| Show FFICIiK HEAR K OF BATTLE Interest and Anxiety at the Capital GREAT CONFIDENCE IN GENERAL SHATTER Possibility of Evacuation and Retreat f Re-treat By the Spaniards Description of the Various Routes Over Which the Enemy Might Retire Re-tire Hoped That Shafter Will Capture the 12000 Spaniards at Santiago Enemy May Fall Back to the Cristo Pass Description of the Country I Washington July 1Tust two months i 1 after the battle of Manila and on the i first day of the month like that glorious glor-ious engagement began the first set t battle of the war in this hemisphere What the result will be was not known at the departments close Never since I the declaration of war has there been such a feeling of intense interest and I anxiety manifested The officials here i are confident that they have J me everything possible to strengthen Shaf I ters hands for the great conflict he is I waging and they have an unlimited I confidence in his discretion his bravery I brav-ery and his energy The attack today several days before the public mind I expected the battle is attributed to his I energy as well as to his judgment according ac-cording to the present lights for he i i undoubtedly found it necessary to j crush the foe in detail following Napoleons I Y nhia lat i poleons favorite I maxim instead of al 1 lowing them to consolidate and outnumber I out-number him As the day wore along without bringing I bring-ing any news the anxiety increased I and the question was In every ones i mouth why did he not report Adjutant Ad-jutant General Corbins response was I brief but pointed He is fighting not writing and this was accepted as a I likely and sound explanation On the whole this very absence of official news was regarded as rather a favorite indication the reasoning being that this mornings engagement mornings was but a skirmish and that our I 3i army was feeling the enemy to discover dis-cover and attack at his weak spot I was nearly 6 oclock when the signal officer served the welcOme news that the enemy was retreating General Miles was of the opinion that the action of today was in the nature of a heavy skirmish all aJang the American front particularly on the right and that its main purpose was t develop the strength of the enemy and if possible learn the vulnerable point along the Spanish front This however was based only on the lack I of the definite Information and General Gen-eral Miles felt that any hour might bring word of a general engagement Brigadier General Stone was inclined to believe that after maintaining their stand today the Spaniards would retire re-tire during the night leaving the city evacuated The military authorities here are fully considering the chances of such a retreat of the Spanish army from Santiago and are endeavoring so to shape events that General Shatters Shat-ters forces will not only take Santiago San-tiago but will capture the 12000 Spaniards Span-iards before they get away northward Pando to effect a juncture with General LINES OF RETREAT Full information as to the possible lines of retreat has been placed at the disposal of the war department One of the most interesting statements Is that of General Manager Cox of the SpanishAmerican Mining company at Daiquiri who Is thoroughly acquainted acquaint-ed with all the country surrounding Santiago He shows that the two possible pos-sible lines of retreat are First by the road to El Cobrie or second by following fol-lowing the line of the Sobanillo Ma rato railroad The first line will be easy for about the first ten miles or as far as El Cobrie but after that the country is mountainous and barren and would not afford subsistence and the pass to the central plateau of the Island Isl-and would be difficult The more likely like-ly I line of retreat will be along the line of the above mentioned railroad cross ing the Sierra Maestra at El Cristo pas 600 feet above the sea ten miles north of Santiago which is the lowest pass through the Sierra Maestra for many miles The country back of this is a rolling plateau of rich agricultaral land At Manacas on the railroad two miles north of the pass is an Iron bridge consisting of a series of 30foot spans on iron trestlebents This point is about two miles beyond the Cristo summit and just beyond this bridge the railroad divides into two branches The destruction of this bridge would be the most feasible method of preventing prevent-ing the approach of General Pandos Spanish troops to relieve Santiago I is probable that if the Spaniards retreat by this road tbey will make a stand on the plateau at El Cristo and hold the pass of El Cristo TJhe only other pass through the mountains near this point Is at Escandel summit about six miles in a straight line east of El Cristo pass Escandel summit is 1120 feet above the sea and is reached from Santiago via Caney The road from Santiago to Caney is fairly good b tag wide enough for vehicles Between Caney and Escandel the road which Is no more than a trail ascends the mountains and Is very winding and broken Beyond Escandel across the range the country is heavily timbered and broken and the roads are not good I is an ideal country for ambush This 3 probably the only pass through which the Spanish position could b turned should the Spanish troops occupy oc-cupy the Cristo plateau and pass The railroad has been fortified by a line of block houses protecting the bridges and certain zones of cultivation cultiva-tion inclosed between these forts haven have-n planted during all the time of the war and would afford a supply for the armv for a certain time In the meanwhile sweet potatoes could be nlanted which in three months would nature These zones of cultivation exist ex-ist along the road as faras San Luis it which point here is considerable country in cultivation On the other branch the Sabanilla branch the zones nf tiago cultivation extend a fa as San ANXIETY RELIEVED Official Comment On the Battle aa3 Its Results Washington July 2Th suspense d d < which followed the receipt of General i Shafters dispatch early yesterday morning announcing that a battle had j been begun near Santiago a relieved I re-lieved at 1220 this morning when a preliminary report of the days operations opera-tions was received by General Corbin from General Shafter The president and the war officials are Immensely pleased at the information informa-tion conveyed in Shatters message While they learned with sincerest regret re-gret that so many of the American troops had fallen in the fight the ground gained by the days conflict is regarded a a great victory r Adjutant General Corbin put the situation sit-uation strongly and picturesquely this morning while speaking briefly of the aggressiveness and tenacity of General Gen-eral Shafer The old bulldog said lie referring thus half affectionately to the distinguished commander of the f Fifth corps js lying right there with his teeth In their neck only waiting the coming of daylight fl n fit tin IrJ work he has so magnificently begun The engagement yesterday was very r heavy for a preliminary fight but i spnrms n r1pfldl victory for us I re g tto know that Shatter has sustained sus-tained so heavy a loss but we may hope that there are not ts he says many killed I is however pretty certain to be true that the loss of an army In an engagement like that oft of-t yesterday where the battle line extended ex-tended over several mils will b much t heavier than Is indicated by the first reports I is manifestly Impossible I in cases where the battle has raged all I day and until darkness to ascertain with definiteness the loss sustained wih defniteness I During the early night there was much speculation concerning the reasons I rea-sons for the delay in receiving news II from the battle Captain Nesmith who is acting a chief signal oflcer during the temporary absence of General I cabfe I Greely feared that the cable communication I commu-nication with Cuba might have been interrupted and none of the other officials offi-cials would offer a suggestion a to the reason for the delay Early in the evening Secretary Algel went to the White House and remained remain-ed with the president until the dispatch from General Shafter had been rea celved ir ¼ During the evening many prominent A officials and members of congress were f ofcials White House but only a few of them remained longer than a few minutes min-utes They called merely to ascertain whether any news had been received from Cuba I Pennington Believes Brooke I Washington July Brigadier General I Gen-eral A C M Pennington who was recently cently relieved from duty at Camp I Black Hempstead L I vas today Black I ordered to proceed to Atlanta Ga and relieve Major General John E i Brooke of the command of the department t depart-ment of the gulf This order does not f affect General Brookes command of the First army corps in camp at i Chickamauga Ga and which is to ptoceed to Tampa Fla for embarkation embarka-tion to Santiago either to reinforce General Shatters army or to cooperate 1 Rico with the army of Invasion of Porto |
