Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 18.djvu/464

* SPANISH-AMEKICAN WAR. 400 SPANISH-AMEEICAN WAR. Navy under Captain Sampson bombarded the de- fenses of Matanzas. Spain had an army of 60,000 men distributed throughout Cuba, and had fleets near that island and in the Philippines. Commodore Dewey, U. S. N., commanding the Asiatic squadron, then in Chinese waters, had completed the equipment and coaling of his ships, when the cable brought him orders to "proceed to the Philippine Islands; commence operations at once against Spanish fleet: capture vessels or destroy." Entering the harbor of Manila (April 30th) under cover of darkness, with his fleet (131 guns. 1678 men), made up of the Olywjna (flagship, Captain C. V. Gridley), the Baltimore (Captain N. M. Dyer), the Raleigh (Captain J. B. Coghlan), the Boston (Captain F. Wilder), the small cruiser Con- cord (Commander A. Walker), the gunboat Pet- rel (Commander E. P. Wood), the revenue cutter Hugh McCulloch, and two colliers, he attacked the ships of Admiral Jlontojo, ten in number (120 guns, 1796 men), supported by land bat- teries. The action, which lasted from 5.41 A.M. (with an interruption of three houis) till 12.30 P.M., ended in the destruction of the Spanish vessels and the silencing of the fortifications. The American casualties were 6 wounded; Spain admitted a loss of 634 killed and wounded. The mobilization of the United States land forces proceeded rapidly, and on ilay 25th a sec-, ond call was made — for 75,000 volunteers. While camps of instruction were established near Tampa and Chickamauga. the Navy was watching the seacoast and preparing the way for a combin- ed attack by the land and naval forces upon Cuba. In the meanwhile the movements of a Spanish fleet of four cruisers and three torpedo-boat de- stroyers under Admiral Cervera, which sailed from Saint Vincent on April 29th, for some time puzzled the Americans. But finally (May 29th) the Spanish ships were discovered by Commodore Schley (q.v. ) at anchor in the Bay of Santiago, and a carefully organized blockade of the bay was planned and rigorously conducted by Ad- miral (then Captain) Sampson, the commander of the American fleet in Cuban waters, who had arrived at Santiago and had superseded Schley in actual command on .Tune 1st. In Sampson's fleet was the Oregon (Captain Charles E. Clark), which to join the fleet had made a wonderful trip from Puget Soimd to Key West between March 6th and June 4th. A daring attempt by Lieuten- ant E. P. Hobson (q.v.) on June 3d to lock the door upon Cervera's fleet, by sinking the collier Merrimac in the entrance to the harbor, was only partially successful. The harbor of Guan- tanamo was occupied as a coaling station by the Americans after several collisions with the Span- ish troops. Finally, an expedition consisting of 32 trans- ports bearing 819 officers and 15,058 enlisted men under IMajor-General Shatter, U. S. V.. left Tampa, .Tune 1,5th. The force was composed al- most entirely of regulars — 18 regiments of in- fantry, 6 regiments of cavalry (dismounted), 1 battery of engineers, 4 batteries of light artil- lery, 2 batteries of siege guns, and 1 balloon de- tachment — together with 1 regiment of cavalry and 2 regiments of volunteer infantry (subse- quently increased to 4 regiments). General Shaffer's instructions from his Gov- ernment were to "go with your force to capture garrison at Santiago and assist in capturing the harbor and fleet." Arriving off Guantanamo (.Tune 20th), he communicated with the Cuban forces (5000 strong) under General Garcia, whose cooperation was secured. It was estimated that there were about 12,000 Spanish soldiers in Santiago and vicinity. A plan having been agreed upon between the United States land and naval forces, a landing was effected (June 22d) at Daiquiri of 6000 men, and on the three following days the remainder of Shaffer's troops disembarked there and at Siboney, without op- position. The rainy season having set in in- creased the natural difficulties of an advance over a soft cla.y surface, covered with a tough undergrowth, interspersed with cow-paths in lieu of roads. The Spaniards had withdrawn to their intrenchments near Santiago, protected by an entanglement of barbed wire. Although orders had been issued to the Ameri- can advance to await the completion of the dis- embarkation and landing of supplies, the leading division mider General Wheeler (June 24th) at- tacked the Spanish troops at Las GJuasimas and after a sharp engagement dislodged them, with casualties of 68 Americans and 36 Spaniards. When the preparations had been completed for a general advance, the United States troops on July 1st, having taken up positions on the slopes of the hills in front of Santiago with a detachment of Cubans protecting their flanks, opened fire with a field Ijattery. which, using black powder, became a target for the Spanish gunners. A battery of I'apid-fire guns, however, did much execution. The character of the ground, the absence of roads, and the stout resistance of the garrison of El Caney (q.v.) retarded the ad- vance of a part of the American force under General Lawton, but by sundown Shatter's troops were in full possession of the line of hills along the San Juan River, one and a half miles from the city. These engagements were fought chiefly by regulars, but efficient services were rendered by the First Volunteer Cavalry, popularly known as the "Rough Riders," under Colonel Leonard 'ood and Lieutenant-Colonel Theodore Roose- velt. The following day was utilized by both sides in strengthening the lines and by the Amer- icans in bringing up ammunition and rations. The exposed position of the American forces ren- dered an immediate advance or temporary with- drawal necessary. On the morning of Sunday, July 3d, Cervera, taking advantage of the operations on land, had sought to escape from the harbor of Santiago. The appearance of the leading ship was the signal for every ship in the American squadron to close in upon the fugitives with a hot fire, which was returned with spirit, but without material effect. Within two hours the six Spanish ships were totally destroyed, with a loss of about 3.50 men killed and about 1700 men and officers captured, including Admiral Cervera. Early in the morning Sampson in his flagship Vf ir York had started for Siboney, where he had planned to hold a con- ference" with General Shaffer, and Schley was thus left as the ranking officer. At the begin- ning of the battle, liowever, Sampson, about ten miles away, started back, arriving before the battle was over. During the battle the Ameri- cans lost only one man killed and ten wounded. The seven American vessels engaged had a total