Newspapers / The Twice-A-Week Dispatch (Burlington, … / June 12, 1914, edition 1 / Page 6
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FLETCHER GIVES DETAILS OF FIGIH’. Telt the Navy D«*partment Just How the Port of Vera Cruz Was Captured. Washington, June 6.—Read Admir al Fletcher^s own story of the occ*a- pation of' Vera. Cru2 is told in iirst detailed reoport of the Navy’s operations on the ea:it coast of Mex ico made public today by the Navy Department. The report teil.s of Atl- miral Fletcher’s reeepit b'f the. historic cablegram eariy i'n the niornir.g: of April 21 orderir.g him to seize Ibe Vera Cruz customs house; of iho swift descent of marines and bluejiickois from the American warships upon the port a^id. the btoody lighting that oc curred when they met with resistance, from.the Mexican FederaJ soldieris av.d irrei?ulars. The Admiral refers particularly to the work of the cruisers Prairie, the Chester and San F:at>cisco which moored inside the bi'eakwater, co\ered successive landings of marines and the blaejackets. Initiative aixi clear judgment was required on the part of the command ing officers,” s?aid the report, **and the results show’ed in a striking- man ner the efficiency of the ships under their command.-^.” The three vessels ■were under charge of Commanders Moffett, Stickrse and HarrisonT The report is full follows: ^‘When the cablegram of 8 a, m. April 21, to seize the custoin house was received, the foHo'A'irje; officers ■were in my cabin. Captain W. R. Rush., U. S. Navy, i:ommaiiding nav.ul liri.ea^ie. Captain H. McL. P. L'. S. Navy, chief of .“?talf. Commander H. O. Sticknvy. U. S. Navy, ccminjindinff Prairie. Lieutenant CiMvnei W. {\ N-.'vilic. U. S. M. C-. ^-omnv.u;di;:ir iViarir.o roir- iment. •' Tiiey had be'-*;* •."i.ileJ o;: buiii’ti to be informed of the ^ituatio ^ a>ui ht as.-ure me thal the j»lavi.-s ;jreviou.iy prepared for he employment of the i'.iival forcc-s a>cain.st. Cru.': were iinderstood hy them, and that they were prepared to carry them out. The method of procedure adopted "was to nijjrine?; from the Prairie. Flurida ' and Utah, and the .seamaa i>atallior: from the F-orido., sei>:^ 'Ju* custom house, railwijy terminal ainl cai*:c yf- ii-'c. The iuilallion the Utah was hcid or. lumpi awaiting riews o.' the “Vpirai'.jio/' ('*in?maf'doi- vStick')-y .i!id Ijeuie: - finl Colonel NcvilU- vrrn; lo ti-.e Prairje and ;»t i* a. nj. Conii'aander Stickaey went ashijrt-* and per>o>:alIy notiiied the .Arneric:.; >.»;i^ul rhal we would land t char^^r tlio iMiston^ house. «Iire.*:.-.i him to iv.uii'y all forei^'-U CO!i'^ijlw. :t!l eijfner:-- a!iOi-;'d thi War I Li’vr ioo' which \V;ih .H } I:,j X •, i ;xy.^l ‘j.U: ‘Esperanxa’ thei- n.-.OiV i :r. rhe h;.r- itai'y coianuin«iaii:. wa> .’.-uined i‘y telephone froni the ^'ont-iiiaie that we would land at o.nee to take char{re of che custom house and he was urjred to offer no resislance but to withdraw' in order to avoid useless loss of life and property of the people of Vera Cruz. At 5);40 a. m. an ofiicer from the Prairie boarded the fOi’eiicn men-of- war in the hsxrbor, Carlos V. (Spanish) and Essex (British) and notified them^ of our intended action. An oiHcer from the Prairie visited the Fort at San Juan d* Ulloa. in- lovmed the commander that we would seize the custom house and that any apfgressive n-ove on his part would be immediately followed by our oper.- ing: fire with heavy guns on the foit. The commander cf the fort said that he under.-stood the situation but if we opened fire he would return it. He had 160 regular troops who had charge of the prisoners. The War? Liner “Mexico” with for eigners on board pulled aw'ay from Pier No. 4 and anchored in the outer h&rbor. Commander Cone of the Utah, i fter anchoring his vessel at 0:40 a. m., came on board. Cone re ported his landing force ready and waiting for any service and returned to his shtp. At 10:39 ». m. the Prairie report- "Am Ready” and I direct«i Cap- t:>Ia Rush to land his brigade and carry cut orders. The foHowinj: sig nal was se»|t to the Prairie at 10:50 a. m., '*Lan| and Take Pier No. 4 be prepared to cover landing by necess ary gun-Iire.” At 11:45 the Prairie signalled, “Battalion has shoved oiT." The landing fyi'ce of the Florida shov ed off at the same time and were join ed by the Panama contingent of Mu rines from the Utah. This made a total of 187 officers and men of whom 50- were marines, all under the com mand of Captain William R- Rusn, U. S. Navy, captain of the Florida. At liioi) a..'m.- the Prairie signalled, •'Battallion h:;s landed, no evidence of. any resistance thus far.” At 11:45 a. nt. signal was received from the Consulate-, ‘’Cable Station 0. K.” and thi* nieant that the cable station was in possession (-f our forces on shor-* and ^hat communication wich Wash ington was assured. At 11:50 m* signal was received from Captain Rus'h on shore that headquarters had bee'i established at the Hotel Terminal and signal station set up there. At 11:5-5 a. m. Kush signalled, “Telegraph and posroflice occupied and doing business i\: ever.*' This was followed by “Fir ing iJi town; no casualteis yet,” and at liit-l p. m. “Commenced firing on shore; Fedei'als have commenced fir ing on U. S. Troop*,*’ Again at l-:;:;0 p. m. Rush signalled “Or.*' thousand men with, maonine guns re ported in this vicinity; desultory fir ing heavy.at intervals; hurry Utah's troops.** I signalled Utah: *‘Send you** i>:iit:-ilion ashore: urgent; you may Hteam in L‘lo?er,” At 12:41 p. Rur=h reported his first casualties. imnied’atcly -n landing the m^arine regimerit under Lieute;iunt Cc^lon^ai Neville advanc:*d up Caiio de Mojiti- -•ilnes. seii'in'T cable ofiice and detach- ir.u: onQ company to seize the power north uf tlio ternunai station c*nd lyj i-GVL'i- aproac!^e:^ from the we.'5.- vv:ird aion”' rai!.i.- iJ tracks. The lu‘a-l i*t‘ iht: marine colunni liad advanced lo .Aver.ida Hravo wher: at 11:5” a. m. ll'cy were Mred into from all direc- The marines Cult automatic irLi!;- wezil into action nt Ir.depend- encia. Cinco de Mayo, Cortes, Hidalgo. iu:«i Bravo, and cleared these streets immediately. The men took positiun^ in froiu of the warehouiey, lining the riOi'th >ide uf Montcsincs and iii'ed at the tftien.y who had occupied the housc- ti'ps. wijuiuwv auii t.»wer. on the up- of the street. The m.arin-^ re.u-i'ienr Wiis then ordered not io ad- \nnc: l:!Ti to hold -.>rijiinal posltioji. I:: i!.c !n.‘;i!,linie the Florithi ^eu- ina:! undt r I.ieutc-nant Wai';- \vi-i;r! 'L hati and sciZ’d the ca'i* .'i ar.d cusvoni warehou?;e, I'i.si ■fVi-,;.' anti railro id terminal. ThL'y nr.dei j^icady iir».* fi-om the enemy ir. hi:iHe."5 on IWi.ito Juarc?; an«l 3-i.ore- !•>.' reci which wus '.durned. The jrit!i«.!-y -ecii'rn of t!io Florida v.ent int'.i acii.;ji in I'jxnn the Ameiii*:!'! cunsidate arid sliollod the enemy oul :iu‘ i»!d tower lieniio •juarv/'. >tre»*i. vVhcn the first rep’t t>f ra.-uaiUe>i was received, ihe Solnce \Vi;> t.’dercvi froni Tampict> to Voi.*. (.'ru-: l»y radio. At 1 p. m. L repaired aboard the Prairie with Captain Huse ard Lieu tenant Courts of my staff and from this point directed joint operations ushore and afloat. The Prairie open ed fire at 1:10 p. m. with three inch guns on the enemy’s mounted troops in the sandhill.^ beyond the city- in direct fire was used w'ith a church tower as a point of aiai, range 2,5uO to :^.000 yards. The second shot tell among thet roops and dn^ve them be yond the sandhills. Shai'pshoters ir. the Naval Scho-)! Building and the New ?Jarket ha i beer, ii.ring steadily on Pier No, i where all of cur boats were landing. Chief Boatswain McCloy, in charge of three picket launches armed with one- poundev guns put out from Pier No. 4 and steamed full speed around the end of Fiscal Pier directly tow^ard the Naval School Building. When within a few hundred yards, tn»-' launches opened fire simultaneously with one-pounders at the vrindows of the Naval Academy. They thus drew the fire of the Mexican forces along that section of the waterfront buv ylocated their positions on the t'^rJrie who immediately opened fire with 2-inch battery over the heads of the launches, silencing the fire of the Mexicans in tliat section of the city. The picket laucKhes in their gallant dash were hit many tiitses with riiia bullets and three times with one- pounder shell from the Naval Acad emy. Chief Boatswain McCSy was wounded in the leg and one u«»s fa tally wounded. The brigade signal station on top of the Termihal Hotel was exposed to the fire of the Mexicans from al direc tions. The signal squad under En sign -VlcDonneli remained at their posts during the ^4 hours fighting and though three of the seven signalmeri were shot w’hiie wig-wagging .mess ages, coi:-:R'.unication between brigade headquarters and the Prairie was nev er interrupted. p.. m.—1 did not desire to force the fightiii.^-through the city and use -the guns oi ihe ships as long as ther-.> e.Kisted a reasonable .chance to avoid this se;vere measure. -Every effort w-ti being nwde to get into oprnmunicatio-; with the Mexican authorkies,-both di rect. and through the American con sult, and to represent to them the fu tility of . further »*esistance on their part and the seriou.s confsequences that would ensue. My chief of staff, Cap tain Huse, in cojijunction with the American consai, Mr. Canada, endea*.-- ored until 5 o'clock \.o i:t*o com munication with any authorties in cojt- trol, but their efforts were unavailin^j. Any further advance at this time of the day would have brought the fight ing into the most densely populated part of the- city after nightfau It was therefore decided to hold our .pres-, ent position and i:i case of unforseen contingencies the heavy warehouse-' on Piei' No. -4 could be securely hi»J.i, At •'> p. m. an officer was again sen: to Fort s-an Juan d* Ulloa to inform the commandino: ojcei that there mu *t I'f.* .'>0 ?ing 5i military movement i:i tile f'srl during the night and that no c*ne would he allowed to leave the fort. The connv.anding officer agreed to thi? arranir*‘nient and promised to renuiin. >ieutral. .\ M.'xi:u'! officer from :ho I'avnl -shili-jn in Ulloa came on l-oavd the I’rairie atiout 5) p. m. He had -ervfd in the Spanish Navy and v«.i- o:i board the Don Juan de Austri;' nt tl.e Battle of ManiUi. He requested in the name of the commandant that aijoiit three hundred navy yard work men and sailors be :i!lowcd to lcav.‘ the station and Join the forces under General Maa.«. The practical diiTirui'y of ailowinjf tnis v»'us pointed out to hi!u a!id h« v•i:^ told tv) inform the ('f>n\ni.i?!danl that the matter would I o taken iif\ :js soon as ordo;- was r.*- esta^'lisheti in the city. The ri'iiida wa'- iirueretl to sweep the OJivrance of tl\o harbor i!^-^ide the loealavator fo'- mines with win**^ ro- p«»ried leadiny, to Ull.na ar.d nefore the dr.’igging was completed the tfan Kranci>co ai’d Chester entered the harljor crjring the niirht. Investigatio i aiiil :iwo]'Iane t)b.sei valion.s subse- }UoniIy proved lliat there were no n'i-’es i:. the harbor. Al 7 p. m. the foli;wing ra(ii.> was sei'.t to :lai? o‘lii-or •’Will hold pier Nu. 4 for the nignt. nesiiltfiry street firing coiuinacs. Yo'i should i»e pi-epared ti h»nd infantry battalions and artillery immediately on arrival under cover of darkness. Captain Huse or myself will repair to board on your arrival ro advise you of the Situation.” “Fl.ETCHER.” Depultory firing continued until midnighi with occasional shots during the night. The dead and wounded were .ent on board the Prairie and the medical officers of the Carlos V. and the Exxes came aboard and offer ed their services which were grate fully 3».ccepted Reports were received that the en emy w'ere preparing to attack wilh artillery during then ight and the Utah and Florida anchored outside the breakwater were directed to be pre pared to use turret guns and search- light. if ordered. The Prairie kept searchlights trained on points along shore from which sniping had occur red di ring the day. At f' p. m. the San Francisco en tered the harbor and anchored 300 yards north of the Prairie. She im mediately landed her battalion of two seam:in companies which heponed to^ Bridage Commander on shore. The Chester entered the harbor at 12:05 a. m. April 22, and anchored off Sanidad Pier. Her battalion of sea> man and marines were landed immed^ lately. At 1 a. tn. censorship wab ei- tablished over th« cabl* station. Rear Admiral Badger with five battleships of his fleet came to an chor in' the outer harbor^ and with Mr. Huse, Chief of Staff, I repairetl on board the flagship at 2:45 a. m. After explaining the situation to the admivftl, he decided to land his forces and the seaman and marine batillions jf ihe Arkansas., New Hampshiiv, South Carolina, Michigan aind New Jersey, landed at 4 a. m., und^r cover of darkness and promptly moved to their assigned positions joining the orgaaii^ation on shore. THE FINAL ADVANCE. Early in the morning of the 22nd, effo. ts to. get -in communication with the authorities were renewed. By. 8 o’clock it w*,as definitely ascertained that the firing of the enemy was not utider organized control or acting un* der the direction of competent author ity and. the following instructions were issued: Brigade Comn.andei*, U. S. Naval Forces, Vera Cruz, Mexico^ Subject: R^adivancing and taking possesison of the city of Vera Cruz. I All efforts to get in touch with responsible authorities on shore have failed and eff«»i*ts have been friiit- less to have tho authorities stop fir ing. '2 I am v/ell informed that the reg ular roops hra’e withdrawn and the people now liring are irresponsible people under no control or authority. Tou will advance in your discre tion. and suppress this desultory fir ing. taking possession of the city and restore order respecting as much as po.sK.ibie the hotels and other places where foreigricrs ai'C lodged. 4 Y‘U are cautioned against the pr.ssible use by the enemy of machine gun.^ and artillery. (SigEiedi F, K. Fletcher. Ai. S:'»0 a. m. Rush signalled: “Advance l.-egun. P]eae shell mil itary P'>:^itior>s. (.Signed) Kush. . The marine force?^ advanced througii all street.-^ to the not'th of Avenida 1 ndependenclia where they were met with heavy rifie and n;a- chine-gun fije from houses, hotels, hospitals, church steeple.-^ and mili tary barrack.'i. They advanced slow* Iv—clearing hou?es and roots of the .snipers and eritering every house in every blin-k as they adv:>nced. The >canuiri t'orces advanced to the soutij airng the w;ilerfr»int. clearing and ]iroli=cting the left fiank of the marn'.cs as they ad\'anccd south. The advance of the seamen was opposed by a continuous and con‘eaIed rifie liro djificnlt to locate. It came prin cipally from Benito Juarez curalffl V' Pla/.a Con.^titntson, the ^aval Acail- eniy, :irtillcry l.arrricks and from the ro«.>fs an.d windows of houses in thi.s jieciion of the city along the W’accr- front. The second seaman regiment under (Captain Anderson, U. S. Navy, was marcheil toward the waterfront and in front of the New Market, Naval School and artillery barracks. In cros.iing the open ground between the Naval School and the Benito Jua rez lighthouse, about 550 yards in width, they were met by a heavy rifle one-pounder and machine gun fire from the Naval School building. This situation looked critical. The Chester, Prairie and San Francisco simultaneously opened fire with 3-in, 4-in and 5-in batteries against the sec ond story of Nava! School building. In a short time the upper story was riddled by 40 shots and the fire si lenced. Our forces advanced steadily through the city, enter houses from which they were being fired upon and disarming the occupants. The Ches ter from a fav^orable position com manding the southern part of the city, shelled the enemy out cf houses along the waterfront, old Fort Santi ago and from the vicinity of the mil itary barracks. By 11 a. m. our forces were in complete possession of all parts of the city and fighting had practically ceased. The i*oUowing signal was sent to the cruisers, Chester, jPraarie, San Franciso and to Brigade Headq'jart- ers on shore: '*The Division Contmander desires to express his appreciation and admi ration ,for the splendid and eifteient work of the naval brigade in.the cap ture of the city of Vera Cruz and the efficient support given them by the cruisers in the harbor reflect a great credit on the^accuracy of fire of their gun nVj-rs. (Signed) Fletcher/’ The Atlantic fieet under command of Rear Admiral Badger approached the harbor of Vera Truz on the night of the 21st at full speed all ready to land and came to anchor In the ouUr harbor several hours ahead of the expected time. I am not, to commend my superioJ* ofticti', biit I think It only proper allowed to say In this report that Rear Admnai Badger during the naval operations on^ shore at Vera Cruz afforded me the most prompt and willing asristance, and my slight est request or lecommendation or call for aid was in all cases met with im mediate compliance, and it is a great pleasure for me to vecord the thor oughly fine and generous spirit that was shown by him and his staff in their heary support of the work on WORK OF CKIUSERS PRAIRIE CHESTER AND SAN FRANCISCO. The Prairie remained moored in the inner harbor with steam up in a po sition to cover the landing of troops and control the waterfront in vinic- ity of the Consulate between Pier No. 4 and Sanitary Pier at the light house. During the afternoon of the 21st the Prairie had occasion to si lence the firing coming from the Na val .Academy, the Market building nearby, from a barge alongside the custom house wharf, and from a small frame house near Sanitary Pier. This was done by a few well-aimed shots frona the ->-snch guns and a Colt’s automatic which riddled the frame .structure. At o p. ni. tho San Franciswas dire^:tei by radio to enter the n* er harbor and was warned agains; rifto fire from the breaVwutcr at the en ta’ice a?Ht alongshore, i'he e:^r;o in at H p. n». without pilot or fhe as sistance of navigytional liglils, an* chored near the Prairie and shifted berth »o the moorings assigncni. re ceiving a signal. “Well Done.” Tho Chester arrived fioni Ta.j{r.'i-:o 12 midnight the 21st. She ent i h: harbor vith all lights .creent»d and cleared tor action, with marines sla- tiotied along ihe (U?ck for title }.re. She prompjiy look up luoorii.g^ in assigfictl po.sitions off Sanitar/ T «er anl was ingmilU d,‘"Well Dcne.'‘ Botli commandi:g officers reported Ofi hoard Prairie, received in.'^triicti^.' s a*' to li> posit ion i>t our force.s and {gen eral instruction?; relative to gun fire from their ships. It waw not d^yd to caiise any more -destructrion of property than was nece.^sary to pro tect uur men ashore, and buildings were Io be hred upon on’y when, h was ascejtained that they were being used by the Mexicans as defensive positions from which they dire* ted fire upon our troops. This plun v.as most extfectively and efficientiy tar ried o-it hy the commanding _rfi.:ers of all three ships and not. l;uildifig was tired into .innecessarily. The Chester wae. moored inshore nearest to the fighting and at day break rifle firing was directed from small tugs and barges near No. 3 breakwater. This was returned with rifle fire, but had to be silenced by a 3-inch gun. Later firing from a num ber of points in this section of the city was located and both 3-inch and 5-inch guns of the Chester had to be used to silence it. Soon after the finaj advance of the landing force into the city, which commenced about 8:30 a. m. on the 22nd, the Second Regiment consist ing of the battalions of the New Hampshire, South Carolina, Vermont and New Jersey, marched across the open space between the lighthouse and the Naval Academy passmg to the southward. When our men met with a heavy fire most of them drop ped on the ground, or against lower walls of the Naval School and in stantly the guns of the Chester, Prai rie and San Francisco opened fire. The firing was very accurate, directly over the heads of our men, and in a short space of time the whole sec-' ond of this building, about 500 ^t front was a wreck, not a shot missihsr its mark. The woi^ of t^ese^ tforas* vessels, Chester, Commatider Prairie Commander Stickney» Sam Franicisoo Commander Harrison, in supporting our troops on shore was most effective and is deserving spec ial praise. Iniative and clear judg ment was required on the part of the commanding officers and the results showed in a striking manner the ef ficiency of the ships under their com mands. * The (^hester being in the most forwaid position did most of the firing ftnd received a greater num- ber of hits. The San Francisco and Praitie were hit by rifie fire many times, over a hundred shots bit the Cheste’.. Two men oh the Chester and one oil the Prairie were wounded. The Espeiaiiia. in charge of Lieu tenant Flelt-Ker, lying between the Chester and Prairie was sthick 31 times and one man of the crew slight ly wodhded. All refugees were plac ed in a position safety and hone were injure." Spanish Police Would Protect Theo dore Ro(^relt. Madrid, .Tune 8.—-Theodore Roose velt arriA’ed at Madrid today to at tend the wedding of his son, Kermit Roosevelt, and Miss Belle Wyatt Wil lard. daughter of the American Am bassador to Spain. A small crowd gathered at the sta.- tion. Police in plain clothes were dis tributed about the depot as a result of the publication of several newspa per articles antagonistic to Colonel Roosevelt. The chief of police had feared the possibility of of unfriendly feelin? being riispiayed but none was ■«hown. The.>-o was a:i affectionate greeting between Colonel Roosevelt, his son Kermit and his daughter, Mrs. Nich olas Longwortl'.. Colonel ,T. E, Wil lard, the American Ambassador, and member!; of the embassy staff, and Senor Mendea, the Spanish under- Secretiiry of State, also were at the Station to m^et Coloi’el Roosevelt. He wa? drivp!! to the Ameriraiv err.- i>assy. King Alphon.'o traveled on the same train for some distance U'ith Colonel Roo.-=evc-lt. but as each was unaware of the prc-sen?:t of the other there %vas no meeting. The iCing will not be present at the wedding ceremony, but it is said he will probably meet Colonel Roosevelt on Wednesday, rolitica! Debate in the House Sat urday. Washington, June tl.—The House ran the gamut of political and govern mental controversy today in the ge:;- .eral (iebate (*n the surdry civil ap propriation bill. Rc*>resontative iioiidell. Republican, of W.vomiiifj, cliarged the Democrats S'ith e\travag;ince, declaring an ap parent reduction of some $30,000,000 in the hill was due to arbivrarv cut ting oiT of ap[n-opriations needed i=i the latter half of the- liext fiscal year. Representative Gillette, of Massa chusetts, attacked “political appoint ments" of the administration. In the course of the discussion Chairman Fitzgerald, of the Appro priation committee, read a iett«r from President Wilson relating to the Panama Commission. Republican leader Mann immediately called at tention to the house rule requiring the President and departments heads to address all official commanieations to the speaker. “These secret and personal conunnnications from the President and members of the cab inet to chairmen., of the committees of this house are one of the grossest abuses of the present conduct of the government," said Mr. Mann. Representative Rainey, of Illinois, spent more than an hour in an effort ,to show the House that importations of Argentine corn, on the free list in the Underwood tariff law, are not a menace to American corn producers. The truth the wise men sough Was spoken by a child; The alabaster i>ox was brought In trembling hands defiled. Not from my torch, the gleam. But from the stars above; Not from my heart life's cryst*! stream But from- ihe depth.^ of love. —Henry Van Dyke. Tfie office sKows the- msn.—Motto of Earl Eisinsditlei.
The Twice-A-Week Dispatch (Burlington, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
June 12, 1914, edition 1
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