THE HISPANO-AMERICAN WAR
THE “MAINE”--THE COURT OF INQUIRY--THE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE--DEWEY AT
MANILA--HOBSON AND THE “MERRIMAC”--CERVERA’S RUN TO RUIN--THE
CAPITULATION OF SANTIAGO--THE MISSION OF PEACE
When General Weyler assumed command in Cuba he issued, October 21, 1896,
the following proclamation:
“I order and command:
First--All the inhabitants of the country now outside of the line
of fortifications of the towns shall within the period of eight
days concentrate themselves in the towns so occupied by the troops.
Any individual who after the expiration of this period is found in
the uninhabited parts will be considered a rebel and tried as
such.”
At the time when the order was issued there was living within the
western province a population of four hundred thousand men, women and
children. The result of the order was to sweep them from their homes and
fields and confine them in open-air prisons. No food whatever was
supplied to them. As a result more than half of them died.
The indignation aroused became widespread. Weyler was recalled. At the
time, especially in Havana among the officials who had been his
adherents and who resented his recall, there was an expressed hatred of
the United States. That hatred it is generally understood resulted, on
the night of February 15, 1898, in the blowing up of the “Maine.”
The dispatch of this vessel to Cuban waters was a friendly act arranged
by our government and that of Spain as one of a series of visits to be
paid by the ironclads of the two countries to each other’s harbors.
While the “Viscaya” was en route for New York the “Maine” went to
Havana. The harbor there was subsequently shown to have been sown with
explosives.
The findings of the Court of Inquiry, which was then held, as embodied
in the report of the Foreign Relations Committee, set forth that the
destruction of the “Maine” was either compassed by the official act of
the Spanish authorities, or was made possible by negligence on their
part so willful and gross as to be equivalent to criminal culpability.
The line of argument is as follows: It is established that the “Maine”
was destroyed by the explosion of a submarine mine in position under her
in a Spanish harbor, at a place where she had been moored to a buoy by
the express direction and guidance of the Spanish authorities.
The report of the Spanish board of inquiry, which reported, after the
most inadequate examination, that the explosion was due to the fault of
the officers of the “Maine,” and took place within the vessel itself,
was declared to be manifestly false, and calculated to induce public
opinion to prejudge the question. Taking this together with the fact of
the duplicity, treachery, and cruelty of the Spanish character, the
Senate concluded that the Spanish authorities must be held responsible
for the crime, either as its direct authors or as contributors thereto
by willful and gross negligence.
Spain offered to refer the question as to the cause of the loss of the
“Maine” and their responsibility for the catastrophe to arbitration. The
President made no reply.
On April 11, anterior circumstances already sufficiently recited, joined
to the findings of the American Commissioners, resulted in the President
sending a message to Congress, in which he said:
“The long trial has proved that the object for which Spain has
waged the war cannot be attained. The fire of insurrection may
flame or may smolder with varying seasons, but it has not been, and
it is plain that it cannot be, extinguished by present methods. The
only hope of relief and repose from a condition which can no longer
be endured is the enforced pacification of Cuba.
“In the name of humanity, in the name of civilization, in behalf of
endangered American interests which give us the right and the duty
to speak and to act, the war in Cuba must stop.
“In view of these facts and of these considerations, I ask the
Congress to authorize and empower the President to take measures to
secure a full and final termination of hostilities between the
government of Spain and the people of Cuba, and to secure in the
island the establishment of a stable government capable of
maintaining order and observing its international obligations,
insuring peace and tranquillity, and the security of its citizens
as well as our own, and to use the military and naval forces of the
United States as may be necessary for these purposes.
“_William McKinley._”
On April 19, Congress passed the following:
_Joint resolution for the recognition of the independence of the
people of Cuba, demanding that the government of Spain
relinquish its authority and government in the island of
Cuba, and to withdraw its land and naval forces from
Cuba and Cuban waters, and directing the President of
the United States to use the land and naval forces of the
United States to carry these resolutions into effect._
“_Whereas_, The abhorrent conditions which have existed for more
than three years in the island of Cuba, so near our own borders,
have shocked the moral sense of the people of the United States,
have been a disgrace to Christian civilization, culminating, as
they have, in the destruction of a United States battleship, with
two hundred and sixty of its officers and crew, while on a friendly
visit in the harbor of Havana, and cannot longer be endured, as has
been set forth by the President of the United States in his message
to Congress of April 11, 1898, upon which the action of Congress
was invited; therefore be it resolved,
“First--That the people of the island of Cuba are, and of right
ought to be, free and independent.
“Second--That it is the duty of the United States to demand, and
the government of the United States does hereby demand, that the
government of Spain at once relinquish its authority and government
in the island of Cuba, and withdraw its land and naval forces from
Cuba and Cuban waters.
“Third--That the President of the United States be, and he hereby
is, directed and empowered to use the entire land and naval forces
of the United States, and to call into the actual service of the
United States the militia of the several States to such an extent
as may be necessary to carry these resolutions into effect.
“Fourth--That the United States hereby disclaims any disposition or
intention to exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction or control over
said island, except for the pacification thereof, and asserts its
determination when that is accomplished to leave the government and
control of the island to its people.”
The ultimatum embodied in the foregoing being rejected by Spain,
diplomatic relations were severed and hostilities ensued.
On May 1, at daybreak, the Asiatic squadron, commanded by Commodore
Dewey, arrived at Manila from Hong Kong. At Cavite, within the harbor,
protected by four batteries, lay the Spanish fleet. It was commanded by
Admiral Patricio Montojo. The squadron proceeded up the bay unmolested
and made for the naval station. Two mines were exploded, but
ineffectively. At five o’clock and ten minutes the Spaniards opened
fire. Commodore Dewey set the signals, and his entire squadron advanced
to short range. The squadron consisted of the following cruisers and
gunboats: “Olympia,” “Baltimore,” “Boston,” “Raleigh,” “Concord,”
“Petrel,” and “McCulloch.”
At 5.30 the “Olympia’s” 8-inch guns opened, and the squadron swung in
front of the Spanish ships and forts in single file, firing their port
guns. Then, wheeling, they passed back, firing their starboard guns.
This maneuver was repeated five times, the entire American fleet
passing all the Spanish ships and batteries at each maneuver, and each
time drawing in closer and closer and delivering fire at more deadly
range. During two hours and a half there was tremendous resistance by
the Spaniards. They had eleven ships and five land batteries in full
play, against six American warships. But the American marksmanship was
faultless. Every shot seemed to count against ship or shore battery,
while most of the Spanish powder was burned in vain. At 7.45 A.M. the
American fleet withdrew to ascertain damages and permit the smoke to
clear. It was seen then that several Spanish ships were crippled or
burning, and it was found that the American vessels had suffered hardly
at all. Admiral Dewey called his captains into consultation and
arrangements were made for another attack. At 10.40 the attack was
renewed, the “Baltimore” leading. She advanced right upon the enemy,
shelling them constantly, and the other Americans followed, working
their guns as rapidly as they could load and fire. The effect of this
assault was terrific. Ship after ship of the Spaniards sunk or was run
ashore to keep them from sinking or falling into American hands. At
12.45 P.M. the Spaniards struck their colors in token of surrender.
Admiral Patricio Montojo fled to Manila, and most of the survivors fled
with him. This ended the work of May 1.
On May 2, Commodore Dewey landed a force of marines at Cavite. They
completed the destruction of the Spanish fleet and batteries and
established a guard for the protection of the Spanish hospitals. The
resistance of the forts was weak. The “Olympia” turned a few guns on
the Cavite arsenal, and its magazine at once exploded, killing some and
wounding many. This practically ended the fire from the batteries, the
Spanish artillerists fearing to face the American gunners. “Remember the
‘Maine’!” was the word continually passed between the ships, and every
American officer, every “Jackie,” was eager to do his utmost.
After Manila and the defeat of Admiral Montojo, the successive and
concluding events of the Hispano-American war include Admiral Sampson’s
bombardment of San Juan; Hobson’s heroic experiment with the “Merrimac”;
General Shafter’s campaign; the destruction of Cervera’s squadron; the
capitulation of Santiago; General Miles’s tour in Porto Rico, and the
overtures for peace. These events may be conveniently summarized as
follows:
The bombardment of San Juan was the result of a reconnaissance. The
Spanish fleet, under command of Admiral Cervera, which it was the
purpose of the Americans to capture or destroy, subsequently sought and
found shelter within the harbor of Santiago, the entrance to which
Admiral Sampson then proceeded to invest. There, while waiting to engage
the enemy, it was thought wise to attempt to block the harbor and so
prevent a possible escape. The plan originated with Lieutenant Hobson,
and its execution was left to him. On the night of June 3, with a picked
crew of seven volunteers, he steamed up in the collier “Merrimac” to the
harbor’s entrance and sank her. From the fleet the progress of the
“Merrimac” was eagerly followed.
At 3.15 the first Spanish shot was fired, coming from one of the guns on
the hill to the west of the entrance. The shot was seen to splash
seaward from the “Merrimac,” having passed over her. The firing became
general very soon afterward, being especially fierce and rapid from the
batteries inside on the left of the harbor, probably from batteries on
Smith Cay. The flashes and reports were apparently those of rapid-fire
guns, ranging from small automatic guns to four-inch or larger. For
fifteen minutes a perfect fusillade was kept up. Then the fire
slackened, and by 3.30 had almost ceased. There was a little desultory
firing until about 3.45, when all became quiet. Daylight came at about
five o’clock.
At about 5.15 A.M., a launch, which, under Cadet Powell, had followed
the “Merrimac,” in order if possible to rescue Hobson and his men, was
seen steaming from west to east, near or across the mouth of the harbor.
She steamed back from east to west and began skirting the coast to the
west of the entrance. The battery on the hill to the left opened fire on
her, but did not make good practice. The launch continued her course as
far westward as a small cove and then headed for the “Texas,” steaming
at full speed. Several shots were fired at her from the battery on the
left as she steamed out.
It was broad daylight by this time. Cadet Powell came alongside the
“Texas” and reported that “No one had come out of the entrance of the
harbor.” His words sounded like the death knell of all who had gone in
on the “Merrimac.” It seemed incredible, almost impossible, any of them
could have lived through the awful fire that was directed at the ship.
Cadet Powell said that he had followed behind the ship at a distance of
four or five hundred yards. Hobson missed the entrance of the harbor at
first, having gone too far to the westward; he almost ran aground. The
launch picked up the entrance and directed the “Merrimac” in. From the
launch the collier was seen until she rounded the bend of the channel
and until the helm had been put to port to swing her into position
across the channel. There was probably no one in the fleet who did not
think that all seven of the men had perished. In the afternoon, much to
the surprise of every one, a tug flying a flag of truce was seen coming
out of the entrance. The “Vixen,” flying a tablecloth at the fore, went
to meet the tug. A Spanish officer went aboard the “Vixen” from the tug
and was taken aboard the flagship. Not long afterward a signal was made
that Murphy of the “Iowa” was saved and was a prisoner of war. About
four o’clock another signal was made from the flagship: “Collier’s crew
prisoners of war; two slightly wounded. All well.”
It can be easily imagined what relief this signal brought to all hands,
who had been mourning the death of all these men. The Spanish officer
said also that the prisoners were confined in Morro Castle. He said
further that Admiral Cervera considered the attempt to run in and sink
the “Merrimac” across the channel an act of such great bravery and
desperate daring that he (the Admiral) thought it very proper that our
naval officers should be notified of the safety of these men. Whatever
the motive for sending out the tug with the flag of truce, the act was a
most graceful one, and one of most chivalrous courtesy. The Spanish
officer is reported to have said: “You have made it more difficult, but
we can still get out.”
The daring evinced by Hobson was instantly recognized, but the
importance of his achievement was not appreciated until July 3, when
Cervera’s desperate attempt to escape, would, in all likelihood, have
been partly successful but for the fact that his vessels were obliged to
leave the harbor in single file.
Let us, however, recapitulate in their order the events which followed
the sinking of the “Merrimac,” news whereof was received on June 4. On
June 5, a bombardment of the Morro Castle, commanding the mouth of
Santiago Harbor, took place, but no serious impression seems to have
been made upon the fortress at that time, although some neighboring
earthworks were destroyed. Two days later, there was a more effective
bombardment of the harbor fortifications by Admiral Sampson, but the
Morro Castle still held out and protected the entrance to the port by
its ability to deliver a plunging fire. On June 9, it was known that
twelve thousand men, or about half of our regular army, together with a
number of volunteer regiments, under General Shafter, had set sail from
Tampa, and, on the following day, the Spaniards began preparations for a
vigorous defense of Santiago against a land force by means of carefully
planned intrenchments. On June 11, a body of United States marines
landed at Guantanamo Bay, and, on the three ensuing days, sustained
successfully determined assaults by the Spaniards. On June 15, the
“Vesuvius,” carrying a pneumatic gun, which discharges a tube loaded
with dynamite, arrived off Santiago, and fully justified the
expectations of her inventor by the efficient part which she took in the
bombardment. Since June 7, the Spaniards had attempted to repair the
Santiago forts, and had, to some extent, succeeded in doing so;
consequently, on June 16, Admiral Sampson ordered the ships to open fire
on them again, and, in this assault, is said to have discharged five
hundred thousand pounds of metal.
It was not until June 22, or thirteen days after his departure from
Tampa, that General Shafter landed his troops at Baiquiri, a point on
the coast some miles southwest of Santiago. There was furious fighting
during the three following days, and there was a grievous loss of life
on the American side, infantry and dismounted cavalry having been
ordered or allowed to attack intrenchments without artillery support.
The necessity of heavy siege guns was at once clear to professional
soldiers, but these could not be moved from the transports to the shore,
because only one lighter had been brought from Tampa, and even that one
had been lost. This loss could have been quickly repaired, had not
General Shafter refused to take with him from Tampa the signal train
that had been made ready for him, on the ground that he “only wanted men
who could carry muskets.” The result of this indifference to a branch of
the service which constitutes the eyes, ears and voice of a modern army,
was that it required two days to transmit a request from Shafter’s
headquarters to the point where the cable could be used. On June 29, not
having, as yet, any heavy siege guns in position, and not having so
surrounded the city as to prevent the re-enforcement or escape of its
garrison, General Shafter telegraphed to Washington: “I can take
Santiago in forty-eight hours.” On July 1 and 2, General Shafter made
resolute assaults upon the Spanish intrenchments and carried many of
them, advancing his own lines very much nearer the city. The advantage
thus gained, however, had cost him a considerable fraction of his force.
The whole number of Americans killed, wounded and missing during the
land operations reached ten per cent of the number with which General
Shafter landed on June 22. Of these land engagements the most notable
were those of Aguadores, El Caney and San Juan.
The battle of San Juan is described as follows:
The dawn of July 1 found the troops of Wheeler’s division bivouacked on
the eminence of El Pozo. Kent’s division bivouacked near the road back
of El Pozo. Grimes’s battery went into position about two hundred and
fifty yards west of the ruined buildings of El Pozo soon after sunrise
and prepared gun pits. Grimes’s battery opened fire against San Juan a
little before 8 A.M. The troops of the cavalry division were scattered
about on El Pozo Hill in the rear and around the battery, without order
and with no view to their protection from the Spanish fire. This
condition rectified itself when the Spaniards, after five or six shots
by the American battery, replied with shrapnel fire at correct range and
with accurately adjusted fuses, killing two men at the first shot After
some firing soon after 9 A.M. Wheeler’s division was put in march toward
Santiago. Crossing Aguadores stream, it turned to the right, under
General Sumner, who was in command at that time owing to General
Wheeler’s illness. Scattering shots were fired by the Spaniards before
the arrival of the first troops at the crossing, but their volley
firing did not commence until the dismounted cavalry went into position,
crossing open ground. Kent’s division followed Wheeler’s, moving across
the stream, and advanced along the road in close order under a severe
enfilading fire. After advancing some distance, it turned off to the
left. Lieutenant Ord (killed in battle) made a reconnaissance from a
large tree on the banks of the stream.
At about one o’clock, after a delay of nearly two hours’ waiting for the
troops to reach their positions, the whole force advanced, charged, and
carried the first line of intrenchments. They were afterward formed on
the crest and there threw up intrenchments facing the second line at a
distance of from five hundred to one thousand yards.
We pass to the memorable naval combat of July 3, which annihilated
Cervera’s squadron, and dealt the deathblow to Spain’s hope of making
head against America on the sea. There is, of course, no foundation for
the report that Admiral Cervera resolved to fly because he knew that
Santiago would be immediately taken. The truth is that, on July 2, he
received peremptory orders from Madrid to leave Santiago at once, no
matter what might be the consequences; to engage the American fleet, and
to make his way, if possible, to Havana, where he would raise the
blockade. These orders he did his best to execute on the morning of July
3, having been informed by signal that Admiral Sampson’s flagship, the
“New York,” and a large part of the American fleet, were lying at some
distance toward the east, and that only the “Brooklyn,” “Texas” and
“Iowa” would have to be encountered if the escaping ships moved
westward. There was a mistake in this computation, for the “Oregon” also
took an important part in the action, and so did the little
“Gloucester,” a converted yacht, which did not hesitate, single-handed,
to engage both of the torpedo-boat destroyers. With such information as
he could procure, however, Admiral Cervera believed that his ships could
outsail all of those blockading the mouth of the harbor, except the
“Brooklyn,” and that, if the “Brooklyn” could be disabled, some, at
least, of his vessels could escape. Accordingly, orders were issued by
the Spanish admiral to proceed at full speed to the westward after
clearing the entrance, and to concentrate fire upon the “Brooklyn.” In
the attempt to carry out this programme, the four warships, “Maria
Teresa,” “Almirante Oquendo,” “Vizcaya” and “Cristobal Colon,” followed
by the torpedo-boat destroyers “Pluton” and “Furor,” in the order named
and in single file, pushed with all steam up through the narrow passage
which had been left by the sunken “Merrimac.” The concerted endeavor to
disable the “Brooklyn” failed, and it turned out that both the “Oregon”
and “Texas” were faster than the “Cristobal Colon,” which was much the
swiftest of the Spanish squadron. The “Maria Teresa,” the “Almirante
Oquendo” and the “Vizcaya” were successively riddled and put _hors de
combat_ by the rapid and accurate firing of the American ships, and were
beached by their officers to avoid, not so much surrender, as the danger
of explosion. The “Cristobal Colon” succeeded in reaching a point about
fifty miles from Santiago, when it was headed off not only by the
protected cruiser “Brooklyn,” but also by the ironclads “Oregon” and
“Texas.” From that moment, escape was seen to be impossible, so the
commander beached his ship and hauled down his flag. This closing
incident of the battle took place at 1.20 P.M., almost exactly four
hours after the leading vessel of the escaping column, the “Maria
Teresa,” had passed the Morro. Meanwhile, the little “Gloucester,” under
Commander Richard Wainwright, had stopped both of the torpedo-boat
destroyers, received their fire, and detained them until an ironclad
came up.
It will be observed that the Spanish squadron did not have to contend
with the whole of the American fleet, but that, on the contrary, the
forces engaged were, on paper, much more nearly equal than is generally
understood. The Americans had the first-class battleships “Oregon” and
“Iowa,” the second-class battleship “Texas,” the protected cruiser
“Brooklyn,” and the converted yacht “Gloucester.” The Spaniards, on
their part, had one armored cruiser, three protected cruisers, and two
torpedo-boat destroyers. It is certainly a remarkable fact, and one
almost without a parallel in naval annals, if we except Dewey’s
achievement at Manila, that not a single one of the Spanish vessels
should have managed to escape. The honor of the almost unique victory at
Santiago belongs, beyond a doubt, to Commodore Schley, for, at the
beginning of the action, Admiral Sampson, in his flagship, the “New
York,” was out of sight, and he remained out of signal distance until
almost the end.
Almost immediately after these incidents an expedition under command of
General Miles proceeded to Porto Rico, where, on the southwest coast, at
the little village of Guanica, a landing was effected on July 25.
Twenty-four hours later, the Spanish Government, through M. Jules
Cambon, the French Embassador at Washington, made a formal proposal for
ending the war and arranging terms of peace.
As a basis for peace negotiations it was stipulated that Spain should
first relinquish her sovereignty over any part of the Western
Hemisphere, that the Spanish forces in Porto Rico and Cuba should be
withdrawn unassisted by the United States, and that Manila should be
surrendered to the American forces.
The aggressive operations of the American forces in Porto Rico and in
the Philippines hastened the acceptance of these terms by Spain. The
severest engagement of the campaign in Porto Rico was fought at Coamo on
August 9. Here the Spanish commanding officer, Major Rafael M. Yllesca,
was killed, after having defended his critical position with great
bravery. From all sides the Americans now advanced upon San Juan de
Porto Rico, the most important stronghold of the island.
In the Philippines, likewise, events were nearing a crisis. On August 7
Captain-General Augustin was served with a joint note from Admiral Dewey
and General Merritt, commanding the American forces around Manila,
advising him to remove all non-combatants in anticipation of attack.
General Augustin refused to accept the responsibility of either
defending or surrendering Manila, and accordingly resigned his command.
General Fernain Jaudenes, who succeeded him, declined to remove his
non-combatants in view of the threatening attitude of the Filipinos
around Manila, and resolutely prepared for the worst.
On August 12 the home government in Spain gave in, and authorized the
French Embassador in Washington to sign the peace protocol agreed upon
in behalf of Spain. The instrument was formally executed during the
afternoon of the same day. Its exact text was as follows:
_Protocol of agreement between the United States and Spain,
embodying the terms of a basis for the establishment of peace
between the two countries_:
William R. Day, Secretary of State of the United States, and his
Excellency Jules Cambon, Embassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of
the Republic of France at Washington, respectively possessing for this
purpose full authority from the Government of the United States and the
Government of Spain, have concluded and signed the following articles,
embodying the terms on which the two Governments have agreed in respect
to the matters hereinafter set forth, having in view the establishment
of peace between the two countries, that is to say:
Article I. Spain will relinquish all claim of sovereignty over and title
to Cuba.
Article II. Spain will cede to the United States the island of Porto
Rico and other islands now under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies,
and also an island in the Ladrones, to be selected by the United States.
Article III. The United States will occupy and hold the city, bay, and
harbor of Manila pending the conclusion of the treaty of peace, which
shall determine the control, disposition, and government of the
Philippines.
Article IV. Spain will immediately evacuate Cuba, Porto Rico, and other
islands now under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies; and to this
end each Government will, within ten days after the signing of this
protocol, appoint Commissioners, and the Commissioners so appointed
shall, within thirty days after the signing of this protocol, meet at
Havana for the purpose of arranging and carrying out the details of the
aforesaid evacuation of Cuba and the adjacent Spanish islands, and each
Government will, within ten days after the signing of this protocol,
appoint other Commissioners, who shall, within thirty days after the
signing of this protocol, meet at San Juan, in Porto Rico, for the
purpose of arranging and carrying out the details of the aforesaid
evacuation of Porto Rico and other islands now under Spanish sovereignty
in the West Indies.
Article V. The United States and Spain will each appoint not more than
five Commissioners to treat of peace, and the Commissioners so appointed
shall meet at Paris not later than October 1, 1898, and proceed to the
negotiation and conclusion of a treaty of peace, which treaty shall be
subject to ratification according to the respective constitutional forms
of the two countries.
Article VI. Upon the conclusion and signing of this protocol hostilities
between the two countries shall be suspended, and notice to that effect
shall be given as soon as possible by each Government to the commanders
of its military and naval forces.
Done at Washington, in duplicate, in English and in French, by the
undersigned, who have hereunto set their hands and seals, the 12th day
of August, 1898.
(Seal.) WILLIAM R. DAY.
(Seal.) JULES CAMBON.
An armistice was declared at once, and mutual orders were issued to
cease hostilities. The blockade of Cuba was raised. Owing to delay in
the transmission of these orders the war in the Philippines was
continued for twenty-four hours. On August 13, General Fernain Jaudenes,
who had succeeded Governor-General Augustin, succumbed to a combined
attack of the American army and navy forces, and signed a formal
capitulation with all the honors of war. The last battle of the war was
a naval engagement off Caibarien, in Cuba, between the Spanish gunboat
“Herman Cortes” and the American gunboat “Mangrove.” While the two
vessels were still engaged the news of the suspension of hostilities was
signaled from shore.
On September 15 the Queen-Regent approved the appointment of the
following Peace Commissioners: Eugenio Montero Rios, President of the
Senate; Buenaventura Abarzuza, Senator; Wenceslao Ramirez de
Villa-Urrutia, Embassador to Belgium; General Rafael Cerero y Saluz, and
José de Garnica, Associate Judge of the Supreme Court. Senor Ojeda
served as secretary. The American Peace Commissioners were William R.
Day, ex-Secretary of State; Senators Cushman K. Davis, William P. Frye,
and George Gray, with Whitelaw Reid, American Embassador to France. The
joint sessions of the two bodies at Paris began on October 1, and ended
with the signing of a conclusive peace treaty on December 10.
The full text of the peace treaty was as follows:
The United States of America and her Majesty the Queen-Regent of
Spain, in the name of her august son, Don Alfonso XIII., desiring
to end the state of war now existing between the two countries,
have for that purpose appointed as plenipotentiaries:
The President of the United States:
William R. Day, Cushman K. Davis, William P. Frye, George Gray, and
Whitelaw Reid, citizens of the United States;
And her Majesty the Queen-Regent of Spain:
Don Eugenio Montero Rios, President of the Senate; Don Buenaventura
de Abarzuza, Senator of the Kingdom and ex-Minister of the Crown;
Don José de Garnica, Deputy to the Cortes and Associate Justice of
the Supreme Court; Don Wenceslao Ramirez de Villa-Urrutia, Envoy
Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at Brussels, and Don
Rafael Cerero, General of Division.
Who, having assembled in Paris and having exchanged their full
powers, which were found to be in due and proper form, have, after
discussion of the matters before them, agreed upon the following
articles:
ARTICLE I.
Spain relinquishes all claim of sovereignty over and title to Cuba.
And as the island is, upon its evacuation by Spain, to be occupied
by the United States, the United States will, so long as such
occupation shall last, assume and discharge the obligations that
may under international law result from the fact of its occupation
for the protection of life and property.
ARTICLE II.
Spain cedes to the United States the island of Porto Rico and other
islands now under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies, and the
island of Guam, in the Mariannes or Ladrones.
ARTICLE III.
Spain cedes to the United States the archipelago known as the
Philippine Islands, and comprehending the islands lying within the
following lines:
A line running from west to east along or near the twentieth
parallel of north latitude, and through the middle of the navigable
channel of Bachti, from the one hundred and eighteenth to the one
hundred and twenty-seventh degree meridian of longitude east of
Greenwich, thence along the one hundred and twenty-seventh degree
meridian of longitude east of Greenwich to the parallel of four
degrees and forty-five minutes north latitude, thence along the
parallel of four degrees and forty-five minutes north latitude to
its intersection with the meridian of longitude one hundred and
nineteen degrees and thirty-five minutes east of Greenwich, thence
along the meridian of longitude one hundred and nineteen degrees
and thirty-five minutes east of Greenwich to the parallel of
latitude seven degrees and forty minutes north, thence along the
parallel of latitude seven degrees and forty minutes north to its
intersection with the one hundred and sixteenth degree meridian of
longitude east of Greenwich, thence by a direct line to the
intersection of the tenth degree parallel of north latitude with
the one hundred and eighteenth degree meridian of longitude east of
Greenwich, and thence along the one hundred and eighteenth degree
meridian of longitude east of Greenwich to the point of beginning.
The United States will pay to Spain the sum of $20,000,000 within
three months after the exchange of the ratifications of the present
treaty.
ARTICLE IV.
The United States will, for ten years from the date of exchange of
ratifications of the present treaty, admit Spanish ships and
merchandise to the ports of the Philippine Islands on the same
terms as ships and merchandise of the United States.
ARTICLE V.
The United States will, upon the signature of the present treaty,
send back to Spain, at its own cost, the Spanish soldiers taken as
prisoners of war on the capture of Manila by the American forces.
The arms of the soldiers in question shall be restored to them.
Spain will, upon the exchange of the ratifications of the present
treaty, proceed to evacuate the Philippines, as well as the island
of Guam, on terms similar to those agreed upon by the Commissioners
appointed to arrange for the evacuation of Porto Rico and other
islands in the West Indies under the protocol of August 12, 1898,
which is to continue in force till its provisions are completely
executed.
The time within which the evacuation of the Philippine Islands and
Guam shall be completed shall be fixed by the two Governments.
Stands of colors, uncaptured war vessels, small arms, guns of all
calibers, with their carriages and accessories, powder, ammunition,
live stock, and materials and supplies of all kinds belonging to
the land and naval forces of Spain in the Philippines and Guam
remain the property of Spain. Pieces of heavy ordnance, exclusive
of field artillery, in the fortifications and coast defenses shall
remain in their emplacements for the term of six months, to be
reckoned from the exchange of ratifications of the treaty; and the
United States may in the meantime purchase such material from Spain
if a satisfactory agreement between the two Governments on the
subject shall be reached.
ARTICLE VI.
Spain will, upon the signature of the present treaty, release all
prisoners of war and all persons detained or imprisoned for
political offenses in connection with the insurrections in Cuba and
the Philippines and the war with the United States.
Reciprocally the United States will release all persons made
prisoners of war by the American forces, and will undertake to
obtain the release of all Spanish prisoners in the hands of the
insurgents in Cuba and the Philippines.
The Government of the United States will at its own cost return to
Spain, and the Government of Spain will at its own cost return to
the United States, Cuba, Porto Rico, and the Philippines, according
to the situation of their respective homes, prisoners released or
caused to be released by them, respectively, under this article.
ARTICLE VII.
The United States and Spain mutually relinquish all claims for
indemnity, national and individual, of every kind, of either
Government, or of its citizens or subjects, against the other
Government, which may have arisen since the beginning of the late
insurrection in Cuba and prior to the exchange of ratifications of
the present treaty, including all claims for indemnity for the cost
of the war. The United States will adjudicate and settle the claims
of its citizens against Spain relinquished in this article.
ARTICLE VIII.
In conformity with the provisions of Articles I., II. and III. of
this treaty, Spain relinquishes in Cuba and cedes in Porto Rico and
other islands in the West Indies, in the island of Guam, and in the
Philippine Archipelago all the buildings, wharves, barracks, forts,
structures, public highways, and other immovable property which in
conformity with law belong to the public domain and as such belong
to the Crown of Spain.
And it is hereby declared that the relinquishment or cession, as
the case may be, to which the preceding paragraph refers, cannot in
any respect impair the property or rights which by law belong to
the peaceful possession of property of all kinds of provinces,
municipalities, public or private establishments, ecclesiastical or
civic bodies, or any other associations having legal capacity to
acquire and possess property in the aforesaid territories,
renounced or ceded, or of private individuals, of whatsoever
nationality such individuals may be.
The aforesaid relinquishment or cession, as the case may be,
includes all documents exclusively referring to the sovereignty
relinquished or ceded that may exist in the archives of the
Peninsula. Where any document in such archives only in part relates
to said sovereignty a copy of such part will be furnished whenever
it shall be requested. Like rules shall be reciprocally observed in
favor of Spain in respect of documents in the archives of the
islands above referred to.
In the aforesaid relinquishment or cession, as the case may be, are
also included such rights as the Crown of Spain and its authorities
possess in respect of the official archives and records, executive
as well as judicial, in the islands above referred to, which relate
to said islands or the rights and property of their inhabitants.
Such archives and records shall be carefully preserved, and private
persons shall, without distinction, have the right to require, in
accordance with the law, authenticated copies of the contracts,
wills, and other instruments forming part of notarial protocols or
files, or which may be contained in the executive or judicial
archives, be the latter in Spain or in the islands aforesaid.
ARTICLE IX.
Spanish subjects, natives of the Peninsula, residing in the
territory over which Spain by the present treaty relinquishes or
cedes her sovereignty, may remain in such territory or may remove
therefrom, retaining in either event all their rights of property,
including the right to sell or dispose of such property or of its
proceeds; and they shall also have the right to carry on their
industry, commerce, and professions, being subject in respect
thereof to such laws as are applicable to other foreigners. In case
they remain in the territory they may preserve their allegiance to
the Crown of Spain by making, before a court of record, within a
year from the date of the exchange of ratifications of this treaty,
a declaration of their decision to preserve such allegiance; in
default of which declaration they shall be held to have renounced
it and to have adopted the nationality of the territory in which
they may reside.
The civil rights and political status of the native inhabitants of
the territories hereby ceded to the United States shall be
determined by the Congress.
ARTICLE X.
The inhabitants of the territories over which Spain relinquishes or
cedes her sovereignty shall be secured in the free exercise of
their religion.
ARTICLE XI.
The Spaniards residing in the territories over which Spain by this
treaty cedes or relinquishes her sovereignty shall be subject in
matters civil as well as criminal to the jurisdiction of the courts
of the country wherein they reside, pursuant to the ordinary laws
governing the same; and they shall have the right to appear before
such courts and to pursue the same course as citizens of the
country to which the courts belong.
ARTICLE XII.
Judicial proceedings pending at the time of the exchange of
ratifications of this treaty in the territories over which Spain
relinquishes or cedes her sovereignty shall be determined according
to the following rules:
First--Judgments rendered either in civil suits between private
individuals, or in criminal matters, before the date mentioned, and
with respect to which there is no recourse or right of review under
the Spanish law, shall be deemed to be final, and shall be executed
in due form by competent authority in the territory within which
such judgments should be carried out.
Second--Civil suits between private individuals which may on the
date mentioned be undetermined shall be prosecuted to judgment
before the court in which they may then be pending, or in the court
that may be substituted therefor.
Third--Criminal actions pending on the date mentioned before the
Supreme Court of Spain against citizens of the territory which by
this treaty ceases to be Spanish shall continue under its
jurisdiction until final judgment; but, such judgment having been
rendered, the execution thereof shall be committed to the competent
authority of the place in which the case arose.
ARTICLE XIII.
The rights of property secured by copyrights and patents acquired
by Spaniards in the island of Cuba, and in Porto Rico, the
Philippines, and other ceded territories, at the time of the
exchange of the ratifications of this treaty, shall continue to be
respected. Spanish scientific, literary and artistic works not
subversive of public order in the territories in question shall
continue to be admitted free of duty into such territories for the
period of ten years, to be reckoned from the date of the exchange
of the ratifications of this treaty.
ARTICLE XIV.
Spain shall have the power to establish consular officers in the
ports and places of the territories the sovereignty over which has
either been relinquished or ceded by the present treaty.
ARTICLE XV.
The Government of each country will, for the term of ten years,
accord to the merchant vessels of the other country the same
treatment in respect to all port charges, including entrance and
clearance dues, light dues and tonnage duties, as it accords to its
own merchant vessels not engaged in the coastwise trade.
This article may at any time be terminated on six months’ notice
given by either Government to the other.
ARTICLE XVI.
It is understood that any obligations assumed in this treaty by the
United States with respect to Cuba are limited to the time of its
occupancy thereof; but it will upon the termination of such
occupancy advise any Government established in the island to assume
the same obligations.
ARTICLE XVII.
The present treaty shall be ratified by the President of the United
States, by and with the consent of the Senate thereof, and by Her
Majesty the Queen Regent of Spain; and the ratifications shall be
exchanged at Washington within six months from the date hereof, or
earlier if possible.
In faith whereof we, the respective plenipotentiaries, have signed
this treaty, and have hereunto affixed our seals.
Done in duplicate at Paris the tenth day of December, in the year
of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ninety-eight.
In pursuance of these terms the evacuation of Porto Rico, Cuba and of
the Philippine Islands was carried to a successful end, under the
supervision of the Evacuation Commissioners appointed by Spain.
After the peace treaty had been ratified by the American Senate and
signed by President McKinley, on February 10, it received the signature
of the Queen Regent on March 17, the Cortes having been prorogued.
In a Red Book on the peace treaty issued by the Government later in the
year, Senor Rios thus explained Spain’s predicaments:
“The prostration and bloodless indifference of the public mind
constantly alluded to in the press, the want of well meditated
exposition of a high plane in the discussion and defense of Spain,
especially those which related to the colonial debts, perhaps the most
important which she had to assert in the conference; the multiplicity of
opinions constantly manifested during these negotiations on the other
points to be determined in the treaty; the eagerness apparent from the
first day on the part of this press that the Philippine Archipelago
should be abandoned, its preservation being considered incompatible with
the national interests; the incessant excitation of another part of the
press for this Commission to promptly terminate in any way whatever its
labors, giving way at once to the exigencies of the Federal Government,
and many other things which converted the Spanish press into a subject
for the preferred attention of the American Commissioners, weakened the
moral influence of this Commission and the force of its demands and of
the reasons on which it founded them. Would to God that they may not
also have strengthened the spirit of the American Commission to uphold
and amplify its exactions!
“The Spanish Commission, considering the narrow limits in which it could
move and which had been irrevocably fixed for Spain in the preliminaries
of peace signed at Washington on August 12 last, during these
negotiations constantly drew inspiration for its acts in the purpose to
save from the ruin of the colonial empire of Spain such remnants as were
possible, however lacking in importance these remnants might be, and,
above all, in its unconquerable resolve to never consent that the honor
and the dignity of the fatherland should become stained.
“As regards the question of the ‘Maine,’ the truth is that above all
precedents there weighed upon the American Commission the inability of
giving any satisfactory reply to the Spanish protest, because of the
action of the President of the Union--violative of the most elementary
dictates of generosity and prudence--on recalling, with language
offensive to Spain, the ‘Maine’ incident on the most solemn occasion in
the public life of the United States, and when the negotiations for the
re-establishment of peace were on the point of terminating.
“The Commission believes, then, that it has done its duty. It
understands the treaty concluded is the least prejudicial for Spain that
it was possible to obtain in view of the foreign circumstances, which
could not but inevitably bear down their heavy weight upon her. It
trusts that the coming time will demonstrate this, and it entertains the
hope that, despite the solution imposed on the terrible crisis through
which the nation has just passed, it may soon recover its strength and
grandeur, and it believes, finally, that the honor and the dignity of
the fatherland have been saved in these painful negotiations as the most
precious remnants of the wreck of the old Spanish colonial empire.”
The subsequent Bale of the Caroline and Ladrone Islands to Germany, for
the sum of 5,000,000 pesos, disposed of the last remnants of the Spanish
colonial empire. The Ministry of Colonies was abolished. Then followed a
series of military and naval courts-martial of the various commanding
officers implicated in the capitulations of Manila and Santiago de Cuba,
notably Admirals Montojo, Cervera and Generals Augustin, Jaudenes,
Linares and Toral. The officers laid the responsibility for their
actions at the door of the Ministry of Marine. Minister d’Aunon had to
resign.
Another Cabinet crisis resulted in a new Ministry composed of the
following members--President of Council and Minister Foreign Affairs,
Senor Silvela; War, General Azcarraga; Marine, Admiral Gomez Imaz;
Interior, Senor Dato; Finance, Senor Villaverde; Public Works, Marquis
Pidel; Justice, Senor Bas.
Later Count Torreanaz succeeded Senor Bas in the Ministry of Justice,
and General Weyler became Minister of War.
Weyler’s most formidable rival, Marshal Arsenio Martinez de Campos,
former Captain-General of Spain and Cuba, died in 1900 at Zarauz. With
Jovellar, he issued the pronunciamiento of Sagoote, through which
Alfonso reached the throne. Placed in full command of the Spanish forces
by young Alfonso, he ended the civil war by defeating Don Carlos at Pena
de la Plata in 1876. Despatched to Cuba, he succeeded in putting a stop
to the ten years’ war there by his liberal concessions to the
insurgents. Later he was once more sent to Cuba to cope with the final
insurrection in that island. But his measures were held to be too
conciliatory, and he was recalled in 1895, without having accomplished
his task. Campos never recovered from this disgrace.
The accession of King Alfonso XIII. to the throne, as actual ruler, was
set for his sixteenth birthday, May 17, 1902. Accordingly his mother
delivered her last speech from the throne as Queen-Regent in June of the
preceding year.
The complete list of titles falling to the little king upon his
accession are in themselves an epitome of Spain’s former historic
grandeur. King Alfonso’s full royal titles are: “His Most Catholic
Majesty, Alfonso, King of Spain, Castile and Léon, Aragon, the Two
Sicilies, Jerusalem, the Canary Islands, the East and West Indies,
India, the Oceanic Continent, and King of Gibraltar.”