flag-ship returned to the blockading station.
On the railroad a train-load of troops had already left for Altares.
Mr. A. Maurice Low, of the Boston _Globe_, thus relates his personal
experience:
“When the fighting ceased on Friday evening, July 1st, every man was
physically spent, and needed food and rest more than anything else. For a
majority of the troops there was a chance to cook bacon and make coffee;
for the men of the hospital corps, the work of the day was commencing. At
convenient points hospitals were established, and men from every company
were sent out to search the battle-ground for the dead and wounded.
“It is the men of the hospital corps who have the ghastly side of war.
There is never any popular glory for them; there is no passion of
excitement to sustain them. The emotion of battle keeps a man up under
fire. Something in the air makes even a coward brave. But all that is
wanting when the surgeons go into action.
“Men come staggering into the hospital with blood dripping from their
wounds; squads of four follow one another rapidly, bearing stretchers and
blankets, on which are limp, motionless, groaning forms.
“To those of us at home who are in the habit of seeing our sick and
injured treated with the utmost consideration and delicacy, who see the
poor and outcast and criminal put into clean beds and surrounded with
luxuries, the way in which the wounded on a battle-field are disposed of
seems barbarous in the extreme. Of course it is unavoidable, but it is
nevertheless horrible.
“As soon as men were brought in they were at once taken off the litters
and placed on the bare ground. Time was too precious, and there were too
many men needing attention for a soldier to monopolise a stretcher until
the surgeon could reach him.
“There was no shelter. The men lay on the bare ground with the sun
streaming down on them, many of them suffering the greatest agony, and yet
very few giving utterance to a groan. Where I watched operations for a
time there was only one surgeon, who took every man in his turn, and
necessarily had to make many of them wait a long time.
“And yet these men were much more fortunate than many others, some of whom
lay on the battle-field for twenty-four hours before they were found.
There was no chloroform; very little of anything to numb pain. Painful
gunshot wounds were dressed hastily, almost roughly, until ambulances
could be sent out to take the men to the divisional hospitals in the rear.
“It is claimed that the hospital arrangements were inadequate, and that
many regiments went into action without a surgeon. From what I saw I think
the criticism to be justified. Naturally the wounded were taken care of
first,—the last duties to the dead could be performed later.
“It was ghastly as one moved over the battle-field to come across an
upturned face lying in a pool of blood, to see what was once a man, bent,
and twisted, and doubled. And still more horrible was it as the moonlight
fell over the field, and at unexpected places one ran against this fruit
of war and saw faces in the pallor of death made even more ghostlike by
the light, while the inevitable sea of crimson stood out in more startling
vividness by the contrast.
“We had won the battle, but our position was a somewhat precarious one.
“Our line was long and thin, and there was a danger of the Spaniards
breaking through and attacking us in the rear or left flank. To guard
against this possibility, Lawton’s division at El Caney was ordered to
move on to El Pozo, and Kent’s division was under orders to draw in its
left. The men who had fought at El Caney were hoping to be allowed to
sleep on the battle-field and obtain the rest which they so badly needed,
but after supper they were placed under arms and the march commenced.
“The Seventh U. S. Infantry led. It was a weird march. Immediately after
leaving El Caney we crossed an open field, a skirmish line was thrown out,
and the men were commanded to maintain absolute silence. We were in the
heart of the enemy’s country, and caution was necessary.
“After crossing this field we came to a deep gully through which ran a
swift stream almost knee-deep. Our way led across this stream, and there
was only one means of getting over. That was to plunge in and splash
through. Tired as we all were, after getting thoroughly wet our feet felt
like lead, and marching was perfect torture. Still there was no let-up.
“We pressed steadily forward until we came to where the road forked off.
Our directions had not been very explicit, we had no maps, and our
commander took the road which he thought was the right one. It soon led
between high banks of dense growth of chaparral on either side. The moon
had disappeared behind the clouds, and had the Spaniards wanted to
ambuscade us we were at their mercy.
“I will not say that we were nervous, exactly, but I think we would all
rather have been out of that lane. The fear that your enemy may be
crouching behind bushes, that you know nothing of his presence until he
pours a rifle fire into you, is rather trying on the nerves.
“The command was frequently halted for the officers to consult, and after
we had gone about a mile they concluded they were on the wrong road, and
went to the right about. When we came out where we had started we found
Brigadier-General Chaffee sitting silent on a big horse and watching a
seemingly never-ending line of men marching past him. We fell into
position and pushed on the road to Santiago.
“How long we marched that night I cannot tell. It seemed interminable. My
watch had run down and no one around me had the time. Finally we were
ordered to halt, and the men were told to stack arms, take off their
packs, and rest.
“I dropped my blanket roll, which seemed to me weighed not less than two
hundred pounds, on the muddy road, and sat down to rest. The next thing I
knew some one tapped me on the shoulder. It was three o’clock, and I had
been asleep for some hours. The regiment was again under arms, and was
receiving ammunition from a pack-train which had come up from the rear. We
pressed on until early dawn, when we were well in front of Santiago.
Entrenchments were hastily thrown up, and we were ready for the enemy. The
enemy did not give us much time for rest. They made an assault upon our
position early in the morning, which we repulsed....
“While the Spaniards were unable to dislodge us, they succeeded in forcing
our artillery back, which had taken a position that subjected it to a
withering infantry fire. Later in the day this position was recovered and
entrenchments thrown up, which, it was claimed, made the position
impregnable. The guns were so placed they could do tremendous destruction.
“There was a lull that afternoon, but in the evening the Spaniards opened
up an attack along our entire line, with the intention, evidently, of
taking us by surprise and rushing us out of our entrenchments. But their
purpose was a failure.”
General Lawton, in his report after the assault upon and the capture of El
Caney by his division during the first day’s fighting, says:
“It may not be out of place to call attention to this peculiar phase of
the battle.
“It was fought against an enemy fortified and entrenched within a compact
town of stone and concrete houses, some with walls several feet thick, and
supported by a number of covered solid stone forts, and the enemy
continued to resist until nearly every man was killed or wounded, with a
seemingly desperate resolution.”
It was Sergeant McKinnery, of Company B, Ninth Infantry, who shot and
disabled General Linares, the commander of the Spanish forces in Santiago.
The Spanish general was hit about an hour after San Juan Hill was taken,
during the first day’s fighting. The American saw a Spaniard, evidently a
general officer, followed by his staff, riding frantically about the
Spanish position, rallying his men.
Sergeant McKinnery asked Lieutenant Wiser’s permission to try a shot at
the officer, and greatly regretted to find the request refused. Major Bole
was consulted. He acquiesced, with the injunction that no one else should
fire. Sergeant McKinnery slipped a shell into his rifle, adjusted the
sights for one thousand yards, and fired. The shell fell short. Then he
put in another, raised the sights for another one thousand yards, took
careful aim, and let her go. The officer on the white horse threw up his
arms and fell forward.
“That is for Corporal Joyce,” said McKinnery as he saw that his ball had
reached the mark. The officer on the white horse was General Linares
himself. It was afterward learned that he was shot in the left shoulder.
He immediately relinquished the command to General Toral.
On the evening of July 3d, General Shafter sent the following cablegram to
the War Department:
“HEADQUARTERS FIFTH ARMY CORPS,
“NEAR SANTIAGO.
“To-night my lines completely surrounded the town from beyond the north of
the city to point of San Juan River on the south. The enemy holds from
west bend San Juan River at its mouth up the railroad to the city. General
Pando, I find to-night, is some distance away, and will not get into
Santiago.
(Signed) “SHAFTER.”
July 4th Secretary Alger received the communication given below:
“HEADQUARTERS FIFTH ARMY CORPS, July 3.
“The following is my demand for the surrender of the city of Santiago:
“‘HEADQUARTERS U. S. FORCES, NEAR SAN JUAN RIVER, CUBA, July 3, 1898, 8.30
A. M.
“‘TO THE COMMANDING GENERAL OF THE SPANISH FORCES, Santiago de Cuba.
“‘_Sir_:—I shall be obliged, unless you surrender, to shell Santiago de
Cuba. Please inform the citizens of foreign countries and all women and
children that they should leave the city before ten o’clock to-morrow
morning. Very respectfully,
“‘Your obedient servant,
“‘W. R. SHAFTER,
“‘_Major-General, U. S. A._’
“Following is the Spanish reply which Colonel Dorst has returned at 6.30
P. M.:
“‘SANTIAGO DE CUBA, 2 P. M., July 3, 1898.
“‘HIS EXCELLENCY, THE GENERAL COMMANDING FORCES OF UNITED STATES, San Juan
River.
“‘_Sir_:—I have the honour to reply to your communication of to-day,
written at 8.30 A. M. and received at 1 P. M., demanding the surrender of
this city; on the contrary case announcing to me that you will bombard
this city, and that I advise the foreigners, women, and children that they
must leave the city before ten o’clock to-morrow morning. It is my duty to
say to you that this city will not surrender, and that I will inform the
foreign consuls and inhabitants of the contents of your message.
“‘Very respectfully,
“‘JOSE TORAL,
“‘_Commander-in-chief, Fourth Corps._’
“The British, Portuguese, Chinese, and Norwegian consuls have come to my
line with Colonel Dorst. They ask if non-combatants can occupy the town of
Caney and railroad points, and ask until ten o’clock of fifth instant
before city is fired on. They claim that there are between fifteen
thousand and twenty thousand people, many of them old, who will leave.
They ask if I can supply them with food, which I cannot do for want of
transportation to Caney, which is fifteen miles from my landing. The
following is my reply:
“‘THE COMMANDING GENERAL SPANISH FORCES,
“‘Santiago de Cuba.
“‘_Sir_:—In consideration of the request of the consuls and officers in
your city for delay in carrying out my intention to fire on the city, and
in the interest of the poor women and children, who will suffer very
greatly by their hasty and enforced departure from the city, I have the
honour to announce that I will delay such action solely in their interest
until noon of the fifth, providing, during the interval, your forces make
no demonstration whatever upon those of my own. I am, with great respect,
“‘Your obedient servant,
“‘W. R. SHAFTER,
“‘_Major-General U. S. A._’
(Signed) “SHAFTER,
“_Major-General Commanding_.”
CHAPTER XII.
THE SPANISH FLEET.
“_Don’t cheer; the poor devils are dying._”
It was Sunday morning (July 3d), and the American squadron lay off
Santiago Harbour intent only on blockade duty. No signs of life were
visible about old Morro. Beyond and toward the city all was still. After
two days of fighting the armies of both nations were resting in their
trenches.
The fleet had drifted three miles or more from the land. The battle-ship
_Massachusetts_, the protected cruiser _New Orleans_, and Commodore
Watson’s flag-ship, the cruiser _Newark_, were absent, coaling fifty miles
or more away.
Shortly before nine o’clock Admiral Sampson, desiring to ascertain the
exact condition of the Spanish coast defences about Aguadores, ordered the
flag-ship to go that way, and after flying the signal, “Disregard the
motions of the commander-in-chief,” the _New York_ steamed leisurely off
to the eastward.
The little _Gloucester_ lay nearest the shore; the _Vixen_ was opposite in
a straight line, and to the eastward of her about five miles. A mile or
less from the _Gloucester_, to the seaward, was the _Indiana_. Nearly as
far from the latter ship, and southeast of her, lay the _Oregon_. The
_Iowa_ was the outermost ship of the fleet, lying four miles from the
harbour entrance; next her, to the eastward, each vessel slightly nearer
inshore, were the _Texas_ and the _Brooklyn_ in the order named.
[Illustration: GENERAL WEYLER.]
Shoreward, inside the harbour, could be seen a long line of black smoke.
On board the fleet religious services were being held, but the lookouts of
every ship were at their stations.
Suddenly, at about half past nine, a dark hull was seen coming out past
the point of the harbour, and instantly all was seemingly confusion on the
big fighting machines.
“The enemy is escaping,” was the signal run up on Commodore Schley’s
flag-ship, and within a few seconds the roar of a 6-pounder on the _Iowa_
broke the stillness of the Sabbath morning.
It was as if every American vessel was put in motion at the same instant,
and even as the flag-ship’s signal appeared, the clouds of dense smoke
from their stacks told that the men in the furnace-rooms had already begun
their portion of the task so unexpectedly set for all the fleet.
John R. Spear, author of “The History of our Navy,” who was with Sampson’s
fleet, wrote this complete story of the marvellous naval battle off
Santiago and along the southern shore of Cuba, for the _World_:
“The enemy was first seen at 9.30, and at 9.32 the men of the American
batteries were standing erect and silent beside their loaded guns, waiting
for the order to commence firing, and watching out of the corners of their
eyes the boys who were still sprinkling the decks with sand that no one’s
foot might slip when blood began to flow across the planks.
“But though silence prevailed among the guns, down in the sealed
stoke-hole the click and ring of the shovels that sprayed the coal over
the glowing grate-bars, the song of the fans that raised the air pressure,
and the throb of pump and engine made music for the whole crew, for the
steam-gauges were climbing, and the engineers were standing by the
wide-open throttles as the ships were driven straight at the enemy.
“For, as it happened, the _Texas_ had been lying directly off the harbour,
and a little more than two miles away the _Iowa_ was but a few lengths
farther out and to the westward, while Capt. Jack Philip of the one, and
‘Fighting Bob’ Evans of the other, were both on deck when the cry was
raised announcing the enemy. Hastening to their bridges, they headed away
at once for the Spaniards, while the _Oregon_ and the _Brooklyn_ went
flying to westward to intercept the leader.
“The mightiest race known to the history of the world, and the most
thrilling, was begun.
“They were all away in less time than it has taken the reader to get thus
far in the story, and in much less time still,—indeed, before the gongs in
the engine-rooms of the Yankee ships had ceased to vibrate under the
imperative order of ‘Ahead, full speed!’—the _Almirante Oquendo_, fugitive
as she was, had opened the battle. With impetuous haste, and while yet
more than two miles away, the Spaniard pointed one of his long 11-inch
hontoria rifles in the direction of the _Texas_ and pulled the lanyard.
The shell came shrieking out to sea, but to sea only.
[Illustration: CAPTAIN R. D. EVANS.]
“Instantly the great guns of the Morro, 180 feet above the water, and
those of the Socapa battery, lying higher still, with all the batteries
beneath those two, began to belch and roar as their crews strove with
frantic energy to aid the flying squadron.
“Now, it was about three minutes from the appearance of the first Spaniard
to the firing of the first American gun.
“In these three minutes the distance between the squadrons was lessened by
at least a mile,—the range was not more than two thousand yards.
“But while two thousand yards is the range (about one and one-sixth miles)
selected for great gun target practice, it will never do for an eager
fight, and as the trend of the land still headed the Spanish off to
southward, the battle-ships were able to reduce the range to fifteen
hundred yards before they were obliged to head a course parallel with the
Spaniards.
“Meantime the _Oregon_ and the _Brooklyn_, as they were stretching away
toward the coast, had opened fire also, and then the last of the big
Spaniards, the _Infanta Maria Teresa_, having rounded the point, the
magnificent spectacle of a squadron battle on the open sea—of a battle
between four of the best modern armed cruisers on the Spanish side,
against three battle-ships and an armoured cruiser on our side—was spread
out to view.
“And their best was the worst struggle the world ever saw, for it was a
struggle to get out of range while firing with hysterical vehemence their
unaimed guns.
“The first shot from the American ships fell short, and a second, in like
fashion, dropped into the sea. At that the gunner said things to himself
under his breath (it was in the forward turret of the _Iowa_), and tried
it once more.
“For a moment after it the cloud of gun smoke shrouded the turret, but as
that thinned away the eager crew saw the 12-inch shell strike into the
hull of the _Infanta Maria Teresa_. Instantly it exploded with tremendous
effect. Flame and smoke belched from the hole the shell had made, and
puffed from port and hatch. And then in the wake of the driven blast
rolled up a volume of flame-streaked smoke that showed the woodwork had
taken fire and was burning fiercely all over the after part of the
stricken ship.
“The yell that rose from the Yankee throats at that sight swelled to a
roar of triumph a moment later, for as he saw that smoke, the captain of
the _Teresa_ threw her helm over to port, and headed her for the rocky
beach. The one shell had given a mortal wound.
“And then came Wainwright of the _Maine_,—Lieut.-Commander Richard
Wainwright, who for weeks conducted the weary search for the dead bodies
of shipmates on the wreck in the harbour of Havana. He was captain of the
_Gloucester_, that was once known as the yacht _Corsair_. A swift and
beautiful craft she, but only armed with lean 6-pounders.
“‘Ahead, full speed,’ said Wainwright.
“And fortune once more favoured the brave, for in the wake of the mighty
_Maria Teresa_ came Spain’s two big torpedo-boats, called destroyers,
because of their size,—the _Pluton_ and the _Furor_. Either was more than
a match for the _Gloucester_, for one carried two 12-pounders, and the
other two 14-pounders, besides the 6-pounders that both carried.
“Moreover, both overmatched the speed of the _Gloucester_ by at least ten
knots per hour. But both had thin-plated sides. The shells of the
_Gloucester_ could pierce them, and at them went Wainwright, with the
memory of that night in Havana uppermost in his mind.
“The two boats—even the whole Spanish fleet—were still within easy range
of the Spanish forts, and to reach his choice of enemies the _Gloucester_
was obliged to risk not only the land fire, but that of the _Vizcaya_ and
the _Teresa_. Nevertheless, as the torpedo-boats steered toward the
_Brooklyn_, evidently bound to torpedo her, Wainwright headed them off,
and they never got beyond range of the forts.
“The shots they threw at him outweighed his three to one, but theirs flew
wild, and his struck home.
“The day of the destroyers was done. As the big _Maria Teresa_ turned
toward the shore, these two destroyers, like stricken wild fowl, fled
fluttering and splashing in the same direction, and they floundered as
they fled.
“While the _Infanta Maria Teresa_ was on fire, and running for the beach,
her crew was still working their guns, and the big _Vizcaya_ was handily
by to double the storm of projectiles she was hurling at the _Iowa_ and
_Texas_.
“It was not that the _Vizcaya’s_ crew were manfully striving to protect
the _Teresa_; they were making the snarling, clawing fight of a lifetime
to escape the relentless Yankees that were closing upon them. For both the
_Texas_ and the _Iowa_ had the range, and it was only when the smoke of
their own guns blinded them that their fire was withheld, or a shot went
astray.
“The _Iowa_ and the _Texas_ had headed off both the _Vizcaya_ and the
_Infanta Maria Teresa_, while the _Indiana_ was coming with tremendous
speed to join them.
“And then came the finishing stroke. A 12-inch shell from the _Texas_ went
crashing into the stoke-hole, and the _Vizcaya_,—the ship whose beauty and
power once thrilled the hearts of New Yorkers with mingled pleasure and
fear—was mortally wounded. Hope was gone, and with helm aport she headed
away for the beach, as her consort had done.
“The battle had opened on our side at 9.33 o’clock, and at 9.58 two of the
magnificent armoured cruisers of the Spanish navy were quivering, flaming
wrecks on the Cuban beach, with the _Texas_ rounding to less than a
thousand yards away off the stern of the _Vizcaya_.
“For a moment the _Texas_ tarried there to let the smoke clear, and to see
accurately the condition of the enemy, but while her gunners were taking
aim for a final broadside a half-naked quartermaster on the _Vizcaya_,
with clawing hands on the halliards, hauled down the fever-hued ensign
from her peak and hoisted the white flag instead.
“‘Cease firing!’ commanded Captain Jack Philip of the _Texas_.
“So far as the _Vizcaya_ and the _Infanta Maria Teresa_ were concerned,
the battle—and for that matter the war—was ended.
“Huge volumes of black smoke, edged with red flame, rolled from every port
and shot hole of the _Vizcaya_, as from the _Teresa_. They were both
furnaces of glowing fire. Though they had come from the harbour to certain
battle, not a wooden bulkhead, nor a partition in the quarters either of
officers or men had been taken out, nor had trunks and chests been sent
ashore. Neither had the wooden decks nor any other wooden fixtures been
prepared to resist fire. Apparently the crew had not even wet down the
decks.
“But the _Texas_ tarried at this gruesome scene only for a moment. They
wished only to make sure that the two Spaniards were really out of the
fight, and when they saw the _Iowa_ was going to stand by both, away they
went to join the race between the _Brooklyn_ and the _Oregon_ on our side,
and the _Cristobal Colon_ and _Almirante Oquendo_ on the other.
“In spite of the original superior speed on the part of the Spaniards, and
in spite of the delay on the part of the _Texas_, the Spaniards were not
yet wholly out of range, though the _Cristobal Colon_ was reaching away at
a speed that gave the Spanish shore forces hope.
“Under battened hatches the Yankee firemen, stripped to their trousers,
plied their shovels and raised the steam-gauges higher. The Yankee ships
were grass-grown and barnacled, but now they were driven as never before
since their trial trips. The Spaniards had called us pigs, but Nemesis had
turned us into spear-armed huntsmen in chase of game that neither tusks
nor legs could save.
“For while the _Colon_ was showing a speed that was the equal at least of
our own _Brooklyn_, long-headed Commodore Schley saw that she was hugging
the coast, although a point of land loomed in the distance to cut her off
or drive her out to sea.
“Instead of striving to close in on the Spaniards, Schley headed straight
for that point,—took the shortest cut for it, so to speak,—and in that way
drew steadily ahead of the _Colon_, leaving to the _Oregon_ and _Texas_
the task of holding the Spaniards from turning out across the _Brooklyn’s_
stern.
[Illustration: U. S. S. IOWA.]
“It was a splendid piece of strategy, well worthy of the gallant officer,
and it won.
“The task of the battle-ships was well within their powers. It is not
without reason that both the _Oregon_ and the _Texas_ are the pride of the
nation as well as of their crews.
“The _Oregon_ and the _Brooklyn_ had hurled a relentless fire at the
flying Spaniards, and it had told on the _Almirante Oquendo_ with
increasing effect.
“For the _Oregon_ was fair on the _Oquendo’s_ beam, and there was not
enough armour on any Spanish ship to stop the massive 13-inch projectiles
the ship from the Pacific was driving into her with unerring aim.
“At ten o’clock sharp the _Oquendo_ was apparently still fore and aft, but
within five minutes she wavered and lagged, and a little later, flag-ship
though she was, she put her helm to port, as her consorts had done, and
fled for life to the beach.
“The _Texas_ was coming with unflagging speed astern, and off to the east
could be seen the flag-ship of Admiral Sampson racing as never before to
get a shot in at the finish. An auxiliary had been sent by Commodore
Schley to call her, and it had met her coming at the call of the guns of
the Spanish fleet. She had overhauled and passed the _Indiana_ long since,
and was well-nigh abreast of the _Texas_. So the _Oregon_, in order to vie
with the _New York_ in the last of the mighty race, abandoned the
_Oquendo_ to her fate and stretched away after the _Cristobal Colon_.
“Some of the crew who looked back saw the _Texas_ bring to near the
_Oquendo_, and then the sea trembled under the impulse of a tremendous
explosion on board the doomed Spaniard, while a vast volume of smoke
filled with splintered wreck rose in the air. Had they been near enough
they would have heard the crew of the _Texas_ start in to cheer, and have
heard as well the voice of Captain Philip say, as he raised his hand to
check it:
“‘Don’t cheer; the poor devils are dying.’
“Only a man fit to command could have had that thought.
“The battle was well-nigh over. But one ship of the Spanish squadron
remained, and she was now in the last desperate struggle, the flurry of a
monster of the deep. Her officers peered with frowning brows through
gilded glasses at the _Brooklyn_ forging ahead far off their port bow; at
the _Oregon_ within range off the port quarter; at the _New York_ just
getting the range with her beautiful 8-inch rifles astern. They shivered
in unison with the quivering hulk as shot after shot struck home. They
screamed at their crews and stamped and fumed. At the guns their crews
worked with drunken desperation, but down in the stoke-hole the firemen
plied their shovels with a will and a skill that formed the most
surprising feature of the Spanish side of the battle. Because of them this
was a race worthy of the American mettle, for it put to the full test the
powers of the men of the three ships in chase.
“In the open sea they might have led the Yankees for an hour or more
beyond, but the strategy of Schley had cut them off, and yet it was not
until 1.15 o’clock—three hours and three-quarters after the first gun of
the _Oquendo_—that the _Colon’s_ gallant captain lost all hope, and, from
a race to save the ship, turned to the work of destroying her, so that we
should not be able to float the stars and stripes above her.
“The _Oregon_ had drawn up abeam of her, and was about a mile away. The
shots from the _New York_ astern were beginning to tell, and those from
the _Brooklyn_ had all along been smiting her in the face.
“Baffled and beaten she turned to the shore, ran hard aground near
Tarquino Point, fifty miles from Santiago, and then hauled down her flag.
“The most powerful sea force that ever fought under the American flag had
triumphed; the most remarkable race in the history of the world was
ended.”
On board the flag-ship _New York_ is published a tiny daily newspaper, 4 ×
7 inches in size, with the name “Squadron Bulletin” on the title-page.
Following is the account of the destruction of the Spanish fleet as given
in that publication:
“This is a red-letter day for the American navy, as dating the entire
destruction of Admiral Cervera’s formidable fleet; the _Infanta Maria
Teresa_, _Vizcaya_, _Oquendo_, _Cristobal Colon_, and the deep-sea
torpedo-boats _Furor_ and _Pluton_.
“The flag-ship had started from her station about nine to go to Siboney,
whence the admiral had proposed going for a consultation with General
Shafter; the other ships, with the exception of the _Massachusetts_ and
_Suwanee_, which had, unfortunately, gone this morning to Guantanamo for
coal, were in their usual positions, viz., beginning at the east, the
_Gloucester_, _Indiana_, _Oregon_, _Iowa_, _Texas_, _Brooklyn_, and
_Vixen_.
“When about two miles off from Altares Bay, and about four miles east of
her usual position, the Spanish fleet was observed coming out and making
westward in the following order: _Infanta Maria Teresa_ (flag), _Vizcaya_,
_Cristobal Colon_, _Almirante Oquendo_, _Furor_, and _Pluton_.
“They were at once engaged by the ships nearest, and the result was
practically established in a very short time. The heavy and rapid shell
fire was very destructive to both ships and men. The cruisers _Infanta
Maria Teresa_, _Almirante Oquendo_, and _Vizcaya_ were run ashore in the
order named, afire and burning fiercely. The first ship was beached at
Nima, nine and one-half miles west of the port; the second at Juan
Gonzalez, six miles west; the third at Acerraderos, fifteen miles. The
torpedo-boat destroyers were both sunk, one near the beach, the other in
deep water about three miles west of the harbour entrance.
“The remaining ship, the _Cristobal Colon_, stood on and gave a long chase
of forty-eight miles, in which the _Brooklyn_, _Oregon_, _Texas_, _Vixen_,
and _New York_ took part. The _Colon_ is reputed by her captain to have
been going at times as much as seventeen and a half knots, but they could
not keep this up, chiefly on account of the fatigue of her men, who, many
of them, had been ashore at Santiago the day before, and had been, while
there, long without food; her average speed was actually thirteen and
seven-tenths knots, the ship leaving the harbour at 9.43 A. M., and
reaching Rio Tarquino (forty-eight miles from Santiago entrance) at 1.15.
[Illustration: THE DESTRUCTION OF CERVERA’S FLEET.]
“She was gradually forced in toward the shore, and, seeing no chance of an
escape from so overwhelming a force, the heavy shells of the _Oregon_
already dropping around and beyond her, she ran ashore at Rio Tarquino and
hauled down her flag.
“She was practically uninjured, but her sea-valves were treacherously
opened, and in spite of all efforts she gradually sank, and now lies near
the beach in water of moderate depth. It is to be hoped that she may be
floated, as she was far the finest ship of the squadron. All her breech
plugs were thrown overboard after the surrender, and the breech-blocks of
her Mauser rifles thrown away.
“The flag-ship remained at Rio Tarquino until eleven P. M., and then
returned to Santiago. The _Texas_, _Oregon_, and _Vixen_ remained by the
prize. Commodore second in command of fleet, Captain de Navio of the first
class, Don Jose de Paredes y Chacon, Captain de Navio Don Emilio Moreu,
commanding the _Colon_, and Teniente de Navio Don Pablo Marina y Briengas,
aid and secretary to the commodore, were taken on board the _New York_.
The 525 men of the crew of the _Colon_ were placed aboard the _Resolute_,
which came from Santiago to report sighting a Spanish armoured cruiser,
which turned out to be the Austrian _Maria Teresa_. The other officers
were placed aboard the _Resolute_ and _Vixen_.
“Admiral Cervera and many of his officers were taken off the shore by the
_Gloucester_, and transferred to the _Iowa_, which ship had already taken
off many from the _Vizcaya_; thirty-eight officers and 238 men were on
board the _Iowa_, and seven officers and 203 men were aboard the
_Indiana_.
“All these were in a perfectly destitute condition, having been saved by
swimming, or having been taken from the water by our boats. Admiral
Cervera was in a like plight. He was received with the usual honours when
he came aboard, and was heartily cheered by the _Iowa’s_ crew.”
The Independence Day number is very brief. It announces that the prisoners
are to be sent north on the _Harvard_ and _St. Louis_; that they number
1,750; that the dead among the Spanish ships were over six hundred; that
General Pando had reached Santiago with five thousand men; that the
_Brooklyn_ and _Marblehead_ had gone to Guantanamo to overhaul and coal,
and then tells of the _Reina Mercedes’s_ skirmish on that day, saying:
[Illustration: U. S. S. INDIANA.]
“Just before midnight of this date the _Massachusetts_, which was in front
of the port with her search-light up to the entrance, reported an enemy’s
vessel coming out, and she and the _Texas_ fired a number of shots in the
direction of the harbour mouth. The batteries also opened, and a number of
shell fell at various points, the attention paid by the batteries to the
ships being general. The _Indiana_ was struck on the starboard side of the
quarter-deck by a mortar shell, which exploded on reaching the second deck
near the ward-room ladder; it caused a fire which was quickly
extinguished. This was the first accident of the kind to the fleet. The
vessel inside turned out to be the _Reina Mercedes_, which was sunk on the
east edge of the channel just by the Estrella battery. She heads north,
and is canted over to port with her port rail under water. She does not
appear to obstruct the channel.”
The issue of July 5th is of greater interest:
“Mention of the presence of the torpedo-boat _Ericsson_, on the third
instant, was unfortunately omitted. She was in company with a flag-ship,
and turned at once upon sighting the enemy. As she was drawing away from
the _New York_ she signalled, asking permission to continue in chase, but
she was directed to pick up two men in the water, which she did, and on
reaching the _Vizcaya_ she was directed by the _Iowa_, the flag-ship
having gone ahead, to assist in the rescue of the _Vizcaya’s_ crew. She
took off eleven officers and ninety men. The guns of the _Vizcaya_ during
the operation were going off from the heat, and explosions were frequent,
so that the work was trying and perilous for the boats of the two vessels
(_Iowa_ and _Ericsson_) engaged.
“The former report from the army, which was official, regarding General
Pando’s entry into Santiago, was an error. General Shafter thought that he
had been enabled to form a junction, but some few of his men only had been
able to do so; the general himself and his remaining force, it is thought,
will not be able.
“The day was an uneventful one from a naval standpoint. The flag-ship went
to the wrecks of the _Infanta Maria Teresa_ and the _Almirante_. The
former lies in an easy position on sand, and with almost her normal
draught of water. She is, of course, completely burned out inside above
her protective deck, but the shell of her hull seems very good, and her
machinery is probably not seriously injured.
“It looks very much as if she were salvable. The _Almirante_ was much
worse off. She had been subjected to a much heavier gun fire, being racked
and torn in every part; she is much more out of water, and the forward
part is much distorted and torn by the explosion of her magazine and
torpedoes. The loss of life was very great. Charred bodies are strewn
everywhere, the vicinity of the port forward torpedo-room, particularly,
was almost covered. The torpedo exploded in the tube; it may be by a shot.
This is a question which it is hoped may be conclusively decided. The fact
of so many bodies being about would seem to bear this out, but two of her
crew, taken off the beach this afternoon, were questioned, and both stated
that it was the result of fire, and that the number of bodies is to be
accounted for by the fact that the operating-room is just below, and that
many wounded came up that far and were suffocated. The two men were
intelligent young fellows, and talked freely. They said that the gun fire
was such that it was impossible to keep the men at the guns. One was a
powder passer, the other at a 57-mm gun. In the forward turret were two
officers and five men, evidently killed by the entry of a 6-pounder shell
between the top of the turret and the gun shield. Altogether the ship was
a most striking instance of what rapid and well-directed gun fire may
accomplish. She was terribly battered about.
“While the flag-ship was lying near the _Almirante_, and her steam cutter
was alongside, and a small boat from the press tug _Hercules_ lying on the
starboard quarter, a shell exploded in a 15-centimetre gun, and a piece
went through the tug’s boat, cutting it in two; the man in the boat was
not hurt. It is somewhat extraordinary that this shell should have waited
so long to act, as the after part of the ship was generally well cooled
off. There was still much heat and some flames about the bow. One
extraordinary fact is the survival, in proper shape, of many powder
grains, baked hard; several of these were picked up about the deck.
“A board has been ordered by the commander-in-chief to report in detail
upon the stranded ships.”
On the fifteenth of July Admiral Sampson made his official report, which
is given in full:
“U. S. FLAGSHIP NEW YORK, FIRST RATE, OFF
SANTIAGO DE CUBA, CUBA, July 15, 1898.
“_Sir_:—I have the honour to make the following report upon the battle
with and the destruction of the Spanish squadron, commanded by Admiral
Cervera, off Santiago de Cuba, on Sunday, July 3, 1898:
“2. The enemy’s vessels came out of the harbour between 9.35 and 10 A. M.,
the head of the column appearing around Cay Smith at 9.31, and emerging
from the channel five or six minutes later.
“3. The positions of the vessels of my command off Santiago at that moment
were as follows: The flag-ship _New York_ was four miles east of her
blockading station and about seven miles from the harbour entrance. She
had started for Siboney, where I had intended to land, accompanied by
several of my staff, and go to the front to consult with General Shafter.
A discussion of the situation, and a more definite understanding between
us of the operations proposed, had been rendered necessary by the
unexpectedly strong resistance of the Spanish garrison at Santiago.
“I had sent my chief of staff on shore the day before to arrange an
interview with General Shafter, who had been suffering from heat
prostration. I made arrangements to go to his headquarters, and my
flag-ship was in the position mentioned above when the Spanish squadron
appeared in the channel.
“The remaining vessels were in or near their usual blockading positions,
distributed in a semicircle about the harbour entrance, counting from the
eastward to the westward in the following order: The _Indiana_, about a
mile and a half from shore, the _Oregon_,—the _New York’s_ place between
these two,—the _Iowa_, _Texas_, and _Brooklyn_, the latter two miles from
the shore west of Santiago.
“The distance of the vessels from the harbour entrance was two and a half
to four miles,—the latter being the limit of day blockading distance. The
length of the arc formed by the ships was about eight miles.
“The _Massachusetts_ had left at four A. M. for Guantanamo for coal. Her
station was between the _Iowa_ and _Texas_. The auxiliaries, _Gloucester_
and _Vixen_, lay close to the land and nearer the harbour entrance than
the large vessels, the _Gloucester_ to the eastward and the _Vixen_ to the
westward.
“The torpedo-boat _Ericsson_ was in company with the flag-ship, and
remained with her during the chase until ordered to discontinue, when she
rendered very efficient service in rescuing prisoners from the burning
_Vizcaya_. I enclose a diagram showing approximately the positions of the
vessels as described above.
“4. The Spanish vessels came rapidly out of the harbour, at a speed
estimated at from eight to ten knots, and in the following order: _Infanta
Maria Teresa_ (flag-ship), _Vizcaya_, _Cristobal Colon_, and the
_Almirante Oquendo_.
“The distance between these ships was about eight hundred yards, which
means that, from the time the first one became visible in the upper reach
of the channel until the last one was out of the harbour, an interval of
only about twelve minutes elapsed.
“Following the _Oquendo_, at a distance of about twelve hundred yards,
came the torpedo-boat destroyer _Pluton_, and after her came the _Furor_.
The armoured cruisers, as rapidly as they could bring their guns to bear,
opened a vigorous fire upon the blockading vessels, and emerged from the
channel shrouded in the smoke from their guns.
“5. The men of our ships in front of the port were at Sunday ‘quarters for
inspection.’ The signal was given simultaneously from several vessels,
‘Enemy’s ships escaping,’ and general quarters were sounded. The men
cheered as they sprang to their guns, and fire was opened, probably within
eight minutes, by the vessels whose guns commanded the entrance.
“The _New York_ turned about and steamed for the escaping fleet, flying
the signal, ‘Close in toward harbour entrance and attack vessels,’ and
gradually increasing speed until toward the end of the chase she was
making sixteen and one-half knots, and was rapidly closing on the
_Cristobal Colon_.
[Illustration: U. S. S. OREGON.]
“She was not, at any time, within the range of the heavy Spanish ships,
and her only part in the firing was to receive the undivided fire from the
forts in passing the harbour entrance, and to fire a few shots at one of
the destroyers, thought at the moment to be attempting to escape from the
_Gloucester_.
“6. The Spanish vessels, upon clearing the harbour, turned to the westward
in column, increasing their speed to the full power of their engines. The
heavy blockading vessels, which had closed in toward the Morro, at the
instant of the enemy’s appearance, and at their best speed, delivered a
rapid fire, well sustained and destructive, which speedily overwhelmed and
silenced the Spanish fire.
“The initial speed of the Spaniards carried them rapidly past the
blockading vessels, and the battle developed into a chase in which the
_Brooklyn_ and _Texas_ had at the start the advantage of position. The
_Brooklyn_ maintained this lead.
“The _Oregon_, steaming with amazing speed from the commencement of the
action, took first place. The _Iowa_ and the _Indiana_ having done good
work, and not having the speed of the other ships, were directed by me, in
succession, at about the time the _Vizcaya_ was beached, to drop out of
the chase and resume blockading stations. These vessels rescued many
prisoners. The _Vixen_, finding that the rush of the Spanish ships would
put her between two fires, ran outside of our own column and remained
there during the battle and chase.
“7. The skilful handling and gallant firing of the _Gloucester_ excited
the admiration of every one who witnessed it, and merits the commendation
of the Navy Department. She is a fast and entirely unprotected auxiliary
vessel,—the yacht _Corsair_,—and has a good battery of light rapid-fire
guns.
“She was lying about two miles from the harbour entrance to the southward
and eastward, and immediately steamed in, opening fire upon the large
ships.
“Anticipating the appearance of the _Pluton_ and _Furor_, the _Gloucester_
was slowed, thereby gaining more rapidly a high pressure of steam, and
when the destroyers came out she steamed for them at full speed and was
able to close at short range, where her fire was accurate, deadly, and of
great volume.
“During this fight the _Gloucester_ was under the fire of the Socapa
battery. Within twenty minutes from the time they emerged from Santiago
Harbour the careers of the _Furor_ and the _Pluton_ were ended, and
two-thirds of their people killed. The _Furor_ was beached and sunk in the
surf; the _Pluton_ sank in deep water a few minutes later. The destroyer
probably suffered much injury from the fire of the secondary batteries of
the battle-ships _Iowa_, _Indiana_, and the _Texas_, yet I think a very
considerable factor in their speedy destruction was the fire, at close
range, of the _Gloucester’s_ battery.
“After rescuing the survivors of the destroyers, the _Gloucester_ did
excellent service in landing and securing the crew of the _Infanta Maria
Teresa_.
“8. The method of escape attempted by the Spaniards—all steering in the
same direction, and in formation—removed all practical doubts or
difficulties, and made plain the duty of every United States vessel to
close in, immediately engage and pursue. This was promptly and effectively
done.
“As already stated, the first rush of the Spanish squadron carried it past
a number of the blockading ships, which could not immediately work up to
their best speed, but they suffered heavily in passing, and the _Infanta
Maria Teresa_ and the _Oquendo_ were probably set on fire by the shells
fired during the first fifteen minutes of the engagement. It was afterward
learned that the _Infanta Maria Teresa’s_ fire main had been cut by one of
our first shots, and that she was unable to extinguish the fire.
“With large volumes of smoke rising from their lower deck aft these
vessels gave up both fight and flight, and ran in on the beach, the
_Infanta Maria Teresa_ at about 10.15 A. M., at Nima, nine and one-half
miles from Santiago Harbour entrance, and the _Almirante Oquendo_ at about
10.30 A. M., at Juan Gonzales, seven miles from the port.
“9. The _Vizcaya_ was still under the fire of the leading vessels. The
_Cristobal Colon_ had drawn ahead, leading the chase, and soon passed
beyond the range of the guns of the leading American ships. The
_Viz__caya_ was soon set on fire, and at 11.15 she turned inshore and was
beached at Acerraderos, fifteen miles from Santiago, burning fiercely, and
with her reserves of ammunition on deck already beginning to explode.
“When about ten miles west of Santiago the _Indiana_ had been signalled to
go back to the harbour entrance, and at Acerraderos the _Iowa_ was
signalled to ‘resume blockading station.’ The _Iowa_, assisted by the
_Ericsson_ and the _Hist_, took off the crew of the _Vizcaya_, while the
_Harvard_ and the _Gloucester_ rescued those of the _Infanta Maria Teresa_
and the _Almirante Oquendo_.
“This rescue of prisoners, including the wounded from the burning Spanish
vessels, was the occasion of some of the most daring and gallant conduct
of the day. The ships were burning fore and aft, their guns and reserve
ammunition were exploding, and it was not known at what moment the fire
would reach the main magazine.
“In addition to this a heavy surf was running just inside of the Spanish
ships. But no risk deterred our officers and men until their work of
humanity was complete.
“10. There remained now of the Spanish ships only the _Cristobal Colon_,
but she was their best and fastest vessel. Forced by the situation to hug
the Cuban coast, her only chance of escape was by superior and sustained
speed.
“When the _Vizcaya_ went ashore the _Colon_ was about six miles ahead of
the _Brooklyn_ and the _Oregon_, but her spurt was finished, and the
American ships were now gaining upon her. Behind the _Brooklyn_ and the
_Oregon_ came the _Texas_, _Vixen_, and _New York_.
“It was evident from the bridge of the _New York_ that all the American
ships were gradually overhauling the chase, and that she had no chance of
escape. At 12.50 the _Brooklyn_ and the _Oregon_ opened fire and got her
range,—the _Oregon’s_ heavy shells striking beyond her,—and at 1.20 she
gave up without firing another shot, hauled down her colours and ran
ashore at Rio Tarquino, forty-eight miles from Santiago.
“Captain Cook of the _Brooklyn_ went on board to receive the surrender.
While his boat was alongside I came up in the _New York_, receiving his
report, and placed the _Oregon_ in charge of the wreck to save her, if
possible, and directed the prisoners to be transferred to the _Resolute_,
which had followed the chase. Commodore Schley, whose chief of staff had
gone on board to receive the surrender, had directed that all their
personal effects should be retained by the officers. This order I did not
modify.
“The _Cristobal Colon_ was not injured by our firing, and probably is not
injured by beaching, though she ran ashore at high speed. The beach was so
steep that she came off by the working of the sea. But her sea valves were
opened or broken, treacherously, I am sure, after her surrender, and
despite all efforts she sank. When it became evident that she could not be
kept afloat she was pushed by the _New York_ bodily upon the beach, the
_New York’s_ stem being placed against her for this purpose, the ship
being handled by Captain Chadwick with admirable judgment, and sank in
shoal water, and may be saved. Had this not been done she would have gone
down in deep water, and would have been to a certainty a complete loss.
“11. I regard this complete and important victory over the Spanish forces
as the successful finish of several weeks of arduous and close blockade,
so stringent and effective during the night that the enemy was deterred
from making the attempt to escape at night, and deliberately elected to
make the attempt in daylight. That this was the case I was informed by the
commanding officer of the _Cristobal Colon_.
“12. It seems proper to briefly describe here the manner in which this was
accomplished. The harbour of Santiago is naturally easy to blockade, there
being but one entrance and that a narrow one, and the deep water extending
close up to the shore line, presenting no difficulties of navigation
outside of the entrance. At the time of my arrival before the port, June
1st, the moon was at its full, and there was sufficient light during the
night to enable any movement outside of the entrance to be detected; but
with the waning of the moon and the coming of dark nights there was
opportunity for the enemy to escape, or for his torpedo-boats to make an
attack upon the blockading vessels.
“It was ascertained with fair conclusiveness that the _Merrimac_, so
gallantly taken into the channel on June 3d, did not obstruct it. I
therefore maintained the blockade as follows: To the battle-ships was
assigned the duty, in turn, of lighting the channel. Moving up to the
port, at a distance of from one to two miles from the Morro,—dependent
upon the condition of the atmosphere,—they threw a search-light beam
directly up the channel and held it steadily there.
“This lighted up the entire breadth of the channel for half a mile inside
of the entrance so brilliantly that the movement of small boats could be
detected.
“Why the batteries never opened fire upon the search-light-ship was always
a matter of surprise to me; but they never did. Stationed close to the
entrance of the port were three picket-launches, and, at a little distance
further out, three small picket-vessels—usually converted yachts—and, when
they were available, one or two of our torpedo-boats.
“With this arrangement there was at least a certainty that nothing could
get out of the harbour undetected.
“After the arrival of the army, when the situation forced upon the Spanish
admiral a decision, our vigilance increased. The night blockading distance
was reduced to two miles for all vessels, and a battle-ship was placed
alongside the search-light-ship, with her broadside trained upon the
channel in readiness to fire the instant a Spanish ship should appear. The
commanding officers merit great praise for the perfect manner in which
they entered into this plan, and put it into execution. The
_Massachusetts_, which, according to routine, was sent that morning to
coal at Guantanamo, like the others, had spent weary nights upon this
work, and deserved a better fate than to be absent that morning.
“I enclose, for the information of the department, copies of orders and
memorandums issued from time to time, relating to the manner of
maintaining the blockade. When all the work was done so well, it is
difficult to discriminate in praise.
“The object of the blockade of Cervera’s squadron was fully accomplished,
and each individual bore well his part in it, the commodore in command of
the second division, the captains of ships, their officers, and men.
“13. The fire of the battle-ships was powerful and destructive, and the
resistance of the Spanish squadron was, in great part, broken almost
before they had got beyond the range of their own force.
“The fine speed of the _Oregon_ enabled her to take a front position in
the chase, and the _Cristobal Colon_ did not give up until the _Oregon_
had thrown a 13-inch shell beyond her. This performance adds to the
already brilliant record of this fine battle-ship, and speaks highly of
the skill and care with which her admirable efficiency has been maintained
during a service unprecedented in the history of vessels of her class.
“The _Brooklyn’s_ westerly blockading position gave her an advantage in
the chase which she maintained to the end, and she employed her fine
battery with telling effect.
[Illustration: U. S. S. BROOKLYN.]
“The _Texas_ and the _New York_ were gaining on the chase during the last
hour, and, had any accident befallen the _Brooklyn_ or the _Oregon_, would
have speedily overhauled the _Cristobal Colon_.
“From the moment the Spanish vessel exhausted her first burst of speed,
the result was never in doubt. She fell, in fact, far below what might
reasonably have been expected of her.
“Careful measurements of time and distance give her an average speed, from
the time she cleared the harbour mouth until the time she was run on shore
at Rio Tarquino, of 13.7 knots.
“Neither the _New York_ nor the _Brooklyn_ stopped to couple up their
forward engines, but ran out of the chase with one pair, getting steam, of
course, as rapidly as possible on all boilers. To stop to couple up the
forward engines would have meant a delay of fifteen minutes, or four miles
in the chase.
“14. Several of the ships were struck, the _Brooklyn_ more often than the
others, but very light material injury was done, the greatest being aboard
the _Iowa_.
“Our loss was one man killed and one wounded, both on the _Brooklyn_. It
is difficult to explain the immunity from loss of life or injury to ships
in a combat with modern vessels of the best type, but Spanish gunnery is
poor at the best, and the superior weight and accuracy of our fire
speedily drove the men from their guns and silenced their fire.
“This is borne out by the statements of prisoners and by observation. The
Spanish vessels, as they dashed out of the harbour, were covered with the
smoke from their own guns, but this speedily diminished in volume, and
soon almost disappeared.
“The fire from the rapid-fire batteries of the battle-ships appears to
have been remarkably destructive. An examination of the stranded vessels
shows that the _Almirante Oquendo_ especially had suffered terribly from
this fire. Her sides are everywhere pierced, and her decks were strewn
with the charred remains of those who had fallen.
“15. The reports of Commodore W. S. Schley and the commanding officers are
enclosed.
“16. A board, appointed by me several days ago, has made a critical
examination of the stranded vessels, both with a view of reporting upon
the result of our fire and the military features involved, and of
reporting upon the chance of saving any of them, and of wrecking the
remainder. The report of the board will be speedily forwarded. Very
respectfully,
“W. T. SAMPSON,
“_Rear-Admiral U. S. Navy, Commander-in-Chief_
_U. S. Naval Force, North Atlantic Station._
“_The Secretary of the Navy, Navy Department, Washington, D. C._”
A letter from Captain Chadwick of the flag-ship _New York_, to his wife,
is an entertaining addition to the story of this most marvellous sea
fight:
“FLAGSHIP NEW YORK, July 4, 1898.
“Yesterday was a wonderful day, as you will know in a few hours after my
writing this.
“We were in a rather disgruntled frame of mind on account of a little note
from Shafter. He wanted to know why the navy could not go under a
destructive fire as well as the army. It was decided to go and have a
consultation with him, explain the situation, and lay our plans before
him, which were to countermine the harbour, going in at the same time, and
also trying to carry the Morro by assault with one thousand marines landed
in Estrella cove.
“It was arranged we were to go to Siboney about 9.30, so Sampson,
Staunton, and I put on our leggings, got some sandwiches, filled a flask,
and the ship started to go the seven miles to Siboney, where we were to
find horses and a cavalry escort.
“We were within a mile or so of the place when a message came to me that a
ship was coming out, and by the time I was on deck I found the _New York_
turned around, and headed back, and there they were, coming out one after
the other, and putting west as hard as they could go.
“The situation was one which rather left us out of it. We were too far off
to shoot, but could see the rest banging away. The last to come were the
two torpedo-boat destroyers, so we headed in to cut off any attempt on
their part to return to port, and we saw Wainwright in the _Gloucester_
firing at them for all he was worth, and soon one evidently had a hole
through her boiler, as there was a great white cloud of steam which shot
into the air. We fired two or three 4-inch shots at the other, which was
moving back toward the entrance, and then left him to Wainwright’s mercy,
as it was a clear case, and stood on; in a few moments we came, first to
one and then the other, but a little way apart, the _Infanta Maria Teresa_
and the _Oquendo_ afire and ashore.
“As we were going past the torpedo-boats, I ought to have mentioned two
men in the water, stripped, to whom we threw life-buoys, with which they
expressed themselves satisfied. It is impossible in such a case, with two
of the enemy’s ships going ahead of us, to stop.
“We had not passed the two ships I mentioned far, until we saw the
_Vizcaya_ head in, and soon she was on the beach and aflame, at
Ascerraderos, right under the old Cuban camp.
“There was still the _Cristobal Colon_, a good way ahead, the newest and
fastest and much more powerful. We had passed the _Iowa_ (which we left
with the burning _Vizcaya_) and the _Indiana_, which we ordered to return
off the harbour, and tailed on to the procession after the _Cristobal
Colon_, which consisted of the _Oregon_, the _Brooklyn_, and _Texas_, and
the _Vixen_. We got each of our extra boilers into operation until we were
going a good fifteen knots, and we were overhauling the advance somewhat.
“The _Oregon_ and _Brooklyn_ kept well up, and soon the _Oregon_ began to
fire, and we could see the _Cristobal Colon_ gradually edge inshore, so
that we knew the game was up and the victory complete; soon she headed in,
and went under one of the points which come down from the mountains, which
here (some sixty miles west of Santiago) are close at the water’s edge,
and are the highest (seventy-eight hundred feet) in Cuba. We hurried
forward and soon saw she had hauled her flag down, and was ashore.
“The _Brooklyn_ had sent a boat, and Cook, who had gone in it, came
alongside on his return, and stated he had received their surrender,
stating he was not empowered to make any condition as to personal effects,
etc., as to which they seemed anxious.
“I then went on board and arranged things, the admiral allowing them, of
course, to take with them all their personal belongings, so while we were
dividing them up among the ships (525 men) along came the _Resolute_,
reporting having been chased by a Spanish armoured ship, so we put all the
prisoners in her. This was a long job.
“The thing was to save the _Cristobal Colon_, as she is one of the finest
modern ships of her class. We hurried a prize-crew aboard from the
_Oregon_, closed all water-tight doors, as she was evidently leaking
somewhere, but for all we could do she settled down on the beach after
floating with the rising tide. It was a great pity, but the rascally
engineers’ force had opened all the valves connecting with the sea, and we
could not get at them.
“We finally, after eight hours of hard work, left her in charge of the
_Texas_ and _Oregon_, and are now steaming back to our post off Santiago.
The failure to save the _Colon_ was too bad. It is possible to do so, of
course, with the assistance of a wrecking company, but she was practically
in an undamaged condition. She had one man killed and twenty-five wounded.
“I am only too thankful we did not get ashore this morning. Poor
Higginson, who was down at Guantanamo coaling, will be full of grief, as
also Watson, in the _Newark_.
“I had forgotten to mention that day before yesterday we bombarded the
forts very heavily, knocking off a good deal of the poor old Morro, and
bringing down the flagstaff and the flag which was so proudly flaunted in
our eyes for more than a month.
“We did this at the request of the army, as a demonstration while they
attacked. They did not, however, make the attack, as it turned out.
“These bombardments are very unsatisfactory; one reads lurid accounts of
them in the papers, but nothing really is gained unless we strike the guns
themselves, and this we have not done.
“As we steamed by to-day in close range, our friends of the western
battery, who paid a great deal of attention to us yesterday, banged away
at us in fine style, and a number of shells burst around us. Finally, when
I had them entirely off my mind and was paying attention only to the
torpedo-boat destroyers, came a tremendous screech, and everybody on the
forecastle dodged. It was their last; it fell about two hundred yards to
our right. We did not reply as we came along. I thought it a waste of
material, and thought they might have their amusement so long as they did
no damage.
“There—the engines have stopped and we are back at Santiago; it is 4.30,
and I shall turn in again for a final nap. The captain of the _Colon_ is
occupying my room; very nice fellow, about fifty-six, indeed, as are most
Spanish naval officers, who, as a Cuban officer said to me, are the flower
of the Spanish blood.
“We also have a general and his aid-de-camp, whom we took in the _Colon_,
a nice old boy and very chirpy. The captain, of course, takes the loss of
his ship to heart very much, but the general and his aid seem as cheerful
as possible. I suppose they think ‘it’s none of their funeral.’
“I stored the general in Staunton’s room, Staunton going to Santiago in a
torpedo-boat to send the news.
“We have got off our Spanish friends, and are now loafing. It is a great
relief to feel that there is nothing to look after to-night.
“This goes in the _St. Louis_, so I hope you will have it before many
days, and I hope, too, it won’t be long before I get to see you. I think
this terrific defeat must go far toward ending things.”
CHAPTER XIII.
THE SURRENDER OF SANTIAGO.
With the victory at El Caney and San Juan Hill fresh in their minds, the
American people believed that the war was well-nigh at an end. Information
that Spain had sued for peace was hourly expected.
There was much to be done, however, before the enemy was willing to admit
himself beaten. The city of Santiago yet remained in the hands of the
Spaniards, Manila was still defiant; and until those two strongholds had
been reduced, the boys of ’98 must continue to struggle in the trenches
and on the field.
The end was not far away, however.
_July 5._ General Shafter telegraphed to the War Department on the fifth
of July to the effect that the people of Santiago were not only
panic-stricken through fear of bombardment, but were suffering from lack
of actual necessaries of life. There was no food save rice, and the supply
of that was exceedingly limited. The belief of the war officials, however,
was that the Spaniards would fight to the last, and capitulate only when
it should become absolutely necessary.
Meanwhile the soldiers were waiting eagerly for the close of the truce,
and, as the hour set by General Shafter drew near, every nerve was
strained to its utmost tension once more. Then a white flag was carried
down the line, and all knew the truce had been prolonged.
General Kent, whose division was facing the hospital and barracks of
Santiago, was notified by the enemy that Assistant Naval Constructor
Hobson and his companions were confined in the extreme northern building,
over which two white flags were flying.
The citizens of Santiago, learning that General Toral refused to consider
the question of surrender, began to leave the city,—a mournful procession.
General Shafter cabled to the government at Washington under date of July
5th:
“I am just in receipt of a letter from General Toral, agreeing to exchange
Hobson and men here; to make exchange in the morning. Yesterday he refused
my proposition of exchange.”
_July 7._ General Miles and staff left Washington en route for Santiago.
Lieutenant Hobson and the other _Merrimac_ heroes were brought into the
American lines on the morning of the seventh. The exchange of prisoners
had been arranged to take place under a tree midway between the
entrenchments occupied by the Rough Riders and the first lines of the
Spanish position. Col. John Jacob Astor represented the American
commander, and took with him to the rendezvous three Spanish lieutenants
and fourteen other prisoners. Major Irles, a Spanish staff officer, acted
for the enemy. The transfer was quickly effected, and once more the brave
fellows who had set their lives as a sacrifice on the altar of their
country were free.
_July 10._ The truce continued, with the exception of a brief time on the
tenth, when the bombardment was resumed by the fleet, until the
thirteenth, when Generals Miles, Shafter, Wheeler, and Gilmour had an
interview with General Toral and his staff at a point about halfway
between the lines.
_July 13._ During this interview the situation was placed frankly before
General Toral, and he was offered the alternative of being sent home with
his garrison, or leaving Santiago province, the only condition imposed
being that he should not destroy the existing fortifications, and should
leave his arms behind.
_July 15._ Not until two days later were the details arranged, and then
the Spanish commander sent the following letter:
“SANTIAGO DE CUBA, July 15, 1898.
“EXCELLENCY COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF
OF THE AMERICAN FORCES.
“_Excellent Sir_:—I am now authorised by my government to capitulate. I
have the honour to so advise you, requesting you to designate hour and
place where my representatives should appear to compare with those of your
excellency, to effect that article of capitulation on the basis of what
has been agreed upon to this date.
[Illustration: MAJOR-GENERAL JOSEPH WHEELER.]
“In due time I wish to manifest to your excellency that I desire to know
the resolution of the United States government respecting the return of
arms, so as to note on the capitulation, also the great courtesy and
gentlemanly deportment of your great grace’s representatives, and return
for their generous and noble impulse for the Spanish soldiers, will allow
them to return to the peninsula with the arms that the American army do
them the honour to acknowledge as dutifully descended.
(Signed) “JOSE TORAL,
“_Commander-in-Chief Fourth Army Corps._”
_July 16._ Commissioners on behalf of the United States and of Spain were
appointed, and after but little discussion an agreement between them was
arrived at.
The agreement consists of nine articles.
The first declared that all hostilities cease pending the agreement of
final capitulation.
_Second_: That the capitulation includes all the Spanish forces and the
surrender of all war material within the prescribed limits.
_Third_: The transportation of the troops to Spain at the earliest
possible moment, each force to be embarked at the nearest port.
_Fourth_: That the Spanish officers shall retain their side-arms and the
enlisted men their personal property.
_Fifth_: That after the final capitulation, the Spanish forces shall
assist in the removal of all obstructions to navigation in Santiago
Harbour.
_Sixth_: That after the final capitulation the commanding officers shall
furnish a complete inventory of all arms and munitions of war, and a
roster of all the soldiers in the district.
_Seventh_: That the Spanish general shall be permitted to take the
military archives and records with him.
_Eighth_: That all guerrillas and Spanish regulars shall be permitted to
remain in Cuba if they so elect, giving a parole that they will not again
take up arms against the United States unless properly paroled.
_Ninth_: That the Spanish forces shall be permitted to march out with all
the honours of war, depositing their arms to be disposed of by the United
States in the future. The American commissioners to recommend to their
government that the arms of the soldiers be returned to those “who so
bravely defended them.”
General Shafter cabled at once to Washington the cheering news:
“CAMP NEAR SANTIAGO, July 16.
“The surrender has been definitely settled and the arms will be turned
over to-morrow morning, and the troops will be marched out as prisoners of
war.
“The Spanish colours will be hauled down at nine o’clock, and the American
flag hoisted.
“SHAFTER, _Major-General_.”
_July 17._ The ceremony of surrendering the city was impressive, and, as
can well be imagined, thrilling for those boys of ’98 who had been
standing face to face with death in the trenches.
At six o’clock in the morning Lieutenant Cook, of General Shafter’s staff,
entered the city, and all the arms in the arsenal were turned over to him.
The work of removing the mines which obstructed navigation at the entrance
of the harbour had been progressing all night. At about seven o’clock
General Toral, the Spanish commander, sent his sword to General Shafter,
as evidence of his submission, and at 8.45 A. M. all the general officers
and their staffs assembled at General Shafter’s headquarters. Each
regiment was drawn up along the crest of the heights.
Shortly after nine o’clock the Ninth Infantry entered the city. This
position of honour was given them as a reward for their heroic assault on
San Juan Hill.
The details of the surrender are thus described by a correspondent of the
Associated Press, who accompanied General Shafter’s staff:
“General Shafter and his generals, with mounted escort of one hundred
picked men of the Second Cavalry, then rode over our trenches to the open
ground at the foot of the hill on the main road to Santiago, midway to the
then deserted Spanish works. There they were met by General Toral and his
staff, all in full uniform and mounted, and a select detachment of Spanish
troops.
“What followed took place in full view of our troops.
“The scene was picturesque and dramatic. General Shafter, with his
generals and their staffs grouped immediately in their rear, and with the
troops of dashing cavalrymen with drawn sabres on the left, advanced to
meet the vanquished foe.
“After a few words of courteous greeting, General Shafter’s first act was
to return General Toral’s sword. The Spanish general appeared to be
touched by the complimentary words with which General Shafter accompanied
this action, and he thanked the American commander feelingly.
“Then followed a short conversation as to the place selected for the
Spanish forces to deposit their arms, and a Spanish infantry detachment
marched forward to a position facing our cavalry, where the Spaniards were
halted. The latter were without their colours.
“Eight Spanish trumpeters then saluted, and were saluted, in turn, by our
trumpeters, both giving flourishes for lieutenant and major-generals.
“General Toral then personally ordered the Spanish company, which in
miniature represented the forces under his command, to ground arms. Next,
by his direction, the company wheeled and marched across our lines to the
rear, and thence to the place selected for camping them. The Spaniards
moved rapidly, to the quick notes of the Spanish march, played by the
companies; but it impressed one like the ‘Dead March’ from Saul.
“Although no attempt was made to humiliate them, the Spanish soldiers
seemed to feel their disgrace keenly, and scarcely glanced at their
conquerors as they passed by. But this apparent depth of feeling was not
displayed by the other regiments. Without being sullen, the Spaniards
appeared to be utterly indifferent to the reverses suffered by the Spanish
arms, and some of them, when not under the eyes of their officers, seemed
to secretly rejoice at the prospect of food and an immediate return to
Spain.
“General Toral, throughout the ceremony, was sorely dejected. When General
Shafter introduced him by name to each member of his staff, the Spanish
general appeared to be a very broken man. He seems to be about sixty years
of age, and of frail constitution, although stern resolution shone in
every feature. The lines are strongly marked, and his face is deep drawn,
as if with physical pain.
“General Toral replied with an air of abstraction to the words addressed
to him, and when he accompanied General Shafter at the head of the escort
into the city, to take formal possession of Santiago, he spoke but few
words. The appealing faces of the starving refugees streaming back into
the city did not move him, nor did the groups of Spanish soldiers lining
the road and gazing curiously at the fair-skinned, stalwart-framed
conquerors. Only once did a faint shadow of a smile lurk about the corners
of his mouth.
“This was when the cavalcade passed through a barbed-wire entanglement. No
body of infantry could ever have got through this defence alive, and
General Shafter’s remark about its resisting power found the first
gratifying echo in the defeated general’s heart.
“Farther along the desperate character of the Spanish resistance, as
planned, amazed our officers. Although primitive, it was well done. Each
approach to the city was thrice barricaded and wired, and the barricades
were high enough and sufficiently strong to withstand shrapnel. The
slaughter among our troops would have been frightful had it ever become
necessary to storm the city.
“Around the hospitals and public buildings and along the west side of the
line there were additional works and emplacements for guns, though no guns
were mounted in them.
“The streets of Santiago are crooked, with narrow lines of one-storied
houses, most of which are very dilapidated, but every veranda of every
house was thronged by its curious inhabitants,—disarmed soldiers. These
were mostly of the lower classes.
“Few expressions of any kind were heard along the route. Here and there
was a shout for free Cuba from some Cuban sympathiser, but as a rule there
were only low mutterings. The better class of Spaniards remained indoors,
or satisfied their curiosity from behind drawn blinds.
“Several Spanish ladies in tumble-down carriages averted their faces as we
passed. The squalor in the streets was frightful. The bones of dead horses
and other animals were bleaching in the streets, and buzzards, as tame as
sparrows, hopped aside to let us pass.
“The windows of the hospitals, in which there are over fifteen hundred
sick men, were crowded with invalids, who dragged themselves there to
witness our incoming.
“The palace was reached soon after ten o’clock. There General Toral
introduced General Shafter and the other American generals to the alcalde,
Señor Feror, and to the chief of police, Señor Guiltillerrez, as well as
to the other municipal authorities.
“Luncheon was then served at the palace. The meal consisted mainly of rum,
wine, coffee, rice, and toasted cake. This scant fare occasioned many
apologies on the part of the Spaniards, but it spoke eloquently of their
heroic resistance. The fruit supply of the city was absolutely exhausted,
and the Spaniards had nothing to live on except rice, on which the
soldiers in the trenches of Santiago have subsisted for the last twelve
days.”
Ten thousand people witnessed the ceremony of hoisting the stars and
stripes over the governor’s palace in Santiago.
A finer stage setting for a dramatic episode it would be difficult to
imagine. The palace, a picturesque old dwelling in the Moorish style of
architecture, faces the Plaza de la Reina, the principal public square.
Opposite rises the imposing Catholic cathedral. On one side is a quaint,
brilliantly painted building with broad verandas, the club of San Carlos;
on the other a building of much the same description, the Café de la
Venus.
Across the plaza was drawn up the Ninth Infantry, headed by the Sixth
Cavalry band. In the street facing the palace stood a picked troop of the
Second Cavalry, with drawn sabres, under command of Captain Brett. Massed
on the stone flagging between the band and the line of horsemen were the
brigade commanders of General Shafter’s division, with their staffs. On
the red-tiled roof of the palace stood Captain McKittrick, Lieutenant
Miles, and Lieutenant Wheeler. Immediately above them, above the
flagstaff, was the illuminated Spanish arms, and the legend, “_Vive
Alphonso XIII._”
All about, pressing against the veranda rails, crowding to windows and
doors, and lining the roofs, were the people of the town, principally
women and non-combatants.
As the chimes of the old cathedral rang out the hour of twelve, the
infantry and cavalry presented arms. Every American uncovered, and Captain
McKittrick hoisted the stars and stripes. As the brilliant folds unfurled
in the gentle breeze against the fleckless sky, the cavalry band broke
into the strains of “The Star Spangled Banner,” making the American pulse
leap and the American heart thrill with joy.
[Illustration: KING ALPHONSO XIII. OF SPAIN.]
At the same instant the sound of the distant booming of Captain Capron’s
battery, firing a salute of twenty-one guns, drifted in.
When the music ceased, from all directions around our lines came flying
across the plaza the strains of the regimental bands and the muffled,
hoarse cheers of our troops.
The infantry came to “order arms” a moment later, after the flag was up,
and the band played “Rally Round the Flag, Boys.”
Instantly General McKibben called for three cheers for General Shafter,
which were given with great enthusiasm, the band playing “The Stars and
Stripes For Ever.”
The ceremony over, General Shafter and his staff returned to the American
lines, leaving the city in the possession of the municipal authorities
subject to the control of General McKibben, who had been appointed
temporary military governor.
CHAPTER XIV.
MINOR EVENTS.
_June 24._ The details of the bloodless capture of the principal of the
Ladrone Islands are thus told by a private letter from the naval officer
who figured in the leading rôle of the exploit, Lieutenant William
Braunerzruther, executive officer of the cruiser _Charleston_:
“U. S. S. CHARLESTON, AT SEA AND ONE
“THOUSAND MILES FROM MANILA,
“June 24, 1898.
“We have just carried out our orders to capture the Spanish authorities at
the capital of the Ladrone Islands, Agana. I was selected by the captain
to undertake this job, and given 160 men to land as a starter.
“I went ashore to have a talk with the governor about affairs, and the
results were that I did not lose even a single man. The matter was all
settled in one day, and we are carrying with us fifty-four soldiers
(Spanish) and six officers, besides a lot of Mauser rifles and nearly ten
thousand pounds of ammunition.
“I had the whole to handle, and did it quickly. The captain’s instructions
were to wait a half hour for his answer to our ultimatum, then use my
troops. I waited, and in just twenty-nine minutes the governor handed me
his sealed reply addressed to the captain of our ship out in the harbour
about four or five miles off.
“I knew this was sealed with the sole object of gaining time, and hence I
broke the seal, read the contents, the governor protesting and saying that
was a letter for my captain. I replied: ‘I represent him here. You are now
my prisoners, and will have to come on board ship with me.’
“They protested and pleaded, and finally the governor said:
“‘You came on shore to talk over matters, and you make us prisoners
instead.’ I replied: ‘I came on shore to hand you a letter and to get your
reply; in this reply, now in my hand, you agree to surrender all under
your jurisdiction. If this means anything at all, it means that you will
accede to any demands I may deem proper to make. You will at once write an
order to your military man at Agana (the capital; this place was five
miles distant), directing him to deliver at this place at four P. M. (it
was 10.30 A. M., June 21st) all ammunition and flags in the island, each
soldier to bring his own rifle and ammunition, and all soldiers, native
and Spanish, with their officers, must witness this.’
“They protested and demurred, saying there was not time enough to do it,
but I said: ‘Señors, it must be done.’
“The letter was written, read by me, and sent. I took all the officers
with me in a boat, and at four P. M. went ashore again and rounded in the
whole outfit. I was three miles away from my troops, and I had only four
men with me. At four P. M., when I disarmed 108 men and two officers, I
had forty-six men and three officers with me.
“The key-note to the whole business was my breaking the seal of that
letter and acting at once. They had no time to delay or prepare any
treacherous tricks, and I got the ‘drop’ on the whole outfit, as they say
out West.
“The native troops I released and allowed to return to their homes
unrestricted; they had manifested great joy in being relieved from Spanish
rule. While it is harsh, it is war, and in connection with the Spanish
treachery it was all that could be done.
“Twenty-four hours would have—yes, I believe even four hours with a leader
such as the governor was, a lieutenant-colonel in the Spanish army—given
them a chance to hide along the road to Agana, and at intervals in the
dense tropical foliage they could have almost annihilated any force that
could land.
“The approaches to the landing over shallow coral reefs would have made a
landing without a terrible loss of life almost an impossibility.
“We have increased by conquest the population of the United States by
nearly twelve thousand people. The capital has a population of six
thousand people. This harbour in which we were is beautiful, easy of
access, plenty of deep water, admitting of the presence of a large number
of vessels at the same time, and is an ideal place for a coaling station.
“If our government decided to hold the Philippines it would then come in
so well; San Francisco to Honolulu twenty-one hundred miles, Honolulu to
island of Guam thirty-three hundred, and thence to Manila sixteen hundred
miles. With a chain of supply stations like this, we could send troops the
whole year round if necessary, and any vessel with a steaming capacity of
thirty-five hundred miles could reach a base of supplies.
“The details I have scarcely touched upon, but had the officers and
soldiers dreamed for one moment that they were to be torn from their
homes, there would, I feel sure, have been another story to tell, and I am
firmly convinced this letter would never have been written.
“The captain, in extending to me his congratulations, remarked:
‘Braunerzruther, you’ll never, as long as you live, have another
experience such as this. I congratulate you on your work.’
“All this whole affair was transacted in Spanish. I had an interpreter
with me, but forgot all about using him. I did not want them to get a
chance to think, even, before it was too late.”
_June 25._ The _Florida_ and the _Fanita_ left Key West Saturday, June
25th, under convoy of the _Peoria_, commanded by Lieut. C. W. Rice. On
board the steamers were 650 Cubans under Gen. Emilio Nunez, fifty troopers
of the Tenth U. S. Cavalry under Lieutenants Johnson and Ahearn, and
twenty-five Rough Riders under Winthrop Chanler, brother of Col. William
Astor Chanler.
The cargoes were enormous. There were the horses of the cavalry and 167
sacks of oats and 216 bales of hay to feed them. Topping the list of arms
were two dynamite guns, with 50-pound projectiles to fit them, and two
full batteries of light field-pieces, ten 3-inch rifles of regular
ordnance pattern, with harnesses that go with them, and 1,500 cartridges.
In the matter of infantry rifles there were 4,000 Springfields, with
954,000 cartridges, and 200 Mausers, with 2,000 shells.
Fifty of the Cubans aboard were armed with Mausers, and the others had
Springfields. For the insurgent officers were provided 200 army Colts and
2,700 cartridges. Two hundred books of United States cavalry and infantry
tactics, translated into Spanish, were taken along. In the expedition were
also 1,475 saddles, 950 saddle-cloths, and 450 bridles. For the Cuban
soldiers there were taken 7,663 uniforms, 5,080 pairs of shoes, 1,275
blankets, 400 shirts, 450 hats and 250 hammocks.
There were these commissary stores carried, calculated by pounds: Bacon,
67,275; corn-meal, 31,250; roasted coffee, 10,200; raw coffee, 3,250;
sugar, 2,425; mess pork and beef, 9,600; corned beef, 24,000; beans
18,900; hardtack, 1,250; cans of corn, 1250.
_June 29._ The expectation was that the landing would be effected at San
Juan Point, on the south coast of Cuba, midway between Cienfuegos and
Trinidad. This place was reached Wednesday evening, June 29th. A scouting
party put off in a small boat and sculled toward shore, but had made only
half the distance when there came a lively fire from what had been taken
to be an abandoned blockhouse near the point. The men were called back and
the three ships moved to the eastward. About four o’clock the next
afternoon they arrived at Las Tunas, forty miles away.
Four miles west of the town, at the mouth of the Tallabacoa River, stood a
large fort built of railroad iron and surrounded by earthworks. The
_Peoria_ ran boldly in and fired several shots from her 3-pounders, but
brought no response and no signs of life. Here was thought to be the
desired opportunity, and another scouting party was organised. This was
made up of fifteen volunteers under Winthrop Chanler, and as many Cubans
under Captain Nunez.
The _Peoria_ took a position within short range of the fort to protect a
landing or cover a retreat, and the small boats headed for the shore. They
reached it five hundred yards east of the fort; the boats were beached,
and their occupants cautiously scrambled toward the brush. But at almost
the very moment they set foot on the sand, the fort and the entrenchments
around it burst into flame, and shot and shell screamed about the little
band of invaders. Captain Nunez was stepping from his boat when a shot
struck him between the eyes and he went down dead. Chanler fell with a
broken arm. The others safely gained a thicket and replied with a sharp
fire directed at the entrenchments.
Meanwhile the _Peoria_ set all her guns at work, and rained shells upon
the fort until the enemy’s fire ceased. The moment the gunboat slackened
fire, however, the Spanish fire was renewed with fury, and it became
evident that their forces were too large to allow a landing there. A
retreat was ordered, and the party on shore rushed to the boats, but
volley after volley came from the shore, and they were compelled to throw
themselves into the water, and paddle alongside the boats with only their
heads exposed, until the ships were reached. The Spaniards had the range,
however, and five Cubans were wounded, though none seriously. Returning to
the _Peoria_, the men reported that a vicious fire had come from a grove
of cocoanut palms to the eastward of the fort. The _Peoria_ opened her
guns on the place indicated, and must have killed many Spaniards, for her
shells dropped into the smoke and flash of the adversary’s fire, silenced
it at once, and forced them to send up rockets for help.
A number of volleys were sent at the _Peoria_ with a view to disabling her
gunners, but they were badly directed, and fell against her side and into
the water. When the small boats reached the ship it was dark. Then the
discovery was made that, besides Captain Nunez, whose body was left on the
beach, there were missing, Chanler, Doctors Lund and Abbott, Lieutenant
Agramonte, and two Cubans. It was reported that Chanler had been mortally
wounded, and was kept hidden in the bushes along the shore by the two
doctors. Rescue parties were immediately organised, composed of
volunteers, and no less than four were sent ashore during the night.
Toward morning Lieutenant Ahearn, in charge of one of these, found Chanler
and his companion.
Chanler’s wound proved to be in the right elbow. After sunrise Agramonte
and his Cubans were discovered and brought off.
_July 1._ The next day the gunboat _Helena_, under Captain Swynburn,
arrived, and she and the _Peoria_ steamed in toward Las Tunas, which the
Spaniards had been vigorously fortifying.
Tunas is connected by rail with Sancti Spiritus, a town of considerable
size, and reinforcements and artillery had been rapidly coming in. Range
buoys had been placed in the bay, but avoiding these, the ships drew in to
close range, and opened fire, the _Peoria_ at twelve hundred and the
_Helena_ at fourteen hundred yards. The Spaniards had several Krupp
field-pieces of three or four inches, mounted on earthworks along the
water-front, and they began a vigorous, but ill-directed reply with shell
and shrapnel. The fire of the American ships was most accurate and
terribly destructive. The Spanish gunners had not fired more than fifteen
or twenty shots before their guns were flying in the air, their earthworks
a mass of blood-stained dust, and their gunners running for their lives.
Both the _Peoria_ and the _Helena_ were struck several times, chiefly by
shrapnel, but no one on either ship was injured. As they withdrew, several
buildings on shore were in flames.
That afternoon both ships again turned their attention to the fort and the
entrenchments at the mouth of the Tallabacoa River, and for half an hour
poured a wicked fire upon them. The Spaniards had been largely reinforced
during the day, and some field-pieces had been mounted near the fort.
These replied to the American fire, but without effect, and the shells of
the two ships speedily silenced them. The iron blockhouse was struck
repeatedly, and the earthworks were partially destroyed. No damage was
done to the ships, and they again withdrew.
That night the Spaniards burned a large wharf and the adjacent buildings,
evidently expecting a landing in force the next day.
It was learned from various sources that reinforcements were pouring into
Las Tunas from all directions; a newspaper from Sancti Spiritus stated
that two thousand men had been despatched from the nearest trocha. It was
determined to proceed during the night to Palo Alto, fifty miles to the
eastward, the _Helena_ remaining at Las Tunas to confirm the Spaniards in
the belief that an attempt was to be made to land there.
_July 2._ At ten o’clock Saturday night, while the _Helena_ lay offshore,
making lively play with her search-lights toward shore, the _Peoria_, the
_Florida_, and the _Fanita_, with all lights out, slipped silently away.
Palo Alto was reached at daybreak. There was not a Spaniard to be seen,
and the men and cargo were put ashore without a single obstacle.
[Illustration: GENERAL GOMEZ.]
_July 4._ Gomez, with two thousand men, was known to be in the vicinity,
and scouts hurried into his lines. On Monday the old warrior appeared in
person at Palo Alto.
_July 5._ A steamer was sighted about midnight by the U. S. S. _Hawk_,
formerly the yacht _Hermione_, off the north coast of Pinar del Rio,
steaming eastward, close inshore. She paid no attention to three shots
across her bow, or a signal to heave to. The _Hawk_ then opened fire and
gave chase.
Twenty-five shots were fired, of which only three were without effect. The
vessel was soon on fire, and flew signals of distress while making full
speed head on to the beach. The _Hawk_ ceased firing, and manned a
relief-boat just as the Spaniard ran high and dry on a reef, under cover
of Fort Mariel.
Though the Spaniard as yet had not fired a shot in response to the
_Hawk’s_ attack, and was burning signals calling for help, the American
relief-boat was received with a joint volley from both the sinking steamer
and the neighbouring fort, turning her back, luckily unscathed, By this
time daylight was breaking, and another Yankee ship, the gunboat
_Castine_, hove in sight, reinforcing the _Hawk_.
The two opened fire upon the Spanish vessel and fort. A well-directed
4-inch shell from the _Castine_ blew the steamer up.
Most of the latter’s crew and passengers by this time had, however,
escaped by rowing or swimming ashore. Just at sunrise, while the _Castine_
and _Hawk_ were reconnoitring in the vicinity of the wreck, a big Spanish
gunboat hove in sight, training all her batteries on the two American
boats. It was an exciting moment.
The _Castine’s_ 4-inchers opened promptly, and the Spaniard returned at
full speed to cover, under Morro Castle.
The Spanish fleet, commanded by Admiral Camara, arrived at Suez, and was
notified by the officials of the Egyptian government that it must leave
the port within twenty-four hours.
The government also notified Admiral Camara that he would not be allowed
to coal.
While the U. S. gunboat _Eagle_ was on the blockading route in the
vicinity of the Isle of Pines, on the south Cuban coast, about five miles
from the shore, she sighted the schooner _Gallito_, provision laden. She
immediately gave chase, and the schooner ran in until about a quarter of a
mile from the shore, when she dropped her anchor, and those aboard slipped
over her side and swam ashore.
Ensign J. H. Roys and a crew of eight men from the _Eagle_ were sent in a
small boat to board the schooner. They found her deserted, and while
examining her were fired upon by her crew from the beach. Several
rifle-shots went through the schooner’s sails, but no one was injured. The
_Eagle_ drew closer in, and sent half a dozen shots toward the beach from
her 6-pounders, whereupon the Spaniards disappeared. The _Gallito_ was
taken into Key West.
_July 7._ Congress having passed resolutions to the effect that Hawaii be
annexed to the United States, the President added his signature, and a new
territory was thus added to the American nation.
Secretary Long gave orders for the departure of the _Philadelphia_ from
Mare Island for Hawaii. She was to carry the flag of the United States to
those islands and include them within the Union. Admiral Miller,
commanding the Pacific station, was charged with the function of hoisting
the flag.
_July 8._ Admiral Camara, commander of the Spanish fleet, which was bound
for the Philippines, informed the Egyptian government that he had been
ordered to return home, and would, therefore, reënter the Suez Canal.
_July 12._ The auxiliary gunboat _Eagle_ sighted the Spanish steamer
_Santo Domingo_, fifty-five hundred tons, aground near the Cuban coast,
off Cape Francis, and opened fire with her 6-pounders, sending seventy
shots at her, nearly all of which took effect.
While this was going on, another steamer came out of the bay and took off
the officers and crew of the _Santo Domingo_. When the men from the
_Eagle_ boarded the latter they found that she carried two 5-inch and two
12-inch guns, the latter being loaded and her magazines open. The steamer
had been drawing twenty-four feet of water and had gone aground in twenty
feet.
The men from the _Eagle_ decided that the steamer could not be floated,
and she was set on fire after fifty head of cattle, which were on board,
had been shot.
The _Santo Domingo_ carried a large cargo of grain, corn, etc. While the
steamer was burning, the vessel which had previously taken off the crew
emerged from the bay, and tried to get off some of the cargo, but failed.
The Spanish steamer burned for three days, and was totally destroyed.
_July 17._ The cruiser _New Orleans_ captured the French steamer _Olinde
Rodriguez_ off San Juan de Porto Rico, as she was trying to enter the port
with passengers and a cargo of coffee and tobacco.
The U. S. S. _Mayflower_ captured the British steamer _Newfoundland_ off
Cienfuegos while the latter was trying to run the Cuban blockade.
The Spanish sloop _Domingo Aurello_ was captured by the U. S. S. _Maple_
as the former was leaving the port of Sagua de Tanamo, province of
Santiago, with a cargo of tobacco.
_July 22._ The following cablegram was received at the Navy Department:
[Illustration: U. S. S. NEW ORLEANS.]
“PLAYA, July 22.
“Expedition to Nipe has been entirely successful, although the mines have
not been removed for want of time.
“The Spanish cruiser _Jorge Juan_, defending the place, was destroyed,
without loss on our part.
“The _Annapolis_ and _Wasp_ afterward proceeded from Nipe to assist in the
landing of the commanding general of the army on arrival at Porto Rico.
(Signed) “SAMPSON.”
_July 30._ Another “jackie” achieved the reputation of a hero. He is
boatswain’s mate Nevis of the gunboat _Bancroft_, and the tale of his
valour is not unmixed with humour.
The _Bancroft_, accompanied by the converted yacht _Eagle_, which had been
covering the blockading station around the Isle of Pines, sighted a small
Spanish schooner in Sigunea Bay.
The _Bancroft’s_ steam launch, in charge of Nevis and one seaman, each
armed with a rifle, were sent in to take the schooner. This was only a
task of minutes, and the launch returned with the prize, which proved to
be the schooner _Nito_, little more than a smack, and with no cargo.
Commander Clover sent Nevis in with her to anchor near the wreck of the
Spanish transatlantic liner _Santo Domingo_, sunk by the _Eagle_ a few
weeks ago. Then the _Bancroft_ and _Eagle_ cruised off to Mangle Point,
where they happened to be put in communication with the insurgent camp.
Two hours later they returned. For a time nothing could be seen of the
launch or the prize. Suddenly Commander Clover, who was scanning the
waters with his glass, shouted to Captain Sutherland of the _Eagle_: “By
heavens, they have recaptured my prize.” The little schooner lay near the
wrecked steamer, but the Spanish flag was flying from her mast, and,
instead of only Nevis and his companion, she was apparently filled with
men.
Meanwhile the gunboat _Maple_ had drawn up, and Commander Clover ordered
her into the work of rescue. With guns ready she steamed toward the
schooner, but the sight that greeted her was not what was expected.
Nevis and his companion sat at one end of the boat attempting to navigate
her out of the harbour. Each had his rifle across his knee and was keeping
a wary eye on a party of half a dozen cowering Spaniards huddled in the
other end of the boat.
The _Maple_ asked for information, and offered Nevis a tow, but he replied
with a joke and declined the proffered assistance. Then it developed that,
in going in to anchor, he had observed two other small Spanish boats near
the wreck of the _Santo Domingo_, and had resolved to capture them, too.
He knew it was hazardous work, but “bluff” carried him through.
He took the Spanish colours of the schooner, ran them up, and boldly
sailed in. There were six men on the two other boats, and they watched the
approach of their supposed compatriots with calmness that speedily changed
to consternation when Nevis and the other “jackie” suddenly whipped their
rifles to their shoulders, and demanded an immediate surrender.
The scared Spanish seamen lost no time in complying, and had the unique
experience of surrendering to their own flag. Then, scorning all aid,
Nevis took them out to his ship, and in the most matter-of-fact manner
reported the adventure to his astonished commander.
The capture was no mean one, for these six men gave important information
to the American ships.
_August 1._ The Norwegian steamer _Franklin_, of about five hundred tons,
bound from Vera Cruz with a cargo of food supplies, was captured by the
converted yacht _Siren_ off Francis Key, near Caibarien.
_August 6._ The Norwegian steamer _Aladdin_, sugar-laden, was captured by
the auxiliary gunboat _Hawk_ off Cadiz Light, Isle of Pines.