The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 21, 1898, Page 4

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21 eering agreement of the Dec! of Parls. New York's: militia was called out. | APRIL 27—The first real act of warfare was the bombardment of Matanzas by the New York, Cincinnati and Puritan. Two fortificati were silenced. er Guido was taken as a prize v the monitor Terror. mmodore Dewey’s squadron n Mirs Bay, bound for Manila. >RIL 28—Congress agreed to a naval ¢ Sill for nearly $47,000.000. he point for nvasion of Cuba sed a bill for a a ad external some mous vote 000,000 for 8—Congress by U propriating t d sailed massi APRIT, 20—C popular bond sent to ing Spain’s first real move ited States the United States. cruiser New York silenced the forts at Port Cabanas, and made a target of a company of Sg JANUARY 1L ANTUA = 4 ordered to Hav C DEWEY IN MANILA BAY. had reported that the s —_— The proffered rel MAY 1—This day witnessed the greatest ng Cubans had ¢ al vietory of the world ved by Dewey Cuba to have the t the feat had been establish a rendezvous serious injury to ; of our ships and no loss of life on the erican side. The achievement is terse- 1d in Dewey’s BRUARY ¥ 3 famous letter of The ¥ SOOI 44O (I )| value. Itt & mi require a repetition. Kinley, in his mes the Cuban sufferer: R R T T o'clock curred h fleet left the Cape Verde | ! counts of the enemy's killed | | | t B N s = S e e o o e o e S S S o for breakfast. 11 I returned to the time the Spanish flagship | the Spanish fleet were in half-past 12 the adron the batte! d » ships sunk, L and almo; 0 minutes to re- turned and anchored off Manila, the Petrel being left behind to complete the destruction® of the smaller gunboat were behind the f Cavite his duty was ommanc Wood and » most expeditio T nd Hercules (tugs) and several *hes. unable small lau; “I am to obtain complete ac- | | te possible e Spanish g vessels: Sunk—Rel , Castilla, Don Antonio de Ulle Don Juan de Austria, Isla d Isla de Cuba, General Lezo, Mar- | Duero, Correo, Ve > and \danao (transport); captured— and wounded, | ed B T e R R R o S S R S R RS ST S R S R R o Ty erae Lieu re crew of the Winslow were killed. tenant Bernadou and two sailors we severely wounded. The first land skirmish in Cuba at tended the landing of supplies and am- munition for the insurgents from the transport Gussie. Near Cienfueg Cuba, the cruiser Marblehe: boat Nashville were engaged cables. Two men were killed wounded from the fire of the § fantry. But the cables were cut on the south coast of and in gun- cutting 1 seven anish in- though | the work was accomplished under a heavy | fire. guns of the batteries. The attack lasted for three hour; Of our forces two men were killed and seven were wounded, MAY 13—The mystery surrounding the movements of the Cape Verde squadron had caused considerab! ineasine Sec- retary Long of the n received advic der the under command of Com- put to sea from Hampton r Brooklyn, the battie- etts and T the ollier Ster . while the Paul recelved 1 away cruisers Minneapolis orders to follow immec y. Mr. Joseph Chamberlain aroused en- thusiasm in England by declaring for an nglo-American alllance. MAY 14—The Spanish under command of Admiral 15 re- at Curacao, off the Veneue ported and Sampson was off Puerto Plz ¥ M AY 1 off Char leston, 8. C es the reader day by day through the entire war, from January 25, when the Maine was ordered to Havana, to September 18, when the members of the Peace Com- - jon sailed for Paris. All of our readers are familiar with thechain of events which led up to the war, and the work of the Peace Commission is too fresh in the public mind to In the first place, the United States could not, in the cause of humanity, stanc. idly by and witness the reign of terror in Cub: under Campos, then Weyler, then Blanco. A great wave of popular sentiment in favor of ‘“Cuba Libre” swept over our country. The butchery of defenseless reconcentrados went on. In December, 1897, President Mec- ge, reviewed the situation, and said that something would have to be done. The President issued an appeal to the American peo ple, inviting contributions in aid of The crganization of a central Cuban relief committee, with headquarters in New York, f¢gilowea, and contributions of money and supplies poured in. Consul General Lee was doing his duty firmly at Havana. The Spanish objected to‘the interference of the United States, and serious riots ensued in the Cuban capital. It was then that General Lee sug- gested the sending of a warship for the protection of American interests, an dthe Maine tragedy followed. part of the vessel “The squadron left Mirs Bay on April | but believe their losses to be very heavy.| Advices were recelved from Admiral officers arrived off Bolinao on the morning of | The Reina Cristina alone had 150 killed. "I | Dewey that he was maintaining a_stri those peit 30, and, finding no vessels there, pro- | 4 BapDY to report that the damage done | blockade at Manila, that the rebels were and arrived off the Bay on the same af- joston and the Concord re sent to reconnoiter Port Subig. A thorough search of the port was made by the Boston and the Concord, but the Spanish fleet was not found. Entered the south channel at half-past 11 p. m., steam- ing in column at eight knots. After half d a battery on the ceeded down t X he United EWer timatu land sU cha ed fire, none of the shots taking effect. The Boston McCulloch returned the fire. The oceeded across the bay at arrived off Manila fired upon at a q 3 v three batteries wo near Cavite, and by the Spanish anchored in an approximately east nd west line across the mouth of Bakor er of For- ations no with their left in shoal water in “anacoa Bay. “The squadron then proceeded to the attack, the flagship Olympia, under my personal direction, leading, followed at a distance by the Baltimore, Raleigh, Pet- judge adv e FEBRUAR. the ha Ventura of the Bu was used in New York by and the New York' ~apture of the Pedro, D i s b e : R rel, Concord and Boston, in the order et Havana harbor wa wred In a state of | ;o703 which formation Was maintained i A R Ll Nl e throughout the action. The squadron i ~President McItinley issued 2| opened fire at 19 minutes to 6 a. m. While were informed after T as possible, from the ' 8dvancing to the attack two mines were exploded ahead of the flagship, too far to en, that the Maine and Territories ac g to popu- 4 ren The be effective. continuous and precis The squadron maintained a fire at ranges 1d to serve for two years, unless Island for five day: [ r discharged. > 5 00 var JARY 19— - ‘ o G gt varylng from 5000 to 2000 yards, counter- FEBRUAF ¥ 18-The }un.u-:l s l,n‘\'-\ ’;\’i““b},}’é‘,‘(““’““d In | marching in ngllnc approximately parallel B e . the | 8 LAl to that of the Spanish fleet. The enemy's foamen officials at Huvana for a jotnt | ared war In a proc- | 10 "L g orous hut generally {neffective. investigation of the wreck of the Maine. Ing treaties, rights of neu- | ‘g 1y 40 the engagement two launches zh:lr;] fflléx}:wred nu objections from ball rolling by cap- | Put out toward the npia, with the L Duc ke > use of our hall rolling by CaP- apparent intention of using ' torpedoes. h A SR S to_the starv- £ Ui ~ 2098, One was sunk and the other disabled by ng reconcentrados under the direction of 3 Wilimington, Catalina, | G fire and beached before they were the Red Cross Soc She objected {o | by the Detroit, and the Saturnina, by the | JuF, Ta¢, AN, beachee bel 5 ““At 7 a. m. the Spanis Cristina made a desperate attempt to leave the line and come out to engage at short range, but was received with such liing fire, the entire battery of the ng concentrated upon na. RIL 2—Congress declared that war on April A DbMI covering thi ed by both hou: on, asked to be relieved of owing to fail- an nsibili ed his resignation. | nt out the call her by our shell at the time were not extinguished until she sank. The three batterfes at Manila had kept up a con- tinuaus fire from the beginning of the en- men in the regu f—Spaln se » E i peeny gagement, which fire was not returned dtol the ‘bowers, connol by my squadron. The first of these bat- L & terles was situated on the south mole es issued a proclamation of | $yo second on the south position of the walled city of Manila and the third Malate, about one-half mile farther south. At this point I sent a message to the Governor General to the effect that if the batteries did not cease firing the would be shelled. This had the effect of silencing them. “At 25 minutes to 8 a. m. I ceased firing neutrality. ) (122 AR N w"\,;'LUI|'L'¢'H’\.M I . R v \\Kv SANTIAGO: ~ CEVERA'S DEFEAT.. head at the entrance of the Pasig River, | city | h' flagship Reina | her, | | Ing the guns. | the transport Manil: at | | people to imagine that a Spanish victor) to the inconsid and only s dron under m ble. There was none ven men in the squadron we Several of the vessels en penetrated, but the the slightest, apd the good condition now as damage squadron is In 2 before the.battle. was of to state to the department that T doubt if any commander-in-chief was ever served by more loyal, efficient and gallant captains than those of the squadron under my command. Captain Frank Wildes, commanding the Boston, volunteered to remain in command of his vessel, al- tho his relief arrived before leaving ong. Assistant Surgeon Kind r of the Olympia and Gunner J. C. vans of the Boston also volunteered to main after orders detaching them had fved. “The conduct of my personal staff was lent. Commander B. P. Lamberton, f of staff, was a volunteer for that position, and gave me most efficient aid. Licutenant Brumby, flag lieutenant, and E. P. Scott, ald, performed their s as signal officers in a highly cred- itable manner. Caldwell, flag secretary, volunteered for and was asstgned to a subdivision of the five-inch battery. . L. Stickney, formerly an officer in the United States navy, and now correspond- ent of the D rk Herald, volunteered for duty as my aid, and rendered valua- ble service. I desire especially to mention the coolness of Lieutenant C. G. Calkins, the navigator of the Olympia, who came under my personal observation, being on the bridge with me throughout the entire action and giving the ranges of the guns with an accuracy that was proven by the excellence of the firing. command was | “On May 2, the day following the en-| gagement. the squadron again went to Cavite, where it remains. military forces evacuated the Cavite ar- nal, which was taken possession of by @a landing party. On the same day the On the 3d the | Raleigh and Baltimore secured the sur- | nder of the batteries on Corregidor land, paroling the garrison and destroy- On the morning of May 4 which had _been aground in Bakor Bay, was towed off and made a prize.” S IIL A PERIOD OF UNREST. MAY 3—The Spanish Cortes assembled in Madrid. False reports had caused the had been achieved in the Philippines. ‘When the truth became known there was wild excitement throughout Spain, at- tended by riots. 3 MAY 4—The fighting ships of Admiral Sampson’s squadron, the New York, Iowa, Indiana, Puritan, Mayflower, Cincinnati and Marblehead, sailed for Key West, prepared for a long cruise. May 5—Arms for the Cubans were land- ed by the tug Leyden, the gunboat Wil- Xm}s:mcm assisting in repelling the Span- sh, MAY 9—President McKinley recom- mended that the thanks of Congress be given Acting Rear Admiral George Dewey of the United States navy. MAY 11—Major General Wesley Merritt, commanding the Department of the East, was ordered to the Philippines as Mili- tary Governor. An engagement occurred at Cardenas, Cuba, Spanish gunboats and shore bat- terles opening fire on the blockading ves- gels Wilmington, Hudson and Winslow. Ensign Worth Bagley and four of the hemmed in the city by land and that he 1d_t: t any moment. MAY 1 Cabinet resigned and Prime Minister Sagasta was charged with the formation of a new one. MAY 17—A new Spanish Ministry was formed, with Senor Sag: s President of the Council of Minis MAY 18—The tot announced b; bin amounted to § ers. 1 number of volunteers Adjutant General ( 580, and the followi States had completed their muster of pportioned by the War Depart- liforni Georg! Idaho, Indi- Maryland, Minne- Hampshire, Vermont hington, ‘Wisconsin, Wyoming and the The cruiser Charle bound for Philippines, sailed from San_Franc She had no troops on board, her mi being to carry ammunition and su MAY 19—The mysterious Cape Ve fleet was reported to have reached Santi- ago de Cuba. General Aguinaldo, the leader of the Philippine Insurgents, arrived in Cavite and announced that he would lead his followers against the Spaniards, MAY 21—Major General Merritt started for San Francisco en route to the Philip- . and it was announced that the n ordered to reinforce Admiral Dewey. MAY 24—The talk of an Anglo-American alliance received fresh impetus on this day, the seventy-ninth anniversary of the birth of Queen Victoria. In New York and Tampa there was noticeable enthus- iasm. MAY 25—The President issued a procla- mation calling for 75,000 more volunteers, increasing the strength of the army to 500 men, including both regulars and volunteers. The transports City of Peking, City of Sydney and Australia sailed for the Phil- ippines, carrying 2500 men, with supplies to last a year and a cargo of ammunition and naval stores. v CERVERA: IN A TRAP. MAY 26—The battle-ship Oregon arrived in Key West in good condition after a voyage from Puget Sound of eighty-one days, during the course of which she had made 17,499 miles. The achievement was a notable one, and Captain Clark was the | recipient of much praise and honor. After taking on coal the captain announced that he was ready to go to sea again and fight. Commodore Schley reported by cable that he was off Santiago and that he be- lieved the Spanish fleet which had so long been playing a game of hide-and-seek was in the inner harbor. For several days there were conflicting rtmors. Many ‘be- lieved Cervera to be too old a warrior to be caught in such a trap. There was only one entrance to the harbor, through a narrow defile in the hills. MAY 28—All when Commodore Schley approached’the harbor entrance close enough to verify his suspicions. He had Cervera's fleet bottled up. His comment, “They will be a long time getting home,” is one of the classics of the war. The Fifth Army Corps, commanded by General Shafter, received orders to em- bark for Cuban soil. Two weeks passed, however, before the transports finally started for Port Tampa. MAY 31—The steamer Florida returned QLY 2 B A 0 /: MAY 12—A portion of the Atlantic squadron, under the command of Admiral | Sampson, bombarded Porto i xpecting to find a Spanis -t un- The flying squadron was sight- | R R S e R AR R RS | doubts were set at rest | 1898. DBRIET I(r\ Key West, having successfully landed | 380 Cuban volunteers, with supplies, arms | and ammunition for Garcia’s insurgents. The Towa, New Orleans and Massachu- tts engaged in a duel with the Spanish ore batterjes at the mouth of Santiago harbor for the purpose of ascertaining their exact location and testing their strength. None of the American vessels | was_touched. | JUNE 1—Admiral Sampson rf!urnPd | from Porto Rico, and, relieving Commo- dore Schley, assumed command of the united squadrons, comprising sixteen war- ships. JUNE 2- d an urgent deficiency bill, ,000,000 for war expenses. —This day marked one of the ng and sensational achlevements The House of Representatives arrying dari mos e of the war, the attempt of Naval Con- structor Richmond Pearson Hobson to cloge the mouth of the harbor so that the Spanish vessels could not get out. That the attempt was not wholly successful did not materially alter the subsequent events, nor does it detract from the glory of the br: men who went to almost certaln death. Admiral Sampson's of- ficial report tells the story briefl “United States F “Off Santiago “Permit me to call your s tion to Assistant Nav nstructor Hob- son. As stated in a special telegram, be- | fore coming here I ed to make the harbor entrance secure against the possi- bility of egress by Spanish ships by ob-| structing the narrow part of the entrance | by sinking a collier at that point. Upon | calling on Mr. Hobson for his professional | opinion as to a sure method of sinking the ship he manifested the most lively inter- | est In the problem. After several days'| consideration he presented a solution hich he considered would insure the im- | w S R T ] fi\c? OW that the war of 1898 is a thing of the past, and peace has foliowed the short, sharp and decisive victory of the United States over Spain, a review of tke war is most timely. {| The Call presents its readers with this review in a form at once concise and complete. For purposes of reference, being arranged chronologically, it will be found of inestimable Corps, twelve squadrons of cavalry, un- mounted; four batt f light artillery, two batteries of heav rtillery and Gen- eral Bates' brigade. The Spanish torpedo-boat destroyver Terror was sunk by the American fleet while trying to steal into Santiago harbor during the night. JUNE 8—Lieutenant Henry H. Whitney of the Fourth Artillery, who had been sent on a confidential mission to Porto Rico in April, returned to Washington. He had coellected much valuable informa- tion for the use of the President and the Secretary of War, which was later taken advantage of during the campalgn in that island. JUNE 10—S8ix hundred marines were landed from the transport Panther on the eastern shore of Guantanamo Bay. Camp McCalla was the result. The landing was effected in an hou; time. JUNE 11—Camp McCalla’s outposts wera fired upon by a force of Spanish infantry. The enemy had all the advantage of belng under cover. Reinforcements from the Marblehead were sent ashore. Two of our | | o B¢ & + & b % 3 @ + & + | mediate sinking of the ship when she | reached the desired point in the channel. | | This plan we prepared for execution when | we reached Santiago. The plan contem- | plated a crew of only seven men and Mr. | Hobson, who begged that it might be in- | | trusted to him;, The anchor chains were J.’u‘rnnz»-ll on deck for both the anchors forward and aft, the plan including the a ‘tl'horing of the ship almost automati: cally. 'As soon as I reached Santiago and the collier to work upon, the details were completed and diligently prosecuted, hop- | ing to complete them in one day, as the moon and tide served best the first night after our arrival. Notwithstanding every effort, the hour of 4 o'clock in the morn- ing arrived and the preparation was carcely completed. After a careful in- | spection of the final preparation 1 Wi forced to relinquish the plan for that morning, as dawn was breaking. Mr. Hobson begged to try it at all hazards. “This morning proved more propitious, as a prompt start could be made. Noth-| ing could have been more gallantly exe- cuted. We waited impatiently after the firing by the Spaniards had ceased. When | they did not reappear from the harbor at | 6 o'clock I feared that they had all per- ished. A steam launch which had been sent in charge of Naval Cadet Powell to | rescue the men appeared at this time, coming out under a persistent fire of the | batteries, but brought none of the crew. A careful Inspection of the harhor from this ship showed that the Merrimac had been sunk in the channel. ““This afternoon the chief of staff of Ad- miral Cervera came out under a flag of | truce with a letter from the admiral, ex- | tolling the bravery of the crew in an un- usual manner. I cannot myself too earn- | estly express my appreciation of the con- duct of Mr. Hobson and his gallant crew. | I venture to say that a more brave and | daring thing has not been done since Cushing blew up the Albemarle. e “There were hundreds of volunteers who | were anxious to participate. There were | 150 from the Iowa, nearly as many from | | | | this ship and large numbers from all the other ships, officers and men alike. “W. T. SAMPSON.” The men who accompanied Hobson on this dangerous mission deserve to have | their names preserved in history, despite | the fact that Admiral Sampson did not | mention them by name in his report. The | six who were chosen were: Osborn Deig- | nan, George F. Phillips, Francis Kelly, George Charette, Daniel Montague and J. C. Murphy. There was another, Ran- dolph Clausen, who was at work on the Merrimac, and who stowed himself away in his eagerness to be one of the party. It is here necessary to go into the| | future. Hobson and his men were taken | | aboard the Reina Mercedes, and from | there were confined in Morro Castle, and | later in the city of Santiago. They were | treated with the respect which their hero- | ism deserved, and on July 6 were released | | in exchange for Spanish prisoners cap- | tured by our forces. | Mr. Hobson subsequently explained that the reason the Merrimac was not sunk directly_across the channel, as had been | intended, was because a shot from one of the Spanish batteries had carried away | her rudder, making her unmanageable. pETTe s R | V. ON TO CUBA. JUNE 4—The Senate passed the war revenue bill by a vote of 48 to 28. On the | following day Captain Charles V. Gridley of the Olympia, who was on his way home from Manila, died at Kobe, Japan. He had been ill since the battle of May 1, suf- | fering from the effects of a rupture. JUNE 6—Admiral Sampson stlenced the Santiago fortifications without injury te the American ships. At Balquiri marines were landed and formed a junction with the insurgents, after repulsing the Spanish forces. The rebels in the Philippines. were re- ported as closing in on Manila. and inaldo announced himself as dictator. 'he monitor Monterey and the collier Brutus left San Francisco for Manila, JUNE 7—Major General Shafter and an army of 28,000 men sailed from ' Port Tampa for Cuba. The expedition com- prised the Fifth Army Corps, battalion of | | Guantanamo Ea, men had been killed in the bush. During the night two more, Sergeant Smith and Dr. John Blair Gibbs, were killed. All night long the firing continued. JUNE 12—The skirmishing between the. marines and the Spaniards still continued, The Texas arrived at antanamo and , with two Colt auto- the Marblehead shelled the woods, where the enemy was in hid- ing. The marines who had beeh killed on the previous day were buried literally under fire, Chaplain Jones of the Texas officlating. With the bullets screaming in the alr, he went through with the burial service. President McKinley signed the war rev- enue bill, and Seeretary Gage issued a circular inviting subscriptions to a pop- ular ioan of $209,000,000. JUN 13—Sergeant Major Good was killed early in the morning. One of the marines was also killed. All day long this guerrilla warfare was kept up. Sixteen hundred men arrived at Manila on_ four warships of the German East Asian squadron, with a view of protecting the German interests there. Dewey reported that the insurgents. had taken 2500 Spanish prisoners. JUNE 14—The marines at Guan- tanamo put in another day_ of fighting, ~driving _back the Span- fards with considerable I ‘With the as- istance of a band of CGubans, who were famillar witn the mode of warfare, they charged upon the enemy, wounding a reat many and (ukln§ eighteen prisoners. hey destroyed a Spar blockhouse, water tank and heliograph station. The dynamite cruiser Vesuvius had her first test in actual warfarg, and with three shots created havoc in the Santiago fortifications. Four transports, carrying the second expedition of troops for Manila, left San Francisco. By _a vote of 209 to 91 the House passed the Hawatian annexation resolution. JUNE 15—The Texas, Suwanee and Mar- blehead shelled & fort situated midway be- tween the outer and inner harbors in President McKinley . nominated Rich- mond Pearson Hobson to be advanced ten numbers for his heroism in sinking the Merrimac. JUNE 16—The gunnersof Admiral Samp- son’s fleét were given practice upon the fortificatjons at the entrance to Santiago JUNE 17—A portion of the Spanish re- serve squadron under Admiral Camara left Cadiz and sailed eastward. The¢ Queen Regent determined to abdi- cate, but Sagasta persuaded her to recon- sider her plan. \ Reports from the Philippines were to the effect that 1000 Spanish troops, har- assed by the insurgents and almost starv- | ing. wete forced to surrender. JUNE 18—Cuero, a town thirteen miles s captured by the Cu- bans, who will establish a courier service for Admiral Sampson. JUNE There weretwo events of more than passing interest on this day, the scene of one being Cuba, and the other the faraway Pacific. Dismissing for the present the arrivals of the army of inva- sion in Cuban waters, let us consider how the cruiser Charleston took possession of the Ladrones. The Charleston and the three transports of the first Manila relief expedition steamed into Port San Luis de Apra, is- land of Guam, and fired thirteen shells at the fortifications. There was no response, but two small boats put out from shore and approached the eruiser. They con- tained the captain of the port and the health officer, who apologized for not re- turning the salute, owing to the fact that. engineers, detachment of the Signal i 1 —— —————— _———