: ~ 1112 a 11~ 4 e~ r ~ P m-" nl, ~- -- F-e-T: ~ i:~P~ I...............;;I, A —S-OR U ~q;;I " u I~tll`I I I I.R I.:~ ~r _ ____ -% f II N. 1 Ir_ IF. | = M -tff.. m~0.00,Z. ` I.. I - _.;L ds - ' _ i _ —; - r -"3W —"' t~!' - '; I.. -. Iiwu ~ i r w3 w -. ~,. -.-..' g '... ". "" mBe,_ re a -w:. * * S, B r. PRATT i _f -t. _ B _ U _ B = B _ r | //s- __ - t- X =D3a _ Eff i f i s His Book. dde --;- 5-1 -,-no -s - -4 _F -' a =- e = gi =\:g _ G __ ssi. &eC r_ C;I ~sr s * -z ^ra s _ gB _.......... _.'_....... <.B.ws _ S _ ^ _ t 4ll *a * L" ^,~r.Mons= owiT 8 w 2 ~ LIZ=Z;;rIO ~ i~ or ftwuww OIPROMWS~ *Antgw n ~ Mq~Ib f ll~lL moan=~S~~~r ~ ~Ir ML1~ wycalow ~ r - ~ r awmasoft —, "mumv VXUWNR a w mmm~ mapPttrn~*~ie: a,,=w. ' V= =.=: I=WF * m 3= mq - _ Nmlm '_W i==saw b_ ~,O-a rgse.,, msmmL 3I _ & A - -m =v *m U=m slimp n - l== ommmw a a a a-a {-mm g o_of N = Omi _ =, Cm _ N -,a - 3 ClR u ~ t 9 I - --! l-_ mbmrm qrmr a f / ' ^T;7 K / -A; -aI e rqu z J A 0 K c _A-a _ t Y 2; s '1 —:,~:l"ll":i j ~ii ~~ii iI 1111111, K > ' — 11. — \ I d!7. m~ SIlk M by r @ +tv E '''j~s5+ a m p B 9 w94e, S// f A Y) Fi7 -1 - A.., I HISTORY OF OUR WAR WITH SPAIN INCLUDING BATTLES ON SEA AND LAND CONTAINING A GRAPHIC ACCOUNT OF THE DESTRUCTION OF THE BATTLESHIP "MAINE;" DEWEY'S GREAT VICTORY AT MANILA; SINKING OF THE SPANISH FLEET AT SANTIAGO; BATTLES OF SAN JUAN AND EL CANEY; SURRENDER OF SANTIAGO; INVASION OF PORTO RICO, AND END OF THE WAR. TO WHICH IS ADDED A FULL ACCOUNT OF THE CONQUESTS OF SPAIN IN AMERICA NAVAL BATTLES OF THE UNITED STATES, ETC., ETC. BY HON. JAMES RANKIN YOUNG Member of Congress and formerly Clerk of the United States Senate IN COLLABORATION WITH J. HAMPTON MOORE The well-known Author and Newspaper Correspondent Embellished with many Magnificent Engravings Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year I898, by J. R. JONES, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C All Rights Reserved. CZ 6 C\ -Z -11!.C)8 i 0 &I. P41 I D I I i i;I i I -- i I -r, 1p INTRODUCTION. OUR country has passed through the throes of war with Spain. Under most circumstances war is to be deplored, but history shows that even with so peaceloving a nation as our own, there come times when aggravations under which we have patiently suffered can no longer be tolerated with honor and self-respect. Spanish domination of the Isle of Cuba has been so relentlessly merciless, and has occasioned such horror and unrest in our own land, that war has indeed seemed preferable to a further continuance of the abhorrent barbarities continuing with such cruel persistence at our very doors. Humanity and our national peace of mind, together with the rights which citizens of the United States had in Cuba and on the high seas, apart from the reparation justly and speedily due for the treacherous loss of the battle-ship Maine and her gallant crew, demanded that our country should assert its authority and promptly maintain the honor of its flag. War came upon us, therefore, as a last resort. The President of the United States, knowing full well the awful expense of life and treasure that would have to be yielded up in a foreign conflict, permitted negotiations for an honorable and peaceful adjustment of our difficulties with Spain to run to the extreme limit. Congress waited until its patience was exhausted, and only after the President's amicable efforts failed, did it give utterance to the resolu11iii INTRODUCTION. tions requiring the Spanish evacuation of Cuba and the settlement of existing grievances by the force of arms. What follows in these pages, the eloquent and thrilling recital of which must be largely credited to the gifted pen of another, tells the story of the war. That story is made up of data, historical and current, which cannot fail to arouse the fire and patriotism of American manhood; and of opinions and official utterances fraught with interest and inspiration. In this great emergency it is not for us to ask whether the war was rightfully or wrongfully declared. The time for that has passed. Congress and the President settled the question, and we were confronted as a united people with the stern realities of a struggle with a common foe, which has ended by the lowering of the flag of haughty Spain, and adding new glory to the Stars and Stripes. No American whose heart beats in sympathy with the institutions of his country, whose soul imbibes the nobility of the glorious " Spirit of '76," can hesitate or cavil at conditions so vital in their outcome to the honor of our nation. The occasion called for the sincerest confidence in our National Government, for the sublimest and most unflinching patriotism, and for the universal encouragement and support of the sturdy manhood of America. With these forces combined there could be but one result-the exaltation of the United States among the nations of the earth, and an increased respect for "Uncle Sam's" ability to uplift humanity and maintain peace, even at the expense of war. J. R. Y. CONTENTS. PART I. WAR WITH SPAIN. CHAPTER 1. PAGB rFIE CAUSES OF THE CONFLICT............ 17 CHAPTER II, HURRIED PREPARATIONS FOR WAR...... 30 CHAPTER III. STORY OF THE BATTLE-SHIP MAINE......,, 45 CHAPTER IV. EFFORTS TO MAINTAIN PEACE...... 67 CHAPTER V. rHE UNITED STATES NAVY............. 84 CHAPTER VI. AMERICA'S GIANT SEA-FIGHTERS....... 96 CHAPTER VII. TORPEDO BOATS AND THEIR DESTROYERS.. 106 CHAPTER VIII. LAND AND NAVAL FORCES OF THE UNITED STATES AND SPAIN. 118 CHAPTER IX. SPAIN'S HISTORIC ARMADA........ 130 CHAPTER X. BIG GUNS AND COAST DEFENCES....... 151 CHAPTER XI. UNITED STATES NAVAT. COMMANDERS........ 165 V Vtl CONTENTS. CHAPTER XII. PAGt EXPLOITS OF ADMIRAL SAMPSON'S FIEE-1....... 180 CHAPTER XIII GREAT NAVAL BATTLE AT MANILA....... 195 CHAPTER XIV. DEpRWEY'S OVERWHELMING VICTORY......... 211 CHAPTER XV. EFFECTS OF THE AMERICAN VICTORY AT MANILA... 227 CHAPTER XVI. SPAIN RIPE FOR REVOLUTION......... 244 CHAPTER XVII. STIRRING EVENTS OF NAVAL WARFARE..... 259 CHAPTER XVIII. THE BATTLE OF SANTIAGO....... 275 CHAPTER XIX. ACHIEVEMENTS OF GENERAL SHAFTER'S ARMY.... 286 CHAPTER XX. BATTLE OF LA QUASINA........... 299 CHAPTER XXI. THE SIEGE OF MANILA............. 305 PART II. GREAT NAVAL BATTLES OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER XXII. FIGHT BETWEEN THE RICHARD AND SERAPIS......321 CONTENTS. vii CHAPTER XXIII. PAGE ACHIEVEMENTS OF AMERICAN WAR-VESSELS.... 336 CHAPTER XXIV. THRILLING INCIDENTS OF NAVAL WARFARE...... 353 CHAPTER XXV. PERRY'S CELEBRATED VICTORY ON LAKE ERIE.... 367 CHAPTER XXVI. EXPLOITS OF Two RENOWNED COMMANDERS...... 380 CHAPTER XXVII. NAVAL BATTLES OF THE CIVIL WAR...... 390 PART m. SPANISH CONQUESTS IN AMERICA. CHAPTER XXVIII. EARLY VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES...... 401 CHAPTER XXIX. INVASION OF MEXICO BY CORTEZ.......... 418 CHAPTER XXX. COPTEZ COMPLETES HIS CONQUEST......429 CHAPTER XXXI. CONQUEST OF PERU BY PIZARRO......455 PART IV. LATEST EVENTS OF THE WAR WITH SPAIN. CHAPTER XXXII. BOMBARDMENT OF THE SANTIAGO BATTERIES.... 477 viii CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXXIII. SHARP FIGHT AT GUANTANAMO. CHAPTER XXXIV. BRAVERY OF THE ROUGH RIDERS. CHAPTER XXXV. CAPTURE OF THE HEIGHTS OF SAN JUAN CHAPTER XXXVI. DESPERATE BATTLE AT EL CANEY CHAPTER XXXVII. TOTAL DESTRUCTION OF CERVERA'S FLEET CH'APTER XXXVIII. OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE DESTRUCTION OF THE CHAPTER XXXIX. CAPTAINS TELL OF OUR VICTORY. CHAPTER XL. PAGE...... 486...... 494...... 509...... 527...... 542 SPANISH FLEET. 560...... 575 DARING DEEDS OF AMERICAN HEROES CHAPTER XLI. THE SURRENDER OF SANTIAGO.... CHAPTER XLII. NOBLE WORK OF THE RED CROSS.. CHAPTER XLIII. THRILLING INCIDENTS OF THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN CHAPTER XLIV. SPANIARDS ROUTED NEAR MANILA...... CHAPTER XLV. EVENTS TO END OF THE WAR... 586.... 600.. 608.... 617.... 635. 647 0 ii 0 ~;;; ja,, 0 /i i,u II-. I —.7 ~i " I t~'~iIi~,iT~ ~ ~ -s4 L~h ~ I~I~*~L-r~DY~ —~~ C, T - I 7:, T-;M777 "77 77,05 M-777P -~ ir ~T~_;- T~\;: I —L., I*.- I~A~r~~1 '.,:.~....;17,-:~~:lr'r:I:i-~; ~:~"j ~'U" i.i~ i:~~:'fs~;Y`~rt~f;.f:jj '':I:;:I cili-~~ ~~:-1;~;::::::\;r,7,::'I,,,I,L;la:lr(i;6:i P3 ~L- -.::::.: c -Px8t ~ ---~;:i:"a~;-?;-_~: ':~'~ r.;?r3. rT.j ~~:.~~~'..-._r.r.:i.i.~tj~;~: ri:. ~ '.1: ~~~': I-;~:L3~:`el:: ~\~::::: i-:'-'-~:~:~ ---:'-';;-: ~.:.;::~;~ r;i-.;:~l:::::::l.; -i 1-.:~-': ~ ~: i:~ L~-~,; "1-: i;; ~r~-:.~I-:I:- 5:!1~;ij: ~.?-i:~1;re:~ -—.~ -:-II~-.;...- -`';::::::'.~*.~~ t ~;~.. ~i::~_:~:r:.... i -, i3~c.;l~ -:...~:.. :~::~,~~~ i:cl;~ c ~~.. ~:r ~11. '~~:;:' UNITED STATES TORPEDO BOAT CUSHING :I~ C ~It \~'-e - ' ''. ~i 9 a,, UNITED STATES BATTLESHIP INDIANA I ;,.i::':.." ~ "-.:C.1Z.-~ ~~ ~ i~~.1 1,!..,!.i.:Xb \ /;:,!i.~'~ ~.-Y. d,..~ ( -,' '~~ ~,? ~'~~?'-"~ ~".~ I' UNITED STATES BATTLESHIP IOWA r, I L* I W _. UNITED STATES PROTECTED CRUISER COLUMBIA a ::.: - 1~~I.i:~, I~~.~::::;~, H-:,p~. i.~ -i ~~_::::.jd.;tr;::ci:' 1~:;I"' '' '' '\:~u ~ij r1.1 i' x 0 0 z Or z Z 0 CO ICO Z 3 nr.~~.: ~~ I;-~: ~:: ~e~:-. C1; ~~;;-ri ~ -;-tii r,~-~ ~;~ ~:~ ~'' ' i;... it:I;~~-~;tr 51;Jl~ - ~ ~~r ui:,, i ~^i r ~~;I::;;';:; i*"- I :tsl ~ki - c=d' CP1; 1.,.:. ~J~.3a1 i) ~~ X C F!m n. -:7 ' A _.Y. _~ ir~ ~-;:~;' _:~~: I~~::-i ~;-,,,_:~:~ ~ I-_~ i ~~,:-:~-:: : - ~i~.~ ~ ~:.~~ r I!".1 1. '': 0-1 - 7 i tI :~:'.:I-:1; ::-I::~1::::- i`;'-~:-':_,:::::; —~ - `'1~; ~1~:- 2.-. ~~~;. " —~~.;-;: ~, ~ I_ i:~I::::: t:"" 5e; i' i-~l i-0: I..*::':sicir: - -,: ir, - I 1..-...,~r,, 10. *,. 0w UNITED STATES ARMORED CRUISER BROOKLYN PART I. WAR WITH SPAIN. CHAPTER I. The Causes of the Conflict. AT half-past one o'clock on the morning of April I9, 1898, Congress, at Washington, passed a series of resolutions which virtually ended the friendly relations between the United States and Spain. For upwards of a week a most exciting debate had been going on, and the scenes that preceded the outbreak of our great Civil War were re-enacted. Crowds of people thronged the galleries of both houses of Congress for many days, and other crowds struggled in vain for admission. The most intense public interest was awakened throughout the country. During the action of Congress many speeches were delivered in both houses, earnest efforts were made to reach just and satisfactory conclusions, and finally all disagreements disappeared and the two bodies were practically united. Whatever differences of opinion showed themselves, one feeling was uppermost, and that was patriotic loyalty to our Government and a resolute determination to sustain its action. "We are American citizens; we live under the starry flag which is the emblem of the free. When country calls and it is a question of honor and patriotism, we are a unit, and are ready for any sacrifice required to sustain our Government." This was the universal feeling from Maine to California and from the Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. A great wave of patriotic enthusiasm swept over the land The resolutions passed by Congress alluded to the abhorrent conditions which had existed for more than three years in the island of B 17. a 18 THE CAUSES OF THE CONFLICT. Cuba, so near our own borders, which shocked the moral sense of the people of the United States, and were a disgrace to Christian civilization, culminating in the destruction of the United States battle-ship Maine, with 266 of its officers and crew, while on a friendly visit in the harbor of Havana, a state of things that could no longer be endured. The action of Congress declared that the people of the island of Cuba are, and of right ought to be, free and independent; that it is the duty of the United States to demand, and the Government of the United States hereby does demand, that the Government of Spain at once relinquish its authority and government in the island of Cuba, and withdraw its land and naval forces from Cuba and Cuban waters. The United States Army and Navy. Still further, the President of the United States, by the terms of the resolutions, was directed and empowered to use the entire land and naval forces of the United States, and to call into actual service the militia of the several States to such an extent as might be necessary to carry the resolutions into effect. Moreover, the United States disclaimed any disposition or intention to exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction or control over the island, except for its pacification, and asserted its determination when that was accomplished to leave the government and control of the island to its people. This rupture between the United States and Spain had long been foreseen, and it formed the one subject of animated discussion throughout the country. Opinion was quite unanimous that the appalling condition of Cuba ought to be remedied, and that the misrule of Spain in that unfortunate island ought to be terminated. Such sympathy was expressed for the Cuban patriots who had been fighting the battle of freedom, as might be expected from a nation that gained its own independence by the sword; yet many of the conservative elements were opposed to any steps that would be likely to lead to war, and hoped that the vexed question would be settled without an appeal to arms. The onward march of events, however, was in the direction of an open rupture between the two countries, and all the THE CAUSES OF THE CONFLICT. 19 efforts of the peace-loving people of the United States were fruitless to prevent any armed conflict. It must be evident to all intelligent readers that so grave a matter as war between two great nations was preceded by causes of long standing, and leading inevitably to the final result. The causes of the American Revolution were freely recited in that immortal document, the Declaration of Independence, and on the strength of these the Colonies appealed to the considerate judgment of mankind. In like manner, the great body of people who supported the action of Congress on the question of war with Spain, felt that there were just grounds for intervention between Spain and Cuba-an intervention that should,result in the final independence of the island. These causes were plainly set forth in a message to Congress from President McKinley, which was transmitted to that body on the I Ith of April. Causes of War Stated by the President. We reproduce the message here, as it contains 2 concise statement of the matters in controversy, and is an important State paper which every person who would be well informed will desire to preserve. "To THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES: "' Obedient to that precept of the Constitution which commands the President to give, from time to time, to the Congress information of the state of the Union, and to recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient, it becomes my duty now to address your body with regard to the grave crisis that has arisen in the relations of the United States to Spain by reason of the warfare that for more than three years has raged in the neighboring island of Cuba. I do so, because of the intimate connection of the Cuban question with the state of our own Union, and the grave relation the course which it is now incumbent upon the nation to adopt, must needs bear to the traditional policy of our Government, if it is to accord with the precepts laid down by the founders of the Republic, and religiously observed by succeeding administrations to the present day. 20 THE CAUSES OF THE CONFLICT. "The present revolution is but the successor of other similar insurrections which have occurred in Cuba against the dominion of Spain, extending over a period of nearly half a century, each of which, during its progress, has subjected the United States to great effort and expense in enforcing its neutrality laws, caused enormous losses to American trade and commerce, caused irritation, annoyance, and disturbance among our citizens, and by the exercise of cruel, barbarous, and uncivilized practices of warfare, shocked the sensibilities and offended the humane sympathies of our people. "Since the present revolution began, in February, 1895, this country has seen the fertile domain at our threshold ravaged by fire and sword in the course of a struggle unequalled in the history of the island, fand rarely paralleled as to the number of the combatants and the bitterness of the contest by any revolution of modern times, where a determined people striving to be free have been oppressed by the power of the sovereign State. Our people have beheld a once prosperous comr GEN. STEWART L. WOODFORD. E STWART. WOODFORD. munity reduced to comparative want, its lucrative commerce virtually paralyzed, its exceptional productiveness diminished, its fields laid waste, its mills in ruins, and its people perishing by tens of thousands from hunger and destitution. We have found ourselves constrained, in the observance of that strict neutrality which our laws enjoin, and which the law of nations commands, to police our waters and watch our own seaports in prevention of any unlawful act in aid of the Cubans. " Our trade has suffered, the capital invested by our citizens in Cuba has been largely lost, and the temper and forbearance of our people have been so seriously tried as to beget a perilous unrest among our own citizens, which has inevitably found its expression from time to THE CAUSES OF THE CONFLICT. 21 time in the National Legislature, so that issues wholly external to our own body politic stand in the way of that close devotion to do-' mestic advancement that becomes a self-contained Commonwealth, whose primal maxim has been the avoidance of all foreign entanglements. All this must needs awaken, and has indeed aroused, the utmost concern on the part of this Government as well during my predecessor's term as in my own. Efforts to End the War in Cuba. "In April, 1896, the evils from which our country suffered through the Cuban war became so onerous that my predecessor made an effort to bring about a peace through the mediation of this Government in any way that might tend to an honorable adjustment of the contest between Spain and her revolted colony, on the basis of some effective scheme of self-government for Cuba under the flag and sovereignty of Spain. It failed, through the refusal of the Spanish Government then in power to consider any form of mediation or, indeed, any plan of settlement which did not begin with the actual submission of the insurgents to the mother country, and then only on such terms as Spain herself might see fit to grant. The war continued unabated. The resistance of the insurgents was in no wise diminished. " The efforts of Spain were increased both by the despatch of fresh levies to Cuba and by the addition to the horrors of the strife of a new and inhuman phase, happily unprecedented in the modern history of civilized Christian peoples. The policy of devastation and concentration by the Captain-General's bando of October, I896, in the province of Pinar del Rio was thence extended to embrace all of the island to which the power of the Spanish arms was able to reach by occupation or by military operations. The peasantry, including all dwelling in the open agricultural interior, were driven into the garrison towns or isolated places held by the troops. The raising and moving of provisions of all kinds were interdicted. The fields were laid waste, dwellings unroofed and fired, mills destroyed, and, in short, everything that could desolate the land and render it unfit for human habi 22 THE CAUSES OF T14E CONFLICT. tation or support was commanded by one or the other of the contending parties and executed by all the powers at their disposal. "By the time the present Administration took office a year ago, reconcentration-so-called-had been made effective over the better part of the four central and western provinces, Santa Clara, Mantanzas, Havana and Pinar del Rio. The agricultural population, to the estimated number of 300,000 or more, was herded within the towns and their immediate vicinage, deprived of the means of support, rendered destitute of shelter, left poorly clad, and exposed to the most unsanitary conditions. As the scarcity of food increased with the devastation of the depopulated areas of production, destitution and want became misery and starvation. Alarming Increase of the Death Rate. "Month by month the death rate increased in an alarming ratio. By March, I897, according to conservative estimate from official Spanish sources, the mortality among the reconcentrados, from starvation and the diseases thereto incident, exceeded 50 per centum of their total number. No practical relief was accorded to the destitute. The overburdened towns, already suffering from the general dearth, could give no aid. " In this state of affairs my administration found itself confronted with the grave problem of its duty. My message of last December reviewed the situation, and narrated the steps taken with a view to relieving its acuteness and opening the way to some form of honorable settlement. The assassination of the Prime Minister, Canovas, led to a change of Government in Spain. The former Administration pledged to subjugation without concession gave place to that of a more liberal party, committed long in advance to a policy of reform involving the wider principle of home rule for Cuba and Porto Rico. " The overtures of this Government made through its new Envoy, General Woodford, and looking to an immediate and effective amelioration of the condition of the island, although not accepted to the extent of admitted mediation in any shape, were met by assurances that home rule, in an advanced phase, would be forthwith offered to THE CAUSES OF THE CONFLICT. 23 Cuba, without waiting for the war to end, and that more humane methods should thenceforth prevail in the conduct of hostilities. "While these negotiations were in progress, the increasing destitution of the unfortunate reconcentrados and the alarming mortality among them claimed earnest attention. The success which had attended the limited measure of relief extended to the suffer- A-"; ing American citizens I S among them by the judicious expenditure through the Consular S agencies of the money r appropriated expressly for their succor by the i joint resolution ap-... proved May 24, I897, i prompted the humane extension of a similar l scheme of aid to the great body of sufferers. A suggestion to this end was acquiesced in ~?..:. by the Spanish authori- U ties. On the 24th of: " ' December last I caused THE I.ATE SENOR CANOVAS-PRIME MINISTER to be issued an appeal OF SPAIN. to the American people inviting contributions in money or in kind for the succor of the starving sufferers in Cuba, following this on the 8th of January by a similar public announcement of the formation of a Central Cuban Relief Committee, with headquarters in New York City, composed of three members representing the National Red Cross and the religious and business elements of the community. "Coincidently with these declarations, the new Government of Spain continued to complete the policy already begun by its prede 24 THE CAUSES OF THE CONFLICT. cessor of testifying friendly regard for this nation by releasing American citizens held under one charge or another connected with the insurrection, so that, by the end of November, not a single person entitled in any way to our national protection remained in a Spanish prison. "The war in Cuba is of such a nature that short of subjugation or extermination a final military victory for either side seems impracticable. The alternative lies in the physical exhaustion of the one or the other party, or perhaps of both-a condition which in effect ended the ten years' war by the truce of Zanjon. The prospect of such a protraction and conclusion of the present strife is a contingency hardly to be contemplated with equanimity by the civilized world, and least of all by the United States, affected and injured as we are, deeply and intimately, by its very existence. Propositions Made by Our Government. "Realizing this, it appeared to be my duty in a spirit of true friendliness, no less to Spain than to the Cubans who have so much to lose by the prolongation of the struggle, to seek to bring about an immediate termination of the war. To this end I submitted on the 27th ultimo, as a result of much representation and correspondence through the United States Minister at Madrid, propositions to the Spanish Government looking to an armistice until October i, for the negotiation of peace with the good offices of the President. " In addition I asked the immediate revocation of the order of reconcentration so as to permit the people to return to their farms and the needy to be relieved with provisions and supplies from the United States, co-operating with the Spanish authorities so as to afford full relief. " The reply of the Spanish Cabinet was received on the night of the 3Ist ultimo. It offers as the means to bring about peace in Cuba, to confide the preparation thereof to the Insular Parliament, inasmuch as the concurrence of that body would be necessary to reach a final result, it being, however, understood that the powers reserved by the Constitution to the central Government are not lessened or dimin THE CAUSES OF THE CONFLICT. 25 ished. As the Cubaii Parliament does not meet until the 4th of May next, the Spanish Government would not object for its part to accept at once a suspension of hostilities if asked for by the insurgents from the General-in-Chief, to whom it would pertain in such case to determine the duration and conditions of the armistice. Friendly Intervention Rejected by Spain. "The propositions submitted by General Woodford and the reply of the Spanish Government were both in the form of brief memoranda, the texts of which are before me, and are substantially in the language above given. " There remain the alternative forms of intervention to end the war, either as an impartial neutral by imposing a rational compromise between the contestants, or as the active ally of the one party or the other. ' As to the first, it is not to be forgotten that during the last few months the relation of the United States has virtually been one of friendly intervention in many ways, each not of itself conclusive, but all tending to the exertion of a potential influence toward an ultimate pacific result just and honorable to all interests concerned. The spirit of all our acts hitherto has been an earnest, unselfish desire for peace and prosperity in Cuba, untarnished by differences between us and Spain and unstained by the blood of American citizens. "The forcible intervention of the United States as a neutral, to stop the war, according to the large dictates of humanity and following many historical precedents where neighboring States have interfered to check the hopeless sacrifices of life by internecine conflicts beyond their borders, is justifiable on rational grounds. It involves, however, hostile constraint upon both the parties to the contest as well to enforce a truce as to guide the eventual settlement. "The grounds for such intervention may be briefly summarized as follows: First. In the cause of humanity and to put an end to the barbarities, bloodshed, starvation, and horrible miseries now existing there, and which the parties to the conflict are either unable to or unwilling to stop or mitigate. It is no answer to say this is all in 26 THE CAUSES Ob THE CONFLICT. another country, belonging to another nation, and is therefore none of our business. It is specially our duty, for it is right at our door. "Second. We owe it to our citizens in Cuba to afford them that protection and indemnity for life and property which no government there can or will afford, and to that end to terminate the conditions that deprive them of legal protection. " Third. The right to intervene may be justified by the very serious injury to the commerce, trade, and business of our people, and by the wanton destruction of property and devastation of the island. Cuba's Condition a Menace to Our Peace. "Fourth. Aid which is of the utmost importance. The present condition of affairs in Cuba is a constant menace to our peace and entails upon this Government an enormous expense. With such a conflict waged for years in an island so near us and with which our people have such trade and business relations; where the lives and liberty of our citizens are in constant danger and their property destroyed and themselves ruined; where our trading vessels are liable to seizure and are seized at our very door by warships of a foreign nation; the expeditions of filibustering that we are powerless altogether to prevent, and the irritating questions and entanglements thus arising-all these and others that I need not mention, with the resulting strained relations, are a constant menace to our peace and compel us to keep on a semi-war footing with a nation with which fve are at peace. "These elements of danger and disorder already pointed out have been strikingly illustrated by a tragic event which has deeply and justly moved the American people. I have already transmitted to Congress the report of the Naval Court of Inquiry on the destruction of the battleship Maine in the harbor of Havana during the night of fthe 15th of February. The destruction of that noble vessel has filled the national heart with inexpressible horror. Two hundred and sixtysix brave sailors and marines and two officers of our navy, reposing in the fancied security of a friendly harbor, have been hurled to death, grief and want brought to their homes and sorrow to the nation. THE CAUSES 1OF THE CONFLICT. 27 " The Naval Court of Inquiry, which, it is needless to say, commands the unqualified confidence of the Government, was unanimous in its conclusions that the destruction of the Maine was caused by an exterior explosion-that of a submarine mine. It did not assume to place the responsibility. That remains to be fixed. "In any event the destruction of the Maine, by whatever exterior cause, is a patent and impressive proof of a state of things in Cuba that is intolerable. That condition is thus shown to be such that the Spanish Government cannot assure safety and security to a vessel of the American Navy in the harbor of Havana on a mission of peace and rightfully there. "Further referring in this connection to recent diplomatic correspondence, a despatch from our Minister to Spain, of the 26th ultimo, contained the statement that the Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs assured him positively that Spain will do all that the highest honor and justice required in the matter of the Maine. the reply above referred to of the 31st ultimo also contained an expression of the readiness of Spain to submit to an arbitration all the differences which can arise in this matter, which is subsequently explained by the note of the Spanish Minister at Washington of the Ioth instant as follows: "The War in Cuba Must Stop." "'As to the question of fact which springs from the diversity of views between the report of the American and Spanish boards, Spain proposes that the fact be ascertained by an impartial investigation by experts, whose decision Spain accepts in advance.' To this I have made no reply. " In the name of humanity, in the name of civilization, in behalf of endangered American interests which give us the right to speak and to act, the war in Cuba must stop. ' In view of these facts and of these considerations, I ask the Congress to authorize and empower the President to take measures to secure a full and final termination of hostilities between the government of Spain and the people of Cuba, and to secure in the island the establishment of a stable government, capable of maintaining order and 28 THE CAUSES OF THE CONFLICT. observing its international obligations, insuring peace and tranquillity, and the security of its citizens as well as our own, and to use the military and naval forces of the United States as may be necessary for these purposes. " And in the interest of humanity, and to aid in preserving the lives of the starving people of the island, I recommend that the distribution of food and supplies be continued, and that an appropriation be made out of the public treasury to supplement the charity of our citizens. The issue is now with Congress. It is a solemn responsibility. I have exhausted every effort to relieve the intolerable condition of affairs which is at our doors. " Prepared to execute every obligation imposed upon me by the Constitution and the law, I await your action. Armistice Granted by Spain. "Since the preparation of the foregoing message official information was received by me that the latest decree of the Queen Regent of Spain directs General Blanco, in order to prepare and facilitate peace, to proclaim a suspension of hostilities, the duration and details of which have not yet been communicated to me. This fact, with every other pertinent consideration, will, I am sure, have your just and careful attention in the solemn deliberations upon which you are about to ente. If this measure attains a successful result, then our aspirations as a Christian peace-loving people will be realized. If it fails, it will be only another justification for our contemplated action. "WILLIAM MCKINLEY. "Executive Mansion, April I, I898.' The causes stated in the President's message constituted the real occasion for war between the United States and Spain. It was felt that the condition of the people of Cuba could no longer be tolerated, especially as it involved the rights of American citizens and endangered our commercial relations. Our citizens were liable to arrest on suspicion of sympathizing with the insurgents. Their property, in many instances. had been wantonly destroyed, and they had THE CAUSES OF THE CONFLICT. 29 been compelled to suffer disaster from fire and sword. It was not in the nature of things that such outrages should continue without arousing public indignation and creating a demand that these atrocities should be discontinued even at the cost of war. In January, I895, a revolution broke out in Cuba which baffled all the efforts of Spain to subdue it. At one time and another over 200,000 soldiers were sent by Spain to restore the island to peace and order. The insurgents who, at no time probably numbered more than 50,oo00, were able to hold a large part of the island and effectually to prevent the restoration of Spanish authority. Shocking Atrocities by the Spanish Army. The atrocities which were committed by the Spanish army in its attempt to suppress the insurrection shocked the whole civilized world. For a long time the policy of our Government at Washington was that of non-intervention, as it was supposed that the power of Spain would overcome the Cuban army and peace would be the result. When it was definitely ascertained that such would not be the case, the people of the United States became restless, and with singular unanimity, demanded that steps should be taken to terminate the struggle, to avenge the wrongs of the Cuban patriots and to devise a government for the island that should be just to all parties concerned. It is well known to the general reader that this great uprising in Cuba was not the first. For more than fifty years the island has been on the verge of revolution, the fires of which from time to time have flamed forth and have been suppressed only by the most vigorous and inhuman efforts on the part of Spain. For a long time Cuba has been in a state of chronic discontent occasioned by the oppressions she has suffered at the hands of her haughty masters. The story is tragic from first to last, exhibiting on the one side the unexampled tyranny of the mother country, and on the other, the spirit of a brave people seeking redress and independence. CHAPTER II. Hurried Preparations for War. VEN before it was absolutely certain that hostilities would break out between the United States and Spain preparations were begun by our Government to meet the possible emergency. It was assumed that much would depend upon prompt action, and that the army first in the field would gain an advantage of no little value. The War and Navy Departments at Washington displayed great activity. This was all the more necessary from the fact that our country since the close of the Civil War, has remained in a state of peace, and unlike European nations, we have not maintained a large standing army, nor have we secured a powerful navy as compared with that of some other countries. Defending the Honor of the Stars and Stripes. It was evident from the expression of patriotic sentiments by the newspaper press and by members of both houses of Congress that the Government would receive strong support, whatever might be the final outcome of the controversy with Spain respecting its highhanded misgovernment of Cuba. It was commonly understood that money appropriations would be made to any amount needed, that not only would the regular army and naval marines be called into action, but that the various State militias could also be depended upon to defend the honor of the stars and stripes. At an early date the recruiting officers for the army and navy were actively engaged in enlisting volunteers who came forward in large numbers to offer their services. Very rigid rules were established with a view to obtaining the very best material, and so strict were the examinations that by far the larger majority of the men who were willing to enter either branch of the service, were rejected. Others were accepted, and it was evident there would be no lack of men in the event of the outbreak of war. 30 HURRIED PREPARATIONS FOR WAR. 31 Plans were made by the War Department for concentrating the regular army at certain points in the South, with the expectation that Cuba would be the battle ground and that it would be advisable to GENERAL NELSON A. MILES. land an army of occupation upon the island. Railroad companies engaged to transport the troops at a moment's notice, and large conditional orders were given for army supplies. Congress, without a single dissenting vote, made an appropriation of $5o,ooo,ooo for the 32 HURRIED PREPARATIONS FOR WAR. use of the Government. It was understood that a considerable part of this appropriation was to be spent in the purchase of war-ships, and commissioners were at once sent to Europe for the purpose of examining ships that were offered for sale, and also with a view to obtaining others that were in process of construction. Certain statements made by General Miles produced much discussion, and the conviction became prevalent that Congress should proceed at once to strengthen our national defenses. This led to the introduction of a bill appropriating $50,000,000 for this purpose, to which reference has already been made. On March 8th this bill came up in the House of Representatives, and the stirring scenes of that day will never be forgotten by those who witnessed them. Inspiring Scenes at the Capitol. Early in the morning multitudes began to crowd the Capitol corridors, and long before the hour of noon the galleries of the Senate and House of Representatives were thronged. The people expected war news, and they themselves, in the elevators and in the passages and corridors, were talking of war. Upon the floor of the House of Representatives and upon the floor of the Senate before time for the fall of the gavel there were many Representatives and Senators, more than a quorum of each body. This was the first time in two months or more that so many of the statesmen had been on time or ahead of time for daily sessions of their respective bodies. This condition showed the interest being taken in the crisis which seemed to confront this country. " I declare in all sincerity that I regard this appropriation of $50,ooo,ooo as a peace appropriation and not an appropriation for war," said Congressman Cannon, chairman of the committtee on appropriations, on the floor of the House. Congressman Sayers, late chairman of the same committee, who was a Texas Confederate soldier, advocated the appropriation on the same basis, expressing the belief that the appropriation would be more likely to result in peace than in war. The House committee on appropriations met at I I o'clock in the COMMODORE W. S. SCHLEY ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~i; ia. a. oXXsDin0 ttXf: S w adz DETRCTV BOBADMN BY MOER WARSHI Xf..~ ' ebb-t_ _ -— *' HOISTING A TORPEDO ON BOARD A MAN-OF-WAR COMMODORE F V. McNAIR REVOLVING GUN USED FOR COAST DEFENSE QATLING GUN DRILL QN SHIPBOARD DESTRUCT(ON OF THE BATTLESHIP MAINE IN THE HARBOR OF HAVANA MAJOR-GENERAL FITZHUGH LEE MUSKET DRILL ON BOARD A MAN-OF-WAR FLEET AWAITING ORDERS TO GO INTO ACTION UNITED STATES CRUISER OLYMPIA Twin screw; length on water line, 340 feet; breadth, 53 feet; draft, 21 feet 6 inches; displacement, 5,870 tons; speed, 20 knots. Main battery, four 8-inch guns and ten 5-inch rapid-fire guns. Secondary battery, fourteen 6-pounder, and six l-pounder rapid-fire guns, nd four gatlings. Protected steel deck, from 2 to 4z, 20 Olo, 290 Mea. Cst, 1,769.00o Go: THE HEOE IN OUR WAR WITH SPAIN: REAR ADMIRAL C. S. NORTON UNITED STATES CRUISER CHICAGO Twin screw; length, 825 feet; breadth, 48 feet 2 inches; draft, 19 feet; displacement, 4,500 tons; speed, 15 knots Main battery, four 8 inch, eight 6-inch and two 5-inch breech loading rifles. Secondary battery, nine 6-pounder aad four.-pounder rapid-fire guns, two 87-millimetre Hotchldss revolving cannon and two gatlings. Thickness of protective deck,,1% inches on the slope and fiat, 8 Officers. 876 Men. Cost. 8889.000 -;0 v 9 b @ e jzj - -1i, Nil UPPER TURRET AND 8-INCH GUNS ON THE BATTLESHIP MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL WESLEY MERRITT HURRIED PREPARATIONS FOR WAR. 33 morning, and the Cannon bill was taken up for immediate consideration. Chairman Cannon explained to his committee behind closed and guarded doors the reason for the introduction of the bill, saying that the President personally desired that this large emergency appropriation should be made, because of the gravity of the situation and the likelihood of war. He said that while the President hoped that war would not ensue, he was exceedingly apprehensive, and wanted to have back of him not only the courage and the credit of the nation, but cold cash with which to do business in the event of necessity. A Wave of Popular Enthusiasm. Mr. Cannon also said that the President looked into the future, and had said that, while war might be averted until after Congress adjourned, it might occur then, and this emergency appropriation being at the disposal of the President, he would not be obliged to convene Congress at once in extraordinary session. The matter was discussed and fully explained to the committee, and then by a unanimous vote it was decided to order a favorable report of the bill. This favorable report was made to the House by Chairman Cannon, the man who introduced the bill. When Chairman Cannon arose and reported his bill, by direction of the committee on appropriations, before it was read by the clerk, the people in the galleries and upon the floor of the House made the four walls ring and the ceiling rattle with such an outburst of applause as our people have not heard since Cleveland's declaration of the Monroe doctrine was promulgated. The demonstration plainly indicated the prevalent war spirit, and the determination of the people that national honor should be preserved at any cost of life or treasure. The galleries of the House were packed to the doors and long lines of people, unable to gain admission, surged about the corridors. Public interest in the debate on the bill for the national defense was reflected in this large attendance in the galleries. On the floor almost every member was in his seat. On the faces of the leaders of both sides sat an air of stern resolution, indicating their deep appreciation of the grim business upon which Congress and the country were enc 34 HURRIED PREPARATIONS FOR WAR. tering in making this vast appropriation for possible war. As soon as the journal had been read the Speaker rapped for order, and amid deep silence Chairman Cannon arose and presented as a deficiency bill the measure appropriating $50,000,000 for the national defense. It included also several other items, among which were $Ioo,ooo for coal for naval vessels. Demands for an Immediate Vote. General Wheeler, Democrat, of Alabama, the ex-Confederate cavalry leader, started a wave of applause when the bill was presented. When the reading of the bill was concluded with the item of $50,000 ooo for the national defense a spontaneous outburst of applause went up from the members and the galleries. Mr. Cannon and Mr. Sayers, the minority members of the appropriations committee, then mutually proposed the agreement they had privately made before the House met, for three hours general debate on the bill, to be followed by one hour's debate under the five-minute rule. Cries for an immediate vote were raised, but Mr. Cannon stated that he would be glad to vote on the bill with sixty seconds' debate, yet he felt bound by his agreement with Mr. Sayers. After the confusion which followed this dramatic scene had subsided, Mr. Cannon took the floor to open the debate on the bill. He spoke calmly and briefly, explaining that the items in the bill, save the last, were strictly deficiency items. Coming to the all-absorbing item, he said that in the present critical condition of affairs the committee had deemed it wise to appropriate this sum, placing its expenditure in the complete discretion of the President. He referred to the fact that the committee had been unanimous in its action and had only changed the wording of the bill he introduced by making the appropriation availableuntil January i, 1899, instead of June 30, I899. This, he pointed out, would give the administration funds beyond the time of the probable adjournment of Congress. "We have got the money in the Treasury to meet this appropriation if it is expended," he continued, " and, therefore, there is not presented with this proposition one to borrow money or to increase taxation, to cFUR MOLJTRE-CHA LESTON HARBOR. FiR r IOI;I.RIv — CHI.F LFSTQN HARBOR. 36 HURRIED PREPARATIONS FOR WAR. which almost any other nation on earth would have been obliged to resort in such an emergency as the one that now confronts us." Intended to Ensure Peace. The appropriation, he conceded, was extraordinary. Its object was to empower the President in an orderly way to prepare for contingencies. He insisted that this appropriation must not be construed into a threat. Nothing was further from the minds of those who reported it, he said. This appropriation was to be placed in the hands of a wise and patriotic Executive to make proper preparations to maintain the national honor, nothing more. "It is not a war appropriation," said he emphatically. " I say that, in my judgment, measuring my words, it is a peace measure. The government of the United States would not, if it could, trench upon the rights of any nation on earth." Mr. Sayers, of Texas, the ranking member of the minoriy, followed Mr. Cannon; his first statement, to the effect that in the presence of possible danger this appropriation had met with the hearty and unanimous indorsement of the appropriation committee without regard to party, aroused the House to enthusiasm. He, too, declared that it could not be construed as a threat. It was simply a wise and patriotic precaution-the arming of the Executive with power to maintain our dignity after Congress adjourned. Mr. Sayers expressed confidence that the money voted would be wisely and economically expended, and closed amid great applause by saying that he for one would be found giving honest and sincere support to the President in his efforts to support the honor and dignity of the American nation. Mr. Dockery, Democrat, of Missouri, began by saying that the hour for action had arrived and the American people must face an important emergency-an emergency in which no American citizen could falter or hesitate as to his duty. At such a time, he said, party lines should fade away and the country should act as one man. The American people had inherited the priceless boon of freedom from their ancestors, and there would be heard no discordant vote in response to the present demand. HURRIED PREPARATIONS FOR WAR. 37 Mr. Livingston, Democrat, of Georgia, supported the measure in a vigorous speech. He said he took this position because he believed that an emergency existed, but he contended that if the administration had acted as it should have done twelve months ago in declaring a state of belligerency the present occasion for voting emergency money would have been avoided. However, the Democrats who had clamored for action in the past would not now put any obstacles in the way. They would vote fifty or five hundred millions if necessary, only asking that the President should move promptly and steadily in his efforts to protect American honor and dignity. People of the South are United. Mr. Allen, Democrat, of Mississippi, was next recognized amid general expectancy. He began by saying that " on account of his well-known military fame it was natural that the House should expect to hear from him at this time of emergency." He did not make a humorous speech, but a patriotic one. " I desire," he began, " to say for the people I represent and for the Southern section of the country, for the entire country, that there was never a time when all were so ready to give an administration all the money it may need to preserve the honor, the dignity and the general welfare of the country, t) say nothing of fair play and justice." The people of the South, he continued, asked for nothing more. They are not jingoes nor extremists, but they are facing the emergency calmly and quietly, only asking that the country's institutions and traditions may be protected and respected. They do not want to hurt anybody and are not urging any rash action, but they are ready to honor any draft, whether for men or for money, to keep the flag afloat. Mr. McRae, Democrat, Arkansas, followed in a similar strain. He said the occasion was the most important that had confronted the people in the last half century. The bill could only be defended as an emergency measure, but as such it deserved the support of all, and there should be but one sentiment in the entire country. If necessary to protect our honor or dignity he was willing to increase the appropriation to any extent necessary, for the flag which floated over the 38 HURRIED PREPARATIONS FOR WAR. Capital was his flag and the flag of his people and it must be kept there. Mr. Bell, Populist, Colorado, spoke earnestly for the bill. There were, he said, now no Populists, no Republicans, and no Democrats, but all were American citizens. There was no time to dwell upon what might have been, but it was enough to know that the time had come when the government needed support. As for himself he did not believe that the passage of the bill meant war, but rather peace; but, be that as it may, the money might be necessary for the defense of the country, and in the face of such a call he knew neither party nor section. He hoped there would be no dissent in the House, and as for himself he was willing to give the President the widest discretion, believing he would use it wisely. "This is my own, my Native Land." lIr. Northway, Republican, Ohio, declared that he did not consider the bill a war measure, but rather as one calculated to preserve and secure peace. At the same time, he said, we all know full well that there is a spirit of war abroad, and our relations with other countries appear to render this step necessary. The appropriation was advisable because it carried with it the idea of almighty power. This was a large sum to place in the President's hands, but Mr. Northway had no doubt of its wise and patriotic disposal. He was pleased to see that the members were speaking not as partisans, but as patriots, bringing to his mind the familiar lines: Breathes there a man with soul so dead Who never to himself hath said, This is my own, my native land. He hoped that not a dollar of the appropriation would be c:sed, but if necessary he was willing to vote millions more. Mr. Grosvenor aroused the House to cheers, by his glowing eulogy of the President's patriotism. He began thus: " Saxon and Norman and Dane are we, But we are all of us Danes in our welcome to thee." FORT WARREN-BOSTON HARBOR. 40 HURRIED PREPARATIONS FOR WAR. "Thus spake the heart of the great British public when the daughter of the sea king came to her shores. Democrat and Populist and Republican are we, but we are all true to the flag of our country to-day. Mr. Speaker, no more inspiring picture can be witnessed anywhere on earth than the demonstrations which we have seen during the last thirty, sixty and ninety days, of the power of a great people, a free government, not only to stand for the flag of their country, the unity of the government, the supremacy of the Constitution, but for their dignity and calm exhibit in the face of the world. The American people have had a great deal to stir the blood of enthusiasm, a great deal to carry them off the feet of their calm judgment; but the picture that the world has seen is the picture of a nation calmly studying every question as it arose, and, as step by step danger seemed to come, threatening with its dark frowning face, all distinctions fled away. It will be worth more than $5o,ooo,ooo to the American people to know that the great heart of this people is a unit in favor of the Government. It needs only a great emergency to unite the people of this whole country. A Duty Magnificently Performed. "I have long thought that it was possible that war might be a benefit to our country in this direction, but the demonstration of the last thirty days and its culmination which is to take place in this capitol to-day and to-morrow, takes the place in the judgment of mankind of war as an evidence of the unity of a mighty nation. How magnificently has this duty been approached and performed. A doubt about the American people? Hesitation about the character of the Executive? A man who marched and fought at Antietam and in the Valley of Virginia; who followed the fortunes of Sheridan in the great charge of that memorable campaign; who stood from his boyhood of eighteen years to his manhood in the face and fire of battle —does anybody doubt where his loyalty is, where his patriotism is, where his courage is? " Calmly and deliberately has he weighed every measure. Calmly and deliberately has he considered every circumstance, and calmly HURRIED PREPARATIONS FOR WAR. 41 and deliberately behind him have stood seventy millions of people, confident in him, confident in the patriotism of the people, true and faithful to the loyalty that has come to us from a thousand battlefields that saved the Union. How magnificent it is! I said some days ago here that I had longed to live until I knew that this people was a united people. I have always felt that the actions of I86I to FORT HAMILTON-HARBOR OF NEW YORK. 1865 were poorly done; that the blood was ill-spilled, if at the end of this long period we had not a united nation. Thank God, I have lived to see the hour come, the day dawn, and universal loyalty the watchword of every man, woman and child." He concluded with the statement that he should not vote for this bill as a war measure. ' Mr. Settle, Democrat, Kentucky, spoke eulogistically of the pri. 42 HURRIED PREPARATIONS FOR WAR. vate character of the President. He said he had told the Democrats of Kentucky that he would support Mr. McKinley in every good work he might inaugurate, and he was here now to redeem the pledge. His only regret was that the opportunity had not presented itself before, for he thought the curtain should be rung down on the horrible drama which was being enacted off the southern border of this country. Mr. Warner, Republican, Illinois, declared that every one in the United States who could read or write knew that this was a war measure, and war, he insisted with great emphasis, was preferable to dishonorable peace. Not a Single Dissenting Vote. When the question was put on the passage of the bill the whole House rose en masse in its favor, but Mr. Cannon asked for the yeas and nays. He did so, he said, at the request of many members who desired that every member should go on record. Every member present voted for the bill, many of them assuming the responsibility of breaking their pairs in order to place themselves on record. At the conclusion of the roll-call the speaker had his name called, an unusual proceeding, and amid great applause voted for the bill. When he announced the vote, "311 yeas, nays, none," an enthusiastic demonstration occurred. On March 9th, in anticipation of a discussion of the $50,000ooo,oo000 emergency appropriation bill, people rapidly filled the galleries of the Senate. Two hours before the Senate convened spectators began to appear in the galleries to secure desirable seats, and long before 12 o'clock the public and reserved galleries were filled. In the corridors outside were long lines of surging people anxious to secure admission to witness a session of the Senate that in its consequences, if not in its actual proceedings, gave promise of being momentous. In fact, it was thought that the Senate's action might mark the beginning of a new epoch in the country's history, and the public interest was fully proportionate to the action the Senate was to take. On the floor of the Senate the attendance was unusually large when the Vice-President's gavel fell, calling the body to order. HURRIED PREPARATIONS FOR WAR. 43 Nearly all of the members of the appropriations committee, including the chairman, Mr. Allison, of Iowa, and of the foreign relations committee, including the chairman, Mr. Davis, of Minnesota, were in their seats. At the conclusion of the morning business, Mr. Hale, of Maine, of the appropriations committee, quietly rose and said: "I report from the committee on appropriations, without amendment, an act to supply urgent deficiencies for the current year and for other purposes, and I ask that it be placed on its passage." Complete Unanimity in the Senate. The bill, which was the measure appropriating $50o,83,000, of which $50,ooo,000 was placed at the disposal of the President for the national defense, was then, amid an intense silence, read in full. At the conclusion of the reading, there being no amendment to the bill, it was placed on its passage. Mr. Hale asked that the yeas and nays be called. Such unanimity as the roll-call developed was as unusual as it was significant. Pairs were broken on both sides of the chamber in order that all those present might evince their patriotism and desire to uphold the hands of the President in this time of emergency, by voting directly for the measure. Within twenty-six minutes after the Senate had convened, the rollcall had been completed and the Vice-President had announced that the bill was passed, 76 Senators having voted in the affirmative, and not one in the negative. As the Vice-President made his announcement a slight ripple of applause ran through the galleries, but the members of the Senate remained calm and dignified, repressing all enthusiasm, which it was evident from the smiling faces and intense interest manifested in every look and gesture, a great majority of them felt. During the roll-call it was authoritatively announced for every absent Senator that if he were present he would vote aye. Following this appropriation there was great activity in putting our sea coast in a state of defense. In addition to the purchase of war ships, the forts along the coast were strengthened; wherever guns were needed they were supplied; ammunition was hurried for 44 HURRIED PREPARATIONS FOR WAR. ward; torpedoes and other submarine explosives were laid in the harbors most exposed, and every effort was made to enable the nation to resist successfully any attack from an outside enemy. Many apprehensions were expressed by the towns along the Atlantic coast, especially the fashionable watering places, that they would be in danger from a visit by the Spanish navy. Most persons, however, ridiculed these fears, and expressed the conviction that no ships of the Spanish navy would be permitted to get near enough to our sea coast to do any damage. Orders were at once issued to the officers of the navy and regular army to hold their commands in readiness. Similar orders were given by the officers of the various state militias. Work was carried on night and day to get our naval vessels in condition for service, and similar activity was shown in providing ammunition and other war supplies that might be required at an early date. Offers from many different points poured into Washington, for raising regiments of volunteers. Some of these came from Grand Army veterans whose patriotic loyalty to our Government was as strong as in the historic days of the great Civil War. While there was a general desire to avoid an armed conflict, there was also a quick appreciation of the situation and an earnest desire to defend the country's honor and carry her flag through the conflict in triumph. CHAPTER III. Story of the Battleship Maine. HE destruction of the battleship Maine in the harbor of Havana on the night of February 15, I898, causing not only the loss of the ship, but the instant death of 266 of our brave sailors and marines, greatly aggravated the situation, already complicated, aroused the indignation of all American citizens and awakened a spirit of resentment that could not be suppressed. Not only our Government at Washington, but the people throughout the land, shared in this feeling and loud denunciations against Spanish treachery were heard on every side. The theory on the part of Spain that the destruction of the Maine was an accident caused by the explosion of its own magazines was not fully accepted at first, and afterward was utterly rejected when the report of the Naval Board of Inquiry was made public. This report, as will be seen presently, fixed the responsibility for this appalling calamity upon the Spanish officials at Havana. At least, this was the inference, for the report clearly stated that the explosion was due to a submarine mine in the harbor. The Maine Ordered to Havana. It will be of great interest to the reader to have a detailed account of the loss of one of our famous battleships, an event which had much to do with the subsequent action of Congress and the demands made by our Government upon Spain. When it was announced on January 24th by the Secretary of the Navy, that the second-class battleship Maine had been ordered to Havana, there was a commotion in the national House of Representatives. Nearly all of them were for war. In the north wing of the Capitol building there was neither commotion nor excitement. The Senators are altogether different in their antecedents and environments. As a matter of fact the sending of the battleship Maine to Havana 45 46 STORY OF THE BATTLESHIP MAINE. would have amounted to nothing worthy of more than passing mention but for the fact that there was misapprehension everywhere, and the rumor makers were making many miles of telegraphic wire hot with all sorts of speculations from Washington. President McKinley followed the Cleveland policy in Cuban affairs, and was bringing about a new policy so slowly that only those who were most conversant with vast problems of statecraft could see through it all the superior development of a masterful campaign of an international character. War Vessels in Cuban Waters. It was thought that Germany or Austria, or both of these powers, were likely to be brought into antagonism to this country in the event of any overt action on our part which would not meet with the approval of the civilized world. That one fact must be borne in mind to understand the policy of our administration. German war vessels were in the vicinity of Havana. That seemed strange to the superficial observer. It had long been anticipated by the real statesmen of this country. Because of the anticipation of this event, the Secretary of the Navy in October, I897, announced that during the following winter the North Atlantic Squadron would be sent to Dry Tortugas for the winter evolutions. At the proper time, in the fulfilment of the thoroughly developed policy of the administration, the squadron went to that locality. The German war-ships made their appearance, and the battleship Maine went to Havana. The entire plan was carried out. Under existing circumstances there might have been international inquiry concerning the dispatch of a powerful battleship to Havana from this country, but it will be observed that as it was a natural and friendly act for Germany to send warships to Havana, it was also perfectly natural that the United States should send a war vessel there. No offense was intended on the part of Germany; therefore, why should offense be assumed when our Government sent a war vessel to that Spanish port to pay a friendly visit? It all seemed so perfectly natural that there was no occasion for alarm or apprehension. STORY OF THE BATTLESHIP MAINE. 47 Accordingly the United States battleship Maine, commanded by Captain Charles D. Sigsbee, which left Key West, Fla., on January 24th, arrived in Havana harbor at I I o'clock on the morning of the 25th, and was saluted by the forts and war vessels. Shortly after the arrival of the Maine, Lieutenant Albert Medrano, representing the captain of the port, Vice-Admiral Jose Pastor, visited the United States battleship and extended the customary courtesies. The arrival of the warship caused,S::NUA much surprise andr n.... occasioned considerable curiosity. A naval lieutenant of the Spanish crusier Alfonso XII., the Spanish flagship, visited the Maine early in the afternoon, as did also an officer of the German cruiser GENL. LEE-U. S. CONSUL AT HAVANA. Gneisenau, the schoolship. Both visits were returned by Captain Sigsbee, who at 6 o'clock called upon Rear-Admiral Vicente Manterola, at the Admiralty Office, and upon Vice-Admiral Pastor, after which he had a prolonged conference with Consul-General Lee. The Consul-General returned Captain Sigsbee's visit the next day. The Maine went to Havana to receive orders from Consul 48 STORY OF THE BATTLESHIP MAINE. General Lee. Captain Sigsbee expressed himself as much gratified by the reception tendered him and the courtesy and cordiality shows The Maine bore a peaceful mission. The American newspaper correspondents gave a banquet to Captain Sigsbee, Consul-General Lee and a number of Spanish officers. For several nights all the wharves were crowded with people anxious to get a glimpse of the American warship. The Maine played her searchlight on the arsenal and the fortifications. News of the Appalling Disaster. On February I6th the whole country was startled by the news that the United States battleship Maine had been destroyed by a mysterious explosion while lying in the harbor of Havana. The latest reports placed the loss of life at 253, including two officers. The disaster caused the most intense excitement at Washington and throughout the country, and, while no definite statement could be made at the time, there was a strong suspicion in many quarters that the explosion was not an accident. Secretary Long of the Navy stated that advices from Havana indicated that the explosion was accidental, but details were so meagre that a full investigation would be necessary to determine its origin. As yet no other warships had been ordered to Havana; General Lee reported that all was quiet there. Senators and Congressmen hesitated about expressing an opinion on the affair, but said that a prompt and rigid investigation should be instituted. One theory advanced was that dynamite was smuggled aboard the ship in the coal which the Maine had taken on at Havana. The first despatch of the Associated Press was dated February I6th, and was as follows: "At a quarter of 10 o'clock last night a terrible explosion took place on board the United States battleship Maine in Havana harbor. Many were killed or wounded. All the boats of the Spanish cruiser Alfonso XII. are assisting. As yet the cause of the explosion is not apparent. The wounded sailors of the Maine are unable to explain it. It is believed that the cruiser is totally destroyed. The explosion shook the whole city. m w DAMAGE DONE TO A BATTLESHIP BY A TORPEDO, D 49 50 STORY OF THE BATTLESHIP MAINE. "The correspondent of the Associated Press conversed with several of the wounded sailors, and understands from them that the expfo. sion took place while they were asleep, so that they can give no particulars as to the cause. The wildest consternation prevails in Havana. The wharves are crowded with thousands of people. It is believed the explosion occurred in a small powder magazine. At a quarter of II o'clock what remains of the Maine is still burning. Captain Sigsbee and some other officers have been saved. It is estimated that over one hundred of the crew were killed, but it is impossible as yet to give exact details. Prompt Assistance for the Wounded. "Admiral Manterola has ordered that boats of all kinds should go to the assistance of the Maine and her wounded. The Havana firemen are giving aid, tending carefully to the wounded as they are brought on shore. It is a terrible sight. The authorities of Havana have been ordered by Captain General Blanco to take steps to help the Maine's crew in every way possible. The correspondent of the Associated Press has been near the Maine in one of the boats of the cruiser Alfonso XII, and seen others of the wounded who corroborate the statement of those first interviewed, that they were already asleep when the explosion occurred. "Captain Sigsbee says the explosion occurred in the bow of the vessel. Orders were given to the other officers to save themselves as they could. The latter, who were literally thrown from their bunks in their night clothing, gave the necessary orders with great self-possession and bravery. At II.30 the Maine continues burning. "' The first theory is that there was a preliminary explosion in the Santa Barbara (Magazine) with powder or dynamite below water. Admiral Manterola believes that the first explosion was of a grenade shell that was hurled over the navy yard." The first report of Captain Sigsbee to the Secretary of the Navy was contained in the following telegram: " Maine blown up in Havana harbor, 9.40, and destroyed. Many wounded, and doubtless more killed and drowned. Wounded and STORY OF THE BATTLESHIP MAINE. 51 others on board Spanish man-of-war and Ward Line steamer. Send light-house tenders from Key West for crew. Few pieces of equipment still above water. No one had other clothes than those upon him. "Public opinion should be suspended until further report. "All officers believed to be saved. Jenkins and Merritt not yet accounted for. Many Spanish officers, including representative of General Blanco, now with me and express sympathy. " SIGSBEE." Trying to Account for the Explosion. The officers referred to in the despatch were Lieut. Friend W. Jenkins and Assistant Engineer Darwin R. Merritt. From the wording of the despatch the Navy Department thought it possible that these officers were on shore at the time of the explosion. Subsequent investigation, however, proved that they were among the lost. The body of Lieut. Jenkins was conveyed to his home at Pittsburg and was buried amidst a most impressive public demonstration. During the day following the explosion unofficial reports came into the Navy Department in regard to it, one of them being that the Maine did not sink until two hours after the explosion. This caused the naval officers a good deal of speculation, and they were of the opinion that the explosion was from the inside, and that it was caused by treachery. The opinion was expressed that it was caused by dynamite in the coal supplied by the Spanish and taken on board at Havana. It was a well-known fact in the Navy Department that this method of smuggling explosives on board vessels had been attempted by the Spaniards before, especially in Havana. One very prominent naval officer, in giving his theory, said that the greatest care had been exercised in shipping coal, because of the fact being known that in effort was made by the Spanish last year to blow up merchant vessels by concealing high explosives in large lumps of coal, the method being to cut open a lump, insert dynamite, and seal it up again. This was known to have been tried on one or two vessels of the Ward Line, and the officials said that they had to watch almost every piece of coal put into the bunkers.. " " 52 STORY OF THE BATTLESHIP MAINE. The President refused to see almost all the callers who flocked to the White House in the morning, because soon after IO o'clock he sent messages to the four members of the Cabinet then in the city to come to the White House. Secretary Long and Secretary Gage responded to the summons at once, and were closeted with the President when the despatch from Havana without a signature was received. As the day progressed, the excitement, not only in the Department, but on the street, increased. Senator Thurston, who was asked his opinion as to the situation, replied in the most emphatic language that it was treachery, and, in his opinion, war was moving rapidly toward us. Senator Burrows, however, after calling at the White House, expressed an opinion that the explosion was an accident. Secretary Long, for the President, sent this telegram of condolence to Captain Sigsbee: "SIGSBEE, U. S. S. Maine, Havana: "The President directs me to express for himself and the people of the United States his profound sympathy with the officers and crew of the Maine, and desires that no expense be spared in providing for the survivors and the care of the dead. "JOHN D. LONG, Secretary." Despatch from the Captain of the Maine. The President recalled his invitations for receptions in the evening and the following night, owing to the disaster which had befallen the American Navy. While Secretary Long was with the President the following detailed despatch from Captain Sigsbee, commander of the Maine, was brought to him: "Advise sending wrecking vessel at once. Maine submerged except debris, mostly work for divers now. Jenkins and Merritt still missing. Little hope for their safety. Those known to be saved are: Officers, 24 uninjured; crew, I8: wounded now on board Ward Line steamer, in City Hospital, and at hotel, 59, so far as known All others went down on board or near the Maine. Total lost or missing, 253. STORY OF THE BATTLESHIP MAINE. 53 "With several exceptions, no officer or man has more than part of a suit of clothing, and that is wet with harbor water. Officers saved are uninjured. Damage was in compartments of crew. Am preparing to telegraph list of wounded and saved. Olivette leaves for Key West at I P. M. Will send by her to Key West the officers saved except myself, and Wainwright, Holman, Henneberger, Ray and Holden. Will turn over three uninjured boats to Captain of Port, with request for safe keeping. Will send all wounded men to hospital at Havana. " SIGSBEE." Account by an Officer on Board. Captain Sigsbee was on deck when the explosion came. It was in the bow of the vessel. A sentry stationed at the bow was unhurt. In fact he had seen nothing suspicious. One officer said of the explosion: " I was in my bunk. When I got on deck fire had started forward. There was a good strong breeze. The call for all hands on deck was promptly obeyed, and the men and officers were perfectly cool. All possible efforts were made to check the fire, but without avail. The flames spread rapidly, and several explosions occurred. Magazines were burst open and explosives were thrown overboard. In half an hour it was apparent nothing could save the ship. The first explosion wounded many, but how many it is impossible to say. Some were struggling in the water. I was crowded overboard, and remembered nothing more until reaching the wharf." Two members of the Cabinet, who spent some time with the President, stated that everything so far received indicated that the loss of the Maine was due to an accident. Captain Sigsbee, in his telegrams from Havana, declared that he was not prepared to express an opinion on this point. As already stated the news of the explosion of the Maine caused the greatest sensation in Washington. The morning papers had had the mere announcement of the fact, but by 9 o'clock the newsboys were crying extras, and as the streets were full of officials going to the Departments, the terrible news soon spread, and the general opin 54 STORY OF THE BATTLESHIP MAINE. ion seemed to prevail that this would cause a fresh and serious complication with Spain. Some of the papers charged the cause of the explosion to Spanish treachery, but Secretary Long, who called at the White House at 8.30 o'clock, gave his opinion that it was an accident, and, like Captain Sigsbee, asked for a suspension of public opinion until the true cause of the explosion was known. It must be confessed, however, that there was a general expression of opinion that it was a very strange accident to occur under the bow of the vessel, and naval officers and attaches around the Department did not hesitate to talk in a most outspoken manner as to their opinion, and that it was not an accident. General Lee's despatches and that of Captain Sigsbee, declaring that no war vessels were necessary, and asking the Secretary of the Navy not to send any, seemed to impress the officials that no great danger was imminent. Eagerly Awaiting Full Particulars. The greatest apprehension, however, was felt that now so many United States sailors had been landed in Havana under such peculiar circumstances, that the jack tars might get into a fracas with the Spaniards and cause trouble like that caused by the sailors of the Baltimore in Chile some years ago. "I don't think there was any treachery in the explosion of the Maine," said Secretary of the Navy Long, as he left the White House at 9 o'clock in the morning. "Judging from the fact that Captain Sigsbee telegraphs to ask for the suspension of public opinion, and General Lee cables that it looks as if the cause was the explosion of a powder magazine, that other despatches gave different reasons, and that those in charge telegraph that they do not want war vessels to be sent there, I am of the opinion that it was an accident, and a terrible one at that. I do not think there is any cause for alarm. I have just seen the President. We have had no late despatches, but expect full particulars later in the day. As General Lee telegraphs there is no need for war vessels, none will be sent there at once, but we will send one later to take the place of the Maine. There is nothing for us to do now but wait. Captain Sigsbee is in charge, and STORY OF THE BATTLESHIP MAINE. we have perfect confidence in him. The message I sent to him this morning expresses the President's feeling in the matter." The Secretary sent, at the same time, word that he had acted in the matter, and his course was fully approved by the President. The Secretary ordered Commander Dickins to comply at once with Captain Sigsbee's request, and, consequently, the Navigation Bureau sent a despatch to the Commandant of the Lighthouse Station at Key West, ordering the lighthouse-tender Mangrove to proceed at once to Havana. Word came back that the tender had started with two doctors, and that the Fern had been despatched with Captain Sigsbee's telegram to Admiral Sicard, at Dry Tortugas. Growing Suspicion of Treachery. The President did not anticipate any serious complications over the matter, and said that until full particulars arrived it looked as if the affair was an accident. It must be confessed, however, that this feeling was not shared by the members of Congress, and many officials. Owing to meagre details which reached Washington and the suspicious character of the explosion, it was but natural to feel that it was something more than an accident which blew up the warship and caused the death of so many sailors. It was predicted that fromr this state of feeling, there would be an explosion in Congress on both sides of the Capitol, and unless some definite statement was received soon, exciting incidents would surely take place. The efforts of the Secretary of the Navy to discourage the assumption that the explosion was designed was precautionary merely. The Secretary had no means of judging the cause of the explosion, other than that sent the general public, except the knowledge of the precautions taken on shipboard to guard against accidents. To intimate that it had been anything but an accident would be a grave indiscretion on his part, and he must necessarily assume that it was an accident until full information showed the contrary. At the same time inferences based upon the meagre information received and the knowledge of the department as to the location and contents of the magazine and the protection afforded, led to the strong suspicion that 0n Qh I DESPATCHING A TORPEDO TO DESTROY A SHIP. STORY OF THE BATTLESHIP MAINE. 57 the explosion was designed. The feeling, not uttered above a whis. per, but undoubtedly entertained in the department, was that the explosion was not an accident. The news of the Maine disaster was received at the Spanish Legation in Washington with horror and was the occasion for many expressions of the most profound regret and condolence. Early in the day Senor du Bosc, the Spanish Charge d'Affaires, received a message from Captain-General Blanco, which had been filed at Havana at 2 o'clock in the morning. It read as follows: " With profound regret I have to inform you that the American ship Maine in this harbor blew up by an undoubtedly chance accident, believed to have resulted from an explosion of the boiler of the dynamo. Immediately following the accident, all the disposable elements of the capital hastened to the spot to extend every aid possible. These included the force of the marine fire brigade and all the Generals in Havana, among them my chief of staff. There have been deaths and wounded. I have sent an aide-de-camp to offer every assistance to the North American Consul that he may wish for. I will forward further details as they become available. " BLANCO." Spanish Theory of an Accident. Senor du Bosc expressed the most profound regret at the occurence. He said: "Of course I look upon the horror as due in every respect and solely and simply to an accident. That is the clear and unequivocal statement of the authorities at Havana, and all the evidence thus far available goes to sustain it." Asked if the disaster possibly could have any adverse effect upon the relations between Spain and the United States, he responded with a decided negative and the statement that the affair was wholly an accident. Senor du Bosc hastened to the State Department soon after receiving the Blanco cablegram for the purpose of expressing his deep condolence to the authorities and of communicating the Captain-General's despatch to Secretary Sherman and Mr. Day, the Assistant Secretary. To both of them he expressed personally and officially the most profound regret. 58 STORY OF THE BATTLESHIP MAINE. James Rowe, ship's cook, when asked how the explosion happened, replied, " I don't know. I turned into my hammock at eight o'clock, and heard three bells strike. I don't remember anything more until I felt myself turning over and over, and falling heavily upon the deck through a mass of smoke. I got on my feet and worked my way on deck. When I got there the superstructure deck was dipping under water, and I jumped overboard to keep from being drawn down in the suction. I was picked up by a boat from the Spanish man-of-war. Four more were picked up by the same boat." Refused to Tell his Name. One poor fellow, whose face was injured past all recognition, was lying on a cot in the hospital at Havana; when asked his name, he mumbled back, through horribly swollen lips, " My folks would feel uneasy if I told you." For some time it was supposed by many that the explosion took place in the magazine used for the storage of gun-cotton for the torpedoes. The vessel lay with her bows wholly submerged, and only a part of her stern showing. The explosion, which shook the city from one end to another, created the wildest excitement. All the electric lights were put out by the shock. Fire engines rushed madly from one direction to another, and no one knew for certain from which direction the explosion came. The center of interest in the Maine disaster was transferred at once to Washington. A resolution appropriating $200,000 to raise the hulk of the ill-fated vessel was passed by both Houses of Congress. In the Senate, the consideration of the Allen resolution for a Senatorial investigation of the tragedy evoked warm words. Senator Mason, of Illinois, attacked the Administration for its alleged secrecy in connection with the affair. In a sharp reply, strongly defending the Administration, Senator Wolcott, of Colorado, said that war might be near at hand, but we should meet the crisis with the dignity befitting a great nation. The Navy Department received word from Captain Sigsbee that divers would begin work on the Maine's wreck at once. The Maine's STORY OF THE BATTLESHIP MAINE. 59 captain described the funeral of the ship's dead in Havana as a most impressive event. The Spanish cruiser Viscaya arrived off Sandy Hook on February i8th; she entered New York harbor the next morning. The police authorities took special precautions to prevent hostile demonstrations while she was in port. Telegrams of Condolence from Abroad. The news of the destruction of the Maine and the appalling loss of life not only shocked the American people, but produced a profound impression abroad. Telegrams of condolence began to pour into Washington-among others one from Queen Victoria, expressing her sympathy with the American people on the occasion of the sad disaster that had befallen our navy. Similar telegrams were received from Emperor William of Germany, President Faure of France, and from other countries, all expressing profound horror at the catastrophe which resulted in the loss of so many lives. Soon detailed accounts of the explosion from the marines on board the Maine were made public. Lieutenant John J. Blandin, of Baltimore, one of the Maine's survivors, gave a succinct account of the disaster, saying that not for some time was he able to recollect the sequence of events in the awful ten minutes following the explosion. Lieutenant Blandin said: " I was on watch, and when the men had been piped below I looked down the main hatches and over the side of the ship. Everything was absolutely normal. I walked aft to the quarter deck behind the rear turret, as is allowed after 8 o'clock in the evening, and sat down on the port side, where I remained for a few minutes. Then for some reason I cannot explain to myself now, I moved to the starboard side and sat down there. I was feeling a bit glum, and in fact was so quiet that Lieutenant J. Hood came up and asked laughingly if I was asleep. I said, 'No, I am on watch.' "Scarcely had I spoken when there came a dull, sullen roar. Would to God that I could blot out the sound and the scenes that followed. Then came a sharp explosion-some say numerous detonations. I remember only one. It seemed to me that the sound came from the port side forward. Then came a perfect rain of mis 60 STORY OF THE BATTLESHIP MAINE. siles of all descriptions, from huge pieces of cement to blocks of wood, steel railings, fragments of gratings, and all the debris that would be detachable in an explosion. " I was struck on the head by a piece of cement and knocked down, but I was not hurt, and got to my feet in a moment. Lieutenant Hood had run to the poop, and, I supposed, as I followed he was dazed by the shock and about to jump overboard. I hailed him, and he answered that he had run to the poop to help lower the boats. When I got there, though scarce a minute could have elapsed, I had to wade in water to my knees, and almost instantly the quarter deck was awash. On the poop I found Captain Sigsbee, as cool as if at a ball, and soon all the officers except Jenkins and Merritt joined us. Sigsbee's Order to Abandon the Ship. "Captain Sigsbee ordered the launch and gig lowered, and the officers and men, who by this time had assembled, got the boats out, and rescued a number in the water. Captain Sigsbee ordered Lieutenant Commander Wainwright forward to see the extent of the damage and if anything could be done to rescue those forward or to extinguish the flames, which followed close upon the explosion and burned fiercely as long as there were any combustibles above water to feed them. Lieutenant Commander Wainwright on his return reported the total and awful character of the calamity, and Captain Sigsbee gave the last sad order, 'abandon ship,' to men overwhelmed with grief indeed, but calm and apparently unexcited. "Meanwhile, four boats from the Spanish cruiser Alfonso XII arrived, to be followed soon by two from the Ward Line steamer City of Washington. The two boats lowered first from the City of Washington were found to be riddled with flying debris from the Maine and unfit for use. Captain Sigsbee was the last man to leave his vessel and left in his own gig. " I have no theories as to the cause of the explosion. I cannot form any. I, with others, had heard that the Havana harbor was full of torpedoes, but the officers whose duty it was to examine into that reported that they found no signs of any. Personally, I do not STORY OF THE BATTLESHIP MAINE. 61 believe that the Spanish had anything to do with the disaster. Time may tell. I hope so. We were in a delicate position on the Maine, so far as taking any precautions was concerned. We were friends in a friendly, or alleged friendly port and could not fire upon or challenge the approach of any boat boarding us unless convinced that her intention was hostile. I wish to heaven I could forget it. I have been in two wrecks and have had my share. But the reverberations of that sullen, yet resonant roar, as if the bottom of the sea was groaning in torture, will haunt me for many days, and the reflection of that pillar of flame comes to me even when I close my eyes." A Marine Reports the Ship Blown Up. A correspondent of a New York journal furnished some additional details: " The quays and docks were jammed with spectators during the sad proceedings incident to the burial of the bodies that were recovered, and I am informed that some jubilant sayings were heard among the crowd, and that some of the lower elements rejoiced over the 'Yankee massacre,' as they termed it. Personally, I saw nothing but sympathy. It was too colossal not to dwarf even international jealousy and apprehensive hate. Only in the palace did I see signs of content. Captain Sigsbee bears the calamity like an American officer and a gentleman. He was not even outwardly ruffled by the awful calamity. He received the Spanish Chief of Police as calmly as though his quarterdeck were not a wreck and his men mangled and drowned. "Apropos of this, it is told of Captain Sigsbee that he was writing a letter to his wife in his port cabin when the explosion occurred, All the lights were instantly extinguished. Captain Sigsbee, running out, bumped into a perfectly disciplined marine orderly, who amidst shrieks, groans, flames and horror, and in the dark, saluted and said"' Sir, I have to inform you that the ship has been blown up and is sinking.' "The brave marine is named William Anthony. He said to me when I spoke of it: ' Oh, that's nothing; any Yankee marine would do that.' This coolness was noticeable everywhere among the men, 62 STORY OF THE BATTLESHIP MAINE. and when the boats and their maimed loads had left the wreck for the hospital there was no jabbering, no excitement. The officers who had something to do did it quietly. The others said nothing. All stood this Samoa of fire as others once gave three cheers for the British warship Calliope, at the Pacific Samoa of hurricane. " The correspondents of the Madrid press have sent home foreboding messages, and on the civil side of the palace there are grave apprehensions and scant courtesy. When I asked Secretary Congosto to aid me in talking to General Solano over securing the reopening of the cable for the messages of the Maine's officers, he coldly said it was none of his business, that General Solano was in sole charge." A Naval Board of Inquiry, composed of Captain Sampson, of the Iowa; Captain Chadwick, of the New York; Captain Marix, of the Vermont, and Lieutenant-Commander Potter, of the New York, we&: to Havana, and proceeded promptly to investigate the causes of the explosion that destroyed the battleship. The further the inquiry into the causes that led to the Maine disaster proceeded, the more remote appeared the chances that any evidence would be discovered to show that the disaster was due to accident. Those divers who penetrated into the forward part of the wreck found that the whole forward end of the ship from a point just abaft the forward turret had been twisted fifteen or twenty degrees to starboard. That part of the vessel was a wilderness of debris and curled and twisted plates. Finding of the Court. The following is the full text of the report of the Court of Inquiry appointed to investigate the disaster to the Maine at Havana: U. S. S. Iowa, first rate, Key West, Fla., Monday, March 21, I898. -After full and mature consideration of all the testimony before it, the Court finds as follows: I. That the United States battleship Maine arrived in the harbor of Havana, Cuba, on the twenty-fifth day of January, Eighteen Hundred and Ninety-eight, and was taken to Buoy No. 4, in from five and - f.. STORY OF THE BATTLESHIP MAINE. 63 a half to six fathoms of water, by the regular government pilot. The United States Consul-General at Havana had notified the authorities at that place the previous evening of the intended arrival of the Maine. 2. The state of discipline on board the Maine was excellent, and all orders and regulations in regard to the care and safety of the ship were strictly carried out. All ammunition was stowed in accordance with prescribed instructions, and proper care was taken whenever ammunition was handled. Nothing was stowed in any one of the magazines or shell rooms which was not permitted to be stowed there. Keys Found in their Proper Place. The magazine and shell rooms were always locked after having been opened, and after the destruction of the Maine the keys were found in their proper place in the captain's cabin, everything having been reported secure that evening at 8 P.M. The temperatures of the magazine and shell room were taken daily and reported. The only magazine which had an undue amount of heat was the after Ioinch magazine, and that did not explode at the time the Maine was destroyed. The torpedo warheads were all stowed in the after part of the ship under the ward room, and neither caused nor participated in the destruction of the Maine. The dry gun cotton primers and detonators were stowed in the cabin aft, and remote from the scene of the explosion. Waste was carefully looked after on board the Maine to obviate danger. Special orders in regard to this had been given by the commanding officer. Varnishes, dryers, alcohol and other combustibles of this nature were stowed on or above the main deck and could not have had anything to do with the destruction of the Maine. The medical stores were stored aft under the ward room and remote from the scene of the explosion. No dangerous stores of any kind were stowed below in any of the other storerooms. The coal bunkers were inspected daily. Of those bunkers adja 64 STORY OF THE BATTLESHIP MAINE. cent to the forward magazines and shell rooms four were empty, namely, " B3, B4, B5 and B6." "A " had been in use that day and "AI6" was full of new river coal. This coal had been carefully inspected before receiving it on board. The bunker in which it was stowed was accessible on three sides at all times, and the fourth side at this time, on account of bunkers "B4" and B6" being empty. This bunker, "AI6," had been inspected Monday by the engineer officer on duty. Explosion Not Caused by the Boilers. The fire alarms in the bunkers were in working order, and there had never been a case of spontaneous combustion of coal on board the Maine. The two after boilers of the ship were in use at the time of the disaster, but for auxiliary purposes only, with a comparatively low pressure of steam and being tended by a reliable watch. These boilers could not have caused the explosion of the ship. The four forward boilers have since been found by the divers and are in a fair condition. On the night of the destruction of the Maine everything had been reported secure for the night at 8 P.M. by reliable persons, through the proper authorities, to the commanding officer. At the time the Maine was destroyed the ship was quiet, and, therefore, least liable to accident caused by movements from those on board. 3. The destruction of the Maine occurred at 9.40 P.M. on the 15th day of February, I898, in the harbor of Havana, Cuba, she being at the time moored to the same buoy to which she had been taken upon her arrival. There were two explosions of a distinctly different character, with a very short but distinct interval between them, and the forward part of the ship was lifted to a marked degree at the time of the first explosion. The first explosion was more in the nature of a report, like that of a gun, while the second explosion was more open, prolonged and of greater volume. This second explosion was, in the opinion of the court, caused by the partial explosion of two or more of the forward magazines of the Maine. WILLIAM McKINLEY PRESIDENT McKINLEY AND HIS CABINET -i'7?,7'~ i,-~~ -. ~:....-'Xt'i:i' v TOTAL DESTRUCTION OF THE 8PANt8H FLEET NEAR 8ANTIAGO UNITED STATES BATTLESHIP OREGON Twin screw; lenghth, 548 feet: breadth, 69 feet I inches; draft, 24 feet; displaeoment, 10,288 tons; speed, 16.79 knots. Main battery, four 1-ich, eight 8 inch and four 6-inch breech loading rifles. Secondary battery, twenty 6-pounder uid six 1-pounder rapid-are guns, and four gatlings. Armor on sides, 18 Inches, 82 Offlcerb, 441 Men. Cost, 13,180,000. MANNING A FIGHTING TOP ON A MODERN MAN-OF-WAR UNITED STATES FORCES CAPTURING THE INTRENCHMENTS AT SANTIAGO _ _i "a --- T i1~ 1 i -- -:::,I ~:~;I: ~B : "a: i CAMP OF UNITED STATES REGULARS IN CUBA UNITED STATES CAVALRY RECONNOITERING TRAINING CARRIER PIGEONS FOR NAVAL SERVICE COMMANDER RICHARD WAINWRIGLWT PASTIMES OF OUR GALLANT TARS ON SHIPBOARD PREPARING A TORPEDO BOAT FOR ACTION GENERAL RUSSELL A. ALGER Secretary of War GENERAL TORAL SURRENDERING SANTIAGO TO GENERAL SHAFTER A UNITED STATES CRUISER IN SEARCH OF CONTRABAND OF WAR-OVERHAULING A MERCHANTMAN m - z 2 z 0 -S -j D 0 z 0 I z z 0 U. I Iz z (0 STORY OF THE BATTLESHIP MAINE. The evidence bearing upon this, being principally obtained from divers, did not enable the court to form a definite conclusion as to the condition of the wreck, although it was established that the after part of the ship was practically intact and sank in that condition a very few minutes after the destruction of the forward part. Facts Established by Testimony. 4. The following facts in regard to the forward part of the ship are, however, established by the testimony: That portion of the port side of the protective deck which extends from about frame 30 to about frame 41 was blown up aft, and over to port, the main deck from about frame 30 to about frame 4I was blown up aft, and slightly over to starboard, folding the forward part of the middle superstructure over and on top of the after part. This was, in the opinion of the court, caused by the partial explosion of two or more of the forward magazines of the Maine. 5. At frame 17 the outer shell of the ship, from a point eleven and one-half feet from the middle line of the ship and six feet above the keel when in its normal position, has been forced up so as to be now about four feet above the surface of the water, therefore about thirtyfour feet above where it would be had the ship sunk uninjured. The outside bottom plating is bent into a reversed V shape, the after wing of which, about fifteen feet broad and thirty-two feet in length (from frame 17 to frame 25) is doubled back upon itself against the continuation of the same plating extending forward. At frame I8 the vertical keel is broken in two and the flat keel bent into an angle similar to the angle formed by the outside bottom elating. This break is now about six feet below the surface of the water and about thirty feet above its normal position. In the opinion of the court this effect could have been produced only by the explosion of a mine situated under the bottom of the ship at about frame 18, and somewhat on the port side of the ship. 6. The court finds that the loss of the Maine on the occasion named was not in any respect due to fault or negligence on the part of the officers or men of the crew of said vessel. R 66 STORY OF THE BATTLESHIP MAINE. 7. In the opinion of the court the Maine was destroyed by the explosion of a submarine mine, which caused the partial explosion of two of her forward magazines. 8. The court has been unable to obtain evidence fixing the responsibility for the destruction of the Maine upon any person or persons. W. T. SAMPSON, Captain U. S. N., President. A. MARIX, Lieutenant Commander U. S. N., Judge Advocate. No event more unfortunate than the destruction of the Maine could have occurred at the time. The conclusions of the Board of Inquiry were universally accepted by the people of the United States as showing that the explosion was caused by a sub-marine mine and could be attributed to only one source. The opinion was freely expressed that nearly three hundred of our sailors and marines lost their lives through Spanish treachery. This gave a new and more serious phase to the situation and increased the war spirit already abroad throughout the land. Soon the cry became common and was repeated on every hand, "Remember the Maine." CHAPTER IV. Efforts to Maintain Peace. HE American people did not advocate a war with Spain except in case of dire necessity, and it is equally evident that this feeling was shared by the people and the government of Spain. That war is always a scourge was universally admitted. Apart from the loss of life and the vast expenditure of treasure, it has a depressing effect upon nearly every kind of business, disturbs commercial relations with other countries, and produces a demoralizing effect upon the nations engaged in it. These and other weighty reasons are sufficient to account for the general desire on the part of the people of the United States to maintain peace and settle the strife in Cuba without a resort to arms. The conservative action of President McKinley was warmly endorsed by the more thoughtful people everywhere. It was well known that he was striving to the utmost to maintain friendly relations with Spain, although at the same time our government showed a resolute determination to end the war in Cuba and secure to the people of the island the independence for which they were making heroic sacrifices. Hope of Preventing a Conflict. The various steps which were taken to maintain peace with Spain, both in our own country and abroad, are stated here in detail. Up to the time of the very outbreak of hostilities there were many who cherished the hope that something would intervene to prevent the conflict that seemed to be imminent. It is equally true that the heroism of Cuban patriots struck a responsive chord in the American heart and aroused a strong sympathy for the gallant subjects of Spain, who were fighting to throw off the Spanish yoke. The national sentiment was voiced especially in the newspaper press of the United States, and even in songs and poems, of which the following is one, written by Walter Malone: 67 68 EFFORTS TO MAINTAIN PEACE. We praise the heroes of a long-dead time, The Spartan or the Roman or the Gaul, We flatter in oration or in rhyme The dusty corpses deaf and dumb to all. But here we find beside our very door True heroes who are battling for the rightTrue heroes brave as any braves of yore, True heroes' targets of the tyrant's might. We prate of wrongs our own forefathers felt, But these have suffered more a thousand fold; We boast of brave blows those forefathers dealt, But unto these, our neighbors, we are cold. We sigh for sufferings of the ancient years, While men to-day are tortured, hanged and shot, While starving babes and women shed their tears, And while this island Eden seems a blot. Like gaping listeners at some passing show Who melt with pity at an actor's tears, Applauding, bent with passion to and fro At glimpses of fictitious hopes and fears; So we have sighed and sobbed for other times, Mourned over urns, hissed tyrants turned to clay, Yet idly watched the century's crown of crimes And seen true heroes die like dogs to-day. Strange, that a people once themselves oppressed, Heeds not the patriots fighting to be free; Strange, they who braved the Briton's lion crest, Should let a murderous pirate braggart be! Oh, shame too great for puny human words When gold and silver rule the tongue and pen I The eagle in the air is king of birds, The eagle on the dollar king of men! O Cuba, as in stories of the past Transcendent beauty brought transcendent woe, Thou in thy peerless loveliness at last Hast seen thy queenly glories sinking low. When Elsa, slandered, breathed her fervent prayer, There came her true knight of the holy grail; But no true knight will heed thy deep despair And hasten with a swan wing for a sail. EFFORTS TO MAINTAIN PEACE. 69 Ah, yes, at last it comes-the swan, the swan 1 O fairest lady, see thy true knight here! With white wings fluttering in the roseate dawn, His bark shall blanch thy tyrant's cheek with fear. Before the fast feet of the northern gale He comes to face thy false accuser, Spain; O fairest lady, dream no more of fail; Those heroes, Cuba, have not died in vain I The sentiment in favor of peace found expression in several ways. It was well understood that President McKinley was moving slowly and was hoping for a peaceful solution of the difficulty. He realized his position most acutely, but he was firm in his determination to resist any action looking toward war as long as he could. Finally the demand of Congress was irresistible, and it was a significant fact that many conservative men in the President's own party were opposed to delay. He was keenly alive to the fact that he must act or Congress would take the whole matter out of his hands. Popular Demand for Cuban Independence. The most vital point in the President's mind concerned the importance of the Maine disaster as a cause for war. He did not entirelj' agree with the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, that the Maine incident alone would justify a declaration of war by the United States. The attitude of Spain in its negotiations with the United States Government presented more justification in his mind, and he was hesitating simply to give the Spanish authorities an opportunity to treat with decency a universal demand for the independence of Cuba. He had reason to know that some of the most powerful financial and political interests in Europe were at work to persuade Spain to see the folly of fighting the United States. Notwithstanding the many reports of European mediation they assumed their first tangible form on the afternoon of April 4th, when at least two of the foreign establishments in Washington received official information that an exchange of notes between the great Powers was now in progress with a view of arriving at a basis on which they could make a joint proposal for mediation. It was evi 70 EFFORTS TO MAINTAIN PEACE. dent that the exchange had not yet been productive of a common understanding, as the Ambassadors and Ministers at Washington had not yet received instructions to initiate the movement. Their only information thus far was that the notes were passing by telegraph between the capitals of Europe. It was understood that France and Austria were most active in bringing about this movement, and that Great Britain had held aloof from it, but it developed that the British Government was also taking part in the exchange and that in case of concerted action by the Powers, Great Britain probably would act with the others. The Great Powers of Europe. What common grounds the Powers were seeking to reach could i aly be conjectured. The Spanish Government seemed to be hopeful of results from this movement, and this inspired additional ground,or the belief that it would not be regarded with favor by the United States. The diplomats, however, thought that if a common understanding were reached by the great Powers of Europe such suggestions as these combined Powers might make could not be lightly set aside. The general view of the diplomats was that the movement was not so much one toward reconciling the United States and Spain as it was to preserve the peace of the world by combined action. Spain's policy in this matter was one of urging on the European Powers that if Cuba was free from Spanish sovereignty the pext move under the Monroe doctrine would be to bring an end of European control over other West Indian possessions. Great Britain, France and Denmark have interests in that locality. In other quarters it was stated that influence of the Powers was more likely to be exerted on Spain in urging her to the largest possible measure of concession. Efforts to preserve peace and settle the controversy by diplomacy were made by the loyal Spaniards of Havana. The home rule government of Cuba, through the Cuban Cabinet, issued a manifesto appealing to all those bearing arms in Cuba, insurgents as well as Spaniards, by mutual consent and understanding to cease hostilities EFFORTS TO MAINTAIN PEACE. 'I and consider a re-establishment of peace on a strong and firm basis. The manifesto appeared in an extraordinary issue of the Official Gazette, explaining the benefits of home rule, declaring that the colonial constitution may be reformed on broad lines and making a patriotic call for the celebration of peace, after a previous understanding and mutual consent. It was understood that the appeal was warmly endorsed by the Spanish Government at Madrid. The Insurgents Urged to Lay Down their Arms. One of the paragraphs of the manifesto said: "The provisional government ardently desires, as facts prove, that all Cubans, with no exception whatever, should unite in the noble and wise undertaking of restoring peace and harmony upon a strong and enduring basis. The provisional government, by its own inspiration and also as a faithful interpretation of the warm wishes of the government of the mother country, addresses itself to the Cubans'who are in the field, fighting to attain what in reality has been attained, the triumph of right and justice, with perfect assurance of future improvement and for the orderly and rising development of all the resources and elements of society. " Let the noise of arms cease. Let us shake hands. Let us embrace each other warmly as brothers of the Cuban country, regenerated by sacrifice; let us work unitedly to make the Cuban people great, powerful, prosperous. Let us, sons of Cuba, come to a frank and loyal understanding to deliberate calmly and resolve rightly on the best means to reach, by common accord, peace without dishonor to any one and with honor for all. Let us suspend hostilities in order to hear the voice of patriotism between brothers equally interested in the fate of Cuba. "The Provisional Government comes forward to take the initiative to attain the high ends that have been enumerated, solemnly offering every assurance and always relying on the approbation of the Government of the mother country." This manifesto failed to produce any effect, as the insurgents were resolutely bent on accepting no terms short of absolute independence. 72 EFFORTS TO MAINTAIN PEACE. They paid no attention to the appeal and continued the policy they had hitherto pursued. The event of special interest on April 7th was the visit of the diplomatic representatives of Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia, Italy and Austria to the White House and their presentation of a note to the President, in which the hope was expressed that further negotiations between Spain and the United States would result in the maintenance of peace. It will be noticed that the note makes no direct proposition or tender, and merely appeals " to the feelings of humanity and moderation of the President and of the American people in their existing differences with Spain." This note was the result of a meeting held by the diplomats on the evening of April 6th. Address Presented to the President. According to previous arrangement, the six diplomatic representatives assembled at the White House shortly before noon, and were met by the President in the Blue Parlor. The proceedings were of a strictly formal character. The note, which was prepared in French, together with a copy in English, was presented to the President by Sir Julian Pauncefote, the British Ambassador, and reads as follows: " Mr. President, we have been commissioned by the great Powers of Europe whom we represent here to-day to approach your Excellency with a message of friendship and peace at the present critical juncture in the relations between the United States and Spain, and to convey to you the sentiments expressed in the collective note which I have the honor to place in your hands. "The undersigned representatives of Germany, Austria-Hungary, France, Great Britain, Italy and Russia, duly authorized in that behalf, address in the name of their respective Governments a pressing appeal to the feelings of humanity and moderation of the President and of the American people, in their existing differences with Spain. They earnestly hope that further negotiations will lead to an agreement which, while securing maintenance of peace, will afford all necessary guarantees for the re-establishment of order in Cuba. " The Powers do not doubt that the humanitarian and purely dis EFFORTS TO MAINTAIN PEACE. 73 interested character of this representation will be fully recognized and appreciated by the American nation." A copy of the note had previously been furnished the President in order that he might be fully prepared to make a formal reply. This reply was read by the President, and is as follows: "The Government of the United States recognizes the good will which has prompted the friendly communication of the representatives of Germany, Austria-Hungary, France, Great Britain, Italy and Russia, as set forth in the address of your excellencies, and shares the hope therein expressed that the outcome of the situation in Cuba may be the maintenance of peace between the United States and Spain by affording the necessary guarantees for the re-establishment of order in the island, so terminating the chronic condition of disturbance there which so deeply injures the interests and menaces the tranquillity of the American nation by the character and consequences of the struggle thus kept up at our doors, besides shocking its sentiment of humanity. The Situation Pronounced Insufferable. "The Government of the United States appreciates the humanitarian and disinterested character of the communication now made on behalf of the Powers named, and for its part is confident that equal appreciation will be shown for its own earnest and unselfish endeavors to fulfill a duty to humanity by ending a situation, the indefinite pr{ longation of which has become insufferable." Upon the conclusion of the ceremony the diplomats, after a short informal chat with the President, retired. The important utterance of the President's reply was contained in the concluding sentences. He expressed appreciation of the humanitarian and disinterested character of the communication of the representatives of the Powers, and speaking for the Government of the United States, ' was confident that equal appreciation would be shown for its earnest and unselfish endeavors to fulfill a duty to humanity by ending a situation the indefinite prolongation of which had become insufferable." This utterance of the President had special signif cance. No formal 74 EFFORTS TO MAINTAIN PEACE. offer of mediation would be entertained by the President. This fact was made known to the diplomatic representatives, and it will be observed that there was no suggestion of mediation in their note. In expressing a desire for the termination of a situation, the infinite prolongation of which had become insufferable, the President plainly intimated that the obligation to remedy the chronic condition of disturbance which prevailed in Cuba rested with Spain, and failure to recognize and fulfill that obligation threatened the peace that had so long endured between that country and the United States. Mediation Out of the Question. The main purpose of the presentation of the diplomats was not realized. Knowing in advance that a proffer of mediation would be declined, and acting upon the advice of their respective governments, the presentation was put in the most guarded language, the object being to afford an opportunity for the President to intimate that mediation on the part of the Powers would be agreeable to this Government. The President, however, studiously ignored this opportunity, clothed his reply in language equally as guarded as that of the note of presentation, leaving the impression that unless Spain furnished the necessary guarantees for the termination of the disturbance in Cuba, and the maintenance of permanent peace, the United States would feel obliged to intervene. The incident bore out the conviction that the President would not enter upon further negotiations with Spain, but was determined to refer the matter to Congress for its consideration and action. It was certain that the President would not resort further to diplomacy and would not change his purpose to submit the final adjustment to Congress, unless Spain should in the meantime withdraw her forces from Cuba, or agree to do so in the near future, and acknowledge the independence of the island. There was little prospect, therefore, of an amicable settlement, and the indications strongly and unmistakably pointed to a speedy breaking out of hostilities between the two countries, EFFORTS TO MAINTAIN PEACE. In one of the informal conferences held by Sir Julian Pauncefote with the State Department, the Ambassador explained that the opinion was held by some of the Powers that the purpose of this government in its contention with Spain was veiled by the humanitarian plea, and that the real purpose was the acquisition of Cuba. Sir Julian suggested, in view of this opinion, it might be well for the United States to make a declaration through the forthcoming message of the President that acquisition was not part of the policy of this government. This declaration was made subsequently in the resolutions passed by Congress. Spain Advised to Yield. It was known that France and Great Britain, as governments, and the financial representatives of those two countries controlling the Spanish debt, were bringing great pressure to bear upon Spain for the purpose of having the Madrid authorities take action at once toward conceding the independence of Cuba. The authorities at Washington were in a passive frame of mind, and would willingly take up the negotiations with Spain again if the motion came from the other side. They would not, however, voluntarily resume diplomatic negotiations regarding the general Cuban question. It was whispered in diplomatic circles that Spain was endeavoring to enlist the good offices of some third and friendly European Power for the purpose of arranging terms of peace between Spain and the Cuban insurgents independent of the United States. France it was well known, was most anxious to avert war between Spain and the United States, and unofficially intimated that its good offices would be promptly given if requested by either of the parties concerned. It was not likely, however, that France would attempt to mediate between Spain and the insurgents without the consent of the United States, and this would certainly not be given. Mediation by any European Power was entirely out of the question. The administration knew perfectly well that Congress would not consent to foreign mediation, and although anxious for peace, would not entertain a proposition of this kind in the face of the attitude of Congress and public sentiment. 76 EFFORTS TO MAINTAIN PEACE. Still, persistent endeavors to prevent a rupture between the two countries were continued, and Pope Leo exerted his influence to this end. Concerning the Pope's action a high Spanish official at Madrid gave some particulars as follows: " The Spanish Ambassador at the Vatican was approached by Cardinal Rampolla (the Papal Secretary of State), who told him the President of the United States had allowed it to be understood that Papal intervention would be acceptable. The Spanish Ambassador wired here to that effect, and thereupon we indicated that though, having sent a categorical reply to President McKinley, the terms having previously been conceded to the last point consistent with Spain's honor, we were certain the Pope would respect the rights and honor of Spain, and agreed to his intervention. Proposition from the Pope. "It was impossible for our regular army, fighting rebels, to agree to offer an armistice at the suggestion of a certain foreign Power, but when the father of Christendom, without material force, but with vast moral power, offered intervention we could not refuse accepting, knowing well that reliance might be placed upon his independent judgment. So, not an armistice, but a truce, a truce of God, has been agreed upon. This, however, requires action upon the part of the United States, consequential action to our concession. <'The rebels have been, not designedly we believe, assisted and encouraged by the presence of American warships in the neighborhood of the island. A continuance of this would militate against the Pope's good offices, and against the hopes of peace. We know President McKinley has worked for peace; but an influence has been growing like a rising tide, and it is now a question whether any barrier or embankment he would set across its progress would be strong enough to withstand its force. Spain has shown her willingness to secure peace by concessions to the last point consistent with her national honor. The future depends upon the power of the American government in controlling hostile public opinion." The proposition of the Pope to act as mediator was received by EFFORTS TO MAINTAIN PEACE. 77 our Government with courtesy, but was not accepted. A special despatch received in London from Rome, stated that a telegram sent to the Vatican from the United States announced the failure of the Pope's intervention. It stated that President McKinley showed himself extremely sensible of the initiative taken by the Pontiff, but it was impossible for him to overcome the prejudice, even though it might be unjust, entertained by a majority of the American people against the Vatican's intervention in political affairs. Six European Powers in Accord. The Powers of Europe, material and moral, it was known, brought to bear all their influence on the Government of Spain, and were actively at work, seeking by the wisest and most politic course possible, in view of the circumstances and sentiments of the two great nations involved, to bring peace out of the gathering war-clouds. All the capitals of Europe were in communication to this end, a fact evidenced by the assemblage at the British Embassy in Washington of the representatives of the six great Powers of Europe, who then and there were made mutually acquainted with what had been done abroad, and with the desire of those who accredited them to Washington that they should work in accord. This concert, however, in the United States did not go beyond a mild tender of good offices to secure peace, and delay a definite declaration of war, if hostilities finally became inevitable. Some of the representatives assembled at Sir Julian Pauncefote's office may have wished to offer mediation, but if so, were warned against it by others in the conference, who understood more clearly that such a procedure would be resented, and work to hostile and not to peaceful ends. At Washington, April gth, it was learned from one of the foreign embassies that the Spanish Government that day had under consideration the issuance of a proclamation declaring an armistice in Cuba. This decree had not yet been signed, so far as known; nor did the information indicate that a final determination that it should issue had been reached. The measure was being strongly pressed upon the consideration of Spain by some of the Continental European 78 EFFORTS TO MAINTAIN PEACE. Powers, which acquainted their embassies with the fact. It was the hope of the Powers urging this move that by means of this concession war might be averted, although it was realized that the United States might not regard the concession as adequate to meet the case. The Proposed Armistice. The Spanish Government held the position that it would yield everything to avert war, save two things,-independence of Cuba and American intervention. It declared that if either of these latter moves were insisted upon by the United States as a sine qua non and were carried into effect, it would regard it as an overt act and as placing the United States in the attitude of taking the first and aggressive step toward war. It was because of Spain's refusal to yield on either the intervention or independence proposition that the armistice proposal was not regarded as assuring a change in the gloomy outlook. It is learned that the proposition for an armistice was brought about by the Pope, and before formulation was submitted to the representatives of the Powers at Madrid. As originally drafted it was simply a proposition for armistice, containing no statement as to the object in view and no limitation as to the length of time it should prevail. Upon the suggestion of the Powers this omission was partially remedied. A provision was subsequently inserted that the United States should be asked to prescribe the time for which the suspension of hostilities should continue. The report cabled from Madrid, and published here the next day, to the effect that a demand was made for the withdrawal of the United States fleets from the waters adjacent to Cuba was erroneous, no such provision nor any other condition forming a part of the proposed armistice. It was not deemed essential that the object of the armistice should be expressed in terms in the proposition for the reason that such an expression was unnecessary until it could be ascertained whether the insurgents would agree to the tender of the Madrid Government. If the insurgents should agree, then negotiations could be entered upon EFFORTS TO MAINTAIN PEACE. 79 for peace, which was, of course, the only purpose of the Spanish Government in offering armistice. On April 8th, the following announcement was made from Washington: "A communication received this afternoon from Madrid is understood to be a paper of considerable length, in which the contention between Spain and the United States is treated in detail. There are four points in the Madrid note. Concessions Made by Spain. " First. The demand of the United States for relief of the reconcen. trados is taken up and attention directed to the fact that Spain has provided the desired relief, thus removing that point of contention. " Second. The demand of the United States for a cessation of hostilities will be complied with so far as that can be done by the Spanish Government through armistice. The refusal of the insurgents to agree to armistice will not affect the integrity of Spain in this particular. "Third. The Maine disaster is discussed. Attention is called to the fact that through alleged erroneous reports published in American newspapers prejudice has been created in the United States as to the responsibility for that disaster and the attitude of the Spanish Government in regard to it. It has been alleged that Spain has exhibited indifference and lack of sympathy for the destruction of the ship and the terrible loss of life. It is represented that the contrary is the fact. The Queen Regent and the Ministry have repeatedly given expression to their sympathy for the disaster, and the Spanish officials at Havana did everything possible to relieve the distress of the Maine sufferers. " Regret is expressed that the State Department has not given to the public the communications sent from Madrid in connection with the disaster. Attention is also directed to the conflicting findings of the United States and Spanish Boards of Inquiry. It is proposed that the finding of both Boards shall be referred to naval experts to be selected by nations friendly to both Spain and the United States, together with all evidence elicited and such additional evidence as may 80 EFFORTS TO MAINTAIN PEACE. be secured, Spain agreeing to be bound by the decision of this inter. national Board. "Fourth. The future government of the island of Cuba. On this point it is proposed that Spain shall offer under the armistice that it is hoped will be agreed to by the insurgents the most liberal autonomy for Cuba, leaving the Cubans to select their government and to exercise every function of government with the same freedom that is exercised by Canada or Australia, the Spanish Government to maintain a nominal sovereignty, as is done by Great Britain in the case of the two colonies named. It is urged that this proposition meets the suggestion of the United States presented in its note of March 20th, and leaves the people of Cuba to decide for themselves upon a form of Government and full freedom in its administration." The President Adheres to his Policy. It was thought that the armistice proposed by the Spanish Government might ultimately have some bearing upon the status of the Cuban question in its relation to our Government, but it would not change the programme of the President to submit the entire matter to Congress. The proposed armistice did not concern the United States, and was a matter between the Spanish and insurrectionary military forces. It might have some influence on Congress in delaying action looking to intervention, and if agreed to by the Cubans a strong plea would be made for postponement of any action on the part of Congress until opportunity should be given the belligerents to negotiate for peace. By many persons in Congress the offer of armistice was regarded as a diplomatic device to secure delay in the hope that the European Powers would be able to successfully intervene for the settlement of the contention between Spain and the United States without a resort to war. Spain did not want war with the United States and did not intend to surrender sovereignty over Cuba. The object aimed at by Spain was to continue domination in Cuba, and to do this the most liberal autonomy that could be formulated would be granted The proposed armistice was the last step in this direction. There EFFORTS TO MAINTAIN PEACE. 31 was no expectation that the proposition would be agreed to by the insurgents, whose leaders, convinced that they were on the eve of accomplishing independence, would most strenuously resist all propositions for peace that included continued allegiance to Spain. Senor Quesada, the diplomatic representative of the Cubans, at Washington, said it was useless to reiterate that the armistice would not be agreed to by General Gomez. "We understand perfectly well," said he, in speaking on the proposed armistice, "that Spain seeks only delay. We will have nothing but independence. As a matter of fact, an armistice is a suspension of hostilities, to be arranged by the opposing generals. General Blanco and General Gomez would have to agree to an armistice. Does any one think General Gomez would agree to suspend hostilities just as we are about to win the great boon for which our people have fought and struggled so long? Besides, who is to take the proposition for an armistice to General Gomez? The constitution of the Cuban Republic and the civil law absolutely forbid the general-in-chief, under penalty of death, to entertain or receive any offer from the Spanish lines, unless it has for its basis the absolute independence of Cuba. Who is to carry the offer? The fate of Ruiz is a warning of the fate which would await such an envoy. Last Move of the Spanish Ministry. "The proposed armistice cannot be effective without it is concurred in by the insurgents. With the United States insisting upon its attitude in regard to Cuba, there is no likelihood that General Gomez will walk into the diplomatic trap that is baited with armistice. This last move on the part of the Spanish Ministry has important strategic value from the military point of view. In a few weeks the rainy season will begin and the Spanish troops will be unable to accomplish anything during the several months over which it extends. An armistice would enable the Spaniards to recuperate their military forces in Cuba, and at the same time would furnish them with opportunity to increase their naval strength to meet the United States in the event of intervention by this Government. F 82 EFFORTS TO MAINTAIN PEACE. " The rainy season has no special terrors for the insurgents, as they are acclimated and proof against the deadly diseases that have been so fatal to the Spanish soldiers. The insurgents have been even more active during the rainy season than at other times, because of the great assistance which is furnished by the rigors of the climate during that season, in assaulting the Spanish soldiers. For these reasons the armistice proposed by Spain will be rejected by General Gomez, and thus relieve this Government from any embarrassment that might arise from this last effort of Spain to reach a settlement under which her sovereignty would be continued over the island." Further Action by the Powers of Europe. On April I4th it was learned at Washington that another exchange of notes had begun between the European capitals, with a view to making strong representations on the Spanish-American situation. In the same connection an informal meeting of the Ambassadors and Ministers in the city, of the six great Powers of Europe was held late in the day. Several of the foreign establishments received cable advices from their Governments as to the opening of the exchange notes. This had been anticipated in view of the prevailing sentiment in all the foreign quarters here, that the action thus far taken in Congress made war inevitable. This common opinion had been officially reported to the several European capitals, and it was doubtless instrumental in starting the active exchange between the great Powers. The same exchange occurred a week before as a preliminary to the joint note of the great Powers presented to President McKinley, mildly urging a peaceful settlement with Spain. It was understood, however, that the present movement was not of the same mild character as the former one. Simultaneous with the opening of the exchange word came from Madrid that the Spanish Government was about to issue an appeal to the great Powers of Europe. It was understood that this appeal was an initiatory to the concerted action of the Powers, and there was apparent agreement in advance that the appeal would receive favorable consideration. It EFFORTS TO MAINTAIN PEACE. 83 was said that Spain's appeal would cite her grievances against the United States, stating in detail the many concessions she has made, and pointing out that it was in response to the urgent representation of the six joint Powers that the last concession of an armistice was granted. If the Powers determined to act, their influence probably would be particularly directed toward inducing the United States to grant Spain sufficient time within which to try the armistice recently proclaimed. During the previous joint action of the Powers their main influence was exerted at Madrid, the only action at Washington being the courteous expression of hope for peace. Failure to Avert War. But the present movement contemplated that the influence should be exerted at Washington rather than at Madrid, as it was the common belief in diplomatic quarters that the Madrid authorities had reached the limit of concessions and should now be given adequate time to try what they and the Powers had to offer as a means of restoring peace in Cuba. There was no suggestion, however, that this influence at present would be of a material character, but it was expected to be an assertion of all the moral influences of the Powers in checking tendencies which, it was believed, were inevitably leading to war. As time advanced it became more and more evident that all efforts to maintain peace would fail. Spain was willing to concede all except the independence of Cuba, the very point in controversy. A strong war party in Congress brought great pressure to bear toward a peremptory demand that Spain should vacate Cuba and leave the people free to control their own affairs; and so strong was this feeling that nothing could withstand it. All attempts to maintain peace were frustrated, the President himself declaring that he had exhausted all means. CHAPTER V. The United States Navy. W HEN Secretary William H. Hunt, in I88I, appointed an advisory board to determine the composition of a fleet which the necessities of national policy required, the war vessels of the navy available for cruising were thirty-seven in number, including one first-rate, the Tennessee, of 1480 tons displacement; fourteen second-rates, of from I oo to 4000 tons; and twenty-two third-rates, of from goo to 900o tons. Four of these ships, of less than I400 tons, had iron hulls, and the others were of wood. Their destructive capacity was insignificant, and fitted with inferior engines, their rate of speed was low. They supplied employment to several thousand sailors, afforded graduates of Annapolis an opportunity to see other lands, and perpetuated the sentiment of the American flag. But for purposes of warfare with nations that had modern navies, they were absolutely useless. Guns and Armament. Besides these cruisers, all of which were never in commission at the same time, the navy could count thirteen armored single-turret monitors (fourth-rates) of from I8oo to 2100 tons displacement. Built during the Civil War, they had no speed, and most of them had been laid up since. Three were in commission for harbor defence-in the Hudson and Delaware rivers and in Hampton Roads. This was rather a light fiction of war than the stern reality. The armament (guns) of the navy was as follows: Smooth-bore muzzle-loaders of various calibres, 2233; Parrott muzzle-loading 40-pounder rifles, 77; miscellaneous muzzle and breech-loaders converted into rifles, 87. All but the last were behind the age. In his report for that year the Secretary of the Navy said: " With not one modern high-powered cannon in the navy, and with only eighty-seven guns worth retaining, the importance of action for the procurement 84 THE UNITED STATES NAVY. 86 of naval ordnance seems apparent if the navy is longer to survive." The Secretary recommended that the wooden vessels be replaced by new iron and steel cruisers. The Advisory Board recommended that the old wooden ships be replaced by modern vessels constructed of steel, seventy in number, forty-three for sea-service and twenty-seven to be held in reserve. They were to be built at the rate of seven a year. Under authority of acts of Congress, August 5, 1882, and March 3, 1883, proposals were invited for the building of three cruisers, one despatch boat, and three double-turret monitors. The cruisers, one of 4500 tons, ard the others of 2500 each, were to be of steel, and to equal any similar vessels afloat in speed and fighting power. The Monitors Completed. On bids aggregating $2,440,000, John Roach, of Chester, Pa, obtained the contract for building the cruisers and the despatch boat. Before the end of I883, four double-turret monitors, which had been in an unfinished state for years, owing to doubts of their efficiency among some of the naval experts, were completed-the Puritan, Amphitrite and Terror at Philadelphia, and the Monadnock on the Pacific coast. Before the three cruisers were in the water, the Advisory Board recommended the immediate construction of three more cruisers, two gun boats of 1500 tons and two of 750 (all at an estimated cost of $4,283,o00), one steel ram, one cruising torpedo boat and two harbor torpedo boats. Meanwhile steps had been taken to rid the navy of many superannuated hulks, for some of the old vessels were no better. By virtue of an act of Congress approved on August 5, I882, forty-seven ships were stricken from the register. Of these, twenty-four were sold for the sum of $384,75 3, and the rest, not having sufficient value to attract buyers, were broken up. It is of some interest to pause here and take stock of the ships that were in commission in the early part of 1884, shortly before the Chicago, Boston and Atlanta, the first cruisers of the modern navy, were launched. 86 THE UNITED STATES NAVY. Before the end of 1884, the smaller Roach cruisers, the Atlanta and Boston, and the despatch boat Dolphin were launched at Chester, and in the following year the Chicago. The double-turret monitors Puritan, Amphitrite and Terror were also fitted in 1884 with machinery especially constructed for them. In this year the Advisory Board further recommended the construction of one cruiser of 4,500 tons, one of 3,000, a despatch boat of 1,500 tons, two armored gun boats of 1,500 tons each, one light gun boat of 750 tons, a steel ram, one cruising torpedo boat, two harbor torpedo boats and one armored vessel not to exceed 7,000 tons. Beginning to Construct a New Navy. Secretary Chandler advised that several modern cruisers be built annually for ten years. It was this Secretary who gave a stimulus to the creation of a modern navy by urging that obsolete ships should not be rebuilt or repaired when the expenditure would exceed twenty per cent. of the original cost. In I887 the old first-rater Tennessee and six other condemned vessels were sold for $125,705. There were then in course of construction eleven unarmored steel vessels, namely, six cruisers, four gun boats and one torpedo boat. The navy, including all ships completed, consisted of thirteen antiquated single-turret monitors, twelve unarmored steel and iron vessels, which constituted the fighting types of that day; twenty-eight wooden steam vessels; ten sailing vessels, used only as training and receiving ships, and twelve iron and wooden tug boats. No armored vessels for defense had been completed up to that time. To go back a little, forgings for guns of more than 6-inch calibre, arnmor, steel shafting, rapid-firing and machine guns, and torpedoes, could be produced only in Europe before 1885. The Midvale Steel Works, at Nicetown, Pa., were making forgings for guns of 3-inch, 5-inch and 6 inch calibre, and the Cambria Iron Works, at Johnstown, Pa., had also produced some excellent small forgings. The 8-inch guns of the Chicago, Boston and Atlanta, and the Io-inch guns of the Miantonomah were built of forgings bought in England and THE UNITED STATES NAVY. 87 i assembled " at the Washington Navy Yard, the South Boston Iron Works, and the West Point foundry. The Gun Foundry Board, of which Rear Admiral Sampson was President, had visited the principal steel gun establishments in Europe and this country in 1883, and the next year it recommended that steel forgings and material for guns be supplied by private industry, and that the Government maintain factories where the material delivered should be machined and " assembled." In accordance with these recommendations the Washington Navy Yard was selected as the site for the naval gun-factory, and the Watervliet Arsenal, at Troy, for the army factory. Before 1887 no rapid-fire guns nor revolving cannon were made in this country. In that year the Navy Department ordered of the Hotchkiss Ordnance Company 94 rapid-fire guns and revolving cannon, at a cost of $I21,400. Heavy Armor for War-Ships. It was in the late '8os when armor for warships was first made in this country. In August, I886, Secretary Whitney secured an appriation of $4,000,000 for armor and $2,I28,000 for guns for vessels then building, or which had been authorized. Without loss of time he invited proposals for the supply of 6,700 tons of steel armor, and 1,200 tons of gun forgings. The Bethlehem Iron Company was the successful bidder. A contract entered into with the Government required the company to establish a plant within two and a half years, and begin the delivery of gun forgings and steel armor plates by February, I890. The price of the forgings ordered was to be $851,513, and that of the plates, $3,60I,707. The construction of the naval gun factory at Washington was begun in 1887. Before the end of I889 guns of 8-inch, Io-inch, I2 -inch, and even of the 16-inch calibres, together with excellent steel armor, steel shafting for engines of great power, rapid-fire, machine and dynamite guns, and torpedoes had been made by American artisans. By I890 it was found the Bethlehem Iron Company would not be able to keep pace with the demand for armor plate, although it had displayed remarkable entertr:e^ and achieved great results. 88 THE UNITED STATES NAVY. Secretary Tracy thereupon entered into contracts wiLt Carnegie, Phipps & Co., of Pittsburg, to adapt their plant to the construction of armor plate, the consideration being an order for 5,900 tons. In five years from the time the manufacture of armor of warships was first undertaken in this country, the plates produced were superior, as tests demonstrated, to any manufactured abroad. Dynamite Gun Cruiser. The formidable dynamite gun cruiser Vesuvius was launched in i888. Her 15-inch guns were the invention of Mefford, of Ohio, although they were improved by Captain Edmund L. G. Zalinski, U. S. A. The guns are 55 feet long, and placed at an angle of 16 degrees they throw projectiles (expelled by compressed air) containing from 500 to 600 pounds of explosive gelatine and dynamite a distance of one mile, or projectiles containing from I00 to 200 pounds a distance of 4,000 yards. The explosive is controlled by an electric fuse, and it is believed that the force of the charge would destroy any battleship yet built. The year after her launching the Vesuvius fired fifteen shots from her guns in r6 minutes I5 seconds, and the air reservoir capacity was found to be ample for carrying thirty shells. During I889 the cruisers Baltimore and Charleston and the gunboats Yorktown and Petrel were commissioned, and the cruisers Philadelphia and San Francisco, the gunboat Concord and the torpedo boat Cushing were launched. The last, built by the Herreshoffs, at Bristol, R. I., was the first torpedo boat of the new navy. She was named after the heroic William B. Cushing, who blew up the Confederate ram Albemarle at Plymouth, N. C. The same year alterations were made on the coast defence ship Monterey, the barbette type of turret designed by Naval Constructor Hichborn being substituted for the original English design. Highpowered steel cannon completed up to the end of the year were two 5-inch, forty-eight 6-inch, eight 8-inch and three Io-inch. The Newark protected cruiser was the only ship launched in 1890, but I891 saw the "commerce protector" and "cruiser destroyer" THE UNITED STATES NAVY. 89 New York and the monitor Monterey in the water. The Naval Reserve of the seaboard States got the benefit of an appropriation of $25,000 for equipment by Congress during the year. This auxiliary force was distributed as follows: New York, 342 members; California, 371; Massachusetts, 238; North Carolina, IOI; Rhode Island, 54, and Texas, 43. Other States, including those on the great lakes, have since joined the organization. Immense Floating Batteries. The following year, 1892, was a banner year, the battle ship Texas, the protected cruisers Olympia, Columbia, Raleigh and Cincinnati, the unprotected cruiser Marblehead and the gunboats Castine and Bancroft being launched. The battle ships Indiana, Massachusetts and Oregon, sister vessels, were still on the stocks. Congress authorized the construction of the battle-ship Iowa and the armored cruiser Brooklyn. In this year eighty-three big guns were built by November I, namely: Twenty-eight 4-inch, eleven 5-inch, eighteen 6-inch, four 8-inch, seventeen Io-inch and five 12-inch. A grand advance was also made in the development of armor, nickel steel, super-carbonized and surface hardened by the Harveyized process, being selected as the material after tests which proved its immense superiority. It was found that projectiles from 6-inch guns would smash or perforate the best English and French armor plate, while projectiles fired from the same guns were shattered into fragments against Harveyized plate, scarcely indenting it. Only when 9-inch guns were used was this American plate injured; then it was cracked, but there was no perforation. The Navy Department could also congratulate itself this year on getting shells from the Carpenter Steel Company, which were greatly superior to shells made abroad. American smokeless or gun cotton powder also proved to be a better article. It was first made in this country for 6-inch guns, and the use of it was gradually extended to larger calibres. Each class and calibre of gun, it should be understood, requires for the best results a special brand of powder, which can be determined on only after experiments. With a 6-inch gun, a 90 THE UNITED STATES NAVY. charge of twenty-six pounds of smokeless powder being used, a muzzle velocity of 2469 feet a second was obtained. The pressure in the gun was estimated to be I3.9 tons to the square inch. Using a charge of brown powder, the muzzle velocity was found to be 2oo00 a second and the pressure 14 tons to the square inch. The Carpenter Steel Company, of Reading, Pa., before referred to. had begun to manufacture projectiles by the Firminy process in I890, and about the same time the Government made contracts with the United States Projectile Company, of Brooklyn, and the American Projectile Company, of Boston, for the delivery of common forged steel shells, not intended for use against armor. Brown, slow-burning powder for the heaviest calibres is made by the Du Pont Powder Company, which, on an order from the Government, also established a gun cotton plant. Additions to the New Navy. At the instance of the Navy Department, E. W. Bliss & Co., of Brooklyn, in 1891 purchased for United States territory the patents and secrets of the Whitehead torpedo, and a contract was forthwith made with the firm for the delivery of I00 18-inch torpedoes of the most recent type. By November, 1891, 155 heavy guns of all calibres had been built in the United States, and not one of them showed defects or weakness in tests or on service, a record so remarkable that it may be doubted whether a parallel could be furnished by the English and Continental makers. The new navy was powerfully strengthened by the addition of the first-class battleships Indiana, Massachusetts and Oregon, of the same type, and with a displacement of I0,288 tons, which were launched in 1893. Classified as "coast line battleships," their mean draught was kept down to 24, so that they could run into harbors where the channel was not deep enough for other warships of like tonnage. While they were not designed for cruising, the maximum capacity of their coal bunkers is I800 tons, which would last while they steamed I6,ooo knots at the rate of ten an hour. But with their bunkers taxed to the utmost capacity the top of the THE UNITED STATES NAVY. 91 armor belt of these vessels is only a few inches above the surface of the water, a condition which might unfit them for effective gun work in a heavy sea and perhaps render them unsafe for their crews in a hurricane. The I3-inch guns of these leviathans are much more effective-because they can be discharged rapidly-than the o00-ton guns of some of the English and Italian ships. The projectiles fired by the latter have greater penetrating power, but that is more than offset by the quickness with which the American guns can be handled. The auxiliary battery of 8-inch guns which these coast defense battleships carry has no counterpart in the European navies. It is said to be superior to the open barbette with thinly shielded gun, as well as to the Italian type without water line or machinery protection other than the armor deck. The protected cruiser Minneapolis and the ram Katahdin were also launched in 1893. In I895 the splendid armored cruiser Brooklyn left the ways, the pride of her class in the navy, and probably without a peer in that class in any navy. The formidable first-class battle-ship Iowa, which has the steaming ability of a cruiser was launched in 1897 and was commissioned the same mear. Use of Ocean Steamships. The Postal Subsidy act of I891 provided for the addition to the navy, in time of threatened war, of fast ocean steamships drawing compensation from the Government for carrying the mails. By authority of Section 10, such steamships may be taken and used as transports or cruisers upon the payment to the owners of the actual value, which may be fixed by appraisal, if necessary. Section 7 provides that officers of the navy may volunteer for service on such steamships while engaged in carrying the mails, the officers to perform duties appertaining to the merchant marine, and to draw furlough pay. The vessels of the American line (known as the Inman before it was admitted to American registry), the New York, Paris, St. Louis and St. Paul, were chartered by the Government as auxiliary cruisers by virtue of the Postal Subsidy act. Of the vessels in the above list, the Detroit, Montgomery, Marble 92 THE UNITED STATES NAVY. head, Marion and Mohican are unprotected modern cruisers, built of steel; the Bennington, Concord, Yorktown, Castine and Machias are modern gunboats, as are also the Wilmington, Helena and Nashville, which are known as light-draught gunboats; and the Annapolis, Vicksburg, Wheeling, Marietta and Newport, which are composite gunboats. The single-turret monitors date back to the Civil War, and are of iron. The little cruisers Alert and Ranger, and the gunboat Monocacy are also iron vessels. The Hartford is of wood, as are the Adams, Alliance, Essex, Enterprise and Thetis. The Katahdin is the Ammen ram. Fourth-raters in commission include the dynamite gun cruiser Vesuvius, already mentioned; the modern gunboats Bancroft, Pinta and Petrel, the old-fashioned cruisers Michigan and Yantic, and the transport steamship Fern, and others are constantly being added. Placing War-Ships in Commission. The placing of a warship in commission is always an impressive ceremony. It was especially impressive and solemn, in the case of the monitor Miantonomoh and the ram Katahdin, when they went into commission at the League Island Navy Yard, at Philadelphia, on March Ioth. Going into commission always means service; but who on board could tell what service it meant, for the Miantonomoh and the Katahdin? During the morning hour the Navy Yard was all a-bustle with the final arrangements. Sailors and marines, fresh from the receiving ship Vermont at Brooklyn, overran the old receiving ship Richmond, and the officers were reporting to Captain Casey, commandant of the Navy Yard; while on the two ships themselves workmen were putting on finishing touches and wardrobe stewards were lugging the officers' baggage below. Thus it was until half an hour of the time set for the ceremony. Then, as one bell clanged, over the gangway of the Richmond came marching the Miantonomoh's crew, and after them the crew of the Katahdin, headed by a red-coated and high-helmeted bugler. The Miantonomoh's men were drawn up on one side of the deck, while THE UNITED STATES NAVY. 93 on the other was Captain Mortimer L. Johnson, with Captain Casey. To the call of the bugle, the Stars and Stripes, the Union Jack and the commanding officer's pennant were hoisted, every one on board saluting the national colors. Captain Johnson read the order giving him command of the monitor, and then Captain Casey wished him success, and the ceremony was at an end. On the Katahdin a similar ceremony was enacted a few minutes later. War-ships may be divided into two classes, offensive and defensive. The Miantonomoh and the Katahdin are of the latter class. The former is a double-turreted monitor, of the same displacement (3,990 tons) as the Terror. Her full crew numbers about I50 men. The Katahdin is a harbor-defence ram of 2,155 tons, and requires a crew of about 70 men. The two vessels have been undergoing repairs. Each carries four guns in her main battery. Famous Monitor. The Miantonomoh's history goes back to the Civil War. Her construction was begun in I862. After her completion she was in service until 1874, when she was laid up for reconstruction. In I876 she was launched a second time, her hull being then entirely of iron, with double bottom. She was not completed until I891, when she was formally placed in commission. It is said that there is not a man-ofwar afloat that could defeat the Miantonomoh. She is designed pri. marily for harbor defence. Each of her two turrets carries two ten. inch modern rifles. In addition to these big guns, she carries on her superstructure four six-inch Hotchkiss rapid-firing rifles, besides two smaller guns in her military mast. The Katahdin has been called the freak of the American navy. She, like the Miantonomoh, is designed for harbor defence. Her weapon is a ram, but for defensive use she has four rapid-fire guns. She is armor-plated, built frorr the design of Rear-Admiral Daniel Ammen. No war vessel in our Navy creates more speculative interest. In the first place the Katahdin is the highest development of the ramming ship. In the second place, since its first great demonstration 94 THE UNITED STATES NAVY. during the Civil War ramming as a phase of naval warfare has lain in abeyance. Naval battles of the immediate future, it is asserted, will chiefly be fought at long range, say from a half mile upwards. Boarding and the old Nelson business of muzzle to muzzle is done with. Strangely enough the Katahdin will seemingly reverse this, at least in a way. It means close contact with the enemy and science is not so essential a factor as a cool head, great judgment and indomitable nerve. A Monster of Destruction. The following account of a visit on board this singular vessel is of interest: "To any one who may ask what a wardroom in such an engine of destruction can be like, I will simply say that it is belov the water line and was reached by a rather steep and not over-wide stairs; that if it had windows in it and those windows were draped in some soft tinted brocade, and the floors had been covered with Axminster or Wilton, with a birdcage and bric-a-brac judiciously arranged it might have done on a pinch for Rebecca's boudoir; but there were no windows to curtain and if there had been the outlook would have been over the meadow lands of the sea, and instead of tapestry or satin papers, was the inexorable fact of seven inches of cold iron, and the only bric-a-brac was a sword or two and an officer's chapeau. But no, I am wrong. On the small fixed table with the swords was a bunch of violets and all the grim interior was fragrant with the delicate perfume. " I said to Captain Wilde, 'I suppose you have gone through the motions mentally, and know just what to do should occasion occur.' "'Oh, yes, though the unexpected often happens, and one must be prepared for all sorts of emergencies and combinations of circumstances. In case of a conflict the Katahdin would probably lie modestly behind a battleship till a certain stage, then " Up, guards, and at 'em." A few discharges of non-smokeless powder to veil our start and we would make a dash at the enemy, first filling our compartments with water so as to sink us still lower. A fair blow at twenty knots, and-out with the life-boats to save the drowning foe.' THE UNITED STATES NAVY. 95 " He laughed as he said that was the programme given him by an aged naval officer. 'The fact is,' he continued, 'as the circumstances arise they must be met, and it is difficult to say beforehand. The probable distance would be a run at full speed for half a mile, more or less. In that charge, if we are not caught by a torpedo or a torpedo-boat destroyer, or by a shot from a ten-inch gun, we will be able to do something for our country. No doubt the enemy would be on the look-out for us, and during that short interval they wouldn't be lying around and leaning up against things to any great extent.' If the Unexpected Should Happen. "'Suppose the Katahdin's nose refused to come out again?' "'That is one of the unexpected events. If by chance our engine was injured, so that we had to remain with our wounded foe, we would fill up the hole pretty well, so that the inrush of water would be lessened; but then the Terror, or the Texas, or the Iowa, or some other ship, would see what could be done for us.' "While the captain was speaking I was looking about the little dungeon, and wondering how many individuals of this mighty nation fully realize how much the brave men give up who go out to battle for them. Captain Wilde is a remarkably fine-looking man, about fifty years of age, with a strong, rather florid face, the stern effect of his square chin and firm mouth being offset by a pair of large brown eyes. His voice is vigorous. He stands about five feet ten inches, and quite fills out his undress uniform. The naval authorities evidently knew what they were about when they gave him command of the Katahdin." CHAPTER VI. America's Giant Sea-Fighters. HE first-class battle ship Iowa is the most powerful open sea fighter in the navy, because of a combination of great coal capacity, which gives her the range of a cruiser, her heavy armor and her destructive armament. She stands alone in our navy as a type of a battle-ship. The Minneapolis is the swiftest ship in the navy. On her official trial she made an average of 23.07 knots an hour for eighty-eight miles. The Columbia, whose time in her trial over a similar course was 22.8i knots, has distinguished herself by fast trips across the Atlantic trom the other side, in which she failed, however, to equal the speed of the best merchant steamships. These vessels, like the Iowa, have a coal capacity of 2000 tons, but their horse-power is, of course, very much greater. The two cruisers, while having no belt armor, have deck and gun position protection, double bottoms and a wall of patent fuel five feet thick on each side of the boilers. Their nominal cruising radius is J6,240 miles. With three screws, the middle only would be used for long distance excursions, the other two being uncoupled. The Flower of our Navy. In the cruiser class the Brooklyn and New York are the flower of the navy. Besides heavily armored steel decks and light side plating they have a cellulose belt. In displacement the Brooklyn has a superiority of a little more than a thousand tons. She is also fourteen feet longer. At the Kiel naval review the Brooklyn was a prime favorite with the naval experts. She is not, however, as handsome a ship as the New York. The Brooklyn's tall, slim smoke stacks are not pretty, but they af. ford an extra forced draft, and her high forecastle deck gives her a top. heavy appearance, but this device enables her to carry her eight-inch 96 LIEUT. R. P. HOBSON ADMIRAL GEORGE DEWEY THE HERO OF MANILA I UNITED STATES TROOPS INVADING CUBA GALLANT CHARGE BY GENERAL WHEELER'S CAVALRY 0 cr 0.c) 0 a. LL z a: coj wI co > X w Iz, O a 0 I I UNITED STATES CRUISER SAN FRANCISCO Twin screw; length, 810 feet; breadth, 49 feet 2 inches: draft, 18 feet 9 inches; displacement, 4,098 tons. Speed, 19% knots. Main battery, twelve 6-inch breech loading rifles. Secondary battery, four 6-pounder, four 3-pounder and two i-pounder rapid-fire guns, three 87-millimetre Hotchkiss revolving cannon and four gatlings. Thickness of proteotiv deck, 3 inches on the slopes and 2 inches on the flat. 33 Offcers, 350 Men. Cost, 1.428.000. BOMBARDMENT OF SAN JUAN BY ADMIRAL SAMPSON'S FLEET THULRSDAY, MAY 12, 1898 p ADMIRAL W. T. SAMPSON COMMODORE JOHN G. WATUON COPYRIGHT, 1898, BY F. QUTEXUNSi UNITED STATES CRUISER NEWARK Protected steel crusier; twin screw; length, 310 feet; breadth, 49 feet 2 inches; draft, 19 feet; displacement, 4,098 tons; speed, 19 knots. Main battery, twelve 6-inch breech loading rifles. Secondary battery, four 6-pounder, four 3-pounder and two 1-pounder rapid-firing guns, four revolving cannon, and four gatlings. 4 Officers, 350 Men. Cost $1,248,000 UNITED STATES CRUISER CINCINNATI Protected crusier; twin screw; length, 800 feet; breadth, 42 feet; draft, 18 feet; displacement. 3,213 tons; speed, 19 knot. Main battery, ten 5-inch and one 6-inch rapid-fire guns. Secondary battery, eight 6- pounder and two 1-nounder rapid. fre guns and two gatlins, 20 Off0crsp, 22 Me. Cst, 1,,100,000, QUAY, SHIPPING AND CUSTOM HOUSE-SAN JUAN COPYRIGHT, 1898, BY J. M. JORDAN ~ ~-: ',-'.-: r l'j ~;:,:~~':t '.C STREET SCENE IN SAN JUAN-PORTO RICO COPYRIGHT, 1898, BY J. M. JORDAN :i:~::::::~i::-:-:: —,,~ " GENERAL W. R. SHAFTER -1 OAIM I IAUJ Ur_ UUUOA Formerly the Capital of Cuba, and now the chief town of the eastern department of the Island. Stands on a bay on the south coast, and has a harbor, deep, well protected and fortified. Population, 74,300 LANDING OF GENERAL SHAFTER'S ARMY NEAR SANTIAGO-CUBA AMERICA'S GIANT SEA-FIGHTERS. 97 guns ten feet higher than the New York, so that she would be a more formidable antagonist when steaming against a head sea. The Brooklyn's armament is superior to the New York's. The Texas and the ill-fated Maine were also supposed to be sister ships, but there was this difference between them: the Maine's big guns were coupled in turrets enclosed in oval barbettes, while those of the Texas were mounted singly in turrets sheltered within an oblique redoubt, as in the Italia of the Italian navy. The Oregon, Massachusetts and Indiana are ships as like one another as the constructors could make them. Three protected cruisers almost identical are the Newark, Philadelphia and San Francisco. The design is essentially American. They have double bottoms for one hundred and twenty-seven feet, covering the space occupied by the engines and boilers, and, like all our modern ships, have watertight compartments. The material of construction is what is known as mild steel. Engines, boilers, magazines, shell room, torpedo spaces and steering gear are protected by a steel deck, engines and boilers being further removed from danger by the coal bunkers, a device which is common in modern warships. Ventilation is provided by the exhaust system, and each ship has a fine electric plant and powerful search-lights. The cruiser Olympia is a lesser New York, except that she has no side armor. She has, however, a protective deck, which joining the hull beneath the water line at an angle of thirty degrees, and with a thickness of four and three-fourths inches on the slopes amidships, and three inches on the forward and aft slopes and two at the center is a very good substitute for side armor. All her six boilers can be worked under forced draught on the air-tight fire system. Cruisers of a Smaller Type. The Raleigh and Cincinnati are called sister ships, but the latter has a displacement greater by about eight hundred tons. A cofferdam filled with cellulose extends around them at the water line. Their rig is that of a two-masted schooner. The Raleigh was the first ship of the new navy to be built complete by the Government. The G 98 AMERICA'S GIANT SEA-FIGHTERS. unprotected cruisers Detroit, Montgomery and Marblehead are also built on the same plan, which includes a minute subdivision of the compartments in the region of the load line, for protection against injury. In the vicinity of the machinery spaces are cofferdams to prevent water finding its way to the large compartments in the center of the vessel when she has been struck by a projectile. A thin deck plating covers the machinery, dynamos and magazines. At the outboard ends it is three feet below the water line, so that if the side of the vessel is pierced near the load line, or even below it, the compartments containing the boilers, engines and magazines will probably not be flooded. With a light draught, and costing comparatively little to keep in commission, these unprotected cruisers are among the most useful vessels of the navy. Description of the Baltimore. The Baltimore was the first protected cruiser built by the Cramps. She is best known to the public as the ship that carried Ericsson's body to Sweden in I890. The berth room for the crew is large, and she is one of the most comfortable ships in the new navy for both officers and men, her appliances and conveniences being of the most approved kind. Her four 8-inch breech-loading rifled guns are mounted in barbettes, two on the forecastle and two on the poop. The Boston and Atlanta, the earlier single-deck Roach cruisers, were designed on a plan which was a modification of the Esmeralda type. Their 8-inch guns, in barbettes on the main decks, are placed en echelon forward and abaft the superstructure; the 6-inch guns and rapid-fire and heavier machine guns are mounted within the central superstructure. The Roach cruiser, the Chicago, has a double deck, and, like the others, is partially protected. Her four 8-inch guns are mounted in sponsons on the spar deck, 24 feet above the water line; the 8-inch and 5-inch guns are placed on the gun deck. The Charleston is also of the Esmeralda type, but an improvement on it. A protective deck extends her whole length. The 8-inch guns are on the middle line AMERICA'S GIANT SEA-FIGHTERS. 99 of the sh;i. The Yorktown, Concord and Bennington, although called gun,oats, are poop-and-forecastle, partially protected cruisers. Two 6 irch guns are mounted on the forecastle, two on the poop, and two amidships. The ram Katahdin is a most formidable vessel on paper. She was designed by Admiral Ammen, and with the object of ramming an enemy's ship, can be submerged until only her turtle, back funnel and ventilating shafts remain above water. The ram is of cast steel, 10 feet long and supported by longitudinal braces so that the force of the blow may be distributed through the vessel. It is estimated that the force of the impact when she rammed a vessel would be equivalent to the blow of a hammer weighing over 2000 tons moving at the rate of seventeen knots. Any vessel afloat must succumb to such force. Guns of Vast Destructive Power. Let us consider the features which make our battle-ships great fighting machines. Heavily armored and carrying guns of superior shattering and penetrating power, they are intended to bear the brunt of a naval battle, each a floating fort. The swift armored cruiser, like the Brooklyn or New York, may show her stern in retreat from an enemy, but the slower moving battle-ship is expected to fight it out wherever she may happen to be, no matter what the odds against her. A comparison between the different types of battle-ship which we have will be instructive. Why would the Indiana be regarded as a formidable foe? In the first place her belt armor of Harveyized steel is unusually thick-I8 inches. There is hardly any doubt that she could keep afloat during the severest engagement. The dynamite cruiser Vesuvius might destroy her-that is, if the Indiana were taken by surprise on a moonlight night or at dawn. She might meet with the same fate from the explosion of a submarine mine. But in a battle of big guns and a test of armor plating the Indiana could hold her own against almost any warship afloat. Her armament is tremendous, consisting of four 13-inch guns. of 100 AMERICA'S GIANT SEA-FIGHTERS. about 67 tons, in turrets, and eight 8-inch, also in turrets, flanking the heavier guns. So well has the machinery for working the 67-tonners been contrived that one man can lower them and swing them through an arc of 270 degrees by turning hand wheels and moving levers in the sighting station of the turret. The turrets are turned by hydraulic engines placed within the shelter of the barbettes below it. Raised twenty-six feet above the water, the 8-inch guns look out from four turrets flanking those which hold the big guns. This greater height renders the 8-inch most effective in a heavy sea. Shells fired from them would probably not be deflected by striking the crests of waves. The Indiana's four 6-inch guns are mounted on the main deck. At lose quarters her broadside of twenty 6-pounder rapid-fire guns would work terrible havoc. Twenty Shells Fired in a Minute. To handle these little spitfires the gunners stand on grated shelves which hang down vertically when not in use. Twenty 24 shells, capable of penetrating three inches of iron at a distance of I,ooo yards, can be fired from them every minute. A torpedo boat, if observed in time, could never get near enough, raked by the fire of these guns, to discharge her torpedoes. Six baby I-pounders complete the armament of the Indiana, Massachusetts and Oregon. The hull construction of the Indiana demands brief notice. She really has two hulls, an inner and outer, which are separated by three and a half feet, each being water-tight. The space between them is divided laterally by the plate frames, riveted to both shells. In turn the lateral spaces are subdivided by other plate frames or girders, riveted to the cross girders and running the length of the ship. Each compartment thus arranged is made water-tight. A torpedo placed against the side of the vessel would probably fail to break the inner shell, but if a hole should be made in it the inflow could be localized by the athwartship and longitudinal water-tight bulkheads. It would therefore be difficult to sink the Indiana. She would AMERICA'S GIANT SEA-FIGHTERS. 101 probably go through a battle without having her big turrets disabled. These are formed of a solid circular wall of steel 17 inches thick, which revolves upon a circular track. From the top of the turret down to 4' feet below the water line, there is a wall of steel 17 and 18 inches thick, protecting the gun crew, the turning machinery and the powder and shell. Many shots might strike this turret, but so heavy is the armor that it would be remarkable if a shot should penetrate and disable it. Commander Protected by Steel. There is no safer ship in the world to fight on than the Indiana. The conning tower, where the commander stands, and from which he directs the fighting, forms the base of the military mast, and is coated with steel I2 inches thick. Through horizontal slits, sufficiently high above the sighting hood of the forward turret to afford a survey of the area of battle, the commander gazes, alert and resourceful. By means of speaking tubes and electric apparatus he is master of his ship, the engines, the guns' stations and the steering room, at every stage of the conflict. The Indiana has an equipment of seven torpedo tubes, operated bow and stern, and from the sides on the berth deck. A Whitehead torpedo, such as the Indiana would use when close enough to an enemy, weighs 835 pounds, and is divided into three compartmentsone containing a charge of guncotton, which is fired by contact; one charged with air at 1300 pounds to the square inch pressure, and the third holding compressed air engines to work the screw propellers. The torpedo is ejected from the fixed launching tube by compressed air or small powder charge, the shock starting the engines in the torpedo. Driven at a rate of thirty knots an hour for 400 yards, or twenty-seven for 800, it explodes on striking the side of the vessel aimed at. Besides fixed torpedo tubes, bow and stern, the Indiana has movable tubes fitted to the side of the ship with a ball and socket joint, so that they can be trained like broadside guns. Two search lights of Ioo,ooo candle power upon the roof of the pilot house, one each side of the military mast, and a range finder, 102 AMERICA'S GIANT SEA-FIGHTERS. also two similar search lights and a range finder on the overdeck, complete the defensive and offensive equipment of the Indiana and her sister ships. This general description will approximate to a description of all our great fighting ships, which differ only in thickness and distribution of armor and deck plating, arrangement of the turrets and calibre of guns. Handled to Complete Satisfaction. With regard to the Indiana type it should be noted that European designers did not approve of the elevation of the four 8-inch turrets 26 feet above the water, which was a new departure. They argued that the arrangement would make the ship topheavy. But trials prove them to have been in the wrong, although it is yet to be shown that this type can be handled to complete satisfaction in a sea fight in heavy weather. In the gunnery tests it was found that the arc of training of the 8 -inch and 6-inch guns would have to be reduced, because of interference. It was expected that the 8-inch guns could be fired full ahead or full astern, and through a large arc of training on the beam, which necessitated firing across the top of the I3-inch turrets. But when the 8-inch guns were laid any nearer to the I3-inch turrets than 80 degrees forward of the beam, the force of the blast rendered the sighting hoods of the big turrets untenable. Stops had to be placed on the 8-inch turrets, to limit the training of them any nearer the axis of the ship than IO degrees. So when the plans for the Kearsarge-Kentucky type were drawn an attempt was made to meet the objection of interference by a system of double-deck turrets, the 13-inch guns being placed on the lower deck and the 8-inch on a projecting upper deck. In each doubledeck turret, one at the stern and one at the bow. The Kearsarge type carries two I3-inch guns and two 8-inch. For harbor defence and still water work the navy has no more useful vessels than the double turreted monitors Miantonomoh, Amphitrite, Monadnock, Terror, Puritan and Monterey. The model of these floating forts, low in the water and most difficult to AMERICA'S GIANT SEA-FIGHTERS. 103 hit, was Erricsson's Monitor of war times. The Monterey, built at San Francisco, is of a more modern type than the others, whose keels were laid as long ago as I874. Their construction dragged along for years, as there seemed to be no use for them. At one time, with their engines on board, but without armor or guns, they were laid up. But on March 3, 1885, when interest in the navy had been revived by the addition of the Roach cruisers, Congress appropriated $3,I78,046 for the completion of these monitors. Four of them, the Amphitrite, Monadnock, Terror and Miantonomoh, are of the same displacement, 3990 tons, and have the same big guns, 4 Io-inch. The Puritan has almost double their displacement, 60oo tons, and carries four 12-inch guns. The hulls are of iron, with an inner and outer shell and water-tight compartments; double bottoms round up into the sides of the ship, and extend to about three feet of the water line, where the side armor begins. The steel belt has a height of seven feet. In the Puritan it is twelve inches thick amidships, in the Miantonomoh and Amphitrite nine, and in the Terror seven, tapering to the ends. Admirable Construction. The main deck, flush throughout the ship, is broken by the superstructure, barbettes and turrets. Its plating is slightly thicker on the Puritan than on the others. The turrets, of II — inch Harveyized steel, revolve within and near the top edge of the barbettes, which project nearly five feet above the main deck. Two 4-inch guns, two 6-pounders, two 3-pounders and two I-pounders, all rapid fire, are carried on the superstructure. The crew of the 4-inch guns is protected by a two-inch shield, which rotates with the gun. In place of 4-inch guns the Terror and Monadnock carry two rapid-fire 6-pounders. While the monitors were designed for harbor defense, they could be taken out to sea in ordinary weather for a deep water battle, and with their low free-boards they would have an excellent chance of going through it unscathed. The Miantonomoh was selected to fire the salute at the unveiling of the Ericsson statue, and was conspicuous in the naval parade of the Columbian celebration in New York city. 104 AMERICA'S GIANT SEA-FIGHTERS. The double-turret monitor Monterey is built of steel, and she has a curved deck and a double bottom throughout, with I IO water-tight compartments in her hull. An armor belt of thirteen inches makes her, as a harbor defense vessel, almost invulnerable to projectiles which would necessarily be discharged at long range. A single military mast is equipped with machine guns and a search-light. Named after the coast-town which was formerly the capital of Upper California, the mission of the Monterey is to defend the port of San Francisco. While the Indiana is armed with eight 8-inch guns, disposed in four turrets at the four corners of the central armored battery, the four 8-inch guns of the Kearsarge and Kentucky can not only concentrate an equal number of 8-inch guns on each broadside, but can swing each pair through an unbroken arc of 270 degrees ahead or astern. The blast of the upper guns does not cause incapacitating inconvenience to the crew in the 13-inch turret below. This turret design, it will be seen, saves the weight of two turrets and four guns and their ammunition. The Double-Turret System. At the same time it is in conflict with the axiom that gun stations should be separated as widely as possible to prevent serious crippling by a lucky shot. There is still another objection in the double turret system, namely, that the two sets of guns must be trained together. This would be a handicap when it was desirable to use the heavy guns and the 8-inch in different directions on the enemy, which must sometimes happen. The Iowa was originally known as "Sea-going Battle-Ship No. I." She is regarded as a combination of the cruising qualities of the New York and the fighting ability of the typical battle-ship. For I96 feet of her length a belt of armor 7 feet 6 inches wide and I4 inches thick protects her. Belts 12 inches thick connect transversely the ends of the side belts. Thus an armored citadel is formed, and at the ends circular barbettes I6 inches thick are placed, with rotating 14-inch turrets, each of which contains two 12-inch guns with axes parallel. AMERICA'S GIANT SEA-FIGHTERS. 105 In addition to the water line belt there is a second belt of 4-inch armor running from one big turret to the other and forming a second citadel, at the four corners of which are barbettes of 8-inch armor with revolving turrets of 5 P-inch armor. Each turret holds two 8 -inch guns. The 12-inch guns in the forward turret and all the 8-inch guns are on the same level, their axes 25 feet above the mean water line. The axes of the 12-inch guns in the after turret are 7 feet lower. The fighting mast has three tops. A deflective steel deck affords additional protection to the Iowa. Cellulose is packed back of her plating. Thus it will be seen that all the latest improvements and most formidable armament have been used in the construction of our great seafighters. They are immense floating batteries, armed for deadly bat. tle, and represent all that has been learned from naval warfare up to the present time. It would be difficult to imagine what more could be added to these monsters of the deep to make them more effective and terrible in conflict. CHAPTER VII. Torpedo Boats and Their Destroyers. N the fleet that Spain sent to the Canary Islands in anticipation of war with the United States, there were six torpedo boat destroyers and seven torpedo boats. Of the former, we had not at the time one in our navy. A torpedo-boat destroyer is simply a craft fast enough to catch the smaller torpedo boats, having therefore a speed of 30 knots, or more, and large enough to mount at least twelve-pound quick-firing guns, besides others of smaller calibre. The new yacht Mayflower, which was bought by the Government, was heavy enough to mount these guns, but she had not the necessary speed. There are some tiny torpedo boats which have the necessary speed, but not the size requisite to enable them to mount a battery of twelve-pound quick-firing guns. Both speed and size are essential. Value of Torpedo-Boat Catchers. The esteem in which foreign nations hold the torpedo-boat destroyer is evident from the fact that England has no fewer than 97 of them, and all built since I893. The United States developed the torpedo in the Civil War to an extent unapproached then or since by foreign nations, but has failed to construct any but the smaller torpedo boats. At the time of writing there is not a torpedo craft on this side of the Atlantic which could cope with any one of the six destroyers attached to the Spanish fleet. Our naval attaches abroad, and Commander Brownson, tried to buy some in Europe, but all their efforts were signal failures. The Spanish torpedo boat Ariete was built by Thornycroft & Co. at Chiswick, England, in I887. It is 147 feet long, 14 feet beam, and has a draught of little more than 4 feet. Her displacement is 97 tons. Her two screws are driven by engines of I,600 horse-power, and her soeed is 26 knots. Beside this, compare the enormous horse-power 106 TORPEDO BOATS AND THEIR DESTROYERS. 107 of Spain's destroyers, 6,ooo, in vessels 225 feet long, which drive them at a speed of 28 and 30 knots. The Ariete has two torpedo tubes and a battery of four three-pound quick-firing guns. Her complement of men is 23, which is a third of what the destroyers carry. Fine Specimens of Their Class. The Fame, also built by Thornycroft & Co., in 1896, has a waterline length of 210 feet, a depth of 31 feet, six inches, is 21 feet beam, and draws five feet eight inches of water. She has a displacement of only 300 tons, but her engines of 5,400 horse-power drive her through the water at over thirty knots an hour. She carries two torpedo tubes for eighteen-inch Whitehead torpedoes, one twelve-pound, and five six-pound rapid-firing guns. Her complement of officers and men is fifty-eight. Spain's torpedo-boat destroyers are the Furor, Terror, Audaz, Osado, Pluton and Proserpina, all Clyde built, and constructed in 1896 and 1897. The United States navy does not possess a formidable flotilla of torpedo-boats, but those in commission are fine specimens of their class, and with frequent additions of new boats-about twenty are building at various yards-we shall soon pass Spain, which is fairly strong in this branch. The American torpedo boats range from little fellows, like the Stiletto, of 31 tons displacement and 359 horsepower, to redoubtable craft like the Stringham, which will be of 340 tons displacement and 7,200 horse-power. Some of them will have three torpedo tubes and others but two. The flotilla in commission consists of these boats: Cushing, 105 tons displacement and 1,720 horse-power; Ericsson, 120 and 1,800; Foote, 142 and 2,000; Winslow, 142 and 2,000; Gwin, 46' and 850; Talbot, 46' and 850; Porter and Dupont, and the Somers and Manley, lately purchased abroad. At the time of writing, twelve torpedo boats were in process of construction in various parts of the United States. The United States navy has no torpedo-boat destroyers, whereas Spain has several of them, boats of high speed and carrying strong batteries of rapid-fire guns. In the English naval manceuvres of I895 108 TORPEDO BOATS AND THEIR DESTROYERS, the destroyers showed their quality. "A further result of the utmtst importance and significance," says the London Times in an article on the manceuvres, " is the complete ascendancy which appears to have been established by the destroyer over the torpedo boat. ' Practically/' wrote our correspondent with the reserve fleet, 'the torpedo boats dared not venture out of port because of the destroyers, which waited outside and kept the seas, even when a gale was blowing."' Mode of Launching the Torpedoes. The Cushing, built by the Herreshoffs, was the first sea-going torpedo boat of the new United States navy. Her length is I37.5 feet; extreme breadth, 15.05; depth of hold, 9.2I; draught, 4.50; displacement, 2,240 tons. Her deck and bottom plating varies from A to XY inch. Double frames are placed at all watertight bulkheads, of which there are ten. The conning towers are of 4-inch steel plate. By means of electric connections the torpedoes may be launched from her three tubes by the commander in the conning tower. With two separate quadruple expansion engines a speed of 23 knots can be attained. Bunker capacity is 37 tons, and the Cush. ing has a radius of action of 3,000 miles at 10 knots an hour. Three rapid-fire six-pounder Hotchkiss breech-loading rifles and two or more Gatlings constitute the armament. Another type of torpedo boat, and a much faster one, is the Porter, formerly known as No. 6, which, on her trial trip, maintained an average speed of 28.74 knots per hour for a distance of sixty miles. Convert it into statute miles and the result is 33.I. The Porter goes through the water with scarcely any fuss, and in war would, therefore, have first call for night attacks. The Porter is 175 feet long and car. ries three torpedo-launching carriages. Her plating is of the very thinnest to save weight, and she carries I-pounder rapid-fire guns. It was conceded that the United States navy would have a remarkable torpedo-boat catcher when the Bailey was completed. She is named after Theodric Bailey, who was second in command to Farragut on the Mississippi. The Bailey is one of three "destroyers" for which Congress made appropriations. Her builders, Charles L. Sea TORPEDO BOATS AND THEIR DESTROYERS. 109,ury & Co., of Morris Heights, promised a boat capable of a speed of 33 knots an hour. The Bailey is 205 feet long, 19 feet wide, has a depth of hold of 13 feet 5 inches, and a displacement of 265 tons when in commission. Her armament consists of four 6-pounder rapid-firing guns and three 18-inch torpedo-discharge tubes. The Bailey's engines show a development of 5600 horse-power, more than half that employed by the Umbria. Of course, the metal used in her construction is very thin. Driven With Great Speed Through the Water. When self-propelling torpedoes, like those devised by Whitehead and Howell, came into favor with naval experts, special boats were tonstructed wherewith to conduct warfare with these terrible submarine projectiles. A "fish" or " automobile " torpedo is cigar-shaped, about six feet long, and contains, besides a charge of from two hundred to five hundred pounds of gun-cotton, a good deal of delicate machinery to propel and steer it. At the tail end is a screw. After it is dropped into the water it assumes a horizontal position just below the surface of the sea, and develops a speed of twenty-five or thirty miles an hour. The amount of power which is stored within, in the form of compressed air or a heavy fly wheel set in rotation just before launching, is usually enough to carry it a mile or more. Sometimes a torpedo is expelled from the launching-tube by water pressure, sometimes by burning a very small charge of powder behind it. It may even be set afloat by hand. It will be seen, then, that no great pressure is exerted within the tube, and there is little or no recoil. The tube may therefore be a light affair, without an elaborate mount. Very often it is fixed in place, its mouth opening into the ocean below the boat's water-line, and having a suitable cover. It may be movable, however, to facilitate the task of aiming the torpedo. Moreover, itwas intended originally that a torpedo boat should not go very far from its base of operations to deliver an attack. Either it would confine its service to harbor defence, or else keep in the neighborhood of the fleet to which it was attached. It might always remain afloat, or it could be carried on the deck of a battleship 110 TORPEDO BOATS AND THEIR DESTROYERS. or cruiser, being lowered for service when the latter came to anchor in distant waters. For this reason and others, the torpedo boat proper was, and still is, a small and rather fragile craft. And inasmuch as it was intended to carry on its work stealthily, and not enter a general engagement, its launching tubes and torpedoes were its only armament at one time. But after a little two other styles of vessels, making use of the same style of projectile, came into existence. One is the "torpedo gunboat," and the other the " torpedo boat destroyer," or "catcher." The gunboat is primarily a small man-of-war, being nearly or quite as large as a third-class cruiser. Her displacement may range from 500 to I,ooo tons, and her speed seldom exceeds 20 knots. Torpedotubes are added to her other armament, as a secondary or incidental feature, very much as they are to the equipment of modern fast cruisers. The " torpedo gunboat," however, is a type of vessel very rarely heard of, even on the other side of the Atlantic. To Keep the Smaller Craft Company. A somewhat similar craft is what the Germans call a "torpedo division boat." This is intended to accompany a fleet of torpedo boats, partly for purposes of defending them and partly to furnish supplies of projectiles. The vessel may have torpedo tubes, and may be expected to use them in emergency. But her chief function is to convoy the little fellows, and her speed is not likely to exceed 20 or 22 knots. The "destroyer," or "catcher," however, is not only bigger and more seaworthy than the torpedo boat, but she is much swifter. She carries expulsion-tubes and torpedoes, to be sure, but she has a strong battery of small calibre, rapid-firing guns, and tremendously powerful engines. Of the Havock class of destroyers forty-two were ordered for the British Navy in I894, and they were intended to make at least 26 or 27 knots. The Boxer, one of these vessels, showed a speed of over 30 knots after having been equipped with water-tube boilers of the Thornycroft type. The Boxer's engines, by the way, developed about 4,600 TORPEDO BOATS AND THEIR DESTROYERS. 111 horse power, and the boat only displaced 220 tons. The relation of engine power to size will be better appreciated when one remembers that a fast American cruiser, with a displacement of 7,475 tons, has engines capable of exerting 21,500 horse-power. Not content with the speed of the Boxer, the British Admiralty contracted for about forty-four more destroyers, most of which were to have a minimum speed of 30 knots, and a maximum not far from 35 knots. The armament of the Havock consists of three launching-tubes, one I2-pounder rapid-fire gun and two 6-pounder rapid-fire guns. Usually the typical destroyer has six or eight guns. The destroyer usually has a well armored "conning" tower, surmounted by a searchlight. These two features of this type of vessel are of the utmost importance, inasmuch as " destroyers " and "catchers" are designed to catch and destroy much smaller craft. And these usually operate only under cover of nocturnal darkness, and also employ the concealment of paint of such a hue as to render them almost invisible. Torpedo Equipments of Cruisers. This type of vessel is sometimes called a "sea-going torpedo-boat," and is really what her name implies. Her tonnage is seldom, if ever, less than 200 tons. Torpedo-boats proper show a speed varying from — i8 to 25 knots, and are divided into three classes. A first-class boat has a displacement of about 80 or Ioo tons; second-class, 50 or 60 torts, while a third-class torpedo-boat is scarcely more than a launch, and is usually carried on the deck of a bigger ship. The modern cruiser, though, usually has three or four torpedo-tubes of her own, opening above the water-line, and therefore does not need to carry special boats to assist in launching her Whiteheads or Howells. For several years the British Admiralty has pursued the policy of building no torpedo-boats that cannot go to sea in rough weather, although they already had on hand a number of such craft. The Sims-Edison fish torpedo, which has been adopted by the Engineer Department of the Army, as an adjunct to the anchored submarine mines, which are planted to obstruct the channels and 112 TORPEDO BOATS AND THEIR DESTROYERS. fairways of approach to our coast cities, is in fact a submarine boat whose crew-engineer, gunner and pilot-is merged in an operator on shore under whose direction and control it speeds to the attack insidious, unseen and unsuspected until a fatal detonation tears apart the steel-clad "colossus" with whom this little "David" of the sea has disputed the right of way. This submarine weapon whose explosives and detonating batteries, engines, propeller and steering gear are instantly responsive to electric impulses miles away, consists of a copper float shaped like a boat with very fine lines and filled with an unsubmergible material practically indifferent to the missiles of rapid-fire guns. Below this float is t SUBMARINE BOAT WORKING BY ELECTRIC POWER. attached rigidly to it by steel stays the torpedo proper, a hollow spindle, twenty-three feet in length, with tapering ends and made for convenience in five sections, each of which is admirably constructed to serve a definite purpose. Beginning at the bow, No. I section contains the charge, 300 pounds of dynamite, or explosive gelatine; No. 2, an air space for buoyancy; No. 3, contains the coil of electric cable that carries the dynamo current for working the motor and detonating the charge, and the secondary current for operating the relays of the steering gear; No. 4, the motor that revolves the propeller, and No. 5, the electro-mechanical steering apparatus. No. 3 section is fitted with a lid so as to allow of putting in place the light cable carrying the insulated copper conducting wires. This cable is over two miles in length and laid up so as to pay out from TORPEDO BOATS AND THEIR DESTROYERS. ' 112 the centre of the coil straight, pliable and free from kinks through a tube that comes away under the torpedo clear of the propeller. Especially devised electrical indicators promptly signal should the torpedo meet with spar guards, Bullivant wire nets, or other obstructions with which blockading vessels may endeavor to shield themselves. The sloping steel stay at the bow is ground to a sharp edge so as to cut through obstructions, but failing to do this, the torpedo, at the will of the operator, either dives under and speeds ahead on its former level or explodes and tears open a clear channel through which a following " fish" can pass to annihilate her steel-clad antagonist. Appliance for Guiding the Steersman. To furnish the steersman with his bearings two vertical rods hinged to the float fore and aft carry red and white balls by day and colored electric lights at night, open to the stern, but hooded towards the bow to conceal them from the enemy. With a range of 2f miles at a speed of 21 miles an hour this aggressive weapon would prove very effective. The chances of death in a naval engagement cannot be computed. The fighting machines have to furnish the figures, and there is nothing to go upon. The relative danger on the different vessels from the torpedo-boat to the battleship, however, is in favor of the big ship. The man who goes forth on a torpedo-boat to fight the enemy takes his life in his hand and is liable to lose it. The best opinion in the service is that it takes the highest courage to embark on a torpedoboat, but there are plenty of men anxious to win the greater glory in consequence of the greater risk. Battleships are on the alert for their small foes by day and by night, and if a torpedo-boat is discovered within range all the guns of the threatened ship capable of being trained upon the daring small boat are fired at it. The torpedo-boat is a frail thing, built for speed, and one shot is sufficient to annihilate it. A rapid-fire gun alone could do the work. Even in a night attack the chances are that the battleship's searchlights would pick up any torpedo-boat. Then it H 114 TORPEDO BOATS AND THEIR DESTROYERS. would be a battle of speed between the torpedo-boat to discharge it. torpedoes and the gunners on the ship. Naval officers say they count on the destruction of a large percentage of torpedo-boats in an engagement. Even a submarine boat might prove to be the coffin of her men. The chance, however, of destroying a battleship at no greater cost than that of a submarine boat and a small crew would be a distinct gain toward victory. The younger officers of the navy hold that billets on these dangerous boats are highly desirable, and the older officers are willing to stand by the battleships. Terrible Engines of Destruction. At the battle of the Yalu ten Japanese sailors were killed by the vibration of air caused by the firing of their own guns. One Japanese vessel had thirty men killed and seventy injured by the explosion of one shell. Another had fourteen killed and twenty-seven injured by one shell. The bursting of even small shells did great injury. In one instance four men were killed and six wounded by the explosion of a very small shell. In the 298 killed or injured at Yalu head wounds were most frequent, the ratio being 21.15 per cent. of the whole number. Next in order came wounds of the greater part of the body, of the upper limbs, of the lower limbs, of the abdomen and lumbar regions and of the chest and back, while the neck suffered least. For such vigorous service as is required in the navy only -he best men are desired, and the rules adhered to in enlistments are rigid. It will not be amiss to state here the requirements of a naval recruit. Good health and proper age are the fundamental requirements for all men who would enlist in the United States navy. Unless the applicant is physically sound and of proper age, no matter what his mental calibre or experience, he cannot enlist. If the would-be recruit desires to enter some particular section of the service he must undergo an examination to show his fitness for the place. In a general way the recruits are divided into the following classes: Engineers, landsmen, ordinary seamen and seamen. Under the head ot TORPEDO BOATS AND THEIR DESTROYERS. 115 engineers come firemen, coal-passers, oilers, etc. To enter this department the applicant must be between the ages of twenty-one and thirty-five years. He must also successfully pass the regulation service examination, which compels a knowledge of the chief features of his particular work. Landsmen must be physically sound and between the ages of twenty-one and twenty-five years. Ordinary seamen must have had an experience of two years at sea, and be between the ages of twentyone and thirty years. Seamen must have had four years' experience at sea, and be between the ages of twenty-one and thirty-five years. No men over thirty-five years of age are wanted unless others can, not be obtained. Ship's cooks, apothecaries and such places are filled with men who have had a thorough experience. The salaries range all the way from $19 to $75 a month. All applicants for enlistment must be citizens of the United States. Search-Lights in Naval Warfare. As torpedo boats and their destroyers must often rely upon darkness to cover their operations, it is of the first importance that means should be employed to discover their movements. Hence has come into use the electric search-light. On all thoroughly modern steamships, both in the navy and the merchant service, electricity is used about as extensively and for the same purposes as on land. For interior illumination, naturally, the incandescent lamp is employed. This system subdivides the light into small units, and distributes it. The Sound steamers, the floating palaces of the Hudson and the Atlantic liners also carry for occasional use an arc light. This is placed aloft, outside. Inasmuch as a ship finds her way across the sea by faith rather than by sight, she does not need out-door illumination except when comr ing into harbor and making her wharf. Under such circumstances at nigti it i r partfcularly helpful to the pilot, in finding channel-buoys and picking out his slip, to be able to use a powerful arc light. The type of lamp employed on a ship differs from that in common service along a city street. The latter is permitted to throw its rays 116 TORPEDO BOATS AND THEIR DESTROYERS. equally in all directions. At sea a cup-shaped mirror is placed behind it, so as to concentrate the light. A more precise way of stating the fact would be to say that the reflector's curve is a parabola, in whose focus the arc is adjusted. The rays are projected, therefore, almost parallel to one another in a beam of great intensity, instead of being scattered everywhere. Sweeps the Waters Far and Near. The light and mirror are enclosed in a metallic cylinder, with a glass front to exclude rain and wind. Although it is usually aimed almost horizontally, it is possible to change the adjustment so that the path of the beam shall incline a little upward or downward. The apparatus is also mounted so that an operator standing underneath can rotate it in a complete circle. He does this by means of a rod and wheel, like those of the old-fashioned steam-car brake. Thus the mariner is able to sweep the waters both near and far, and from one side to the other of his path. The search-light, as this device is called, is also extensively used in the navy. All cruisers, battle-ships and torpedo-boat catchers are provided with one or more such lights. The size and intensity vary according to the service required. In diameter the projectors, or cylinders, range from eighteen to thirty inches, and in length from two to three feet. The common arc light of the street consumes about ten amperes of current, and is rated at i,200 candle power. The largest search-lights used by our Government require ninety amperes, and therefore should have something like Io,ooo candle power. This matter of light measurement, however, is a complicated thing, and the case is modified greatly by the employment of the parabolic mirror. In clear weather the beam thrown from a ship's search-light can be seen fifteen or twenty miles away. A person into whose face it is projected, when only five or six miles away, is likely to find it rather dazzling. The white sails of a schooner, thus illuminated, can be perceived with a glass from the vessel employing the light ten or fifteen miles off. TORPEDO BOATS AND THEIR DESTROYERS. 117 But the chief use to which this apparatus is put by war-ships is the detection of torpedo boats. Not only do these small craft have little superstructure, but they are painted to look like the sea-dark gray, dark green, or a kindred hue. Germany prefers a bluish-gray for her torpedo boats, and France a leaden color. The latter tint was used on the Almirante Condell and Almirante Lynch in the Chilian civil war, when these boats entered the harbor of Iquique unperceived. In I894, when the American torpedo boats Stiletto and Cushing tried, successfully, to enter Newport harbor without detection by the naval officers keeping watch with the aid of search-lights, those vessels were almost black, having previously worn an olive-green coat. Stealthy Assailants in the Night. Of course, an object of this class could not be discovered at any such distance as a ship's canvas. No torpedo boat is expected to become visible, even if the beam of a search-light is thrown squarely upon her, more than two or three miles away. Indeed, it takes wonderfully keen eyesight, a powerful marine glass and continued sweeping of the search-light from side to side to detect such an assailant a single mile away. Of course, the nearer the boat comes to the ship which she seeks to attack the greater are the chances of discovery. But when she is only a mile off she needs only three minutes-hardly that-to come close to the vessel and launch a torpedo; and that is a very short time in which to train a light rapid-fire gun on her and sink her. Wide differences of opinion prevail among naval experts regarding the value of search-lights in hunting torpedo boats. CHAPTER VIII. Land and Naval Forces of the United States and Spain. T the outbreak of hostilities there was thought to be no ground for fear that Spain would attempt an invasion of American territory by any considerable number of troops. She has neither the men nor the munitions for such an enterprise. The contest outside of Cuba and Porto Rico would be, therefore, almost wholly on the sea. In sea power Spain is much stronger relatively than she is on land. Still, when all the elements entering into the trouble are considered, it seems certain that the United States is better prepared for naval operations than the Spaniards. Vessels to be used in marine warfare may be roughly divided into the following classes, viz.: battleships, coast defence ironclads, armored cruisers, unarmored cruisers, gunboats, torpedo boats and craft converted into fighters from the merchant service. Four First-class Battleships. In the first class the United States is far ahead. Spain has only one first-class modern battleship, the Pelayo. The United States has four of these vessels in commission, including the Oregon, which was ordered to the Atlantic coast from San Francisco. These ships are, besides the Oregon, the Iowa, Indiana and Massachusetts. As already stated, three members of this formidable quartette are of about 10,300 tons. The Iowa is about I,500 tons. The Pelayo is a Io,ooo ton ship, but her battery is less powerful than that of our first-class armorclads. Few American naval officers would have any hesitance in predicting victory for any of our big battleships in a duel with Spain's only first-class armorclad. Each of our four battleships carries eight 8-inch rifles, and the Massachusetts, Indiana and Oregon carry four 6-inch rifles, as further auxiliaries to the guns in their forward and aft turrets, In these tur118 LAND AND NAVAL FORCES. 119 rets, where the heaviest ordnance of the ship is concentrated, the three vessels just named each carry four I3-inch rifles. The Iowa carries four I2-inch rifles, and has six 4-inch rapid-fire guns in place of the four 6-inch guns of the others. All the important vessels in our navy, battleships or cruisers, carry an adequate number of small rapid-firing guns-six-pounders, three-pounders and one-poundersfor use in defence against torpedo boats. The Pelayo has two I2.6-inch rifles, two I -inch rifles, twelve 4.7 -rapid-fire rifles and one 6-inch rifle in the bow. The total weight of metal she could throw at one discharge is considerably less than that thrown at one volley by either of our own first-class battleships, thus proving her relative inferiority. Armored Cruisers. In coast defence armorclads the United States has four powerful reconstructed double-turreted monitors and the armored ram Katahdin on the Atlantic coast. Spain has two reconstructed old battleships, the Numancia and Vittoria, of about 7,500 tons each, which are available for coast defence. Then we have the second-class battleship Texas, seventeen knots, 6,300 tons displacement, and carrying a battery of two 12- and six 6 -inch rifles. Spain has no vessel which is precisely in this class. In armored cruisers Spain has decidedly the advantage over us. We have two of these vessels, the Brooklyn and New York-the former carrying eight 8-inch rifles and twelve 5-inch rapid-firing guns, and the latter carrying six 8-inch rifles and twelve 4-inch rapidfiring guns. It is impossible to state with certainty the exact number of armored cruisers which the Spaniards can control, owing to lack of positive knowledge as to the number they purchased, and the condition of several vessels under construction in Spanish shipyards. It was believed, however, that the Madrid government could count on not fewer than eight-possibly nine-of these vessels, varying somewhat in tonnage. Their general characteristics are much the same. They each carry two I Tinch or two I -inch rifles in heavy armored bar. 120 LAND AND NAVAL FORCES. bettes fore and aft, besides batteries of rapid-fire guns, varying in number from ten to sixteen, and in calibre from 6 to 4.7 inches. In unarmored cruisers above 3,000 tons burden the United States again has a marked advantage. We have fourteen of these vessels, varying in tonnage from the 7,350-ton Columbia and Minneapolis, to 3,I89-ton Cincinnati and Raleigh, while Spain has not more than seven craft of this type, all told-most of them slow and rather antiquated. Gunboats and Torpedo Craft. In the matter of small cruisers and gunboats the forces of the two navies are nearly equal, although our vessels are newer, swifter, and more strongly armed, as a rule, than the Spanish. Probably we could muster about twenty craft of this class. Spain has a slightly larger number, but the superior quality of our boats would more than make this disparity good. In actual warfare, however, this type of craft is not particularly valuable, except for scouting purposes, and the protection:i larger ships against torpedo attack. In torpedo craft, as before stated, Spain is much stronger tha l the United States. Here, again, it is impossible to speak with accuracy as to the exact number available. This country could probably put into active service about fifteen of these craft on short notice. Estimates as to the Spanish strength in this respect vary greatly, but the number of these vessels she can depend upon is not less than thirty, and may reach as high as fifty, counting recent acquisitions of several up-to-date torpedo destroyers from British shipyards. The formidable torpedo flotilla which the Spanish Government despatched from the Canaries westward indicated the resources it possessed in this respect. However, it should not be forgotten that these vessels would be at a disadvantage in operating so far from their home stations and the dockyards to which they are frequently compelled to resort for repairs. The modern torpedo boat is a delicate, complicated piece of mechanism, which is constantly getting out of order, and spends a considerable portion of its time in being doctored up again. As respects the c9onversion of merchant vessels, yachts and tugs LAND AND NAVAL FORCES. 121 into naval craft, the United States is in much the better position. At present writing there are 6i American merchant steamships which have been officially inspected and pronounced available for uses as auxiliary cruisers, including those four crack flyers, the St. Paul, St. Louis, New York and Paris. The number of ocean-going tugs and swift yachts at the disposal of our government is very large, and more than a dozen of these vessels were purchased by the Navy Department, and were altered and armed for the purpose of serving as scouts, pickets and despatch boats. Ten or twelve fast modern revenue cutters were also to be used in this manner. Armed with plenty of rapid-firing guns, this " mosquito fleet," as it was thought, would be a valuable aid in the work of coast defence. Monitors for Harbor Defense. Finally, we have the eight old single-turreted monitors left as a legacy from the War of the Rebellion. These are slow and unseaworthy, and their guns are of the muzzle-loading type. Yet it was believed by naval officers that they could do good service as floating batteries if they were manned by the naval militia and stationed in the harbors and channels likely to be attacked. The regulation strength of the United States Navy in seamen is I I,ooo, but this was rapidly increased by enlistment. It required not less than I5,000 men, besides officers and marines, to man the vessels which the government placed in commission. The full war strength of the Marine Corps is 3,073 men, and orders were given to recruit up to the legal limit. The total coastline of Spain is about 1,320 miles, of which 475 miles border on the Atlantic, while the remaining 845 miles extend along the Mediterranean. The shores are generally steep, with deep water close aboard. Jutting promontories line the slope of the Pyrenees, while numerous estuaries indent the shore line. Small bays or "rias" cut into the Asturian shore, while further along the seaboard the coast is cut into sinuous passages or " fjords," as they might be termed. The Mediterranean front is more accessible, possessing deeper harbors and being le~s mountainous, On the whole, the 122 LAND AND NAVAL FORCES. Spanish coast is not only well protected naturally, but certain points have been fortified against sea attack by the government. These defenses, however, are antiquated and poorly equipped. A glance along the Atlantic Coast reveals but two ports, Ferrol and Corunna. The former is defended by a natural bulwark of rocks, so located that but one vessel at a time can pass. At Ferrol is located a large navy yard. Three antiquated fortifications form the only additional defense. Corunna, the only other deep-water port on the Atlantic, is defended by a fort, which is likewise out of repair. Cartagena, important as a naval and military centre, being the main commercial port of the kingdom, is the only Mediterranean harbor having protections of a modern type. Several forts and batteries guard the entrance to the harbor, many of which are of the latest construction and armament. The fortifications at Rosas and Barcelona are but indifferent protection to these towns. Coast Defenses of Spain. An elevated rampart extends from Malaga to Gibraltar, formed by the natural trend of the land above the shore. Large defensive works are at each end-St. Barbara, on the Mediterranean, and St. Felipe, at Algesiras, opposite Gibraltar. Cadiz, with its bay, arsenals and shipyards, is guarded by eight modernized works, well distributed and manned. The Balearic Islands form a strong strategic point. The islands are protected by the famous old Port Mahon, which is fairly well provided with works mounting Krupp guns. In mercantile tonnage Spain ranks seventh, having 760 vessels above ioo tons net, steam and sail, a total tonnage of 547,358. The largest company is the Campania Transatlantica, which has 32 steamers, of a gross tonnage of over Ioo,ooo. About 20 steamers of this company would be available as armed cruisers. This company is under contract to transport all official passengers, troops and stores, The company's headquarters are at Barcelona, whence steamers sail to the West Indies, Philippines, Buenos Ayres, Fernando Po and the United States. LAND AND NAVAL FORCES. 12S In the matter of obtaining men Spain has little difficulty. In the maritime provinces service for a certain number of years is compulsory. There are in actual service about I800 officers and over I5,000 seamen. The marine service comprises about 400 officers and nearly Io,ooo privates. The marines in the Spanish service are divided between the land and sea forces. In crews of more than Ioo, the marines form one-third of the complement, and are liable for service on board merchant vessels used as auxiliaries in time of war. The marine force on shore guards the material, and, in addition, is required to have some knowledge of the construction, repair, and preservation of weapons and the equipment of ships. Military Strength of the United States. The enlisted strength of the United States regular army is 25,725 men, divided as follows: Cavalry, 6170; artillery, 4025; infantry, I3,125. Besides these three arms of the service, there are 2405 men detailed to the various staff departments. With the addition of the two artillery regiments authorized by Congress, the total enlisted strength of the regular army numbers nearly 28,000 men. Congress passed a bill to raise the regular army to 6I,000. To the average citizen the personal character of the army is almost unknown. An officer, high in official circles, states that in no other standing army is the personnel of the rank and file so fine as in that of the United States. This is accounted for by the severe examination necessary before a recruit can be enlisted. An applicant for the regular army is required to pass a rigid examination, both mental and physical. His ability to read, write and speak the English language is not alone sufficient for his enlistment. He must produce a certificate of good moral character, and must be a citizen. Failure in this regard outweighs success in the other requirements. Even though he should pass the mental examination, he has yet to meet the physical requirements. He must not be under twenty-one years of age, nor more than thirty. He must also meet the prescribed tests as to height and weight. Resides these general examinations there is yet another test of 124 LAND AND NAVAL FORCES. fitness for each branch of the service. An applicant for the cavalry must not be less than five feet four inches, nor more than five feet ten inches in height, while his weight must not exceed I65 pounds. For the infantry and artillery the recruit must not be less than five feet four inches in height, and must not weigh less than 128 nor more than I95 pounds. In consequence of these limitations the private in our army is a soldier of whom Americans may well be proud. He is fairly paid, and is furnished with clothing and rations. Besides this, he can attend a school, taught by competent instructors, where he can pursue a curriculum similar to the United States Military Academy. By this means it is possible for an ambitious private to rise from the ranks to the shoulder-straps of a commissioned officer. Number of National Guardsmen. In an emergency the regular army would, of course, be reinforced by the National Guard of the several States. The actual number of National Guardsmen now serving in the several States and the total number of men liable to military service as compiled from the War Department records is as follows: STATE Number OR actually TERRITORY. serving. Alabama................ 2,572 Alaska......................... Arizona.................. 505 Arkansas................ 948 California................ 4,250 Colorado................. 92 Connecticut.......... 2,680 Delaware................ 401 District of Columbia.. I,33I Florida...............,oo Georgia................... 4,355 Idaho.................... 574 Illinois................ 6,261 Indiana.................. 2,906 Indian Territory............. Iowa......,............ 2,369 Liability to military service. I65,000 1,000 7,700 205,000 206,000 85,000 104,750 28,100 42,000 60,ooo 264,500 i8,ooo 700,000 525,000 20,000 276,000 STATE Number OR actually TERRITORY. serving. Kansas..................,697 Kentucky............... 1,623 Louisville..............,86I Maine.....................,267 Maryland................,677 Michigan................. 2,525 Massachusetts.......... 4,782 Minnesota............... 1,943 Mississippi............. 1,709 Missouri................. 2,3IO Montana................ 6oi Nebraska................ I,I88 Nevada................ 346 New Hampshire....... 1,289 New Jersey.............. 4,269 New Mexico............ 433 Liability to military service. 100,500 408,ooo 139,000 104,307 150,000 260,000 406,900 162,00ooo 233,500 400,000 25,500 178,000 4,600 53,713 385,28c 26,000 LAND AND NAVAL FORCES. 125 STATE Number Liability to STATE Number Liability to OR actually military OR actually military TERRITORY. serving. service. TERRITORY. serving. service, New York...........3,285 942,750 Tennessee............... 1,643 i6o,ooo North Carolina........ 1,440 240,500 Texas..................... 2,958 310,000 North Dakota........... 547 21,ooo Utah....................... I,020 63,000 Ohio....................... 6,491 65,o00oo Vermont............... 738 49,273 Oklahoma............... 439 45,500 Virginia.................. 3,139 246,500 Oregon................... 1,748 57,500 Washington............ I, 5 6i,ooo Pennsylvania........... 8,547 812,315 West Virginia.......... 912 121,700 Rhode Island.......... 1,309 83,I00 Wisconsin............... 2,733 372,500 South Carolina......... 3,743 177,800 Wyoming............... 345 9,000 South Dakota........... 851 3I,ooo The total actual strength of the National Guard is I I 1,969, divided among the three branches of the service as follows: Cavalry, 5,290; artillery, 4,906; infantry, 101,873. The total number of citizens liable for military service is 10,139,758. Number of Naval Militia. The naval militia, though of recent origin, has a total enlisted strength of nearly 5,000 officers and men in seventeen States. This organization comes under the cognizance of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, being connected to the Navy Department through the Governors and Adjutants-general. The Commonwealths in which the naval militia is organized are Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, California, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Louisiana, Ohio, Florida and Virginia. In the war the part played by the naval militia will be important. Its duty will be to man the coast and harbor defense vessels, leaving the regular naval force free to carry on offensive operations at sea. Its members will also operate in boat squadrons with torpedoes against any sea force of the enemy. Certain questions arose regarding the right of the President to call out the National Guard of the several States for services outside their respective communities. Briefly summarized, these queries are as follows: I. If the President should call out the militia of one State for duty in another, would it be necessary to muster them into the 12/ LAND AND NAVAL FORCES. general service by any oath other than that administered to the men as militiamen in their own State? 2. Does the President have to issue the call through the Governor of the State? 3. Has the President power to designate certain organizations in his call, or must he limit himself to a mere requisition for so many men? Laws Regulating State Militia. In answer to these questions, Lieutenant-Colonel George B. Davis, deputy judge-advocate-general and instructor in international law at West Point, said: " Under the practice established by the War Department, a practice, however, neither required nor expressly sanctioned by law, oath of allegiance is necessary to the muster-in of militia troops under the Act of July 17, 1862. Being a condition imposed by order or regulation merely, and not a statutory requirement, it is subject to change or modification by the same authority. The only statutory restriction upon the authority of the President in respect to calling forth the militia is that contained in the Act of July I7, 1862, which requires that 'when the militia of more than one State is called into actual service of the United States by the President, he shall apportion them among such States according to the representative population.' "On the other hand, the Act of February, 28, I795, conferred authority upon the President 'to call forth such number of the militia of the State or States most convenient to the place of danger, or scene of action, as he may deem necessary to repel invasion, or to repress such rebellion, and to issue his orders for that purpose to such officer of the militia as he may think proper.' " The manner of calling out the militia by the President, under the Act of February 28, 1795 (section 1642, revised statutes), is indicated by the Supreme Court in the leading case of Houston vs. Moore (5 Wheaton, I 5), where it is observed that 'the President's orders may be given to the Chief Executive Magistrate of the State, or to any militia officer he may think proper.' "The call would ordinarily be addressed to the Governor, who, in most States, is made the Commander-in-Chief of the active militia of LAND AND NAVAL FORCES. 127 the State. Such, indeed, has been the practice of the Executive since the formation of the government under the Constitution. Under the authority conferred by the Act of February 28, 1795, it would be entirely within the discretion of the President to designate certain organizations for service under the call. If there be no organized militia in the State pointed out by the Act of July 17, 1862, as the one from which the militia should be drawn, the power to designate becomes impossible of execution, and the call must in consequence be addressed to the Governor of the State." Well-informed officers estimate that about Ioo,ooo men could be counted on for actual service in the National Guard out of the total of I 1,969. This force, with the regular army, would constitute merely the first fighting line of the nation. It would be easy for the President to secure half a million volunteers by asking for them in the event of their being needed. Rifle Equipment of the Regulars. The Krag-Jorgensen rifle, with which the United States regulars are equipped, is worthy of attention just now. The rifle is a bolt gun having a fixed magazine, holding five cartridges. The magazine has a cut-off, and the rifle can be used as a single-loader. The piece is cocked automatically, and in many respects resembles the new German infantry rifle. The rifle can be used as a single-loader. The magazine can be recharged before being completely emptied of cartridges. In loading while kneeling or lying down, the Krag-Jorgensen is superior to those rifles having the vertical, under-feed magazine. The length of the rifle without bayonet is 4.36 feet; with bayonet, 5.21 feet; weight with bayonet, 9.83 pounds. The rifling contains six grooves, and the twist in one turn is I i.8 inches..The calibre of the Krag-Jorgensen rifle is.315. It carries a bullet weighing 237.6 grains, with a charge of 33.9 grains of Danish smokeless powder, giving an initial velocity of i.968 feet per second. The work of manning and equipping the approaches to the various cities along the seacoast is rapidly being pushed. The forts along 128 LAND AND NAVAL FORCES. the Atlantic coast are being overhauled and garrisoned as fast as the work can be done and the troops transported. At the last computation in January the armament completed for the harbor defense was given as follows: Nineteen I2-inch guns, sixty Io-inch guns, thirty-one 8-inch guns, nine rapid-fire guns and I68 mortars, making a total of 287 guns available for use on the fortifications. There are nearly finished enough guns to bring the total by April 30th up to the following: Twenty-four I2-inch guns, eightytwo Io-inch guns, thirty-three 8-inch guns, sixteen rapid-fire guns and 232 I2-inch mortars, increasing the supply of heavy artillery to 387. It needs but a cursory glance at the line of forts along the Atlantic coast to show that the Eastern cities are fairly well protected. A powerful battery at Grover's Cliff points its guns menacingly at any fleet which might threaten Boston, while the works at Paddock's Point and Long Island Head are rapidly being put in condition, as are Fort Winthrop, Cushing Hill and Battery Heights. Mines and Torpedoes at Sandy Hook. At Newport, the garrison at Fort Adams was increased, while the works at Dutch Island make it decidedly unpleasant for any fleet attempting to gain possession of Narragansett Bay. New York is well nigh impregnable. The defensive system inaugurated at Great Gull Island is being hurried along at the eastern end of Long Island, while the city is still further protected by the network of submarine mines, which could easily destroy any vessel that might escape the guns at Gull Island, Fort Slocum and Willet's Point. The entrance at Sandy Hook is likewise honeycombed by mines and torpedoes, while the dynamite guns and I2-inch mortars from Forts Hancock, Hamilton and Wadsworth would prevent the entrance of any fleet the Spanish Government could send. As to Philadelphia, the guns at Finn's Point and Forts Mott and Delaware form an ample defense against any attempt to shell the city. Baltimore and Washington are well defended. Fort Monroe, a powerful artillery centre, guards the entrance to Chesapeake Bay. Sheridan's Point and Fort Washington form an impenetrable barrier CAPTAIN CHARLES D. SIGSBEE JOHN D. LONG Secretary of the Navy UNI I.U b I A I.; L UUINUUA I t lItKhL Single srew: length, 176 feet S inches: breadth, 31 feet; draft, 11 feet 7 inches; displacement, 892 tons; speed. 12 knots. Main bx:Ltry. four 6-inch breech loading ritles. Secondary battery, two 3-pounder and one 1-pounder rapid-tire guua, two 37-millimetre Hotchkiss revolving cannon and two gatlings. 10 Oflcers. 122 Men. Cost 8247.000. REAR ADMIRAL SICARD GENERAL NELSON A. MILES MARSHALL RAMON BLANCO Spanish Captain-General at Havana SAILORS RECREATION-DANCING THE HORNPIPE AQTIQN EXERQIE ON QBARD A BATTLESHIP MARIA CHRISTINA-QUEEN REGENT OF SPAIN I i'.;...!! ~ i:~ a: ~ D..:::- -YO ho;hi..o.i ~..'~ -;:. i;,? k X,,, ' '. - " I In ' ~ ~" ';'' ''' V0 ''' '' ' ' ' ~r 'x~a0 i_::::I j: t s ~g8 ~ l~l z ~~I:::~::I::::::: ~:':inii~z,; i;::, ~~~~~:::: ~0 C, ~ —: ~ ~:: ~.;~::-:I-: jz 1:i~:*b 30;:,.-:::::; ~~ -rJ: ~~~-Lii ~~f~:-:i:` ~:-r;-I _;)::::w;i0. Co I TRAINING A PIVOT GUN ON A WARSHIP (REAT AMEIRICAN YIQTQRY IN THE HARQOR OF MANIIA QUICK-FIRING PRACTICE WITH A SIX-POUNDER HOTCHKISS GUN SPAR-DECK VIEW ON THE KEARSARGE- UP ALL HAMMOCKS" --- j2r ' 1! I SCENE ON BOARD A SCHOOLSHIP-CADETs CHEERING THE LIFE-BOAT CAPTAIN ROBLEY D. EVANS OF THE BATTLESHIP "IOWA" LAND AND NAVAL FORCES. 129 to any vessel which might attempt to enter the Potomac. Batteries are being erected at North Point and Hawkin's Point, which, in conjunction with the war vessels at Norfolk, will hold the approach to Baltimore and the national capital. It was thought that the Southern ports would probably be made objects of the first attack. These harbors are protected by submarine mines and torpedoes, while a new battery was erected at Fort Caswell, at Wilmington. The historic forts, Moultrie and Sumter, were manned and equipped. These works adequately protect the harbor to Charleston. Fort St. Philip was supplied with new guns, manned by a battery of the First United States Artillery, formerly stationed at Jackson Barracks, while a battery of the same regiment guarded Fort Point at Galveston. War Resources of Spain. The total home war strength of the Spanish nation on paper is 1,512,I97, classified as follows: Infantry, 64,314; cavalry, 14,314; artillery, II,605; engineers and train, 5,102; making a total active regular strength of 84,335. Besides this there are 28,790 sanitary and administrative troops, and about Ioo,ooo West Indian troops, including the force already in Cuba, and 6,000 in Porto Rico. The troops in the Philippines number 37,760. The first reserves at home are I6o,ooo strong. The second reserve, comprising the bulk of the active male population, not exempt from military service, is placed at I,ooo,ooo. It must be remembered that this latter force is practically unorganized, and could only be brought into the field in defense of the country against invasion. The indebtedness of the two nations presents a striking contrast. The official reports showed the debt of Spain to be $I,25 1,453,696, or about $73.85 per capita. The debt of the United States, by the same authority, was but $915,962,112, or only $14.63 per capita. According to the report for the last fiscal year the total revenue of Spain was $136,555,067, and the expenditures $I47,937,o35. In the two prime requisites for warfare-men and money-the United States is greatly superior to Spain. I CHAPTER IX. Spain's Historic Armada. PAIN was once the mistress of the world. Her naval power was superior to that of any other nation, and even at the present time, if she were ranked according to the number of her naval vessels, she would be regarded as a formidable foe by any of the great maritime powers. She is much stronger on the sea than on land, although in the former respect she has been for centuries steadily on the decline. In naval prowess she has not kept pace with other European nations. An account of the great Spanish Armada will not only show the high rank Spain once held as a naval power, but will serve to late the time when her prestige began to wane, and will exhibit a striking contrast between her former glory and her present. Notable Group of Naval Captains. On the afternoon of the i9th of July, A. D. 1588, a group of Eng. lish captains was collected at the Bowling Green on the Hoe, at Plymouth, whose equals have never before or since been brought together, even at that favorite mustering place of the heroes of the British navy. There was Sir Francis Drake, the first English circumnavigator of the globe, the terror of every Spanish coast in the old world and the new; there was Sir John Hawkins, the rough veteran of many a daring voyage on the African and American seas, and of many a desperate battle; there was Sir Martin Frobisher, one of the earliest explorers of the Arctic seas, in search of that northwest passage which is still the darling object of England's boldest mariners. There was the high admiral of England, Lord Howard of Effingham, prodigal of all things in his country's cause, and who had the noble daring to refuse to dismantle part of the fleet, though the queen had sent him orders to do so, in consequence of an exaggerated report that the enemy had been driven back and shattered bya storm. 130 ran SPAIN'S HISTORIC ARMADA. 131 Lord Howard (whom contemporary writers describe as being of a wise and noble courage, skillful in sea matters, wary and provident, and of great esteem among the sailors) resolved to risk his sovereign's anger, and to keep the ships afloat at his own charge, rather than that England should run the peril of losing their protection. Another of the Elizabethan sea-kings, Sir Walter Raleigh, was at that time commissioned to raise and equip the land forces of Cornwall; but we may well believe that he must have availed himself of the opportunity of consulting with the lord admiral and the other high officers, which was offered by the English fleet putting into Plymouth; and we may look on Raleigh as one of the group that was assembled at the Bowling Green on the Hoe. Many other brave men and skillful mariners, besides the chiefs whose names have been mentioned, were there, enjoying, with true sailor-like merriment, their temporary relaxation from duty. Waiting for the Spaniards' Approach. In the harbor lay the English fleet with which they had just returned from a cruise to Corunna, in search of information respecting the real condition and movements of the hostile Armada. Lord Howard had ascertained that his enemies, though tempest-tossed, were still formidably strong; and fearing that part of their fleet might make for England in his absence, he had hurried back to the Devonshire coast. He resumed his station at Plymouth, and waited there for certain tidings of the Spaniard's approach. A match of bowls was being played, in which Drake and other high officers of the fleet were engaged, when a small armed vessel was seen running before the wind into Plymouth harbor with all sails set. Her commander landed in haste, and eagerly sought the place where the English lord admiral and his captains were standing. His name was Fleming; he was the master of a Scotch privateer; and he told the English officers that he had that morning seen the Spanish Armada off the Cornish coast. At this exciting information the captains began to hurry down to the water, and there was a shouting for the ships' boats; but Drake 132 SPAIN'S HISTORIC ARMADA. coolly checked his comrades, and insisted that the match should be played out. He said that there was plenty of time both to win the game and beat the Spaniards. The best and bravest match that ever was scored was resumed accordingly. Drake and his friends aimed their last bowls with the same steady, calculating coolness with which they were about to point their guns. The winning cast was made; and then they went on board and prepared for action with their hearts as light and their nerves as firm as they had been on the Hoe Bowling Green. Meanwhile the messengers and signals had been dispatched fast and far through England, to warn each town and village that the enemy had come at last. In every seaport there was instant making ready by land and by sea; in every shire and every city there was instant mustering of horse and man. But England's best defense then, as ever, was in her fleet; and after warping laboriously out of Plymouth harbor against the wind, the lord admiral stood westward under easy sail, keeping an anxious lookout for the Armada, the approach of which was soon announced by Cornish fisherboats and signals from the Cornish cliffs. England in Great Peril. The England of our own days is so strong, and the Spain of our own days is so feeble, that it is not easy, without some reflection and care, to comprehend the full extent of the peril which England then ran from the power and the ambition of Spain, or to appreciate the importance of that crisis in the history of the world. Her resources to cope with the colossal power of Philip II. were most scanty; and she had not a single foreign ally, except the Dutch, who were themselves struggling hard, and, as it seemed, hopelessly, to maintain their revolt against Spain. On the other hand, Philip II. was absolute master of an empire so superior to the other states of the world in extent, in resources, and especially in military and naval forces, as to make the project of enlarging that empire into a universal monarchy seem a perfectly feasible scheme; and Philip had both the ambition to form that pro PHILIP II.-KING CF aPAIN. 133 134 SPAIN'S HISTORIC ARMADA. ject, and the resolution to devote all his energies and all his means to its realization. Since the downfall of the Roman empire no such preponderating power had existed in the world. During the mediaeval centuries the chief European kingdoms were slowly moulding themselves out of the feudal chaos; and though the wars with each other were numerous and desperate, and several of their respective kings figured for a time as mighty conquerors, none of them in those times acquired the consistency and perfect organization which are requisite for a long-sustained career of aggrandizement. Renown of the Spanish Army. Philip had the advantage of finding himself at the head of a large standing army in a perfect state of discipline and equipment, in an age when, except some few insignificent corps, standing armies were unknown in Christendom. The renown of the Spanish troops was justly high, and the infantry in particular was considered the best in the world. His fleet, also, was far more numerous and better appointed than that of any other European power; and both his soldiers and his sailors had the confidence in themselves and their commanders which a long career of successful warfare alone can create. Philip had, indeed, experienced the mortification of seeing the inhabitants of the Netherlands revolt against his authority, nor could he succeed in bringing back beneath the Spanish sceptre all the possessions which his father had bequeathed to him. But he had reconquered a large number of the towns and districts that originally took up arms against him. Belgium was brought more thoroughly into implicit obedience to Spain than she had been before her insurrection, and it was only Holland and the six other northern states that still held out against his arms. The contest had also formed a compact and veteran army on Philip's side, which, under his great general, the Prince of Parma, had been trained to act together under all difficulties and all vicissitudes of warfare, and on whose steadiness and loyalty perfect reliance SPAIN'S HISTORIC ARMADA. 135 might be placed throughout any enterprise, however difficult and tedious. Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma, captain general of the Spanish armies, and governor of the Spanish possessions in the Netherlands, was beyond all comparison the greatest military genius of his age. He was also highly distinguished for political wisdom and sagacity, and for his great administrative talents. He was idolized by his troops, whose affections he knew how to win without relaxing their discipline or diminishing his own authority and they had the utmost confidence in their great leader. A Famous Military Genius. Pre-eminently cool and circumspect in his plans, but swift and energetic when the moment arrived for striking a decisive blow, neglecting no risk that caution could provide against, conciliating even the populations of the districts which he attacked by his scrupulous good faith, his moderation and his address, Farnese was one of the most formidable generals that ever could be placed at the head of an army designed not only to win battles, but to effect conquests. Happy it is for England and the world that she was saved from becoming an arena for the exhibition of his powers. Whatever diminution the Spanish empire might have sustained in the Netherlands seemed to be more than compensated by the acquisition of Portugal, which Philip had completely conquered in I580. Not only that ancient kingdom itself, but all the fruits of the maritime enterprises of the Portuguese, had fallen into Philip's hands. All the Portuguese colonies in America, Africa and the East Indies acknowledged the sovereignty of the King of Spain, who thus not only united the whole Iberian peninsula under his single sceptre, but had acquired a transmarine empire little inferior in wealth and extent to that which he had inherited at his accession. The splendid victory which his fleet, in conjunction with the papal and Venetian galleys, had gained at Lepanto over the Turks had deservedly exalted the fame of the Spanish marine throughout Christendom; and when Philip had reigned thirty-five years the vigor of 13/6 SPAIN'S HISTORIC ARMADA. his empire seemed unbroken, and the glory of the Spanish arms had increased, and was increasing throughout the world. One nation only had been his active, his persevering and his successful foe. England had encouraged his revolted subjects in Flanders against him, and given them the aid in men and money, without which they must soon have been humbled in the dust. English ships had plundered his colonies; had defied his supremacy in the New World as well as the Old; they had inflicted ignominious defeats on his squadrons; they had captured his cities and burned his arsenals on the very coasts of Spain. The Spanish Monarch Exasperated. The English had made Philip himself the object of personal insult. He was held up to ridicule in the stage-plays and masks, and these scoffs at the man had (as is not unusual in such cases) excited the anger of the absolute king even more vehemently than the injuries inflicted on his power. Personal as well as political revenge urged him to attack England. Were she once subdued, the Dutch must submit; France could not cope with him, the empire would not oppose him; and universal dominion seemed sure to be the result of the conquest of that malignant island. For upwards of a year the Spanish preparations had been actively and unremittingly urged forward. Negotiations were, during this time, carried on at Ostend, in which various pretexts were assigned by the Spanish commissioners for the gathering together of such huge masses of shipping, and such equipments of troops in all the sea-ports which their master ruled; but Philip himself took little care to disguise his intentions; nor could Elizabeth and her able ministers doubt but that England was the real object of the Spanish armament. The peril that was wisely foreseen was resolutely provided for. Circular letters from the queen were sent round to the lord lieutenants of the several counties, requiring them " to call together the best sort of gentlemen under their lieutenancy, and to declare unto them these great preparations and arrogant threatenings, now burst forth in action upon the seas, wherein every man's particular state, in the highest SPAIN'S HISTORIC ARMADA. 137 degree, could be touched in respect of country, liberty, wives, children, lands, lives, and (which was specially to be regarded) the profession of the true and sincere religion of Christ. And to lay before them the infinite and unspeakable miseries that would fall out upon any such change, which miseries were evidently seen by the fruits of that hard and cruel government holden in countries not far distant. Urged to Confound the Enemy. "We do look," said the queen, " that the most part of them should have, upon this instant extaordinary occasion, a larger proportion of furniture, both for horsemen and footmen, but especially horsemen, than hath been certified; thereby to be in their best strength against any attempt, or to be employed about our own person, or otherwise. Hereunto as we doubt not but by your good endeavors they will be the rather conformable, so also we assure ourselves that Almighty God will so bless these their loyal hearts borne toward us, their loving sovereign, and their natural country, that all the attempts of any enemy whatsoever shall be made void and frustrate, to their confusion, your comfort, and to God's high glory." Letters of a similar kind were also sent by the council to each of the nobility, and to the great cities. The primate called on the clergy for their contributions; and by every class of the community the appeal was responded to with liberal zeal, that offered more even than the queen required. The boasting threats of the Spaniards had roused the spirit of the nation, and the whole people " were thoroughly irritated to stir up their whole forces for their defense against such prognosticated conquests; so that, in a very short time, all her whole realm, and every corner, were furnished with armed men, on horseback and on foot; and those continually trained, exercised, and put into bands, in warlike manner, as in no age ever was before in this realm. There was no sparing of money to provide horse, armor, weapons, powder, and all necessaries; no, nor want of provision of pioneers, carriages, and victuals, in every county of the realm, without exception, to attend upon the armies. 138 SPAIN'S HISTORIC ARMADA. "And to this general furniture every man voluntarily offered, very many their services personally without wages, others money for armor and weapons, and to wage soldiers: a matter strange, and never the like heard of in this realm or elsewhere. And this general reason moved all men to large contributions, that when a conquest was to be withstood wherein all should be lost, it was no time to spare a portion." The lion-hearted queen showed herself worthy of such a people. A camp was formed at Tilbury; and there Elizabeth rode through the ranks, encouraging her captains and her soldiers by her presence and her words. One of the speeches which she addressed to them during this crisis has been preserved; and, though often quoted, it must not be omitted here. The Queen's Address to Her People. " My loving people," she said, " we have been persuaded by some that are careful of our safety to take heed how we commit ourselves to armed multitudes, for fear of treachery; but I assure you I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving people. Let tyrants fear! I have always so behaved myself, that, under God, I have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and good will of my subjects; and, therefore, I am come among you, as you see, at this time, not for my recreation and disport, but being resolved, in the midst and heat of the battle, to live or die among you all, to lay down for my God, for my kingdom, and for my people, my honor and my blood even in the dust. " I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a King of England too, and think it foul scorn that Parma, or Spain, or any prince of Europe should dare to invade the borders of my realm, to which rather than any dishonor shall grow by me, I myself will take up arms, I myself will be your general, judge, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field. I know already, for your forwardness, you have deserved rewards and crowns; and we do assure you, on the word of a prince, they shall be duly paid you. SPAIN'S HISTORIC ARMADA. 189 " In the meantime, my lieutenant-general shall be in my stead, than whom never prince commanded a more noble or worthy subject, not doubting but by your obedience to my general, by your concord in the camp, and your valor in the field, we shall shortly have a famous victory over those enemies of my God, of my kingdom, and of my people." Some of Elizabeth's advisers recommended that the whole care and resources of the government should be devoted to the equipment of the armies, and that the enemy, when he attempted to land, should be welcomed with a battle on the shore. But the wiser counsels of Raleigh and others prevailed, who urged the importance of fitting out a fleet that should encounter the Spaniards at sea, and, if possible, prevent them from approaching the land at all. Raleigh's Sound Advice. In Raleigh's great work on the " History of the World," he takes occasion, when discussing some of the events of the first Punic war, to give his reasonings on the proper policy of England when menaced with invasion. Without doubt, we have there the substance of the advice which he gave to Elizabeth's council; and the remarks of such a man on such a subject have a general and enduring interest, beyond the immediate crisis which called them forth. Raleigh says: "Surely I hold that the best way is to keep our enemy from treading upon our ground; wherein if we fail, then must we seek to make him wish that he had stayed at his own home. In such a case, if it should happen, our judgments are to weigh many particular circumstances, that belong not unto this discourse. " But making the question general, the positive, whether England, without the help of her fleet, be able to debar an enemy from landing, I hold that it is unable so to do, and therefore I think it most dangerous to make the adventure; for the encouragement of a first victory to an enemy, and the discouragement of being beaten to the invaded may draw after it a most perilous consequence." The introduction of steam as a propelling power at sea has added ten-fold weight to these arguments of Raleigh. On the other hand, 140 SPAIN'S HISTORIC ARMADA. a well-constructed system of railways, especially of coast lines, aided by the operation of the electric telegraph, would give facilities for concentrating a defensive army to oppose an enemy on landing, and for moving troops from place to place in observation of the movements of the hostile fleet, such as would have astonished Sir Walter, even more than the sight of vessels passing rapidly to and fro without the aid of wind or tide. Armies can be made to pass from place to place almost with the speed of wings, and far more rapidly than any post-traveling that was known in the Elizabethan or any other age. Still, the presence of a sufficient armed force at the right spot, at the right time, can never be made a matter of certainty; and even after the changes that have taken place, no one can doubt that the policy of Raleigh is that which every nation should seek to follow in defensive war. At the time of the Armada, that policy certainly saved England, if not from conquest, at least from deplorable calamities. If, indeed, the enemy had landed, we may be sure that he would have been heroically opposed. But history shows us so many examples of the superiority of veteran troops over new levies, however numerous and brave, that. without disparaging England's soldierly merits, it was well that no trial of them was made on English land. Especially is this true when we contrast the high military genius of the Prince of Parma, who would have headed the Spaniards, with the imbecility of the Earl of T eicester, to whom the deplorable spirit of favoritism, which formed SPAIN'S HISTORIC ARMADA. 141 the great blemish on Elizabeth's character, had then committed the chief command of the English armies. The ships of the royal navy at this time amounted to no more than thirty-six; but the most serviceable merchant vessels were collected from all the ports of the country, and the citizens of London, Bristol, and the other great seats of commerce, showed as liberal zeal in equipping and manning vessels, as the nobility and gentry displayed in mustering forces by land. The seafaring population of the coast, of every rank and station, was animated by the same ready spirit; and the whole number of seamen who came forward to man the English fleet was 17,472. Strength of the English Fleet. The number of the ships that were collected was 19I; and the total amount of their tonnage, 3i,985. There was one ship in the fleet (the Triumph) of I IOO tons, one of Iooo, one of 9oo, two of 800 each, three of 600, five of 5oo, five of 400, six of 300, six of 250, twenty of 200, and the residue of inferior burden. Application was made to the Dutch for assistance, and, as Stowe expresses it, "The Hollanders came roundly in, with threescore sail, brave ships of war, fierce and full of spleen, not so much for England's aid, as in just occasion for their own defense; these men foreseeing the greatness of the danger that might ensue if the Spaniards should chance to win the day and get the mastery over them; in due regard whereof, their manly courage was inferior to none." We have more minute information of the number and equipment of the Spanish forces than we have of England's. The Spanish fleet consisted of 129 large vessels, and carried 19,295 soldiers, 8460 sailors, besides slaves as rowers, and 2431 cannon. Although the numbers of sail which the English government and the patriotic zeal of volunteers had collected for the defense of England exceeded the number of sail in the Spanish fleet, the English ships, were, collectively, far inferior in size to their adversaries, their aggregate tonnage being less by half than that of the enemy. In the number of guns and weight of metal, the disproportion 142 SPAIN'S HISTORIC ARMADA. was still greater. The English admiral was also obliged to sub-divide his force, and Lord Henry Seymour, with forty of the best Dutch and English ships, was employed in blockading the hostile ports in Flanders, and in preventing the Duke of Parma from coming out of Dunkirk where he had collected a fleet. The Invincible Armada, as the Spaniards in the pride of their hearts named it, set sail from the Tagus on the 29th of May, but near Corunna met with a tempest that drove it into port with severe loss. It was the report of the damage done to the enemy by this storm which had caused the English court to suppose that there would be no invasion that year. But the English admiral had sailed to Corunna, and learned the real state of the case, whence he had returned with his ships to Plymouth. The Armada Sails for England. The Armada sailed again from Corunna on the I2th of July. The orders of King Philip to the Duke de Medina Sidonia were, that he should, on entering the Channel, keep near the French coast, and, if attacked by the English ships, avoid an action and steer on to Calais Roads, where the Duke of Parma's squadron was to join him. The hope of surprising and destroying the English fleet in Plymouth led the Spanish admiral to deviate from these orders and to stand across to the English shore; but, on finding that Lord Howard was coming out to meet him, he resumed the original plan, and determined to bend his way steadily toward Calais and Dunkirk, and to keep merely on the defensive against such squadrons of the Eng. lish as might come up with him. It was on Saturday, the 20th of July, that Lord Effingham came in sight of his formidable adversaries. The Armada was drawn up in form of a crescent, which, from horn to horn, measured some seven miles. There was a south-west wind, and before it the vast vessels sailed slowly on. The English let them pass by; and then, following in the rear, commenced an attack on them. A running fight now took place, in which some of the best ships of the Spaniards were captured; many more received heavy damage; THE ARMADA COMING UP THE ENGLISH CHANNEL. 1.44 SPAIN'S HISTORIC ARMADA. while the English vessels, which took care not to close with their huge antagonists, but availed themselves of their superior celerity in tacking and manoeuvering, suffered little comparative loss. Each day added not only to the spirit, but to the number of Effingham's force. Raleigh, Oxford, Cumberland, and Sheffield joined him; and " the gentlemen of England hired ships from all parts at their own charge, and with one accord came flocking thither as to a set field, where glory was to be attained, and faithful service performed unto their prince and their country." Skillful Tactics of the English Admiral. Raleigh justly praises the English admiral for his skillful tactics. Raleigh says, " Certainly, he that will happily perform a fight at sea must be skillful in making choice of vessels to fight in: he must believe that there is more belonging to a good man of war, upon the waters, than great daring, and must know, that there is a great deal of difference between fighting loose or at large and grappling. The guns of a slow ship pierce as well, and make as great holes, as those in a swift. "To clap ships together, without consideration, belongs rather to a madman than to a man of war; for by such an ignorant bravery was Peter Strossie lost at the Azores, when he fought against the Marquis of Santa Cruza. In like sort had the Lord Charles Howard, admiral of England, been lost in the year 1588, if he had not been better advised than a great Tmany malignant fools were that found fault with his demeanor. "The Spaniards had an army aboard them, and he had none; they had more ships than he had, and of higher building and charging; so that, had he entangled himself with those great and powerful vessels, he had greatly endangered this kingdom of England, for twenty men upon the defenses are equal to a hundred that board and enter; whereas then, contrariwise, the Spaniards had a hundred, for twenty of ours, to defend themselves withal. But our admiral knew his advantage, and held it; which had he not done, he had not been worthy to have held his head." SPAIN'S HISTORIC ARMADA. 145 The Spanish admiral also showed great judgment and firmness in following the line of conduct that had been traced out for him, and on the 27th of July, he brought his fleet unbroken, though sorely distressed, to anchor in Calais Roads. But the King of Spain had calculated ill the number and the activity of the English and Dutch fleets. But the English and Dutch found ships and mariners enough to keep the Armada itself in check, and at the same time to block up Parma's flotilla. The greater part of Seymour's squadron left its cruising-ground off Dunkirk to join the English admiral off Calais; but the Dutch manned about five-and-thirty sail of good ships, with a strong force of soldiers on board, all well seasoned to the sea-service, and with these they blockaded the Flemish ports that were in Parma's power. Still it was resolved by the Spanish admiral and Parma to endeavor to effect a junction, which the English seamen were equally resolute to prevent; and bolder measures now became necessary. Spanish Fleet in Battle Array. The Armada lay off Calais, with its largest ships ranged outside, "like strong castles fearing no assault, the lesser placed in the middle ward." The English admiral could not attack them in their position without great disadvantage, but on the night of the 29th he sent eight fire-ships among them, with almost equal effect to that of the fireships which the Greeks so often employed against the Turkish fleets in their war of independence. The Spaniards cut their cables and put to sea in confusion. One of the largest galleys ran foul of another vessel and was stranded. The rest of the fleet was scattered about on the Flemish coast, and when the morning broke, it was with difficulty and delay that they obeyed their admiral's signal to range themselves round him near Graveline. Now was the golden opportunity for the English to assail them, and prevent them from ever letting loose Parma's flotilla against England, and nobly was that opportunity used. Drake and Fenner were the first English captains who attacked the unwieldy leviathans; then came Fenton, Southwell, Burton, Cross, K 146 SPAIN'S HISTORIC ARMADA. Raynor, and then the lord admiral, with Lord Thomas Howard and Lord Sheffield. The Spaniards only thought of forming and keeping close together, and were driven by the English past Dunkirk, and far away from the Prince of Parma, who, in watching their defeat from the coast, must, as Drake expressed it, have chafed like a bear robbed of her whelps. This was indeed the last and the decisive battle between the two fleets. It is, perhaps, best described in the very words of the contemporary writer, as we may read them in Hakluyt. Description of the Combat. "Upon the 29th of July in the morning, the Spanish fleet after the tumult, having arranged themselves again into order, were, within sight of Graveline, most bravely and furiously encountered by the English, where they once again got the wind of the Spaniards, who suffered themselves to be deprived of the commodity of the place in Calais Road, and of the advantage of the wind near unto Dunkirk, rather than they would change their array or separate their forces now conjoined and united together, standing only upon their defence. "And albeit there were many excellent and warlike ships in the English fleet, yet scarce were there 22 or 23 among them all, which matched go of the Spanish ships in the bigness, or could conveniently assault them. Wherefore the English ships using their prerogative of nimble steerage, whereby they could turn and wield themselves with the wind which way they listed, came often times very near upon the Spaniards, and charged them so sore, that now and then they were but a pike's length asunder; and so continually giving them one broadside after another, they discharged all their shot, both great and small, upon them, spending one whole day, from morning till night, in that violent kind of conflict, until such time as powder and bullets failed them. "In regard of which want they thought it convenient not to pursue the Spaniards any longer, because they had many great advantages of the English, namely, for the extraordinary bigness of their ships, and also for that they were so nearly conjoined, and kept together in so good array, that they could by no means be fought withal one to RETREAT OF TIt, OIANTS OF THE SPANISH ARMADA. {i, 148 SPAIN'S HISTORIC ARMADA. one. The English thought, therefore, that they had right well acquitted themselves in chasing the Spaniards first from Calais, and then from Dunkirk, and by that means to have hindered them from joining with the Duke of Parma his forces, and getting the wind of them, to have driven them from their own coasts. " The Spaniards that day sustained great loss and damage, having many of their ships shot through and through, and they discharged likewise great store of ordinance against the English; who, indeed, sustained some hindrance, but not comparable to the Spaniards' loss; for they lost not any one ship or person of account; for very diligent inquisition being made, the Englishmen all that time wherein the Spanish navy sailed upon their seas, are not found to have wanted above one hundred of their people; albeit Sir Francis Drake's ship was pierced with shot above forty times, and his very cabin was twice shot through, and about the conclusion of the fight, the bed of a certain gentleman lying weary thereupon, was taken quite from under him with the force of a bullet. Crippled by Lack of Ammunition. "Likewise, as the Earl of Northumberland and Sir Charles Blunt were at dinner upon a time, the bullet of a demi-culvering broke through the midst of their cabin, touched their feet, and struck down two of the standers-by, with many such accidents befalling the English ships, which it were tedious to rehearse." It reflects little credit on the English government that the English fleet was so deficiently supplied with ammunition as to be unable to complete the destruction of the invaders. But enough was done to insure it. Many of t ie largest Spanish ships were sunk or captured in the action of this d, ty. And at length the Spanish admiral, despairing of success, fled northward with a southerly wind, in the hope of rounding Scotland, and so returning to Spain without a further encounter with the English fleet. Lord Effingham left a squadron to continue the blockade of the Duke of Parma's armament; but that wise general soon withdrew his troops to more promising fields of action. Meanwhile the lord SPAIN'S HISTORIC ARMADA. 149 admiral himself, and Drake, chased the vincible Armada, as it was now termed, for some distance northward; and then, when they seemed to bend away from the Scotch coast toward Norway, it was thought best, in the words of Drake, " to leave them to those boisterous and uncouth northern seas." The sufferings and losses which the unhappy Spaniards sustained in their flight round Scotland and Ireland are well known. Of their whole Armada only fifty-three shattered vessels brought back their beaten and wasted crews to the Spanish coast which they had quitted in such pageantry and pride. Graphic Story of Spain's Defeat. The most spirited description of the defeat of the Armada which ever was penned may perhaps be taken from the letter which the br —.ve Vice-admiral Drake wrote in answer to some mendacious stories by which the Spaniards strove to hide their shame. Thus does he describe the scenes in which he played so important a part: " They were not ashamed to publish, in sundry languages in print, great victories in words, which they pretended to have obtained against this realm, and spread the same in a most false sort over all parts of France, Italy, and elsewhere; when, shortly afterward, it was happily manifested in very deed to all nations, how their navy, which they termed invincible, consisting of one hundred and twentynine sail of ships, not only of their own kingdom, but strengthened with the greatest argosies, Portugal carracks, Florentines, and large hulks of other countries, were by thirty of her majesty's own ships of war, and a few of our own merchants, by the wise, valiant, and advantageous conduct of the Lord Charles Howard, high admiral of England, beaten and shuffled together even from the Lizard in Cornwall, first to Portland, when they shamefully left Don Pedro de Valdez with his mighty ship; from Portland to Calais, where they lost Hugh de Moncado, with the galleys of which he was captain; and from Calais, driven with squibs from their anchors, were chased out of the sight of England, round about Scotland and Ireland. "There, for the sympathy of their religion, hoping to find succor SPAIN'S HISTORIC ARMADA. and assistance, a great part of them were crushed against the rocks, and those others that landed, being very many in number, were, notwithstanding, broken, slain, and taken, and so sent from village to village, coupled in halters to be shipped into England, where her majesty, of her princely and invincible disposition, disdaining to put them to death, and scorning either to retain or to entertain them, they were all sent back again to their countries, to witness and recount the worthy achievement of their invincible and dreadful navy. Failure of the Attempted Invasion. "The number of soldiers, the fearful burden of their ships, the commanders' names of every squadron, with all others, their magazines of provision, were put in print, as an army and navy irresistible and disdaining prevention; with all which their great and terrible ostentation, they did not in all their sailing round about England so much as sink or take one ship, barque, pinnace, or cock-boat of ours, or even burn so much as one sheep-cote on this land." Such is the graphic story of the destruction of the far-famed Spanish Armada. From that time to this Spain has never succceded in coping with Britain on the seas. At the present time her naval strength is not inconsiderable, especially in torpedo boats and their destroyers, but in first-class battleships and armed cruisers she is inferior to several other maritime powers, her prowess on the ocean having declined along with the general national decay. At the same time it is wise to remember that the United States has never been possessed of a large and formidable navy, although her naval victories have been brilliant. CHAPTER X. Big Guns and Coast Defenses. WHEN our war with Spain broke out attention was at once turned to the cities and harbors on our Atlantic coast, and the work of putting them in a state of defence was immeo diately undertaken and pushed vigorously. It was regarded as imperative that preparations should be made with the utmost despatch for attacks by a hostile fleet. In endeavoring to explain what should be comprehended by the term coast defence, we shall quote in extenso the remarks of Major G. Sydenham Clarke, Royal Engineer, who in I890 published an authoritative work on fortifications. The standard of the sea defence of a port-that is the number and nature of its guns-depends solely upon the armament and degree of protection of the ships from which attack can reasonably be expected. There is therefore no possibility of arriving at any proper decision on questions which vitally affect the cost of coast defences without a thorough grasp of the capabilities and disabilities of modern ships of war and the possibility of employing them in given waters. Preparing for the Enemy. The next question which arises is that of the positions which it is necessary to defend, having regard to the requirements of naval strategy on the one hand and local requirements on the other. Once the positions are decided, their geographical position with respect to the possible bases of the nation against which the country is to be defended is defined. It becomes possible to lay down for each port the most probable form and strength of attack, the nature of vessels likely to be employed, the number and nature of the guns needed, and the suitability of submarine mines to the local conditions. These questions can only be properly treated by naval experts accustomed to deal with conditions of this class. It is for naval officers 161 152 BIG GUNS AND COAST DEFENSES. alone to say whether the Io-inch gun, capable of piercing twenty inches of wrought-iron armor at one thousand yards, is required, say, for the defences of Sandy Hook, or whether a mine field is desirable at a great commercial port offering such peculiar conditions as, say, Galveston. Only when the above questions have been decided do the functions of the soldier begin. The probable strength and form of attack having been laid down by the sailor, the soldier is able to fix the necessary strength of the garrison. This, of course, is ideal coast defence. It is carried out to perfection only in Germany. Coast Guns and Marine Mines. The functions which coast defense are capable of performing are of three kinds: First-To prevent the use of a harbor by an enemy for the purpose either of shelter or of landing troops. Second-To bar a harbor or channel of approach and exclude an enemy from the inner waters. Third-To prevent the bombardment of a dockyard, town or arsenal. Guns will in most cases best fulfill the conditions of Noa I. Submarine mines, supported by rapid-fire guns capable of dealing with boats, might seem capable of performing No. 2, but in the case of almost every port of the country the unrestricted entry of friendly vessels is of the first importance, and unless it can be shown that no dangerous restrictions are involved in the use of mines, guns must be provided. Guns will in all cases be necessary for No. 3, but may, subject to the condition above stated, be combined with mines. In distributing guns for coast defense, the main conditions to be fulfilled are as follows: First-To bring the most effective fire upon the water approach, at the position where the difficulties of navigation are greatest for the ship. Second-To cover with effective fire all water from which the ship would be able to inflict damage, either upon the defending works or upon the -dockyard, town or shipping which it is intended to protect, BIG GUNS AND COAST DEFENSES. 153 Naval bombardment is more or less a bugbear. Considering the small amount of ammunition carried by modern ships of war and the moderate effect likely to be obtained, serious bombardment of undefended forts, more especially if at a distance from an enemy's base, is not likely to be carried out. It may be taken as certain, however, that bombardment will not be undertaken from ships themselves under effective fire. Coast-works may be Impregnable. The appliances at the disposal of coast defense are many and powerful, including guns, mines, torpedoes, search-lights and position finders. Meanwhile the ship herself has grown less capable of attacking coast defenses, unless specially constructed for the purpose, and even then her protected armament is numerically weak. By far the greater portion of the navies of the world cannot join combat with well-mounted guns on shore, and purely naval operations against coast-works are not likely to be undertaken in the future unless there are special reasons to doubt the efficiency of the organization and resources of the defense. While, however, science has conferred great benefits upon coast defenses, it has made new demands upon the defenders. To control and direct to the best advantage the various elements which go to the modern defense of a port is no easy task. An organization care. fully developed in time of peace, and a training at once thorough and all-embracing, are more than ever needed. Failing such organization and training, the full use of the powerful weapons which scientific progress has placed at our diposal is not merely debarred, but in the complication of these weapons themselves there lies danger. The fighting organization of the port must be as complete as that of the ship of war. The foregoing statement implies that, in addition to sub-marine mines and torpedoes, there should be heavy guns for coast defence. There is a sharp contrast between the big guns used on the sea-coast fortifications in the days of the Civil War and for some time after, and the modern high-power gun mounted on a disappearing carriage. 154 BIG GUNS AND COAST DEFENSES. Look at the old battery at Fort Monroe. There are three smoothbore muzzle-loading guns of the enormous caliber of fifteen inches. They threw solid shot, with low power of penetration, and comparatively short range. At all of the older sea-coast forts these antiquated guns are to be seen, and in some forts, where the guns are so situated that an enemy would have to pass almost under their muzzles, these guns would be utilized, if it came to a pinch. Guns that Fire and Disappear. Turn from this picture to those of the modern ten-inch breechloading rifles, mounted on disappearing carriages. With the use of smokeless powder a flash is seen-no smoke-and that is all. The moment after the fire, down drop the guns. There is nothing in the outward appearance of the battery to indicate what it is, much less to show the position of the gun. The face of the fortification is forty feet of solid packed earth, sodded, and it seems.from the outside to be merely a wall of earth, or a hill of regular contour. Back of this is thirty feet of cement. The magazines are underground, and some distance in the rear of the guns, with which they are connected by galleries. The gunner does not glance along the barrel of the new gun to get the range, as was the case with the old smooth-bores. The man who tells him what he is to fire at and where the object is may be miles away. Every harbor is mapped out in numbered squares, and the entire territory of that stragetic point is in command of one officer. In the case of New York harbor that officer is at FortWadsworth, on Staten Island, at the Narrows. When a hostile ship approaches the harbor, and enters within one of the squares, her exact position is determined by the range-finder, her speed is calculated, and, therefore, the position she will occupy in, say, five minutes. This information is telegraphed to the commandants of all the batteries, and the order given to prepare to fire at a given moment at a certain point on the chart. At that moment when the order to fire is telegraphed from the commanding officer, every gun, having got the range, is fired. A flash, a terrific concussion and the armor-piercing BIG GUNS AND COAST DEFENSES. 155 projectile is on its errand of destruction. No one at any of the guns has looked at the target, and yet some, at least of the nickel-steel projectiles have hit. Army officers say that the man does not live who could survive more than four or five hours work at the modern guns. The shock and detonation cannot be imagined by those who have not experienced it. Men who stand within 50 or oo00 feet of the guns are lifted from their feet, blood vessels are broken, ear drums snap, and it is a tremendous tax upon the strongest nerves. Projectiles of Great Crushing Power. Such were our hurried preparations for war that at some seacoast forts twelve-inch breech-loading mortars were mounted as howitzers. These carriages, of course, are not disappearing. The I,ooo-pound projectile thrown by these improvised howitzers has great crushing power, but a short range-nothing like the eight or ten miles which the rifles carry. In the class of small cannon, the Spanish rapid-fire gun is especially interesting. It looks much like the American Hotchkiss guns, and throws from 30 to 50 three-pound percussion shells a minute. Few instruments of modern warfare are quite as terrible as the rapidfire guns of small caliber. They constitute the secondary battery of war-ships, and are especially useful in driving off torpedo-boats. Then, too, if the war-ships get near enough, these guns will pour a rain of explosive shells upon the decks of the opponent, sweeping away all the gunners. These guns carry out the principle of the revolver. They have an arm rest, and a pistol grip, and require two men to serve, one to aim, and the other to pour in the ammunition. For land use these small bore, rapid-fire cannon are mounted on carriages and can be used either as horse artillery or they can be drawn by hand. It was one of these weapons which was employed in the battle of Wounded Knee Creek in the Sioux war of I890, and which literally mowed the Indians down at the mission house. Canister and shrapnel can be fired, as well as percussion shells. The 156 BIG GUNS AND COAST DEFENSES. last named have sufficient penetrating power to enable them to make a sieve of a brick wall a mile and a half away. The new rapid-fire gun, the Colt automatic, has a singular construction, but each one of these curious looking little things is said by naval officers to be equal to a regiment of infantry, and this type of gun is regarded as about the most remarkable and effective of all the small guns in the possession of the government. The bore is less even than that of the Krag-Jorgensen rifle, with which the army is supplied, being.236 inches. The Colt automatic fires 400 shots a minute, and its line of fire can sweep either laterally or vertically. It is one of the most wicked weapons ever devised. Pushing Work Night and Day. After the disaster to the Maine there was a marked increase of activity at the United States' great gun factory at Watervliet, New York. More than five hundred men were set to working with the industry of beavers, fashioning huge pieces of ordnance for sea-coast defense of the country. In every department of the various shops work was pushed as rapidly as possible. In the main gun-shop work on the huge guns went on rapidly. In the smaller shop field and siege guns were manufactured. It is in the main gun-shop, however, that one sees the most interesting things. When President McKinley visited the Arsenal he was much impressed with what he saw. He turned to a member of his party, Secretary-of-War Alger, and remarked: "This is certainly a wonderful sight, Alger." The Secretary replied that he thought it was. The big factory was built in i888 specially for the manufacture of sea-coast guns for general harbor defense. Just as soon as the guns are finished they are tested and shipped to various points of fortification along the Atlantic coast. The factory is nearly a quarter of a mile long, and two hundred feet wide. The total cost of the plant and machinery was more than $3,o00,ooo. The machinery is of the finest and latest pattern. The smaller buildings where the field and siege guns are fabricated is only about half the siMe of the large building, covering an area of BIG GUNS AND COAST DEFENSES. 157 five hundred by seventy feet. The shops were several years apart in construction. Work on the main shop was begun in I890. The Watervliet Arsenal has turned out about two hundred 8, 10, and I2-inch sea-coast defense guns and a large number of 12 -inch mortars. The largest gun completed in the main shop was a I2-inch breech-loading gun. This gun is forty feet long, weighs fifty-seven tons, and throws a projectile weighing one thousand pounds. The projectile is hurled about ten miles. The I6-inch breech-loading gun is the largest in the world. It is the intention of the War Department to mount the huge instrument of destruction on a specially built foundation, on Romer Shoals. The protection for the I6-inch gun will be a turret, which will wholly inclose the crew and the greater part of the gun. From its position on Romer Shoals it will have a full sweep of the channels leading into New York harbor. Can Smash any Armor. There is not, it is declared, a vessel afloat to-day with armor of sufficient strength to resist its shot. A blow from the new gun has a striking energy equal to that of a 2,000 ton ship when running at full speed. The shot from the gun would smash, crack and batter down any armor which it would be possible for a ship to carry. The question of piercing is hardly worth entertaining. The caliber of the new gun is sixteen inches. The length from breech to muzzle is 49 feet 2 inches. Through the breech, in a vertical line, the gun has a measurement of exactly five feet. The weight of a shot for the new gun is a little over 2,300 pounds. That means more than a ton of metal. The heaviest shots fired in England have not weighed over 2,000 pounds. The powder charge for the American gun weighs nearly I,00o pounds. Provided extreme elevation for range could be obtained, a shot from the gun should be able to travel more than sixteen miles. The greatest known range ever attained was from the famous "jubilee shot," in England. The distance measured about twelve statute miles. The United States has never before attempted any heavier 158 BIG GUNS AND COAST DEFENSES. piece of ordnance for coast defense than a I2-inch gun. The weight of a piece of the latter caliber is approximately 50 tons. In the I6 -inch gun there is observed a jump of 76 tons increase in weight. The first ingot for the new I6-inch gun was cast at Bethlehem in October, I897. It was for the tube forging, and weighed 82,800 pounds. The jacket forging was also made then. It weighs go,ooo pounds. The greatest care had to be exercised in the fabrication of this great weapon. If a jacket or hoop had been shrunk on out of line the piece might have been thereby rendered useless. All measurements were brought down as close as 3-Iooths of an inch. In the final rifling work the great mass of metal had to be slowly turned on a lathe while the rifling tool worked its way through the bore. A Fortune in a Single Gun. All metal used in the great gun was fluid compressed. The specifications which were adhered to demanded the most exacting physical tests. Specimen pieces of metal were taken from all forgings, and subjected to elongation, breaking and bending tests. Finally, every part of the gun had to be of forged metal. The tube, for instane, had to be cast and rough bored. The building of the I6-inch gun was an expensive undertaking. The gun itself cost about $I20,000. For single guns the average cost to the Government for all fabrication work in this country is roughly $i,ooo per ton of gun. The gun carriage and turret brought the cost up to as much again as the weapon, while the cost of foundation rounded out a grand total of $390,ooo. The foundation for the I6-inch gun required a depth of fifty feet in the earth. This foundation was constructed of concrete. The War Department was unable to secure such an enormous weapon from Congress prior to I897, owing to the cost. When the subject came up the last time for debate the chief of ordnance of the army, Brigadier-General Flagler declared that a harbor such as New York should possess at least one gun capable of stopping any vessel an enemy might send in, when every other gun in the harbor had proved futile. In other words, the I6-inch is to be regarded as the BIG GUNS AND COAST DEFENSES. 159 salvation of the port when every other piece of ordnance in the harbor has failed. The power of the new gun, it is estimated, is beyond the limit imposed by any armor plate now carried. The builders unite in declaring the new gun to be more powerful in this respect than any weapon ever turned out. Thickest Armor Plate can be Penetrated. A I6-inch gun built in England for the war-ship Sans Pareil, when fired at an armor plate measuring over twenty-eight inches in thickness, not only penetrated it, but passed through twenty feet of oak backing, five feet of granite, eleven feet of concrete and six feet of brick. But the English gun, which did the work just mentioned, proved a failure. After several shots had been fired the chase was observed to droop at a point forward of the trunnions. An attempt was made to remedy this defect, but the same trouble arose after later firings. England mounted two IIo-ton guns on the Benbow, two on the Sans Pareil and two on the Victoria. Those on the Victoria were lost with that vessel in the Mediterranean. The Sans Pareil's guns are now useless, and the Benbow's weapons are reported to be unserviceable. Krupp has had much better luck than the English government, and he has constructed several guns for the Italian government, which have exceeded in weight I Io tons. The heaviest gun made for Italy weighs 119 tons. The piece is now mounted in the shore defenses. It is reported that a sister to this gun has been fired by Krupp two hundred times without injury to the weapon. The United States Government took the precaution to introduce on the new i6-inch gun very wide hoops. It is not deemed desirable to make public the sizes of these hoops, but it is confidently expected that no such trouble as the English experienced with their big guns will be met with in the new American piece. The great Krupp gun exhibited at Chicago, which at the time was the largest gun in the world, weighed 120 tons. Its length was 45.93 feet and its caliber I6.5 inches. The projectile it fired weighed 2,204 pounds. Sixteen rounds have been fired from the big Krupp gun. 160 BIG GUNS AND COAST DEFENSES. In the majority of cases the powder charges weighed 903 pounds The velocity imparted to the projectile was a trifle over 1,900 feet per second. The perforating power of the armor-piercing shell from this Krupp gun is at point blank range through 3.53 feet of armor; at 2,280 yards through 3.26 feet of armor, and at 6,500oo yards through 3.01 feet. All these figures, it is claimed, will be beaten by the new American gun. Immense Power of Rifled Guns. The great guns with which the battle ships and cruisers are equipped are not the least interesting feature of these floating forts. Since the Civil War there has been an entire change in the manufacture of cannon. That war brought out the first ironclad, the Monitor, which was impervious to the cannon shot of that day. Rifled guns were just then being talked of, and soon after they were an accomplished fact and the British ships were equipped with them. Rifled guns had been built as early as I860, and one monster fifteen-inch gun was mounted on the beach at Fortress Monroe. Since that day it has been a race between protective armor and rifled guns. No armor has yet been made which great rifles and tempered projectiles have not been able to pierce. All cannon up to about I865 had been made of cast iron, and, as the greatest strain was at the breech of the gun, that end was made much thicker and heavier than the muzzle. The guns which lie in the yard at League Island, Philadelphia, are of the old cast-iron Rodman type, named from their inventor, who was a prominent officer of the United States navy. Nearly all the forts and all the vessels were equipped with them at the close of the war. On the advent of the Lifled gun it was decided to utilize these old cast-iron pieces by inserting a rifled steel tube. This was done by heating the gun, which would expand, and in cooling would shrink upon the steel tube. Very many guns were thus "converted," as it was termed. This method was called the Palliser method, after its inventor. The rapid strides made in the construction of ordnance and the demand for "high power" guns necessary for piercing the improved BIG GUNS AND COAST DEFENSES. 161 armor plates soon left these converted guns in the lurch, and about I890, when the double turreted monitors were rebuilt for our navy, they were equipped with the new type to-inch rifles, the first of the kind to be mounted in our navy. These are made entirely of steel, and are constructed at the ordnance works at the Washington Navy Yard. In 1883 a board of experts of which Admiral Sampson was President, visited gun establishments abroad, and in 1884 they made a report recommending that steel gun forgings and material for guns be supplied by private concerns and that the Government should maintain factories in which the material should be made into guns. As a result of this recommendation a factory was established at the Washington Navy Yard for the construction of guns for the navy, and at the Watervliet Arsenal, Troy, N. Y., for the army guns. The first award of a contract for material was made to the Bethlehem Iron Company, in 1887, to make gun forgings and armor plates, so that all high-power 'uns have been constructed since that date. Can be Aimed Only by Machinery. One of the most noticeable changes from the old type to the new is the great length of the guns. Some of them are forty feet long. The Miantonomoh's four 1o-inch guns are thirty-two feet. The object of this great length is to permit the expansive force of the burning powder to act longer on the projectile. The powder used is slow burning. If it were to be converted into gas instantaneously it would burst any gun that could be constructed. That is the way dynamite and gun-cotton explode. Of course great guns are very heavy, weighing from sixty to a hundred tons each. They cannot be moved by hand, but elaborate hydraulic machinery is adapted to turn them and to handle the great projectiles which they fire. These projectiles are conical and are put into the gun through the breech, or rear end, which is opened by removing the breech-block. This removable piece is screwed into place by a half-turn. It swings out on a hinge, and the whole movement is quickly made. L 162 BIG GUNS AND COAST DEFENSES. Eight men constitute a gun squad, and each has his part to pert form. The ammunition is "fixed," that is, it is put together in just the shape it is to go into the gun. It is raised by hydraulic power in an "ammunition hoist," and slipped upon a little saddle, or car, which runs upon a track, and a piston rod pushes it into the open breech of the gun, and the breech-block is at once screwed in place The charge cannot be fired until all the parts are in place. Fired Ten Times in Seventeen Seconds. All guns with a bore above six inches in diameter must be loaded and handled by machinery. It would be impracticable for the men to lift projectiles weighing 250 pounds for the 8-inch guns, 500 pounds for the io-inch, 850 pounds for the I -inch, and I,I0o pounds for the I3-inch. The rapidity with which the guns can be fired dependc upon their size and the perfection of their mechanism for handling them. The large guns of the American navy are handled as rapidly as those of any foreign nation. The ammunition for the smaller guns, which are called "rapidfire" guns, is loaded by hand. The ammunition is elevated from the magazines by the hydraulic hoist, but the projectiles are put into the breech by hand. It will be seen, therefore, that the speed of firing depends upon the skill of the men. The guns carrying a six pound shot can be fired ten times in seventeen seconds. A 6-inch gun call be fired three or four times a minute. These smaller guns are mounted upon a stand like a telescope and can be turned in any direction. One interesting feature of the large guns is the method of taking up the recoil. Large guns in the forts and on ships were formerly mounted on gun carriages which had an inclined plane upon which the gun rested. The recoil produced by the reaction of the explosion would push the gun backwards and upwards upon this incline. The modern method is to take up this recoil by pneumatic pressure, which is elastic. The great guns in the turrets of the Miantonomah and othe? monitors of her class get their range not by moving the gun, but bv BIG GUNS AND COAST DEFENSES. 163 the turning of the turret. They get their elevation, up or down, in the usual way. It is surprising to see with what ease these great masses of iron are made to turn. An entire revolution of a turret twenty-five feet in diameter is made in ten seconds. They can be fired and the turret revolved at once, so that the guns themselves cannot be damaged by an enemy's shot. The Famous Mosquito Fleet. Perhaps the most interesting department of coast defense is what has come to be known as the " Mosquito Fleet." The term " mosquito," as applied to what is known in naval circles as "the second line of defense," is not at all relished by naval officers. This mode of defense was adopted seriously by the Navy Department, and is of immense service in the protection of the three thousand miles of coast line stretching from Maine to the Gulf. It is composed of all sorts and kinds of ships, to the number of about I30. There are revenue cutters, tugs, lighthouse tenders, yachts, river and harbor steamers, and any other kind of craft that will bear a gun and can go a few miles to sea. To utilize these ships properly the Atlantic and Gulf coast lines are divided into eight districts, the limits of each corresponding with the districts already established by the Lighthouse Board. To man these vessels requires the entire strength of the naval militia of the States along the coast. The men from each State are assigned, as far as possible, to the vessels which patrol the coast of their States. The assignments of the vessels are apportioned so that the largest number are located at the points where the coast is most unprotected by harbor defenses. Many, however, are stationed off New York to be in touch with the signal service stations on shore. During day and night a certain number of these small craft are stationed well off shore, where they steam slowly backward and forward quite like a sentinel on post and for precisely the same purpose-namely, to give warning of the approach of the enemy. These watchers are on duty perhaps eight hours, when others go out to relieve them. Three lines of sentries are established-the outer 164 BIG GUNS AND COAST DEFENSES. twenty-five miles from shore, the second midway between the outer and the shore, and a third line along the shore. A thoroughly comprehended system of signals is used, by means of which the outer line sends its news to the middle line, and thence it goes to the telegraph and signal stations along the shore, whence the batteries receive it, and cast loose and provide ready to meet the enemy, should he dare approach. Achievements of the Little Craft. It might be under certain circumstances advisable and even necessary for these mosquitoes to get within range of the enemy and begin with their long carrying, though small calibred, guns to sting him, much as would their namesakes. It is quite possible for several of these fast small boats to beat off a small cruiser fleet that came within range of their guns. Then, too, some of the larger vessels of the mosquito fleet are armed with a few rapid-fire guns of caliber sufficient to send a shot through four or five inches of iron at a thousand yards. The larger vessels assigned to the mosquito fleet are well armed with effective guns of the large rapid-fire type. On the smaller vessels, such as the yachts, tugs and revenue cutters, are mounted machine guns and six-pounders. They are not expected to do any offensive fighting except as a last resort, but are expected to patrol the coast and notify the shore signal stations whenever a hostile fleet is sighted. When a privateer or a war-ship is sighted the little vessel will run into the nearest signal station and the news will be at once communicated to headquarters, to be established at various points. This will enable the land batteries to prepare for the intruder and keep the warships informed as to the whereabouts of the hostile vessels. The mosquito fleet is mainly composed of vessels of considerable speed and of light draught, and can easily run into the shallow creeks and bays to escape the enemy. About sixty signal service stations are established along the coast, principally in the vicinity of the lighthouses. Altogether the mosquito fleet, in spite of the satirical smiles which accompany the mention of it in naval circles, holds an important place in coast defense and is of no little value. CHAPTER XI. United States Naval Commanders. EAR ADMIRAL William T. Sampson, commander of the United States squadron in the North Atlantic, owes his distinguished position not to epauletted ancestry, but rather to an ability to rightly act under the dictates of a clear judgment and the quality of performing rather than talking, inherited from a calm, sturdy father. "The right man in the right place," "He knows what to do and does it," were some of the expressions of approval from officers of high rank heard on the announcement of his last appointment. Courage and reserve are Admiral Sampson's leading characteristics. He is an ordnance expert of the first order, having made executive work and the study of naval'science the absorbing objects of hit career. His knowledge of modern armor and armament has beet laboriously acquired, is extensive, thorough, and of great service to his country, equally with his profound comprehension of the use and comparative value of explosives, which knowledge represents years of hard study and dangerous experiment. A Master of Naval Science. The estimate placed on his opinion can best be judged from the fact of his repeated recalls when cruising to serve on various boards dealing with matters of importance. He was delegated, with others, to determine the policy for building up the navy; much sought in conferences where ship designing was considered; and latterly was selected president of the board of inquiry of the Maine disaster. His keen intellectuality and prompt judgment in action inspire confidence in him, and war with Spain having been declared he was given command as Rear Admiral. A casual glance at this man, whose brilliant personality is magnified to vast importance by his great responsibilities, suggests the - 165 166 UNITED STATES NAVAL COMMANDERS. student of calm philosophies rather than the sailor and naval commander. Admiral Sampson is tall and slim, with shoulders a trifle rounded. His hair and beard are gray, his blue eyes set deep between stronglymarked brows, and are gravely expressive of much thought. He is affable, but a man of few words. Nothing disturbs the evenness of his manner, and in an emergency he reaches quickly a helpful conclusion. His brevity of speech has given some who have met him an impression of curtness, which better acquaintance soon dispelled. Familiarly Known as "Billy" Sampson. In his native home, in Wayne county, N. Y., Admiral Sampson is still known by his familiars as "Billy" Sampson, and there, when leave permits, he spends jolly days with old companions, forgetful of all formality as before he had achieved honors. Not all the memories of home are cheery, however, f9r Admiral Sampson's early life was a struggle. He was born in Palmyra, N.Y., February 9, I840, and in early life had experience of poverty and hard work. His father was a laborer, and his education was kept up by conning such text-books as were in his possession at times when not assisting in cutting and piling wood, or performing some similar labor. His attendance at the county schools was intermittent, but his ambition to learn was in no way thwarted by circumstances. Through Representative E. B. Morgan young Sampson was in 1857 appointed a midshipman in the United States Naval Academy, Mr. W. H. Southwick, of Palmyra, having secured Mr. Morgan's influence for the energetic boy, whose perseverance had won his admiration. After four years at Annapolis he graduated first in his class. His war record shows marvellous pluck and some astonishing experiences, though at the beginning of hostilities he was not old enough to attain a command. His conduct, however, as master on the frigate Potomac won him promotion to the rank of second lieutenant in the summer of I862. While holding this commission he served on the practice ship John Adams, on the Patapsco, of the North Atlantic UNITED STATES NAVAL COMMANDERS. 167 blockading squadron, and on the steam frigate Colorado, flagship of the European squadron. On January I6, I865, Lieutenant Sampson, being executive officer on the ironclad Patapsco, was ordered by the Admiral of the fleet to enter Charleston Harbor, before which the Union ships were doing blockade duty, and remove or destroy all submarine mines and torpedoes with which the city was protected from invasion. The task was a most dangerous one, as for many days the enemy had given all their time and labor to stocking the water with explosives in order to repel advance. The little ironclad had only entered the harbor when bullets from the rifles of the sharpshooters rained upon her. Lieutenant Sampson, standing on the bridge, in the most exposed position, saw his men fall before the fire, with which they were well in range. The situation was a test of bravery from which the young officer did not flinch, as he stood a target for many hundred marksmen. Ordering his men below, he kept his place. Blown a Hundred Feet From the Wreck. Presently there was an ominous cessation of firing and silence for a few moments, during which time the Patapsco moved deliberately forward in her quest. Then came a mighty explosion as the boat was lifted into the air by a terrific force from beneath. Surrounded by hurling masses of water and sheets of flame, other explosions quickly followed, after which the shattered ironclad settled down beneath the waves. The young officer was rescued about a hundred feet from the sunken wreck, where he had been blown. Twenty-five of his crew were being saved at the same time, but seventy men met their death in the sunken ironclad. Lieutenant Sampson was promoted to lieutenant commander in r866 while on the Colorado. He was at the Naval Academy from I868 to 1871, and on the Congress in I872-73. Having been made commander in I874, he was assigned to the Alert, and from early in 7876 to the end of 1878 he was again at the Naval Academy. In 168 UNITED STATES NAVAL COMMANDERS. 1879 he was in China, commanding the Swatara. The Iowa was first commanded by him, and the San Francisco was once his charge. His lectures on torpedo work before the Naval War College, at Newport, produced a fine impression, and his device of double deck or superposed turrets which, with Lieutenant Joseph Strauss, he perfected and which await trial on the new battleships Kearsarge and Kentucky, are proofs of his talent. While occupying the position of inspector of ordnance at the Washington Navy Yard for three years he assisted in furthering construction of the magnificent gun factory established there. He was Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance from 1893 to 1897, testing all his powers of endurance and nearly wrecking his health by the arduous duties of the position. Fondness for His Old Home. Mormon Hill Farm, New York, is the property of the Sampsons, and when the Admiral seeks recreation amid the scenes of his boyhood he is guest of his brother, who lives on the place. The famous golden plates of the Book of Mormon, which Joseph Smith claimed to have found buried, were said by him to have been excavated from the land of this estate. While Admiral Sampson is in the midst of warlike preparations, surrounded by instruments and munitions of slaughter, his family, in the home, is environed by the most peaceful and quiet scenes that can well be imagined. There is indeed a deep contrast between the naval activity where the Admiral is a commanding central figure and the rural peace where wife and children abide in security, though ever anxious over the events that may by a sudden turn place husband and father in the front of a great conflict between nations. When events transpired that threatened to keep the Admiral from his family for some time, he closed his Washington house and found a temporary home for his wife and children in the quiet, picturesque town of Glen Ridge, in New Jersey. There they are as snugly harbored as a sailor might wish his dear ones to be while he is battling fierce storms or perhaps still more fierce men. UNITED STATES NAVAL COMMANDERS. 169 Sampson is in his habits almost a recluse. He is a man of one idea, and that idea is the navy of the United States. His whole life is his profession. A naval commander often has social duties, and these he performs with tact and resource, but he never seeks display or social affairs not in the line of duty. He is very close-mouthed and can evade questions like a diplomat, effectually, yet politely. He proved this as head of the Maine Board of Inquiry. He is a rigid disciplinarian. A keen, shrewd man is Sampson, a man who knows every branch of naval theory and practice as few know it. He is never impulsive, never hurried, never at a loss. It would be impossible to name a man in whom the navy and the country would have more confidence. That confidence is not lessened by the fact that he is a plain man of the plain people, coming, as Lincoln came, from intimate acquaintanceship with the soil he defends and is in all respects a self-made man who can be trusted in any emergency. Sketch of Commodore Schley. One or two other high officers in the navy command our attention. Commodore Winfield Scott Schley is the commander of the flying squadron. He is a jolly man, fond of a joke and warm-hearted. He loves children, and little people are attracted by him. He is democratic in his ways when on shore. He puts a stranger at once at ease. He is easily approached, and frank in conversation on all matters not connected with naval affairs. Like most men in high executive place in the army and navy he is a handsome man. He is tall, was slender during most of his active life, but has acquired a comfortable girth. In his quick, alert manner and active mind, Schley seems more French than English, but he is remotely of Alsatian descent. Schley married in I863 Miss Rebecca Franklin. He was then only twenty-three, and a fighting lieutenant. He ran a good chance of being killed any day. Mrs. Schley is a pretty woman with a charming smile. She is a native American of good old Maryland stock and a burning, fiery patriot, who accompanies her husband as far 170 UNITED STATES NAVAL COMMANDERS. toward war as she can. She is a very jolly and popular woman, as ready to dance or make merry as she was when a young girl. Thomas Schley, the Maryland founder of the family, began life in the town of Frederick, Md., away back in the last century. Henry Schley, an uncle of the Commodore, fought under old " Fuss and Feathers" in the war of 1812, and so young Schley was named Winfield Scott after that grim warrior. Another uncle fought under Scott in Mexico while Schley was a tiny boy. A Fighter From His Boyhood. Schley was born in a little place called Richfield, near Frederick. He was a mischievious boy, always endangering his neck,, robbing birds' nests or playing pranks on the woolly-headed old "uncles," for which they all idolized him. He was a fighter by instinct. He went to Annapolis instead of West Point because it was nearer and promised more fracases for future diversion. He made no mark in the Naval Academy, but graduated in I860. He was near the foot of his class. That wasn't because he was stupid, but because he was so busy with important mischief that he couldn't get much time to study. None of his scrapes was very serious, however, except one. That was when he challenged a fellow-officer to fight. To issue such a challenge was a serious offence, but the matter was overlooked because, as President Lincoln remarked a little later on a similar occasion, the American people are always ready to find an apology for a man who is guilty of being too ready to fight. He was a bold and plucky petty officer in the war, serving on the blockade ships, but, of course, too young for important command. Nevertheless he became known as a courageous youngster, ready for anything. Probably no naval officer in the world has had such varied experience of so many kinds, in war and peace, as Schley. Briefly, it is this: In 1861-65, active service in the civil war; I865, suppressed a riot of 400 Chinamen on one of the Chincha Islands, also landed in La Union, San Salvador, because of an insurrection, and took possession of the Custom-House to protect American interests; 1871, landed UNITED STATES NAVAL COMMANDERS. 1-71 marines in Corea and thrashed the natives; 1876, punished pirates in the lower Congo; i884, rescued Greely, the Arctic explorer; 1890, took Ericsson's body to Sweden; I89I, commanded the Baltimore in Valparaiso and landed marines once more-a favorite manceuvre with him; I892, went on lighthouse service, with headquarters at Staten Island; I893, made plans for buoying New York Harbor; I895, succeeded Robley D. Evans, "Fighting Bob," as commander of the cruiser New York. Expedition to Rescue Greely. Between whiles he visited Japan and other far-off places, did scientific work, rescued shipwrecked sailors and did general utility work. Twice before Commodore Schley has been a leading figure in the newspapers. In 1884 he was the first officer to volunteer to rescue General (then Lieutenant) Greely away up in the Arctic regions. It is said that on the Greely expedition some of Schley's officers were disposed to protest that he was taking serious risks with his ships. His reply was: " Gentlemen, there are times when it is necessary to take risks. This is one of those times." He commanded the expedition of the Thetis, Bear and Alert and brought the survivors in triumph to St. John's, N. F. It was a good, clean, quick job, well done, and his arrival was just in the nick of time. It was dramatic. It led to promotion and the command of the Baltimore, then a new ship. In I891 Schley came back in a hurry from his Ericsson trip to Sweden and hurried 'o Valparaiso, Chili, in the Baltimore. It was a fine, new, nice white ship, and he did want to try her. There is not much doubt of that. In Chili there was a civil war on. Minister Egan was accused of favoring one side. Feeling against the Americans ran high. It culminated when two sailors of the Baltimore were murdered in the streets of Valparaiso, the police looking on, and probably assisting. Schley landed marines at midnight. He has been criticised for this, but at least he was not afraid to fight. Because of this willingness he qot no chance to do so. There was a day when a rumor reached New York that the Balti 172 UNITED STATES NAVAL COMMANDERS. more had been blown up-as the Maine was. What really happened was this: war between Chili and the United States was imminent. There was talk, away down there, of a combined attack on the Baltimore to be made by the Chilian cruisers Esmeralda, and Almirante Cochran and by torpedo boats. On either side of the Baltimore lay the German ship Leipzig and the British Melpomene. Schley requested their commanders to change their anchorages and give his guns a fair show. They did as requested, the Englishman rather unwillingly. There was no fight. Maybe Schley did wear the chip on his shoulder a little too prominently. His transfer to the lighthouse service was construed as a rebuke. It was not until 1895 that he again received command of a ship. Schley wears a fine gold watch. It was voted to him by the Maryland Legislature after his rescue of Greely. More than this he values a fine ebony cane with a gold head given him by the crew of the Baltimore when he was relieved of the command. Brave and Dashing Commander. The spokesman chosen by the seamen on this occasion touched his cap, and with a scrape of his foot said: " You know, sir, that when you were an officer the regulations would not allow us to give you a present but now that you have given up the command of the ship you are only a gentleman." He is a born fighter. Wherever since the war broke out there has been a promise of trouble, Schley has been pretty apt to be on the spot. He is resolute, resourceful and daring, quick to decide in an emergency and confident in himself. It would always be his instinct in battle to take the offensive, to strike the first blow. It is said that when he was appointed to the command of the flying squadron he went to the President and begged permission to go to meet the Spanish flotilla of torpedo boats and torpedo-boat destroyers which had started across the ocean. He urged that the approaching armada could not be regarded otherwise than as a serious menace. Spain, in sending it, was to all intents and purposes committing an act of war. At the very least, it ought to -be stopped -and made to UNITED STATES NAVAL COMMANDERS. 173 go back; if it would not comply with this command, then it should be attacked. He thought there was no use in temporizing in such an emergency; the boats were designed to assail the United States, and they ought not to be permitted to arrive in our waters. That is the kind of man Commodore Schley is. He is a fighter to the backbone, and has.lways borne that reputation in the navy. Famous Fighting "Bob" Evans. Another naval officer deserves special notice. One of the best known commanders of the navy is Capt. Robley D. Evans, who was appointed to the command of the big battleship Iowa. Captain Evans has qualities which win popular interest. He is dashing aggressive and blunt, and he has a picturesque way of expressing his opinions. It is related of Gen. "Pap" Thomas that a pleasant smile crept across his grim face when he was told that his soldiers had given him an affectionate nickname; for such a nickname was a proof that he had won the hearts and confidence of his men. We do not nickname persons in whom we are not interested. The captain of the Iowa enjoys a nickname. He is called Fighting Bob Evans. Many stories are told about Captain Evans. He is a Virginian by birth, and it is related of him that when the South seceded, his mother.without his consent, sent his resignation to Washington. The young cadet, however, persuaded the department to abrogate it, and promptly rejoined the service. He entered the Naval Academy from Utah in I86o, and stayed there until I863, when he was promoted to ensign. In the assault on Fort Fisher he landed with a force of seamen and marines, and was wounded twice by rifle shots. He still bears the marks of his service at that time, and has a medal of honor. He lamed his leg in another engagement, the assault from the water upon Fort Sumter. He had charge of two guns of his ship when that attack was made. A shell came through a porthole, tore a trench in the deck and broke his kneecap. He did not go below. He lay in the trench made by the shell from Fort Sumter, refusing to be taken to the surgeon in 174 UNITED STATES NAVAL COMMANDERS. the cockpit, and from this position fought his two guns until the fight was over. He was for several years an instructor in seamanship in the Naval Academy. Many of the younger officers of the navy were under his tutelage at that institution and upon practice cruises. While he was always strict and often sarcastic in his remarks to the youngsters, he was at the same time zealous to make good officers of them. An officer who was a midshipman under Evans, says that one day at seamanship drill he, as a royal yardsman, made an error in sending down yards. Evans, from the quarter-deck, ordered him to " lay down from aloft and comb the hayseed out of his hair." " It was a pretty severe rebuke," said the officer. "He thought that his rebuke would do the work, and I am happy to say that it did." Ready to Enforce His Order. Captain Evans was placed in command of the gunboat Yorktown in July, I891. The vessel entered the harbor of Valparaiso when the relations between Chili and the United States were strained. The vessel was small and carried few guns, but what she lacked in armament her commander made up in nerve. The Yorktown was anchored directly in front of one of the water batteries, a shot from any of which would have sunk her. Shortly after the arrival of the vessel the Chilians had torpedo prac-. tice. They had a number of small boats fitted with long arms, on which the torpedoes were placed, and as the only vessel in the harbor was the Yorktown, they made her the point of attack, much to the displeasure of Captain Evans. He stood on deck for some time watching the manceuvres of the small vessels, until he could stand it no longer. He then ordered the ship cleared for action, and the guns were loaded. His cutter was ordered away, and he visited the commanding-general of the city. He lost no time in saying that he wanted the torpedo boats taken out of the harbor within half-an-hour, and his request was granted. Other events of his stay in Valparaiso harbor that year was his prompt denunciation of any Chilian criticism upon his course in firing UNITED STATES NAVAL COMMANDERS. 176 a salute to the Spanish Minister when the latter came aboard his ship with a couple of refugees. He won his name of Fighting Bob at Valparaiso. When old Captain Josiah Tattnall joined the British sailors in the attack on the Chinese forts at Pei-ho, he excused his breach of neutrality by declaring that "Blood is thicker than water." The words are still quoted frequently, and are but one of a number of famous sayings attributed to officers of the United States Navy. Lawrence's " Don't give up the ship," belongs, of course, in this category. One of Evans' sayings is that ' it would please him to make Spanish the prevailing language in perdition for the next five years." Captain Taylor's Honorable Record. Captain Henry C. Taylor, commanding the Indiana, is a classmate and brother-in-law of Captain Evans. He graduated from the Naval Academy with honor, in May, I863, having completed the entire course in two years and eight months. He served with honor through the rest of the war and has ever since been considered one of the most intelligent and best all-around officers in the navy. He was president of the Naval War College, and no one is better versed in naval strategy than Captain Taylor. He is one of the most progressive men in the navy, and by keeping abreast of naval affairs and improvements he fitted himself to be of the greatest value to the Government in hastily preparing for war. The commander of the Puritan, Captain Purnell F. Harrington, entered the Naval Academy in I86r, graduating three years later, thus being able to see service in the war. He is a man of remarkable brilliancy of intellect and an altogether splendid officer. He has made a study of torpedoes, and is of great value to the service as an expert on high explosives. Captain Nicoll Ludlow, who has the Terror, is a classmate of Captains Evans and Taylor, and a brother of Colonel Ludlow, of the engineers, in charge of the defenses at Sandy Hook. Among civilians all over the country Captain Ludlow has many friends. His record in war and peace, as well as his keen judgment and strong will, insure for his ship a reputation justifying her name. 176 UNITED STATES NAVAL COMMANDERS. The Terror's sister ship, the Amphitrite, is commanded by Captain C. J. Barclay, who entered the service in I860 and passed through the war with credit. He was master of the famous Kearsarge, and became a lieutenant as the war ended. He has commanded a nurnber of ships and had the Alert for three years; his reputation is without a blemish, and his ship is always well handled. Captain French E. Chadwick commands the New York, the armored cruiser. He was chief of the Bureau of Equipment, and a member of the Maine Court of Inquiry. Captain Chadwick entered the Naval Academy just too late for him to get any active war service. He has a fine reputation as an officer and as commander of the Marblehead in the Squadron of Evolution, in I890. This officer is con" stantly studying over plans for increasing the efficiency of the navy. His influence is always at work to see that our navy takes advantage bf all moderr improvements. A Popular Naval Officer. Captain John W. Philip, of the battleship Texas, is but four numbers below Commodore Schley. At the Naval Academy he was declared to be the most popular man of his class, and this reputation he has maintained ever since. Probably no man in the navy has more friends and fewer enemies than " Jack " Philip. He was at sea during the war, and has seen as much active war service as any commander in the Atlantic. He was commissioned lieutenant in 1862 and was wounded in the leg during that year at the siege of Charleston. Captain Philip is a safe and brave officer and a courteous gentleman. The Massachusetts is commanded by Captain Francis J. Higginson. Captain Higginson was at the Naval Academy when the necessity for educated young officers for war services called him into active sea duty. He had to fight from the moment he left the school. The capture of the privateer Judith, the bombardment of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, the breaking up of the defenses at New Orleans and the bombardment of Fort Sumter are some of the engagements that prepared him for command. He became a lieutenant in the second UNITED STATES NAVAL COMMANDERS. 177 year of the war. Captain Higginson is widely known among naval men, is thoroughly respected as an officer and will do his duty always. The armored cruiser Brooklyn was sent to Europe carrying Ad. miral Miller to represent this Government at the Queen's Jubilee. She was then and is still commanded by Captain Francis A. Cook, whose kindly good nature and uniform courtesy added so much to the good impression that the ship made abroad. Captain Cook had been at the Naval Academy one year when Sumter was fired on. He left as soon as possible to join the Gulf Squadron, with which he served with credit. Since the close of the war his career has been a uniform success. He is one of the finest officers in a remarkably well officered service. Won Promotion by Gallantry. The Columbia is commanded by Captain James IH. Sands, who was also of the class of I860 at the academy of which more than half the commanding officers of our best warships were members. He made a reputation as a fighter before he had been a year in the service. During the attacks on Fort Fisher his gallantry won for him two recommendations for promotion from the Board of Admirals. Since the war he has been kept busy and he is highly respected and esteemed by all seamen of the navy. Captain Theodore F. Jewell, was put in charge of the Minneapolis, saw but little actual war service, but he has had important com. mands, including charge of the naval torpedo station, and he is known to be a man of the stamp that leads in warfare. He certainly is an able officer. There are many other distinguished officers commanding the smaller cruisers and the gunboats. Some of these are of the same rank and age as those mentioned. Prominent among them is Captain Colby M. Chester, of the Cincinnati. Captain Chester saw hard fighting under Farragut and was in the engagement that took place in Mobile Bay. He represented the Navy Department at the Grant monument celebration and naval parade in the Hudson; afterward he was the senior officer in command of one of our squadrons. All the M 178 UNITED STATES NAVAL COMMANDERS. commanders of the smaller ships are men wno are ready and fully equipped to take charge of the great battleships. Running down the list through the lieutenant commanders and lieutenants we find many officers who have done promising things. Being comparatively young, their chances for glory have been fewer than those of the officers above commanders' rank. They are anxious for opportunities to show the kind of stuff of which they are made. Renowned Hero of the Battle of Manila. Commodore George Dewey, the hero of the great naval battle of Manila, is an old warrior of the navy, who got his christening of fire aboard the old steam sloop Mississippi, under Farragut, in the early days of the civil war. Commodore Dewey is now about 6i years old. He belongs in Vermont, and he was appointed to the Naval Academy from that State in September, 1854. Four years later, when he was graduated, he was sent aboard the steam frigate Wabash for a cruise in the Mediterranean. Dewey got his commission as lieutenant on April I9, I86I, eight days after Fort Sumter was fired upon, and he was immediately assigned to join the Mississippi and do duty with the West Gulf squadron. He was on the Mississippi when she took part with Farragut's other vessels in forcing an entrance to the Mississippi river, and again when the fleet ran the gauntlet of fire from the forts below New Orleans in April, I862, and forced the surrender of that city. The ship he was in belonged to Captain Bailey's division of the fleet which attacked Fort St. Philip. The hottest fight that the Mississippi ever engaged in was her last one, and this was perhaps as hot as any of the war. In March, 1863, the fleet tried to run by the Confederate batteries at Port Hudson. Some of the ships got as far as a narrow part of the channel, where they met land batteries almost muzzle to muzzle, and then they were forced to retreat. The Mississippi did not get as far as this. A foggy day had been chosen for the attempt, and this was soon made more obscure by the smoke of battle, and amid this the Mississippi lost her bearings and ran ashore. UNITED STATES NAVAL COMMANDERS. 179 Her officers found that she had struck just under the guns of a battery in the middle of the line of fortifications, and one of the strongest of the lot. In half an hour 250 shots struck the vessel, and she was riddled from end to end. There was no chance to hold her, and her crew took to their boats and landed on the opposite side of the river, after setting her on fire. Soon, lightened by the loss of the crew and by the fire, she drifted off, and blazing and saluting with bursting shells, she drifted down the river, until finally the fire reached her magazines, and her career was ended in one great explosion. Long and Brilliant Career. Dewey was next attached to the steam gunboat Agawan, of the North Atlantic blockading squadron, and he took part in the two attacks made on Fort Fisher in December, 1864, and January, I865. In March, 1865, he got his commission as lieutenant commander, and as such served on the famous old Kearsage and on the Colorado, the flagship of the European squadron, until 1868, when he was sent for service to the Naval Academy. His first command was in I870, when he had the Narragansett, doing special service. He became a commander in April, 1872, and, still on the Narragansett, was engaged in making surveys of the Pacific until 1876, when he was made a lighthouse inspector, and later the secretary of the Lighthouse Board. He commanded the Juniata on the Asiatic station in 1882-83, and in September, 1884, was made a captain and put in charge of the Dolphin, then brand-new and one of the four vessels which formed the original " white squadron." The following year he was sent to command the flagship Pensacola, of the European squadron, and he stayed there until 1888, when he became the Chief of the Bureau of Equipment and Recruiting, with the rank of commodore. This place he held until I893, when he was made a member of the Lighthouse Board. He got his commission as commodore on February 28, I896, and at about the same time was made president of the Board of Inspection and Survey. This place he held until he was put in command of the Asiatic station, in January of this year. CHAPTER XII. Exploits of Admiral Sampson's Fleet. HE President's message to Congress on Cuba, already quoted in the first chapter of this volume, was sent on April i th. After full consideration of the grave recommendations contained in the message, Congress, on April I8th, passed joint resolutions authorizing our Government to intervene for the purpose of establishing the independence of Cuba, at the same time demanding that Spain should withdraw her land and naval forces from Cuba and Cuban waters. These resolutions having been signed by President McKinley, an ultimatum embracing their provisions was forwarded the same day to the Spanish Government at Madrid. On the same date the Spanish Minister at Washington, Senor Polo y Bernabe, demanded and received his passports and left for Canada. War Becomes a Startling Certainty. The next day, April 2Ist, Spain gave Minister Woodford his passports, thereby severing the last thread of diplomatic relations between the two Governments. Thus it will be seen that events moved swiftly, and the sudden outbreak of war became a startling certainty. Vast preparations in the War and Navy Departments had been going on, and our fleet in the South Atlantic was gathered at Key West. The first move was to blockade the harbor of Havana and prevent Spanish ships as far as possible from entering Cuban ports with supplies for the enemy. The North Atlantic Squadron, except the monitors Terror and Puritan and the smaller cruisers, sailed from Key West at 5.45 o'clock on the morning of April 22d, headed for the Florida Straits. The skies were growing gray with the coming dawn when the formidable family of naval vessels quietly and unostentatiously steamed away, presumably for the shores of Cuba. Besides the two monitors, 180 EXPLOITS OF ADMIRAL SAMPSON'S FLEET. 181 the ships left behind were the gunboat Helena, cruiser Marblehead, despatch boat Dolphin and the torpedo boats Cushing and Ericsson. The torpedo boats Dupont, Porter, Winslow and Foote left with the fleet. Throughout the long night unusual activity on the vessels of the fleet told weary watchers on shore that the long-waited advance on Havana was near at hand, yet there was nothing official on which to found that belief. Washington advices indicated the probability of a movement during the night, but the naval men ashore disclaimed any knowledge of orders. They still averred that their condition of uncertainty was unchanged. Early in the evening, however, came the first realization of the fact that the tedious period of inaction was nearing its close. When sig. nals were hoisted recalling all the men to the ships without delay, many interpreted this as a precautionary measure, especially in view of the fact that a number of officers, including several from the flagship, remained on shore and had leave for the night. Hurried Orders from the Admiral. About I I o'clock there occurred a decided change in the situation when a special boat hurried from the flagship with orders to all on shore to immediately return to the ships. Midnight found the city empty of gold braid and bluejackets, with which it had grown so familiar. Save one or two recalcitrant jackies whose convivial patriotism had run away with their sense of duty, there was not a naval man to be found in town. The theatre of action was transferred to the harbor, where a glittering panorama was enacted until daybreak slowly appeared over the waters of the Gulf. For many days the flagship majestically swung at anchor about seven miles out, flanked by her gorgeous sisters, the Iowa and the Indiana. To the eyes of Key West the great smokestacks were barely visible, while the hulls lay like indefinable shadows in the distant water. The inner harbor, however offered a striking picture, crowded as it was with monitors, cruisers, gunboats and little, but sinister, torpedo boats, flitting noiselessly in and out of the maze of greater vessels 182 EXPLOITS OF ADMIRAL SAMPSON'S FLEET. lying at anchor. When twilight fell this scene was unchanged. The signaling between the distant trio of ships and those closer in shore had been the custom ever since the assemblage of the fleet, but on the last night vari-colored lights glimmered their messages across the skies almost without cessation. The first streaks of the morning light were crossing from the east, and two bells just sounded from the ships when a tiny, and to unfamiliar eyes, an almost imperceptible, line of fire appeared on the sky above where lay the flagship. A moment or two after and the signal staff of the Cincinnati, lying off Fort Taylor, in the inner harbor, flashed into colored lights, acknowledging the call. The Puritan and the Helena joined in the incandescent conversation, and soon the skies were kaleidoscopic as ship after ship answered and new lights ticked messages fraught with the gravest import and creative of history. What words, of course, no one on shore knew, but the few who watched with straining eyes from sea and docks needed no interpreter to tell them that it meant hostile action. Under Cover of the Night. The message was not long in delivery, but sunrise had fully come as the last letter flickered and went out. Then the witnesses saw that the movement had actually begun under cover of the night. The big ships could still be discerned in the distance, but the others had moved towards them, the flagship drawing other ships of the squadron to her. The Wilmington and Amphitrite had slipped from their anchorage and advanced within hailing distance of the flagship. It was just 5.42 when the New York, without unnecessary display, moved pompously and slowly towards the outer waters of the Gulf. The right light flashed the signal to eager eyes on the following fleet and told them to get in motion at last. To those ashore it looked as if the New York was somewhat in advance of the line, with the Iowa and Indiana following on either side, but separated from her by a good stretch of water. As the line advanced towards the horizon the ships spread out until there was EXPLOITS OF ADMIRAL SAMPSON'S FLEET. 183 perhaps a distance of three miles between the tips of the crescent. The ships of the inner harbor had slipped out one by one and stopped at various stations, until the entire formation was ready to move. The exact order of the ships could not be ascertained from the shore. From the highest point in Key West the line was semicircular. The ships that followed the three leaders were the cruisers Cincinnati, Detroit, Nashville, the gunboats Wilmington, Castine, Machias, Newport, monitor Amphitrite, the cable repair boat Mangrove, Mayflower, and torpedo boat Foote. Why the powerful monitors Puritan and Terror did not accompany the fleet could not officially be learned, but it was said they would follow shortly. The Marblehead was taking on water and would doubtless join the squadron later. The Fern went to Tampa for ammunition for the fleet, to carry it to Havana. The Crisis Now at Hand. When Key West awoke it was a cry of wolf's story again. Bedtime left the situation no different than it had been for 'weeks past, and rumors of sailing orders had become so frequent and unfounded that they lacked credence on the morning when the town found the harbor bare of all but a few of its puissant visitors. But the terrible tension of those waiting days were past, and all ears were now strained for the thunder of guns which would tell that the real and long waited crisis was at hand at last. Though the seriousness of the impending war was not belittled, the general feeling was one of intense relief. The long suspense which had proved so trying was now practically at an end, and the fighting squadron knew what it had to face. It had been repeatedly stated that the rank and file were willing and anxious to fight. This was more than ever the tone exhibited now. The Maine had not been forgotten, and it would be with eager hands and hearts that the men of the fighting squadron would make their way towards Cuba. The departure of the fleet was not so imposing as had been anticipated. On the contrary, there was something of a scramble in getting away. When all was ready the flagship swung round and came well 184 EXPLOITS OF ADMIRAL SAMPSON'S FLEET. into the harbor, signalling to the other ships about to sail. After receiving responses, she turned and headed for the open sea, with the Iowa and the Indiana closely in her rear. The Indiana had been coaling at the Dry Tortugas, but was cabled for, and at midnight she joined her two sister ships at the anchorage held by the three while in the harbor. The gunboat Machias lay nearest to the three big war ships, and was first to swing her squat bulk into line. She was followed by the Newport, which also lay outside. Of the fleet lying close to shore, the Amphitrite was the leader. She lumbered along after the Machias, her immense guns stretching above her low freeboard. She was the first of the monitors to join the warlike procession, looking the deadly instrument she is. Then came the Nashville, her three smokestacks distinguishing her from the others, with the gunboat Wilmington pumping alongside. Combined Movement of the Fleet. The Castine, which was next, little compared with the other members of the formidable family, but looked game for a bloody work, should the fortunes of war demand. The Cincinnati was delayed a little time, as she was in the act of taking coal from a schooner off Fort Taylor when the signal to sail was given. But she got into the jagged line next. The other ships of the fleet followed in no very mathematical formation, as viewed by the shore spectators. The Mayflower brought up the rear of the parade, and was one of the last to fade from view. The monitors Puritan and Terror lay side by side, coaling from a large barge which was between them, their decks crowded with officers and bluejackets observing the naval pageant. It was believed the two monitors were to follow the rest of the squadron. Following the floating forts was the fleet of newspaper despatch boats, numbering about twenty. Cuban pilots accompanied the fleet, Juan Santo was on board the New York, Pedro Hernandez was aboard the Cincinnati, and Felize Losa was the pilot of the Indiana. These three men are experts in their business. They know the Cuban EXPLOITS OF ADMIRAL SAMPSON'S FLEET. 186 coast thoroughly, and have successfully landed several filibuster expeditions. The following additional and graphic account of the departure of Admiral Sampson's fleet is furnished by a war correspondent: "The departure from Key West this morning was very quiet. The ships simply stole away to sea. Early in the evening many officers were ashore at the hotel when word was received from the despatch boat for all hands to be aboard not later than 9 o'clock. The scene of excitement that followed-hurried farewells and last messageswas very stirring. Every Man at His Post. "But on the ships the contrast was notable, because the crews were trained and disciplined through all these weeks of preparation for instant action, and stood at their posts occupied with the duties in hand. I came on board the flagship at midnight. There was no more stir nor confusion than if the New York had been at anchor at Bar Harbor, when the White Squadron had not put on grim war paint, and navy life was a gay festival. It was 4.25 this morning when from the signal mast of the flagship flashed a string of lights. (' On the bridge of every vessel strung along for eight miles at anchor, with the cables short up, the captains were waiting and watch ing with their night glasses fixed on the flagship. Through the squadron flashed and twinkled in red and white lights the message, 'Get under way at once. Steam was up, and exactly half-an-hour later, at 4.55, the New York was under way, with her signals out for order formation. Every ship was directed to join the movement now under way and take her place in the column. "On the quarter-deck of the New York Acting-Admiral Sampson was pacing to and fro quite as taciturn as if he was commanding a coast survey tug. On the fore and aft bridges were the officers of the ship, Captain Chadwick in command. Signal men were busy whirling electric indicators, which sent rays of light sparkling from a dozen mastheads. "It was then and is now more like a yachting cruise or a practice 186 EXPLOITS OF ADMIRAL SAMPSON'S FLEET. evolution, than the first movement of an American fleet against the enemy since the Civil War. This impossibility of realization is worth special emphasis more and more as we approach Havana, while the officers are smoking and chatting in the ward room after luncheon. "The dawn was breaking rosy and flawless over the dancing blue water as the long column steamed to sea. With Sampson's order 'Get under way at once,' there went circling the globe over the cable wires the most momentous tiding, that of the first breaking of peace of the American Republic since the shot was fired on Sumter that echoed around the world. Two monitors, the Terror and Puritan, had to be left behind because of repairs and coaling, but they will join the squadron as soon as possible, probably within two days. The Marblehead, Detroit and Helena were also left in port, coaling. Grand March of the Battleships. "The signal was given for column formation at between nine and ten knots' speed. This has been kept up all day, except for the stop when the Spanish steamer was captured. Ahead are the Porter and Ericsson, torpedo boats, as scouts. Two miles before the big ships these small craft dance and plunge like chips in the long Gulf swells, while the battleships march on stately and steady as if on railroad tracks. " Next behind the torpedo boats is the Mayflower, a wicked-looking flyer, with her formidable battery, also acting as scout. Close on her quarter are the torpedo boats Dupont and Foote, and a harf mile to their rear is the flagship leading the fighting column and flying the admiral's pennant, which was hoisted at 8 o'clock this morning while the band played the 'Star Spangled Banner' and 13 guns were fired. "An eighth of a mile behind the New York is the Iowa, than which there is no finer fighting ship in the world. She throws billows of white foam ahead of her low bow, and looks like a fortress adrift from its moorings. Just astern of the Iowa is the monitor Amphitrite, hustling hard to keep position at nine knots, but with perfect weather for this cheese box on a raft. The order of the rest of the column at short intervals trailing out until the last ships are hull EXPLOITS OF ADMIRAL SAMPSON'S FLEET. 187 down below the horizon line with a trail of smoke hanging low is Indiana, Cincinnati, Machias, Newport, Castine, Wilmington, with the torpedo boat Winslow on flank as a scout. "On every ship gun crews are stationed at quarters, and long venomous rifles, which grin from turret, sponson deck and broadside, are loaded and waiting. All ships are stripped for action, and to use slang phrase, are 'fairly hunting trouble.' The men on the flagship more than 600 in total complement, are eager for a scrap, and I have learned that in action Admiral Sampson will send her into the thickest of it, although she is practically unprotected against heavy gun fire, and has more woodwork built into her than any other ship in the modern navy, making it certain that there will be much trouble from conflagation and splinters. But as no Spanish fleet is in these waters there is no probability of a naval engagement at present. Imposing Sight from the Decks. "To look from the deck of this fleet makes an American proud of his country and flag, for in addition to the ships and guns, there are the men on the former and men behind the latter, and no ships in the world have beaten the gun practice of the last month on the fleet assembled at Key West. Weather such as this is likely to continue some time, and in this weather all these floating gun platforms are as steady as so many churches. " Two Cubans are on board to act as coast pilots. One of them, Santos, I made a voyage with on the Three Friends for landing a filibustering expedition, and I know pretty thoroughly his acquaintance with certain ports and inlets." On April 22d President McKinley issued a proclamation announcing the blockade of Cuban ports by the South Atlantic squadron. On the same date the first capture was made of a vessel flying the Spanish flag. While the squadron was steaming slowly southward at 7 o'clock in the morning, it sighted a two-masted black-hulled ship with white upper works and black smokestack having the colors of the Spanish flag painted round it. A Spanish flag was flung to the breeze above the aft rail, 188 EXPLOITS OF ADMIRAL SAMPSON'S FLEET. The Nashville suddenly left the line and at full speed headed toward the Spaniard. A moment later a gun was fired from the port battery of the Nashville, and the shot struck the water a few hundred yards away. The Spaniard at this time was half a mile from tbe MAP SHOWING CABLE LINES FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. Nashville, and she held her way, making no sign of having given the shot any attention. For two minutes the Nashville held her way in chase and then tried another shot that passed apparently within a rod of the Spaniard's bow, and clipped the spray from the crest of the waves for a mile beyond. EXPLOITS OF ADMIRAL SAMPSON'S FLEET. 189 The officer on the Spaniard's bridge at once reversed her engines, while a man ran aft and hastily lowered her flag. At 7.15 o'clock the Nashville brought to alongside the Spaniard, having every gun, big and little, in the starboard broadside pointed at her. A whaleboat was lowered, and Ensign Magruder with a boarding crew of six men was sent to take charge of the prize. She was found to be the steamship Buena Ventura, plying between New York and Havana and West India ports. Meantime the torpedo boat Foote had run down in the wake of the Nashville. Stopped by the Admiral's Signal. The vessel's papers were sent to the flagship by the Foote. The flagship, with battleships, had been lying to during this time, and soon after this a number of guns were fired from the New York, the object of which was not apparent. The torpedo boat, after tarrying briefly at the flagship, returned to the Nashville. She had brought orders that the Buena Ventura was to be held, and a few moments later the Nashville headed toward Key West, and was followed by the Buena Ventura. When the Nashville and Buena Ventura had gone a mile or so they were stopped by a signal from Admiral Sampson, and for about twenty minutes they hung on the wind. Then they were headed away once more for port. Two Spanish officers were on the seized ship's bridge most of the time, but one, apparently the captain, went to and from bridge to deck and down below. An American sailor had the wheel, another stood on the bridge near Ensign Magruder, and another guarded the main deck. The sailors carried muskets and Ensign Magruder had side arms. The sailors on the bridge and at the wheel had bayonets in the belts, and their men on the deck kept muskets in their hands. The crew of the Nashville and the Foote and the prize crew were entirely self-contained during the time they were waiting to start for port. No demonstrations of joy or exultation were seen. Commander Lyons, of the Dolphin, delivered to United States District Attorney Stripling the papers of the Buena Ventura, captured by the Nashville. He libelled the ship in the usual way. 190 EXPLOITS OF ADMIRAL SAMPSON'S FLEET. The unfortunate merchantman was anchored in the harbor. Her captain was allowed to remain on board, but the crew of twenty-eight were taken over to the Dolphin and made to assist in the work of coaling. The gunboat Nashville steamed proudly out of the harbor late in the afternoon, having achieved the first victory of the war, although a bloodless one. More Prizes Captured. The next day after the capture of the Buena Ventura two more prizes were taken by Admiral Sampson's fleet under the guns of Morro Castle. The Spanish steamship Pedro, loaded with rice, iron and beer, was captured just as she was leaving Havana harbor to go to Santiago de Cuba. She was loading when her captain, Bonet, learned that the fleet had been sighted. He feared that Havana was to be bombarded, and started out to sea. He was not quick enough. The men on the flagship New York sighted him going at full speed and gave chase. The Spaniard showed no signs of stopping, and the New York sent several shots after her. These were from the ship's lighter guns. They were ineffective. Then the New York let go a heavy shot across the bow of the fleeing merchantman, which came to a standstill. The chase had covered ten miles. The third prize belonged to the Ericsson. It was captured at dawn, close to the entrance to Havana harbor. It was a small fishing schooner. Lieutenant Usher, in command of the Ericsson, caught sight of the little vessel trying to beat out of the harbor to the open sea. The Ericsson soon headed her off, but not being provided with any spare men to act as a prize crew, Lieutenant Usher simply ordered the schooner to run on ahead of him. In this way he chased her along until he could turn her over to the tender mercies of the cruiser Cincinnati. The Ericsson's officers then resumed their duties without waiting to learn what disposition was made of their little prize. The next capture was a very important one. On the morning of April 26th the light-house tender Mangrove, the baby of the navy, puffed proudly into Key West harbor with the richest prize of the EXPLOITS OF ADMIRAL SAMPSON'S FLEET. 191 war thus far, a vessel four times her size trailing in her wake. The capture was the Panama, Captain Quevedo, a big transatlantic liner, and an auxiliary cruiser of the Spanish navy, which had been plying between New York and Havana. She had twenty-nine passengers, including three women, one Frenchman and one Mexican, and a crew of seventy-two. As the Panama carried two twelve-pounders she could easily have annihilated the little Mangrove, and as the latter came into the harbor with her prize every craft saluted her with rousing cheers. The Mangrove, under command of Lieutenant-Commander William H. Everett, was cruising along the Cuban coast, navigated by Ensign Palmer, shortly before six o'clock in the evening, about twenty miles north of Havana. At 5.45 P.M. she sighted the Panama. The only other ship of the fleet in sight was the battleship Indiana, three miles to the rear. Lieutenant-Commander Everett scented a prize and scudded towards the stranger. When the latter came within range a shot from the Mangrove's twelve-pounder was sent across her bows, but the Spaniard ignored the challenge and went on. Must Surrender or be Sunk. Another shot followed without result, but the Mangrove was drawing nearer the stranger, who calmly proceeded on her course, apparently without any intention of running away. When the third shot was fired the Mangrove was within one hundred yards of the Panama, and Lieutenant-Commander Everett shouted to the deck officer that if he did not surrender he would sink her. The Mangrove officers admit that they expected the enemy's fourteen-pounder to open on them in response to the threat, but the Spaniard promptly came to. Ensign Dayton, the senior officer of the Mangrove, boarded the prize. The battleship Indiana had seen the capture and meanwhile drew up to the Mangrove, giving her a lusty cheer. Lieutenant Commander Everett reported to Captain Taylor, of the battleship, and the latter put a prize crew on board the captive consisting of Cadet Falcon and fifteen marines. They then proceeded to the flagship, where a formal 192 EXPLOITS OF ADMIRAL SAMPSON'S FLEET. report was made, and Rear-Admiral Sampson ordered LieutenantCommander Everett to convoy the prize to Key West. The Panama was of about 2800 tons burden and her passengers were mainly Spanish refugees fleeing from New York and other points in the United States to Havana. Captain Quevedo was grief-stricken and greatly humiliated because of the capture. The passengers declared they knew nothing of the blockade, and that when they saw the searchlight of the Mangrove they thought it was the light of a Spanish man-of-war. The first shot changed their joy to apprehension, the second and third created a panic. The women ran screaming for shelter from the enemy's guns, and the captain locked himself sullenly in his cabin. Rich Cargo of Merchandise. The Panama carried a valuable cargo of general merchandise, including a large quantity of corn. Much of it was meant to provision the suffering Spaniards in Cuba, and the cargo, with the ship itself, made the richest prize thus far taken. Under the regulations, however, the battleship Indiana would share in the prize money, as she was in sight when the capture was made. The United States gunboat Newport, Captain B. F. Tilley, brought in the Spanish sloop Paquete and the Spanish schooner Piereneo, Cuban coasting vessels, which she captured off Havana. While the South Atlantic squadron was active, other events of importance were transpiring at Washington. On April 23d, President McKinley issued a proclamation calling for 125,000 volunteers to serve for two years unless sooner discharged, and to be apportioned among the States and Territories according to population. These troops, together with those in the regular army, to be increased to 6I,000, would provide the President with an army of I86,ooo. The greater part of this force was to be ready for transportation to Gulf ports within two weeks from the date of the call. Twenty thousand men of the regular army were already mobilized at Chickamauga, New Orleans, Mobile and Tampa, ready to be transported to Cuba when it should be deemed advisable to land them. EXPLOITS OF ADMIRAL SAMPSON'S FLEET. 193 The President sent a message to Congress April 26th, transmitting the correspondence with Spain, leading to the rupture of diplomatic relations with that country, and recommending, in view of the measures already taken and to be taken, the adoption of a declaration by Congress that a state of war existed between the United States and Spain. Action was first taken in the House. The Committee on Foreign Affairs at once reported a bill declaring that war exists, " and has existed, since the 21st day of April, A. D. I898." This was adopted without a word of debate or dissent, and without a roll call. The measure then went to the Senate, where it was passed in secret legislative session. The President signed the bill as soon as it reached him. During the two days preceding the declaration of war Morro Castle, the principal fort guarding Havana harbor, opened fire repeatedly on Admiral Sampson's fleet, but at too great a distance to do any damage. The ships remained in their positions without returning the fire. Bombardment of Forts at Matanzas. The next event of importance was the bombardment of Matanzas by the cruiser New York, the flagship of Rear Admiral Sampson; the monitor Puritan, and the cruiser Cincinnati, on April 27th. From the fact that the Spaniards opened fire on our ships while the latter were making a reconnoissance in force, and when the vessels were nearly five miles out from the batteries, led to the belief that the enemy thought that all that was necessary to induce the United States fleet to move further away was for the batteries to open fire on them. But if, from former experience, they reached this conclusion, they found that forbearance had reached the limit, and they must have been intensely astonished when the New York, being the farthest west, but, the nearest in shore, opened fire with her batteries with a vengeance, and, steaming nearer shore, accompanied by her consorts, made such excellent practice with her guns that in eighteen minutes every Spanish gun was silenced. While there were no casualties reported on board any of the attacking boats, the loss of life on the Spanish side must have been large. The N 194 EXPLOITS OF ADMIRAL SAMPSON'S FLEET. guns of the monitor Puritan were believed to have caused the most havoc on the shore, but the marksmanship of all the boats was superb. The attack began shortly before I o'clock, and was concluded in less than twenty minutes. The Spaniards had been actively at work on the fortifications at Punta Gorda, and it was the knowledge of this fact that led Admiral Sampson to shell the place, the purpose being to prevent their completion. A small battery on the eastern side of the bay opened fire on the New York, and the flagship quickly responded with her heavy guns. Probably twenty-five 8-inch shells were sent from the battery at our ships, but all of them fell short. A few blank shells were also fired from the incomplete battery. One or two of these whizzed over Admiral Sampson's flagship. Destruction of the Fortifications. While the New York and the Cincinnati were locating the defenses of Matanzas, the monitor Puritan attacked the Point Maya fortifications. The flagship then went in close and shelled Rubalcaya Point, while the Cincinnati was soon at wo'rk shelling the fortification on the west side of the bay. The range at the beginning of the engagement was about 7,000 yards, but it was reduced to about 3,000 when it was seen that the shots from the batteries fell wide of their mark. The last shot fired from the shore was from Point Rubalcaya. The monitor Puritan let go with a shot from one of her 12-inch guns. Its effect was seen when a part of the fortification went into the air. The target practice of the flagship was an inspiring sight. At every shot from her batteries clouds of dust and big pieces of stone showed where the Spanish forts were suffering. The New York fired shells at the rate of three a minute. Cadet Boone, on the flagship, fired the first gun in answer to the Spanish batteries. CHAPTER XIII. Great Naval Battle at Manila. A T the outbreak of hostilities Commodore Dewey and a squadron of war vessels was despatched to Asia to operate against the Philippine Islands. This was not at first regarded as a move of any great importance, but in a short time it was seen that a naval battle would be the result, and if Commodore Dewey were successful the town of Manila would be compelled to surrender and a fatal blow would be struck to Spanish dominion in the far East. Very soon there was an eager expectation of stirring news from Commodore Dewey's fleet. It was well known that the Commodore was a fighter of heroic type, a man of great decision and energy, and the common impression was that he would render a good account oi his expedition. The public eagerness for news was soon gratified. On May Ist, the American squadron, commanded by Dewey, won a complete and glorious victory over the Spanish fleet in the Philippines. The fighting was of the fiercest character, beginning in the early morning and lasting several hours. The bravery of the American seamen was of the highest character, and, led by the intrepid Dewey, inflicted upon the enemy a blow that may be termed almost a veritable rout. The Commodore Gives his Signal. During the night Commodore Dewey signalled to his war ships that were in Subic Bay, fifty miles to the north of Manila harbor, to clear the ships for action and to follow him. The squadron got under way, with the flagship Olympia leading, and followed by the cruiser Baltimore, cruiser Boston, cruiser Raleigh, gunboat Concord, gunboat Petrel, revenue cutter McCulloch, and transports Nanshan and Zafiro. There had been a consultation of the captains on board the flagship during the night, and it was decided that the first stroke should be made decisive. 195 196 GREAT NAVAL BATTLE AT MANILA. At 4.15 o'clock in the morning the lookout on the masthead of the Olympia reported the Spanish fleet off the port bow lined up between Cavite and the mouth of Manila harbor. The distance between the two places is about eight miles. The Spanish fleet was commanded by Admiral Montijo and consisted of the cruiser Reina Cristina, cruiser Castilla, cruiser Velasco, cruiser Don Antonio de Ulloa, cruiser Don Juan de Austria, gunboat General Lezo, gunboat El __ CAW Z MANILA, INCLUDING FORTS CAVITE AND CORREGGIDOR. Cano, gunboat Isla de Cuba, gunboat Isla de Luzon, and dispatch boat Marques del Cuero. The news of the battle, which came through Government sources and by way of the Spanish eable, showed that the attack was terrible in its energy. Signalling for the American transports to keep well out, and that the Olympia and Baltimore would engage the Spanish admiral's flagship, the Reina Cristina, and the Castilla, the largest of the enemy's fleet, the American warships moved in line of battle on the Spaniards. On both sides of Manila are erected forts well manned, though the reports as to the strength of the armament were conflicting. GREAT NAVAL BATTLE AT MANILA. 197 As soon as his ships had been worked around so that their starboard batteries presented a broadside to the enemy, Commodore Dewey began a terrific cannonading of the enemy's ships and the Spanish forts. Every shot told. The Olympia's battery consisted of four eight-inch rifles, ten five-inch rapid-fire guns, 14 six-pounders, six one-pounders, four machine guns and six torpedo tubes. The heaviest battery of the enemy was on the Reina Cristina, which had six 6.2-inch Hontoria guns, two 2.7-inch, and three 2.2-inch rapid-fire guns; two I.5-inch, six three-pounders, two machine guns and five torpedo tubes. Commodore Dewey directed the movements of the squadron from the conning tower of the Olympia. He moved his ship close up to the Reina Cristina and sent shell after shell ploughing into the Spanish admiral's hull. Captain Charles V. Gridley, of the Olympia, was with him. The superior aim and heavier projectiles of the Olympia soon began to tell, and the fire from the Spanish grew more wild and somewhat slower. Terrific Din of Battle. Captain Dyer, of the Baltimore, put his ship in close fighting distance to the Castilla. The Baltimore had four eight-inch and six sixinch guns in her main battery to the Castilla's four 5.9-inch Krupp guns and two 4.7-inch and three 2 2-inch guns. Both ships had good secondary batteries for cruisers. The din of battle was terrific. All the while the Spanish forts were keeping up an incessant fire on the American fleet. The ships were enveloped in a cloud of smoke, weighted by the early morning air, and the incessant crack of the rapid-fire guns and booming of the big guns mingled into voluminous thunder. The Boston, 3,I89 tons; the Raleigh, 3,182 tons; the Concord, 1,700 tons; the Petrel, 890 tons, and the McCulloch had about all they could do to handle the Velasco, Don Antonio de Ulloa, Don Juan de Austria, General Lezo, El Cano, Marques del Quero, Isla de Cuba and Isla de Luzon, but by quick manaeuvering and rapid work of the guns fought their way to victory bravely. 198 GREAT NAVAL BATTLE AT MANILA. The hot work on the Olympia brought the end of the Reina Cristina. A shot from the American exploded a magazine on the latter boat, and she took fire. Despite the efforts of the Spaniards, the flames made rapid headway. Captain Gridley worked his ship around to rake the Spaniard. He fought the Spanish ship with one battery and kept up a fire on the forts with the other. The masts on the American boats were shot away, but few shells got through the armor. A well-trained shot from the Olympia plunged through the fighting tower of the Reina Cristina and killed the ship's commander, Captain Cadasso. The Admiral was standing with him at the time. When the news that their commander had fallen spread through the ship the seamen seemed to lose heart. Their ammunition had been none too plentiful, and, with its rapidly failing quantity and the fire that was raging, they were ready to give up. Bravery of the Spanish Admiral. Then occurred a piece of bravery on the part of the Spanish Admiral. Seeing that his flagship was doomed and unable to fight, he ordered a small boat lowered, and, with a daring crew, rowed to a small gun-boat, Isla de Cuba, where he again hoisted his flag. The American sailors refused to fire on the plucky Admiral. Soon after he left the Reina Cristina the flames devoured the boat, most of the crew jumping overboard, only to drown in the waters of the bay. In the meantime Captain Dyer had sealed the fate of the Castilla. She, like the flagship, had considerable woodwork inside of her, and after being under fire for about two hours took fire. The American shells and deadly torpedoes plowed great holes in her sides and below the water line. Her crew fought valiantly, but was no match for the Americans. She was completely riddled and torn to pieces by the rain of leaden missiles. Most of her crew and officers were killed. She burned out, and after the engagement was but a smoking hulk. With the most formidable ships of the enemy disposed of, Commodore Dewey, at 8 o'clock, withdrew with his ships a few miles out to sea. There the wounded were cared for, guns examined, some GREAT NAVAL BATTLE AT MANILA. 19 199 tinkering done and preparation made for a second attack. At 9 O'clock they started a second attack. The smoke had arisen and showed a wrecked Spanish fleet. The carnage wrought by the Americans was plainly evident. 11 A// * ~Z~VVI /ar,,vj~tAL N MANILA HARBOR-SCENE OF THE GREAT BATTLE. With as strong a fire as before, the fleet again moved into battle. Numbers were more equal, now that the enemy had lost several boats. During the first half hour of fighting, the Spanish cruiser Don Juan de Austria was, severely damaged and her commander 200 GREAT NAVAL BATTLE AT MANILA. killed. The Spanish forts were more active this time, and particular attention was paid to them, a strong fire being directed at the defenses. The Spanish ships Mindanao and Don Antonio de Ulloa were rendered useless, and the latter was sunk. Several of the Spanish ships were deliberately blown up to prevent their capture by the American fleet. Pouring a murderous fire into the forts, the American flagship and several more of the boats forced the entrance to the harbor. They steamed to the west side of the bay and there landed their wounded. Praise for Dewey's Achievement. Naval officers in London regarded Comodore Dewey's achievement as a great victory and pronounced it the annihilation of the Spanish fleet in the Philippines. The following is the text of the official dispatch from the Governor General of the Philippines to the Spanish Minister of War at Madrid, Lieutenant-General Correa, as to the engagement off Manila: " Last night, April 30th, the batteries at the entrance to the fort announced the arrival of the enemy's squadron, forcing a passage in the obscurity of the night. At daybreak the enemy took up positions, opening with a strong fire against Fort Cavite and the arsenal. Our fleet engaged the enemy in a brilliant combat, protected by the Cavite and Manila forts. They obliged the enemy with heavy loss to manceuvre repeatedly. At 9 o'clock the American squadron took refuge behind the foreign merchant shipping, on the east side of the bay. "Our fleet, considering the enemy's superiority, naturally suffered a severe loss. The Maria Christina is on fire and another ship, believed to be the Don Juan de Austria, was blown up. There was considerable loss of life. Captain Cadasso, commanding the Maria Christina, is among the killed. I cannot now give further details. The spirit of the army, navy and volunteers is excellent." Admiral Bermejo, the Minister of Marine at Madrid, expressed himself as highly pleased with the heroism of the Spanish marines, and telegraphed congratulations to Admiral Montejo and the valorous crews of the Spanish squadron under fire of superior war ships. GREAT NAVAL BATTLE AT MANILA. 201 The official dispatch did not mention the destruction of any American vessel, although it said that the United States squadron finally cast anchor in the bay behind the foreign merchantmen. Notwithstanding the severe damage the Spanish ships sustained, Spanish naval officers considered. that further operations by the American squadron would be conducted under great difficulty, owing to their having no base where they could repair and recoal or obtain fresh supplies of ammunition. An official dispatch from the Governor-General of the Philippine Islands said: "Our squadron occupies a good strategical position at Cavite. The equipping of volunteers continues. We are ready to oppose any debarkation, and to defend the integrity of the country." How the Engagement was Conducted. Madrid was greatly excited by the serious news from the Philippines, and there was an immense gathering in the Celle de Sevilla. The civil guards on horseback were called out to preserve order, and all precautions were taken. There was much muttering, but nothing more serious occurred at the time. The engagement of the United States squadron under Commodore Dewey and the Spanish fleet under Montejo was not in any narrow harbor, but on a splendid marine stage, the distance being considerable. From the bay's mouth, which is fifteen miles wide, to Manila is about thirty miles. From the city proper to the spot on which Cavite and the forts stand is about six miles. The western shore of the bay is over twenty miles wide, and the north end of the bay about thirty-five from Cavite. The bay is also deep, so that Commodore Dewey had room in which to move freely. Passing the forts on Corregidor and Caballos islands and the batteries on the nearby shores, he made straight for the city, and then when within about three miles of it he turned about and faced the enemy, which had taken refuge in the small arm of Manila Bay, known as Bakor Bay, where it was protected by the Cavite forts and the shore batteries at Manila itself. The principal manceuvre of the fleet, which was varied much in detail, was a steam 202 GREAT NAVAL BATTLE AT MANILA, ing about in an ellipse in front of the enemy, firing away until they were hors du combat. Then the fleet retired to the transports anchored in the western part of the bay, and as these were out of gun range and so ten miles or more away, it looked to the simple-minded at Manila as if the Yankees were actually in retreat. Putting themselves in ship-shape, however, they steamed back again, and this time completed the work of destruction on the Cavite forts and the Spanish vessels that still needed attention. After that came the attack on the Corregidor batteries and forts, which was done to keep the channel open, and then the attack on Manila proper, after the customary formal demand for surrender had been made. Bombardment only as a Last Resort. But it was stated at the Navy Department that it was not the pur. pose of Commodore Dewey to bombard Manila, except as a last resort. His plan contemplated the taking of the town, but it was not believed that anything in the nature of a general bombardment would be necessary to accomplish this purpose. The news that the Spanish soldiers were to make a stand on the Plaza indicated that some further resistance was likely, but it was believed that this could be overcome by a few well-directed shells from the warships. The officials believed from the information so far received that not only the enemy's fleet, but the Spanish forts, such as they were, had been destroyed by the American fleet. So far as was known, the only defense of Manila in the shape of fortifications that amounted to anything was located at Cavite. It was scarcely expected in naval circles that Commodore Dewey would act with such great promptness in entering the inner harbor. It was known that the harbor at its mouth was too wide to be commanded by the inferior ordnance of the Spaniards, and that the water was too deep to permit the successful defence of the entrance to the inner harbor by mines. The charts showed that the harbor entrance was no less than five miles across, but it was by no means certain that mines had not been placed in the inner harbor, and it was a plucky GREAT NAVAL BATTLE AT MANILA. 203 undertaking for Commodore Dewey to enter this harbor without spending some time in cautious exploration and countermining. Manila has a population of I60,ooo, so that it was considered improbable that Commodore Dewey would be able to spare enough men from his fleet to maintain possession of the town, unless he could arrange to secure the support of the insurgents, with whom he was understood to be in communication. THE SEAT OF WAR IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. On board the flagship Brooklyn, of Commodore Schley's squadron, off Fort Monroe, Va., the news of Dewey's victory was joyfully received. Before the newspaper boy brought the special editions with news of the battle on board, those who slept until eight o'clock were awakened by the sharp reports of guns. With the exception of the morning and evening guns, always expected, any explosion creates excitement; and this was the case until it was learned that the Scorpion, which has joined the squadron, was firing a salute. The salute was returned, and then came the newspapers containing the accounts of Dewey's victory. From stoker to commodore every 204 GREAT NAVAL BATTLE AT MANILA. man in the squadron knew of the victory within an hour, and there was the greatest excitement. Officers and men went at the routine work with enthusiasm. Knots of those off duty discussed the meagre details, and very nearly everybody said, " I told you so." Commodore Schley refused to discuss the matter, except to say, "It is what was to be expected from Dewey." As the more definite news of Dewey's success came there was great jubilation. The Brooklyn was the first ship to carry Commodore Dewey's flag, and through the Associated Press these messages were sent: "To DEWEY: The Brooklyn, which first flew your flag, glories in your victory. OFFICERS AND CREW." "To DEWEY: The Flying Squadron says to the Asiatic Squadron, Bully, boys. Congratulations. SCHLEY." Gallant Tars Rejoicing over the News. It was with great difficulty that the men could be restrained from outbursts of enthusiasm when the bulletins were posted forward, and Commodore Schley said, that " if the official news was as good as the despatches he would let the men yell themselves hoarse." The battle at Manila disclosed the inadequate preparation made by Spain, and gave good reasons for popular resentment at Madrid. It was made plain that the quiet and constant preparations carried on by the United States were for a good purpose, and had worked vital results. Within eight days of the issuance of the declaration of war the American fleet sailed seven hundred miles and had struck a decisive blow. This, at the outset of a campaign, was of double importance, as it carried enthusiasm to the victors and brought confusion and demoralization to the ranks of the Spanish forces in all quarters. It turned out, while Japan had given notice she would declare neutrality, a decree of neutrality was not yet actually issued, so that Yokohama and other advantageous ports of Japan continued to be open to the American fleet. This was looked upon as an evidence of the friendly disposition of Japan toward the United States. It left both the ports of Japan and China still open to our ships. When the GREAT NAVAL BATTLE AT MANILA. 205 Japanese decree of neutrality was issued, there was strong hope, based upon reliable information, that it would contain what was known as a "hospitable coal clause." This would afford ample facilities to war ships to lay in necessary coal supplies at Japanese ports to carry them to the next home port. While the privilege could be enjoyed by Spain as well as the United States, yet the effect would be of distinct advantage to the United States, as it is in Asiatic waters that the United States most needs hospitable ports for coaling. Great Importance Attached to the Victory. At the foreign embassies and legations in Washington intense interest was shown in the news of the decisive victory of the American fleet at Manila. It was stated by a high diplomatic official that another such victory would end the cause of Spain, and would force her to seek an armistice and peace. The universal belief in diplomatic quarters was that this stroke in the Philippines would be followed immediately by aggressive action in Cuba. Aside from the immediate effects of the Manila engagement, foreign representatives said it was likely to precipitate an internal convulsion in Spain. This had been apprehended by the European Powers, and had been the chief cause of their activity, as it threatened to bring the war to the Continent of Europe. Leading diplomats said no step toward European intervention was likely to be hastened by this disaster to Spain. It was looked upon simply as a war reverse, which could not be turned into political channels by Spanish appeals to the great Powers. This was the view alike in British, French and German quarters. It was rather expected from the British, but it was none the less apparent among French and German officials, who regarded the time for mediation or intervention as past. One of the members of the Diplomatic Corps said grave fears were entertained of the effect of the reverse at Madrid. The Government there was threatened on two sides,-one the Carlists, the other the Republicans. Humiliation over the defeat naturally found expression against the Sagasta regime and the throne 206 GREAT NAVAL BATTLE AT MANILA. itself. Whether the authorities will be able to resist popular indignation is much doubted by those conversant with affairs at Madrid. And as the result proved, the authorities at Madrid were compelled to declare martial law on May 3rd as a consequence of the turbulence created by the news of the Spanish defeat. The proclamation expressly prohibited the publication of any news concerning the war or the movements of the ships of the Spanish Navy. The principal newspapers advised calmness, " so as to avoid the unpatriotic spectacle of disturbances when Spain's united energies are required to avenge her recent losses." Much attention centered on the debates in the Chamber and Senate, which were raised by the Republicans and Carlists, who proposed to hold the Government responsible for the country's dangerous situation. Although the position of certain members of the Cabinet was regarded as untenable, it was a matter of difficulty to find men who were willing to succeed them under the circumstances. All classes were demanding that a strong, military attitude be taken up by men capable of coping with the situation. Alarm of the Spanish Government. Nobody would listen to a proposal of peace until Spain had another chance of measuring her strength with that of the United States. The full truth of the disaster at Manila was divulged only slowly by the Government. The Cabinet was early in possession of the particulars in detail, copies of the official despatches being sent around to the Ministers at their homes in order to avoid causing excitement by hurriedly summoning them together. A consultation was held in the palace, the Queen being present. Only after a discussion of nearly two hours' duration was the decision arrived at to make known the bad news by degrees. The spirit of false elation prevailing a few hours before, based on the Ministerial misrepresentation regarding the battle at Manila, yielded to great indignation when the facts were seen in their true character. The people became fully aware that the Spanish squadron had been lost and that the situation was hopeless. They expected momentarily GREAT NAVAL BATTLE AT MANILA. 207 to hear that Manila had been captured and that the Philippine Islands were in the hands of the enemy. The public, realizing how they had been deceived, sought for a scapegoat, and Senor Moret, Minister of the Colonies, was chosen as the victim. Mobs repeatedly tried to assail Senor Moret's house, and were only prevented by a strong force of mounted and unmounted police. The house was strongly guarded. Similar precautions were taken at the residences of the other Ministers, and guards were placed around the government buildings. The garrison troops were confined to their barracks under arms. By Commodore Dewey's brilliant victory attention was turned toward the Philippine Islands, and information concerning them was eagerly sought. We, therefore, append a description of this portion of the Asiatic Archipelago which has suddenly come into prominence. Description of the Islands. The Philippine Islands, with a population of 7,000,000, are 1,200 in number, many of them, of course, very small. Their extent geographically is about 1,050 miles north and south and 700 east and west. Formosa lies between two and three hundred miles to the north, and much closer to the south is the island of Borneo, of which the Philippines, according to the geologists, may be considered the geological extension. All the going and coming is by way of Hong Kong, which is 630 miles to the northwest of Manila. Only about forty of the islands are of any importance, and the largest is Leezon, 40,024 square miles, on which is situated Manila, the capital, which, with its surrounding suburbs, has a population estimated variously at from 200,000 to 300,000. Other towns are Laoag, 30,000; Lipa, 43,000; Banang, 35,000; Batangas, 35,000. Only a third, or possibly even less, of the population is white, and mostly Spanish. There are I00,000 Chinese. The balance are natives and half breeds. The original inhabitants were undoubtedly of Malay origin. The resident Spaniards are principally soldiers, officials and priests. Most of the local merchants are Chinese. The islands were discovered 208 GREAT NAVAL BATTLE AT MANILA. by Magellan in 152I, and Manila was founded after the Spanish conquest by Legaspi in I571, since which time they have been under the Spanish crown, except during very brief intervals. The chief products are hemp, sugar, coffee, copra, tobacco leaf, cigars and indigo. Official statistics as to business are generally missing, and only approximate figures can be given. In I896 the imports were something like $10,500,000, and exports $20,000,000. The chief imports are rice, flour, wines, dress goods, petroleum and coal, though recently there has been some coal mining in Cebu. Gold mining also is now being carried on in Leezon with great promise. The revenues of the islands for I894-95 were estimated at I13,ooo,ooo, and the expenditures at a few thousands less. There is an export duty on tobacco, and almost every import is heavily taxed. Of the imports about thirty-four per cent. are from Great Britain and her dependencies, and very little from the United States. Town and Bay of Manila. Manila is a very bustling port, situated on one of the most spacious and beautiful harbors in the world. The bay is oval in shape with a periphery of 120 miles. On the left bank of the Pasig river, which empties into the Manila Bay, is situated the fortified portion of the city, which is the city proper. One authority says the Spanish and creole population constitutes only about one-tenth of the whole, but this is probably exclusive of the soldiery. The city proper, consisting of a group of forts, convents and administrative buildings, is surrounded by lofty walls and connected with the commercial part of the community on the right bank of the Pasig by two very fine bridges. Manila is connected with the seaports on the opposite or eastern side of the island by a canal, and the Pasig is navigable. In the narrows at the entrance of the bay is the Island of Corregidor. When the high tides come during the southwest monsoon ships of 500 tons can anchor in the mouth of the Pasig under cover of a long jetty, and small warships can enter the cove of Cavite, nine miles further down. Altogether it is a commanding situation for general GREAT NAVAL BATTLE AT MANILA. 209 commerce. The Manila Cathedral is the metropolitan church for all of Catholic Oceanica. The city strikes one at first, after leaving the free English ports, as dirty and noisome, but after one is used to this the gayety, brightness and hospitality of the residents are noticeable. Around the walls of the fortified portion and by the edge of the bay is the calzada, a fashionable drive lined with almond trees, which every evening presents a gay scene of carriages filled with the aristocratic residents. There is usually no dust. The air is balmy, and the heat is tempered by a sea breeze. Natural Scenery and Climate. It is described as the most Europeanized city of the East, a tropical compound of Naples and Venice, modified by Chinese thrift, English energy, Spanish slowness and Indian jolly indifference. The same writer says: "The priests as a class are as intelligent and charitable as their brethren elsewhere. They are identified with the well-being of the country. There are no Capuchins in the Philippines, only Dominicans, Augustines, Franciscans and Jesuits. These are taken from all ranks of society, and if from Spain never return to the peninsula." From November to April the temperature, though often reaching 82 degrees, is not oppressive; the nights and early mornings are generally cool. In the rainy season, from May to November, the heat is like that of our dog days. It is enervating and unhealthy for strangers. When the thermometer stands at 65 degrees, or even 68, it feels chilly, and a blanket at night is not uncomfortable. With ordinary precaution the climate may be considered healthy, especially in the highlands and near the sea. The islands are mountainous and of volcanic origin, and earthquakes have been frequent, some of them quite disastrous, as was the case in I645, when 3,000 people were killed; in I863, when I,000 were killed, and in I880, when thousands were killed or rendered homeless. Chinese laborers and traders came to the islands in great numbers after the Spanish conquest, and in 1603 an insurrection took place, o 210 GREAT NAVAL BATTLE AT MANILA. in which over 20,000 of them were killed. The severity of imposts and religious persecutions led them to revolt again frequently, and more were massacred and the remainder finally banished. They returned to the city, however, and assisted Admiral Cornish and Sir William Drapes in its capture in 1762. The Governor and Archbishop agreed to pay $5,000,000 to save the rich cargoes then lying in port, but the Spanish King refused to ratify the offer. Manila was restored to Spain by the Peace of Paris in 1763. The recent history of the Philippines has been marked by frequent uprisings against the Spanish, there having been two such revolts since the beginning of the Cuban trouble. Singular Fondness for Cock Fights. Next to the church, the greatest Sunday and holiday resort in a Philippine village is the cockpit, usually a large building wattled like a coarse basket and surrounded by a high paling of the same description, which forms a sort of courtyard, where cocks are kept waiting their turns to come upon the stage when their owners have succeeded in arranging a satisfactory match. It is claimed that many a respectable Malay pater familias has been seen escaping from amid the ruins of his burning home bearing away in his arms his favorite bird, while wife and children were left to shift for themselves. The Malay girls are usually very pretty, with languishing eyes, shaded by long lashes and supple figures, whose graceful lines are revealed by their thin clothing. In fine weather their bare feet are thrust into light gold embroidered slippers. There is not a bonnet to be seen. Women of the better classes affect lace and flowers, those of the lower wear their own hair flowing down their backs, in a long, blue-black wave. Jewelry is profusely worn. Every woman sparkles with bracelets, earrings and chains. Many of the males are similarl' caparisoned. CHAPTER XIV. Dewey's Overwhelming Victory. AWEEK elapsed after the naval battle in Manila harbor before Admiral Dewey's official report was received at Washington. It came by way of Hong Kong, the cable having been cut by the Admiral to prevent the transmission of news by the Spanish authorities on the island. As soon as possible a special boat, the McCulloch, was despatched to Hong Kong conveying the report. Although it was not doubted that the first accounts of the battle were correct, yet as these came from Spanish sources there was naturally an eager desire to hear direct from the Admiral, and during the period of delay the country was in a state of suspense and intense anxiety. Especially was there eagerness everywhere to learn whether the great naval victory had been followed by the bombardment and capture of the city of Manila. The anxious suspense was at length relieved by the following official despatch: Admiral Dewey's Official Report. " Manila, May I.-The squadron arrived at Manila at daybreak this morning. Immediately engaged the enemy and destroyed the following Spanish vessels: Reina Christina, Castilla, Ulloa, Isla de Cuba. General Lezox, Del Duero, Correo, Velasco, Mindanao, Don Juan de Austria, Isla de Luzon, one transport, and the water battery at Cavite, The squadron is uninjured, and only a few men were slightly wounded. The only means of telegraphing is to the American consul at Hong Kong. I shall communicate with him. "DEWEY." Tlhe foregoing was written on the day of the battle (Sunday), but not sent on the McCullough until after Wednesday, when this one was written: " Cavite, May 4.-I have taken possession of naval station at Cavite, on Philippine Islands, and destroyed its fortifications. Have destroyed the fortifications at bay entrance, paroling garrison. I control bay. 211 212 DEWEY'S OVERWHELMING VICTORY. completely and can take the city at any time. The squadron is in excellent health and spirits. Spanish loss not fully known, but very heavy. One hundred and fifty killed, including captain of Reina Christina. I am assisting in protecting Spanish sick and wounded, Two hundred and fifty sick and wounded in hospital within our lines. Much excitement at Manila. Will protect foreign residents. "DEWEY." These brief despatches served to confirm the first reports, and were everywhere received with the utmost satisfaction. The first battle of the war had been gallantly won by our navy. The victory showed the audacious courage and cool adroitness of the American commander. On Saturday night the American ships crept inside the bay, and never stopped or slowed down opposite the city until dawn. The order of battle assumed by the Th Spanish was by all the small craft going inside of Cavite harbor behind stone and timber breakwaters, and the larger ships cruising off Cavite and Manila. No patrol was ADMIRAL DEWEY. established, nor was any searchlight placed at the entrance to the bay. The Spanish ships then opened fire, supported by the Cavite forts. The McCulloch remained at some distance and the enemies' shells passed, but did not touch her. The cruiser Baltimore suffered the most of any of the American ships. Five or ten shots took effect on her, but none of her officers or crew were seriously hurt. Only a few slight injuries were suffered by the American fleet, the worst of which resulted from an explosion of ammunition on the deck of the Baltimore. The other ships of the fleet were practically unhurt. The cruiser Reina Christina was the worst damaged of the Spanish ships, and was sunk. The other ships of the Spaniards were quickly DEWEY'S OVERWHELMING VICTORY. 213 riddled by the Americans' fire. The torpedo boats were quickly driven back to their place for shelter. The Cavite arsenal exploded and forty Spaniards were killed. The forts made a nominal resistance. The Spaniards appeared to have.an overwhelming confidence in the superiority of their squadron in the Asiatic waters. The batteries on land had been strengthened and, as was supposed, were ready for any emergency. On the American side there was equal confidence in the ability of Admiral Dewey to rout the Spanish fleet and capture Manila, provided he had forces enough to enable him to effect a landing, and his peremptory orders from Washington were to capture the Spanish squadron and the town. He did what he was told to do. Ready for the Attack. The result proved that Admiral Dewey was admirably prepared for his undertaking, and he certainly would have been greatly disappointed if he had not succeeded. Plans were all carefully laid, his ships were marshalled in fine order, he moved to the attack with precision, his keen eye discerned all the points in the contest, and there is no doubt but the whole result was exactly what he anticipated. He is a military genius to begin with, and his long experience in naval affairs was brought into requisition at just the right time. It is much for a commander to be fruitful in resources, and to be ready for any disaster; but no disaster attended Dewey's attack All accounts went to show that the Spaniards were not prepared for Admiral Dewey's bold attack, even if they had been expecting it. It came upon them so suddenly that they were taken unawares, and it is doubtless true, as was stated, that they had no intention of meeting the American squadron in the harbor of Manila. The promptness of Admiral Dewey will account in large measure for his extraordinary success. He not only destroyed the Spanish squadron, but he did it with so little loss and damage to himself as to create surprise. Still it must not be supposed that the Spaniards did not exhibit remarkable bravery; they were no match for the foe they had to encounter, especially in the matter of gunnery. The American 214 DEWEY'S OVERWHELMING VICTORY. marines showed the effect of long practice, and every shot seemed to tell. From first to last the movements of Dewey's fleet were perfect; it was like a squadron moved by clock work. The attack, although hastily planned, was complete in every detail, and nothing was left wanting to make it a success. When the news reached America it was received with a thrill of exultation, and many expressed the opinion that another such victory would practically end the war with Spain. A Graphic Account of the Battle. The following graphic account of the battle, under date of May Ist, is by a war correspondent who was on board Admiral Dewey's flagship, and furnishes details of the engagement supplementary to those given in the foregoing pages: "Not one Spanish flag flies in Manila Bay to-day. Not one Spanish war ship floats except as our prize. More than two hundred Spanish dead and five hundred to seven hundred wounded attest the accuracy of the American fire. Commodore Dewey attacked the Spanish position at Cavite this morning. He swept five times along the line and scored one of the most brilliant successes in modern warfare. That our loss is trifling adds to the pleasure of victory without detracting from its value. The number of hits our vessels received proved how brave and stubborn was the defence made by the Spanish forces. Miraculous as it may appear, none of our men were killed, and only eight wounded. Those who were wounded suffered only slight injuries. "Commodore Dewey arrived off Manila Bay last night, and decided to enter the bay at once. With all its lights out the squadron steamed into Bocagrande, with crews at the guns. This was the order of the squadron, which was kept during the whole time of the first battle: the flagship Olympia, the Baltimore, the Raleigh, the Petrel, the Concord, the Boston. "' It was just eight o'clock, a bright moonlight night, but the flagship passed Corregidor Island without a sign being given that the DEWEY'S OVERWHELMING VICTORY. 215 Spaniards were aware of its approach. Not until the flagship was a mile beyond Corregidor was a gun fired. Then one heavy shot went screaming over the Raleigh and the Olympia, followed by a second, which fell further astern. The Raleigh, the Concord and the Boston replied, the Concord's shells exploding apparently exactly inside the shore battery, which fired no more. Our squadron slowed down to barely steerage way, and the men were allowed to sleep alongside their guns. Heavy Shots Hurtling Through the Air. "Commodore Dewey had timed our arrival so that we were within five miles of the city of Manila at daybreak. We then sighted the Spanish squadron, Rear Admiral Montejo commanding, off Cavite. Here the Spaniards had a well-equipped navy yard, called Cavite Arsenal. Admiral Montejo's flag was flying on the 3,500 ton protected cruiser Reina Christina. The protected cruiser Castilla, of 3,200 tons, was moored ahead, and astern to the port battery, and to seaward were the cruisers Don Juan de Austria, Don Antonio de Ulloa, Isla de Cuba, Isla (le Luzon, Quiros, Marquis del Onero, and General Lezox. These ships and the flagship remained under way during most of the action. " With the United States flag flying at all their mastheads, our ships moved to the attack in line ahead, with a speed of eight knots, first passing in front of Manila, where the action was begun by three batteries mounting guns powerful enough to send a shell over us at a distance of five miles. The Concord's guns boomed out a reply to these batteries with two shots. No more were fired, because Admiral Dewey could not engage with these batteries without sending death and destruction into the crowded city. As we neared Cavite two very powerful submarine mines were exploded ahead of the flagship. This was at six minutes past five o'clock. The Spaniards had misjudged our position. Immense volumes of water were thrown high in air by these destroyers, but no harm was done to our ships. "Admiral Dewey had fought with Farragut at New Orleans and Mobile Bay, where he had his first experience with torpedoes. Not 16 DEWEY'S OVERWHELMING VICTORY. knowing how many more mines there might be ahead, he still kept on without faltering. No other mines exploded, however, and it is believed that the Spaniards had only these two in place. " Only a few minutes later the shore battery at Cavite Point sent over the flagship a shot that nearly hit the battery in Manila, but soon the guns got a better range, and the shells began to strike near us or burst close aboard from both the batteries and the Spanish vessels. The heat was intense. Men stripped off all clothing except their trousers. Shells from the Shore Battery. "As the Olympia drew nearer all was as silent on board as if the ship had been empty, except for the whirr of blowers and the throb of the engines. Suddenly a shell burst directly over us. From the boatswain's mate at the after 5-inch gun came a hoarse cry. 'Remember the Maine!' arose from the throats of five hundred men at the guns. This watchword was caught up in turrets and firerooms, wherever seaman or fireman stood at his post. "'Remember the Maine!' had rung out for defiance and revenge. Its utterance seemed unpremeditated, but was evidently in every man's mind, and, now that the moment had come to make adequate reply to the murder of the Maine's crew, every man shouted what was in his heart. " The Olympia was now ready to begin the fight. Admiral Dewey, his chief of staff, Commander Lamberton, and aide and myself, with Executive Officer Lieutenant Rees and Navigator Lieutenant Calkins, who conned ship most admirably, were on the forward bridge. Captain Gridley was in the conning tower, as it was thought unsafe to risk losing all the senior officers by one shell. 'You may fire when ready, Gridley,' said the Admiral, and at nineteen minutes of six o'clock, at a distance of 5,500 yards, the starboard 8-inch gun in the forward turret roared forth a. compliment to the Spanish forts. Presently similar guns from the Baltimore and the Boston sent 250 -pound shells hurtling toward the Castilla and the Reina Christina for accuracy. The Spaniards seemed encouraged to fire faster, knowing DEWEY'S OVERWHELMING VICTORY. exactly our distance, while we had to guess theirs. Their ship and shore guns were making things hot for us. "The piercing scream of shot was varied often by the bursting of time fuse shells, fragments of which would lash the water like shrapnel or cut our hull and rigging. One large shell that was coming straight at the Olympia's forward bridge fortunately fell within less than one hundred feet away. One fragment cut the rigging exactly over the heads of Lamberton, Rees and myself. Another struck the bridge gratings in line with it. A third passed just under Dewey and gouged a hole in the deck. Incidents like these were plentiful. The Olympia's Narrow Escape. "Our men naturally chafed at being exposed without returning fire from all our guns, but laughed at danger and chatted good humoredly. A few nervous fellows could not help dodging mechanically when shells would burst right over them or close aboard, or would strike the water and passed overhead, with the peculiar spluttering roar made by a tumbling rifled projectile. Still the flagship steered for the centre of the Spanish line, and, as our other ships were astern, the Olympia received most of the Spaniards' attention. "Owing to our deep draught Dewey felt constrained to change his course at a distance of four thousands yards and run parallel to the Spanish column. 'Open with all guns,' he said, and the ship brought her port broadside bearing. The roar of all the flagship's 5-inch rapid firers was followed by a deep diapason of her after turret 8-inchers. Soon our other vessels were equally hard at work, and we could see that our shells were making Cavite harbor hotter for the Spaniards than they had made the approach for us. "Protected by their shore batteries and made safe from close attack by shallow water, the Spaniards were in a strong position. They put up a gallant fight. The Spanish ships were sailing back and forth behind the Castilla, and their fire, too, was hot. One shot struck the Baltimore and passed clean through her, fortunately hitting no one. Another ripped up her main deck, disabled a 6-inch gun and exploded a box of 3-pounder ammunition, wounding eight men. 218 DEWEY'S OVERWHELMING VICTORY. "The Olympia was struck abreast the gun in the wardroom by a shell which burst outside, doing little damage. The signal halyards were cut from Lieutenant Brumby's hand on the after bridge. A shell entered the Boston's port quarter and burst in Ensign Dodridge's stateroom, starting a hot fire, and fire was also caused by a shell which burst in the port hammock netting. Both these fires were quickly put out. Another shell passed through the Boston's foremast just in front of Captain Wildes, on the bridge. Gallant Fight of the Spanish. "After having made four runs along the Spanish line, finding the chart incorrect, Lieutenant Calkins, the Olympia's navigator, told the Commodore he believed he could take the ship nearer the enemy, with lead going to watch the depth of water. The flagship started over the course for the fifth time, running within two thousand yards of the Spanish vessels. At this range even 6-pounders were effective, and the storm of shells poured upon the unfortuate Spanish began to show marked results. Three of the enemy's vessels were seen burning and their fire slackened. "On finishing this run Admiral Dewey decided to give the men breakfast, as they had been at the guns two hours with only one cup of coffee to sustain them. Action ceased temporarily at twenty-five minutes of eight o'clock, the other ships passing the flagship and the men cheering lustily. Our ships remained beyond range of the enemy's guns until ten minutes of eleven o'clock, when the signal for close action again went up. The Baltimore had the place of honor in the lead, with the flagship following and the other ships as before. "The Baltimore began firing at the Spanish ships and batteries at sixteen minutes past eleven o'clock, making a series of hits as if at target practice. The Spaniards replied very slowly, and the Admiral signalled the Raleigh, the Boston, the Concord and the Petrel to go into the inner harbor and destroy all the enemy's ships. By her light draught the little Petrel was enabled to move within one thousand yards. Here, firing swiftly but accurately, she commanded everything still flying the Spanish flag. Other ships were also doing their DEWEY'S OVERWHELMING VICTORY. 219 whole duty, and soon not one red and yellow ensign remained aloft, except on a battery up the coast. "The Spanish flagship and the Castilla had long been burning fiercely, and the last vessel to be abandoned was the Don Antonio de Ulloa, which lurched over and sank. " Then the Spanish flag on the Arsenal staff was hauled down, and at half-past twelve o'clock a white flag was hoisted there. Signal was made to the Petrel to destroy all the vessels in the inner harbor, and Lieutenant Hughes, with an armed boat's crew, set fire to the Don' Juan de Austria, the Marquis del Duero, the Isla de Cuba and the: Correo. The large transport Manila and many tugboats and small craft fell into our hands. Destruction of the Spanish Squadron. "'Capture and destroy Spanish squadron,' were Dewey's orders. Never were instructions more effectually carried out. Within seven hours after arriving on the scene of action nothing remained to be done. The Admiral closed the day by anchoring off the city of Manila and sending word to the Governor General that if a shot was fired from the city at the fleet he would lay Manila in ashes." The foregoing account by an eye-witness conveys a clear idea of Dewey's tactics, courage and overwhelming triumph. It describes a naval engagement and victory that will live in the annals of our country. The greatest tribute to the courage and efficiency of the United States navy was paid when Manila fell and the Spanish fleet sunk beneath the guns of Admiral Dewey's squadron. The victory was a practical demonstration and an additional proof, if any was needed, that the great advantages in naval action are the things pre-eminently possessed by our navy. First, the high efficiency of the drill of our men; the constant training they have had in target practice, and the fact that they have been taught that the guns aboard ship are not there to be looked at, but to be used, and that the deadly execution they are capable of doing is possible only by their own efforts. The victory at Manila 220 DEWEY'S OVERWHELMING VICTORY. was full, complete. It would have been impossible to exceed or add to it in any way. What was Dewey's achievement? He steamed into Manila Bay at the dead hour of the night, through the narrower of the two chan. nels, and as soon as there was daylight enough to grope his way about he put his ships in line of battle and brought on an engagement, the greatest in many respects in ancient or modern warfare. The results are known the world over-every ship in the Spanish fleet destroyed, the harbor Dewey's own, his own ships safe from the shore batteries, owing to the strategic position he occupied, and Manila his whenever he cared to take it. Terrible Storm of Battle. Quick and decisive was the blow. He did not wait to attack a weaker place, but struck home, unmindful of the unknown dangers that lurked about him. Although he knew that the harbor of Manila was so deep and broad that he had little to fear from mines or torpedoes at the entrance, he was, of course, aware that at some part of the bay destruction awaited him. Yet he took the risk, the same as his famous predecessor and teacher, Farragut did, who at Mobile, when he saw one of his ships blown up by a torpedo and another rapidly nearing destruction, said: 'Go ahead, Captain Drayton. D-n the torpedoes!' What his pupil's language was we do not know, but he certainly lived up to the precepts laid down by the then greatest naval hero. Another point which his victory emphasized is that aggressive superiority means much in naval warfare. In that quality Dewey was immeasurably superior to his opponents. His attack was fairly a storm. Another feature that should not be lost sight of in recounting this deed of bravery is the fact that he was handicapped woefully in manceuvring. Of course, one of the first things done at Manila by the Spanish authorities was to remove from the harbor all guides to commerce, such as lights and buoys. This having been done, it would have required the highest grade of intelligence to make use of the limited sailing directions left in the hands of his navigating DEWEY'S OVERWHELMING VICTORY. 221 officers. Yet had he been manoeuvring his squadron in New York harbor under friendly eyes he could not have been more successful in avoiding treacherous shoals than he was at Manila. During the period of engagement his ships were constantly moving, yet never went amiss. The reports received indicated that the damage to his ships was as trifling as the hurt to life aboard them, and this may be attributed to the skill shown in handling the squadron. The accuracy and rapidity of the fire attest the thorough drill and perfect discipline of the men, and prove that they kept ever before them Dewey's words before they left Mirs Bay. " Keep cool and obey orders." That he was not ignorant of the exact range of the enemy's land batteries is shown by the fact that when he desired he withdrew his ships, and, while keeping out of range himself, still kept in play his own big guns. Woodwork Shivered to Splinters. The lesson in this, as naval experts pointed out, was that in a wide harbor an opposing fleet once past the fortifications may retire at any time out of range of the shore guns and recuperate. It has been a mooted point among naval architects, the advantage of woodwork inside a ship as compared with other compositions. The question Ivas only partially decided by the Yalu battle. The Manila fight conclusively settled it. The destruction wrought by flying splinters aboard the Spanish ships was from all accounts fearful. All fleets must have a leader, and all credit must be due to that leader for success in action, as in failure all censure will be his. But we must not forget that he has assistants to whom credit must be given-the captain and officers of every one of the ships. On them devolve the duties of organization, drill and discipline aboard ship, so that when the time comes for practical service they will be of the greatest value. The men of Dewey's squadron were simply samples of the efficiency of the United States Navy, and in this case they obeyed instructions. The Navy Department at Washington was almost bewildered by the completeness of Commodore Dewey's victory. The officials, 222 DEWEY'S OVERWHELMING VICTORY. until they got the official despatches, could not conceive the possibility of our not suffering the loss of any men killed. It seemed an impossibility. The official report was perfectly clear, however, Admiral Dewey saying that only a few of his men were hurt. Not less remarkable than this was the fact that our vessels escaped injury Our fleet smashed into the Spanish so quickly and with such impetuosity that it smothered the Spanish fire and had them in a helpless condition before they could do much damage. The officials of the Navy Department, as well as all army officers, were simply amazed at the extent of the mortality inflicted upon the Spanish. Dewey's Victory Complete. Officers tried in vain to think of any engagement between armed forces that had been so one-sided in its results as the battle of Manila and the subsequent engagements. As for the forts, it was thought likely that Dewey took up his position at a distance that placed his ships beyond the range of the old. fashioned ordnance that formed nine-tenths or more of the defensive power of the works and shelled them into silence, succeeding in escaping hits meantime from the few pieces of modern ordnance that could be trained upon him. This was the view of some of the ablest strategists in the Navy Department. Admiral Dewey spoke of the Spanish sick and wounded in hospital "within our lines." There could be but one interpretation placed on this, namely, that the Admiral had occupied Cavite, a considerable town about seven miles toward the mouth of the bay from Manila. He had thus, supposing he went no further, secured a naval base for the American fleet which would serve through the remainder of the war at least. Cavite possesses outside of the fortifications many of the essentials of a naval station, among them a marine railway capable of lifting out of the water vessels up to 2000 tons displacement. It would be of great service in the repairing and cleaning of the smaller vessels of the American fleet. An important feature of Admiral Dewey's cablegram was the statement that he destroyed the fortifications at the bay entrance. This DEWEY'S OVERWHELMING VICTORY. 223 referred to the strong forts at Corregidor Island, lying at the entrance of the bay, and insured the admiral against any interruption in the line of communication with the outside world. It was feared that in so fierce an engagement against a Spanish fleet, combined with the shore defences, the American fleet must surely have sustained a good deal of damage, loss of life and other injuries. That was regarded as inevitable in a combat between two navies, for even the Chinese in the great battle of the Yalu managed to inflict a considerable amount of damage upon their Japanese antagonists. Yet in this battle of Manila, lasting two hours at the least, according to the accounts first received, the destruction of the entire Spanish fleet resulted, and the silencing of their forts was accomplished without the loss of an American life, or the serious injury of an American ship. A few men, it is true, were slightly wounded, but that is frequently the case when vessels indulge in target practice. Rejoicing Throughout the Country. When the suspense of waiting for word from the brave admiral away off at Manila was broken, and when from every corner there flashed the news of a victory far greater than hopeful anticipation had hinted at, when every lip repeated the glad news, and it spread almost in the twinkling of an eye to the farthest confines of the country, there were everywhere patriotic demonstrations only to be compared with the days of the Civil War. From public buildings and private homes, in commercial centres and manufacturing districts, new flags were added to the wealth of bunting which had already been floating on the breezes; whistles were blown, bells were rung, men whistled the national airs, and children sang them as they paraded the streets. It was a time when the veterans grew more than usually reminiscent, and when some of them, with dimmed eyes, spoke of famous battles of the past. The official news, "Not an American killed; Spanish fleet destroyed," was so good that it could hardly be believed, even though it had been told in special editions of the public journals early in the morning. But when, later in the day, there was made public the 124 DEWEY'S OVERWHELMING VICTORY. official translation of Admiral Dewey's despatch to the President, en. thusiasm knew no bounds. The intimations of a glorious victory that will live in history, which were given a week before, seemed hardly to have taken away any of the zest with which the official confirmation was received, for with it came assurance of deeds more glorious than the imagination had conceived. No Thirst for Mere Conquest. Far reaching indeed, grand, inconceivable, passing all estimate, were the effects of this heroic exploit of our American navy. Admiral Dewey's guns at Manila ended the tradition of a century and the isolation of a hundred years. Events proved stronger than the purposes of men or the policy of nations. The United States had no desire for conquest. It has none now. There is nowhere in the American public any wish for territorial acquisition for its own sake. No greed for colonies exists, and no appetite for conquest. On the Cuban war the United States entered as an act of mercy, humanity, and justice. Every step was forced upon us. No act came without long delay. By every possible expedient, by remonstrance, by warning, by solemn and repeated declarations, we sought justice for Cuba without war. No American two months before the outbreak of hostilites but hoped that the retreat of Spain would render unnecessary the advance of the United States. It was not to be. War has come. In one swift week the United States was forced to assume new responsibilities and take fresh burdens. Whether we will or no, nothing can change or alter the results of the victory at Manila. The victorious guns of the American fleet have closed one chapter of our national history and opened another. The destiny of the Philippines is not to be decided in a moment or prematurely determined; but whatever the decision and whatever the determination, the United States must decide and determine. No other nation can. This responsibility we cannot divide. Leaving the consideration of merely American conditions, and abandoning circumstances and an environment limited to this hemisphere, the United States is forced DEWEY'S OVERWHELMING VICTORY. to step upon the world's stage and to deal with the world's problems. Events end our long national policy of isolation. As the battlesmoke lifts, new responsibilities appear. The country has not sought them. It cannot avoid them. It must meet them. The best solution may not yet be clear. Time will furnish it. But whatever the decision and whatever the solution, every man must see that the United States must act and decide with eyes open to relations, considerations and duties wider than the Western Hemisphere and broader than our past. Thanked in the Name of the American People. Details were perfected for despatching at once from San Francisco an expedition comprising 5000 men and a large amount of army and navy supplies to aid Admiral Dewey in his further operations. Upon receipt of the official report of his victory the following cable despatch was sent to him: DEWEY, Manila: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. LONG. It is not inappropriate in this connection to refer briefly to the history of the Philippine Islands. Once before Manila was taken by a coup executed by a force of English-speaking soldiers and sailors. Toward the end of the Seven Years' war the King of France induced his royal brother of Spain to make common cause against the English. Early in the year 1762 a mixed naval and military force was sent from England to Havana, and the British ensign ere long floated over Morro Castle. At the same time Colonel William Draper suggested to Lord Bute, then Prime Minister, the advisability of attacking Spain in the other of her two great seats of colonial wealth and power, Manila. The plan of Colonel Draper was to surprise the P DEWEY'S OVERWHELMING VICTORY. Philippines before the Spanish commandant should have become aware that war with England had broken out. The expedition included eight line-of-battle ships, mounting 578 guns and carrying 4330 men, under Admiral Cornish, the naval officer commanding in the Indian Ocean, reinforced by a regiment of infantry, some English artillerymen, 6o0 Madras sepoys, two companies of French deserters, a number of black troops from Madagascar, and some Portuguese half-castes from the Indian Archipelago — about 1500 men in all. Ships and Shore Batteries Working Together. The expedition appeared in Manila harbor; and the city, which was garrisoned by a regiment of Spaniards and Io,ooo Filipinos, having refused to surrender, the bombardment of the citadel commenced on September 24, 1762. The same evening a landing was effected, and the construction of parallels begun. A number of siege guns were landed, and on October 3 the breaching battery was completed. The siege continued until the evening of October 5, when the citadel was stormed through the breach which had meanwhile been shot in the bastion of St. Diego. It detracts nothing from the glory of Admiral Dewey's achievement to say that his squadron was enormously superior to that of the enemy, and that the Spanish fleet consisted mostly of obsolete iron ships and but few steel vessels. The Spanish ships mounted eightynine modern high power guns; a dozen or more great Krupp cannon belched from the barbettes on shore, and our own vessels were not invulnerable. The amazing features of the victory were the way in which the American commander, aided by the coolness and precision of his gunners, swept everything before him, and the quickness with which he compassed the destruction of the enemy. If it be the perfection of skill to inflict the greatest possible damage upon an enemy's ships with the least possible loss to his own, then the achievement of Admiral Dewey must rank with the greatest naval triumphs of all time. CHAPTER XV. Eftects of the American Victory at Manila. T is within the strict bounds of truth to say that not only America but Europe awaited with anxiety the result of the great naval battle in the Philippine waters, and were startled at the result The aspect of international affairs changed more rapidly than at any previous time during the impending conflict. The European powers became deeply impressed by the efficiency of the American navy and were compelled to admit the brilliancy and far-reaching consequences of its victory. Not less true is it that the loss of this battle by Spain produced a very serious effect upon public opinion throughout the kingdom, and a spirit of insurrection was awakened which threatened to sweep like a flame of fire throughout the country. It was evident that Spain was ripe for revolution. Dewey in Want of Men. Still further, it is true that immediately after the battle the situation of Admiral Dewey was critical, by reason of not having a sufficient number of men with which to capture and hold the city of Manila. He could bombard the town, but wanton destruction of life was no part of the American plan. Fortunately his squadron had abundant supplies for the time being, and it was believed at Washington that the Admiral could hold his own until reinforced. The situation of Admiral Dewey was summed up as follows by Hon. Lambert Tree, our former Minister to Russia: "Commodore Dewey did not have a place left for the sole of his foot in the East. He was turned out of Hong Kong and then out of Mirs Bay, and he had to conquer a harbor, start for Honolulu or go to the bottom. Now, that same thing will happen again whenever we have another foreign war. All the ports will be declared neutral, and our fleet will have no harbor and no coal, and will have to come 227 228 EFFECTS OF AMERICAN VICTORY AT MANILA. home or surrender or sink. That is what I call a humiliating and intolerable state of things, and now that we have providentially acquired a port in the East, it seems to me we are under obligations to keep it. " This is all the more necessary because we have become a great commercial power. For if we mean to compete with other nations for the trade of China and Japan, it is indispensable that we should have a base. It is inevitable that in the near future the Pacific Ocean and the adjoining seas will become the scene of the greatest commercial activity, and the United States has arrived at a period in its history when it must either advance, in accordance with its responsibilities as a great commercial power, or else take a back seat in the family of nations. Therefore I believe in the annexation of these islands. Foreign Interference Not Likely. "As to the intervention of foreign nations, either to assist or oppose us in doing so, I cannot see what right any other nation has to interfere. We are perfectly able to take care of ourselves, and we can annex these islands without anybody's help and in spite of anybody's opposition. At the same time I do not think that any power in Europe is looking for any trouble with the United States. "The Monroe doctrine cuts no figure in this matter. The fact that we will not let any country in Europe extend its political system in this continent is no reason why we should not extend our political system in the Eastern Hemisphere. Whether in case of annexation we would become liable for any Spanish debt secured on the Philippine Isands on their customs revenue is a mere matter of detail, and should not weigh a feather against annexation. So I am clear and positive in my opinion that the United States should never surrender the Philippine Islands to anybody, but should keep them for its own use." Manila was untenable after Admiral Dewey reduced the outlying forts and destroyed or captured the ships of the fleet. His victory was so complete that Manila was entirely at his mercy, and such means as the Spaniards had left them for making further defence were rendered worthless by the ability of our naval commander to EFFECTS OF AMERICAN VICTORY AT MANILA. 229 lay the city in ashes at his will. As to what refuge the Spaniards would seek, if they succeeded in withdrawing from Manila, it was impossible to say. They had no means at hand of crossing over to another island, but must make a stand somewhere in the interior of Luzon. There are half a dozen towns within twenty-five miles of the capital, and just beyond this distance a mountain range, in the fastnesses of which they could entrench themselves, if they had sufficient stores to maintain their position for any length of time. But whatever retreat they sought they would be constantly harassed by the native insurgents, and even if they were able to hold out against this enemy, within a month a sufficient force from the Pacific Coast would be landed at Manila to make the surrender of the Spanish army only a question of time. The Spanish Force at Manila. As to the size of the Spanish force which occupied Manila at thf dine of the battle, there was no reliable data. At the outside estimate it was probably not more than Io,ooo strong, and the total civilian Spanish population of the whole group of islands was not more than 25,000. It seemed almost incredible that such a small body of Europeans could have kept in subjection 6,000,000 or 7,000,000 of natives for centuries, but it must be remembered that the native population is a strange mixture of antagonistic races, without any national spirit or such a commuuity of interests as made a union against the common oppressor possible. If harmonious action against the Spaniards had been possible they would have been driven from the islands at the very outset of the insurrection which began in August, I896. The original uprising, however, was confined to the Mestizo-Chinos, or half-castes of native and Chinese origin, for whom the more substantial element of the population always entertained only a feeling of contempt. Both Dr. Rizal and General Aguinaldo, the leaders of the revolt, belonged to the same despised class as the mass of their followers, and were unable to command the confidence and respect of the inhabitants at large. 230 EFFECTS OF AMERICAN VICTORY AT MANILA. The discontent with Spanish misrule, oppression, extortion, and corruption was, however, universal; all classes welcomed the deliverance now at hand, and could be relied upon to make that deliverance effective and complete at the earliest possible moment. Then it was certain that the United States would be brought face to face with the perplexing problem of how to dispose of this vast group of islands on the other side of the earth, of which it was necessary for us to take temporary possession in the pursuit of our purpose to expel the Spaniards from their insular holdings nearer home. Ready for Insurrection. It was stated by persons well informed that there were about eight thousand troops in Manila; two-thirds of these troops from Spain, men who were quite well acclimated, and could be relied upon, while one-third of the garrison were natives, who were ready to turn against the government at the first favorable opportunity. It was unfortunate for the American commander that rebels, while numerous, and more determined than ever and enthusiastic over the prospect of early deliverance from an oppressive rule, were not well organized. The organization which prevailed up to the time of the surrender of a couple of dozen of rebel leaders was excellent, considering the circumstances. General Aguinaldo demonstrated great and surprising abilities as an organizer and leader, and he had half a dozen or more lieutenants who were also natural leaders of men, possessed of great energy and executive ability and, it was supposed, of great patriotism. These leaders laid down their arms and swore allegiance to a government they despised under circumstances decidedly peculiar. The general body of rebels believed that it was a case of sell out. This unexpected surrender upon the part of the leaders naturally caused demoralization in the insurgent camps. The claim of Aguinaldo and his "copatriots" was that after consultation with government officials they were convinced that if they abandoned the field the Spaniards would give certain reforms, and that on the whole the natives would be benefited by a sudden termination of the trouble. EFFECTS OF AMERICAN VICTORY AT MANILA. 231 The rebel leaders, after several secret interviews with the GovernorGeneral, Primo de Rivera, secretly embarked for Hong Kong. They made no explanation to their people, except the general one that the government would do better by the natives hereafter, and to their way of thinking better things would follow surrender than would come from a continuance of the rebellion. The natives were at first nonplussed by this sudden and wholly unexpected conduct upon the part of their leaders. This feeling of surprise was followed a little later by one of great and righteous indignation, and the insurgents generally, with more determination than ever, resolved to continue the revolt. The people had heard of the Governor-General's persistent efforts to reach the ears of the rebel leaders, but in the great and characteristic confidence of the people they declined to believe that anything would be accomplished in this direction. They had more arms, more money, better discipline and much more confidence in the ultimate success of their fight than at any other time, and could not believe that General Rivera's financial schemes were likely to be successful. Welcomed by the Insurgents. It was this mass of willing, determined, disorganized and leaderless natives that Commodore Dewey would have to deal with. It was stated from Hong Kong that General Aguinaldo intended to return to the islands at the earliest opportunity and to co-operate with the Americans. No party of benefactors could get a warmer and heartier welcome from an abused people than the natives of the Philippines would extent to Admiral Dewey and his fellows if they had a chance to meet him. Unquestionably the rebels camping in the mountains to the east and north of Manila were by this time organizing for an attack upon the capital, with an idea of relieving the American naval force. These natives figured confidently upon the co-operation of the native Spanish troops. The Philippiners, as a rule, while determined to relieve themselves of the Spanish yoke, are nevertheless sensible enough to appreciate that there is great doubt as to their ability to govern themselves. 232 EFFECTS OF AMERICAN VICTORY AT MANILA. This doubt has existed in their minds from the inception of the rebellion in August, I896, but it was never as pronounced as it was after their unfortunate experience with Aguinaldo. Dewey's coming was certainly regarded as an answer to the prayer which has gone up from the three million people of Luzon Island. For more than a year these poor people looked longingly across the great waste of the Pacific Ocean to the land of freedom, hoping against hope that the common humanity which actuates the American nation would see in the Spanish archipelago a cause for interest and action. In I897 these people requested their representatives in the British colony of Hong Kong to petition the American Government to give their cause a little attention. The petition was accordingly prepared by men who thoroughly understood the condition in the Philippines, and this petition was forwarded to the State Department in Washington. Memorial to our Government. This memorial was nothing less than a piteous appeal and cry of a people weighed down with heavy taxation, humiliated by social and political ostracism, and so restricted in every way as to keep them humble and subservient. They complained with especial feeling and earnestness in regard to the monastic friars. There are in the Philip, pines something like three thousand members of monastic orders. These learned and active men do not by any means confine themselves to spiritual effort. It is but stating one of very many truths to say that they are active in every sphere of human life on the islands. They are energetic in commercial affairs and more energetic in political affairs. The natives whom these friars have educated are given no encouragement. Heavy taxes are levied, and in the most arbitrary fashion, and no native having a right to protest-having no voice at all in the adjustment of matters that are of vital importance to himself and to his family. It looks very much like this: many years ago the people of the Philippines were a common, degraded, uneducated lot. The friars established schools, and great numbers of the natives were given EFFECTS OF AMERICAN VICTORY AT MANILA. 233 the rudiments of an education. These partially educated people took on new life and ambition and would like to take some little part in the affairs of their native land. This common divine right was refused them. They were treated no better than were their wholly uneducated ancestors. The average Philippiner possessing some education is a man of energy and ambition, anxious to accomplish something for himself, his family, and for the world. This man was held down, and the result of this state of things was the revolution that began in I896. Character of the Population. The Philippiner, educated or uneducated, is a pretty good man. As a general thing these people are industrious, quite as much so as the Chinese and Japanese. They are more cleanly than the Chinese and quite as law-abiding. They are not a rude or vulgar people. They are easy and natural in manner when once they know and respect any one. They are strong in their devotion and love of Europeans in whom they have confidence, and the advice of Europeans in whom they confide will be followed to the utmost. They are a reserved, bashful, diffident people; in this respect different from the aggressive and over-confident Japanese. General Gordon, the famous British military genius, who took a prominent part in the Tai-Ping rebellion in China, had a number of Tagalog troops, and of them he said: " They are a fine, sturdy body of fellows, faithful and long-suffering, bearing hardships without murmur, plucky, and never losing heart in defeat." These are the people who with joyous and outstretched arms welcomed the victorious Americans. The people of the Philippines, overjoyed at the prospects of early deliverance from Spanish rule, were ready to welcome almost any proposition that the Americans could offer. They had never calculated on so fortunate a thing as being part of the American Republic, for at the time of the presentation of the memorial to the United States, they feared this country would not care to go so far away from home to adjust other people's wrongs. Philippine leaders always expressed great love and admiration for 234 EFFECTS OF AMERICAN VICTORY AT MANILA. America, yet never did they dream of the close relationship that exists to-day. Mrs. Josehinea Rizal, widow of Dr. Jose Rizal, the accomplished Philippiner, who was executed at Manila in I897, said: " Oh, how happy these people would be if they could but look forward to the time when America would interest herself in their behalf! Such a thing-such a glorious thing-we can hardly look forward to. Since the cruel death of my husband I have been out among these good natives singing songs, making speeches, and going with the troops, and taking my little part in engagements, and I have learned to love them. " I have learned to love them as a kind, generous, humane people, anxious only for a fair chance in life's battle; and I know how they love the land of the Stars and Stripes. These natives see how great an interest America is taking in the equally unfortunate Cubans, and hope for a little of that same Christian interest, to which they consider they are justly entitled. Awaiting Protection from Abroad. ' They do not care specially for self-government under the circumstances. They are sensible enough to appreciate that with a people so low in the scale of education it is not an easy matter to govern themselves. They would be pleased with the United States, Great Britain, or any other good government exercising a protectorate over them. They would not care to be governed or influenced by the Japanese. Neither would they care to be under French influence. The objection to France is mainly because this matter of ill-treatment at the hands of the monks would not be remedied. "A great many unpleasant things are said about the friars on the Philippines. As to the justice of many of these statements I cannot speak. I do know, however that the members of the monastic fraternities are nothing more nor less than agents of the Spanish government. Their business is not simply to look after the spiritual welfare of the people of the islands, but they are supposed to control these people in political matters, and when there is any apparent disposition on the part of the people to rebel against any EFFECTS OF AMERICAN VICTORY AT MANILA. 236 governmental act, these friars are supposed to influence the natives in the way they should go." The effect of the battle at Manila upon Spain appeared likely to precipitate a revolution. This was not the first time that the turbulent elements in the kingdom came to the surface and threatened the overthrow of the dynasty. It will not be amiss to refer here to a comparatively recent attempt upon the life of the King of Spain, which shlowed the danger of violence from the dissatisfied and revolutionary classes. The silly and wicked act of an ignorant young fellow at Madrid, Francis Otero, calling himself Gonzalez, a waiter in a confectioner's shop, is a matter of history. It was on Tuesday, the 30th of December, I879, that he fired a pistol at the King and Queen of Spain, as they were driving in a carriage through the gate of the Royal Palace. Otero, who was but nineteen years of age, was a native of Guntin, a small village in the province of Lugo. Attempt to Assassinate the King. He did not seem to be connected with any political faction, but had got into dissipated habits, lost his employment, and thought of committing suicide. He said that he spoke of his intention to two of his companions, who advised him, if he were tired of life, to seek notoriety by killing the king. So he got a pistol, and practiced shooting at a mark, in doing which he accidentally wounded a mule, and the pistol was taken from him. He then procured another of those foolish and mischievous playthings, and with it committed this wanton outrage, happily not fatal to his Majesty Alfonso XII. The young king was returning from his usual drive in the Paseo. He was driving, as he very frequently did, a mail-phaeton and a pair, having the queen upon his left hand and two grooms behind, and without escort of any kind. It was his ordinary custom when driving himself to enter by the side gate of the palace in the Plaza de la Armeria; but, for some reason, he turned this afternoon to the gate del Principe, which is in front of the palace, facing the Plaza del Oriente. There are two stone r J, t ' ', i K f H _ J ' \V, I i i Hff IL —i f, JR I ait I1* ' ATTEMIPT TO SHOOT THE KING OF SPAIN AT MADRIiD, 236 EFFECTS OF AMERICAN VICTORY AT MANILA. 237 sentry-boxes on each side of the gates, almost close to the wall. The assassin must have managed to evade the sentry on seeing the king approach, and conceal himself behind one of these boxes. As the carriage entered, almost at foot pace, Otero, pushing the sentry on one side, forced his way so close to the carriage as to touch the wheels. On seeing him, the king, divining his intention, bent his head, which action may possibly have saved his life, as the ball passed close behind him, touching the hair, but inflicting no damage either upon him or the queen. The Qaeen's Narrow Escape. It is said that the queen, on hearing the report, bent eagerly forward, uttering a sharp cry, and placed her arms round her husband. The second shot, which followed instantaneously, passed so close in front of the queen's head that she involuntarily put her hand to her face. The king, for the moment, believed she was struck. Both, finding that no injury had been done, quickly recovered their presence of mind; and the queen was able to ascend the stairs with no other assistance than the arm of her husband. In the meantime, the criminal, on firing the second shot, ran off in the direction of the Calle Mayor, throwing the discharged pistol in the face of the first man who attempted to stop him. He was, however, almost immediately arrested, and very nearly received a summary reward for his crime from the lance of an indignant sentry who pursued him. He was taken to the guard-house on the Calle Bailen, and afterwards to the Home Office, where he was interrogated, and at an early hour the following morning was removed to the Saladero, the city prison. The Palace was quickly besieged by an eager crowd, anxious to satisfy their curiosity or to offer their congratulations. All the Ministers presented themselves, followed by the Senators and Deputies, most of the members of the diplomatic body, and a large number of grandees and the aristocracy in Madrid. Her Majesty so quickly recovered from the shock that she was enabled to accompany the king to the opera, where it was deemed desirable that he should show 238 EFFECTS OF AMERICAN VICTORY AT MANILA, himself. Their Majesties arrived during the first act, and the welcome they received has seldom been equalled in Madrid. The actual condition in Spain is one that cannot be disguised. The kingdom is breaking up. This always comes under a strain. The country is not homogeneous. It never has been. Very likely it never will be. Look at it on the map and you think of Spain and the Spaniards as one. In certain broad, national characteristics they are. But in Spain three tongues are spoken so far apart that peasants which speak each are unintelligible to peasants speaking the other two. Along the northern edge of Spain is a dialect as close to Portuguese as to Spanish. Through Central and Southern Spain is Castillian, Spanish par excellence. In a strip along the east coast it is Catalan. Strange Mixture of Dialects. City folk and the educated understand each other all over Spain. One travels and hears only Spanish. But the rural districts, artisan quarters, miners on Biscay, factory hands in Catalonia and peasants in all provinces speak a tongue, part dialect, part separate language. The Basques, of course, use a language no one understands; but they are small in number. Differences of character are greater than those of language. The hardy Northern Spaniard despises the Andalusian as effeminate, and the Andalusian deems his Northern fellow-citizen an uncouth boor. Chile was settled from Northern and Peru from Southern Spain, and while Chile can always defeat Peru in battle, Peru always looked on Chile as a ruder and less civilized land. When revolution impends in Spain, therefore, the rebellion is not taken up and put through by a single city, as Paris carries on the French trade in revolutions at the old stand when one is wanted. Spain breaks up piecemeal. The Basque provinces drop back into Carlism and a mediaeval loyalty. The artisans of the Mediterranean cities break out into anarchy, as they did in Barcelona in 1873, when a local commune was proclaimed and a war-vessel seized, which set out under a strange flag and promptly brought up under the guns of a British admiral, who explained to an astonished crew that as far as EFFECTS OF AMERICAN VICTORY AT MANILA. 239 he was concerned anarchy and revolution were rights only allowed on land. At sea nobody could indulge a passion for new flags and a new order of society. All over Spain, when trouble comes, brigandage revives, peasants smash the local tax-gatherers' windows and in the towns the octroi gates are unhinged and burned. This is what makes revolution so serious a thing in Spain. It brings in anarchy, such as was visibly in progress after the outbreak of the war. Nothing at such times, experience shows, can save Spain from a complete disorganization of society but a military dictator. It was Prim at one time. It was Serrano later. It was Campos afterward. Weyler's shadow has been lying across Spain as the coming man, while the entire peninsula is lapsing into anarchy and the dissolution of all order, the result of which must be attended with grave consequences. Sagasta's Difficult Position. The man at the head of the Government, to whom was assigned the arduous task of dealing with the turbulent elements in the kingdom, which threatened revolution after the battle of Manila, was Senor Sagasta. Senor Praxedes Mateo Sagasta, the Prime Minister of Spain, may be described as an Opportunist. It was probably fortunate for Spain that her destinies were guided by a man who could adapt himself to circumstances and conform his course to prevailing winds. For years Senor Sagasta and the late Canovas del Castillo alternated in office, after the manner of Box and Cox. One would go out of power, the other would come in. Neither, as a rule, held office longer than two years at a time. The alternation from one to the other made little practical difference in the policy of Spain. Essentials were not changed by the change from Conservative to Liberal, or from Liberal to Conservative control. Senor Sagasta's term of office began in October, 1897. Senor Canovas was killed by an assassin in August, and General Azcarraga, Minister of War, became Premier. Azcarraga failed, however, to win the united support of the Conservative party, of which Senor 240 EFFECTS OF AMERICAN VICTORY AT MANILA Canovas was long the leader. So the Queen Regent accepted his resignation, and Sagasta and the Liberals came into power. The accession of Sagasta meant, this time, a decided change of policy. Before he came into office he called attention to the fact that affairs were steadily growing worse in Cuba, and that the situation in the Philippines showed no improvement; and he announced that a Liberal Ministry would be ready to apply autonomy to Cuba. It can honestly be said that Senor Sagasta accomplished more in the few months he was in office than his pre-........ decessor did in two years. The rebellion p:t ap':r: "si i. th in the Philippines was....... w":*'~"'~':"''~' ~quieted; and a limited:: degree of autonomy.. was finally granted to I Cuba. The experiment of autonomy failed, rer p ei however. The Cuban rebellion continued and there was little or no indication that the gift of autonomy would SENOR SAGASTA-PRIME MINISTER OF SPAIN. satisfy the rebels and restore peace, as Sagasta hoped. But Cuba derived one indisputable benefit from Sagasta's return to power. The hated Weyler was withdrawn from rule and found himself in the disfavor which he so richly merited. Senor Sagasta has had a career full of adventure. He was born in 1827, and began life as an engineer. At 25 years of age he was elected to the Cortes. In the revolution of I856 he took an active part, and had to flee to France. Later he returned to Spain and accepted a professorship in the School of Engineers at Madrid, EFFECTS OF AMERICAN VICTORY AT MANILA. 24i and became the editor of " La Iberia," the organ of the Progressist party. He was engaged in the insurrection of I866, and was again obliged to fly to France, where he remained till after the dethronement of Queen Isabella, when he returned and was appointed Minister of the interior in the first government formed by General Prim, and gradually abandoned his radical views. By 1870 he had avowed his belief in a monarchical government for Spain. Sagasta has always taken pains to let it be known that he would support all attempts to preserve the territorial possessions of Spain. Again and again he declared that the Spanish people should spend the last drop of their blood rather than surrender Cuba. Former Wars of Spain. The historian of the nineteenth century will find as fascinating a subject for his pen in the victory won by Admiral Dewey in Manila harbor as Motley found in the battles fought between the Dutch and Spanish in the harbors of Cadiz and Gibraltar in the last years of the sixteenth and the first years of the seventeenth centuries. There is the same conquered nation, the Spanish on the one side, and on the other the victorious Dutch or American. Spain was fighting then as she is to-day for absolutism, mediaevalism and everything opposed to humanity and progress, while the Netherlands contended then, as America contends now, for freedom and civilization. There are many points of resemblance between the naval battles fought in the harbors of Cadiz, Gibraltar and Manila, although between the first battle and the last one over three centuries intervened. They exhibit many of the same characteristics. Let Motley tell the story of the former two. On July I, I596, a combined Dutch and English fleet met the Spanish fleet in the harbor of Cadiz and fought one of the great naval battles of the world's history. The allied fleet consisted of twenty-four Dutch and thirty-three English ships, carrying 3000 sailors and 6000 soldiers, and having besides fifty transports laden with ammunition and stores. The Spanish fleet had the four great galleons known as the four apostles, twenty or thirty great warships and fifty-seven well-armed Q 242 EFFECTS OF AMERICAN VRrTORY AT MANILA. Indiamen. One of the four Spanish galleons, called the St. Philip, was the wonder of the naval architecture of that day. She was 2000 tons burden, carried 82 brass cannons and had a crew of 1200 men. The other Spanish warships carried from 52 to I8 guns each. It was one of the most formidable fleets gathered up to that tine, and, as Motley says, might have discouraged the allies. But, worthy predecessors of the American fleet under Dewey, they dashed at once upon their prey. The engagement was brief. Two of the great Spanish galleons were captured, and the other two were run aground and burned. The rout was complete. The Spanish warships took refuge in the enclosed harbor of Cadiz, as Admiral Montijo's fleet did in the harbor of Manila. Thirty vessels of war of the highest class were burned, with all their equipment, 1200 cannon and arms for 6000 men were sunk to the bottom of the Bay of Cadiz, and at least one-third of all the ships owned by Philip II. were destroyed. It needed only thirty-six hours for the allies to accomplish this and capture the rich city of Cadiz also. So pleased was Queen Elizabeth with this performance of the allied fleet that she sent a letter of congratulation, written in her own hand, to the Dutch States General. Inefficiency of the Spanish Navy. This is one illustration of Spanish cowardice and incompetence on the water. A still more striking example was given about eleven years later. April 25, I607, a Dutch fleet of twenty-six vessels of small size but good sailing qualities, and commanded by Jacob van Heemskerk, found the Spanish fleet in the Bay of Gibraltar protected by the fortress on the rocks. The Spanish had ten galleons of the largest size, and, with lesser war-ships, twenty-one in all, and they were commanded by a veteran of the battle of Lepanto. In a speech to his men, which Admiral Dewey might have repeated word for word at Manila, the immortal Heemskerk said among other things: "I have led you into a position whence escape is impossible, but I ask of none of you more than I am prepared to do myself. Remember we are all sailors, accustomed from our cradles to the ocean, while yonder Spaniards are mainly soldiers and landsmen, qualmish EFFECTS OF AMERICAN VICTORY AT MANILA. 243 at the smell of bilge-water, and sickening at the roll of the waves. This day begins a long list of naval victories which will make our fatherland forever illustrious." No Better Fighter Now Than Then. The battle lasted from 3.30 o'clock until sunset, and ended with the utter rout of the Spaniards. Their whole fleet was either sunk, burned up or wrecked. Not a ship was left to the vanquished, and they lost besides at least 3000 men, the Bay of Gibraltar being sown with corpses. The Dutch did not lose a ship and had only Ioo men killed; but among these was their brave commander, Heemskerk, who lost his life early in the battle, and died asking no favor but that his fate might be concealed from the rest of the fleet. These are examples of Spanish naval defeats of which history tells. The crushing defeat the Spaniard received in Manila May Ist shows that he is no better fighter on the sea to-day than he was three hundred years ago. So far as personal bravery is concerned, no one doubts but the Spaniards possess this, as was proved at Manila, but bravery is not on the side of the weakest guns. When, on the other side, there are heavier guns and bravery that is just as daring and desperate, there can be but one issue. It is a common saying among Britons that their army never knows when it is whipped. Americans belong to the same Anglo-Saxon race, and have the same inborn valor and heroism. And there is no flag in the world which can command greater sacrifices or courage than the stars and stripes. This has been proved on land and sea-on waters reddened with blood and on scores of battlefields, where the prowess of the nation was put to the test and did not fail. CHAPTER XVI. Spain Ripe for Revolution. ESET by foes outside and slumbering over a volcano of insur. rection within, the condition of Spain after the American naval victory at Manila threatened the overthrow of the existing ministry and of the throne itself. Loud clamor against the government was heard on every side. The sittings of the Cortes were characterized by stormy scenes and the turbulence prevailing there extended to all the provinces. There was the best reason for the grave apprehensions which took possession of the Spanish people. It was thought that when the war broke out it would serve to unite all political parties and the nation would become a unit in feeling and purpose. All the factions were loud in proclaiming their patriotism and devotion to their country, but there were so many cross purposes and political intrigues that the kingdom had two wars on hand, one with itself and the other with America. Internal Dissensions. Such a spectacle could not be contemplated with satisfaction by any of the European powers that had sympathy for the Spanish people, or any hope of their success in the conflict already in progress. It was believed by many impartial observers that military rule would soon be inaugurated, and a dictator would be compelled to seize the reins of government. All efforts to quiet internal dissensions and unite the conflicting factions seemed to be unavailing. Under date of May Ioth, Senor Sagasta, the Premier, gave a frank expression of his opinions in an interview which was permitted to be made public. The Spanish statesman said: "The unfortunate events at Manila have saddened all Spaniards, but have not made them lose heart. We can say with confidence of this disaster that nothing has occurred to wound our pride. In the present juncture there is no time to lose. It is useless to debate. We 244 SPAIN RIPE FOR REVOLUTION. 245 must reserve all our strength and all our energy for to-morrow. Our first duty is to unite in order to vanquish our enemies and to uphold the honor of Spain. "I believed that the first cannon shot fired by the United States against our troops would be a signal for the union and the fraternity of all Spaniards, as all are equally affected by the assault of the United States. I was mistaken. Attempts have even been made to assail the monarchy, without their authors appearing to imagine for a moment that this is simply weakening the country, lowering the prestige of the flag, tending to the discouragement of the troops and the encouragement of our enemies. Complaint Against the United States. "The situation is very simple and, unfortunately, cannot be concealed. Spain is desolated and ruined by internal troubles. The United States have coveted Cuba for a long time, firstly, because it is an excellent strategic point; secondly, so as to be masters of the interoceanic trade. To attain their object they have literally hesitated at nothing. Now that the struggle has begun the Americans continue the same tactics. Instead of openly making war they encourage in every way the troubles in Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philippines, and if they could they would stir up an insurrection in the peninsula. The future is in the hands of God. None can foresee it." The Premier strangely misinterpreted the policy and purposes of the United States. It was the same complaint heard many times before, that our country was fomenting rebellion in the Spanish colonies and was greedy for territorial conquest, and this was the exact opposite of the truth. On the same date of Sagasta's singular statement it was announced at Madrid that the Cabinet Ministers had placed their portfolios in the hands of Senor Sagasta, the Premier, with the view of a probable reconstruction of the Ministry. The Queen Regent consulted with Senor Montero Rios, President of the Senate, who advised a reconstruction of the Cabinet. It was increasingly probable that the Cabinet would be re-formed, with Senor Gamnazo included, after the lower house 246 SPAIN RIPE FOR REVOLUTION. had adopted the indemnity bill. Senor Sagasta denied the rumor that Marshal Martinez Campos would replace Lieutenant-General Daban as Captain-General of Madrid. An impressive Mass was held in the Church of St. Joseph for the repose of the souls of those slain at Cavite. The church was filled with sailors in uniform. The Spanish Ministers of War and Marine, General Correa and Admiral Bermejo, declared they did not expect Manila to be attacked before the arrival of reinforcements for RearAdmiral Dewey from the United States. Orders to Resist to the Death. Orders were sent to General Augusti, the Governor-General of the Philippine Islands, to resist to the death any attack on Manila. Port Mahon, the capital of the Island of Minorca (Balearic Islands) was being prepared for possible attack upon the part of a United States squadron. The Spanish War Department reinforced the garrison there considerably. It was said that torpedoes were being planted in all the ports, and the artillery had been prepared for service. There was serious rioting at Linares, 23 miles from Jaen, on May gth. The mob assembled in front of the town hall, and finding the doors locked tore out the windows, swarmed into the building and threw everything movable into the streets. The civil guards intervened and a desperate struggle followed in the passages of the building. The rioters were finally driven out by the civil guards, who frequently fired into the mob. Some of the rioters procured guns and returned the fire. Twelve persons were said to have been killed and fifty wounded. As only sixty civil guards were stationed at Linares, the local forces were not considered strong enough to cope with the disturbance and reinforcements of troops were asked for. Later the mob made another attack on the town hall and drove out the civil guards. The rioters were well supplied with ammunition and kept up a galling fire, while shouts of "Down with the taxes " were raised on all sides. After forcing an entrance into the town hall the rioters pillaged the building, and subsequently they captured the residence of the tax collector by assault, They demos SPAIN RIPE FOR REVOLUTION. 247 lished everything in sight, stole 2, oo pesetas and a box of jewels, and attempted to set fire to the house. The bodies of the killed and the wounded persons were allowed to lie in the streets, the fusillade from the town hall being so incessant that it was impossible to rescue the wounded. While the fighting went on merchants, profiting by the confusion, introduced quantities of goods into the town without paying the duties. In fact the disorder in all Spanish provinces was alarming. Riots broke out at Cadiz and Alican, and the troubles spread to parts of the country which had hitherto been quiet. Martial law was proclaimed in the provinces of Albacete and Jaen. At Martos, nine miles from Jaen, men, women and children paraded the streets crying, " Death to the thieves." At Brones, near Seville, the riots assumed such proportions that the village priest was stoned to death. A state of siege was proclaimed in Catalonia. How Spain is Governed. It will be of interest to the reader in this connection to have a clear and concise account of the manner in which Spain is governed, of the existing parties, and the policy pursued towards the colonies. In the bright light of history it will appear that adventurers and pretenders have been more anxious to further their own selfish ends than to preserve the honor and integrity of the mother country. The kingdom of Spain constitutes what might be called the southwestern arm of Europe, where it reaches down and almost touches Northern Africa. It is a true peninsula, washed on three sides by the waters of the Mediterranean, the Bay of Biscay, and the Atlantic Ocean, and joined by a wide neck of land to France. The great Fort of Gibraltar, cut from the solid rock of its southern extremity, completely commands the entrance to the Mediterranean. It is, however, owned and garrisoned by Great Britain. Spain is a monarchy founded by the union of the houses of Aragon and Castile in the fifteenth century. She has been ruled intermittently by the houses of Aragon, Bourbon, Savoy, and Hapsburg for 40Q years, except once when Joseph Bonaparte was proclaimed king THE STRONGHOLD Or GIBRALTAR CAPTURED FROM SPAIN IN 1704. SPAIN RIPE FOR REVOLUTION. 249 by his brother, the Emperor Napoleon, and once when the country was a Republic during 1873 and 1874. The house of Bourbon is in power at present, although its supremacy is opposed by the Carlists, who claim a bar sinister interferes with the purity of the descent. The present King is Alfonso XIII, who was born in 1886, and whose mother, Maria Christina, is the Regent of the country. Constitutional Monarchy. The present Constitution of Spain was proclaimed in I876. It proclaims the Government to be a constitutional monarchy, the executive resting in the King, the power to make laws "in the Cortes with the King." The Cortes are composed of a Senate and a Congress equal in authority. There are three classes of Senatorsfirst, Senators by their own right secondly, Senators nominated by the Crown, and, thirdly, Senators elected by the corporations of State-that is the communal and provincial States, the Church, the universities, academies, and by the largest payers of contributions. Senators by their own right are the grandees of the kingdom, whose titles and possessions entitle them to the privilege. The Congress is formed by Deputies in the proportion of one to every 50,000 population. In 1878 Cuba was given the right to send deputies to the Cortes in the proportion of one to every 40,000 free inhabitants paying 125 pesetas in taxes yearly. The Constitution further enacts that the King is inviolable, but his ministers are responsible, and all his d^ —res must be countersigned by one of them. The Cortes must approve his marriage before he can contract it, and he cannot marry any one excluded by law from succession to the Crown. If all the lines become extinct the King would be elected by a t vote of the nation." After the King the reigns of government are guided by a President of the Council and Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Justice, Finance, the Interior, War, Marine, Agriculture, Commerce, and Public Works, and a Minister of the Colonies. Spain's area and population, as it is at the present time, is interest 250 SPAIN RIPE FOR REVOLUTION. ing, in view of the fact that once her possessions were greater than those of any other European Power. Her present area, including the Balearic and Canary Islands, each of which is considered a province, is I97,670 square miles. New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and all of the New England States combined, have an area of 162,065 square miles. Spain is, therefore, a trifle larger than these States. On the other hand, Texas has an area of 262,290 square miles, so that if Spain is 35,605 square miles larger than the States above named, Texas is, in its turn, 74,620 square miles larger than Spain. The population of Spain is estimated to be I7,650,234, about the same as that of the New England and Middle States named above. The Spanish Possessions. Besides the Canary and Balearic Islands, Spain holds the colonies of Cuba, area 41,655 miles, population before the war, 1,631,687; Porto Rico, area 3,500 square miles, population 806,708. Total area and population in America, 46,205 square miles and 2,438,395 per. sons respectively. Her possesions in Asia are the Philippine Islands, area 114,326 square miles, population 7,000,000; the Sulu Islands, area 950 square miles, population 75,000; the Caroline Islands and Palaos, area 560 square miles, population 36,000; the Marianne Islands, area 420 square miles, population 10,172. Total area and population in Asia, 116,256 square miles and 7,I21,I72 persons. Her possessions in Africa are Rio de Oro and Adrar, area 243,000 square miles, population ioo,ooo. Ifui (near Cape Nun), area 27 square miles, population 6,000; Fernando Po, Annabon, Corisco, Elobey and San Juan, area 850 square miles, population 30,000. Total area and population in Africa, 243,877 square miles and 136,00o persons. The total area of Spain's foreign possessions is 405,338 square miles. The total population is 9,695,567 persons. So that her foreign possessions have an area more than twice as large as her own, and a foreign population nearly half the size of her own. Of course, if she loses Cuba, her foreign area will be reduced one-ninth, and her foreign population, if the loss of garrison is considered, will be reduced nearly one-sixth,. SPAIN RIPE FOR REVOLUTION. 251 Census returns show that a very large proportion of the inhabitants of Spain are illiterate. Nearly 12,000,000 in the kingdom can neither read nor write. In the whole of Spain it was found that but 5,004,460 persons could read and write, 608,005 persons could read only, and yet Spain supports 24,529 public and 5,576 private schools. A law making education compulsory was passed in 1857, but it was never enforced, partly for political reasons and partly because of the wretched pay of the teachers-$5o to $1oo a year being a usual fee. In higher education Spain is not behind hand. She has ten large universities, carrying an enrollment of I6,oo0 students. Method of Raising Revenue. Spain gets its revenue by a system of direct and indirect taxation, stamp duties, Government monopolies, etc. Direct taxes are imposed on landed property, houses, live stock, commerce, registration acts, titles of nobility, mortgages, etc.; the indirect taxes came from foreign imports, articles of consumption, tolls, bridge and ferry dues. Her revenue for 1896 and '97 was ~30,771,450; her expenditures, ~30,456,584. She had besides this, however, an extraordinary expenditure of ~9,360,000. Her public debt is now over $I7,000,ooo,ooo, including over $350,,000000 incurred in Cuba. Spain is an agricultural country. In the early part of the century the country was owned by landed proprietors, who had acquired great tracts of land, but in recent years these tracts have been divided and have passed into the hands of small farmers and fruit-growers. The vine is the most important culture, but large quantities of oranges, raisins, nuts and olives are exported every year. Spain is rich in minerals, the annual value of her mineral exports being about ~6,640,000. She also manufactures cotton goods. She has nearly 70,000 looms. Her imports for I896-97 amounted to ~29,366,906. Her exports brought her in ~34,890,400. The most primitive conditions prevail in many parts of Spain, and in some portions life is almost as it was when Columbus traveled the country roads on foot leading his little son by the hand. This is due to the m'Cagre means of communication, there being but 7548 miles of rail, 252 SPAIN RIPE FOR REVOLUTION. way in the whole couutry. This is only 3.9 linear miles of road for every Ioo square miles of territory. New England alone has as many miles of railroad as has Spain, and her territory is not nearly as great. The same area as Spain picked out of the Upper Eastern United States has nearly 30,000 miles of road. But the people of Spain still adhere to their gayly caparisoned mules, which, perhaps, make up in worn-out romance what they lack in speed. The domination of the Catholic Church in Spain is almost absolute. Nearly the whole population adhere to that creed. Indeed, no other form of worship is allowed to be practiced publicly. The last census census showed 32,435 priests living in the 62 dioceses of the country. There are 1684 monks living in I6I monasteries, and 14,592 nuns living in 1027 convents; there are 65 cathedrals, 30 religious colleges, and 18,564 churches. Besides these there are over 11,OOO houses devoted to religious purposes. A restricted liberty of worship is allowed the Protestants, but it has to be kept very quiet, and no public announcement of the fact is permitted. The church dignitaries are supported by the state. Subject to Military Duty. Spain maintains a permanent army. She also has what is known as an active reserve and a sedentary reserve, each of which could be relied upon for support in time of war. Any Spaniard above the age of nineteen is liable to be called upon to serve in the permanent army for three years. From this part of the army the soldier passes to the active reserve for three years' service, and thence to the sedentary reserve for six years' service. By paying 1500 pesetas any one may escape service. The colonial army requires every able-bodied subject to serve eight years in the various reserves. Thus most of the king's subjects are militiamen, and it is estimated that in time of need Spain could easily mobilize an efficient army of I,083,595 men. The standing army numbers about 70,000 men, although recent levies make this number nearer IoO,OOO. Spain's navy is likewise capable. TYPES OF UNIFORM IN THE SPANISH INFANTRY. SPAIN RIPE FOR REVOLUTION. Most of her vessels have a normal speed of twenty knots, and several, notably the Viscaya and the Maria Teresa, exceed this rate. Spain also has a numerous fleet of torpedo boats, and torpedo-boat destroyers. Her fighting navy is manned by I00oo2 officers, 9,ooo marines, and I4,ooo sailors, besides about Iooo mechanicians of various kinds. This is, in fact, the army and this the navy which will protect the beautiful Spanish cities which have known less change since the days of the Moors than almost any other in Europe. Spain is not, after all, a modernized nation in the sense that other nations are modernized. Her people are governed by the spirit of Quixotism that caused Isabella to pledge her jewels so that Columbus might start westward; that caused Ferdinand and his consort to move their throne-chairs up to the very walls of the Moorish strongholds, that the example might incite the chivalrous bravely of their followers; that caused the houses of Urena and De Leon to pledge their estates that the Moors might be driven from the Alhambra. Monuments of Past Greatness. The memory of that period, the most romantic and brilliant in Spanish history, when half the world was theirs, never dies in their breasts, and it, more than anything else, would sustain them in a war of nations. This pride of race, however, is not what they would fight for. Out of the ruins of their past greatness have risen beautiful monuments-Madrid, the capital city, with its palaces and its 470,ooo worshippers of the ancient throne; Barcelona, with its quarter of a million, mostly eager for war, and blind to all but its romance; Malaga, with its Ioo,ooo, who daily have the remains of Moors to teach them what manner of fighters were their ancestors. Carthagena, Cadiz, Valencia, Seville and Granada, where memory stops, and the grotesques and arabesques of the great Moorish temple lift one out of the nineteenth century, and carry one back to the time when war in Spain meant honor, valor and glory. The impulsive character of the Spanish people accounts for the internal dissensions constantly at work, and these suddenly became SPAIN RIPE FOR REVOLUTION. 255 more active when war was declared by our Government. One of our army officers who returned to the United States, said: " I expected to hear of a revolution in Spain upon my landing here. When I left the country it was on the verge of a revolution. In fact, the revolutionists did make something of an outbreak, but they were suppressed. There are now in Madrid ten regiments of troops to put down a possible revolution. That might be done in Madrid, but should the revolution spread over the provinces they could hardly put it down. "The enlightened classes of Spain, so far as I could gather from the best sources, want a revolution. They want a change. They can't do any business as matters stand now. Which sort of government will come next in case of revolution? A republic, I think. The Spanish are not even enthusiastic for either the Queen Regent or Don Carlos, who are not Spanish. The army, of course, is for the Queen, because its officers hold good positions; but the army may not be able to maintain her throne. Unfortunately the masses of the people are not united. Agitating for a Republic. "No, I don't think the Spanish masses are prepared for a republic, but a few masterful hands are forcing it onward. If the revolution breaks out, it may originate in Barcelona, and the provinces outside of Madrid. The revolution, I believe, will come when the news of Spanish defeat spreads over Spain." The chief reliance of Spain when she rejected our Government's ultimatum was upon her navy, but navies do not quiet revolutions at home. It will be of interest to the reader to know the exact naval strength of Spain at the outbreak of hostilities. In noting the fighting efficiency of a navy it is not necessary to take into consideration all of the vessels borne upon the navy list. All wooden vessels and other obsolete craft may be counted out at once. So far as Spain is concerned the same is true of the large number of small gunboats which she possesses. They would cut no figure in the conflict, for the simple reason that if they ventured near enough 256 SPAIN RIPE FOR REVOLUTION. to our coast to receive any attention from us at all, they would be captured or sunk by much more powerful craft. But Spain is by no means without good fighting ships, or, to put it more accurately, ships which, judging from their size, speed, armor and battery power, should prove to be good fighters. It may be assumed, too, in the want of reliable evidence to the contrary, that Spain's war vessels are efficiently manned. Practically the fighting strength of the Spanish navy lies in the following named vessels: Armored-Modern battleship class, Pelayo; old fashioned broadside battleships, Vitoria and Numancia; cruisers, Infanta Maria Teresa, Almirante Oquendo, Vizcaya, Prlncessa Asturias, Carlos V., and Cristobal Colon. Unarmored-Alphonso XII., Alphonso XIII., Lepanto, Reina Christina, Reina Mercedes, Velasco, Conde Venadito, Don Antonio Ulloa, Don Juan de Austria, Infanta Isabel, Isabel II., Ensenada, Isla de Cuba, Isla de Luzon, Filipinas, Nuevo Espana, Galicia, Marquez de Molino, Martin Alonzo Pinzon, Rapido, Temerario, Vincente Yanez Pinzon, and Destructor. The Pelayo is really the only one of the lot that can be considered a modern battleship. Her displacement-9,9oo tons —is only about 1,300 tons less than that of the United States battleships of the Indiana class, but she fails to approach the latter vessels in effectiveness. She would not stand the ghost of a chance in a fight with the Indiana. Fine Naval Vessels. The Cristobal Colon and the Carlos are new and fine vessels, steel armored and carrying powerful batteries. The Carlos V. has two II-inch rifles, which fire projectiles weighing five hundred pounds, with a range of twelve and a half miles. She also has five 5-inch rapid-fire guns, which discharge seventy pound projectiles at the rate of twelve shots per minute. The Cristobal Colon is the equal of the Carlos V. The Numancia and Vitoria are old broadside battle ships, plated with wrought iron, and slow in speed. Neither would be a match for American vessels of the Miantonomoh class. !I On Csl I4 UNIFORMS OF SPANISH MARINES AND NAVAL OFFICERS. 258 SPAIN RIPE FOR REVOLUTION. The Numancia's length is 315 feet; beam, 56 feet; draught, 25 feet; displacement, 7,305 tons; speed, 8 knots; battery, eight Io-inch and seven 8-inch muzzle-loading Armstrong rifles and one 7.87-inch breech-loading rifle. The Vitoria's length is 318 feet; beam, 56 feet; draught, 25 feet; displacement, 7,250 tons; speed, I I knots; battery, eight 9-inch and three 8-inch muzzle-loading Armstrong rifles, and one 7.87-inch breech-loading rifle. The Maria Teresa, Vizcaya, Oquendo and Princessa Asturias are all formidable ships of about 7,000 tons displacement. Their length is 340 feet; beam, 65 feet; draught, 21 feet; speed, 20 knots; battery, two II-inch, ten 5.5-inch, eight 6-pounders and eight I-pounders. They have a 12-inch armor on their belts and conning towers and Io2 inches on the turrets for their largest guns. Spanish Fighting Ships. Of unarmored cruisers Spain has but two important vessels-the Alphonso XIII. and the Lepanto-alike in dimensions, though the Lepanto has a displacement of only 4,826 tons, against the other's 5,000 tons. The Reina Christina has a displacement of 3,520 tons; speed, I7f knots; battery, six 6.34-inch, two 9-pounders, three 6-pounders and eight 3-pounders. The Alphonso XII. and the Reina Mercedes are of 3,000 tons displacement and I17 knots speed. Their batteries are the same as the Reina Christina. From the 3,ooo-tonners there is a long drop-down to 1,152 tons in the Velasco. She has a speed of I4.3 knots, and a battery of three 6-inch Armstrong guns and two 2.76-inch breech loaders. Then follow five I,I30-ton gun-boats, from the Conde de Venadito down to the Infanta Isabel, inclusive. Then three similar gun-boats of I,030 tons. Then a miscellaneous list of nine torpedo gun-boats, ranging in displacement from 750 to 458 tons. Some of these craft might be available as torpedo boats, but in general they would add little to the fighting strength of the Spanish navy. CHAPTER XVII. Stirring Events of Naval Warfare. FTER Admiral Dewey's superb victory at Manila public attention was turned toward the operations of our navy in the waters of Cuba and Porto Rico. While no general engagement was fought on land or sea for a considerable period of time, owing to the fact that the Spanish fleet, which had sailed from Cape Verde, had not yet arrived in the Caribbean Sea, yet there were some naval skirmishes and some operations on the part of Admiral Sampson's fleet, which were considered to be important. One of these engagements took place inside the harbor of Cardenas on the northern coast of Cuba twenty miles east of Matanzas. The gunboat Wilmington, the torpedo boat Winslow and the gunboat Hudson were the only vessels engaged. They entered the harbor for the purpose of attacking some Spanish gunboats which were known to be there. These latter, however, were not discovered by the American force until the Spaniards opened fire. The land batteries of Cardenas supported the fire of the Spanish gunboats. The engagement commenced at 2.05 P.M. and lasted for about an hour. Torpedo Boat in the Hottest of the Fight. The battle, while it lasted, was terrific. The Wilmington and the Hudson were ahead, and opened fire on the Spanish boats, which were lying at the docks. The firing began at a range of 3,500 yards. A few minutes later the Winslow came up and also opened fire. In an instant the entire attention of the Spanish gunboats and land batteries was directed upon her. From all sides shot and shell seemed to pour in upon the little torpedo boat. The Wilmington and the Hudson still kept up their fire, but they could not turn aside the terrible storm of fire and death pouring in upon the torpedo boat. The crew of the Winslow, however, never faltered for a second. At 2.35 P.M. a solid shot crashed into the hull 259 260 STIRRING EVENTS OF NAVAL WARFARE. of the Winslow and knocked out her boiler. In an instant she began to roll and drift helplessly. There was a moment of awful suspense. A fierce cheer of triumph went up from the Spaniards on the gunboats and in the batteries, and again a storm of fire was opened up on the helpless boat. The gunboat Hudson, which was lying near by, started to the assistance of the Winslow. She ran alongside the torpedo boat and tried to throw a line to the imperilled crew. Up to this time, with the exception of the one shot which disabled the boiler of the Winslow, the firing of the Spanish gunboats had been wild, but as the Winslow lay rolling l l UNITED STATES GUNBOAT WILMINGTON. in the water, the range grew close, and shells began to explode all about her. It was difficult for the Hudson to get near enough to throw a line to the Winslow's crew, so terrible was the fire all about her. Finally, after trying for about twenty minutes, the Hudson approached near enough to throw a line. Ensign Bagley and six men were standing in a group on the deck of the Winslow. "Heave her, heave her," shouted Bagley, as he looked toward the commander of the Hudson and called for a line. "Don't miss it,' shouted an officer from the Hudson, and with a smile Bagley called back: " Let her come. It's getting too hot here for comfort." STIRRING EVENTS OF NAVAL WARFARE. 261 The line was thrown and at the same instant a shell burst in the very midst of the group of men on board the Winslow. Bagley was instantly killed, and a few others dropped about him. Half a dozen more fell groaning on the bloodstained deck. One of the dead men pitched headlong over the side of the boat; but his feet caught in the iron rail and he was hauled back. Bagley lay stretched on the deck, with his face completely torn away, and the upper part of his body shattered. It was a terrible moment. --------------—. — ----..... —..- ^ ^^ HARBOR AND BAY OF CARDENAS-CUBA. The torpedo boat, disabled and helpless, rolled and swayed under the fury of the fire from the Spanish gunboats. When the shell burst in the group on board the Winslow, another wild shout of triumph went up from the Spanish boats and batteries, and again heavy fire was opened on the torpedo boat. Finally, the Hudson succeeded in getting a line on board the Winslow and was towing her out of the deadly range when the line parted and again both boats were at the mercy of the Spanish fire. At 3.50 P.M., the Hudson managed to get another line on the deck of the Winslow, but there were only three men left there at that time 262 STIRRING EVENTS OF NAVAL WARFARE. to make it fast. The line was finally secured and the Winslow was towed up to Pedras Island, where she was anchored with her dead and wounded on her decks. Some men from the Hudson went on board the Winslow and took the most seriously wounded men off. Three who were taken on board the gunboat Machias died there shortly afterwards. The Hudson, with the dead bodies and some of the wounded, started for Key West, arriving there the following morning. Commander Bernadou, of the Winslow, was wounded in the left leg, but not seriously. Lieutenant Bernadou, with the surgeon bending over him, told the story of the battle as calmly as if talking of the weather. He began: Five Men Killed and Many Injured. " We went under full speed to attack the Spanish boats in the harbor, and you know the result. We went under orders from the commander of the Wilmington. Our boat is badly damaged, but the will be brought here for repairs, and I think she will be ready for service again in two weeks. The Winslow was the worst injured, and had five of her men killed and I don't know how many injured. We were ordered to attack the Spanish gun-boats at Cardenas. We steamed in under full head, and were fired upon as soon as we were in range. The Spanish boats were tied up at the docks, and had a fair range on us. The batteries on the shore also opened on us, and I think we received most of the fire. I don't know whether any one was hurt on the Wilmington or on the Hudson, but I think not. I have no fault to find with the Winslow's crew. They acted nobly all the way through. The men who were killed all fell at the same time. We were standing in a group, and the aim of the Spanish was perfect. The shell burst in our very faces." The dead and wounded brought to Key West by the Hudson were taken in small boats to the government dock. This was the first news of the engagement. No time was lost in ministering to the wounded. A quick call was sent to the Marine Hospital, and an ambulance came clattering down to the dock. The dead were taken to STIRRING EVENTS OF NAVAL WARFARE. 263 an undertaker's shop, and the wounded were conveyed to the hospital. In the meantime, the news had spread, and crowds gathered about the dock, but there was no sort of a demonstration. The success of the American ships in every action thus far had been so overwhelming that it was hard to realize that death had at last come to some of our men. While the fleet was stationed at Key West, Ensign Bagley was one of the most popular men in the service. The news of his death came as a terrible shock to all who knew him. It has always been a foregone conclusion that the torpedo-boat men would be among the first to fall, as their work is most dangerous; but in spite of this, when changes in assignments were frequently made, all the young men of the service were eager for torpedo-boat duty. The Hudson showed the effect of the fight. Her smoke stack was punc- THE LATE ENSIGN WORTH BAGLEY tured with bullet holes, Killed a' Cardenas. and her cabin and decks were smashed and splintered in the fray. Ensign Bagley was a native of Raleigh, North Carolina, was highly connected and respected by all who knew him. His funeral was attended in his native town and was the occasion of a great public demonstration. It was noted that he was first to lose his life in the war with Spain, and every mark of respect was shown to him and the other brave men who fell with him on the ill-fated Winslow. The next engagement of any importance occurred on the same date as the foregoing, May IIth, in an attempt to cut the cables in Wlle harbor of Cienfuegos, on the southern coast of Cuba. 264 STIRRING EVENTS OF NAVAL WARFARE. Lieutenant C. M. R. Winslow, of the Nashville, who was in command of the expedition,ws wounded in the left hand. The Marblehead, Nashville and WSiF were detailed to do the perilous work. Cienfuegos is situated some distance back from the sea in a harbor which winds and twists about between high hills, completely obscuring it from ships standing out at sea. Near the mouth of the harbor the land is low for some distance back from the coast, and then there is a sudden rise-a sharp bluff towering up and covered with trees. The low land is covered with tall grass and underbrush. The cable house, which the Americans desired to destroy, was located within a few feet of the water. Not far from this on one side was a lighthouse, and on the other side an old block house, or lookout, such as the Spanish built in former years all along the coast to intercept filibustering expeditions. It was the plan of the Americans to send out the small boats from the ships, and, proceeding close to the shore, pick up the cables with grappling irons and cut out sections of sufficient length to prevent the possibility of mending them by reuniting the severed ends. Great Bravery in the Face of Danger. When daylight came the three war-ships were in position a short distance out from the shore. With the first rays of light the lookouts began to scan the shore, and it was soon discovered that the Spaniards were expecting them and evidently knew the mission of the ships. Rifle-pits were plainly distinguished at the water's edge and commanding a cruel rake over the point where the cable was supposed to be and where the Americans would have to go in their small boats. Rapid-fire guns and small cannon could be seen. Squads of infantry swarmed like insects upon the shore. Groups of cavalry were constantly racing up and down a dusty white path that led from the shore to the hill top. All this the men saw, but as if the shore were a desert the boats were lowered, the implements were put in and the perilous work was begun. The little flotilla that did the hazardous work consisted oi two small launches, two steam launches and half a dozen ordinary STIRRING EVENTS OF NAVAL WARFARE. 265 rowboats, carrying the men who did the work. The launches were armed with machine guns, and were designed to do what they could in protecting the men in the small boats as they worked, and tow them back to the ships in case the men were so badly disabled that they were unable to use the oars. With steady nerves and strong arms the sailors pulled directly in shore toward the cable house. On they went until they could see the faces of the Spanish soldiers peering out from behind the buildings and over the rifle pits. They knew it was only a matter of minutes when fire would be opened upon them. But the regular swing of the oars did not falter. At last, a point within Ioo feet of the cable house was reached. They were within 200 feet of the rifle pits where the Spaniards were lying. Lieutenant Winslow stood up in the boat and gave the command for the men to throw out the anchor, and begin grappling for the cable. Calmly as if trolling for fish the men began to work with the grappling hooks. All this time the men on ADMIRAL SAMPSON. the Nashville, Marblehead and Windom stood at their guns, ready to rain shot and shell upon the shore the moment the first puff of smoke was seen to come from the rifle pits. Men in the boats bent to their work, and at last one of the grappling hooks caught something a few inches below the soft white sand, and the arms of two strong sailors soon brought the cable into view. Then came the first shot. It was just a flash, a sharp snap, a singing over the heads of the sailors, and a splash in the water beyond. There was no white puff from the shot. The Spaniards were using smokeless powder; but it was the signal for the opening of a deadly fire upon the men in the boats. 266 STIRRING EVENTS OF NAVAL WARFARE. This was promptly answered by the guns on the ships. A hurricane of shells shrieked and hissed above the heads of the sailors in the boats, and tore to fragments the earth where the Spaniards were crouching and hiding. Again and again the guns roared from the ships. Again and again the great clouds of dust and debris flew skyward on the shore. Another mighty crash from the Nashville, and the cable house flew into the air, torn into numberless fragments. Another crash from the Marblehead, and the block house was in ruins. Then this iron storm swung around and swept the hillside. It shattered the rocks and trees. It ploughed great furrows in the soft sand. It drove a throng of panic-stricken men rushing and raving for shelter. Then it lowered again like the rays of a mighty searchlight, and raked and riddled the rifle pits. But there came a moment's pause in the awful bellowing from the ships, and that moment was a fatal one. From a hundred different points came the fire from the Spanish rifles, and eight brave men sank down in the boats. Two were dead and six were wounded. The Cables Were Out. But the Spaniards were too late. Already one cable had been hauled up and I50 feet cut out of it. This was the cable that ran to Batabana, and connected with Havana. It was slow, laborious work. The heavy cables had to be hauled up across the small boats, and then, by slow degrees, the tough steel wires were hacked off with axes, chisels and saws. After the volley had been fired by the Spaniards, the men transferred the dead and wounded to another boat, and began looking for the othei cable which ran east to Santiago. This was soon found, and again, under the canopy of shot and shell from the ships, they worked bravely on until a section of eighty feet had been taken from that one. When our ships first opened fire on the shore it was the intention to allow the lighthouse to remain standing; but when the Spaniards poured their fire in upon the boats the men on the Marblehead discovered that a large number of shots had come from the lighthouse. STIRRING EVENTS OF NAVAL WARFARE. 267 The guns of the cruiser were at once trained upon the building. The marksmanship was marvellous. First the small house about the base of the tower was literally torn to atoms, and then, like an axeman cutting down a tree, one of the great guns of the ship, with shot after shot, bit off the great tower at the top. This was done at a range of I,ooo yards, with a heavy sea rolling. It was just seven o'clock in the morning when the perilous work began, and it was fifteen minutes after ten o'clock when the boats were again hauled up with the dead and the living heroes to the decks of the ships. The forts of San Juan at Porto Rico were bombarded by Admiral Sampson's fleet on the morning of May I3th. The enemy's loss was believed to be heavy. The American loss was two men killed and seven wounded. After three hours' firing the Admiral withdrew the fleet and, heading for Key West, he said: " I am satisfied with the morning's work. I could have taken San Juan, but I have no force to hold it. I came for the Spanish fleet and not for San Juan." Wild Firing by Spanish Gunners. The ships taking part in the action were the Iowa, Indiana, New York, Terror, Amphitrite, Detroit, Montgomery, Wampatuck and Porter. The enemy's firing was heavy but wild, and the Iowa and New York were probably the only ships hit. They went right up under the guns in column, delivering broadsides, and then returned. The line passed thrice in front of the forts, pouring tons of steel on shore. It was impossible to judge the amount of damage done to the buildings and forts. They appeared to be riddled with shot, but the Spaniards were plucky. The after turret of the Amphitrite got out of order temporarily during the engagement, but she banged away with her 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 the Wampatuck also stayed out of range. The officers and men of all the ships behaved with coolness and U 2 Cl) t-4 19 0 H FCl FCl H w we 268 STIRRING EVENTS OF NAVAL WARFARE. 269 bravery. 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. All were hurt by splinters and a fire was started in the boat, but was quickly extinguished. 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 splinters, which injured three men. The Iowa was hit eight times, but the shells made no impression on her armor. The Bombardment Begins. At three o'clock in the morning all hands were called on the Iowa; a few final touches in clearing ship were made, and at five o'clock "general quarters" sounded. The men were eager for the fight. The tug Wampatuck went ahead and anchored, her 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 her 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 she 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 and concentrating on the Detroit, which was about seven hundred 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 to, the blood was washed away and everything proceeded like target practice. 270 STIRRING EVENTS OF NAVAL WARFARE. At 7.45 A.M. Admiral Sampson signalled "Cease firing." " Retire" was sounded on the Iowa and she headed from the shore. The Terror was the last ship in the line and, failing to see the signal, banged away alone for about half an hour, the concert of shore guns roaring at her and the water flying high around her from the exploded shells. But she appeared to possess a charmed life and reluctantly retired from the fight at 8.15. _ P 01, 0 40 0"p~~`, 4""A/ % /* 00 $5 -~z I CI Is or.1 A it 4* PI &.0.rl CIA.I.,.- _._ __. ~ - ~ ----- - - _... _ —: ----ir _ TOWN AND FORTIFICATIONS OF SAN JUAN. San Juan is the principal town of Porto Rico. The island is traversed from east to west by a mountain range dividing it into two unequal portions, by far the largest slope being on the north, so that the rivers on that coast are much the longer. From this chain several branches diverge toward the north coast, giving it a rugged appearance. Part of the main range is called Sierra Grande or Barros; its northeast spur is known as the Sierra de Loquilla, and that on the northwest as the Sierra Laree. The most of the population is located on the lowlands at the sea STIRIING EVENTS OF NAVAL WARFARE. 271 front of the hill. For lack of roads the interior is accessible only by mule trails or saddle paths, and it is covered with vast forests. There are interesting caves in the mountains, those of Aguas Buenas and Ciales being the most notable. Rivers and brooks are numerous, forty-seven very considerable rivers having been enumerated. There are short and rapid slopes, which are steep and abrupt. The mountains intercept the northeast trade winds blowing from the Atlantic, and wring their moisture from them so that the rainfall of the northern section is very copious. South of the mountains severe draughts occur and agriculture demands irrigation, but such work is unsystematically carried on. Natural Resources of Porto Rico. The principal minerals found in Porto Rico are gold, carbonates and sulphides of copper, magnetic oxide of iron in large quantities. Lignite is found at Utado and Moca, and also yellow amber. A large variety of marbles, limestones and other building stones are deposited on the island, but these resources are undeveloped. There are salt works at Guanica and Salinac on the south coast, and at Cape Rojo on the west, and this constitutes the principal mineral industry in Porto Rico. Hot springs and mineral waters are found at Juan Diaz, San Sabastian, San Loronzo and Ponce; but the most famous is at Coamo, near the town of Santa Isabel. The climate is hot, but much alleviated by the prevailing northeast winds. A temperature as high as 117 degrees Fahrenheit has been recorded, but it seldom exceeds 97 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade during the hottest hours; at night it sinks to 68 or 69 degrees. The rainy season lasts from August to December, and the rainfall is at times so copious north of the mountains as to inundate cultivated fields and produce swamps. The rainfall for I878 was eighty-one inches. Its mean annual average is sixty-four and one-half inches. The prevailing diseases are yellow fever, elephantiasis tetanus, marsh fever and dysentery. Porto Rico is unusually fertile, and its dominant industries are agricultural and lumbering. In elevated regions the vegetation of the 272 STIRRING EVENTS OF NAVAL WARFARE. temperate zone is not unknown. There are more than 500 varieties of trees found in the forests, and the plains are full of palms, orange and other trees. The principal crops are sugar, coffee, tobacco, cotton and maize; but bananas, rice, pine apples and many other fruits are important. The wild dog is the most predacious quadruped on the island, and he chiefly attacks pigs and calves. Mice are a pest, but they are kept down by the natural enemy, the snakes, which reach a length of from HARBOR OF SAN JUAN-PORTO RICO. six to nine feet. Numerous species of ants and bees are found as well as fireflies. They fly at times in great masses, producing weird and splendid effects in the tropical nights. Poultry is abundant, and the seas and rivers are full of the finest of fish. Railways are in their infancy, and cart roads are deficient. Telegraphic lines connect the principal towns, while submarine cables run from San Juan to St. Thomas and Jamaica. Porto Rico was sighted by Columbus on November i6, 1493. Three days later he anchored in the bay, the description of which torresponds to that of Mayagues. In 1510 and 1511 Ponce de Leon visited the islands and founded a settlement and gave it the name of STIRRING EVENTS OF NAVAL WARFARE. 273 San Juan Bautista. The island has had many vicissitudes at the hands of the enemies of Spain in times of war, especially the Dutch and English. Buccaneers and pirates harassed its coasts and plundered the people during a large part of the eighteenth century. Landings were effected by the English in 1702 at Arecibo, in I743 at Ponce and in I797 at the capital, but each time they were repulsed by the Spaniards. An attempt of the people to obtain independence after three years of turbulence was frustrated in 1823. As to the Spanish administration of the islands it differs but little, if at all, from that imposed upon Cuba, and what this is may be inferred from the impoverished condition of the people in all parts of the island. Buildings and Fortifications. The capital of the province is San Juan Bautista. It is located on the small island of Morro, now connected with the main land by the San Antonio bridge. The district of its name contains 27,000 inhabitants. On the western end of the island Ponce de Leon built the Governor's Palace, enclosed within the Santa Catalina fortifications, where also are the cathedral, town house, and theatre. This portion of the city is now called Pueblo Viejo. It is an Episcopal See subordinate to the Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba. There are two street railroads and also railways to Ponce and to other places. Its principal exports are sugar, coffee and tobacco. The houses are of stone, usually one-story high, and have roof gardens from which fine marine views may be enjoyed. Almost every house has a garden in its patrio or court. According to the latest Spanish statistics, obtained at the bureau of the Philadelphia Commercial Museum, the importations into Porto Rico during I896 amounted to $I8,945,793, and the exports to $17,295,535. While naval operations were going on in the Caribbean Sea public comment was largely concerned with our remarkable victory at Manila, and Admiral Dewey's gallant exploit made him the hero of the hour. His achievements were celebrated by badges, buttons and all sorts of emblems, as well as in spirited songs and poems, of which the following is worthy of reproduction. It is entitled s STIRRING EVENTS OF NAVAL WARFARE. Remember the Maine. Dewey! Dewey! Dewey! Is the hero of the day. And the Maine has been remembered In the good, old-fashioned wayFhe way of Hull and Perry, Decatur and the restWhen old Europe felt the clutches Of the Eagle of the West; That's how Dewey smasled the Spaniard In Manila's crooked bay, And the Maine has been remembered In the good, old-fashioned way. Dewey! Dewey! Dewey I A Vermonter wins the day! And the Maine has been remembered In the good, old-fashioned way. By one who cared not whether The wind was high or low As he stripped his ships for battle And sailed forth to find the foe. And he found the haughty Spaniard In Manila's crooked bay. And the Maine has been remembered In the good, old-fashioned way! Dewey! Dewey! Dewey! He has met the Don's array, And the Maine has beer remembered In the good, old-fashioned way — A way of fire and carnage, But carnage let it be, When the forces of the tyrant Block the pathway of the free! So the Spanish ships are missing From Manila's crooked bay, And the Maine has been remembered In the good, old-fashioned way! Dewey! Dewey! Dewey! Crown with victor wreaths of MayFor the Maine has been rememlered In the good, old-fashioned way; A nd flags that wave triumphant In far off tropic seas, With their code of symboled color Fling this message to the breeze: "We have routed all the Spaniards From Manila's crooked bay, And the Maine has been remembered In the good, old fashioned way." CHAPTER XVIII. The Battle of Santiago. HE Spanish fleet, under command of Admiral Cervera, arrived at Santiago and entered the harbor on May I9th. Here it was soon after discovered by Commodore Schley, who blockaded with his ships the mouth of the harbor, preventing the escape of the Spanish squadron. Definite informration to this effect was sent by the Commodore to the Navy Department at Washington on the 30th. Much anxiety had been felt for the safety of the battleship Oregon. which had been ordered from San i Francisco to Key West, in order to join Admiral Sampson's fleet. The vessel arrived on May 26th, having sailed 14,000 miles without any accident; and her commander, Captain Clarke, reported that she was ready for action. The Captain was heartily congratulated upon his successful voyage and the fine COMMODORE W. S. SCHLEY. condition of his famous ship. On May 25th President McKinley issued a second proclamation, calling for 75,oo000 additional volunteers, for the purpose of throwing a strong force into Cuba and Porto Rico, and also to furnish General Merritt sufficient troops to enable him to occupy and hold the Philippine Islands. Meanwhile the troops that had been concentrated at various points were being drilled and equipped and made ready for acton. Considering that the Government at Washington, was quite unprepared for war when hostilities commenced, the expedition with which preparations were made was remarkable. Great activity per275 276 THE BATTLE OF SANTIAGO. vaded the War and Navy Departments, and strenuous efforts were made to accomplish the invasion of Cuba at an early date. By this time the long suspense occasioned by the difficulty of ascertaining what Admiral Cervera intended to do with his fleet was over, and it was definitely known that his vessels were entrapped in the harbor of Santiago. The government resolved to send troops at once to that point to aid the fleet in capturing the town. While it was known that the Spanish vessels were inside the harbor of Santiago it was considered impossible for our battleships to enter the harbor on account of mines which had been planted, and the formidable attack sure to be made by batteries on shore. The entrance to the harbor of Santiago is very narrow, and vessels are compelled at one point to go through a channel not much over three hundred feet wide. Here occurred on the morning of June 3d one of the most gallant acts recorded in the annals of naval warfare. Lieutenant Hobson, naval construcLIEUT. R. P. HOBSON. tor, on the flagship of Admiral Sampson, conceived the plan of blocking this narrow entrance by sinking the collier Merrimac, thus "bottling up" Cervera and his fleet. The reader will be interested in a detailed account of this remarkable exploit. When the Admiral's consent for making the daring venture was obtained, Mr. Hobson became impatient of all delay, and that very night, after the moon went down, he set the time for the attempt. Volunteers were called for on all the ships of the fleet. Whole cheering crews stepped forward at the summons for the extra-hazardous duty. About three hundred on board the New York, one hundred and eighty on board the Iowa, and a like proportion from the other chips THE BATTLE OF SANTIAGO. 277 volunteered, but Mr. Hobson decided to risk as few lives as possible. He picked three men from the New York and three from the Merrimac. The latter were green in the service, but they knew the ship and had pleaded hard to go, and one man stowed away on board the collier. Six other men selected from various ships, with Ensign Powell in command, manned the launch, which was to lie at the harbor mouth and take off those who escaped. The Merrimac was made ready. Six torpedoes were strung along her port side, with wire connections to the bridge. Her anchors were lashed at the bow and stern. Her cargo of coal was shifted, and her cargo ports were opened so that she would more readily fill when the time came to cut her anchor lashings, open the seacocks and torpedo her bulkheads. A Critical Moment. The work was not completed until after four o'clock Thursday morning; but. with the sky paling in the east, Mr. Hobson headed in on his desperate mission. On board the ships of the fleet picketed about the entrance every officer and man, with many warm heart beats for their brave comrades, awaited the issue, with eyes anxiously fixed on the jutting headlands that marked the entrance of the harbor. But as the Merrimac steamed forward Rear Admiral Sampson, pacing the deck of the flag-ship, looked at his watch and at the streaks in the east, and decided that the Merrimac could not reach the entrance before broad daylight. Consequently the torpedo boat Porter, which was alongside, was despatched to recall the daring officer. Mr. Hobson sent back a protest, with a request for permission to proceed. But the Admiral declined to allow him to take the risk, and slowly the Merrimac swung about. During the day Lieutenant Hobson went aboard the flagship. So absorbed was he in the task ahead of him that, unmindful of his appearance and of all ceremony and naval etiquette, he told the Admiral in a tone of command that he must not again be interfered with. u1NIFORMS OF UNITED STATES MARINES AND NAVAL OFFICERS. THE BATTLE OF SANTIAGO. 279 "I can carry this thing through," said he, " but there must be no more recalls. My men have been keyed up for twenty-four hours and under a tremendous strain Iron will break at last." When Mr. Hobson left the ship and the extended hands of his shipmates, more than one of the latter turned hastily to hide the unbidden tear. But the Lieutenant waved them adieu with a smile on his handsome face. The Merrimac started in shortly after three o'ciock Friday morning. The full moon had disappeared behind a black cloud-bank in the west. Three thousand strained eyes strove to pierce the deep veil of [ night. Suddenly there were several shots from the rocky eminence on which Morro Castle is situated. They were followed by jets and streams of fire from the batteries opposite. The Merrimac had reached the entrance of the harbor. She must have passed so close that a stone loosened from the frowning parapet of the Castle would have fallen on her deck. It seems a miracle that her apparently riddled ' hull could have reached the goal. After /\\ A- five minutes the firing ceased and all became dark again. J. W. POWvELL AS A CADET. When the curtain of the night was at last lifted the light disclosed a tiny steam launch riding the waves at the very throat of the entrance of the harbor. In an instant the guns of the shore batteries were turned upon her, and, with a last lingering, vain look for the crew of the Merrimac, Ensign Powell headed his launch close along shore to the westward. In this lay his salvation. The guns of the batteries to the westward could not be depressed enough to hit the little launch, and the guns on Morro Castle would not bear upon her. But the Spaniards, nevertheless, fired wildly, overshooting the 280 THE BATTLE OF SANTIAGO. launch, until the latter was fully two miles up the coast. Then some of the shells began to drop fairly close, and one of them threw a cloud of spray on board the small craft. In the meantime the ships of the fleet had drawn on until the New York, Massachusetts, Texas and Marblehead were barely three miles from Morro Castle. HARBOR AND FORTIFICATIONS OF SANTIAGO. The star shows where the Merrimac was sunk. The fire of the great guns continued, but the gunnery seemed to grow worse, until the Spaniards became tired. They were not rash enough, except in two instances, to fire at the fleet, fearing probably to provoke an antagonist with the strength of Admiral Sampson. Knowing Hobson's desperate plan, the despatch boat had taken up a position opposite the narrow harbor entrance and just outside the line of the blockading war ships. From here the Merrimac was seen entering the harbor. A few minutes later the fire of the Spanish batteries was seen to be concentrated westward close to the shore. There a tiny thread of smoke disclosed their target. It was the New York's launch which Ensign Powell had gallantly held close under Morro's walls until after daylight, when, driven out by the fire of the big guns, he had run far up the shore, under the partial cover of the bluffs and had turned and THE BATTLE OF SANTIAGO. 281 eventually boarded the Texas out of range. Then he passed the New York. The brave fellow was broken-hearted at not finding Hobson and his men. Lying closer in than the war ships, Powell had seen the firing when the Merrimac and her dare-devil crew, then well inside Morro Castle, were probably first discovered by the Spaniards. He also heard an explosion, which may have been caused by Hobson's torpedoes. The Ensign was not sure. He waited vainly, hoping to rescue the heroes of the Merrimac, until he was shelled out by the forts. The work, however, was done. The big vessel had been swung across the narrow entrance to the harbor, the torpedoes had been fired, the explosion had come, the great collier was sinking at just the right point; and her gallant crew, having jumped into the water to save their lives, were taken on board the flagship of the Spanish Admiral, who praised their bravery, and sent an officer under flag of truce to assure Admiral Sampson that the heroic band was safe and would be well cared for. Spanish chivalry was forced to admiration. Hobson's Daring Deed. Into the blackness of tropical night, Over the dark swelling water that lay With death in its bosom and fear in its sight, While cannon belched down on the horrible wayWithout tremor or sigh, O'er the mine laden deep Where the shark's dark fin gleams 'Twixt the rocks rising steep, Hobson sailed with his crew. Where guns' fiery tongues flashed piercing the wrack, Close followed Powell their perilous way, With eyes strained with love he looked out on the track, Perchance he may rescue and bear them away 1 When the dark shattered hulk 'Cross the channel has keeled, With the foe fast shut in And the great harbor sealed May they yet come back safe 282 THE BATTLE OF SANTIAGO. Back! there is only a flash in the gloom: The dim crown of fame death holds in his grasp — They won in that signal, a long thrilling boom, And over the water a silence has passed. O'er the bomb's fiery crest, Through the torrent of fires, For the flag that they loved And the home of their sires, They faced death with a smile. Deed that shall live while yet human hearts burn; Say, shall the youth that so matchlessly strove, Back to our longing hearts ever return, To wear the bright leaves of the laurels we wove? Shall the flag that they love Yet wave o'er them again, With its blue, starry field, For the dark bars of Spain, And we greet them once more? Furious Bombardment. On Monday, June 6th, the fortifications at Santiago were bombarded by the combined fleets of Admiral Sampson and Commodore Schley. 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. 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. Suddenly the Iowa fired a 12-inch shell, which struck the base of the Estrella battery and tore up the works. Instantly firing began from both Admiral Sampson's and Commodore Schley's columns, and a torrent of shells from the ships fell upon the Spanish works. The Spaniards replied promptly, but their artillery work was of a very poor quality, and most of their shots went wide. Smoke settled around the ships in dense clouds, rendering accurate aiming difficult. There was no manceuvering of the fleet, the ships remaining at their original stations and firing steadily. THE BATTLE OF SANTIAGO. 283 Previous to the bombardment orders were issued to prevent firing on Morro Castle, as the American admirals had been informed that Lieutenant Hobson and the other prisoners of the Merrimac are confined there. In spite of this, however, several stray shots damaged Morro Castle somewhat. Commodore Schley's line moved closer m 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 the 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 Batteries Silenced. The Brooklyn closed to 800 yards, and then the destruction caused by her guns and those of the Marblehead and Texas was really aw ful. 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 Cave battery in quick order, and then shelled the earthworks located higher up. The firing of the fleet continued until IO o'clock, when the Spanish fire ceased entirely, and Admiral Sampson hoisted the " cease firing" signal. On the night following the bombardment Admiral Sampson's gallant gunners completely wiped out the Spanish torpedo-boat destroyer Terror, off Santiago harbor. The whole fleet participated in the affair, and the Terror was riddled with shot and sunk in a very short time. The Texas discovered the Terror and gave the alarm to all the other American ships. The destruction of the Spanish vessel was accomplished in a few minutes, so terrible was the fusillade from the American ships. The torpedo-boat destroyer was discovered by the Texas's lookouts. Just as the despatch boat was about to leave Admiral Sampson's fleet to carry the news of the Santiago bombardment, the Terror came within range of the Texas's searchlight. Immediately there was a call to quarters. The Texas gave the signal to the whole fleet, 284 THE BATTLE OF SANTIAGO. which at once flashed their searchlights on the enemy. A terrific cannonading began. The Terror was sunk in a remarkably short time. On June 7th, five American warships appeared off the entrance to the Bay of Guantanamo just as the rising sun began to redden the horizon. With the Marblehead in the lead, the little squadron sailed into the bay and proceeded to a position which commanded the cable house, under the guns of the Spanish fortifications. While the MarGUANTANAMO BAY AND CAIMANERA. blehead, the St. Louis, and the Yankee formed in battle order before the forts and opened fire, the little gunboats darted out from the line and began to grapple for the cable. The fire from the cruisers was rapid and well directed, and was replied to with vigor by the Spanish. All the men on board the warships worked with enthusiasm, the New York Naval Reserves on board the Yankee earning their share of laurels at the guns. The bombardment continued until the gunboats cutting the cables had concluded their labors. This was at two o'clock in the afternoon. The fleet then sailed out of the bay and took up a position about three miles from shore. THE BATTLE OF SANTIAGO. 285 The shells from the warships early began to tell on the fortifications, from which the fire became weaker and weaker. One battery after another was silenced, until finally not a shaft of fire or balloon of smoke issued from the face of the forts to tell of continued resistance. As the walls of the fortifications began to tumble upon them the Spanish gunners deserted their posts of duty and ran to the town, which was in a state of high excitement. With the silencing of the forts a still greater panic fell upon the residents of Caimanera, who feared the Americans would complete their work by destroying the town, and there was a general movement to places of safety After the cessation of firing from the forts, the fleet concentrated its fire upon the blockhouse, at which the cables of the French Cable and Telegraph Company land, and speedily demolished it. The cables which connect the block-house with Caimanera were cut. CHAPTER XIX. Achievements of General Shafter's Army. N the natural order of events we have now to chronicle the inva. sion of Cuba by United States troops. The naval engagements at Santiago, as already seen, resulted in a decided advantage to Admiral Sampson's fleet, the heavy guns of which made havoc among the fortifications and batteries on shore. The landing of eight hundred marines at Guantanomo secured a foothold which was intended to be of service when our infantry should arrive to capture the town of Santiago. The desultory warfare that had been going on decided nothing, except that our marines were possessed of splendid courage and our battleships were equal to the emergency. It was very difficult for Admiral Sampson to ascertain the exact number and condition of the Spanish ships in the harbor, and to obtain definite information he resolved to send some one to ascertain, if possible, the condition of the Spanish fleet and the num. ber of Spanish troops defending the town of Santiago. Courageous Exploit of Lieutenant Blue. The delay in the arrival of the transports at Santiago with troops was ascribed to a fear on the part of the authorities at Washington that all of Admiral Cervera's squadron might not be in Santiago harbor. Once for all, Admiral Sampson decided to settle this question officially, and on June I Ith he sent Lieutenant Victor Blue, of the gunboat Suwanee, to investigate. Lieutenant Blue landed on the same day and proceeded with guides to the hills overlooking the harbor and the city. He distinctly saw and definitely located four Spanish armored cruisers and two torpedo-boat destroyers. He saw also three small gunboats. The results of his expedition he reported to Admiral Sampson on the deck of the flagship New York. Lieutenant Blue traveled about seventy-two miles, following the eastward line of the city. He 286 — TPES OF UNIFORM IN THE UNITED STATES INFANTR TYPES OF UNIFORM IN THE UNITED STATES INFANTRY. 288 ACHIEVEMENTS OF SHAFTER'S ARMY. brought out to the flagship a copy of a Santiago paper issued June IIth, in which complaint was made that the navy and army were failing to distribute to the citizens their portions of the provisions remaining in the city. Lieutenant Blue's report definitely exposed the fiction that any of Cervera's cruisers were in the Bahamas or in a position to attack the transports, which were then confidently expected at an early date. Admiral Sampson complimented Lieutenant Blue upon his daring and successful mission. The lieutenant reported that skirmishing continued in the hills around Santiago between the Cubans and the Spaniards. The latter had been repairing the fortifications of the city, as it was expected that Admiral Sampson would renew the bombardment in anticipation of a possible arrival and landing of troops at an early date. An Unfounded Report. As a result of the daring exploit of Lieutenant Victor Blue, official knowledge was obtained at Washington of the presence of the four armored cruisers and two torpedo-boat destroyers, flying the Spanish fag, in the harbor of Santiago. This meant that there was absolutely no truth in the report officially communicated to the Navy Department from the blockading squadron that four Spanish vessels-one armored cruiser, two protected cruisers, and one torpedo-boat destroyer-had been sighted near Havana, apparently bound for a station where they could intercept the transports conveying troops from Tampa to Santiago. Coming, as the report did, from such a source and in such detail, the Naval Board placed credence in it, and it was admitted that the Board requested the War Department to delay the departure of the troops until the necessary steps could be taken to reinforce the convoy and to ascertain the position of the enemy's ships. To make assurances doubly sure regarding the number of Spanish ships in the harbor of Santiago, the Board instructed Rear Admiral Sampson to ascertain, by means of an officer or man of his squadron, what Spanish ships were lying in the harbor of Santiago. ACHIEVEMENTS OF SHAFTER'S ARMY. 289 The duty assigned to Lietenant Blue was dangerous, because the man engaged in the enterprise was, from a military point of view, a spy, and could be treated as such. The result of his dangerous work was set forth in this despatch, sent by the Admiral: "ST. NICHOLAS, Hayti, June 13, I898.-Lieutenant Blue just returned, after detour of seventy statute miles to observe in the harbor of Santiago. He reports the Spanish fleet all there. Spaniards attacked vigorously camp at Guantanamo. Outpost of four marines were killed and their bodies mutilated barbarously. Surgeon Gibbs killed." Lieutenant Blue's selection was as much due to his intrepidity as to his knowledge of Spanish gained as a result of his study at the Naval Academy and his cruise in South American waters. It was the understanding of the officials that Admiral Cervera was aiding the land forces in preparing to make as desperate a resistance as possible to the prospective attack from the American forces. While it was impossible to remove from the turrets of his ships any of the II-inch and 9.8-inch guns installed therein, some of the rapid-fire guns were removed and placed on shore, and it was understood that the ships were being put in such position that they could do the most effectual work against the American forces. Capture of a Spanish Camp. On June 14th the United States marines under Lieutenant-Colonel Robert W. Huntington, made their first aggressive movement against the Spanish guerrillas, and completely routed the enemy. The force of marines was under Captain Elliott, and co-operating Cubans were under Colonel Laborde. The marines behaved splendidly, the marksmanship being excellent, even under the severe fire of the enemy The captured camp lay about five miles southwest of the rifle-pits of the marines and was an important base for the enemy as it contained the only well within six or seven miles. Lieutenant-Colonel Huntington decided on the attack early in the day, and at about 8 o'clock the force started across the mountain. The march up and down the steep hillsides under the glaring tropical sun was a severe T 290 ACHIEVEMENTS OF SHAFTER'S ARMY. test of endurance for the marines, and before the battle-ground was reached twenty-two men had received medical attention. All were able, however, to reach the position before the fighting ceased. The marines were compelled to march in single file, following the mountain trail. Meanwhile the Cubans darted backward and forward, to right and left, on the scout. It was from a hill-top the Americans - --, —~~~ - -r- - -- --— ~ --- ---. _ asOh 4zoarj 44Q0 tw: uj DRrOLft AND4 IMJAEt6 SCENE OF NAVAL OPERATIONS IN THE ATLATIC OCEAN. SCENE OF NAVAL OPERATIONS IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN. caught sight of the Spanish camp lying on a ridge below them. It consisted of one large house, the officers' quarters, surrounded by numerous " shacks" and huts, all clustering about the precious well. The Americans began a cautious advance and were within two hundred yards of the enemy before the crack of a rifle from the Spanish lines announced that the Spaniards had discovered them. The troops quickly moved into line of battle, with the Cubans on the ACHIEVEMENTS OF SHAFTER'S ARMY. 291 left flank. The enemy's bullets were whirling viciously over the Americans, but the marines settled down to their work as unconcernedly as though at target practice. Very few Spaniards were in sight. They were lying behind the huts and in the brush, but the puffs of smoke revealed their positions and enabled the Americans to do effective work. For twenty minutes both sides maintained a terrific fire. The Spanish shots were generally wild and spasmodic, while the Americans coolly fired away, aiming carefully and shooting to kill. For the most part the Americans' firing was done individually, but at times the officers would direct firing by squads, always with telling effect The Enemy Routed. It was beginning to look as though a bayonet charge down the slope would be necessary to dislodge the enemy, when suddenly the latter began to break for a thicket a hundred yards further on. Little groups could be seen fleeing from the camp, separating, darting through the brush and zigzaging to escape the bullets. It was then the American fire became most deadly. Man after man could be seen to fall in a vain rush for shelter, and the fire from the Spanish became scattering and almost ceased. Two Cubans lay dead and four wounded. The easy victory put the command in high spirits. The little black Cuban warriors waved their machetes and howled curses at the Spanish in savage fashion. Their firing had been wild throughout, but they all displayed the utmost contempt for the Spanish bullets, apparently being absolutely without fear. As the enemy began breaking from the camp the Dolphin, which lay out at sea, was signaled, and began pitching shells toward the thicket for which the Spaniards were making. Meanwhile Lieutenant Magill was seen coming with forty men as reinforcements, and Captain Mahony was on the way with a hundred more, but before either could reach the scene the trouble was over. As the Spanish retreated the Americans moved slowly forward firing as they went, and by the time the camp was reached the enemy 292 ACHIEVEMENTS OF SHAFTER'S ARMY. had all got away, taking their wounded and probably many of their dead. Fifteen bodies were found scattered throughout the bush, but the Americans were unable to examine the spot where their firing had been most deadly. No time was lost in burning the buildings and filling the well with earth and stones. The Dolphin landed water and ammunition, as an attack was ex. pected on the return march, but none was made. Evidently the Spaniards were too thoroughly beaten to attempt further fighting. The marines did not reach the American camp until after nightfall, and as they had been without food since early morning, they were thoroughly exhausted. Throwing Shells of Dynamite. Three shells, each containing two hundred pounds of gun cotton, were fired, on the night of the I4th, from the dynamite guns of the Vesuvius at the hill at the western entrance to Santiago harbor, on which there is a fort. It was the first test of a dynamite cruiser in actual warfare. The frightful execution done by those three shots will be historic. Guns in that fort had not been silenced when the fleet drew off after the attack that followed the discovery of the presence of the Spanish fleet in the harbor. In the intense darkness of the night the Vesuvius steamed in to close range and let go one of her mysterious missiles. There was no flash, no smoke. There was no noise at first. The pneumatic guns on the little cruiser did their work silently. It was only when they felt the shock that the men on the other war-ships knew the Vesuvius was in action. A few seconds after the gun was fired there was a frightful convulsion on the land. On the hill, where the Spanish guns had withstood the missiles cf the ordinary ships of war, tons of rock and soil leaped high in air. The land was smitten as by an earthquake. Terrible echoes rolled around and around through the shaken hills and mountains. Sampson's ships, far out to sea, trembled with the awful shock. Dust rose to the clouds and hid the scene of destruction. Then came a long silence; next another frightful upheaval, and fol ACHIEVEMENTS OF SHAFTER'S ARMY. 293 lowing it a third so quickly that the results of the work of the two mingled in mid air. Another stillness, and then two shots from a Spanish battery, that, after the noise of the dynamite, sounded like crackle of fire crackers. The Vesuvius had tested herself. She was found perfect as a destroyer. She proved that no fortificatiou could withstand her terrible missiles. The fort attacked was the most powerful of all guarding the harbor, mounting several modern guns. In the darkness the Americans could not distinguish the point at which the shells struck, but they were certain that the projectiles exploded very near to the fort, if they did not actually hit it. The effective work by the Vesuvius was followed a few hours later by equally good work by the New Orleans. Captain Folger, of the New Orleans, reported to Admiral Sampson that the Spaniards were emplacing new guns to the eastward of Morro Castle, and he was ordered to make an attack on the new defences. Furious Bombardment by the New Orleans. When dawn came the New Orleans took a position within threequarters of a mile of the new fortifications, and gave the Spaniards the hottest ten minutes they had experienced since the war began. The range was found at the first shot, and in a minute the crest of the hill was being swept by a hurricane of shells. In a few seconds the Spanish position was obscured by the smoke from the bursting missiles, but the aim of the New Orleans' gunners was magnificent. Every shell struck the top of the parapet, bursting over its defenders. The battery was silenced in three minutes, but the firing was continued until a signal of recall was hoisted on the flag-ship. The New Orleans was uninjured. Meanwhile our army was preparing to sail from Tampa. The scout ships that were sent out to ascertain if the report was true that four Spanish war ships were in the vicinity of Key West reported that no suspicious vessels could be found. Orders were immediately sent to Major-General Shafter to leave Tampa and proceed to Santiago by way of the Dry Tortugas. It was not the purpose of the 294 ACHIEVEMENTS OF SHAFTER'S ARMY. Government to stop the expedition at that place, but to simply have it met there by additional convoys and a despatch boat, and give General Shafter his final orders. The Santiago army consisted of 773 officers and I4,564 enlisted men. The United States regular troops made up the greater part of the force, there being but three volunteer organizations on the ships. It was difficult to prevail upon the mounted riflemen to leave their mounts behind, but this was a matter of necessity, owing to the lack of accommodations for the horses on shipboard. The best that the Department could do at this time in the way of supplying cavalry contingent for the expedition was to include among the troops one squadron of the Second United States cavalry mounted, with nine officers and two hundred and eighty enlisted men. Departure of Troops for Cuba. Captain Taylor, of the battle-ship Indiana, was in command of the naval fleet which accompanied the transport ships. Besides the Indiana one other battle-ship and first-class cruiser accompanied the leet. The other ships were lesser cruisers, gunboats and auxiliary craft. Five of the naval ships of the fleet first went to Port Tampa, while eleven remained off Key West. When the five war-ships and the thirty-two transports reached Key West, a junction was made with the eleven war-ships at that point, and the combined fleets started together. It was a magnificent marine procession. The war transports stretched out for several miles, according to a high naval official, although even this it is felt was short of the length which such a procession of transports would take, each being given adequate sea-room. The war-ships proper, headed by the majestic Indiana, stretched at least three-quarters of a mile. The actual embarkation of the troops began on Monday, June 6th. The work proceeded diligently for two days, when, after the departure of several vessels, an important order came calling a halt in the movement. The Castine was despatched at once to overhaul the disappearing vessels and recall them. They all came back but one, the City of Washington, which had outstripped the messenger ACHIEVEMENTS OF SHAFTER'S ARMY. 295 until the coast of Cuba was actually sighted. The alleged cause of the delay was the report that the Hornet, while out scouting, had sighted several Spanish vessels. General Miles and his staff went to Port Tampa to deliver parting instructions. During a heavy rain squall on the night of the 13th, while the transports were straining at their cables, the little tug UNITED STATES TROOPS LANDING TO CAPTURE SANTIAGO. Captain Sam steamed from ship to ship, megaphoning the order, "Stand ready to sail at daylight." Shortly after 2 o'clock the next morning, the funnels of the transports began to pour forth volumes of black smoke, and finally, 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 port holes to her top hats were waved in wild delight. The anchor was quickly 296 ACHIEVEMENTS OF SHAFTER'S ARMY. weighed, and the great vessel pointed her prow down the the bay. In a few minutes the City of Washington, Rio Grande, Cherokee, Iroquois and Whitney followed. General Miles, evidently becoming impatient, about noon embarked on the Tarpon 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. By the time the vessels had moved away darkness had enveloped the remaining ships, from whose sides glimmered long rows of lights. The Knickerbocker 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 blowing of whistles, followed.! Safe Landing of the Army. General Shafter and his staff were the last to leave. The last or. ders were handed to Lieutenant Miley, an aide of General Shafter, and immediately the flagship started. On June 22d, the army of the United States flung its standard to the breeze on Cuban soil. Hitherto the navy had had the honor of contesting a precarious position, a foothold upon the land dominated by the Spaniards, but the vanguard of Shafter's army, 3,000 strong landed at Baiquiri, seventeen miles east of Santiago, and there were signs of a more desperate struggle upon a larger scale than that of the gallant marines at Guantanomo. Careful preparations had been made both by General Shafter and Admiral Sampson to enable the landing to be made without serious casualties. The vanguard of the army landed under the protecting fire of the fleet, which extended its bombardment to Aguadores, Cabanas, Siboney and Juragua, well fortified places to the east and west of Santiago, which it was necessary to render harmless before the advance of the army to Santiago. Cabanas is two miles to the west of La Socapa fort, at the entrance to Santiago harbor. Siboney and Juragua are a few miles to the east ACHIEVEMENTS OF SHAFTER'S ARMY. 297 of Morro Castle, and Aguadores is between Morro Castle and Juragua. Baiquiri was chosen because it presented excellent facilities for landing so large a force, the harbor being deep and clear, it having been the landing-place of the Baiquiri Mining Company. General Calixto Garcia's Cubans co-operated with the fleet in the protection of the troops. A force of I,OOO of these dashing fighters under General DeMetrio Castillo rained a shower of Mauser bullets upon the Spanish, who were manning the land batteries of Cabanas and Aguadores. The sharp rattle of the Mauser rifles, the mighty crash of the heavy ordnance of the fleet, together with the steady lines of boats approaching the landing place discharging their cargo of troops, which immediately formed into orderly lines and marched into positions of defense, was an inspiring picture. Expert Spanish Gunners. The batteries bombarded had, according to Admiral Sampson, the very best gunners he had encountered along the Cuba coast, as was shown by their firing dangerously near to the landing troops. All day long there was a steady passage of men from the boats to the shore, and by nightfall the troops were in position to resist an attack in force. The first news of the landing was contained in the following despatch to the War Department at Washington: " Landing at Baiquiri this morning successful. Very little, if any, resistance. "SHAFTER." Secretary Alger expressed himself as delighted at the expedition with which the landing of the troops was being effected, and with the fact that no serious obstacle was being offered by the enemy. He construed the text of General Shafter's message to mean that the enemy had made merely a nominal and ineffective resistance by firing from the hills at long range. Shortly after Secretary Alger received his despatch, Secretary Long received a more extended cablegram from Admiral Sampson. The text of the despatch translated from the Navy Department cipher is as follows: 298 ACHIEVEMENTS OF SHAFTER'S ARMY. " Landing of the army is progressing favorably at Baiquiri. There is very little, if any, resistance. The New Orleans, Detroit, Castine, Wasp, and Suwanee shelled vicinity before landing. We made a demonstration at Cabanas to engage the attention of the enemy. The Texas engaged the west battery for some hours. She had one man killed. The submarine mines have been recovered from the channel of Guantanamo. Communication by telegraph has been established at Guantanamo. "SAMPSON." Activity of Cuban Patriots. While the landing was going on, several transports proceeded westward twelve miles, and troops were landed to co-operate directly with the Cuban forces marching upon the doomed city in that direction. From hills back of Santiago nine hundred Cubans appeared and harassed the enemy. Two bodies of Spaniards were driven from the hills in this direction back upon Santiago. This was only done after a desperate fight, in which twenty-five Spaniards were killed and twice that number wounded. The Spaniards had plenty of ammunition, but showed the effects of the terrible strain they must have been under since the appearance of the American troops. Admiral Sampson gave orders that the Texas, Massachusetts and Oregon should maintain a steady fire upon the batteries on each side and back of Morro Castle. He also ordered Captain McCalla to keep the Marblehead busy at Guantanamo during the day. Cubans who came out of Santiago reported that the city was suffering terribly. Hunger was encroaching upon citizens and soldiers alike. The citizens of Santiago were already petitioning the Governor that surrender be made without further fighting. CHAPTER XX Battle of La Quasina. IT was not long after General Shafter's army landed before the United States troops were engaged in active service and had a sharp conflict with the enemy. The initial fight of Colonel Wood's Rough Riders and the troopers of the First and Tenth regular cavalry will be known in history as the Battle of La Quasina. That it did not end in the complete slaughter of the Americans was not due to any miscalculation in the plan of the Spaniards, for as perfect an ambuscade as was ever formed in the brain of an Apache Indian was prepared and Lieutenant-Colonel Roosevelt and his men walked squarely into it. For an hour and a half they held their ground under a perfect storm of bullets from the front and sides, and then Colonel Wood, at the right, and Lieutenant-Colonel Roosevelt at the left, led a charge which turned the tide of battle and sent the enemy flying over the hills toward Santiago. Number of Killed and Wounded. It is definitely known that sixteen men on the American side were killed, while sixty were wounded or reported to be missing. It is impossible to calculate the Spanish losses, but it is known that they were far heavier than those of the Americans, at least as regards actual loss of life. Thirty-seven dead Spanish soldiers were found and buried, while many others were undoubtedly lying in the thick under. brush on the side of the gully and on the slope of the hill, where the main body of the enemy was located. The wounded were all removed. That the Spaniards were thoroughly posted as to the route to be taken by the Americans in their movements towards Sevilla was evident, as shown by the careful preparation they had made. The main body of the Spaniards was posted on a hill, on the heavily 299 300 BATTLE OF LA QUASINA. wooded slopes of which had been erected two block houses, flanked by irregular intrenchments of stone and fallen trees. At the bottom of these hills run two roads, along which Lieutenant-Colonel Roosevelt's men and eight troops of the Eighth and Tenth Cavalry, with a battery of four howitzers, advanced. These roads are but little more than gullies, rough and narrow, and at places almost impassable. In these trails the fight occurred. Nearly half a mile separated Roosevelt's men from the regulars, and between them and on both sides of the road in the thick underbrush was concealed a force of Spaniards that must have been large, judging from the terrific and constant fire they poured in on the Americans, Beginning of the Battle. The fight was opened by the First and Tenth Cavalry, under General Young. A force of Spaniards was known to be in the vicinity of La Quasina, and early in the morning Lieutenant-Colonel Roosevelt's men started off up the precipitous bluff back of Siboney to attack the Spaniards on their right flank, General Young at the same time taking the road at the foot of the hill. About two and one-half miles out from Siboney, some Cubans, breathless and excited, rushed into camp with the announcement that the Spaniards were but a little way in front and were strongly entrenched. Quickly the Hotchkiss guns out in the front were brought to the rear, while a strong scouting line was thrown out. Then cautiously and in silence the troops moved forward until a bend in the road disclosed a hill where the Spaniards were located. The guns were again brought to the front and placed in position, while the men crouched down in the road, waiting impatiently to give Roosevelt's men, who were toiling over the little trail along the crest of the ridge, time to get up. At 7.30 A. M., General Young gave the command to the men at the Hotchkiss guns to open fire. That command was the signal for a fight that for stubbornness has seldom been equaled. The instant the Hotchkiss guns were fired, from the hillsides commanding the road came volley after volley from the Mausers of the Spaniards. BATTLE OF LA QUASINA. 301 " Don't shoot until you see something to shoot at," yelled General Young, and the men, with set jaws and gleaming eyes, obeyed the order. Crawling along the edge of the road, and protecting themselves as much as possible from the fearful fire of the Spaniards, the troopers, some of them stripped to the waist, watched the base of the hill, and when any part of a Spaniard became visible, they fired. Never for an instant did they falter. One dusky warrior of the Tenth Cavalry, with a rugged wound in his thigh, coolly knelt behind a rock, loading and firing, and when told by one of his comrades that he was wounded laughed and said: " Oh, that's all right. That's been there for some time." In the meantime, away off to the left could be heard the crack of the rifles of Colonel Wood's NEW GATLING GUN READY FOR ACTION. men and the regular, deeper-toned volley-firing by the Spaniards. Over there the American losses were the greatest. Colonel Wood's men, with an advance guard well out in front and two Cuban guards before them, but apparently with no flankers, went squarely into the trap set for them by the Spanish, and only the unfaltering courage of the men in the face of a fire that would even make a veteran quail, prevented what might easily have been a disaster. As it was, Troop L, the advance guard under the unfortunate Captain Capron, was almost surrounded, and but for the reinforcements hurriedly sent forward every man would have probably been killed or wounded. 302 BATTLE OF LA QUASINA. "There must have been nearly 1,500 Spanish in front and to the sides of us," said Lieutenant-Colonel Roosevelt when discussing the fight. "They held the ridges with rifle pits and machine guns, and hid a body of men in ambush in the thick jungle at the sides of the road over which we were advancing. "Our advance guard struck the men in ambush and drove them out. But they lost Captain Capron, Lieutenant Thomas and about fifteen men killed or wounded. The Spanish firing was accurate, so accurate indeed that it surprised me, and their firing was fearfully heavy. " I want to say a word for our own men," continued LieutenantColonel Roosevelt. " Every officer and man did his duty up to the handle. Not a man flinched." Gallant Charge on the Enemy. From another officer who took a prominent part in the fighting more details were obtained. "When the firing began," said he, " Lieutenant-Colonel Roosevelt took the right wings with Troops G and K, under Captains Llewelyn and Jenkins, and moved to the support of Captain Capron, who was getting it hard. At the same time Colonel Wood and Major Brodie took the left wing and advanced in open order on the Spanish right wing. Major Brodie was wounded before the troops had advanced one hundred yards. Colonel Wood then took the right wing and shifted Colonel Roosevelt to the left. " In the meantime the fire of the Spaniards had increased in volume, but, notwithstanding this, an order for a general charge was given, and with a yell the men sprang forward. Colonel Roosevelt, in front of his men, snatched a rifle and ammunition belt from a wounded soldier and, cheering and yelling with his men, led the advance. "For a moment the bullets were singing like a swarm of bees all around them and every instant some poor fellow went down. On the right wing Captain McClintock had his leg broken by a bullet from a machine gun, while four of his men went down. At the same time Captain Luna lost nine of his men. BATTLE OF LA QUASINA. 303 "Then the reserves, Troops K and E, were ordered up. There was no more hesitation. Colonel Wood, with the right wing, charged straight at a block-house about eight hundred yards away, and Colonel Roosevelt, on the left, charged at the same time. Up the men went, yelling like fiends and never stopping to return the fire of the Spaniards, but keeping on with a grim determination to capture that block-house. "That charge was the end. When within five hundred yards of the coveted point the Spaniards broke and ran, and for the first time we had the pleasure which the Spaniards had been experiencing all through the engagement of shooting with the enemy in sight." Deeds of Heroism. In the two hours' fighting, during which the volunteers battled against their concealed enemy, enough deeds of heroism were done to fill a volume. One of the men of Troop E, desperately wounded, was lying squarely between the lines of fire. Surgeon Church hurried to his side, and, with bullets pelting all around him, dressed the man's wound, bandaged it, and walked unconcernedly back, soon returning with two men and a litter. The wounded man was placed on the litter and brought into our lines. Another soldier of Troop L, concealing himself as best he could behind a tree, gave up his place to a wounded companion, and a moment or two later was himself wounded. Sergeant Bell stood by the side of Captain Capron when the latter was mortally hit. He had seen that he was fighting against terrible odds, but he never flinched. " Give me your gun a minute," he said to the sergeant, and, kneeling down, he deliberately aimed and fired two shots in quick succession. At each a Spaniard was seen to fall. Bell in the meantime had seized a dead comrade's gun and knelt beside his captain and fired steadily. When Captain Capron fell he gave the sergeant a parting message to his wife and father, and bade the sergeant good-bye in a cheerful voice, and was then borne away dying. Sergeant Hamilton Fish, Jr., was the first man killed by the 304 BATTLE OF LA QUASINA. Spanish fire. He was near the head of the column as it turned from the woodside into the range of the Spanish ambuscade. He shot one Spaniard who was firing from the cover of a dense patch of underbrush. When a bullet struck his breast he sank at the foot of a tree with his back against it. Captain Capron stood over him shooting and others rallied around him, covering the wounded man. The ground was thick with empty shells where Fish lay. He lived twenty minutes. He gave a small lady's hunting case watch from his belt to a messmate as a last souvenir. Impressive Burial Service. With the exception of Captain Capron all the Rough Riders killed in the fight were buried the following morning on the field of action. Their bodies were laid in one long trench, each wrapped in a blanket. Palm leaves lined the trenches and were heaped in profusion over the dead heroes. Chaplain Brown read the beautiful burial service for the dead, and as he knelt in prayer every trooper, with bared head, knelt around the trench. When the chaplain announced the hymn, ' Nearer My God to Thee," the deep bass voices of the rn gave a most impressive rendering of the music. The dead Rough Riders rest right on the summit of the hill where they fell. The site is most beautiful. A growth of rich, luxuriant grass and flowers covers the slopes, and from the top a far-reaching view is had over the tropical forest. Captain Brown marked each grave and preserved complete records for the benefit of friends of the dead soldiers. CHAPTER XXI. The Siege of Manila. PON the receipt of intelligence at Washington of Admiral Dewey's victory at Manila it was considered important that he should be able to hold his position, and should have a force sufficient for capturing the city-thus making his victory complete. There was a wide-spread insurrection upon the island, and a large body of insurgents were threatening the town. The Admiral communicated with their leaders, and enjoined upon them the necessity of strictly observing the rules of modern warfare. It was their intention to draw their lines closely around the city, but if they captured prisoners, they were to be treated humanely, and under no pretext whatever was any massacre to take place. Outfit of Expedition to Manila. It was expected that our Government at Washington would order Admiral Dewey to capture the town, co-operating with the insurgents under their famous leader Aguinaldo. Orders were given for the immediate outfit of an expedition at San Francisco, and General Merritt was appointed to command it. The cruiser Charleston was loaded with supplies and ammunition and sailed from the Pacific coast on May i8th. Salutes were fired at Mare Island Navy Yard, and the employees of the yard and citizens of Vallejo who were assembled along the shore vigorously cheered the departing vessel. She steamed away from Mare Island with the intention of making a swift run to the Philippines via Honolulu. When but a few hours out and before she had. left the harbor behind an accident hlappencd to her machinery, which compelled her to lay to off Angel Island until morning, when she returned to the Navy Yard for repairs. It was found that two of her condensers were damaged and were leaking badly. Rather than take U 305 306 THEt SIEGE OF MANILA chances of more serious trouble before reaching Honolulu, where she was to coal, Captain Glass determined to put back. Troops from the Pacific slope were ordered to San Francisco, and on May 25th the transports which were to carry them to the Philippines were ready to sail. At four o'clock in the afternoon BrigadierGeneral Anderson gave the signal from the Australia for the City of Peking and the City of Sydney to get under way. The signal was seen from the shore and the waiting crowds commenced to cheer wildly. They knew what it meant as well as the sea captains for whom the signal was intended. No time was lost on board the transports. The crews worked with a will, and in a short time the anchors were up and the vessels were under way. Inspiring Scene in the Bay. Then the 2500 soldiers who had been impatiently awaiting the signal climbed to the rigging and swarmed all over the big ships, shouting and cheering. The bay was alive with small craft of every description and huge ferry boats were pressed into service to accommodate the eager crowds and carry them to the head of the Golden Gate that a last farewell might be said.. The big transports steamed slowly along the water front and the crowd on shore raced along to keep them in sight. The noise made by the patriotic citizens on sea and shore was something terrific. Every steam whistle in the city appeared to be blowing, cannon were fired and the din lasted for fully an hour. As the Australia passed Alcatraz Island, in the lead of the other ships, the battery of United States artillery stationed there fired a salute to General Anderson. The colors were dipped in recognition and the steamships sounded their sirens. The boats, small and large, followed as the transports moved slowly forward, and not until the heavy swells of the Pacific were encountered did they turn back. It was shortly after 5 o'clock when the vessels entered the ocean and the sun, glinting over the sea, gave the departing sailors a last view of the country, to fight for the honor of which they were sailing over six thousand miles. When last seen, IA \ \ I I UNITED STATES TROOPS LEAVING SAN FRANCISCO FOR MANILA. 308 THE SIEGE OF MANILA. the fleet was steaming slowly to the southwest. After the pilots were dropped, the vessels went ahead at full speed, and in six days, if all went well, it was expected they would enter Honolulu harbor and join the Charleston. The strain of expectancy during the embarkation of the troops was severe on both soldiers and citizens, and after the noisy demonstration attending their departure the townspeople felt relieved that it was all over. The three transports carried close on to 2,500 men. The expedition, which was under command of Brigadier-General Anderson, consisted of four companies of regulars under command of Major Robe, the First Regiment of California Volunteers, Colonel Smith; the First Regiment of Oregon Volunteers, Colonel Summers; a battalion of fifty heavy artillery, Major Gary; about one hundred sailors and eleven naval officers. Big Cargo of Stores and Ammunition. The fleet was loaded with supplies to last a year, and carried a big cargo of ammunition and naval stores for Admiral Dewey's fleet. It was thought the fleet would not keep company with the Charleston after leaving Honolulu. All the vessels carried enough coal to steam at full speed from Honolulu to Manila, while the Charleston, in order to economize coal, would not go faster than ten knots an hour. A second expedition weighed anchor at San Francisco on the afternoon of June I5th. As the sun was setting the last transport passed out of the Golden Gate, and, led by the flagship China, the fleet steamed away toward Honolulu. At that port the vessels will recoal. That day's expedition carried 3,500 men, distributed among four vessels, as follows: assigned to the China, General Greene's flagship, the largest and fastest of the fleet, were the First Regiment Colorado Volunteer Infantry, 1,022 men, half a battalion of the Eighteenth United States Infantry, 150 men, and a detachment of United States Engineers, 20 men. The Colon took four companies of the Twenty-third Infantry and THE SIEGE OF MANILA. 309 two companies of the Eighteenth Infantry, both of the regular army, and Battery A of the Utah Artillery. In the battery were twelve men and in each of the infantry companies 75 men, besides the officers, making less than 600 military passengers. The control of the ship was given to Lieutenant-Colonel Clarence W. Bailey, of the Eighteenth Infantry. On the Zealandia were the Tenth Pennsylvania Volunteers and part of Battery B, of the Utah Volunteer Artillery. Two Maxim rapid-fire guns were placed ready for action in the bow of the vessel. In all there were 640 privates and 60 officers on board. On the steamer Senator was the First Nebraska Volunteers numbering I,023 men and officers. Thousands of people assembled along the docks to witness the departure of the fleet, and when the signals were made ordering the vessels to get under way a mighty cheer went up. Vessels in the harbor blew long blasts from their sirens and every factory and mill in the manufacturing district saluted with their whistles, and cannon fired as the four vessels passed down the bay. The water front was black with people and the waving of flags and handkerchiefs pre. sented a beautiful sight. Rousing Cheers for the Soldiers. The vessels in the harbor dipped their colors as the transports passed. The guard rails of the transports were hidden beneath strug. gling soldiers trying to get the last glimpse of the city. The men cheered themselves hoarse and waved their hats and handkerchiefs. Tugs and ferryboats, chartered for the occasion, followed the vessels down to the Golden Gate. The afternoon was well nigh gone when the transports reached the ocean and headed for Honolulu. General Filipino, one of the insurgent commanders at Manila, officially proclaimed a provisional government in Old Cavite June I2th. There were great ceremonies and a declaration of independence was read renouncing Spanish authority. General Aguinaldo was elected President and Daniel Perindo Vice-President. The insurgent government resolved not to oppose an American protectorate or occupation................ 310 THE SIEGE OF MANILA. It was announced that the insurgents had captured the Spanish Governor and the garrison of three hundred men at Bulucan. The Governor and garrison at Pampungi and the Governor and garrison of 650 men at Batangas were captured. On June 9th the family of Governor General Augusti fled to the interior for safety. The Spaniards in Manila were reported as having shot thirty carbineers for attempting to desert to the rebels. Aguinaldo sent an ultimatum to the Governor that if more were executed he would retaliate on Spanish prisoners. It was reported at Manila on June 17th that General Nonet, coming southward with 3000 mixed troops from Balacan, thirty miles north of Manila, found the railway line blocked, and was taken in ambush by the insurgents. Fierce fighting ensued, and was carried on for three days, during which General Nonet was killed. The native trokps joined the insurgents, and the Spanish troops which were left, 8bout five hundred, surrendered. Native Militia Shoot their Officers. A battalion at Pampanga of native militia, supposed to be particularly loyal, began shooting its officers, and killed five when the insurgents attacked Marabon. The Spanish succeeded in disarming and imprisoning a portion of them, but they escaped when the insurgents captured Marabon. At Zapote also a whole regiment revolted at a critical moment. The authorities still used mixed forces, with the result that the insurgent riflemen were frequently found to have passed the sentries, and to be creeping along under cover and firing upon the Spaniards from behind. The Spanish commanders were ordered to burn the villagers' huts outside the town so as to deprive the enemy of shelter, and hundreds of peaceful natives were homeless. There was a great feast at Cavite on June 12th, when the declaration of independence was formally made by Aguinaldo. He invited the American officers to be present, but none accepted Aguinaldo was reported to have advocated autonomy under American protection, similar to the British protectorates. The insurgents, it was believed, -Y THE SIEGE OF MANILA. 311 out of deference to Admiral Dewey, had resolved never to bombard the town of Manila. The steamers Boston and Concord left Manila on May 12 to attack Iloilo. They captured that point without resistance and took possession of it in the name of the United States. On June 14th a report was received that the Spaniards intended making a torpedo attack against the fleet. A half gale was blowing A UNITED STATES MONITOR MONTEREY. at the time, and this gave them great weather advantages, but Admiral Dewey sent the Concord and the Callao to forestall any such moveVnent. Besides, the fleet carried out the usual precautions that were taken every night. The preparations made on Wednesday gave the Spaniards to understand that our forces were on the alert. Admiral Dewey decided to send a steam launch past the batteries into Pasig River to destroy two torpedo craft known to have taken refuge there. Ensign Caldwell, the Admiral's staff secretary, volunteered to command the expedition. 312 THE SIEGE OF MANILA. Admiral Dewey intended to order the Callao, Lieutenant Tappan commanding, to tow the launch to the mouth of the river and there the Callao was to await Ensign Caldwell's return, the water being too shallow for a larger ship to manceuvre. Ensign Caldwell was to dash in during one of the rain squalls frequent every night, explode a torpedo under the torpedo boats, and, if possible, return to the Callao. The enterprise was one fraught with deadly peril for all engaged, but both officers were eager to undertake it. However, the Callao's preliminary reconnoissance on Wednesday so alarmed the Spaniards that they sank the transport steamer Cebu across the narrowest part of the river's entrance, thus effectually closing it against even a steam launch and at the same time preventing the egress of their own torpedo craft. Critical Situation. Frantic efforts were made by the Spanish officers in Manila, not to retrieve past defeats, for that would be impossible, but to avert future calamities. With the Spanish navy destroyed in front, and threatened by insurgents in the rear, the situation in the town was most alarming. Except for the restraining influence of Admiral Dewey a great loss of life might have been the result of the operations of the insurgent army. This was something greatly feared by the foreign residents who were kept in a state of constant alarm. Owing to the shooting of native civilians in Manila without a trial by the Spaniards, General Aguinaldo refused to allow the wife and children of Captain General Augusti to be set at liberty. They were among the prisoners captured by his forces, but were treated kindly. General Aguinaldo sent a letter to Augusti in reply to the latter's request, preferred through the British Consul and Vice Admiral von Diederichs, of the German navy, for the release of Senora Augusti and her children. General Aguinaldo declined to say what message he sent to Augusti, but he remarked that he thought the latter would not shoot any more non-combatant natives. The reader will be interested in the following statistical information i concerning Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philippine Islands. STATISTICS OF THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 313 Area (sq. m.).......43,220. Length (m.).......760. Width (m.)...... 35 to 130. Topography....... Traversed lengthwise by mountain-range; coast belt low, level and swampy. Character of soil..... Extremely fertile; large forest area. Climate.........Hotter on coast than in interior. Occasional ice, but snow unknown. Mean temp4 Rainy seasc Products Minerals Industries Exports Imports Shipping. erature.... 77 degrees. )n......May to August........ Tobacco, sugar, cotton, coffee, rice, maize, fruits......... Wealth of granite, gneiss, limestone, maple, copper, coal, silver, iron-all practically undeveloped......... Agriculture, grazing, timber-cutting......... Value, $80,000,000 (to U. S.) in I893...... Approximately $23,000,000 in 1892......... 2,850 vessels cleared principal ports in 1892 (approximately). miles).... Before current rebellion, about 650. miles).....Before current rebellion, about I,ooo......... See "Cities." Spain..... ('93-'94) Over $20,000,000 (in taxes). e by Spain... War expenses, $120,000,000 annually......... 1,632,000. aces.....One-tlhird negroes; balance white, Spaniards and native Cubans predominate. Telegraph ( Railroads (i Seaports Revenue to Expenditur Population Prevailing r Prevailing language... Prevailing religion... Education... Capital, population.. Largest city, population. Other cities, population. Governor.... Spanish.. Roman Catholic..Indifferent, 76.3 per cent. of people illiterate.. Havana, 230,000.. Havana.. Matanzas, 87,000; Santiago de Cuba, 72,000; Cienfuegos, 66,000; Puerto Principe, 47,000: Santo Espiritu, 33,000, Cardenas, 24,000.. General Ramon Blanco. Possession of Spain since. 1492-Colonized 15II Rivers........760-1 navigable (the Cauto). Mountains........ Pico de Turguino, 7670 ft. high. Animals......... Many reptiles, few wild beasts. Phenomena... Wants........ A little of everything beneficent. Distance from Washington Three days. 314 STATISTICS OF THE ISLAND OF PORiO RICO. Area (sq. m.)............3,670 Length (m.)............. 8. Width (m.) Topograph, Character o Climate Mean temp Rainy seasc Products. Minerals Industries Exports Imports Shipping............... 37. y...........Mountains in center; narrow level, level belt on coast. >f soil.......... Extremely fertile............. Hot, but not unhealthy. Northern lowlands, superabundance of moisture; south suffers from drought. erature.........74 degrees. n.............September to March.............. Sugar, molasses, coffee, tobacco, cotton rice, yams, plantains............... Gold, copper, coal, salt-not developed............. Grazing, agriculture............. Sugar, coffee, molasses, tobacco; ('96) 6,500oo,ooo. To Spain alone ('96) $6,ooo,ooo............... From Spain ('95), $9,ooo,ooo............... ('95) 1,077 vessels and I,ooo,ooo tons entered ports. Telegraph (miles) Railroads (miles).. Seaports... Revenue to Spain. Expenditure by Spain. Population... Prevailing races........... 470......... 137 170 projected........ San Juan, Ponce, Mayaguez, Maquabo....... 94-'95) 5,454,958 pesos........ ('94-'95), 3,905,667 pesos........ Over 900,000........ One-half white, one-third creoles, balance negroes......... panisho........ Roman Catholic.... Little cared for......... San Juan, 24,000....... Ponce, 40,000........ Mayaguez, 27,000; Maguabo, S8,ooo......... General Macias, Prevailing language. Prevailing religion.. Education... Capital, population.. Largest city, population Other cities, population Governor Possession of Spain sinc Rivers.... Mountains..... Animals...... Phenomena.... Wants.... Distance from Washing,e,ton...... 1300 streams, 47 navigable....... El Yunke, 3,688 ft. high....... Wild beasts unknown, infested with ratA centipedes, mosquitoes....... Hurricanes, high winds....... Good roads and bridges........ Five days. STATISTICS OF lTHE 'PILIPPINE ISLANDS. 315 Area (sq. m.)............ Length (m )............. Width (m.)............ II4.326. Topography... Character of soil Climate Mean temperature Rainy season. Products. Minerals.. Industries. Exports Imports Shipping. Telegraph (miles) Railroads (miles). Seaports Revenue to Spain Expenditure by Spa Population.. Prevailing races Prevailing language Prevailing religion Education Capital, population Largest city, populal Other cities, populat Governor Possession of Spain Rivers... Mountains.. Animals Phenomena Wants............. 1,200 islands (Luzon largest)......... Volcanic origin. Very fertile; vegetable growth often gigantic.......... November to March, fresh and cool; March to June, stifling heat........... 72 degrees......... July to October........... Hemp, sugar, coffee, copra, tobacco, indigo, teak, ebony, cedar, fruits, spices........... Gold, coal, iron, copper, sulphur, vermillion........... Agriculture, mining, grazing......... ('96) $22,000.000........... ('96) $12,ooo,ooo.......... ('95) 304 vessels cleared principal ports........... 720........... 70...........Manila, C avite, Iloilo........... ('95) $I3,280,130 (estimated). in........ ('95) $15,280,130 (estimated)........... 7.670,o00......... Malays, Chinese, savage tribes. compara. tively few Spaniards........... Spanish and Chinese........... Roman Catholic........... Of no importance........... Manila. 300,000. tion........ Manila. tion.......See seaports........... General Augusti. since....... I660-Spanish rule acknowledged 1829........... Very few, all small........... Mayon, Buhayan (volcanoes)........... Domestic and burden animals abundant, no wild animals.......... Volcanic eruptions, typhoons, earthquakes........... Freedom from heavy taxation, schools, roads, harbors. iington...... Twenty-five days, Distance from Wash 316 THE SIEGE OF MANILA. Four thousand men, comprising the third expedition to the Philippines, embarked on June 26th, and filled the holds and decks of the steamers Ohio, Indiana, City of Para, and Morgan City. The steamer Valencia received her complement of the military, and these five transports, bearing the bulk of the expeditionary force, were to be followed by the steamer Newport, upon which General Merritt was expected to depart. Camp Merritt presented a busy scene in the morning. The orders issued to the troops which were to compose the third expedition to the Philippines served to keep many of the men awake, so excited were they over the anticipation of an early start. All night long the camp cooks worked to prepare the last breakfast in the camp for the departing soldiers, and to get the one day's cooked rations with which the order to embark said the men must be supplied. This work required the aid of many privates, and the noise caused by the hurried preparations made sleep almost impossible. Off for the Philippines. During the morning hours carloads upon carloads of people were landed near the regimental camps. Many were the packages con. taining little necessaries and the delicacies packed up with the lug. gage of the departing troops. Many of them who had not received "comfort bags " were supplied with this little necessity to healthful soldier life, and the absolutely necessary abdominal bandage was furnished those of the departing men who had not received them. Bouquets of beautiful California flowers were distributed among the men in large quantities, and many a rifle barrel was made pleasantly heavier by floral decorations. Shortly after I i o'clock the sounding of bugles announced to the civilians and soldiers alike that the time for parting had come, and the soldiers must form for the march to the water front, where the transports awaited them. Along the entire extent of the five-mile march an escort squad of police was obliged to force back the throngs of people to make a narrow lane for the progress of the parting companies. The soldiers iHE SIEGE OF MANILA. 317 were cheered at every step; good-byes and good wishes were momentarily shouted, hand flags were waved, flowers were thrown, and everywhere emotion was visible, as when the first California regiment of San Francisco boys marched away. It was a long, hot tramp over the cobble stones, but willing hands brought g asses of water for thirsty soldiers, and each enlisted man would have required an orderly to carry all the parcels which were pressed upon his acceptance. When the triumphal march ended, the soldiers were taken on board their respective transports. They were given a tremendous ovation by thousands of cilizens, who swarmed on and around the wharves. It was an emotional as well as a physical relief when the embarkation was an accomplished fact. Lessons of the Great Battle. The soldiers were pleased with their assignment to the army that was to co-operate with Admiral Dewey. The Admiral had proved himself to be a gallant fighter, and the troops were enthusiastic in his support. Being asked to give his ideas of the lessons to be learned from his great naval victory, the Admiral said: " The first lesson of the battle teaches the importances of American gunnery and good guns. It confirms my early experience under Admiral Farragut, that combats are decided more by skill in gunnery and the quality of the guns than by all else. "Torpedoes and other appliances are good in their way, but are entirely of secondary importance. The Spaniards, with their combined fleet and forts, were equal to us in gun-power; but they were unable to harm us because of bad gunnery. Constant practice made our gunnery destructive and won the victory. "The second lesson of this battle is the complete demonstration of the value of high-grade men. Cheap men are not wanted, are not needed, are a loss to the United States navy. We should have none but the very best men behind the guns. It will not do to have able officers and poor men. The men, in their class, must be the equal of the officers in theirs. We must have the best men filling all the posts 318 THE SIEGE OF MANILA. on shipboard. To make the attainments of the officers valuable, we must have, as we have in this fleet, the best men to carry out their commands. " The third lesson, not less important than the others, is the necessity for inspection. Everything to be used in a battle should have been inspected by naval officials. If this is done there will be no failure at a crisis in time of danger. Look at the difference between our ships and the Spanish ships: "Everything the Spanish had was supplied by contract. Their shells, their powder, all their materials, were practically worthless, while ours were perfect." The Situation at Manila. Special value attaches to the following statement by a newspaper correspondent, concerning the defences and general situation at Manila: Up to within sixty days of the naval battle the fortifications were miserable; old guns were mounted upon masonry, moss covered and ancient. To the experienced eye these defenses would appear wholly inadequate for anything like a fair modern test. The military and naval people, particularly the British, were disposed to respect these defences only because they were antiquities-works of an age when the proud Spaniard had a real reason forhis pride. During the month preceding the battle the crowd of easy-going Spanish military and naval officers, whose lethargy was a subject of common remark at Manila and Hong Kong, were awakened by the thought that perhaps the United States would show disrespect for the piles of masonry and send war ships to destroy them. Guns of not very great calibre were taken from several of the smaller ships of the Philippine squadron and mounted at several different points at the fairly well fortified port of Cavite on the island at the entrance of the harbor, and on the citadel-like masonry in Manila at the mouth of the Pasig River. This strengthening of the defences was concluded only a week or so before the attack made by the Americans. The Spanish naval and military officers were now satisfied THE SIEGE OP MANILA. 319 that Manila was an impregnable point and commnnicated their confidence to tie Captain-General. One can easily appreciate the extent of the surprise and the humiliation among these self-contained, gayly-uniformed Spaniards-wellfed men who did not allow the local rebellion, however serious the affair appeared at times, to trouble them. There were quite a number of small islands near Cavite at the entrance of the bay upon which were stationed guns of small calibre. The existence of these defences, together with the fact that the harbor was fairly well mined, was known to Dewey. However, he had never viewed the fortifications and had no way of knowing absolutely as to their worth. The daring of his scheme can certainly be appreciated by his fellow-commanders and compatriots when they can calmly look about and observe the conditions. Poor Marksmanship of the Spanish. One important conclusion may be drawn from the happy statement which the Admiral made, to the effect that there was no American killed in the engagement, which is that the marksmanship of the Spanish was truly miserable. This explanation of the poor marksmanship of the Spanish will not be a surprise to certain very intelligent and very observing British naval officers who watched operations about the time the Spanish bombarded Imus and other places in Cavite Province a year or two before. The British war ships Archer and Daphne had been detailed to go to the Philippines and observe the condition of affairs, keeping in mind, of course, the interests of the very considerable contingent of Britishers doing business at Manila and elsewhere on the island. The men on board the British ships watched things very closely and from the best possible vantage ground. The chief gunner of the Archer, after watching things pretty closely for some weeks, made this statement: "I was very much interested, naturally, in seeing what sort of work the Spanish navy was doing here. I must confess to very great surprise over the poor work which the Reina Christina and other ships did. The work of the gunners was something frightful. The time 320 THE SIEGE OF MANILA. fuse and inequality of powder were so badly estimated that not more than one out of every ten shots performed any service in the direction intended. Nine out of every ten shots would not only fail to reach the particular object or group of objects aimed at, but would not strike within a reasonable distance of the objective point." "Another British gunner mentioned an incident which illustrates the incapacity of the Spanish when it comes to calculating the range. This Britisher had been invited aboard the Spanish warship. His entertainers, in discussing the situation, said that they had thought of bombarding a particular city five or six miles from the coast. They had, however, concluded that none of the guns of their ship would reach the place mentioned, and were about to weigh anchor and seek new pastures when the Britisher informed them that they were mistaken in their calculations-that he could take their gun and reach the place without any trouble. He was given this privilege, and under his manipulation the hated community was reduced to ashes. The Spaniards were, of course, very much surprised and humiliated. " Anything like a, severe bombardment of Manila by such guns as those carried by the superb Olympia and several others of the fleet would mean the demolition of the Philippine capital. The city covers an area of about twenty-five square miles, circling around the bay front. The general aspect of the community from the deck of a ship in the harbor is very favorable. The big stone cathedral, the Governor-General's palace, the observatory, the Custom House, several monasteries, and a number of other quite formidable buildings give the place a rather important appearance. It is a case, however, of distance lending enchantment to the view. Close inspection shows these buildings to be ancient and miserable affairs and the town generally to be dull and commonplace." PART II. GREAT NAVAL BATTLES OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER XXII. Fight Between the Richard and Serapis. HE people of the United States, when the war with Spain broke out, recalled the historic deeds of the American navy and expressed their confidence that the prowess and prestige of the past would be fully maintained. The navy has never failed us, and its history is an almost unbroken line of brilliant exploits. In naval warfare our antagonists have usually been English, over whom we have triumphed with one or two exceptions. The American navy has been thoroughly trained from the beginning, its discipline has been maintained and to this and the spirit of our seamen its almost uninterrupted success has been due. The first great sea fight of the American Navy was that of the Bon Homme Richard with the Serapis off Flamborough Head, England. No more picturesque and desperate battle was ever waged on the water. The Bon Homme Richard was the gift of France to this country. The French had purchased her from Holland and she sailed from France under the American flag, commanded by John Paul Jones. This was the first attempt of our nation during the war of the Revolution to force a combat on the high seas and cope with the vast naval power of Great Britain. Jones was a Scotchman by birth and had been for some years before the Revolutionary War a citizen of the United States. His crew was a motley collection. It is said that more than twenty nationalities were represented upon his rolls. His officers, however, were Americans and the American seamen outnumbered those of any other v 321 322 FIGHT BETWEEN THE RICHARD AND SERAPIS. nation. The Bon Homme Richard was so old that her timbers were rotted and her guns were more dangerous to her crew than to the enemy. THE NAVAL HERO-JOHN PAUL JONES. With her sailed two other ships. The larger was commanded by a Frenchman named Landais. On the evening of Sept. 23, 1779, the Bon Homme Richard, at that time, some distance from her consort, met the English frigate Serapis. They were almost under the guns of the English castle on Flamborough Hill. With the FIGHT BETWEEN THE RICHARD AND SERAPIS. 323 Serapis was a smaller man-of-war, the Countess of Scarborough, which was convoying a fleet of English merchantmen. The Pallas, which was also with the Bon Homme Richard, promptly engaged the Countess of Scarborough in conflict. Landais, who was commanding the Alliance and who was subsequently discovered to be insane, drew off, leaving the Bon Homme Richard and the Serapis in single combat. Guns Burst at the First Fire. The two ships engaged just as dusk was falling, and fought at musket range for an hour and a half, greatly to the disadvantage of the Bon Homme Richard. Many of her upper-deck guns burst at the first fire, killing and wounding a large number of her crew. Her rotten timbers offered no resistance to the cannon-balls of the Serapis. They slashed her through and through at every fire. The Bon Homme Richard seemed to be sinking. Any other captain than Paul Jones would have surrendered. He had below deck about two hundred English prisoners, who were threatening at every moment to rise and overpower the survivors of the American crew. Thus he had enemies both before him and beneath him. In this emergency he had to resort to a device. He sent an officer below to tell the prisoners that the ship was sinking, and that if they did not man the pumps Englishmen and Americans would go down together, which was probably true. The English prisoners in panic-terror rushed to the pumps and worked with all their might, while the Americans on deck continued to fight the Serapis. The Serapis came up closer, her spars and rigging overlapping those of the Bon Homme Richard. The two ships fought, gun muzzle to gun muzzle. The night was very dark. The flashing of the cannon and muskets alone illuminated the inky blackness. With his own hands Jones lashed the Bon Homme Richard to the Serapis, resolving that if he went down the English ship should go down with him. Never has there been a more terrible scene. Through the smoke of the combat and the blackness of the night the great cannon blazed away. The groans of the dead and dying, who covered the decks of both 324 FIGHT BETWEEN THE RICHARD AND SERAPIS. ships, could be heard above the roar of the artillery. When the firing had temporarily died away Captain Pearson demanded to know if his antagonist had surrendered, and Paul Jones made the reply which will live in American history. He said: "I have just begun to fight." But the Bon Homme Richard was fast sinking. The water was pouring into her, and only the lashing to the Serapis and vigorous pumping kept her afloat. A third of her crew were dead or dying. At this crisis the Bon Homme Richard's consort, the Alliance, came up in the dark. A wild shout of joy burst from the Americans, who felt that the battle was now theirs. Instead, however, of supporting her sister ship, the Alliance, under the insane Frenchman, delivered a broadside into the Bon Homme Richard, killing half a dozen men. She followed this with a scattering shot or two into the Serapis and disappeared again, having done infinitely more mischief to her friends than to her enemies. A Last and Desperate Chance. Jones realized that he had one last chance, a desperate one. He decided to board the Serapis and take her. While he was making his preparations an American sailor dropped a grenade into the English ship, which exploded with terrible effect, killing and wounding a score of men. A storm of shot and shell from the Bon Homme Richard followed, in the midst of which Jones boarded the Serapis and took her in a hand-to-hand fight. He had just time to transfer his prisoners and the remainder of his crew when his own gallant ship went down. This memorable battle made a sensation throughout the civilized world. The British had at last found their equals. They were beaten, although the odds in this battle had been three to five in their favor. Jones was overwhelmed with honors. The following graphic account of this great sea fight is from the pen of J. Fenimore Cooper, to whom our country is indebted for the best description of her historic naval battles: " Furiously the battle raged. The lower ports of the Serapis FIGHT BETWEEN THE RICHARD AND SERAPIS. 325 having been closed to prevent boarding, as the vessel swung, they were now blown off, in order to allow the guns to be run out; and cases actually occurred in which the rammers had to be thrust into the ports of WN the opposite ship in order to / be entered into the muzzles of their proper guns. It is evident that such a conflict must have been of short i B duration., "In effect, the heavy metal \\\ ) / of the Serapis, in one or two \ 1 0 discharges, cleared all before it, and the main-deck guns \ \ \ of the Richard were in a great measure abandoned. Most of the people went on the upper deck, and a great number collected on the fore- / castle, where they were safe / / from the fire of the enemy, / contiruing to fight by throwing grenades and using mus- tl1 kets. "In this stage of the combat, the Serapis was tearing l her antagonist to pieces below, almost without resist- M OC XX1 ance from her enemy's batteries; only two guns on the quarter deck, and three or MEDAL STRUCK IN HONOR OF PAUL JONES. four of the twelves being worked at all. To the former, by shifting a gun from the larboard side, Commodore Jones succeeded in adding a third, all of which were used with effect, under his immediate inspec 826 FIGHT BETWEEN THE RICHARD AND SERAPIS. tion, to the close of the action. He could not muster force enough to get over a second gun. "But the combat would now have soon terminated had it not been for the courage and activity of the people aloft. Strong parties had been placed in the tops, and, at the end of a short contest, the Americans had driven every man belonging to the enemy below; after which they kept up so animated a fire, on the quarter deck of the Serapis in particular, as to drive nearly every man off it, that was not shot down. "Thus, while the English had the battle nearly to themselves below, their enemies had the control above the upper deck. Having cleared the tops of the Serapis, some American seamen lay out on the Richard's main-yard, and began to throw hand grenades upon the two upper decks of the English ship; the men on the forecastle of their own vessel seconding these efforts by casting the same combustibles through the ports of the Serapis. More than Twenty Killed by an Explosion. -" At length one man in particular became so hardy as to take his post on the extreme end of the yard, whence, provided with a bucket filled with combustibles, and a match, he dropped the grenades with so much precision that one passed through the main hatchway. The powder boys of the Serapis had got more cartridges up thain were wanted, and, in their hurry, they had carelessly laid a row of them on the main deck, in a line with the guns. The grenade just mentioned set fire to some loose powder that was lying near, and the flash passed from cartridge to cartridge, beginning abreast of the mainmast and running quite aft. "The effect of this explosion was awful. More than twenty men were instantly killed, many of them being left with nothing on them but the collars and wristbands of their shirts, and the waistbands of their duck trousers; while the official returns of the ship, a week after the action, show that there were no less than thirty-eight wounded on board, still alive, who had been injured in this manner, and of whom thirty were then said to be in great danger. Captain Pearson, of the FIGHT BETWEEN THE RICHARD AND SERAPIS. 327 Serapis, described this explosion as having destroyed nearly all the men at the five or six aftermost guns. On the whole, near sixty of the enemy's people must have been instantly disabled by this sudden blow. " The advantage thus obtained by the coolness and intrepidity of the topmen in a great measure restored the chances of the combat, and, by lessening the fire of the enemy, enabled Commodore Jones to increase his. In the same degree that it encouraged the crew of the Richard, it diminished the hopes of the people of the Serapis. One of the guns under the immediate inspection of Commodore Jones had been pointed some time against the mainmast of his enemy, while the two others had seconded the fire of the tops, with grape and canister. Almost Ready to Surrender. "Kept below decks by this double attack, where a scene of frightful horror was present in the agonies of the wounded, and the effects of the explosion, the spirits of the English began to droop, and there was a moment when a trifle would have induced them to submit. From this despondency they were temporarily raised by one of those unlooked-for events that characterize the vicissitudes of battle. "After exchanging the ineffective and distant broadsides, already mentioned, with the Scarborough, the Alliance had kept standing off and on, to leeward of the two principal ships, out of the direction of their shot, when, about half-past eight she appeared crossing the stern of the Serapis and the bow of the Richard, firing at such a distance as to render it impossible to say which vessel would suffer the most. " As soon as she had drawn out of the range of her own guns, her helm was put up, and she ran down near a mile to leeward, hovering about until the firing had ceased between the Pallas and the Scarborough, when she came within hail and spoke both of these vessels. Captain Cottineau of the Pallas earnestly entreated Captain Landais to take possession of his prize and allow him to go to the assistance of the Richard, or to stretch up to windward in the Alliance himself, and succor the Commodore. 328 FIGHT BETWEEN THE RICHARD AND SERAPIS. "After some delay, Captain Landais took the important duty of assisting his consort into his own hands, and making two long stretches, under his topsails, he appeared, about the time at which we have arrived in this narration of the combat, directly to windward of the two ships, with the head of the Alliance to the westward. Here the latter ship once more opened her fire, doing equal damage, at least, to friend and foe. Keeping away a little, and still continuing her fire, the Al, liance was soon on the larboard quarter of the Richard, and, it is even affirmed, that her guns were discharged until she had got nearly abeam. " Fifty voices now hailed to tell the people of the Alliance that they were firing into the wrong ship, and three lanterns were shown, in a line, on the off side of the Richard, which was the regular signal of recognition for a night action. An officer was directed to hail and to command Captain Landais to lay the enemy aboard; and the question being put whether the order was comprehended, an answer was given in the affirmative. Was the Alliance a Traitor? "As the moon had been up some time, it was impossible not to distinguish between the vessels, the Richard being all black, while the Serapis had yellow sides; and the impression seems to have been general in the former vessel, that she had been attacked intentionally. At the discharge of the first guns of the Alliance, the people left one or two of the twelves on board the Richard, which they had begun to fight again, saying that the Englishmen in the Alliance had got possession of the ship, and were helping the enemy. It appears that this discharge dismounted a gun or two, extinguished several lanterns on the main deck and did a great deal of damage aloft. "The Alliance hauled off to some distance, keeping always on the off-side of the Richard, and soon after she reappeared edging down on the larboard beam of her consort, hauling up athwart the bows of that ship and the stern of her antagonist. On this occasion, it is affirmed that her fire recommenced, when, by possibility, the shot could only reach the Serapis through the Richard. Ten or twelve FIGHT BETWEEN THE RICHARD AND SERAPIS. 329 men appear to have been killed and wounded on the forecastle of the latter ship, which was crowded at the time, and among them was an officer of the name of Caswell, who, with his dying breath, maintained that he had received his wound by the fire of the Richard's consort. "After crossing the bows of the Richard, and the stern of the Sera. pis, delivering grape as she passed, the Alliance ran off to leeward, again standing off and on, doing nothing, for the remainder of the combat. "The fire of the Alliance added greatly to the leaks of the Richard, which ship, by this time, had received so much water through the shot-holes, as to begin to settle. It is even affirmed by many witnesses, that the most dangerous shot-holes on board the Richard, were under her larboard bow, and larboard counter, in places where they could not have been received from the fire of the Serapis. This evidence, however, is not unanswerable, as it has been seen that the Serapis luffed up on the larboard-quarter of the Richard in the commencement of the action, and, forging ahead, was subsequently oi her larboard bow, endeavoring to cross her fore-foot. Cry that the Ship is Sinking. "It is certainly possible that shot may have struck the Richard in the places mentioned, on these occasions, and that, as the ship settled in the water, from other leaks, the holes then made may have suddenly increased the danger. On the other hand, if the Alliance did actually fire while on the bow and quarter of the Richard, as would appear by a mass of uncontradicted testimony, the dangerous shotholes may very well have come from that ship. "Let the injuries have been received from what quarter they might, soon after the Alliance had run to leeward, an alarm was spread in the Richard that the ship was sinking. Both vessels had been on fire several times and some difficulty had been experienced in extinguishing the flames; but here was a new enemy to contend with, and, as the information came from the carpenter, whose duty it was to sound the pump-wells, it produced a good deal of consternation. "The Richard had more than a hundred English prisoners on 330 FIGHT BETWEEN THE RICHARD AND SERAPIS. board, and the master-at-arms, in the hurry of the moment, let them all up from below, in order to save their lives. In the confusion, the master of the letter of marque, that had been taken off the north of Scotland, passed through a port of the Richard into one of the Serapis, when he informed Captain Pearson, that a few minutes would probably decide the battle in his favor, or carry his enemy down, he himself having been liberated in order to save his life. Varying Fortunes of the Fight. "Just at this instant the gunner, who had little to attend to at his quarters, and not perceiving Commodore Jones, or Mr. Dale (an American officer who had escaped from an English prison), both of whom were occupied with the liberated prisoners, and believing the master, the only other superior he had in the ship, to be dead, he ran up on the poop to haul down the colors. Fortunately the flag-staff had been shot away, and, the ensign already hanging in the water, he had no other means of letting his intention be known, than by calling out for quarter. Captain Pearson now hailed to inquire if the Richard demanded quarter, and was answered by Commodore Jones himself in the negative. " It is probable that the reply was not heard, or, if heard, supposed to come from an unauthorized source; for encouraged by what he had learned from the escaped prisoner, by the cry, and by the confusion that prevailed in the Richard, the English captain directed his boarders to be called away, and, as soon as mustered, they were ordered to take possession of the prize. Some of the men actually got on the gunwale of the latter ship, but finding boarders ready to repel boarders, they made a precipitate retreat. All this time the top-men were not idle, and the enemy were soon driven below again with loss. "In the meanwhile, Mr. Dale, who no longer had a gun that could be fought, mustered the prisoners at the pumps, turning their consternation to account, and probably keeping the Richard afloat by the very blunder that had come so near losing her. The ships were now on fire again, and both parties, with the exception of a few guns on FIGHT BETWEEN THE RICHARD AND SERAPIS. 331 each side, ceased fighting, in order to subdue this common enemy. In the course of the combat, the Serapis is said to have been set on fire no less than twelve times, while, towards its close, as will be seen in the sequel, the Richard was burning all the while. "As soon as order was once more restored in the Richard, her chances of success began greatly to increase, while the English, driven under cover, almost to a man, appear to have lost, in a great degree, the hope of victory. Their fire materially slackened, while the Richard again brought a few more guns to bear; the main-mast of the Serapis began to totter, and her resistance, in general, to lessen. The Captain Hauls Down his Colors. "About an hour after the explosion, or between three hours and three hours and a half after the first gun was fired, and between two hours and two hours and a half after the ships were lashed together, Captain Pearson hauled down the colors of the Serapis with his own hands, the men refusing to expose themselves to the fire of the Richard's tops. "When it was known that the colors of the English had been lowered, Mr. Dale got upon the gunwale of the Richard, and laying hold of the main-brace-pendant, he swung himself on board the Serapis. On the quarter-deck of the latter he found Captain Pearson, almost alone, that gallant officer having maintained his post throughout the whole of this close and murderous conflict. Just as Mr. Dale addressed the English captain, the first lieutenant of the Serapis came up from below to inquire if the Richard had struck, her fire having entirely ceased. "Mr. Dale now gave the English officer to understand that he was mistaken 'n the position of things, the Serapis having struck to the Richard, and nct the Richard to the Serapis. Captain Pearson confirming this account, his subordinate acquiesced, offering to go below and silence the guns that were still playing upon the American ship. To this Mr. Dale would not consent, but both the English officers were immediately passed on board the Richard. The firing was then stopped below. 332 FIGHT BETWEEN THE RICHARD AND SERAPIS. Mr. Dale had been closely followed to the quarter-deck of the Serapis, by Mr. Mayrant, a midshipman, and a party of boarders, and as the former struck the quarter-deck of the prize, he was run through the thigh by a boarding-pike, in the hands of a man in the waist, who was ignorant of the surrender. Thus did the close of this remarkable combat resemble its other features in singularity, blood being shed and shot fired, while the boarding officer was in amicable discourse with his prisoners! "As soon as Captain Pearson was on board the Richard, and Mr. Dale had received a proper number of hands in the prize, Commodore Jones ordered the lashings to be cut, and the vessels to be separated, hailing the Serapis, as the Richard drifted from alongside of her, and ordering her to follow his own ship. Mr. Dale now had the head sails of the Serapis braced sharp aback, and the wheel put down, but the vessel refused to answer her helm or her canvas. Wounded and Stretched upon the Deck. "Surprised and excited at this circumstance, the gallant lieutenant sprang from the binnacle on which he had seated himself, and fell his length on the deck. He had been severely wounded in the leg by a splinter, and until this moment was ignorant of the injury! He was replaced on the binnacle, when the master of the Serapis came up and acquainted him with the fact that the ship was anchored. " By this time, Mr. Lunt, the second lieutenant, who had been absent in the pilot boat, had got alongside, and was on board the prize. To this officer Mr. Dale now consigned the charge of the Serapis, the cable was cut, and the ship followed the Richard, as ordered. "Although this piotracted and bloody combat had now ended, neither the danger nor the labors of the victors were over. The Richard was both sinking and on fire. The flames had got within the ceiling, and extended so far that they menaced the magazine, while all the pumps, in constant use, could barely keep the water at the same level. Had it depended on the exhausted people of the two combatants, the ship must have soon sunk, but the other vessels FIGHT BETWEEN THE RICHARD AND SERAPIS. 333 of the squadron sent hands on board the Richard to assist at the pumps. So imminent did the danger from the fire become, that all the powder was got on deck, to prevent an explosion. " In this manner did the night of the battle pass, with one gang always at the pumps and another contending with the flames, until about ten o'clock in the forenoon of the 24th, when the latter were got under. After the action, eight or ten Englishmen in the Richard stole a boat from the Serapis and ran away with it, landing at Scarborough. Several of the men were so alarmed at the condition of their ship as to jump overboard and swim to the other vessels. The Richard a Shattered Wreck. "When the day dawned an examination was made into the condition of the Richard. Abaft, on a line with those guns of the Serapis that had not been disabled by the explosion, the timbers were found to be nearly all beaten in, or beaten out, for in this respect there was little difference between the two sides of the ship; and it was said that her poop and upper decks would have fallen into the gun-room but for a few futtocks that had been missed. Indeed, so large was the vacuum that most of the shot fired from this part of the Serapis, at the close of the action, must have gone through the Richard without touching anything. " The rudder was cut from the sternpost, and the transoms were nearly driven out of her. All the after part of the ship, in particular, that was below the quarter-deck, was torn to pieces, and nothing had saved those stationed on the quarter-deck but the impossibility of sufficiently elevating guns that almost touched their object. " The result of this examination was to convince every one of the impossibility of carrying the Richard into port in the event of its coming on to blow. Commodore Jones was advised to remove his wounded while the weather continued moderate, and he reluctlantly gave the order to commence. The following night and the morning of the succeeding day were employed in executing this imperious duty; and about nine o'clock the officer of the Pallas who was in charge of the ship with a party at the pumps, finding that the water 334 FIGHT BETWEEN THE RICHARD AND SERAPIS. had reached the lower deck, reluctantly abandoned her. About ten, the Bon Homme Richard wallowed heavily, gave a roll, and settled slowly into the sea, bows foremost. "' The Serapis suffered much less than the Richard, the guns of the latter having been so light and so soon silenced; but no sooner were the ships separated than her mainmast fell, bringing down with it the mizzen-top-mast. Though jury-masts were erected, the ship drove about nearly helpless, in the North Sea, until the 6th of October, when the remains of the squadron, with the two prizes, got into the Texel, the port to which they had been ordered to repair. " In the combat between the Richard and the Serapis, an unusual number of lives was lost, though no regular authentic report appears to have been given by either side. Captain Pearson states the loss of the Richard at about 300 in killed and wounded; a total that would have included very nearly all hands, and which was certainly a great exaggeration, or at least a great mistake. Number of Killed and Wounded. "According to a muster-roll of the officers and people of the Richard, excluding the Marines, which is still in existence, 42 men were killed, or died of their wounds shortly after the battle, and 41 were wounded. This would make a total of 83, for this portion of the crew, which on the roll amounted to 227 souls. But many of the persons named on this list are known not to have been in the action at all; such as neither of the junior lieutenants and some thirty men that were with them, besides those absent in prizes. As there were a few volunteers on board, however, who were not mustered, if we set down 200 as the number of the portion of the regular crew that was in the action, we shall probably not be far from the truth. By estimating the soldiers that remained on board at 120, and observing the same proportion for their casualties, we shall get 49 for the result, which will make a total of 132 as the entire loss of the Richard. " It is known, however, that, in the commencement of the action, the soldiers, or marines, suffered out of proportion to the rest of the crew and general report having made the gross loss of the Richard FIGHT BETWEEN THE RICHARD AND SERAPIS. 335 150 men, we are disposed to believe that it was not far from the fact. " Captain Pearson reported a part of his loss at I 17 men, admitting at the same time, that there were many killed and wounded whose names he could not discover. It is probable that the loss of men, in the two ships, was about equal, and that nearly or quite half of all those who were engaged, were either killed or wounded. Commodore Jones, in a private letter, written some time after the occurrence, gives an opinion, however, that the loss of the Richard was less than that of the Serapis. "That two vessels of so much force should lie lashed together more than two hours, making use of artillery, musketry, and all the other means of annoyance known to the warfare of the day, and not do even greater injury to the crews, strikes us with astonishment; but the fact must be ascribed to the peculiarities of the combat, which, by driving most of the English under cover, and by keeping the Americans above the line of fire, protected each party from the missiles of the other. As it was, it proved a murderous and sanguinary conflict, though its duration would probably have been much shorter, and its character still more bloody, but for these unusual circumstances." CHAPTER XXIII. Achievements of American War-Vessels. AFTER the Revolution America had a small navy. In I799 she found a use for it. Complications had grown up between America and France in connection with the West India trade. Although war was never declared a naval war was fought by the two countries in West Indian waters. The first battle was between the American frigate Constellation and a French frigate L'Insurgente, both thirty-eight guns. After a combat of an hour the French ship surrendered, having lost four times as many men as the Americans. A short time afterward the Constellation met the Vengeance, another French frigate considerably larger than herself. A desperate, bloody and long-contested battle followed. During the fight some of the rigging of the Constellation became disabled and the French ship was able to escape during the night, having lost one hundred men. Not long after this the American frigate Boston took the French frigate Berceau after a terrific fight lasting a day and a half. During this war the celebrated schooner Enterprise distinguished herself by fighting five or six battles with French ships and coming off victorious in each contest. In this little war with the French the Americans did not lose a single combat. After these exciting times the American navy was idle until the second war with the English, the war of 1812. The English naval prestige was at its height. The British had defeated at sea all the European powers. They had beaten the Dutch, the French, and the Spanish; they had won the battle of the Nile, and Nelson at Trafalgar had made the British power supreme at sea. Besides, the British had IIoo warships. The American navy had only twenty. One of the principal causes of the war had been the taking by force of seamen from American ships. The seamen were then compelled to serve in British ships of war. These British ships were stationed 336 ACHIEVEMENTS OF AMERICAN WAR-VESSELS. 337 off all American ports, where they searched the American merchantmen coming in and going out and took from them as many sailors as they fancied. The chief culprit was the Guerriere, an English ship that kept watch at the entrance of New York harbor and insulted American officers at every opportunity. Old Frigate Constitution and Her Foe. The American forty-four-gun frigate Constitution, commanded by Captain Hull and cruising northeast from Boston harbor, sighted a British frigate, which proved to be the Guerriere. It was the middle of the afternoon when the two ships came within cannon range of each other. In his " Naval History of the United States" Fenimore Cooper gives a stirring description of the fierce sea fight that followed. "At five in the afternoon," says this historian "the Guerriere hoisted three English ensigns and immediately after she opened her fire, wearing several times to rake and prevent being raked. The Constitution occasionally yawed as she approached to avoid being raked, and she fired a few guns as she bore. But her aim was not to commence the action seriously until quite close. "At a little after six the bows of the American frigate began to double on the quarter of the English ship when she opened with her forward guns, drawing slowly ahead, both vessels keeping up a close and heavy fire as their guns bore. As the ships were fairly side by side the mizzenmast of the Englishman was shot away, and the American passed slowly ahead, keeping up a tremendous fire, and luffed short round his bows to prevent being raked. As the vessels touched both parties prepared to board. " The English turned up all hands from below and mustered forward with that object, while the master, the first lieutenant and the lieutenant of marines sprang upon the taffrail of the Constitution with a similar intention. Both sides now suffered by the closeness of the firing. The English suffered the more. It being found impossible for either party to board in the face of such a fire and with the heavy sea that was on, the sails were filled. Just as the Constitution shot w n H H 4 -H n z 0 3( u 1-, 0 P4 338 ACHIEVEMENTS OF AMERICAN WAR-VESSELS. 339 ahead the foremast of the enemy fell, carrying with it his mainmast and leaving him wallowing in the trough of the sea, a hopeless wreck." After making the necessary repairs the Constitution returned, boarded the prize, and discovered that there was danger of her sinking. On receiving this information Capt. Hull sent all his boats to COMMODORE HULL. remove the British prisoners. Having done this the wreck was set on fire, and in a quarter of an hour she blew up. On the 30th of the same month Capt. Hull returned to Boston with his laurels and his wounded prisoners. This American victory stunned the English, who protested that it was an accident. They could not believe that such an accident would occur again, but it did, not once, but many times. The American forty-four-gun frigate United States met the British 340 ACHIEVEMENTS OF AMERICAN WAR-VESSELS. thirty-eight-gun frigate Macedonian northwest of the African coast. The odds again in size and number of men were somewhat in favor of the American, but not enough to be decisive of a battle, had not other qualities intervened. This battle presented a noteworthy difference to that of the Constitution and Guerrierre. The latter was fought at short range, this one at long range. Splendid Marksmanship of Americans. The Americans showed their immense superiority at gunnery in both. As before, the British ship opened fire first, but her shot struck only the sea. The American shot all struck the target at which they were aimed-the Macedonian. Fighting thus, half a mile apart, the British ship was cut to pieces and surrendered, losing in killed and wounded I04 of her men. The Americans lost only thirteen. The Macedonian was repaired and brought to the United States, and served inder our flag for half a century. The Constitution, which had so gloriously opened the war, was about to win a new triumph. She set sail for the South in company with a little sloop, the Hornet. She left the Hornet to blockade a British sloop in a port of British Guiana, and went further South alone. Off the coast of Brazil she met the British frigate Java, on her way from England to India. In addition to her own crew, the Java carried about one hundred supernumerary soldiers, with Lieut.-Gen. Hislop, the new Governor-General, destined for the Province of Bombay, and his staff of officers. The two ships were almost the same size, guns and number of men. The Java, however, was superior in sailing power. She quickly demonstrated this, as she secured the better position for the battle. Cooper thus describes the memorable battle: "The battle commenced at 2 P.M. on both sides with a furious cannonade. As the enemy sailed the best we soon forged ahead and kept away, with a view to cross the Java's bow, but were foiled by the latter ship's wearing, which brought the heads of the two combatants once more to the westward. In performing these evolutions, as the enemy steered ACHIEVEMENTS OF AMERICAN WAR-VESSELS. 341 free and the Constitution luffed, the vessels got within pistol shot when they first repeated the same attempt, the ships wearing together, bringing their heads once more to the eastward. "Both vessels now ran off free with a wind on the quarter, the English ship still windward. The latter being greatly injured made an attempt to close by running down on the Constitution's quarter. Her jibboom ran into the Constitution's mizzen rigging, in which situation she suffered severely, without being able to effect her purpose. The head of her bow was soon shot away, and in a few moments after her foremast came by the board. The Constitution shot ahead, keeping away to avoid being raked, and in separating a stump of the enemy's bowsprit passed over the American frigate's taffraiJ and materially changed the situation. Hand to Hand Combat. "The two ships now brought the wind abeam again with their heads to the eastward, and the Constitution, having forereached, in consequence of carrying the most sail, wore, passed her antagonist, luffed up under his quarter, wore again, and the Englishman, having kept away, the vessels came alongside of each other, broadside and broadside, and engaged, for a short time, yard-on-and-yard-on. In a few moments the enemy lost his mizzenmast, leaving nothing standing but his mainmast, with the yards shot away near the slings. " As his fire had ceased the Constitution called aboard her tacks and luffed athwart her antagonist's bow, passing out of the combat to windward at five minutes past four. The American commander was under the impression that the enemy had struck, the ensign in his main rigging being down, his ship a wreck and his fire silent. "After a few necessary repairs, the American commander, Bainbridge, discovered that the ensign was still flying on board the enemy. The English vessel anticipated his fire by striking. The Constitution immediately wore with her head on the same tack as the fractured vessel, hoisted out a boat and sent her First Lieutenant to take possession. The combat between the Constitution and the Java had lasted for nearly two hours, with the result that the Java had literally 342 ACHIEVEMENTS OF AMERICAN WAR-VESSELS. been picked to pieces by shot, spar following spar, until she had not one left. Her Captain was mortally wounded. "The Constitution did not lose a spar. She went into action with her royal yards across, and came out of it with all three of them in their places. Of her crew, nine were killed and twenty-five wounded, as against sixty killed and one hundred and one wounded on the British ship. The Java was so badly damaged that the Americans blew her up." On reaching St. Salvador Commodore Bainbridge, who commanded the Constitution, found the Hornet off the port, and it was understood that the Bonne Citoyenne, a British sloop of war, had hove-short, with an intention of going to sea that night. The arrival of the Constitution appears to have produced a change in this plan, if it ever existed. Remaining a few days in port to land his prisoners and to complete his arrangements, Commodore Bainbridge sailed for America January 6, I81 3, and arrived at Boston on the 27th of February, after an absence of four months. Escape under Cover of Darkness. The Hornet was left with orders substantially discretionary. She remained off St. Salvador, blockading the Bonne Citoyenne, alone for eighteen days, when she was chased into the harbor by the Montagu, which vessel had come to relieve the enemy's sloop of war from the awkward necessity of fighting with so much treasure on board, or of the still more unpleasant dilemma of appearing indisposed to meet a ship of equal force. It was late in the evening when the Montagu approached, and the Hornet availed herself of the darkness to ware and stand out again, passing into the offing without further molestation. Captain Lawrence, of the Hornet, now hauled by the wind to the northward and eastward, with the intention of going off Pernambuco. He made a few prizes and continued cruising up the coast, until the 24th of February, when the ship was near the mouth of Demarara river. Here he gave chase to a brig, which drew him into quarterless-five, when, having no pilot, he deemed it prudent to haul off shore. At this moment he supposed himself to be about two and a half ACHIEVEMENTS OF AMERICAN WAR-VESSELS. 343 leagues from the fort at the entrance of the river. Just without the bar another brig was seen. As she had an English ensign set, and bore every appearance of being a man-of-war, it was determined to attack her. While the Hornet was beating round the Carobana bank, which lay between her and the enemy, with a view to get at him, another sail was made on her weather quarter, edging down towards her. It was now half past 3 P. M., and the Hornet continuing to turn to windward, with her original intention, by twenty minutes past 4 the second stranger was made out to be a large man-of-war brig. Shortly after he showed English colors. Ship Cleared for Action. As soon as her captain was satisfied that the vessel approaching was an enemy, the Hornet was cleared for action, and her people went to quarters. The ship was kept close by the wind, in order to gain the weather-gauge, the enemy still running free. At 5.IO, feeling certain that he could weather the Englishman, Captain Lawrence showed his colors and tacked. The two vessels were now standing towards each other, with their heads different ways, both close by the wind. They passed within half pistol-shot at 5.25, delivering their broadsides as the guns bore; each vessel using the larboard battery. As soon as they were clear, the Englishman put his helm hard up, with the intention to ware short round, and get a raking fire at the Hornet; but the manceuvre was closely watched and promptly imitated, and, firing his starboard guns, he was obliged to right his helm, as the Hornet was coming down on his quarter, in a perfect blaze of fire. The latter closed, and maintaining the admirable position she had taken, poured in her shot with such vigor, that a little before 5.40, the enemy not only lowered his ensign, but he hoisted it union down, in the fore-rigging, as a signal of distress. His mainmast soon after fell. An officer was sent on board to take possession. This officer soon returned with the information that the prize was the enemy's sloop of war Peacock, Captain Peake, and that she was fast sinking, having already six feet of water in her hold. The third lieutenant of the 344 ACHIEVEMENTS OF AMERICAN WAR-VESSELS. Hornet, and one of her midshipmen, were immediately despatched with boats, to get out the wounded, and to endeavor to save the vessel. It was too late for the latter, though every exertion was made. Both vessels were immediately anchored, guns were thrown overboard, shot-holes plugged, and recourse was had to the pumps, and even to bailing; but the short twilight of that low latitude left the prize-crew, before the prisoners could be removed. In the hurry and confusion of such a scene, and while the boats of the Hornet were absent, four of the Englishmen lowered the stern boat of the Peacock, which had been thought too much injured to be used, jumped into it, and pulled for the land, at the imminent risk of theit lives. These adventurers got ashore safely. In Danger of Sinking. Mr. Conner, the third lieutenant, became sensible that the brig was in momentary danger of sinking, and he endeavored to collect the people remaining on board, in the Peacock's launch, which still stood on deck, the fall of the main-mast, and the want of time, having prevented an attempt to get it into the water. Unfortunately, a good many of the Peacock's people were below, rummaging the vessel, and when the brig gave her last wallow it was too late to save them. The Peacock settled very easily but suddenly, in five and a half fathoms water, and the two American officers, with most of the men, and several prisoners, saved themselves in the launch, though not without great exertions. Three of the Hornet's people went down in the brig, and nine of the Peacock's were also drowned. Four more of the latter saved themselves by running up the rigging into the foretop, which remained out of water, after the hull had got to the bottom. The launch had no oars, and it was paddled by pieces of boards towards the Hornet, when it was met by one of the cutters of that ship, which was returning to the brig. The cutter immediately pulled towards the Peacock's fore-mast, in the hope of finding some one swimming; but, with the exception of those in the top, no person was saved. ACHIEVEMENTS OF AMERICAN WAR-VESSELS. 345 In this short encounter, the Peacock had her captain and four men killed, and thirty-three wounded. The Hornet had one man killed, and two wounded, in addition to two men badly burned by the explosion of a cartridge. She suffered a good deal aloft, had one shot through the foremast, and the bowsprit was hit. The Peacock was a vessel of the Hornet's size, being a little shorter, but having more beam. Her proper armament was thirtytwos, but, for some reason that is not known, it had been changed for lighter guns, and in the action she mounted I6 twenty-four pound carronades, 2 light long guns, a twelve pound carronade on her topgallant forecastle, and another light long gun aft. By her quarterbill, she had 130 men on board, at the time she was taken. This force rendered her inferior to the Hornet, which ship mounted I8 thirty-two pound carronades and two long twelves. The Hornet in the action mustered 135 men fit for duty. Hit by Only One Shot. Notwithstanding the superiority of the Hornet, the same disparity between the execution and the difference in force, is to be seen in this action, as in those already mentioned. In allowing the Hornet to get the weather-gauge, the Peacock was out-manceuvred; but with this exception, she is understood to have been well managed, though her gunnery was defective. The only shot that touched the hull of the Hornet, was one fired as the latter ship was falling off, in waring; it merely glanced athwart her bows, indenting a plank beneath the cathead. As this shot must have been fired from a starboard gun of the Peacock, the fact demonstrates how well she was handled; and that, in waring, her commander had rightly estimated and judiciously used the peculiar powers of a brig, though the quick movements of his antagonist deprived him of the result he had expected, and immediately gave the Hornet a decided advantage in position. It would be cavilling to deny that this short combat was decided by the superior gunnery and rapid handling of the Hornet. As the brig at anchor might come out and attack her, the greatest 346 ACHIEVEMENTS OF AMERICAN WAR-VESSELS. exertions were made on board the Hornet to be in readiness to re, ceive the enemy, and by 9 o'clock at night, new sails had been bent, her boats were stowed, the ship was cleared, and everything was ready for another action. At 2 A.M., she got under way, and stood to the northward and westward, under easy sail. Captain Lawrence finding that he had now 277 souls on board, including the people of another prize, and that he was short of water, determined to return home. The allowance of water was reduced to three pints a man, and the ship ran through the West-Indies, anchoring at Holmes's Hole, in Martha's Vineyard, on the Igth of March; whence she came through the Vineyard and Long Island Sounds to New York without meeting an enemy. Rewarded with Medals and Votes of Thanks. The success of the Constitution and Hornet, two of the vessels of Commodore Bainbridge's squadron, served greatly to increase the popularity of the navy. Their commanders were rewarded with medals, swords, and votes of thanks, by different legislatures; and Captain Lawrence was promoted, and transferred to the command of the Chesapeake. In the early part of the year I813 the Chesapeake was lying in Boston harbor. She sailed at the close of February, 1813, and passing by the Canary Isles and the Cape de Verds, she crossed the equator, and remained for six weeks near the line. She then made the coast of South America, passed the spot where the Hornet sunk the Peacock, the day after that action had occurred, and went through the West Indies, and along the American coast, to the port from which she had sailed. During this long run the captain saw but three men-of-war, a ship of the line and a frigate, near the Western Islands, and a sloop of war, off the Capes of Virginia. The latter escaped in the night, after a chase of two days. The Chesapeake captured four merchant vessels. By this time, the enemy had changed his policy as regards the eastern states, and he kept a few frigates in the vicinity of Massachusetts Bay, with a view to intercept the American ships of war that ACHIEVEMENTS OF AMERICAN WAR-VESSELS. 347 passed in and out. Two of these cruisers, the Shannon, and Tenedos, had been off Boston, it was said, in waiting for the President and Congress, to come out, but these ships had sailed without encountering them, and it was by no means probable that the English seriously wished a meeting. A Challenge to Combat. When it was understood, however, that the Chesapeake was ready to sail, the Shannon, Captain Broke, appeared alone in the offing, and as the ships were fairly matched, a combat appeared much more probable. It is now known that Captain Broke, that very day, sent in an invitation to Captain Lawrence to meet him in any latitude and longitude that might be agreed on. Unfortunately, this letter was not written until about the moment the Chesapeake was getting under way, and the advantage of having officers and men accustomed to act a little together was lost. The Chesapeake's contemplated cruise was to the northward and eastward, with a view to intercept the store-ships and troop-ships that were steering for the St. Lawrence. The Hornet, Captain Biddle, had been put under orders, and it was intended that the two ships should cruise in company. The Greenland whale fishery was the ultimate object of these vessels. In the forenoon of June ISt, 1813, the Shannon appeared in the bay. The Chesapeake was then lying in President Roads, ready for sea, though some disaffection existed among the crew on account of the prize-money of the last cruise, which was still unpaid. The ship had an unusual number of mercenaries in her, and among others was a boatswain's mate, a Portuguese, who was found to be particularly troublesome. Under the extraordinary circumstances in which the vessel was placed, it was thought prudent to temporize, and the people were addressed, and some promises were made to thenr, which apparently had the effect of putting them in a better humor. At 12, meridian, the Chesapeake lifted her anchor and stood out, with a pleasant breeze from the southward and westward. As the Shannon was then in plain sight, the ship was cleared for action, and the best appearances were assumed, although it is known that Cap 348 ACHIEVEMENTS OF AMERICAN WAR-VESSELS. tain Lawrence went into this engagement with strong reluctance, on account of the peculiar state of his crew. He had himself only joined the vessel a few days before; her proper first lieutenant, Mr. O. A. Page, of Virginia, an officer of experience, was ill on shore, and died soon after in Boston; the acting first lieutenant, Mr. Augustus Ludlow, of New York, though an officer of merit, was a very young man, and was in an entirely novel situation; and there was but one other commissioned sea-officer in the ship, two of the midshipmen acting as third and fourth lieutenants, and now performing this duty for the first time. One, if not both of these young gentlemen, had also just joined the ship, following the captain from the Hornet. In addition, the Chesapeake had an Urnusual number of landsmen in her. Maneuvering for Positions. The Shannon stood off under easy sail, when Captain Lawrence fired a gun, about half-past 4, which induced her to heave to, with her head to the southward and eastward. By this time the wind had freshened, and at 5 the Chesapeake took in her royals and topgallantsails, and half an hour later she hauled up her courses. The two ships were now about thirty miles from the light, the Shannon under single-reefed topsails and jib and the Chesapeake under her whole topsails and jib, coming down fast. As the Shannon was running with the wind a little free, there was an anxious moment on board of her, during which it was uncertain on which side the Chesapeake was about to close, or whether she might not be disposed to commence the action on her quarter. But Captain Lawrence chose to lay his enemy fairly alongside, yard-arm and yard-arm; and he luffed and ranged up abeam on the Shannon's starboard side. When the Chesapeake's foremast was in a line with the Shannon's mizzen-mast, the latter ship discharged her cabin guns, and the others in succession, from aft forward. The Chesapeake did not fire until all her guns bore, when she delivered a very destructive broadside. For six or eight minutes the cannonading was fierce, and the best of ACHIEVEMENTS OF AMERICAN WAR-.VESSELS. 349 the action, so far as the general effect of the fire was concerned, is said to have been with the American frigate, though it was much in favor of the enemy in its particular and accidental consequences. While passing the Shannon's broadside the Chesapeake had her fore topsail tie and jib sheet shot away. Her spanker-brails also were loosened, and the sail blew out. These accidents occurring nearly at the same instant, they brought the ship up into the wind, when, taking aback, she got sternway, and fell aboard of the enemy, with her mizzen-rigging foul of the Shannon's fore chains. By some accounts, the fluke of an anchor on board the Shannon hooked in the rigging of the Chesapeake. Whatever may have served to keep the ships together, it appears to be certain that the American frigate lay exposed to a raking fire from the enemy, who poured into her the contents of one or two carronades that nearly swept lier upper deck. Last Words of the Gallant Lawrence. At the few first discharges of the Shannon, Captain Lawrenee had received a wound in the leg; Mr. Broom, the marine officer, Mr. Ballard, the acting fourth lieutenant, and the boatswain, were mortally wounded; Mr. White, the master, was killed; and Mr. Ludlow, the first lieutenant, was twice wounded by grape and musketry. Such was the state of the upper deck, as the accidents mentioned brought the vessels in contact. When Captain Lawrence perceived that the ships were likely to fall foul of each other, he directed the boarders to be called; but unfortunately, a bugleman had been substituted for the drummer, and this man, a negro, was so much alarmed at the effects of the conflict, that he had concealed himself under the stern of the launch; when found he was completely paralyzed by fear, and was totally unable to sound a note. Verbal orders were consequently sent below by the captain's aids for the boarders to come on deck. At this critical moment Captain Lawrence fell with a ball through the body. His last words were, " Don't give up the ship! "-a saying that has become historic. The upper deck was now left without an officer above the rank of Ck 'I N I N vFc3 — -—, N OFFICERS OF THE CHESAPEAKE S DERING ThEIR~I~1 S'AORDS. ACHIEVEMENTS OF AMERICAN WAR-VESSELS. 351 a midshipman. It was the practice of the service in that day to keep the arms of the boarders on the quarter-deck and about the masts; and even when the boarders had been summoned in the slow and imperfect manner that, in the confusion of a combat, was allowed by the voice, they were without arms; for, by this time, the enemy was in possession of the Chesapeake's quarter-deck. As soon as the ships were foul Captain Broke passed forward in the Shannon, and, to use his own language, "seeing that the enemy was flinching from his guns," he gave the order to board. Finding that all their officers had fallen, and exposed to a raking fire without the means of returning a shot, the men on the Chesapeake's quarter. deck had indeed left their guns. The marines had suffered severely, and having lost their officer were undecided what to do, and the entire upper deck was left virtually without any defense. Too Late to Retrieve Disaster. When the enemy entered the ship from his forechannels it was with great caution, and so slowly that twenty resolute men would have repulsed him. The boarders had not yet appeared from below, and, meeting with no resistance, he began to move forward. This critical moment lost the ship, for the English, encouraged by the state of the Chesapeake's upper deck, now rushed forward in numbers, and soon had entire command above board. The remaining officers appeared on deck and endeavored to make a rally, but it was altogether too late, for the boatswain's mate mentioned, had removed the gratings of the berth-deck, and had run below, followed by a great many men. As this man performed this act of treachery he is said to have cried out, "So much for not having paid the men their prize-money." Soon after, the Chesapeake's colors were hauled down by the enemy, who got complete possession of the ship with very little resistance, and the officers surrendered their arms. Captain Broke, in his official report of this action, observes that after he had boarded, "the enemy fought desperately, but in disorder." The first part of this statement is probably true as regards a few gallant individuals on the upper deck, but there was no regular resistance 352 ACHIEVEMENTS OF AMERICAN WAR-VESSELS. to the boarders of the Shannon at all. The people of the Chesapeake had not the means to resist, neither were they collected nor commanded in the mode in which they had been trained to act. The enemy fired down the hatches, and killed and wounded a great many men in this manner, but it does not appear that their fire was returned. Although the English lost a few men when they boarded, it is understood that the slaughter was principally on the side of the Americans, as might be expected, after the assault was made. Terrible Havoc and Loss of Life. Few naval battles have been more sanguinary than this. It lasted altogether not more than fifteen minutes, and yet both ships were charnel houses. The Chesapeake had 48 men killed and 98 wounded, a large portion of whom fell by the raking fire of the Shannon after the Chesapeake was taken aback, and by the fire of the boarders. The Shannon had 23 killed and 56 wounded, principally by the Chesapeake's broadsides. It was impossible for ships of that size to approach so near, in tolerably smooth water, and to fire with so mich steadiness, without committing great havoc. CHAPTER XXIV. Thrilling Incidents of Naval Warfare. ONGRESS did nothing of any moment towards increasing the navy, on the ocean, during the year 1812, although war was declared in June. The neglect of so important a branch of the public service, under circumstances that would seem so imperiously to call for the fostering care and active exertions of the government, must be ascribed to the doubts that still existed as to the possibility of keeping ships at sea, in face of the British naty. It had been customary to say that France, whenever she put a ship into the water, was merely building for her great enemy; and an opinion was prevalent that America would be doing the same thing it she wasted her resources in creating a marine; thus rer dering it literally necessary for the accomplished officers who composed the germ of the service, to demonstrate, from fact to fact, their ability to maintain the honor of the country, before that country woul i frankly confide to them the means. A Large Ship Sighted. Commodore Rodgers, having refitted, sailed on a second cruise, leaving the Hornet in port; but Commodore Decatur, in the United States, and the Argus, Captain Sinclair, parted company with him at sea, on the I2th of October, after cruising some time without falling in with anything of importance. On the I7th he captured the British packet Swallow with a large amount of specie on board, and continued h;i cruise to the eastward. In the meanwhile the United States and Argus having separated, the former stood more to the southward and eastward, with a view to get into the track of the enemy's Indiamen. Sunday, October 25th, the United States sighted a large sail to the southward and eastward. The stranger was running down a little free, while the American ship was or a wind, standing towards the chase, which was soon ascerx353 35i THRILLING iNCiDENTS 01 NAVAL WARFARE. taincd to be an enemy. The latter having come within a le.gue, hauled up, and passed to windward, when each party was enabled to see that it had a frigate to oppose. The stranger now wore and came round on the same tack as the United States, keeping away sufficiently to get within reach of her long guns, when she hauled up on an easy bowline, with her mizzen topsail aback. At this moment the distance between the two ships a little exceeded a mile, when the Englishman opened his fire. Finding the enemy on his weather quarter, Commodore Decatur delivered his larboard broadside, wore round, and came up to the wind on the other tack, heading northerly. It was observed that all the carronade-shot fell short, the enemy doing very little injury by his fire. An Hour of Heavy Cannonading. Having passed her antagonist, the United States delivered her starboard broadside, and wore again, bringing her head once more to the southward, or on the same tack as the enemy, both ships steering rap full, with their mizzen-topsails aback, and keeping up a heavy cannonade. In this manner the action continued about an hour, the English vessel suffering heavily, while her own fire inflicted very little injury on her antagonist. At length the stranger's mizzen-mast came down over his lee quarter, having been shot away about ten feet above the deck. He then fell off, and let his foresail drop, apparently with a wish to close. As the ships got near together, the shot of the American vessel did fearful execution, the fore-course being soon in ribands, the fore and main-topmasts over the side, the main-yard cut away in the slings, and the foremast tottering. The United States now filled her mizzentopsail, gathered fresh way, and tacked. As the stranger was drifting down, nearly before the wind, and was almost unmanageable, Commodore Decatur had no difficulty in heading up high enough to cross his wake, which he handsomely effected, with his people still manning the larboard guns. At the time the United States filled her mizzen-topsail, in preparation for stays, it is said that the enemy, under the impression she was ThRIi tLLING INCIDENTS OF NAVAL WARFARE. 35, about to run away, gave three cheers, and set a union jack in his main rigging, all his other flags having come down with the several spars. When, however, the American ship was seen luffing up to close, the jack was lowered, and resistance ceased. As the United States crossed the stern of the English ship, the firing having ceased on both sides, she hailed and demanded the name of her antagonist, and whether she had submitted. To the first interrogatory, Commodore Decatur was answered that the ship was the Macedonian, Captain Carden, and to the second, that the vessel had struck. On taking possession. the enemy was found fearfully cut to pieces, having received no less than a hundred round shot in his hull alone. Of three hlundrcd mlen on board him, thirtysix were killed, and sixty-eight woundtetl. Destructive Work of the American Ship. the Macedonian was a very fine.slip of her class, mounting, as usual, forty-nine guns; eighteen n lher gun-deck, and thirty-twopound carronades above. She was smlallcr, of lighter armament, and had fewer men than her opponent, of course; but the disproportion between the force of the two vessels, was imuch less than that between the execution. In this action, the advantage of position was with the British ship until she was crippled, and the combat was little more than a plaii, cannonade, at a distance tliat rendered grape or musketry of little or no use, for the greater part of the time. The fire of the United States took effect so heavily in the waist of her antagonist, that it is said the marines of the latter were removed to the batteries, which circumstance increased the efficiency of the ship, by enabling new crews to be placed at guns that had been once cleared of their men. On the other hand, the marines of the United States remained drawn up in the waist of that ship, most of the time quite useless, though they are understood to have shown the utmost steadiness and good conduct under the example of their gallant commander, the weight of the enemy's fire passing a short distance above their heads. The United States suffered surprisingly little, considering the 356 THRILLING INCIDENTS OF NAVAL WARFARE. length of the cannonade, and her equal exposure. She lost one of her top-gallant masts, received some wounds in the spars, had a good deal of rigging cut, and was otherwise injured aloft, but was hulled a very few times. Of her officers and people five were killed and seven wounded. Of the latter, two died, one of whom was Mr. John Musser Funk, the junior lieutenant of the ship. No other officer was hurt. On taking possession of his prize, Commodore Decatur found her in a state that admitted of her being taken into port. When the necessary repairs were completed, the two ships made the best of their way to America; Commodore Decatur discontinuing the cruise, in order to convoy his prize into port. The United States arrived off New London on the 4th of December, and about the same time the Macedonian got into Newport. Shortly after, both ships reached New York by the Hell Gate passage. Cruise of the Famous Wasp. The order and style with which the Macedonian was taken added materially to the high reputation that Commodore Decatur already enjoyed. His services were acknowledged in the usual manner, and he was soon after directed to cruise in the United States, with the Macedonian, Captain Jones, in company. Mr. Allen, the first lieutenant of the United States, was promoted to the rank of a mastercommandant, and he received due credit for the steady discipline that the ship's company had displayed. The Argus, under Captain Si lclair, after separating from the United States, cruised alone, making several captures of merchantmen, though she met no vessel of wz r, of a force proper for her to engage. While these events were in the course of accomplishment, the Wasp, Captain Jones, left the Delaware on a cruise. She was one of the sloops built at the close of the Tripolitan war, and like her sister ship the Hornet, a beautiful and fast cruiser. The latter, however, which originally was a brig, had been rebuilt, or extensively repaired at Washington, on which occasion she had been pierced for twenty guns, and rigged into a ship. The Wasp still retained her old arm-. THRILLING INCIDENTS OF NAVAL WARFARE. 357 ment and construction, having been a ship from the first, mounting sixteen 32-pound carronades and two long twelves. Her comple. ment of men varied from one hundred and thirty to one hundred and sixty, according to circumstances. She had been to Europe with dispatches before the declaration of war, and did not return home until some weeks after hostilities had commenced. The Wasp, after refitting, sailed on a cruise to the northward. She ran off Boston, made one capture, and after an absence of three weeks, returned to the Delaware. On the I3th of October, she sailed a second time, and ran off cast, southerly, to clear the coast, to get into the track of vessels steering north. Getting into Close Quarters. Three days out it came on to blow very heavily, when the ship lost her jib-boom, and two men that were on it at the moment. The next day the weather moderated, and about I o'clock in the night of the I7th, several sails were sighted. Two of these vessels appeared to be large, and Captain Jones did not deem it prudent to close, until he had a better opportunity of observing them, but hauling off to a convenient distance, he steered in the same direction with the unknown vessels, with the intention of ascertaining their characters in the morning. When the day dawned the strangers were seen ahead, and to leeward. Making sail to close, they were soon ascertained to be a smal convoy of six English ships, under the charge of a heavy brig-of-war. Four of the merchantmen were armed, apparently, mounting, as well as could be ascertained at that distance, from twelve to eighteen guns. The commander of the brig, however, manifested no wish to avail himself of the assistance of any of his convoy, but shortening sail, the latter passed ahead, while he prepared to give battle. The Wasp now sent down top-gallant-yards, close reefed her top. sails, and was otherwise brought under short fighting canvas, there being a good deal of sea on. The stranger was under little sail also, and his main yard was on deck, where it had been lowered to undergo repairs. As it was the evident intention of the Englishmen to cover 3.58 THRILLING INCIDENTS OF NAVAL WARFARE. his convoy, very little manoeuvring was necessary to bring the vessels alongside of each other. At 32 minutes past II A.M., the Wasp ranged close up on the starboard side of the enemy, receiving her broadside, at the distance of about sixty yards, and delivering her own. The fire of the Englishman immediately became very rapid, it having been thought at the time, that he discharged three guns to the Wasp's two; and as the main-topmast of the latter ship was shot away within five minutes after the action commenced, appearances at first were greatly in the enemy's favor. In eight minutes, the gaff and mizzen top-gallant-mast also fell. But, if the fire of the Wasp was the most deliberate, it was much the most deadly. Poured in a Raking Broadside. In consequence of the fall of the main-topmast of the American ship, which, with the main-topsail-yard, lodged on the fore and foretopsail braces, it became next to impossible to haul any of the yards, had circumstances required it, but the battle was continued with great spirit on both sides, until the ships had gradually closed so near, that the bends of the Wasp rubbed against her antagonist's bows. Here the ships came foul, the bowsprit of the enemy passing in over the quarterdeck of the Wasp, forcing her bows up into 'he wind, and enabling the latter to throw in a close raking fire. When Captain Jones perceived the effect of the enemy's fire on his spars and rigging, he closed with a view to board; but finding his ship in so favorable a position, he countermanded an order to that effect, and directed a fresh broadside to be delivered. The vessels were now so near that in loading some of the Wasp's guns, the rammers hit against the bows of her antagonist, and the people of the Englishman could no longer be kept at their quarters forward. The discharge of one or two of the carronades swept the enemy's decks, when the impetuosity of the Wasp's crew could no longer be restrained, and they began to leap into the rigging and from thence on the bowsprit of the brig. As soon as Mr. Biddle, the first lieutenant of the Wasp, found that the people were not to be restrained, he sprang into the rigging, 1 cc COr CD THE WASP BOARDING THE FROLIC. 360 THRILLING INCIDENTS OF NAVAL WARFARE. followed by Lieutenant G. Rodgers and a party of officers and men, and the attempt to board was seriously made. On the forecastle of the brig Mr. Biddle passed all his own people, but there was no enemy to oppose him. Two or three officers wers standing aft, most of them bleeding. The decks were strewed with killed and wounded, but not a common hand was at his station; all those that were able having gone below, with the exception of the man at the wheel. The latter had maintained his post, with the spirit of a seaman, to the last. The English officers threw down their swords in token of submission, as Mr. Biddle passed aft; and it ought to be added, to the credit of the conquerors, notwithstanding the excitement of such scenes is too apt to lead even the disciplined into excesses, not an enemy was injured by the boarders. Mr. Biddle sprang into the main rigging, and lowered the English flag with his own hands, when tho combat ceased, after a duration of forty-three minutes. Comparative Size of the Vessels. The prize turned out to be the British sloop of war Frolic, Captain Whinyates, homeward bound, with the vessels in the Honduras trade under convoy. The Frolic, with the exception of being a brig, was a vessel of the size and construction of the Wasp. She mounted, on her main deck, I6 thirty-two pound carronades, four long guns, differently stated to have been sixes, nines, and twelves, and had two twelve-pound carronades on a topgallant forecastle. This armament would make a force greater than that of the Wasp by four guns, a disparity that is not immaterial in vessels so small. The two crews were pretty equal in numbers, though it is probable that the Wasp may have had a few men the most; a difference that was of little moment under the circumstances, more particularly as the Frolic was a brig, and the battle was fought, by both vessels, under very short sail. The Wasp was cut up aloft to an unusual degree, there having been no question that her antagonist's fire was heavy and spirited. The braces and standing-rigging were nearly all shot away, and some of THRILLING INCIDENTS OF NAVAL WARFARE. 361 the spars that stood were injured. She had five men killed, and five wounded. The hull sustained no great damage. The Frolic was also much injured in her spars and rigging, more particularly in the former; and the two vessels were hardly separated, before both her masts fell. She had been hulled at almost every discharge, and was virtually a wreck when taken possession of by the Americans. Her loss in men was never accurately known, but her captain, first lieutenant, and master, were wounded; the two latter mortally. Mr. Biddle, who remained in charge of the prize, after so gallantly boarding her, stated, that as far as he could ascertain, she had front 70 to 80 killed and wounded. Subsequent information, however, has given reason to believe that the number was even greater. Captain Whinyates, in his official report, states that not 20 of his crew escaped unhurt, which would probably raise the casualties to a number between go and Ioo. Great Exultation in America. The Frolic had scarcely submitted, when a large sail was see; standing towards the two vessels, evidently a ship of force. Instruo tions were given to Mr. Biddle to make the best of his way to Charleston with the prize, and the Wasp began to make sail, with an intention to continue her cruise; but on otening her canvas, and turning the reefs out of her topsails, they were found to be nearly in ribands. The stranger, which turned out to be the enemy's ship Poictiers, hove a shot over the Frolic, in passing, and ranging up near the Wasp, both vessels were captured. The Poictiers proceeded with her two prizes to Bermuda, and the Americans, being paroled, soon after returned home. As this was the first combat of the war between vessels of a force sc nearly equal as to render cavilling difficult, the result occasioned much exultation in America, and greatly increased the confidence of the public, in supposing an American ship had quite as many claims to conduct, courage, and skill, as a British. Persor s of reflection attached but little importance, it is true, to the mere fact that a few 362 THRILLING INCIDENTS OF NAVAL WARFARE, cruisers had been taken in single combat, but the idea of British invincibility was destroyed, and vast moral results were distinctly foreseen. In the summer of 1814, several of the new ships were put into the water: among them were tile Independence, the Guerriere and Java, and the Wasp,'named in honor of the first Wasp, Frolic and Peacock, sloops-of-war. The Frolic, Captain Bainbridge, had a short career, having been chased and captured, on the 20th of April, I814, by the Orpheus, Captain Pigot, soon after she got out. There was no action. the Frolic having thrown most of her guns overboard in the chase. Hard Chased by Heavy Frigate. The Adams had been cut down to a sloop-of-war and lengthened, at Washington, so as to mount twenty-eight guns on one deck, under the law of 1812. She succeeded in passing tile enemy's ships in Lynnhaven Bay, on the night of the l8th of Janiary, 1814, under the command of Captain Morris, and mande a cruise in the track of the enemy's East Indiamen; returning to Savannah in April. Quitting this port early in May. she went off the coast of Ireland, when she was hard chased, on different occasions, by heavy frigates. The ship had now been near two months in a cold, foggy, damp atmosphere, and the scurvy made its appearance on board. So malny men were laid up with this terrible disease, that Captain Morris deemed it prudent to go into port. At 4 A.M. on the 17th of August, in very thick weather, the Adams ran ashore on the Isle of Halte, but was got off by lightening. It was found, however, that she made nine feet of water in an hour, and Captain Morris succeeded in getting her into the Penobscot, in Maine, as hig' up as Hampden, which is several miles above Castinc. While the Adams lay ready to be hove out, with nothing in her, a strong expedition of the enemy. consisting of troops and vessels of war, entered the river, and ascended as high as Hampden. A small force of militia was assembled, and a battery mounted with the guns of the ship, in order to protect her; but the irregular troops giving way, and leaving the seamen and marines exposed in the rear, the THRILLING INCIDENTS OF NAVAL WARFARE. 363 first without muskets, nothing remained but to set the vessel on fire, and to make a retreat. All the service connected with the ship was performed in the most ordle-rly and creditable manner, until a part of the country was reached where it was found impossible to subsist the men in a body, on account of the distance between the inhabitants, when the people were directed to break into small parties, and to make the best of their way to Portland. It is a fact worthy of being recorded, that every man rejoined his commander, though a fatiguing march of two hundred nilcs was necessary to do so. The ship had made manv prizes during this cruise, most of which were destroyed. In the Track of the Enemy. While the Adams was thus running tile chances of' chases and shipwreck, the \WVasp, Captain Blakely, sailed from Portsmouth. N.H., on a cruise. A letter fromn Captain Blakely announced that he was in the offing, on the Ist of May, I14, with a fine breeze. He ran off the coast without molestation, and soon appeared near the chops of the English lChannel, where he began to repeat the ravages caused by the Arg.s. The position of the ship now exacted the utmost vigilance, as she was in the very track of the enemy. At a quarter past 4 A.aM., on the 2S8th of June, 8X14, the Wasp sighted two sails a little forward of the lee-beam. The weather was fine, the wind light, and the water exceedingly smooth for that sea. After keeping away in chase, another stranger was discovered on the weather-beam, when the ship was immediately brought by the wind, in order to close with her, it being obviously expedient for the American vessel to select the antagonist that had the most weatherly position. At to the chase showed English colors, and began to make signals. At noon her signals were repeated, and she fired a gun. The Wasp did not go to quarters until 15 minutes past I; and soon after, believing he could weather the chase, Captain Blakely tacked. The stranger also tacked, and stood off, no doubt to preserve the weathergauge. The Wasp now showed her ensign, and fired a gun to windward. 8:64 THRILLING INCIDENTS OF NAVAL WARFARE. The enemy, a large man-of-war brig, gallantly answered this defiance. The Wasp immediately set her light canvas to close, when, at 32 minutes past 2, the enemy tacked, and began to draw near. The American now took in her light sails, and tacked in her turn; the English vessel still maintaining her weatherly position, and making sail to close. At I7 minutes past 3, the enemy was on the weather-quarter of the Wasp, distant about sixty yards, when he fired his shifting-gun, a twelve-pound carronnade mounted on a topgallant forecastle. Two minutes later he fired again; and the discharges were repeated until the gun had been deliberately fired five times into the Wasp, at that short distance, and in unusually smooth water. Repulse of Brave English Tars. All this time the Wasp could not bring a gun to bear; and finding that the enemy drew ahead very slowly, Captain Blakely put his helm down, and made a half-board, fring from aft forward, as the runs bore. He now hauled up the mainsail, and the two ships being necessarily very near, every shot told. But the fire of the Wasp was too heavy to be borne, and the brig ran her aboard, on her starboard-quarter, at 40 minutes past 3, her larboard bow coming foul. The English now made several trials to enter the Wasp, led by their commander in person, but were repulsed with steadiness and without confusion. Two or three desperate efforts were repeated, but with the same want of success, when, at 44 minutes past 3, Captain Blakely gave the order in turn, to go on board the Englishman, and in one minute the flag of the latter was lowered. On the part of the enemy, this action lasted 28 minutes; on the part of the Wasp, 19 minutes, including the time employed in boarding. The prize was his Britannic Majesty's sloop of war Reindeer I8, Captain Manners. The Reindeer was an ordinary thirty-two-pounder brig, but, like the Peacock, her armament, when taken, was of twentyfour-pound carronades. She was literally cut to pieces in a line with her ports; her upper works, boats, and spare spars being one entire THRILLING INCIDENTS OF NAVAL WARFARE. 365 wreck. A breeze springing up next day, her foremast fell. The Wasp was hulled six times, and she was filled with grape. The principal loss she sustained in men, however, was in repelling the attempt to board. Captain Blakely put a poItion of his wounded prisoners on board a neutral and proceeded himself to lOrient, where he arrived on the 8th of July, with the remainder. The prize was burned on account of the great danger of recapture. The Wasp again on the Chase. After a detention in port until the 27th of August, the Wasp sailed on another cruise. Two prizes were sighted when a few days out; and on the 1st of September sle cut a vessel, loaded with guns and military stores, out of a convoy of ten sail, that was under the care of the Armada; but was chased off by the enemy in an attempt to seize another. On the evening of the same day, while running free, four sail were seen nearly at the same time, of which two were on the larboard and two on the starboard bow. The latter being farthest to windward, the Wasp hauled up for the most weatherly. At 7 P.M., the chase began to make signals with flags, lanterns, rockets and guns. These the Wasp disregarded, but kept steadily approaching. At 20 minutes past 9, she had the enemy on her lee bow, within hail, and a gun was fired into him. The shot was returned, when Captain Blakely put his helm up and passed to leeward, under an apprehension that the enemy might attempt to escape, for it was blowing fresh and the ship was running ten knots. This was easily effected, the enemy being still in doubt as to the character of the Wasp, both vessels hailing. As soon as she had got the desired position, however, the American ship poured in a broadside and a warm engagement commenced at 29 minutes past 9. The firing was close and severe, though the combat had the usual embarrassments of a night action. By IO o'clock, notwithstanding the darkness and the swell that was on at the time, the fire of the enemy had ceased, and Captain Blakely hailed to ascertain if he had surrendered. Receiving no answer, and a few guns 366 THRILLING INCIDENTS OF NAVAL \VARFARE. being fired on board the English vessel, the Wasp poured in a fresh broadside; but at 12 minutes past 10, perceiving that the enemy did not fire any longer, he was again hailed, with a demand to know if he had surrendered. The answer was in the affirmative, and the Wasp lowered a boat to take possession. Before the latter reached the water, however, the smoke having blown away, another vessel was seen astern, coming up fast, when the boat was run up, the people were again sent to the guns, and the Wasp was brought under command, in readiness to receive this second antagonist. At 36 minutes past 10, two more sail were seen astern, and it became necessary to abandon the prize. The Enemy Firing Guns of Distress. The helm of the Wasp was now put up and the ship ran off dead before the wind, in order to reeve new braces, and in the hope of drawing the nearest vessel farther from her consorts. This vessel continued the chase until she got quite near, when she hauled her wind across the stern of the \Vasp, delivered a broadside, and made stretches to rejoin the captured vessel, which, by this time, was firing guns of distress. It would have been easy for the second vessel to run alongside of the Wasp, but the urgent situation of her consort, probably, prevented the experiment. As the Wasp left her prize so suddenly, she had no means of learning her name or loss. She had herself but two men killed and one wounded, the latter by a wad; a circumstance that proves the closeness of the combat. She was hulled four times, had a good many grape in her, and was much cut up aloft. All that Captain Blakely could state concerning his enemy. was his impression that she was one of the largest brigs in the British navy. The four shot that hulled the Wasp, weighed each just 32 pounds. She had many hands in her tops, and otherwise appeared to be strongly manned. It is now known that the vessel captured by the Wasp was the Avon, Captain Arbuthnot. The brig that followed the Wasp, and fired into her, was the Castilian. The Avon sunk, and it was with great difficulty that the other vessel saved her people. CHAPTER XXV. Perry's Celebrated Victory on Lake Erie. ERRY'S famous battle on Lake Erie, fought September 1o, I813, raised the spirits of the Americans. The British had six ships, with sixty-three guns. The Americans had nine ships, with fifty-four guns, and the American ships were much smaller than the English. At this time Perry, the American commander, was but twenty-six years of age. His flagship was the Lawrence. The ship's watchword was the last charge of the Chesapeake's dying commander-" Don't give up the ship." The battle was witnessed by thousands of people on shore. Ship Riddled and Guns Dismounted. At first the advantage seemed to be with the English. Perry's flagship was riddled by English shot, her guns were dismounted and the battle seemed lost. At the supreme crisis Perry embarked in a small boat with some of his officers, and under the fire of many cannon passed to the Niagara, another ship of the fleet, of which he took command. After he had left the Lawrence she hauled down her flag and surrendered, but the other American ships carried on the battle with such fierce impetuosity that the English battle-ship in turn surrendered, the Lawrence was retaken and all the English ships yielded with the exception of one, which took flight. The Americans pursued her, took her and came back with the entire Britishll squadron. In the Capitol at Washington is a historical picture, a copy of which is here inserted, showing this famous victory. The reader will be especially interested in obtaining a detailed account of Perry's brilliant tactics in this famous sea fight. Perry's squadron was lying at Put-in Bay on the morning of the ioth of September, when, at daylight, the enemy's ships were discovered at the northwest from the masthead of the Lawrence. A signal was immediately made for all the vessels to get under way. 367 368 PERRY'S VICTORY ON LAKE ERIE. The wind was light at southwest, and there was no mode of obtaining tlic weather-gauge of the enemy, a very important measure with the pcculiar armament of the largest of the American vessels, but by beating round some small islands that lay in the way. Manoeuvring for Best Positions. It being thought there was not sufficient time for this, though the boats were got ahead to tow, a signal was about to be made for the vessels to ware, and to pass to leeward of the islands, with an intention of giving the enemy this great advantage, when the wind shifted to southeast. By this change the American squadron was enabled to pass in the desired direction, and to gain the wind. When he perceived the American vessels clearing the land, or about 10 A. M., the enemy hove to, in a line, with his ships' heads to the southward and westward. At this time the two squadrons were about three leagues asunder, the breeze being still at southeast, and sufficient to work with. After standing down until about a league from the English, where a better view was got of the manner in which the enemy had formed his line, the leading vessels of his own squadron being within hail, Captain Perry communicated a new order of attack. It had been expected that the Queen Charlotte, the second of the English vessels, in regard to force, would be at the head of their line, and the Niagara had been destined to lead in, and to lie against her, Captain Perry having reserved for himself a commander's privilege of engaging the principal vessel of the opposing squadron; but, it now appearing that the anticipated arrangement had not been made, the plan was prompty altered. Captain Barclay had formed his line with the Chippeway, Mr. Campbell, armed with one gun on a pivot, in the van; the Detroit, his own vessel, next; and the Hunter, Lieutenant Bignal; Queen Charlotte, Captain Finnis; Lady Prevost, Lieutenant Commandant Buchan; and Little Belt astern, in the order named. To oppose this line, the Ariel, of four long twelves, was stationed in the van, and the Scorpion, of one long and one short gun on circles, next her. The PERRY'S VICTORY ON LAKE ERIE. 3t;'39 Lawrence, Captain Perry, came next; the two schooners just men. tioned keeping on her weather bow, having no quarters. The Caledonia, Lieutenant Turner, was the next astern, and the Niagara, Captain Elliot, was placed next to the Caledonia. These vessels were all up at the time, but the other light craft were more or less distant, each endeavoring to get into her berth. The order of battle for the remaining vessels directed the Tigress to fall in astern of the Niagara, the Somers next, and then the Porcupine and Trippe in the order named. English Vessels in Gallant Array. By this time the wind had got to be very light, but the leading vessels were all in their stations, and the remainder were endeavoring to get in as fast as possible. The English vessels presented a very gallant array, and their appearance was beautiful and imposing. Their line was compact, with the heads of the vessels still to the southward and westward; their ensigns were just opening to the air; their vessels were freshly painted, and their canvas was new and perfect. The American line was more straggling. The order of battle required them to form within half a cable's length of each other, but the schooners astern could not close with the vessels ahead, which sailed faster, and had more light canvas until some considerable time had elapsed. A few minutes before twelve, the Detroit threw a twenty-fourpound shot at the Lawrence, then on her weather quarter, distant between one and two miles. Captain Perry now passed an order by trumpet, through the vessels astern, for the line to close to the prescribed order; and soon after the Scorpion was hailed and directed to begin with her long gun. At this moment the American vessels in line were edging down upon the English, those in front being necessarily nearer to the enemy than those more astern, with the exception of the Ariel and Scorpion, which two schooners had been ordered to keep well to windward of the Lawrence. As the Detroit had an armament of long guns, Captain Barclay manifested his judgment in commencing the action in this mann:;, Y 370. 7 PERRY'S VICTORY ON LAKE ERIE. and in a short time the firing between that ship, the Lawrence, and the two schooners at the head of the American line got to be very animated. The Lawrence now showed a signal for the squadron to close, each vessel in her station, as previously designated. A few minutes later the vessels astern began to fire, and the action became general, but distant. The Lawrence, however, appeared to be the principal aim of the enemy, and before the firing had lasted any material time the Detroit, Hunter, and Queen Charlotte were directing most of their efforts against her. Daring Attack by the Niagara. The American brig endeavored to close, and did succeed in getting within reach of canister, though not without suffering materially, as she fanned down upon the enemy. At this time the support of the two schooners ahead, which were well commanded and fought, was of the greatest moment to her; for the vessels astern, though in the line, could be of little use in diverting the fire, on account of their positions and the distance. After the firing had lasted some time, the Niagara hailed the Caledonia, and directed the latter to make room for the former to pass ahead. Mr. Turner put his helm up in the most dashing manner, and continued to near the enemy, until he was closer to his line, perhaps, than the commanding vessel; keeping up as warm a fire as his small armament would allow. The Niagara now became the vessel next astern of the Lawrence. The cannonade had the usual effect of deadening the wind, and for two hours there was very little air. During all this time, the weight of the enemy's fire was directed against the Lawrence; the Queen Charlotte having filled, passed the Hunter, and closed with the Detroit, where she kept up a destructive cannonading on this devoted vessel. These united attacks dismantled the American brig, besides producing great slaughter on board her. At the end of two hours and a half, agreeably to the report of Captain Perry, the enemy having filled, and the wind increasing, the two squadrons drew slowly ahead, the Lawrence necessarily falling PERRY'S VICTORY ON LAKE ERIE. 371 astern and partially out of the combat. At this moment the Niagara passed to the southward and westward, a short distance to windward of the Lawrence, steering for the head ot the enemy's line, and the Caledonia followed to leeward. The vessels astern had not been idle, but, by dint of sweeping and sailing, they had all got within reach of their guns, and had been gradually closing, though not in the prescribed order. The rear of the line would seem to have inclined down towards the enemy, bringing the Trippe, Lieutenant Holdup, so near the Caledonia, that the latter sent a boat to her for a supply of cartridges. Perry's Far-famed Exploit. Captain Perry, finding himself in a vessel that had been rendered nearly useless by the injuries she had received, and which was dropping out of the combat, got into his boat, and pulled after the Niagara, on board of which vessel he arrived at about half-past two. Soon after the colors of the Lawrence were hauled down, that vessel being literally a wreck. After a short consultation between Captains Perry and Elliott, the latter volunteered to take the boat of the former, and to proceed and bring the small vessels astern, which were already briskly engaged, into still closer action. This proposal being accepted, Captain Elliott pulled down the line, passing within hail of all the small vessels astern, directing them to close within half pistol-shot of the enemy, and to throw in grape and canister, as soon as they could get the desired positions. He then repaired on board the Somers and took charge of that schooner in person. When the enemy saw the colors of the Lawrence come down, he confidently believed that he had gained the day. His men appeared over the bulwarks of the different vessels and gave three cheers. For at few minutes, indeed, there appears to have been, as if by common consent, nearly a general cessation in the firing, during which both parties were preparing for a desperate and final effort. The wind hat freshened, and the position of the Niagara, which brig was now abeam of the leading English vessel, was commanding; while the 872 PERRY'S VICTORY ON LAKE IERIE. gun-vessels astern, in consequence of the increasing breeze, were enabled to close very fast. At forty-five minutes past two, or when time had been given to the gun-vessels to receive the order mentioned, Captain Perry showed the signal from the Niagara, for close action, and immediately bore up, under his foresail, topsails, and topgallantsail. As the American vessels hoisted their answering flags, this order was received with three cheers, and it was obeyed with alacrity and spirit. Heavy Broadsides in Quick Succession. The enemy had attempted to ware round, to get fresh broadsides to bear, in doing which his line got into confusion, and the two ships for a short time, were foul of each other, while the Lady Prevost iad so far shifted her berth, as to be both to the westward and to the leeward of the Detroit. At this critical moment, the Niagara came steadily down, within half pistol-shot of the enemy, standing between the Chippeway and Lady Prevost, on one side, and the Detroit, Queen Charlotte and Hunter on the other. In passing she poured in her broadsides, starboard and larboard, ranging ahead of the ships, luffed athwart their bows, and continued delivering a close and deadly fire. The shrieks from the Detroit, proclaimed that the tide of battle had turned. At the same moment, the gun-vessels and Caledonia were throwing in close discharges of grape and canister astern. A conflict so fearfully close, and so deadly, was necessarily short. In fifteen or twenty minutes after the Niagara bore up, a hail was passed among the small vessels, to say that the enemy had struck, and an officer of the Queen Charlotte appeared on the taffrail of that ship, waving a white handkerchief, bent to a boarding-pike. As soon as the smoke cleared away the two squadrons were found partly intermingled. The Niagara lay to leeward of the Detroit, Queen Charlotte and Hunter; and the Caledonia, with one or two of the gun-vessels, was between the latter and the Lady Prevost. On board the Niagara the signal for close action was still abroad, while the small vessels were sternly wearing their answering flags. The PERRY'S FAMOUS VICTORY ON LAKT ERIE. 373 374 PERRY'S VICTORY ON LAKE ERIE. little Belt and Chippeway were endeavoring to escape to leeward, but they were shortly after brought-to by the Scorpion and Trippe; while the Lawrence was lying astern and to windward, with the American colors again flying. The battle had commenced about noon, and it terminated at three, with the exception of a few shots fired at the two vessels that attempted to escape, which were not overtaken until an hour later. In this decisive action, so far as their people were concerned, the two squadrons suffered in nearly an equal degree, the manner in which the Lawrence was cut up being almost without an example in naval warfare. It is understood that when Captain Perry left her she had but one gun on her starboard side, or that on which she was engaged, which could be used; and that gallant officer is said to have aided in firing it in person the last time it was discharged. Report of Killed and Wounded. Of her crew, 22 were killed and 6i were wounded, most of the latter severely. When Captain Perry left her, taking with him his own brother and six of his people, there remained on board but 14 sound men. The Niagara had 2 killed and 25 wounded; or about one-fourth of all at quarters. This was the official report; but, according to the statement of her surgeon, her loss was 5 killed and 27 wounded. The other vessels suffered relatively less. The total loss of the squadron was 27 killed and 96 wounded, or altogether, 123 men; of whom I2 were quarter-deck officers. More than a hundred men were unfit for duty, among the different vessels, previous to the action, cholera morbus and dysentery prevailing in the squadron. Captain Perry himself was laboring under debility, from a recent attack of the lake fever, and could hardly be said to be in a proper condition for service when he met the enemy; a circumstance that greatly enhances the estimate of his personal exertions on this memorable occasion. For two hours the weight of the enemy's fire had been thrown into the Lawrence, and the water being perfectly smooth his long guns PERRY'S VICTORY ON LAKE ERIE. 375 had committed great havoc, before the carronades of the American vessels could be made available. For much of this period it is believed that the efforts of the enemy were little diverted, except by the fire of the two leading schooners, a gun of one of which (the Ariel) had early bursted, the two long guns of the large brigs, and the two long guns of the Caledonia. Bulwarks Beaten to Splinters. Although the enemy undoubtedly suffered by this fire, it was not directed at a single object, as was the case with that of the English, who appeared to think that by destroying the American commanding vessel they would conquer. It is true that carronades were used on both sides, at an earlier stage of the action than that mentioned, but there is good reason for thinking that they did but little execution for the first hour. When they did tell, the Lawrence-the vessel nearest to the enemy, if the Caledonia be excepted-necessarily became their object, and, by this time, the efficiency of her own battery was much lessened. As a consequence of these peculiar circumstances, her starboard bulwarks were nearly beaten in, and even her larboard were greatly injured, many of the enemy's heavy shot passing through both sides, while every gun was finally disabled in the batteries fought. Although much has been justly said of the manner in which the Bon Homme Richard and the Essex were injured, neither of those suffered, relatively, in a degree proportioned to the Lawrence. Distinguished as were the two former vessels for the indomitable resolution with which they withstood the destructive fire directed against them, it did not surpass that manifested on board the latter; and it ought to be mentioned, that throughout the whole of this trying day her people, who had been so short a time acting together, manifested a steadiness and a discipline worthy of veterans. Although the Niagara suffered in a much less degress, 27 men killed and wounded, in a ship's company that mustered little more than o0o souls at quarters, under ordinary circumstances, would be thought a large proportion. Neither the Niagara nor any of thr 376 PERRY'S VICTORY ON LAKE ERIE. smaller vessels were injured in an unusual manner in their hulls, spars and sails, the enemy having expended so much of his efforts against the Lawrence, and being so soon silenced when that brig and the gunvessels got their raking positions at the close of the conflict. Losses of the English Squadron. The injuries sustained by the English were more divided, but were necessarily great. According to the official report of Captain Barclay, his vessels lost 41 killed and 94 wounded, making a total of I35, including twelve officers, the precise number lost by the Americans. No report has been published in which the loss of the respective vessels was given; but the Detroit had her first lieutenant killed, and her commander, Captain Barclay, with her purser, wounded. Captain Finnis, of the Queen Charlotte, was also slain, and her first lieutenant was wounded. The commanding officer and first lieutenant of the Lady Prevost were among the wounded, as were the commanding officers of the Hunter and Clippcway. All the vessels were a good deal injured in their sails and hulls; the Queen Charlotte suffering most in proportion. Both the Detroit and Queen Charlotte rolled the masts out ot them, at anchor at Put-in Bay, in a gale of wind, two days after the action. It is not easy to make a just comparison between the forces of the hostile squadrons on this occasion. In certain situations the Americans would have been materially superior, while in others the enemy might possess the advantage in perhaps an equal degree. In the circumstances under which the action was actually fought, the peculiar advantages and disadvantages were nearly equalized, the lightness of the wind preventing either of the two largest of the American vessels from profiting by its peculiar mode of efficiency, until quite near the close of the engagement, and particularly favoring the armament of the Detroit; while the smoothness of the water rendered the light vessels of the Americans very destructive as soon as they could be got within a proper range. The Detroit has been represented on good authority, to have beep PERRY'S VICTORY ON LAKE ERIE. 377 both a heavier and stronger ship than either of the American brigs, and the Queen Charlotte proved to be a much finer vessel than had been expected; while the Lady Prevost was found to be a large, warlike schooner. It was, perhaps, unfortunate for the enemy, that the armaments of the two last were not available under the circumstances which rendered the Detroit so efficient, as it destroyed the unity of his efforts. In short, the battle, for near half its duration, appears to have been fought, so far as efficiency was concerned, by the long guns of the two squadrons. This was particularly favorable to the Detroit and to the American gun-vessels; while the latter fought under the advantages of smooth water and the disadvantages of having no quarters. The sides of the Detroit, which were unusually stout, were filled with shot that did not penetrate. Gallantry of the American Officers. Captain Perry, in his report of the action, eulogized the conduct of his second in command, Captain Elliott; that of Mr. Turner, who commanded the Caledonia; and that of the officers of his own vessel. He also commended the officers of the Niagara. Mr. Packett of the Ariel, and Mr. Champlin of the Scorpion. It is now believed that the omission of the names of the commanders of the gun-vessels astern, was accidental. It would seem that these vessels, in general, were conducted with great gallantry. Towards the close of the action, indeed, the Caledonia, and some of the gun-vessels, would appear to have been handled with a boldness, considering their total want of quarters, bordering on temerity. They are known to have been within hail of the enemy, at the moment he struck, and to have been hailed by him. The grape and canister thrown by the Niagara and the schooners, during the last ten minutes of the battle, and which missed the enemy, rattled through the spars of the friendly vessels, as they lay opposite to each other, raking the English ahead and astern. Captain Perry was criticised at the time for the manner in which he had brought his squadron into action, it being thought he should 378 PERRY'S VICTORY ON LAKE ERIE. have waited until his line was more compactly formed, and his small vessels could have closed. It has been said that " an officer seldom went into action worse, or got out of it better." Truth is too often made the sacrifice of antithesis. The mode of attack appears to have been deemed by the enemy judicious, an opinion that speaks in its favor. The lightness of the wind, in edging down, was the only circumstance that was particularly adverse to the American vessels, but its total failure could not have been readily foreseen. The shortness of the distances on the lake rendered escape so easy, when an officer was disposed to avoid a battle, that no commana sc d - der, who desired an action, t s would have been pardonable S?\ for permitting a delay on such a plea. The line of 4rnr o battle was highly judicious, \'~ the manner in which the Lawrence was supported by the Ariel and Scorpion being simple and ingenious. By steering for the head of the enemy's line the latter was prevented from gaining COIMMODORE PFERRY. the wind by tacking, and when Captain Elliott imitated this manm(uvre in the Niagara, the American squadron had a very commanding position, of which Captain Perry promptly availed himself. In a word, the American commander appears to have laid his plan with skill and judgment, and in all in which it was frustrated it would seem to have been the effect of accident. His end was fully obtained and resulted in a triumph. The British vessels appear to have been gallantly fought, and were surrendered only vwhen the battle was hopelessly lost. The fall of their different commanders was materially against them, though it is PERRY'S VICTORY ON LAKE ERIE. 879 not probable the day could have been recovered after the Niagara gained the head of their line and the gun-vessels had closed. If the enemy made an error it was in not tacking when he attempted to ware, but it is quite probable that the condition of his vessels did not admit of the former mancuuvre. There was an instant when the enemy believed himself the conqueror, and a few minutes even, when the Americans doubted; but the latter never despaired; a moment sufficed to change their feelings, teaching the successful the fickleness of fortune, and admonishing the depressed of the virtue of perseverance. For his conduct in this battle, Captain Perry received a gold medal from Congress. Captain Elliott also received a gold medal. Rewards were bestowed on the officers and men generally, and the nation has long considered this action one of its proudest achievements on the Water. It is not too much to say that this renowned victory on Lake Erie has done more than any other one event to give that high prestige to the American Navy which has been accorded to it for so long a time. Every great sea battle must be fought, not merely with guns and powder, but with brains. There must be planning, strategy, manceuvring, sometimes swift and complicated, and all this is the work of the head. Next comes the bravery, the fiery dash, that turns the onset into victory. In both these respects Perry and his men may fairly be considered superior to their foe. It is not a little remarkable that our nation, which, so far as commerce is concerned, has never claimed to be mistress of the seas, should have had a navy whose exploits from first to last have been the wonder of the world. CHAPTER XXVI. Exploits of Two Renowned Commanders. HE destruction of the Philadelphia, frigate, in the harbor of Tripoli, on the night of February 16, I804, by Decatur and his brave company of eighty-two chosen spirits was declared by Lord Nelson to be " the most bold and daring act of the age." The great admiral's verdict is sustained by the whole world, and the event will ever be a page of glory in the history of the United States navy. It was not only done, but well done; the manner of its doing was so prompt, so thorough, so seamanlike and so amazingly cool and well conducted, that it compels admiration in every detail, from the first sailing of the Intrepid from Tripoli to the final cheer, when in the light of the blazing ship, and in range of the thundering forts and batteries, the victorious Americans stopped rowing, and to aman stood up and gave the roaring cheers of defiance and exult tion. On the Lookout for Pirates The United States, after a long series of outrages from the piratical powers of the Barbary coast, determined, in I803, to punish them severely, beginning with the Tripoli-the worst of the lot. In this purpose Commodore Edward Preble, one of the greatest commanders the American navy ever produced, was sent to the Mediterranean with a squadron consisting of the invincible frigate Constitution, the Philadelphia, a heavy frigate carrying forty-four guns, and several smaller vessels. While Commodore Preble was making ready to attack Tripoli, which was powerfully protected by forts and ships, the Philadelphia cruised actively in the neighborhood of the town, to intercept and capture the pirate ships of Tripoli. While chasing a Tripolitan vessel on the 3Ist of October, 1803, the Philadelphia ran upon a reef not marked in the charts, near the mouth of the harbor, and it was found impossible to get her 380 EXPLOITS OF TWO RENOWNED COMMANDERS. 381 off. She was commanded by Captain Bainbridge, a brave and enterprising officer, and he, with his officers and crew of four hundred men, worked heroically to get the frigate into deep water again. But it was impossible. They were attacked by a large Tripolitan force, and after ordering the magazines to be drowned, and the ship to be scut-' tled, Captain Bainbridge was compelled to lower his flag. He and the whole ship's company were immediately taken to Tripoli and thrown in a dungeon. COMMODORE DECATUR. The work of scuttling the ship had not been perfectly done, and in a little while the American prisoners had the mortification of seeing her repaired and refitted, and lying at anchor before the Bashaw's castle, with the Tripolitan flag flying from her peak. Not only was her loss a very terrible one to Commodore Preble, but the fact that the Philadelphia had been added to the forces against him, increased the difficulties of his position extremely. Commodore Preble's squadron was assembled at Syracuse, awaiting the season for an attack on Tripoli. He was fortunate in having 382 EXPLOITS OF TWO RENOWNED COMMANDERS. among his captains five young men, none over twenty-five, and without exception, men of extraordinary capacity and daring. Each one cherished the hope of being allowed to try his chances of cutting the Philadelphia out. Commodore Preble was naturally anxious to have the frigate destroyed, but as prudent as he was brave, he sternly discountenanced any of the desperate schemes which were proposed to take so large a ship through so difficult and dangerous a passage as the mouth of the harbor of Tripoli; and would consider nothing except the destruction of the ship at the moorings. A Noble Specimen of Manhood. A plan was finally adopted, and the execution of it was entrusted to Stephen Decatur then a lieutenant commandant, commanding the Enterprise, schooner. He was then twenty-four years of age, tall, handsome, with a tremendous but musical voice, and known as an admirable seaman and a man absolutely with fear. Credit for originating the successful plan has been separately claimed for Commodore Preble, for Decatur, and for Captain Bainbridge, who had managed to communicate by letter with his superior officer. Decatur undoubtedly had some claims which induced his selection from his brother officers of the same rank, all of whom longed for the chance of distinction. He had lately captured a Tripolitan ketch, the Mastico, a small two-masted vessel, which had been renamed the Intrepid. As it was intended to enter the harbor by stratagem, this ketch, which was of a build and rig common in the Mediterranean, was to be used, instead of Decatur's own schooner, the Enterprise. The ketch, however, was to be manned from the Enterprise, and as more officers were needed, they were to be taken from the Constitution. Captain Stewart, afterwards the celebrated Commodore, who then commanded the Syren, a beautiful little schooner, was to support the Intrepid. The ketch, which was of about fifty tons and carried four small guns, was to be disguised as a fruit vessel from Malta, and such of her officers and men as were to be seen, dressed as Maltese sailors. EXPLOITS OF TWO RENOWNED COMMANDERS..383 Every officer and man in the squadron was eager to go, and when Decatur mustered his crew, and called for volunteers, every man and boy on the schooner stepped forward. He was obliged to make a choice, and he selected eighty-two of the most active men. He did not at first intend to take but one of his lieutenants, but was forced, out of consideration for their feelings, to take all three of them. His first lieutenant, James Lawrence, was the Lawrence who lived to give the watchword to the American navy, "Don't give up the ship." Lieutenants Thorn and Joseph Bainbridge were the other two. Enterprise Requiring Desperate Valor. Besides having Lawrence for his first lieutenant, Decatur had thomas Macdonough, afterwards the celebrated commodore, as a midshipman, and he was taken. Five other midshipmen came from the Constitution-Charles Morris, afterward Captain Hull's first lieutenant in his escape in the Constitution from Admiral Broke's squadron, and later in the capture of the Guerriere-lzard, Laws, Davis and Rowe. A surgeon, Dr. Heermann, was carried, and also a Sicilian pilot, Salvatore Catalano, who served with honor for many years in the American navy. The enterprise was one requiring desperate valor and the utmost coolness and intelligence, but the men who undertook it were admirably qualified for it. About sunset, on a beautiful February evening, the I6th, they found themselves at the entrance co the harbor. The grim pile of the Bashaw's castle, well provided with heavy guns, stood sentinel over the town, while, in a semi-circle, around the rocky basin, was a chain of forts, which could concentrate the fire of more than IOO cannon on any point. The Philadelphia, which was fully armed and manned, lay close in shore, with two small cruisers near her, and a number of galleys and gunboats All of these vessels had their guns shotted. On board the ketch every preparation for the desperate attack was fully completed. The ammunition and combustibles to destroy the Philadelphia were on the Intrepid's deck, covered with tarpaulin. The men, armed and ready for the word, were concealed under the bulwarks. 384 EXPLOITS OF TWO RENOWNED COMMANDERS. A few officers, in round jackets and caps, lay about the deck. Salvatore Catalano, who could speak the " lingua franca" of the East, was at the wheel, and beside him lounged Decatur, disguised as a Maltese sailor. The Intrepid, in advance of the Syren, struck a good breeze as soon as she passed into the harbor, but outside, the Syren was becalmed in the offing, and unable to be of the slightest assistance. Decatur, on observing this, coolly remarked, "The fewer the number the greater the glory." It was then about seven o'clock in the evening. The Intrepid's commander did not desire to get in too early, but was afraid to shorten sail, in the character of a merchant vessel, lest suspicion should be excited. Decatur, therefore, ordered buckets towed astern, however, which acted as a drag, and the ketch came slowly on. A Very Unusual Request. The night had fallen, but a glorious moon arose which flooded the harbor with light. The breeze fell, and the ketch's motion on the calm blue water became almost imperceptible. Still she came slowly on, and when within hailing distance of the huge black hull of the Philadelphia, began a conversation with her. The Tripolitan officers and men were lying about on the frigate's deck, while the Tripolitan officer of the deck, smoking a long pipe, hung over the side. The Tripolitan had noticed the Syren three miles off in the offing, and asked what vessel it was. Catalano, with much readiness, answered that she was the Transfer, a transport which the Tripolitans had lately bought and were hourly expecting. When the Intrepid got about two hundred yards from the Philadelphia's bow, for which she was making, Catalano called out that they had lost their anchors in the gale, and asked permission to lie by the frigate until daylight. "Your request is unusual," replied the Tripolitan officer, "but I will grant it. I will send a boat with a fast." As the boat was lowered from the Philadelphia another one was lowered from the ketch, commanded by James Lawrence. The two met midway, and taking the fast from the Tripolitan boat, Lawrence rowed back to the ketch, and she was secured to the frigate by a EXPLOITS OF TWO RENOWil TD COMMANDERS. 385 hawser. The Americans then pulled upon the hawser and breasted along under the frigate's side toward the port bow. This was a critical moment, for the ketch lay directly under the frigate's broadside and had her character been suspected, she could have been instantly blown out of the water. They escaped detection. though, in the black shadow cast by the frigate's hull, but as they emerged into a great white patch of moonlight, their anchors were seen on deck, with the cables coiled around them. Loud Cry of "Americanos." "Keep off!" shouted the Tripolitan officer, but it was too late. The ketch was grinding up against the Philadelphia's bows, and armed men appeared like magic upon her decks. The cry of "Americanos " rang through the ship. Decatur uttered a great shout -" Board!" and in a twinkling the Americans dashed into the frigate, by her ports, her chain plates and every point on which: foot or hand could be planted. Midshipman Laws would have been first in the ship except that the pistols in his boarding belt caught in the port, and Midshipman Charles Morris got ahead of him. Decatur was the next man aftet Morris to touch the deck. No orders were necessary, for every officer and man knew his duty. The first thing was to clear the Tripolitans out of the ship. This was done by a desperate assault on the part of the Americans. The Tripolitans, celebrated for their determined hand-to-hand fighting, fought bravely, but in disorder and surprise. They were driven below, and once between decks, were cut down, or forced to jump overboard to a man within ten minutes. Once in possession of the ship, the Americans were no less quick in destroying her. Gunpowder and combustibles were hoisted aboard with almost inconceivable dispatch, and distributed by quickwitted officers and light-footed sailors through the ship. So rapidly was this done that fire was arising from the berth deck before the men in the hold had come up. Two I8-pounders were dragged amidships, and pointed downward to blow the ship's bottom out. Z 386 EXPLOITS OF TWO RENOWNED COMMANDERS. In less than twenty-five minutes, Decatur mustered his men on the spar deck. Not a man was missing, and only one slightly hurt. Then, like cats, they dropped into the ketch from the burning ship, carrying with them a wounded Tripolitan. But a new and awful danger awaited them. The stern fast had become jammed, and the ketch could not get away from the frigate, although her jigger had caught fire from the blazing quarter gallery of the Philadelphia. The officers, however, by vigorously hacking at the fast with their swords, at last got free, and the men settled to their sweeps, while the sails caught the breeze that was to bear them to safety. Meanwhile, the commotion on the ship had not failed to awaken attention on shore, and upon the nearby cruisers and gun vessels. Boats were pulling toward the ship. But before they reached her she suddenly burst into a roaring furnace of flames that ran up her rigging and enveloped her masts and yards. And in the fierce glow of the burning ship, the Intrepid was seen making swiftly-out of the harbor under sweeps and sails. Three Rousing Cheers. Instantly every available gun was turned on her, but the Americans as Cooper says, " to give one last proof of their contempt of danger," stopped rowing and rising to their feet, gave three thundering cheers that shook the Intrepid's deck; and then settled down to getting out of the way. Shot and shell from forts and ships and castles were whizzing around them, throwing up the spray on every hand, and the guns of the Philadelphia, which were kept shotted, began to go off in all directions as the fire reached them. The Americans greeted all these dangers with jeers and laughter and shouted with delight when the Philadelphia's magazine blew up with a roar that rocked the castle and the ships, and the hull, burned to the water's edge, was.seen drifting on the rocks. The people on the Syren, at the harbor's mouth, saw it all, and the boats, which were manned and in the water, to go to the Intrepid's relief, if necessary, now pulled back to the schooner. EXPLOITS OF TWO RENOWNED COMMANDERS. 387 One of them, however, had taken Decatur off the ketch, and as the boat came alongside the Syren a man in a sailor's round jacket and fez, sprang up the ladder and jumped into Stewart's arms, who was waiting at the gangway. The Intrepid and the schooner immediately made for Syracuse, where they were received with every demonstration of honor and delight on the i9th of February. When the news reached the United States, Congress passed a ringing resolution of thanks, gave promotion, medals and swords to the officers and a liberal sum in prize money to the crew. Decatur was made a post captain, and his commission was dated from the I6th of February, I804, the day of this splendid enterprise, so glorious for him and so honorable to American skill and valor. Greatest Battle of the American Navy. The largest and most important battle in which the American navy ever fought against a foreign foe was that of September I, 18I4, on Lake Champlain. Its importance cannot be overestimated. Bonaparte had been defeated in Europe, and the wars were at an end there for a time. The British had shown themselves to be the best soldiers in Europe, and were left free to send their whole forces against the United States. The picked brigades of Wellington's army in Spain were shipped to Canada, and a formidable invasion of the United States was begun from Montreal along Burgoyne's old route into the State of New York. General Prevost led an army of I4,000 veterans down the shores of Lake Champlain, upon whose waters proceeded a formidable cooperating fleet, commanded by Captain George Downie, a veteran officer of the British Navy. The flagship of this fleet was the Confiance, a thirty-six gun frigate, and the total number of large vessels, six,-carrying ninety-two cannon. These were reinforced by ten galleys, and the whole British fleet carried one thousand men. The Americans had gathered a small force of militia at Plattsburg to oppose the advance of the British army, but their main reliance was necessarily placed upon their fleet upon Lake Champlain, which was to meet that of the British. This fleet was commanded by Com 388 EXPLOITS OF TWO RENOWNED COMMANDERS. modore Macdonough, who, like Perry, the hero of Lake Erie, was a very young man, only twenty-eight. His fleet was inferior in weight to the British, carrying only eighty-six guns and 850 men. His flagship was the Saratoga. The two fleets engaged off Cumberland Head, the British cheering repeatedly, and sanguine of victory. Macdonough, in the Saratoga, at once engaged the Confiance, hich was twice as large as his ship. The two fought so close together that the cannon facing each other were dismounted on each ship. During most of this time the Saratoga was also receiving the fire of another English vessel. Many of her crew were killed and wounded, and the battle seemed 'to be going against the Americans. Macdonough was twice wounded - once he was knocked down by a splinter, and once a cannon-ball took off the head of a sailor and dashed it against him with such force that he was thrown down and covered COMMODORE MACDONOUGH. with blood. His men believed him dead, but he sprang to his feet and at once resumed the command. At the critical stage the forethought of the American commander won the battle. All the ships had been compelled to anchor to fight, but Macdonough placed cables on his ship so that he could warp her around and bring the fresh batteries on the unengaged side into play. This he now did. The Confiance, seeing what he was about, tried to do the same thing, but not having provided for it beforehand did not succeed. The Confianco was unable to endure the fire A-om the EXPLOITS OF TWO RENOWNED COMMANDERS. 389 fresh guns of the Saratoga and surrendered. All the other vessels of the British fleet yielded also, except the galleys, which escaped up the lake by means of sweeps. During the war the sea swarmed with American privateers, chartered mainly for the purpose of preying upon British commerce. Nevertheless, the privateers did not shun an engagement with the war ships if they saw the slightest chance of success. One of these battles was marked by the utmost heroism and was of great importance. When the British were preparing for their expedition against New Orleans part of the fleet stopped at the port of Fayal, in the Azores. British Repulsed with Great Loss. The American privateer, General Armstrong, commanded by Capt Reid, was in harbor there. The British decided to destroy hei despite the fact that she was in a neutral port. The British ships were too large to enter the harbor, and thus could not reach the privateer with their cannon, but they sent in boats with three hun dred men to take her. The Armstrong had a crew of only about sixty. Nevertheless they defended themselves with such valor that the British suffered a loss of two hundred men, including many officers, and were repulsed. When this war was closed the American Navy had shown con. clusively that it was the best in the world at that time, man to man, ship to ship and gun to gun. This has always been a sore spot with the English, who have been so successful with their naval wars in Europe. CHAPTER XXVII. Naval Battles of the Civil War. THE heroic deeds of the navy in the civil war are innumerable, and the meed of valor is awarded to the North and South alike. The South had but few naval resources, but these were utilized with ingenuity and daring, while the Northern blockade of the entire Southern coast was one of the chief causes of the Union victory. While the great armies of the North and South were engaged in a gigantic struggle on land, all the naval power of both sides was employed with the utmost energy, and the exploits of both North and South, when taken together, form one of the most thrilling chapters of history. An equal amount of bravery appeared to be exhibited by the combatants. A World-Renowned Encounter. The first great encounter was that of the Monitor and Merrimac, which revolutionized the navies of the world. It was spectacular and dramatic to the last degree. When the war broke out a new frigate was building at the Norfolk Navy Yard. The Confederates seized this and conceived the idea of turning it into an ironclad. They covered it with railroad iron, named it the Virginia, though it is better known by its original name, the Merrimac, and, having made these changes with the greatest secrecy, sent it against the Northern fleet of wooden steamships which was anchored in Hampton Roads. On a bright morning the Northern fleet saw a blue line of smoke approaching, and presently a huge and almost shapeless mass of iron appeared upon the water. This was the Merrimac, the first ironclad that ever went into action. She was commanded by Admiral Buchanan, an able and brave officer. Over her floated the Confederate flag, and she steamed boldly toward the middle of the Northern fleet, which at once opened fire. But their heaviest shot rebounded like peas from the iron sides of the Merrimac. It was iron against wood and iron was bound to win. The Merrimac had been provided with a heavy 390 NAVAL BATTLES or THE CIVIL WAR. 391 ram and she steamed on regardless of the fire which rained upon her and struck the frigate Cumberland. The Cumberland reeled over on her side and the iron prow of the Merrimac crashed through her wooden sides, tearing a hole through which a street car could have been driven. The water poured in and the frigate began to sink. Nevertheless, her men fought on and stood by the guns. The Merrimac fired a broadside into the sinking ship; the men of the Cumberland did not attempt to escape, but fired as long as they were above water. More than a hundred of them were killed and wounded, but the survivors fought on till the ship went down, and they went with it. Wood No Match For Iron. After ramming the Cumberland the Merrimac turned her attention to the frigate Congress. The ironclad meanwhile had been under the fire of the whole fleet, but was unharmed. She now opened fire at a distance of I50 yards upon the Congress. The Congress replied, but as before, it was wood against iron. The shells and balls of the Merrimac smashed through the Congress, but those of the Congress rebounded off the iron sides of the Merrimac. The commander of the Congress was soon killed, but the next in command took his place. The Congress fought for an hour, but when nearly shot to pieces and almost sinking she surrendered. Then the Merrimac attacked the Minnesota. It had now become obvious that no wooden ship, nor any number of them, could stand against the Merrimac. The Minnesota endeavored to escape up stream, but ran aground about a mile and a half from the Merrimac. Two other frigates, the Roanoke and the St. Lawrence, also ran aground. Night was now coming on, and the Merrimac, feeling sure that the next day she could go up the river and destroy every Northern ship, halted. This delay gave opportunity for the most dramatic meeting in naval history. That night the news of the startling occurrences in Hampton Roaas were telegraphed all over the world, and every one expected that the entire northern fleet would be destroyed the next day. 392 NAVAL BATTLES OF THE CIVIL WAR. Early the next morning the Merrimac started to resume her career of destruction. She steamed slowly toward the helpless Minnesota. At this moment some of the officers saw lying beside the Minnesota what one of them described as a " damned cheese-box on a raft." It was a low, flat, black surface,with a tower in the middle, from which protruded the muzzles of two heavy cannon. Everything in sight was of solid iron. This was the famous Monitor, which had arrived in the night from New York just in time. She had been built in Brooklyn by Captain Ericsson, and was considered an experiment of a doubtful nature. She was commanded by Lieutenant Worden, and carried less than sixty men. As the Merrimac approached the Monitor came out to meet her, and then ensued the historic combat. The Merrimac fired the first shot. There was nothing for her to aim at but the small turret of the Monitor, and the shot struck nothing. The Monitor came alongside the Merrimac and began firing, A Rain of Shot and Shell. The Merrimac replied with vigor, and the two were soon enveloped in a cloud of smoke and flame, with the crews of the wooden ships looking on. Lieutenant Greene commanded the gunners in the turret of the Monitor, and he and his men could hear the heavy cannon-balls of the Merrimac pounding upon the iron shell enclosing them. Neither was able to make any impression upon the other, and then both tried to ram without success. Thus two hours passed, and the ammunition of the Monitor began to fail. Lieutenant Worden hauled off to replenish his stock, but in fifteen minutes came back and renewed the fight. A shell exploded on the turret of the Monitor while his head was very close to the iron side, and he was prostrated. Lieutenant Greene now took command, and they fought on for about four hours without result. Then they fell apart as if by mutual consent, each returning to her anchorage. Nevertheless the Merrimac had been unable to pass the Monitor and destroy the wooden ships that remained, and she was so much injured that she was compelled to go to Norfolk for repairs. Meanwhile the :4:4 >4 -C. w z 12 1 - A9 i 394 NAVAL BATTLES OF THE CIVIL WAR. wooden ships were taken out of the river, and were thus saved trom destruction. As famous as the fight of the Monitor and the Merrimac was the battle between the Alabama and the Kearsarge, which was really an engagement between an American and a British ship. The Alabama had been built at Birkenhead, England, for the Confederacy in violation of the law of nations. She was commanded by Captain Semmes, a very gallant Southern officer, and most of her officers were Southerners, but the bulk of her crew were Englishmen, and it was proved afterward that many of her gunners were drawing pay at the same time from the Confederate navy and the English navy. Two Famous Ships in Combat. The Alabama preyed upon American commerce throughout the world, and long evaded the cruisers sent in search of her. At last she put into the harbor of Cherbourg, France, to refit. The American sloop-of-war Kearsarge, commanded by Captain Winslow, was at the same time in the harbor of Flushing, Holland. The American Consul at Cherbourg at once telegraphed to Captain Winslow the arrival of the Alabama. The Kearsarge steamed straight to Cherbourg and challenged the Alabama to come out and fight. Semmes sent word that he would come on the following Sunday-and kept his word. Meanwhile it became known in London and Paris that the two ships would fight, and excursion trains were run from Paris to bring people to see the duel between the two ships. Many yachts also came from England. The sympathies of the English and the French spectators were unanimously with the Alabama. The Kearsarge fought without a friend, but the battle did not last long. The American gunners showed the same superiority over the British gunners of the Alabama that they had shown over other British gunners in I812. The Alabama was sunk in a short time, and the Kearsarge sustained but little damage. In 1862 the Southern Ironclad Arkansas, under Captain Brown, ran through the entire Northern fleet in the Mississippi, near Vicks NAVAL BATTLES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 395 burg. She was exposed to the fire of many ships, but her daring venture was a success, and won the unreserved praise of her antagonists. The conditions of naval warfare have changed greatly. It is now steel instead of wood, but the spirit, courage and endurance of our sailors aboard the steel battle-ships is the same as it was aboard the old wooden sailing ships. Another great naval victory was that of Admiral Farragut in Mobile Bay, August 5th, 1864. Great preparations had been made for the defense of Mobile, and it was almost impossible to maintain a blockade that would prevent all vessels from entering the harbor. They watched their chances, and sometimes in the night slipped in unobserved. Farragut was anxious to capture the town, but this involved taking his fleet into the harbor, where, it was thought by many, the Federal ships would meet with destruction from mines and torpedoes under water and batteries on shore. Rapid Improvement of the Marines. On the 6th of July the Admiral wrote: " I have never seen a crew come up like ours. They are ahead of the old set in small arms, and fully equal to them at the great guns. They arrived here a new lot of boys and young men, and have now fattened up, and knock the 9 inch guns about like 24-pounders, to the astonishment of everybody." On July 20th he wrote: "The victory of the Kearsage over the Alabama raised me up. I would sooner have fought that fight than any ever fought on the ocean. Only think! it was fought like a tournament, in full view of thousands of French and English, with a perfect confidence, on the part of all but the Union people, that we would be whipped. People came from Paris to witness the fight. Why, my poor little good-for-nothing Hatteras would have whipped her (the Alabama) in fifteen minutes, but for an unlucky shot in the boiler. She struck the Alabama two shots for one, while she floated. But the triumph of the Kearsarge was grand. Winslow had my old First Lieutenant of the Hartford, Thornton, in the Kearsage. He is 396 NAVAL BATTLES OF THE CIVIL WAR. as brave as a lion, and as cool as a parson. I go for Winslow's promotion!" It was arranged between Generals Canby and Granger, who visited the Hartford, Farragut's flagship, that the land troops should co-operate in the attack about to be made, but it was understood that the brunt of the battle would fall upon the squadron. On the 5th of August all the arrangements were made and Farragut was ready for action. Mobile Bay at the time was defended mainly by three forts, Morgan, Gaines, and Powell. These commanded the main ship channel to the Gulf. The defenses were strong, and were manned by a full complement of men and officers. Positions of the Ships in Battle. The Confederate vessels took up position in single line across the channel, with their port batteries bearing to rake the advancing fleet. The ram Tennessee was a little westward of a red buoy, and close to the inner line of torpedoes. Farragut had ordered six light steamers and gun-boats to take up a position outside, and open a flank fire on Fort Morgan, but they could not get near enough to be of much service. And now the attacking fleet steamed steadily in. At 6.47 the first gun was fired by the monitor Tecumseh, and Fort Morgan at once replied. As the wooden vessels came within shorter range Farragut made signal for " closer order," which was promptly obeyed, each vessel closing up to within a few yards of the one ahead, and a little on the starboard quarter, thus enabling such ships as had chase guns to bring them to bear. The battle had opened, but at that time the enemy had the advantage, and the fleet now received a raking fire from the fort, battery, and Confederate vessels. This they had to endure for fully half an hour, before they could bring their batteries to bear with any effect. At the end of that time the Brooklyn and Hartford were enabled to open their broadsides, which soon drove the gunners of the fort from the barbette guns and water batteries. The scene on the flagship was now particularly interesting, as all NAVAL BATTLES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 397 were watching eagerly the movements of the leading monitor, Tecumseh. The Admiral stood in the port main rigging, a few ratlines up, where he could see all about him, and at the same time communicate easily with the Metacomet, lashed alongside. Freeman, his trusty pilot, was above him, in the top. On the deck below the gun crews were working with a will, and all was animation and bustle. As the smoke increased and obscured his view, the Admiral ascended the rigging, ratline by ratline, until he was up among the futtock shrouds, under the top. Captain Drayton, seeing him in this position, and fearing that some slight shock might precipitate him into the sea, ordered Knowles to take up a line and make his position secure. Farragut Lashed to the Rigging. Knowles says, " I went up with a piece of lead line, and made it fast to one of the forward shrouds, and then took it round the Admiral to the after shroud, making it fast there. The Admiral said 'Never mind, I am all right,' but I went ahead and obeyed orders, for I feared he would fall overboard if anything should carry away or he should be struck." Here Farragut remained until the fleet entered the bay. Loyall Farragut gives a striking extract from the journal of one of the Hartford's officers, as follows: "The order was to go slowly, slowly; and receive the fire of Fort Morgan. The fort opened, having allowed us to get into such short range that we apprehended some snare; in fact, I heard the order passed for our guns to be elevated for fourteen hundred yards some time before one was fired. The calmness of the scene was sublime. No impatience, no irritation, no anxiety, except for the fort to open; and after it did open full five minutes elapsed before we answered. " In the meantime the guns were trained as if at a target, and all the sounds I could hear were, 'Steady, boys, steady! Left tackle a little; so! so!' Then the roar of a broadside and an eager cheer, as the enemy were driven from their watery battery, Don't imagine they were frightened; no man could stand under that iron shower; 398 NAVAL BATTLES OF THE CIVIL WAR. and the brave fellows returned to their guns as soon as it lulled, only to be driven away again." At one period of the engagement the Brooklyn began to back; the vessels in the rear pressing on those in the van soon created confusion, and disaster seemed imminent. "The batteries of our ships were almost silent," says an eye-witness, " while the whole of Mobile Point was a living flame." "What's the trouble? " was shouted through a trumpet from the flagship to the Brooklyn. "Torpedoes!" was shouted back in reply. " Damn the torpedoes!" said Farragut. "Four bells! Captain Drayton, go ahead! Jouett, full speed!" And the Hartford passed the Brooklyn, assumed the head of the line, and led the fleet to victory. It was the one only way out of the difficulty, and any hesitation would have closed even this escape from a frightful disaster. Nor did the Admiral forget the few poor fellows who were struggling in the water when the Tecumseh went down, but ordered Jouett, of the Metacomet, to lower a boat and pick them up. Brave Lad From Pennsylvania. This was done, the boat being commanded by a mere boy, an Act. ing Master's mate, by the name of Henry Clay Nields, a native of Chester county, Pennsylvania, who afterward died a lieutenant-commander. This gallant fellow and his small boat's crew pulled coolly into a perfect flurry of shot and shell, and while doing so (remembering the standing orders about boats showing flags), he coolly got his out and hoisted it, and then took his seat again, and steered for the struggling survivors of the Tecumseh. This was as conspicuous an act of gallantry as was performed on that eventful day. A Confederate officer, who was stationed in the water battery at Fort Morgan, says the manceuvring of the vessels at this critical juncture was a magnificent sight. At first they appeared to be in inextricable confusion and at the mercy of their guns; and when the Hartford dashed forward they realized that a grand tactical movement had been accomplished. At one time in the engagement the Hartford was nearly a mile NAVAL BATTLES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 399 ahead of the remainder of the ships of Farragut's squadron, but the line was soon straightened and brought into shape, and the storm of shot and shell was so furious that the batteries on shore were silenced, not, however, until the vessels had suffered severe damage, especially the Oneida, which had the most exposed position. It was now seen why Farragut had ordered the vessels lashed together two and two, for if one were disabled, the other would be alongside to render aid, and, if possible, prevent the complete destruction of the disabled craft. The admiral's theory was, "that the safest way to prevent injury from an enemy is to strike hard yourself," and this was illustrated in his order to the captains to get into close quarters with Fort Morgan and use their guns freely. It is undoubtedly true, as was stated, that two of the vessels-the Richmond and the Brooklynwere saved from complete destruction by the heavy charges of shot and shell which they poured into the batteries during the engagement. One thing naterially favored the fleet: the clouds of smoke over the bay were so dense that the gunners on shore were not always able to find their targets, while at the same time they were driven from their guns by the rapid firing of their enemy. An officer who was in the battle said, it was " painfully apparent, judging from the number of shot that passed over the rail of my ship, that a few yards to the west would have increased the damage and casualties." Attack on the Enemy's Gunboats. Having escaped the fire of the forts, Farragut turned all of his guns on the enemy's gunboats. These vessels had done valiant service against his ships. Very bravely they came into the thick of the fight, and with equal bravery they continued the contest when no longer supported by the batteries on shore. Soon one one of the gunboats -the Gaines-was in a sinking condition. To avoid capture her commander ran her aground under the guns of Fort Morgan, where she was afterwards set on fire. The battle was now won by Farragut, and the gunboats, finding they were engaged in a hopeless encounter, attempted to retreat. At this critical moment the admiral gave the signal, "Gunboats, 400 NAVAL BATTLES OF THE CIVIL WAR. chase enemy's gunboats." The fastest of all his smaller vessels was quick to respond. At this moment a rain-squall swept over the bay and one of the Confederate gunboats made its escape, but was soon afterwards grounded. The victory, however, was practically complete. In his congratulatory letter to Admiral Farragut, Secretary of the Navy Welles said: " In the success which has attended your operations you have illustrated the efficiency and irresistible power of a naval force led by a bold and vigorous mind, and the insufficiency of any batteries to prevent the passage of a fleet thus led and commanded. "You have, first on the Mississippi, and recently in the bay of Mobile, demonstrated what had previously been doubted, the ability of naval vessels, properly manned and commanded, to set at defiance the best constructed and most heavily armed fortifications. In these suc. cessive victories you have encountered great risks, but the results have vindicated the wisdom of your policy and the daring valor of your officers and seamen." PART III. SPANISH CONQUESTS IN AMERICA. CHAPTER XXVIII. Early Voyages and Discoveries. HE discovery of America forms a new and most conspicuous era in the annals of the world; and probably no other event has had greater influence on the destinies of the human race. Its immediate effects were, to excite a spirit of discovery, of enterprise, and commercial cupidity, which not only gave a new direction, but a more vigorous impulse to speculative and commercial opera-;ons; and by extending the bounds and magnifying the objects of navigation, a degree of interest and importance was conferred on that pursuit, which it had never before possessed. Strife to Obtain Possessions in America. To these effects succeeded the planting of colonies, which gradually gave a new aspect to the commerce of Europe, engrafted novel principles into the laws of nations, and in no small degree influenced the politics of almost every state in Europe; as for a long period most of the contentions and wars among the principal powers of the old world, arose from conflicting claims and interests in the new. New relations were created between the parent state and its colonies, and between the latter and other powers, the last of which were a source of constant jealousy, and often disturbed the peace of nations. That the discovery and colonizing of a new world, several times as large as the continent of Europe, would produce an important change in the commercial and political relations of the maritime powers of 2 A 401 402 EARLY VOYAGES AND LISCOVERIES. that continent, must have been forcseen at the time; but that it should have had an important moral influence on the character of mankind, and have been the means of securing their rights, establishing their liberties, and exalting their destinies, no one could have anticipated. On the contrary, it must have been supposed, that the establishment of distant colonies, dependent on the parent state, nursed by its care, protected by its arms, and entirely subject to its power, would have tended to colonial oppression; which by strengthening the power of the soveupon the parent state e and thus tend to the g oppression of both. m Whatever may have u been the case with \ others, this was uncudoubtedly true of the ment Spanish Colonies, down to the period of the late revolution. Their degradation and CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. oppression alienated them firom the parent country, and prepared their minds to embrace the first opportunity to throw off the yoke of a distant and foreign power, which instead of behaving toward them like an affectionate mother, treated them with the jealousy, selfishness, and cruelty of an unfeeling step-dame. The English colonists in North America, consisting of the persecuted at home, brought with them, to a considerable extent, the elements of freedom; and many of the colonies obtained charters securing the essential rights of self-government, and the enjoyment of EARLY VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES. 403 civil liberty; so that at a very early period, many scattering rays of light were shed abroad in this western hemisphere, which served as the dawn of that brighter day of liberty which we now behold in its meridian splendor. Although the English and Spanish systems of colonial government in America were different,,et the views and policy of the two countries were essentially the same, and tended to the same result. This policy was to keep the colonies, not only dependent, but tributary states; to monopolize their commerce, to cripple their manufactures, and in all respects to render them contributary to the wealth and aggrandizement of the colonizing country. In both divisions of the American continent this policy was more rigorously pursued as the colonies became more populous and wealthy, and as a jealousy and apprehension of their independence increased. This illiberal policy necessarily led to a separation, and has resulted in the inde pendence and freedom of the greater part of America. New Era of Civil Liberty. Notwithstanding the vast extent of the new world, its various and happy climate, its magnificent rivers and mountains, its unrivalled fertility of soil, and capacity of sustaining a population almost surpassing conception, the beneficial influence which it has had on the cause of civil liberty and the moral character of man, is infinitely more important than all the other advantages which its discovery will confer on the world. If it had contributed to the enslavement and degradation of mankind, it might even be a problem whether its discovery ought to be regarded as a blessing or an evil; as the eastern hemisphere is sufficiently extensive for the wretched abodes of oppression. It is the glory and pride of America, and equally so now in two great divisions of this continent, that it is the land of freedom, and the asylum of the oppressed of all nations: that here the mind, as well as the body of man, is free, and ranges at large, unrestrained, except by those barriers which his Maker has established. Toward the latter part of the fifteenth century a spirit of discovery appeared in several European nations, but was most conspicuous i. 404 EARLY VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES. Portugal. The fame of several successful voyages of discovery, made by the Portuguese, drew many enterprising foreigners into their service, and among the number, Christopher Colon, or Columbus, a subject of the republic of Genoa. At this time he possessed great experience as a navigator, which ho improved by several voyages to Madeira, the Canaries, the Azores, and all other places which the Portuguese had discovered on the continent of Africa, so that he soon became one of the most skillful navigators in Europe. The Great Navigator's Ambition. Possessing a mind bold and inquiring, and stimulated by the spirit of enterprise and discovery which prevailed, Columbus was ambitious to exceed the bounds which had limited the most daring and successful navigators. From his geographical knowledge, and various facts which he had observed during his voyages, he had for some time conceived the idea of finding a passage by sea to the East Indies, by sailing in a westerly direction. The spices and other rich commodities from India, which the Venetians had introduced into Europe, by the trade which they had monopolized with that country, had excited the attention and the envy of their neighbors, and rendered it an object of the last importance to discover a more direct route over sea to that country, then affording the richest commerce in the world. Having submitted his plan of a voyage of discovery both to his native and adopted countries, without success, he next applied to Spain. Ferdinand and Isabella then governed the united kingdoms of Castile and Arragon. After having spent more than eight years in fruitless endeavors, during which he had to contend not only with ignorance and prejudice, but with the pride of false knowledge; and after experiencing the mortification of a second rejection of his proposals, just as he was on the eve of leaving the country, the influence of two of his friends with the Queen procured for him that encouragement which his own knowledge of the subject, and his long and unwearied exertions, had not been able to effect. Spain is entitled to but little honor for having been the nation THE LANDING OF COLUMBUS. 406 EARLY VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES. under whose auspices the new world was discovered, and which, for two centuries and a half, contributed, in an eminent degree, to her aggrandizement and power. Land at Last Discovered. On the third day of August, 1492, Columbus, with a fleet (for it was so called) of three small, weak vessels, scarcely fit for a voyage to the Canary Islands, with ninety men on board, sailed from Cadiz on a voyage of discovery. On the I2th of October, a little past midnight, the joyful cry of land! land! was heard; the truth of which was confirmed by the dawn of light, to the unspeakable joy of all. At sunrise the boats were manned and armed, and with colors flying, and martial music, they approached the shore, which was lined with a multitude of strange people, entirely naked, who by their attitudes and gestures expressed the surprise and astonishment with which they viewed the novel objects before them. Columbus, in a rich dress, with a drawn sword, was the first who stepped upon the soil of the new world, and being followed by his men, they all kneeled down and kissed the ground which had so long been the object of their almost hopeless desire. This was followed by the erection of a crucifix, before which they prostrated themselves, and returned thanks to God for conducting their voyage to so happy an issue. The natives, although extremely timid, gathered around them, while these ceremonies were performing, and gazed with silent admiration, unable to comprehend what they witnessed, and much less to foresee the misery and desolation which this visit of a new race of men was to bring upon themselves and their posterity. They were filled with amazement and awe, and regarded their strange guests as superior beings, and very naturally supposed that they were the children of the sun, who had deigned to visit the earth. The fallacy of this opinion they soon realized, and had occasion to regard them rather as fiends of darkness, than as angels of light sent on errands of love. The land discovered was one of the Bahama Islands, and was named by Columbus "San Salvador." Before the Discoverer set EARLY VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES. 407 sail on his second voyage, it was deemed necessary to obtain a grant from the Pope, who, as the head of the church, and vicegerent of the Almighty, claimed dominion over all the kingdoms of the earth. Accordingly, his holiness granted, with great form and solemnity, to Ferdinand and Isabella, and their successors forever, all the countries inhabited by infidels, which they had discovered, or might discover, but did not undertake to bound or describe them, as he was ignorant not only of their situation, but even of their existence. To prevent, however, this grant from interfering with one previously made to the Crown of Portugal, he directed that a line should be supposed to be drawn one hundred leagues to the westwai d of the Azores, from pole to pole, and all the unknown countries eaist of this line were given to the Portuguese, and those west to the Spaniards. New Expedition and Discoveries. The consideration of this grant was the propagation of Christianity among the heathen nations in the western regions, which Ferdinand engaged to do. Accordingly, Father Boyle, and several other friars, accompanied Columbus on his second voyage, to instruct the natives in Christianity; and those whom Columbus had carried to Spain, after some pains to instruct them, were baptized; Ferdinand himself, the prince his son, and the chief persons of his court, standing as their godfathers. These were the first fruits of missionary exertions among the natives of America. The second expedition sailed from the Bay of Cadiz on the 25th of September, 1493, and by steering a more southerly direction than had been pursued in the previous voyage, the first land discovered was the Caribbee, or Leeward Islands. Columbus discovered Dominica, Porto Rico, Guadaloupe, Antigua, and several other islands in the Gulf of Mexico. When he arrived off Navidad, which was the name he had given to the port where he had left the garrison, he was surprised that none of the men appeared, as he expected to behold them on the beach, welcoming their countrymen with transports of joy. It was soon discovered that the fort was entirely demolished, and the tattered garments and broken arms around it, removed all doubts as to the 408 EARLY VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES. melancholy fate of the first colony, if it deserves that name, which had been planted in the new world. The rashness and licentiousness of the men brought upon them their own destruction. Alike regardless of their own security and the rights of the Indians, they seized upon whatever they could find; the provisions, gold, and women of the natives, were their prey. Roused by such insufferable wrongs, and having thrown off the fear of their invaders, by familiar intercourse with them, the natives were determined to rid themselves of such licentious intruders. First Settlement in the New World. Columbus, instead of re-occupying the same spot, chose a situation more healthy and commodious, at the head of a capacious bay, where he traced out the plan of a large town, and, by the united labor of all hands, the houses and ramparts were in a short time so far advanced as to afford them shelter and protection. This, which must be considered the first settlement in the new world, the founder named Isabella, in honor of his patroness. In the commencement of it Columbus had not only to contend with the usual difficulties connected with the planting of a colony in a distant and uncultivated country, but with the mutinous disposition of many of his followers, and the indolence of all, greatly increased by the enervating influence of a hot climate, to which they were unaccustomed. Their provisions were rapidly consuming, and what remained were corrupted by the heat and moisture of a tropical climate; the natives cultivated but little ground, and had scarcely sufficient provisions for themselves, consequently could not supply the wants of the Spaniards. The malignant diseases which prevail in the torrid zone, especially where the country is uncultivated, raged among them with great violence. Murmurs and complaints arose against Columbus and those who accompanied him in his former voyage. They were accused of having allured their countrymen to attempt a settlement in a land, which they had represented as a terrestrial paradise, but in reality barbarous and inhospitable, where they must inevitably perish by famine, or by unknown diseases. By his unwearied exertions and EARLY VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES. 409 prudent measures Columbus succeeded so far in restoring concord as to be able to leave the island in pursuit of further discoveries. During a tedious voyage of five months, attended with every hardship and peril, he made no discovery of importance, except the island of Jamaica. He left the command of the infant colony to his brother, Don Diego, with the assistance of a council of officers: but no sooner had he left the harbor than the soldiers dispersed over the island in small parties, lived upon the natives, wasted their provisions, seized their women, and treated that inoffensive race with all the insolence of military oppression. The natives silently submitted to these oppressions for a considerable time, hoping that their invaders would leave their country; but discovering that they had not come to visit the island, but to settle in it, they perceived that their oppressions would never be terminated but by expelling their cruel invaders The Natives Completely Routed. Roused by a common danger, and driven almost to desperation, all the caciques, or chiefs of the island, except Guacanahari, who from the first had been the friend of the Spaniards, united, and brought into the field, according to the Spanish accounts, a force of one hundred thousand men. Their arms were clubs, sticks of wood hardened in the fire, and arrows pointed with bones or flints. Fortunately for the Spaniards, Columbus returned just at this crisis, and his presence, and the impending danger, restored authority and produced union. But two-thirds of the original number had died, and many of those who survived were incapable of service, so that two hundred foot and twenty horses were all that could take the field. To this force was united one of a novel kind, consisting of twenty large bull-dogs, but perhaps not the least efficient against timid and naked Indians. With great simplicity the natives collected in a large plain, instead of attempting to draw the Spaniards into the fastnesses and defiles of the mountains. Alarmed by the noise and havoc of firearms, the impetuosity of the cavalry, and the furious assaults of ferocious dogs, the natives were instantly filled with consternation, and threw down 410 EARLY VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES. their arms and fled. Many were slain, and a much greater number taken prisoners, and reduced to a state of servitude. From this moment they abandoned themselves to despair, and relinquished all thoughts of resisting men whom they regarded as invincible. In a few days the Spaniards marched over the whole island, and subjected it to their government, without further opposition. The natives were treated as a conquered people, and a tribute imposed upon all persons above the age of fourteen years. Greed of the Spanish Court. In the districts where gold was found, each person was obliged to pay quarterly as much gold dust as filled a hawk's bill, and in other parts of the island twenty-five pounds of cotton were demanded. These unjust and rigorous measures Columbus, contrary to his own inclinations and his original plan of government, was constrained to adopt, to satisfy the rapacity of the Spanish court, and counteract the machinations of his enemies, who were constantly intriguing to destroy him. This was the first regular tax imposed on the natives, and was the origin of that system of exaction of tribute, or a capitation tax, from the natives, which Spain ever after maintained with the most intolerable oppression. The settlement in Hispaniola was the parent, and served as the model of all the other Spanish settlements in America. Columbus having returned to Spain, a more regular plan for the colony was adopted, and a large body of settlers was sent out, consisting of husbandmen, artisans, and workmen skilled in the various arts of digging and working mines, and refining the precious metals, together with a suitable number of women. All these emigrants were, for a certain number of years, to be supported and paid by the Spanish government. With these prudent and judicious regulations, Columbus proposed one of a most pernicious nature, which was the transportation, to the colony, of certain convicts who had usually been sent to the galleys. This fatal expedient, inconsiderately proposed, was, with as little consideration, adopted, and the prisons of Spain were drained to recruit EARLY VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES. 411 the colony. This absurd and cruel measure of emptying their jails into their colonies, was not only continued by Spain, but imitated by Great Britain, and in both continents held no unimportant place in the catalogue of colonial grievances against the mother country. A River of Great Magnitude. In the third voyage made by Columbus he sailed further to the south, and the first land he discovered was the island of Trinidad, on the coast of Guiana, near the mouth of the Oronoco. Columbus, having become involved among those adverse currents and tempestuous waves, produced by the body of water which this river rolls into the ocean, with difficulty escaped through a narrow strait. He, however, very justly concluded that a river of such vast magnitude could not flow from an island, as it must require a country of great extent to supply so large a body of water, and consequently felt persuaded that he had at length discovered the continent which had so long been the supreme object of his hopes and wishes. He directed his course to the west, along the coast of the province of Cumana; landed at several places, and had some intercourse with the inhabitants, who he found resembled those of Hispaniola, although possessed of a better understanding and more courage. When Columbus arrived at Hispaniola he found the colony in an unprosperous and distracted state. After his departure, his brother, in pursuance of his advice, removed the colony from Isabella to a more eligible situation on the opposite side of the island, and laid the foundation of the present town of St. Domingo, which, for a long period, remained the most considerable European settlement in America, and was the seat of the supreme courts in the Spanish dominions. A war with the natives broke out, and whilst Diego Columbus was employed against them in the field, his attention was arrested by a most alarming mutiny among the Spaniards, which threatened the ruin of the colony. Columbus, by a reasonable offer of pardon and other judicious measures, succeeded in allaying the spirit of sedition, and induced the malcontents to return to their duty. To effect this 412 EARLY VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES. object, however, he was obliged so far to yield to the demands of the mutineers, as to agree to grant to them allotments of land in different parts of the island, with the right to the servitude of the natives settled on the same, so far as that they were to cultivate a certain portion of ground for the use of their new masters, which was to be in lieu of the tribute that had been imposed on them. Natives Reduced to Servitude. This regulation was the germ of the system of " Reparlimientos," or distribution and servitude of the natives, which was established throughout the Spanish dominions in America. This plan of domestic servitude was founded on the same principles with the feudal system, so far as that applied to villiens or serfs, who performed the most degrading services, were attached to the soil, and were transferable with it. It reduced a large proportion of the natives in all the Spanish dominions to the most humiliating servitude, and subjected them to grievous and intolerable oppressions. It is one of the sources from whence have flowed the tears of an oppressed people, irt such profusion, as if collected into one channel, would almost swell to a flood the vast rivers which flow through their country. In the year 1500, Alonzo de Ojeda, a gallant officer, who had accompanied Columbus in his second voyage, sailed on an expedition to America with four ships, which had been equipped by the merchants of Seville, and was accompanied by Americus Vespucius, a gentleman of Florence. Having obtained a chart of Columbus' last voyage, Ojeda servilely followed in the same track, and arrived on the coast of Paria. He sailed to the west as far as the Cape de Vela, and traversed the coast a considerable extent beyond where Columbus had touched, and returned by way of Hispaniola to Spain. Americus, on his return, wrote an account of the voyage and discoveries, and framed his narative with so much art and address, as to secure to himself the credit and glory of having first discovered the continent in the New World. The novelty of the work, being the first publication concerning the discoveries which had been made in the Western World, and the amusing history which he gave of the EARLY VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES. 413 voyage and adventures, obtained for it a rapid and extensive circulation, and spread the fame of the author over Europe. This bold attempt to assume the merit and glory which belonged to another, by an unaccountable caprice has been suffered to succeed, and, by the universal consent of nations, the name of "America" was bestowed on the New World. The Spaniards Driven Out. During the fourth voyage made by Columbus he discovered the Island of Guiana, and the coast of the Continent from Cape Gracias a Dios to a harbor, which, from its beauty and security, he called Porto Bello. He went ashore at various places, and penetrated into the country, but searched in vain for the strait that he had long been attempting to discover, which he supposed led into an unknown ocean. He was so charmed with the fertility of the country, and the specimens of gold found on the natives, that he determined to plant a small colony under the command of his brother, in the province of Verague. But the insolence and rapacity of his men provoked the natives, who were a more warlike race than those of the Islands, to take up arms against the Spaniards, part of whom were killed, and the rest obliged to seek safety by abandoning the station. This was the first repulse the Spaniards had received from the natives, and deprived Columbus of the honor of planting the first colony on the continent of America. From the first discovery of the continent by Columbus, ten years elapsed before the Spaniards had made a settlement in any part of it; but in the year I509, two expeditions were fitted out for this purpose, by individual enterprise; one under the command of Ojeda, and the other under Nicuessa; the former consisted of three vessels and three hundred men, and the latter of six vessels and seven hundred men. A grant or patent was given to Ojeda, of the country from Cape de Vela to the Gulf of Darien; and to Nicuessa, from thence to Cape Gracias a Dios, with the power of planting colonies and establishing a government. These adventurers were instructed to acquaint the natives with the 414 EARLY VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES. primary articles of Christianity, and particularly to inform them of the supreme jurisdiction of the Pope, and of the grant which he had made of their country to the king of Spain; and then to require them to embrace Christianity, and to acknowledge the authority of the Spanish sovereign; and in case the natives did not comply with these requirements, they were told it would be lawful to attack them with fire and sword, exterminate them, and reduce their wives and children to servitude, or compel them to acknowledge the authority of the Church and the Spanish monarch. Revenge and Slaughter. This very wise and reasonable mode of taking possession of the country was prescribed by the most eminent lawyers and divines in Spain. Both of these attempts failed, and nearly all engaged in them, with two considerable reinforcements from St. Domingo, perished within one year. The aborigines were fierce and warlike, and manifested the most implacable enmity toward them; they used arrows dipped in poison, so noxious that almost every wound was followed by death. Seventy of the Spaniards were killed in one engagement What few survived settled at Santa Maria, on the Gulf of Darien, under Vasco Balboa, whose extraordinary courage in the most trying emergencies, secured to him the confidence of his countrymen, and the rank of their leader. This was not the only bold adventurer afterward distinguished for daring exploits and splendid undertakings, that was engaged in this unfortunate enterprise. The celebrated Francisco Pizarro was one of Ojeda's party, and in this school of adversity and hardships qualified himself for the wonderful achievements which he subsequently performed. Fernando Cortez was at first engaged in this enterprise; but being taken sick at St. Domingo before the expedition sailed, he was left behind, and his life spared for more daring and successful undertakings. Balboa made frequent incursions into the country, and subdued several of the caciques; and being informed by the natives that at the distance of many suns to the south there was another ocean, EARLY VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES. 41e where gold was so common tlat the inhabitants made their common utensils of that metal, he concluded that this ocean was the one for which Columbus had so long searched in vain, and that it afforded a direct co1mmunication to the East Indies. With one hundred and ninety men, a part of which he had obtained from Hispaniola, he undertook the bold expedition of crossing over the Isthmus, which connects North and South America, without any knowledge of the extent or nature of the country, or any guides but natives, on whose fidelity he could not safely rely. Balboa Discovers the Pacific Ocean. Balboa set out on this expedition on the first of September, I513; and after twenty-five days of incredible hardships, in passing over a country abounding in mountains, rivers and swamps, and filled with hostile tribes, from the summit of a mountain he beheld the Pacific Ocean, stretching in endless extent before him. He hurried toward it, and rushed into the briny waves to his middle, with his sword and buckler, and in a transport of joy took possession of that vast ocean in the name of his sovereign, and swore to defend it with his arms against all his enemies. He named this part of the Southern Ocean the Gulf of St. Michael, which it has ever since retained. Balboa learnt from the natives that pearl oysters abounded in the sea he had discovered, and that there was a very opulent country, where the inhabitants were more civilized, which lay to the south; but not thinking it prudent to go in search of it with his small and exhausted party, he returned to Santa Maria; and embraced the first opportunity to communicate his discoveries to the Spanish governnient, and requested a reinforcement of one thousand men, to conquer the country he had discovered. But disregarding Balboa's important services, the king sent out an expedition, and appointed Pedrarias Davila governor of Darien. By his incapacity and misconduct he nearly destroyed the colony; and from his envy and jealousy of Balboa. he caused him to be arrested, just as he was on the eve of setting out on an expedition to the South Sea, and after a mock trial, to be executed. 416 EARLY VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES. This cruel murder of the most able and successful adventurer and commander the Spaniards had in America, not only passed without censure, but the tyrant was continued at the head of the colony. Soon after this he obtained permission, and removed the colony to Panama, on the opposite side of the Isthmus. The object of this was to obtain a more healthful situation. The new location of the colony greatly facilitated the subsequent discoveries and conquests in the Southern Ocean. An Act of Savage Barbarity. In the year I5I5, Juan de Solis, who was deemed one of the most skillful navigators in Spain, commanded an expedition to America, and sailing along the coast of the Southern Continent, on the first day of January the following year, he discovered a river which he named Rio Janeiro, from the day on which it was discovered. He continued along the coast, and discovered a spacious bay, which proved to be the mouth of the Rio de Plata, one of the gr^eat rivers of the Southern Continent. He advanced up the bay, and having landed with the intention of penetrating into the country, De Solis and several of his men were slain by the natives, their bodies cut in pieces, roasted and eaten in sight of the ships. The loss of the commander occasioned the return of the expedition without making any further discoveries. Diego Velasques, in 151 I, commanded an expedition from Hispaniola, against the Island of Cuba, and with a force of. three hundred men, he conquered an Island of seven hundred miles in length, filled with inhabitants; and from his prudent administration it became one of the most flourishing of the Spanish settlements. A colony was planted in Cumana by Las Casas, an ecclesiastic, who, deeply affected with the miserable servitude to which the natives were reduced, had long exerted himself for the amelioration of their unhappy condition. This colony was commenced for this laudable purpose; but the Indians having been treated with such injustice and cruelty, and being in the highest state of exasperation against the Spaniards, in a secret out ferocious manner attacked the colony, cut off a part of them, and EARLY VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES. 417 compelled the rest to fly in consternation to the Island of Cubagua. The expulsion of this colony was in the year 1531. An expedition was fitted out from Cuba, under Francisco Cordova, and steering in a westerly direction, they discovered a peninsula projecting from the continent, which he named Yucatan, which it has ever since retained. The natives were more civilized and warlike; they surprised and attacked the Spaniards with courage, and, in consequence of their hostile disposition, no attempt was made to effect a settlement. Pro-eeding to the west, and continuing in sight of the coast, in sixteen days they arrived at Campeachy. Cordova having landed with his men to procure water, the natives rushed upon them in such numbers, and with such impetuosity, that forty-seven of the Spaniards were killed, and nearly every man wounded, so that it was with difficulty they regained their ships. Notwithstanding the disastrous result of this expedition, a new one was soon after fitted out from Cuba under Juan de Grijalva, who proceeded further west than Cordova, sailed along the coast of a fertile and delightful country, and with much surprise and admiration viewed the villages which lay scattered along the shore; they discovered stone houses, which at a distance appeared white and lofty; they even imagined they saw cities with towers and pinnacles; and one of the sailors observing that the country resembled Spain, Grijalva gave it the name of New Spain, which was received with universal applause. Continuing his course to the west, Grijalva touched at several places, and at one Island which he called Uloa, and from thence proceeded along the coast as far as the river Tampico, and then returned to Cuba. CHAPTER XXIX. Invasion of Mexico by Cortez. ITHERTO the Spaniards had done little more than to enlarge their discoveries upon the continent of America; from the coast of Florida north, they had touched at different places, as far as 35~ S. of the equator; they had visited most of the islands in the Gulf of Mexico, and off the coast of the main land, and had discovered the great Southern Ocean, which opened extensive prospects and unbounded expectations in that quarter. But although the settlements at Hispaniola and Cuba had become considerably flourishing and important, and afforded great facilities for enterprises on the continent, no colony had been maintained there, except the feeble and languishing one at Darien, and nothing had been attempted toward the conquest of the extensive,ountry which had been discovered. The ferocity and courage of the natives, with the other obstacles attending such an enterprise, had discouraged the adventurers who had explored the continent, and they returned contented with the discoveries they had made, and the taking possession of the country, without attempting to maintain any foothold in it, A Nation Conquered by One Man. This was the state of Spanish affairs in America in the year I5I8, twenty-six years after the discovery of the country by Columbus. But at this period a new era commenced, and the astonishing genius, and almost incredible exertions of one man, conquered a powerful and populous nation, which, compared with those tribes with which the Spaniards had hitherto been acquainted, were a civilized people, understanding the arts of life, and were settled in towns, villages, and even large and populous cities. Intelligence of the important discoveries made by Grijalva was no sooner communicated to Velasques, than, prompted by ambition, he 418 INVASION OF MEXICO BY CORTEZ. 419 conceived the plan of fitting out a large armament for the conquest and occupation of the country; and so great was his ardor, that without waiting for the authority of his sovereign, or the return of Grijalva, the expedition was prepared and ready to sail about the time the latter entered the port of St. Jago de Cuba. Velasques was ambitious of the glory which he expected would attend the expedition, yet being sensible that he had neither the courage nor capacity to command it himself, he was greatly emn barrassed in selecting a person who suited his views; as he wanted a man of sufficient courage, talents, and experience to command, but who at the same time would be a passive instrument in his hands. A Daring Adventurer. It was with no small difficulty a man of this description could be found, as those possessing the requisite abilities had too much spirit to be the creature of a jealous and capricious master. At length two of the secretaries of Velasques recommended Fernando Cortez, as a man suitable for his purpose; and, happily for his country, but fatally for himself, he immediately fell in with the proposition. Velasques believed that Cortez possessed courage and talents for command, united with a bold and adventurous spirit, and that his humble condition would keep him dependent on his will, and prevent his aspiring at independence. Cortez was one of the adventurers who came out to Hispaniola in the year 1504, when the island was under the governorship of Ovando, who was a kinsman of his; from which circumstance he was immediately employed in several lucrative and honorable stations; but not being satisfied with these, he accompanied Velasques in his expedition to Cuba, and distinguished himself in the conquest of that island. Cortez received his commission with the warmest gratitude, and erecting his standard before his own house, he immediately assumed the ensigns of his new dignity. His extraordinary talents and activity were at once brought into requisition, and so great and unremitted were his exertions in forwarding the expedition, that he sailed from St. Jago de Cuba on the 420 INVASION OF MEXICO BY CORTEZ. eighteenth day of November, in the year 1518, a short time after he received his commission. Cortez proceeded to Trinidad, a small settlement on the same side of the island, where he was joined by several adventurers, and received a supply of provisions and military stores. Velasques, who had been jealous of Cortez before he sailed, was confirmed in his suspicions of his fidelity as soon as he was no longer in his power, and immediately despatched orders to Trinidad to deprive him of his commission. But he had HERN O COEZ. already acquired the confidence of his offi<~..~ax~a. yord~ ~ i1~ cers and men in such istany a degree as to be i r t. able to intimidate the Cortechief magistrate of,"i- the place, and depart x >' without molestation. From this place / % ~ Cortez sailed to Ha-..vana, where he obbefore hs mplies. Velasques, irHERNANDO CORTEZ ritated and mortified at the failure of his first attempt to deprive Cortez of his commission, dispatched a confidential friend to this place, with peremptory orders to Pedro Barba, his lieutenant-governor in that colony, instantly to arrest Cortez, and send him, under a strong guard, a prisoner to St. Jago, and to countermand the sailing of the fleet. Cortez, having obtained information of the designs of Velasques, before his messenger arrived, immediately took measures to counter agt them. INVASION OF MEXICO BY CORTEZ. 421 He ordered such of his officers as he knew to be particularly attached to the governor, on some service abroad, and then acquainted the men of the unreasonable jealousy of the governor, and with his intention to deprive him of his command, and arrest the progress of the armament. The officers and men were equally astonished and indignant at the conduct of the governor, and with one voice beseeched Cortez not to deprive them of a leader in whom they all had such confidence, and offered to shed the last drop of their blood to maintain his authority. Expedition for Plunder and Conquest. This was the result expected by Cortez, and was highly gratifying to his ambition. In reply, he informed his men that he would never desert soldiers who had given such signal proofs of attachment, and promised instantly to conduct them to that rich country which had been so long the object of their hopes and wishes. Everything was now ready for their departure. The fleet consisted of eleven vessels, one of a hundred tons, three of seventy or eighty, and the residue small open barks. There were on board five hundred and eight soldiers, and one hundred and nine seamen and artificers, making in all six hundred and seventeen men. A part of the men had firearms, the rest crossbows, swords and spears. They only had sixteen horses, and ten small field-pieces. With this force, Cortez was about to commence war, with a view of conquest, upon a nation whose dominions were more extensive than all the kingdoms subject to the Spanish crown, and which was filled with people considerably advanced in civilization. Although this expedition was undertaken for the purpose of aggression, and for plunder and conquest, yet so strange and blind is religious fanaticism, that with these objects were blended the propagation of Christianity, and upon the Spanish standards a large cross was displayed, with this inscription: "Let us follow the cross, for under this sign we shal; conquer I" The expedition touched at the several places which had been visited by Grijalva, and continued its course to the westward until it 422 INVASION OF MEXICO BY CORTEZ. arrived at St. Juan de Uloa, where a large canoe, filled with people, two of whom appeared to be persons of distinction, approached the fleet with signs of friendship, and came on board without any symptoms of fear or distrust. By means of a female Indian, who had previously been taken on board, and was afterward known by the name of Donna Marina, and who understood the Aztec, or Mexican language, Cortez ascertained that the two persons of distinction were deputies despatched by the two governors of the province, and that they acknowledged the authority of a great monarch, whom they called Montezuma, who was sovereign of the whole country, and that they were sent to inquire what his object was in visiting their shores, and to offer him any assistance he might stand in need of, in order to continue his voyage. An Enemy in Disguise. Cortez informed them that he had visited their country with no other than the most friendly intentions, and for an object of very great importance to their king and country. The next morning, without waiting an answer, the Spaniards landed, and the natives like the man who warmed the frozen snake, which, reviving, bit his child to death, assisted them with great alacrity, little suspecting that they were introducing into their peaceful borders the invaders and despoilers of their country. In the course of the day, Teutile and Pilpatoe, the two governors of the province, entered the camp of Cortez, with a numerous retinue, and were received with much ceremony and apparent respect. Cortez informed them that he came as ambassador from Don Carlos, king of Castile, the most powerful monarch of the East, and that the object of his embassy was of such vast moment, that he could communicate it to no one but Montezuma himself, and therefore requested that they would conduct him into the presence of the emperor. The Mexican officers were astonished at so extraordinary a proposition, and attempted to dissuade Cortez from it; but he insisted upon a compliance with his request, in a peremptory and almost authoritative manner, In the meantime, he observed some of the pa INVASION OF MElXICO BY CORTEZ. 423 tives delineating, on white cotton cloth, figures of the ships, horses, artillery, soldiers, firearms, and other objects which attracted their attention, and being informed that these were to be conveyed to Montezuma, he wished to fill their emperor with the greatest possible awe of the irresistible power of his strange guests. The Mexicans Filled with Consternation. He instantly ordered the troops formed in order of battle; various martial movements and evolutions were performed; the horses exhibited a specimen of their agility and impetuosity, and the field-pieces were discharged into the wood, which made dreadful havoc among the trees. The Mexicans looked on in silent amazement, until the cannon were fired when some fled, others fell on the ground, and all were filled with consternation and dismay, and were confounded at the sight of men who seemed to command the thunder of heaven, uld whose power appeared so nearly to resemble that of the Great Spirit. Messengers were immediately dispatched to Montezuma, and returned in a few days, although Mexico, where he resided, was one hundred and eighty miles froi St. Juan de Uloa, where Cortez was. This dispatch was in consequence of an improvement in police, which had not then been introduced into Europe; couriers were stationed at given distances along the principal roads, and being trained to the business, they conveyed intelligence with great despatch. Teutile and Pilpatoe were empowered to deliver the answer of their master to Cortez; but previous to which, agreeably to their instructions, and with the mistaken hope of conciliating his favor, they offered to him the presents which had been sent by the emperor. These were introduced with great ceremony by a train of one hun. Ired Indians, each loaded with the presents of his sovereign; they were deposited on mats so placed as to show them to the greatest advantage, and consisted of the manufactures of the country, such as fine cotton stuffs, so splendid as to resemble rich silks; pictures of animals, and other national objects, formed of feathers of various hues, with such wonderful ar and skill as to rival the works of the 424 INVASION OF MEXICO BY CORTEZ. pencil; but what most attracted the attention of the Spaniards, whose avidity for the precious metals knew no bounds, was the manufactures of gold and silver. Among the bracelets, collars, rings, and trinkets of gold, were two large plates of a circular form, one of massive gold, representing the sun, the other of silver, an emblem of the moon. A Country of Gold and Jewels. These specimens of the riches of the country, instead of conciliating the favor of the Spaniards, and inducing them to quit the country, had the effect of oil cast upon fire, with the view to extinguish it; they inflamed their cupidity for gold to such a pitch that they could hardly be restrained in their ardor to become masters of a country affording such riches. These splendid presents were received by Cortez with great respect for the monarch whose liberality bestowed them. This gave courage to the Mexican officers, who informed Cortez that though Montezuma wished him to accept these presents as a token of his respect, yet he could not consent to have him approach, with an armed force, nearer to his capital, or remain any longer in his dominions. " Inform your master," said Cortez, in a peremptory tone, " that I insist on my first demand, and that I cannot return, without disgrace, until I have had an interview with the sovereign whom I was sent to visit in the name of my king." The Mexicans were astonished at this boldness, as they had been accustomed to see the will of their monarch obeyed in the most implicit manner. They requested time to send to the emperor once more, with which request the Spanish general complied. The Mexican monarch and his counsellors were greatly embarrassed and alarmed, and knew not what measures to adopt to expel from their country such bold and troublesome intruders. Their fears were increased by the influence of superstition, there having long prevailed a tradition that their country would be invaded and overrun by a formidable race of men, who would come from the regions toward the rising of the sun, Montezuma and his advisers, dreading INVASION OF MEXICO BY CORTEZ. 425 the consequences of involving their country in war with enemies who seemed to be of a higher order of beings, and to command and direct the elements, sent to Cortez a more positive command to leave the country, and most preposterously accompanied this with a rich present, which rendered the Spaniards the more bent on becoming masters of a country that appeared to be filled with the precious metals. When Teutile delivered the ultimatum of his sovereign, together with the rich presents, and Cortez again insisted on his demand of seeing the emperor, the Mexican abruptly turned and left the camp, with looks and gestures which plainly showed that his astonishment was not greater than his indignation at the boldness and insolence of the Spanish general. This terminated all friendly intercourse between the natives and the Spaniards, and hostilities were immediately expected to commence. A Cunning Strategy. At this crisis the perilous situation of Cortez was rendered more alarming by disaffection among his men, which had been produced by the danger of their situation, and the exertions of some of the officers, who were friendly to Velasques. Diego de Ordaz, the leader of the malcontents, presented a remonstrance to Cortez, demanding, with great boldness, to be conducted immediately back to Cuba. Cortez listened with attention to the remonstrance, and in compliance with it immediately gave orders to the fleet to be in readiness to sail the next day. This was no sooner known than it produced the effect Cortez had foreseen. The whole camp was in confusion, and almost in mutiny. All demanded to see their leader; and when Cortez appeared, they asked whether it was worthy Castilian courage to be daunted by the first appearance of danger, and to fly before the enemy appeared. They insisted on pursuing the enterprise, the value of which had vastly increased from what they had seen, and declared that they would follow him with alacrity through every danger, to the possession and conquest of those rich countries, of which they had seen such satisfactory evidence. Cortez, delighted with their ardor, declared that his views were the same as their own, but that 426 INVASION OF MEXICO BY CORTEZ. he had giyen the order to re-embark from a belief that it was the wish of.1l; but being happy to learn that they were animated with so noble a spirit, he would resume the plan he had at first conceived, which was the establishment of a settlement on the seacoast, and then to penetrate into the heart of the country; and he had no doubt but -. _. --- MEXICAN INDIANS. that he could conduct them in a career of victory which would redound to their glory, and establish their fortune. As the first step toward planting a colony, Cortez assembled the principal men of his party, who proceeded to elect a council of magistrates, in whom its government was to be vested. The magistrates chosen were called by the official names which existed in Spain, and were to exercise the same jurisdiction; and all of them were devoted friends of Cortez. The council was immediately assembled, when Cortez appeared before themn with the most profound respect, and INVASION OF MEXICO BY CORTEZ. 427 addressing the new tribunal, he informed them that, as the sovereign of the country had already shown a hostile disposition, the security of the colony depended upon military force, and that on subordination and discipline; and as his commission, received from the governor of Cuba, had long since been revoked, his authority might be questionable. He therefore resigned his commission, and observed that though he had been accustomed to command, yet he should cheerfully obey whomsoever they might see fit to place at the head of affairs. As he had arranged this matter with his friends in the council, the resignation of Cortez was accepted, and immediately he was chosen by their unanimous voice, captain-general of the army, and chief justice of the colony; his commission was made out in the king's name, with the most ample powers, and was to continue in force until the royal pleasure might be ascertained. The Troops Loyal to Oortez. Before accepting this appointment the troops were consulted, and they unanimously confirmed the choice, and the air resounded with Cortez's name, and all swore to shed the last drop of their blood in support of his authority. Some of the adherents of Velasques exclaimed against these illegal proceedings, but Cortez, by a prompt exercise of authority, and by arresting and putting in chains several of the leaders of the malcontents, suppressed a faction which, had it not been timely checked, might have endangered all his hopes. Cortez was now placed in a situation which he had long desired, having rendered himself entirely independent of the governor of Cuba. Having employed some of his officers to survey the coast, he resolved to remove about forty miles to the northward, where there was a more commodious harbor, the soil more fertile, and in other respects a more eligible spot for a settlement. He immediately marked out the ground for a town, and as avarice and religious fanaticism were the two principles which governed the conduct of all the Spanish adventurers in America, he named the town Villarica% de la Vera Cruz 428 INVASION OF MEXICO BY CORTEZ. the rich town of the true cross. Huts were ordered to be erected, which might afford a shelter; these were to be surrounded by fortifications and works of sufficient strength to afford security from the attacks of the natives; and by the united exertions of officers and men, Cortez himself setting an example of industry and perseverance, and with the assistance of the natives, the works were forwarded with astonishing rapidity. In proceeding to this place the Spaniards had passed through the country of Zempoalla, and had an interview with several of the caciques of that nation, and learned, with much satisfaction, that they were unfriendly to Montezuma, and anxious to throw off his yoke; they also learned many particulars concerning that monarch; that he was a great tyrant, and oppressed his subjects; that he had con, quered some provinces and ruined others, by excessive exactions. Seizure of Mexican Officials. Whilst employed in erecting the town, the caciques of Zempoalla, and of Quiabislan, frequently visited them, which gave Cortez an opportunity to raise their conceptions of the character and power of the Spaniards to the highest pitch, and at the same time to encourage their opposition to the government of Montezuma, by assuring them of his protection. He so far succeeded in this that when some of Montezuma's officers came among them to collect the usual tribute, they seized them, and treated them as prisoners; and, agreeably to their barbarous superstition, were preparing to sacrifice them to their gods, when Cortez interfered and delivered them from their impending fate. This act of open rebellion served to attach these caciques firmly to the Spaniards, as their protection alone could save them from the dreadful consequences of Montezuma's displeasure; and Cortez soon succeeded in persuading them to acknowledge themselves in a formal manner to be the vassals of the Spanish monarch. Their example was followed by several other tribes. At this period Cortez dispatched a vessel to Spain with a highly colored description of the country he had discovered. CHAPTER XXX. Cortez Completes His Conquest. THE Mexican invader sent to Spain a glowing account of the pro. gress he had made in establishing the Spanish authority in the new country, and requested from the Crown an endorsement of his action. Disaffection again appeared among his men of a more alarming character than what had existed before, which, though promptly suppressed, filled the mind of Cortez with disquietude and concern, and led him to adopt one of the boldest measures of which history affords any account. He was satisfied that, from the appalling dangers, and magnitude of the undertaking, and from the spirit of disaffection, which, although suppressed, still lurked among his troops, it would be impossible to maintain his authority over them except by cutting off the means of return. After reflecting on the subject with deep solicitude, he resolved on destroying the fleet, which would place the Spaniards in a situation that they must conquer or perish; and, by the most plausible and artful representations, he succeeded in persuading his men to acquiesce in this desperate measure. With universal consent the ships were drawn on shore, and after being stripped of their sails, rigging, and everything of value, they were broken to pieces. His influence must have been unbounded, to be able to persuade his men to an act which is unparalleled in the annals of man; six hundred men voluntarily cut off their means of returning, and shut themselves up in a hostile country, filled with warlike and ferocious inhabitants, whose savage mode of warfare spared their prisoners only for the torture, or to be offered in sacrifice to their angry deities. Cortez now felt prepared to enter upon a career of victory and conquest, in some measure suited to his ambition and rapacity. Having advanced to Zempoalla, his zeal for religion led him to overturn the idols in the temples, and to place a crucifix and an image of the Virgin Mary in their stead; wliich rash step came near blasting all his hopes in the bud. The natives were filled with horror, and - 429 430 CORTEZ COMPLETES HIS CONQUEST. were excited to arms by their priests; but Cortez had such an ascendancy over them that he finally pacified them, and restored harmony. He marched from Zempoalla on the sixteenth of August, with five hundred men, fifteen horse, and six field pieces, with the intention of penetrating into the heart of a great and powerful nation. The residue of his men, most of whom were unfit for service, were left as a garrison at Vera Cruz. The cacique of Zempoalla supplied him with provisions, and, with two hundred Indians, called "Tamemes," whose office it was to carry burdens, and do other menial services, together with four hundred soldiers, most of whom were persons of note, who might be hostages for the fidelity of their chiefs, he advanced near the territories of the Tlascalans, and having learned that they were implacable enemies of the Mexicans, he was in hopes to pass through their country unmolested. Fierce Attack by the Natives. He dispatched four of the Zempoallans to request this privilege, and explain his friendly intentions. The Tlascalans, instead of granting this request, seized the ambassadors, and were preparing to sacrifice them to their gods. Cortez was obliged to march into their territories, and being a fierce and warlike people, they attacked him with great fury and with vast numbers; and although defeated and dispersed in every attack, they rallied and returned to the conflict with valor and perseverance far surpassing anything which had been witnessed in America. But although the Tlascalans brought into the field immense armies, and fought with courage and perseverance, they were unable to stop the progress of the Spaniards-so great is the advantage of discipline and science over barbarian force. They suffered severely in the successive conflicts, and only killed two horses and slightly wounded several men of the Spaniards. Believing the Spaniards to be invincible, as the last resort, they consulted their priests concerning these strange invaders, and how they could be repelled; and were informed that they were the offspring of the Sun, produced by his creative energy in regions of the East, and that they were invincible during the day, but at night, when deprived _ __ C1LSw1BA LOL MONUMENT TO COLUMBUS IN MEXICO. 431 432 CORTEZ COMPLETES HIS CONQUEST. of the sustaining influence of the Sun, they dwindled into mere mortals, and could be as easily overcome as other men. This response appeared very plausible, and immediately the Tlascalans prepared to surprise and attack the Spaniards in the night. Strange Offering to Procure Peace. But Cortez was too vigilant to be surprised by an Indian stratagem; his outposts observed the movements of the enemy and gave the alarm; the troops were immediately formed, sallied out of the camp, and dispersed them with great slaughter. The last effort, the advice of their priests, having completely failed, they became desirous of ending hostilities with a race that they regarded as more than mortal, but were at a loss whether they were good or evil beings. " If," said they, "you are divinities of a cruel and savage nature, we present you five slaves, that you may eat their flesh and drink their blood; if you are mild deities, accept an offering of incense and variegated plumes; if you are mere mortals here is meat, and bread, and fruit to nourish you." Peace was concluded, and the Tlascalans acknowledged themselves tributary to the Spanish monarch, and agreed to assist Cortez in his operations against the Mexicans, and he engaged to protect them and their country. The Tlascalans, in every adversity of fortune, remained faithful to the Spaniards, and it was to this alliance that they were indebted for success in the conquest of the Mexican empire. Cortez reposed twenty days at Tlascala to recruit his troops, who were exhausted with hard service and enfeebled by the distempers of the climate. During this interval he obtained extensive information concerning the Mexican empire, and the character and political condition of its sovereign. His troops being recruited, the Spanish general commenced his march towards the city of Mexico, with six thousand Tlascalan warriors added to his force. He directed his route to Cholula, a considerable town, fifteen miles distant, celebrated for its vast pyramid, or temple, and as being regarded as the seat of their gods. Here, although they had entered the town without opposition, and with much apparent respect, the CORTEZ COMPLETES HIS CONQUEST. 433 Spaniards soon discovered a deep plot laid for their destruction, and having obtained satisfactory proof, Cortez determined to make such an example as would inspire his enemies with terror. He drew up his forces in the centre of the town, and sent for most of the magistrates and chief citizens, under various pretences, who, at a given signal, were seized, and then the troops and the Tlascalans fell on the people, who, being deprived of their leaders, and filled with astonishment, dropped their arms and remained motionless, without making the least effort to defend themselves. A Horrible Massacre. The slaughter was dreadful; the streets were filled with the dead, and covered with blood; the priests and some of the chief families took refuge in the temples: these were set on fire, and all consumed together. This scene of carnage continued for two days, during which six thousand of the natives perished, without the loss of a single individual of their destroyers. From Cholula it was but sixty miles to Mexico, and Cortez marched directly toward the capital; through every place he passed he was received as a deliverer, and heard the grievances of the inhabitants, all of which he promised to redress. He was highly gratified on perceiving that the seeds of discontent were scattered through the empire, and not confined to the remote provinces. As the Spaniards approached the capital, the unhappy monarch was distracted with hopes and fears, and knew not what to do: one day he sent orders inviting them to advance; the next, commanding them to retire and leave the country. As the Spaniards drew near to the city, one thousand persons of distinction came out to meet them, clad in mantles of fine cotton and adorned with plumes: each, in his order, passed by and saluted Cortez in the manner deemed most respectful in their country. At length they announced the approach of the emperor himself: his retinue consisted of two hundred persons, dressed in uniform, with plumes and feathers, who marched two and two, barefooted, with their eyes fixed on the ground: to these succeeded a higher rank, with more showy apparel 2-C 434 CORTEZ COMPLETE HS H CONQUEST. Montezuma followed in a litter, or chair, richly ornamented with gold and feathers, borne on the shoulders of four of his favorites; a canopy of curious workmanship was supported over his head; three officers walked before him, with gold rods, which, at given intervals, they raised up, as a signal for the people to bow their heads and hide their faces, as unworthy to behold so august a sovereign. Imposing Ceremonies. As he approached Cortez, the latter dismounted, and advanced in the most respectful manner; Montezuma at the same time alighted, and, leaning on two of his attendants, approached with a slow and stately pace, cotton cloth being strewed on the ground, that he might not touch the earth. Cortez saluted him with profound reverence, according to the European fashion, and Montezuma returned the salutation in the manner of his country: he touched with his hand the ground, and then kissed it. This being the mode of salutation of an inferior to a superior, the Mexicans viewed with astonishment this act of condescension in their monarch, whom they had been accustomed to consider as exalted above all mortals, and related to the gods. Montezuma, having conducted the Spaniards to the quarters provided for them, on retiring, addressed Cortez as follows: "You are now with your brothers, in your own house; refresh yourselves after your fatigue, and be happy until I return." The Spaniards were lodged in an ancient palace, surrounded with a wall, with towers at proper distances, which would serve for defence; the accommodations were not only sufficient for the Spaniards, but likewise for their Indian allies. The City of Mexico is situated in an immense plain, surrounded by lofty mountains, and all the waters that descend from these mountains are collected in several small and two large lakes, of about ninety miles in circumference, which communicate with each other. The city is built on the banks of one of these lakes, and several adjacent islands; the access to the city is by several causeways, of great extent; at proper distances are openings, with bridges, for the water to pass when it overflows the flat. The houses of the inhabitants were little better than Indian huts CORTEZ COMPLETES HIS CONQUEST. 435 yet placed in regular order; but the temples and other public buildings, the houses of the monarch and persons of distinction, were of vast dimensions, and had some claims to magnificence, especially when it is considered that the inhabitants knew not the use of iron or edged tools, and were destitute of the aid of domestic animals...-._ -~-.... RUINS OF AN ANCIENT MEXICAN CITY. The Spaniards soon became alarmed for their safety, as it was apparent that by breaking down the bridges their retreat would be cut off, and they would be shut up in a hostile city, where all their superiority in arms could not prevent their being overwhelmed by the multitude of their enemies. Reflecting, with deep concern, on his situation, Cortez resolved on a measure scarcely less bold and desperate than that of destroying his ships; this was to seize the sovereign i iil RUINS OF AN ANCIENT MEXICAN CITY. The Spaniards soon became alarmed for their safety, as it was apparent that by breaking down the bridges their retreat would be cut off, and they would be shut up in a hostile city, where all their superiority in arms could not prevent their being overwhelmed by the multitude of their enemies. Reflecting, with deep concern, on his situation, Cortez resolved on a measure scarcely less bold and desperate than that of destroying his ships; this was to seize the sovereign 436 CORTEZ COMPLETES HIS CONQUEST. of a great empire, in his own capital, surrounded by his subjects, and retain him as a prisoner in the Spanish quarters. When he first proposed this measure to his officers, most of them were startled with its audacity; but he convinced them that it was the only step that could save them from destruction, and they agreed instantly to make the attempt. At his usual hour of visiting Montezuma, Cortez repaired to the palace, with five of his bravest officers, and as many trusty soldiers; thirty chosen men followed at some distance, and appeared to be sauntering along the street. The rest of the troops, and their allies, were prepared to sally out at the first alarm. As the Spaniards entered, the Mexican officers retired, and Cortez addressed the monarch in a very different tone from what he had been accustomed to do, and accused him of being the instigator of the attack made on his garrison left at Vera Cruz, in which several Spaniards were killed and demanded reparation. The monarch, filled with astonishment and indignation, asserted his innocence with great warmth, and, as a proof of it, ordered the officer who attacked the Spaniards to be brought to Mexico as a prisoner. A Trap Laid for Montezuma. Cortez pretended that he was satisfied with this declaration, but said that his soldiers would never be convinced that Montezuma did not entertain hostile intentions toward them, unless he repaired to the Spanish quarters, as a mark of confidence, where he would be served and honored as became a great monarch. The first mention of so strange and alarming a proposal almost bereft the unhappy monarch of his senses; he remonstrated and protested against it; the altercation became warm and continued for several hours, when Velasques de Leon, a daring and impetuous young officer, exclaimed, with great vehemence: " Why waste more words or time in vain?-let us seize him instantly, or stab him to the heart." The audacity of this declaration, accompanied with fierce and threatening looks and gestures, intimidated Montezuma, who submitted to his fate, and agreed to comply with their request. Monte CORTEZ COMPLETES HIS CONQUEST. 437 zuma now called in his officers, and informed them of his determination; they heard it with astonishment and grief, but made no reply. He was, accordingly, carried to the Spanish quarters, with great parade, but bathed in tears. We consult history in vain for any parallel to this transaction, whether we consider the boldness and temerity of the measure, or the success with which it was executed. Bold Attempt to Subdue Spain. It is a curious fact, that at the expiration of three centuries an attempt should have been made for the subjugation of Spain, by getting possession of its sovereign, not dissimilar to that which had been practiced by the officers of that nation in America. In point of treachery and deception there is little difference in the two cases; and if the sins of nations are visited upon their posterity, the designs of Bonaparte against Spain and its monarch might be regarded as retributive, for the violence and treachery of the Spanish adventurers against the inoffensive inhabitants of America. Qulpopoca, the commander who attacked the garrison at Vera Cruz, his son, and six of his principal officers, were delivered to Cortez, to be punished as he deemed proper; and after a mock trial, before a Spanish court-martial, they were condemned to be burned alive, which infamous and wicked sentence was carried into execution amidst vast multitudes of their astonished countrymen, who viewed the scene with silent horror. Montezuma remained in the quarters of the Spaniards for six months, was treated with apparent respect, and served by his own officers, but strictly watched, and kept in " durance vile." During this period, Cortez, having possession of the sovereign, governed the empire in his name; his commissions and orders were issued as formerly, and strictly obeyed, although it was known that the monarch was a prisoner in the hands of the invaders of the country. The Spaniards made themselves acquainted with the country, visited the remote provinces, displaced some officers whom they suspected of unfriendly designs, and appointed others more obsequious to their will; and so completely was the spirit of Montezuma subdued, that 438 CORTEZ COMPLETES HIS CONQUEST. at length Cortez induced him to acknowledge himself as tributary, and a vassal of the king of Castile. This last and most humiliating condition, to which a proud and haughty monarch, accustomed to independent and absolute power, could be reduced, overwhelmed him with the deepest distress. He called together the chief men of the empire, and informed them of his determination, but was scarcely able to speak, being frequently interrupted with tears and groans, flowing from a heart filled with anguish. Cortez had deprived Montezuma of his liberty, of his wealth, and of his empire; he wished now to deprive him of his religion. But though the unhappy monarch had submitted to every other demand, this he would not yield to; and Cortez, enraged at his obstinacy, had the rashness to order the idols of the temples thrown down by force; but the priests taking arms in their defence, and the people rallying in crowds to support them, Cortez was obliged to desist from an act which the inhabitants viewed as the highest sacrilege. Spaniards Threatened with Destruction. This rarh step excited the bitter enmity of the priests against the Spaniards who regarded them as the enemies of the gods, who would avenge the insult which had been offered to them. They roused the leading men, and from this moment the Mexicans began to reflect on the means of destroying or expelling such audacious and impious invaders. They held frequent consultations with one another, and with their captive prince. B-eing unwilling to have recourse to arms, if it could be avoided, Montezuma called Cortez into his presence, and informed him that now all the objects of his mission were fulfilled, and it was the will, both of the gods and of his people, that the Spaniards should instantly depart from the empire, and if he did not comply with this request inevitable destruction would overtake them. Cortez, thinking it prudent not to appear to oppose the wishes of the Mexicans, informed Montezuma that he was expecting soon to leave the country. and had begun to make preparations for his departure. CORTEZ COMPLETES HIS CONQUEST. 439 While Cortez was deeply anxious as to his situation, in consequence of the evident designs of the Mexicans, a more alarming danger threatened him from another quarter. Velasques, governor of Cuba, having obtained intelligence of Cortez's proceedings-that he had renounced all dependence on his authority-was attempting to establish an independent colony, and had applied to the king to confirm his acts-was filled with indignation and resolved to be avenged on the man who had so basely betrayed his confidence and usurped his authority. He engaged with great ardor in preparing an expedition, which was destined to New Spain, to arrest Cortez, bring him home in irons, and then to prosecute and complete the conquest of the country in his own name. Alarm Caused by New Enemies. The armament consisted of eighteen vessels, having on board eight hundred foot soldiers, and eighty horsemen, with a train of twelve pieces of cannon. The command of this expedition was entrusted to Narvaez, with instructions to seize Cortez, and his principal officers, and then complete the conquest of the country. The fatal experience of Velasques had neither inspired him with wisdom nor courage; for he still entrusted to another what he ought to have executed himself. When Cortez first heard that several ships had appeared on the coast, he supposed that it was an expedition which his messengers had procured to be sent from Spain as a reinforcement. But the joy which this occasioned was soon turned to sorrow, when, instead of friends, he learned that they were new and more formidable enemies. In this appalling exigency, Cortez was greatly embarrassed how to act. He finally concluded that he could rely only on his arms; and leaving one hundred and fifty men in Mexico, to guard the royal prisoner, and maintain his authority, he commenced his march toward the coast, with the residue of his troops, which, after being reinforced by the garrison at Vera Cruz, did not exceed two hundred and fifty men. Although sensible that the dispute must be decided by the sword, 440 CORTEZ COMPLETES HIS CONQUEST. he dispatched several messengers to Narvaez, to offer terms of accommodation, but without success; and the demands of Narvaez were so insolent as greatly to enrage the followers of Cortez. Narvaez, relying on his superiority of numbers, and confident of victory, set a price on Cortez's head. At length the armies approached near each other, and Narvaez immediately marched out to offer Cortez battle. But the latter prudently declined an engagement, and, moving off, took a station where he was secure from attack. He foresaw that the enemy would naturally give themselves up to repose, after their fatigues, and resolved to surprise and attack them in the night. A Successful Surprise and Seizure. His officers and men highly approved of this measure; it was executed in a most gallant manner, and with success surpassing the most sanguine hopes he could have entertained. The sentinels were seized, and the enemy was completely surprised; and after a desperate but ineffectual struggle, their commander having been wounded and made prisoner, they surrendered at discretion. Cortez treated the vanquished not as enemies, but as his countrymen, and offered to conduct them back to Cuba, or to receive them into his service on the same terms as his own soldiers. To the latter proposition they all acceded, with the exception of a few personal friends of Narvaez, and avowed the satisfaction they felt in following so distinguished a commander. Thus, by the good fortune and great abilities of the conqueror of Mexico, an event which threatened to annihilate all his hopes, was turned so greatly to his advantage, that it afforded him a reinforcement exceeding in number the troops he then had, and placed him at the head of one thousand Spaniards. He immediately commenced a rapid march back to the capital, a courier having arrived just after the victory over Narvaez from the garrison left there, with intelligence that the Mexicans, immediately after the departure of Cortez, had taken arms, and attacked the Spaniards in their quarters with great fury. This was occasioned by the rapacity and violence of the Spaniards, who, at a solemn festival in honor of the gods of the country, treacher, CORTEZ COMPLETES HIS CONQUEST. 441 ously murdered two thousand of the nobles, and stripped them of their ornaments. This outrage was committed under the pretense that they had engaged in a conspiracy against the Spaniards. Cortez found, as he passed through the Mexican territories, that the spirit of hostility to the Spaniards was not confined to the capital; the inhabitants deserted the towns through which he passed, and removed all provisions, so that he could scarcely subsist his troops. The Captive Monarch Rudely Treated. Nothing but the rapidity of his movements could have saved the garrison, as the Mexicans had destroyed the two brigantines which Cortez had built to secure the command of the lake, reduced their magazines to ashes, and were carrying on hostilities with such fury and perseverance, that, with all their bravery, the Spaniards must soon have been overwhelmed by the multitude of their enemies. But so ignorant were the Mexicans of the art of war, and so little had they learned from experience, that they permitted Cortez again to enter the capital, when they could, with the greatest ease, have prevented it, by breaking down the bridges and causeways. The garrison received their countrymen with transports of joy; and Cortez, feeling confident in his strength, had the impudence to throw off the disguise which had covered his actions, and to treat the captive monarch with contempt, and scarcely to conceal his intentions of slubjugating the country. This indiscretion rekindled the flames of war; and, emboldened by their success, which convinced them that their enemies were not invincible, the Mexicans collected the next day after the arrival of Cortez, in vast multitudes, and attacked the Spaniards in their quarters, with great impetuosity. The Spanish leader and his followers were astonished at the courage and spirit of men who had, for a long time, submitted so tamely to the yoke they had imposed on them. Crowded together in the narrow streets, the Spanish artillery swept them away, at every discharge, like autumnal leaves before the blast; yet they remaine4 undaunted, and returned to the assault with the bravery and determination of men resolved to conquer or die, The contest was son 442 CORTEZ COMPLETES HIS CONQUEST. tinued for several days, with the same spirit and perseverance. At length Cortez resolved to make a sally, with so strong a force that he hoped to drive the enemy out of the city, and end the contest. But he was met by so numerous a body of men, who, animated by their priests, and led on by their nobles, fought with such desperation, that after a day of incessant toil, during which immense slaughter was made of the Mexicans, and a part of the city burnt, the Spaniards returned to their quarters, harassed by the multitude and perseverance of their enemies, and weary with their own carnage, without having effected any thing decisive, or that compensated them for the great loss of twelve men killed and sixty wounded. Being now sensible that he could not maintain himself in the midst of an exasperated population with a handful of men, however great might be their superiority, he resolved to try what would be the effect of the intercession of Montezuma toward soothing the wrath of his people. Montezuma Felled to the Ground. Accordingly, the next morning, when the Mexicans advanced to the attack, the wretched prince, made the instrument of his own disgrace and of the enslavement of his subjects, was constrained to ascend the battlement, clad in his royal robes, and to address his subjects, and attempt to allay their rage, and dissuade them from hostilities. As he came in sight of the Mexicans their weapons dropped from their hands, and they prostrated themselves on the earth; but when he stopped speaking, a deep and sullen murmur arose, and spread through the ranks; reproaches and threats followed, and the feelings of the people swelling in a moment like a sudden rush of waters, volleys of arrows, stones, and every missile, were poured upon the ramparts, so suddenly, and with such violence, that before the Spanish soldiers, appointed to protect Montezuma, could cover him with their bucklers, he was wounded by the arrows, and struck by a stone on the temple, which felled him to the ground. His fall occasioned a sudden transition in the feelings of the multitude; being horror-struck with the crime they had committed, they threw down their arms, and fled with precipitation. Montezuma was CORTEZ COMPLETES HIS CONQUEST. 443 removed to his apartments by the Spaniards, but his proud spirit could not brook this last mortification, and perceiving that he was not only the prisoner and tool of his enemies, but the object of the vengeanlce and contempt of his subjects, he tore the bandages from his wounds in a transport of feeling, and persisted in a refusal to take any nourishment, with a firmness that neither entreaties nor threats could overcome, and thus terminated his wretched existence. He obstinately refused, to the last, all the solicitations, accompanied with all the terrors of future punishment, to embrace the Christian faith. Dangerous Situation of Cortez. With the death of Montezuma ended all hopes of pacifying the Mexicans, and Cortez was sensible that his salvation depended on a successful retreat. The morning following the fall of their prince the Mexicans renewed the assault with redoubled fury, and succeeded in taking possession of a high temple, which overlooked the Spanish quarters, and greatly exposed them to the missiles of the enemy. A detachment of chosen men, ordered to dislodge them, were twice repulsed, when Cortez, taking the command himself, rushed into the thickest of the combat, with a drawn sword, and by his presence and example, after a dreadful carnage, the Spaniards made themselves masters of the tower, and set fire to it. Cortez was determined to retreat from the city, but was at a loss in what way to attempt it, when a private soldier, who from a smattering of learning sustained the character of an astrologer, advised him to undertake it in the night, and assured him of complete success. Cortez the more readily fell in with this plan, as he knew it was a superstitious principle with the Mexicans not to attack an enemy in the night. The arrangements being made, the Spaniards moved forward about midnight over the shortest causeway, and all was silence until they reached the first breach. Whilst they were preparing to place their bridge over the breach, at the moment when they supposed their retreat had not been discovered, they were astonished with a tremendous shout, accompanied with martial instruments, of an immense multitude, which covered the whole lake. /I 444 CORTEZ COMPLETES HIS CONQUEST. A shower of arrows and stones was fdllowed by a furious charge. The Spaniards defended themselves with their usual bravery; but being confined in a narrow causeway, and hemmed in on all sides by the multitude of their enemies, all the Mexicans being under arms, they were deprived of the advantages of their superior discipline and skill; and, from the darkness of the night, they could scarcely distinguish friends from foes. After sustaining a dreadful conflict, attended with immense slaughter, for a considerable time, they were thrown into confusion. They finally forced their way over the remaining part of the causeway, the dead bodies serving to fill up the breaches. In the morning Cortez found his troops reduced to half their number, and a large portion of these covered with wounds, and all filled with grief, at the loss of their friends and companions. All the artillery was lost, the ammunition and the baggage, most of the horses, and nearly all their ill-gotten gold. The last, which was the chief object of their desires, contributed greatly to their fatal disaster, as the soldiers were so encumbered with it as greatly to impede their exertions. More than two thousand of the Tlascalans were killed. Hurried Retreat of the Spaniards. The Spaniards now commenced their march for Tlascala, and for six days continued it without respite, through swamps and over mountains, harassed by the Mexicans at a distance, and sometimes closely attacked. On the sixth day they approached near to Otumba, and discovered numerous parties moving in various directions. Their interpreter informed them that they often exclaimed, with exultation: "Go on, robbers; go to the place where you shall quickly meet with the fate due to your crimes." The Spaniards continued their march until they reached the summit of a mountain, when an extensive valley opened to their astonished visions, covered with an innumerable multitude, which explained the meaning of what they had just seen and heard. The vast number of their enemies, and the suddenness with which they had appeared, appalled the stoutest hearts, and despair was depicted in every coun CORTEZ COMPLETES HIS CONQUEST. 445 tenance. But Cortez, who alone was unshaken, informed them that there remained but one alternative, to conquer or perish; and immediately led them to the charge. The Mexicans waited their approach with courage; but so great is the superiority of discipline and military science over brute force, that the small battalion of the Spaniards made an irresistible impression, and forced its way through the armed multitude. Although the Mexicans were dispersed, and obliged to give way wherever the Spaniards approached, yet as they retreated in one quarter, they advanced in another; so that the Spaniards were constantly surrounded, and had become nearly exhausted by their own carnage. Universal Panic and Flight. At this crisis, Cortez, observing the standard of the Mexican empire, and recollecting to have heard that on the fate of that depended the success of a battle, assembled some of his bravest officers, and rushed, with great impetuosity, through the crowd, and by the stroke of a lance wounded the general who held it, and threw him to the ground; whereupon one of his officers dismounted, stabbed him to the heart, and secured the imperial standard. The fall of their leader and standard had an instantaneous and magical effect; every tie which held them together seemed dissolved; a universal panic prevailed; their weapons dropped from their hands, and they all fled with precipitation to the mountains, leaving everything behind them. The spoil which the Spaniards collected compensated them, in some measure, for their loss in retreating from the Mexican capital. The next day they entered with joy the territories'of Tlascala, and, notwithstanding their dreadfil calamities, they were kindly received by their allies, whose fidelity was not at all shaken by the declining condition of the Spanish power. Notwithstanding all his misfortunes, Cortez did not abandon his plan of conquering the Mexican empire. He obtained some ammunition and three fieldpieces from Vera Cruz, and despatched four of the vessels of Narvaez's fleet to Hispaniola and Jamaica, to obtain ammunition and military stores, and procure adventurers. 446 CORTEZ COMPLETE IS S CONQUEST. Sensible that he could do nothing against Mexico without the command of the lake, he set about preparing the timber and other materials for twelve brigantines; which were to be carried by land to the lake in pieces, and there put together and launched. These measures, which disclosed his intentions, occasioned disaffection again to appear among his troops; which, with his usual address, but not without difficulty, he succeeded in suppressing. Cortez Marches on the Capital. Whilst anxiously waiting for the return of his ships, two vessels, which had been sent out by Velasques to reinforce Narvaez, were decoyed into Vera Cruz, and the crews and troops induced to follow the fortunes of Cortez; and soon after several vessels put in there, and the seamen and soldiers on board were also persuaded to join the Spanish adventurer, by which means Cortez received a reinforcement of one hundred and eighty men, and twenty horses. He now dismissed such of Narvaez's men as served with reluctance, after which he mustered five hundred and fifty foot soldiers, and forty horsemen and possessed a train of nine field-pieces. With this force, and ten thousand Tlascalans and other fiiendly Indians, he set out once more for the conquest of the Mexican empire. He began his march toward the capital on the 28th of December, 1520, six months after his disastrous retreat. Although the Mexicans, aware of his intentions, had made preparations to obstruct his progress, he continued his march without much difficulty, and took possession of Tezcuco, the second town in the empire, situated on the lake, about twenty miles from Mexico. Here he established his headquarters, as it was the most suitable place to launch his brigantines; and during the delay which that object required, he subjugated a number of towns on the lake, and thus circumscribed the Mexican empire. At this time, when his prospects were more flattering than they had been at any other, all his hopes were exposed to be blasted, by an alarming conspiracy, which aimed at the life of Cortez himself, and all his principal officers. On the very day on which it was to have been carried into execu CORTEZ COMPLETES HIS CONQUEST. 447 tion, one of the conspirators went privately to his general and revealed it. Villefragua, the ringleader, was seized and executed. The materials for the brigantines being completed, Cortez despatched a detachment of his troops as a convoy to eight thousand Tamemes, an inferior class of men, used for carrying burdens il the lieu of animals, who had been furnished by the Tlascalans. Fifteen thousand Tlascalan warriors also accompanied them for their defence. This novel and immense convoy arrived safe at Tezcuco; and about the same time the ships returned from Hispaniola, with two hundred troops, eighty horses, two battering cannon, and a supply of ammunition and arms. These events elevated the hopes of Cortez and his followers, and gave increased activity to their exertions. Dismay of the Mexicans. On the 28th of April all the brigantines were launched, with great ceremony-all the troops, and those of their allies, being drawn up on the Links of the canal, and mass and religious exercises were performed. As they fell into the lake from the canal, Father Olmedo, the chaplain, gave to each its name, and his benediction. The joy of the Spaniards was excessive, and repeated shouts resounded over the still waters of the lake, now for the first time honored with a fleet, after being for centuries only skimmed by the light canoes of the savage. As the vessels entered the lake, they hoisted sail, and bore away before the wind, and were viewed by the Spaniards and their Indian allies with transports of joy, whilst the Mexicans beheld them with astonishment and dismay. On the death of Montezuma the Mexican chiefs elevated to the throne Quetlavaca, his brother, whose bravery and hostility to the Spaniards were signalized by those fierce attacks upon their invaders, which drove them from the capital. Whilst actively engaged in preparing to defend his capital from the second attack of Cortez, he was cut off by the smallpox, which fatal disease was then ravaging the empire, and was one of the dreadful calamities brought upon it by the Europeans. He was succeeded by Guatimozin, the nephew. and f 448 RT CORTKZ COMPLETES HIS CONQUEST. son-in-law of Montezuma. His distinguished reputation for courage and as a commander secured him the unanimous support of his countrymen at this alarming crisis. Although appalled at the formidable aspect of the brigantines, smanll and clumsy as they were, Guatimozin resolved to hazard an attempt to destroy them. With a vast multitude of canoes, which covered the wliole lake, the Mexicans fearlessly advanced to engage the brigantines, which, in consequence of a dead calm, were scarcely able to move; but, fortunately for the Spaniards, a breeze sprung up, and the vessels, spreading sail, broke through and overset the canoes, and dispersed the whole armament without scarcely \-\, man effort, and with very great iW. slaughter. This action convinced the MEXICAN CACIQUE, OR CHIEF. pute with them the dominion of the lake. Being master of the lake, Cortez carried on the siege with great activity: he divided his forces and attacked the city in three different quarters, the brigantines being formed into three squadrons, to cover the troops at each of the points of attack. For more than a month the siege continued, and was a succession of sharp and obstinate conflicts. During the day te Spaniards forced their way over all the obstructions which the enemy had interposed on the causeways to stop their progress, and passed the trenches and canals where the bridges were broken down, and sometimes penetrated into the city, but at night retired to their former positions, as, from the small number of their troops, they deemed it unsafe to remain within the city, where they might be overwhelmed by the multitude of their foes. CORTEZ COMPLETES HIS CONQUEST. 449 During the night the Mexicans repaired what the Spaniards had destroyed in the course of the day, and the contest was thus continued, with the desperate bravery and perseverance, on both sides, of men determined to conquer or die. At length Cortez, astonished at the obstinacy of the Mexicans, resolved to attempt, by a great and bold effort, to get possession of the city. He made a general assault at the three points of attack, with his whole force, and pushing on with irresistible impetuosity, they forced their way over one barricade after another and penetrated into the city. Rushed with Fury on the Invaders. But the officer ordered to fill up the trenches in the causeways and to keep the command of the same to secure a retreat in case it should become necessary, having neglected that duty and joined in the conflict, Guatimozin, availing himself of this mistake, suffered the Spaniards to advance into the heart of the town, when the sound of the great drum of the temple, consecrated to the god of war, was heard as a signal for action; the whole population of the city rushed with frantic fury to the scene of strife, and fell on their invaders with irresistible impetuosity; the Spaniards at first retired slowly and in order; but when they arrived at the breach in the causeway, where the Mexicans had concentrated a large force to intercept their retreat, being pressed on all sides, they were thrown into confusion, and horse and Soot, Spaniards and Tlascalans, plunged promiscuously into the gap. The Mexicans, encouraged by success, pressed furiously upon them from all quarters; their canoes covered the lake, and the causeway, both before and behind, was blocked up with their warriors. After incredible exertions, the Spaniards forced their way through the multitude of their enemies, with the loss of more than twenty killed and forty taken prisoners. These last unhappy victims were sacrificed the following night to the god of war, as a horrid triumph; the whole city was illuminated, and the Spaniards were filled with grief and horror by the shrieks of their companions, about to be immolated to the diabolical deities of their enemies. The heads of the victims were sent to the different provinces and exhibited, with 450 CORTEZ COMPLETES HIS CONQUEST. a declaration that the god of war, appeased by the blood of their enemies, had declared that in eight days their invaders should be destroyed and peace restored to the empire. The success of the Mexicans, together with this confident prediction, had a magic effect, and the people flocked in from all quarters to assist in conquering a hated foe, whom the gods had decreed to destroy. Cortez stationed his troops under the protection of his ships, which kept the enemy at a distance until the eight days had expired; and such was the influence of superstition that most of his allies deserted him; but after the fatal period had elapsed, and the Spaniards still being safe, they were ashamed of their credulity and returned to their stations. Famine Within and the Enemy Outside. Although Cortez now found himself in possession of a nume. rous force of Indians, yet past experience taught him to adopt a new and more safe mode of carrying on the siege. He made slow but gradual advances; his Indian allies repaired the causeways as he advanced, and as the Spaniards got possession of any part of the city, their allies were employed in levelling the houses to the ground. They thus compelled the Mexicans daily to retire, and gradually circumscribed the limits of the town. The immense multitude which had assembled in the city, consumed the supplies of provisions, and they were threatened with the horrors of famine within, whilst assailed by the enemy from without. Having the command of the lake, and from the numerous body of his Indian allies, Cortez was enabled to cut off all communications with the city. Three-quarters of it were reduced to ashes, when at length the three divisions of the Spaniards penetrated into the great central square and established a secure position. The fate of the city was now decided, as it was evident that what remained, being assailed from more advantageous stations, could hold out but a short time. At this crisis the chiefs and nobles prevailed on Guatimozin to retire to the provinces and attempt to arouse the people; and to CORTEZ COMPLETES HIS CONQUEST. 451 facilitate his escape they opened a negotiation for peace with Cortez; but the latter, too vigilant to be deceived, had given strict orders to watch the lake, and suffer no canoes to pass. The officer to whom this duty was assigned, observing several large canoes crossing the lake with rapidity, ordered a swift-sailing brigantine in pursuit, which, as it neared them, was about firing when all the rowers in an instant dropped their oars, threw down their arms and, rising up, beseeched them not to fire, as the emperor was on board. Guatimozin surrendered himself with dignity, and only requested that no insult might be offered to the empress or his children. "Take this Dagger and Plant it in my Breast." When brought into the presence of Cortez, he behaved with a degree of composure and dignity that would have done honor to any monarch on earth. Addressing himself to Cortez, he said, " I have done what became a monarch; I have defended my people to the last extremity. Nothing now remains but to die. Take this dagger" (laying his hand on one which Cortez wore), "plant it in my breast, and put an end to a life which can no longer be of any use." Previous to his leaving the city he had caused all his treasures to be thrown into the lake. The capture of the sovereign terminated the struggle, and the city and the empire fell into the hands of the conquerors. The siege had continued seventy-five days, and was by far the most extraordinary and memorable military effort in the conquest of America. The exertions, bravery, perseverance, and astonishing exploits of Cortez and his followers are unexampled; yet it is not to be supposed that the Mexican empire, comprising a vast population, in a considerable state of improvement, was conquered by a few hundred Spaniards: its conquest was effected by internal disaffections and divisions, and the jealousy of its neighbors, who dreaded its power, the oppression of which they had often experienced. The excessive joy of the Spaniards was changed to murmurs when they learned the small amount of treasure which had fallen into their hands; and such was their rage and disappointment that Cortez was 452 CORTEZ COMPLETES HIS CONQUEST. obliged to give way to it and suffer Guatimozin to be put to the torture to compel him to discover the royal treasures which they supposed he had concealed. And with such dignity and fortitude did he endure the torture that when the anguish and pain was at its height and his fellow-sufferer seemed to ask permission to purchase relief by revealing what he knew, the royal victim, with a look of authority and scorn, reproached him for his weakness by asking, " Anm I now reposing on a bed of roses?" After this reproof his fellow-sufferer remained silent, and expired under the torture of men calling themselves Christians. Cortez, ashamed of what he had done, interfered, and rescued the royal victim from the hands of his persecutors. Magellan's Voyage of Discovery. On the Ioth of August, I519, Ferdinand Magellan sailed from Seville with five ships and two hundred and thirty-four men, on a voyage of discovery. He discovered and entered the spacious bay forming the mouth of the River de la Plata, supposing it to be a strait, or communication leading into the Southern Ocean; and proceeding south he entered the strait that bears his name, and after sailing twenty days in that winding channel, the great Southern Ocean presented itself to his astonished vision, and with tears of joy he returned thanks to Heaven. Pursuing his course toward the northwest, he sailed for three months and twenty days without discovering land; and from the uninterrupted course of fair weather and the favorableness of the winds, he gave that ocean the name of " Pacific," which it has ever since retained. He discovered numerous islands, and among others the Philippines. In a quarrel with the natives, at one of these islands, he was un fortunately killed. The expedition, after the death of its commander, discovered the great island of Borneo, and at length arrived at one of the Molucca isles, to the no small astonishment of the Portuguese, who could not conceive how the Spaniards, by sailing in a westerly direction, had arrived at an island which they discovered by sailing in a directly opposite course. From this place they sailed by the way of the Cape of Good Hope, and returned home after a voyage of CORTEZ COMPLETES HIS CONQUEST. 453 three years and twenty-eight days, having sailed round the globe for the first time. The accounts of Cortez' victories and conquests, which were sent to Spain, filled his countrymen with admiration, and excited the highest expectations with the people and the government. Charles V., who had succeeded to the throne, appointed Cortez captaingeneral of New Spain; and even before he had received any legal sanction he assumed the power of governor, and adopted measures to secure the vast country he had conquered to his sovereign, as a colony of Spain. He determined to rebuild the capital, and there to establish the seat of his government; he commenced the work on an extended plan, and laid the foundations of the most magnificent city in the new world. He caused examinations to be made for mines, opened some, and encouraged his countrymen to settle in the remote provinces. The Mexicans, conquered and degraded as they were, did not quietly submit to their new masters; but aroused by depression ol despair, they often, with more courage than discretion, rushed t4 arms, and were not only defeated in every contest, but the Spaniards, regarding these attempts to regain their liberty as rebellion against their lawful sovereign, put the caciques and nobles who fell into their hands to death, and reduced the common people to the most humiliating and degrading servitude. Cruel Massacres by the Spaniards. The massacres and cruelties of the Spaniards are almost incredible. " In almost every district of the Mexican empire, the progress of the Spanish arms is marked with blood. In the country of Panuco, sixty caciques or leaders, and four hundred nobles, were burnt at one time; and to complete the horror of the scene, the children and relations of the wretched victims were assembled, and compelled to be spectators of their dying agonies." This sanguinary scene was succeeded by another, if possible, still more revolting and horrible to the natives. On suspicion, or pretence, that Guatimozin had conspired against 454 CORTEZ COMPLETES HIS CONQUEST. che Spanish authority, and excited his former subjects to take up arms, the unhappy monarch, with the caciques of Tezcuco and Tacuba, the two most distinguished personages in the empire, without even the formality of a trial, were brought to a public and ignominious execution, and hanged on a gibbet, in the presence of their countrymen, who witnessed the scene with indescribable horror, as they had long been accustomed to reverence their sovereign with homage and awe, scarcely less profound than that offered to their gods. For all his toils and sufferings, his splendid achievements, his extensive conquests, and all th. cruelties and crimes he committed for his sovereign, Cortez received the reward which usually attends those who perform great services for their country; he was envied, calumniated, suspected, recalled, deprived of his authority, and of all benefit from his exertions, except the glory of being the conqueror of Mexico, and the oppressor and destroyer of a great, and once prosperous and happy nation. CHAPTER XXXI. Conquest of Peru by Pizarro. HE success of Cortez and other Spanish adventurers in America stimulated the ambition of their countrymen, and gave additional impulse to the spirit of enterprise and discovery, which was the prevailing passion of the day. The discoveries and conquests which had been made, and the settlements that had been established, served both as incentives and facilities to new and bolder enterprises. The settlement at Panama, on the western coast of the Isthmus of Darien, greatly facilitated the plans of adventurers in that quarter, and became, in some measure, the parent of most of the early settlements on the coast of the Southern Ocean. Expedition for Plunder and Murder. Soon after the conquest of Mexico, about the year 1524, three obscure individuals, residing at Panama, formed a plan for discovering and conquering the rich countries to the eastward of that colony, wvhich had long attracted the attention of adventurers. These individuals were Francisco Pizarro, the natural son of a Spanish gentleman, a soldier, and one of the early adventurers to the new world; Diego de Almagro, also a soldier, and whose origin was equally humble with that of his associate; and Hermando Luque, an ecclesiastic, who was employed in the double capacity of priest and schoolmaster at Panama. The last, by some means not known, had acquired considerable wealth, but his two associates possessed but little; each, however, was to embark his whole fortune in the enterprise, together with all his hopes. The contract between them was solemnized by religious sanctions, although its object was rapine and murder. With all their united means and exertions they were enabled only to fit out one small vessel, with one hundred and twelve men, Pedrarias, the governor of Panama, having first authorized the expedition. This was commanded by Pizarro, and afterward Almagro sailed with 455 456 CONQUEST OF PERU BY PIZARRO. seventy men more as a reinforcement. Such were the men, and such the means, by which one of the most extensive empires on the globe was to be conquered-an empire where civilization and the arts had made great progress, and whose government was not only estab. lished on divine authority, but its sovereign claimed relationshipwith the gods, and was venerated by his subjects accordingly. Their first expedition was productive of little more advantage than the discovery of the opulent country of which they were in pursuit, whose existence had become a matter of doubt, in consequence of the failure of several attempts at discovery. After having touched at various places, and suffered incredible hardships, they discovered the coast of Chili, and landed at Tacamez, south of the river Emeraulds, where they beheld with pleasure a fertile and inviting country, very different from any they had discovered in the Southern Ocean. A Mere Handful of Followers. The country was cultivated and the natives were clad in garments of white cotton stuffs, and adorned with trinkets of gold and silver. Although delighted with these appearances, the adventurers did not presume to invade so populous a country with a handful of men, worn out with hardships, and wasted by disease. They stopped at the island of Gallo, and Almagro returned to Panama to obtain reinforcements, leaving Pizarro with part of the men. Pcdro de los Rios, having succeeded Pedrarias as governor of the colony, and apprehending that the settlement of Panama would be weakened, and even exposed, by sending off adventurers in a distant and uncertain enterprise, lie prohibited Almagro from raising more recruits, and dispatched a vessel to bring back Pizarro and his followers, who were left behind. When the vessel arrived, Pizarro, inflexibly bent on his purposes, peremptorily refused to obey the orders of the governor, and used every persuasion to induce his men to remain with him. He drew a line on the sand with his sword, and informed his followers, that those who wished to abandon their leader and the glorious enterprise, would pass over; thirteen only remained to share the fortune of their com pa H P. C - c' I w 1 ->4 GI -.1 4b7 458 CONQUEST OF PERU BY PIZARRO. mander. This small and dauntless band removed to the island of Gorgona, as being a more safe situation, where they remained for more than five months, constantly tortured with hopes and fears, and suffering everything, short of death, from an unhealthy climate, and the want of provisions. A Country of Vast Wealth. At length a vessel arrived from the governor to convey them to Panama, which occasioned such excessive joy, such a sudden transition of feeling, that not only his followers, but the crew of the vessel, agreed to follow Pizarro, and, instead of returning to Panama, they bore away to the southeast, and had the good fortune to discover the coast of Peru. After touching at several places, they landed at Tumbez, situated about three degrees south of the equatorial line; here was a magnificent temple and a palace of the Incas, or sovereigns of he empire. The fertility of the country, the improvements, civilization, and wealth of the inhabitants, was now, for the first time, fully unfolded to the view of the Spaniards; the rich stuffs in which many of the inhabitants were clad, the ornaments of gold and silver which adorned their persons, and the more massy and splendid ornaments of the precious metals which enriched their temples, and even the common utensils, composed of gold and silver, attracted their enraptured vision, convinced them that their fondest dreams were realized, and that at last they had discovered the land of Ophir-the country of gold They feasted their eyes and their hopes on these inviting objects, and gazed until they almost imagined themselves masters of the country, and possessed of all the wealth which they now saw and coveted. But, with his small force, Pizarro did not attempt anything against the country, and contented himself with sailing along the coast and trading with the inhabitants; he procured several llamas, vessels of silver and gold, and several curious specimens of their manufactures, to be exhibited as memorials of the opulent country he had discovered and explored. He also brought off two native youths, under CONQUEST OF PERU BY PIZARRO. 459 the pretence of instructing them in the Castilian language, but with tile real intention of employing them as interpreters. But the flattering accounts which Pizarro gave of the opulence of the country, supported by the specimens he had brought with him, did not change the inflexible resolution of the governor of Panama; he still refused to authorize, or even countenance, the scheme of Pizarro and his two associates; in consequence of which they determined to apply directly to their sovereign. Having agreed among themselves that Pizarro should be governor, Almagro adelantado, or lieutenant-governor, and Luque bishop of the country they might conquer, Pizarro set sail for Spain, and succeeded beyond the utmost extent of his hopes. He obtained the appointment of captain-general of the country he had discovered, described to extend six hundred nmiles along the coast south of the river St. Jago; but his unbounded ambition led him to grasp everything for himself, and to disregard the rights of Almagro; yet, as the views of Luque did not interfere with his own, he obtained for him the expected appointment. Preparing to Conquer. When Pizarro arrived at Panama he found Almagro so exasperated at his conduct that he was exerting all his influence to embarrass and frusvrate his plans, and at the same time to fit out an expedition himself on his own account. Alarmed at the consequences of an opposition from one who had been connected with him in the enterprise, Pizarro exerted himself to effect a reconciliation; and, by offering to relinquish to Almagro the office of captain-general, a reunion among the confederates was established. The confederates now exerted themselves to fit out an armament for the conquest of the country; but with all their united efforts, aided by the alluring accounts of the country, three small vessels, with one hundred and eight men, was the extent of the force which they could raise, and with this Pizarro did not hesitate to invade an extensive country, filled with people. He landed in the bay of St. Matthew, and advanced toward the south. In the province of Coaque they plundered the inhabitants of gold and silver to the amount of forty thousand dollars, a large portion of 460 CONQUEST OF PERU BY PIZARRO. which they remitted in one of their vessels to Almagro, at Panama, to enable him to procure recruits, and despatched another vessel to Nicaraugua. This display of the riches of the country, and the wealth they had already acquired, had a most happy influence on the cause, and procured several small re-inforcements. Pizarro continued his march along the coast, and met with little resistance from the inhabitants, who, surprised and terrified at the sudden appearance of such formidable invaders, either deserted their habitations and fled, or sued for peace and favor. He proceeded to Tumbez, and from thence 'o the river Piura, near the mouth of which, at a favorable site, he planted the first colony in Peru, which he called St. Michael. Independent Tribes of Savages. Peru, at the time it was invaded by Pizarro, was a powerful and extensive empire, being six hundred leagues in length on the coast of the Pacific Ocean, and extending east to the ridge of the Andes, stretching from one extremity of that vast chain to the other. This extensive country, like other parts of America, was originally inhabited by numerous independent tribes of savages, who were in a rude and unimproved state of nature, until, according to their own traditions, two extraordinary personages suddenly appeared on the banks of the lake Titiaca, who founded the Peruvian empire. Their names were Manco Capac and Mama Ocollo, his consort. They were dressed in white cotton garments, were of majestic form and appearance, and claimed to be children of the Sun, and to have been sent by the Beneficent Parent of the human race, who looked down on the miseries of his creatures with pity, to instruct, and impart to them the blessings of peace and civilization. The dignity and sanctity of these extraordinary individuals, and their knowledge of some of the arts of life, which appeared wonderful to the simple natives, induced many of the wandering tribes to follow them and submit to their authority. They proceeded to Cusco, and commenced the erection of houses, and thus gradually laid the foundation of a city.-Manco Capac instructed the men in agriculture and the useful arts, and introduced the regular laws of society, whilst CONQUEST OF PERU BY PIZARRO. 461 Mama Ocollo taught the women to spin and weave and other donestic employments. The institutions and laws of Manco established private property and the duties of the social relations, and provided for the security of private rights and the peace of the community. The powers and duties of persons in authority were divided, graduated and defined, and exercised with such uniformity and steadiness, as gave the community the appearance, if not the character, of a wellregulated State. At first the territory of Manco Capac extended but about eight leagues around Cusco, his capital; but it was enlarged by him and his successors, from time to time, until it comprised one of the most extensive empires in the world. He and his successors were styiec "Incas," or lords, and were not only obeyed as sovereigns, but revered as divinities; and according to the principles of legitimacy, as recognized in more civilized nations, the blood was to be kept pure, and all intermarriages with the royal and divine race of the Incas were prohibited, under the severest penalties. Famous Monarch of Peru. When the Spaniards first visited Peru the throne was filled by Huanan Capac, the twelfth monarch from the founder of the empire and dynasty. He was a prince equally eminent for his pacific virtues and military talents. He conquered the kingdom of Quito in the year 1526, and annexed it to his dominions, and married the daughter of the vanquished monarch, by whom he had a son called Atahualpa. At his death he appointed this son his successor in the kingdom of Quito, and left the rest of his dominions to Huascar, his eldest son, and whose mother was of the royal Inca blood. The latter, feeling the pride of legitimacy, disallowed the title of his half-brother, as he was not of the entire royal blood and a civil war ensued. This war was prevailing and had filled the empire with dissensions when Pizarro landed in the Bay of St. Michael. Atahualpa, having the command of the army which his father had led into Quito, took the field with great advantage over his rival; defeated and took him prisoner and confined him in the tower at Cusco. 462 CONQUEST OF PERU BY PIZARRO. Pizarro obtained information of these disorders with great satisfaction, from messengers sent to him by Huascar, to solicit his aid against Atahualpa, whom he represented as a rebel, who had usurped the sovereignty which belonged to himself. The importance of this intelligence being perceived by Pizarro, he immediately put his troops in motion, and without waiting for a reinforcement, marched into the interior of the country, leaving a small garrison at St. Michael. The Same Old Artifice. With little opposition he penetrated to Caxamalca, the headquarters of Atahualpa, who, with astonishing simplicity, received him in the most friendly manner. Pizarro, according to the prevailing artifice of his countrymen, pretended that he had come as the ambassador of a very powerful monarch beyond the waters, and that the object of his mission was to assist Atahualpa against his enemies, who wished to deprive him of his crown and dominions. Pizarro took possession of a large court on one side of which was a palace of the Incas, and on the other a temple of the Sun, which was the divinity of the country. The whole being surrounded by a wall of earth, it afforded a safe and advantageous position for his troops. Pizarro immediately despatched his brother to the camp of Atahualpa to reassure him of his amicable intentions, and to invite him to an interview. The example of Cortez, strengthened by his own experience in the country, determined him to attempt the same bold measure that had been found so successful in Mexico. The interview was conducted with great ceremony and dignity on the part of the Peruvians: the Inca sitting on a throne covered with gold, and adorned with plumes and precious stones, was carried on the shoulders of four of the principal officers of his household, and was preceded by four hundred men in uniform, and followed by the officers of government, civil and military, accompanied by an immense retinue; and his whole army was drawn out on the plain, amounting to more than thirty thousand men. As the Inca arrived near the Spanish quarters, the chaplain of the expedition addressed him, and explained to him in Spanish, which CONQUEST OF PERU BY PIZARRO. 46a was interpreted, the mysteries of Christianity, the power of the Pope, and the grant made by his holiness of all the territories and countries of the new world, to the King of Spain, and concluded by requiring the Inca to acknowledge the Christian religion, the authority of the Pope, and submit to the King of Castile as his lawful sovereign; and in case he should be so unreasonable and impious as to refuse to obey this demand, he denounced war against him in the name of his sovereign. Astonished and indignant at this incomprehensible and presumptuous harangue, Atahualpa replied that he was master of his own dominions, and held them as an inheritance from his ancestors, and that he could not perceive how a priest should pretend to dispose of countries which did not belong to him, and of which he must have been ignorant even of the existence; he said he would not renounce the religion of his ancestors, nor relinquish the adoration of the Sun, the immortal divinity of his country, to worship the God of the Spaniards, who was subject to death like mortals. What the Inca Thought of the Book. He wished to be informed where the priest had learned such wonderful things: " In this book," said Father Valverde, reaching to him his breviary. The Inca took it in his hand, and turning over the leaves and raising it to his ear, observed, " This book is silent; it tells me nothing," and threw it on the ground in a contemptuous manner. The monk, turning toward his countrymen in a rage, exclaimed, "To arms. Christians! to arms! the word of God is insulted; avenge this profanation on those impious dogs." Pizarro, who had previously made the necessary arrangements for an attack, waited with impatience during this long conference, being anxious to seize his victim, and the rich spoils that lay before his eyes. His orders were instantly given: the martial music struck up, the cannon roared, the musketry was discharged, the horse galloped fiercely to the charge, and the infantry pressed impetuously forward, sword in hand. Astonished at such infamous treachery, and surprised and terrified at the suddenness of the attack, and the noise 464 CONQUEST OF PERU BY PIZARRO. and destructive effects of firearms, the Peruvians were filled with consternation, and fled with the utmost precipitation. Although the nobility flocked around the Inca in crowds, zealous to defend him, he was seized by Pizarro, who, at the head of a chosen band, selected for the purpose, had advanced directly toward him. He was dragged from his throne to the ground, and carried to the Spanish quarters. The fugitives, half frightened out of their senses, not knowing whether their enemies were of the human race, or beings of a superior nature, sent to punish them for their crimes, were pursued in every direction, and immense numbers of them slaughtered, although they did not make the least resistance. Intoxicated with Joy. More than four Licusand Peruvians were slain, and not a single Spaniard, nor one woiunded, except Pizarro himself, slightly, on the hand, oy one oi his own men. The plunder was of immense value, and fairly turned the 5neads of such a band of desperate and indigent adventurers; they spent the night in that extravagant joy which a change of fortune so sudden and important was calculated to produce. The wretched monarch, removed in an hour from a throne to a prison, almost sank under a calamity so sudden and so tremendous: had an earthquake shaken the Andes from its base, and swallowed up half his dominions, the calamity could not have appeared more sudden or terrible. Discovering, however, that an insatiable thirst for gold was the predominant passion of his oppressors, and apparently their only object in invading his country, he offered as a ransom for his liberty, to fill the apartment in which he was confined, which was twenty-fwo feet in length, and sixteen in breadth, as high as he could reach, with gold. Pizarro did not hesitate to accept this tempting offer, and a line was drawn round the walls, to fix more definitely the stipulated height of the chamber. Transported with the idea of obtaining his liberty, Atahualpa sent to Cusco, Quito, and other places, where gold had been collected for adorning the temples and palaces of the CONQUEST OF PkRU BY PIZARRO. 46& Incas, informing his subjects of the terms of his ransom, and ordering all the gold to be conveyed to Caxarnalca for that purpose. The Peruvians, accustomed to obey implicitly the mandates of their sovereign, flocked in, from all parts of the empire, loaded with the precious metals, so that in a short period the greater part of the stipulated quantity was produced, and Atahualpa assured Pizarro that the residue would arrive as soon as there was sufficient time to convey it from the remote provinces. But such piles of gold so inflamed the avarice of a needy soldiery, that they could no longer be restrained, and Pizarro was obliged to order the whole melted down, and divided among his followers. The captive monarch, having performed his part of the contract, now demanded to be set at liberty; but the perfidious Spanish leader had no such intention; his only object being to secure the plunder; and he even meditated taking the life of his credulous captive, at the very time the latter was employed %i amassing the treasures for his ransom. Death by a Slow Fire. Atahualpa was subjected to a mock trial, and condemed to be burnt: his last moments were embittered by friar Valverde, who, although he had used his influence to procure his condemnation, and sanctioned the sentence with his own signature, attempted to console him in his awful situation, and to convert him to Christianity. The only argument that had any influence on the trembling victim was that of mitigating his punishment; and on the promise of being strangled, instead of consumed by a slow fire, he consented to be baptized, by the hand of one of his murderers, who exercised the holy functions of a priest. After the death of Atahualpa, Pizarro invested one of his sons with the ensigns of royalty; Manco Capac, a brother of Huascar, was also declared sovereign at Cusco, and the governors of many of the provinces assumed independent authority, so that the empire was torn to pieces by intestine dissensions. The intelligence of the immense wealth acquired by Pizarro and his followers, which those who had returned had conveyed to 2 X 466 CONQUEST OF PERU BY PIZARRO. Panama, Nicaraugua and Guatemala, confirmed by a display of the treasures, produced such an electric effect, that it was with difficulty the governors of those places could restrain their people from abandoning their possessions and embarking for Peru, as adventurers. Numerous reinforcements arrived from various quarters, which enabled Pizarro to force his way into the heart of the country, and take possession of Cusco, the capital of the empire. The gold and silver found here, after all that had been removed, exceeded what had been received as the ransom of Atahualpa. The March of Conquest. Whilst the Spanish commander was thus employed, Benalcazar, who had been left in command at St. Michael, having received some reinforcements, left a garrison at that place, and set out with the rest of the troops under his command for the conquest of Quito. After a long and difficult march, over mountains and rivers, exposed to the fierce attacks of the natives, he entered the city of Quito. The tranquillity of the interior and the arrival of Ferdinand Pizarro, brother of the commander-in-chief, with considerable reinforcements, induced the latter to march back to the seacoast, where, in the year 1534, he laid the foundation of the city of Lima, distinguished in after times for its wealth and earthquakes, and more recently as the seat of civil war. In the meantime, Amalgro set out on an e: sedition for the conquest of Chili; and several parties were ordered by Pizarro into distant provinces, which had not been subjugated. These various enterprises had reduced the troops at Cusco to a small number. The Peruvians, aware of this circumstance, and being now persuaded that the Spaniards would not voluntarily retire from their country, but intended to establish themselves in it, were at last aroused from their inactivity, and seemed determined to expel their rapacious invaders. Preparations through the whole empire were carried on with such secrecy and despatch as to elude the utmost vigilance of the Spaniards; and Manco Capac, who was acknowledged by all as sovereign at this time, having made his escape from the Spaniards at Cusco, CONQUEST OF PERU BY PIZARRO. 461 where he had been detained as a prisoner, the standard of war was immediately raised; troops assembled from all parts of the empire, and, according to the Spanish writers of that period, two hundred thousand men laid siege to Cusco, which was defended for nine months by one hundred and seventy Spaniards. A numerous army also invested Lima, and all communication between the two cities was cut off. The Peruvians not only displayed the utmost bravery, but, imitating the discipline of their enemies, large bodies were marshalled in regular order: some of their bravest warriors were armed with swords and spears; others appeared with muskets, obtained from the Spaniards, and a few of the boldest, at the head of whom was the Inca himself, were mounted on horses, which they had taken from their invaders, and charged like Spanish cavaliers. A Desperate Situation. All the exertions of the Spanish garrison, directed by the three brothers of the commander-in-chief, and rendered desperate from their situation, could not resist the incessant attacks of the Peruvians; they recovered possession of one-half of their capital, and the Spaniards, worn out with uninterrupted service, suffering for the want of provisions, and ignorant as to their brethren in other stations, and the number of their enemies daily increasing, were ready to despair; the stoutest hearts sank under such accumulated, such appalling difficulties and dangers. At this hour of darkness, when the lamp of hope emitted but a glimmering ray, Almagro appeared at Cusco. But even this event the Pizarros hardly knew whether to regard as auspicious or calamitous, as they knew not whether he had come as a friend or foe. Whilst in Chili, he had received a patent from the crown constituting him governor of Chili, and defining its limits, which, by his own construction, included the city of Cusco; and being informed of the revolt of the Peruvians, he marched back to prevent the place from falling into the possession of the natives, and also to rescue it from the hands of the Pizarros. Almagro was, therefore, the enemy of both parties, and both attempted to negotiate with him. 468 CONQUEST OF PERU fBY PIZARRO. The Inca, knowing his situation and pretensions, at first attempted to make terms with him, but soon being convinced that no faith could be had with a Spaniard, he fell suddenly upon him, with a numerous body of his bravest troops. The discipline and good fortune of the Spaniards once more prevailed, and the Peruvians were defeated with an immense slaughter and their whole army dispersed. Almagro's attention was now directed against the garrison, and having surprised the sentinels he entered the town by night, surrounded the house where the two Pizarros were quartered, and compelled the garrison to surrender at discretion. Surprised and Put to Rout. Francisco Pizarro, having defeated and driven off the Peruvians who invested Lima, sent a detachment of five hundred men to Cusco to the relief of his brothers, in case they had not already fallen into the hands of the Peruvians. On their arrival they were astonished to find an enemy in their own countrymen, which was the first knowledge they had of the events that had occurred at Cusco. After first attempting, without success, to seduce Alvarado, their commander, Almagro surprised and fell upon them in the night in their camp, took Alvarado and his principal officers prisoners, and completely routed the party. Pizarro, alarmed for the safety of his two brothers, as well as for the security of his possessions, opened a negotiation with Almagro, and having artfully prolonged the same for several months, and by deception and perfidy procured the liberation of his brothers, threw off all disguise, abandoned the negotiation, and prepared to settle the dispute in the field; and seven hundred men, ready to march to Cusco, attested the rapidity of his preparations. The command of these troops he gave to his two brothers, who, anxious for victory, and thirsting for revenge, penetrated through the defiles of one branch of the Andes and appeared on the plain before Cusco. Almagro had five hundred men, veteran soldiers, and a greater number of cavalry than his enemy: being worn out by services and fatigues, too great for his advanced age, he was obliged to intrust the command to Or VIEW OF LIMA-CAPITAL OF PERU. 470 CONQUEST OF PERU BY PIZARRO. gognez, who, though an officer of much merit, had not the same ascendancy over the troops as their chief, whom they had long been accustomed to follow in the career of victory, and to whom they were devotedly attached. Pizarro had a superiority in numbers, and an advantage from two companies armed with muskets, and disciplined to their use. Whilst countrymen and brethren, who had made common cause in plundering and massacring the natives, were drawn up in hostile array, and under the same banners, to shed each other's blood, the Indians, like distant clouds, covered the mountains, and viewed with astonishment, but with pleasure, that rapacity and violence of which they had been the victims, about to recoil on the heads of their invaders, and to be inflicted by their own hands. They were prepared to fall on the victorious party, who, exhausted by the contest, might be an easy prey, and "hus appropriate the victory to themselves. Commander Slain in Cold Blood. The conflict was fierce and tremendous; for "when Greek meets Greek, then comes the tug of war; " for a considerable time the result was doubtful, but Orgognez, having received a dangerous wound, his party was completely routed, himself slain in cold blood, one hundred and forty killed, and the rest fell into the hands of the victors. Almagro, who had witnessed the action from a litter with the deepest emotions, attempted to escape, but was made a prisoner. After being detained in custody for several months, he was subjected to a mock trial, and sentenced to death. Cusco was again pillaged, but its rich spoils did not satisfy the rapacity of its conquerors. Pizarro now considered himself master of the entire country, and parcelled it out among his favorites, with as much justice and propriety as the pope had granted the whole to his master. But not being able to satisfy all, and to prevent the consequences of the complaints and the turbulence of his men, he promoted enterprises which employed them at a distance. Valdivia resumed the project of the conquest of Chili, and founded the city of St. Jago de Santiago. His brother, Gonsalo Pizarro, he appointed to supersede Benalcazar as CONQUEST OF PERU BY PIZARRO. 471 governor of Quito, and instructed him to examine and conquer the country east of the Andes. At the head of three hundred and fifty men, he forced his way through the defiles and over the elevated ridges of the Andes, where the cold was so excessive that four thousand Indians, who accompanied him to transport his provisions, all perished; and from their excessive fatigues, the severity of the cold, and the want of provisions, the Spaniards themselves, inured to hardships as they were, could scarcely sustain such accumulated evils, such intolerable sufferings. Some of their number fell victims to them. After crossing the mountains, new and unexpected calamities from the climate awaited them, and scarcely less severe; having escaped the frosts of the mountains, they were now to be destroyed by the rains of the plains. Bold Plan of Exploration. For two months the rain fell incessantly; there was scarcely suffitient fair weather to dry their clothes. They, however, advanced until they reached the banks of one of the principal branches of the Maragnon or Amazon. Here they constructed a bark for the purpose of passing rivers, conveying provisions, and exploring the country. Fifty men were put on board, under Orellana, the officer next in authority to Pizarro, and the rapidity of the stream soon carried them ahead of their brethren, who made their way with difficulty by land. Orellana, imitating the examples which had been furnished him, was no sooner beyond the power of Pizarro, than he considered himself independent, and determined to carry on business on his own account, as a discoverer. He formed the bold scheme of pursuing the course of the Amazon to the ocean, and exploring the vast interior regions of the southern continent. This daring attempt, as bold as it was unjustifiable, he accomplished: committing his frail bark to the guidance of the rapid stream, he penetrated four thousand miles through an unknown region, filled with hostile tribes, and where, for unknown ages, wild beasts and savages alone had roamed joint tenants of its immense domains. He found his way safely to the ocean, and finally to Spain, where 472 CONQUEST OF PERU BY PIZARRO. he published a marvelous account of his voyage and discoveries; and, among other wonders, gave an account of a nation or community of women, which he visited, having all the heroic virtues of the ancient Amazons; and, from the propensity of mankind for the marvellous, this community of Amazons long maintained their existence, after the discoveries made, and the progress of science had dissipated the darkness which first gave credit to the narration. Orellana was ordered to wait at the junction of the Napo with the Amazon, for the arrival of Pizarro; and the astonishment and consternation of the latter, when he ascertained the infamous treachery of Orellana, who had basely deprived his brethren of their only resource, and left them to perish in the heart of an immense wilderness, can better be conceived than described. They were twelve hundred miles from Quito, to which place they turned their course: the hardships they had before encountered, now seemed comparatively but small: they were compelled to subsist on berries and roots; they even devoured their dogs, horses, the most loathsome reptiles, and the leather of their saddles. After the expiration of two years, eighty of the Spaniards, only, returned to Quito, and they were as naked as the savages, and emaciated to skeletons. Assassinated in his Palace. But Pizarro found neither repose nor consolation on his return; as the last dregs of his cup of bitterness, he learned the awful fate of his brother and the overthrow of his power. The adherents of Almagro and other malcontents formed a bold conspiracy, surprised and assassinated the governor in his own palace, and proclaimed young Almagro, now arrived at manhood, to be the head of the government, as successor to his father. The shocking dissensions in Peru being known at the court of Castile, Vaca de Castro received a royal commission, appointing him governor of Peru, for the purpose of quieting the existing disturbances and establishing the authority of the Spanish government. Having landed at Quito, he immediately, and with great energy, adopted measures to suppress the insurrection and bring the daring CONQUEST )F PERU BY PIZARRO. 473 conspirators to punishment. He marched toward Cusco, whither Almagro had retired; the hostile parties met at Chupaz, about two hundred miles from Cusco, and both determined to decide the contest at once. The action was bloody and decisive, and characterized by that fierceness, impetuosity and vindictive spirit which the deadly animosities of both parties, and desperate situation of one, were calculated to inspire; and the slaughter was in proportion to the maddening fury of the combatants. Terrible Slaughter. Of fourteen hundred men, the whole number engaged on both sides, more than one thousand lay dead and wounded on the field of battle. Superiority of numbers prevailed, and young Almagro and his party, or all who escaped the sword, fell into the hands of the victors. And although they were countrymen and fellow-Christians, the tender mercies of their conquerors were cruelties; forty were executed as rebels; many were banished, and young Almagro, their leader, vas publicly beheaded at Cusco. These events occurred in 1542. At length the torch of civil dissension, if not extinguished, ceased to burn, and a short period of repose was restored to a country whose history hitherto was but a succession of carnage and bloodshed. But tranquillity in Peru was not of long continuance; new regulations having been framed for the government of the Spanish possessions in America, which greatly alarmed the settlers, by depriving them of their oppressive power over the natives, and Nugnez Vela being sent out to Peru as governor to enforce them, the elements of dissension were again brought into action, and the gathering clouds threatened another storm of civil war. The rashness and violence of the new governor increased the disorders, and spread the disaffection throughout the provinces. The malcontents, from all quarters, looked to Gonsalo Pizarro as their leader and deliverer, and, having taken the field, he soon found himself at the head of one thousand men, with which he moved toward Lima. But before he arrived there a revolution had taked place. The 474 CONQUEST OF PERU BY PIZARRO. governor and the judges of the Court of Audience had long been in contention; and finally, the latter, gaining the ascendancy, seized the governor and sent him prisoner to a desert island on the coast. Pizarro, finding things in this state of disorder, beheld the supreme authority within his reach, and compelled the judges of the royal audience to appoint him governor and captain-general of Peru. He had scarcely possessed himself of his usurped authority before he was called to defend it against a formidable opponent. Nugnez Vela, the governor, being set at liberty by the officer intrusted with conducting him to Spain, landed at Tumbez, raised the royal standard, and resumed his functions as viceroy of the province. Pizarro in Close Pursuit. Many distinguished individuals declared in his favor, and, from the violence of Pizarro's administration, he soon found himself at the head of a considerable force. Pizarro immediately prepared to meet him and to decide, by the umpirage of the sword, the validity of their respective pretensions. But Vela being inferior in the number of his forces, and unwilling to stake his power and his life on the issue of an engagement, retreated toward Quito, and was pursued with great celerity by Pizarro. Not being able to defend Quito, the viceroy continued his march into the province of Popayan, where he received so considerable reinforcements that he determined to march back to Quito and decide the contest. Pizarro, confiding in the known bravery of his troops, rejoiced at an opportunity to meet him. The conflict. as usual, was sharp, fierce and bloody; Pizarro was victorious, and the viceroy, who fell covered with wounds, had his head cut off and placed on a gibbet in Quito, whilst the conquerors made a triumphal entry into the city. All opposition to the authority of tne victor ceased, and Pizarro now found himself supreme master of Peru and of the South Sea, as he possessed a fleet which had captured Panama and commanded the ocean. These alarming dissensions gave great concern to the government of Spain, and led to the appointment of Pedro de la Gasca, with un CONQUEST OF PERU BY PIZARRO. 475 limited authority to suppress them, and restore tranquillity and the power of the parent country. He came without troops and almost without attendants; his conduct was directly the reverse of Vela, his predecessor; he was truly the minister of peace; it was his object to reclaim, not to subdue: and by his conciliatory conduct, and mild and judicious measures, he effected more than he could have done by the sword. Several of Pizarro's officers declared in his favor, and from the con tagion of example, and the oblivion which he proclaimed to all past offences, and a promise of redressing grievances, his adherents daily and rapidly increased. Pizarro, as is the case of all usurpers when their power is in danger, was filled with apprehension and rage. He sent deputies to bribe Gasca, and if that could not be done, to cut him off by assassination or poison; but his messengers, instead of executing his diabolical orders, joined Gasca themselves. Irritated at the disaffection of his officers and men, he prepared to decide the dispute in the field; and Gasca, perceiving that it would become necessary to employ force, took steps to assemble troops in Peru, and collect them from other colonies. Pizarro marched rapidly to Cusco, and attacked Centeno, who had joined Gasca, and although he had but half the number of men he obtained a signal victory, attended with immense slaughter. Deserting to the Enemy. This good fortune was probably the cause of his ruin, as it elevated his hopes so high as inclined him to refuse all terms of accommodation, although Gasca continued to the last extremely moderate in his demands, and seemed more desirous to reclaim than to conquer. Gasca having tried, without success, every means of avoiding the distressing alternative of imbruing his hands in the blood of his countrymen, at length, at the head of sixteen hundred men, moved toward Cusco; and Pizarro, with one thousand more experienced veterans, confident of victory, suffered him to advance to within four leagues of the capital, when he marched out, eager to meet him. He chose his ground, drew up his men in line of battle, and at the very moment he ex 476 CONQUEST OF PERU BY PIZARRO. pected the action to commence, some of his principal officers galloped off and surrendered themselves to the enemy: their example was followed by others, and this extraordinary conduct spread distrust and amazement from rank to rank; one company after another threw down their arms, and went over to the royalists. Tragic End of the Conqueror. Pizarro, and some of his officers who remained faithful, attempted to stop them by entreaties and threats, but it was all in vain; they soon found themselves deserted of nearly their whole army. Pizarro fell into the hands of Gasca, and was beheaded the next day; several of his most distinguished and notorious followers shared the same fate; Carvajal, at the advanced age of fourscore, and who had long been accustomed to scenes of carnage and peril, on being informed of his sentence, carelessly replied:-" Well, a man can die but once." Gasca, as moderate and just after victory as before, pardoned all the rest, and exerted himself to soothe the feelings of the remaining malcontents; he simplified the collection of the revenue, re-established the administration of justice, and provided for the protection and bettering the condition of the Indians; and having accomplished every object of his mission, he returned to Spain, in 1549, as poor as he left it, but universally admired for his talents, virtues, and important services. He entrusted the government of Peru to the Court of Audience. For several years after this the machinations and rapacity of several ambitious chiefs distracted the Peruvian states with civil contentions; but at length the authority of Spain was completely and firmly established over the whole of that extensive and valuable portion of America. PART IV. LATEST EVENTS OF THE WAR WITH SPAIN. CHAPTER XXXII. Bombardment of the Santiago Batteries. ATTLE plans for silencing the Santiago batteries were sent out by Rear-Admiral Sampson to the ships of the fleet under his command Sunday, June 5, 1898, and early Monday mornjng the men were roused out, breakfasted, and preparations made for battle. Sunday, while this ship was reconnoitering near the harbor entrance, it could plainly be seen that the Spaniards were energetically strengthening their position. Heavy guns were being mounted on the tops of the hills, oxen and long lines of men engaged in hauling others up the steep roads, and a man-of-war inside, the Mercedes, was having her armament removed to commanding hills on the right and left of the Morro. The two divisions of battleships and cruisers were ready to form at 6 o'clock, and at five minutes to 7 signal No. I8 was hoisted on the yardarm of the flagship, and then the formation was begun. The New York headed the eastern division, followed by the Yankee, the New Orleans, the Oregon and the Iowa. This was the eastern column, and was to take care of Morro and any batteries that might develop to the right of it. The western column, headed by the Brooklyn, and composed of the Marblehead, Texas and Massachusetts, closed in, parallel to the eastern division, and together they slowly approached direct for the entrance of the harbor. All ships were kept at a distance of 400 yards from each other. 477 478 BOMBARDMENT OF SANTIAGO. General quarters had been sounded on board the New York at seventeen minutes to 7, and the men were already in the tops with their one-pounder ammunition. At seven minutes to 7 speed was ordered at six knots, and when the heads of the columns reached a distance of 5,000 yards from the mouth of the harbor the leaders turned, the eastern division to the right, and the western division to the left, and then the advance was continued in a parallel line. The admiral and staff were all on the forward flying bridge, and as it could be seen plainly without glasses that the shore guns were being leveled at the leading ship, the admiral was advised to leave the bridge; but he refused, and was very anxious that all the ships should go in much nearer before the firing began. The Firing Commences. At 7.4I the range was fixed at 4,000 yards, and when the New York's forward turret gun sent her first messenger of death it was answered by many clouds of smoke that arose from all sides of Morro before our own shell reached the shore. That the Spaniards were not caught unawares was apparent, for in the beginning the return fire was quite interesting. The Dolphin, to the eastward of the main fleet, was signalled to approach and attend to a battery that had opened fire close near the beach. This same duty was performed on the opposite wing of the western column by the gunboat Vixen and the Suwanee. The western column began firing at the same time that we did. Their object was to destroy the Estrella battery, inside the entrance, and any guns that might appear to the westward. In a few minutes every one of the engaged ships was well curtained in their own smoke, except the New Orleans, which vessel was fortunate in the possession of smokeless powder, which enabled her to keep up an almost constant peppering with her secondary battery. The low-lying clouds noticed in the morning at daybreak now turned into rain, and a drizzle both wet and cold continued until about I o'clock. Firing was kept up at intervals in order that more deliberate aim BOMBARDMENT OF SANTIAGO. 479 could be taken after the smoke had cleared away. Never has the shooting on board American warships been better, and some of the eight-inch shells, as they were seen to land plump in the spots intended for them, caused cheer after cheer. Six minutes to 8 the forward eight-inch gun landed its projectile immediately on top of the Morro, and the guns from that direction gave us no further trouble. This was at a range of 5,500 yards. The ship was turned ahead, and the entire starboard battery brought to bear, and, after nearly a half-hour of wonderful marksmanship with the heavy guns, the range dwindled down to 3,500 yards. Destructive Work of the Guns. At this distance the guns of the New York caused shell after shell to burst over the batteries, sometimes neatly shaving off huge masses of earth on the crest of the hill, and leaving a large gap. Large gray masses of rock and embankments were hurled high into the air, and snaky fiery flashes of bursting shells flew erratically in all directions, dealing death to scores of gunners. No soldiers on earth, no matter how well disciplined, could stand by their guns under such a fire as these batteries were subjected to, and the disasters on shore must have been frightful. The admiral, high up on the flying bridge, with soaking rain clothes over shoulders and glass in hand, walked quickly from side to side of the bridge in order to see the effect of each shot. From him came the orders to fire a little more to the right, a little more to the left, or calling to the deck below, " Well done; another one in the same place." The navigator was also on the bridge, busy communicating the admiral's orders to the captain in the conning tower below, while the admiral's yeoman was near to note the effects of the shots, or anything that occurred. The lighthouse, situated a little to the eastward of the Morro headland, was time after time covered and hid from sight by the clouds of rock and sand thrown up by bursting shells. How this building could keep its balance was a wonder to all. To the right of this was a group of heavy guns which had been abandoned soon after the 480 BOMBARDMENT OF SANTIAGO. firing began. One of these could plainly be seen to be dismounted, while the remainder were cocked up in all directions. The flagship took a left half-turn at 9.35, and, approaching the New Orleans, the commanding officer of the latter vessel was told to go in, in company with the Yankee, and dismount those guns by deliberate firing. Cheery came back the answer through the megaphone, "All right, and we can do it." Loud cheers greeted this answer, first from the flagship, then from the Yankee, the Oregon and the New Orleans' crew themselves. Loud over the thunder of the western division's guns could be heard these cheers, as they were given with a right good will. The men were all enthusiastic, for who could help being so after the exhibition of marksmanship that they had taken part in? Order to Cease Firing. At seven minutes after ten the signal No. 19 was hoisted as an order to cease firing and resume blockading stations, and the ships were soon out of range of the few guns that were still served on shore. The New York then made a circle about the fleet, and as she crossed the mouth of the harbor she sent a feeler in the shape of an eight-inch up into the bay as far as the gun could reach. At o0.30 the Estrella battery opened fire again, but the shells fell short, and a moment later a projectile fell directly outside of the flagship and appeared to have been from a mortar battery. It was noticed at the beginning of the engagement that the fire of the Spaniards was brisk, though badly aimed; that little tufts of smoke appeared occasionally far to the rear, and later it was ascertained that this was caused by the insurgents, who were harassing the Spaniards in the rear. The gunnery of the American ships during this bombardment was superb, and showed plainly how well drilled are our gallant tars. Our naval victories caused a thrill of pride to permeate the breast of every true American citizen. The thing that impressed the public most was the superior marksmanship of our gallant defenders of the Stars and Stripes. The Spaniards were unable to do any execution BOMBARDMENT OF SANTIAGO. 481 with their guns, while every shot fired from an American ship seems to have told a tale of destruction. The natural query is, "Why was it?" How, asks the average citizen who is not conversant with naval affairs, can our ships do such damage without retaliation? And the unthinking ones set it down as an evidence of the luck of war. But it is no such thing. It is the result of constant drilling and a beautifully disciplined navy. It is no inexpensive thing, this drilling of gunners. It is a luxury which Spain cannot afford. Hence her poor showing in the encounters which she had with our ships. This fact may be easily understood when we realize that during the bombardment of Matanzas, our Government paid $200 every time the Puritan discharged one of her big guns. Of course, in practice, this would be extremely expensive. Consequently our navy has adopted other means of insuring proficiency on the part of her gunners. Our ships are obliged to have target practice with big guns at least once every three months, when the number of shots to be fired is prescribed by regulations, which vary as the men grow in proficiency. The great expense attached to this necessarily reduces the number of shots fired from each gun. Constant Gun Practice. But in order that practice may be kept up, daily drills are substituted, either in the form of sub-calibre or aiming drills. The great gun practice takes place under conditions as near as possible to those which would arise in actual warfare. The target is anchored, and the guns are trained on it both while the ship is moving and while she is stationary. This target is placed upon a platform supported by barrels. Up from the centre comes a pole, on the summit of which is attached a red flag. Then there are four protruding canvas wings or sails, with a semi-circle painted on each, so that no matter which way the target shifts, there is always a bull's-eye to aim at. The target may be placed at any distance outside of I,ooo yards from the vessels. Twelve hundred yards is usually the range. To 2-F 482 BOMBARDMENT OF SANTIAGO. each gun is allotted a certain number of fires, or " strings," as they are technically called. The total number of shots fired during one quarter for a ship, say of the Texas class, would be 642. Two I2-inch guns would fire three shots each, one each with full charge, and two each with reduced charges. The weight of the shot would be 800 pounds, and the charge of powder from 300 to 400 pounds Then there would be thirty-six shots for six 6-inch guns, 288 from twelve 6-pounders, I44 from six I-pounders and ninety-six from four Hotchkiss revolving cannon. Six shrapnel from 6-inch guns and twenty-two additional shots would be allowed the secondary battery, in order to give others than those regularly stationed at the guns practice in marksmanship. Observers Watch the Targets. These days of great gun drill are epochs in the lives of our sailor boys. Four observers are employed to note the accuracy of the fire, Two are in small boats on the water. They determine by means of graduated T squares the point of fall of the shot, whether it be to the right or the left of the target, and whether the shot has gone short or over the mark. The other two observers aie stationed on the ships. One notes the number of shot and records the apparent fall as it appears to the fourth observer, who watches the flight of the projectile. A similar record of shots is kept by each of the observers in the boats. This system applies particularly to when the ship is stationary. In moving practice, whenever possible, the same system of recording is observed. but there are times when this is impossible, owing to the condition of the sea. Regular reports ars made to the admiral of the fleet, and the suzcessful gunners are then indeed happy. Money prizes are given to the best marksmen of the various ships, and quarterly the Bureau of Navigation issues a printed circular, showing the relative standing of each ship in the service as to target practice. This list contains the names of all the best marksmen of each ship, arranged in order of merit. This in itself fosters a spirit of emulation among the men as BOMBARDMENT OF SANTIAGO. 483 well as a keen rivalry between the ships, and even among the gun divisions of the same ship. The honor thus gained is by far more highly appreciated by Jack than the mere money prize. But it must be remembered that the actual firing of the big guns is a great expense. It is a luxury which might easily bankrupt a nation, if persistently kept up. Consequently the sub-calibre and the aiming drills are those which are practiced daily How the Big Guns are Sighted. The former practically brings into play the same degree of skill in sighting and manipulating the big fellows. But instead of actually firing the great guns, with their massive charges, a rifle or musket is placed inside the bore, and the shot is discharged from that. There is a circular frame, with four supports, which fits inside the bore, and this supports the small firearm in position. The gunner thus has practically the same opportunity to exercise his skill and accuracy and to manoeuvre the big gun as he would have if it were heavily charged. The aiming drill is a most interesting operation, in that no shot is actually fired, and yet the greatest degree of accuracy is obtained. In this drill the marksman mounts a rifle on a tripod, at a distance of usually thirty feet from the target, the operation taking place on the main deck. The target is a piece c:; blank paper, ruled off into squares, and nailed upon a wooden background about the size of an ordinary door. At the side of this stands the gunner's mate, holding in his hand a circular disk made of tin and perforated in the centre with a small hole. This disk has a handle, and the gunner's mate holds it over the target. The man at the gun sights his weapon, aiming at the hole in the centre of the disk, which he tries to get as near the exact centre of the target as possible. As he squints along the barrel he calls out to the gunner's mate where to sight the disk. Right, left, up and down goes the piece of tin, according to the direction shouted out by the marksman. When he thinks he has trained his rifle so that it 484 BOMBARDMENT OF SANTIAGO. points directly at the centre of the target, and the ball would go through the hole in the disk, he shouts " Stop!" Then the gunner's mate takes a pencil, and, holding the disk in position, makes a mark through the centre upon the paper target. This operation is repeated three times, and then the next man has his trial. The idea of the three shots is to get them as closely together on the target as possible-that is, the three pencil marks forming the smallest triangle constitute the best markmanship. To determine the centre of the triangle formed by the three pencil marks is a simple mathematical calculation, and thereon hinges the result of accuracy. Pistol practice among the officers is also largely indulged in. The poop deck is usually the scene of this, and the target is an ordinary iron one, with paint pot and brush close at hand. Somebody will suggest a trial at skill, with a round of beer to go against the score of the poorest marksman. But it is all good practice. Practice Makes Perfect. Whenever possible our navy is perfecting itself in marksmanship. Practice with rifles and revolvers takes place both afloat and ashore at very frequent intervals. And that is why our navy has been so successful in encounters. It is one thing not to flinch under fire through pure bravery, and it is another thing to realize that bravery is backed up by the consciousness of superior skill. And that is why our gallant tars have won such universal praise. A bird's-eye view of the results of American gunnery in our early naval wars shows a tremendous disparity in our favor in nearly every combat where the contestants were matched on anything like equal terms. This disparity was shown even in the early part of the Revolutionary War, as witness the Ranger-Drake engagement, fought in the Irish Sea, off Carrickfergus. Paul Jones commanded the Ranger, and the contest was a square gunners' battle, in which the American won handily. The Bon Homme Richard-Serapis affair, however, was not a gunners' contest, all of Jones' guns but three 9-pounders having been BOMBARDMENT OF SANTIAGO. 485 destroyed or rendered useless early in the action. His ship was worthless and was soon riddled, but the combat was continued against odds that would have vanquished any other commander, until the victory was won. The engagements in the French war were uniformly (with one exception) in our favor. Eighty-four armed vessels were captured from the French. The Tripolitan war, after the recovery and destruction of the Philadelphia, was one-sided. Past Achievements of Our Navy. With the opening of the War of 1812 began the period of greatest glory for our navy. As frigate after frigate and sloop after sloop fell into American hands, the British newspapers reiterated a cry, the burden of which was, " How does this come about? " and " When will it end? " "The fact seems to be but too clearly established," said the London Times in 1813, "that the Americans have some superior mode of firing." And this was the case. From the beginning of our navy gun drills were constantly practiced to get the highest possible efficiency out of the seamen. With inferior powder, inferior guns and on hastily-constructed ships, such was the superiority of American firing, that in combat after combat the Yankee ships came out of action with scarcely a hurt, while the opposing vessel was cut into slivers. Such was the Constitution-Guerriere fight, that of the United States and Macedonian, of the Constitution and Java, of the Hornet and Peacock, and of the Wasp and Frolic. The Guerriere, Java and Peacock could not be saved on account of their condition. One combat, the record of which may seem to diminish the glory of American seamen, is that of the Chesapeake and Shannon. Though nearly evenly matched as to armament, the Chesapeake had a new commander and a mutinous and drunken crew, while the Shannon's commander had been with the vessel six years, his crew were five-year veterans, and were splendidly organized and drilled. The result was a foregone conclusion from the beginning. The marvel of the defeat of the Argus by the Pelican was afterward found to lie in the quality of the powder used by the Americans. CHAPTER XXXIII. Sharp Fight at Guantanamo. HE invasion of Cuba was actually begun on June I th by the landing of 800 United States marines at Guantanamo, where the American flag was hoisted. The landing was not effected without great difficulty, and the after experiences of the gallant marines were attended with many hardships and dangers. Men less brave and enthusiastic would have given up the perilous undertaking after they had counted the cost. The subjoined letter was written from Guantanamo Bay, under date of June 26th, by Captain Charles L. McCawley, assistant quartermaster of the First Battalion of the Marine Corps. It gives a detailed and vivid account of the awful experiences of the little band of brave men, who, sent ashore in an unknown and hostile spot, raised the Stars and Stripes in Cuba, and maintained them there, in the face of difficulties almost unprecedented: Chasing the Enemy into the Thicket. "No words can really describe our life here. For three days and nights after we were put ashore, it was simply awful. We knew nothing of the surrounding country, our Cuban allies not having joined us then. There are no roads, only winding mountain bridle paths. The undergrowth is so thick and impenetrable that we could make no headway through it, and hence, when we were attacked, we had to simply defend ourselves as best we could and make no sortie. The first night we s'ept in tents, and on the afternoon of the second day the enemy fired on us and we were out after them. I was with the colonel and we got so tangled up in the brush that we had to return to camp. "An hour later the attack began again, and this time the colonel only took one company out. Following a little path to the end of 486 SHARP FIGHT AT GUANTANAMO. 487 our outpost, about one-half mile off. Upon arriving there we found that two of the pickets had been killed and we pushed on to find their bodies, which were lying where they had been on post. One was shot twenty-one times, the other fifteen. They were literally blown to pieces, and I, at first, thought they had been mutilated. We went a little way beyond this point on a very dangerous path, flanked on each side by high hills, from which the enemy continuously fired on us. Luckily they were bad marksmen and we escaped without loss and returned to camp after dark. Vicious Attack by Night. "That night the camp was again attacked about 1 o'clock, and firing on it continued all night long. Our men were posted outside the tents all around the four sides of our camp,-the men simply lying on the ground and returning the fire wherever the sound of the enemy's guns were heard. Nothing could be seen, and not even the flash of the Spanish guns was visible through the brush, though we knew they were surrounding us. About I o'clock a very vicious attack was made, and you have never heard anything like the continuous volleys which poured in. Nothing could have lived in them and no living creature could have gotten near that line. The bullets flew around our heads like hail, and it was during this scrimmage that Dr. Gibbs was killed, I being within a few feet of him at the time. He was shot through one temple, the bullet coming out through the other. He only lived a few minutes. I thought the thing would never end, and when day broke there was no rest. "We saw that our position, as it was, could not be held. We were on top of a hill, which was flat, and it was commanded on the front by very high hills, so we struck our tents and carried them over the hill to the rear, which was protected by the ships in the harbor, and immediately began the work of throwing up hasty entrenchments to protect the men. All this was done in orderly fashion, even though the enemy was firing on us from time to time. "During this move Dr. Gibbs was buried, together with the two pickets right in our midst, in hastily dug graves, and I helped to dig 488 SHARP FIGHT AT GUANTANAMO. them, and while the burial was taking place those miserable wretches fired on us. " That night we were little better off and our position was drawn in tighter. Lumber, tents, barrels, boxes and everything that was loose were used as breastworks, together with the dirt thrown up from the trenches, All night the attack was renewed, the firing coming from every quarter. It was high and we had only one man killed (sergeant-major), but he was worth twenty men, being the finest soldier I have ever seen. "That night seemed to be our worst, as every one was utterly fagged out with continuous work of the hardest kind and fighting in between and not a soul having slept for seventy-two hours. But we had to keep at it and our fire was almost perpetual, all the time at an unseen enemy. "The ships in the harbor aided us by shelling the woods on our flanks and front, and you never heard such a racket in your life. When dawn broke we saw that something had to be done, and that quickly. On learning from the Cubans that had arrived that the enemy had his headquarters (where was also his only water supply within twelve miles) about four miles away, across the hills in front, we determined to go out and attack it and attempt to destroy this well. Spanish Suddenly Surprised. "Two companies and fifty Cubans were detailed to go, and they started at 9 o'clock and came upon the Spanish suddenly, taking them completely by surprise. They pitched and fought from II o'clock until 3.30, at which time the enemy had retreated in disorder, leaving over sixty dead on the field, beside many wounded. We also took twenty prisoners, about thirty rifles and a lot of ammunition, captured a heliograph station, with all its outfit, destroyed by fire the headquarters and all its contents, and filled up the well, all with a loss on our side of only two Cubans killed and two wounded. None of our men was hurt, though a number of them were knocked over by the heat, which was terrific. We were engaged with four companies of the Sixty-fourth Regular Spanish Infantry and two companies SHARP FIGHT AT GUANTANAMO. 489 of guerillas, in all about 500 men, while we had about 250 or 300 all told. "The Dolphin was off the coast shelling the woods all the time, but she hindered us by firing into our line and prevented our platoon, under Lieutenant Magill, of fifty men, from advancing and catching the enemy in the flank. However, our work was complete enough, for the Spanish have left us entirely and gone from our front, and since that we have not had a hostile shot fired at us, and we have been enabled to get much-needed rest. The men have been kept continuously at work, and we have thrown up very strong entrenchments and have three three-inch field pieces and two Colt's rapid-fire six millimetre guns, posted at the various angles, and 5,ooo Spaniards could not dislodge us now. We are still vigilant. and maintain our outposts and sentries on the rampart. Sleeping on the Bare Ground. "The officers and men sleep in the trenches or on the ground in the rear. For a week my bed was the ground, with a haversack for a pillow and a blanket for a cover, and during that time I only had my clothes off once. Now I am sleeping in a cot under a tent fly and always in my clothes and with my revolver strapped around me. I help the other officers stand their watches and, besides, have my regular duties during the day, and they are very numerous. This is the hardest work I have ever done in my life, but I feel splendid, and it seems to agree with me. I am up at 5 and turn in at 8 o'clock in the evening. Our fare is the plainest and our table two boards supported by ammunition boxes. Our plates tin; knives, forks, spoons, when we have them, are of iron. " I despair to ever get clean again, as our only baths are in salt water and they are only infrequent. No one complains, as we realize that it is war and that we are in an enemy's country, where we can get nothing, as there is no town near here except Caimanera, and that is in the enemy's hands. I think we ought to take it very soon; but we must have about a regiment from the army to help us, as they say that the Spanish force is about 3,000. 490 SHARP FIGHT AT GUANTANAMO. "The country around here is beautiful, being very mountainous. We occupy a commanding position toward the water. The Spanish used it as a signal station. We have all their outfit, they having left in a hurry, and use them every day. The telescope is a fine one. Since our occupation the ships come in in numbers, coal and take on ammunition, as the harbor is splendid, so we have plenty of company all the time. Yesterday one of the supply ships arrived and gave us meat and ice, the first we have had for weeks, so we are in fine spirits to-day. "The 135 Cubans with us are excellent guides and woodsmen, and a brave lot; but they cannot shoot. The Spaniards seem to fear them, and run whenever they appear. In a fight the other day five Spaniards were seen in the brush and some of the Cubans made after them, and soon returned covered with blood, but without any prisoners. Only a grin of satisfaction told the story, the machete having done the work. Yet with us they are quite tractable people, mostly negroes, even some of the officers, and have evidently had a fearful time for three years. We give them all their food, clothing, arms and ammunition, and they go out with us on all outpost duty. A Pleasant Acquaintance. "The colonel commanding them, Thomas by name, a Cuban, but a good soldier, speaks French, and I manage to jabb2r in that language so as to understand him. He is picking up English fast. I have not mastered any Spanish yet. The colonel says the war will be over by September. I hope his prediction will prove true. The condition of the Spaniards is deplorable. In a letter we captured from a spy the general in this part said he had only one-half rations to last until July I, and every avenue of communication with the outside is now cut off. The prisoners we caught said that they had had no food for three days. They also remarked that they were tired of fighting under such conditions. If the rest only knew that they would not be killed by us, and that, on the contrary, they would be fed, more would surrender. Their officers tell them that death will follow their surrender to the Americans. SHARP FIGHT AT GUANTANitMIO. 491 "We are all very proud of the battalion, as we are the first troops to make a permanent landing, fighting to hold it, and hoist Old Glory, which still waves over us, and never has been lowered, except to replace it with another flag, the original having been sent to headquarters." Among the visitors at League Island Navy Yard, Philadelphia, was one who a little over three months before had been sent to the South to become one of the first invaders of Cuba. This was Corporal William Glass, of the Marine Corps, and so changed was he by the hardships of his brief but terrible campaign that his old friends did not recognize him at first. Corporal Glass took part in the preliminary skirmish on the shores of Guantanamo Bay, but a wound in the right hand from his own gun, caused by a fall, sent him to the hospital tent. It is what happened after that that forms the most interesting part of the corporal's story. Here it is in his own words: Story of a Wounded Corporal. "When I went back to the hospital tent I found Surgeon Gibbs outside. He dressed my wound and was just about going back to the tent when the Spaniards made a particularly desperate attack, and some one called out that they had forced their way through our lines. The surgeon and I started to retreat, and he was but a few feet in front of me when a bullet struck him square in the head and he fell dead. We slept in trenches there, and when I lay down that night I pulled the surgeon's body over alongside me. Had it been left where it was it would have been terribly defaced by morning by the many insects which prey upon both sleeping and dead men. " To protect ourselves from these when asleep we always stretched a silk handkerchief over our faces, for the bugs seemed to abhor silk. That night I could obtain only one such handkerchief, and in order to protect Dr. Gibbs' body I lay down close by it and placed the handkerchief over both our heads. I never stopped to think that I was sleeping alongside a corpse, and I tell you I enjoyed that sleep. "You can't imagine what we men down there suffered," he went on. "We were surrounded by the Spaniards, who, concealed by 492 SHARP FIGHT AT GUANTANAMO. palm leaves tied around them, kept popping away at us. They used smokeless powder, and it was next to impossible to locate them. The best we could do was to fire away at any palms which appeared to be moving, and sometimes we were rewarded by hearing a yell and seeing a Spaniard leap up into the air and fall back dead or grievously wounded. At night we were better off, for then we could lo. cate them by the flash of their guns. "Then, too, we were nearly crazy for water. Our rations of hard tack and 'salt horse' made us naturally very thirsty, and the supply of water being brought from the ships was far too little to satisfy us. A terrible experience was when, after a tiresome march into the country, we came across a spring, but were compelled to stand by and see the officers destroy it. They were afraid to let the men drink the water for fear it was poisoned. Insects and Reptiles. "And then the insects were terrible. There were tarantulas, scorpions, and, I believe, every other venomous thing that crawled. One particular insect, which we called a sand crab, was most feared. Woe betide the sleeping man who gave one of them a chance to bite him. Several of our men suffered severely in this way. After three days' fighting there were, I suppose, 400 and more dead Spaniards lying around. Through these we witnessed the strangest sight we had ever seen. One afternoon we noticed that the sun appeared to become suddenly dim, and looking up we found that it was obscured by what seemed to be a cloud. "The blackness moved rapidly, and in a few minutes we saw that it was really an immense flock of buzzards. Within twenty-four hours the greater part of the dead bodies had been picked clean. So well did the birds work that, walking along, you could pick up a skeleton by the belt-all that remained of the soldier's uniformand shake the dry bones so that they would rattle. Sergeant Smith fell the first day, but not for several days were we able to recover his body. Twice we made the attempt, but each time we were driven back by the Spaniards. Then we sent out a party of Cubans, and, SHARP FIGHT AT GUANTANAMO. 493 strange to say, they were not molested. They found poor Charlie's body in a terrible condition." Dr. Gibbs, referred to above, was a prominent physician in New York city when the war broke out, and left a large and lucrative practice to go to the front. First to be accepted as a surgeon under President McKinley's first call for volunteers, so, too, was Dr. Gibbs first to fall as an officer a victim of Spanish bullets on Cuban soil. He and three other unfortunates met death when the Spaniards made a night attack on the United States marines at Guantanamo. "With Me Country is First." Dr. Gibbs, in the heyday of manhood, sacrificed a medical practice, that netted him $Io,ooo a year, to take a commission in the volunteer army which brought him but $1,200 as an ensign. His grandfather had been a Revolutionary officer, and his father had served through the Mexican and Civil Wars, so there was little surprise when Dr. Gibbs said to his friends one night: " Boys, I can afford to go, and ought to go to the war. With me country is first." Dr. Gibbs not only held a prominent position as a physician and surgeon, but he was also well known in society. He was a reserved man, making confidents of few, but withal one of the greatest favorites in the University Club, of which he had been a member for several years, and in other circles. Dr. Gibbs was young, accomplished, and entertaining, and a thoroughly well-read man. CHAPTER XXXIV. Bravery of the Rough Riders. DDITIONAL details of the battle of La Quasina only served to confirm the first reports of the desperate fight waged in this engagement by the United States cavalry. The victory they won has been referred to in preceding pages, and subsequent information showed the battle to have been more fierce and bloody than at first supposed. It had been predicted that the Rough Riders would give a good account of themselves, but few were prepared for such an exhibition of dash and bravery as was witnessed in their first fight with the enemy on June 24th. No man who was not in the battle, no man who was not in the terrible downpour of rain which drenched the American army to the skin, can understand the suffering of our troops and the heroism with which they bore it. The Way Almost Impassable. Cavalrymen, dismounted for the first time in years, and infantrymen from cool Michigan and Massachusetts, toiled hour after hour along the so-called roads and paths through the jungles of cacti, poison vines, and high grass that cuts like a razor, in a blistering sunlight that made the skylines of the distant hills shimmer and waver before the eyes, while from the stagnant pools strange, gray mists floated upward, and vultures, with outstretched wings, looked greedily down from above. The vegetation torn down and trampled under foot by our troops fermented, and a horrible sour breath arose from the earth. Thousands of gigantic land crabs, spotted with yellow and red, wriggled and twisted themselves along the sides of the roads, with leprous, white claws clicking viciously, a ghastly, dreadful sight to young soldiers fresh from New York, Boston and Detroit. Ragged Cubans slipped noiselessly through the undergrowth or sprawled under the 494 BRAVERY OF THE ROUGH RIDERS. 495 shade of hugh gossamer trees watching with childish pleasure the steady onpush of their American defenders. The heat was almost intolerable. The sun was like a great yellow furnace, torturing everything living and turning everything dead into a thousand mysterious forms of terror. The fierce light swam in waves before the eyes of the exhausted soldiers. A young infantryman reeled and fell in the road. When helped to his feet he smiled and said: "It's all right. I never struck such a place as this, but I must get to the front before the fight begins. I had to lie to get into the army, for I am only seventeen years old." Five minutes after he was trudging along gallantly. Torrents of Rain. Two hours later the first great tropical rainstorm the troops had encountered fell from the sky, not slantwise, but straight down. It was the first actual test of the army in a most dreadful experience of the tropics. For three hours a great, cold torrent swept down from the clouds, drenching the soldiers to the skin, soaking blankets, and carrying misery into all the vast camp, reaching out on either side of the trail, extinguishing camp fires, and sending rivers of mud and red water swirling along the narrow road, dashing over rocks where the trail inclined downward, and through this filthy flood the army streamed along, splashing in the mud and water or huddling vainly for shelter under the trees. An hour before the heat was so intense that men reeled and swooned; but now came one of the mysterious transformations of the tropics. The whole army shivered, and robust men could be seen shaking from head to foot, turned gray and white. Millions of land crabs came clattering and squirming from under the poisonous undergrowth, and the soldiers crushed them under their heels. Every man who had quinine swallowed a dose. The officers splashed with mud to their hips, hurried here and there, urging the men to strip naked when the rain was over and dry their clothes at the camp fires. Presently thousands of men were standing about naked while the sun drew up thick vapors from the earth and vicious tropical flies 496 BRAVERY OF THE ROUGH RIDERS. stung their white skins. Think of the tremendous strain of heat like this and rain like this in one day on men from a northern climate, and yet there was not one word of complaint anywhere. One thought which seemed to run like an electric current through the army was anxiety to get to the front. The soldiers everywhere begged to have their regiments put in the first line of attack. The weather was nothing to them, the possibility of disease was nothing, exposure and hunger did not trouble them. They wanted to fight. One could see it in their faces and hear it in their talk. The most wonderful thing was that, in spite of the surroundings, less than one per cent. of the army was sick. Two Battles at the Same Time. Practically two battles were fought at the same time, one by the Rough Riders, under the immediate command of Colonel Wood, on 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 maps of Cuba as Altares-a small town on the coast, nine miles east of Morro Castle, which was the first place occupied by the troops after their landing at Baiquiri. Information was brought to the American 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 com BRAVERY OF THE ROUGH RIDERS. 497 pletely. The troops left Juragua at daybreak. The route of General Young and the regulars was comparatively level and easy of travel. Three Hotchkiss 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. Tie 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. Enemy Concealed in the Brush. The first Intimation had by Colonel Wood's command that there were Spaniards in the vicinity was when they reached a point three or four miles back from the coast, when the low cuckoo calls of the Spanish soldiers were heard in the bush. It was difficult to locate the exact point from which these sounds came. The men were ordered to speak in whispers, and frequent halts were made. Finally a place was reached, about 8 o'clock, where the trail opened into a space covered with high grass on the right-hand side of the trail, and the thickest kind of bramble and underbrush on the other. A barbed-wire fence also ran 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 outpost, the heads of -everal Spaniards being seen in the bushes for a moment. 2-G 498 BRAVERY OF THE ROUGH RIDERS. 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 the 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. Getting into Close Quarters. 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 bush, 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. BRAVERY OF THE ROUGH RIDERS. 499 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. Deadly Firing in the Thicket. 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 that the Spaniards "iere falling back and changing their position, but their 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. Colonel Wood also ordered his Hotchkiss gun into action, but the trooper who rode the mule upon which a part of the gun was packed had been stampeded. His animal broke into the woods in the opposite direction from the Spanish fire, and the gun consequently could not be used. During the fight in the thicket several of the troops did some wild shooting into the troop ahead of them, and part of the American loss 500 BRAVERY OF THE ROUGH RIDERS. is due to this fact. As soon as the position had been changed the Americans poured a more terrific fire than ever into the Spaniards as they got them into more open country and could see them better. It was not long before the enemy gave way and ran down the steep hill and up another hill to a blockhouse, with the evident determination 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 LieutenantColonel 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 6o0 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. Cavalry Charge up the Hill. During all of this time just as hot a fight had been in progress 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 the other troop 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 afterward 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 forced the Spanish 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 hos BRAVERY OF THE ROUGH RIDERS. 501 pital half a mile to the rear, and all possible attention was given them, while preparation was also made to remove them to Juragua. The sun was blazing down on the field all the time the fight was in progress, and many troopers were overcome by the heat and lack of water. A spring was found nearby later on, and the soldiers' canteens were filled from it. Reinforcements were ordered forward from Juragua, but the march was a long one and they did not arrive until the fight was over. It was necessary to send a large supply of provisions to the soldiers from the base of supplies at Juragua, and the only means of doing this was by pack trains, which were necessarily slow. Losses of the American Troops. It was believed that the troops would be free from attack where they were, and that the Spaniards would not venture to repeat the attempt of blocking the onward march of the Americans in the direc tion of Santiago. It was thought that they would make their last stand at the city itself, trusting that, with the assistance of the shore batteries and the guns on the warships in the harbor, they would be able to repel the American troops, force them back to the sea coast and either capture them or drive them from the islands. The loss of Captain Capron and the other brave men from the Rough Riders and cavalrymen was a serious blow. General Miles spoke in the highest praise of Captain Capron, saying he had been one of the best officers in the United States service, a man who knew no fear. Captain John R. Thomas, Jr., of Chicago, who had charge of Troop L, of the Rough Riders, after Captain Capron was killed, and who was himself wounded, told an interesting story of the fighting of the Rough Riders. " I am sorry," said he, "that I did not have a chance to see more of the fighting, but what I saw was of the warmest kind. On the 24th of June I was with Troop L at La Quasina, under Captain Capron. We formed the advance guard, and went out on a narrow trail towards Siboney. On the way we met some of the Twenty-second 602 BRAVERY OF THE ROUGH RIDERS. men, who told us that we were close to the enemy, as they had heard them at work during the night. Captain Capron, with six men, had gone on ahead of us, and had come across the body of a dead Cuban "Ten or fifteen minutes later Private Thomas Isbell, of Indian Territory, saw a Spaniard in the brush ahead of him and fired. This was TELEPHONE COMMUNICATION ON THE BATTLEFIELD. the first shot from our troop, and the Spaniard fell dead. Isbell, himself, was shot seven times that day, but managed to walk back to our field hospital, which was fully four miles in the rear. " Poor Captain Capron received his death wound early in the fight, and while he was lying on the ground, dying, he said, 'Let me see it out; I want to see it all.' He lived an hour and fifteen minutes after the bullet struck him. I was then next in command of the troop, and I noticed that some of our men lay too closely together as they BRAVERY OF THE ROUGH RIDERS. 503 were deploying. I went down the line, ordering them to their proper distances, and as I passed along, poor Hamilton Fish was lying mortally wounded, a few feet from me. When he heard my voice, Fish raised himself on his elbow, and said, 'I am wounded, I am wounded.' This was the last I saw of him in life. He was very brave, and was very popular among the men of the troop. " Sergeant Joe Kline, of Troop L, was wounded early that day, and was ordered to the rear with several wounded men. On his way to the rear Kline discovered a Spanish sharpshooter in a tree and shot at him. The Spaniard fell dead, and Kline picked up a silvermounted revolver which fell from the dead man's clothing. These sharpshooters seemed to take intense delight in shooting at wounded men as they were being brought to the rear in litters, and several of our poor wounded brothers were killed outright by these marksmen. The Spaniards are pretty good fighters, but when our men charged on them they quit their trenches. Wounded, but Fought. "Sergeant Dillwin Bell, of our troop, who is a son of M. E. Bell, of Chicago, was badly injured from an exploding shell while on the firing line. He was ordered to the rear, but quickly came back again. He was ordered away a second time, but a few minutes later he was to the front again, firing away. For a third time he was sent back, and once more he insisted on going to the front again. He fought till the end of the day, although painfully wounded in the back. There were many similar cases among our fellows, and none of them who could handle a gun relinquished his position until he fainted or had to be carried to the rear. Young Waker Sharp, of Chicago, was reported killed, but he is very much alive to-day. He was only missing for a short time. "I cannot speak too highly of Colonel Theodore Roosevelt. He is every inch a fighter, and successfully led a charge of dismounted cavalry against men in pits at San Juan. It was a wonderful charge, and showed Roosevelt's grit. I was not there, but I have been told of it repeatedly by those who saw the Colonel on the hill. Colonel 504 BRAVERY OF THE ROUGH RIDERS. Leonard Wood, who is now a Brigadier-General, walked up and down the firing line in the first fight in the most fearless manner, all the while giving commands to his men. He was absolutely fearless, and, though very much exposed, escaped without injury." Mason Mitchell, an actor and a member of Troop K, of the Rough Riders, was wounded during the artillery fire just before the famous charge of San Juan Hill. He was lying down when a piece of shell struck him on the shoulder and ploughed its way around, following his ribs, lodging in his right breast. Sent Sprawling Down the Hill. "I was just about to rise," he said, "when the shell struck me. Pieces of it also struck two other men. It toppled me over and sent me sprawling down the hill until I rolled up against another Rough Rider, who had been a New York policeman. He also was wounded, and we lay there until another member of my troop named Van Schaick, also a New Yorker, came along. He wet his handkerchief from his canteen and bathed my wounds. After that I was picked up and taken to a field hospital and later transferred to Key West. Colonel Roosevelt displayed conspicuous courage. He was in sight all the time, cheering on his men and constantly exposed to the Spanish fire." General Wheeler, Commander of United States Cavalry in Cuba, sent the following official report to Major-General Shafter: "Sir:-I have the honor to report that, in obedience to the instructions of the major-general commanding, given me in person on June 23, I proceeded to Siboney (Juraguasito). The enemy had evacuated the place at daylight that morning, taking a course towards Sevilla. A body of about one hundred Cubans had followed and engaged the enemy's rear guard. About nine of them were wounded. "I rode out to the front and found that the enemy had halted and established themselves at a point about three miles from Siboney. At night the Cubans returned to the vicinity of the town. At 8 o'clock that evening,- the 23d, General Young reached Siboney with eight troops of Colonel Wood's regiment and troops of the regular cavalry, BRAVERY OF THE ROUGH RIDERS. 505 making a total force of 964 men, which included nearly all of my command which had marched from Baiquiri, eleven miles. " With the assistance of General Castillo a rough map of the country was prepared and the position of the enemy was fully explained, and I determined to make an attack at daylight on the 24th. Colonel Wood's regiment was sent by General Young, accompanied by two of his staff officers, Lieutenants Tyrree R. Rivers and W. R. Smedburg, Jr., to approach the enemy on the left hand, or more westerly road, while General Young, myself and about fifty of the First and Tenth Cavalry, with three Hotchkiss mountain guns, approached the enemy on the regular Sevilla road. " General Young and myself examined the position of the enemy, the lines were deployed, and I directed him to open fire with the Hotchkiss guns. The enemy replied and the firing immediately became general. Colonel Wood had deployed his right, nearly reaching the left of the regulars. The Enemy in Retreat. "For an hour the fight was very warm, the enemy being very lavish in expenditure of ammunition, most of their firing being by volleys. Finally the enemy gave way and retreated rapidly, our side keeping close upon them; but our men, being physically exhausted by both their exertions and the great heat, were incapable of maintaining the pursuit. " I cannot speak too highly of the gallant and excellent conduct of the officers and men throughout my command. General Young deserves special commendation for his cool, deliberate and skillful management. I also specially noticed his acting adjutant-general, Lieutenant A. L. Mills, who, under General Young's direction, was at various parts of the line acting with great energy and cool courage. " The imperative necessity of disembarking with promptitude had impelled me to leave most of my staff to hasten this important matter, and unfortunately I only had with me Major W. D. Beach and Mr. Mestro, an acting volunteer, both of whom, during the engagement, 506 BRAVERY OF THE ROUGH RIDERS. creditably and bravely performed their duties. I am especially indebted to Major Beach for his cool and good judgment. "Colonel Wood's regiment was on the extreme left of the line. and too far distant for me to be a personal witness of the individual conduct of the officers and men; but the magnificent bravery shown by the regiment under the lead of Colonel Wood testifies to his courage and skill, and the energy and determination of his officers, which have been marked from the moment he reported to me at Tampa, and I have abundant evidence of his brave and good conduct on the; field, and I recommend him for the consideration of the government. I must rely upon his report to do justice to his officers and men. I desire personally to add that all I have said regarding Colonel Wood applies equally to Colonel Roosevelt. Brave Conduct of Our Troops. I was immediately with the troops of the First and Tenth regular cavalry, dismounted, and I personally noticed their brave and good conduct, which will be specially mentioned by General Young. I personally noticed the good conduct of Captains W. H. Bock, Robert P. Wainwright and Jacob G. Galbraith, Major James M. Bell, Captain Thomas T. Know and Lieutenant George E. Brown. The last three were wounded. Major Bell, as he lay on the ground with a broken leg, said: 'I only regret that I can't go on with you further.' "Captain Know, though severely wounded, continued as long as possible to exercise his command, and insisted to me that he was not much hurt; and Lieutenant Brown also made light of his wound to me, and continued upon the line until he fainted. I recommend those officers for the favorable consideration of the government. " I cannot state positively as to the size of the Spanish force which we engaged, or the extent of their casualties, further than that the force was much greater than ours, and that information I have would indicate that their killed and wounded very far exceeded the loss which our troops sustained; but our estimate on these points can only be verified when we have access to the reports of the Spanish commanders. The engagement inspired our troops, and must have BRAVERY OF THE ROUGH RIDERS. 507 had a bad effect upon Lhe spirits of the Spanish soldiers. It also gave our army the beautiful and well-watered country in which we have established our encampments. It has also given us a full view of Santiago and the surrounding country, and has enabled us to reconnoitre close up to the fortifications of that place. "Very respectfully, JOSEPH WHEELER, "Major-General United States Volunteers, Commanding." Shafter Moves Toward Santiago. The rout of the Spaniards by our cavalry prepared the way for General Shafter's command to move forward toward the city of Santiago. On June 27th the advance force of the American army rested on a small stream, with the city of Santiago de Cuba, four and a half miles westward, in plain sight The outlook here was threatening. Everybody believed a great battle was imminent. With the Spanish and American advance posts almost close enough to see the whites of each other's eyes, a collision, it was thought, might occur at any moment. The top of every hill and mountain north and east of Santiago was occupied by block houses, from which the Spaniards could view the movements of the American army as it advanced beyond Sabanilla, while to the eastward of the city, gashing every knoll and bit of high ground, were Spanish intrenchments. A correspondent from an elevation to the right of the American line counted thirty-four of these intrenchments, completely fencing every approach to the city. The trenches had been dug as the conformation of the ground admitted. The ends of the trenches overlapped where breaks in the line occurred, thus securing comparatively safe retreat from rifle fire in case parts of the trenches were captured. Upon one of these works modern guns had been mounted. They could be plainly seen with the naked eye. Spies reported that inside the intrenchments were four parallel lines of rifle pits, shoulder deep, and in front of them were several rows of barbed wire fences. No officer who surveyed the field over which the advance must be made under-estimated the task ahead of 508 BRAVERY OF THE ROUGH RIDERS. the Americans, although our soldiers still expressed the most con temptuous opinion of their adversaries. The general opinion was that more artillery would be necessary before it would be safe to attempt to make an assault upon the Spanish works, as the fire of the rifle pits must necessarily be deadly and sufficient to demoralize any force, no matter how brilliant in its courage, I when halted by wire obstructions. Some officers believed it would be necessary to lay a regular siege to Santiago and advance with a line of earthworks until the rifle pits could be shelled with shrapnel by the light artillery. The road over which the ordnance must be brought was densely lined with underbrush. Every yard was an artificial hedgerow, and the road to the base of supplies was in a similar state, but very little danger was apprehended of a flank attack, as it was evident General Linares was acting strictly on the defensive. The failure of the Spanish troops at Holguin, Manzanillo and Guantanamo to effect a junction with him left the Spanish commander so weak that it would have been an act of insanity upon his part to attempt to assume the aggressive or to retreat. CHAPTER XXXV. Capture of the Heights of San Juan. F most great fights, it is probably true that the nearer you are to the extreme front, the less general conception you gain of what is going on. The formation of the ground on which the battle of San Juan took place peculiarly illustrates this fact. The enemy behind greenly masked breast-works on the eastern verge of the plateau could be located by the troops who were moving against him, chiefly by the sound of his volleys. Even from the summit of the hill at our left centre, on which Grimes's battery was posted, and which afforded a fine general view of the whole field, from the extreme left to the "stone fort" dominating Caney, it was not easy to discern clearly more than a small portion of the Spanish line of fire. Deadly Fire of Hidden Spaniards Our men advanced to the westward of the San Juan river by the tangled brush, which, however, was peopled by bushwhackers whose fire was constant and deadly. In some of the regiments the majority of the casualties took place here, before they had emerged from what would ordinarily be termed "cover." The order of General Shafter which led to the battle of San Juan was tentative in its nature. "You will push out and capture the salient position in your front," it said to Generals Wheeler and Kent, "if it can be done without bringing on a general engagement." The enthusiasm of the men and officers was such that, once started, their advance could not have been checked, even by orders from the majorgeneral, until they had driven the enemy from the crest of the opposing ridge. Unstinted praise is due to their ardor in attack and to their subsequent steadiness in defense of that which they had gained. It was only as the stalwart blue-brown line of American troops hurled the Spaniards back from their deep intrenchments and took their places as possessors of a dominating position, that the whole 509 510 CAPTURE OF SAN JUAN. panorama of the fight was unfolded to those who were carefully watching it from the exposed vantage point of Grimes's Hill, where the shells from the Spanish smokeless batteries dropped with more or less irregularity for hours. The sun had burst forth from the mist at the moment of the first command of "Forward!" with scorching intensity. Now the mist had risen and was absorbed in the vast depths of the air, which seemed to give all the colors of the landscape a more lively brilliancy. Between five and six miles to the north-eastward the insistent firing of Lawton's artillery could be marked almost as distinctly as the gyrations of a crack pitcher by the grand-stand spectator at a base ball game. First the white puff of old-fashioned powder; what seemed to be many seconds would tick away before the dull, round detonation reached the ear; lastly, through the glass, around the base of the old church converted into a block house, near the upper end of the town, or else upon the ramparts of the "stone fort" above it, great masses of dirt and dust were seen to arise, showing that the shell had struck and had exploded at or near its mark. Positions of the Contending Forces. This mist lingered over the lower foot-hills, however, and only where a deeper fringe of vapor floated over the edge of the valley could the line of our infantrymen be made out. It was, of course, much in advance of the artillery position, which was a sharp-pointed, pyramid-shaped hill, to our right rear. The steady pop-pop of Lawton's rifles, answered by the Spaniards at longer and longer intervals, was cheering enough, as well because it proved the coolness and deliberation of our marksmen as that it indicated an uncompromising onward movement. The firing continued heavier on the right throughout the whole first day than it was on the left; there was better demonstrated the fact that the position and defensive works were the chief reliance of the enemy. This carried with it the corollary that these two factors had been immensely underestimated by our general officers. It was a marvel to every military man who surveyed the field after we had secured possession of the whole Spanish line, how we had CAPTURE OF SAN JUAN. 511 ever been able to do it. They all declared that with such positions, so covered by entrenchments, no army in the world equal to ours in numbers could have dislodged us, unless, indeed, it had a great preponderance in artillery. One of the most striking facts of the campaign is that the Santiago expedition was insufficiently equipped with field guns. But even had we had three times as many field guns it would still be true that we were absurdly wrong in our notion of the fighting capacity of the Spanish troops, and of the value of their preparations for defence. Our Troops Exposed to Attack. While for three or four days our army was encamped on the Sevilla branch of the San Juan, it became a common remark of field and company officers that any enemy with a small degree of enterprise could attack us there and easily do us great damage, if, indeed, he could not rout us and drive us back in confusion, so crowded and jumbled was our camp and so imperfect our formation. A high ridge to the westward of our centre, which was not thoroughly picketed, would have afforded him command of our entire position. But not even a demonstration was made against us. It was only when it was thought the Spaniards were erecting new and more menacing works in the vicinity of Caney, which might enfilade our right, that General Shafter's determination to move without loss of time was announced. The reason for the Spanish indifference to our position and also for the very feeble resistance which they made to our advance near Sevilla is no longer far to seek. They had chosen the decisive battle ground, and there alone did they wish to fight. Their confidence in the strength of the San Juan position was entirely justified. In the first place, the natural conformation of the country could hardly be more favorable to a defensive campaign. The Wilderness in Virginia presented far less difficulties to the invading Northerners than did the San Juan Valley to Shafter's army. The greater part of it is densely covered with young timber undergrowth, interlaced with thorny vines, or studded with natural abattis of cacti, palmetto and brambles. The 512 CAPTURE OF SAN JUAN. roads were originally little more than blind trails, every one of which afforded a hundred opportunities for ambuscade. What an undertaking it was to deploy a line of battle at right angles to one of these paths will perhaps be imagined. On Friday, July I, in moving through the timber toward San Juan Ridge, some of Wheeler's regiments became seriously mixed up owing to the utter impossibility of moving straight forward at anything like regular intervals. Captain Charles Morton, commanding a battalion of the Third Cavalry, when he finally approached the open space across which the dash was made for the right of the San Juan position, found himself surrounded by men of two or three different regiments, mostly, however, of his own. He did not hesitate. It was not a moment for hesitation. Hot Hail of Bullets. Mauser bullets and shrapnel were singing thick and fast through the air and men were falling on every side. Morton put all the men near him into line, and when Major Wessels, commanding the Third, gave the order to charge he led them forward obliquely behind the first battalion, under Major Jackson, and quickly took the most advanced position on the right, driving the Spaniards from a hacienda (house), which he found there, back upon a battery of theirs down under the walls of San Juan barracks. He held this position against superior odds for a long time before relief was sent him. Had he waited to separate his men from those of other regiments who had become mixed up with them in the scramble through the brush this movement might have been far less successful, as every moment of delay in the advance meant loss. Secondly, the artificial strengthening of the Spanish line of defence showed the very highest order of engineering skill. This is the verdict of all competent officers who have examined it. The utmost advantage was taken of the conformation of the ground, and each fortified point or angle commanded some other one. In many places on gaining a piece of entrenchments, our troops found themselves under a cross fire from other portions of the original line, and we CAPTURE OF SAN JUAN. 513 were largely exposed to a possible oblique, and in places even an elfilading fire from Spanish batteries on our left. To offset this, however, traverses were constructed at certain parts of our lines. The ridiculous over-confidence of our general officers received a severe rebuke, while the rank and file of the army evinced a far greater degree of heroism than it was supposed would be required of them. Carelessness as to first military principles characterized much of the conduct of the campaign up to the beginning of the fight of July I, Even on that day few of the general officers seemed to think it incumbent upon them to show themselves to their soldiers at the front, or to examine the situation with their own eyes. It was long after the battle had begun that a field officer congratulated General Sumner on being the first officer of his rank to visit the firing line. Later in the day General Wheeler came forward from a sick bed, and afterward remained in the very front, an example and an inspiration, as simple and unaffected courage always is, to all those who knew of his presence. Fifty-three Killed out of Seventy-five. The block-house stood at the top of a hill facing the pathway leading up to it and into the town. It was placed there purposely to guard the approach to the city, and to advance meant for our soldiers to pass it. It was occupied by sixty well-armed soldiers. Captain Ducat, with a detachment of seventy-five men from the Twenty-fourth infantry, charged this fort, and in the assault fifty-three heroes fell, an example of bravery scarcely equalled in history. Ducat's company, firing, marched up the hill in a storm of bullets which were showered down upon them. The Spaniards were struck with awe at the daring of men who could not be stopped by bullets, and when what remained of the company arrived at the top of the hill the Spaniards fled. Neither Captain Ducat nor Lieutenant Lyon reached the top, but their fall never for a moment stopped the march. "It was an awful charge-up San Juan hill," said an officer who was in the fight. " Officers who went all through the civil war and had been in half a dozen Indian campaigns said they never saw any2-lA 514 CAPTURE OF SAN JUAN. thing like it. Those Spaniards on that hill were well entrenched, and they knew how to shoot, too. " We had eight rows of barbed wire fence to cut through to get at them. The wires were laid on top of each other so closely you could hardly get your fingers between them. In places the wires were twisted so as to form a cable, and-our wire cutters were almost useless in such places. We tried to get the Cubans to go ahead and cut the fences, but they declined. We had to advance up that hill, cutting fences and firing as we went, and all in the face of a fierce fire. If you have ever been in a heavy hail storm trying to dodge hail stones, that is what it was like. Brave Regulars are Mowed Down. "San Juan Hill was five hundred yards long, and the slant was forty-five degrees. The Spaniards on top had rifle pits and artillery, giving us shrapnel, solid shot and Mauser bullets. The Thirteenth had to stand the brunt of it. We were regulars and were put in front. They mowed us down at a terrible rate. " It was fire and advance, fire and advance, as regular as clockwork on our side, and we taught those Spaniards something about rapid fire. They said afterward they never saw anything like it be. fore. We went up that hill and drove them out in a very short time, but it was long enough to lose a lot of our men. ' I saw Colonel Worth when he was shot. He did not fall. His sword dropped from his right hand, but he picked it up with his left and, waving it in the air, encouraged the men to press on. Afterward loss of blood made him so weak that he was sent to the rear. "I was struck on the left side of my back by a shell, which passed over my head and exploded behind me. A fragment struck my cartridge belt, driving the cartridges against my spine. I felt as though I had had an electric shock and was sent sprawling on the ground. I lay there for a while. When I came to I found that we had dislodged the Spaniards and were driving them down the hill. We were hauled eight miles in a wagon over a very rough road to Siboney, where the colonel had his wounds dressed and his arm set." CAPTURE OF SAN JUAN. 515 The following graphic account of the bloody engagement, written by a correspondent on the battlefield, will be read with thrilling interest: "Before Santiago, July 2.-The first day of July will be a famous one in the history of the United States. The representatives of the great nations were there to witness the first great land battle of the war, and their verdict was unanimous. Whatever criticism may be passed hereafter upon the tactics adopted yesterday, the bravery of our soldiers has been established forever. Intrepid Gallantry of American Troops. "When the cavalry brigade first broke cover under the hottest fire that troops ever encountered and stormed the first line of Spanish trenches, the British naval attache, with a record of great fights behind him, declared that he had never witnessed so gallant an attack; German, French, Austrian, Russian, and Japanese critics were amazed. In the face of so splendid an achievement the voice of the expert was silent; even praise was superfluous. "Whatever may be the outcome of the present struggle-and to-day the momentary issue is still undecided-the first day's fight at Santiago must rank as one of the glorious military deeds of the world's history. " When we left camp hurriedly before daybreak yesterday morning no one, even among the staff officers themselves, had any conception of the struggle that was coming. The general impression among the well-informed was that our position before the doomed city was to be definitely established. Our guns were to be placed and possibly the artillery duel might begin. " To grasp the situation it must be understood that the valley along which the army had been traveling since the heights of Sevilla were taken widens out about three miles from Santiago at the point where General Shafter's headquarters are now situated. From here the main road to the city winds along the bottom, shaded by fine trees and bordered by dense underwood until the broad meadow bottom is reached which lies just below the ridge, where the Spaniards have 516 CAPTURE OF SAN JUAN. made their outer intrenchments. Right in the center of the ridge is the main redoubt of San Juan, just a thousand yards from the city walls, our main objective point. Half way between headquarters and the redoubt a spur comes down from the hills on our left flank, just beyond the sugar factory of El Poso. GENERAL WILLIAM R. SHAFTER. " On the top of that spur our field artillery was to take up a position within 2,500 yards of the Spanish lines. Away on the right flank two miles north of El Poso lies the Village of Caney, which yesterday morning was full of the enemy's riflemen. Judging from past experience, no one could expect any serious resistance at that point. It would be evacuated just as Baiquiri, Juragua, and Sevilla had been evacuated before. "The general movement, therefore, was simple in the extreme. CAPTURE OF SAN JUAN. 517 Lawton's division was to advance on the right, with one battery of artillery under Captain Capron, and take Caney en route, capturing, if possible, a few hundred Spaniards in passing. " The cavalry division under Wheeler, was sent up the center along the main road, covered by Grimes' battery on the spur at El Poso. Kent's division held the left flank, on the high ground between the road and the sea, with orders to close in for the final attack, thus flanking the main Spanish position at San Juan. " A pretty plan, which only failed in one respect. It entirely overlooked the possibility of a strong resistance at Caney. But even that would have availed the Spaniards little if our object had only been, as most of us thought it was, to establish our position before beginning the final assault. Dynamite Gun of the Rough Riders. "As it was, the assault came with astonishing abruptness from out center and left, leaving Lawton's division still at Caney, so that our right flank was unprotected, and during the greater part of the day only one of our batteries was in position to protect our advance. " El Poso was the scene of great activity at 5 o'clock yesterday morning. Down in the rear of the spur the yard of the sugar factory was full of cavalrymen and Cubans. The position of the guns was hardly a hundred yards in front of us. On the top of a steep incline the horses were being harnessed up to get the little field pieces up the hill. The dynamite gun attached to the Rough Riders was disiaying its long barrel in the center for the benefit of the curious. " The Rough Riders were quietly discussing the situation, while the Cubans were still eating. They have done nothing but eat since the City of Texas reached Juragua, and consequently their movements are slower than usual. Still, by 6 o'clock they got into column formation, and led the way down the valley road, where they soon were lost sight of among the thick wood. "In the meantime the spectators climbed the hill to witness the early operations. The prospect was magnificent. As the sun rose the heavy mists gradually dispersed, and the city of Santiago stood 518 CAPTURE OF SAN JUAN. out with startling distinctness, apparently not more than a mile away. We were promptly warned by the artillerymen to conceal ourselves as much as possible in case our presence there should disclose our position to the Spaniards, and give them an opportunity of shelling the rise before our guns could be established there. Fortunately a little tree on the extreme right of the spur gave the necessary cover. There we waited patiently, watching the cavalry division form in battalions preparatory to an advance down the valley. "Suddenly, at 6.40 precisely, there came the report of a three-inch gun from the hills away to the north. It was Capron's battery attacking Caney. He was avenging the death of his son, who had fallen in the first skirmish only a few days before. Soon afterward the distant firing of rifles in the direction of the village told us that Chaffee and Lawton had also got within range. The fight had begun and we waited expectantly for our share of the fun. First Shot from the Battery. " We had not long to indulge in expectation, for less than an hour later the first shot from Grimes' battery was sent flying over the red blockhouse on the San Juan redoubt. The gun was sighted for 2,800 yards, but almost immediately the range dropped to 2,500.," One shot, of course, was sufficient to disclose our position to the Spanish gunners. Consequently the spectators immediately retired a couple of hundred yards up the spur to the left. Possibly the rising sun obscured the vision of the enemy, for we were able to get to our point of vantage before the first answer was given. Once there the panorama was magnificent. With the naked eye we could easily pick out every one of the Spanish trenches. The big redoubt was right in front of us, and by turning to the north we could get a fairly accurate idea of the progress of events at Caney, two miles away. "We had a shelter of a good tree to keep off the heat of the sun and altogether our situation was like the royal box at the opera on a gala night. Moreover, the various foreign attaches were there to give their opinions upon the plan of campaign and we were just near enough to the line of fire to get the sensation of bursting shrapnel, CAPTUIE OF SAN JUAN. 5.19. while being in perfect safety, for the Spaniards knew our position exactly and wasted no shots by shooting to right or left. "The first answer came with a wicked shriek and a twang as of an enormous fiddle string as the shrapnel scattered. The Spaniards made excellent practice, killing two men and wounding five at the batteries before the fight was many minutes old. Their tendency being to throw rather high, they proceeded further to drop shells right into the sugar factory behind the mill, where, for some extraordinary reason, the cavalry were standing ready to advance and the hospital corps had established their quarters. Fortunately, the Rough Riders escaped with three men wounded and a few horses disabled. Oould not Locate the Enemy's Guns. "The Spaniards were firing a small two and one-half-inch shrapnel shell, but considering their powder was smokeless and ours was not, they had considerably the better of it. It was impossible all day positively to locate their guns, while ours were painfully apparent. The duel lasted just an hour, and then firing ceased for a time on both sides, the Spaniards in all cases apparently following our example and refusing to take the initiative., "In the meantime our cavalry division had been moving slowly along the valley, quite out of sight in the woods, followed and sometimes led by the balloon which had been sent up for prospecting purposes. Away on the right we could see a hot fight going on round Caney. Capron's battery was still firing with extraordinary rapidity, but the Spaniards were making a determined stand. For two hours the rifle fire was incessant, and gradually the light smoke, which comes even from smokeless powder, disclosed the situation. Chaffee was hemming them in on the right, having executed a complete flank movement, while Bates' division had come up on the left of Caney, and was right between us and the stone building, where the Spaniards were making their last stand at the end of the town. "The resistance was wholly unexpected, but it soon ceased to attract our attention, for suddenly, at I I:15, a hot fire was opened upon the head of our line down in the valley from the Spanish 620 CAPTURE OF SAN JUAN. trenches. They fired first of all upon the balloon, which, of course, marked our advance along the road. The balloon came down at a rapid rate, but the damage was already done. "The Spaniards knew every foot of the road, and from that moment they kept up a murderous succession of volleys upon the unhappy cavalry brigade, which had hoped to reach the edge of the meadow bottom and get into the open for the charge before their presence in the valley was known. To make matters worse, the Spanish artillery began work again, throwing shrapnel right over the heads of our advancing column. The narrow wood was literally packed, and the first results were terrible. Grim Valley of Death. "From the hill we could not see the effect of the Spanish volleys, but we knew that down in the trees below us there must be a veritable valley of death. Grimes' battery opened about half an hour later and succeeded in attracting a good deal of the artillery fire from our column, and this time without loss, for the Spaniards fired just a shade too high and every shell burst in the sugar factory, behind where now, fortunately, there were no troops ready to go into action. " But although our battery did not suffer our own fire seemed to be equally futile. The third shot hit the red blockhouse on the redoubt right in the centre, but there was not the slightest cessation on the part of the riflemen in the pits. Every now and then, as our shrapnel burst over their heads or scattered the earth on the escarpment of a rifle pit, the next volley would be rather ragged, but as a rule each explosion was followed by a sharp, well-defined volley, showing that the Spaniards were under excellent control. " Indeed, from all appearances their discipline must be as good as ours. Their officers had them well in hand, and we could see them walking bolt upright behind the trenches, directing the fire in the most unconcerned manner, while our shrapnel burst all round them "So the fight went on, until suddenly a thin file of men appeared against the bright green of a meadow just to the right of the valley road and near the edge of the woods in front of San Juan. Every CAPTURE OF SAN JUAN. 521 one was intensely astonished, for it hardly seemed possible that our men could have advanced so far under so murderous a hail of bullets and shrapnel. But there was no mistaking the dark blue shirts of the American soldiers. This was the first intimation to the spectators that our men were really going straight in to assault the ridge of San Juan. Before we had done wondering the same file had gone through the last belt of wood, had crossed the river whose bed was marked by a thicker line of heavy trees, and were going up the hill to the right towards a small red building, apparently a hacienda full of Spanish soldiers. A Glorious Spectacle. "It was the cavalry brigade led, as I learned later in the day, by Roosevelt himself on horseback. From the El Poso hill it was a glorious, almost incredible sight. Probably it is against all the rules of modern warfare to attack so strong a position without the aid of strong artillery and this attack was covered by only one battery ot light artillery. But it was magnificent.; "It was good, too, to hear the British Naval Attache grow enthusiastic over the gallantry of 'our' men, as he always called them. Still, it hardly seemed possible that we were going to take the whole first line of trenches with so small a force, for it must be remembered that Lawton's division and Bates' independent brigade had their hands full at Caney, and could not attend to the right of the Santiago attack.: " But soon we could see dark figures stealing out from the trees in the center and left. Kent's men had executed a simultaneous movement with wonderful precision, so that a quarter of an hour after the Rough Riders first broke cover the whole green meadow bottom between the woods and the ridge was alive with our soldiers darting on through the grass, crouching as they went along, to avoid as much of the fire as possible. That was the most dangerous part of the journey, but for the soldier it was more pleasant to be advancing quickly in the open than to go slowly through the bush under a fire which he could not see or answer, 622 CAPTURE OF SAN JUAN. "There was not the slightest wavering. Occasionally a line of barbed wire fence caused a little delay, but that method of defense proved of small avail. In fewer minutes than it takes to tell our front line had reached the bottom of the steep ridge under the redoubt, and there they were more or less under cover. "Up the hill they went, and as they gained the top the Spaniards retired quickly past the red blockhouse along the plateau and gained their second line of defense. By half-past I the blue shirts were in the blockhouse, and not only the main redoubt, but the whole front line was ours. " That is to say, the Spaniards were driven back to their last line, 700 yards away from us and only a few hundred yards in front of the city itself. Our flag was within a thousand yards of the walls of Santiago. ", All this happened in an incredibly short space of time. We had first seen our men cross the meadow on this side of the river about 12.30, and by 1.30, an hour later, San Juan was ours. So much for the glorious side of war. Wounded Carried to the Rear. "Leaving El Poso, along the valley road, the whole aspect of affairs was different. Nothing could be seen from the road except the trees on either side, and the several regiments huddled along there had not the slightest notion what had happened. All they knew was that they had gone there to be shot at, with little chance of making a reply. "The wounded were coming back to the rear with dazed expressions, as if they had been struck by some totally unknown agency for no reason that they could imagine. Some were in stretchers, others limped along supported by their comrades, some had no help at all and either lay by the roadside or struggled along painfully as best they could. Five minutes on the road was long enough to realize that the day had been a hard one for us. The hospital men worked nobly, but it was difficult to keep up with the demand. That road had cost us dear. It seemed as if the poor fellows with shat CAPTURE OF SAN JUAIN. 523 tered limbs and bleeding faces would never stop coming back. A few looked cheerful; those perhaps who were not badly wounded and were glad to get out of the days' work for a short space. But most of them had a look of absolute indifference, except in so far as the blankness of their gaze asked for pity. The first sight of wounded men is apt to change one's ideas on the subject of war. "The farther one got the more terrible were the evidences of slaughter. Four or five bodies lay by the roadside absolutely uncared for, because they were past remedy and the wounded required all the attention the brave hospital men could give them. Deadly Work of Sharpshooters. "Besides, the fight in the woods was by no means over. A number of Spanish sharpshooters were in there and they were quietly picking off their men on the road as the reserves passed along. Nearer the first crossing of the river the fire grew hotter. Bullets whistled through the trees, and one unfortunate soldier was hit in the thigh within a few yards of Stephen Crane and myself. The bullet was probably one of the large brass mounted kind used by the guerrillas, and it made a horrible wound. "The pain must have been intense, for the poor fellow screamed with agony. The little incident corroborated exactly a similar instance in 'The Red Badge of Courage,' and by a coincidence Crane was there to see it. It may seem brutal to take a psychological view of the matter in the middle of so much suffering and agony, but for the inexperienced spectator the only way to prevent a condition of nauseating horror under such circumstances is to forget the claims and ties of humanity and regard each man as a mete pawn in the great kriegspiel. "That valley road will always be remembered as the bloody lane. To make the horror of it more intense the sharpshooters in the trees would every now and then pick off a wounded man who was lying in a place of supposed safety or bring down one of the hospital corps who was bravely and calmly proceeding with his work under fire. For a few moments the lane became impassable. The sharpshooters 524 CAPTURE OF SAN JUAN. grew more aggressive and poured something like a volley right down the road. A momentary stampede followed. Our men came rushing back, and, after retiring ingloriously into the bushes to let the stream go by, I emerged just in time to help along an unfortunate hospital man who had been shot right through the chest. Hard Fighting on the Ridge. "I freely confess that I was not sorry to gain a little delay by taking a hand at the stretcher and helping the man back out of the range of the sharpshooters. Men become afraid for various reasons, but probably the strongest inducement to cowardice is the unaccustomed sight of wounded soldiers. The dead count as nothing, but the silent suffering of men who are mutilated but still live is apt to put the fear of death upon any one who has not seen a good deal of war. " In the meantime we could hear from the valley the noise of fighting on the ridge, and knew that our men were having a hard time to hold their own, and it became absolutely necessary to reach the ridge. In the meadows beyond the fatal creek where so much slaugh. ter had taken place the spent bullets were coming down freely from the Spanish rifles aimed at our men on the brow of the hill, and that was then the worst part of the journey. " But our men went along with the utmost indifference there, having faced the real direct fire from the trenches earlier in the day. Once across the meadows the ridge in most places afforded excellent cover, for the Spaniards were driven back 600 or 700 yards over the top, and they could not hit our men there unless they stood up on the hill. On the other hand, they could not be hit, so that all afternoon a duel went on between our men and the enemy without much damage, except for a few casualties from spent bullets in the meadows below, and a few men killed while standing up above the brow of the hill. "We spectators sat just under the brow of the hill listening in perfect safety to the bullet-storm over our heads, and hearing the stories of the men who had come up the hill in the first charge. By CAPTURE OF SAN JUAN. 52,5 this time we had got used to the horrors of war, but even so it was suggestive at least to have a man wounded previously in the head die within two feet of us while we were discussing the day's battle. "Accounts differed, of course, enormously as to the loss on either side. But we heard enough to know that our men had gained the day at great cost, and many officers and men whom we had seen only the day before were killed or so badly wounded that they would be crippled for life. The Spanish loss was naturally exaggerated. One private with a vivid imagination told us he had seen 500 dead Spaniards in the blockhouse of the redoubt, just twenty-five yards away from us. Later on, when night drew on, and the Spanish fire gradually ceased, Fox and myself went up and examined the blockhouse and trenches, and counted exactly seven dead Spaniards, and almost as many dead Americans. Heavy Losses in the Battle. "It is useless, of course, to guess to-day at the numbers, but, while our losses in killed and wounded go close upon I,ooo, I shall be much surprised to find that the Spaniards lost half that number. "Of course, at Caney many more men were lost on the enemy's side, because the town was actually taken; but even there the suffering on both;ides was probably equal, although the Spaniards certainly had more men killed. One effect of modern artillery seems to be the enormous number of wounded in proportion to the number of men actually killed. In many cases, too, where a man has been wounded in one part of the body he may be hit in another almost simultaneously without knowing it. Cosby, of the Rough Riders, had his arm dressed, and never knew that he was badly wounded in the chest as well. "But last night on the ridge there was no time to think of dead and wounded. As the night fell our men who had been fighting since four o'clock in the morning with nothing to eat, had still with their thinned ranks to face the enemy only a few hundred yards away. It was an enemy, too, that was still full of fight, for only a few minutes before sunset they had come out of their trenches on 526 CAPTURE OF SAN JUAN. the right and had charged right up to the front line of the cavalry brigade. "And so tired and worn as they were the men had to set to work and dig trenches just over the ridge so that they might in some way command the Spanish lines. "That, perhaps, was the hardest'task of all. To ask men who have marched and fought all day to stay awake all night and work for their lives to have themselves intrenched by morning seemed almost inhuman, but it was inevitable. There was only one cheerful sight to relieve the tension, and that was the arrival at the ridge of the commissariat wagons. All night they hurried along so that before daybreak this morning every brave soldier in the front line had had at least a little hard tack and bacon. To-day the men are having a so-called rest; that is, they are lying in the trenches under a burning sun firing every now and then at any Spaniard who raises his head. "The cavalry and infantry have done all that human beings can. Their task has been almost more than men can bear. To-day and to-morrow the artillery muse do at least a part of the work for them." CHAPTER XXXVI. Desperate Battle at El Caney. W HILE the hot fight was going on at San Juan on July Ist another battle, characterized by equal valor and intrepid daring, was fought at El Caney, a village lying to the northeast of Santiago. General Lawton commanded the right division of General Shafter's army, and to'his command fell the heroic struggle which, beginning on Friday, was continued next day, and before night resulted in a decisive victory for the American troops. General Lawton, who was chosen for the important and responsible duty of opening the battle by the capture of Caney and the interception of Spanish reinforcements nearing Santiago, is described as a good fighter and a soldier of experience and ability. He served in the Union army throughout the war, having entered as sergeant of Company E, Ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, in April, I86I, and being successively promoted through merit on the field of battle to first lieutenant of the Thirtieth Indiana Infantry in August, i86I; to captain, in May, I862, and lieutenant colonel in November, 1864. In March, 1865, he was breveted colonel for gallant and meritorious services during the war. Promoted to be Brigadier-General. He entered the regular establishment in July, 1866, as second lieutenant of the Forty-first Infantry (colored), and remained with that branch of the army until January, I871, when he was transferred to the Fourth Cavalry, with which he remained until September, I888, when he was appointed inspector general with the rank of major. IHe was subsequently promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel, and held that rank until the opening of the war with Spain, when the President appointed him a brigadier general of volunteers and assigned him to the command of a division of the Fifth Army Corps, commanded by General Shafter. 527 528 DESPERATE BATTLE AT EL CANEY. Lieutenant W. H. Wassell, of the Twenty-second Infantry, furnishes the following spirited account of the bloody engagement at El Caney: " On the night of June 30th we bivouacked on the crest of a hill a mile and a half from the village of El Caney. Directly east of us were the lights of Santiago, the Mecca of our bloody pilgrimage. We had broken camp early in the afternoon. The march to the hill had been a short one, but we had been held up along the machetecut trail to allow other troops to pass, and knee-deep creeks had made the men footsore. " Our principal meal for the day had consisted of tightening up our belts. Tired, wet and hungry, the men threw themselves on their blankets just off the roadside. We were not allowed to light fires. A piece of hardtack, a slice of bacon and a pull from the canteenthis was the last supper of many a poor soldier. But the meal was made with a brave spirit, and brave hearts there were within the men who gulped down the scant fare. Expected Little Opposition. "We were awakened before daylight on the morning of the ist by troops passing along the road. Soon came the order for us to fall in, and in a few minutes we were on the march. The Twenty-second United States infantry formed the extreme left of a line that was to march through the village of El Caney. We had been told that we would encounter about five hundred Spaniards in the village, that we would have little or no opposition. " The original plan of battle seems to have been to have our right sweep the village of El Caney, and then, swinging to the left, get to Santiago on the north, while the main force attacked from the east, but this plan fell through when the Spaniards were found in force at El Caney, General Linares commanding the forces there in person. At about half-past six o'clock in the morning the Second battalion of the Twenty-second regiment was deployed near the road leading to Santiago and about two miles south of El Caney. We were then pushed due east for half a mile, over wire fences and through coun DESPERATE BATTLE AT EL CANEY. 529 try overgrown with tough vines and Spanish bayonets. Meeting no opposition in this direction, our march was changed to the right. It was impossible to keep the men in the extended order formation by squads. They cut their way through the undergrowth for a mile and a half. The easiest marching we had was when we pulled ourselves up the vertical banks of a twenty-foot ravines "At about nine o'clock we found ourselves within five hundred yards of El Caney. During the last hour we had been under a slight but persistent fire from the Spanish sharpshooters, a fire that we could not return on account of the impossibility of locating it. The greater part of it came from guerillas concealed in tree tops, which easily concealed the slight puffs of smoke made by their Mausers. Sharpshooters Fire from Tree-tops. "During the morning we found a Spanish report showing that from one company twenty-five men were detailed as scouts and twenty-five as guerillas. The latter, after being convinced that capture by Americans meant sure and sudden death, were given bags of ammunition, sent up trees, and told to pick off American officers. These guerillas were all over the field-behind us, in front of us, to our right and to our left-and how well they did their work is shown by the number of killed and wounded officers. Company officers on the firing lines and general officers manceuvring their commands from the rear all suffered alike from guerilla warfare. " As we came in view of El Caney we were greeted with a fusillade of shots, but, with a splendid disregard of death, the battalion officers calmly surveyed the field to locate our enemies-and this was a difficult task. About five hundred yards north of us lay the village. We could see a few houses in a group, the largest banked with earth and loop-holed for rifle fire. Between the village and us was what had been a cultivated field. Save for a few straggling bushes it gave the enemy a clean field for firing on us. "In the rear of the village was a large stone block-house, flying a Spanish flag. Our artillery soon demolished this. To the right of the village was a lone red building, with earthworks in front of it. To 2-I 630 DESPERATE BATTLE AT EL CANEY. the right of this was an entrenched block-house. All around our part of the town was a small entrenchment, from which the Spaniards poured a deadly rain of bullets. " Had we had artillery to shell these fortifications our task would have been easy. As it was, we lay on the ground for two hours, officers working with might and main to locate the foe. Our fire discipline was perfect. During all this time the men hugged the ground, while the bullets rained upon and over them. Such was the condition of the battle field that we were afraid to fire, fearing to hit our own men. "It was a trying time. Several officers and a number of men had been struck. Men lost from their commands joined us. Once we heard a good old American cheer come from right in front of us. Men and officers were exhausted from short rations, hard marching and the Cuban sun. Our left was wholly unsupported. We were only a thin skirmish line, almost touching the enemy, but knowing the location of neither friend nor foe. And so for an hour manceuvred our lines to find the Spanish position." Oaney Oaptured After a Hard Fight. In General Lawton's division the Second Massachusetts had, 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 entrenchments, covered ways and block houses, 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 entrenchments 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 DESPERATE BATTLE AT EL CANEY. 531 the line, with the town of Caney. General Ludlow's division was in the centre and Colonel Miles held the left. The plan of the battle was for Captain Allyn Capron's battery of the First Artillery, which held a position in the centre, above General Ludlow, to shell the fort near the town, for General Chaffee to close in as soon as the artillery had reduced the fort and driven the Spaniards toward Santiago; General Ludlow to lay in the road below the hill on which Captain Capron's battery was stationed and swing in on General Chaffee's left, while Colonel Miles's brigade was to keep close to General Ludlow's right, and, by a simultaneous movement, sweep the Spaniards in toward Caney. Detailed Account of the Battle. General Lawton, who personally directed the operations of his division, left his camp, on the road from Siboney to Santiago, at 4 A.M., and at 5 o'clock was with Captain Capron's battery, on the hill above Caney. Orders were given that the battle should begin from the centre, unless General Chaffee, who was nearest to the enemy, should find himself attacked first. The action opened at 6.45 with a shot from the second section of Captain Capron's battery. It struck close to the stone fort near Caney. Another shot hit the fort fairly. The Spaniards gave up the idea of holding the stone fort proper after it was struck the first time, and the entire garrison ran down the hill toward the town. The covered way in front of the fort, however, was held by the Spanish troops, who maintained an obstinate fire upon our men, who were advancing slowly through the bush and groves, only firing an occasional shot. Captain Capron's battery opened on the enemy at once and tore the ground up with shells, sending clouds of dirt high into the air. The battery also sent a number of shells entirely through the fort, tearing down large sections of the walls. This fine marksmanship was repeated several times, the battery stopping the fire of the Spanish soldiers, who had opened repeatedly from the covered way pits. By eight o clock General Chaffee's brigade was pressing in toward 532 DESPERATE BATTLE AT EL CANEY. the town, and the firing at intervals was very warm. It was very difficult to see anything of the battle owing to the rolling nature of the ground, and the dense vegetation that obscured the view in almost every direction made it impossible to see far. The firing at times was very heavy during the morning, but the Spaniards in the covered way made a most obstinate defence, 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 enclosed the town on all sides, and holding all the ground they gained. The Spanish Flag Shot Away. 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 that fort, keeping the Spaniards in the covered way, and putting hole after hole into the stone walls of the fort.. Shortly afterwards 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. At three o'clock the advance line of General Chaffee's skirmishers, the Seventh Infantry, began to appear on the edge of the woods below the fort, and by rapid rushes advanced up the hill to the fort. No shot was fired as they swept forward. It was evident that the covered way had been abandoned, and in a few minutes the American troops were thick around the fort which commands the north side of the town. The Spaniards were completely surrounded. The main part of the army was between them and Santiago, and General Lawton's division was around them on the other three sides. They retreated to the buildings in the town, and made a gallant defence, DESPERATE BATTLE AT EL CANEY. 533 but from the time General Chaffee's men took the stone fort they were lost troops to Spain. Rather than take the town by as general assault, without the aid of artillery, which must certainly result in great loss of life, General Lawton decided to order forward artillery to shell the town at cypse range. Although the road from the hill to the edge of the town was nearly impassable for artillery, Captain Capron made the effort, and by five o'clock had his guns in position ready to open on the town. Fighting Against Tremendous Odds. For some time General Chaffee's brigade held its position behind the stone fort, and then began the descant toward the town, firing rapid volleys as they advanced. General Ludlow and Colonel Miles pressed closely on the other sides, and at nightfall the town was completely invested. The country in which General Lawton's division fought offered great advantages both to the attacking party and to the defenders, It is a broad valley, flanked on the west by towering mountains and on the east by a ridge about 200 feet high. At one time it was under cultivation, but has been neglected since the opening of the war. It still retains, however, signs of its former prosperity in groves of cocoanut and mangrove trees and broad fields of waving grass, in most cases waist high. Several ridges intersect it, but none of them is over fifty feet high. The valleys between the ridges and the groves were points of vantage to the American regulars, who used them to the full with all the skill acquired on the Western plains of America. The open spaces were of great benefit to the Spaniards, who were given a clear sight of the American soldiers as they advanced. It was the crossing of these places which caused the Americans their heaviest losses. The brigades of Colonel Miles and General Ludlow had more of this work to perform than had General Chaffee's, and they, moreover, were compelled to make their final charges on the town across an open space through which the Spanish fire swept with deadly effect. No finer work has ever been done by soldiers than was done by 534 DESPERATE BATTLE AT EL CANEY. 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 and closer during the afternoon, and by the time General Chaffee's men were in form Miles and Ludlow were on the skirts of the town, holding on with tenacity, and preventing the Spaniards from retreating towards Santiago, while Chaffee closed in on the right. W. R. Weichert, of New York city, belongs to the Ninth infantry, Kent's division, and was one of the fifteen American soldiers who captured the block-house at El Caney occupied by thirty-five Spaniards by entering through the roof. Not a Man Flinched in the Face of Death. "It was certain death, we thought, but not a man flinched," he said: " The Spaniards had been shooting us through the holes in the blockhouse, and we could not penetrate their heavy timbers. We were ordered to the roof, nineteen of us. The first four jumped in and were as quickly slaughtered, and then we all dropped in at one time, and for twenty minutes the fighting was most desperate. " I engaged a Spaniard in a hand-to-hand bout, and was wounded in the arm. I wrenched his pistol from his hand and shot him dead. Here is the souvenir," he added, displaying a Madrid-made revolver. " Every one of the thirty-five Spaniards was killed. Of the original nineteen Americans only the first four were killed." General Lawton in his report after the assault upon and capture of El Caney by his division during the first day's fighting, says: " It may not be out of place to call attention to the peculiar features of the battle. It was fought against an enemy fortified and entrenched within a compact town of stone and concrete houses, some with walls several feet thick, and supported by a number of covered solid stone forts, and the enemy continued to resist with a seemingly desperate resolution, until nearly every man was killed or wounded." Captain Carbaugh, adjutant-general, says: "The action of the American troops at El Caney will always have a place in history as illustrating a successful assault on a fortified town by foot soldiers." DESPERATE BATTLE AT EL CANEY. b35 Three hundred and twenty-five heroes of Santiago, brought to Key West by the Iroquois, were distributed between the Marine and Convent Hospitals and an unused cigar factory, which had been previously fitted for such purposes. All officers and some of the men were quartered at the Convent Hospital, where the nuns did fine service as nurses. At all places the utmost care and skillful medical and surgical attention were devoted to the wounded men. These wounded warriors, returning to their native soil after their glorious achievements in the field, were, strange to say, received in rather cavalier fashion. Their landing would have been commonplace, had it not been grotesque. The Iroquois entered the harbor about 5 o'clock, and, through somebody's negligence, went aground on a sand bar, where she remained for three hours, a brace of government tugs struggling to free her, while from the rails of the stranded ship peered bronzed faces of wounded men, eager to step once more on American soil. The Wounded Sent to the Hospitals. All the ambulances in the town had been brought into service; but, despite their frequent and hurried trips, filled to the last inch, the provision was entirely inadequate. In consequence, many of the men had no other resource than to walk four blocks to the horse-car line, on which they were jostled to the hospitals, at the other end of the town. The sight of the stalwart fellows, blackened by the tropical sun, bruised and scratched by Cuban jungles, and wrapped in bandages which covered, but did not conceal, their wounds, as they shambled and straggled along the roads, had in it much of pathos and tragedy. It was Ii o'clock before the last of those able to keep their feet had been safely disembarked. Most of these suffered from rifle-shot wounds in the arms or hands. About thirty-five others, whose injuries were in the lower parts of their bodies, had to be carried off in stretchers. Fifteen, who were suffering from a mild attack of measles, were left on board the steamer. The debarkation was not completed until early yesterday morning. 536 DESPERATE BATTLE AT EL CANEY. Most of these men laughed at their wounds. They wanted to go back, for they had tasted real fighting and were hungry for more. It was learned that as they fell in the firing lines at Santiago, the corporals hustled them to the rear, but in nearly every case the moment makeshift bandages were swathed about their wounds, they pushed again to the front, until it eventually became necessary to strip them of their cartridge belts. They talked of the two days' bloody battle in the most unconcerned way imaginable. One man was struck by a Mauser bullet while in the act of firing his revolver. The ball struck his right forearm between the wrist and elbow. It went straight through the forearm, then penetrated the upper arm, struck his right side and passed through his body, coming out of the left side. Strange to say, he was not likely to die, but he declared he would make his way back to Cuba and score at least ten dead Spaniards for each of his gashes. Reckless Bravery of the Spanish Troops. All were loud in their praises of the fighting qualities of the Spanish troops, but said their losses must be enormous. Of our own dead and wounded extravagant figures were given by many, but wiser heads placed the figures for the two days' fighting at between 1,200 and 1,500, perhaps 300 of whom were killed. At the hospitals suits of pajamas were served out to the soldiers and they lounged about the rooms in the airy garments, reading the latest newspaper tales of their prowess and chaffing each other thereon. Indeed, many of those whose wounds were trifling had been unconcernedly walking about the streets and renewing friendships at the hotels, with no other apparel than this scanty sleeping garment. The bravery of the American troops at Santiago drew from officers of foreign armies, who were present to take notes of the progress of the war, the highest encomiums. Evidently they were surprised at the fighting qualities shown by our army and were compelled to admit that their superiors could not be found in any army of Europe. Count von Goetzen, Military Attache of the German Embassy, DESPERATE BATTLE AT EL CANEY. 537 expressed his opinion of the fighting of our troops at Santiago. He had made a careful study of all the movements of Shafter's army from the time of its mobilization at Tampa until after the battle of July ISt and 2d. He made a large number of maps and sketches, and from these and his report to the German War Office the Emperor and the military men of Germany will form their opinions of the value of the work done by the contending armies from a military point of view. "The fighting of the Americans was wonderfully done," said the Count. " Indeed, it was a highly creditable battle to both sides. I was on the hill at El Paso, near Graham's Battery, so that I did not see the infantry charge on the hill of San Juan. I only learned how formidable the place was after it was taken. It appeared to me that with a stronger enemy it should have held out longer. The Spaniards at San Juan fought well, but the Americans fought better. Dash and Courage of American Soldiers. "The shooting of the Spaniards was fairly good; that of the Americans surprising. The men sprang to their work with tremendous vigor. It was an important lesson by which other nations may profit. The dash and spirit displayed by the Sixth and Sixteenth Infantry, which came under my observation, was marvelous. I never saw troops fight better." Major de Granprey, Military Attache of the French Embassy, was at the American headquarters near Santiago, where he was observing for his government the progress of military operations. He paid a glowing tribute to the fighting abilities of our soldiers. " I have the most complete admiration for your men," said Major de Granprey. "They are a superb body, individually and as an army, and I suppose not throughout the world is there such a splendid lot of fighting men. " It is the fighting characteristic of the men which is most apparent. They are aggressive, eager for action, never needing the voice of an officer to push them forward. Another marked characteristic is the self-reliance of each man; what we call the character of 'initiative.' 538 DESPERATE BATTLE AT EL CANEY. It is almost unknown in European armies, where every movement and the move to meet each action of the enemy awaits the initiative of an officer. ' But with your men they fight to the front, meeting each emergency as it arises, overcoming obstacles by their own initiative. Such self-reliant fighting men make an exceptionally impetuous army, for every unit contributes in the irresistible onward movement. The Spanish troops do not have this same characteristic. They are more passive, more cautious. Besides the impetuosity of such fighting material it has the effect of inspiring a morale among the troops, making them feel that success is assured, and at the same time carrying disorder and depression to the ranks of the enemy." Every Man Fighting for Himself. Major de Granprey said the fighting about Santiago was something entirely different from the warfare of European and other armies of modern times. The dense vegetation and tangle of tropical vines make it impossible to observe the usual military formations. As a result there is little or no effort to fight in solid formation. Every man is fighting for himself, pushing forward through the shrubbery, vines and tall grass. It is impossible to see the enemy. There is no line of battle ahead against which the assault is directed. Only through the reports of pickets and from the crack of rifles here and there ahead is it known that a fighting force is there. This makes the shooting irregular, as it is seldom possible to see one of the opposing soldiers to get a distinct aim at him. The main result of this is to bring the two fighting forces close together gradually, until they are fighting at short range. In this respect Major de Granprey pointed out, it is a return to the fighting of 200 years ago, when the short range of the arms then in use compelled fighting at close quarters. As is always the case at close range fighting, the casualties are far greater. With the usual open field fighting of European armies, the range is long, and as a result the casualties are not so great in a given period. It has the effect, also, of allowing time for each side to gauge the strength of its DESPERATE BATTLE AT EL CANEY. 539 adversary, and in this way decisive results are often achieved in long range fighting before a general assault has occurred. But it is impossible, Major de Granprey pointed out, for the American or Spanish troops to take this measure of each other, as they see nothing whatever of the general battle, and meet only when brought into close quarters. Spain has a very formidable army if judged by numbers, although it is possible that the number of available troops is exaggerated. All Spaniards between the ages of nineteen and forty-five are numbered in the second reserve, and are liable to be called upon for active service at any time they may be needed. All of them are supposed to have served at least three years in the first, or active reserve, which corresponds to our militia. Every boy, upon attaining the age of nineteen, must enter either the permanent army or the first reserve, and serve three years. About Ioo,ooo come within the provisions of that law annually, so that there is a constant change from the permanent army to the first reserve. Every Spaniard Must Go into the Army. Then, after six years, when the citizen has reached the age of twenty-five, he goes into the second reserve, and is subject to military duty only in time of war and after conscription. It may be said, therefore, that 250,000 men are constantly under arms in Spain and its colonies. The first reserves are used for coast guards, customs inspectors, and for police duty in the rural districts, and are likely to be detailed for service in the civil guard, which corresponds to our city police and the gendarmes of France. Voluntary service is accepted at eighteen years of age, but the pay is so small, only twenty cents a day, that very few Spaniards ever think of enlisting until they are compelled to do so. By the payment of $300 any person may purchase exemption from military duty. The 210,OO soldiers sent to Cuba, up to the time our war with Spain began, were drawn mostly from the first reserve, although the permanent army furnished the larger part of the skilled artillerists 540 DESPERATE BATTLE AT EL CANEY. who were assigned to the duty of handling the big guns upon the fortifications. While it is impossible to get accurate statistics, the military journals at Madrid published statements showing that io genarals, 615 field and staff officers, 6,222 regimental officers and 180,435 soldiers were sent to Cuba up to November I, I897. After that reinforcements were received twice, 12,000 at one time, and 0,0ooo at another. Fighting Force of Spain. Up to March I, I898, I general, 7 officers, 53 regimental officers and 1,314 men had been killed in battle during the insurrection, which began in April, 1895, and I general, 6 field officers, 55 regimental officers and 704 men died of wounds received in battle, making casualties 2 generals, 13 field officers, io8 regimental officers and 2,o08 men. Upward of 40,000 men had returned to Spain. The same statistics showed that 318 officers and I3,390 men died of yellow fever, and I27 officers and 4,065 men of other diseases, making the total mortality on the Spanish side during the insurrection 56,638 officers and men. On March I, I898, there were supposed to be 96,287 Spanish soldiers under arms, with 52,000 volunteers, which are the militia of Cuba, or a total of 148,000. Of these, when the last official reports were made, 28,000 were in the hospitals, leaving an effective fighting force on paper of 120,000 men. These statistics are made up from the official reports sent to the War Department in Madrid, and published by the recognized organs of the Ministry of War, which correspond to the " Army and Navy Journal" and the "Army and Navy Register" of the United States, and were accepted by General Miles and Secretary Alger as official. With the expectation of meeting that number of troops in Cuba, General Miles fixed the army of invasion at not less than 100,000 men. The Spanish reports, however, are not to be relied upon. Their army is largely mythical, Nobody knows how many poor fellows DESPERATE BATTLE AT EL CANEY. 541 have died in the field resisting insurgents, and the ravages of disease are still more difficult to ascertain; first, because Spanish statistics in all branches of the government are notoriously incomplete and inaccurate; and, secondly, because it is for the pecuniary interest of the officers to conceal the mortality of their men. There is no regular pay-department. The soldiers receive their miserable stipend of three or four silver dollars a month from their regimental officers. The colonel of a regiment sends in a requisition at the beginning of every month for so many men, and he makes the pay roll as long as possible. When the money comes he divides it among the captains of companies, and the captains divide it among the men. Robbery by Spanish Officials. It is one of the easiest and most popular methods of robbing the government for the officers to double the number of men on duty and divide the money that is forwarded for their pay. It is a favorite saying in Cuba that when an officer makes report of a battle he represents that most of his troops have been shot while gallantly charging the enemy, but they all come alive again before he makes up his pay roll. It is well known that after the blockade began General Blanco impressed in the army every able-bodied citizen within reach of his conscript officers, and the insurgent sympathizers enlisted in great numbers with the expectation of being able to serve their cause more effectively inside than outside of the trenches. This class of people, however, are not to be depended upon by either side. CHAPTER XXXVII. Total Destruction of Cervera's Fleet. HE fleet of Admiral Cervera had long been shut up in the harbor of Santiago, and during the two days' fighting gave effective aid to the Spanish infantry by throwing shells into the ranks of the Americans. On the morning of July 3d, another great naval victory was added to the successes of the American arms, a victory no less complete and memorable than that achieved by Dewey at Manila. Admiral Cervera's fleet, consisting of the armored cruisers Cristobal Colon, Almirante Oquendo, Infanta Maria Teresa and Viscaya, and two torpedo-boat destroyers, the Furor and the Pluton, which had been held in the harbor of Santiago de Cuba for six weeks by the combined squadrons of Rear-Admiral Sampson and Commodore Schley, was sent to the bottom of the Caribbean Sea off the southern coast of Cuba. Hurricane of Shells from Sampson's Fleet. The Spanish admiral was made a prisoner of war on the auxiliary gunboat Gloucester, and I,ooo to 1,500 other Spanish officers and sailors, all who escaped the frightful carnage caused by the shells from the American warships, were also made prisoners of war. Admiral Cervera made as gallant a dash for liberty and for the preservation of the ships as has ever occurred in the history of naval warfare. 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 bold 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. 542 DESTRUCTION OF CERVERA'S FLEET. 643 The Americans saw him the moment he left the harbor and commenced their work of destruction immediately. For an hour or two they followed the flying Spaniards to the westward along the shore line, sending shot after shot into their blazing hulls, tearing great holes in their steel sides, and covering their decks with the blood of the killed and wounded who had fallen during the action. At no time did the Spaniards show any indication that they intended to do otherwise than fight to the last. They displayed no signals to surren- fe ie der even when their o' dl ships commenced:wI I rr to sink and the great dark clouds:ther h I i of smoke pouring from their sides showed they were on fire. But they: turned their heads toward the shore,...; less than a mile away, and ran them on the beach and ADMIRAL CERVERA. rocks, where their destruction was completed in an incredibly short space of time. E Heavy explosions of ammunition occurred every few minutes, sending curls of dense white smoke a hundred feet in the air and causing a shower of broken iron and steel to fall in the water on every side. The bluffs on the coast line echoed with the roar of every explosion, and the Spanish vessels sank deeper and deeper into the sand or else the rocks ground their hulls to pieces as they rolled 544 DESTRUCTION OF CERVERA'S FLEET. or pitched forward or sideways with every wave that washed upon them from the open sea. Admiral Cervera escaped to the shore in a boat sent by the Gloucester to the assistance of the Infanta Maria Teresa, and as soon as he touched the beach he surrendered himself and his command to Lieutenant Morton and asked to be taken on board the Gloucester, which was the only American vessel near him at the time, with several of his officers, including the captain of the flagship. The Spanish admiral, who was wounded in the arm, was taken to the Gloucester, and was received at her gangway by her commander, Lieutenant Commander Richard Wainwright, who grasped the hand of the graybearded admiral and said to him: "I congratulate you, sir, upon having made as gallant a fight as was ever witnessed on the sea." Wainwright's Wonderful Fight. Lieutenant Commander Wainwright then placed his cabin at the disposal of the Spanish officers. At that time the Spanish flagship and four other Spanish vessels had been aground and burning for two hours, and the only one of the escaping fleet which could not be seen at this point was the Cristobal Colon. But half a dozen curls of smoke far down on the western horizon showed the fate that was awaiting her. The Cristobal Colon was the fastest of the Spanish ships, and she soon obtained a lead over the others after leaving the harbor, and escaped the effect of the shots which destroyed the other vessels. She steamed away at great speed with the Oregon, New York, Brooklyn and several other ships in pursuit, all of them firing at her constantly and receiving fire themselves from her after guns. There seemed no possibility whatever for her escape, and while her fate was not definitely known for some time, it was predicted from the words of Captain Robley D. Evans, of the Iowa, who returned from the westward with 340 prisoners from the Vizcaya. In answer to an inquiry, he shouted through the megaphone: " I left the Cristobal Colon far to the westward an hour ago, and the DESTRUCTION OF CERVERA'S FLEET. 545 Oregon was giving her hell. She has undoubtedly gone with the others, and we will have a Fourth of July celebration in Santiago tomorrow." Captain Evans, who had been in the thick of the engagement up to the time he took the Vizcaya's officers and crew from the shore, said that to the best of his knowledge not one American ship had been struck. The torpedo-boat Ericsson, which also returned from the westward at about the same time, made a similar report, saying it was believed no man was injured on board the American ships, though another report had it that one man was killed aboard the Brooklyn. This report was afterward confirmed. Decks Strewn with Dead and Wounded. There was no means of telling what the Spanish loss was, but it was believed to have been very heavy, as the prisoners in custody reported their decks strewn with dead and wounded in great numbers, and besides, there was a statement that many bodies could be seen fastened to pieces of wreckage floating in the sea after the fight was over. A large number of the Spanish wounded were removed to the American ships. Another account by an eye-witness gives additional particulars of the great battle: "Three of the Spanish cruisers that were bottled up in Santiago harbor and two torpedo-boat destroyers were pounded into helpless hulks by the guns of Admiral Sampson's fleet on Sunday in a vain attempt to escape from the harbor. The vessels were beached in a last effort to save as many of the lives of the crews as possible. "Admiral Cervera, on board the Maria Teresa, headed his fleet in the attempt to get away at about half-past 9 o'clock. So little were the Americans expecting the dash that the flagship New York was cruising up the coast to the east and returned only in time to see the finish of the fight and to fire a shot or two at the torpedoboat destroyers. "The Iowa, Indiana, Oregon, Massachusetts, Texas, Brooklyn and the converted yacht Gloucester, formerly the Corsair, formed in 2-K 546 DESTRUCTION OF CERVERA'S FLEET. position to give battle as soon as the Colon was sighted rounding the wreck of the Merrimac. "The American vessels did not open fire at once; they waited until Cervera's ships were out of the range of Morro's guns before giving battle. Cervera headed to the west, the Colon in the lead, followed by the Vizcaya and Oquendo and the destroyers, all firing rapidly. "All of the American battleships opened fire at once, and the Spanish were soon in a hurricane of shot and shell, but the Teresa kept on bravely till when ten miles from the westward of Morro Castle, Admiral Cervera turned his vessel to the shore and beached her. She was blazing in a score of places, but her guns kept at work and the white flag never showed until she was completely disabled. Desperate Bravery on Both Sides. "The Oquendo and Vizcaya were opposed to the Iowa, Texas and Indiana and went down to defeat with fearful swiftness, covering only about half the distance made by the Colon before their captains ran them ashore. Their crews fought with desperate bravery, but their courage was no match for the courage of our men, added to their superb gunnery. The Spanish shells went wild for the most part, but the American gun-fire was marked by merciless precision. The two cruisers, both on fire, were beached not more than one-quarter of a mile apart. " A most dramatic feature of the battle was the contest between the torpedo-boat destroyers and the Gloucester. The latter was struck several times, and is the only American vessel reported damaged. At first the Gloucester fired upon them with her six pounders, but they ran past her and engaged the battleships. " Finding the fire too hot, they turned and attacked the Gloucester again until both destroyers were afire and had to be beached. Their crews threw themselves into the surf to save their lives. Just before this the New York came up and assisted in giving the finish blow to the destroyers. There wvs explosion after explosion from the beached vessels." DESTRUCTION OF CERVERA'S FLEET. 647 The Vizcaya, Maria Theresa and the Oquendo were sister-ships, built at Bilbao in I89o-I. They were of steel, each with two screws, two turrets, two funnels, and two military masts, with tops. They had displacements of 6,890 tons; length 364 feet over all; beam, 65 feet 2 inches; mean draught, 21 feet 6 inches. Their speed of 18.5 knots was given by engines having a horse-power of 9,560. On forced draught they were capable of making 20.2 knots. Their coal capacity was 1,050 tons each, which gave them a steaming distance of 9,700 miles at ten knots per hour. Each had two sets of vertical expansion engines and six boilers, four double-end and two single-end. Formidable Armor. The armor of these ships made them particularly formidable. On the water-line there was a belt of armor 5 feet 6 inches broad and 315 feet long, of 12 inches in thickness and of steel. The turrets were surrounded with 9 inches of steel armor, the conning-towers 12 inches. The protected deck covering the vitals of the ship had from 2 to 3 inches of steel. Surrounding the ammunition tubes and magazines was a circle of 8 inches of steel. The armament consisted of forty guns and from six to eight torpedo tubes on each ship. In detail, these guns were two Ii-inch Hontoria breech-loading guns in turrets, one forward and one aft; ten 5.6-inch Hontoria quick-fire, five on each beam, the forward and after ones being sponsoned; eight 6-pounder quick-fires, ten Ipounder quick-fires, eight Nordenhoff machine guns, two Maxim machine guns. The Vizcaya had six torpedo tubes, and the other two ships eight torpedo tubes. On each ship two of the torpedo tubes were submerged. Each ship carried a complement of 484 men and were looked upon by the Spaniards as the most powerful vessels in their fleet. The Cristobal Colon was substantially similar, but was of later build, being turned out in 1896 at Sestri Ponsate. She was 6,840 tons, 328 feet long, and in other respects was similar to the three first named, with slight variations. She carried a complement of 500 officers and men. 548 DESTRUCTION OF CERVERA'S FLEET. As a result of the terrific sea fight, shattered hulks of what were once proud Spanish ships were strewn along the Cuban coast for a distance of about fifty miles, glittering in the sun like the bones of a ghastly skeleton. The vessels of Admiral Sampson's fleet rode complacently a short distance off shore, surveying the results of their grim work with the satisfaction of a mighty victor. One American white jacket, a yeoman on the armored cruiser Brooklyn, was the cost in life for the great American victory and several vessels of the fleet were slightly damaged. But for this the Spanish paid a heavy penalty. As nearly as could be ascertained at the time three hundred and seven men were killed, one hundred and forty-five were wounded, and almost two thousand were taken prisoners. The Spanish admiral, Cervera, his vice-admiral, Villamil, Captain Eulate, of the Vizcaya, and the other officers of the squadron were among the prisoners, and were put aboard the auxiliary cruiser St. Louis to be taken to New York. Wreck of the Oristobal Colon. The wrecks- of the six warships were sprinkled along the beach from a point two miles distant from the entrance to Santiago harbor to Jarquina, only fifty miles away. The Cristobal Colon, which was chased to the latter point by the cruiser Brooklyn and the superb battleship Oregon, was half submerged close in shore. Before she was captured and the prize crew put aboard, the Spaniards opened all the sea valves, so the ship would sink rapidly. She was lying on her beam ends with her guns pointing towards the sky. Admiral Cervera stated the reason for his running out of the harbor and why he chose the morning and not the night. He said he was forced out in obedience to an order from Captain-General Blanco, who was acting under instructions from Madrid. He chose the morning because he thought at that time the American fleet would not be ready with steam up for the chase. It seems the Admiral held a consultation with his officers before sailing out of the harbor, and by a small majority the move was DESTRUCTION OF CERVERA'S FLEET. 549 agreed upon. The minority said that destruction was sure, as many of the firemen had mutinied, and the best men in the fleet were worn out by serving the guns in the shore batteries. Early in the morning careful observations were taken of the sea east and west. Admiral Cervera decided upon taking the westward course, with Manzanillo, Cienfuegos or, if possible, Havana the port to be reached. He would have gone east but for the sighting of a large transport fleet off Siboney, and the assurance that a convoy of war vessels was still with the transports. As a matter of fact, there were no war vessels larger than a converted yacht, except the New York, that could have obstructed Admiral Cervera's escape eastward. Surrender of the Spanish Admiral. The first and only statement concerning the recent naval battle made by the Spanish commander was to a correspondent of the Associated Press on board the battle-ship Iowa. It was as follows: "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." 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 his face as he took the proffered hand of Lieutenant-Commander 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 Lieutenant-Commander Wainwright that Cuban soldiers were on the hills preparing to attack his unarmed men, and said he thought his sailors had suffered enough in their battle with the American forces and that he was willing to surrender his entire command, but he asked that some protection be given to his men until they could be taken off in the American vessels. LieutenantCommander Wainwright had heard similar reports from his own officers regarding the presence of Cubans in the brush, and he sent a 550 DESTRUCTION OF CERVERA'S FLEET. guard of armed sailors ashore to prevent the Spanish prisoners from being molested. 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. As the flames shot higher and higher above the decks of the magnificent vessels that had composed Admiral Cervera's fleet many of those who witnessed the scene felt it had a strong connection with the destruction of the American battle-ship Maine in Havana harbor five months ago. "The Maine is Avenged." 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 despatch boat Fern and steadfastly refused to set his foot within the city until, to use his own words, the time should come when he would go ashore at the head of a landing party of American bluejackets. It was his ship that sank the 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 roaring through the decks of the three greatest war ships of the Spanish navy, which were soon to be reduced to nothing but shattered masts and twisted smokestacks protruding above the water. It was not strange, therefore, that he remarked to his brother officers beside him: " The Maine is avenged I" When the Pluton and the Furor sank the Gloucester's boat picked up as many of the survivors as she could find on the shore. 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. Some of the survivors, including officers of the Furor, who, it was DESTRUCTION OF CERVERA'S FLEET. 661 reported, had their legs shot off, were scattered along the coast for some distance, and could not be found. Three officers and six men of the Pluton escaped from the shore in one of their own boats and pulled to the Associated Press despatch boat Wanda, where they remained until their Captain, who was a prisoner on the Gloucester, ordered them to join him on the latter vessel. The most remarkable feature of the combat was the fact that, notwithstanding the utter destruction of the Spanish fleet and the hard fight those ships made even after they were on fire, the American vessels should escape without injury. The only thing this can be attributed to is the poor marksmanship of the Spanish gunners, which was so well demonstrated in every other conflict of the war. Long and Exciting Chase. After a long chase to the westward the Brooklyn, closely followed by the Oregon, overhauled the Cristobal Colon after she had run ashore and had hauled down her flag. Captain Cook, of the Brooklyn, went on board of her, and the commander of the Spanish armored cruiser came forward to surrender and was taken on board the New York, which came up an hour after the Brooklyn and Oregon had completed the capture of the Cristobal Colon. During the chase a clever manceuvre of Commodore Schley in heading due west to Cape Caney, while the Cristobal Colon had taken a more southerly direction, with a much greater distance to cover, rendered the Spaniard's escape impossible. The Oregon was the first to join the Brooklyn, and afterward the Iowa, Indiana, Texas and Vixen closed around the Spaniards, all pouring in a deadly fire. But from the beginning to the end of the fight the Brooklyn, Oregon and Gloucester took the most important part in the destruction of the enemy. The Brooklyn was struck half a dozen times, but no injury was done to any of the other American ships. It is claimed that one shell killed one hundred men on the Vizcaya, raking the vessel fore and aft. The following is a graphic report of the battle by an eye-witness: "' Commodore Schley's flagship, the Brooklyn, had her usual posi 552 DESTRUCTION OF CERVERA'S FLEET. tion at the extreme western end of the line, ten miles from the New York and Texas, when the Spanish fleet appeared. It is a peculiar fact that he should have been in proper position to direct the movement of his flying squadron against the Spanish fleet which he had bottled up in Santiago harbor six weeks before. " It was about 9 o'clock in the morning when the flagship Infanta Maria Teresa passed under the wall of Morro Castle and steamed out to sea. She was followed by the Cristobal Colon, Vizcaya and Oquendo and last by the torpedo-boat destroyers Pluton and Furor. Excitement on the American Vessels. "The lookout on the American vessels, which were lying five to ten miles off the entrance to the harbor, sighted them immediately. Most of the American cruisers were at the usual Sunday morning quarters without thought of anything as surprising as the Spanish fleet getting past the sunken collier Merrimac, which they had been deluded into believing effectually blocked the exit of the fleet. "There was great excitement at once, and very rapid action all along the American lines. The signal for 'full speed ahead' was running from bridge to engine room of every ship, and the entire fleet commenced to move in shore toward the Spanish, and the great twelve and thirteen-inch guns of the battleships and the smaller batteries on the other vessels fired shot after shot at long range. " As the ships ran in toward the shore it soon became evident that the Spaniards had not come out to make an aggressive fight, for they turned to the westward as soon as they had cleared the harbor and started on their race for safety, at the same time sending answering shots at the American ships as fast as the men could load and fire the guns. The Brooklyn, Mazoachusetts, Texas, Oregon, and Iowa were nearer the Spaniards than any others of the American vessels, but still most of them were too far away to get an effective range. They crowded on all steam, however, in preparation for the chase, never stopping their fire for one moment. "The Gloucester, a fast little yacht that could not boast of any heavier battery than several six-pounders and three-pounders, was DESTRUCTION OF CERVERA'S FLEET. 553 lying off Aguadores, three miles east of Morro, when the Spaniards came out. At first she joined in the attack upon a large vessel and then held off, Captain Wainwright concluding to reserve his efforts for the two torpedo-boat destroyers in the rear. " The Gloucester steamed after them when they appeared, and chased them to a point five miles west of Morro, pouring shot after shot into them all the time. Her efforts bore abundant fruit, for to her belongs the credit for the destruction of both of the destroyers. She fired I,4oo shots during the chase, and it was not long before both destroyers were on fire and plainly disabled. Torpedo Boat's Attempt to Escape. "Notwithstanding this, they both returned the Gloucester's fire, and a shower of small shells fell all around the yacht. The Furor evidently determined that she would not stand the fire any longer, and she put about and headed back for Santiago. Then the Gloucester simply smothered her with shots from her rapid-fire guns, and, running like the wind, forced her to turn and again head westward. "Smoke commenced to rise from the Furor's sides, and she put in toward the shore. Before she had gone far what was left of her crew abandoned her and took to the boats, reaching the shore later. By that time she was a mass of flame, and was drifting about helplessly. The Pluton was in the same distressed condition, and was also headed for the shore, running up alongside of a low bluff, where she soon pounded to pieces and finally broke in two completely. It was a most dangerous landing place for her crew, and but about half of them reached the shore alive. " The Gloucester did not go any further west, but lay off shore and sent a boat to the assistance of the crews of the destroyers. It did not take the flames long to reach the Furor's magazine, and there were two terrific explosions, probably of the gun-cotton aboard of her, which blew holes in her bottom. Her stern sunk immediately, and as it settled in the water her bow rose straight in the air and she went to the bottom in perpetual oblivion, giving out a hissing, scalding sound as she disappeared below the surface. 554 DESTRUCTION OF CERVERA'S FLEET. " Meantime the larger American ships were gaining on the Spanish cruisers, and a storm of shots was passing between the pursuers and pursued. The American fire was so rapid that the ships were enveloped in thick clouds of smoke, and it was impossible to tell at the distance which vessels were doing the greater execution. The Brooklyn and the five battleships were keeping up an incessant fire upon the Infanta Maria Teresa, the Vizcaya, and the Almirante Oquendo, and the latter were returning it bravely, though with no success. 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. A Shower of Shells. "The guns of the battery just east of Morro also took part in the game, and then 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 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 broke 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 struck the Maria Teresa at the water line, tearing great holes in her side and causing her to fill rapidly. The Oquendo suffered much, and both ships headed for a small cove, and went aground about 200 yards from the shore, flames shooting from them in every direction. The officers and crews must have been aware of the fate which seemed to be before them; but it was not until the ships were on fire and enveloped in flames and smoke that the men were ordered to cease firing. "She was run ashore in a small bay, and now lies well up on the beach, where she is likely to stay until time and the action of the elements complete the destruction begun by the American guns. Her sides are scarred by many shots, and in her port bow there is a tremendous hole made by a thirteen-inch shell. On her port quarter, DESTRUCTION OF CERVERA'S FLEET. 555 near the water line, there is a large rent. Her military masts are gone, and her decks present a scene of wreck and confusion. "A small boat was lowered from the despatch boat, and the correspondent was pulled alongside the Oquendo. As the vessel was approached, a ghastly sight was presented. Dead Spaniards were seen floating all about in the water. They were stripped to the waist, as they had stood to man their guns. The boat was steered nervously among the awful things, the sight exciting feelings of pity, but some satisfaction, as well, that the Maine had again been so well remembered. "About this time the gunboat Suwanee came up, and Lieutenant Blue started ashore in her whaleboat to look for survivors of the crews of the Spanish vessels, and to take them prisoners. The men in the despatch beat determined to follow him, notwithstanding the fact that they had neither a life-boat nor life-preservers, as had the men from the Suwanee. The surf was running high on the rocky beach, but the little boat reached the shore without great difficulty. Lieutenant Blue, however, was not so lucky. When his boat was about twenty yards from the shore, a huge breaker lifted it, threw it forward, and Lieutenant Blue was dumped into the sea. His boat reached shore all right, and his men dragged him out of the water. Hunting for Spaniards. "A band of Cubans were found on the beach. They, too, were looking for Spaniards, but it is to be feared that.heir intentions were not as humane as those of the other seekers after the enemy. No Spaniards were found, however, and Lieutenant Blue returned to the Suwanee, which put to sea. " The newspaper men then concluded that it would be an excellent idea to capture some prisoners on their own account, so they joined some of the other despatch boats, and headed for the Infanta Maria Teresa, which was lying further along the coast to the westward. This vessel was not in quite so bad a condition as the Almirante Oquendo. She was battered by shells and blackened by fire, but her after military mast was still standing. Her bridge, though much 556 DESTRUCTION OF CERVERA'S FLEET. bent and twisted, was recognizable as a bridge. Nevertheless, she was the first of the Spanish ships to give up the fight and head for the shore. She was still smouldering with the fire, and occasionally cartridges would pop, as though feebly trying to continue the fight. " The shore was closely scanned for Spaniards, and finally some twenty men were seen huddled together in a corner of the beach. The newspaper men shouted at them, and made a demonstration with their firearms. The men, who proved to be Spaniards, were thoroughly cowed, and with great alacrity they waved a white handkerchief. A landing was made, and the Spaniards told that they were prisoners, and that they would be taken aboard a boat and turned over to the American admiral. They appeared rather gratified than otherwise when they were told this, for they seemed to dread the Cubans more than they did the Americans. A launch was sent for, and the correspondents stood guard over the prisoners until it arrived. Several Spanish bodies on which the vultures had fed were lying on the beach, and the prisoners were made to bury them. Deadly Gunnery of the Americans. "Most of the prisoners were wounded, they having been in the hottest part of the fight. It was learned from them how the gunnery of the Americans had become more and more fierce and deadly until the Spanish crews deserted their guns, when they were shot down by their own officers. They said that as the battle grew more and more desperate, the wines and liquors belonging to the officers were handed out to the crews, so that with drunken courage they would keep up the hopeless fight. At last the officers themselves gave up, and ordered that the sea-valves of their ships be opened. Then the ships were driven on the beach. "Sixteen of the prisoners were from the Vizcaya, six from the Almirante Oquendo, and seven from the Infanta Maria Teresa, making a total of twenty-nine. They were taken on board the despatch boat which headed for the fleet. As the boat passed the Texas she signalled her capture, and received a hearty cheer from the sailors aboard of her. DESTRUCTION OF CERVERA'S FLEET. 557 "When the flagship was reached Admiral Sampson thanked the newspaper men, and asked them to deliver their prisoners on board the St. Louis. This was done, and a receipt was given for the Spaniards in due form by the officer of marines who was in charge. Aboard the St. Louis was Captain Eulate, the commander of the Vizcaya. He expressed his grief at the sad turn affairs had taken, but said he had done his best, and could do no more. Imposing Spanish Commander. "Admiral Cervera was also on board the St. Louis, having been transferred from. the Gloucester. He is a fine old gentleman, and presented an imposing figure as he stood still proudly in his full uniform, with all the gold braid of his rank and several decorations. Afterward the despatch boat went to the wreck of the Vizcaya, which,as found to have a great hole in her bow and a tangle of ironwork on her deck." The annihilation of the Spanish fleet was an absorbing topic among naval officials at Washington, and they gave most generous praise to Commodore Schley for the notable manner in which he directed the fight, when the immediate command fell to his lot. The Commodore's friends predicted that if he secured an opportunity he would render good account of the fighting ability of the American navy, and they were glad this opportunity was afforded. It was one more, and perhaps the greatest, achievement in a long line with which Commodore Schley's name has been associated, others including the relief of the Greely Arctic expedition and the command of the Baltimore at Valparaiso when war was imminent as a result of a mob attack on the American blue jackets. It was believed that the splendid success of our fleet off Santiago would go far toward settling many vexed questions of modern armaments. As of old, it is the mission of this country to fortify or destroy in the destructive test of battle the theories of wrangling experts. In the war of I812 our fighting frigates of the five victories revolutionized the gunnery of the sea; in the civil war the Monitor and the Merrimac sent scurrying down the wind the supremacy of 558 DESTRUCTION OF CERVERA'S FLEET. wooden walls and triple-tiered batteries and ushered in the age of metal freeboards and of monster ordnance. The annihilation of Cervera's squadron asserted the supremacy of the battle ship as the determining element in naval warfare, and reaffirmed the primacy of the gun as the master key to naval success. With both goes hand in hand the approved value of discipline, drill and intelligent valor. The four armored cruisers of the Spanish Admiral were in armor protection, armament and personnel typical ships of an approved class. To these qualities was allied a trial speed exceeding that of battleships of the first order. They dashed seaward under the protecting fusillade of shore emplacements, and found in the waiting enemy vessels harassed by a wearying blockade and crews worn by a sleepless vigilance. An Honorable Defeat. With them went two torpedo boat-destroyers, tuned to the fighting pitch, thoroughly equipped by many opportunities for repairs and manned by a personnel fitted by long rest for any desperate chance. And yet they achieved-what? An honorable defeat, truly, but still a defeat, so quick, so complete, that its parallel may be found only in the fate of their sister ships in Manila Bay. Ramming, that expedient of despair, was not attempted. Torpedoing, despite the opportunities afforded, was estopped by the quick service of rapid-fire guns on board an inferior but superbly handled construction, and that final effort, a "charge through," was never allowed to challenge the combined energies of our fleet. If audacity could have merited success, the Spaniards deserved much, but here the marrow of the war proverb was not with them. Pitted against similar ships, even in superior numbers, some of the fleeing cruisers might have slipped seaward in hot haste for the breaking of the Havana blockade. Failing that, all might have concentrated an assault upon certain selected vessels and found consolation for final defeat in the foundering hulls of their enemy. But audacity did not count, individual bravery went for naught; because, while heavier constructions barred the way and superior guns DESTRUCTION OF CERVERA'S FLEET. 559 smashed the pathways of escape, energized skill overcame untrained courage and patient discipline crushed unorganized effort. The battle ships not only fought the armored cruisers in a long, stern chase down the shore, but destroying as they ran, finally forced them blazing in their own wrecks upon a hostile coast. The torpedoboat destroyers, engaged single-handed by the Gloucester, succumbed so quickly to inferior armament and speed that their value in a day attack, or, indeed, their value at any time save as weapons of surprise, need no longer be reckoned with. This was a rude awakening to the zealots who have seen in this weapon the downfall of the ship of the fighting line, but it was a heart-cheering confirmation to the loyal seamen who in season and out never ceased to proclaim that the integrity of sea nations rests on battle ships and on the wellserved guns of a fleet. Wild Cheering by Shafter's Army. At the headquarters of General Shafter's army,early on the morning of July 3rd, a man on the lookout reported that the Spanish fleet, under the command of Admiral Cervera, had sailed out of the harbor of Santiago, but it was not until late in the afternoon that the result was known at the front. As the word of the magnificent victory flew from sentry to sentry along the firing lines and was shouted to the companies, regiments and brigades, a great cheer swept down the line of weary men, which gathered force as it went, until the rattle of musketry was drowned in the roar from glad American throats. The news was flashed back into the underbrush, where the reserves lay, and the men almost stampeded in their enthusiastic desire to get to the front. CHAPTER XXXVIII. Official Reports of the Destruction of the Spanish Fleet. FFICIAL reports made by Rear-Admiral Sampson and Commodore Schley on the destruction of the Spanish fleet at Santiago on July 3d were not made public until July 27th. They tell in detail of the work of each American ship in that great and memorable sea fight. U. S. FLAGSHIP NEW YORK, First Rate. Off Santiago de Cuba, July 15, I898. J SIR-I have the honor to make the following report upon the battle with and the'destruction of the Spanish squadron commanded by Admiral Cervera off Santiago de Cuba on Sunday, July 3, I898: 2. The enemy's vessels came out of the harbor between twenty-five minutes to ten and ten A. M., the head of the column appearing around Cay Smith at twenty-nine minutes to ten, and emerging from the channel five or six minutes later. 3. The positions of the vessels of my command off Santiago at that moment were as follows:-The 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 to go to the front to consult with General Shafter. I had the day before arranged to go to General Shafter's 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 the shore, the Oregon-the New York's place between these two-the Iowa,Texas and Brooklyn. the 560 OFFICIAL REPORTS. 561 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 four A.M. for Guantanamo for coal. Her station was between the Iowa and Texas. The auxiliaries Gloucester and Vixen lay close to the land and nearer the 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. I enclose a diagram showing approximately the positions of the vessels as described above. 4. 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 eight hundred yards, which means that from the time the first one became visible in the upper reach of the channel until the last one was out of the harbor an interval of only about twelve minutes elapsed. Following the Oquendo, at a distance of about twelve hundred yards, came the torpedo-boat destroyer Pluton, and after her the Furor. Shrouded in Smoke. 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. 5. 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's ships escaping," and a general quarters was sounded. The men cheered as they sprang to their guns, and fire wan opened probably within eight minutes by the vessels whose guns commanded the entrance. The New Vork turned about and steamed for the escaping fleet, 2-L 562 OFFICIAL REPORTS. flying the signal, " Close in toward harbor entrance and attack ves sels," and gradually increasing speed, until, toward the end of the chase, she was making sixteen and one-half knots, and was rapidly closing on the Cristobal Colon. She was not, at any time, within the range of the heavy Spanish ships, and her only part in the firing was to receive the undivided fire from the forts in passing the 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. Turned into a Chase. 6. 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 the Indiana, having done good work, and not having the speed of the other ships, were directed by me, in succession, at about the time the Vizcaya was beached, to drop out of the chase and resume blockading stations. These vessels rescued many prisoners. The Vixen, finding that the rush of the Spanisk ships would put her between two fires, ran outside of our own column, and remained there during the battle and chase. 7. 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. OFFICIAL REPORTS. 563 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 to 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. Destroying the Destroyers. Within twenty minutes from the time they emerged from Santiago harbor, the careers of the Furor and Pluton were ended, and twothirds 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. 8. 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 afterward learned that the Infanta Maria Teresa's firemain had been cut by one of our first shots, and that she was unable to extinguish 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 beachthe Infanta Maria Teresa at about fifteen minutes past ten A. M., at Nima Nima, six and one-half miles from Santiago Harbor entrance, 564 OFFICIAL REPORTS. and the Almirante Oquendo at about half past ten A. M., at Juan Gonzales, seven miles from the port. 9. The Vizcaya was still under the fire of the leading vessels. The Cristobal Colon had drawn ahead, leading the chase, and soon passed beyond the range of the guns of the leading American ships. The Vizcaya was soon set on fire, and at fifteen minutes after eleven 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 signalled to go back to the harbor entrance, and at Aserraderos the Iowa was signalled to resume blockading station. The Iowa, assisted by the Ericsson and the Hist, took off the crew of the Vizcaya, while the Harvard and the Gloucester rescued those of the Infanta Maria Teresa and the Almirante Oquendo. Brave Rescue of Prisoners. 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. io. There remained now of the Spanish ships only the Cristobal Colon-but she was their best and fastest vessel. Forced by the situation to hug the Cuban coast, her only chance of escape was by superior and sustained speed. When the Vizcaya went ashore the Colon was about six miles ahead of the Brooklyn and the Oregon; but her spurt was finished, and the American ships were now gaining upon her. Behind the Brooklyn and the Oregon came the Texas, Vixen and New York. It was evident from the bridge of the New York that all the American ships were gradually overhauling the chase, and that OFFICIAL REPORTS. 565 she had no chance of escape. At ten minutes to one the Brooklyn and the Oregon opened fire and got her range-the Oregon's heavy shell striking beyond her-and at twenty minutes after one she gave up without firing another shot, hauled down her colors, and ran ashore at Rio Torquino, forty-eight miles from Santiago. Enemy's Last Ship Lost. Captain Cook, of the Brooklyn, went on board to receive the surrender. While his boat was along side 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 Captain Chadwick with admirable judgment-and sank in shoal water and may be saved. Had this not been done she would have gone down in deep water, and would have been, to a certainty, a total loss. I. 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. I2. It seems proper to briefly describe here the manner in which 566 OFFICIAL REPORTS. this was accomplished. The harbor of Santiago is naturally easy to blockade-there being but one entrance, and that a narrow one, and the deep water extending close up to the shore line, presenting no difficulties of navigation outside of the entrance. Method of the Blockade. At the time of my arrival before the port-June I —the moon was at its full, and there was sufficient light during the night to enable any movement outside of the entrance to be detected; but with the waning of the moon and the coming of dark nights there was opportunity for the enemy to escape, or for his torpedo boats to make an attack upon the blockading vessels. It was ascertained with fair conclusiveness that the Merrimac, so gallantly taken into the channel on June 3d, did not obstruct it. I therefore maintained the blockade as follows: To the 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 lightened up the entire breadth of the channel for half a mile inside of the entrance so brilliantly that the movement of small boats could be detected. Why the batteries never opened fire upon the searchlight ship was always a matter of surprise to me, but they never did. Stationed close to the entrance of the port were three picket launches, and at a little distance farther out three small picket vessels, usually converted yachts, and when they were available one or two of our torpedo boats. With this arrangement there was at least a certainty that nothing could get out of the harbor undetected. After the arrival of the army, when the situation forced upon the Spanish admiral a decision, our vigilance increased. The night blockading distance was reduced to two miles for all vessels, and a battleship was placed alongside the searchlight ship, with her broadside trained upon the channel in readiness to fire the instant a Spanish ship should appear. The commanding officers merit the greatest praise for the perfect OFFICIAL REPORTS. 567 manner in which they entered into this plan and put it into execution. The Massachusetts, which, according to routine, was sent that morning to coal at Guantanamo, like the others had spent weary nights upon this work, and deserved a better fate than to be absent that morning. I enclose, for the information of the department, copies of orders and memoranda issued from time to time relating to the manner of maintaining the blockade. All Did Good Work. I 3. When all the work was done so well it is difficult to discriminate in praise. The object of the blockade of Cervera's squadron was fully accomplished, and each individual bore well his part in it-the commodore in command of the second division, the captains of ships, their officers and men. 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 in 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 568 OFFICIAL REPORTS. cleared the harbor mouth until the time she was run on shore at Rio Tarquino of 13.7 knots. Lost No Time in Starting. Neither the New York nor the Brooklyn stopped to couple up her forward engines, 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. 14. Several of the ships were struck, the Brooklyn more often than the others, but very slight material injury was done, the greatest being aboard the Iowa. Our loss was one man killed and one wounded, both on the Brooklyn. It is difficult to explain this immunity from loss of life or injury to ships in a combat with modern vessels of the best type; but Spanish gunnery is poor at the best, and the superior weight and accuracy of our fire speedily drove the men from their guns and silenced their fire. This is borne out by the statements of prisoners. The Spanish vessels, as they dashed out of the harbor, were covered with the smoke from their own guns, but this speedily diminished in volume and soon almost disappeared. The fire from the rapid-fire batteries of the battleships appears to have been remarkably destructive. An examination of the stranded vessels shows that the Almirante Oquendo especially had suffered terribly from this fire. Her sides are everywhere pierced and her decks were strewn with the charred remains of those who had fallen. 15. The reports of Commodore W. S. Schley and of the commanding officers are enclosed. i6. A board appointed by me several days ago has made a critical examination of the stranded vessels, both with a view of reporting upon the result of our fire and the military features involved, and of reporting upon the chance of saving any of them and of wrecking the remainder. The report of the Board will be speedily forwarded. Very respectfully, W. T, SAMPSON, Rear Admiral, U. S. N.; Commander in Chief U. S. Naval Force, North Atlantic Station. THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY, Navy Department, Washington, D. C. OFFICIAL REPORTS. 569 Commodore Schley's Report to Admiral Sampson. NORTH ATLANTIC FLEET, SECOND SQUADRON, U. S. Flagship Brooklyn, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, July 6, I898. SIR:-I have the honor to make the following report of that part of the squadron under your command which came under my observation during the engagement with the Spanish fleet on July 3, I898: 2. At 9.35 A.M. Admiral Cervera, with the Infanta Maria Teresa, Vizcaya, Oquendo, Cristobal Colon and two torpedo-boat destroyers came out of the harbor of Santiago de Cuba in column at distance and attempted to escape to the westward. Signal was made from the Iowa that the enemy was coming out, but his movement had been discovered from this ship at the same moment. This vessel was the furthest west, except the Vixen, in the blockading line: signal was made to the western division as prescribed in your General Orders, and there was immediate and rapid movement inward by your squadron and a general engagement, at ranges beginning at eleven hundred yards and varying to three thousand, until the Vizcaya was destroyed, about 10.50 A.M. The concentration of the fire of the squadron upon the ships coming out was most furious and terrific, and great damage was done them. Beginning the Destruction. 3. About twenty or twenty-five minutes after the engagement began, two vessels, thought to be the Teresa and Oquendo, and since verified as such, took fire from the effective shell fire of the squadron, and were forced to run on the beach, some six or seven miles west of the harbor entrance, where they burned and blew up later. The torpedo-boat destroyers were destroyed early in the action, but the smoke was so dense in their direction that I cannot say to which vessel or vessels the credit belongs. This, doubtless, was better seen from your flagship. 4. The Vizcaya and Colon, perceiving the disaster to their con 670 OFFICIAL REPORTS. sorts, continued at full speed to the westward to escape, and were followed and engaged in a running fight with the Brooklyn, Texas, Iowa and Oregon until ten minutes of eleven, when the Vizcaya took fire from our shells. She put her helm to port, and with a heavy list to port, stood in shore and ran aground at Aserraderos, about twenty-one miles west of Santiago, on fire fore and aft, and where she blew up during the night. Observing that she had struck her colors, and that several vessels were nearing her to capture and save her crew, signal was made to cease firing. The Oregon, having proved vastly faster than the other battleships, she and the Brooklyn, together with the Texas and another vessel, which proved to be your flagship, continued westward in pursuit of the Colon, which had run close in shore, evidently seeking some good spot to beach, if she should fail to elude her pursuers. End of the Ohase. 5. This pursuit continued with increasing speed in the Brooklyn, Oregon and other ships, and soon the Brooklyn and the Oregon were within long range of the Colon, when the Oregon opened fire with her thirteen-inch guns, landing a shell close to the Colon. A moment afterwards the Brooklyn opened fire with her eight-inch guns, landing a shell just ahead of her. Several other shells were fired at the Colon, now in range of the Brooklyn's and Oregon's guns. Her commander, seeing all chances of escape cut off, and destruction awaiting his ship, fired a lee gun and struck her flag at a quarter past one P.M., and ran ashore at a point some fifty miles west of Santiago Harbor. Your flagship was coming up rapidly at the time, as were also the Texas and Vixen. A little later, after your arrival, the Cristobal Colon, which had struck to the Brooklyn and the Oregon, was turned over to you as one of the trophies of this great victory of the squadron under your command. 6. During my official visit, a little later, Commander Eaton, of the Resolute, appeared, and reported to you the presence of a Spanish battleship near Altares. Your orders to me were to take the Oregon OFFICIAL REPORTS. 571 and go eastward to meet her, and this was done by the Brooklyn, with the result that the vessel reported as an enemy was discovered to be the Austrian cruiser Infanta Maria Teresa, seeking the commander-in-chief. 7. I would mention for your consideration that the Brooklyn occupied the most westward blockading position with the Vixen, and, being more directly in the route taken by the Spanish squadron, was exposed for some minutes, possibly ten, to the gun fire of three of the Spanish ships and the west battery at a range of fifteen hundred yards from the ships, and about three thousand yards from the batteries, but the vessels of the entire squadron, closing in rapidly, soon diverted this fire and did magnificent work at close range. Deadly Shots from Our Fleet. I have never before witnessed such deadly and fatally accurate shooting as was done by the ships of your command as they closed in on the Spanish squadron, and I deem it a high privilege to commend to you for such action as you may deem proper, the gallantry and dashing courage, the prompt decision and the skillful handling of their respective vessels, of Captain Philip, Captain Evans, Captain Clark, and especially of my chief of staff, Captain Cook, who was directly under my personal observation, and whose coolness, promptness and courage were of the highest order. The dense smoke of the combat shut out from my view the Indiana and the Gloucester, but as these vessels were closer to your flagship, no doubt their part in the conflict w s under your immediate observation. 8. Lieutenant Sharp, commanding the Vixen, acted with conspicuous courage; although unable to engage the heavier ships of the enemy with his light guns, nevertheless was close in to the battle line under heavy fire, and many of the enemy's shot passed beyond his vessel. 9. I beg to invite special attention to the conduct of my flag lieutenant, James H. Sears, and Ensign Edward McCauley, Jr., aid, who were constantly at my side during the engagement, and who exposed 572 OFFICIAL REPORTS. themselves fearlessly in discharging their duties; and also to the splendid behaviour of my secretary, Lieutenant B. W. Wells, Jr., who commanded and directed the fighting of the Fourth division with splendid effect. 10. I would commend the highly meritorious conduct and courage in the engagement of Lieutenant Commander N. E. Mason, the executive officer, whose presence everywhere over the ship during its continuance did much to secure the good result of this ship's part in the victory. I. The navigator, Lieutenant A. C. Hodgson, and the division officers, Lieutenant T. D. Griffin, Lieutenant W. R. Rush, Lieutenant Edward Simpson, Lieutenant J. G. Doyle, Ensign Charles Webster, and the junior divisional officers were most steady and conspicuous in every detail of duty contributing to the accurate firing of this ship in her part of the great victory of your forces. Brave and Competent Officers. 12. The officers of the Medical, Pay and Engineer and Marine Corps responded to every demand of the occasion, and were fearless in exposing themselves. The warrant officers, Boatswain William L. Hill, Carpenter G. H. Warford and Gunner F. T. Applegate, were everywhere exposed in watching for damage, reports of which were promptly conveyed to me. I3. I have never in my life served with a braver, better or worthier crew than that of the Brooklyn. During the combat, lasting from thirty-five minutes past nine until fifteen minutes past one, much of the time under fire, they never flagged for a moment, and were apparently undisturbed by the storm of projectiles passing ahead, astern and over the ship. 14. The result of the engagement was the destruction of the Spanish squadron and the capture of the Admiral and some thirteen hunhundred to fifteen hundred prisoners, with the loss of several hundred killed, estimated by Admiral Cervera at six hundred men. 15. The casualties on board this ship were G. H. Ellis, chief yeoman, killed; J. Burns, fireman first class, severely wounded. The OFFICIAL REPORTS. 573 marks and scars show that the ship was struck about twenty-five times, and she bears in all forty-one scars as the result of her participation in the great victory of your forces on July 3, 1898. The speed cone halliards were shot away, and nearly all the signal halliards. The ensign at the main was so shattered that in hauling it down at the close of the action it fell in pieces. I6. I congratulate you most sincerely upon this great victory to the squadron under your command, and I am glad that I had an opportunity to contribute in the least to a victory that seems big enough for all of us. I7. I have the honor to transmit herewith the report of the commanding officer, and a drawing in profile of the ship, showing the location of hits and scars; also a memorandum of the ammunition expended and the amount to fill her allowance. Planned to Ram the Brooklyn. I8. Since reaching this place and holding conversation with several of the captains-viz.: Captain Eulate, of the Vizcaya, and the second in command of the Colon, Commander Contreras, I have learned that the Spanish admiral's scheme was to concentrate all fire for a while on the Brooklyn, and the Vizcaya to ram her, in hope that if they could destroy her the chance of escape would be increased, as it was supposed she was the swiftest ship of your squadron. This explains the heavy fire mentioned and the Vizcaya's action in the earlier moments of the engagement. The execution of this purpose was promptly defeated by the fact that all the ships of the squadron advanced into close range and opened an irresistibly furious and terrific fire upon the enemy's squadron as it was coming out of the harbor. 19. I am glad to say that the injury supposed to be below the water line was due to a water valve being opened from some unknown cause and flooding the compartment. The injury to the belt is found to be only slight and the leak small. 20. I beg to enclose a list of the officers and crew who participated in the combat of July 3, I898. 574 OFFICIAL REPORTS. 21. I cannot close this report without mentioning in high terms of praise the splendid conduct and support of Captain C. E. Clark, of the Oregon. Her speed was wonderful and her accurate fire splendidly destructive. Very respectfully, W. S. SCHLEY, Commodore United States Navy, Commanding Second Squadron, North Atlantic Fleet To the Commander-in-Chief, United States Naval Force, North Atlantic Station. CHAPTER XXXIX. Captains Tell of Our Victory. HE following are the reports of Captain Chadwick, of the New York; Captain Taylor, of the Indiana; Captain Philip, of the Texas; Lieutenant-Commander Wainwright, of the Gloucester; Captain Clark, of the Oregon; and Captain Evans, of the Iowa, on the destruction of Cervera's fleet. Captain Chadwick's report was as follows: The ship had started at 9.30 A. M. for the army landing at Siboney, the commander-in-chief having an appointment with the general commanding the army. A few minutes after the crew had been called to quarters for Sunday inspection, firing was heard, and a ship was seen leaving the harbor entrance. The helm was at once put over, the crew called to general quarters, signal "Close in towards the harbor entrance and attack vessels" made, orders given to spread all fires, and the ship headed back for the enemy, whose ships were seen successively coming out at a high speed. The nearer ships had immediately engaged, and by the time we were off the entrance one, the flagship, was already afire, and was soon ashore; the Indiana and Gloucester were actively engaged with the torpedo boats. This ship fired some 4-inch shells at the one nearer the port, towards which she was already headed, and seemed attempting to return; but she was already practically out of the fight, the boiler of the more advanced one having blown up, showing a vast column of condensed steam. During this time the batteries, whose line of fire we had crossed close to, repeatedly fired upon us, but without effect. This ship stood on, leaving the Gloucester, which had shown herself so capable, to look after the survivors in the torpedo-boats. By this time a second cruiser was ashore and burning (the Almirante Oquendo), while the third, the Vizcaya, and the Cristobal Colon were still steaming rapidly westward. The Indiana was now 575 576 CAPTAINS TELL OF OUR VICTORY. signaled (II.26 A.M.) to return to her blockading position, to look after anything which might be there. Very shortly the Vizcaya turned shoreward, smoke began to issue from her after part, and, by the time that she was ashore on the reef at Acerraderos (fifteen miles west of Santiago), she was ablaze. The Iowa had signaled a little before that she had surrendered, and stopped off this place, where she gave much assistance in the rescue of the Vizcaya's people. This ship stood on in chase of the Cristobal Colon, with ahead of us the Brooklyn, Oregon, Texas and Vixen, the Oregon being much nearer inshore of the two headmost ships, but not in gunshot. We were rapidly increasing our speed. Spanish Ship Struck Her Colors. About I2.50 the Oregon opened fire, and some of her shells were observed to strike beyond the Colon; this made her capture a foregone conclusion, and shortly after I o'clock she turned in towards shore and soon struck her colors. She had been beached at a small inlet known as Rio Torquino. By the time we arrived a boat was alongside of her from the Brooklyn, and Captain Cook, the boarding officer, came alongside this and reported. This ship then sent a boat to take possession, the commanding officer going in the boat. I was received by the commodore of the squadron, the captain, Captain De Navio Don Emilo Moreu, and Captain De Navio, of the first-class Don Jose de Paredes y Chacon (which latter had been civil governor of Santiago and had only just been attached to the squadron). I arranged for the transfer of the crew and officers, a division to each ship present, and the engineer force to be left aboard. While aboard, however, the Resolute arrived, and it was arranged to transfer the whole number to her. Though the ship was not able to come to action with any of the larger ships on account of her distance to the eastward, every nerve was strained to do so, and all was done that could be done; our speed had rapidly increased, so that we were going sixteen knots at the end. We were immediately astern while all others were considerably to seaward. We were thus in a position to prevent a possible doubling CAPTAINS TELL OF OUR VICTORY. 577 to the rear and escape to the southeast. The officers and crew, as they always have done, acted in the most enthusiastic and commendable manner. The Indiana's Part. Captain H. C. Taylor, commanding the United States steamship Indiana, first rate, reported as follows: The Spanish squadron was seen emerging from the harbor at 9.37, and in a few moments a general action ensued. The leading ship, which proved to be the Infanta Teresa, flying the flag of Vice Admiral Cervera, was followed by the other vessels of.the squadron as follows: Vizcaya, Cristobal Colon, Oquendo and the torpedo-boat destroyers Furor and Pluton. The enemy's vessels headed to the westward. This ship fired on all of them as they came out one by one, and continued the action later by firing principally on the Maria Teresa, Oquendo, Furor and Pluton. Several of our shells were seen to take effect on these vessels. Our secondary battery guns were directed principally on the destroyers, as also were the "6" guns. The destroyers were sunk through the agency of our guns and those of the Gloucester, which vessel had come up and engaged them close aboard. The initial fire of the last two ships was directed at this vessel, and although falling very close, only striking the ship twice without any injury to ship or crew. One of our " I3 " shells was seen to enter the Maria Teresa under the quarter deck and explode, and that ship was observed on fire very shortly afterwards. About Io.I5 A.M. observed the Maria Teresa and Oquendo on fire and heading for the beach, the fire from their guns having ceased. We then devoted our special attention to prevent the escape of the destroyers, which appeared more than a match for the Gloucester, she being the only small vessel near to engage them. They were soon seen to blow up, apparently struck by our " 6 " and 6-pounders. We now fired our large guns at the Vizcaya, which was at long range; she made for the shore soon after, on fire and battery silenced. These ships hauled down their colors as they made for the beach. The Spanish flagship hoisted the white flag as she grounded. 2-M 578 CAPTAINS TELL OF OUR VICTORY. We now ceased firing. The Colon was observed well over the western horizon, closely pursued by the Brooklyn, Oregon and Texas, off shore of her. The flagship New York, steaming full speed to the westward as soon as the Vizcaya surrendered, signaled us, " Go back and guard entrance of harbor." Several explosions were observed on board the burning ships. At noon turned and stood to the eastward for our station in obedience to the above signal. Observed the Harvard and several transports standing to the westward. During this action we used no armor-piercing shells, except the smokeless powder 6-pounders, and the good effect of the common shell is shown by the fires on the enemy's ships and the short time taken to disable them without piercing their armor and with almost no injury to our ships. Captain Taylor commended all his officers and crew, and especially Lieutenant-Commander John A. Rodgers, the executive officer. What the Texas Did. Captain -. W. Philip, commanding the United States battleship Texas, the sister ship to the Maine, destroyed in Havana harbor, reported to Admiral Sampson as follows: Just at 9.35 as general signal No. 250 was made the Texas, which was lying 5,o10 yards distant from Morro, the enemy's ships were sighted standing out of the harbor. As the leader bearing the admiral's flag appeared in the entrance she opened fire, which was at 9.40 returned by the Texas at range of 4,200 yards, while closing in. The ship leading was of the Vizcaya class and the flagship. Four ships came out, evidently the Vizcaya, the Oquendo, Maria Teresa and Colon, followed by two torpedo-boat destroyers. Upon seeing these two we immediately opened fire upon them with our secondary battery, the main battery at the time being engaged with the second and third ships in line; owing to our secondary battery, together with the Iowa and Gloucester, these two destroyers were forced to beach, and sunk. While warmly engaged with the third in line, which was abreast and engaging the Texas, our fire was blanketed for a short time by CAPTAINS TELL OF OUR VICTORY. 579 the Oregon forging ahead and engaging the second ship. This third ship, after a spirited fire, sheered in shore, and at 10.35 ran up a white flag. We then ceased fire on the third, and opened fire with our forward guns at long range (6,ooo yards) on the ship (which was then engaged with the Oregon) until I1.05, when she (enemy's second ship) sheered into the beach on fire. At I I.0 she struck her colors, we ceased fire, and gave chase with Brooklyn and Oregon for the leading ship until I.20, when the Colon sheered into the beach and hauled down her colors, leaving them on deck at the foot of her flagstaff. We shut off forced draught and proceeded at moderate speed to close up. I would state that during this chase the Texas was holding her own with the Colon, she leading us about four miles at the start. Captain Philip concluded with expressing the approval of the bearing and performance of duty of all his officers. The Gloucester's Plucky Fight. Lieutenant Commander Richard Wainwright, formerly of the Maine when that ship was destroyed in Havana harbor, and who commanded the Gloucester, the converted yacht, in the plucky fight with Cervera's two torpedo-boat destroyers, reported as follows: It was the plain duty of the Gloucester to look after the destroyers, and she was held back, gaining steam, until they appeared at the entrance. The Indiana poured in a hot fire from all her secondary battery upon the destroyers, but Captain Taylor's signal, " Gunboats close in," gave security that we would not be fired upon by our own ships. The escape of the Gloucester was due mainly to the accuracy and rapidity of the fire. The efficiency of this fire, as well as that of the ship generally, was largely due to the intelligent and unremitting efforts of the executive officer, Lieutenant Harry P. Huse. The result is more to his credit when it is remembered that a large proportion of the officers and men were untrained when the Gloucester was commissioned. Throughout the action he was on the bridge and carried out my orders with great coolness. That we 580 CAPTAINS TELL OF OUR VICTORY. were able to close in with the destroyers-and until we did so they were not seriously injured-was largely due to the skill and constant attention of Passed Assistant Engineer, George W. McElroy. The blowers were put on and the speed increased to seventeen knots without causing a tube to leak or a brass to heat. Lieutenant Thomas C. Wood, Lieutenant George H. Norman, Jr., and Ensign John T. Edson, not only controlled the fire of the guns in their divisions and prevented the waste of ammunition, but they also did some excellent shooting themselves. Acting Assistant Surgeon J. F. Bransford took charge of one of the guns and fired it himself occasionally. Acting Assistant Paymaster Alexander Brown had charge of the two Colt guns, firing one himself, and they did excellent work. Assistant Engineer A. M. Proctor carried my orders from the bridge and occasionally fired a gun, when I found it was not being served quite satisfactorily. All were cool and active at a time when they could have had but little hope of escaping uninjured. Lieutenants Wood and Norman, Ensign Edson and Assistant Engineer Proctor were in charge of the boats engaged in saving life. They all risked their lives repeatedly in boarding and remaining near the two destroyers and the two armored cruisers when their guns were being discharged by the heat and their magazines and boilers were exploding. They also showed great skill in landing and taking off the prisoners through the surf. The wounded and exhausted prisoners were well and skillfully tended by Assistant Surgeon Bransford, assisted by Ensign Edson, who is also a surgeon. The admiral, his officers and men were treated with all consideration and care possible. They were fed and clothed as far as our limited means would permit. Part the Oregon Took. Captain Clark, of the famous Oregon, reported as follows: I have the honor to report that at 9.30 A. M. yesterday the Spanish fleet was discovered standing out of the harbor of Santiago de Cuba. They turned to the westward and opened fire, to which our ships CAPTAINS TELL OF OUR VICTORY. 681 replied vigorously. For a short time there was an almost continuous flight of projectiles over this ship, but when our line was fairly engaged, and the Iowa had made a swift advance as if to ram or close, the enemy's fire became defective in train as well as range. The ship was only struck three times, and at least two of them were by fragments of shells. We had no casualties. As soon as it was evident that the enemy's ships were trying to break through and escape to the westward we went ahead at full speed with the determination of carrying out to the utmost your order: " If the enemy tries to escape the ships must close and engage as soon as possible and endeavor to sink his vessels or force them to run ashore." We soon passed all our ships, except the Brooklyn, bearing the broad pennant of Commodore Schley. At first we only used our main battery, but when it was discovered that the enemy's torpedo boats were following their ships we used our rapid-fire guns as well as the six upon them with telling effect. Driven Headlong on the Beach. As we ranged up near the sternmost of their ships she headed for the beach, evidently on fire. We raked her as we passed, pushing on for the next ahead, using our starboard guns as they were brought to bear, and before we had her fairly abeam she, too, was making for the beach. The two remaining vessels were now some distance ahead, but our speed had increased to sixteen knots, and our fire, added to that of the Brooklyn, soon sent another, the Vizcaya, to the shore in flames. Only the Cristobal Colon was left, and for a time it seemed as if she might escape, but when we opened with our forward turret guns anrJ the Brooklyn followed she began to edge in towards the coast and her capture or destruction was assured. As she struck the beach her flag came down and the Brooklyn signaled " cease firing," following it with " congratulations for the grand victory; thanks for your splendid assistance." The Brooklyn sent a boat to her, and when the admiral came up with the New York and Texas and Vixen she was taken possession 582 CAPTAINS TELL OF OUR VICTORY. of. A prize crew was put on board from this ship under Lieutenant Commander Cogswell, the executive officer, but before I I p. M. the ship, which had been filling in spite of all efforts to stop leaks, was abandoned, and just as the crew left her she went over on her side. I cannot speak in too high terms of the bearing and conduct of all on board this ship. When they found the Oregon had pushed to the front and was hurrying to a succession of conflicts with the enemy's vessels if they could be overtaken and would engage, their enthusiasm was intense. As these vessels were so much more heavily armored than the Brooklyn, they might have concentrated upon and overpowered her, and consequently I am persuaded that but for the way the officers and men of the Oregon steamed and steered the ship and fought and supplied her batteries, the Colon and perhaps the Vizcaya would have escaped. Therefore I feel that they rendered meritorious service to the country, and while I cannot mention the name of each officer and man individually, I am going to append a list of the officers, with their stations that they occupied, hoping that they may be of service to them should the claims of others for advancement above them ever be considered. The Iowa Fired the First Shot. Captain Evans' official statement of his ship's work in the destruction of Cervera's fleet was as follows: I have the honor to make the following report of the engagement with the Spanish squadron off Santiago de Cuba on the 3d of July. On the morning of the 3d, while the crew was at quarters for Sunday inspection, the leading vessel of the Spanish squadron was sighted at 9.30 coming out of the harbor of Santiago de Cuba. Signal "Enemy's ships coming out" was immediately hoisted and a gun fired to attract attention. The call to general quarters was sounded immediately, the battery made ready for firing, and the engines rung full speed ahead. The position of this vessel at the time of sighting the squadron was the usual blockading station off the entrance of the harbor, Morro CAPTAINS TELL OF OUR VICTORY. 683 Castle bearing about north and distant about three to four miles. The steam at this time in the boilers was sufficient for a speed of five knots. After sighting the leading vessel, the Infanta Maria Teresa, Admiral Cervera's flagship, it was observed that she was followed in succession by the remaining three vessels of the Spanish squadron, the Vizcaya, Cristobal Colon and Almirante Oquendo. The Spanish ships moved at a speed of about eight to ten knots, which was steadily increased as they cleared the harbor entrance and stood to the westward. They maintained a distance of about 800 yards between vessels. The squadron moved with precision, and stations were well kept. Immediately upon sighting the leading vessel fires were spread and the Iowa headed toward the leading Spanish ship. About 9.40 the first shot was fired from this ship at a distance of about 6,ooo yards. The course of this vessel was so laid that the range speedily diminished. A number of shots were fired at ranges varying between 6,ooo and 4,000 yards. The range was rapidly reduced to 2,500 yards and subsequently to 2,000 and to 1,200 yards. Heavy Broadsides From the Iowa. When it was certain that the Maria Teresa would pass ahead of us, the helm was put to starboard, and the starboard broadside delivered at a range of 2,500 yards. The helm was then put to port, and the ship headed across the bow of the second ship, and as she drew ahead the helm was again put to starboard, and she received in turn the full weight of our starboard broadside at a range of about 1,800 yards. The Iowa was again headed off with port helm. for the third ship, and as she approached the helm was put to starboard until our course was approximately that of the Spanish ship. In this position, at a range of 1,400 yards, the fire of the entire battery, including rapid-fire guns, was poured into the enemy's ship. About o1 o'clock the enemy's torpedo-boat destroyers Furor and Pluton were observed to have left the harbor, and to be following the Spanish squadron. At the time they were observed, and in fact 384 CAPTAINS TELL OF OUR VICTORY. most of the time that they were under fire, they were at a distance varying from 4,500 and 4,000 yards. As soon as they were discovered the secondary battery of the ship was turned upon them, while the main battery continued to engage the Vizcaya, Oquendo and Maria Teresa. The fire of the main battery of the ship, when the range was below 2,500 yards, was most effective and destructive, and, after a continuance of this fire for perhaps twenty minutes, it was noticed that the Maria Teresa and Oquendo were in flames, and were being headed for the beach. Their colors were struck about 10.20, and they were beached about eight miles west of Santiago. About the same time (about 10.25) the fire of this vessel, together with that of the Gloucester and another smaller vessel, proved so destructive that one of the torpedo-boat destroyers (Pluton) was sunk, and the Furor was so much damaged that she was run upon the rocks. Rescuing Defeated Spaniards. After having passed, at 10.35, the Oquendo and Maria Teresa, on fire and ashore, this vessel continued to chase and fire upon the Vizcaya until 10.36, when signal to cease firing was sounded on board, it having been discovered that the Vizcaya had at length struck her colors. At I I o'clock the Iowa arrived in the vicinity of the Vizcaya, which had been run ashore, and it was evident that she could not catch the Cristobal Colon and that the Oregon, Brooklyn and New York would, two steam cutters and three cutters were immediately hoisted out and sent to the Vizcaya to rescue her crew. Our boats succeeded in bringing off a large number of officers and men of that ship's company, and in placing many of them on board the torpedo boat Ericsson and the auxiliary dispatch vessel Hist. About I 1.30 the New York passed in chase of the Cristobal Colon, which was endeavoring to escape from the Oregon, Brooklyn and Texas. We received on board this vessel from the Vizcaya Captain Eulate, the commanding officer, and twenty-three officers, together with about 248 petty officers and men, CAPTAINS TELL OF OUR VICTORY. 585 The battery behaved well in all respects. The dashpot of the forward I2-inch gun, damaged in the engagement of the 2d, having been replaced the same day by one of the old dashpots, which gave no trouble during the engagement. After having received on board the rescued crew of the Vizcaya, this vessel proceeded to the eastward and resumed the blockading station in obedience to the signal made by the commander-in-chief about I 1.30. Upon arriving on the blockading station the Gloucester transferred to this vessel Rear-Admiral Cervera, his flag-lieutenant and the commanding officers of the torpedo-boat destroyers Furor and Pluton, and also one man of the Oquendo's crew, rescued by the Gloucester. The officers and men of this ship behaved admirably. No set of men could have done more gallant service. I cannot express my admiration for my magnificent crew. So long as the enemy showed his flag they fought like American seamen, but when the flag came down they were as gentle and tender as American women. In conclusion, sir, allow me to congratulate you on the complete victory achieved by your fleet. CHAPTER XL. Daring Deeds of American Heroes. HE war with Spain brought many men to the front who were unknown before, but whose gallant deeds commanded universal admiration and praise. Conspicuous among these was Lieutenant Hobson, whose famous exploit in sinking the ship at the mouth of Santiago Harbor was thus celebrated by Edward G. Draper: We have read of the noble six hundred Who rode to the gate of hell; How cannon roared right and left of them, And many a noble man fell. They were ordered, and each did his duty; A soldier must always obeyBut the volunteer eight Yankee seamen Have eclipsed the six hundred to-day. There was death both below and above them, Torpedoes and bullets and shell; They steamed from our fleet in the midst of it, And their comrades wished them farewell. God guarded these kings of the ocean, He honored the brave and the true; The nation salutes to their honor; The enemy honored them, too. Hobson and His Heroic Band. The men who accompanied Hobson on his perilous expedition were Daniel Montague, George Charette, J. C. Murphy, Oscar Deignan, John P. Phillips, John Kelly and H. Clausen. The latter, a coxswain of the New York, took part in the expedition against orders. They were all captured by the Spaniards, but the Spanish Admiral, in recognition of their bravery, sent word to the American Admiral, under a flag of truce, that he was willing to exchange the 586 DARING DEEDS OF AMERICAN HEROES. 687 prisoners, and assuring the American commander chat they would be treated with the greatest kindness. Lieutenant Hobson, assistant naval constructor, was born at Greensboro, Ala., on the I7th of August, 1870, and was appointed, after a competitive examination, to the Naval Academy in May, 1885. He was the youngest member of his class, but graduated at the head of his eighteen companions. He studied engineering, under the auspices of the United States Government, in France, and was made assistant naval constructor in I891. He is the author of a semi-political work entitled, " The Situation and Outlook in Europe," and was assigned to the flagship New York when RearAdmiral Sampson sailed for the West Indies. Powell Faced Great Dangers. Ensign J. W. Powell, of Oswego, N. Y., also of the New York, with a steam launch, crept close under the guns of Morro Castle to take off the heroes of the Merrimac, and remained there pluckily until daylight discovered his position, without seeing a trace of the Merrimac's daring crew. To have remained longer would have been sheer madness. As it was, he retired under a heavy fire from Mauser rifles and the heavy guns of the batteries. Ensign Powell distinctly saw the spars of the wrecked ship in the middle of the channel. Lieutenant Hobson planted her at the very point he had selected. Cushing's memorable feat in blowing up the Confederate ram Albemarle is overmatched by Hobson's act, for Cushing's men crept up Albemarle Sound at midnight, and fell upon an unsuspecting foe. Hobson took his ship, over three hundred feet long, into the very focus of a dozen batteries, with the enemy at the guns, and blew her up. Discovery at the end of his journey was inevitable, and death was almost certain. No name, therefore, can be written higher on war's temple of fame than his. Like Cushing's deed, Hobson's desperate undertaking was conceived by him who executed it. When Rear-Admiral Sampson joined Commocore Schley at Santiago, the latter had already ascertained that it would be impossible for the fleet to crawl into the rat 588 DARING DEEDS OF AMERICAN HEROES. hole in which the Spanish fleet had taken refuge. The mines across the entrance, and the batteries which commanded it, made the mere contemplation of it an act of folly. Commodore Schley was inclined to think the dynamite cruiser Vesuvius might be able to countermine, but the ships would have to go in single file, and if one were sunk in the channel the progress of the others of the fleet would be blocked. It was then that Lieutenant Hobson conceived the scheme of sinking a big collier across the harbor entrance, and asked permission to be allowed to execute it himself. It seemed certain death and almost certain failure, as the odds were overwhelmingly against reaching the entrance before discovery; but Hobson was so enthusiastic that his confidence was infectious, and the admiral finally reluctantly gave his consent. Hobson's Own Story. The result of this daring deed has already been detailed in a preceding chapter. It is conspicuous among the renowned exploits of naval warfare. When Hobson was exchanged and sat once more among his messmates he told the story of his experience, his marvelous escape and his imprisonment in Morro Castle, watching the shells explode outside his cell under a murderous fire. "I did not miss the entrance to the harbor," he said, "as Ensign Powell in the launch supposed. I turned east until I got my bearings and then made for it, straight in. Then came the firing. It was grand, flashing out first from one side of the harbor and then from the other, from those big guns on the hills, the Vizcaya, lying inside the harbor, joining in. "Troops from Santiago had rashed down when the news of the Merrimac's coming was telegraphed and soon lined the foot of the cliffs, firing wildly across and killing each other with the cross fire. The Merrimac's steering gear broke as she got to Estrella Point. Only three of the torpedoes on her side exploded when I touched the button. A huge submarine mine caught her full amidships, hurling the water high in the air and tearing a great rent in the Merrimac's side. " Her stern ran upon Estrella Point. Chiefly owing to the work DARING DEEDS OF AMERICAN HEROES. 589 done by the mine she began to sink slowly. At that time she was across the channel, but before she settled the tide drifted her around. We were all aft, lying on the deck. Shells and bullets whistled around. Six-inch shells from the Vizcaya came tearing into the Merrimac, crashing into wood and iron and passing clear through while the plunging shots from the fort broke through her decks. "'Not a man must move,' I said, and it was only owing to the splendid discipline of the men that we all were not killed, as the shells rained over us and minutes became hours of suspense. The men's mouths grew parched, but we must lie there till daylight, I told them. Now and again one or the other of the men lying with his face glued to the deck and wondering whether the next shell would not come our way would say: 'Hadn't we better drop off now, sir?' but I said: 'Wait till daylight.' Quiet Under an Awful Fire. "It would have been impossible to get the catamaran anywhere but to the shore, where the soldiers stood shooting, and I hoped that by daylight we might be recognized and saved. The grand old Merrimac kept sinking. I wanted to go forward and see the damage done there, where nearly all the fire was directed, but one man said that if I rose it would draw all the fire on the rest. So I lay motionless. It was splendid the way these men behaved. The fire of the soldiers, the batteries and the Vizcaya was awful. " When the water came up on the Merrimac's decks the catamaran floated amid the wreckage, but she was still made fast to the boom, and we caught hold of the edge and clung on, our heads only being above water. One man thought we were safer right there; it was quite light; the firing had ceased, except that on the New York launch, and I feared Ensign Powell and his men had been killed. "A Spanish launch came toward the Merrimac. We agreed to capture her and run. Just as she came close the Spaniards saw us, and a half-dozen marines jumped up and pointed their rifles at our heads. 'Is there any officer in that boat to receive a surrender of prisoners of war?' I shouted. An old man leaned out under the 590 DARkiu DEEDS OF AMERICAN HEROES. awning and waved his hand. It was Admiral Cervera. The marines lowered their rifles and we were helped into the launch. " Then we were put in cells in Morro Castle. It was a grand sight a few days later to see the bombardment, the shells striking and bursting around the Morro. Then we were taken into Santiago. I had the court-martial room in the barracks. My men were kept prisoners in the hospital. From my window I could see the army moving, and it was terrible to see those poor lads marching across the open, and being shot down by the Spaniards in the rifle-pits in front of me. Yesterday the Spaniards became as polite as could be. I knew something was coming, and then I was exchanged." The Gallant Wainwright. To the names of Hobson and his plucky companions must be added the name of Commander Wainwright, whose remarkable fight in the naval battle of Santiago placed him high among the heroes of the war. " Mark my words, if Dick Wainwright ever gets to close quarters with a Spanish ship there'll be a fight to the finish; and, sink or swim, Wainwright will make a name for himself that will live as long as there is a navy." The prediction was made only a short time before the war broke out, by a naval officer in Key West; it was verified on July 3d, off Santiago. From that awful moment on the night of February 15, when Wainwright stood beside his captain on the sinking quarter-deck of the Maine and gave the order to lower away the boats, he looked forward to some such opportunity as that which has now linked his name with the Gloucester as indissolubly as Hobson's is linked with the Merrimac. No man knew better than he the ghastly horrors that followed that night in Havana harbor. No man was more certain than he that the Maine disaster was not an accident, and none was better qualified to reach a just conclusion. During all the long weeks following the disaster it was Wainwright who toiled beside the wreck and above it, from dawn till dark, directing the divers' work, recovering the DARING DEEDS OF AMERICAN HEROES. 591 bodies of the dead, familiar with every development of evidence, the confidant of every grim secret brought to light by the submarine research. April 5, long after Captain Sigsbee and all his other subordinates had been relieved of their painful task, Wainwright, the sole surviving officer of the Maine left in Havana harbor, pulled down the weatherstained flag that had floated day and night from the shrouds of the wrecked battleship. When Wainwright left Havana the United States Government relinquished its sovereignty over the Maine. Every Inch a Sailor. The personality of the man who, with his battery of little sixpounders, braved the fire of Spain's dreaded destroyers, and sent the Pluton and the Furor ashore ablaze and riddled, is of no more than passing interest. Wainwright is a sailor to the core. Six feet tall or more, but a trifle too lean to look athletic, he is, nevertheless, a man for action. He is one of those men whose anatomy seems all brains and bone and sinew. Still on the junior side of middle life, he is old enough to have a face that impresses one as serious, until the keen blue eyes light up with merriment or, it may be, with scorn. As he appeared after the wreck of the Maine, his skin was bronzed to the color of leather by exposure to the tropical sun. He always wore a weather-beaten undress naval coat, much the worse for wear. Indeed, he had no other left from the wreck than the one he had on his back. He was the busiest man in Havana harbor except, perchance, the good chaplain, Father Chidwick, and the undertaker, but he always had time for a smiling greeting and a firm hand grasp, and was ever ready to talk except when questions intruded on forbidden ground. No man in the service observed more faithfully than he the department's injunction of secrecy on all topics pertaining to the Court of Inquiry. Yet Wainwright's views were no great secret. You could read them in his rigid face and hard-set jaw as he went about his gruesome work. Captain Sigsbee betrayed no secret when he said, speaking of his late executive officer: " Wain.r-igzht felt very vindictive about the 592 DARING DEEDS OF AMERICAN HEROES. Maine disaster, and was always longing for a chance to get at the Spanish. I used to laugh at his bellicosity, it was so extreme. It was not the kind, however, which expends itself wholly in talk." Verily, if ever a man remembered the Maine " Dick " Wainwright did. Big-hearted, as are most brave men, the death of 266 of his gallant subordinates left a wound that would not heal. He was as popular with them as with his fellow-officers. Though a strict disciplinarian, the Maine's executive officer during the two months he had been attached to the ship in that capacity had won his way to their hearts. Lacking somewhat the charming personality, the magnetism and the rare conversational powers of his chief, Captain Sigsbee, Wainwright had endeared himself by his sterling, manly qualities and unassuming manner. He was prompt always in action, a master of the duties of his profession, firm without severity, strict, but not a martinet; dignified always, but haughty never-in short, an almost perfect type of the trained American seaman. Quarter-deck and forecastle alike voted him a thoroughbred officer. A Generous Foe. Small wonder the hero of the Gloucester felt that he had a long score to settle when he plunged his little pleasure yacht into the thick of the fight and pumped his baby battery against the ribs of every Spanish craft in sight! But Wainwright was a generous foe. As Bayard Taylor has said, "The bravest are the tenderest." When the gray-haired admiral of Spain was brought, a prisoner of war, aboard the Gloucester, broken in spirit and wounded in body, Wainwright received him at the gangway with outstretched hand: " I congratulate you, sir, upon having made as gallant a fight as was ever witnessed on the sea." Generous, chivalric words, these, and we can well imagine the cordial hand grasp that attended them and the unstudied courtesy with which the commander of the victorious Gloucester turned over the privacy of his own cabin while the defeated admiral was left alone with his grief. Wainwright's taciturn DARING DEEDS OF AMERICAN HEROES. 693 face is a stranger to tears, but he could understand the sorrow of one who weeps for his slaughtered comrades and his stricken ship. Commander Wainwright, among other officers, was detailed to write a treatise discussing the following question: " If about to go into action, what disposition would you make of your small boats with a view of securing the greatest safety of your men?" Fighting Not a Safe Business. Wainwright's reply was an able one. The pith of it, however, was substantially contained in the following: "If about to go into action in comparatively shallow water I should, if time permitted, strip the vessel clear of her small boats and moor them safely at a distance until after the fight. If pressed for time I should simply put them adrift. If about to go into action in deep water I should set my boats adrift anyhow, leaving the ship and her officers and crew to take the chances of war. Fighting cannot be made a safe business." Mr. Wainwright probably inherits his fighting instinct. He is a son of old Commodore Wainwright, and comes of good fighting stock. His appointment to the Naval Academy was from the District of Columbia. Another brave fighter who displayed great gallantry and unfortunately lost his life in the battle of San Juan, was Captain "Buckey " O'Neil, of the Rough Riders. He fell in the terrible charge up the hillside and died fighting for the flag. A brave spirit and a unique character, "Buckey" O'Neil was known from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and his epitaph cannot be better epitomized than in his own graphic phrase, written just before the departure from Tampa: "Who would not gamble for a new star in the flag?" "Buckey" gambled and lost, and the Rough Riders mourned a gallant fighter, a man who never knew fear, who had shot five men in his day, and who went to the front at the head of three hundred intrepid Arizona citizens, all as anxious and as proud to die as " Buckey" died-with his boots on and his face to the enemy. William Owen O'Neil was born of Irish parentage in St. Louis in I860. Going East with his mother and brothers, he graduated from 2N 594 DARING DEEDS OF AMERICAN HEROES. the National Law School of the District of Columbia. Later, out of seventy two applicants for assistant paymaster of the navy, he passed at the head. There was some delay in making the appointment, and O'Neil, chafing for action, went to Arizona, where, at different periods, he edited the Arizona Miner, the Phwnix Herald and the Hoof and Horn, a cattleman's organ. Clearheaded and somewhat prophetic, he decided that Arizona was the place to get a foothold. He got a half interest in several good mining properties, and his wonderful energy and leadership began to assert itself. The miners came to him to settle their brawls; the rangers accepted him as the court of final appeal, so equitable and just were his rulings. Always Armed and a Good Shot. Finally he was elected Judge of Yavapai county, and sat on the bench for some time. Subsequently he was elected Sheriff for three consecutive terms, and while in that office demonstrated his courage and fearlessness. None of the desperadoes of Arizona ran amuck more than once in Sheriff O'Neil's bailiwick. O'Neil was the bestarmed man in the Territory and also the best shot. Finally, after many ups and downs, with desperate chances and five fights with six-shooters, in which he was a terror to law-breakers, he retired as Sheriff of Yavapai county and moved to Prescott, Arizona, where he ran three times for Congress, being defeated in each instance by a small majority. His next political venture was to run for Mayor of Prescott. He was elected unanimously, and the only vote against him was cast by himself. Every man, woman and child in Arizona knew and called him " Buckey," and every one loved him. When the war broke out "Buckey " had been living a somewhat quiet and uneventful life. When Roosevelt's regiment was being formed he quickly decided to raise a company, and he got a quota of troops together with such rapidity that President McKinley sent him a telegram of thanks. There was not a man in Arizona who would not have been glad to die by "Buckey" O'Neil's side. Nearly three hundred cowboys, miners, citizens and politicians of DARING DEEDS OF AMERICAN HEROES. 595 Arizona enlisted under him, and the whole company rode down to San Antonio and was received with open arms. The women of Prescott presented him with a silk flag (the first raised near Sevilla, Cuba), and the men presented him with a revolver. Judge Ling made the presentation speech in these words: "Mayor O'Neil, we want to give you a mount. It is not full grown, but merely a Colt. We tell you that it bucks. Every time l it bucks, head it toward a Spaniard, and you can rest assured that one more Spaniard will bid his god-father, the devil, good morning." Ready to Take the Chances. "Buckey " then went to the front, ready to give his Colt all the bucking in sight. He wrote his friend, Thurlow Weed Barnes, a letter from San Antonio, which closed with these characteristic lines: "I am ready to take all the chances. Who would not gamble for a new star in the flag?" "Buckey's " sobriquet was acquired through his willingness to "buck " any game ever heard of. He "bucked " every obstacle in his path, too, and "bucked" his way to prosperity and into the respect of his fellow-man. His father was Captain John O'Neil, of the famous Irish Brigade of the Second Army Corps during the war of the rebellion. His brother, Eugene Brady O'Neil, went to Manilla a first lieutenant of volunteers. His wife had good reason to mourn the man who, no matter where he happened to be when away from home, wrote her a letter every day. Even in his pursuit of criminals over the deserts of Arizona and Colorado "Buckey" penned a few lines to Pauline on a scrap of paper and sent it back by any stranger whom he met on the highway. "Buckey" was ever brave. At Baiquiri Corporal Cobb and Private English, of Troop D, Tenth Cavalry, fell from the lighter and dropped in the sea. "Buckey" instantly sprang overboard and was swimming with strong strokes to their aid, when the lighter swung around in the tide and crushed both before the courageous "Buckey " could reach them. When O'Neil was Sheriff of Yavapai county he started out one 596 DARING DEEDS OF AMERICAN HEROES. day to capture a noted train robber. " Buckey" followed the man, each being on horseback, for over 300 miles, and, although he gained, still the man kept a lead, and, finally, as the Mexican boundary was almost reached-a boundary that meant freedom to the fugitive" Buckey " arrived at a farm house just toward nightfall, and discovered that the man had stolen the best horse from the stable and gone on, about five or six hours in advance. Though worn out, it was plainly " Buckey's "only chance, and that a slim one, to dash right ahead without even waiting for a meal, and he at once took up the trail that led him directly out upon the last stretch of country this side of the Mexican frontier. It was a trackless desert, and " Buckey " had not gone four miles when he saw, in the bright moonlight, a strange figure approaching. "Buckey" Takes a Prisoner. Riding up, it proved to be the man he sought, who had discovered and recognized him, and immediately upon so doing had detached from behind him on the horse a woman whom he had been carrying, and straight away a fusillade between the two men began. It was sharp, quick work, and in a moment " Buckey" had shot his antagonist in the shoulder and the man had thrown up his hands. Making fast the prisoner, "Buckey" turned his attention to the woman, and discovered that she was a school teacher from the hamlet he had lately passed through, and that the train robber had run across her, lost, and fainting from fatigue and exposure in the desert, whereupon he, although in sight of liberty, had restored the woman by giving her whisky and had then put her on his horse and retraced his steps, in order to get her back within easy reach of her home. This accounted for his capture. The woman begged "Buckey " to let the man go, but, although sorely tempted to do so, he refused, and conveyed his prisoner back to Arizona, where he was sentenced to life imprisonment at Yuma. The woman was a well-born New England girl. As soon as her health was restored she went to Arizona, besought the Governor to pardon the prisoner, and finally succeeded in securing the pardon, DARING DEEDS OF AMERICAN HEROES. 597 though she had to camp on the Governor's trail for a long time to induce him to order that act of clemency and poetic justice. Another exploit which marks the one who performed it as a hero will hereafter be associated with the name of Ensign Irving Gillis, who captured a torpedo by plunging overboard from the deck of the torpedo boat Porter, thus saving it from destruction. Gillis came from New York. The story of the torpedo and the ensign furnishes good reading and shows the American people what kind of boys we have in our navy. It shows the world that on our ships there are heroes on every deck. But its principal object is to tell the thrilling tale of how the boy from the Empire State took desperate chances and saved the officers and crew of the Porter from an explosion that would have sent them to the bottom of the se.-, Torpedoes Turned Loose. Let it be known that Commodore Schley had bottled Cervera's fleet tightly in the harbor of Santiago, and that there was no safe way for them to get out. In semi-circle around the entrance to the bottle hovered the American ships, dull and stolid by day, black and towering by night. On the bosom of the Caribbean these monsters tossed and rolled in the swell and Cervera chafed within the confines that had been mapped out for him. One night the torpedo tubes of the Pluton opened, and several Schwartzkopf torpedoes with their war noses on started for the entrance of the harbor. There was a strong ebb tide running, and Cervera figured that they would pass through the channel out to sea, and, guided by the Providence that Spain has always considered among its protectors, run into some of the American ships and destroy them. It was not fated, however, that this sort of assassination should occur, for, after exhausting their motive power, the misplaced emissaries of destruction ceased their direct action and floated helplessly around in the trough of the sea, passing through the channel of the harbor out into the open. 598 DARING DEEDS OF AMERICAN HEROES. Captain Fremont, of the Porter, with his glass in hand, and Ensign Gillis by his side, stepped to the gunwales of his boat from the main companionway and scanned the scene. Shoreward from the staff of the Morro and along the batteries of Spain floated the flag of Alphonso, while up and down the coast lay the ships of Sampson flying the American colors and waiting for something to occur. Indeed, something was to occur in a few moments, something that would thrill the officers and men of the Porter, for in a very few moments Captain Fremont detected something coming toward his ship on the swell of the tide. It glistened aft and was black and porpoise-like forward. He did not require his glass to detect a Schwartzkopf torpedo floating along toward the Porter. It was not moving rapidly; but it seemed to come out of the gray mists of the morning as though seeking for something to destroy. The Ensign Leaped into the Sea. Ensign Gillis saw it, too. In almost a single motion he had tossed his officer's coat on the deck and had slipped from his canvas shoes. With his hands on the rail he leaned forward and watched the terrible instrument coming toward the ship, rising and falling, and still approaching, nose on, with each swell of the sea. The instant after she struck the Porter there would be nothing left to tell the tale or show where the ship had gone down. Gillis clutched the rail firmly and prepared to make the jump. " Don't do it, Gillis; she's got her war nose on!" exclaimed the Captain, reaching for his ensign. " I'll fix that, sir," replied Gillis, leaping into the sea before his superior officer could restrain him. With a couple of strong strokes he reached the side of the Schwartzkopf and circled the nose with his arm. From the deck of the Porter, Captain Fremont gazed breathlessly at the daring boy tossing about in the water beneath him. Gillis quickly turned the nose of the weapon away from the Porter, screwed the firing pin up tightly, so that it could not operate, DARING DEEDS OF AMERICAN HEROES. 599 and then swam back to the side of the torpedo boat, pulling his prize at his side. Lifting his dripping hand from the water he saluted his captain and waited with his arm around the now harmless torpedo for further orders. Instructions were given to have him quickly hauled aboard and the prize was hoisted on the decks while Gillis went below to change his clothing and prepare himself for further duty. There was no ostentation about Gillis and he took the honors calmly that were bestowed upon him by the officers and the respectful crew. No more daring deed has been done during the war, and Rear Admiral Gillis (retired), of the United States Navy, who is the father of the boy, and resides in Delhi, N. Y., can well be proud of the youth. He was graduated at Annapolis from New York, and went to the front to serve his country and his flag at any cost. Captain Fremont sums him up in the few words: " He has nothing in his composition but nerve." The war is surely building up a new generation of heroes, and Ensign Irving Van Gordon Gillis stands in the front ranks. CHAPTER XLI. The Surrender of Santiago. DURING the ten days following the battles of San Juan and El Caney and the destruction of Cervera's fleet the American forces invested the city of Santiago, pushing their intrenchments nearer to the town, until it was as nearly surrounded as it could be. This was done to prevent the escape of General Toral and his army toward the northwest. Meanwhile General Shafter made repeated demands for the Spanish General to surrender, but the demands were rejected until July i4th, when the fall of Santiago was announced, and the stirring news was received with great satisfaction in all parts of our country. This brilliant achievement of our land forces was regarded as an important step toward the ending of the war and a return to peace. Deep Intrenchments and Wire Fences. At first it was supposed that the only possible way of capturing Santiago would be by direct assault. It was known that the Spanish army had made loud boasts of being able to hold the place in spite of any force that could be brought against them. The town was surrounded by an intricate network of intrenchments, and these were further rendered more formidable by a perfect web of barbed wire I fences. Our American officers naturally shrunk from any attempt to overcome these obstacles and take the town at the point of the bayonet. Such an attempt would be sure to result in great loss of life, yet it was resolved to make the assault unless the Spanish general should see the folly of resistance and should voluntarily surrender. On July I4th "Santiago surrendered at three," was the significant official announcement that reached the President at 3.6 in the afternoon. It came in a dispatch from a Signal Service official at Playa del Este, and told the result of the meeting of the capitulation 600 r SURRENDER OF SANTIAGO. 601 commissioners in the most brief and concise form of any of the numerous despatches laid before the President during the day. A few minutes after this message had come to the President the following was received by Chief Signal Service Officer Greely: " Playa.-General Greely, Washington: Santiago has surrendered." The President was fully determined that there should be no further delay in capturing the city, and had not General Toral surrendered he would have been vigorously attacked. In the morning when General Shafter sent a dispatch saying that General Toral had asked for the appointment of commissioners a conference was held at the White House. It lasted only about ten minutes before an answer to the despatch was formed. In this despatch General Shafter was instructed to carry out the orders last sent him, namely, to secure the surrender of Santiago by noon or to renew the attack upon the city. It was under. stood that the purpose of the President in sending this reply was while securing the surrender of the city to leave to General Shafter the arrangement of all the details of surrender. Extent of Territory Surrendered. Soon another message came as follows: "Have just returned from interview with General Toral. He agrees to surrender upon the basis of being returned to Spain. This proposition embraces all of Eastern Cuba from Asseraderos on the south to Sagua on the north, via Palma, with practically the Fourth Army Corps. Commissioners met this afternoon at 2.30 to definitely arrange the terms. "W. R. SHAFTER, Major-General." The territory surrendered by General Toral includes about onethird of the province of Santiago de Cuba. The western line, as described by General Shafter, begins at Asseraderos, a point on the southern coast about twenty-five miles west of the City of Santiago de Cuba, and runs almost due north fifteen miles to Dos Palmas, thence northeast to the City of Sagua de Tanamo, on the northern coast. It comprises something like 5000 square miles, with a population exceeding I25,000 when the country is in its normal state. It 602 SURRENDER OF SANTIAGO. includes the important cities of Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo, Sagu de Tanamo, and Baracoa. By the terms of the surrender the United States agreed to transport back to Spain the entire command of General Toral, comprising between ten and twelve thousand men. We are able to furnish a reliable account of the preliminaries that preceded the surrender. It appears that on Monday, July I Ith, General Shafter did not again demand the unconditional surrender of Santiago, which General Toral had refused on Sunday; but he offered, as an alternative proposition, to accept the capitulation of the enemy and to transport the Spanish officers and troops to Spain, they to leave all their arms behind. He offered also to accept their parole. This proposition General Toral declined. Notable Council of War. It was decided next morning to hold a personal interview with General Toral. General Miles and his staff, accompanied by General Shafter and his staff, rode out to the front shortly before eight o'clock under a flag of truce. A request for a personal interview with the Spanish commanderin-chief was made and acceded to, and about nine o'clock General Miles, General Shafter, General Wheeler, General Gilmour, Colonel Morse, Captain Wiley and Colonel Mestre rode up, passed over our entrenchments and went down into the valley beyond. They were met by General Toral and his chief of staff under a spreading mango tree, at the bottom of the valley, about half way between the lines. The interview that followed lasted almost an hour. The situation was placed frankly before General Toral, and he was offered the alternative of being sent home with his garrison or being attacked by the combined American forces. The only condition imposed was that he should not destroy the existing fortifications and should leave his arms behind. This latter condition the Spanish general, who does not speak English, explained through his interpreter, was impossible. He said the 'aws of Spain gave a general no discretion. He might abandon a place when he found it untenable, SURRENDER OF SANTIAGO. 603 but he could not leave his arms behind without subjecting himself to the penalty of being court-martialled and shot. His government, he said, had granted him permission to evacuate Santiago. That was all. Further than that he was powerless to go. Without saying so in words, General Miles stated that the tenor of General Toral's remarks all betrayed his realization that he could not hold out long. When General Shafter explained that our reinforcements were coming up, that he was completely surrounded, and that new batteries were being posted, General Toral simply shrugged his shoulders. "I am but a subordinate," said he, "and I obey my government. If it is necessary we can die at our posts." The Spanish General. General Toral is sixty years old, with a strong, rugged face, and fine soldierly bearing. His brave words inspired a feeling of respect and admiration in the hearts of his adversaries. Nevertheless, the Spanish General's anxiety to avoid further sacrifice of life in his command was manifest, and he did not hesitate to ask for time to communicate the situation to Madrid, although he dubiously shook his head when he spoke of the probable response. During the course of an interview General Toral said the bombardment of Sunday and Monday had done little damage. He admitted the shells from the guns of the fleet had destroyed four houses, but he asserted that only half a dozen soldiers of the garrison had been injured. He also volunteered the information when General Miles gallantly inquired after General Linares' condition that the latter would probably have his left arm amputated at the shoulder. General Miles at the interview did not attempt to assume the direction of the negotiations, but, as General of the United States Army, he vouched for the conditions General Shafter offered. Upon the return of our commanders to the American lines an important consultation was held at General Wheeler's headquarters. Generals Garcia and Castillo, with their staff, had ridden around from the extreme right to see General Miles. It was a notable group gathered under the protecting awning of General Wheeler's tent. C04 SURRENDER OF SANTIAGO. After the first announcement that General Toral would surrender, and commissioners had been appointed to arrange the details, the negotiations were halted by the urgent request of the Spanish commander that his troops be allowed to retain their arms. This request was peremptorily refused by our Government, and after further parleying, the Spanish government, seeing that continued resistance was useless, consented to the terms proposed by General Shafter. I The formal sanction by the Madrid government of the terms of capitulation unraveled the tangled skeins of demands and counterdemands between the opposing commanders which threatened to end the negotiations and compel a return to arms. Terms of Santiago's Surrender. Th& agreement consisted of nine articles: The first declared that all hostilities should cease pending the agreement of final capitulation. Second. That the capitulation includes all the Spanish forces and the surrender of all war material within the prescribed limits. Third. The transportation of the troops to Spain at the earliest possible moment, each force to be embarked at the nearest port. Fourth. That the Spanish officers shall retain their side arms and the enlisted men their personal property. Fifth. That after the final capitulation the Spanish forces shall assist in the removal of all obstructions to navigation in Santiago harbor. Sixth. That after the final capitulation, the commanding officers shall furnish a complete inventory of all arms and munitions of war, and a roster of all the soldiers in the district. Seventh. That the Spanish general shall be permitted to take the military archives and records with him. Eighth. That all guerrillas and Spanish irregulars shall be permitted to remain in Cuba if they so elect, giving a parole that they will not again take up arms against the United States unless properly released from parole. Ninth. That the Spanish forces shall be permitted to march out SURRENDER OF SANTIAGO. 605 with all the honors of war, depositing their:-ms to be disposed of by the United States in the future, the American commissioners to recommend to their government that the arms of the soldiers be returned to those "who so bravely defended them." On the evening of July I7th the War Department at Washington posted the following despatches from General Shafter: "I have the honor to announce that the American flag has been this instant, I2 o'clock noon, raised over the House of the Civil Government in the city of Santiago. An immense concourse of people was present, a squadron of cavalry and a regiment of infantry presenting arms and a band playing national airs. The light battery fired a salute of twenty-one guns. The Situation. { Perfect order is being maintained by the municipal government. The distress is very great, but there is little sickness in the town. Scarcely any yellow fever. A small gunboat and about two hundred seamen, left by Cervera, have surrendered to me. Obstructions are being removed from the mouth of the harbor. "Upon coming into the city I discovered a perfect entanglement of defences. Fighting as the Spaniards did the first day it would have cost five thousand lives to have taken it. Battalions of Spanish troops have been depositing arms since daylight in the armory over which I have guard. General Toral formally surrendered the plaza and all stores at 9 A.M." Amid impressive ceremonies the Spanish troops laid down their arms between the lines of the Spanish and American forces at nine o'clock in the morning of July 17th. General Shafter and the American division and brigade commanders and their staffs were escorted by a troop of cavalry, and General Toral and his staff by one hundred picked men. Trumpeters on both sides saluted with flourishes. General Shafter returned to General Toral the latter's sword after it had been handed to the American commander. Our troops, lined up at the trenches, were eye-witnesses to the ceremony. General C06 SURRENDVER OF SANTIAGO. Shafter and his escort, accompanied by General Toral, rode through the city, taking formal possession. The city had been sacked, before they arrived, by the Spaniards. General McKibben was appointed temporary military governor. The ceremony of hoisting the Stars and Stripes was worth all the blood and treasure it cost. A vast concourse of Io,ooo people witnessed the stirring and thrilling scene, that will live forever in the minds of all the Americans present. A finer stage-setting for a dramatic episode it would be difficult to imagine. The palace, a picturesque old dwelling, in the Moorish style of architecture, faces the Plaza de la Reina, the principal public square. Opposite rises the imposing Catholic Cathedral. Raising the Stars and Stripes. On one side is a quaint, brilliantly painted building, with broad verandas-the club of San Carlos; on the other a building of much the same description-the Cafe De La Venus. Across the plaza was drawn up the Ninth Infantry, headed by the Sixth Cavalry Band. In the street facing the palace stood a picked troop of the Second Cavalry, with drawn sabres, under command of Captain Brett. Massed on the stone flagging, between the band and the line of horsemen, were the brigade commanders of General Shafter's division, with their staffs. On the red tiled roof of the palace stood Captain McKittrick, Lieutenant Miley and Lieutenant Wheeler; immediately above them, upon the flagstaff, the illuminated Spanish arms and the legend "Vive Alfonso XIII." All about, pressing against the veranda rails, crowding the windows and doors and lining the roofs, were the people of the town, principally women and non-combatants. The chimes of the old cathedral rang out the hour of twelve; the infantry and cavalry presented arms. Every American uncovered, and Captain McKittrick hoisted the Stars and Stripes. As the brilliant folds unfurled in a gentle breeze against a fleckless sky, the cavalry band broke into the strains of "The Star Spangled Banner," making the American pulse leap and the American heart SURRENDER OF SANTIAGO. 607 thrill with joy. At the same instant the sound of the distant booming of Captain Capron's battery, firing a salute of twenty-one guns, drifted in. When the music ceased from all directions around our line came floating across the plaza the strains of the regimental bands and the muffled, hoarse cheers of our troops. The infantry came to "order arms" a moment later, after the flag was up, and the band played "Rally Round the Flag, Boys." Instantly General McKibben called for three cheers for General Shafter, which were given with great enthusiasm, the band playing "Stars and Stripes Forever." Hungry Army of Refugees. Since 4 o'clock in the morning a stream of refugees had been pouring into the city, some naked, and all hungry. Many had fallen by the wayside. The town of Santiago presented a dismal sight. Most of the houses had been sacked and the stores had all been looted and nothing to eat could be had. In the streets of the city, at the entrenchments, at the breastworks and at every hundred feet or so of the barbed wire fences were the living skeletons of Spanish soldiers. Among the arrivals were the German, Japanese and Portuguese Consuls and their families, the British and French Consuls having arrived two days before. Three thousand five hundred men from Manzanillo arrived on July 3d, making the total garrison 7,000. The contact mines in the harbor were removed the day Admiral Cervera left, but two chains of electric mines, one from Estrella Point and the other from Socapa, were still down. Twenty-two thousand refugees were quartered at El Caney, 5,000 at Firmeza and 5,000 at Cuabitas El Bonito and San Vincente, where they had been living for a fortnight. In one case 500 were crowded;into one building. The Spanish troops were encamped two miles outside the city limits, under guard, awaiting their embarkation. The docks were crowded by incoming refugees in a starving condition, awaiting the arrival in the harbor of the Red Cross Society's )teamer State of Texas with eatables. CHAPTER XLII. Noble Work of the Red Cross. THE dark cloud of war which has hung over our country has had a silver lining in the feeling which it has developed for the helpless and suffering. It has brought home to us a keener appreciation of what patriotism means and has aroused a desire to assist those fighting for their country and to devise every possible means of aiding the injured, whether on sea or shore. War has shown clearly what the American people can do in the cause of humanity and it has also shown the wealth of our resources and generosity in caring for our wounded, whether through regular or volunteer channels. While food, clothing and other necessities for the wretched " Reconcentrados " have been collected for shipment to Cuba, the soldiers and sailors have been the objects of solicitation in every State in the Union. In the field a hospital service has been arranged so perfect in its details as to elicit the admiration of medical experts at home and abroad. It has been in use as far as possible, in several of the larger camps of the National Guard and is divided into three departments of medical assistance. Field Hospitals for the Wounded. When a regiment is engaged in battle two men from each company are detailed as stretcher bearers to carry the wounded to the first field hospital, located at a certain distance in the rear of the line of battle. The stretcher bearers, who average about twenty-five to a regiment, are reinforced by about twenty of the hospital corps, the latter body being composed of able-bodied men without arms, who watch for the wounded and carry stretchers to a soldier as soon as he is seen to fall. The " soldier" stretcher bearers remain with their companions, unless the number of wounded increases so that they cannot be immediately taken from the field by the hospital corps. The latter are under 608 NOBLE WORK OF THE RED CROSS. 609 orders from a sergeant who examines the injured man before he is taken away and dresses the wound temporarily if its nature allows such relief. The victim is then removed to the dressing station, where, located out of range of the enemy's fire, another surgeon removes the temporary bandage if necessary. Should amputation be imperative, this is performed, the station being equipped with instruments, as well as medicines, antiseptic solutions and bandages. These dressing stations, which constitute a portion of the second relief department, are connected with the field hospital still farther in the rear by covered ambulance wagons, each containing from three to five swinging cots. They are driven to the dressing stations as often as required, taking the wounded to the hospital referred to. With each patient is sent a brief report from the surgeon as to the nature of the injury, etc., for the direction of the hospital surgeons. Equipped for Every Emergency. The hospitals are calculated to contain at least 200 cots, each with a corps of physicians and nurses, and a complete outfit of bedding, medicines, linen, and specially prepared food for the inmates. Attached is a surgical ward, equipped for performing difficult operations. Here the patient may remain for a week or a fortnight, if he is able to return to duty at the end of that length of time. If wounded so as to require a long period of confinement, or if pronounced to be fatally injured or permanently disabled, he is sent on to the third department of relief. This is a permanent hospital located beyond the scenes of war. This is the most elaborately supplied of all the stations, and has every possible adjunct for relieving the distressed. The possibility and location of a battle are announced to the commander of the hospital corps as soon as the general at the head of the army has matured his plans. The positions to be taken by the regiment are mapped out, as well as the probable range of the enemy's fire. The chief of the corps locates his field hospitals and dressing station at the most advantageous sites. 2-0 610 NOBLE WORK OF THE RED CROSS. All of the paraphernalia is carried in specially designed wagons, and the men in the corps are drilled in putting up tents, etc., so that only a short time is required to have them in readiness. The detail of stretcher bearers are then assigned to positions in the rear of each command, and all is in readiness for rapid and systematic assistance to the fallen. It is calculated to have each field hospital at least twenty miles in the rear, so that in case of defeat, announced by special messenger, time will be allowed to transfer the station without discomforting the patients. The flag of the Red Cross floats over each tent, wagon or building used by the hospital corps, while every member of it, from the head surgeon to the driver of the ambulance, has the square of white and the bars of crimson displayed on one arm. Prompt Assistance for the Injured. It is calculated thab from the time a soldier falls until he is examined at the dressing station, not over one hour should elapse. In our Civil War, some of the men lay twenty-four hours before receiving assistance. By the one method, a wounded man received his first and last treatment from the regimental surgeon, unless seriously injured, when he was sent to the nearest permanent hospital as soon as the crude methods of transportation would permit. By the new method, if badly wounded, he has the care of no less than four surgeons, on the field, in the dressing station, at the field hospital and the permanent hospital. For relief on the sea, the United States has fitted out the first ship in the world ever arranged specially for the wounded in a naval engagement. The hospital ship-fittingly termed the Solace-was bought by the Government for a floating hospital. She is of 4,200 tons, has a speed of 17 knots an hour, which will enable her to keep up with a fleet when in battle, and has ample accommodations for 450 patients, although in an emergency Ioo more could be comfortably placed aboard her. The hull is constructed of steel and the vessel is practically new. She contains a surgical ward forward, large enough to provide for NOBLE WORK OF THE RED CROSS. 611 fifty inmates. In connection with it is an operating cabin and a storage loom for instruments, etc., also a cabin for the attendants. On the main deck is a ward for the wounded officers, the balance of the space allotted to patients being divided into wards for serious and convalescent patients. Each ward has its suite of bathrooms and cabins for nurses. The medical staff and corps of four surgeons-one of whom will always be ready to attend to patients-have special apartments, while provision is also made for nurses. Apparatus for disinfecting clothing and for ice making, a steam laundry and elevators for carrying patients from deck to deck, are some of the features of the Solace, which is provided with every article found in a modern hospital. A Hospital Ship. She has fast steam launches for taking the wounded from war-ships. On arriving at the hospital ship, they are placed in a device somewhat similar to a hammock and hoisted to the deck by means of ropes and pulleys. The ship is painted white with a large Red Cross to denote her character to friend and enemy. She flies the Red Cross emblem, and responds to the call of relief from either of the opposing forces. After the first summons for volunteers all classes of our women realized what war meant, even those whose fathers, brothers or sons were not called into service and the instinctive question, " What can I do?" evolved a variety of plans. The formation of relief corps has been popular, and many of our volunteer regiments have such an auxiliary composed of the gentler sex. They meet at stated intervals and devote their efforts to securing a supply of articles for the command they are aiding. It may be clothing of a kind not furnished by the Government, toilet articles, pocketknives, cases containing quinine and other necessary medicines. Two regiments in New York were provided with " housewives," each containing buttons, thread, needles, pins, a comb, shoe laces, court plaster and a pouch of tobacco. Other articles are spreads for tent tables, extra cooking utensils, etc. 612 NOBLE WORK OF THE RED CROSS. Societies have also been formed for the special purpose of making bedding, bandages and other necessaries for the wounded and those who may fall victims to disease. Here can be exercised a wide latitude also. Portable medicine cases, prepared food, invalids' stoves, night lamps and the various rubber devices such as blankets, hot water bags and pillows are articles which occupy a small space, yet are invaluable in a tropical country. They are appreciated by the strong as well as the weak. Contributions were made to the hospital service and to many of the regimental surgeons of such comforts. Reading matter, especially religious literature, and Bibles have been collected by still other societies to relieve the long hours in camp or in the sick ward. Reading Matter for Our Soldiers. Our wide range of literature has enabled the collectors to make up packages which are in reality little libraries that will be circulated from company to company in camp. Some novel but excellent plans for the distribution of such matter have been formulated by the women interested. The outline of work referred to may be termed auxiliary relief, but those who know anything of the hardships of a soldier's life realize how these aid in his general welfare. But another and sterner occupation is offered to those who have the courage and willingness to take it up. Nearly a half century ago the work of Florence Nightingale illustrated what woman could do on the battlefield in ministering to the injured, in taking the farewell messages of the dying and in closing the eyes of the dead. In our Civil War, women showed in many ways both in the hospital and at the front with the crude means at their command-compared with the present daywhat they could accomplish in the cause of mercy. The necessary hardship which must be endured has not deterred thousands of women from preparing to give direct relief in this manner. In addition to the auxiliaries to regiments we have described, many organizations have corps of nurses who accompany them and perform their duties under the direction of the surgeons in command. NOBLE WORK OF THE RED CROSS. 613 Other societies confine their efforts to hospitals and supplement the labor of the medical staff. The general plan followed by these organizations is to elect a president and secretary and to have all joining pledge themselves to take a course of instruction in the preparation of medicines, the hygiene of the sick room, the preparation of invalid's food, the bandaging of wounds, the best modes of assisting at operations and the use of opiates and antiseptics. Arrangements are made usually to attend lectures at some hospital as well as clinics or to have a physician lecture before them covering these and other subjects incident to their proposed vocation. Female Nurses on the Battlefield. A number of these societies adopted a uniform dress to be worn on duty. The prevailing color is gray, and as a rule the garb of the professional nurse is in vogue to a great extent, arrangements being made for a bag or other receptacle to carry scissors, thread, needles, etc., for bandaging purposes, also writing materials for making out reports and preparing letters for their patients who wish to send word to those at home. Only male nurses have heretofore been employed in the naval hospitals, but Surgeon-General Van Reypen on June 13th, called for four qualified female nurses for the naval hospital at Norfolk. They were to present themselves for duty upon the arrival of the hospitalship Solace from Cuba with patients. As no appropriation had been allowed the surgeon-general of the Navy for compensation of nurses, no salary or traveling expenses could be paid, but board was furnished. The variety of motives as set forth in the applications of those who seek to become nurses is an interesting study. While in general the underlying motive is felt to be true patriotism, the different phases of character may be seen cropping out, and evidently the question of self-gain is to many the one thing of importance. To others, however, a different motive must be ascribed. Many are willing to leave lucrative positions to enter upon the perilous work of an army nurse, receiving therefor, aside from the feeling of duty well done, the pit 614 NOBLE WORK OF THE RED CROSS. tance of $30 per month, with the addition of board and lodging in the hospital wherever practicable. Pathetic, indeed, are some of the petitions, and doubly pathetic to those who know the petitioner is utterly unqualified to fill the position for which she prays. Mothers, longing to be near their sons; sisters mourning for brothers; wives hoping to accompany their husbands; sweethearts who wish to follow their lovers; the intense feeling which impelled the application seems by a kind of clairvoyant power to make itself felt in the little scraps of paper bearing the hopes and wishes of so many women in our land. This noble patriotic spirit of our American women has been celebrated by Thomas Buchanan Read in the following memorable lines: The maid who binds her warrior's sash With smile that well her pain dissembles, The while beneath her drocping lash One starry tear-drop hangs and trembles, Though Heaven alone records the tear, And Fame shall never know her story, Her heart has shed a drop as dear As e'er bedewed the field of glory! The wife who girds her husband's sword, Mid little ones who weep or wonder, And bravely speaks the cheering word, What though her heart be rent asunder, Doomed nightly in her dreams to hear The bolts of death around him rattle, Hath shed as sacred blood as e'er Was poured upon the field of battle! The mother who conceals her grief While to her breast her son she presses, Then breathes a few brave words and brief, Kissing the patriot brow she blesses, With no one but her secret God To know the pain that weighs upon her, Sheds holy blood as e'er the sod Received on Freedom's field of honor! Miss Janet Jennings, the Red Cross nurse who sailed from Sib.: NOBLE WORK OF THE RED CROSS. 615 ney to New York on the Seneca and did efficient work in caring for the sick and wounded on board, related some of her experiences in Cuba. When the Red Cross ship State of Texas, which sailed from Key West, arrived at Siboney, there was urgent need at the field hospitals for nurses and medical supplies. For some reason the services of the Red Cross were at first declined, but two days later were accepted. In the course of her narrative Miss Jennings said: Did Not Stop Even for Meals. "You remember the attack on Santiago was made July Ist. In the afternoon of that day the wounded began to 'come down,' as we call it, from the front, a distance of eight or ten miles. Some were in wagons, others were on foot. The X ily accommodation the army had in the field was straw, thrown on the ground with blankets thrown over it. Dr. Lagarde asked Dr. Lesser, of the Red Cross, to come in and take the place of an army surgeon. Mrs. Lesser, with three sisters (nurses) went in and assisted the surgeons. In twentyfour hours they operated on and dressed the wounds of 475 men. The nurses worked without stopping for meals. Coffee was served to them. " Dr. Lagarde came to me on Saturday, the day after the attack, and had an order from General Shafter authorizing Miss Barton to seize any army wagons for the purpose of sending supplies from the State of Texas to the front. He said he had no food for his troops and very few bandages. I asked Dr. Lagarde:-' Where are the hospital supplies for the army? Where is your service? Have you brought twenty thousand men to Cuba and hurried them to the front to fight without any preparation for the wounded?' " Dr. Lagarde was distressed. He was desperate because the situation was so terrible. He had very little to say, but he did reply: 'I don't know; I don't know.' The tears rose to his eyes as he said, - God knows what we could have done down here without the help of the Red Cross, and our only hope is in you and the help you can give us, and if you can get supplies and send them to the front you can do, more good than I can tell,' 616 NOBLE WORK OF THE RED CROSS. " Dr. Hubbell, of the Red Cross, came in, and he reported the situation to Miss Barton on the State of Texas. We got the supplies out of the ship's hold that night, and at daylight landed them. We seized two army wagons, and with another, the third load, Miss Barton rode to the front. We sent another load on Monday, July 4th. "There was no ice. It was much needed. I went on the State o Texas to Jamaica for it. At Port Antonio we got two tons, anc fifteen tons at Kingston. That was the ice the hospitals were using when I left Cuba. There should have been four division hospitals at the front. There was only one, and that made it necessary to carry the wounded soldiers a greater distance than some of them should have been carried. The Red Cross people lived on the State of Texas, as they could not get proper accommodations in Siboney." Supplies Furnished by the Red Cross. After raising our flag over Sr. tiago, on the I7th, the Red Cross ship State of Texas distributed stores at the wharf. There was no food in the city hotels or restaurants, and the stores were closed. The inhabitants were emaciated and crowded eagerly for relief. Dr. Elwell, who was in charge of the work of unloading the State of Texas, secured eight stores in the heart of the city and one large shed on the dock, engaged eighty stevedores and began to unload the steamer about 6 o'clock. She had 1400 tons of provisions on board. The distribution began at 3 o'clock, allowing a pound and a half of rations to each citizen. When the unloading began crowds of half-starved citizens rushed to the dock, fighting, trampling one another under foot, breaking open the cases and stealing the supplies. There was literally nothing in the city to eat before the Red Cross steamer came. When the refugees left for El Caney flour was sell, ing at $I50 a barrel, barrels of beans at $90 per hundred pounds, condensed milk at $5 a tin, and hardtack at $I a piece. There was no evidence of gloom on the faces of the Spanish men and women. These mercurial people were already laughing, and were pleased at the military and naval show and at the prospect of getting food other than rice and salt meats. CHAPTER XLIII. Thrilling Incidents of the Santiago Campaign. A DDITIONAL details of the fight at Santiago, derived from the official report of Major-General Wheeler, Commander of Cavalry, describe the hardships and sufferings the American soldiers endured. General Wheeler highly praised the conduct of his staff officers, and also commended the men for the superb courage they displayed in battle. They fought for twelve hours, and labored all night to bury the dead and erect breastworks after weary marches. The following is General Wheeler's report: "BEFORE SANTIAGO, CUBA, JULY 7, 1898. "To ADJUTANT-GENERAL, FIFTH ARMY CORPS: " SIR:-After the engagement of June 24th I pushed forward my command through the valley, Lawton's and Kent's commands occupying the hills in the vicinity of that place. After two days' rest Lawton was ordered forward, and on the night of the 30th instructions were given by Major-General Shafter to that officer to attack Caney, while the cavalry division and Kent's division were ordered to move forward on the regular Santiago roads. The movement commenced on the morning of July 1st. Advance of the Cavalry Division. "The cavalry division advanced and formed its line with its left near the Santiago road, while Kent's division formed its line with the right joining the left of the cavalry division. " Colonel McClernand, of General Shafter's staff, directed me tG give instructions to General Kent, which I complied with in person, at the same time personally directing General Sumner to move for, ward. The men were all compelled to wade the San Juan River to get into line. That was done under very heavy fire of both infantry and artillery. Our balloon, having been sent up right by the main road, was made a mark of by the enemy. 617 618 THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. " It was evident that we were as much under fire in forming the line as we would be by an advance, and I therefore pressed the command forward from the covering under which it was formed. It emerged into open space in full view of the enemy, who occupied breastworks and batteries on the crest of the hill which overlooks Santiago, officers and men falling at every step. The troops advanced gallantly, soon reached the foot of the hill and ascended, driving the enemy from their works, and occupying them on the crest of the hill. To accomplish that required courage and determination on the part of the officers and men of a high order, and the losses were very severe. Brave Officers Fell in the Fight. "Too much credit cannot be given to General Sumner and General Kent, and their gallant brigade commanders, Colonel Wood and Colonel Carroll, of the cavalry; General Hamilton S. Hawkins, commanding First brigade, Kent's division, and Colonel Pearson, commanding Second brigade. Colonel Carroll and Major Wessels were both wounded during the charge, but Major Wessels was enabled to return and resume command. General Wikoff, commanding Kent's Third brigade, was killed at ten minutes past twelve o'clock. Lieutenant-Colonel Worth took command, and was wounded at a quarter past twelve o'clock. Lieutenant-Colonel Liscum then took command, and was wounded at twenty minutes past twelve o'clock, and the command then devolved upon Lieutenant-Colonel Ewers, Ninth infantry. " Upon reaching the crest I ordered breastworks to be constructed, and sent to the rear for shovels, picks, spades and axes. The enemy's retreat from the ridge was precipitate, but our men were so thoroughly exhausted that it was impossible for them to follow. Their shoes were soaked with water by wading the San Juan River, they had become drenched with rain, and when they reached the crest they were absolutely unable to proceed further. Notwithstanding that condition, these exhausted men labored during the night to erect breastworks, furnish details to bury the dead, and carry the wounded back in improvised litters, THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 619 "I sent word along the line that reinforcements would soon reach us, that General Lawton would join our right, and that General Bates would come up and strengthen our left. After reaching the crest of the ridge General Kent sent the Thirteenth regulars to assist in strengthening our right. At midnight General Bates reported, and I placed him in a strong position on the left of our line. General Lawton had attempted to join us from Caney, but when very near our lines he was fired upon by the Spaniards and turned back, but joined us next day at noon by a circuitous route. During all the day on July 2d the cavalry division, Kent's division and Bates's brigade were engaged with the enemy, being subjected to a fierce fire and incurring many casualties, and later in the day Lawton's division also became engaged. During the entire engagement my staff performed their duties with courage, judgment and ability. " The command has been active in strengthening its position, and the commanders and their staffs have thoroughly informed themselves as to the topography of the country and the situation of the enemy. "Very respectfully, (JOSEPH WHEELER, "Major-General Volunteers." Determined to Hold the Position. Accompanying the report is a copy of the dispatches which were sent to General Shafter by General Wheeler, beginning June 25th and ending July 2nd. On July 1st, at twenty minutes past eight P. M., General Wheeler, writing from San Juan, has the following to say about withdrawing from the position we had won: " I examined the line in front of Wood's brigade and gave the men shovels and picks and insisted on their going right to work. I also sent word to General Kent to come and get intrenching tools, and saw General Hawkins in person and told him the same thing. They all promised to do their best, but say the earth is very difficult, as a great part of it is rocky. The positions our men carried were very strong, and the intrenchments were very strong. "A number of officers have appealed to me to have the line withdrawn and take up a strong position further back, and I expect they 620 THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. will appeal to you. I have positively discountenanced that, as it would cost us much prestige. The lines are very thin, as so many men have gone to the rear with wounded and so many are exhausted, but 1 hope these men can be got up to-night, and with our line intrenched and Lawton on our right we ought to hold to-morrow, but I fear it will be a severe day. ' If we can get through to-morrow all right, we can make our breastworks very strong the next night. You can hardly realize the exhausted condition of the troops. The Third and Sixth Cavalry and other troops were up marching and halted on the road all last night and have fought for twelve hours to-day, and those that are not on the line will be digging trenches to-night. I was on the extreme front line. The men were lying down and reported the Spaniards not more than three hundred yards in their front." Official Report of General Kent. A graphic account of the battles before Santiago is contained in the official report of Brigadier-General J. Ford Kent: "To THE ASSISTANT ADJUTANT GENERAL, FIFTH ARMY CORPS: " SIR-I have the honor to submit the following report of the operations of my command in the battle of July Ist: " On the afternoon of June 3oth, pursuant to orders given me verbally by the Corps Commander at his headquarters, I moved my Second and Third brigades (Pearson and Wikoff) forward about two miles, to a point on the Santiago road near corps headquarters. Here the troops bivouacked, the First brigade (Hawkins) remaining in its camp of the two preceding days, slightly in rear of corps headquarters. "On the following morning (July ISt), at seven o'clock, I rode forward to the hill where Captain Grimes' battery was in position. I here met Lieutenant-Colonel McClernand, Assistant Adjutant-General, Fifth Corps, who pointed out to me a green hill in the distance, which was to be my objective on my left, and either he or Lieutenant Miley, of Major-General Shafter's staff, gave me directions to keep my right on the main road leading to the city of Santiago. I had previously given the necessary orders for Hawkins' brigade to move THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 621 early, to be followed in turn by Wikuff and Pearson. Shortly after Grimes' battery opened fire I rode down to the stream, and there found General Hawkins at the head of his brigade, at a point about two hundred and fifty yards from the El Poso sugar house. Here I gave him his orders. "The enemy's artillery was not replying to Grimes' battery. I rode forward with Hawkins about one hundred and fifty yards, closely followed by the Sixth infantry, which was leading the First brigade. At this point I received instructions to allow the cavalry the right of way, but for some unknown reason they moved up very slowly, thus causing a delay in my advance of fully forty minutes. Lieutenant Miley, of General Shafter's staff, was at this point and understood how the division was delayed, and repeated several times that he understood I was making all the progress possible. Examining the Enemy's Redoubts. "General Hawkins went forward, and word came back in a few minutes that it would be possible to observe the enemy's position from the front. I immediately rode forward with my staff. The fire of the enemy's sharpshooters was very distinctly felt at this time. I crossed the main ford of the San Juan River, joined General Hawkins and, with him, observed the enemy's position from a point some distance in advance of the ford. " General Hawkins deemed it possible to turn the enemy's right at Fort San Juan, but later, under the heavy fire, this was found impracticable for the First brigade, but was accomplished by the Third brigade coming up later on General Hawkins' left. Having completed the observation with my staff, I proceeded to join the head of my division, just coming under heavy fire. Approaching the First brigade, I directed them to move alongside the cavalry, which was halted. We were already suffering losses caused by the balloon near by attracting fire and disclosing our position. "The enemy's infantry fire, steadily increasing in intensity, now came from all directions, not only from the front and the dense tropical thickets on our flanks, but from sharpshooters thickly posted U z 0 z P4 F 0 622 THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 623 in trees in our rear, and fi-om shrapnel, apparently aimed at the balloon. Lieutenant-Colonel Derby, of General Shafter's staff, met me about this time and informed me that a trail or narrow way had been discovered from the balloon a short distance back leading to the left of a ford lower down the stream. "I hastened to the forks made by this road, and soon after the Seventy-first New York regiment, of Hawkins' brigade, came up. I turned them into the bypath indicated by Lieutenant-Colonel Derby, leading to the lower ford, sending word to General Hawkins of this movement. This would have speedily delivered them in their proper place on the left of their brigade, but under the galling fire of the enemy the leading battalion of this regiment was thrown into confusion and recoiled in disorder on the troops in the rear. Hurrying the Troops Forward. "At this critical moment the officers of my staff practically formed a cordon behind the panic-stricken men and urged them to again go forward. I finally ordered them to lie down in the thicket and clear the way for others of their own regiment, who were coming up behind. This many of them did, and the Second and Third battalions came forward in better order and moved along the road toward the ford. "One of my staff officers ran back, waving his hat to hurry forward the Third brigade, who, upon approaching the forks, found the way blocked by men of the Seventy-first New York There were other men of this regiment crouching in the bushes, many of whom were encouraged by the advance of the approaching column to arise and go forward. "As already stated, I had received orders some time before to keep in the rear of the cavalry division. Their advance was much delayed, resulting in frequent halts, presumably to drop their blanket rolls, and due to the natural delay in fording a stream. These delays, under such a hot fire, grew exceedingly irksome, and I therefore pushed the head of my division as quickly as I could toward the river in column of files or twos paralleled in the narrow way by the cavalry. 624 THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. " This quickened the forward movement and enabled me to get into position as speedily as possible for the attack. Owing to the congested condition of the road, the progress of the narrow column was, however, painfully slow. I again sent a staff officer at a gallop to urge forward the troops in the rear. The head of Wikoff's brigade reached the forks at twenty minutes past twelve o'clock P. M., and hurried on the left, stepping over prostrate forms of me- of the Seventy-first. "This heroic brigade (consisting of the Thirteenth, Ninth and Twenty-fourth United States infantry) speedily crossed the stream and were quickly deployed to the left of the lower ford. While per. sonally superintending this movement Colonel Wikoff was killed, the command of the brigade then devolving upon Lieutenant-Colonel Worth, Thirteenth infantry, who immediately fell, severely wounded, and then upon Lieutenant-Colonel Liscum, Twenty-fourth infantry, who, five minutes later, also fell under the withering fire of the enemy. The command of the brigade then devolved upon Lieutenant-Colonel E. P. Ewers, Ninth infantry. Meanwhile I had again sent a staff officer to hurry forward the Second brigade, which was bringing up the rear. The Tenth and Second infantry, soon arriving at the forks, were deflected to the left to follow the Third brigade, while the Twentyfirst was directed along the main road to support Hawkins. The Enemy Driven Back. "Crossing the lower ford a few minutes later, the Tenth and Second moved forward in column in good order toward the green knoll already referred to as my objective on the left. Approaching the knoll, the regiments deployed, passed over the knoll and ascended the high ridge beyond, driving back the enemy in the direction of his trenches. I observed this movement from the fort, San Juan Hill. "Colonel E. P. Pearson, Tenth infantry, commanding the Second brigade, and the officers and troops under his command deserve great credit for the soldierly manner in which this movement was executed. I earnestly recommend Colonel Pearson for promotion. " Prior to this advance of the Second brigade, the Third, connect THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 625 ing with Hawkins' gallant troops on the right, had moved toward Fort San Juan, sweeping through a zone of most destructive fire, scaling a steep and difficult hill and assisting in capturing the enemy's strong position, Fort San Juan, at half-past one -P. M. " This crest was about one hundred and twenty-five feet above the general level, and was defended by deep trenches and a loop-holed brick fort, surrounded by barbed wire entanglements. General Hawkins, some time after I reached the crest, reported that the Sixth and Sixteenth infantry had captured the Hill, which I now consider incorrect, and credit is almost equally due the Sixth, Ninth, Thirteenth, Sixteenth and Twenty-fourth regiments of infantry. Owing to General Hawkins' representations, I forwarded the report sent to corps headquarters about three P. M., that the Sixth and Sixteenth infantry regiments had captured the hill, but it seems others are entitled to share in the credit of this capture. Enemy's Colors Torn in Fragments. "The Thirteenth infantry captured the enemy's colors waving over the fort, but unfortunately destroyed them, distributing the fragments among the men, because, as was asserted, 'it was a bad omen,' two or three men having been shot while assisting Private Arthur Agnew, Company K, Thirteenth infantry, the captor. All fragments which could be recovered are submitted with this report. "The greatest credit is due to the officers of my command, whether company, battalion, regiment or brigade commanders, who so admirably directed the formation of their troops, unavoidably intermixed in the dense thicket, and made the desperate rush for the distant and strongly defended crest. " I have already mentioned the circumstances of my Third brigade's advance across the ford, where, in the brief space of ten minutes, it lost its brave commander (killed) and the next two ranking officers by disabling wounds. Yet, in spite of these confusing conditions, the formations were effected without hesitation, although under a stinging fire, companies acting singly in some circumstances and by battalion and regiments in others, rushing through the jungle, across 2-P 626 THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. the stream, waist deep, and over the wide bottom, thickly set with barbed wire entanglements. "I desire to particularly mention First Lieutenant Wendell L. Simpson, adjutant Ninth Infantry, Acting Assistant Adjutant-General Third Brigade, who was noticeably active and efficient in carrying out orders which I had given him to transmit to his brigade commander, who no longer existed. " The enemy having retired to a second line of rifle pits, I directed my line to hold their positions and intrench. At ten minutes past three P. M. I received almost simultaneously two requests, one from Colonel Wood, commanding a cavalry brigade, and one from General Sumner, asking for assistance for the cavalry on my right, as they were hard pressed. I immediately sent to their aid the Thirteenth Infantry, who promptly went on this further mission despite the heavy losses they had already sustained. A Gallant Officer Commended. "Great credit is due to the gallant officer and gentleman, Brigadier-General H. S. Hawkins, who, placing himself between the two regiments, leading his brigade, the Sixth and Sixteenth Infantry, urged and led them by voice and bugle calls to the attack so successfully accomplished. "At daylight on the morning of July 2d the enemy resumed the battle, and firing continued throughout the day, part of the time in a drenching rain. At nightfall the firing ceased, but at nine P. M. a vigorous assault was made all along our lines. This was completely repulsed, the enemy again retiring to his trenches. The following morning firing was resumed, and continued until near noon, when a white flag was displayed by the enemy, and firing was ordered to cease." General Kent reports the casualties of July Ist in his division as nine men killed, four officers and ninety men wounded, and four men missing, and of July 2d, one man killed and eight wounded. General Kent's report concludes: " I desire, in conclusion, to express my gratitude to Major-General THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 627 Joseph Wheeler for his courteous conduct to me, and through me to my division, under the trying circumstances enumerated. Though ill and suffering, General Wheeler was so perfectly at home under fire that he inspired all of us with assurance. " Attention is invited in this connection to the report of brigade and subordinate commanders and of my Inspector-General, herewith I cordially indorse their commendations. Very respectfully, "J. A. FORD KENT, "Brigadier-General U. S. A. Commanding." Rousing Reception to Lieutenant Hobson. One of the echoes of the Santiago campaign was the popular enthusiasm with which Lieutenant Hobson was received wherever he went. At Atlanta on August 2d, the people turned out en masse to welcome the young hero, their fellow-townsman. In the Grand Opera House, which was crowded to excess, the Lieutenant gave a vivid description of the sinking of the Merrimac. Upon being introduced to the great throng he arose slowly and spoke as follows: " I remember an incident of a naval cadet, the nephew of Commodore Schley. We were accustomed to climb over the masts for exercise. One day Schley, just in front of me, lost his footing at the top, struck a top-sail yard, rebounded and fell overboard. His body soon appeared on the surface of the water, but there was apparently no life in it. With the storm that was raging it was impossible to get the ship around with the wind. One of the boats was instantly lowered, but the men were quickly overturned, and were struggling in the water for their lives. "Another lifeboat, with a full crew, was then launched, and every man, by daring work, including young Schley, was brought to the deck in safety. Those men did not know danger, and they were only average sailors. But that is the sort of stuff the American navy is made of to-day. (Loud cheers.) " It was this sort of metal that was exhibited by the men who sank the Merrimac. So eager were the men to make that expedition, that only a short while after the call for volunteers had been made a pro 628 THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. hibitive order was issued that no more men would be wanted. One hundred brave sailors had volunteered on the New York alone; and the Iowa signaled across the water that I50 men had volunteered there. " Just before the vessel started into the mouth of the harbor a conversation was overheard between two of the men which betrayed the belief on their part that the vessel was to be run three miles up the harbor. When the men took their stations on the Merrimac for their final start, every man lay flat on his face on the deck, with a special torpedo to manage. Directions had been given them, and it was expressly agreed that no man should heed the enemy's fire, no matter how hot it got,-not even to raise his head. Rain Storm of Shot and Shell. "Moreover it was agreed that in case the projectiles from the Spanish guns flew thick and fast and any man was wounded, he was still to remain at his post, attending, if possible, to the special duty assigned him. Those men lay there, and those men attended to those duties. It was no occasional shot that came from those enemy's guns. It was a perfect grind of metal-a rain-storm of shot and shell. Then came the tremendous explosions, but the hull did not sink all at once. It went down by degrees, and those were moments that those men will never forget. " When a big 6-inch sheli exploded directly in front of the little group, lying huddled on the deck, when one shell went into the boilers and let the steam loose by the side of the men, the strict command-' No man move till orders'-was obeyed to the letter. If there was ever a time when circumstances would have forced an observance of the old principle of self-preservation, it was then, but not a man budged. "When those men were in the water, being hunted by Spanish boats looking for any that might have escaped, the order that no man should move was obeyed perfectly. On the arrival at Morro, when the men were placed in cells, and Spanish soldiers made threatening signs at them, our sailors merely laughed at them. ' We would do it THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 629 again to-night, if it were necessary,' replied one of the American men, men, in answer to a Spanish question. "A Spanish major asked one of the prisoners what the vessel was sent into the harbor for. 'In the United States navy it is not the custom for seamen to know or ask the object,' was the reply. " When I relate this occurrence you do wrong if you apply any great amount of credit for this little piece of work to an individual. It was merely an evidence of the fact that the officers and men of the American navy are always anxious to perform any duty that they are ordered to do, irrespective of the consequences or the dangers. Confined in a Dismal Prison. "Never shall I forget how I sat in that dreary prison and gazed out on the battle-fields around Santiago. I could see the American lines and the Spanish lines. When I heard the first crack of a musket I knew that there was an advance along our lines. I saw the Spaniards lying in their deep trenches with their modern rifles ready to pour volley after volley into the American army. I saw the thin lines of brave lads under the stars and stripes slowly ascending those hills, and I saw the Spaniards turn loose their lead and their fire, and I saw many an American boy drop out of the line and into the dark river of death. " On July 2d the Spaniards were reinforced, and the Americans charged again, and the enemies' artillery turned upon the American lines. The moral effect of that galling fire seemed to paralyze our forces for a while. Those men had never been under fire before, but it did not take them long to regain with increased ardor their patriotism, and with one mighty rush they drove the Spaniards out of their trenches and gained a mighty victory. You can imagine my great anxiety at seeing this. It was terrible that I could not communicate my valuable knowledge of the enemy's fortifications to the commanding officer of our troops. "After my release, greatly was I impressed, when in passing through the American lines I saw men who had given up home, dear ones and almost everything life holds for their country. The com 630 THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. manding general slept in a tent not one whit better than that of the private. It was a gigantic sociological force, the magnitude of which could not be measured by any human methods-equal to the life blood of the last citizen. What a grand privilege it is to be a soldier of the United States! " The speaker was generously applauded and made a most favorable impression on his audience. Hon. Porter King dismissed the audience with a few words, inviting them at the same time to a reception to be given at the executive mansion to Lieutenant Hobson. Commanding General Praises his Army. The spirit that animated our navy, described by Hobson, also pervaded the army, as may be seen by the following general order, in which General Shafter praises the grand deeds of the soldiers under his command: "General Orders No. 26: "The successful accomplishment of the campaign against Santiago, resulting in its downfall and the surrender of the Spanish forces and the capture of large amounts of military stores, together with the destruction of the entire Spanish fleet in the harbor, which, upon the investment of the city, was forced to leave, is one of which this army can well be proud. " This has been accomplished through the heroic deeds of the army, and to its officers and men the Major-General commanding offers his sincere thanks for their endurance of hardships heretofore unknown in the American army. The work you have accomplished may well appeal to the pride of your countrymen, and has been rivalled upon but few occasions in the world's history. " Landing upon an unknown coast, you faced dangers in disembarking and overcame obstacles that, even in looking back, seem insurmountable. Seizing, with the assistance of the navy, the towns of Baiquiri and Siboney, you pushed boldly forth, gallantly driving back the enemy's outposts in the engagement of La Quasina and compelled the concentration of the enemy near Sevilla, within sight of the Spanish stronghold at Santiago de Cuba. "The outlook from Sevilla was one that might well have appalled the stoutest heart. Behind you ran a narrow road, made well nigh impassable by rains, while to the front you looked out upon high foothills covered with a dense tropical growth, which could only be traversed by bridle paths terminating within range of the enemy's guns. " Nothing deterred, you responded eagerly to the order to close upon the foe THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 631 and, attacking at Caney and San Juan, drove him from work to work until he took refuge within his last and strongest intrenchments immediately surrounding the city. "' Despite the fierce glare of a Southern sun and rains that fell in torrents, you valiantly withstood his attempts to drive you from the position your valor had won. Holding in your viselike grip the army opposed to you, after seventeen days of battle and siege you were rewarded by the surrender of nearly 24,000 prisoners, 12,000 being those in your immediate front, the others scattered in the various towns of Eastern Cuba, freeing completely the eastern part of the island from Spanish troops. " This was not done without great sacrifices. The death of 230 gallant soldiers and the wounding of 1,284 others, show but too plainly the fierce contest in which you were engaged. The few reported missing are undoubtedly among the dead, as no prisoners were lost. " For those who have fallen in battle with you the Commanding General sorrows, and, with you, will ever cherish their memory. Their devotion to duty sets a high example of courage and patriotism to our fellow-countrymen. All who have participated in the campaign, battle and siege of Santiago de Cuba will recall with pride the grand deeds accomplished, and will hold one another dear for having shared great sufferings, hardships and triumphs together. All may well feel proud to inscribe on their banners the name of Santiago de Cuba. " By command of " MAJOR-GENERAL SHAFTER, "E. J. MCCLERNAND, Assistant Adjutant-General." Startling Reports of Disease and Suffering. After the fall of Santiago the American troops found themselves face to face with a foe more formidable than the Spanish army. All the conditions were favorable for disease, and soon large numbers were in the hospitals, sick with fever. This was mainly malarial, but a number of cases of yellow fever caused grave concern for the health of our troops. Soon came startling reports of their sufferings and the inexcusable neglect on the part of the Surgeon-General's department to make adequate provision for the sick and wounded. In this connection it will be of interest to have a detailed statement of the condition of our army at Santiago from an eye-witness. Rev. Dr. Henry C. McCook, of Philadelphia, representing the National Relief Commission, furnished the following account, which shows the dangers and hardships to which our troops were subjected. 632 THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. "We arrived July 25th," said Dr. McCook, "and immediately set about landing supplies. Siboney, however, is no place to do this. The swell is so great and the hills run so precipitously into the sea that it is hard to imagine a worse landing place. By this time there ought to be a dock there, but there isn't. " We found the Ninth Infantry in the city doing patrol duty with the theatre as barracks, and the rest of the troops from two and a half to six miles from the city encamped in tents on the hills. There was a vast amount of sickness; 4,100 were in the hospitals there. The men were visibly tired and discouraged after the storm and stress of what they had been through. Incredible Hardships. " People do not seem to realize and appreciate what this was fn four weeks these men had landed in the surf, marched over muddy roads, fought and slept in the rain and on the wet ground without enough to eat and away from their base of supplies. The roads were in frightful condition from the daily tropical storms, and there weren't nearly enough horses or mules to bring up the necessary things from Siboney. "Officers and men alike were suffering. The men had on the same old heavy woolen shirts and blue uniforms they had landed with, fought with, lain in the mud with. Hundreds of officers had not been able to get a change of clothing. Their trunks were lost somewhere and they could not be found. The ground was never dry. Once or twice a day the torrential tropical rains fell. The ground is always wet. The sun steams, but does not dry the earth. "Santiago itself is a dirty town and fairly stinks. Under the supervision of the Military Governor, Brigadier General Wood, the city is growing visibly cleaner, but it is an almost hopeless job to clean Santiago, and I think that the only way to do it thoroughly is to burn three-fourths of it down. There is only surface drainage, and the bay, the familiar bottle, is a pocket which has no tidal drag to carry the sewage away. "And the city is so far away from the neck of the bottle that with T'HE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 633 out the tide there is no carrying away of Santiago's filth. Under these conditions yellow fever is indigenous and almost continuous. " It isn't yellow fever, however, that has put one-fifth of the army in the hospital. It is what is called calentura, a malarial fever caused by climatic heat. What yellow fever there is, is of a mild type, and only from six to ten per cent. of the cases die. "There is certainly a great lack of doctors," said Dr. McCook, in reply to a question. "The Resolute took down eleven doctors and fifty-five yellow-fever nurses with the supplies, and both arrived in the nick of time. They were in despair when we got to Santiago. But even now there are not enough doctors. These men have been through all sorts of hardships. These have had to carry packs of medicines on their backs for the troops and have been so overworked that many are sick. They are broken down by the tremendous strain of the past weeks, like every one else." A Graphic Pen-Picture. Dr. McCook paused a minute and then gave the most striking word-picture of his story, a picture which impresses at once on the mind exactly what the conditions at Santiago have been and are. "On the Iroquois with us," he said, "were Colonel John H. Page, of the Third Regiment, regular army, and Colonel Bogan, of the Ninth Massachusetts. " Both these men were so weak that they had to be carried aboard and they would certainly have died if they had stayed there a week longer. Colonel Page holds one of the high offices in the army, and yet when he came aboard he was dressed in a woolen undershirt, a pair of trousers and pair of slippers. He had no stockings, no drawers, no shoes, and it was absolutely impossible for him to get anything. When I offered him a night shirt his eyes positively filled with tears, and yet this man was colonel in the United States army. You can judge from this the condition of the whole command. "The Red Cross nurses and doctors," said Dr. McCook. "were doing good work outside the army, relieving the distress of the in 634 THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. habitants of the country. I am an officer of the government," concluded Mr. McCook significantly, "and I cannot comment publicly upon the conduct of my superior officers. I can merely relate the facts." Many of the sick and wounded were sent to various hospitals in the North and South, yet the condition of our army was such that all the general officers united in a request-in fact, almost a demand -to be forwarded by General Shafter to Washington for the immediate removal of our army to a more healthful climate. Public comment had become very severe, and great blame was attached to the War Department at Washington. The instant removal of the troops to various points in the North was ordered, and the embarkation began August 7th. CHAPTER XLIV. The Spaniards Routed near Manila. AFTER Admiral Dewey's great victory at Manila on May Ist, there was no more fighting between the Americans and Spaniards until July 31st. Meanwhile, as already stated, several expeditions had sailed for the Philippines from the Pacific GENERAL WESLEY MERRITT. coast. These were under command of Major-General Wesley Merritt, who arrived at Manila on July 25th, and upon the arrival of the third expedition had 1,500 troops with which to conduct operations for the capture of the city. 636 636 SPANIARDS ROUTED NEAR MANILA. The fight on the night of July 3Ist indicated a degree of vigor on the part of the Spanish garrison for which they have not been given credit. It was a night attack on the flank of the American line. The insurgents were not fighting that day, it being one of their holidays, and they withdrew to enjoy it at leisure. The Spanish improved the opportunity to attack, but they found the American soldiers, as usual, equal to the occasion, and General Merritt reported the result with quiet gratification. The first intelligence of the engagement came in a despatch dated Hong Kong, August 9th, as follows: " Word has been received here to the effect that there was a heavy land engagement between the American and Spanish forces on the night of July 3Ist at Manila. The Spanish led in the attack, attempting to turn our right. After three hours of fighting, the Spanish were repulsed, with the loss of over 200 killed and 300 wounded. Our loss was only nine killed and forty-four wounded. A Glorious Defence. "The American troops engaged were the Tenth Pennsylvania First California Battalion, Third Artillery, United States Regulars and Battery A of Utah. Our volunteers made a glorious defence against upwards of 3,000 men, who composed the attacking force. " The Spaniards made several desperate charges upon the American lines, but each time the fire of the American troops drove the Spaniards back, and finally broke the Spanish centre and the enemy retreated. Later, however, the Spaniards made a second attack, but were again repulsed and retreated into the bush, keeping up an incessant fire on the road leading to Manila, over which they apparently expected the American troops to advance. Some estimates placed the Spanish losses at over five hundred killed and wounded." General Green's force, numbering 4,000 men, had been advancing and entrenching. The arrival of the third expedition filled the Spaniards with rage, and they determined to give battle before Camp Dewey could be reinforced. The trenches extended from the beach, three hundred yards to the left flank of the insurgents. Sunday was SPANIARDS ROUTED NEAR MANILA. 637 the insurgents' feast day, and their left flank withdrew, leaving the American right flank exposed. Companies A and E, of the Tenth Pennsylvania and Utah Battery, were ordered to reinforce the right flank. In the midst of a raging typhoon, with a tremendous downpour of rain, the enemy's force, estimated at 3,000 men, attempted to surprise the camp. Our pickets were driven in and the trenches assaulted. The brave Pennsylvania men never flinched, but stood their ground under a withering fire. The alarm spread, and the First California Regiment, with two companies of artillery, who fought with rifles, were sent up to reinforce the Pennsylvanians. The enemy were on top of the trenches when these reinforcements arrived, and never was the discipline of the regulars better demonstrated than by the work of the Third Artillery under Captain O'Hara. Nothing could be Aeen but flashes of Mauser rifles. The Enemy Repulsed. Men ran right up to the attacking Spaniards and mowed them dow)n with regular volleys. The Utah Battery, under Captain Young, covered itself with glory. The men pulled their guns through mud axle deep. Two guns were sent around in flank and poured in a destructive enfilading fire. The enemy was repulsed, and retreated in disorder. Our infantry had exhausted its ammunition, and did not follow the enemy. Not an inch of ground was lost, but the scene in the trenches was one never to be forgotten. During flashes of lightning the dead and wounded could be seent lying in blood-red water, but neither the elements of Heaven, nor the destructive power of man, could ring a cry of protest from the wounded. They encouraged their comrades to fight, and handed over their cartridge belts. During the night the Spanish scouts were seen carrying off dead and wounded of the enemy. The American dead were buried next day in the convent of Maracaban. On the night of August Ist, the fighting was renewed, but the enemy had been taught a lesson, and made the attack at long range with heavy artillery The Utat Battery replied, and the artillery duel lasted an hour. MAP OF THE PITILLIPPINE ISLANDS. 638 SPANIARDS ROUTED NEAR MANILA. 639 The correspondent of the London Times at Cavite, under date of August Ist, wrote: "Yesterday I visited Camp Dewey and the American entrenchments before Malate. Captain Grant and Captain Young, of the Utah Artillery, were busy throwing up advanced earthworks for guns, under protection of the Nebraska Volunteers. From the upper floor of a European house facing the alignment of the earthworks I was observing the Spanish positions when a Nebraska sharpshooter beside me fired the first shot discharged by the Americans upon the Spaniards, who were crouching in the forward trench. " This was contrary to General Merritt's orders. He had forbidden an aggressive attitude unless the Spaniards advanced. The insurgents now in force inland on the right of the American lines also opened fire, the Spaniards replying briskly with quick-firing guns and rifles, but their shooting was high and their shots fell half a mile behind the entrenchments, where a Colorado Volunteer picket was hit by a Mauser bullet. Cool in the Face of Danger. "Personally I was impressed by the nonchalant demeanor of the Americans in the fighting line. They were like high-spirited youths out on a picnic, while groups lying in the second line were playing cards. Had the Spaniards, who were unaccountably non-aggressive during the American landing and advance, dropped shrapnel from Malate fort, they would have wrought terrible havoc, one house forming a conspicuous mark, being within easy gun range. "The natives follow the American advance, occupying the houses within the fighting line. General Aguinaldo's guerrillas cause the Americans considerable trouble. While I was in camp information was received that a party of California volunteers, engaged in felling timber, had been arrested by the insurgents. Colonel Smith, under General Green's instructions, ordered out an armed detachment, which released the prisoners and brought the insurgents into Camp Dewey. General Green sent a message to General Aguinaldo saying that if the Americans were further molested he would disarm the whole Filipinos." 640 SPANIARDS ROUTED NEAR MANILA. The same correspondent, under date of August 3d, wrote: "A heavy monsoon has been blowing since Sunday, and deluges of rain have greatly increased the difficulty of landing and moving the. '"........ ADMIRAL MONTUJO, COMMANDLiR OF THE SPANISH FLEET. United States troops and multiplied the discomforts in camp, which were already almost unendurable. "Saturday was comparatively quiet, and so was Sunday until nightfall, when the Tenth Pennsylvania, Colonel Hawkins commanding, occupied the trenches after some desultory picket firing. At 11.30 P. M., the enemy opened fire vigorously, under cover of the SPANIARDS ROUTED NEAR MANILA. 641 dense undergrowth. Their movements were further hidden by the floods of rain. The Pennsylvanians met the attack with a succession of volleys, covering their right with two companies stationed in the swamp beyond the entrenchments. "After about three-quarters of an hour two companies of the Third regular artillery, under Major O'Hara, arrived at double quick to relieve the Pennsylvanians, whose ammunition was almost exhausted. They soon silenced the enemy's fire, the First California, under Colonel Smith, and the First Colorado, under Colonel Hale, acting as supports. The affair lasted two hours. But notwithstanding the tremendous fusillade and the heavy shell fire, only nine Americans were killed and forty-seven wounded, though there were some casualties among the supports during the advance of the relieving battalions "Although the engagement scarcely attained the importance of a battle, it thoroughly tested the quality of the United States troops and had an excellent effect, stimulating their zeal and enthusiasm and inspiring them with confidence. Sharp Fire from Spanish Guns. "The Spaniards, whose losses in the engagement are not known, are adopting tactics intended to irritate the Americans. Every night they maintain an annoying fire. They have now got the true range of the earthworks, and their shell and shrapnel fire is very accurate. "General MacArthur's brigade, which arrived Sunday, is landing to-day through the heavy surf. Nothing more serious than a thorough wetting has occurred as yet, although the operation is not without considerable danger. Hardly any cases of sickness are reported." Malate, where the engagement took place, is a small suburb of Manila on the road between that city and Cavite. It was there that the family of Captain-General Augusti was captured by the rebels two months before. The place had been strongly fortified and held by the insurgents, and was occupied by our troops on their arrival from the transports. General Green issued the following address to our troops: 2-Q .. Cl) z z A-4 2-4 -4:V. H Cl) 1.4 c4 14.?I w 642 SPANIARDS ROUTED NEAR MANILA. 643 "The brigadier-general commanding desires to thank the troops engaged last night for gallantry and skill displayed by them in repelling such a vigorous attack by largely superior forces of Spaniards. Not an inch of ground was yielded by the Tenth Pennsylvania Infantry and Utah Artillery stationed in the trenches. "A battalion of the Third Artillery and First Regiment California Infantry moved forward to their support through a galling fire with the utmost intrepidity. The courage and steadiness shown by all in their first engagement is worthy of the highest commendation." "Mr. Williams, formerly United States Consul at Manila, has called the leaders in fifteen provinces of the Philippines to a conference, from which good results are hoped." The scarcity of food was affecting even the richest class in Manila. There was no meat, bread or flour, except a very small reserve, chiefly laid under requisition for the Spanish troops. Famine and Epidemic. The newspapers, though rigidly censored, admitted that the famine and the unprecedented rains were causing an epidemic. They pretended that the disorders were trivial intestinal ailments, but it is believed most of them were dysentery, due to the wretched food and the dangerous character of the water. A number of important persons were ill. An abattoir was established for slaughtering horses and dogs. The newspapers admitted that the military bakers were reduced to the necessity of using rice, the stock of which would shortly be exhausted. The stock of fuel, too, was exhausted, and bakers were burning doors and window frames. It is impossible to eat uncooked lice. A decree was issued authorizing the entry of private premises and the seizure of cattle and horses there, for nominal payments, made in worthless drafts. Several animals belonging to British owners were taken, though there were plenty belonging to Spanish owners that had not been seized. An attempt was made to seize the indispensable pony of the consular physician, and considerable indignation was expressed. 644 SPANIARDS ROUTED NEAR MANILA. From additional details of the battle near Manila it was learned that on the morning of July 29th the American troops moved forward and occupied an old insurgent trench, from which the Filipinos were withdrawn at the request of General Green. The First Colorado Regiment and four guns of the Utah batteries occupied the trench, which was later found to be untenable. The Americans then advanced IOO yards and threw up a line of breastworks 250 yards long, extending from the Manila road to the beach. An old Capuchin chapel was in the centre of the line. Two guns from each battery were posted on each side of the chapel, which is on a high bank raised about 750 yards from the Spanish breastworks in front of Malate. The Americans were not disturbed by the Spaniards while building their breastworks. There was, however, some desultory firing, which was without result. The First Nebraska Regiment relieved the First Colorado on July 3oth, and the work on the trench continued that day and night without interruption. There was some firing at the Nebraskans, but no damage was done. Heavy Firing Along the Whole Line. On Sunday the Tenth Pennsylvania Regiment went into the trench. Two battalions were commanded by Major Cuthbertson. Colonel Harkins was sick. Four companies were posted in the trench, two on the Manila road as supports, and two under Major Bierer as reserves at the field-hospital in the rear of the old insurgent trench. The breastwork was finished that day without interference by the Spaniards. At IO o'clock at night a heavy fire began all along the Spanish line. Our men replied vigorously. The firing was very good. The volleys of the Utah Artillery did excellent work. The Spanish fire was surprisingly accurate. The enemy had the range pat, and made first-class practice. A perfect hailstorm of bullets burst all about the American line. Soon the pickets had been posted on our right and front, and came back and reported that the Spaniards were attempting to turn our right flank. The trench did not extend beyond the road. SPANIARDS ROUTED NEAR MANILA. 645 The ground there was fairly open, but there was a small bamboo and acacia scrub and some high grass. The Spaniards maintained a terrific fire. The Pennsylvanians got excited, and began to fire irregularly, and their volleys lost effect. The Spaniards in advance got far enough on our right to have a cross-fire on the Americans. Our ammunition now began to run low, and a courier was sent to General Green for reinforcements and ammunition. Meantime the Utah Battery pounded away coolly as veterans. The Pennsylvanians held on as best they could. Companies A and B moved from the road up to our right, and the reserves, Companies D and E, were brought across the open field and sent beyond the right end of the American trench. These eompanies suffered most of the loss while crossing the open field near the American line between our trench and the old insurgent trench. The Spanish fire that was too high for the American line swept this field incessantly and made it a perfect death trap. It was the only way up, however, and the Pennsylvanians crossed it gallantly. Reinforced in the Nick of Time. Meantime help was coming. Lieutenant Krayenbuhl, with the first platoon of Battery K, of the Third Regular Artillery, acting as infantry, had been posted at the junction of the Manila and Pasai roads, with orders to advance if necessary. Lieutenant Kessler, with the second platoon of the same battery, was posted on the Pasai road. Lieutenant Krayenbuhl was on the right with the same orders. The latter met the messenger from the front, and went forward immediately after sending word to Lieutenant Kessler to follow quickly. He arrived just in time. The ammunition of the Pennsylvanians was almost gone. The men were firing at will. Lieutenant Krayenbuhl drew his revolver and-threatened to shoot the first man who fired without orders. This soon restored confidence. The regulars began volley firing at once. They had plenty of ammunition. Lieutenant Kessler soon arrived, and all danger of a catastrophe was then averted. Captain O'Ilara, who was in command 646 SPANIARDS ROUTED NEAR MANILA. of a battalion of the Third Artillery, had been keeping track of the American firing, and knew that the ammunition must soon be exhausted. Without waiting orders he sounded the assembly, and Battery H responded under Captain Hobbs. Captain O'Hara took an orderly and bugler and started ahead. He told Captain Hobbs to come when he heard the bugle. Captain O'Hara met the courier on the road, who told him that the Americans were beaten. Captain O'Hara sounded the bugle, and went forward on the double quick. Captain Hobbs answered the bugle call, and went in with Battery H on the run. Captain O'Hara kept sounding "Forward" while advancing, to let the men in the trenches know that reinforcements were coming. Forward at Double Quick. Going up the Manila road Captain Hobbs was shot in the leg, but he went on just the snme. The road was mighty hot. The Spaniards had the range, and kept the air full of bullets. The men ran in double column, and finally reached the trench, into which they went cheering. Private Mcllrath, of Battery H, who was acting as sergeant, jumped on the parapet to steady the men, and walked up and down. He was shot in the head and fatally wounded. Captain Hobbs got cn the parapet, too, to get the men steady. A well-directed and effective fire followed. The Spanish fire soon slackened. Meanwhile the courier had reached General Green and reported that everything was lost. General Green took the news coolly. He ordered a general call to arms, and the entire camp turned out. The First Battalion, of the First California Regiment, was sent forward on the double-quick through the fields. Eight cartloads of ammunition were sent to the Pennsylvanians. The Second Battalion, of the First California, was ordered to act as a reserve, and the rest of the command was held in camp under arms. Word was sent to the Raleigh, which was lying off shore, to be ready to silence the Malate guns if necessary. CHAPTER XLV. Events to End of the War. N an engagement five miles beyond Guayama, Porto Rico, on August 8th, the Americans were caught in an ambuscade, and the only wonder is that half of those engaged were not wiped out. It was just I o'clock in the afternoon when a horseman came galloping into the town, shouting: "Send the dynamite guns at once! The Fourth Ohio is being annihilated! " In less than five minutes the alarm had spread throughout the town, and the streets were filled with soldiers hurrying to their quarters. The natives disappeared as if by magic, not a single one of them remaining in sight. Shutters were hurriedly put up on all the shops that were open, the hackmen rushed their horses to their stables, and everywhere the natives showed by their actions that they anticipated the recapture of the town by the Spaniards. The fears of some of the women led them to seek protection in the cathedral, where they spent the time in prayer. Alarm Among Our Troops. The Spanish attack grew out of the fact that Colonel Coit, Major Dean and Lieutenant Wardman of General Brooke's staff, had, with Companies A and C of the Fourth Ohio, started early in the morning to reconnoitre to the northward with the object of ascertaining the truth of the reports that the Spaniards had mined the bridges on the road to Cayey, whither General Brooke's command was bound. On account of the smallness of the reconnoitring party, the report that they had been attacked by the Spaniards caused consternation at the Guayama headquarters. A srtong force was, however, at once hurried to the front. There were no horses to haul the dynamite guns, but the men buckled to and dragged them over the hills for five miles to the scene of action. 647 648 EVENTS TO END OF THE WAR. On the way several privates of Company C were met. They reported that that company and Company A had been practically annihilated by Spanish artillery. They declared that they were too tired to fight any more. At 2 o'clock the reinforcements reached a turn of the road, and the whole scene of the engagement lay before them. They stood directly on the spot where the first ambuscade had been made. The road here takes a sudden turn to the right, while 300 yards further on it makes a quick turn to the left. Thus the marching troops were exposed at both turns to fire from the hills on either side. The Spaniards were about 600 yards away. They were intrenched on one side behind a blockhouse and on the other behind earthworks on top of a hill. Nothing but a shallow ditch on the left side of the road saved the American troops. That the fire had been blistering hot there was shown by the trees, whose leaves and boughs had been torn away by the Spanish shot. For the greater part of two hours the Americans lay in the ditch, the Spaniards meanwhile directing a hot fire against them, but not attempting to charge them. Hot Fire from the Blockhouse. A stampede was started in Company C by the collapse of Captain Biddle, who was prostrated by the heat. When he fell it was generally believed that he had been shot, and the effect on the men might have been serious had it not been for Lieutenant Wardman, who assumed command of the company and fought gallantly through the engagement. As soon as the reinforcements arrived he pressed forward with his men to the top of the hill. Some time before this the enemy had stopped their cross-fire, but as soon as the Americans climbed the hill the Spaniards opened a hot fire from the blockhouse. The Americans rushed through the hail of bullets toward the blockhouse, and the Spaniards started to retreat. Just at this time the dynamite guns got into action. The first shell landed at one side of the blockhouse and exploded with a terrific roar. The Spaniards were simply thrown into a state of panic by the explosion of the shell and were seen fleeing from the hill at top speed in all directions except toward the Americans. They could hardly be EVENTS TO END OF THE WAR. 649 derided for evincing such a presiding desire to get out of range. The shell tore a hole in the ground for a distance of fifty feet and the shock of the explosion could be felt where the Americans stood. From the place in the road where the guns were fired the sight was a beautiful one. All up the hill the American soldiers, their brown hats silhouetted against the sky, kept volleying away at the enemy and chatting at the same time in a manner to shock regular troops. Welcome to our Troops. After the third shot from the dynamite guns the Spaniards were in full retreat. The Americans then retired to Guayama for the night. They found the houses still closed as tight as traps. Not until the dynamite guns appeared would the natives even open their windows. Then one by one they straggled out, shouting: "Long live the Americans!" and displaying the American colors. Captain Biddle had just left the hospital, and was scarcely in condition to command his company. That the Spaniards intended to put up a fight to prevent the advance of the Americans was evident. Natives reported this morning that 400 infantry and 150 cavalry camped within four miles of Guayama the night before. They also reported that there were heavy artillery intrenchments within five miles of the town. No artillery or cavalry was engaged in the fighting. The Americans crossed three bridges, and upon examination found that none of them had been mined or otherwise tampered with. There was a two hours' fight before day-break at Cape San Juan August 9th, in which the Spaniards were worsted. Eight hundred Spaniards attempted to retake the lighthouse, which was guarded by forty of our sailors, commanded by Lieutenant Atwater. The Spaniards were driven back by shells from the Amphitrite, Cincinnati and Leyden. Refugees reported that one hundred Spaniards were killed. The Spanish advance began from Rio Grande, whither the Spaniards had retreated after the first landing of troops at Cape San Juan the week before. They marched through Luquillo and pulled down the American flag at Fajardo and replaced the Spanish flag. 650 EVENTS TO END OF THE WAR. The terrified refugees warned the light-house force that the Spanish were coming. Sixty women and children were in an outbuilding of the lighthouse during the fight. The Spaniards opened with a machine gun at a distance of three hundred yards. The Leyden, Ensign Crosley commanding, rushed within one hundred yards of the shore and poured one-pounders into the Spaniards. Captain Barclay, of the Amphitrite, used six-pounders and the Cincinnati fiveinch guns. The ships landed two hundred and fifty men during the fight and reinforced the lighthouse. A machine gun, rifles and ammunition were left by the retreating Spaniards. Ensign Crosley took the refugees off at daybreak and went to Ponce. Our flag was still on the lighthouse, but the forces were withdrawn. The Amphitrite guns covered the lighthouse, ready to annihilate it if our flag was hauled down. It is one of the most important lights on the island. An Engagement Suddenly Stopped. Hostilities were brought to an end at Guayama, Porto Rico, August I4th, amid the groans and murmurings of the soldiers under General Brooke, who were about to begin a movement whose end seemed certain victory. Spaniards, massed in strong defences, lay right before our lines, in easy range. Light Battery B, of Pennsylvania, had been ordered into position to begin the engagement. The guns of the first section had been brought up and a gun had been unlimbered. A shell had been placed in the chamber. A Pennsylvanian stood ready to fire. Suddenly there was a shout from the rear. Two men on horseback dashed into view, frantically waving their arms. The men at the guns waited. The horsemen were Signal Lieutenant McLaughlin and an orderly. They had ridden hard from the end of the military wire that was built in the field to General Brooke's headquarters. The order to commence firing had been given when the lieutenant and orderly reached the gun. "Cease action!" shouted the lieutenant. Then to the wondering artillerymen he explained that the EVENTS TO END OF THE WAR. 651 war was over. A message had been received from General Miles by General Brooke, he said, directing that all hostile military operations should be stopped. The peace protocol had been signed by representatives of both governments. The Pennsylvanians, officers and men, howled with disgust, and when the lieutenant delivered General Brooke's order that they should return to the camp at Guayama they sullenly wheeled the guns about and went, sullenly, to the rear. The position of these men was superb. Brooke had thrown out three strong columns to the left of Guayama. His plan was to shell and rush his way to Cayey, where he was to form a junction with General Wilson. His main column, himself in command, consisting of three light batteries, three regiments of infantry and two troops of cavalry, advanced over a mountain road, with its flanks effectually protected. It nret with no opposition. Three miles out beyond the scene of Monday's fight the enemy was discovered, intrenched in a splendid defensive position on the top of a mountain, but the range was easy. It was then that the notice of peace arrived and sent the soldiers sadly back with the gun that was to have sent the first shell on the way to victory. The Dawn of Peace. The Department of State at Washington, on the afternoon of August 2d, issued a statement announcing officially the President's terms of peace which were handed to Ambassador Cambon. They were that Spanish sovereignty must be forever relinquished in the Western Indies; that the United States should have a coaling station in the Ladrones, and that this country would occupy Manila's bay and harbor, as well as the city, pending the determination of the control, disposition and government of the Philippines. The statement was as follows: "In order to remove any misapprehension in regard to the negotiations as to peace between the United States and Spain, it is deemed proper to say that the terms offered by the United States to Spain in the note tendered the French Ambassador on Saturday last are in substance as follows: 652 EVENTS TO END OF THE WAR. " The President does not now put forward any claim for pecuniary indemnity, but requires the relinquishment of all claim of sovereignty over or title to the Island of Cuba, as well as the immediate evacuation by Spain of the Island; the cession to the United States and immediate evacuation of Porto Rico and other islands under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies, and the like cession of an island in the Ladrones. " The United States will occupy and hold the city, bay and harbor of Manila, pending the conclusion of a treaty of peace which shall determine the control, disposition and government of the Philippines. " If these are accepted by Spain in their entirety, commissioners will be named by the United States to meet commissioners on the part of Spain for the purpose of concluding a treaty of peace on the basis above indicated." Spain Expected to Agree to Terms. The announcement on August 7th, from Madrid, that the Spanish Ministry had formally decided to accept the proposition of the United States for a peace convention relieved the anxiety that was felt for a definite decision. No doubt was entertained that Spain would agree to the terms offered by President McKinley, nor was the faith of the President shaken in the ultimate outcome by reason of what the impatient public regarded as delay on the part of Spain in making answer. The public were not admitted to all the councils of the government and therefore were not prepared to form an intelligent opinion. There were reasons why an immediate reply could not be made to the American proposition, and these reasons were understood and appreciated by the President and Secretary Day. Convinced that Spain would accept the terms there was no disposition on the part of the President to insist upon hasty action. It was felt that the reply would be made within a reasonable time, and the good judgment and sagacity of the President were vindicated by the action of the Spanish Cabinet. On the evening of August I2th, I898, President McKinley issued the following proclamation: EVENTS TO END OF THE WAR. 653 " BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. "A PROCLAMATION. " Whereas, By a protocol concluded and signed August i2th, 1898, by William R. Day, Secretary of State of the United States, and His Excellency, Jules Cambon, Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the Republic of France at Washington, respectively representing for this purpose the Government of the United States and the Government of Spain, the United States and Spain have formally agreed upon the terms on which negotiations for the establishment of peace between the two countries shall be undertaken; and " Whereas, It is in said protocol agreed that upon its conclusion and signature hostilities between the two countries shall be suspended, and that notice to that effect shall be given as soon as possible by each government to the oommanders of its military and naval forces; " Now, therefore, I, William McKinley, President of the United States, do, in accordance with the stipulations of the protocol, declare and proclaim on the part of the United States a suspension of hostilities, and do hereby command that orders be immediately given through the proper channels to the commanders of the military and naval forces of the United States to abstain from all acts inconsistent with this proclamation. " In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. " Done in the city of Washington, this I2th day of August, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ninety-eight, and of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and twenty-third. WILLIAM MCKINLEY. ' "By the President, WILLIAM R. DAY, Secretary of State." Provisions Stated in the Protocol. The protocol, signed by Secretary Day on behalf of the United States and by Ambassador Cambon on behalf of Spain, contains the following provisions: That Spain will relinquish all claim of sovereignty over and title to Cuba. That Porto Rico and other Spanish islands in the West Indies, and an island in the Ladrones to be selected by the United States, shall be ceded to the latter. That the United States will occupy and hold the city, bay and harbor of Manila pending the conclusion of the treaty of peace, which shall determine the control, disposition and government of the Philippines. 654 EVENTS TO END OF THE WAR. That Cuba, Porto Rico and other Spanish Islands in the West Indies shall be immediately evacuated, and that commissioners, to be appointed within ten days, shall, within thirty days from the signing of the protocol, meet at Havana and San Juan, respectively, to arrange and execute the details of the evacuation. That the United States and Spain will each appoint not more than five commissioners to negotiate and conclude a treaty of peace. The commissioners are to meet at Paris not later than the Ist of October. On the signing of the protocol, hostilities will be suspended and notice to that effect will be given as soon as possible by each government to the commanders of its military and naval forces. The closing chapter of events that led up to the signature of the protocol and the cessation of hostilities were full of interest. There were rumors in the early morning that over night the French Embassy had received the long-expected final instructions from Madrid, but these, upon inquiry, proved groundless, and it was not until halfpast 12 that the note began to come from Madrid in small lots. The Formal Ceremony. At 2.45 o'clock Secretary Thiebaut, of the French Embassy, appeared at the State Department to inform Secretary Day that the Ambassador was in full possession of the note, was fully empowered to sign the protocol for Spain, and only awaited the pleasure of the State Department. He intimated that the Ambassador would be pleased to have the final ceremony conducted in the presence of President McKinley, where the negotiations were begun. Leaving the Secretary of Embassy in his own office, Secretary Day made a short visit to the White House to learn the President's wishes in the matter. The latter immediately consented to accept the suggestion, and M. Thiebaut hastened to inform his principal that the President would receive him at the White House at 4 o'clock. At the appointed hour a driving rain storm prevailed, obliging all the parties to resort to carriages for transportation to the White House. Secretary Day came first, with a large portfolio under his arm, enclosing copies of the protocol, of the proclamation to be issued EVENTS TO END OF THE WAR. by the President stopping hostilities, and some other necessary papers. He was accompanied by Assistant Secretary Moore, Second Assistant Secretary Adee and Third Assistant Secretary Cridler. They were shown immediately into the Cabinet room, where the President sat in waiting. When Ambassador Cambon reached the White House the rain was still violent, and the Ambassador abandoned his usual custom of alighting at the outer gates of the Executive grounds. He was driven under the porte cochere, passing through a cordon of newspaper men, before he and Secretary Thiebaut were ushered inside. They went direct to the library adjoining the Cabinet room on the upper floor. At 4.05 they were announced to the waiting party in the Cabinet room, and were ushered into their presence. After an exchange of diplomatic courtesies no unnecessary loss of time occurred and Assistant Secretary of State Cridler, on the part of the United States, and First Secretary Thiebaut, on the part of Spain, retired to a window, where there was a critical formal examination of the protocol. This inspection had all the outward formalities due a document of this importance and was considered proper in a matter of such grave importance. How the Protocol Was Arranged. It was prepared in duplicate at the State Department, one copy to be retained by the United States Government, and the other to become the property of Spain. The text was handsomely engrossed in a running Old English script. Each copy of the protocol was arranged in double column, French and English standing alongside for easy comparison as to the exactness of the translation. The protocol sent to Spain was accompanied by the credentials issued by President McKinley, specially empowering the Secretary tof State to affix his signature to this document. The authorization was brief and in type-writing, save for the President's characteristic bold signature. Written credentials of the Spanish government were sent to M. Cambon bearing the signature of Cristina. The cable dispatch received by him conferred full authority to sign the proto 656 EVENTS TO END OF THE WAR. col, and stated that the written authorization would follow, signed by the Queen Regent in the name of the King. The examination of the protocol was satisfactory, and the document was handed to M. Cambon first, and then to SecretaryDay, who affixed signatures in that order to each side of the two copies. Then the last detail in making the protocol binding was administered by Assistant Secretary Cridler, in charge of the chancery work, who attached the seal of the United States. Throughout the ceremony all but the two signers remained standing. M. Cambon, in signing for Spain, occupied the seat which Secretary of the Navy, Long, now away on a vacation, usually occupied. The President stood at the left hand corner at the head of the great Cabinet table. Secretary Day, M. Thiebaut and M. Cambon, in the order named, on the left side of the table. The rest of the party were standing in other portions of the room. The Signatures Are Attached. It was 4.23 o'clock when the final signatures were attached to the protocol, and within the knowledge of all the officials present this was the first time that a protocol or treaty had been signed at the White House. As this ceremony concluded, Acting Secretary Allen, of the Navy Department; Secretary Alger and Adjutant General Corbin appeared having been summoned to the White House by the President, and they were admitted into the Cabinet room just in season to witness one of the most impressive features of the ceremony. The President requested the hand of the Ambassador and through him returned thanks to the sister republic of France for the exercise of her good offices in bringing about peace. He also thanked the Ambassador personally for the important part he has played in this matter, and the latter replied in suitable terms. As a further mark of his disposition, President McKinley called for the proclamation which he had caused to be drawn up suspending hostilities, and signed it in the presence of M. Cambon, who expressed his appreciation of the action. EVENTS TO END OF THE WAR. 657 The following are fac-similes of the signatures of the French Ambassador and Secretary Day, which were attached to the Protocol: wc$. /9, /Byf, President McKinley Praises the Troops. The following official correspondence between President McKinley and General Breckinridge, in which the President pays tribute to the troops who could not be sent to the front, was made public August I2th. "THE PRESIDENT: ' CHICKAMAUGA PARK, GA., August Io, 1898. ( May I not ask you, in the name and behalf or the forty thousand men of this command, to visit it while it is still intact? There is much to be said showing how beneficial and needed such a visit is; but you will appreciate better than I can tell you the disappointment and consequent depression many men must feel, especially the sick, when they joined together for a purpose, and have done so much to show their readiness and worthiness to serve their country in the field, but find themselves leaving the military service without a battle or campaign. All who see them must recognize their merit and personal interest, must encourage all if you can find time to review this command. "BRECKINRIDGE, Major General Commanding." The following is the President's reply: " EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, August II, 1898. "MAJOR GENERAL BRECKINRIDGE, Chickamauga Park: "Replying to your invitation I beg to say that it would give me great pleasure 2 R 658 EVENTS TO END OF THE WAR. to show by a personal visit to Chickamauga Park, my high regard for the forty thousand troops of your command, who so patriotically responded to the call for volunteers and who have been for upwards of two months ready for any service and sacrifice the country might require. My duties, however, will not admit of absence from Washington at this time. " The highest tribute that can be paid to a soldier is to say that he performed his full duty. The field of duty is determined by his government, and wherever that chances to be is the place of honor. All have helped in the great cause, whether in camp or battle, and when peace comes all will be alike entitled to the nation's gratitude. "WILLIAM MCKINLEY.' On Saturday, August I3th, another and very important victory was added to those already gained by our military and naval forces. Manila fell before the guns of Dewey's fleet and the assaults of General Merritt's troops. No news having reached the Philippines of the end of the war by the signing of the protocol on August I2th, the long deferred attack upon Manila was made, and after a spirited resistance by the Spanish troops, the city surrendered. Early in the morning Dewey's fleet, which had blockaded the town since May Ist, advanced and signalled a demand for a surrender, which was refused. The forts were then bombarded with great effect, and the city was taken by our land forces. The Spanish General Augusti, was taken off by a German cruiser late at night and with his family went to Hong Kong. The capture of Manila completed a series of military events of the most brilliant description and destined to change the map of the world, placing America in the front rank of naval and military powers, a position which she had not held up to the time of our War with Spain, owing to the fact that it has never been necessary for us to take on the character of a military nation. Condensed Record of the Events of the War. The following is a condensed record of the Events of fhe War, including the dates on which all the principal events took place: February 15, I898.-Destruction of the Battleship Maine in the harbor of Havana. February I7th.-Court of Inquiry on Maine explosion appointed... CONDENSED SUMMARY OF EVENTS. 659 March 28th.-Court of Inquiry reports Maine blown up by external causes. April 5th.-Consul-General Lee recalled from Havana. April Ioth.-Consul-General Lee sails from Cuba. April IIth.-President McKinley sends a message to Congress on the Cuban question. April i6th.-Senate passes the Belligerency resolutions. April I8th.-House refuses to recognize the belligerency of the Cubans. Spain sends memorandum to the Powers. April i9th.-Congress adopts conference report. April 20th.-The President signs the Cuban bill, and sends an ultimatum to Spain in accordance therewith. He also makes public notification of blockade of Cuban ports. April 2Ist.-Passports sent Minister Woodford. April 23d.-Havana blockaded by North Atlantic Squadron, and cruiser Nashville fires first shot of the war, taking as prize steamer Buena Ventura. The President issues proclamation calling for 125,000 men. April 24th.-Spain makes declaration of war. April 25th.-Congress declares war against Spain dating from April 2Ist. April 26th.-Congress passes Army Reorganization bill, and the President proclaims adherence to the Declaration of Paris. England proclaims neutrality. April 27th.-Matanzas fortifications bombarded by New York, Puritan and Cincinnati. Admiral Dewey sails from Mirs Bay to Manila to engage Spanish fleet. April 28th.-France declares neutrality. Congress passes Naval Appropriation bill. April 29th.-Admiral Dewey arrives off Philippine Islands. Army moves from Chattanooga for Tampa. Portugal declares neutrality. Fleet under command of Admiral Cervera sails from Cape Verde Islands for West India waters. April 30th.-Battleship Oregon and the Marietta reach Rio from San Francisco. 660 CONDENSED SUMMARY OF EVENTS. May Ist.-Admiral Dewey's fleet entirely destroys the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay. May 2d.-Admiral Dewey demands surrender of fortifications in harbor of Manila, and cuts cable to Hong Kong. May 3d.-Government decides to send an army to the Philippines. May 4th.-Oregon and Marietta leave Rio. May 5th.-Gunboat Wilmington covers landing of arms from tug Leyden for the Cubans. Spaniards routed. May 7th.-Admiral Dewey announces the capture of Cavite. May 9th.-At the request of President Congress unanimously gives vote of thanks to Admiral Dewey. Torpedo boat Winslow has a fight with Spanish vessels in Cardenas harbor. May Iith.-Ensign Bagley and four of the crew of the Winslow killed during an engagement in Cardenas harbor. Cable at Cienfuegos cut. May I2th.-Admiral Sampson bombards San Juan de Porto Rico. General Merritt accepts command of Philippine Islands army. May I3th.-Commodore Schley sails from Hampton Roads with Flying Squadron. May I4th.-Admiral Cervera's fleet reported at Curacoa. May I7th.-Censorship of Cable messages established. May I8th.-Alabama launched. Cables cut by St. Louis and Wampatuck under heavy fire. May g9th.-Commodore Schley's fleet at Key West. Cervera's fleet reported at Santiago. May 2oth.-Six regiments of immunes ordered raised. May 22d.-Cruiser Charleston sails from San Francisco to Manila. May 24th.-Battleship Oregon arrives at Jupiter, Fla. May 25th.-President calls for 75,000 additional volunteers. First expedition of troops sailed for Manila. May 26th.-Colonel Lacret lands in Cuba with 432 men. May 29th.-Commodore Schley reports finding Admiral Cervera's fleet in Santiago Bay. May 30th.-General Shafter ordered to embark with 15,000 or more men for Santiago campaign. CONDENSED SUMMARY OF EVENTS. 661 May 3Ist. — Commodore Schley bombards fortifications at Santiago. June ist.-Admiral Sampson takes command at Santiago. June 2d.-House passes urgent deficiency bill of nearly $I8,ooo.. ooo. Spain makes another appeal to the Powers to intervene in her behalf. June 3d.-Hobson and crew of seven men sink Merrimac in entrance of Santiago harbor to prevent egress of Cervera's fleet, and are captured by Spanish. June 6th.-Santiago fortifications again bombarded and Spanish cruiser Reina Mercedes sunk. Admiral Dewey reports insurgent successes around Manila. June 7th.-Fortifications at Caimanera in Guantanamo Bay destroyed. Monitor Monterey sails for Manila. June Ioth.-Congress passes war revenue bill. Six hundred marines land at Caimanera. June I ith.-Spanish troops attack marines, but repulsed with heavy loss. Four Americans killed. June I2th.-Attack renewed, but Spanish troops again repulsed. Philippine insurgents declare independence and choose Aguinaldo President. June I3th.-Attack on marines at Caimanera at night. Two Americans killed and I5 Spaniards. Latter repulsed. June I4th.-General Shafter sails from Tampa for Santiago with I5,000 men. American marines and Cubans storm blockhouse at Caimanera, capture it and rout the enemy. June 15th.-Second expedition for the Philippines sails. House passes Hawaiian resolutions by vote of 209 to 91. The ex change of Lieutenant Hobson is authorized by the Spanish Government. June I6th.-The Cadiz squadron, under Admiral Camara, sails for the Philippines. June Igth.-Admiral Sampson and General Garcia confer. June 20th.-General Shafter's army lands at Baiquiri. June 2Ist.-Forts at Nipe Bay silenced and Spanish vessel Jorge Juan sunk. Sampson and Shafter visit Garcia. Cruiser Charleston captures Guam, Ladrone Islands. 662 CONDENSED SUMMARY OF EVENTS. June 22d.-Part of General Shafter's army disembarks. The St. Paul disables the Terror in harbor of San Juan, Porto Rico. June 23d.-General Shafter's troops all landed without accident. Monitor Monadnock sails for Manila. June 24th.-Battle of La Quisima, I6 Rough Riders and Regulars killed and 40 wounded. June 27th.-Commodore Watson ordered to command squadron to proceed to Spain. Third expedition for Manila sails. June 28th.-President orders Cuban Blockade extended. June 29th.-General Merritt sails for Manila. June 30th.-First expedition to Manila arrives. General Shafter's army advances near Santiago. The Egyptian Government orders Camara's squadron to stop coaling in its waters. July ist.-Battle of Santiago begun. General Lawton's division storms and captures El Caney, and another division, including Regulars and Rough Riders, storm and capture San Juan. American troops lose about 1,800 men. July 2d.-Spanish forces try unsuccessfully to recapture San Juan. July 3d -Commodore Schley destroys Admiral Cervera's fleet. July 4th.-Spanish cruiser. Alphonso XII. sunk off Havana by the Hornet. July 6th.-Senate votes affirmatively on Hawaiian resolutions. Hobson exchanged. President McKinley issues a Thanksgiving proclamation. July 7th.-Admiral Dewey captures Isla Grande, Subig Bay, and forces German cruiser Irene to retire. President McKinley signs Hawaiian resolutions of annexation. July 8th.-Congress adjourns. Camara's squadron sails back to Spain. July I Ith.-General Miles arrives at Santiago. July I3th.-General Shafter reports yellow fever among the troops. July I4th.-General Toral surrenders the Spanish army in the greater part of Santiago province, including the city, to General Shafter. July I5th.-The fourth expedition for Manila sails. July I7th.-The American flag raised in Santiago. CONDENSED SUMMARY OF EVENTS. 663 July I8th.-The President issues a proclamation regarding the government of Santiago. July 20th.-Troops sail from Tampa for Porto Rico. July 2Ist.-General Miles sails with troops for Porto Rico from Guantanamo Bay. July 25th.-General Miles lands at Guanica, Porto Rico, and General Merritt reaches Manila. July 26th. —Spain sues for peace through French Ambassador Cambon. July 27th. —Nearly 3,000 fever cases among American troops at Santiago. July 29th.-Ponce, Porto Rico, surrenders, and inhabitants give warm welcome to General Miles July 30th.-President McKinley makes reply to Spain's plea for peace. July 3Ist.-Battle of Malate, an outskirt of Manila. Spanish troops attack at night and repulsed with heavy loss, estimated at 500 killed and wounded. American loss, 14 killed and 44 wounded. August 2d.-General Merritt asks for 30,000 more troops. Spain intimates she will accept the terms of peace demanded by the United States. August 3d.-Colonel Roosevelt and Generals under General Shafter unite in a Round Robin, asking that troops be sent home on account of yellow fever. August 5th. -Embarkation of Shafter's troops for home begins. General Hains captures Guanama after a sharp skirmish. August 9th -Spain sends long reply to United States terms of peace. August I2th. -Peace protocol signed in Washington. War and Navy Departments cable Generals and Admirals to suspend hostilities. Blockade of Havana raised. August I3th.-Hot battle between Spanish and American forces at Asmonte Ridge, Porto Rico. Americans victorious. Mayagues captured. Havana batteries open fire on American warships, and one shot strikes the San Francisco, but injures no one. Flag or truce announcing peace then sent in. Bombardments of the forts at Manila by Admiral Dewey's fleet and a capture of the city after an assault by General Merritt's troops. 664 EVENTS TO END OF THE WAR, Before the attack on Manila August I3th, detailed in the foregoing pages, General Merritt issued the following order to his army: "In view of the extraordinary conditions under which this army is operating, its commanding General desires to acquaint the officers and men with the expectations he entertains as to their conduct. "You are assembled on foreign soil, situated within the westein confines of a vast ocean separating you from your native land. ' ou have come not as despoilers or oppressors, but simply as the i:.struments of a strong, free government, whose purposes are beneficent and which declared itself in this war champion of those oppressed by Spanish misrule. " It is therefore the intention of this order to appeal directly to your pride in your position as representatives of a high civilization, in the hope and with the firm conviction that you will so conduct yourselves in your relations with the inhabitants of these islands as to convince them of the lofty nature of the mission you have come to execute. "It is not believed any acts of pillage, rapine or violence will be committed by soldiers or others in the employ of the United States, but should there be persons with this command who prove themselves unworthy of this confidence, their acts will be considered not only as crimes against the sufferers, but as direct insults to the United States flag and be punished on the spot with the maximum penalties known to military law." Dewey's Terrific Bombardment. Further details of the battle before Manila show that with a loss of eight killed, fifty wounded and not even a shroud carried away on one of the warships, the American land and naval forces captured the city. Seven thousand prisoners, twelve thousand rifles, a number of field guns and an immense quantity of ammunition fell into the hands of the victors. The fortifications and shore defenses and part of the city itself were destroyed by American shot and shell during a terrific bombardment of two hours by eight ships of Admiral Dewey's fleet. The Americans killed lost their lives in storming the Spanish trenches, when EVENTS TO END OF THE WAR. 665 they swept everything before them like a whirlwind, and gave the Spaniards and Filipinos a splendid exhibition of Yankee valor. Three demands for the surrender of the city were made by Admiral Dewey before Manila was attacked. The first was made on August 7th. In it the Spaniards were given forty-eight hours to lay down their arms. The German Consul immediately embarked all German subjects on the German warships for protection. On the afternoon of August 9th the demand for surrender was again made. The Spaniards asked a delay to enable them to get instructions from Madrid. This was refused. On the I3th the final demand was made. A message was sent to the Spanish commander at 8 o'clock. The Spaniards were given one hour in which to surrender. They immediately refused to do so. The American squadron promptly cleared for action. They moved into a line between Malate and Old Manila. There were eight vessels in the squadron- the Olympia, the flagship; the Monterey, the Boston, Baltimore, Charleston, Petrel, Raleigh and Hugh McCulloch. The German and French vessels lay north of the Passig river. The greatest excitement prevailed among the vessels of the foreign fleet, which lay across the bay. The British and Japanese warships were nearest the American fleet. Signal to Open Fire. At 9.30 o'clock the signal to open fire fluttered from the signal lines of the Olympia. The flags were scarcely set when there was a roar from the big guns of the flagship herself. Instantly all the other vessels opened, and a shower of steel missiles sped toward the doomed city. At the same time along the line of the American entrenchments the field guns opened on the Spanish position, and the American infantry were massed in the intrenchments ready for the final assault. The din was terrific. The heavier guns of the warships roared at intervals, while the rapid-fires barked viciously and the guns of the secondary batteries spat and sputtered fast and furiously. Through the awful noise the great 13-inch guns of the big monitor Monterey 666 EVENTS TO END OF THE WAR. could be heard distinctly like great thunderclaps, and the awe-inspir. ing shrieks of her immense shells could be readily distinguished from the tenor and alto songs of the smaller missles. Great gaps were torn in the Spanish fortifications as the shells struck and exploded, and buildings in the outskirts of the city could be seen to tumble or rise in the air as the shells passed through or exploded within them. In the midst of the bombardment the order to storm the Spanish trenches was given to the American soldiers. The Spanish lines extended a distance of ten miles around the city, and from two to four miles outside the walls. Grand Assault by Americans. With a cheer the Americans sprang from their trenches and dashed for the Spanish earthworks. The First Colorado Volunteers were in the van. A deadly fire was poured in from the heights occupied by the Spaniards, and it was this that caused the American losses. But the men never hesitated. They swept the enemy from the outer line of intrenchments to the second line of defense. This was at once attacked, and from there the Spaniards were driven into the walled city. Then the Spanish commander saw that further resistance was useless, and he sent up a white flag. The bombardment was at once stopped, and soon afterward the American forces entered the city. General Merritt assumed command and temporarily restored the civil laws. The Spanish forces numbered about 7,000 men, but they were well intrenched. Nearly Io,ooo Americans were engaged in the assault, and their losses under the circumstances are considered small. The Colorado troops were the first to storm the trenches, and every man was a hero. On August I8th the War Department at Washington received the following official report from General Merritt: "MANILA, August I3. "ADJUTANT-GENERAL, Washington: "On 7th instant Admiral Dewey joined me in forty-eight hour notification to Spanish commander to remove non-combatents from EVENTS TO END OF THE WAR. 667 city. Same date reply received expressing thanks for humane sentiments and stating Spanish without places of refuge for non-combatants now within walled town. " On 9th instant sent joint note inviting attention to suffering in store for sick and non-combatants in case it became our duty to reduce the defences, also setting forth hopeless condition of Spanish forces, surrounded on all sides, fleet in front, no prospect of reinforcements, and demanded surrender as due to every consideration of humanity; same date received reply admitting their situation, but stating council of defence declares request for surrender cannot be granted, but offered to consult Government if time was granted necessary to communicate via Hong Kong. Joint note in reply declining. "On the I3th joined with navy in attack, with following result: After about half-hour's accurate shelling of Spanish lines, McArthur's brigade on right and Greene's on left, under Anderson, made vigorous attack and carried Spanish works. Loss not accurately knownabout fifty in all. "Behavior of troops excellent; co-operation of the navy most valuable. Troops advanced rapidly on walled city, upon which white flag was shown and town capitulated. Troops occupy Malate, Binondo, walled city San Miguel. All important centres protected. Insurgents kept out. No disorder or pillage. MERRITT." What Is Thought of Our Soldiers. A correspondent of the Hong Kong Telegraph, writing from Manila, furnishes the following estimate of the United States soldiers who were sent to the Philippines: " In the early part of the day the raw recruits from Roaring Camp or Dead Man's Gulch are being 'licked into shape' by Sergeant Whatshisname, with a California twang. In the afternoon they have a rest, and may prowl about the native town, or bathe in the bay, or exercise their ingenuity in finding something else to do. They are a fine, big, strong-looking lot, of about the toughest type of the Wild West, I should imagine; splendid fellows, no doubt, thorough 668 EVENTS TO END OF THE WAR. 'rough diamonds,' extremely rougb. Great, hulking backwoodsmen, bull punchers, diggers, cargo-lumpers from 'Frisco, farm hands from San Diego, and all apparently selected for their size. Among the lithe little Philipinos they are an army of Goliaths. "A strapping six-footer in non-commissioned officer's uniform came and asked us some questions in very broken English, with a Norwegian accent, and, after giving him the information he desired, we asked him, jokingly, 'Have any of your soldiers ever been in America?' He stared for a minute or two, pondering over the true inwardness of the query, and then replied: 'Ve vas all Amurricans. Vat you dinks?' In some trepidation, as I gauged the man's height and fighting weight, I replied, 'I begs bardon, I dinks you vas some Norske shib's garbenders.' He took it quite goodnaturedly, and laughed as we parted. Mixture of Nationalities. "It is impossible to guess how many of these troops are of American birth. Possibly we miscalculated. (I say 'we' because I had a companion in all my peregrinations, an excellent and invaluable friend.) We guessed that there might be a fairly thick sprinkling of aliens, say o1 or I5 per cent., British and a similar proportion of Continental Europeans; the rest, 70 or 80 per cent. American born. They look as if they should make the finest troops in the world, after being drilled and disciplined; strong, brave, intelligent, and with plenty of' go,' not merely clay to be moulded like Chinese or Egyptian raw material, but full of fire and life. "At present, however, roughness is the chief characteristic noticeable about them. Their uniform intensifies the impression; it is a coarse brown canvas, beside which our Indian campaigning dress of khaki is as silk beside floor matting. The color is darker than khaki, and I think better for invisibility; but the material is altogether too much like coal sacks. "The Americans seem to carry their republicanism to such extreme lengths as to studiously avoid any suggestion of spruce or smart appearance; they could be dressed quite as plainly and still be EVENTS TO END OF THE WAR. 669 neat and trim. I am not finding fault with the California Volunteers, nor do I overlook the fact that they had only just landed from a very long voyage. But, after making all allowances, it must be recognized that they are dressed in coarse canvas which after being worn some time looks slouchy. It is nothing against their fighting qualities; as I have said, they seemed to me to be magnificent fighters." Our Regular Army. The regular army did not receive the credit it deserved for the part it played in the war with Spain. Nearly all the reports received gave glowing and deserved accounts of the bravery, dash and efficiency of the volunteers, but almost wholly neglected the performances of the regulars. Yet a careful study of the campaign will show indisputably that it was mainly through the discipline and steadiness of the regulars that the volunteers were able to give such an heroic account of themselves, and that a threatened disaster was turned into a glorious victory. Few realized the splendid and invaluable character of the work performed by the regulars in the Santiago campaign, but when all is known these brave men should and will receive the full credit due them, and their true worth will be appreciated. While there was a large number of regiments of the regular army engaged in the battles near Santiago there were only three volunteer regiments. It was natural perhaps under the circumstances that at the outset the volunteers should receive the greatest attention from the public, and there was not the slightest reason to suppose there was any intention to glorify them at the expense of the regulars. The latter are the pride of the nation-always excepting the practical politician, who can see no personal profit in their existence; but it was almost purely sentimental considerations that gave the most enthusiastic praise to the volunteers. In a sense the volunteers are closer to the mass of the citizens. Every regiment almost is composed of fathers, brothers, husbands, neighbors and friends of the people of a certain locality, while the members of a regiment of regulars are recruited from all parts of the country. 670 EVENTS TO END OF THE WAR. As much was not expected from the volunteers as from the regulars, for they had not the same training in the art of war. Without detracting in the least from the courage and valor of the volunteer forces, it is evident that both were strengthened and sustained by the coolness, the magnificent discipline and long military training of the regulars. It is generally admitted that it was the clearheaded, cool conduct of the regulars that gave strength and confidence to the Rough Riders and the other volunteers, even if they had been disposed for a moment to waver during the terrible and bloody charge up San Juan Hill to that glorious victory. Commissioners Appointed bt Our Government. The commissioners appointed in behalf of the United States to arrange for the Spanish evacuation of Cuba are Rear-Admiral Sampson and Major-Generals Wade and Butler. The commissioners for Porto Rico are Rear-Admiral Schley and Major-Generals Brooke and Gordon. The Commissioners appointed by Spain were as follows: For Cuba: Major General Gonzales Parrado, Rear Admiral Pastor y Landero, Marquis Montoro. For Porto Rico: Major General Ortega y Diaz, Commodore of First Rank Vallarino y Carrasco, Judge Advocate Sanchez del Aguila y Leon. On August 24th it was announced that the following American Peace Commissioners to settle the future of tLe Philippine Islands had been selected by President McKinley: William R. Day, of Canton, Ohio, Secretary of State; Cushman K. Davis, United States Senator from Minnesota, Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee; William P. Frye, United States Senator from Maine, member of the Foreign Relations Committee. He has served ten years in the House of Representatives and fifteen in the Senate; succeeded James G. Blaine in the Senate; Whitelaw Reid, of New York, for several years American Ambassador to the French Republic; and George Gray, United States Senator from Delaware, who succeeded Thomas F. Bayard in the Senate in I885. The sessions of the Peace Commission are to be held in Paris, commencing not later than October first and continuing until an agreement is reached. GENERAL SHAFTER'S REPORT ON THE BATTLES NEAR SANTIAGO. Great Bravery of Our Troops-Extraordinary Difficulties were Overcome Only by the Hard Work and Gallantry of American Officers and Soldiers. G ENERAL SHAFTER'S report of the campaign which terminated in the fall of Santiago was not made public until September I4th. He briefly recounts the organization of the expedition and its embarkation and then devotes the main body of the report to the active operations about Santiago. The report gives in detail the troops assembled at Tampa. The cavalry was dismounted because of lack of transportation for the animals and because it was believed mounted cavalry could not operate efficiently near Santiago. This, General Shafter says, was found subsequently to be correct. After reciting the delay at Tampa due to inadequate facilities, General Shafter says that on June 7th he received orders to sail without delay, but not with less than Io,ooo men. After some of the transports had already reached the lower bay telegraphic instructions were received from the Secretary of War directing that the sailing of the expedition be delayed, awaiting further orders. This delay was occasioned by the navy reporting that a Spanish war vessel had been sighted in the Nicholas channel. The ships in the lower bay were immediately recalled. The expedition sailed on June I4th with 815 officers and 16,072 men. General Shafter briefly covers the trip and landing, and his first meeting with General Garcia, adding: "During the interview, General Garcia offered the services of his 671 672 GENERAL SHAFTER'S REPORT. troops, comprising about 4,000 men in the vicinity of Asseraderos, and about 500 under General Castillo, at the little town of Cujababo, a few miles east of Daiquiri. I accepted his offer, impressing it upon him that I could exercise no military control over him except such as he would concede, and as long as he served under me I would furnish him rations and ammunition." The Plan of Campaign. After conferring with Admiral Sampson and General Garcia, the plan of campaign was outlined by General Shafter. The disembarkation was to commence on the 22d at Daiquiri, with feints by the Cubans on Cabanas, and by the navy at various shore points, in order to mislead the enemy as to the place of landing. "These movements," General Shafter says, "committed me to approaching Santiago from the east over a narrow road, at first in some places not better than a trail, running from Daiquiri through Siboney and Sevilla, and making attack from that quarter. This, in my judgment, was the only feasible plan, and subsequent information and results confirmed my judgment." Of the early operations, and the skirmish in which the Rough Riders participated, the report says: "General Young's brigade passed beyond Lawton on the night of the 23d-24th, thus taking the advance, and on the morning of the latter date became engaged with a Spanish force intrenched in a strong position at La Guasima, a point on the Santiago road about three miles from Siboney, General Young's force consisting of one squadron of the First Cavalry, one of the Tenth Cavalry, and two of the First United States Volunteer Cavalry, in all 964 officers and men. "The enemy made an obstinate resistance, but were driven from the field with considerable loss. Our own loss was one officer and fifteen men killed; six officers and forty-six men wounded. The reported losses of the Spaniards were nine killed and twenty-seven wounded. The engagement had an inspiring effect on our men, and doubtless correspondingly depressed the enemy, as it was now plainly demonstrated to them that they had a foe to meet who would advance GENERAL SHAFTER'S REPORT. 673 upon them under a heavy fire delivered from intrenchments. General Wheeler, division commander, was present during the engagement, and reports that our troops, officers and men, fought with the greatest gallantry. This engagement gave us a well-watered country farther to the front on which to encamp our troops. " It was not until nearly two weeks after the army landed that it was possible to place on shore three days' supplies in excess of those required for the daily consumption. On June 30 I reconnoitered the country about Santiago, and made my plan of attack. From a high hill, from which the city was in plain view, I could see the San Juan hill and the country about El Caney. The roads were very poor, and, indeed, little better than bridle paths, until the San Juan River and El Caney were reached." General Shafter explained at a meeting of generals his plan of battle, as follows: Plan of Battle. "Lawton's division, assisted by Capron's light battery, was ordered to move out during the afternoon toward El Caney, to begin the attack there early the next morning. After carrying El Caney, Lawton was to move by the Caney road toward Santiago and take position on the right of the line. Wheeler's division of dismounted cavalry and Kent's division of infantry were directed on the Santiago road, the head of the column resting near El Pozo, toward which heights Grimes' battery moved on the afternoon of the 30th, with orders to take position there early on the next morning, and at the proper time prepare the way for the advance of Wheeler and Kent on San Juan hill. The attack at this point was to be delayed until Lawton's guns were heard at El Caney and his infantry fire showed that he had become well engaged. " The preparations were far from what I desired them to be, but we were in a sickly climate, our supplies had to be brought forward by a narrow wagon road which the rains might at any time render impassable; fear was entertained that a storm might drive the vessels containing our stores out to sea, thus separating us from our base of supplies, and lastly, it was reported that General Pando, with 2-S 674 GENERAL SHAFTER'S REPORT. 8,ooo reinforcements for the enemy, was en route from Manzanillo and might be expected in a few days. Under these conditions I determined to give battle without delay. "Early on the morning of July Ist Lawton was in a position around El Caney, Chaffee's brigade on the right across the Guantanamo road, Miles' brigade in the center and Ludlow's on the left. The duty of cutting off the enemy's retreat along the Santiago road was assigned to the latter brigade. The artillery opened on the town at 6.15 A. M. The battle here soon became general and was hotly contested. The enemy's position was naturally strong, and was rendered more so by block houses, a stone fort and intrenchments cut in solid rock, and the loopholing of a solidly built stone church. Opening of the Battle. "The opposition offered by the enemy was greater than had been anticipated and prevented Lawton from joining the right of the main line during the day, as had been intended. After the battle had continued for some time, Bates' brigade of two regiments reached my headquarters from Siboney. I directed him to move near El Caney to give assistance, if necessary. He did so and was put in position between Miles and Chaffee. "The battle continued with varying intensity during most of the day and until the place was carried by assault about 4.30 P.M. As the Spaniards endeavored to retreat along the Santiago road, Ludlow's position enabled him to do very effective work and to practically cut off all the retreat in that direction. " After the battle of El Caney was well opened and the sound of the small-arm fire caused us to believe that Lawton was driving the enemy before him, I directed Grimes' battery to open fire from the heights of El Pozo, on the San Juan block house, which could be seen situated in the enemy's entrenchments extending along the crest of San Juan hill. The fire was effective and the enemy could be seen running away from the vicinity of the block house. The artillery fire from El Pozo was soon returned by the enemy's artillery. They evidently had the range of this hill and their first shells killed and wounded several men. GENERAL SHAFTER'S REPORT. 675 " As the Spaniards used smokeless powder, it was very difficult to locate the position of their pieces, while, on the contrary the smoke caused by our black powder plainly indicated the position of our battery. 'At this time the cavalry division under General Sumner, which was lying concealed in the general vicinity of the El Pozo house, was ordered forward, with directions to cross the San Juan river and deploy to the right on the Santiago side, while Kent's division was to follow closely in its rear and deploy to the left. " These troops moved forward in compliance with orders, but the road was so narrow as to render it impracticable to retain the column of fours formation at all points, while the undergrowth on either side was so dense as to preclude the possibility of deploying skirmishers. It naturally resulted that the progress made was slow, and the longrange rifles of the enemy's infantry killed and wounded a number of our men while marching along this road and before there was any opportunity to return this fire. General Wheeler's Gallant Service. "At this time Generals Kent and Sumner were ordered to push forward with all possible haste and place their troops in position to engage the enemy. General Kent, with this end in view, forced the head of his column alongside of the cavalry column as far as the narrow trail permitted, and this hurried his arrival at the San Juan and the formation beyond that stream. A few hundred yards before reaching the San Juan the road forks-a fact that was discovered by Lieutenant Colonel Derby, of my staff, who had approached well to the front in a war balloon. This information he furnished to the troops, resulting in Sumner moving on the right hand road, while Kent was enabled to utilize the road to the left. " General Wheeler, the permanent commander of the cavalry division, who had been ill, came forward during the morning, and later returned to duty and rendered most gallant and efficient service during the remainder of the day. " After crossing the stream the cavalry moved to the right with a 676 GENERAL SHAFTER'S REPORT. view of connecting with Lawton's left when he should come up, and with their left resting near the Santiago road. " In the meantime Kent's division, with the exception of two regiments of Hawkins' brigade, being thus uncovered, moved rapidly to the front from the forks previously mentioned in the road, utilizing both trails, but more especially the one to the left, and crossing the creek formed for attack in the front of San Juan hill. During this formation the Second Brigade suffered severely. " While personally superintending this movement its gallant commander, Colonel Wikoff, was killed. The command of the brigade then devolved upon Lieutenant-Colonel Worth, Thirteenth Infantry, who was soon severely wounded, and next Lieutenant-Colonel Liscum, Twenty-fourth Infantry, who five minutes later also fell under the terrible fire of the enemy, and the command of the brigade then devolved upon Lieutenant-Colonel Ewers, Ninth Infantry. Plunged Through Barbed Wire. "While the formation just described was taking place General Kent took measures to hurry forward his rear brigade. The Tenth and Second Infantry were ordered to follow Wikoff's brigade, while the Twenty-first was sent on the right hand road to support the First Brigade, under General Hawkins, who had crossed the stream and formed on the right of the division. The Second and Tenth Infantry, Colonel E. P. Pearson, commanding, moved forward in good order on the left of the division, passed over a green knoll and drove the enemy back toward his trenches. " After completing their formation under a destructive fire, and advancing a short distance, both divisions found in their front a wide bottom in which had been placed a barbed wire entanglement and beyond which there was a high wall, along the crest of which the enemy was strongly posted. Nothing daunted, these gallant men pushed on to drive the enemy from his chosen position, both divisions losing heavily. In this assault Colonel Hamilton, Lieutenants Smith and Ship were killed, and Colonel Carroll, Lieutenants Thayer and Myer, all in the cavalry, were wounded. GENERAL SHAFTER'S REPORT. 677 "Great credit is due to Brigadier General H. S. Hawkins, who, placing himself between his regiments, urged them on by voice and bugle calls to the attack so brilliantly executed. "In this fierce encounter words fail to do justice to the gallant regimental commanders and their heroic men, for, while the generals indicated the formation and the points of attack, it was, after all, the intrepid bravery of the subordinate officers and men that planted our colors on the crest of San Juan hill and drove the enemy from his trenches and block houses, thus gaining a position which sealed the fate of Santiago. Conspicuous Bravery. "In this action on this part of the field most efficient service was rendered by Lieutenant John H. Parker, Thirteenth Infantry, and the Gattling gun detachment under his command. The fighting continued at intervals until nightfall, but our men held resolutely to the positions gained at the cost of so much blood and toil. 'I am greatly indebted to General Wheeler, who, as previously stated, returned from the sick list to duty during the period. His cheerfulness and aggressiveness made itself sufficiently felt on this part of the battlefield, and the information he furnished to me at various stages of the battle proved to be most useful. " My own health was impaired by over-exertion in the sun and intense heat of the day before, which prevented me from participating as actively in the battle as I desired, but from a high hill near my headquarters I had a general view of the battlefield, extending from El Caney on the right to the left of our lines on San Juan hill." General Shafter follows in detail the movements of the troops, and the intrenching done during the night. He says: "General Duffield, with the Thirty-third Michigan, attacked Aguadores, as ordered, but was unable to accomplish more than to detain the Spaniards in that vicinity. ( On the night of July Ist I orderedGeneral Duffield,at Siboney, to send forward the Thirty-fourth Michigan and the Ninth Massachusetts, both of which had just arrived from the United States. These regiments reached the front the next morning. 678 GENERAL SHAFTER'S REPORT. "All day on the 2d the battle raged with more or less fury, but such of our troops as were in position at daylight held their ground and Lawton gained a strong and commanding position on the right. About 10 P. M. the enemy made a vigorous assault to break through my lines, but he was repulsed at all points. " On the morning of the 3d the battle was renewed, but the enemy seemed to have expended his energy in the assault of the previous night, and the firing along the lines was desultory, until stopped by my sending the following letter within the Spanish lines." General Shafter then gives the dispatches passing between him and General Toral, already published. He proceeds: Second and Third Days' Battle. "I was of the opinion that the Spaniards would surrender if given a little time, and I thought this result would be hastened if the men of their army could be made to understand they would be well treated as prisoners of war. Acting upon this presumption, I determined to offer to return all wounded Spanish officers at El Caney who were able to bear transportation and who were willing to give their paroles not to serve against the forces of the United States until regularly exchanged. "This offer was made and accepted. These officers, as well as several of the wounded Spanish privates-twenty-seven in all-were sent to their lines under the escort of some of our mounted cavalry. Our troops were received with honors, and I have every reason to believe the return of the Spanish prisoners produced a good impression on their comrades. "The cesssation of firing about noon on the 3d practically terminated the battle of Santiago; all that occurred after that time may properly be treated under the head of the siege which followed. After deducting the detachments retained at Siboney and Daiquiri, to render those depots secure from attack, organizations held to protect our flanks, others acting as escorts and guards to light batteries, the members of the hospital corps, guards left in charge of blanket rolls, which the intense heat caused the men to cast aside before GENERAL SHAFTER'S REPORT. 679 entering battle; orderlies, etc., it is doubtful if we had more than 12,000 men on the firing line on July Ist, when the battle was fiercest and when the important and strong positions of El Caney and San Juan were captured. "A few Cubans assisted in the fight at El Caney, and fought valiantly, but their numbers were too small to materially change the strength as indicated above. The enemy confronted us with numbers about equal to our own; they fought obstinately in strong and entrenched positions, and the results obtained clearly indicate the intrepid gallantry of the company, officers and men, and the benefits derived from the careful training and instruction given in the company in recent years in rifle practice and other battle exercises. Our losses in these battles were 22 officers and 208 men killed, and 8i officers and 1,203 men wounded; missing, 79. The missing with few exceptions reported later." General Shafter says the arrival of General Escario at Santiago was not anticipated. He says: "General Garcia, with between four and five thousand Cubans, was intrusted with the duty of watching for and intercepting the reinforcements expected. This, however, he failed to do, and Escario passed into the city along on my extreme right near the bay." Asked Sampson to Enter the Harbor. After speaking of Admiral Cervera's sortie and the destruction of his fleet, General Shafter says he again called on the Spanish commander to surrender. "On the same date 1 informed Admiral Sampson that if he would force his way into the harbor the city would surrender without any further sacrifice of life. Commodore Watson replied that Admiral Sampson was temporarily absent, but that in his (Watson's) opinion the navy should not enter the harbor. "The strength of the enemy's position was such I did not wish to assault it if it could be avoided. An examination of the enemy's works, made after the surrender, fully justified the wisdom of the course adopted. The entrenchments could only have been carried with very great loss of life." 680 GENERAL SHAFTER'S REPORT. General Shafter gives the varying efforts towards securing a surrender, and his reopening the engagement on the Ioth, when the truce ended. On the I Ith the surrender was again demanded. "By this date the sickness in the army was increasing very rapidly, as a result of exposure in the trenches to the intense heat of the sun, and the heavy rains. Moreover, the dews in Cuba are almost equal to rains. The weakness of the troops was becoming so apparent I was anxious to bring the siege to a close, but in common with most of the officers of the army I did not think an assult would be justifiable, especially as the enemy seemed to be acting in good faith in their preliminary propositions to surrender. Interview with the Spanish. General. "July 12th I informed the Spanish commander that Major General Miles, commander-in-chief of the American army, had just arrived at my camp, and requested him to grant us a personal interview on the following day. He replied he would be pleased to meet us. The interview took place on the I3th, and I informed him his surrender only could be considered and that as he was without hope of escape he had no right to continue the fight." General Shafter then gives the details of the final surrender, his entry into the city and the raising of our flag. In closing he says: "Before closing my report, I wish to dwell upon the natural obstacles I had to encounter, and which no foresight could have overcome or obviated. The rocky and precipitous coast afforded no sheltered landing-places; the roads were mere bridle-paths; the effect of the tropical sun and rains upon unacclimated troops was deadly, and the dread of strange and unknown diseases had its effect on the army. "At Daiquiri the landing of the troops and stores was made at a small wooden wharf, which the Spaniards tried to burn, but unsuccessfully, and the animals were pushed into the water and guided to a sandy beach about 200 yards in extent. At Siboney the landing was made on the beach, and a small wharf erected by the engineers. I had neither the time nor the men to spare to construct permanent wharves. GENERAL SHAFTER'S REPORT. 681 "In spite of the fact that I had nearly,000o men continually at work on the roads, they were at times impassable for wagons. The San Juan and Aguadores rivers would often suddenly rise so as to prevent the passage of wagons, and then the eight pack trains with the command had to be depended upon for the victualing of my army, as well as the 20,000 refugees, who could not, in the interests of humanity, be left to starve while we had rations. No Mismanagement. "After the great physical strain and exposure of July I and 2 the malarial and other fevers began to rapidly advance throughout the command, and on July 4 the yellow fever appeared at Siboney. Though efforts were made to keep this fact from the army it soon became known. "The supply of quartermaster and commissary stores during the campaign was abundant, and, notwithstanding the difficulties in landing and transporting the rations, the troops on the firing line were at all times supplied with its coarser components, namely, of bread, meat, sugar and coffee. There was no lack of transportation, for at no time up to the surrender could all the wagons I had be used. "In reference to the sick and wounded, I have to say that they received every attention that it was possible to give them. The medical officers without exception worked night and day to alleviate the suffering, which was no greater than invariably accompanies a campaign. It would have been better if we had more ambulances, but as many were taken as were thought necessary, judging from previous campaigns. "The discipline of the command was superb, and I wish. to invite attention to the fact that not an officer was brought to trial by courtmartial, and, as far as I know, no enlisted men. This speaks volumes for an army of this size and in a campaign of such duration. " In conclusion, I desire to express to the members of my staff my thanks for their efficient performance of all the duties required of them, and the good judgment and bravery displayed on all occasions when demanded." a 01000-~.. — ror --- 1- -m t - - 02 I W....... III * _ -., l.....,......I., 11..,* j UNIVERSITY OF MIC I-G I1 -i t 3 jl la ^ I ^I *;> - ^ W! =4|t3B!s *-qtttttttttttttt~~1(~~( l ttttttttttt~tt:9z~ttttttttt r"1"" 7"