A curious incident in this interval should be noted. Just as the firing began in this second phase, a full-rigged sailing ship was observed about four miles off to the southeast from the leading British ship. She is not identified in any of the reports of the action that I have seen, nor has any account appeared that I know of, of what those on board saw. But it must have been an astonishing experience for a peaceful trading sailing vessel, beating down quietly towards the Horn, to find herself suddenly in the middle of so grim a business as this. Those on board saw a thing at that time unprecedented in the history of the world. A sea battle in which ships as fast as the swiftest Atlantic liners were using an armament twice as powerful as that carried by any battleship that had ever been used in war before. The last moments of _Scharnhorst_ were curiously dramatic. Till now she had led _Gneisenau_ throughout the fight. Just before she sank she turned a half circle past _Gneisenau_ in the reverse direction, and before anybody in the British ships could guess whether this was an intentional manœuvre or purely involuntary, she turned over on her side, her bows plunged downwards, and after standing upright for a second or two with her screws whirring high in the air, vanished from sight. It is probable that coincident with one shot inflicting such injuries that she was flooded, another had smashed up her steering gear, and jammed her helm hard a-port. “The _Gneisenau_ passed on the far side of her late flagship, and continued a determined but ineffectual effort to fight the two battle cruisers. “At 5:8 P.M. the forward funnel was knocked over and remained resting against the second funnel. She was evidently in serious straits, and her fire slackened very much. “At 5:15 P.M. one of the _Gneisenau’s_ shells struck the _Invincible_; this was her last effective effort. “At 5:30 P.M. she turned towards the flagship with a heavy list to starboard, and appeared stopped, with steam pouring from her escape pipes, and smoke from shell and fires rising everywhere. About this time I ordered the signal ‘Cease fire,’ but before it was hoisted the _Gneisenau_ opened fire again, and continued to fire from time to time with a single gun. “At 5:40 P.M. the three ships closed in on the _Gneisenau_, and, at this time, the flag flying at her fore truck was apparently hauled down, but the flag at the peak continued flying. “At 5:50 P.M. ‘Cease fire’ was made. “At 6 P.M. the _Gneisenau_ heeled over very suddenly, showing the men gathered on her decks and then walking on her side as she lay for a minute on her beam ends before sinking.”