time we [the U.S.S. INDIANA] were under forced draft and headed for the entrance [of Santiago Harbor]. To port of us was the IOWA and to starboard the converted yacht GLOUCESTER. The yacht was commanded by Lieutenant Commander Richard Wainwright who had been executive officer of the MAINE when she was destroyed in Havana Harbor..."

As the destroyers advanced against us the fire of our secondary battery and the starboard 8 inch turret guns was shifted from the cruisers to them [the Spanish destroyers] and at the same time we sent a signal to the GLOUCESTER, 'Destroyers coming out.' This signal was misunderstood (perhaps purposely). (The GLOUCESTER claimed later that she thought our signal was 'Gunboats close in'). She headed for the Spaniards at full speed running directly into our zone of fire and, before 'Cease firing' could be transmitted to the secondary battery, we barely missed sinking her. Just before the order was obeyed one of our 8-inch shells struck the Spanish destroyer PLUTON, and she disappeared in a great cloud of flame and smoke, which, as it dissipated, showed a few of her people struggling in the water."

"Meanwhile the GLOUCESTER engaged the FUROR at point-blank range; they were almost alongside of each other. We could see the GLOUCESTER's guns tearing her to shreds. Then something happened to the FUROR's steering gear and she commenced running in circles eventually crashing on the rocks."

(The account of Daniel P. Mannix, 3rd, from Mannix, Daniel P., 3rd, "The Old Navy", New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., 1983, p. 50 - see our bibliography)
 

The View from the FUROR:

"'From the very first,' Lieutenant Commander Diego Carlier of the FUROR reported, 'we received an enormous amount of fire...and were struck by shells of every caliber. We soon commenced to have casualties from the galling fire and many injuries to the ship...' Captain Fernando Villaamil, commanding the destroyer flotilla, was wounded by a shell that hit the bridge. Steam pipes and boilers burst, the engines were damaged, fire broke out, and a magzine exploded. Finally, the servomotor controlling the rudder was put out of commission. The FUROR began circling erractically. The GLOUCESTER raked her with deadly automatic fire at a range of six hundred yards."

Bibliography:

(As a service to our readers, clicking on title in red will take you to that book on Amazon.com)

Blow, Michael, A Ship to Remember , (New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1992).

Mannix, Daniel P., 3rd, The Old Navy. (New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., 1983).

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