CHAPTER IX.

BY WIRE.

_May 30._ The auxiliary cruisers _Leyden_ and _Uncas_ made an attack on

one of the outlying blockhouses at Cardenas, plying their 3-pounders until

the Spaniards deserted their batteries.

_June 1._ The government of Paraguay represented to the American consul at

Asuncion that the Spanish torpedo-boat _Temerario_ was disabled, and had

been granted permission to remain at that port until the war between the

United States and Spain had come to an end.

In Spain there are many differences of opinion regarding the conduct of

the war, as evinced by a newspaper article to which was signed the name of

Emilio Castelar, the distinguished republican statesman.

Señor Castelar attacked the queen regent, reproaching her with being a

foreigner and unpopular, and with interfering unjustifiably in political

affairs. He compared her position with that of Queen Marie Antoinette on

the eve of the French revolution.

The matter came before the Senate; Duke de Roca demanded the prosecution

of Castelar, and other Senators expressed in violent terms their

indignation at Señor Castelar’s conduct.

_June 2._ The British steamer _Restormel_, captured by the auxiliary

cruiser _St. Paul_ off Santiago de Cuba, was released by the government.

It was shown that the _Restormel_ sailed previous to the declaration of

war, there being no evidence that the steamer’s owners were wilfully and

knowingly guilty of aiding the enemy’s fleet, and she was ordered

released. The cargo was condemned.

The names of the captains and commanders of the ships in Admiral Dewey’s

squadron were sent to the Senate, by the President, for advancement

because of their conspicuous conduct.

The House of Representatives passed an urgency appropriation of nearly

eighteen million dollars for war purposes.

From Captain Clark’s report, the Navy Department made public the following

extract relative to the extraordinary voyage of the _Oregon_:

“It is gratifying to call the department’s attention to the spirit aboard

this ship in both officers and men. This best can be described by

referring to instances such as that of the engineer officers in

voluntarily doubling their watches when high speed was to be made, to the

attempt of men to return to the fire-room after being carried out of it

insensible, and to the fact that most of the whole crew, who were working

by watches by day and night at Sandy Point, preferred to leave their

hammocks in the nettings until they could get the ship coaled and ready to

sail from Sandy Point.”

_June 3._ The collier _Merrimac_ was sunk in the channel of Santiago

Harbour, as has already been told.

_June 4._ Captain Charles Vernon Gridley, commander of the cruiser

_Olympia_, and commanding her during the battle of Manila Bay, died at

Kobe, Japan.

_June 5._ An account of personal heroism which should be set down in every

history, that future generations may know of what metal the boys of ’98

were made, was telegraphed from Tampa, Florida.

Lieutenant Parker, who was in charge of the old clubhouse on Lafayette

Street, near the brigade headquarters, and which was being used by the

government as a storehouse, and Thomas McGee, a veteran of the civil war,

prevented what might have been a calamity.

While a force of soldiers was engaged in carrying boxes of ammunition from

the warehouse and loading them to waiting army wagons, smoke was seen

issuing from a box of ammunition. In an instant the cry of fire went up,

and soldiers and negro roustabouts piled over each other in their scramble

for safety. McGee, however, rushed toward the box, picked it up, and was

staggering in the direction of the river, some distance away, when

Lieutenant Parker, who had heard the warning cry, came to his assistance.

Together they carried the smoking box until it was possible to throw it

into the water.

How the fire originated is a mystery. In the storehouse were piled

hundreds of boxes of ammunition, each containing one thousand cartridges.

Had the cartridges in the burning box exploded, a great loss of life might

have resulted, as there were at least a score of soldiers working in and

around the building.

At Madrid the Spanish Minister of Marine issued orders that every one

connected with the admiralty must abstain from giving information of any

kind regarding naval affairs.

General Blanco in Havana published an order prohibiting foreign newspaper

correspondents from remaining in Cuba, under the penalty of being treated

as spies.

_June 6._ As is told in that chapter relating to Santiago de Cuba,

American troops were landed a few miles east of the city, at a place known

as Aguadores; the forts at the entrance of Santiago Harbour were

bombarded.

The Navy Department made public a cablegram from Admiral Dewey:

“The insurgents are acting energetically in the province of Cavite. During

the past week they have won several victories, and have taken prisoners

about eighteen hundred men and fifty officers of the Spanish troops, not

natives. The arsenal of Cavite is being prepared for occupation by United

States troops on the arrival of the transports.”

Cablegrams from Hongkong announced that the insurgents had cut the railway

lines and were closing in on Manila. Frequent actions between Aguinaldo’s

forces and the Spaniards had taken place, and the foreign residents were

making all haste to leave the city. A proclamation issued by the insurgent

chief points to a desire to set up a native administration in the

Philippines under an American protectorate. Aguinaldo, with an advisory

council, would hold the dictatorship until the conquest of the islands,

and would then establish a republican assembly.

_June 7._ The monitor _Monterey_ and the collier _Brutus_ sailed from San

Francisco for Manila. The double-turreted monitor _Monadnock_ has been

ordered to set out for the same port within ten days.

_June 9._ The Spanish bark _Maria Dolores_, laden with coal and patent

fuel, was captured by the cruiser _Minneapolis_ twelve miles off San Juan

de Porto Rico.

_June 10._ A battalion of marines was landed in the harbour of Guantanamo,

forty miles east of Santiago.(3)

A blockhouse at Daiquiri shelled by the transport steamer _Panther_.(4)

_June 11–12._ Attack upon American marines in Guantanamo Bay by Spanish

regulars and guerillas.(5)

_June 11._ The British steamer _Twickenham_, laden with coal for Admiral

Cervera’s fleet, was captured off San Juan de Porto Rico by the U. S. S.

_St. Louis_.

_June 12._ Major-General Merritt issued orders to the officers assigned to

the second Philippine expedition, to the effect that they must be ready to

embark their troops not later than the fifteenth instant.

The following cablegram was made public by the Navy Department:

“Cavite, June 12.—The insurgents continue hostilities, and have

practically surrounded Manila. They have taken twenty-five hundred Spanish

prisoners, whom they treat most humanely. They do not intend to attack the

city at the present time.

“Twelve merchant vessels are anchored in the bay, with refugees on board,

under guard of neutral men-of-war; this with my permission. Health of the

squadron continues excellent. German commander-in-chief arrived to-day.

Three Germans, two British, one French, one Japanese man-of-war in port.

Another German man-of-war expected.

“The following is a corrected list of vessels captured or destroyed: Two

protected cruisers, five unprotected cruisers, one transport, one

surveying vessel, both armed. The following are captured: Transport

_Manila_, gunboat _Callao_.

“DEWEY.”

Advices from Honolulu report that on June 1st H. Renjes, vice-consul for

Spain, at Honolulu, sent the following letter to H. E. Cooper, Hawaiian

Minister of Foreign Affairs, relative to the entertainment of the American

troops at Honolulu:

“_Sir_:—In my capacity as vice-consul for Spain, I have the honour to-day

to enter formal protest with the Hawaiian government against the constant

violation of neutrality in this harbour, while actual war exists between

Spain and the United States of America.”

_June 6._ On June 6th Minister Cooper replied as follows:

“_Sir_:—In reply to your note of the first instant, I have the honour to

say that, owing to the intimate relations now existing between this

country and the United States, this government has not proclaimed a

proclamation of neutrality having reference to the present conflict

between the United States and Spain, but, on the contrary, has tendered to

the United States privileges and assistance, for which reason your protest

can receive no further consideration than to acknowledge its receipt.”

_June 13._ American troops sailed from Tampa and Key West for Santiago.

The Spaniards again attacked the American marines at Guantanamo Bay, and

were repulsed after seven hours’ hard fighting.(6)

President McKinley signed the war revenue bill.

Secretary Gage issued a circular inviting subscriptions to the popular

loan.

The dynamite cruiser _Vesuvius_ joined Admiral Sampson’s fleet.(7)

While the U. S. S. _Yankee_ was off Cienfuegos on this day, a Spanish

gunboat steamed out of the harbour, evidently mistaking the character of

the newcomer; but on learning that the _Yankee_ was ready for business,

put back in hot haste. Both vessels opened fire, and after the gunboat had

gained the security of the harbour the _Yankee_ engaged the eastern and

western batteries. During the brief action a shell burst over the American

ship, its fragments wounding one man.

_June 14._ The American marines at Guantanamo Bay again attacked by the

Spaniards.(8)

The heroes of Santiago Bay, who sank the _Merrimac_, rewarded by the Navy

Department.(9)

First trial of the dynamite cruiser _Vesuvius_.(10)

The war tax on beer, ale, tobacco, cigars, and cigarettes went into effect

on this date.

_June 14._ From Manila on June 14th much of interest was received. A

severe engagement occurred, when one thousand insurgents attacked twice

that number of Spaniards, inflicting heavy losses. The insurgents had

drawn their lines closely around the landward side of the city, and

Captain-General Augusti published a decree ordering all the male

population under arms. Mr. E. W. Harden, correspondent of the New York

_World_, thus summed up the situation:

“Terrific fighting has been going on for six days between the Philippine

insurgents and the Spaniards. The rebels, under Aguinaldo, more than held

their ground, while the Spaniards lost heavily. The insurgents now hold

three thousand prisoners, mostly Spanish soldiers.

“I have been in the field with the rebels, and I was present at the taking

of the garrisoned church at Old Cavite, June 7th, where three hundred

insurgents captured a superior force of Spaniards after an eight days’

bombardment. The rebels are competent, courageous fighters. They have

captured the entire provinces of Cavite and Bataan, and parts of the

provinces of Pampagna, Bulucan, and Manila.

“Aguinaldo’s troops, in three divisions, have now surrounded Manila. They

have the Spaniards hemmed in, and could capture the city if they wanted

to, but will await the arrival of the American troops before doing so.

“The rebels have captured Gov. Leopoldo Garcia Penas, of Cavite province,

and Gov. Antonio Cardola, of Bataan province. Cardola tried to commit

suicide before surrendering. He shot himself three times in the head, but

will recover. The insurgents behaved gallantly in the fight for the

possession of the stone convent in Old Cavite, June 1st. General Augusti

sent two thousand Spanish regulars of the Manila force to attack

Aguinaldo’s forces at Cavite. The fight lasted all day. The Spaniards were

repulsed, and the officers led in retreat. They took refuge in the old

convent, a substantial building, with walls five feet thick, built for all

time.

“Aguinaldo surrounded the convent, and his first plan was to starve out

the beleaguered ones, but he found, June 6th, that provisions were being

smuggled in to them, and so he attacked the building, beginning by opening

fire with his mountain guns. Meantime, General Augusti, hearing of his

soldiers’ plight, sent four thousand regulars to relieve them.

“Aguinaldo led the attack on these four thousand. But after the first

brush he adopted another method. He sent detachments of three hundred or

four hundred men, armed with machetes, on the flanks of the Spaniards, who

constantly harassed them. In the first attack of these detachments one

hundred and fifty Spanish soldiers and a lieutenant-colonel were killed.

In the second onslaught four officers and sixty men were killed.

“Again and again these attacks were repeated until nine hundred Spaniards

had been killed, the insurgents report. The convent, too, became

untenable. The Spaniards retreated along the road to Manila, but made a

stand at Bacoor.

“Aguinaldo and his men fought them fiercely there, and the Spanish fled

again. The rebels pursued the enemy to within sight of Manila. Returning,

Aguinaldo stormed the old convent, and of the Spaniards who remained there

he killed ninety and captured 250.”

[Illustration: GENERAL GARCIA.]

_June 15._ The second fleet of transports, comprised of the steamers

_China_, _Colon_, _Senator_, and _Zealandia_, carrying 3,465 men, left San

Francisco for Manila.

The war loan of two hundred million dollars subscribed for twice over.

Bombardment of the fortifications in Guantanamo Bay.(11)

The House of Representatives passed the Hawaiian annexation resolution.

_June 16._ Third bombardment of the batteries near Santiago.(12)

The Spanish forces in and near Cardenas had repaired the damages inflicted

by the American vessels when they bombarded the works, and on June 16th

another lesson was given those who killed Ensign Bagley and his brave

comrades. Five blockhouses were completely demolished, the enemy beating a

hasty retreat without having fired a shot.

_June 17._ Fortifications in Guantanamo Bay shelled by American naval

force.(13)

Capture of the Spanish sloop _Chato_ in Guantanamo Bay.(14)

_June 18._ Bombardment of blockhouse in Guantanamo Bay.(15)

Battery at Cabanas shelled by the U. S. S. _Texas_.(16)

_June 19._ First American troops landed on Cuban soil.(17)

_June 20._ General Shafter and Admiral Sampson visit General Garcia in his

camp.(18)

_June 21._ Landing of General Shafter’s army begun.(19)

Bombardment of all the fortifications near about Santiago.(20)

Captain-General Augusti cabled the Madrid government that he, having been

forced to take refuge in the walled city,(21) would be unable to continue

communication.

_June 22._ By a decision of the Attorney-General, the United States

government will surrender to the ambassadors of France and Germany, as the

diplomatic representatives of Spain, the non-combatants and crews of the

prize merchant vessels captured by ships of the American navy since the

declaration of war.

Boats’ crews from the U. S. S. _Marblehead_ and _Dolphin_ remove the mines

from Guantanamo Bay.(22)

Bombardment of the Socapa battery near Santiago.(23)

Spaniards set fire to the town of Aguadores.(24)

The U. S. S. _Texas_ engages the west battery of Cabanas.(25)

Captain Sigsbee of the U. S. S. _St. Paul_, in reporting his cruise of

twenty-three days, gave the following account of a meeting with the enemy

off San Juan de Porto Rico on the 22d of June:

_June 22._ “We came off the port on the twenty-second. The weather was

fair, the trade wind blowing fresh from the eastward and raising somewhat

of a sea. At about 12.40 the third-class cruiser _Isabel III._ came out,

and, steaming under the Morro until she was abreast of the batteries,

commenced edging out toward us, firing at such a long range that her shots

were ineffective.

“As her purpose evidently was to put us within fire of the batteries, we

took but little notice of her, lying still and occasionally sending in our

largest shell at her to try the range.

“Soon afterward she dropped to the westward, and the torpedo-boat

destroyer _Terror_, or it may have been her sister ship, the _Furor_, was

sighted steaming along shore under the batteries.

“We watched her for awhile, and worked along with her, in order to

separate her from the cruiser and keep her in trough if she came for us.

She then circled to get up speed, and headed for us, firing straight as

far as direction went, but her shots fell short.

“When within range of our guns, the signal ‘commence firing’ was made, and

for several minutes we let fly our starboard battery at her at from

fifty-five hundred to six thousand yards, the shells striking all around

her.

“This stopped her. She turned her broadside to us and her fire soon

ceased. She then headed inshore, to the southward and westward, going

slow, and it was evident to all on board that she was crippled. Off the

Morro she flashed some signals to the shore, and afterward a tug came out

and towed her into the harbour.

“All this time the cruiser was firing at us, and some of her shots and

those of the _Terror_ fell pretty close. The cruiser followed the _Terror_

back toward the port and soon afterward was joined by a gunboat, and the

two steamed under the batteries to the eastward; but when the _St. Paul_,

making an inshore turn, seemed to be going for them, they returned to the

harbour, and we saw no more of them.”

_June 23._ The U. S. monitor _Monadnock_ left San Francisco for Manila.

The U. S. dynamite cruiser _Vesuvius_ again shells the Santiago

fortifications.(26)

_June 24._ The Spanish Cortes suspended by royal decree. The Chamber of

Deputies adjourned without the customary cheers for the throne.

Major-General Lawton advancing on Santiago.(27)

Action near Juragua.(28)

_June 25._ Skirmish near Sevilla.

The American government protested a draft drawn by its consul at St.

Thomas, D. W. I., under circumstances calculated to make an extremely

dangerous precedent. The draft was made by Consul Van Horne for the

purchase of twenty-seven hundred tons of coal, which arrived in St. Thomas

in the _Ardenrose_ about the twenty-eighth of May. The consul bought it

for ten dollars a ton when the Spanish consul had offered twenty dollars a

ton for it. Van Horne apparently did the proper thing and did not exceed

instructions.

_June 26._ General Garcia with three thousand Cuban insurgents landed at

Juragua by American transports.(29)

The troops comprising the third expedition to Manila embarked at San

Francisco.

The sloop _Isabel_ arrived at Key West flying the Cuban flag. On her were

Capt. Rafael Mora, Lieut. Felix de los Rios and four others of the Cuban

army, carrying sealed dispatches from the Cuban government to Señor T.

Estrada Palma, of the New York junta.

The U. S. dynamite cruiser _Vesuvius_ shelled the fortifications at the

entrance to Santiago harbour.(30)

The water-supply of Santiago cut off by the American forces.(31)

A Spanish fleet entered the harbour of Port Said, Egypt, at the head of

the Suez Canal, on the twenty-sixth. It was composed of:

Battle-ship _Pelayo_, Admiral Camara’s flag-ship.

Armoured cruiser _Emperador Carlos V._

Auxiliary cruiser _Patriota_, equipped with twelve guns, and carrying

troops and marines.

Auxiliary cruiser _Buenos Ayres_, equipped with ten guns, and carrying

stores and a few troops.

Torpedo destroyer _Audaz_.

Armed merchantman _Isla de Pany_, equipped with two guns, and carrying

stores and a few troops.

Auxiliary cruiser _Rapido_, equipped with twelve guns.

Steamship _Colon_, unarmed and with no troops.

Torpedo destroyer _Proserpina_.

Torpedo-boat destroyer _Osada_.

Transport _Covadonga_, carrying no guns.

Collier _San Francisco_.

_June 27._ The United States government, determined to delay, if possible,

the progress of the fleet toward the Philippines, instructed its consul to

protest to the English government against the coaling of the fleet at Port

Said. In response to such protest the Egyptian government refused Admiral

Camara’s request to buy coal, and also refused to allow him to hire a

hundred and fifty native stokers.

The U. S. transport _Yale_, laden with troops, arrived at Daiquiri.(32)

The President sent to Congress the following messages:

“_To the Congress of the United States_:—On the morning of the third of

June, 1898, Assistant Naval Constructor Richmond P. Hobson, U. S. N., with

a volunteer crew of seven men, in charge of the partially dismantled

collier _Merrimac_, entered the fortified harbour of Santiago, Cuba, for

the purpose of sinking the collier in the narrowest portion of the channel

and thus interposing a serious obstacle to the egress of the Spanish

fleet, which had recently entered that harbour.

“This enterprise, demanding coolness, judgment and bravery amounting to

heroism, was carried into successful execution in the face of a persistent

fire from the hostile fleet as well as from the fortifications on shore.

Rear-Admiral Sampson, commander-in-chief of our naval force in Cuban

waters, in an official report addressed to the Secretary of the Navy,

referring to Mr. Hobson’s gallant exploit, says:

[Illustration: ADMIRAL CAMARA.]

“‘I decided to make the harbour entrance secure against the possibility of

egress of the Spanish ships by obstructing the narrow part of the

entrance, by sinking a collier at that point.

“‘Mr. Hobson, after several days consideration, presented a solution which

he considered would ensure the immediate sinking of the ship when she had

reached the desired point in the channel. The plan contemplated a crew of

only seven men, and Mr. Hobson begged that it might be entrusted to him.

“‘I cannot myself too earnestly express my appreciation of the conduct of

Mr. Hobson and his gallant crew. I venture to say that a more brave and

daring thing has not been done since Cushing blew up the _Albemarle_.’

“The members of the crew who were with Mr. Hobson on the memorable

occasion have already been rewarded for their services by advancement,

which, under the provisions of law and regulation, the Secretary of the

Navy was authorised to make; and the nomination to the Senate of Naval

Cadet Powell, who, in a steam launch, followed the _Merrimac_ on her

perilous trip, for the purpose of rescuing her force after the sinking of

that vessel, to be advanced in rank to the grade of ensign, has been

prepared and will be submitted.

“Cushing, with whose gallant act in blowing up the _Albemarle_, during the

civil war, Admiral Sampson compares Mr. Hobson’s sinking of the

_Merrimac_, received the thanks of Congress upon recommendation of the

President, by name, and was in consequence, under the provisions of

Section 1,508 of the Revised Statutes, advanced one grade, such

advancement embracing fifty-six numbers. The section cited applies,

however, to line officers only, and Mr. Hobson, being a member of the

staff of the navy, could not, under the provisions, be so advanced.

“In considering the question of suitably rewarding Assistant Naval

Constructor Hobson for his valiant conduct on the occasion referred to, I

have deemed it proper to address this message to you with the

recommendation that he receive the thanks of Congress, and further that he

be transferred to the line of the navy and promoted to such position

therein as the President, by and with the advice and consent of the

Senate, may determine.

“Mr. Hobson’s transfer from the construction corps to the line is fully

warranted, he having received the necessary technical training as a

graduate of the naval academy, where he stood number one in his class, and

such action is recommended partly in deference to what is understood to be

his own desire, although, he being a prisoner now in the hands of the

enemy, no direct communication on the subject has been received from him,

and partly for the reason that the abilities displayed by him at Santiago

are of such a character as to indicate especial fitness for the duties of

the line.

“WILLIAM MCKINLEY.

“_Executive Mansion, June 27._”

The second message was as follows:

“_To the Congress of the United States_:—On the eleventh day of May, 1898,

there occurred a conflict in the bay of Cardenas, Cuba, in which the naval

torpedo-boat _Winslow_ was disabled, her commander wounded, and one of her

officers and a part of her crew killed by the enemy’s fire.

“In the face of a most galling fire from the enemy’s guns the revenue

cutter _Hudson_, commanded by First Lieut. Frank H. Newcomb, U. S. Revenue

Cutter Service, rescued the disabled _Winslow_ and her wounded crew. The

commander of the _Hudson_ kept his vessel in the very hottest fire of the

action, although in constant danger of going ashore on account of the

shallow water, until he finally got a line made fast to the _Winslow_, and

towed that vessel out of range of the enemy’s guns, a deed of special

gallantry.

“I recommend that, in recognition of the signal act of heroism of First

Lieut. Frank H. Newcomb, U. S. Revenue Cutter Service, above set forth,

the thanks of Congress be extended to him and to his officers and men of

the _Hudson_, and that a gold medal of honour be presented to Lieutenant

Newcomb, a silver medal of honour to each of his officers, and a bronze

medal of honour to each member of his crew who served with him at

Cardenas.

(Signed) “WILLIAM MCKINLEY.”

The President also sent the following special nomination to Congress:

“EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, June 27, 1898.

“_To the Senate of the United States_:—I nominate Naval Cadet Joseph W.

Powell to be advanced two numbers under the provisions of section 1,506 of

the Revised Statutes, and to be an ensign in the navy, for extraordinary

heroism while in charge of the steam launch which accompanied the collier

_Merrimac_, for the purpose of rescuing her gallant force when that vessel

was, under the command of Naval Constructor Hobson, run into the mouth of

the harbour of Santiago, Cuba, on the third instant, and dexterously sunk

in the channel.

(Signed) “WILLIAM MCKINLEY.”

_June 27._ The third fleet of vessels, laden with soldiers, sailed from

San Francisco for the Philippines.

From London the following news was received from the Canary Islands:

Most of the new forts have guns mounted, but are still quite exposed to

view. The earthworks are not nearly completed. It is reported that ten

thousand more soldiers are on the way from Spain. Of these five thousand

are for the Grand Canary, and the others are for Teneriffe. The Spanish

government is determined to hold the islands at any cost.

Nearly all business is absolutely at a standstill, and many of the sugar

mills are closed. If this state of uncertainty continues much longer it

will mean starvation to the working classes. All lights that can be seen

from the sea are ordered extinguished at night, though the lighthouse on

Isletta is still lighted.

The U. S. S. _Yankee_, off the Isle of Pines, captured and destroyed the

Spanish sloops _Nemesia_, of Batabano, _Amistad_ and _Manuelita_, of

Coloma, and the pilot-boats _Luz_ and _Jacinto_.

_June 28._ The President issued a proclamation extending the blockade of

Cuba to the southern coast, from Cape Frances to Cape Cruz, inclusive, and

also blockading San Juan, Porto Rico.

The proclamation was as follows:

“_Whereas_, for the reasons set forth in my proclamation of April 22,

1898, a blockade of ports on the northern coast of Cuba, from Cardenas to

Bahia Honda, inclusive, and of the port of Cienfuegos, on the south coast

of Cuba, was declared to have been instituted, and

“_Whereas_, it has become desirable to extend the blockade to other

southern ports,

“Now, therefore, I, William McKinley, President of the United States, do

hereby declare and proclaim that, in addition to the blockade of the ports

specified in my proclamation of April 22, 1898, the United States of

America has instituted and will maintain an effective blockade of all of

the ports on the south coast of Cuba, from Cape Frances to Cape Cruz,

inclusive, and also of the port of San Juan in the island of Porto Rico.

“Neutral vessels lying in any of the ports to which the blockade is by the

present proclamation extended, will be allowed thirty days to issue

therefrom with cargo.”

The Spanish cruiser _Antonio Lopez_, while trying to enter the river San

Juan, near San Juan de Porto Rico, secretly, with a cargo of provisions

and war material, was detected by two American war-ships, but escaped by

swiftly changing her course. Her captain, determined to land his cargo,

headed for the shore at Salinas. The shock of grounding exploded the

boiler. The Spanish gunboats _Concha_ and _Isabella_ issued to the

assistance of the _Antonio Lopez_, whereupon the Americans withdrew, and

the _Antonio Lopez_ landed her cargo.

Captain-General Augusti sent the following by cable from Manila to the

government at Madrid:

“The situation is still as grave. I continue to maintain my position

inside the line of blockhouses, but the enemy is increasing in numbers, as

the rebels occupy the provinces, which are surrendering. Torrential rains

are inundating the entrenchments, rendering the work of defence difficult.

The number of sick among the troops is increasing, making the situation

very distressing, and causing increased desertions of the native soldiers.

[Illustration: GENERAL AUGUSTI.]

“It is estimated that the insurgents number thirty thousand armed with

rifles, and one hundred thousand armed with swords, etc.

“Aguinaldo has summoned me to surrender, but I have treated his proposals

with disdain, for I am resolved to maintain the sovereignty of Spain and

the honour of the flag to the last extremity.

“I have more than one thousand sick and two hundred wounded. The citadel

has been invaded by the suburban inhabitants, who have abandoned their

homes, owing to the barbarity of the rebels. These inhabitants constitute

an embarrassment, aggravating the situation, in view of a bombardment,

which, however, is not seriously apprehended for the moment.”

The captain-general’s family was made prisoners by the insurgents several

days prior to the sending of this despatch, and all efforts to effect

their release had thus far been in vain.

From all parts of the world the Spanish people, during the last days of

June, looked toward Santiago de Cuba, in whose harbour was imprisoned

Cervera’s fleet, for there only could they hope to resist the American

arms.

CHAPTER X.

SANTIAGO DE CUBA.

The campaign of Santiago, during which the Spanish fleet under Admiral

Cervera was entirely destroyed, and which ended with the capture of the

city, can best be told as a continuous story. The record of other events

will be found elsewhere in regular order.

Even though a repetition, it should be set down that the North Atlantic

fleet, Rear-Admiral W. T. Sampson commanding, with Commodores J. C. Watson

and W. S. Schley of the first and second squadrons respectively, which

blockaded the port of Santiago, consisted of the battle-ships

_Massachusetts_, _Iowa_, _Texas_, _Indiana_, _Oregon_; armoured cruisers

_New York_, Admiral Sampson’s flag-ship, _Brooklyn_, Commodore Schley’s

flag-ship; protected cruisers _New Orleans_, _Newark_, Commodore Watson’s

flag-ship; converted yachts _Vixen_, _Gloucester_.(33)

Inside the harbour, caught like rats in a trap of their own making, lay

the Spanish fleet under command of Admiral Pasquale Cervera, consisting of

the armoured cruisers _Cristobal Colon_, _Vizcaya_, _Almirante Oquendo_,

_Maria Teresa_, Admiral Cervera’s flag-ship; torpedo-boat destroyers

_Furor_ and _Pluton_.

The Americans were on the alert, lest by some inadvertence their prey

should escape, and it may well be supposed that the Spaniards, knowing

full well they were not in sufficient strength to give battle, awaited a

favourable opportunity to slip through the blockading squadron.

_June 2._ The first detachment of troops, including heavy and light

artillery and the engineer corps, embarked for Santiago on the second of

June. Four days later this force was landed at Aguadores, a few miles east

of Santiago, under the cover of Admiral Sampson’s guns.

_June 6._ The American fleet began the bombardment of the batteries

guarding the entrance to the harbour at six o’clock in the morning, having

steamed in to within three thousand yards of the shore, the _Brooklyn_ in

advance of the first column, with the _Marblehead_, the _Texas_, and the

_Massachusetts_ in line. The second column was led by the _New York_, with

the _New Orleans_, _Yankee_, _Iowa_, and _Oregon_ in the order named. On

the left flank were the _Vixen_ and the _Suwanee_, and on the right the

_Dolphin_ and the _Porter_ kept watchful eyes upon the riflemen ashore.

The first column took station opposite the Estrella and Catalina

batteries,(34) while the second was stationed off the new earthworks near

Morro Castle. Orders had been given that no shots should be thrown into El

Morro, because of the fact that Lieutenant Hobson and his crew were

imprisoned there.

The fleet continued the bombardment without moving from the stations

originally taken. It was the _Iowa_ which opened the action with a 12-inch

shell, and the skill of the gunners was shown by the shower of stone which

spouted up from the base of the Estrella battery. As if this shot was the

signal agreed upon, the other vessels of the fleet opened fire, the enemy

answering promptly but ineffectively.

Very quickly were the shore-batteries silenced by the _Brooklyn_ and the

_Texas_. Estrella Fort was soon on fire; the Catalina battery gave up the

struggle in less than an hour, and the _Vixen_ and _Suwanee_ engaged with

some light inshore works, speedily reducing them to ruins. Until nine

o’clock the bombardment continued without interruption, and then the

American fire ceased until the ships could be turned, in order that their

port batteries might be brought into play.

One hour more, that is to say, until ten o’clock, this terrible rain of

iron was sent from the fleet to the shore, and then on the flag-ship was

hoisted the signal: “Cease firing.”

The American fleet withdrew absolutely uninjured,—not a ship had been hit

by the Spaniards nor a man wounded.

On board the Spanish ship _Reina Mercedes_, a lieutenant and five seamen

had been killed, and seventeen wounded; the vessel was set on fire no less

than three times, and otherwise seriously damaged by the missiles. Near

about Morro Castle, although none of the American guns were aimed at that

structure, two were killed and four wounded, while on Smith Cay great

havoc was wrought.

Admiral Cervera made the following report to his government:

“Six American vessels have bombarded the fortifications at Santiago and

along the adjacent coast.

“Six were killed and seventeen were wounded on board the _Reina Mercedes_;

three officers were killed and an officer and seventeen men were wounded

among the troops.

“The Americans fired fifteen hundred shells of different calibres. The

damage inflicted upon the batteries of La Socapa and Morro Castle were

unimportant. The barracks at Morro Castle suffered damage.

“The enemy had noticeable losses.”

_June 8._ Nearly, if not quite, twenty-seven thousand men were embarked at

Tampa for Santiago on the eighth of June, under the command of Maj.-Gen.

William R. Shafter.

Fire was opened by the _Marblehead_ and the _Yankee_ of the blockading

squadron upon the fortifications of Camianera, a port on Cumberland

Harbour fifteen miles distant from Guantanamo. The enemy was forced to

retire to the town, but no great injury was inflicted.

The _Vixen_ entered Santiago Harbour under a flag of truce from Admiral

Sampson, to arrange for an exchange of Lieutenant Hobson and his men.

Admiral Cervera said in reply that the matter had been referred to General

Blanco.

The _Suwanee_ landed weapons, ammunition, and provisions for the

insurgents at a point fifteen miles west of Santiago.

In Santiago were about twenty thousand Spanish soldiers, mostly infantry;

but with cavalry and artillery that may be drawn from the surrounding

country. On the mountains five thousand insurgents, many unarmed, watched

for a favourable opportunity to make a descent upon the city.

Orders were sent by the Navy Department to Admiral Sampson to notify

Admiral Cervera that, if the latter destroyed his four armoured cruisers

and two torpedo-boat destroyers to prevent their capture, Spain, at the

end of the war, would be made to pay an additional indemnity at least

equivalent to the value of these vessels.

_June 10._ The American troops made a landing on the eastern side of

Guantanamo Harbour, forty miles east of Santiago, at two P. M. on the

tenth of June. The debarkation was effected under the cover of the guns of

the _Oregon_, _Marblehead_, _Dolphin_, and _Vixen_.

The war-vessels prepared the way by opening fire on the earthworks which

lined the shore, a blockhouse, and a cable station which was occupied by

Spanish soldiers. The defence was feeble; the enemy retreated in hot haste

after firing a few shots. A small gunboat came down from Guantanamo, four

miles away, at the beginning of the bombardment, but she put back with all

speed after having approached within range.

Soon after the enemy had been driven away, the steamer _Panther_ arrived

with a battalion of marines under command of Lieutenant-Colonel

Huntington. She reported having shelled a blockhouse at Daiquiri, ten

miles east of Santiago, but without provoking any reply.

Colonel Huntington’s force took possession of the heights overlooking the

bay, where was a fortified camp which had been abandoned by the Spaniards.

There was nothing to betoken the presence of the enemy in strong numbers,

and the men soon settled down to ordinary camp duties, believing their

first serious work would be begun by an attack on Guantanamo.

_June 11._ It was three o’clock on Saturday afternoon; Colonel

Huntington’s marines were disposed about the camp according to duty or

fancy; some were bathing, and a detail was engaged in the work of carrying

water. Suddenly the sharp report of a musket was heard, followed by

another and another until the rattle of firearms told that a skirmish of

considerable importance was in progress on the picket-line.

The principal portion of the enemy’s fire appeared to come from a small

island about a thousand yards away, and a squad of men was detailed with a

3-inch field-gun to look out for the enemy in this direction, while the

main force defended the camp.

After perhaps an hour had passed, during which time the boys of ’98 were

virtually firing at random, the men on the picket-line fell back on the

camp. Two of their number were missing. The battalion was formed on three

sides of a hollow square, and stood ready to resist an attack which was

not to be made until considerably later.

The firing ceased as abruptly as it had begun. Skirmishers were sent out

and failed to find anything save a broad trail, marked here and there by

blood, which came to an end at the water’s edge.

There were no longer detonations to be heard from the island. The 3-inch

gun had been well served.

The skirmishers which had been sent out returned, bearing the bodies of

two boys in blue who had been killed by the first shots, and, after death,

mutilated by blows from Spanish machetes.

Night came; heavy clouds hung low in the sky; the force of the wind had

increased almost to a gale; below in the bay the war-ships were anchored,

their search-lights streaming out here and there like ribbons of gold on a

pall of black velvet.

No signs of the enemy on land or sea, and, save for those two cold,

lifeless forms on the heights, one might have believed the previous rattle

of musketry had been heard only by the imagination.

Until nine o’clock in the evening the occupants of the camp kept careful

watch, and then without warning, as before, the crack of repeating rifles

broke the almost painful stillness.

[Illustration: U. S. S. MARBLEHEAD.]

The enemy was making his presence known once more, and this time it became

evident he was in larger force.

Another 3-inch gun was brought into play; a launch from the _Marblehead_,

with a Colt machine gun in her bow, steamed swiftly shoreward and opened

fire; skirmish lines were thrown out through the tangle of foliage, and

only when a dark form was seen, which might have been that of a Spaniard,

or only the swaying branches of the trees, did the boys in blue have a

target.

It was guerrilla warfare, and well-calculated to test the nerves of the

young soldiers who were receiving their “baptism of blood.”

Until midnight this random firing continued, and then a large body of

Spanish troops charged up the hill until they were face to face with the

defenders of the camp, when they retreated, being lost to view almost

immediately in the blackness of the night.

_June 12._ Again and again the firing was renewed from this quarter or

that, but the enemy did not show himself until the morning came like a

flash of light, as it does in the tropics, disclosing scurrying bands of

Spanish soldiers as they sought shelter in the thicket.

Now more guns were brought into play at the camp; the war-ships began

shelling the shore, and the action was speedily brought to an end. Four

Americans had been killed, and among them one of the surgeons.

At intervals during the day the crack of a rifle would tell that Spanish

sharpshooters were hovering around the camp; but not until eight o’clock

in the evening did the enemy approach in any great numbers.

Then the battle was on once more; again did the little band of bluejackets

stand to their posts, fighting against an unseen foe. Again the war-ships

flashed their search-lights and sent shell after shell into the thicket,

and all the while the Spanish fire was continued with deadly effect.

Lieutenants Neville and Shaw, each with a squad of ten men, were sent out

to dislodge the advance line of the enemy, and as the boys in blue swung

around into the thicket with a steady, swinging stride, the Spaniards gave

way, firing rapidly while so doing.

The Americans, heeding not the danger, pursued, following the foe nearly

to a small stone house near the coast, which had been used as a fort. They

were well up to this structure when the bullets rained upon them in every

direction from out the darkness. Sergeant Goode fell fatally wounded, and

the Spaniards charged, forcing the Americans to the very edge of a cliff,

over which one man fell and was killed; another fell, but with no further

injury than a broken leg. A third was shot through the arm, after which he

and the man with the broken limb joined forces, fighting on their own

account. One more was wounded, and then the Americans made a desperate

charge, forcing the enemy back into the stone house, and then out again,

after fifteen had been killed.

Meanwhile severe fighting was going on in the vicinity of the camp; but

six field-pieces were brought up, and the second battle was ended after

two Americans had been killed and seven wounded.

_June 13._ The camp was moved to a less exposed position, while the

war-ships poured shell and shrapnel into the woods, and then the marines

filed solemnly out to a portion of the hill overlooking the bay where were

six newly made graves.

All the marines could not attend the funeral, many having to continue the

work of moving camp, or to rest on their guns, keeping a constant watch

for the lurking Spaniards; but all who could do so followed the stumbling

bearers of the dead over the loose gravel, and grouped themselves about

the graves.

The stretcher bearing the bodies had just been lifted to its place, and

Chaplain Jones of the _Texas_ was about to begin the reading of the burial

service, when the Spaniards began shooting at the party from the western

chaparral.

“Fall in, Company A, Company B, Company C, fall in!”

“Fall in!” was the word from one end of the camp to the other. The graves

were deserted by all save the chaplain and escort, who still stood

unmoved.

The men sprang to arms, and then placed themselves behind the rolled

tents, their knapsacks, the bushes in the hollows, boxes and piles of

stones, their rifles ready, their eyes strained into the brush.

Howitzers roared, blue smoke arose where the shells struck and burst in

the chaparral, and rifles sounded angrily.

The _Texas_ fired seven shots at the place from which the shooting came,

and the Spaniards, as usual, fled out of sight.

The funeral services had hardly been resumed when there was another

attack; but this time the pits near the old blockhouse got the range of

the malignant marksmen and shattered them with a few shots. The _Texas_

and _Panther_ shelled the brush to the eastward, but the chaplain kept

right on with the service, and from that time until night there was little

shooting from the cover.

On this day the dynamite cruiser _Vesuvius_ joined Admiral Sampson’s

fleet, and the weary marines, holding their posts on shore against

overwhelming odds, hoped that her arrival betokened the speedy coming of

the soldiers who were so sadly needed.

_June 14._ Substantial recognition was given by the Navy Department to the

members of the gallant crew who took the _Merrimac_ into the entrance of

Santiago Harbour and sunk her across the channel under the very muzzles of

the Spanish guns.

The orders sent to Admiral Sampson directed the promotion of the men as

follows:

Daniel Montague, master-at-arms, to be a boatswain, from fifty dollars a

month to thirteen hundred dollars a year.

George Charette, gunner’s mate, to be a gunner, from fifty dollars a month

to thirteen hundred dollars a year.

Rudolph Clausen, Osborne Deignan, and —— Murphy, coxswains, to be chief

boatswain’s mates, an increase of twenty dollars a month.

George F. Phillips, machinist, from forty dollars a month to seventy

dollars a month.

Francis Kelly, water tender, to be chief machinist, from thirty-seven

dollars a month to seventy dollars a month.

Lieutenant Hobson’s reward would come through Congress.

While a grateful people were discussing the manner in which their heroes

should be crowned, that little band of marines on the shore of Guantanamo

Bay, worn almost to exhaustion by the harassing fire of the enemy during

seventy-two hours, was once more battling against a vastly superior force

in point of numbers.

From the afternoon of the eleventh of June until this morning of the

fourteenth, the Americans had remained on the defensive,—seven hundred

against two thousand or more. Now, however, different tactics were to be

used. Colonel Huntington had decided that it was time to turn the tables,

and before the night was come the occupants of the graves on the crest of

the hill had been avenged.

A scouting party, made up of nine officers, two hundred and eighty

marines, and forty-one Cubans, was divided into four divisions, the first

of which had orders to destroy a water-tank from which the enemy drew

supplies. The second was to attack the Spanish camp beyond the first range

of hills. The third had for its objective point a signal-station from

which information as to the movements of the American fleet had been

flashed into Santiago. The fourth division was to act as the reserve.

In half an hour from the time of leaving camp the signal-station was in

the hands of the Americans, and the heliograph outfit lost to the enemy.

The boys of ’98 had suffered no loss, while eight Spaniards lay with faces

upturned to the rays of the burning sun.

At noon the Spanish camp had been taken, with a loss of two Cubans killed,

one American and four Cubans wounded. Twenty-three Spaniards were dead.

The water-tank was destroyed, and the enemy, panic-stricken, was fleeing

here and there, yet further harassed by a heavy fire from the _Dolphin_,

who sent her shells among the fugitives whenever they came in view.

When the day drew near its close, and the weary but triumphant marines

returned to camp, a hundred of the enemy lay out on the hills dead; more

than twice that number must have been wounded, and eighteen were being

brought in as prisoners.

[Illustration: U. S. S. VESUVIUS.]

On this night of June 14th, at the entrance to Santiago Harbour, the

dynamite cruiser _Vesuvius_—that experimental engine of destruction—was

given a test in actual warfare, and the result is thus graphically

pictured by a correspondent of the New York _Herald_:

“Three shells, each containing two hundred pounds of guncotton, were fired

last night from the dynamite guns of the _Vesuvius_ at the hill at the

western entrance to Santiago Harbour, on which there is a fort.

“The frightful execution done by those three shots will be historic.

“Guns in that fort had not been silenced when the fleet drew off after the

attack that followed the discovery of the presence of the Spanish fleet in

the harbour.

“In the intense darkness of last night the _Vesuvius_ steamed into close

range and let go one of her mysterious missiles.

“There was no flash, no smoke. There was no noise at first. The pneumatic

guns on the little cruiser did their work silently. It was only when they

felt the shock that the men on the other war-ships knew the _Vesuvius_ was

in action.

“A few seconds after the gun was fired there was a frightful convulsion on

the land. On the hill, where the Spanish guns had withstood the missiles

of the ordinary ships of war, tons of rock and soil leaped in air. The

land was smitten as by an earthquake.

“Terrible echoes rolled around through the shaken hills and mountains.

Sampson’s ships, far out at sea, trembled with the awful shock. Dust rose

to the clouds and hid the scene of destruction.

“Then came a long silence; next another frightful upheaval, and following

it a third, so quickly that the results of the work of the two mingled in

mid-air.

“Another still, and then two shots from a Spanish battery, that, after the

noise of the dynamite, sounded like the crackle of firecrackers.

“The _Vesuvius_ had tested herself. She was found perfect as a destroyer.

She proved that no fortification can withstand her terrible missiles.

“Just what damage she did I could not tell from the sea. Whatever was

within hundreds of feet of the point of impact must have gone to

destruction.”

_June 16._ On the fifteenth of June the marines at Guantanamo Bay were

given an opportunity to rest, for the lesson the Spaniards received on the

fourteenth had been a severe one, and the fleet off Santiago remained

inactive. It was but the lull before the storm of iron which was rained

upon the Spanish on the sixteenth.

The prelude to this third bombardment of Santiago was a second trial of

the _Vesuvius_ at midnight on the fifteenth, when she sent three more

250-pound charges of guncotton into the fortifications. This done, the

fleet remained like spectres, each vessel at its respective station, until

half-past three o’clock on the morning of the sixteenth, when the

bluejackets were aroused and served with coffee.

Immediately the first gray light of dawn appeared, the ships steamed in

toward the fortifications of Santiago until within three thousand yards,

and there, lying broadside on, three cables’-lengths apart, they waited

for the day to break.

It was 5.25 when the _New York_ opened with a broadside from her main

battery, and the bombardment was begun.

All along the crescent-shaped line the big guns roared and the smaller

ones crackled and snapped, each piece throughout the entire squadron being

worked with such energy that it was like one mighty, continuous wave of

crashing thunder, and from out this convulsion came projectiles of

enormous weight, until it seemed as if all that line of shore must be rent

and riven.

Not a gun was directed at El Morro, for there it was believed the brave

Hobson and his gallant comrades were held prisoners.

When the signal was given for the fleet to retire, not a man had been

wounded, nor a vessel struck by the fire from the shore.

The governor of Santiago sent the following message to Madrid relative to

the bombardment:

“The Americans fired one thousand shots. Several Spanish shells hit the

enemy’s vessels. Our losses are three killed and twenty wounded, including

two officers. The Spanish squadron was not damaged.”

While the Americans were making their presence felt at Santiago, those who

held Guantanamo Bay were not idle. The _Texas_, _Marblehead_, and the

_Suwanee_ bombarded the brick fort and earthworks at Caimanera, at the

terminus of the railroad leading to the city of Guantanamo, demolishing

them entirely after an hour and a half of firing. When the Spaniards fled

from the fortifications, the _St. Paul_ shelled them until they were

hidden in the surrounding forest.

An hour or more after the bombardment ceased the _Marblehead’s_ steam

launch began dragging the harbour near the fort for mines. One was found

and taken up, and while it was being towed to the war-ship a party of

Spaniards on shore opened fire. The launch headed toward shore and began

banging away, but the bow gun finally kicked overboard, carrying the

gunner with it. At this moment the enemy beat a prompt retreat; the gunner

was pulled inboard, and the bluejackets continued their interrupted work.

_June 17._ Next day the batteries on Hicacal Point and Hospital Cay were

shelled, the _Marblehead_ and the _St. Paul_ attending to the first, and

the _Suwanee_ caring for the latter, while the _Dolphin_ and even the

collier _Scindia_ fired a few shots for diversion. The task was concluded

in less than half an hour, and had no more than come to an end when a

small sloop was sighted off the entrance to the bay.

The _Marblehead’s_ steam launch was sent in pursuit, and an hour later

returned with the prize, which proved to be the _Chato_. Her crew of five

were taken on board the _Marblehead_ as prisoners.

_June 18._ The active little steam launch made another capture next day

while cruising outside the bay; a nameless sloop, on which were four men

who claimed to have been sent from the lighthouse at Cape Maysi to

Guantanamo City for oil. There were strong reasons for believing this

party had come to spy out the position of the American ships, and all were

transferred to the _Marblehead_.

The crew of the _Oregon_ had gun practice again on this day when they

shelled and destroyed a blockhouse three miles up the bay, killing, so it

was reported, no less than twenty of the enemy.

The first vessel of a long-expected fleet of transports, carrying the

second detachment of General Shafter’s army, hove in sight of Admiral

Sampson’s squadron on the evening of June 18th, and next morning at

daylight the launches of the _New York_ and _Massachusetts_ reconnoitred

the shore between Cabanas, two miles off the entrance to Santiago Harbour,

and Guayaganaco, two miles farther west, in search of a landing-place.

Lieutenant Harlow, in command of the expedition, made the following

report:

“The expedition consisted of a steam launch from the _Massachusetts_, in

charge of Cadet Hart, and a launch from the _New York_, in charge of Cadet

Powell. I took passage on the _Massachusetts’_ launch, leading the way.

Soundings were taken on entering the bay close under the old fort, and we

were preparing to circumnavigate the bay at full speed when fire was

opened from the fort and rocks on the shore. The _Massachusetts’_ launch

was some distance ahead and about forty yards off the fort. There was no

room to turn, and our 1-pounder could not be brought to bear. We backed

and turned under a heavy fire.

“Cadet Hart operated the gun as soon as it could be brought to bear,

sitting exposed in the bow, and working the gun as coolly and carefully as

at target practice.

“Cadet Powell had been firing since the Spaniards opened. He was also

perfectly cool. Both launches ran out under a heavy fire of from six to

eight minutes. I estimate that there were twenty-five Spaniards on the

parapet of the old fort. The number along shore was larger, but

indefinite. The launches, as soon as it was practicable, sheered to give

the _Vixen_ the range of the fort. The _Vixen_ and the _Texas_ silenced

the shore fire promptly.

“I strongly commend Cadet Hart and Cadet Powell for the cool management of

the launches. One launch was struck seven times. Nobody in either was

hurt. A bullet struck a shell at Cadet Hart’s feet between the projectile

and the powder, but failed to explode the latter.

“Coxswain O’Donnell and Seaman Bloom are commended, as is also the

coolness with which the marines and sailors worked under the Spanish fire.

“Nothing was learned at Cabanas Bay, but at Guayaganaco it is evident a

landing is practicable for ships’ boats. The same is true of Rancho Cruz,

a small bay to the eastward. Both would be valuable with Cabanas, but

useless without it.

“I am informed that to the north and westward of Cabanas Bay there is a

large clearing, with plenty of grass and water.

“I think a simultaneous landing at the three places named would be

practicable if the ships shelled the adjacent wood. A junction would

naturally follow at the clearing.”

Cuban scouts reported to Colonel Huntington on Guantanamo Bay that the

streets of Caimanera have been covered with straw saturated in oil, in

order that the city may be destroyed when the Americans evince any

disposition to take possession. The Spanish gunboat _Sandoval_, lying at

one of the piers, has been loaded with inflammables, and will be burned

with the city, her commander declaring that she shall never become an

American prize.

During this Sunday night the _Vesuvius_ again discharged her dynamite

guns, with the western battery as a target, and because of the frightful

report which followed the second shot, it was believed a magazine had been

exploded.

_June 20._ The fleet of transports arrived off Santiago at noon on the

twentieth, and hove to outside the cordon of war-vessels. General Shafter

immediately went on board the flag-ship, and returned to his own ship an

hour later in company with Admiral Sampson, when the two officers sailed

for Asserradero, seventeen miles from Santiago, where General Calixto

Garcia was encamped with his army of four thousand Cubans. Here a long

conference was held with the insurgent general, after which the two

commanders returned to the fleet.

_June 21._ The despatch quoted below was sent by Admiral Sampson to the

Navy Department, and gives in full the work of the day:

“Landing of the army is progressing favorably at Daiquiri. There is very

little, if any, resistance. The _New Orleans_, _Detroit_, _Castine_,

_Wasp_, and _Suwanee_ shelled the vicinity before the landing. We made a

demonstration at Cabanas to engage the attention of the enemy. The _Texas_

engaged the west battery for some hours. She had one man killed. Ten

submarine mines have been recovered from the channel of Guantanamo.

Communication by telegraph has been established at Guantanamo.”

Daiquiri was chosen as the point of debarkation by General Shafter, and

its only fortifications were a blockhouse on a high cliff to the right of

an iron pier, together with a small fort and earthworks in the rear. From

this town extends a good road to Santiago, and in the immediate vicinity

of the port the water-supply is plentiful.

_June 22._ Bombarding the coast as a cover for the troops which were being

disembarked, was the principal work of the war-ships on the twenty-second

of June, except in Guantanamo Harbour, where volunteers were called for

from the _Marblehead_ and the _Dolphin_ to grapple for and remove the

contact mines in the harbour. It was an undertaking as perilous as

anything that had yet been accomplished, but the bluejackets showed no

fear. Four times the designated number came forward in response to the

call, and before nightfall seven mines had been removed.

[Illustration: U. S. S. TEXAS.]

The battle-ship _Texas_ was assigned to duty off Matamoras, the works of

which were to be bombarded as a portion of the general programme for this

day while the troops were being landed. The men of the _Texas_ performed

their part well; the Socapa battery was quickly silenced; but not quite

soon enough to save the life of one brave bluejacket. The last shell fired

by the retreating Spaniards struck the battle-ship twenty feet abaft the

stem on the port side. It passed through the hull about three feet below

the main-deck line, and failed to explode until striking an iron stanchion

at the centre line of the berth-deck. Here were two guns’ crews, and among

them the fragments of the shell flew in a deadly shower, killing one and

wounding eight. Later in the day the _Texas_ steamed out to sea to bury

the dead, and, this sad duty performed, returned before nightfall to her

station on the blockade.

_June 23._ General Shafter thus reported to the War Department:

“Daiquiri, June 23.—Had very fine voyage; lost less than fifty animals,

six or eight to-day; lost more putting them through the surf to land, than

on transports.

“Command as healthy as when we left; eighty men sick; only deaths, two men

drowned in landing; landings difficult; coast quite similar to that in

vicinity of San Francisco, and covered with dense growth of bushes.

Landing at Daiquiri unopposed; all points occupied by Spanish troops

heavily bombarded by navy to clear them out.

“Sent troops toward Santiago, and occupied Juragua, a naturally strong

place, this morning. Spanish troops retreating as soon as our advance was

known. Had no mounted troops, or could have captured them, about six

hundred all told.

“Railroad from there in. Have cars and engine in possession.

“With assistance of navy disembarked six thousand men yesterday, and as

many more to-day.

“Will get all troops off to-morrow, including light artillery and greater

portion of pack-train, probably all of it, with some of the wagons;

animals have to be jumped to the water and towed ashore.

“Had consultation with Generals Garcia, Rader and Castillo, on afternoon

of twentieth, twenty miles west of Santiago. These officers were

unanimously of the opinion that the landing should be made east of

Santiago. I had come to the same conclusion.

“General Garcia promises to join me at Juragua to-morrow with between

three thousand and four thousand men, who will be brought from west of

Santiago by ships of the navy to Juragua, and there disembarked.

“This will give me between four thousand and five thousand Cubans, and

leave one thousand under General Rabi to threaten Santiago from the west.

“General Kent’s division is being disembarked this afternoon at Juragua,

and this will be continued during the night. The assistance of the navy

has been of the greatest benefit and enthusiastically given; without them

I could not have landed in ten days, and perhaps not at all, as I believe

I should have lost so many boats in the surf.

“At present want nothing; weather has been good, no rain on land, and

prospects of fair weather.

“SHAFTER,

“_Major-General U. S. Commanding._”

The boys of ’98 occupied the town of Aguadores before nightfall on the

twenty-third of June, the Spaniards having applied the torch to many

buildings before they fled. The enemy was driven back on to Santiago,

General Linares commanding in person, and close to his heels hung General

Lawton and the advance of the American forces.

_June 24._ It was evident that the Spanish intended to make a stand at

Sevilla, six miles from Juragua, and five miles from Santiago. The

Americans were pressing them hotly to prevent General Linares from gaining

time to make preparations for an encounter, when the Rough Riders, as

Colonel Wood’s regiment was termed, and the First and Tenth Cavalry fell

into an ambuscade. Then what will probably be known as the battle of La

Quasina was fought.

It is thus described by a correspondent of the Associated Press:

That the Spaniards were thoroughly posted as to the route to be taken by

the Americans in their movement toward Sevilla was evident, as shown by

the careful preparations they had made.

The main body of the Spaniards was posted on a hill, on the heavily wooded

slopes of which had been erected two blockhouses flanked by irregular

intrenchments of stone and fallen trees. At the bottom of these hills run

two roads, along which Lieutenant-Colonel Roosevelt’s men, and eight

troops of the First and Tenth Cavalry, with a battery of four howitzers,

advanced. These roads are but little more than gullies, rough and narrow,

and at places almost impassable.

In these trails the fight occurred. Nearly half a mile separated

Roosevelt’s men from the regulars, and between, and on both sides of the

road in the thick underbrush, was concealed a force of Spaniards that must

have been large, judging from the terrific and constant fire they poured

in on the Americans.

The fight was opened by the First and Tenth Cavalry, under General Young.

A force of Spaniards was known to be in the vicinity of La Quasina, and

early in the morning Lieutenant-Colonel Roosevelt’s men started off up the

precipitous bluff, back of Siboney, to attack the enemy on his right

flank. General Young at the same time took the road at the foot of the

hill.

[Illustration: COLONEL THEODORE ROOSEVELT.]

About two and one-half miles out from Siboney some Cubans, breathless and

excited, rushed into camp with the announcement that the Spaniards were

but a little way in front, and were strongly entrenched. Quickly the

Hotchkiss guns in the front were brought to the rear, while a strong

scouting line was thrown out.

Then cautiously and in silence the troops moved forward until a bend in

the road disclosed a hill where the Spaniards were located. The guns were

again brought to the front and placed in position, while the men crouched

down in the road, waiting impatiently to give Roosevelt’s men, who were

toiling over the little trail along the crest of the hill, time to get up.

At 7.30 A. M. General Young gave the command to the men at the Hotchkiss

guns to open fire. That command was the signal for a fight that for

stubbornness has seldom been equalled. The instant the Hotchkiss guns were

fired, from the hillside commanding the road came volley after volley from

the Mausers of the Spaniards.

“Don’t shoot until you see something to shoot at,” yelled General Young,

and the men, with set jaws and gleaming eyes, obeyed the order. Crawling

along the edge of the road, they protected themselves as much as possible

from the fearful fire of the Spaniards, the troopers, some of them

stripped to the waist, watching the base of the hill, and when any part of

a Spaniard became visible, they fired. Never for an instant did they

falter.

One dusky warrior of the Tenth Cavalry, with a ragged wound in his thigh,

coolly knelt behind a rock, loading and firing, and when told by one of

his comrades that he was wounded, laughed and said:

“Oh, that’s all right. That’s been there for some time.”

In the meantime, away off to the left could be heard the crack of the

rifles of Colonel Wood’s men, and the regular, deeper-toned volley-firing

of the Spaniards.

Over there the American losses were the greatest. Colonel Wood’s men, with

an advance-guard well out in front, and two Cuban guides before them, but

apparently with no flankers, went squarely into the trap set for them by

the Spaniards, and only the unfaltering courage of the men in the face of

a fire that would even make a veteran quail, prevented what might easily

have been a disaster. As it was, Troop L, the advance-guard under the

unfortunate Captain Capron, was almost surrounded, and but for the

reinforcement hurriedly sent forward every man would probably have been

killed or wounded.

When the reserves came up there was no hesitation. Colonel Wood, with the

right wing, charged straight at a blockhouse eight hundred yards away, and

Colonel Roosevelt, on the left, charged at the same time. Up the men went,

yelling like fiends, and never stopping to return the fire of the

Spaniards, but keeping on with a grim determination to capture that

blockhouse.

That charge was the end. When within five hundred yards of the coveted

point, the Spaniards broke and ran, and for the first time the boys of ’98

had the pleasure which the Spaniards had been experiencing all through the

engagement, of shooting with the enemy in sight.

The losses among the Rough Riders were reported as thirteen killed and

forty wounded; while the First Cavalry lost sixteen wounded. Edward

Marshall, a newspaper correspondent, was seriously wounded.

While the land-forces were fighting four miles northwest of Juragua,

Rear-Admiral Sampson learned that the Spaniards were endeavouring to

destroy the railroad leading from Juragua to Santiago de Cuba.

This road runs west along the seashore, under cover of the guns of the

American fleet, until within three miles of El Morro, and then cuts

through the mountains along the river into Santiago.

When the attempt of the Spaniards was discovered, the _New York_,

_Scorpion_, and _Wasp_ closed in and cleared the hill and brush of

Spaniards.

_June 26._ The American lines were advanced to within four miles of

Santiago, and the boys could look into the doomed city. It was possible to

make accurate note of the defences, and most likely officers as well as

men were astonished by the preparations which had been made.

There were blockhouses on every hill; from the harbour batteries, sweeping

in a semicircle to the eastward of the city, were rifle-pits and

intrenchments skilfully arranged. Earthworks, in a regular line,

completely shut off approach to the city, and in front of the

entrenchments and rifle-pits were barbed-wire fences, or trochas.

Three more charges of guncotton did the dynamite cruiser _Vesuvius_ throw

into the batteries at the mouth of Santiago Harbour on the night of June

26th, and next morning the evidences of her work could be seen on the

western battery, a portion of which was in ruins. The water-mains which

supplied the city of Santiago were cut on the same night, and the doomed

city thus brought so much nearer to capitulation.

_July 1._ Knowing that with the close of June the American army was in

readiness for a decisive action, the people waited anxiously, tearfully,

for the first terrible word which should be received telling of slaughter

and woeful suffering, and it came on the evening of July 1st, when the

cablegram given below was flashed over the wires to the War Department:

“PLAYA DEL ESTE, July 1, 1898.

“_A. G. O., U. S. Army, Washington_:

“Siboney, July 1. Had a very heavy engagement to-day, which lasted from

eight A. M. till sundown.

“We have carried their outer works and are now in possession of them.

“There is now about three-quarters of a mile of open country between my

lines and city; by morning troops will be entrenched and considerable

augmentation of forces will be there.

“General Lawton’s division and General Bates’s brigade, which had been

engaged all day in carrying El Caney, which was accomplished at four

P. M., will be in line and in front of Santiago during the night.

“I regret to say that our casualties will be above four hundred; of these

not many are killed.

(Signed) “W. R. SHAFTER, _Major-General_.”

CHAPTER XI.

EL CANEY AND SAN JUAN HEIGHTS.

General W. R. Shafter, in his official report of the operations around

Santiago, says:

“On June 30th I reconnoitred the country about Santiago and made my plan

of attack. From a high hill, from which the city was in plain view, I

could see the San Juan Hill and the country about El Caney. The roads were

very poor and, indeed, little better than bridle-paths until the San Juan

River and El Caney were reached. The position of El Caney, to the

northeast of Santiago, was of great importance to the enemy, as holding

the Guantanamo road, as well as furnishing shelter for a strong outpost

that might be used to assail the right flank of any force operating

against San Juan Hill. In view of this, I decided to begin the attack next

day at El Caney with one division, while sending two divisions on the

direct road to Santiago, passing by the El Pozo house, and as a diversion

to direct a small force against Aguadores, from Siboney along the railroad

by the sea, with a view of attracting the attention of the Spaniards in

the latter direction, and of preventing them from attacking our left

flank.... But we were in a sickly climate; our supplies had to be brought

forward by a narrow wagon-road which the rain might at any time render

impassable; fear was entertained that a storm might drive the vessels

containing our stores to sea, thus separating us from our base of

supplies, and, lastly, it was reported that General Pando, with eight

thousand reinforcements for the enemy, was en route for Manzanillo, and

might be expected in a few days. Under these conditions I determined to

give battle without delay.

[Illustration: MAJOR-GENERAL SHAFTER.]

“Early on the morning of July 1st Lawton was in position around El Caney,

Chaffee’s brigade on the right across the Guantanamo road, Miles’s brigade

in the centre and Ludlow’s on the left. The duty of cutting off the

enemy’s retreat along the Santiago road was assigned to the latter

brigade. The artillery opened on the town at 6.15 A. M. The battle here

soon became general, and was hotly contested. The enemy’s position was

naturally strong, and was rendered more so by blockhouses, a stone fort

and entrenchments cut in solid rock, and the loopholing of a solidly built

stone church. The opposition offered by the enemy was greater than had

been anticipated, and prevented Lawton from joining the right of the main

line during the day, as had been intended. After the battle had continued

for some time, Bates’s brigade of two regiments reached my headquarters

from Siboney. I directed him to move near El Caney, to give assistance if

necessary. He did so, and was put in position between Miles and Chaffee.

The battle continued with varying intensity during most of the day and

until the place was carried by assault about 4.30 P. M. As the Spaniards

endeavoured to retreat along the Santiago road, Ludlow’s position enabled

him to do very effective work, and practically to cut off all retreat in

that direction.

“After the battle at El Caney was well opened, and the sound of the

small-arms fire caused us to believe that Lawton was driving the enemy

before him, I directed Grimes’s battery to open fire from the heights of

El Pozo on the San Juan blockhouse, situated in the enemy’s entrenchments,

extending along the crest of San Juan Hill. This fire was effective, and

the enemy could be seen running away from the vicinity of the blockhouse.

The artillery fire from El Pozo was soon returned by the enemy’s

artillery. They evidently had the range of this hill, and their first

shells killed and wounded several men. As the Spaniards used smokeless

powder, it was very difficult to locate the position of their pieces,

while, on the contrary, the smoke caused by our black powder plainly

indicated the position of our battery.

“At this time the cavalry division, under General Sumner, which was lying

concealed in the general vicinity of the El Pozo house, was ordered

forward with directions to cross the San Juan River and deploy to the

right on the Santiago side, while Kent’s division was to follow closely in

its rear and deploy to the left. These troops moved forward in compliance

with orders, but the road was so narrow as to render it impracticable to

retain the column of fours formation at all points, while the undergrowth

on both sides was so dense as to preclude the possibility of deploying

skirmishers. It naturally resulted that the progress made was slow, and

the long-range rifles of the enemy’s infantry killed and wounded a number

of our men while marching along this road, and before there was any

opportunity to return this fire. At this time Generals Kent and Sumner

were ordered to push forward with all possible haste, and place their

troops in position to engage the enemy. General Kent, with this end in

view, forced the head of his column alongside the cavalry column as far as

the narrow trail permitted, and thus hurried his arrival at the San Juan,

and the formation beyond that stream. A few hundred yards before reaching

the San Juan, the road forks, a fact that was discovered by

Lieutenant-Colonel Derby of my staff, who had approached well to the front

in a war balloon. This information he furnished to the troops, resulting

in Sumner moving on the right-hand road while Kent was enabled to utilise

the road to the left. General Wheeler, the permanent commander of the

cavalry division, who had been ill, came forward during the morning, and

later returned to duty and rendered most gallant and efficient service

during the remainder of the day. After crossing the stream the cavalry

moved to the right, with a view to connecting with Lawton’s left when he

would come up, with their left resting near the Santiago road.

“In the meantime, Kent’s division, with the exception of two regiments of

Hawkins’s brigade, being thus uncovered, moved rapidly to the front from

the forks previously mentioned in the road, utilising both trails, but

more especially the one to the left, and, crossing the creek, formed for

attack in the front of San Juan Hill. During this formation the Third

Brigade suffered severely. While personally superintending this movement

its gallant commander, Colonel Wikoff, was killed. The command of the

brigade then devolved upon Lieutenant-Colonel Worth, Thirteenth Infantry,

who was soon severely wounded, and next upon Lieutenant-Colonel Liscum,

Twenty-fourth Infantry, who, five minutes later, also fell under the

terrible fire of the enemy, and the command of the brigade then devolved

upon Lieutenant-Colonel Ewers of the Ninth Infantry.

“While the formation just described was taking place, General Kent took

measures to hurry forward his rear brigade. The Tenth and Second Infantry

were ordered to follow Wikoff’s brigade, while the Twenty-first was sent

on the right-hand road to support the First Brigade under General Hawkins,

who had crossed the stream and formed on the right of the division. The

Second and Tenth Infantry, Colonel E. P. Pearson commanding, moved forward

in good order on the left of the division, passing over a green knoll, and

drove the enemy back toward his trenches.

[Illustration: THE ATTACK ON SAN JUAN HILL.]

“After completing their formation under a destructive fire, advancing a

short distance, both divisions found in their front a wide bottom, in

which had been placed a barbed-wire entanglement, and beyond which there

was a high hill, along the crest of which the enemy was strongly posted.

Nothing daunted, these gallant men pushed on to drive the enemy from his

chosen position, both divisions losing heavily. In this assault Colonel

Hamilton, Lieutenants Smith and Shipp were killed, and Colonel Carroll,

Lieutenants Thayer and Myer, all in the cavalry, were wounded. Great

credit is due to Brigadier-General H. S. Hawkins, who, placing himself

between his regiments, urged them on by voice and bugle-call to the attack

so brilliantly executed.

“In this fierce encounter words fail to do justice to the gallant

regimental commanders and their heroic men, for, while the generals

indicated the formation and the points of attack, it was, after all, the

intrepid bravery of the subordinate officers and men that planted our

colours on the crest of San Juan Hill and drove the enemy from his

trenches and blockhouses, thus gaining a position which sealed the fate of

Santiago.

“In the action on this part of the field, most efficient service was

rendered by Lieutenant J. H. Parker, Thirteenth Infantry, and the Gatling

gun detachment under his command.

“The fighting continued at intervals until nightfall, but our men held

resolutely to the position gained at the cost of so much blood and toil.

“On the night of July 1st I ordered General Duffield, at Siboney, to send

forward the Thirty-fourth Michigan and the Ninth Massachusetts, both of

which had just arrived from the United States.

“All day on the second the battle raged with more or less fury, but such

of our troops as were in position at daylight held their ground, and

Lawton gained a strong and commanding position on the right. About ten

P. M. the enemy made a vigorous assault to break through my lines, but he

was repulsed at all points.

“On the morning of the third the battle was renewed, but the enemy seemed

to have expended his energy in the assault of the previous night, and the

firing along the line was desultory.”

Such is the official report of the battle before Santiago, where were

killed of the American forces twenty-three officers, and 208 men; wounded

eighty officers, and 1,203 men; missing, eighty-one; total, 1,595.

An account of any engagement is made more vivid by a recital of those who

participated in the bloody work, since the commanding officer views the

action as a whole, and purely from a military standpoint, while the

private, who may know little or nothing regarding the general outcome,

understands full well what took place immediately around him. Mr. W. K.

Hearst, the proprietor of the New York _Journal_, told the following

graphic story in the columns of his paper:

“I set out before daybreak this morning on horseback with Honore Laine,

who is a colonel in the Cuban army. We rode over eight miles of difficult

country which intervenes between the army base, on the coast, and the

fighting line, which is being driven forward toward Santiago.

“Pozo, as a position for our battery, was ill chosen. The Spaniards had

formerly occupied it as a fort, and they knew precisely the distance to it

from their guns, and so began their fight with the advantage of a perfect

knowledge of the range.

“Their first shell spattered shrapnel in a very unpleasant way all over

the tiled roof of the white house at the back of the ridge. It was the

doors of this house which we were approaching for shelter, and later, when

we came to take our luncheon, we found that a shrapnel ball had passed

clean through one of our cans of pressed beef which our pack-mule was

carrying.

“We turned here to the right toward our battery on the ridge. When we were

half-way between the white house and the battery, the second shell which

the Spaniards fired burst above the American battery, not ten feet over

the heads of our men. Six of our fellows were killed, and sixteen wounded.

“The men in the battery wavered for a minute; then rallied and returned to

their guns, and the firing went on. We passed from there to the right

again, where General Shafter’s war balloon was ascending. Six shells fell

in this vicinity, and then our batteries ceased firing.

“The smoke clouds from our guns were forming altogether too plain a target

for the Spaniards. There was no trace to be seen of the enemy’s batteries,

by reason of their use of smokeless powder.

“Off to the far right of our line of formation, Captain Capron’s

artillery, which had come through from Daiquiri without rest, could be

heard banging away at Caney. We had started with a view of getting where

we could observe artillery operations, so we directed our force thither.

“We found Captain Capron blazing away with four guns, where he should have

had a dozen. He had begun shelling Caney at four o’clock in the morning.

It was now noon, and he was still firing. He was aiming to reduce the

large stone fort which stood on the hill above the town and commanded it.

Captain O’Connell had laid a wager that the first shot of some one of the

four guns would hit the fort, and he had won his bet. Since that time

dozens of shells had struck the fort, but it was not yet reduced. It had

been much weakened, however.

“Through glasses our infantry could be seen advancing toward this fort. As

the cannon at our side would bang, and the shell would swish through the

air with its querulous, vicious, whining note, we would watch its

explosion, and then turn our attention to the little black specks of

infantry dodging in and out among the groups of trees. Now they would

disappear wholly from sight in the brush, and again would be seen hurrying

along the open spaces, over the grass-covered slopes, or across ploughed

fields. The infantry firing was ceaseless, our men popping away

continuously, as a string of firecrackers pops.

“The Spaniards fired in volleys against our men. Many times we heard the

volley fire, and saw the brave fellows pitch forward and lie still on the

turf, while the others hurried on to the next protecting clump of bushes.

“For hours the Spaniards had poured their fire from slits in the stone

fort, from their deep trenches, and from the windows of the town. For

hours our men answered back from trees and brush and gullies. For hours

cannon at our side banged and shells screamed through air and fell upon

fort and town. Always our infantry advanced, drawing nearer and closing up

on the village, till at last they formed under a group of mangrove-trees

at the foot of the very hill on which the stone fort stood.

“With a rush they swept up the slope and the stone fort was ours. Then you

should have heard the yells that went up from the knoll on which our

battery stood. Gunners, drivers, Cubans, correspondents, swung their hats

and gave a mighty cheer. Immediately our battery stopped firing for fear

we should hurt our own men, and, dashing down into the valley, hurried

across to take up a position near the infantry, who were now firing on

Caney from the blockhouse. The town artillery had not sent half a dozen

shots from its new position before the musketry firing ceased, and the

Spaniards, broken into small bunches, fled from Caney in the direction of

Santiago.

“Laine and I hurried up to the stone fort and found that James Creelman, a

_Journal_ correspondent with the infantry column, had been seriously

wounded and was lying in the Twelfth Infantry hospital. Our men were still

firing an occasional shot, and from blockhouses and isolated trenches,

from which the Spaniards could not safely retreat, flags of truce were

waving.

“Guns and side-arms were being taken away from such Spaniards as had

outlived the pitiless fire, and their dead were being dumped without

ceremony into the trenches, after the Spanish fashion.

“When I left the fort to hunt for Creelman, I found him, bloody and

bandaged, lying on his back on a blanket on the ground, but shown all care

and attention that kindly and skilful surgeons could give him. His first

words to me were that he was afraid he could not write much of a story, as

he was pretty well dazed, but if I would write for him he would dictate

the best he could. I sat down among the wounded, and Creelman told me his

story of the fight. Here it is:

“‘The extraordinary thing in this fight of all the fights I have seen, is

the enormous amount of ammunition fired. There was a continuous roar of

musketry from four o’clock in the morning until four in the afternoon.

[Illustration: VICE-PRESIDENT HOBART.]

“‘Chaffee’s brigade began the fight by moving along the extreme right,

with Ludlow down in the low country to the left of Caney. General

Chaffee’s brigade consisted of the Seventeenth, Seventh, and Twelfth

Infantry, and was without artillery. It occupied the extreme right.

“‘The formation was like two sides of an equilateral triangle, Ludlow to

the south, and Chaffee to the east.

“‘Ludlow began firing through the brush, and we could see through the

palm-trees and tangle of bushes the brown and blue figures of our soldiers

in a line a mile long, stealing from tree to tree, bush to bush, firing as

they went.

“‘Up here on the heights General Chaffee, facing Caney, moved his troops

very early in the morning, and the battle opened by Ludlow’s artillery

firing on the fort and knocking several holes in it.

“‘The artillery kept up a steady fire on the fort and town, and finally

demolished the fort. Several times the Spaniards were driven from it, but

each time they returned before our infantry could approach it.

“‘Our artillery had but four small guns, and, though they fired with great

accuracy, it was ten hours before they finally reduced the stone fort on

the hill and enabled our infantry to take possession.

“‘The Twelfth Infantry constituted the left of our attack, the Seventeenth

held the right, while the Seventh, made up largely of recruits, occupied

the centre.

“‘The Spanish fired from loopholes in the stone houses of the town, and,

furthermore, were massed in trenches on the east side of the fort. They

fought like devils.

“‘From all the ridges round about the stream of fire was kept up on

Chaffee’s men, who were kept wondering how they were being wounded. For a

time they thought General Ludlow’s men were on the opposite side of the

fort and were firing over it.

“‘The fact was the fire came from heavy breastworks on the northwest

corner of Caney, where the principal Spanish force lay, with their hats on

sticks to deceive our riflemen. From this position the enemy poured in a

fearful fire. The Seventeenth had to lie down flat under the pounding, but

even then men were killed.

“‘General Chaffee dashed about with his hat on the back of his head like a

magnificent cowboy, urging his men on, crying to them to get in and help

their country win a victory. Smokeless powder makes it impossible to

locate the enemy, and you wonder where the fire comes from. When you stand

up to see you get a bullet.

“‘We finally located the trenches, and could see the officers moving about

urging their men. The enemy was making a turning movement to the right. To

turn the left of the Spanish position it was necessary to get a

blockhouse, which held the right of our line. General Chaffee detailed

Captain Clark to approach and occupy this blockhouse as soon as the

artillery had sufficiently harried its Spanish defenders.

“‘Clark and Captain Haskell started up the slope. I told them I had been

on the ridge and knew the condition of affairs, so I would show them the

way.

“‘We pushed right up to the trench around the fort, and, getting out our

wire-cutters, severed the barbed wire in front of it. I jumped over the

severed strand and got into the trench.

“‘It was a horrible, blood-splashed thing, and an inferno of agony. Many

men lay dead, with gleaming teeth, and hands clutching their throats.

Others were crawling there alive.

“‘I shouted to the survivors to surrender, and they held up their hands.

“‘Then I ran into the fort and found there a Spanish officer and four men

alive, while seven lay dead in one room. The whole floor ran with blood.

Blood splashed all the walls. It was a perfect hog-pen of butchery.

“‘Three poor wretches put their hands together in supplication. One had a

white handkerchief tied on a stick. This he lifted and moved toward me.

The other held up his hands, while the third began to pray and plead.

“‘I took the guns from all three and threw them outside the fort. Then I

called some of our men and put them in charge of the prisoners.

“‘I then got out of the fort, ran around to the other side, and secured

the Spanish flag. I displayed it to our troops, and they cheered lustily.

“‘Just as I turned to speak to Captain Haskell I was struck by a bullet

from the trenches on the Spanish side.’”

Before five o’clock, on the morning of July 2d, the crew of the flag-ship

_New York_ was astir, eating a hurried breakfast.

At 5.50 general quarters was sounded, and the flag-ship headed in toward

Aguadores, about three miles east of Morro Castle. The other ships

retained their blockading stations. Along the surf-beaten shore the smoke

of an approaching train from Altares was seen. It was composed of open

cars full of General Duffield’s troops.

At a cutting a mile east of Aguadores the train stopped, and the Cuban

scouts proceeded along the railroad track. The troops got out of the cars,

and soon formed in a long, thin line, standing out vividly against the

yellow rocks that rose perpendicularly above, shutting them off from the

main body of the army, which was on the other side of the hill, several

miles north.

From the quarter of the flag-ship there was a signal, by a vigorously

wigwagged letter, and a few minutes later, from a clump of green at the

water’s edge, came an answer from the army. This was the first coöperation

for offensive purposes between the army and navy. The landing of the army

at Daiquiri and Altares was purely a naval affair.

[Illustration: U. S. S. NEWARK.]

With the flag in his hand, the soldier ashore looked like a butterfly.

“Are you waiting for us to begin?” was the signal made by Rear-Admiral

Sampson to the army.

“General Duffield is ahead with the scouts,” came the answer from the

shore to the flag-ship.

By this time it was seven A. M. The admiral ran the flag-ship’s bow within

three-quarters of a mile of the beach. She remained almost as near during

the forenoon, and the daring way she was handled by Captain Chadwick,

within sound of the breakers, made the Cuban pilot on board stare with

astonishment.

The _Suwanee_ was in company with the flag-ship, still closer inshore, and

the _Gloucester_ was to the westward, near Morro Castle. From the

southward the _Newark_ came up and took a position to the westward. Her

decks were black with fifteen hundred or more troops.

She went alongside of the flag-ship, and was told to disembark the troops

at Altares.

Then Admiral Sampson signalled to General Duffield:

“When do you want us to commence firing?”

In a little while a white flag on shore sent back the answer:

“When the rest of the command arrives; then I will signal you.”

It was a long and tedious wait for the ships before the second fifty

car-loads of troops came puffing along from Altares.

By 9.30 the last of the soldiers had left the open railroad tracks,

disappearing in the thick brush that covered the eastern side of Aguadores

inlet.

The water in the sponge tubes under the breeches of the big guns was

growing hot in the burning sun.

Ashore there was no sign of the Spaniards. They were believed to be on the

western bluff.

Between the bluffs ran a rocky gully, leading into Santiago City. On the

extremity of the western arm was an old castellated fort, from which the

Spanish flag was flying, and on the parapet on the eastern hill,

commanding the gully, two stretches of red earth could easily be seen

against the brush. These were the rifle-pits.

At 10.15 a signal-flag ashore wigwagged to Admiral Sampson to commence

firing, and a minute later the _New York’s_ guns blazed away at the

rifle-pits and at the old fort.

The _Suwanee_ and _Gloucester_ joined in the firing.

Of our troops ashore in the brush nothing could be seen, but the ping,

ping, of the small arms of the army floated out to sea during the

occasional lull in the firing of the big guns, which peppered the

rifle-pits until clouds of red earth rose above them.

An 8-inch shell from the _Newark_ dropped in the massive old fort, and

clouds of white dust and huge stones filled the air. When the small shells

hit its battlements, almost hidden by green creepers, fragments of masonry

came tumbling down. A shot from the _Suwanee_ hit the eastern parapet, and

it crumbled away. Amid the smoke and débris, the flagstaff was seen to

fall forward.

“The flag has been shot down!” shouted the ship’s crew, but, when the

smoke cleared away, the emblem of Spain was seen to be still flying and

blazing brilliantly in the sun, though the flagstaff was bending toward

the earth.

A few more shots from the _Suwanee_ levelled the battlements until the old

castle was a pitiful sight.

When the firing ceased, Lieutenant Delehanty of the _Suwanee_ was anxious

to finish his work, so he signalled to the _New York_, asking permission

to knock down the Spanish flag.

“Yes,” replied Admiral Sampson, “if you can do it in three shots.”

The _Suwanee_ then lay about sixteen hundred yards from the old fort. She

took her time. Lieutenant Blue carefully aimed the 4-inch gun, and the

crews of all the ships watched the incident amid intense excitement.

When the smoke of the _Suwanee’s_ first shot cleared away, only two red

streamers of the flag were left. The shell had gone through the centre of

the bunting.

A delighted yell broke from the crew of the _Suwanee_.

Two or three minutes later the _Suwanee_ fired again, and a huge cloud of

débris rose from the base of the flagstaff.

For a few seconds it was impossible to tell what had been the effect of

the shot. Then it was seen that the shell had only added to the ruin of

the fort.

The flagstaff seemed to have a charmed existence, and the _Suwanee_ only

had one charge left. It seemed hardly possible for her to achieve her

object with the big gun, such a distance, and such a tiny target.

There was breathless silence among the watching crews. They crowded on the

ships’ decks, and all eyes were on that tattered flag, bending toward the

top of what had once been a grand old castle. But it was only bending, not

yet down. Lieutenant-Commander Delehanty and Lieutenant Blue took their

time. The _Suwanee_ changed her position slightly.

Then a puff of smoke shot out from her side, up went a shooting cloud of

débris from the parapet, and down fell the banner of Spain.

Such yells from the flag-ship will probably never be heard again. There

was more excitement than witnessed at the finish of a college boat-race,

or a popular race between first-class thoroughbreds on some big track.

The _Suwanee’s_ last shot had struck right at the base of the flagstaff,

and had blown it clear of the wreckage, which had held it from finishing

its fall.

“Well done!” signalled Admiral Sampson to Lieutenant-Commander Delehanty.

At 11.30 General Duffield signalled that his scouts reported that no

damage had been done to the Spanish rifle-pits by the shells from the

ships, and Admiral Sampson told him they had been hit several times, but

that there was no one in the pits. However, the _Suwanee_ was ordered to

fire a few more shots in their direction.

[Illustration: ADMIRAL W. T. SAMPSON.]

At 12.18 P. M. the _New York_ having discontinued fire at Aguadores,

commenced firing 8-inch shells clear over the gully into the city of

Santiago de Cuba. Every five minutes the shells went roaring over the

hillside. What destruction they wrought it was impossible to tell, as the

smoke hid everything. In reply to General Duffield’s question:

“What is the news?”

Admiral Sampson replied:

“There is not a Spaniard left in the rifle-pits.”

Later General Duffield signalled that his scouts thought reinforcements

were marching to the battered old fort, and Admiral Sampson wigwagged him:

“There is no Spaniard left there. If any come the _Gloucester_ will take

care of them.”

A little later the _Oregon_ joined the _New York_ intending 8-inch shells

into the city of Santiago. This was kept up until 1.40 P. M. By that time

General Duffield had sent a message saying that his troops could not cross

the stream, but would return to Altares.

On the report that some Spanish troops were still in the gully, the _New

York_ and _Gloucester_ shelled it once more, and _Newark_, which had not

fired, signalled:

“Can I fire for target practice? Have had no previous opportunity.”

Permission for her to do so was signalled, and she blazed away, shooting

well, her 6-inch shells exploding with remarkable force among the rocks.