THE BOYS OF ’98
*STORIES of*
*AMERICAN HISTORY*
*By James Otis*
1. When We Destroyed the Gaspee
2. Boston Boys of 1775
3. When Dewey Came to Manila
4. Off Santiago with Sampson
5. When Israel Putnam Served the King
6. The Signal Boys of ’75
(A Tale of the Siege of Boston)
7. Under the Liberty Tree
(A Story of the Boston Massacre)
8. The Boys of 1745
(The Capture of Louisburg)
9. An Island Refuge
(Casco Bay in 1676)
10. Neal the Miller
(A Son of Liberty)
11. Ezra Jordan’s Escape
(The Massacre at Fort Loyall)
*DANA ESTES & COMPANY*
*Publishers*
*Estes Press, Summer St., Boston*
[Illustration: THE CHARGE AT EL CANEY.]
THE BOYS OF ’98
BY
JAMES OTIS
AUTHOR OF
“TOBY TYLER,” “JENNY WREN’S BOARDING HOUSE,”
“THE BOYS OF FORT SCHUYLER,” ETC.
_Illustrated by_
J. STEEPLE DAVIS
FRANK T. MERRILL
_And with Reproductions of Photographs_
_ELEVENTH THOUSAND_
BOSTON
DANA ESTES & COMPANY
PUBLISHERS
_Copyright, 1898_
BY DANA ESTES & COMPANY
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER PAGE
I. THE BATTLE-SHIP MAINE 1
II. THE PRELIMINARIES 19
III. A DECLARATION OF WAR 38
IV. THE BATTLE OF MANILA BAY 64
V. NEWS OF THE DAY 92
VI. CARDENAS AND SAN JUAN 117
VII. FROM ALL QUARTERS 130
VIII. HOBSON AND THE MERRIMAC 149
IX. BY WIRE 171
X. SANTIAGO DE CUBA 194
XI. EL CANEY AND SAN JUAN HEIGHTS 224
XII. THE SPANISH FLEET 254
XIII. THE SURRENDER OF SANTIAGO 290
XIV. MINOR EVENTS 302
XV. THE PORTO RICAN CAMPAIGN 320
XVI. THE FALL OF MANILA 335
XVII. PEACE 345
APPENDIX A—THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 355
APPENDIX B—WAR-SHIPS AND SIGNALS 370
APPENDIX C—SANTIAGO DE CUBA 379
APPENDIX D—PORTO RICO 383
APPENDIX E—THE BAY OF GUANTANAMO 386
ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
THE CHARGE AT EL CANEY _Frontispiece_
U. S. S. MAINE 7
CAPTAIN C. D. SIGSBEE 12
EX-MINISTER DE LOME 20
U. S. S. MONTGOMERY 24
MAJOR-GENERAL FITZHUGH LEE 30
U. S. S. COLUMBIA 38
CAPTAIN-GENERAL BLANCO 44
PREMIER SAGASTA 49
PRESIDENT WILLIAM MCKINLEY 55
U. S. S. PURITAN 58
ADMIRAL GEORGE DEWEY 64
U. S. S. OLYMPIA 69
U. S. S. BALTIMORE 72
BATTLE OF MANILA BAY 75
U. S. S. BOSTON 77
U. S. S. CONCORD 82
U. S. S. TERROR 99
JOHN D. LONG, SECRETARY OF NAVY 107
U. S. S. CHICAGO 117
THE TRAGEDY OF THE WINSLOW 119
U. S. S. AMPHITRITE 123
THE BOMBARDMENT OF SAN JUAN, PORTO RICO 127
U. S. S. MIANTONOMAH 130
ADMIRAL SCHLEY 135
U. S. S. MONTEREY 144
U. S. S. MASSACHUSETTS 151
LIEUTENANT HOBSON 156
U. S. S. NEW YORK 161
HOBSON AND HIS MEN ON THE RAFT 166
ADMIRAL CERVERA 169
QUEEN REGENT, MARIA CHRISTINA OF SPAIN 171
GENERAL GARCIA 181
ADMIRAL CAMARA 186
GENERAL AUGUSTI 192
U. S. S. MARBLEHEAD 201
U. S. S. VESUVIUS 207
U. S. S. TEXAS 215
COLONEL THEODORE ROOSEVELT 218
MAJOR-GENERAL SHAFTER 224
THE ATTACK ON SAN JUAN HILL 229
VICE-PRESIDENT HOBART 234
U. S. S. NEWARK 239
ADMIRAL W. T. SAMPSON 243
GENERAL WEYLER 254
CAPTAIN R. D. EVANS 256
U. S. S. IOWA 262
THE DESTRUCTION OF CERVERA’S FLEET 266
U. S. S. INDIANA 269
U. S. S. OREGON 275
U. S. S. BROOKLYN 282
MAJOR-GENERAL JOSEPH WHEELER 292
KING ALPHONSO XIII. OF SPAIN 300
GENERAL GOMEZ 311
U. S. S. NEW ORLEANS 314
U. S. S. SAN FRANCISCO 318
MAJOR-GENERAL MILES 320
MAJOR-GENERAL BROOKE 327
GENERAL BROOKE RECEIVING THE NEWS OF THE 333
PROTOCOL
GENERAL RUSSELL A. ALGER, SECRETARY OF WAR 334
MAJOR-GENERAL WESLEY MERRITT 344
DON CARLOS 349
THE BOYS OF ’98.
CHAPTER I.
THE BATTLE-SHIP MAINE.
At or about eleven o’clock on the morning of January 25th the United
States battle-ship _Maine_ steamed through the narrow channel which gives
entrance to the inner harbour of Havana, and came to anchor at Buoy No. 4,
in obedience to orders from the captain of the port, in from five and
one-half to six fathoms of water. She swung at her cables within five
hundred yards of the arsenal, and about two hundred yards distant from the
floating dock.
Very shortly afterward the rapid-firing guns on her bow roared out a
salute as the Spanish colours were run up to the mizzenmast-head, and this
thunderous announcement of friendliness was first answered by Morro
Castle, followed a few moments later by the Spanish cruiser _Alphonso
XII._ and a German school-ship.
The reverberations had hardly ceased before the captain of the port and an
officer from the Spanish war-vessel, each in his gaily decked launch, came
alongside the battle-ship in accordance with the rules of naval etiquette.
Lieut. John J. Blandin, officer of the deck, received the visitors at the
head of the gangway and escorted them to the captain’s cabin. A few
moments later came an officer from the German ship, and the courtesies of
welcoming the Americans were at an end.
The _Maine_ was an armoured, twin-screw battle-ship of the second class,
318 feet in length, 57 feet in breadth, with a draught of 21 feet, 6
inches; of 6,648 tons displacement, with engines of 9,293 indicated
horse-power, giving her a speed of 17.75 knots. She was built in the
Brooklyn navy yard, according to act of Congress, August 3, 1886. Work on
her was commenced October 11, 1888; she was launched November 18, 1890,
and put into commission September 17, 1895. She was built after the
designs of chief constructor T. D. Wilson. The delay in going into
commission is said to have been due to the difficulty in getting
satisfactory armour. The side armour was twelve inches thick; the two
steel barbettes were each of the same thickness, and the walls of the
turrets were eight inches thick.
In her main battery were four 10-inch and six 6-inch breech-loading
rifles; in the secondary battery seven 6-pounder and eight 1-pounder
rapid-fire guns and four Gatlings. Her crew was made up of 370 men, and
the following officers: Capt. C. D. Sigsbee, Lieut.-Commander R.
Wainwright, Lieut. G. F. W. Holman, Lieut. J. Hood, Lieut. C. W. Jungen,
Lieut. G. P. Blow, Lieut. F. W. Jenkins, Lieut. J. J. Blandin, Surgeon S.
G. Heneberger, Paymaster C. M. Ray, Chief Engineer C. P. Howell, Chaplain
J. P. Chidwick, Passed Assistant Engineer F. C. Bowers, Lieutenant of
Marines A. Catlin, Assistant Engineer J. R. Morris, Assistant Engineer
Darwin R. Merritt, Naval Cadet J. H. Holden, Naval Cadet W. T. Cluverius,
Naval Cadet R. Bronson, Naval Cadet P. Washington, Naval Cadet A.
Crenshaw, Naval Cadet J. T. Boyd, Boatswain F. E. Larkin, Gunner J. Hill,
Carpenter J. Helm, Paymaster’s Clerk B. McCarthy.
Why had the _Maine_ been sent to this port?
The official reason given by the Secretary of the Navy when he notified
the Spanish minister, Señor Dupuy de Lome, was that the visit of the
_Maine_ was simply intended as a friendly call, according to the
recognised custom of nations.
The United States minister at Madrid, General Woodford, also announced the
same in substance to the Spanish Minister of State.
It having been repeatedly declared by the government at Madrid that a
state of war did not exist in Cuba, and that the relations between the
United States and Spain were of the most friendly character, nothing less
could be done than accept the official construction put upon the visit.
The Spanish public, however, were not disposed to view the matter in the
same light, as may be seen by the following extracts from newspapers:
“If the government of the United States sends one war-ship to Cuba, a
thing it is no longer likely to do, Spain would act with energy and
without vacillation.”—_El Heraldo, January 16th._
“We see now the eagerness of the Yankees to seize Cuba.”—_The Imparcial,
January 23d._
The same paper, on the 27th, declared:
“If Havana people, exasperated at American impudence in sending the
_Maine_, do some rash, disagreeable thing, the civilised world will know
too well who is responsible. The American government must know that the
road it has taken leads to war between both nations.”
On January 25th Madrid newspapers made general comment upon the official
explanation of the _Maine’s_ visit to Havana, and agreed in expressing the
opinion that her visit is “inopportune and calculated to encourage the
insurgents.” It was announced that, “following Washington’s example,” the
Spanish government will “instruct Spanish war-ships to visit a few
American ports.”
The _Imparcial_ expresses fear that the despatch of the _Maine_ to Havana
will provoke a conflict, and adds:
“Europe cannot doubt America’s attitude towards Spain. But the Spanish
people, if necessary, will do their duty with honour.”
The _Epocha_ asks if the despatch of the _Maine_ to Havana is “intended as
a sop to the Jingoes,” and adds:
“We cannot suppose the American government so naïve or badly informed as
to imagine that the presence of American war-vessels at Havana will be a
cause of satisfaction to Spain or an indication of friendship.”
The people of the United States generally believed that the battle-ship
had been sent to Cuba because of the disturbances existing in the city of
Havana, which seemingly threatened the safety of Americans there.
On the morning of January 12th what is termed the “anti-liberal outbreak”
occurred in the city of Havana.
Officers of the regular and volunteer forces headed the ultra-Spanish
element in an attack upon the leading liberal newspaper offices, because,
as alleged, of Captain-General Blanco’s refusal to authorise the
suppression of the liberal press. It was evidently a riotous protest
against Spain’s policy of granting autonomy to the Cubans.
The mob, gathered in such numbers as to be for the time being most
formidable, indulged in open threats against Americans, and it was
believed by the public generally that American interests, and the safety
of citizens of the United States in Havana, demanded the protection of a
war-vessel.
The people of Havana received the big fighting ship impassively. Soldiers,
sailors, and civilians gathered at the water-front as spectators, but no
word, either of threat or friendly greeting, was heard.
In the city the American residents experienced a certain sense of relief
because now a safe refuge was provided in case of more serious rioting.
That the officers and crew of the _Maine_ were apprehensive regarding
their situation there can be little doubt. During the first week after the
arrival of the battle-ship several of the sailors wrote to friends or
relatives expressing fears as to what might be the result of the visit,
and on the tenth of February one of the lieutenants is reported as having
stated:
“If we don’t get away from here soon there will be trouble.”
The customary ceremonial visits on shore were made by the commander of the
ship and his staff, and, so far as concerned the officials of the city,
the Americans were seemingly welcome visitors.
The more radical of the citizens were not so apparently content with
seeing the _Maine_ in their harbour. Within a week after the arrival of
the ship incendiary circulars were distributed in the streets, on the
railway cars, and in many other public places, calling upon all Spaniards
to avenge the “insult” of the battle-ship’s visit.
A translation of one such circular serves as a specimen of all:
“Spaniards: Long live Spain and honour.
[Illustration: U. S. S. MAINE.]
“What are ye doing that ye allow yourselves to be insulted in this way?
“Do you not see what they have done to us in withdrawing our brave and
beloved Weyler, who at this very time would have finished with this
unworthy rebellious rabble, who are trampling on our flag and our honour?
“Autonomy is imposed on us so as to thrust us to one side and to give
posts of honour and authority to those who initiated this rebellion, these
ill-born autonomists, ungrateful sons of our beloved country.
“And, finally, these Yankee hogs who meddle in our affairs humiliate us to
the last degree, and for still greater taunt order to us one of the ships
of war of their rotten squadron, after insulting us in their newspapers
and driving us from our homes.
“Spaniards, the moment of action has arrived. Sleep not. Let us show these
vile traitors that we have not yet lost shame and that we know how to
protect ourselves with energy befitting a nation worthy and strong as our
Spain is and always will be.
“Death to Americans. Death to autonomy.
“Long live Spain!
“Long live Weyler!”
At eight o’clock on the evening of February 15th all the magazines aboard
the battle-ship were closed, and the keys delivered to her commander
according to the rules of the service.
An hour and a half later Lieut. John J. Blandin was on watch as officer of
the deck; Captain Sigsbee sat in his cabin writing letters; on the
starboard side of the ship, made fast to the boom, was the steam cutter,
with her crew on board waiting to make the regular ten o’clock trip to the
shore to bring off such of the officers or crew as were on leave of
absence.
The night was unusually dark; great banks of thick clouds hung over the
city and harbour; the ripple of the waves against the hulls of the vessels
at anchor, and the subdued hum of voices, alone broke the silence. The
lights here and there, together with the dark tracery of spar and cordage
against the sky, was all that betokened the presence of war-ship or
peaceful merchantman.
Suddenly, and when the silence was most profound, the watch on board the
steamer _City of Washington_, and some sailors ashore, saw what appeared
to be a sheet of fire flash up in the water directly beneath the _Maine_,
and even as the blinding glare was in their eyes came a mighty, confused
rumble as of grinding and rending, followed an instant later by a roar as
if a volcano had sprung into activity beneath the waves of the harbour.
Then was flung high in the air what might be likened to a shaft of fire
filled with fragments of iron, wood, and human flesh, rising higher and
higher until its force was spent, when it fell outwardly as falls a column
of water broken by the wind.
The earth literally trembled; the air suddenly became heavy with stifling
smoke. Electric lights on shore were extinguished; the tinkling of
breaking glass could be heard everywhere in that portion of the city
nearest the harbour.
When the shower of fragments and of fire ceased to fall a dense blackness
enshrouded the harbour, from the midst of which could be heard cries of
agony, appeals for help, and the shouts of those who, even while
struggling to save their own lives, would cheer their comrades.
After this, and no man could have said how many seconds passed while the
confusing, bewildering blackness lay heavy over that scene of death and
destruction, long tongues of flame burst up from the torn and splintered
decks of the doomed battle-ship, a signal of distress, as well as a beacon
for those who would succour the dying.
Captain Sigsbee, recovering in the briefest space of time from the
bewilderment of the shock, ran out of the cabin toward the deck, groping
his way as best he might in the darkness through the long passage until he
came upon the marine orderly, William Anthony, who was at his post of duty
near the captain’s quarters.
It was a moment full of horror all the more intense because unknown, but
the soldier, mindful even then of his duty, saluting, said in the tone of
one who makes an ordinary report:
“Sir, I have to inform you that the ship has been blown up, and is
sinking.”
“Follow me,” the captain replied, acknowledging his subordinate’s salute,
and the two pressed forward through the blackness and suffocating vapour.
Lieutenant Blandin, officer of the deck, was sitting on the starboard side
of the quarter-deck when the terrible upheaval began, and was knocked down
by a piece of cement hurled from the lowermost portion of the ship’s
frame, perhaps; but, leaping quickly to his feet, he ran to the poop that
he might be at his proper station when the supreme moment came.
Lieut. Friend W. Jenkins was in the junior officers’ mess-room when the
first of a battle-ship’s death-throes was felt, and as soon as possible
made his way toward the deck, encouraging some of the bewildered marines
to make a brave fight for life; but he never joined his comrades.
Assistant Engineer Darwin R. Merritt and Naval Cadet Boyd together ran
toward the hatch, but only to find the ladder gone. Boyd climbed through,
and then did his best to aid Merritt; but his efforts were vain, and the
engineer went down with his ship.
It seemed as if only the merest fraction of time elapsed before the
uninjured survivors were gathered on the poop-deck. Forward of them, where
a moment previous had been the main-deck, was a huge mass looming up in
the darkness like some threatening promontory.
On the starboard quarter hung the gig, and opposite her, on the port side,
was the barge.
During the first two or three seconds only muffled, gurgling, choking
exclamations were heard indistinctly; and then, when the terrible
vibrations of the air ceased, cries for help went up from every quarter.
Lieutenant Blandin says, in describing those few but terrible moments:
“Captain Sigsbee ordered that the gig and the launch be lowered, and the
officers and men, who by this time had assembled, got the boats out and
rescued a number in the water.
“Captain Sigsbee ordered Lieut.-Commander Wainwright forward to see the
extent of the damage, and if anything could be done to rescue those
forward, or to extinguish the flames which followed close upon the
explosion and burned fiercely as long as there were any combustibles above
water to feed them.
“Lieut.-Commander Wainwright on his return reported the total and awful
character of the calamity, and Captain Sigsbee gave the last sad order,
‘Abandon ship,’ to men overwhelmed with grief indeed, but calm and
apparently unexcited.”
The quiet, yet at the same time sharp, words of command from the captain
aroused his officers from the stupefaction of horror which had begun to
creep over them, and this handful of men, who even then were standing face
to face with death, set about aiding their less fortunate companions.
As soon as they could be manned, boats put off from the vessels in the
harbour, and the work of rescue was continued until all the torn and
mangled bodies in which life yet remained had been taken from the water.
Capt. H. H. Woods, of the British steamer _Thurston_, was among the first
in this labour of mercy, and concerning it he says:
“My vessel was within half a mile of the _Maine_, and my small boat was
the first to gain the wreck. It is beyond my power to describe the
explosion. It was awful. It paralysed the intellect for a few moments. The
cries that came over the water awakened us to a realisation that some
great tragedy had occurred.
“I made all haste to the wreck. There were very few men in the water. All
told, I do not believe there were thirty. We picked up some of them and
passed them on to other vessels, and then continued our work of rescue.
“The sight was appalling. Dismembered legs and trunks of bodies were
floating about, together with pieces of clothing, boxes of meats, and all
sorts of wreckage. Now and then the agonised cry of some poor suffering
fellow could be heard above the tumult.
“One grand figure stood out in all the terrible scene. That was Captain
Sigsbee. Every American has reason to be proud of that officer. He seemed
to have realised in an instant all that happened. Not for a moment did he
show evidence of excitement. He alone was cool. Discipline? Why, man, the
discipline was there as strong as ever, despite the fact that all around
was death and disaster.”
[Illustration: CAPTAIN SIGSBEE.]
The commander of the _Maine_ was the last to leave the wreck, and then all
that was left of the mighty ship was beginning to settle in the slime and
putrefaction which covers the bottom of Havana harbour.
Calmly, with the same observance of etiquette as if they had been
assisting at some social function, the officers took their respective
places in the boats, and, amid a silence born of deepest grief, rowed a
short distance from the rent and riven mass so lately their post of duty.
A gentleman from Chicago, a guest at the Grand Hotel, was seated in front
of the building when the explosion occurred.
“It was followed by another and a much louder one,” he said. “We thought
the whole city had been blown to pieces. Some said the insurgents were
entering Havana. Others cried out that Morro Castle was blown up.
“On the Prado is a large cab-stand. One minute after the explosion was
heard the cabmen cracked their whips and went rattling over the
cobblestones like crazy men. The fire department turned out, and bodies of
cavalry and infantry rushed through the streets. There was no sleep in
Havana that night.”
Soon after the disaster Admiral Manterola and General Solano put off to
the wreck, and offered their services to Captain Sigsbee.
There were many wonderful escapes from death. One of the ward-room cooks
was thrown outboard into the water.
A Japanese sailor was blown into the air, and, falling in the sea, was
picked up alive.
One seaman was sleeping in a yawl hanging at the davits. The boat was
crushed like an egg-shell; but the sailor fell overboard and was picked up
unhurt.
Three men were doing punishment watch on the port quarter-deck, and thus
probably escaped death.
One sailor swam about until help came, although both his legs were broken.
Another had the bones of his ankle crushed, and yet managed to keep
afloat.
Two hours or more passed before the unsubmerged, wooden portion of the
wreck had been consumed by the flames, and at 11.30 P. M. the smoke-stacks
of the ill-fated ship fell.
On board the steamer _City of Washington_, two boats were literally
riddled by fragments of the _Maine_ which fell after the explosion, and
among them was an iron truss which, crashing through the pantry,
demolished the tableware.
When morning came the wreck was the central figure of an otherwise bright
picture, sad as it was terrible. The huge mass of flame-charred débris
forward looked as if it had been thrown up from a subterranean storehouse
of fused cement, steel, wood, and iron.
Further aft, one military mast protruded at a slight angle from the
perpendicular, while the poop afforded a resting-place for the workmen or
divers.
Of the predominant white which distinguishes our war-vessels in time of
peace, not a vestige remained. In its place was the blackness of
desolating death, marking the spot where two hundred and sixty-six brave
men had gone over into the Beyond.
The total loss to the government as a result of the disaster was
officially pronounced to be $4,689,261.31. This embraced the cost of hull,
machinery, equipment, armour, gun protection and armament, both in main
and secondary batteries. It included the cost of ammunition, shells,
current supplies, coal, and, in short, the entire outfit.
The pet of the _Maine’s_ crew, a big cat, was found next morning, perched
on a fragment of a truss which yet remained above the water, and near her,
as if seeking companionship, was the captain’s dog, Peggy.
Consul-General Lee cabled from Havana on the afternoon of the sixteenth:
“Profound sorrow is expressed by the government and municipal authorities,
consuls of foreign nations, organised bodies of all sorts, and citizens
generally.
“Flags are at half-mast on the governor-general’s palace, on shipping in
the harbour, and in the city.
“Business is suspended, and the theatres are closed.”
On the afternoon of the seventeenth the bodies which had been found up to
that time were buried in Havana with military honours, two companies of
Spanish sailors from the cruiser _Alphonso XII._ acting as escort.
A board of inquiry, composed of Capt. W. T. Sampson of the U. S. S. _Iowa_
as presiding officer, Commander Adolph Marix as judge advocate, Capt. F.
E. Chadwick, and Commander W. P. Potter, all of the _New York_, was
convened, and on March 28th President McKinley sent a message to Congress,
the conclusion of which was as follows:
“The appalling calamity fell upon the people of our country with crushing
force, and for a brief time an intense excitement prevailed, which in a
community less just and self-controlled than ours might have led to hasty
acts of blind resentment.
“This spirit, however, soon gave way to calmer processes of reason, and to
the resolve to investigate the facts and await material proof before
forming a judgment as to the cause, the responsibility, and, if the facts
warranted, the remedy due. This course necessarily recommended itself from
the outset to the executive, for only in the light of a dispassionately
ascertained certainty will it determine the nature and measure of its full
duty in the matter.
“The usual procedure was followed, as in all cases of casualty or disaster
to national vessels of any maritime state.
“A naval court of inquiry was at once organised, composed of officers well
qualified by rank and practical experience to discharge the onerous duty
imposed upon them.
“Aided by a strong force of wreckers and divers, the court proceeded to
make a thorough investigation on the spot, employing every available means
for impartial and exact determination of the causes of the explosion. Its
operations have been conducted with the utmost deliberation and judgment,
and, while independently pursued, no source of information was neglected,
and the fullest opportunity was allowed for a simultaneous investigation
by the Spanish authorities.
“The finding of the court of inquiry was reached, after twenty-three days
of continuous labour, on the twenty-first of March instant, and, having
been approved on the twenty-second by the commander-in-chief of the United
States naval force in the North Atlantic station, was transmitted to the
executive.
“It is herewith laid before the Congress, together with the voluminous
testimony taken before the court.
“The conclusions of the court are: That the loss of the _Maine_ was not in
any respect due to fault or negligence on the part of any of the officers
or members of her crew.
“That the ship was destroyed by the explosion of a submarine mine, which
caused the partial explosion of two or more of her forward magazines; and
that no evidence has been obtainable fixing the responsibility for the
destruction of the _Maine_ upon any person or persons.
“I have directed that the finding of the court of inquiry and the views of
this government thereon be communicated to the government of her majesty,
the queen regent, and I do not permit myself to doubt that the sense of
justice of the Spanish nation will dictate a course of action suggested by
honour and the friendly relations of the two governments.
“It will be the duty of the executive to advise the Congress of the
result, and in the meantime deliberate consideration is invoked.”
It was the preface to a mustering of the boys of ’61 who had worn the blue
or the gray, this tragedy in the harbour of Havana, and, when the
government gave permission, the boys of ’98 came forward many and many a
thousand strong to emulate the deeds of their fathers—the boys of ’61—who,
although the hand of Time had been laid heavily upon them, panted to
participate in the punishment of those who were responsible for the
slaughter of American sailors within the shadow of Morro Castle.