Toward the end of the fight, which without interruption lasted for
five long hours, the Japanese did not even consider the four
smaller ships of the enemy, but, sailing around the two ironclads in
a circle, fired only at them. The Japanese themselves testified that
these two ships never lost their
formation, and that when her sister ironclad was closely pressed
the _Chen Yuen_, by her movements and gun practice, protected
the _Ting Yuen_, and, in fact, while she could not prevent the
heavy loss the fleet encountered, preserved it from annihilation.
During the fight this ship was almost continuously on fire, and was
struck by every kind of projectile, from the thirteen-inch Canet
shells to a rifle bullet, four hundred times. McGiffin himself was
so badly wounded, so beaten about by concussions, so burned, and
so bruised by steel splinters, that his health and eyesight were
forever wrecked. But he brought the _Chen Yuen_ safely into Port
Arthur and the remnants of the fleet with her.
On account of his lack of health he resigned from the Chinese
service and returned to America. For two years he lived in New
York City, suffering in body without cessation the most exquisite
torture. During that time his letters to his family show only
tremendous courage. On the splintered, gaping deck of the _Chen
Yuen_, with the fires below it, and the shells bursting upon it, he
had shown to his Chinese crew the courage of the white man who
knew he was responsible for them and for the honor of their
country.
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