Part 3

May 13. Nothing doing and will wate untill we get in Port.

May 18. got into Barbadoes at 4 A.M. this morning and found lots of war talk going on; we are puting on coal Just now, expect to go out of hear to morrow morning erly. 8 P.M. up anchor once more after geting 250 tons of coal on and ready for buisness. Guess the Spanish dont want any of this craft, it seems we will get there without firering a shot.

May 24. arived at Jupiter light house after making a flank movement to the northard and not a ship to be seen.

May 25. up anchor once more for Key West, got there on the 26th; of corse the Capt dident know how things stud so he had to go slow. About 4.30 A.M. the man on the life Bouy gave the alarm, saying there was a small dark objict coming this way; the Officer of the Deck roused up the Capt and the next thing we knew Gen Quarters sounded. What should it be But the tug with our Pilot on board for us, the "Hudson" was the name of the tug.

May 27. still puting on coal, expect to go down to Cuba with the New York.

June 1. I herd the first shot in this war to day, Santiago de Cuba and with the flying squadron.

June 2. we had a wild goose chase.

June 3. nothing doing but laying off hear and watching what looks like to me a big hole in the grond. same thing the 4th and 5th.

June 6. Stand from under, we Bombard the forts and water Baterys to day for 4 hours but dont know how much damage we don.

June 7. staying out hear and doing nothing.

June 8. same thing.

June 9. " "

June 10. we went down to Guantanamo Bay to put some coal on and landed 40 Marines in the Morning. we wer the first to put foot on Cuban soil in this war. The 9th the Marblehead and Dolphin Bombarded the place and made them look like Munkys; they ran away and left every thing behind them.

June 11. came back to Santiago on the 10th. and laying off hear as befor.

June 12. Same old thing. Expecting Troops every day.

June 13. Dito.

June 14. the New Orleans was ordered to run in close to the shore and do som Bombarding By her self Just to break the Monotony and to let us believe we wer at war. we don a good Job all right, she silenced the east Battry and the west one too, and made them show up a water Battry which we did not know any thing about. havent herd how many got kild or wounded on the other side. But I know they never hert any one on this side. Got some news from Guantanamo to day. Col. Huntington and his Marines of 800 Had a Brush with the Spanish, it is reported that 6 marines wer kild and Doctor Gibbs was shot through the head by accident. there is at Guantanamo Bay the Texas, Marblehead and Porter and 800 Marines; they expect to have the cable work soon and the Harbor well under Hand. I forgot to say the Vesuvius landed 3 shots of dinomite in the Harbor on the night of the 13th at Santiago and did great damage to the Shore Batterys; the latest report is that the Cubans are flocking in to Huntingtons camp.

June 15. coaling ship and still retain our posision on the Blockade.

June 16. At 3.30 A.M. this morning all hands was called and the coffie was passed around with som hardtack and cand Beef at 4 A.M. Turn to, some 15 or 20 Minutes later Gen Quarters sounded. Then we went at it to try and see if we could not knock thoes Batterys off the earth. Bombarded untill 7.15 A.M. Nobody knows how much damage was don, except we silinced all the Batterys they had and made them show up a nother one inside of the harbor of which there seems to be lots of them. I will say right hear that if we take this place its going to be a hot old Job, and som of us will think we run up against a Hornets nest when we get in side. they have been talking of forsing the Chanell and Capt Clark signaled over to the flag ship and asked permishion to take the leed, and I am sure we will stay with him as long as the ship floats for we love him. The Vesuvius fired three more shots last night at about 12. dont know what damage was don But I know we are all tired of this fooling. if they would only send some soldiers down here from the regular army, say 6 Regiments of Infantry and 3 of Cavalry, I think, with what we could put up, that forse would more than be a match for them and take the place with all ease. The latest Bulitin of the day is that the Forses at Guantanamo have bin Joined by some Cubans and had a Brush with the Spanish, and the report is that 40 wer kild on the Spanish side and 17 taken prisoners of war, one Spanish Lut. 2 Corp and 14 Privates. On our side 3 Cubans Kild and 2 wounded, 3 Marines wounded and 17 overcome by the heat. But all recovered. Routed the Spanish and distroyed the water suply and Block House. The Dolphin held there posision from the water frount and the Texas sunk 2 small Gun boats.

June 17. come down to Guantanamo Bay this morning, put some 300 tons of coal on and throde some shells over in an old Fort and then puled out right away for Santiago.

June 20. Bully for the Soldiers, they are hear at last, "I thought they would com tomorrow," some of the papers say there is 20.000 of them, that is enough to eat the plase up for lunch. Well I hope we will soon crack this nut that is so hard to crack. I hear there is 15000 Spanish soldiers over hear.

June 22. the soldiers are landing all O.K. and doing well, and only a few horses and 2 men lost so far, so the Flag Ship says.

June 26. Started in this morning to see if we coulden knock down that Spanish old Morro or else knock somthing cruckit around it. Well we pelted away for an hour or more and the flag ship signaled over to the Iowa to close in and pump at the Smith Key Battry. The Iowa signaled Back that her forward Turet was out of order, so it fel to us, we went in to 700 yards of the shore Battry and did knock down the Spanish flag with an 8 inch shell and knocked over one of there Big Guns. I belive if the flag ship had not called us off Capt Clark would have went in along side of old Morro and give him a tutching up.

June 28. I am geting tired of trying to keep cases on this thing, there is nothing doing but laying around hear like a lot of sharks watching for a fish.

July 4. The fish has come out to see us. On the 3rd the Spanish fleet came out of the Harbor to fight and get a way if posable. (I would have put this down on the 3rd But I dident have time and was too tired that night so I put it off for today.) Well the Fleet came out and went to Davy Joneses locker. it was Just 9.25 A.M., first call had sounded on our ship for Quarters and we all had our best dudds on; we wer going to listen to the Articles of War this morning and to have chirch right affter, But we never did. all of a suden the Ordly on watch made a dive for the Cabin head first, and told the old man the Fleet was coming out of the Harbor. the old man jumpt up a standing. as soon as some of the men seen the ships there, they went to there Quarters with out any further delay. I was standing on the Quarter Deck waiting for the last call to go. I heard the news and looking around the affter Terets seen the first one. I thought she looked Biger than a Mountain. But then I thought affterwards we could cut her down to her natchral size. of corse it takes longer to tell about it than it taken us to get ready, for we wer allways ready, and all we had to do was to sound the Bells and stand By our Guns, they wer allways loaded so all we had to do was to turn on the fors draught and pull the triger.

By 9.27 the Oregon fired the first shot of the Battle of July 3rd. 1898 at the first ship that come out of the Harbor. I dont remember the ships as they come out, But we went in to meet them and passed them som good shots as they cep coming. about 7 or 9 minuts after they got started good, one of our 6 inch guns blew up one of the Torpedo Boats, struck her squar amidships, she sunk like a rock with all on board. and right hear is where I had to stop for a moment to admire one of there Guners. I do think he was one of the bravest men I ever had the pleasure to look upon. That man must have known he was going to a shure Deth, he stud on Deck and cep firing at us all the time, and the last time I seen him he was Just going up in the air. As the ships came out of the harbor they sircled to the right, or Westward, and Capt Clark knew they were trying to escape. they did not think the old Oregon was such a runer as she was a fighter, so we Just tailed on with them and giving them shot for shot. In about 20 minuts the first ship went on the Beach, plumb knocked out, and 15 minuts later the secon one went on the Beach, a short ways from the first. Then came the tug of war for we had to run to catch the Vizcaya and the Colon, but we catched them both. the Vizcaya was about 4000 yards ahead and the Colon was about 3 miles ahead, and the poor men in the fireroom was working like horses, and to cheer them up we passed the word down the ventlators how things was going on, and they passed the word back if we would cut them down they would get us to where we could do it. So we got in rainge of the Vizcaya and we sent her ashore with the secondary Battry and 6 inch guns, and then we settled down for a good chase for the Colon. I thought she was going to run a way from us. But she had to make a curv and we headed for a point that she had to come out at. We all think there is no man in the Navy like Capt Clark, he is a Brave man, he stud on the Forward 13 inch turet through the thickest of this fight and directed his ship to the final results.

Coming back to Santiago we waited untill we got to where the first ship went on the Beach and there fired the national salut. We have 3 Spanish prisoners on board and they thought we wer at it a gain, and it was all the sick Bay man could do as to quiet them. I hear there is over 1800 Prisoners and 650 kild and 800 wounded on the third. the three men on board tells the sickbayman that we run through there fleet coming around hear, for the next day they found a Pork Barrel ful of holes and had marked on the head U.S.S. Oregon. We all seem to think we could take care of our selves Just the same. it is Just 6.50 P.M. now and the men all say there is no flag flying on the Morro. But I can see Just as good as any and I can not see any either, But then I think we are out too far.

July 5. At about 11.45 the danger Signal was flashed by the lookout from the Massachusetts, she being the one to show her serchlight at the entrance of the Harbor for the night, the Spanish was trying to sink one of there old ships in the Chanell so as not to let us in. But Just 3 or 4 shots from the Massachusetts Big 13 inch Guns help them to do the Job, for she sunk befor they got to the Chanal. there is Spanish menowar and Torpedo boats strung all along the Beach for 60 miles.