possible and
fireproofing what remains, was shown by the destruction of the Spanish
men-of-war. Fire mains should be kept below the protective deck. The
battle proved that ships moving rapidly can attack other vessels also
under way and inflict serious injury.

"The excellent gunnery of the American sailors is entirely due to the
practice which they had undergone, but the target fired at was
stationary, while their ship was moving. The conditions were different
in action. The Spanish were under way, yet the American gunners fired as
well as if they were merely practising."

The New York Herald speaks as follows of our naval victories:

"Ramming, that expedient of despair, was not attempted. Torpedoing,
despite the opportunities afforded, was estopped by the quick service of
rapid-fire guns on board an inferior but superbly handled construction,
and that final effort, a 'charge through,' was never allowed to
challenge the combined energies of our fleet. If audacity could have
merited success, these Spaniards deserved much, but here the marrow of
the war proverb was not with them.

"Pitted against similar ships, even in superior numbers, some of the
fleeing cruisers might have slipped seaward in hot haste for the
breaking of the Havana blockade. Failing that, all might have
concentrated an assault upon certain selected vessels and found
consolation for final defeat in the foundering hulls of their enemy. But
audacity did not count, individual bravery went for naught; because,
while heavier constructions barred the way, and superior guns smashed
the pathways of escape, energized skill overcame untrained courage and
patient discipline crushed unorganized effort.

"The battleships not only fought the armored cruisers in a long, stern
chase down the shore, but destroying as they ran, finally forced them
blazing in their own wrecks upon a hostile coast. The torpedo boat
destroyers engaged single handed by the Gloucester succumbed so quickly
to inferior armament and speed that their value in a day attack, or,
indeed, their value at any time save as weapons of surprise, need no
longer be reckoned with. This will be a rude awakening to the zealots
who had seen in this weapon the downfall of the ship of the fighting
line, but it will be a heart-cheering confirmation to the loyal seamen
who in season and out have never ceased to proclaim that the integrity
of sea nations rests on battleships and the well-served guns of a
fle