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226 ready to engage the enemy the moment he should appear, or equally ready to go after him as soon as his destination became known.

One of the first demonstrations made in Cuban waters was at Matanzas. Commodore Sampson's flagship, the New York, the cruiser Cincinnati, and the monitor Puritan sailed close in and bombarded the fortifications with such effect that a large portion of the works were completely destroyed. This bombardment speedily showed that our gunners in Atlantic waters were the equal of those in Asiatic waters, and consequently the equal of any gunners in the world.

The bombardment of Matanzas was followed by the bombardment of Cardenas, Mariel, Cienfuegos, and other points in that vicinity, and also the bombardment of San Juan, the capital city of Porto Rico. In the fight at Cardenas three warships, the Wilmington, Hudson, and Winslow, took part in the onslaught, which lasted over an hour. The Winslow was a torpedo boat, and while trying to effect a landing, a shot or shell exploded her boilers and magazine,