THE PRELIMINARIES.
War between two nations does not begin suddenly. The respective
governments are exceedingly ceremonious before opening the “game of
death,” and it is not to be supposed that the United States commenced
hostilities immediately after the disaster to the _Maine_ in the harbour
of Havana.
To tell the story of the war which ensued, without first giving in regular
order the series of events which marked the preparations for hostilities,
would be much like relating an adventure without explaining why the hero
was brought into the situation.
It is admitted that, as a rule, details, and especially those of a
political nature, are dry reading; but once take into consideration the
fact that they all aid in giving a clearer idea of how one nation begins
hostilities with another, and much of the tediousness may be forgiven.
Just previous to the disaster to the _Maine_, during the last days of
January or the first of February, Señor Enrique Dupuy de Lome, the Spanish
minister at Washington, wrote a private letter to the editor of the Madrid
_Herald_, Señor Canalejas, who was his intimate friend, in which he made
some uncomplimentary remarks regarding the President of the United States,
and intimated that Spain was not sincere in certain commercial
negotiations which were then being carried on between the two countries.
By some means, not yet fully explained, certain Cubans got possession of
this letter, and caused it to be published in the newspapers. Señor de
Lome did not deny having written the objectionable matter; but claimed
that, since it was a private communication, it should not affect him
officially. The Secretary of State instructed General Woodford, our
minister at Madrid, to demand that the Spanish government immediately
recall Minister de Lome, and to state that, if he was not relieved from
duty within twenty-four hours, the President would issue to him his
passports, which is but another way of ordering a foreign minister out of
the country.
_February 9._ Señor de Lome made all haste to resign, and the resignation
was accepted by his government before—so it was claimed by the Spanish
authorities—President McKinley’s demand for the recall was received.
_February 15._ The de Lome incident was a political matter which caused
considerable diplomatic correspondence; but it was overshadowed when the
battle-ship _Maine_ was blown up in the harbour of Havana.
[Illustration: EX-MINISTER DE LOME.]
As has already been said, the United States government at once ordered a
court of inquiry to ascertain the cause of the disaster, and this,
together with the search for the bodies of the drowned crew, was
prosecuted with utmost vigour.
Very many of the people in the United States believed that Spanish
officials were chargeable with the terrible crime, while those who were
not disposed to make such exceedingly serious accusation insisted that the
Spanish government was responsible for the safety of the vessel,—that she
had been destroyed by outside agencies in a friendly harbour. In the
newspapers, on the streets, in all public places, the American people
spoke of the possibility of war, and the officials of the government set
to work as if, so it would seem, they also were confident there would be
an open rupture between the two nations.
_February 28._ In Congress, Representative Gibson of Tennessee introduced
a bill appropriating twenty million dollars “for the maintenance of
national honour and defence.” Representative Bromwell, of Ohio, introduced
a similar resolution, appropriating a like amount of money “to place the
naval strength of the country upon a proper footing for immediate
hostilities with any foreign power.” On the same day orders were issued to
the commandant at Fort Barrancas, Florida, directing him to send men to
man the guns at Santa Rosa Island, opposite Pensacola.
_February 28._ Señor Louis Polo y Bernabe, appointed minister in the place
of Señor de Lome, who resigned, sailed from Gibraltar.
By the end of February the work of preparing the vessels at the different
navy yards for sea was being pushed forward with the utmost rapidity, and
munitions of war were distributed hurriedly among the forts and
fortifications, as if the officials of the War Department believed that
hostilities might be begun at any moment.
Nor was it only within the borders of this country that such preparations
were making. A despatch from Shanghai to London reported that the United
States squadron, which included the cruisers _Olympia_, _Boston_,
_Raleigh_, _Concord_, and _Petrel_, were concentrating at Hongkong, with a
view of active operations against Manila, in the Philippine Islands, in
event of war.
At about the same time came news from Spain telling that the Spanish were
making ready for hostilities. An exceptionally large number of artisans
were at work preparing for sea battle-ships, cruisers, and torpedo-boat
destroyers. The cruisers _Oquendo_ and _Vizcaya_, with the torpedo-boat
destroyers _Furor_ and _Terror_, were already on their way to Cuba, where
were stationed the _Alphonso XII._, the _Infanta Isabel_, and the _Nueva
Espana_, together with twelve gunboats of about three hundred tons each,
and eighteen vessels of two hundred and fifty tons each.
The United States naval authorities decided that heavy batteries should be
placed on all the revenue cutters built within the previous twelve months,
and large quantities of high explosives were shipped in every direction.
During the early days of March, Señor Gullon, Spanish Minister of Foreign
Affairs, intimated to Minister Woodford that the Spanish government
desired the recall from Havana of Consul-General Lee.
Spain also intimated that the American war-ships, which had been
designated to convey supplies to Cuba for the relief of the sufferers
there, should be replaced by merchant vessels, in order to deprive the
assistance sent to the reconcentrados of an official character.
Minister Woodford cabled such requests to the government at Washington, to
which it replied by refusing to recall General Lee under the present
circumstances, or to countermand the orders for the despatch of
war-vessels, making the representation that relief vessels are not
fighting ships.
_March 5._ Secretary Long closed a contract for the delivery at Key West,
within forty days, of four hundred thousand tons of coal. Work was begun
upon the old monitors, which for years had been lying at League Island
navy yard, Philadelphia. Orders were sent to the Norfolk navy yard to
concentrate all the energies and fidelities of the yard on the cruiser
_Newark_, to the end that she might be ready for service within sixty
days.
_March 6._ The President made a public statement that under no
circumstances would Consul-General Fitzhugh Lee be recalled at the request
of Spain. He had borne himself, so it was stated from the White House,
throughout the crisis with judgment, fidelity, and courage, to the
President’s entire satisfaction. As to supplies for the relief of the
Cuban people, all arrangements had been made to carry consignments at once
from Key West by one of the naval vessels, whichever might be best adapted
and most available for the purpose, to Matanzas and Sagua.
_March 6._ Chairman Cannon of the House appropriations committee
introduced a resolution that fifty millions of dollars be appropriated for
the national defence. It was passed almost immediately, without a single
negative vote.
Significant was the news of the day. The cruiser _Montgomery_ had been
ordered to Havana. Brigadier-General Wilson, chief of the engineers of the
army, arrived at Key West from Tampa with his corps of men, who were in
charge of locating and firing submarine mines.
_March 10._ The newly appointed Spanish minister arrived at Washington.
_March 11._ The House committee on naval affairs authorised the immediate
construction of three battle-ships, one to be named the _Maine_, and
provided for an increase of 473 men in the marine force.
The despatch-boat _Fern_ sailed for Matanzas with supplies for the relief
of starving Cubans.
[Illustration: U. S. S. MONTGOMERY.]
News by cable was received from the Philippine Islands to the effect that
the rebellion there had broken out once more; the whole of the northern
province had revolted; the inhabitants refused to pay taxes, and the
insurgents appeared to be well supplied with arms and ammunition.
_March 12._ Señor Bernabe was presented to President McKinley, and laid
great stress upon the love which Spain bore for the United States.
_March 14._ The Spanish flying squadron, composed of three torpedo-boats,
set sail from Cadiz, bound for Porto Rico. Although this would seem to be
good proof that the Spanish government anticipated war with the United
States, Señor Bernabe made two demands upon this government on the day
following the receipt of such news. The first was that the United States
fleet at Key West and Tortugas be withdrawn, and the second, that an
explanation be given as to why two war-ships had been purchased abroad.
_March 17._ A bill was submitted to both houses of Congress reorganising
the army, and placing it on a war footing of one hundred and four thousand
men. Senator Proctor made a significant speech in the Senate, on the
condition of affairs in Cuba. He announced himself as being opposed to
annexation, and declared that the Cubans were “suffering under the worst
misgovernment in the world.” The public generally accepted his remarks as
having been sanctioned by the President, and understood them as indicating
that this country should recognise the independence of Cuba on the ground
that the people are capable of self-government, and that under no other
conditions could peace or prosperity be restored in the island.
_March 17._ The more important telegraphic news from Spain was to the
effect that the Minister of Marine had cabled the commander of the torpedo
flotilla at the Canaries not to proceed to Havana; that the government
arsenal was being run night and day in the manufacture of small arms, and
that infantry and cavalry rifles were being purchased in Germany.
The United States revenue cutter cruiser _McCulloch_ was ordered to
proceed from Aden, in the Red Sea, to Hongkong, in order that she might be
attached to the Asiatic squadron, if necessary.
_March 18._ The cruiser _Amazonas_, purchased from the Brazilian
government, was formally transferred to the United States at Gravesend,
England, to be known in the future as the _New Orleans_.
_March 19._ The _Maine_ court of inquiry concluded its work. The general
sentiments of the people, as voiced by the newspapers, were that war with
Spain was near at hand, and this belief was strengthened March 24th, when
authority was given by the Navy Department for unlimited enlistment in all
grades of the service, when the revenue service was transferred from the
Treasury to the Naval Department, and arrangements made for the quick
employment of the National Guards of the States and Territories.
_March 24._ The report of the _Maine_ court of inquiry arrived at
Washington.
_March 27._ Madrid correspondents of Berlin newspapers declared that war
with the United States was next to certain. The United States cruisers
_San Francisco_ and _New Orleans_ sailed from England for New York, and
the active work of mining the harbours of the United States coast was
begun.
_March 28._ The President sent to Congress, with a message, the report of
the _Maine_ court of inquiry, as has been stated in a previous chapter.
_March 29._ Resolutions declaring war on Spain, and recognising the
independence of Cuba, were introduced in both houses of Congress.
With the beginning of April it was to the public generally as if the war
had already begun.
In every city, town, or hamlet throughout the country the newspapers were
scanned eagerly for notes of warlike preparation, and from Washington,
sent by those who were in position to know what steps were being taken by
the government, came information which dashed the hopes of those who had
been praying that peace might not be broken.
There had been a conference between the President, the Secretary of the
Treasury, and the chairman of the committee on ways and means, regarding
the best methods of raising funds for the carrying on of a war. A joint
board of the army and navy had met to formulate plans of defence, and a
speedy report was made to Secretary Long.
Instructions were sent by the State Department to all United States
consuls in Cuba to be prepared to leave the island at any moment, and to
hold themselves in readiness to proceed to Havana in order to embark for
the United States.
_April 2._ A gentleman in touch with public affairs wrote from Washington
as follows:
“To-day’s developments show that there is only the very faintest hope of
peace. Unless Spain yields war must come. The administration realises that
as fully as do members of Congress.
“The orders sent by the State Department to all our consuls in Cuba,
especially those in the interior, to hold themselves in readiness to leave
their positions and proceed to Havana, show that the department looks upon
war as a certainty, and has taken all proper precautions for the safety of
its agents.
“Such an order, it is unnecessary to say, would not have been issued
unless a crisis was imminent, and the State Department, as well as other
branches of the government, has now become convinced that peace cannot
much longer be maintained, and that the safety of the consular agents is a
first consideration.
“General Lee has also been advised that he should be ready to leave as
soon as notified, and that the American newspaper correspondents now in
Havana must prepare themselves to receive the notification of instant
departure.
“The Secretary of the Navy has instructed the Boston Towboat Company,
which corporation had charge of the wrecking operations on the U. S. S.
_Maine_, to suspend work at once. The Secretary of War has authorised an
allotment of one million dollars from the emergency fund for the office of
the chief of engineers, and this amount will be expended in purchasing
material for the torpedo defences connected with the seacoast
fortifications. The United States naval attaché at London has purchased a
cruiser of eighteen hundred tons displacement, capable of a speed of
sixteen knots, and the vessel will put to sea immediately. The Spanish
torpedo flotilla is reported as having arrived at the Cape Verde Islands.”
_April 4._ Senators Perkins, Mantle, and Rawlins spoke in the Senate,
charging Spain with the murder of the sailors of the _Maine_, claiming
that it was properly an act of war, and insisting that the United States
should declare for the independence of Cuba and armed intervention.
_April 5._ Senator Chandler announced as his belief that the United States
was justified in beginning hostilities, and Senators Kenny, Turpie, and
Turner made powerful speeches in the same line, fiercely denouncing Spain.
General Woodford was instructed by cable to be prepared to ask of the
Madrid government his passports at any moment.
Marine underwriters, believing that war was inevitable, doubled their
rates. The merchants and manufacturers’ board of trade of New York
notified Congress and the President that it believed Spain was responsible
for the blowing up of the _Maine_; that the independence of Cuba should be
recognised, and that it should be brought about by force of arms, if
necessary.
_April 7._ The representatives of six great powers met at the White House
in the hope of being able to influence the President for peace. In closing
his address to the diplomats, Mr. McKinley said:
“The government of the United States appreciates the humanitarian and
disinterested character of the communication now made in behalf of the
powers named, and for its part is confident that equal appreciation will
be shown for its own earnest and unselfish endeavours to fulfil a duty to
humanity by ending a situation, the indefinite prolongation of which has
become insufferable.”
Americans made haste to leave Cuba, after learning that Consul-General Lee
had received orders to set sail from Havana on or before the ninth. The
American consul at Santiago de Cuba closed the consulate in that city.
Solomon Berlin, appointed consul at the Canary Islands, was, by the State
Department, ordered not to proceed to his post, and he remained at New
York.
[Illustration: MAJOR-GENERAL FITZHUGH LEE.]
The Spanish consul at Tampa, Florida, left that town for Washington, by
order of his government.
The following cablegram gives a good idea of the temper of the Spanish
people:
“London, April 7.—A special dispatch from Madrid says that the ambassadors
of France, Germany, Russia, and Italy waited together this evening upon
Señor Gullon, the Foreign Minister, and presented a joint note in the
interests of peace.
“Señor Gullon, replying, declared that the members of the Spanish Cabinet
were unanimous in considering that Spain had reached the limit of
international policy in the direction of conceding the demands and
allowing the pretensions of the United States.”
_April 9._ Guards about the United States legation in Madrid were trebled.
General Blanco, captain-general of Cuba, issued a draft order calling on
every able-bodied man, between the ages of nineteen and forty, to register
for immediate military duty. At ten o’clock in the morning, Consul-General
Lee, accompanied by British Consul Gollan, called on General Blanco to bid
him good-bye. The captain-general was too busy to receive visitors.
General Lee left the island at six o’clock in the evening.
_April 11._ The President sent a message, together with Consul Lee’s
report, to the Congress, and Senator Chandler thus analysed it:
_First_: A graphic and powerful description of the horrible condition of
affairs in Cuba.
_Second_: An assertion that the independence of the revolutionists should
not be recognised until Cuba has achieved its own independence beyond the
possibility of overthrow.
_Third_: An argument against the recognition of the Cuban republic.
_Fourth_: As to intervention in the interest of humanity, that is well
enough, and also on account of the injury to commerce and peril to our
citizens, and the generally uncomfortable conditions all around.
_Fifth_: Illustrative of these uncomfortable conditions is the destruction
of the _Maine_. It helps make the existing situation intolerable. But
Spain proposes an arbitration, to which proposition the President has no
reply.
_Sixth_: On the whole, as the war goes on and Spain cannot end it,
mediation or intervention must take place. President Cleveland said
“intervention would finally be necessary.” The enforced pacification of
Cuba must come. The war must stop. Therefore, the President should be
authorised to terminate hostilities, secure peace, and establish a stable
government, and to use the military and naval forces of the United States
to accomplish these results, and food supplies should also be furnished by
the United States.
_April 12._ Consul-General Lee was summoned before the Senate committee on
foreign relations. It was announced that the Republican members of the
ways and means committee had agreed upon a plan for raising revenue in
case of need to carry on war with Spain. The plan was intended to raise
more than $100,000,000 additional revenue annually, and was thus
distributed:
An additional tax on beer of one dollar per barrel, estimated to yield
$35,000,000; a bank stamp tax on the lines of the law of 1866, estimated
to yield $30,000,000; a duty of three cents per pound on coffee, and ten
cents per pound on tea on hand in the United States, estimated to yield
$28,000,000; additional tax on tobacco, expected to yield $15,000,000.
The committee also agreed to authorise the issuing of $500,000,000 bonds.
These bonds to be offered for sale at all post-offices in the United
States in amounts of fifty dollars each, making a great popular loan to be
absorbed by the people.
To tide over emergencies, the Secretary of the Treasury to be authorised
to issue treasury certificates.
These certificates or debentures to be used to pay running expenses when
the revenues do not meet the expenditures.
These preparations were distinctly war measures, and would be put in
operation only should war occur.
_April 13._ The House of Representatives passed the following resolutions:
_Whereas_, the government of Spain for three years past has been waging
war on the island of Cuba against a revolution by the inhabitants thereof,
without making any substantial progress toward the suppression of said
revolution, and has conducted the warfare in a manner contrary to the laws
of nations by methods inhuman and uncivilised, causing the death by
starvation of more than two hundred thousand innocent non-combatants, the
victims being for the most part helpless women and children, inflicting
intolerable injury to the commercial interests of the United States,
involving the destruction of the lives and property of many of our
citizens, entailing the expenditure of millions of money in patrolling our
coasts and policing the high seas in order to maintain our neutrality;
and,
_Whereas_, this long series of losses, injuries, and burdens for which
Spain is responsible has culminated in the destruction of the United
States battle-ship _Maine_ in the harbour of Havana, and the death of two
hundred and sixty-six of our seamen,—
_Resolved_, That the President is hereby authorised and directed to
intervene at once to stop the war in Cuba, to the end and with the purpose
of securing permanent peace and order there, and establishing by the free
action of the people there of a stable and independent government of their
own in the island of Cuba; and the President is hereby authorised and
empowered to use the land and naval forces of the United States to execute
the purpose of this resolution.
In the Senate the majority resolution reported:
_Whereas_, the abhorrent conditions which have existed for more than three
years in the island of Cuba, so near our own borders, have been a disgrace
to Christian civilisation, culminating as they have in the destruction of
a United States battle-ship with two hundred and sixty-six of its officers
and crew, while on a friendly visit in the harbour of Havana, and cannot
longer be endured, as has been set forth by the President of the United
States in his message to Congress on April 11, 1898, upon which the action
of Congress was invited; therefore,
_Resolved_, First, that the people of the island of Cuba are, and of right
ought to be, free and independent.
_Second_, That it is the duty of the United States to demand, and the
government of the United States does hereby demand, that the government of
Spain at once relinquish its authority and government in the island of
Cuba, and withdraw its land and naval forces from Cuba and Cuban waters.
_Third_, That the President of the United States be, and he hereby is,
directed and empowered to use the entire land and naval forces of the
United States, and to call into the actual service of the United States
the militia of the several States to such extent as may be necessary, to
carry these resolutions into effect.
_April 14._ The Spanish minister at Washington sealed his archives and
placed them in the charge of the French ambassador, M. Cambon. The queen
regent of Spain, at a Cabinet meeting, signed a call for the Cortes to
meet on the twentieth of the month, and a decree opening a national
subscription for increasing the navy and other war services.
_April 15._ The United States consulate at Malaga, Spain, was attacked by
a mob, and the shield torn down and trampled upon.
_April 17._ The Spanish committee of inquiry into the destruction of the
_Maine_ reported that the explosion could not have been caused by a
torpedo or a mine of any kind, because no trace of anything was found to
justify such a conclusion. It gave the testimony of two eye-witnesses to
the catastrophe, who swore that there was absolutely no disturbance on the
surface of the harbour around the _Maine_. The committee gave great stress
to the fact that the explosion did no damage to the quays, and none to the
vessels moored close to the _Maine_, whose officers and crews noticed
nothing that could lead them to suppose that the disaster was caused
otherwise than by an accident inside the American vessel.
_April 18._ Congress passed the Senate resolution, as given above, with an
additional clause as follows:
_Fourth_, That the United States hereby disclaim any disposition or
intention to exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction or control over said
island, except for the pacification thereof; and asserts its
determination, when that is accomplished, to leave the government and
control of the island to its people.