As the conning-tower
came into view the _Cassin's_ gunners delivered four shots, two of which
fell so close to the U-boat that she submerged and was not seen again.
In the meantime the crew, with splendid team-work, set about repairing
the damage and attending to the five men who were wounded, none
seriously.
After a while British war-ships came up and the _Cassin_ returned to
port. Admiral Sims mentioned Commander Vernon and his officers in
despatches to Secretary Daniels, and more than a score of the seamen
were cited for coolness and efficiency.
Our second war-ship definitely known to be sunk by the German submarines
was the destroyer _Jacob Jones_, which was struck at 4.12 o'clock on the
afternoon of December 6, last. The destroyer was on patrol, and nothing
was known of the proximity of the submarine until the torpedo hit the
vessel. The _Jacob Jones_, which was commanded by Lieutenant-Commander
David Worth Bagley, a brother-in-law of Secretary Daniels and brother of
Ensign Worth Bagley, who was killed on the torpedo-boat _Winslow_ in the
fight at Cardenas in the Spanish-American War, went down in seventeen
minutes after she was struck. Gunner Harry R. Hood was killed by the
explosion, but the remainder of the company got safely overside in rafts
and boats. The submarine appeared after the sinking and took one of the
survivors aboard as a prisoner. Lieutenant-Commander Bagley, with five
others, landed in a small boat on the Scilly Islands while other
survivors reached shore in various ways.
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