The slaughter was terrific, but it is but just to record the fact that the enemy made a brave fight. They would not surrender, and made an attempt to fight their way along the summit of the ridge, but they were routed and ran in all directions to escape.
While the Americans were destroying the blockhouse, tank and windmill the Cubans rounded up a Spanish lieutenant and seventeen privates. These were spared and compelled to surrender. The lieutenant gave the Spanish loss in the battle at sixty-eight killed and nearly 200 wounded. Not an American was killed, and no one seriously wounded.
After weeks of waiting and preparation the first army of invasion to start from the eastern shores of the United States departed under the command of General Shatter on the morning of June 14 at 9 o'clock. The fleet of transports consisted of thirty-five vessels, four tenders and fourteen convoys. The actual embarkation of the troops began on Monday, June 6. The work proceeded diligently until late on Wednesday afternoon, when, after the departure of several vessels, an important order came, calling a halt in the proceedings. The alleged cause of the delay was the report that the Hornet while out scouting had sighted several Spanish war vessels.
Like a wet blanket came the order to halt. Cheerfulness was displaced by keen disappointment. Two questions were on every tongue—"Has Spain surrendered?" "Has our fleet met with a reverse?" The former met with the readiest belief, many believing the words in the order "indefinitely postponed" meant peace.
General Miles and his staff went to Port Tampa Sunday morning at 6:30' to deliver parting instructions. During a heavy rain squall on Saturday night at 8 o'clock while the transports were straining at their cables the little tug Captain Sam steamed from ship to ship megaphoning the order: "Stand ready to sail at daylight." Above the roar of the storm wild cheers were heard and a bright flash of lightning revealed the soldiers standing in the rain waving their wet hats and hurrahing. When the morning broke, piers were lined with transports, the docks were crowded with box cars, flat cars, stock cars, baggage and express cars. Most of these were crowded with soldiers who were cheered until their ears ached, and who cheered in return until hoarse.
Bright-colored dresses and fragile parasols in the crowds of blue-coats indicated the presence of the fair sex. Horses and mules were kicking up clouds of dust and the sun poured down its hot rays on the sweltering mass of humanity. Thus Sunday passed, the transports at the docks and those in midstream receiving their quotas of men and the necessaries to sustain them.
General Miles again went to the port on Monday on the early train. The stirring scenes continued; the mad rush had not abated. General Miles from the observation end of his car watched the crowd as it passed near him. The transports swinging at their moorings were plainly in view, as were also many of those at the docks. The embarkation of animals was progressing satisfactorily.
Shortly after 9 o'clock the funnels of the transports began to pour forth volumes of black smoke. The Olivette, Margaret, Mateo and Laura were visiting the fleet, giving water to one, troops to another, animals and equipments to another. Along the pier could be heard the voices of the transport commanders as they gave their orders to cut loose. The gangplanks were pulled in, the hatchways closed, lines cast off and the engines were put in motion.
The vessels backed into the bay and anchored to await the order to sail. The Matteawan hove her cable short at 10 o'clock. All eyes were riveted on the Seguranca, the flagship, and when the final signal came a mighty cheer arose. From the lower row of portholes to her tops hats waved in wild delight. The anchor was quickly weighed and the great vessel pointed her prow down the bay. In a few minutes the City of Washington, Rio Grande, Cherokee, Iroquois and Whitney followed. As these boats picked their way through the anchored fleet men shouted and bands played. Every vessel elicited a wild display of enthusiasm. These were the only vessels to depart in the forenoon, some of them going over to St. Petersburg to procure water.
General Miles, evidently becoming impatient, embarked on the Tarpon at 12:30 and went out among the fleet, going as far down the bay as St. Petersburg and not returning until 4 o'clock. In the meantime other transports were steaming down the bay.
In the afternoon the Morgan cut a path of white foam down the channel, and her lead was followed by the Vigilance, San Marcos, Clinton, Yucatan, Stillwater, Berkshire, Olivette, Santiago, Arkansas, Seneca, Saratoga, Miami, Leona, Breakwater and Comal. By the time these vessels had moved away darkness had enveloped the remaining ships, from whose sides glimmered long rows of lights. The Knickerbocker, numbered thirteen, and the Orizaba had much to take on during the night. The last to load were eager to complete the task for fear they might be left. By daylight all the ships except the Seguranca had moved down the bay. At 9 o'clock the Seguranca, amid cheers and the blowing of whistles, followed.
General Shatter and his staff were the last to leave. The last orders were handed to Lieutenant Miley, an aid to General Shafter, and immediately the flagship started.
Rear-Admiral Sampson's fleet bombarded the batteries at Santiago de Cuba for the third time at daylight on the morning of June 16.
For hours the ships pounded the batteries at the right and left of the entrance, only sparing El Morro, where Lieutenant Hobson and his companions of the Merrimac were in prison.
As a preliminary to the hammering given the batteries the dynamite cruiser Vesuvius at midnight was given another chance. Three 250-pound charges of gun cotton were sent over the fortifications at the entrance. The design was to drop them in the bay around the angle back of the eminence on which El Morro is situated, where it was known that the Spanish torpedo-boat destroyers were lying. Two charges went true, as no reports were heard—a peculiarity of the explosion of gun cotton in water. The third charge exploded with terrific violence on Cayo Smith.
From where the fleet lay the entrance to the harbor looked, in the black night, like a door opening into the livid fire of a Titanic furnace. A crater big enough to hold a church was blown out of the side of the Cayo Smith and was clearly seen from the ships.
Coffee was served to the men at 3:30 in the morning, and with the first blush of dawn the men were called quietly to quarters. The ship steamed in five-knot speed to a 3,000-yard range, when they closed up, broadside on, until a distance of three cable-lengths separated them. They were strung out in the form of a crescent, the heavy fighting ships in the center, the flagship on the right flank and the Massachusetts on the left flank. The line remained stationary throughout the bombardment. The Vixen and Scorpion took up positions on opposite flanks, close in shore, for the purpose of enfilading any infantry that might fire upon the ships.
When the ships got into position it was still too dark for any firing. The Admiral signaled the ships not to fire until the muzzles of the enemy's guns in the embrasures could be seen by the gun captains.
Fifteen minutes later, at 5:25 am, the New York opened with a broadside from her main battery at the works on the east of the entrance to the harbor. All the ships followed in red streaks of flame. The fleet, enveloped in smoke, pelted the hills and kicked up dirt and masonry.
Though the gun captains had been cautioned not to waste ammunition, but to fire with deliberation, the fire was so rapid that there was an almost continuous report. The measured crash of the big thirteen-inch guns of the battleships sounded above the rattle of the guns of the secondary batteries like thunder-claps above the din of a hurricane. A strong land breeze off the shore carried the smoke of the ships seaward, while it let down a thick curtain in front of the Spanish gunners.
The dons responded spiritedly at first, but their frenzied, half-crazed fire could not match the cool nerve, trained eyes and skilled gunnery of the American sailors. Our fire was much more effective than in preceding bombardments. The Admiral's ordnance expert had given explicit directions to reduce the powder charges and to elevate the guns, so as to shorten the trajectory and thus to secure a plunging fire.
The effect of the reduced charges was marvelous. In fifteen minutes one western battery was completely wrecked. The Massachusetts tore a gaping hole in the emplacement with a 1,000-pound projectile, and the Texas dropped a shell into the powder magazine. The explosion wrought terrible havoc.
The frame was lifted, the sides were blown out and a shower of debris flew in every direction. One timber, carried out of the side of the battery, went tumbling down the hill.
The batteries on the east of Morro were harder to get at, but the New Orleans crossed the bows of the New York to within 500 yards of shore and played a tattoo with her long eight-inch rifles, hitting them repeatedly, striking a gun squarely muzzle-on, lifting it off its trunnions and sending it sweeping somersaults high in the air.
When the order came, at 6:30, to cease firing, every gun of the enemy had been silenced for ten minutes, but as the ships drew off some of the Spanish courage returned and a half-dozen shots were fired spitefully at the Massachusetts and Oregon, falling in their wakes.
Sea and weather were propitious when, on June 22, the great army of invasion under General Shatter left their transports in Baiquiri harbor, and landed on Cuban soil. The navy and the army co-operated splendidly and as the big warships closed in on the shore to pave the way for the approach of the transports and then went back again, three cheers for the navy went up from many thousand throats on the troop-ships and three cheers for the army rose from ship after ship.
The Cuban insurgents, too, bore their share in the enterprise honorably and well. Five thousand of them in mountain fastness and dark thickets of ravines, lay all the previous night on their guns watching every road and mountain path leading from Santiago to Guantanamo. A thousand of them were within sight of Baiquiri, making the approach of the Spaniards under cover of darkness an impossibility.
There is a steep, rocky hill, known as Punta Baiquiri, rising almost perpendicularly at the place indicated. It is a veritable Gibraltar in possibilities of defense. From the staff at its summit the Spanish flag was defiantly floating at sunset; but in the morning it was gone, and with it the small Spanish guard which had maintained the signal station. Between nightfall and dawn the Spaniards had taken the alarm and fled from the place, firing the town as they left.
The flames were watched with interest from the ships. Two sharp explosions were heard. At first they were thought to be the report of guns from Spanish masked batteries, but they proved to be explosions of ammunition in a burning building.
Three hours' waiting made the men on the transports impatient to get ashore and in action, and every move of the warships was closely watched by the soldiers.
A little before 9 o'clock the bombardment of the batteries of Juragua was begun. This was evidently a feint to cover the real point of attack, Juragua being about half-way between Baiquiri and Santiago. The bombardment lasted about twenty minutes. The scene then quickly shifted back again to the great semi-circle of transports before Baiquiri.
At 9:40 o'clock the New Orleans opened fire with a gun that sent a shell rumbling and crashing against the hillside. The Detroit, Wasp, Machias and Suwanee followed suit. In five minutes the sea was alive with flotillas of small boats, headed by launches, speeding for the Baiquiri dock. Some of the boats were manned by crews of sailors, while others were rowed by the soldiers themselves. Each boat contained sixteen men, every one in fighting trim and carrying three days' rations, a shelter tent, a gun and 200 cartridges. All were ready to take the field on touching the shore should they be called upon.
The firing of the warships proved to be a needless precaution, as their shots were not returned and no Spaniards were visible.
General Shafter, on board the Seguranca, closely watched the landing of the troops. Brigadier-General Lawton, who had been detailed to command the landing party, led the way in a launch, accompanied by his staff, and directed the formation of the line of operation.
A detachment of eighty regulars was the first to land, followed by General Shafter's old regiment, the First infantry. Then came the Twenty-fifth, Twenty-second, Tenth, Seventh and Twelfth infantry in the order named, and the Second Massachusetts and a detachment of the Ninth cavalry.
The boats rushed forward simultaneously from every quarter, in good-natured rivalry to be first, and their occupants scrambled over one another to leap ashore. As the boats tossed about in the surf getting ashore was no easy matter, and the soldiers had to throw their rifles on the dock before they could climb up. Some hard tumbles resulted, but nobody was hurt. At the end of the pier the companies and regiments quickly lined up and marched away.
General Lawton threw a strong detachment for the night about six miles west, on the road to Santiago, and another detachment was posted to the north of the town among the hills. The rest of the troops were quartered in the town, some of them being housed in the buildings of the iron company.
Some of the troops were quartered in deserted houses, while others preferred the shelter of their tents in the adjoining fields.
The morning's fire, it was seen, had destroyed the roundhouse, the repair shops and several small dwellings. The town was deserted when the troops landed, but women and children soon appeared from the surrounding thickets and returned to their homes.
The landing was accomplished without loss of life, the only accident being the wounding of an insurgent on the hills by a shell from one of the warships.
On Friday morning, June 24, four troops of the First cavalry, four troops of the Tenth cavalry and eight troops of Roosevelt's Rough Riders—less than 1,000 men in all—dismounted and attacked 2,000 Spanish soldiers in the thickets within five miles of Santiago de Cuba. A bloody conflict ensued, and the Americans lost sixteen men, including Captain Allyn M. Capron and Hamilton Fish, Jr., of the Rough Riders.
Practically two battles were fought at the same time, one by the Rough Riders under the immediate command of Colonel Wood, on the top of the plateau, and the other on the hillsides, several miles away, by the regulars, with whom was General Young.
The expedition started from Juragua—marked on some Cuban maps asAltares—a small town on the coast nine miles east of MorroCastle, which was the first place occupied by the troops aftertheir landing at Baiquiri.
Information was brought to the American army headquarters by Cubans that forces of Spanish soldiers had assembled at the place where the battle occurred to block the march on Santiago.
General Young went there to dislodge them, the understanding being that the Cubans under General Castillo would co-operate with him, but the latter failed to appear until the fight was nearly finished. Then they asked permission to chase the fleeing Spaniards, but as the victory was already won General Young refused to allow them to take part in the fight.
General Young's plans contemplated the movement of half of his command along the trail at the base of the range of hills leading back from the coast, so that he could attack the Spaniards on the flank while the Rough Riders went off to follow the trail leading over the hill to attack them in front. This plan was carried out completely. The troops left Juragua at daybreak. The route of General Young and the regulars was comparatively level and easy of travel. Three Hotch-kiss guns were taken with this command.
The first part of the journey of the Rough Riders was over steep hills several hundred feet high. The men carried 200 rounds of ammunition and heavy camp equipment. Although this was done easily in the early morning, the weather became intensely hot, and the sun beat down upon the cowboys and Eastern athletes as they toiled up the grade with their heavy packs, and frequent rests were necessary. The trail was so narrow that for the greater part of the way the men had to proceed single file. Prickly cactus bushes lined both sides of the trail, and the underbrush was so thick that it was impossible to see ten feet on either side. All the conditions were favorable for a murderous ambuscade, but the troopers kept a close watch, and made as little noise as possible.
The Rough Riders entered into the spirit of the occasion with the greatest enthusiasm. It was their first opportunity for a fight, and every man was eager for it. The weather grew swelteringly hot, and one by one the men threw away blankets and tent rolls, and emptied their canteens.
The first intimation had by Colonel Wood's command that there wereSpaniards in the vicinity was when they reached a point three orfour miles back from the coast, when the low cuckoo calls of theSpanish soldiers were heard in the bush.
It was difficult to locate the exact point from which these sounds came, and the men were ordered to speak in low tones.
As soon as the enemy could be located a charge was ordered, and the Americans rushed into the dense thicket regardless of danger. The Spaniards fell back, but fired as they ran, and the battle lasted about an hour.
The Spaniards left many dead on the field, their loss in killed being not less than fifty.
The Spanish had carefully planned an ambush and intended to hold the Americans in check. They became panic-stricken at the boldness of the rush made by the invading force. The position gained was of great advantage.
Where the battle took place a path opens into a space covered with high grass on the right-hand side of the trail and the thickets. A barbed wire fence runs along the left side. The dead body of a Cuban was found on the side of the road, and at the same time Captain Capron's troops covered the outposts the heads of several Spaniards were seen in the bushes for a moment.
It was not until then that the men were permitted to load their carbines. When the order to load was given they acted on it with a will and displayed the greatest eagerness to make an attack. At this time the sound of firing was heard a mile or two to the right, apparently coming from the hills beyond the thicket. It was the regulars replying to the Spaniards who had opened on them from the thicket. In addition to rapid rifle fire the boom of Hotchkiss guns could be heard.
Hardly two minutes elapsed before Mauser rifles commenced to crack in the thicket and a hundred bullets whistled over the heads of the Rough Riders, cutting leaves from the trees and sending chips flying from the fence posts by the side of the men. The Spaniards had opened and they poured in a heavy fire, which soon had a most disastrous effect. The troops stood their ground with the bullets singing all around them. Private Colby caught sight of the Spaniards and fired the opening shot at them before the order to charge was given.
Sergeant Hamilton Fish, Jr., was the first man to fall. He was shot through the heart and died instantly. The Spaniards were not more than 200 yards off, but only occasional glimpses of them could be seen. The men continued to pour volley after volley into the brush in the direction of the sound of the Spanish shots, but the latter became more frequent and seemed to be getting nearer.
Colonel Wood walked along his lines, displaying the utmost coolness. He ordered troops to deploy into the thicket, and sent another detachment into the open space on the left of the trail. Lieutenant Colonel Roosevelt led the former detachment and tore through the brush, urging his men on. The shots came thicker and faster every moment, and the air seemed filled with the singing and shrieking sound of the Mauser bullets, while the short pop of the Spanish rifles could be distinguished easily from the heavier reports of the American weapons. Sometimes the fire would come in volleys and again shots would follow each other in rapid succession for several minutes.
Captain Capron stood behind his men, revolver in hand, using it whenever a Spaniard exposed himself. His aim was sure and two of the enemy were seen to fall under his fire. Just as he was preparing to take another shot and shouting orders to his men at the same time, his revolver dropped from his grasp and he fell to the ground with a ball through his body. His troop was badly disconcerted for a moment, but with all the strength he could muster he cried, "Don't mind me, boys, go on and fight." He was carried from the field as soon as possible and lived only a few hours. Lieutenant Thomas of the same troop received a wound through the leg soon afterward and became delirious from pain.
The troops that were in the thicket were not long in getting into the midst of the fight. The Spaniards located them and pressed them hard, but they sent a deadly fire in return, even though most of the time they could not see the enemy. After ten or fifteen minutes of hot work the firing fell off some, and Lieutenant Colonel Roosevelt ordered his men back from the thicket into the trail, narrowly escaping a bullet himself, which struck a tree alongside his head.
It was evident the Spaniards were falling back and changing their positions, but the fire continued at intervals. Then the troops tore to the front and into more open country than where the enemy's fire was coming from. About this time small squads commenced to carry the wounded from the thicket and lay them in a more protected spot on the trail until they could be removed to the field hospital.
It was not long before the enemy gave way and ran down the steep hill and up another hill to the blockhouse, with the evident intent of making a final stand there.
Colonel Wood was at the front directing the movement and it was here that Major Brodie was shot. Colonel Wood and Lieutenant Colonel Roosevelt both led the troops in pursuit of the fleeing Spaniards and a hail of bullets was poured into the blockhouse. By the time the American advance got within 600 yards of the blockhouse the Spaniards abandoned it and scattered among the brush up another hill in the direction of Santiago, and the battle was at an end.
During all this time just as hot a fire had been progressing at General Young's station. The battle began in much the same manner as the other one, and when the machine guns opened fire the Spaniards sent volleys at the gunners from the brush on the opposite hillside. Two troops of cavalry charged up the hill and other troops sent a storm of bullets at every point from which the Spanish shots came. The enemy was gradually forced back, though firing all the time until they, as well as those confronting the Rough Riders, ran for the blockhouse only to be dislodged by Colonel Wood's men.
General Young stated afterwards that the battle was one of the sharpest he had ever experienced. It was only the quick and constant fire of the troopers, whether they could see the enemy or not, that caused the Spaniards to retreat so soon. General Young spoke in the highest terms of the conduct of the men in his command, and both Colonel Wood and Lieutenant Colonel Roosevelt were extremely gratified with the work done by the Rough Riders on the first occasion of their being under fire.
When it became evident that the Spaniards were giving up the fight, searching parties went through the thicket and tall grass, picking up the dead and wounded. The latter were carried to a field hospital half a mile to the rear and all possible attention was given them, while preparation was made to remove them to Juragua.
After a period of comparative idleness the campaign was opened in earnest Friday, July 1, when General Shafter's army began an attack at dawn upon the Spanish fortifications. Shatter had come from Cuero to El Caney with his army, making headquarters at Siboney. From these points the Spanish troops under General Linares had retreated a short distance and taken San Juan hill, from which they had accurate range of the American batteries. Shafter's forces were without sufficient guns, while the Spaniards had more and of a heavier caliber than was anticipated.
The American army slept Thursday night within sight of its battlefield of the morrow. At daylight Friday morning the forward movement began. Hard fighting was expected at El Caney, guarding the northeastern approach to Santiago, and against this position were massed the commands of Generals Lawton and Wheeler, supported by Capron's battery of light artillery. Both General Wheeler and General Young were sick, so General Sumner was assigned to the command of the former and Colonel Wood of the Rough Riders was placed in command of General Young's cavalry brigade. Colonel Carroll of the Sixth cavalry took General Sumner's place at the head of the First brigade of cavalry. Under General Lawton were three brigades—Colonel Van Horn's, consisting of the Eighth and Twenty-second infantry and the Second Massachusetts volunteers; Colonel Miles', consisting of the First, Fourth and Twenty-fifth infantry, and General Chaffee's, consisting of the Seventh, Twelfth and Seventeenth infantry. On the eve of battle Colonel Van Horn was replaced by General Ludlow. Under General Sumner were four troops of the Second cavalry and eight troops of the First volunteer cavalry; under Colonel Wood the Rough Riders, the Tenth cavalry and four troops of the First cavalry. These two cavalry commands occupied the left of the San Juan plain for the attack on the blockhouse at that point. They were supported by Colonel Carroll's brigade, consisting of the Third, Sixth and Ninth cavalry, and by Captain Grimes' battery of the Second artillery.
The southeastern approaches to the city were commanded by General Kent's division. His First brigade was commanded by General Hawkins and consisted of the Sixth and Sixteenth regular infantry and the Seventy-first New York volunteers. Colonel Pearson commanded the Second brigade, composed of the Second, Tenth and Twenty-first regular infantry, while the Third brigade, commanded by Colonel Worth, consisted of the Ninth, Thirteenth and Twenty-fourth regular infantry. Aguadores was their objective point. Grimes' battery of artillery and the Rough Riders were to support General Kent in his attack on Aguadores, while General Duffield, with the Thirty-third and a battalion of the Thirty-fourth Michigan volunteers, was in advance of Kent's left.
The first shot of the engagement came at 6:45 o'clock Friday morning. It was fired by Captain Allyn M. Capron's Battery E of the First artillery. The privilege of opening the engagement was granted this officer because of the killing of his son among the Rough Riders who fell near Sevilla. The Spanish answered the challenge from their forts and trenches about Caney, and immediately the battle was on. The Spaniards for a time fought desperately to prevent the town from falling into the hands of our forces, but before the fighting had been long under way the Americans and Cubans under Garcia gained advanced ground. Foot by foot the enemy was driven back into the village. The enthusiasm of the American forces was intense and their spirit quickly spread to the Cuban troops.
At one time during this fight one of the big military balloons used by the signal corps for reconnoissance hung over San Juan, not over 500 yards from the enemy, and for five minutes the Spaniards below tried to puncture it, but they were unable to get the range. This balloon proved of inestimable service in the engagement. It floated just over the tree tops, and was easily guided along three miles of the road toward the lines of the enemy. Whenever it halted for the purpose of taking a photograph of the fortifications below, the Spaniards seized the occasion for taking pot shots.
In the fighting at San Juan a Spanish shell two and a half inches in diameter burst in the midst of Captain Puritier's Battery K of the First artillery, wounding several. Among those injured was. Private Samuel Barr. Roosevelt's Rough Riders were also in this fight and bore themselves with as much credit as in the battle of last Friday in the bush. Several of the Rough Riders were wounded.
Meanwhile the battle was raging fiercely at Caney and Aguadores. In General Lawton's division the Second Massachusetts up to the middle of the day sustained the heaviest loss, although other regiments were more actively engaged. During the afternoon the fight for the possession of Caney was most obstinate, and the ultimate victory reflects great credit upon the American troops. It was a glory, too, for Spain, though she never had a chance to win at any time during the day. Her men fought in intrenchments, covered ways and blockhouses, while the American forces were in the open from first to last. The Spanish soldiers stuck to their work like men, and this, the first land fight of the war, may well cause Spain to feel proud of her men. The American soldiers attacked the intrenchments through open ground, and, from the firing of the first shot until they were on the hills above Caney, they fought their way forward and the Spanish were driven backward. General Chaffee's brigade held the right of the line with the town of Caney. General Ludlow's division was in the center and Colonel Miles held the left.
The firing at times was very heavy during the morning, but the Spaniards in the covered way made a most obstinate defense and refused to yield an inch. Time and again the shells from Captain Capron's battery drove them to cover, but as soon as his fire ceased they were up and at it again. Despite the heavy firing of the American troops they were able to make but little apparent progress during the morning, although eventually they steadily drew in and inclosed the town on all sides.
At noon it became evident that the fire from the covered way could not be stopped by the artillery alone and that no permanent advance could be made until the place was taken, and General Lawton decided to capture it by assault. Accordingly he sent a messenger to General Chaffee, with instructions to take the position by a charge. General Chaffee thereupon closed in with his men rapidly from the north, while Captain Capron maintained a heavy fire on the fort, keeping the Spaniards in the covered way and putting hole after hole into the stone walls of the fort. Shortly afterward he threw a shot from the battery, which tore away the flagstaff, bringing the Spanish flag to the ground. From that time no banner waved above it.
No finer work has ever been done by soldiers than was done by the brigades of General Ludlow and Colonel Miles as they closed in on the town. The Spanish blazed at them with Mausers and machine guns but without effect. Nothing could stop them and they pushed in closer during the afternoon, and by the time General Chaffee's men were in form Miles and Ludlow were in the streets of the town, holding with tenacity the Spaniards from retreating toward Santiago, while Chaffee closed in on the right.
The fighting for hours in front of Colonel Miles' line at a hacienda known as "Duero" was very fierce. The Spanish defense was exceedingly obstinate. The house was guarded by rifle pits, and as fast as the Spaniards were driven from one they retreated into another and continued firing.
When the final closing-in movement was begun at 6 p.m. the town of Caney was taken and a large number of prisoners was captured. The Spanish loss was 2,000 in all.
The only movement of the day which did not meet with success was General Duffield's attempt to occupy the sea village of Aguadores. The New York, the Suwanee and the Gloucester shelled the old fort and the rifle pits during the forenoon, drove all the Spaniards from the vicinity and bowled over the parapet from which flew the Spanish flag; but, owing to the broken railway bridge, General Duffield's troops were unable to get across the river which separated them from the little town, and were compelled to go back to Juragua.
Saturday at dawn the Spaniards, encouraged by Linares at their head, attempted to retake San Juan hill. Hotchkiss guns mowed them down in platoons. They were driven back into the third line of their intrenchments, and there their sharpshooters, reported to be among the finest in the world, checked the Americans. The batteries of Grimes, Parkhurst and Burt were compelled to retire to El Paso hill. Lawton came with the Ninth Massachusetts and the Thirty-third and Thirty-fourth Michigan and the Spaniards began to retreat.
Sampson then began bombardment of the outer forts of Santiago. The Oregon shot down Morro's flag and battered the old castle into dust. The batteries at Punta Gorda were blown up by the Oregon and the Indiana. Not one of the American ships was hit by the Spanish fire.
At Guantanamo the Cuban forces under Garcia and Castillo killed 300 Spanish soldiers and routed the enemy's army there. Castillo's forces forced their way to within five miles of Santiago.
The nation was thrown into a fever of excitement Friday when the following bulletin was posted at the War Department, in Washington:
Camp, Near Sevilla, Cuba 5—Action now going on. The firing only light and desultory. Began on the right near Caney, Lawton's division. He will move on the northeast part of the town of Santiago. Will keep you continually advised of progress.
For several hours this was the only information from the seat of war, but later a dispatch came from Colonel Alien, in charge of the signal station at Playa del Este. He said that the fight was growing furious in all directions. At the time he sent the telegram eight Americans and nine Cubans had been wounded. All through Saturday rumors of American reverses were rife, and to make public information definite, so far as it went, the War Department thought it wise to post a dispatch which it had received early that morning. This was as follows:
Siboney, via Playa del Este, July l.—I fear I have underestimated to-day's casualties. A large and thoroughly equipped hospital ship should be sent here at once to care for the wounded. The chief surgeon says he has use for forty more medical officers. The ship must bring a launch and boats for conveying the wounded. SHAFTER, Major-General.
The next message made public sent a wave of apprehension over the country. The text was as follows:
Camp Near Sevilla, Cuba, via Playa del Este, July 3.—We have the town well invested in the north and east, but with a very thin line. Upon approaching it we find it of such a character and the defense so strong it will be impossible to carry it by storm with my present forces. Our losses up to date will aggregate 1,000, but list has not yet been made. But little sickness outside of exhaustion from intense heat and exertion of the battle of day before yesterday and the almost constant fire which is kept up on the trenches. Wagon road to the rear is kept open with difficulty on account of rains, but I will be able to use it for the present. General Wheeler is seriously ill and will probably have to go to the rear to-day. General Young is also very ill, confined to his bed. General Hawkins slightly wounded in the foot during sortie enemy made last night, which was handsomely repulsed. The behavior of the troops was magnificent. General Garcia reported he holds the railroad from Santiago to San Luis and has burned a bridge and removed some rails; also that General Pando has arrived at Palma and that the French consul, with about 400 French citizens, came into his line yesterday from Santiago. I have directed him to treat them with every courtesy possible. SHAFTER, Major-General.
General Miles sent the following dispatch to General Shafter:
Headquarters of the Army, Washington, D. C., July 3.—Accept my hearty congratulations on the record made of magnificent fortitude, gallantry, and sacrifice displayed in the desperate fighting of the troops before Santiago. I realize the hardships, difficulties, and sufferings, and am proud that amid those terrible scenes the troops illustrated such fearless and patriotic devotion to the welfare of our common country and flag. Whatever the results to follow their unsurpassed deeds of valor, the past is already a gratifying chapter of history. I expect to be with you within one week, with strong reinforcements.
MILES, Major-General Commanding.
General Shafter's reply was as follows:
Playa, July 4, Headquarters Fifth Army Corps, Near Santiago, July 3—I thank you in the name of the gallant men I have the honor to command for splendid tribute of praise which you have accorded them. They bore themselves as American soldiers always have. Your telegram will be published at the head of the regiments in the morning. I feel that I am master of the situation and can hold the enemy for any length of time. I am delighted to know that you are coming, that you may see for yourself the obstacles which this army had to overcome. My only regret is the great number of gallant souls who have given their lives for our country's cause. SHAFTER.
In the light of these sorrowful, if triumphant, facts it must not be forgotten that the enemy also suffered a terrible loss. In the fatuous sortie upon the American position on the night of July 2 General Linares, commanding in Santiago, was wounded in the foot and shoulder and 500 of his soldiers died upon the field. Scarcely a man in our intrenchments was hurt. Of the Spanish 29th battalion defending El Caney less than 100 survived. General Vara de Rey, its commander, was buried with military honors, General Ludlow taking possession of his sword and spurs.
The Spanish fought stubbornly throughout, and their retreat, though steady, was slowly and coolly conducted. They contested every inch of the way and fought with unexpected skill, their officers handling the troops with bravery and good judgment, and demonstrating that in them our boys in blue were fighting with foemen worthy of their steel.
The gallantry of the American officers was conspicuous throughout the battle. Major-General Wheeler, who was seriously indisposed and suffering from an attack of fever, ordered an ambulance to convey him to the front, where the sound of fighting seemed to give him new life, and in a short time he called for his horse and personally directed his division in the attack.
General Hawkins, commanding the First Brigade, Ninth Division, was conspicuous for the manner in which he exposed himself to Spanish bullets. After taking the redoubt on the hill with his command he stood for a long time on the summit watching the fight. A heavy fire at times was concentrated on the spot, but he surveyed the field of battle while the bullets were whizzing past by hundreds.
On July 3 General Shafter sent the following communication toGeneral Toral, commanding the Spanish army in the province ofSantiago:
Headquarters of United States Forces, Near San Juan River, Cuba, July 3, 8:30 A. M.—To the Commanding General of the Spanish Forces, Santiago de Cuba—Sir: I shall be obliged, unless you surrender, to shell Santiago de Cuba. Please inform the citizens of foreign countries and all women and children that they should leave the city before 10 o'clock to-morrow morning. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, W. R. SHAFTER, Major-General, U. S. A.
General Toral made this reply:
Santiago de Cuba, July 3, 2 pm.—His Excellency, the General Commanding the Forces of the United States, San Juan River—Sir: I have the honor to reply to your communication of to-day written at 8:30 A. M. and received at 1 pm, demanding the surrender of this city; on the contrary case announcing to me that you will bombard the city, and asking that I advise the foreign women and children that they must leave the city before 10 o'clock to-morrow morning. It is my duty to say to you that this city will not surrender and that I will inform the foreign Consuls and inhabitants of the contents of your message.
Very respectfully, JOSE TORAL, Commander in Chief, Fourth Corps.
The British, Portuguese, Chinese, and Norwegian Consuls requested that non-combatants be allowed to occupy the town of Caney and railroad points, and asked until 10 o'clock of the next day for them to leave Santiago. They claimed that there were between 15,000 and 20,000 people, many of them old, whose lives would be endangered by the bombardment. On the receipt of this request General Shafter sent the following communication:
The Commanding General, Spanish General, Spanish Forces, Santiago de Cuba—Sir: In consideration of the request of the Consuls and officers in your city for delay in carrying out my intention to fire on the city, and in the interest of the poor women and children who will suffer greatly by their hasty and enforced departure from the city, I have the honor to announce that I will delay such action solely in their interest until noon of the 5th, providing during the interval your forces make no demonstration whatever upon those of my own.
I am with great respect, your obedient servant, W. R. SHAFTER,Major-General, U. S. A.
On July 6 the flag of truce which had been flying over Santiago for a day or two was still displayed, but a smaller flag was presently seen coming from the city in the hands of a man in uniform.
A party was sent from General Shafter's headquarters to receive the bearer of the flag. It was found that he was a commissioner from General Toral. He announced to those who met him that he had an important communication to deliver to the commander of the American army, coming direct from General Toral, and he desired to be taken to General Shafter.
Ordinarily such a messenger going through the lines would be blindfolded. Our position was so strong, however, and our offensive works so impressive, that it was decided to give the commissioner the free use of his eyes, so that he might see all the preparations that have been made to reduce the city. The siege guns and mortar batteries were pointed out to him, and he was entertained all the way to head-quarters with a detailed explanation of the number of our forces, our guns, and other matters that must have been of interest to him. In fact, he was very much impressed by what he heard and saw.
Arriving at General Shafter's headquarters the communication from the Spanish commander was delivered with some ceremony. It was quite long. General Toral asked that the time of the truce be further extended, as he wanted to communicate with the Madrid government concerning the surrender of the city. He also asked that cable operators be sent to operate the line between Santiago and Kingston. He promised on his word of honor as a soldier that the operators would, not be asked to transmit any matter except that bearing on the surrender, and that he would return them safe to El Caney when a final reply was received from Madrid. This request for operators was made necessary by the fact that the men who had been operating the Santiago cable were British subjects, and they had all left the city under the protection of the British consul when the Americans gave notice that the city would be bombarded unless it surrendered.
The commissioner said that General Toral wanted to consult with the authorities in Madrid, for the reason that he had been unable to communicate with Captain-General Blanco in Havana.
It was finally arranged that the truce, which expired at four o'clock on the 6th, should be extended until the same hour on Saturday, July 9th.
The commissioner was escorted back through another part of the camp which was filled with bristling guns. The British consul having given his consent to the operators returning to the city, messengers were sent to El Caney to learn if the men would go. They expressed their willingness, and were escorted to the Avails of the city, where they were met by a Spanish escort and taken to the office of the cable company.
On the morning of July 3, Admiral Cervera, commander of the Spanish fleet in the harbor of Santiago de Cuba, made a bold dash for liberty by a desperate attempt to break through the American line, in the hope of reaching the open sea.
In the face of overwhelming odds, with nothing before him but inevitable destruction or surrender if he remained any longer in the trap in which the American fleet held him, he made a dash from the harbor at the time the Americans least expected him to do so, and fighting every inch of his way, even when his ship was ablaze and sinking, he tried to escape the doom which was written on the muzzle of every American gun trained upon his vessels.
The Spaniards made a daring venture, and with a less vigilant foe they might have succeeded. It was known in the fleet that General Shatter was closing in on the city and that Admiral Cervera's position was desperate, but it was supposed that he would remain in the harbor and train his guns on the American land forces as long as possible, and that he would blow up his ships rather than allow them to fall into the hands of the enemy. It is certain that Admiral Sampson did not expect Cervera to make a break for liberty, although the American commander has known for several days that the sinking of the Merrimac did not completely block the channel entrance to Santiago harbor.
At 9:35 on Sunday morning the flagship New York, with Admiral Sampson on board, was many miles to the eastward, bearing the admiral to a conference with General Shafter. The fleet as a whole was much farther off shore than usual. Any one looking seaward from Morro Castle and seeing the distant specks on the water would not have realized that the port was effectively blockaded. Evidently the Spaniards had been waiting for the American fleet to become thus scattered. They thought our fleet was napping, and that this was the time to make a quick exit and start homeward.
Very soon after the New York had started to Siboney the shore batteries opened fire on the American fleet. As the vessels were practically out of range and not in the usual line formation this firing from the shore caused some surprise. In the first place, these batteries had been shelled the day before, and it was supposed that they had been silenced, and in the second place it seemed foolish of the Spaniards to undertake haphazard firing.
At that time the vessels of the blockading squadron were at varying distances of from three to ten miles from the harbor entrance. Most of the American cruisers were at the usual Sunday morning quarters, and not one ship was really prepared for immediate action. Almost as soon as the batteries opened fire a Spanish cruiser, the Cristobal Colon, was seen to emerge from the channel entrance and head toward sea, firing her forward battery as she came. Then the signals hurried from one ship to another, and on every American vessel there was a rush of activity. In every engine room there was a signal for full speed. The entire fleet began to move in toward the shore, heading for the channel entrance. At 9:45 the Oquendo slipped out of the channel. By this time the Cristobal Colon had turned to the west, and with a good headway was attempting to slip past the blockaders. The Maria Teresa, the Vizcaya, the two torpedo-boat destroyers, the Furor and the Pluton, and a gunboat were all clear of the channel entrance and racing for liberty when the American vessels opened fire at long range. The Brooklyn, Massachusetts, Texas, Oregon and Iowa bore down upon the Spaniards and opened fire, but they were too far away to get a good range. As for the Spaniards, they began to shoot as soon as they came out of the harbor and continued to blaze away until they were utterly defeated, but they showed poor judgment and bad marksmanship.
As the Americans came in closer and closer the fighting became general. The Gloucester had been lying off Aguadores, three miles east of Morro, when the Spaniards came out. She hurried to join in the attack, and at first opened fire on one of the large cruisers. Already they were being pounded with terrific effect by the battleships, however, so the little Gloucester turned her attention to the two torpedo-boat destroyers which had slipped out of the harbor behind the cruisers. The Gloucester was one of the swiftest boats in the navy, and although she was equipped with nothing heavier than six-pound guns she made a resolute attack on the two destroyers, and the chase began. They headed to the west at high speed, and she flew after them, pouring shot after shot with such wonderful accuracy, that by the time the destroyers were five miles to the west of Morro both were on fire and plainly disabled. They had persistently returned the fire, and a shower of little shells fell around the yacht, but once more the American gunners showed their superiority, for the Gloucester was comparatively unhurt.
The Furor turned at last and gave battle to the Gloucester. Here was another instance of American good luck and Spanish inefficiency. The Furor sent torpedoes against the Gloucester, but they failed to explode. As soon as the Spanish destroyer stopped the Gloucester simply raked her fore and aft with rapid-fire guns, and the Furor again headed west to escape the terrible punishment. The smoke was pouring out of her sides, and soon she turned in toward shore, evidently in a sinking condition. The members of the crew flocked to the small boats and abandoned their craft. Later on most of them were taken prisoners on shore. The Furor was floating about, a mass of flame.
The Pluton also was disabled, and headed for the shore. She was beached under a low bluff, where a heavy sea was running, and was soon pounded so that she broke in two in the middle. Only about half of the crew reached the shore alive.
Having disposed of the two destroyers the Gloucester lowered her small boats and sent them ashore to rescue the Spanish sailors. The Furor drifted about until the fire reached her magazines, and then there were two terrific explosions which shattered her hull. Her stern sunk quickly, and as it went down her bow rose until it stood almost straight up in the air, and in this position she disappeared from sight.
While the little yacht had been gaining this notable victory over the two famous destroyers the big battleships had been following the line of Spanish cruisers and pounding them with great persistence. The four Spanish cruisers were under the direct fire of the Brooklyn, and the four battleships, the Massachusetts, the Texas, the Iowa and the Oregon. It was the first time that any first-class battleship had ever been put to the test in a naval battle. The huge fighting vessels kept close after the fast cruisers and fired their big guns with deadly certainty. The American fire was so rapid that the ships were surrounded by clouds of smoke.
The Spanish gunners seemed unable to get the proper range and many of their shots were very wild, though a number of them fell dangerously near to the mark.
Two guns of the battery just east of Morro also took part in the game and their shells fell around the American ships. Many of them struck the upper works of the fleeing Spaniards and must have resulted in killing and wounding many of their men.
The Spanish ships had now reached a point about seven miles west of Morro and a mile or two beyond the place where the Furor was burning and the Pluton broken in two against the cliff.
The flagship and the Oquendo were the first to show signals of distress. Two thirteen-inch shells from one of the battleships had struck the Maria Teresa at the water line, tearing great holes in her side and causing her to fill rapidly. The Oquendo suffered about the same fate and both ships headed for a small cove and went aground 200 yards from the shore, flames shooting from them in every direction.
The Gloucester, after sending a boat ashore to the Pluton, steamed along the coast to where the armored cruisers were stranded and went to their assistance. There was danger from the magazines, and many of those on board jumped into the water and swam to the shore, though a number were unable to reach the small strip of sandy beach in the cove and were thrown against the rocks and killed or drowned. Many of the wounded were lowered into the ships' own boats and taken ashore, but this task was a most difficult one.
The Gloucester had all her boats out and one seaman swam through the surf with a line from the Maria Teresa, making it fast to a tree on the shore. By this means many on the flagship, including Admiral Cervera, lowered themselves into the Gloucester's boats. The wounded were taken to the Gloucester as rapidly as possible, and the lower deck of the yacht was soon covered with Spanish sailors mangled in limb and body by the bursting of shells.
The Brooklyn, Oregon, Massachusetts and Texas and several smaller vessels continued the chase of the Cristobal Colon, and in less than an hour were lost to view of the burning ships on shore. The Iowa and Texas both gave assistance to the imperiled crew of the Vizcaya. Her Captain surrendered his command and the prisoners were transferred to the battleship. The Vizcaya probably lost about sixty men, as she carried a complement of 400 and only 340 were taken aboard the Iowa.
Soon after Admiral Cervera reached the shore and surrendered he was taken to the Gloucester, at his own request. There was no mistaking the heartbroken expression upon the old commander's face as he took the proffered hand of Captain Wainwright and was shown to the latter's cabin, but he made every effort to bear bravely the bitter defeat that had come to him. He thanked the Captain of the Gloucester for the words of congratulation offered on the gallant fight, and then spoke earnestly of his solicitude for the safety of his men on shore. He informed Captain Wainwright that Cuban soldiers were on the hills preparing to attack his unarmed men and asked that they be protected.
For hours after Admiral Cervera went aboard the Gloucester the Infanta Maria Teresa, Almirante Oquendo and Vizcaya continued to burn and every now and then a deep roar, accompanied by a burst of flame and smoke from the sides of the ships, would announce the explosion of more ammunition or another magazine.
It may be mentioned as a coincidence that Lieutenant-Commander Wainwright, the Commander of the Gloucester, was executive officer of the Maine at the time of the disaster, and, although he remained in Havana harbor two months after the explosion, he lived on board the dispatch boat Fern and steadfastly refused to set his foot within the city until the time should come when he could go ashore at the head of a landing party of American blue jackets. To-day it was his ship that sank two Spanish torpedo-boat destroyers and afterward received the Spanish Admiral aboard as a prisoner of war.
From his position on the bridge of the Gloucester Lieutenant-Commander Wainwright watched the flames and smoke as they enveloped the decks of the three greatest warships of the Spanish navy, which were soon to be reduced to nothing but shattered masts and twisted smokestacks protruding above the water.
The prisoners of war included the captains of both boats. None offered any resistance and all were glad to go to the Gloucester, as they feared an attack from the Cubans.
When asked to make some statement in regard to the result of the battle Admiral Cervera said: "I would rather lose my ships at sea, like a sailor, than in a harbor. It was the only thing left for me to do."
The work of the American battleships was as rapid as it was terrible. At 9:35 the first vessel headed out past Morro Castle. At 10 o'clock the two destroyers were wrecked and deserted. At 10:15 the Oquendo and Maria Teresa were encircled by the Iowa, Indiana and Texas. At 10:40 both were on the rocks. A few minutes later the Vizcaya was abandoned.
The Cristobal Colon, having the lead, ran farther along the coast before the persistent firing by the Brooklyn and Massachusetts brought her to a stop. She fought for twenty minutes. At noon she was on the rocks, perforated and tattered. Spain's greatest fleet was destroyed in about three hours.
Chief Yoeman Ellis of the Brooklyn was the only American killed In three hours of incessant fighting, while the Spanish loss reached 600 killed, 400 wounded and 1,100 taken prisoners.
Following is the official report sent by Admiral Sampson to the navy department at Washington:
United States Flagship New York, First Rate, Off Santiago de Cuba, July 15, 1898.—Sir: I have the honor to make the following report upon the battle, with the destruction of the Spanish squadron, commanded by Admiral Cervera, off Santiago de Cuba on Sunday, July 3, 1898:
The enemy's vessels came out of the harbor between 9:35 and 10 am, the head of the column appearing around Cayo Smith at 9:31 and emerging from the channel five or six minutes later. The positions of the vessels of my command off Santiago at that moment were as follows: The flagship New York was four miles east of her blockading station and about seven miles from the harbor entrance. She had started for Siboney, where I intended to land, accompanied by several of my staff, and go to the front to consult with General Shafter. A discussion of the situation and a more definite understanding between us of the operations proposed had been rendered necessary by the unexpectedly strong resistance of the Spanish garrison of Santiago. I had sent my chief of staff on shore the day before to arrange an interview with General Shafter, who had been suffering from heat prostration. I made arrangements to go to his headquarters, and my flagship was in the position mentioned above when the Spanish squadron appeared in the channel.
The remaining vessels were in or near their usual blockading positions, distributed in a semi-circle about the harbor entrance, counting from the eastward to the westward in the following order: The Indiana, about a mile and a half from shore; the Oregon—the New York's place between these two—the Iowa, Texas and Brooklyn, the latter two miles from the shore west of Santiago. The distance of the vessels from the harbor entrance was from two and one-half to four miles—the latter being the limit of day—blockading distance. The length of the arc formed by the ships was about eight miles.
The Massachusetts had left at 4 A. M. for Guantanamo for coal. Her station was between the Iowa and the Texas. The auxiliaries Gloucester and Vixen lay close to the land and nearer the harbor entrance than the large vessels, the Gloucester to the eastward and the Vixen to the westward. The torpedo boat Ericsson was in company with the flagship, and remained with her during the chase until ordered to discontinue, when she rendered very efficient service in rescuing prisoners from the burning Vizcaya.
The Spanish vessels came rapidly out of the harbor at a speed estimated at from eight to ten knots and in the following order: Infanta Maria Teresa (flagship), Vizcaya, Cristobal Colon and the Almirante Oquendo. The distance between these ships was about 800 yards, which means that from the time the first one became visible in the upper reach of the channel until the last one was out of the harbor an interval of only about twelve minutes elapsed. Following the Oquendo at a distance of about 1,200 yards came the torpedo-boat destroyer Pluton, and after her the Furor. The armored cruisers, as rapidly as they could bring their guns to bear, opened a vigorous fire upon the blockading vessels and emerged from the channel shrouded in the smoke from their guns.
The men of our ships in front of the port were at Sunday "quarters for inspection." The signal was made simultaneously from several vessels, "Enemy ships escaping" and "general quarters" was sounded. The men cheered as they sprang to their guns, and fire was opened probably within eight minutes by the vessels whose guns commanded the entrance. The New York turned about and steamed for the escaping fleet, flying the signal "Close in towards harbor entrance and attack vessels," and gradually increased her speed, until toward the end of the chase she was making sixteen and a half knots, and was rapidly closing on the Cristobal Colon. She was not at any time within the range of the heavy Spanish ships, and her only part in the firing was to receive the undivided fire of the forts in passing the harbor entrance and to fire a few shots at one of the destroyers, thought at the moment to be attempting to escape from the Gloucester.
The Spanish vessels, upon clearing the harbor, turned to the westward in column, increasing their speed to the full power of their engines. The heavy blockading vessels, which had closed in toward the Morro at the instant of the enemy's appearance and at their best speed, delivered a rapid fire, well sustained and destructive, which speedily overwhelmed and silenced the Spanish fire. The initial speed of the Spaniards carried them rapidly past the blockading vessels and the battle developed into a chase, in which the Brooklyn and Texas had at the start the advantage of position. The Brooklyn maintained this lead. The Oregon, steaming with amazing speed from the commencement of the action, took first place. The Iowa and Indiana, having done good work and not having the speed of the other ships, were directed by me, in succession, at about the time the Vizcaya was beached, to drop out of the chase and resume the blockading station. The Vixen, finding that the rush of the Spanish ships would put her between two fires, ran outside of our own column, and remained there during the battle and chase.
The skillful handling and gallant fighting of the Gloucester excited the admiration of every one who witnessed it and merits the commendation of the navy department. She is a fast and entirely unprotected auxiliary vessel—the yacht Corsair—and has a good battery of light rapid-fire guns. She was lying about two miles from the harbor entrance, to the southward and eastward, and immediately steamed in, opening fire upon the large ships. Anticipating the appearance of the Pluton and Furor, the Gloucester was slowed, thereby gaining more rapidly a high pressure of steam, and when the destroyers came out she steamed for them at full speed and was able to close at short range, where her fire was accurate, deadly and of great volume.
During this fight the Gloucester was under the fire of the Socapa battery. Within twenty minutes from the time they emerged from Santiago harbor the careers of the Furor and the Pluton were ended and two-thirds of their people killed. The Furor was beached and sunk in the surf, the Pluton sank in deep water a few minutes later. The destroyers probably suffered much injury from the fire of the secondary batteries of the battleships Iowa, Indiana and the Texas, yet I think a very considerable factor in their speedy destruction was the fire at close range of the Gloucester's battery. After rescuing the survivors of the destroyers the Gloucester did excellent service in landing and securing the crew of the Infanta Maria Teresa.
The method of escape attempted by the Spaniards—all steering in the same direction and in formation—removed all tactical doubts or difficulties and made plain the duty of every United States vessel to close in, immediately engage and pursue. This was promptly and effectively done.
As already stated, the first rush of the Spanish squadron carried it past a number of the blockading ships, which could not immediately work up to their best speed, but they suffered heavily in passing, and the Infanta Maria Teresa and the Oquendo were probably set on fire by shells fired during the first fifteen minutes of the engagement. It was afterwards learned that the Infanta Maria Teresa's fire main had been cut by one of our first shots and that she was unable to extinguish the fire. With large volumes of smoke rising from their lower decks aft, these vessels gave up both fight and flight and ran in on the beach-the Infanta Maria Teresa at about 10:15 A. M. at Nima Nima, six and one-half miles from Santiago harbor entrance, and the Almirante Oquendo at about 10:30 A. M. at Juan Gonzales, seven miles from the port.
The Vizcaya was still under the fire of the leading vessels; the Cristobal Colon had drawn ahead, leading the chase, and soon passed beyond the range of the guns of the leading American ships. The Vizcaya was soon set on fire, and at 11:15 A. M. she turned in shore and was beached at Aserraderos, fifteen miles from Santiago, burning fiercely, and with her reserves of ammunition on deck already beginning to explode.
When about ten miles west of Santiago the Indiana had been signaled to go back to the harbor entrance, and at Aserraderos the Iowa was signaled to "resume blockading station." The Iowa, assisted by the Ericsson and the Hist, took off the crew of the Vizcaya, while the Harvard and the Gloucester rescued those of the Infanta Maria Teresa and the Almirante Oquendo.
This rescue of prisoners, including the wounded, from the burning Spanish vessels was the occasion of some of the most daring and gallant conduct of the day. The ships were burning fore and aft, their guns and reserve ammunition were exploding, and it was not known at what moment the fire would reach the main magazines. In addition to this a heavy surf was running just inside of the Spanish ships. But no risk deterred our officers and men until their work of humanity was complete.
There remained now of the Spanish ships only the Cristobal Colon, but she was their best and fastest vessel. Forced by the situation to hug the Cuban coast, her only chance of escape was by superior and sustained speed. When the Vizcaya went ashore the Colon was about six miles ahead of the Brooklyn and the Oregon, but her spurt was finished and the American ships were now gaining upon her. Behind the Brooklyn and the Oregon came the Texas, Vixen and New York. It was evident from the bridge of the New York that all the American ships were gradually overhauling the Colon, and that she had no chance of escape.
At 12:50 the Brooklyn and the Oregon opened fire and got her range, the Oregon's heavy shell striking beyond her, and at 1:10 she gave up without firing another shot, hauled down her colors and ran ashore at Rio Torquino, forty-eight miles from Santiago. Capt. Cook of the Brooklyn went on board to receive the surrender. While his boat was alongside I came up in the New York, received his report and placed the Oregon in charge of the wreck to save her, if possible, and directed the prisoners to be transferred to the Resolute, which had followed the chase.
Commodore Schley, whose chief of staff had gone on board to receive the surrender, had directed that all their personal effects should be retained by the officers. This order I did not modify. The Cristobal Colon was not injured by our firing, and probably is not much injured by beaching, though she ran ashore at high speed. The beach was so steep that she came off by the working of the sea. But her sea valves were opened and broken, treacherously, I am sure, after her surrender, and despite all efforts she sank. When it became evident that she could not be kept afloat she was pushed by the New York bodily up on the beach, the New York's stem being placed against her for this purpose—the ship being handled by Capt. Chadwick with admirable judgment—and sank in shoal water and may be saved. Had this not been done she would have gone down in deep water and would have been to a certainty a total loss.
I regard this complete and important victory over the Spanish forces as the successful finish of several weeks of arduous and close blockade, so stringent and effective during the night that the enemy was deterred from making the attempt to escape at night and deliberately elected to make the attempt in daylight. That this was the case I was informed by the commanding officer of the Cristobal Colon.
It was ascertained with fair conclusiveness that the Merrimac, so gallantly taken into the channel on June 3, did not obstruct it. I therefore maintained the blockade as follows:
To the battleships was assigned the duty, in turn, of lighting the channel. Moving up to the port at a distance of from one to two miles from the Morro—dependent upon the condition of the atmosphere—they threw a searchlight beam directly up the channel, and held it steadily there. This lighted up the entire breadth of the channel for half a mile inside of the entrance so brilliantly that the movement of small boats could be detected.
When all the work was done so well it is difficult to discriminate in praise. The object of the blockade of Cervera's squadron was fully accomplished, and each individual bore well his part in it —the commodore in command on the second division, the captains of ships, their officers and men. The fire of the battleships was powerful and destructive and the resistance of the Spanish squadron was in great part broken almost before they had got beyond the range of their own forts. The fine speed of the Oregon, enabled her to take a front position in the chase, and the Cristobal Colon did not give up until the Oregon had thrown a 13-inch shell beyond her. This performance adds to the already brilliant record of this fine battleship and speaks highly of the skill and care with which her admirable efficiency has been maintained during a service unprecedented in the history of vessels of her class.
The Brooklyn's westerly blockading position gave her an advantage in the chase, which she maintained to the end, and she employed her fine battery with telling effect. The Texas and the New York were gaining on the chase during the last hour, and had any accident befallen the Brooklyn or the Oregon, would have speedily overhauled the Cristobal Colon. From the moment the Spanish vessel exhausted her first burst of speed the result was never in doubt. She fell, in fact, far below what might reasonably have been expected of her. Careful measurements of time and distance give her an average speed from the time she cleared the harbor mouth until the time she was run on shore at Rio Tarquino—of 13.7 knots. Neither the New York nor the Brooklyn stopped to couple up their forward engine, but ran out the chase with one pair, getting steam, of course, as rapidly as possible on all boilers. To stop to couple up the forward engines would have meant a delay of fifteen minutes—or four miles—in the chase.