America's Conflict With Spain.
[=A War in the Cause of Humanity=]
A third of a century passed after the great struggle of the United
States for the existence of the Union, and then, in almost the closing
year of the nineteenth century, came another war, this time fought
in the interests of humanity. It was not a war for gain or conquest;
the thought of territorial acquisition did not enter into the motives
leading to it, despite the fact that this country gained new territory
as one of its results; in its inception humane feeling, the sentiment
of sympathy with the oppressed and starving people of Cuba, alone
prevailed, and the nineteenth century fitly reached its end with a war
entered into for humanity's sake alone, it being one of the very few
instances in the history of the world in which a nation has gone to war
from purely philanthropic motives.
It is not necessary here to repeat the story of Spain's tyranny in
Cuba. It is too well known to need telling again, and simply carried
out the colonial policy of Spain from the time of the discovery of
America. The successful rebellion of her colonies on the American
continent failed to teach that country the lesson which England learned
from a similar occurrence, and in Cuba was continued the same system of
tyranny and official oppression which had driven the other colonies to
revolt. The result was the same, Cuba blazed into rebellion, and for
years war desolated that fair island.
[Illustration: SENOR MONTERO RIOS
President of the Spanish Peace Commission whose painful
duty required him to sign away his country's colonial
possessions.]
[Illustration: GENERAL RAMON BLANCO
Who succeeded Weyler as Captain-General of Cuba in
1897. He was formerly Governor-General of the
Philippine Islands.]
[Illustration: ADMIRAL CERVERA
Commander of Spanish Fleet at Santiago.]
[Illustration: SAGASTA
Premier of Spain during the Spanish-American War.]
[Illustration: GENERAL JOSEPH WHEELER.
RICHMOND PEARSON HOBSON.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT.
MAJOR-GENERAL ELWELL S. OTIS.
POPULAR HEROES OF THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR]
[=General Weyler and His Policy=]
The United States, however, sedulously avoided taking any part in the
affair until absolutely driven to interfere by the horrible inhumanity
displayed by Captain-General Weyler. It was the awful policy of
"reconcentration" that stretched the forbearance of the people of this
country to the breaking point. Not content with fighting the rebels in
arms, the brutal Weyler extended the war against the people in their
homes, burning their houses, destroying the crops in their fields,
driving them in multitudes into the cities and towns, and holding them
there in the most pitiable destitution and misery until they died by
thousands the terrible death of starvation. It was not until word came
to this country that not less than 200,000 of the helpless people had
perished in this horrible manner, and that there seemed no hope of
alleviation of the frightful situation, that a practically universal
demand for the government to interfere. Spain was asked to fix a date
in which the war should be brought to an end, with the intimation that
if the contest was not concluded or the independence of the island
conceded by that date, this country would feel obliged to take decisive
steps.
No satisfactory answer was received, and anticipations of war filled
all minds, though many hoped that this dread ultimatum might be
avoided, when, in the last week of January, 1898, the battleship
_Maine_ was ordered to proceed from Key West to the harbor of Havana.
Her visit was ostensibly a friendly one, but there had been riots in
Havana which imperilled the safety of American residents, to whom the
Spanish inhabitants of that city were bitterly hostile, and it was felt
that some show of force in that harbor was imperative.
[=The Sinking of the "Maine"=]
A terrible disaster succeeded. In one fatal instant, on the night
of February 15th, the noble ship was hurled to destruction and her
crew into eternity. This frightful event took place about 9.45 in the
evening, while the ship lay quietly at anchor in the place selected
for her by the Spanish authorities. Intense darkness prevailed in
the harbor, Captain Sigsbee was writing in his cabin, the men were
in their quarters below, when of a sudden came a terrible explosion
that tore the vessel asunder and killed most of her crew. So violent
was the shock that the whole water-front of the city was shaken as
by an earthquake, telegraph poles were thrown down and the electric
lights extinguished. The wrecked vessel sank quickly into the mud of
the harbor's bottom, and a great flame broke from her upper works that
illuminated the whole harbor. Of three hundred and fifty-three men in
the ship's company only forty-eight escaped unhurt, and the roll-call
of the dead in the end reached two hundred and sixty-six.
[=Preparations for War=]
This terrible event was the immediate cause of the war. It intensified
the feeling of the people and of their representatives in Congress to
such an extent that no other solution of the difficulty now seemed
possible. The popular indignation was increased when the court of
inquiry announced that, in its opinion, "the _Maine_ was destroyed by a
submarine mine." It was universally felt that the disaster was another
instance of Spanish malignity, the war-fever redoubled, and Congress
unanimously voted an appropriation of $50,000,000 "for the national
defense." The War and Navy Departments hummed with the activity of
recruiting, the preparations of vessels and coast defenses, and the
purchase of war material and vessels at home, while agents were sent to
Europe to procure all the warships that could be purchased. Unlimited
capital was at their command, and the question of price was not an
obstacle. When hostilities impended the United States was unprepared
for war, but by amazing activity, energy and skill the preparations
were pushed and completed with a rapidity that approached the marvelous.
[=War is Declared=]
Negotiations went on, it is true, but they were principally with the
purpose of gaining time to permit American citizens to leave Cuba.
Consul-general Lee left Havana on April 11th, and on the same day
President McKinley sent a message to Congress in which he described in
earnest terms the situation in Cuba, reciting the dreadful results of
Weyler's heartless policy and asking for power to intervene. "In the
name of humanity, in the name of civilization," he said, "the war in
Cuba must stop." On April 18th, Congress responded with a series of
resolutions that were virtually a declaration of war, and on the 22d
war actually began, the fleet which had gathered at Key West being
despatched to Cuba with orders to blockade Havana and some other
leading ports. On the following day a call was issued for 125,000
volunteers to serve in the coming conflict.
[=Progress in Naval Warfare=]
While it seems important to give the preliminary events that led to
the war, we do not propose to tell the story of the war itself, but to
confine ourselves to a description of its more important incidents, in
accordance with the plan of this work. It may be said here, however,
that the war was in great part a naval one, and gave rise to naval
operations of intense interest and great importance, so that this
chapter will fitly round out the preceding one, which deals with the
progress in naval warfare during the century. We there described the
contests of ironclad ships during the Civil War. In other chapters
have been told the stories of the fight between Austrian and Italian
ironclads at the battle of Lissa and of the Japanese and Chinese
ironclad fleets at the battle of the Yalu. We have now to tell the
final events in naval warfare of the century, the epoch-making contest
in Manila Bay, and the desperate flight and fight off Santiago harbor.
If these examples of ocean warfare be contrasted with those between the
_Constellation_ and the French frigates _L'Insurgente_ and _Vengeance_
a century before, they will place in striking clearness the immense
advance in naval warfare within the hundred years involved.
[Illustration: THE SURRENDER OF SANTIAGO, JULY 17, 1898.
After a little ceremony the two commanding Generals
faced each other, and General Toral, speaking in
Spanish, said: "Through fate I am forced to surrender
to General Shafter of the American Army the city and
strongholds of the City of Santiago." General Shafter
in reply said: "I receive the city in the name of the
Government of the United States."]
[Illustration: THE UNITED STATES PEACE COMMISSIONERS OF THE SPANISH WAR
Appointed September 9, 1898. Met Spanish Commissioners
at Paris, October 1st. Treaty of Peace signed by the
Commissioners at Paris, December 10th. Ratified by the
United States Senate at Washington, February 6, 1899.]
[=The Mission of Dewey=]
Of these two events the greatest was that which took place in Manila
Bay. War, it must be remembered, is governed by a different system of
ethics from that operative in peace. Though inhumanity in Cuba was the
cause of the war, to strike the enemy wherever he could be found was
the demand of prudence and military science. Spain had an important
possession in the eastern seas, the Philippine Islands, off the
southeastern coast of Asia. There, in the bay of Manila, near the large
city of that name, lay a Spanish fleet, which, if left unmolested,
might seek our Pacific Coast and commit terrible depredations. In
the harbor of Hong Kong lay a squadron of American war-vessels
under Commodore Dewey. Prudence dictated but one course under the
circumstances. There was flashed to Dewey under sea and over land the
telegraphic message to "find the Spanish fleet and capture or destroy
it." How Dewey obeyed this order is the circumstance with which we are
now concerned.
[=How Dewey entered Manila Bay=]
He lost no time. Leaving port in China on April 27th, he arrived off
the entrance to Manila Bay on the night of the 30th. An island lay in
the neck of the bay, with well-manned batteries on its shores. It was
probable that torpedoes had been planted in the channel. But George
Dewey had been a pupil of Farragut in the Civil War, and was inspired
with the spirit of that hero's famous order, "Damn the torpedoes!
Follow me!" Past Corregidor Island in the darkness glided the great
ships, several of them being out of range of its batteries before the
alarm was taken. Then some shots were fired, but the return fire from
the squadron silenced the Spanish guns and the ships passed safely into
Manila Bay.
[=The Opposing Fleet=]
About five o'clock on the morning of May 1st Dewey's fleet swept in
battle-line past the front of the city of Manila, and soon after
rounded up in face of the Spanish fleet, which extended across the
mouth of Bakoor Bay, within which lay the naval station of Cavité.
There were ten of the Spanish ships in all, with shore batteries to add
to their defensive force, while the effective American ships consisted
of six, the cruisers _Olympia_, _Baltimore_, _Raleigh_, _Boston_, and
the gunboats _Petrel_ and _Concord_. The Spaniards had two large and
four small cruisers, three gunboats and an armed transport. They were
not equal in size or weight of metal to the American vessels, but
their fixed position, their protection by shore batteries, and the
acquaintance of their officers with the waters in which they lay gave
them an important advantage over the Americans, which was added to
by their possession of torpedo boats and by the mines which they had
planted in the track of an attacking fleet. Dewey and his men were, in
fact, in a position of great peril, and if the Spaniards knew how to
work their guns none of them might leave that bay alive. Fortunately
for them the Spaniards did not know how to work their guns.
[=The Deadly Work of the American Guns=]
On swept the gallant squadron of assault, the _Olympia_ leading with
Dewey on the bridge. He had a look-out place protected by steel armor,
but he preferred to stand in the open and dare all peril from the
Spanish guns. The mines were there. As the flagship drove onward two of
them exploded in her path. Luckily the nervous hands at the electric
wires set them off too soon. Heedless of such perils as this Dewey
pursued his course, and at 5.40 A.M. opened fire, followed by
the remainder of his ships. From that moment the fire was deadly and
continuous, the boom of the great guns seconded by the rattle of the
rapid fire pieces until the air seemed full of the roar of ordnance.
The Spanish returned as hot a fire, but by no means so effective. While
most of their shot were wasted on the waves, the bulk of those from the
American ships found a goal, and death and destruction reigned in the
Spanish ships while their opponents moved on almost unharmed.
[=The Fate of the Spanish Flagship=]
Back and forth across the Spanish lines swept Dewey's ships, five times
in all, at first at 5,000 yards distance, then drawing in to a distance
of 2,000 yards. And during all this time the great guns roared their
message and the small guns poured out their fiery hail, rending the
Spanish hulls and carrying death to their crews, while the flames that
shot up from their decks told that another element of destruction was
at work. Early in the fight two torpedo boats darted out towards the
_Olympia_, but were met with a torrent of fire that sent one to the
bottom and drove the other hastily to the beach. Then, with an instinct
of desperation, Admiral Montojo drove gallantly out in his flagship,
the _Reina Christina_, with the purpose of engaging the _Olympia_ at
shorter range. At once Dewey turned his entire battery upon her, and
poured in shot and shell at such a frightful rate that the Spaniard
hastily turned and fled for the shelter of Bakoor Bay. But the deadly
baptism of fire with which she had been met proved the end of her
career. Swept from stern to stem by shells as she fled, she burst into
flames, which continued to burn until she sank to a muddy death.
[=The Destruction of the Spanish Fleet=]
Meanwhile the Spanish ships and batteries returned the fire vigorously,
but with singular lack of effect. While they were being riddled and
sunk, the American ships escaped almost unhurt, and while hundreds
of their crews fell dead or wounded, not an American was killed and
seven men alone were slightly wounded. What little skill in aiming
the Spaniards possessed was utterly disconcerted by the incessant and
deadly American fire, and their balls and shells screamed uselessly
through the air to plunge into the waves.
At the hour of 7.35 Dewey withdrew from the fight, that he might see
how all things stood on his ships and give the men an interval of rest
and an opportunity for breakfast. He knew very well that the Spaniards
must await his return. Fight and flight were alike taken out of them.
When he came back to the attack, shortly after 11 o'clock, nearly all
the Spanish ships were in flames and some rested on the bottom of the
bay. For an hour longer the firing continued on both sides. At the end
of that time the batteries were silenced and the ships sunk, burned,
and deserted. The great battle was at an end, and Dewey had made
himself the hero of the war.
[=How the Nation Rewarded Dewey=]
When the news of the result reached Europe, the naval powers of the
nations heard with utter astonishment of the fighting prowess and skill
of the Yankees. Anything so complete in the way of a naval victory the
century had not seen before, and it was everywhere recognized that a
new power had to be dealt with in the future counsels of the nations.
Americans, previously looked upon almost with contempt from a military
point of view, suddenly won respect, and Dewey took rank among the
great ocean fighters of the century. His nation hastened to honor him
with the title of rear-admiral, and finally with that of admiral,
its highest naval dignity, and on his return home in autumn of the
following year he was received with an ovation such as few Americans
had ever been given before. To his fellow citizens he was one of the
chief of their heroes, and they could not do him honor enough.
The second notable naval event of which we have spoken took place off
the harbor of Santiago, a city on the southern coast of Cuba, at a date
after that just described.
[=The Fleet of Admiral Cervera=]
The finest fleet possessed by Spain, that under the command of Admiral
Cervera, consisted of four cruisers, the _Christobal Colon_, plated
with a complete belt of 6-inch nickel steel, and with a deck armor of
steel 2 to 6 inches thick, and the _Vizcaya_, the _Almirante Oquendo_,
and the _Infanta Maria Teresa_, each of 6890 tons, with 10- to 12-inch
armor and powerful armament. They were all of high speed, and were
the only vessels of which any dread was felt in the United States.
With them were three torpedo boats, the _Terror_, the _Furor_ and the
_Pluton_, among the best of their class, and dangerous enemies to deal
with.
This fleet lay in the Cape Verde Islands at the opening of the war.
From there, in May, it set sail, causing doubt and dread in American
coast cities while its destination remained unknown, and yielding
relief when the news came that it had reached some of the lower islands
of the West Indies. On May 21st it was learned that the dreaded
squadron had reached Santiago and was safely at anchor in its harbor.
[=The Spanish Fleet at Santiago=]
The Atlantic fleet of the United States meanwhile had been partly
engaged in blockading the Cuban ports, partly in searching for
Cervera's fleet, and there was a decided sensation of relief when
the tidings from Santiago were confirmed. Thither from all quarters
the great ships of the fleet hastened at full speed, battleships,
cruisers, monitors, gunboats, and craft of other kinds, and soon they
hung like grim birds of war off the harbor's mouth, determined that
the Spanish fleet should never leave that place of refuge except to
meet destruction. To the battleships of the fleet was soon added the
_Oregon_, which had made an admirable journey of many thousand miles
around the continent of South America, and barely touched land in
Florida before it was off again to take part in the great blockade.
[=The Sinking of the "Merrimac"=]
The story that follows is, if given in all its details, a long one, but
we must confine ourselves to its salient points. Admiral Sampson, in
command of the American fleet, at first sought to lock up the Spaniards
in their harbor of refuge, by sinking a coaler, the _Merrimac_, in the
narrow channel of Santiago Bay. The work was gallantly and ably done
by Lieutenant Hobson and his daring crew, but proved a failure through
causes beyond his control. The _Merrimac_ sank lengthwise in the
channel, and the passage remained open. This being recognized, the most
vigilant watch was kept up, battle-ships, cruisers, and gunboats lying
off the harbor's mouth in a wide semicircle, with their lookouts ever
closely on the watch.
On the morning of Sunday, July 3d, the long-looked for alarm came,
in a yell from the sentinel on the _Brooklyn_, "There is a big ship
coming out of the harbor!" A like alarm was given on other ships, and
Commodore Schley, on the _Brooklyn_, hastened to signal the fleet and
to give the order, "Clear ship for action." Almost in an instant the
lazily swinging fleet awoke to life and activity, and the men sprang
from their listless Sunday rest into the most enthusiastic readiness
for duty.
[=The Flight of the Spanish Ships=]
Admiral Sampson, unfortunately for him, was absent, having gone up the
coast in the cruiser _New York_, and the direction of affairs fell to
Commodore Schley. He was capable of meeting the emergency. It was soon
evident that Cervera's fleet was coming out, the flagship, _Infanta
Maria Teresa_, in the lead, the others following. On clearing the
harbor headland they turned west, and the Americans at once set out
in pursuit, firing as they went. "Full speed ahead; open fire, and
don't waste a shot," shouted Schley. The _Oregon_ had already opened
fire from her great 13-inch guns, and was followed by the battleships
_Texas_, _Indiana_, and _Iowa_. The _Brooklyn_ joined in with her 8-
and 5-inch batteries, and soon a rain of shells was pouring upon the
devoted fugitive ships. The _Maria Teresa_ ran towards the _Brooklyn_
as if with intention to ram her, but the danger was avoided by a quick
swerve of the helm, and Cervera's flagship turned again and sped away
in flight.
[=A Hot Chase Down the Cuban Coast=]
The fugitive ships soon found themselves the centre of the most
terrific fire any war vessels had ever endured, with the exception
of those at Manila. Big guns and little guns joined in the frightful
concert, shot after shot telling, while the response of the Spaniards
was little more effective than that of their compatriots in Manila
Bay. One man killed on the _Brooklyn_ was the sole loss of life on
the American side, while the unfortunate Spaniards were swept down by
hundreds.
[=The Fate of the Spanish fleet=]
The first ship to succumb to this hail of shells was the _Maria
Teresa_, which quickly burst into flames, and soon after ran ashore.
Then the _Brooklyn_, _Oregon_ and _Indiana_ concentrated their fire on
the _Almirante Oquendo_, which was similarly beached in flames. Next
the _Vizcaya_ drew abeam of the _Iowa_, which turned its fire from the
_Oquendo_ to this new quarry, pouring in shells that tore great rents
in her side, while the _Vizcaya_ fired back hotly but ineffectively.
As the Spaniard drew ahead of the _Iowa_, the fire of the _Oregon_ and
_Texas_ reached her, and an 8-inch shell from the Brooklyn raked her
fore and aft. The next moment a great shell exploded in her interior,
killing eighty men. She was clearly out of the race, and ran in despair
for the beach.
Meanwhile the _Christobal Colon_ was running at great speed along
the beach, pursued by the American ships. Of these the _Oregon_ and
_Brooklyn_ alone were able to keep within hopeful distance. For an
hour the chase kept up, then the _Oregon_ tried a 13-inch shell, which
struck the water close astern of the _Colon_, four miles away. Another
was tried and reached its mark. Soon after a shell from the _Brooklyn_
pierced the _Colon_ at the top of her armor belt. Then she too gave up
and ran for the beach, Admiral Sampson, on the _New York_, reaching the
scene in time only to receive the surrender of her officers.
[=The "Gloucester" and Her Work=]
Perhaps the most telling work of the day was that done by the little
_Gloucester_, a yacht turned into a gunboat, which was commanded by
Richard Wainwright, one of the surviving officers of the _Maine_. Two
torpedo-boat destroyers had followed the Spanish ships from the harbor,
and these were gallantly attacked and sunk by Wainwright in his little
craft, thus finally disposing of the second Spanish fleet with which
the Yankees came into contact.
[Sidenote=: The Lesson of the War=]
The annals of naval history record no more complete destruction of an
enemy's fleet than in the two cases we have described, and never has
such work been done with so little loss--only one man being killed
and a few wounded in both American fleets. It taught the world a new
lesson in the art of naval warfare, and admonished the nations that the
United States was a power to be gravely considered in the future in any
question of war.
We have told the only incidents of this short war with which we are
concerned. In the conflict on land there was nothing of special
character. An American army landed near Santiago and fought its fight
to a quick finish in the capture of that city; and a similar story is
to be told of Manila; while the attempted conquest of Porto Rico was
cut short in the middle by the signing of a peace protocol. In December
a treaty of peace was signed in which Spain abandoned her colonies
of Cuba and Porto Rico, the latter being ceded to the United States,
while the Philippine Islands, the scene of Dewey's great victory, were
likewise ceded to this country. The latter, however, was not to the
pleasure of the island people, who took up arms to fight for freedom
from the dominion of the whites.
[=The United States Made a Colonial Power=]
Brief as was the war, it had the effect of radically changing the
position of the United States, which for the first time in its history
became a colonial power, and acquired an interest in that troublesome
Eastern Question which reached, at the end of the century, a highly
critical stage. Into what complication this new political relation is
likely to lead the republic of the West it is impossible to say, but
this country will certainly play its part in the shaping of the future
destiny of the East.