The enemy’s vessels came out of the harbor between 9:35 and 10 am, the head of the column appearing around Oayo Smith at 9:31 and emerging from the channel five or six minutes later.  The positions of the vessels of my command off Santiago at that moment were as follows:  The flagship New York was four miles east of her blockading station and about seven miles from the harbor entrance.  She had started for Siboney, where I intended to land, accompanied by several of my staff, and go to the front to consult with General Shafter.  A discussion of the situation and a more definite understanding between us of the operations proposed had been rendered necessary by the unexpectedly strong resistance of the Spanish garrison of Santiago.  I had sent my chief of staff on shore the day before to arrange an interview with General Shafter, who had been suffering from heat prostration.  I made arrangements to go to his headquarters, and my flagship was in the position mentioned above when the Spanish squadron appeared in the channel.

The remaining vessels were in or near their usual blockading positions, distributed in a semi-circle about the harbor entrance, counting from the eastward to the westward in the following order:  The Indiana, about a mile and a half from shore; the Oregon—­the New York’s place between these two—­the Iowa, Texas and Brooklyn, the latter two miles from the shore west of Santiago.  The distance of the vessels from the harbor entrance was from two and one-half to four miles—­the latter being the limit of day—­blockading distance.  The length of the arc formed by the ships was about eight miles.

The Massachusetts had left at 4 A. M. for Guantanamo for coal.  Her station was between the Iowa and the Texas.  The auxiliaries Gloucester and Vixen lay close to the land and nearer the harbor entrance than the large vessels, the Gloucester to the eastward and the Vixen to the westward.  The torpedo boat Ericsson was in company with the flagship, and remained with her during the chase until ordered to discontinue, when she rendered very efficient service in rescuing prisoners from the burning Vizcaya.

The Spanish vessels came rapidly out of the harbor at a speed estimated at from eight to ten knots and in the following order:  Infanta Maria Teresa (flagship), Vizcaya, Cristobal Colon and the Almirante Oquendo.  The distance between these ships was about 800 yards, which means that from the time the first one became visible in the upper reach of the channel until the last one was out of the harbor an interval of only about twelve minutes elapsed.  Following the Oquendo at a distance of about 1,200 yards came the torpedo-boat destroyer Pluton, and after her the Furor.  The armored cruisers, as rapidly as they could bring their guns to bear, opened a vigorous fire upon the blockading vessels and emerged from the channel shrouded in the smoke from their guns.