The Spanish officers attributed the American victory to the rapidity and the accuracy of our fire rather than to the weight of projectiles used. Also, the fact that the American ships were painted a lead color and did not stand out boldly against the water made them very unsatisfactory targets and kept the Spanish gunners guessing as to the correct range.
In spite of his overwhelming defeat Admiral Montejo did not forget the courtesies of the occasion. On Monday he sent word by the British consul to Admiral Dewey that he wished to compliment the Americans on their marksmanship. He said that never before had he witnessed such rapid and accurate firing. Admiral Dewey, not to be outdone in the amenities of war, sent his compliments to the Spanish admiral and praised the Spaniards very highly for their courage and resistance. He said that the Spanish force was stronger than he had believed it would be before his arrival at the harbor, and he had really expected a shorter and less stubborn battle. It is said that this message, although complimentary to the Spanish, did not give Admiral Montejo any real comfort.
The Spanish ships destroyed were: The Reina Christina, flagship ofAdmiral Montejo; Cruiser Castilla (wooden); Cruiser Don Antonio deUlloa; Protected Cruiser Isla de Luzon; Protected Cruiser Isla deCuba; Gunboat General Lezo; Gunboat Marquis del Duero; Gunboat ElCano; Gunboat El Velasco; the Steamer Mindanao, with supplies,burned.
These were captured: Transport Manila, with supplies; GunboatIsabella I; Cruiser Don Juan de Austria; Gunboat Rapido; GunboatHercules; two whaleboats; three steam launches.
Secretary Long sent this dispatch immediately to Acting AdmiralDewey:
The President, in the name of the American people, thanks you and your officers and men for your splendid achievement and overwhelming victory. In recognition he has appointed you Acting Admiral, and will recommend a vote of thanks to you by Congress as a foundation for further promotion.
The Senate unanimously confirmed the President's nomination making George Dewey a rear admiral in the United States navy. Congress made the place for him, and the President promoted him.
He bears on his shoulders two stars and an anchor instead of two anchors and a star. His pay has been increased from $5,000 a year to $6,000 a year, while at sea and until he retires. He was presented with a sword, and medals were struck for his men. His elevation in rank, his increase in pay, are gratifying tributes to his greatness. But there is a rank to which the President could not elevate him, a position that Congress could not create, for he created it himself. In the hearts of the people Admiral Dewey is the Hero of Manila, holding a place prouder than a king's, a place in the love and admiration and gratitude of a great nation.
Greater than Farragut, greater than Hull, greater than Hawke or Blake or Nelson, Dewey is the greatest of fleet commanders, the grandest of the heroes of the sea. It will be recorded of him that he was faithful to duty, true to his flag, magnanimous to his enemies and modest in the hour of triumph.
Location of the Islands—Their Population—Honolulu, the Capital and the Metropolis—Political History—The Traditional Policy of the United States—Former Propositions for Annexation— Congressional Discussion—The Vote in the House of Representatives—The Hawaiian Commission.
A work of this character would be incomplete without mention of the Hawaiian Islands, and their intimate political and commercial connection with our own country. For many years prior to the commencement of the war with Spain there had been a growing sentiment in favor of their annexation to the United States, and events in Washington during the first month of that conflict showed conclusively that a large majority of the members of both houses of Congress were strongly in favor of the measure.
The Hawaiians are a group of eight inhabited and four uninhabited islands lying in the North Pacific Ocean, distant from San Francisco about 2,100 miles, from Sidney 4,500 miles, and from Hongkong 4,800 miles. They are the most important in the Polynesian group, and were discovered by Captain Cook in 1788. Their combined area is 6,640 square miles, and their population is about 85,000. The islands are to a great extent mountainous and volcanic, but the soil is highly productive. Sugar, rice, and tropical fruits grow in abundance, and over ninety per cent of the trade is with the United States.
The world knows comparatively nothing about the great fortunes that have been amassed in Hawaii in the last thirty years. The children of the Yankee missionaries who sailed from Boston and Gloucester around the Horn to carry the gospel to the Sandwich islands in the '30s and '40s are the richest and most aristocratic people in Honolulu. For mere songs the sons of missionaries obtained great tracts of marvelously fertile soil for sugar planting in the valleys of the island, and with their natural enterprise and inventive spirit they developed the greatest sugar cane plantations in the world.
When the United States gave a treaty to the Hawaiian kingdom putting Hawaiian raw sugar on the free tariff list, the profits of the sugar planters went up with a bound. For twenty-five years the dividends of several of the Yankee companies operating sugar plantations and mills on the islands ranged from 18 to 30 per cent a year. The Hawaiian Commercial Sugar Company paid 25 per cent dividends annually from 1870 to 1882. The world has never known productiveness so rich as that of the valleys of Maui and Hawaii for sugar cane. The seed had only to be planted and the rains fell and nature did the rest. One tract of 12,000 acres of land on Maui was given to a young American, who married a bewitching Kanaka girl, by her father, who was delighted to have a pale-faced son-in-law. It was worth about $200 at the time. The tract subsequently became a part of a great sugar plantation. It was bought by Claus Spreckels for $175,000 and is worth much more than that now. The Spreckles, Alexander, Bishop, Smith and Akers accumulated millions in one generation of sugar cultivation in the Hawaiian islands.
The volcanoes of Hawaii are a class by themselves. They are not only the tallest, but the biggest and strangest in the whole world. Considering that they reach from the bottom of the Pacific ocean (18,000 feet deep here) to over 15,000 feet above sea level, they really stand 33,000 feet high from their suboceanic base to their peaks. The active craters on the islands number 300, but the dead craters, the ancient chimneys of subterranean lava beds, are numbered by the thousands. The islands are of lavic formation. Evidences of extinct volcanoes are so common that one seldom notices them after a few weeks on the islands. Ancient lava is present everywhere. The natives know all its virtues, and, while some ancient deposits of lava are used as a fertilizer for soils, other lava beds are blasted for building material and for macadamizing roads. Titanic volcanic action is apparent on every side. Every headland is an extinct volcano. Every island has its special eruption, which, beginning at the unfathomable bottom of the sea, has slowly built up a foundation and then a superstructure of lava. On the island of Hawaii and on Molokai are huge cracks several thousands of feet deep and many yards wide which were formed by the bursting upward of lava beds ages and ages ago. The marks of the titanic force are plainly visible.
Mark Twain is authority for saying that the two great active volcanoes, Mauna Loa and Kilauea, on the island of Hawaii, are the most interesting in the world. Certainly they are the most unique. Mauna Loa is 14,000 feet above sea level. Every six or seven years there is an eruption from its sides and several times the flow of lava has threatened the ruin of the town of Hilo, thirty miles away. The crater on Mauna Loa is three miles in diameter and 600 feet deep. Over the crater hangs an illuminated vapor which may be seen at night over 200 miles distant. When Mauna Loa is in violent eruption a fountain of molten lava spouts every minute over 250 feet in the air, bursting into 10,000 brilliantly colored balls, like a monstrous Roman candle pyrotechnic.
Then there is Kilauea—a shorter and flatter volcanic mountain sixteen miles distant. It has the greatest crater known—one nine miles across and from 300 to 800 feet deep. And such a crater! In it is a literal lake of molten lava all the time. At times the lava is over 100 feet deep and at other times it is 200 feet, according to the pressure on it deep in the bowels of the earth. Signs of volcanic activity are present all the time throughout the depth of the molten mass in the form of steam, cracks, jets of sulphurous smoke and blowing cones. The crater itself is constantly rent and shaken by earthquakes. Nearly all tourists go to see the marvelous eruptions on Mauna Loa and Kilauea. Hotels have been built on the mountain sides for the accommodation of sightseers, and there are plenty of guides about the craters.
Oahu has many places of interest outside of Honolulu. One may visit the sugar plantations, rice farms, and may go to Pearl harbor or the Punchbowl. The latter is an extinct volcano rising a few hundred feet above the town. Another resort is the Pali, the highest point in the pass through the range of mountains that divides Oahu. It is the fashion, and a very good fashion it is, to see the Pali and praise its charms. It is the Yosemite of Hawaii. The view from this height sweeps the whole island from north to south. In the direction of the capital the land slopes to a level two miles from the sea and then spreads flatly to the shore. The hillsides are not, as a rule, in a state of cultivation, although the soil is fertile. The land is now cumbered with wild guava, which bears fruit as big as the lemon, and with the lantana, the seeds of which are scattered broadcast by an imported bird called the minah. On the lower ground small farmers, mostly orientals, make their homes, and there are several cane plantations.
Honolulu, the capital and chief city, has a population of about 25,000, and presents more of the appearance of a civilized place than any other town in Polynesia. Although consisting largely of one-story wooden houses, mingled with grass huts half smothered by foliage, its streets are laid out in the American style, and are straight, neat and tidy. Water-works supply the town from a neighboring valley, and electric lights, telephones, street car lines, and other modern improvements are not lacking.
The arrangement of the streets in Honolulu reminds many Americans of those in Boston or the older part of New York. All the streets are narrow, but well kept, and, with a few exceptions, they meander here and there at will. A dozen thoroughfares are crescent shaped and twist and turn when one least expects. All the streets are smooth and hard under a dressing of thousands of wagon loads of shells and lava pounded down and crushed by an immense steam roller brought from San Francisco.
In 1843 the independence of the Hawaiian Islands was formally guaranteed by the English and French governments, and for a number of years they were under a constitutional monarchy. On the death of King Kalakaua in 1891, his sister, the Princess Liliuokalani, succeeded to the throne, and soon proved herself to be an erratic and self-willed ruler. She remained constantly at variance with her legislature and advisers, and in January, 1893, attempted to promulgate a new constitution, depriving foreigners of the right of franchise, and abrogating the existing House of Nobles, at the same time giving herself power of appointing a new House. This was resisted by the foreign element of the community, who at once appointed a committee of safety, consisting of thirteen members, who called a mass meeting of their class, at which about 1,500 persons were present. The meeting unanimously adopted resolutions condemning the action of the Queen, and authorizing a committee to take into further consideration whatever was necessary to protect the public safety.
The committee issued a proclamation to the Hawaiian people, formed itself into a provisional government, took possession of the national property, and sent commissioners to the United States inviting this republic to annex the islands. The United States did not respond, but continued the old relation of friendly guarantor.
A constitutional convention held session from May 20 to July 3, 1894, and on July 4 the constitution was proclaimed, the new government calling itself the "Republic of Hawaii."
In refusing to grant this appeal for annexation, the officials at the head of the United States government at that time were of the opinion that such action would be in direct opposition to our traditional policy, and the same argument has since been advanced by the opponents of the plan.
We were thus brought face to face with the question, "What is American policy?" Many statesmen of recent years have declared that our great growth and increasing importance among nations imposed obligations which should force us to take greater part in the affairs of the world. Following the lead of European statecraft, they also asserted that we should adopt this policy to encourage and protect our expanding commercial interests. Not only were we facing problems the war directly presented, but other nations seemed to think that we were about to cast aside the advice of Washington concerning entangling alliances, and establish the relation of an ally with Great Britain.
Edward Everett foresaw the extension of the republican idea, and declared that "in the discharge of the duty devolved upon us by Providence, we have to carry the republican independence, which our fathers achieved, with all the organized institutions of an enlightened community—institutions of religion, law, education, charity, art and all the thousand graces of the highest culture— beyond the Missouri, beyond the Sierra Nevada; perhaps in time around the circuit of the Antilles, perhaps to the archipelagoes of the central Pacific."
The treaty of 1783 with Great Britain defined the western boundary of the United States as the Mississippi river, down to the Florida line on the 31st parallel of north latitude. The original colonies comprised less than half of this area, the rest being organized several years later as the Northwest Territory. In 1803 the United States purchased from Napoleon for $15,000,000 the province of Louisiana, over 1,000,000 square miles in area, including Louisiana, Missouri, Arkansas, the Indian Territory, most of Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, the two Dakotas, Montana, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and most of Wyoming. With this cession came absolute ownership and control of the Mississippi.
By the treaty of February 12, 1819, with Spain, Florida was next acquired, and Spain abandoned all claims upon the territory between the Rocky mountains and the Pacific, embraced in the Louisiana purchase. Texas was annexed in 1845. Under the treaty of Guadaloupe Hidalgo, in 1848, which ended the Mexican war, California, Nevada, parts of Colorado and Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona became a part of the United States. The Gadsden purchase of 1853 acquired the portion of this territory south of the Gila river. Fourteen years later the territory of Alaska was purchased from Russia.
Territorial acquisition has been the policy of successive periods of American politics. Hitherto annexation has been confined to contiguous territory, except in the case of Alaska, separated only by narrow stretches of sea and land. But in the case of the Hawaiian Islands an entirely different problem confronted us.
The question of annexation of the Hawaiian Islands has been before the American people in some form for nearly fifty years. In 1851 a deed of provisional cession of the islands to the United States was executed by King Kamehameha Ill., and delivered to the United States Minister at Honolulu—the act being subsequently ratified by joint resolution of the two Houses of the Hawaiian Legislature. In 1854 a formal treaty of annexation was negotiated between King Kamehameha and the Hon. David L. Gregg, in the capacity of commissioner, and acting under special instructions of Secretary Marcy, then Secretary of State under President Pierce. The King died, however, before the engrossed copy of the treaty had been signed, which prevented the completion of the act. But for this there is every reason to believe that annexation would have been an accomplished fact at that time, as the administration of President Pierce was thoroughly committed to it. The policy then distinctly enunciated was not to have the islands come in as a State but as a Territory.
President Grant was a zealous advocate of annexation, and in 1874 a reciprocity treaty with the islands was entered into by Secretary Fish, under which the Hawaiian government bound itself not to "lease or otherwise dispose of or create any lien upon any port, harbor, or other territory … or grant any special privilege or right of use therein to any other government," nor enter into any reciprocity treaty with any other government. Thirteen years later (1887), under the administration of President Cleveland, there was a renewal of this treaty, to which was added a clause giving to the United States authority for the exclusive use of Pearl River (or harbor) as a coaling and repair station for its vessels, with permission to improve the same. Article IV of this treaty bound the respective governments to admit certain specified articles free of duty and contained the following provision:
"It is agreed, on the part of his Hawaiian Majesty, that so long as this treaty shall remain in force he will not lease or otherwise dispose of or create any lien upon any port, harbor, or other territory in his dominions, or grant any special privilege or rights of use therein, to any other power, state, or government, nor make any treaty by which any other nation shall obtain the same privileges, relative to the admission of any articles free of duty, hereby secured to the United States."
This treaty was to remain in force seven years (until 1894), but, after that date, was declared to be terminable by either party after twelve months' notice to that effect.
There have been two treaties relating to annexation before Congress within the last five years, the first negotiated by Secretary of State John W. Foster during the administration of President Harrison in 1893, the other by Secretary Sherman under the McKinley administration on the 16th day of June, 1897. The first was withdrawn by President Cleveland after his accession to the Presidency. Both were ratified by the Hawaiian Legislature in accordance with a provision of the constitution of the republic, and that body, by unanimous vote of both Houses, on May 27, 1896, declared:
"That the Legislature of the republic of Hawaii continues to be, as heretofore, firmly and steadfastly in favor of the annexation of the Hawaiian Islands to the United States of America, and in advocating such policy it feels assured that it is expressing not only its own sentiments but those of the voters of this republic."
The necessity for a closer relation of the two republics than that provided for by a commercial treaty, terminable at the pleasure of either, has been recognized by nearly every President and Secretary of State from John Tyler down to President McKinley, by none more strongly than by Daniel Webster in 1851 and by Secretary Marcy in 1854, while like views have been favored by Secretaries Seward, Fish, Bayard, Foster, and Sherman since.
The strategic value of the islands in case of war and their commercial value at all times are so bound up together that it is impossible to separate them. The former has been testified to by such eminent military and naval authorities as General J. M. Schofield and General Alexander of the United States army and Captain A. T. Mahan, Admiral Belknap, Admiral Dupont, and George W. Mellville, Engineer in Chief of the United States navy, and many others. Their commercial value is demonstrated by the fact that their trade with the United States for the fiscal year, ending June, 1897 (amounting to $18,385,000), exceeded that with either of the following States and confederations: Argentina, Central America, Spain, Switzerland, Venezuela, Russia, or Denmark; was more than twice that with Colombia or Sweden and Norway; nearly three times that with Chile; four times that with Uruguay; nearly four times that with Portugal; nearly seven times that with Turkey; ten times greater than that with Peru, and greater than that of Greece, Peru, Turkey, Portugal, and Sweden and Norway combined.
By a vote of 209 to 91 the House of Representatives on the afternoon of June 15 adopted the Newlands resolutions, providing for the annexation of Hawaii. The debate, which was continued without interruption for three days, was one of the most notable of Congress, the proposed annexation being considered of great commercial and strategic importance by its advocates, and being looked upon by its opponents as involving a radical departure from the long-established policy of the country and likely to be followed by the inauguration of a pronounced policy of colonization, the abandonment of the Monroe doctrine and participation in international wrangles. More than half a hundred members participated in the debate.
Notable speeches were made by Messrs, Berry, Smith and Hepburn for, and by Messrs. Johnson and Williams against the pending measure. Few members were upon the floor until late in the afternoon and the galleries had few occupants. As the hour of voting drew near, however, members began taking their places and there were few more than a score of absentees when the first roll call was taken. The announcement of the vote upon the passage of the resolutions was cheered upon the floor and applauded generally by the spectators.
The resolutions adopted in a preamble relate the offer of the Hawaiian republic to cede all of its sovereignty and absolute title to the government and crown lands, and then by resolution accept the cession and declare the islands annexed. The resolutions provide for a commission of five, at least two of whom shall be resident Hawaiians, to recommend to Congress such legislation as they may deem advisable. The public debt of Hawaii, not to exceed $4,000,000, is assumed, Chinese immigration is prohibited, all treaties with other powers are declared null, and it is provided that until Congress shall provide for the government of the islands all civil, judicial and military powers now exercised by the officers of the existing government shall be exercised in such manner as the President shall direct, and he is given power to appoint persons to put in effect a provisional government for the islands.
Mr. Fitzgerald spoke against the Newlands resolutions. In the course of his speech he emphasized the failure of the majority of Hawaiians to express their desire relative to annexation. He insisted that every people had the right to the government of their choice. Speaking further, Mr. Fitzgerald opposed annexation on the ground that an injurious labor element would be brought into competition with American laborers.
Supporting the resolution Mr. Berry devoted much of his time to showing that annexation was in line with democratic policy. He reviewed the territorial additions to the original states to show that practically all had been made by democrats.
Mr. Berry digressed to speak of the Philippine situation, and while not advocating the retention of the islands he declared the United States should brook no interference upon the part of Germany. He said America should resent any intervention with all her arms and warships. Mr. Berry's remarks in this connection were applauded generously.
William Alden Smith, member of the committee on foreign affairs, advocating annexation, said:
"Annexation is not new to us. In my humble opinion the whole North American continent and every island in the gulf and the Caribbean sea and such islands in the Pacific as may be deemed desirable are worthy of our ambition. Not that we are earth hungry, but, as a measure of national protection and advantage, it is the duty of the American people to lay peaceful conquest wherever opportunity may be offered.
"It has been argued that our constitution makes no provision for a colonial system, but if President Monroe had been merely a lawyer, if he had contented himself by looking for precedent which he was unable to find, if he had consulted the jurisprudence of his time and planned his action along academic lines the greatest doctrine ever announced to the civilized world, which now bears his name, though in unwritten law, but in the inspiration, the hope, the security of every American heart, would have found no voice potent enough and courageous enough to have encircled the western hemisphere with his peaceful edict.
"Precedent, sir, may do for a rule of law upon which a fixed and definite superstructure must be built, but it is the duty of statesmanship to cease looking at great public questions with a microscope and sweep the world's horizon with a telescope from a commanding height."
Mr. Johnson then was recognized for a speech in opposition. He laid down the three propositions that annexation was unnecessary as a war measure in the present conflict with Spain; that annexation was unnecessary to prevent the islands from falling into the hands of some other power to be used against us, and that the proposition to annex was inherently wrong and was the opening wedge upon an undesirable and disastrous policy of colonization.
Advancing to the danger of annexation being the first step in colonization, he said gentlemen could not deny that the holding of the Philippines was contemplated already. What was more deplorable and significant, he said, was the expressed fear of the President lest Spain should sue for peace before we could secure Puerto Rico. Mr. Johnson said men were already speaking disparagingly of the Cubans and their capacity for government, and it was useless to attempt to hide the truth that American eyes of avarice were already turned to Cuba, although but two months since action was taken to free and establish that island as independent.
Mr. Dolliver, speaking in support of the resolutions, complimented the speech of the Indiana member, but suggested its success as an applause-getter would be greater than as a maker of votes.
"I cannot understand," declared Mr. Dolliver, "how a man who distrusts everything of his own country can fail utterly to suspect anything upon the part of other great powers of the world." Concluding, Mr. Dolliver refuted the charge that annexationists had any hidden motives looking to colonial expansion. As to the future of the Philippines, Cuba and Puerto Rico, he declared that he knew nothing, but he had faith that in the providence of God the American people would be guided aright and these questions would be met and disposed of properly when occasion should arise.
Mr. Cummings, in a ten-minute speech, supported annexation and indulged in severe denunciation of former President Cleveland for his effort to re-establish the monarchy in Hawaii and the hauling down of the American flag by Commissioner Blount.
Mr. Hepburn was recognized to conclude in support of the resolutions. He believed the people of the country were familiar with the issue involved, and the time was opportune for a vote and final action. Answering the claim that annexation would mean launching upon colonization, he disavowed any such understanding. He said he hoped to see every Spanish possession fall into the possession of this country in order to contribute to the enemy's injury, and that being accomplished the question of their disposition would arise and be met when the war should end.
The House resolution extending the sovereignty of the United States over Hawaii was adopted in the Senate by a vote of forty-two to twenty-one, and President McKinley's signature added that country to our possessions. The President appointed as commissioners to visit the islands and draw up for the guidance of Congress a system of laws for their government, the following gentlemen: Senator Shelby M. Cullom, of Illinois; Senator John T. Morgan, of Alabama; Representative Robert R. Hitt, of Illinois; President Sanford B. Dole, of Hawaii; Justice W. F. Frear, of Hawaii.
The Bombardment of San Juan—The Engagement at Cardenas—TheVoyage of the Oregon—The Battle at Guantanamo—Santiago UnderFire—Landing the Troops in Cuba—The Charge of the Rough Riders—The Sinking of the Merrimac—The Destruction of Cervera's Fleet—The Fall of Santiago.
On the morning of May 12, a portion of the fleet, commanded byAdmiral Sampson, made an attack on the forts of San Juan de PuertoRico. The engagement began at 5:15 a. m. and ended at 8:15 a. m.The enemy's batteries were not silenced, but great damage was doneto them, and the town in the rear of the fortifications sufferedgreat losses. The ships taking part in the action were the Iowa,Indiana, New York, Terror, Amphitrite, Detroit, Montgomery,Wampatuck, and Porter.
At 3 o'clock in the morning all hands were called on the Iowa, a few final touches in clearing ship were made, and at 5 "general quarters" sounded. The men were eager for the fight.
The tug Wampatuck went ahead and anchored its small boat to the westward, showing ten fathoms, but there was not a sign of life from the fort, which stood boldly against the sky on the eastern hills hiding the town.
The Detroit steamed far to the eastward, opposite Valtern. The Iowa headed straight for the shore. Suddenly its helm flew over, bringing the starboard battery to bear on the fortifications.
At 5:16 a.m. the Iowa's forward twelve-inch guns thundered out at the sleeping hills, and for fourteen minutes they poured starboard broadsides on the coast. Meanwhile the Indiana, the New York, and other ships repeated the dose from the rear. The Iowa turned and came back to the Wampatuck's boat and again led the column, the forts replying fiercely, concentrating on the Detroit, which was about 700 yards away, all the batteries on the eastward arm of the harbor. Thrice the column passed from the entrance of the harbor to the extreme eastward battery.
Utter indifference was shown for the enemy's fire. The wounded were quickly attended, the blood was washed away, and everything proceeded like target practice.
Morro battery, on the eastward arm of the harbor, was the principal point of attack. Rear Admiral Sampson and Captain Evans were on the lower bridge of the Iowa and had a narrow escape from flying splinters, which injured three men. The Iowa was hit eight times, but the shells made no impression on its armor. The weather was fine, but the heavy swells made accurate aim difficult.
The broadsides from the Iowa and Indiana rumbled in the hills ashore for five minutes after they were delivered. Clouds of dust showed where the shells struck, but the smoke hung over everything. The shells screeching overhead and dropping around showed that the Spaniards still stuck to their guns.
The enemy's firing was heavy, but wild, and the Iowa and New York were the only ships hit. They went right up under the guns in column, delivering broadsides, and then returned. The after-turret of the Amphitrite got out of order temporarily during the engagement, but it banged away with its forward guns. After the first passage before the forts, the Detroit and the Montgomery retired, their guns being too small to do much damage. The Porter and Wampatuck also stayed out of range. The smoke hung over everything, spoiling the aim of the gunners and making it impossible to tell where our shots struck. The officers and men of all the ships behaved with coolness and bravery. The shots flew thick and fast over all our ships.
The men of the Iowa who were hurt during the action were injured by splinters thrown by an eight-inch shell, which came through a boat into the superstructure, and scattered fragments in all directions. The shot's course was finally ended on an iron plate an inch thick.
At 7:45 a. m. Admiral Sampson signaled "Cease firing." "Retire" was sounded on the Iowa, and it headed from the shore.
After the battle was over Admiral Sampson said:
"I am satisfied with the morning's work. I could have taken SanJuan, but had no force to hold it. I merely wished to punish theSpaniards, and render the port unavailable as a refuge for theSpanish fleet. I came to destroy that fleet and not to take SanJuan."
The man killed by the fire from the forts was Frank Widemark, a seaman on the flagship New York. A gunner's mate on the Amphitrite died during the action from prostration caused by the extreme heat and excitement.
The Iowa, Indiana, New York, Terror, and Amphitrite went close under the fortifications after the armed tug Wampatuck had piloted the way and made soundings.
The Detroit and Montgomery soon drew out of the line of battle, their guns being too small for effective work against fortifications.
Three times the great fighting ships swung past Morro and the batteries, roaring out a continuous fire. Whenever the dense smoke would lift, great gaps could be seen in the gray walls of Morro, while from the batteries men could be seen scurrying in haste.
The Spanish fire was quick enough, but ludicrously uncertain. This was shown after Admiral Sampson had given the order to cease firing and retire. The monitor Terror evidently misunderstood the order, for it remained well in range of the Spanish guns and continued the bombardment alone. The few guns still served by the Spaniards kept banging away at the Terror, and some of the shots missed it at least a mile. It remained at its work for half an hour before retiring, and in all this time was not once hit.
America's first dead fell on the 11th of May in a fierce and bloody combat off Cardenas, on the north coast of Cuba. Five men were blown to pieces and five were wounded on the torpedo boat Winslow. The battle was between the torpedo boat Winslow, the auxiliary tug Hudson, and the gunboat Wilmington on one side, and the Cardenas batteries and four Spanish gunboats on the other. The battle lasted but thirty-five minutes, but was remarkable for terrific fighting. The Winslow was the main target of the enemy, and was put out of service. The other American vessels were not damaged, except that the Hudson's two ventilators were slightly scratched by flying shrapnel. The Winslow was within 2,500 yards of the shore when the shells struck. How it came to be so close was told by its commander, Lieutenant John Bernadou. He said:
"We were making observations when the enemy opened fire on us. The Wilmington ordered us to go in and attack the gunboats. We went in under full steam and there's the result."
He was on the Hudson when he said this, and with the final words he pointed to the huddle of American flags on the deck near by. Under the Stars and Stripes were outlined five rigid forms.
List of the killed: Worth Bagley, ensign; John Daniels, first-class fireman; John Tunnel, cabin cook; John Varveres, oiler. The wounded: J. B. Bernadou, lieutenant, commanding the Winslow; R. E. Cox, gunner's mate; D. McKeowan, quartermaster; J. Patterson, fireman; F. Gray.
The story of the fight, as told by the Hudson's men, is as follows:
The Winslow, the Hudson, the Machias, and the Wilmington were among the ships off Cardenas on the blockade, the Wilmington acting as flagship. The Machias lay about twelve miles out. The others were stationed close in, on what is called the inside line. At a quarter to 9 o'clock the Hudson, under Captain F. H. Newton, was taking soundings in Diana Cay bars and Romero Cay, just outside Cardenas, so close to shore that it grounded, but it floated off easily into the shallow water.
At half past 11 the Wilmington spoke the Hudson and the Winslow and assigned them to duty, the Winslow to start to the eastern shore of, Cardenas Bay and the Hudson to the western shore, while the Wilmington took its station in mid-channel. This work occupied two hours. Nothing was discovered on either shore, and the boats were approaching each other on their return when a puff of smoke was observed on shore at Cardenas, and a shell whistled over them. The Winslow was on the inside, nearer the shore. The Hudson and the Winslow reported to the Wilmington, and orders came promptly to go in and open fire; but the Spaniards had not waited for a reply to their first shot. The Cardenas harbor shore had already become one dense cloud of smoke, shot with flashes of fire and an avalanche of shells was bursting toward the little Winslow:
This was at five minutes past 2 o'clock, and for twenty minutes the firing continued from the shore without cessation, but none of the shots had at that time found their mark, though they were striking dangerously near. Meanwhile the Hudson's two six-pounders were banging away at a terrific rate. How many of the torpedo boat's shots took effect is not known. The first two of the Hudson's shells fell short, but after these two every one floated straight into the smoke-clouded shore. The Spaniard's aim in the meantime was improving and it was presently seen that two empty barks had been anchored off shore. It was twenty-five minutes before 3 o'clock when a four-inch shell struck the Winslow on the starboard beam, knocking out its forward boiler and starboard engine and crippling the steering gear, but no one was injured.
Lieutenant Bernadou was standing forward watching the battle with calm interest and directing his men as coolly as if they were at target practice. By the one-pounder amidships stood Ensign Bagley, the oiler, the two firemen, and the cook. The little boat gasped and throbbed and rolled helplessly from side to side. Lieutenant Bernadou did not stop for an examination. He knew his boat was uncontrollable. The Hudson was a short distance off still pounding away with her guns. It was hailed and asked to take the Winslow in tow. It was a vital moment. Guns roared from shore and sea. Lieutenant Scott, in charge of the Hudson's aft gun, sat on a box and smoked a cigarette as he directed the fire.
Captain Newton stood near Lieutenant Meed at the forward gun and watched its workings with interest. Chief Engineer Gutchin never missed his bell. A group of sailors was making ready to heave a line to the Winslow, and Ensign Bagley and his four men stood on the port side of the latter vessel, waiting to receive it. A vicious fire was singing about them. The Spaniards seemed to have found the exact range.
There was a momentary delay in heaving the towline, and Ensign Bagley suggested that the Hudson's men hurry. "Heave her," he called. "Let her come; it's getting pretty warm here." The line was thrown and grabbed by the Winslow's men. Grimy with sweat and powder, they tugged at it and drew nearer foot by foot to the Hudson. Almost at the same instant another four-inch shell shrieked through the smoke and burst directly under them. Five bodies went whirling through the air. Two of the group were dead when they fell—Ensign Bagley and Fireman Daniels. The young ensign was literally disemboweled, and the entire lower portion of the fireman's body was torn away. The other three died within a few minutes. A flying piece of shrapnel struck Lieutenant Bernadou in the thigh and cut an ugly gash, but the Lieutenant did not know it then. With the explosion of the shell the hawser parted and the Winslow's helm went hard to starboard, and, with its steering gear smashed, the torpedo boat floundered about in the water at the mercy of the enemy's fire, which never relaxed.
The fire of the Americans was of the usual persistent character, and the nerve of the men was marvelous. Even after the Winslow's starboard engine and steering gear were wrecked the little boat continued pouring shot into the Spaniards on shore until it was totally disabled.
Meanwhile the Wilmington from its outlying station was busy with its bigger guns and sent shell after shell from its four-inch guns crashing into the works on shore, and their execution must have been deadly. Not a fragment of shot or shell from the enemy reached the Wilmington.
The Hudson quickly threw another line to the Winslow, and the helpless torpedo boat was made fast and pulled out of the Spaniards' exact range. The tug then towed it to Piedras Cay, a little island twelve miles off, near which the Machias lay. There it was anchored for temporary repairs, while the Hudson brought the ghastly cargo into Key West, with Dr. Richards of the Machias attending to the wounded. Not until this mournful journey was begun was it learned that Lieutenant Bernadou had been injured. He scoffed at the wound as a trifle, but submitted to treatment and is doing well.
When the Hudson drew up to the government dock at Key West the flags at half mast told the few loiterers on shore that death had come to some one, and the bunting spread on the deck, with here and there a foot protruding from beneath, confirmed the news. Ambulances were called and the wounded were carried quickly to the army barracks hospital. The dead were taken to the local undertaker's shop, where they lay all day on slabs, the mutilated forms draped with flags. The public were permitted to view the remains, and all day a steady stream of people flowed through the shop.
The American boats made furious havoc with Cardenas harbor and town. The captain of the Hudson said:
"I know we destroyed a large part of their town near the wharves, burned one of their gunboats, and I think destroyed two other torpedo destroyers. We were in a vortex of shot, shell and smoke, and could not tell accurately, but we saw one of their boats on fire and sinking soon after the action began. Then a large building near the wharf, I think the barracks, took fire, and many other buildings were soon burning. The Spanish had masked batteries on all sides of us, hidden in bushes and behind houses. They set a trap for us. As soon as we got within range of their batteries they would move them. I think their guns were field pieces. Our large boats could not get into the harbor to help us on account of the shallow water."
Amid a perfect storm of shot from Spanish rifles and batteries the American forces made an attempt to cut the cables at Cienfuegos, on the 11th of May. Four determined boat crews, under command of Lieutenant Winslow and Ensign Magruder, from the cruiser Marblehead and gunboat Nashville, put out from the ships, the coast having previously been shelled, and began their perilous work. The cruiser Marblehead, the gunboat Nashville and the auxiliary cruiser Windom drew up a thousand yards from shore with their guns manned for desperate duty.
One cable was quickly severed and the work was in progress on the other when the Spaniards in rifle pits and a battery in an old lighthouse standing out in the bay opened fire. The warships poured in a thunderous volley, their great guns belching forth massive shells into the swarms of the enemy. The crews of the boats proceeded with their desperate work, notwithstanding the fact that a number of men had fallen, and, after finishing their task, returned to the ships through a blinding smoke and a heavy fire. Two men were killed, and seven wounded by the fire of the enemy. Captain Maynard had a narrow escape from death. A rifle shot hit his side close to the heart, but caused only a flesh wound and he kept at his post to the end. The officers of the Windom were enthusiastic over the work of the men in the launches. They fired in regular order and shot well. The Windom demolished the lighthouse, which was in reality a fort, and not one stone was left standing upon another.
On May 14 Admiral Sampson ordered Captain Goodrich to cut the French cable running from Mole St. Nicholas, Hayti, to Guantanamo, Cuba, about thirty miles to the eastward of Santiago. In compliance with this order the St. Louis and the Wampatuck appeared off Guantanamo about daylight, and the Wampatuck, with Lieutenant Jungen in command and Chief Officer Seagrave, Ensign Payne, Lieutenant Catlin and eight marines and four seamen on board, steamed into the mouth of the harbor, and, dropping a grapnel in eight fathoms of water, proceeded to drag across the mouth of the harbor for the cable.
About 150 fathoms of line were run out when the cable was hooked in fifty fathoms of water. This time the lookout reported a Spanish gun-boat coming down the harbor and a signal was sent to the St. Louis, lying half a mile outside. She had already discovered it, and immediately opened fire with her two port six-pounders. The Wampatuck then commenced firing with her one three-pounder. The gunboat, however, was out of range of these small guns and, the shells fell short.
The Spaniards opened fire with a four-inch gun, and every shot went whistling over the little Wampatuck and struck in the water between her and the St. Louis. Being well out of range of the six-pounders the gunboat was perfectly safe, and she steamed back and forth firing her larger guns. For about forty minutes the tug worked on the cable, while the shells were striking all around her, but she seemed to bear a charmed life.
Captain Goodrich, seeing that he could not get the gunboat within range of his small guns, while that vessel could easily reach the St. Louis and Wanipatuck with her heavier battery, signaled the tug to withdraw. The grappling line was cut and both vessels steamed out to sea, leaving the cable uncut.
As the tug turned and started out it was noticed that riflemen on shore were firing at her. Lieutenant Catlin opened up with the Gatling gun mounted aft and the Spaniards on shore could be seen scattering and running for shelter. The French cable was cut the next morning off Mole St. Nicholas, well outside of the three-mile limit.
Lieutenant Catlin was formerly on the battleship Maine, and perhaps he took more than ordinary interest in firing his guns.
"You could tell by the grim smile on his face as he fired each shot," one of his brother officers said, "that he was trying to 'get even,' as far as lay in his power, for the awful work in Havana harbor."
The President issued a proclamation calling for 75,000 more volunteers on May 25. This made the total army strength, regular and volunteer, 280,000.
The official call issued by the President in the form of a proclamation was as follows:
Whereas, An act of Congress was approved on the 25th day of April, 1898, entitled "An act declaring that war exists between the United States of America and the kingdom of Spain," and,
Whereas, By an act of Congress, entitled "An act to provide for temporarily increasing the military establishment of the United States in time of war and for other purposes," approved April 22, 1898, the President is authorized, in order to raise a volunteer army, to issue his proclamation calling for volunteers to serve in the army of the United States,
Now, therefore, I, William McKinley, President of the United States, by virtue of the power vested in me by the constitution and the laws and deeming sufficient occasion to exist, have thought fit to call forth, and hereby do call forth, volunteers to the aggregate number of 75,000 in addition to the volunteers called forth by my proclamation of the 23d day of April, in the present year; the same to be apportioned, as far as practicable, among the several States and Territories and the District of Columbia, according to population, and to serve for two years unless sooner discharged. The proportion of each arm and the details of enlistment and organization will be made known through the war department.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington, this 25th day of May, in the year of our Lord, 1898, and of the independence of the United States, the 122d.
WILLIAM McKINLEY.
By the President, WILLIAM K. DAY, Secretary of State.
Four weeks after the victory of Rear-Admiral Dewey at Manila, Commodore Schley, in command of the flying squadron, had his shrewdness and pertinacity rewarded by finding the Spanish fleet in the harbor of Santiago de Cuba.
For ten days he had, in the face of conflicting rumors, insisted that the ships of Spain were trying to make a landing on the southern coast of Cuba. This was evidently not in consonance with certain official information and his opinion was not given much weight.
The captain of the British steamer Adula, who was interviewed atCienfuegos, told of seeing the Spanish fleet in the vicinity ofSantiago de Cuba, evidently awaiting an opportunity to get in.Captain Sigsbee of the St. Paul related how he had captured aSpanish coal vessel going into the harbor of Santiago, andCommodore Schley argued from these two incidents that the fleet ofSpain was waiting in some haven near by until such time as avisit, fruitless in its results, should be made there by theAmericans when, upon their departure, the Spanish fleet would runin.
Consequently, Commodore Schley determined to find it. Himself in the lead with the flagship, he started toward the harbor. The Spanish troops at the works and batteries could be seen, through glasses, preparing in haste to give the American ships as warm a reception as possible.
When about five miles from the batteries the lookouts reported the masts of two ships, and Flag Lieutenant Sears and Ensign McCauley made out the first to be the Cristobal Colon. Two torpedo boats were also made out and a second vessel of the Vizcaya class was seen.
All this time Commodore Schley was upon the afterbridge of the Brooklyn making good use of his binoculars. Arrived at the harbor entrance, when the ships were sighted from the deck, he turned his eyes from the glasses long enough to wink and say: "I told you I would find them. They will be a long time getting home."
The voyage of the Oregon from San Francisco to Florida is a matter of historic interest, for it was the first craft of the kind to weather the famous cape. When it anchored off Sand Key, Fla., it had completed the longest trip ever made by a battleship. Altogether she sailed 18,102 miles in eighty-one days, and this includes the days she spent in coaling. Prior to this trip the record for long voyages had been held by a British flagship, which steamed from England to China. The distance from Puget Sound to Sand Key is more than two-thirds the circumference of the earth. The big trip was a record of itself, and it included within it several minor records for battleship steaming. For example, the Oregon ran 4,726 miles without a stop of any kind for any purpose. Such a run is longer than the voyage from New York to Queenstown or to Bremen or to Havre. It is comparable with the great runs of the magnificent merchant ships of the Peninsular and Oriental Steamship Navigation Company from London to Calcutta, Bombay and Madras. It was a triumph for any kind of a ship, but it was a wonder for a battleship. The Oregon left Puget Sound March 6, left San Francisco on March 19 and drew up at Sand Key, Fla., on May 26. Everything on board of her was shipshape. Her engines, of 11,111 horse power, were bright and fresh and ready for another voyage of 17,000 miles. Not a bolt was loose; not a screw was out of order.
On Thursday, June 2, Admiral Sampson decided to send the collier Merrimac into the bay of Santiago and sink it in the channel's narrowest part, for the purpose of holding Cervera and his fleet in the harbor, until the time when their capture or destruction seemed advisable. He called for volunteers, explaining that it was a desperate mission, death being almost certain for all those who ventured in.
Then the navy showed the stuff of which it is made. Admiral Sampson wanted eight men. He could have had every officer and man in the fleet, for all were more than ready. Lieutenant Richmond P. Hobson was selected to command the expedition, and Daniel Montague, George Charette, J. C. Murphy, Osborn Deignan, George F. Phillips, Francis Kelly and B. Clausen were detailed to accompany him.
Just before 3 o'clock on the morning of the 3d the collier, deeply laden with, ballast material and some coal, was headed without preliminary maneuver straight for the entrance, over which the remaining batteries from Morro frowned from one side, and those from Socapa from the other. In the darkness of the early morning the Merrimac, without a light showing anywhere, dashed within the line of the forts before it was discovered, Sampson's ships thundering at the enemy's batteries to divert their attention from the collier. The Spaniards soon detected it, however, and brought every possible gun to bear. In the face of a terrific fire of shot and shell from Spanish guns the Merrimac ran into the narrow channel, where it was swung across and anchored. Then Lieutenant Hobson blew a hole in the ship's bottom and with his seven men took to a boat. They first made an effort to row out of the harbor and regain the American fleet, but soon realizing that, to attempt to pass the aroused batteries would mean certain death to all, they turned and rowed straight towards the Spanish squadron, and surrendered to Admiral Cervera, who held them as prisoners of war.
The Spanish commander sent his chief of staff, Captain Oviedo, under a flag of truce to Admiral Sampson, bearing the information of the safety of the heroes. The Spanish officers were enthusiastic in their praise of the bravery shown by Hobson and his men, and looked upon them with amazement as heroes whose gallantry far exceeded any Spanish conception of what men might do for their country, and it was with great chagrin that Admiral Cervera was prevented by the Madrid authorities from returning the heroic young officer and his brave men to Admiral Sampson, but was compelled to deliver them to the military authorities ashore as prisoners of war.
General Linares, with the brutal instinct that had marked his conduct of Cuban affairs already intrusted to him, deliberately placed Hobson and his men in Morro Castle as a shield against the fire of Sampson's squadron. Here Hobson was locked up for five days in solitary confinement in a filthy dungeon under conditions which must have soon resulted in his serious illness and perhaps in death. The treatment he received and the scanty food given him were no better than that accorded to a common criminal condemned to execution.
This punishment, however, was of short duration on account of the vigorous protest which was made through a neutral power to Spain, coupled with Admiral Sampson's notice to the Spanish admiral that he would be held personally responsible for Hobson's welfare. Under these circumstances Admiral Cervera interposed his influence with General Linares; and Hobson, with his men, was transferred to the barracks in the city. Here his solitary confinement continued, but he could look out of a window to the hills on the east and see the smoke from the American rifles of General Shatter's men firing from their intrenchments with the consolation that his captivity would be of short duration.
After the assault on Santiago arrangements were made by the commanders of the two armies for the exchange of Lieutenant Hobson and his men for Spanish prisoners held by the Americans, and a truce was established for that purpose. The place selected for the exchange was under a tree between the American and Spanish lines, two-thirds of a mile beyond the intrenchments occupied by Colonel Wood's Rough Riders, near General Wheeler's headquarters, and in the center of the American line.
The American prisoners left the Reina Mercedes hospital on the outskirts of Santiago de Cuba, where they had been confined, in charge of Major Irles, a Spanish staff officer, who speaks English perfectly.
The prisoners were conducted to the meeting place on foot, but were not blindfolded. Colonel John Jacob Astor and Lieutenant Miloy, accompanied by Interpreter Maestro, were in charge of the Spanish prisoners. These consisted of Lieutenants Amelio Volez and Aurelius, a German, who were captured at El Caney, and Lieutenant Adolfo Aries and fourteen non-commissioned officers and privates. Lieutenant Aries and a number of the men were wounded in the fight at El Caney. The Spanish prisoners were taken through the American lines mounted and blindfolded.
The meeting between Colonel Astor and Major Irles was extremely courteous, but very formal, and no attempt was made by either of them to discuss anything but the matter in hand. Major Irles was given his choice of three Spanish lieutenants in exchange for Hobson, and was also informed that he could have all of the fourteen men in exchange for the American sailors. The Spanish officers selected Lieutenant Aries, and the other two Spanish officers were conducted back to Juragua.
It was then not later than 4 o'clock, and just as everything was finished and the two parties were separating Irles turned and said, courteously enough, but in a tone which indicated considerable defiance and gave his hearers the impression that he desired hostilities to be renewed at once:
"Our understanding is, gentlemen, that this truce comes to an end at 5 o'clock."
Colonel Astor looked at his watch, bowed to the Spanish officer, without making a reply, and then started back slowly to the American lines, with Hobson and his companions following.
The meeting of the two parties and the exchange of prisoners had taken place in full view of both the American and Spanish soldiers who were intrenched near the meeting place, and the keenest interest was taken in the episode.
On the morning of June 6 the American fleet engaged the Spanish batteries defending the entrance of the harbor of Santiago de Cuba, and, after three hours' bombardment, silenced nearly all the forts, destroyed several earthworks, and rendered the Estrella and Cayo batteries, two of the principal fortifications, useless.
The fleet formed in double column, six miles off Morro Castle, at 6 o'clock in the morning, and steamed slowly 3,000 yards off shore, the Brooklyn leading, followed by the Marblehead, Texas and Massachusetts, and turned westward. The second line, the New York leading, with the New Orleans, Yankee, Iowa and Oregon following, turned eastward.
The Vixen and Suwanee were far out on the left flank, watching the riflemen on shore. The Dolphin and Porter did similar duty on the right flank. The line headed by the New York attacked the new earthworks near Morro Castle. The Brooklyn column took up a station opposite the Estrella and Catalina batteries and the new earthworks along the shore.
The Spanish batteries remained silent. It is doubtful whether the Spaniards were able to determine the character of the movement, owing to the dense fog and heavy rain which were the weather features this morning.
Suddenly the Iowa fired a twelve-inch shell, which struck the base of Estrella battery and tore up the works. Instantly firing began from both Rear-Admiral Sampson's and Commodore Schley's column, and a torrent of shells from the ships fell upon the Spanish works. The Spaniards replied promptly, but their artillery work was of a poor quality and most of their shots went wild. Smoke settled around the ships in dense clouds, rendering accurate aiming difficult. There was no maneuvering of the fleet, the ships remaining at their original stations, firing steadily. The squadrons were so close in shore that it was difficult for the American gunners to reach the batteries on the hilltops, but their firing was excellent.
Previous to the bombardment, orders were issued to prevent firing on Morro Castle, as the American Admiral had been informed that Lieutenant Hobson and the other prisoners of the Merrimac were confined there. In spite of this, however, several stray shots damaged Morro Castle somewhat.
Commodore Schley's line moved closer in shore, firing at shorter range. The Brooklyn and Texas caused wild havoc among the Spanish shore batteries, quickly silencing them. While the larger ships were engaging the heavy batteries, the Suwanee and Vixen closed with the small in-shore battery opposite them, raining rapid-fire shots upon it and quickly placing the battery out of the fight.
The Brooklyn closed to 800 yards and then the destruction caused by its guns and those of the Marblehead and Texas was really awful. In a few minutes the woodwork of Estrella fort was burning and the battery was silenced, firing no more during the engagement. Eastward the New York and New Orleans silenced the Cayo battery in quick order and then shelled the earthworks located higher up. The practice here was not so accurate, owing to the elevation of the guns. Many of the shells, however, landed, and the Spanish gunners retired.
Shortly after 9 o'clock the firing ceased, the warships turning in order to permit the use of the port batteries. The firing then became a long reverberating crash of thunder, and the shells raked the Spanish batteries with terrific effect. Fire broke out in Catalina fort and silenced the Spanish guns. The firing of the fleet continued until 10 o'clock, when the Spanish ceased entirely, and Admiral Sampson hoisted the "Cease firing" signal.
After the fleet retired the Spaniards returned to their guns and sent twelve shots after the American ships, but no damage was done. In fact, throughout the entire engagement none of our ships was hit and no American was injured.
One purpose of Admiral Sampson, it appears, was to land troops and siege guns at Aguadores, after reducing the defenses of the place, and then make a close assault upon Santiago, which, in view of the present condition of its fortifications, may be expected to yield soon.
A landing of American troops was effected near Baiquiri, some distance east of Aguadores, and near the railroad station connecting with Santiago de Cuba. Later an engagement took place between the American force and a column of Spanish troops which had been sent against the landing party. The Spaniards were driven back.
Lieutenant-Colonel R. W. Huntington's battalion of marines landed from the transport Panther on Friday, June 10, and encamped on the hill guarding the abandoned cable station at the entrance to the outer harbor of Guantanamo. On Saturday afternoon a rush attack was made on them by a detachment of Spanish regulars and guerrillas, and for thirteen hours the fighting was almost continuous, until re-enforcements were landed from the Marblehead.
The engagement began with desultory firing at the pickets, a thousand yards inland from the camp. Captain Spicer's company was doing guard duty and was driven in, finally rallying on the camp and repulsing the enemy at 5 o'clock. The sky was blanketed with clouds, and when the sun set a gale was blowing out seaward. Night fell thick and impenetrable. The Spanish squads concealed in the chaparral cover had the advantage, the Americans on the ridge furnishing fine targets against the sky and the white tents.
The Spaniards fought from cover until midnight, discoverable only at flashes, at which the marines fired volleys. Shortly after midnight came the main attack. The Spaniards made a gallant charge up the southwest slope, but were met by repeated volleys from the main body and broke before they were one-third of the way up the hill; but they came so close at points that there was almost a hand-to-hand struggle. The officers used their revolvers. Three Spaniards got through the open formation to the edge of the camp. Colonel Jose Campina, the Cuban guide, discharged his revolver, and they, finding themselves without support, beat a hasty retreat down the reverse side of the hill. During this assault Assistant Surgeon John Blair Gibbs was killed. He was shot in the head in front of his own tent, the farthest point of attack. He fell into the arms of Private Sullivan and both dropped. A second bullet threw the dust in their faces. Surgeon Gibbs lived ten minutes, but he did not again regain consciousness. Four Americans were killed and one wounded in this engagement.
Sunday brought no rest. Every little while the p-a-t of a Mauser would be heard, and a spatter of dust on the camp hillside would show where the bullet struck. During the day the enemy kept well back, scattering a few riflemen through the trees to keep up a desultory fire on the camp. There was no massing of forces, evidently for fear of shells from the Marblehead, which lay in the harbor close by. But when night came on again the Spanish forces were greatly augmented and in the dark were bolder in their attacks.
Lieutenant Neville was sent with a small squad of men to dislodge the advance pickets of the enemy, and his men followed him with a will. The Spaniards, who had been potting at every shadow in the camp, fled when the American pickets came swinging down their way. As the Americans pressed along the edge of the steep hill, following a blind trail, they nearly fell into an ambush. There was a sudden firing from all directions, and an attack came from all sides.
Sergeant-Major Henry Good was shot through the right breast and soon died. The Americans were forced back upon the edge of the precipice and an effort was made to rush them over, but without success. As soon as they recovered from the first shock and got shelter in the breaks of the cliff their fire was deadly. Spaniard after Spaniard went down before American bullets and the rush was checked almost as suddenly as it was begun, causing the enemy to fall back. The Americans swarmed after the fleeing Spaniards, shooting and cheering as they charged, and won a complete victory. The Spanish forces left fifteen dead upon the field. The American loss was two killed and four wounded.
The night attack was picturesque, and a striking spectacle—the crack of the Mausers, tongues of fire from every bush encircling the camp, the twitter of the long steel bullets overhead, while the machine guns down on the water were ripping open the pickets, and the crash of the field guns could be heard as they were driving in canister where the fire of the Spaniards was the thickest. Then there was the screech of the Marblehead's shells as she took a hand in the fight, and the sharp, quick flashing of the rapid-firing one-pounder guns from the ships' launches.
On Tuesday the brave marines, who had been exposed for three days and nights to the fire of a foe they could but blindly see, weary of a kind of warfare for which they were not trained, went into the enemy's hiding place and inflicted disastrous punishment. The primary object of the expedition was to destroy the tank which provided the enemy with water. There are three ridges over the hills between the camp from which the Americans and their Cuban allies started and the sea. In the valley between the second and third was the water tank. The Spanish headquarters were located at cross-roads between the first and second ridges, and it was against this place that a detachment of fifty marines and ten Cubans under Lieutenants Mahoney and Magill was sent. Their instructions were to capture and hold this position. Captain Elliot with ninety marines and fifteen Cubans went east over the last range of hills, and Captain Spicer with the same number of men went to the west. A fourth party of fifty marines and a Cuban guide under command of Lieutenant Ingate made a detour and secured a position back of Lieutenant Mahoney.
The first fighting was done by the men under Lieutenant Magill with the second platoon of Company E. These parted from the others, going over the first hill to the second one. They had advanced but a short distance when they came to a heliograph station guarded by a company of Spaniards. Shooting began on both sides, the Mausers of the Spanish and the guns of the Americans snapping in unison. Our men had toiled up the hillside in the boiling sun, but they settled down to shooting as steadily and as sturdily as veterans could have done. The skirmish lasted fifteen minutes. At the end of this time the Spaniards could no longer stand the methodical, accurate shooting of Magill's men, and they ran helter-skelter, leaving several dead upon the field. Lieutenant Magill took possession of the heliograph outfit without the loss or injury of a man.
But this was in truth only a skirmish, and the real fighting was at hand. Captains Spicer and Elliot and Lieutenant Mahoney led their men up the second range of hills. A spattering of bullets gave note that the news of their coming was abroad, but they toiled up to the top of the hill. Here they found the Spanish camp situated on a little ridge below them. There was one large house, the officers' quarters, and around this was a cluster of huts, in the center of which was the water tank which they had come to destroy. Quickly they moved into line of battle, and advanced down the mountain, the enemy's bullets singing viciously, but going wildly about them.
Gradually the Americans and Cubans descended the slope, shooting as they went, and closing in upon the enemy in hiding about the huts and in the brush. Then the order came to make ready for a bayonet charge, but it had scarcely been given when the Spaniards broke from cover and ran, panic-stricken, for a clump of brush about one hundred yards further on. Then there was shooting quick and fast. There were dozens of Spanish soldiers who did not reach the thicket, for the American fire was deadly, and man after man was seen to fall.
The fighting blood of the Americans was up. Elliot's command made straight for the thicket to which the Spanish had fled, routed them out, and drove them on before. Up the ridge they forced them, shooting and receiving an answering fire all the way. Pursuers and pursued moved on over the crest of the hill, and there the Spaniards received a new surprise. Lieutenant Magill and his men had made a detour and were waiting for them. As the enemy came within rifle shot over the hill and started to descend Lieutenant Magill's men emptied their rifles. The Spanish turned back dismayed, and wavered for a time between the two fires of our troops, uncertain which way to turn. Then they assembled at the top of the hill. This was a fatal mistake, for the Dolphin had taken up a position to the sea side of the hills in the morning, and the moment her commander espied the Spaniards on the summit of the ridge he opened fire upon them.