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In the rear of these came the two transports, the Nanshan and Zafiro, convoyed by the despatch steamer McCulloch. The commodore had decided to enter by the Boca Grande channel, and the fleet kept well out from Talago Point until the great light of Corregidor came into view.
In addition to the vessels of the American fleet, as set down at the conclusion of this chapter, were two transports, the steamers Nanshan and Zafiro, which had come into the port of Hongkong laden with coal shortly before Commodore Dewey’s departure, and had been purchased by him, together with their cargoes, in anticipation of the declaration of war.
Petrel Fourth-rate cruiser, 890 tons. Speed, 13.7 knots. Guns, four 6-inch, two 3-pounder rapid-fire, one 1-pounder, and four machine guns. Commander E.P. Wood. Concord Gunboat, 1,710 tons. Speed, 16.8 knots. Armor, 3/8-inch deck. Guns, main battery, six 6-inch rifles. Commander Asa Walker. Hugh McCulloch Revenue cutter, light battery of rapid-fire guns. Zafiro Auxiliary cruiser: supply vessel.
Each vessel had orders to keep 400 yards behind the preceding one, and as there were nine vessels, including the two transports and colliers Nanshan and Zafiro, in the American fleet, the line was nearly a mile and three-quarters long, and at the rate of steaming it was perhaps three-quarters of an hour from the time the Olympia came within range of the shore batteries until the two transports were safely inside the harbor.
The McCulloch had taken its position so that the fleet, in delivering this first broadside, passed between it and the enemy. The McCulloch and the Nanshan and Zafiro played in behind the heavy line like the backs of a football team. Having delivered the port broadside, the American fleet turned, heading toward the shore, and moved back toward the northeast, delivering the starboard broadside.
The signaling from the flagship and the hurried movement on every deck showed that the fleet was about to attack. In the meantime the McCulloch received her orders. She was to lie well outside, that is, to the west of the fighting line, and protect the two cargo ships, Nanshan and Zafiro.
Meanwhile, according to arrangement, the moment the white flag was shown, General Merritt, who occupied the steamer Zafiro as temporary corps headquarters, sent General Whittier, with Flag Lieutenant Brumby, ashore to meet the captain general and discuss first a plan of capitulation.
The U. S. S. McCulloch, revenue cutter, 1,500 tons, speed, fourteen knots. Battery: four 4-inch guns. The Nanshan and Zafiro, supply ships. The Reina Maria Christina, 3,520 tons, speed, seventeen knots. Battery: six 6.2-inch hontoria guns, two 2.7-inch and three 2.2-inch rapid-fire rifles, six 1.4-inch, and two machine guns. The Castilla, 3,342 tons.
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