Show BHIEf F HISTORY OFraE CUNFLICTWITH SPAIN 1 BegInning With the Insurrection Following the Change of Incidents TIll the End of the War Baltimore Sun In February 1B95 both branches of the Spanish cortes in wluch Cuba lias 43 representatives unanimously passed a bill brought for v ird Iiy Senor Abaruza a Cuban to establish in Cuba a liberal regime which should virtually confer autonomy auton-omy or home rule This was in response re-sponse to the demands of the autonomist autono-mist Cuban members of the tortes They described the stagnation of the cane sugar industry of Cuba which was prostrated by Germanys vast tx portations of cheap beet sugar the ruin of sugar planters the idleness o thousands thou-sands of workmen formerly employed on the plantations and the necessity of local selfgovernment with closer economy econ-omy of administration in view of the diminished incomes of the people Hard times had created discontent and political unrest which it was expedient to conciliate by reforming the government govern-ment and reducing its cost PREVENTIVE INSURRECTIQN Ten days after the enactment of the reform Jaw an insurrection a begun in the province of Santiago by filibusters filibus-ters from New York Hayti and other points Their purnose it has been stated stat-ed was to prevent the success of a reform which would content the people ple and render them indifferent to the idea of Cuba Libre The filibusters consisted of young Cubans who had lived many years abroad naturalised foreigners of Cuban origin and advon turers of vaious nationalities Their enterprise was organized and financed by a junta or committee in New York which was helped by the sympathy all Americans have for countries thought ito i-to be rightly struggling to be free Cuban Cu-ban bonds which would b valuable if 5 the junta succeeded were also disposed of partly for the money they brought and secured partly for the cooperation they TH PEOPLE t 4 There were some 20000 agricultural r laborers in Cuba many of whom were idle on account of tne low price of sugar su-gar Some of these joined the rebels The entire rebel force has been estimated i mated at 40000 but the force actually I I under arms has perhaps seldom exceeded I I exceed-ed 10000 Few professional men or mel of education joined the insurgents The cities and larger towns continued J yol j and the local population organized < guerilla bands aggregating it is said j 50000 men to withstand the forays of i the rebels The latter consisting chiefly chief-ly of negroes and mixed breeds operated I oper-ated by destroying property They did I not propose to fight in the open but burned crops and buildings and dynamited dyna-mited railroad bridges and trains SOCALLED REPUBLIC A republic was proclaimed and Cue j Wtas was made the capital but the civil government was imaginary The chief command and entire local government I govern-ment was in the hands of General Gomez Go-mez He with Maceo and others gradually grad-ually extended the rebel operations over the whole island destroying everything r outside the towns Stealing in small bands through the bush and traveling ly night they eluded the Spanish troops and burnt and plundered everywhere every-where driving the rustics into the already ready congested towns To prevent the I rebels from living off the rustics the Spanish forbade agriculture in exposed I districts thus also adding to the congestion con-gestion of population in the towns The I wretchedness of the reconcentrados imputed to General Weyler became the chief burden of the cry of inhumanity I raised against Spanish rule I AVEYLERS PLAN By cutting the island Into several cuttnl Isolated sections by means of troohas and by following the rebel bands pertinaciously in the restricted areas I General Weyler had at lengthby December De-cember 1S07 virtually freed the Island from their ravages except in the two easternmost provinces where a desolate deso-late mountain country gave thd insurgents insur-gents impenetrable retreats The nature na-ture of the jungle was such that the complete extinction of the rebel bands in Santiago was impracticable so long as they received supplies and encouragement encour-agement from abroad Their operations were on a small scale and unimportant except so far as the existence of their movementen on a small scale af forded a basis for the growing disposition i i dispo-sition at Washington to interfere to exclude ex-clude Spain from her possessions in the West Indies I MR CLEVELANDS ATTITUDE In December 1S96 congress signified Its purpose to recognize Cuba Libre I until Secretary Olney instructed by Mr Cleveland let it be known that in the presidents view recognition was and an executive function exclusively action by congress would be ignored i Mr Clevelands position as indicated i by his representations at Madrid was I that the plan of autonomy embodied in I I the Abaruza law of 1895 and much i broadened in the deere of February 1897 should be given a trial and the I United States would not interfere until I it was shown by experience that the j new home rule scheme was a sham and I i failure The democratic policy as j jed j-ed by Mr Cleveland included the i idea of interference in case peace and order after a fair trial of the home J i I rule scheme of 1897 were still a far off I I assured the i i as ever but Mr Cleveland Msure < J Madrid government that home rule I I n should have a fair trial The purpose I I of depriving Spain of her sovereignty f I aver Cuba was disclaimed r NEW POLICY I With the beginning of the McKinley I administration these assurances ceased A less patient policy was favored and i the idea of getting Spain to withdraw from Cuba by friendly Insistence was entertained Congressmen who wished to recognize Cubas independence were I at once advised that such result could t be attained in a better way Recogn tion was staved off Meanwhile Spain I was asked to make various concessions a respects the removal at Weyler the reconcentrados and an armistice etc All were granted The hope was entertained en-tertained that with Blanco favoring I conciliation the reconcentrados concifitlon provided pro-vided for xind peac offered the rebels a way would be found for giving Cuba a government a free a that of Canada Can-ada The retentionof a nominal sovereignty sov-ereignty was nowat length all that Spain asked askedWAR WAR FAVORED I was resolved not to concede this and on April 1 1S9S President McKinley McKin-ley asked congress to authorize him to intervene in Cuba with force Congress assented on the 19th and an ultimatum I was sent to Spain demanding the evacuation 1 evac-uation of Cuba In the declaration of I war it was affirmed that the war should I be in the interest of humanity and not for the acquisition of territory I iMMEDIATE CAUSE OF WAR Hostnites were precipitated by the t sinking of the battleship Maine in the r h harbor of Havana in February The V vessel sank after an explosion the 7 cause of which has not been ascertained ascertain-ed I is not known whether i was I C the work of a Sianish fanatic animated L ed b blind hatred of the United States cr of a Cuban patriot anxjous to embroil I em-broil Spain and Cuba That It was caused by any Spanish official nobody I believes Our commission of naval officers of-ficers after patient inquiry reported that it could not trace the cause of the I t explosion but thought it was from i I without the ship Admiral Colomb of i the British navy reviewing the facts elicited by the inquiry thinks the explosion plosion was from within and parallels J i 4 J < the incident with the like mysterious I i I explosion of th British warship Daphne which he investigated The 11 I j Daphne was exploded from within but the cause could never be ascertained The explosion of the Maine whatever I the cause fired popular resentment I against Spain and strengthened tire jingo party in congress till i became irresistible ir-resistible There a a loud demand for revenge and Remember the Maine I became a popular cry I I PREPARATION AND OPERATIONS Months before the declaration of war I our warshins were assembled in large numbers at Key West sear Havana I and on April 22 the day after war began I be-gan Admiral Sampson began the blockadfi of Cuban ports The Buena I I Ventura was the first Diize taken by I j j I the Nashville on the 22nd and many I j i other Spanish merchantmen were captured I I cap-tured within the next few weeks In anticipation of hostilities congress had J voted 50090000 to be spent at the presidents I t pres-idents discretion A large army was I I authorized and 120000 volunteers were called out Later j O more were call ed QUt What with the regulars and I ether troops authorized an army of of million finally I over a quarter a miion was fnaly provided for Patriotism and popular enthusiasm caused many of the militia II siments maintained for local purposes pur-poses in the various states to volunteer 1 masse for service in the federal j I army I the south much gratification I was felt at the appointment of excon 1 I federates to important commands I DEWEYS VICTORY The first naval action of importance I was the attack made May 1 by Com j 1 modore Dewey in the bay of Manila in j i the Philjpnine islands on the Spanish fleet assembled there The Spanish I versels were inferior and were all destroyed de-stroyed without inflicting any loss upon the Americans Aguinaldo a Philippine rebel was taken by us from I Hongkong to Cavite a town near Ma iiilu and provided with military sup j plies for cooperation with us against j j I the Spanish So well did he use his 1 new > resources that the Spanish were j i beaten by the rebels at many points I and were finally cooped up by them in I Manila Meanwhile Dewey being without with-out troops was unable to operate Onshore I I on-shore Manila was at his mercy but he i had to wait till General Merritt with treops was sent across the Pacific from I San Francisco to hs assistance Agui aside improved tLe interval to cress the siege of Manila and to proclaim 3 republic with himself at its head The United States had destroyed Spains fleet he confessed but his Fiipinos had expelled Spains army from the provinces prov-inces captured most of it and penned I the feeble remnant in the capital To the American assumption that the Philippines were to be American he opposed the claim that they had won their independence and would retain it The capture of Manila by the rebels reb-els would mean the butchery of the Spanish garrison For this reason and for obvious political reasons Dewey dls couraged an assault by the Filipinos on the city expecting to take it himself him-self ultimately and protect it with American troops when they arrived The situation became strained and there is a prospect that the Americans will after a time find it necessary to fight their cantankerous allies I In an engagement of minor vesE Sin S-in Cuban waters on May 1 Ensign I Bagley of the Winslow and four others Bagley were killed I HAVANA AND CERVERA The apparent plan of campaign of the Washington government was to I take Havana as the readiest way of I I securing the object of the war Many I trcops and ships were assembled at Tampa and Key West whence they I could be speedily transported to some point on the Cuban coast near Havana I 1 Various olaces along the coast were I recormoitered and some were bom i barded Such preparations if genuine I genu-ine were arrested and the whole plan j of campaign was changed on May 13 i by the announcement that Admiral Cer veras fleet of four formidable warships war-ships and two torpedci boat destroyers j I had arrived off Martinique in the West i i Indies I was later seen off Currcoa j I near yenezuela On May 19 the Span 1 ish Ceet entered the hairoor of San j tiago on the southern coast of Cuba Its presence there was definitely ascertained as-certained by Commodore Schley As it was impossible to transport troops for the capture of Havana while Cerveras I fleet was in striking distance it became the chief object df the army and navy to capture or destroy this 1eet HOBSONS FEAT J On May 31 there was a Lombard j I ment of the Spanish forts at the nar i row entrance to the harbor of Santiago but without result other than to locate the enemYs batteries OnJune 3 Naval Constructor R P Hobson won much i distinction by undertaking to sink the collier Merrimac in the narrow channel j to prevent the escape of Cerveras fleet The kind treatment accorded the daring I dar-ing southerner by Cervera when captured I cap-tured created in the United States avery I a-very favorable feeling toward Spanish j I officers and lessened the bitterness and I contempt with which they had been regarded re-garded It was considered impracticable for our warships to follow Cerveras into the harbor of Santiago Mines and batteries bat-teries threatened their safety I was rtpolved to take Santiago by land and thus force Cervera out On June 10 some fiOO marines were landed at Guantanamo I I Guan-tanamo some distance east of Santiago San-tiago so as to secure a place whore I our warships could safely take on coal from coHiers Soon after the marines I wore attacked by the Spanish and six I Americans were killed There was a i j second attack four days later By II June 13 troops began to leave Key West for operations against Santiago and on June 22 General Shafter landed I his army at Baiquiri a short distance east of the entrance to the harbor of SaT t gdS I gd-S eral minor actions attended the advance to Juragua Sevilla and SI boney A general assault was made on I July on the enemys woiks and various var-ious commanding positions were captured j I cap-tured The enemy was pressed back j to his inner line of fortifications The fighting continued on the 2nd with I some 0si on both sides So difficult I was the situation that at a conference I officers reported by General Breckin I rIdge i was proposed by General J i Shafer to retire the army from the immediate front of Santiago till heavy artillery could be brought up to meet the fire from Cerveras fleet and from I General Torals batteries Admiral Cerveras dash out of the I harbor on the 3rd prevented the discredit dis-credit of retiring from the points already I al-ready gained The American fleet under un-der the immediate lead of Commodore Schley in the Brooklyn met the enemy as he emerged and in the chase that followed destroyed all the enemys ships and took some 1600 prisoners Admiral Sampson in the New York arrived on the scene after the action was ended AFTER THE BATTLE Ihs important action logically closed the campaign as the Spanish fleet was the sole cause of the expedition to Santiago But It was resolved to gather the spoils of victory arid the surrender of Santiago and the posts connected I therewith was demanded by General Shafter on July 3 and on July 14 the city with some 24000 troops was surrendered sur-rendered by General Toral The terms were liberal owing to the resoect inspired in-spired by the courageous defense The Spanish were accorded the honors due i i 4r I to brave men and it was stipulated in their behalf that they should be taken I to Spatfn at the expense of the Unit States FEVER DECIMATES THE ARMY The joy of victory was damaened by j I the announcement on the Ilth of July I that yellow fever had broken out in the army Use of infected bujldiuas i and contact with the natives produced this regrettable result Worse than the yellow fever was the malarial fever I which decimated the regiments A bad climate heat incessant rains insani tary surroundings deficient food md I shameful lack of medical and suriioil i treatment produced tho asxlal oilvct I The government had t solved to stud I the army further irlz to a healthier 1 region but a round lunr signed bya 1 I number of officers demanded the vtli 1 draual ot the army from Cuba and this has been conceded ADMIRAL CAMARA I An episode of the war was Admiral I i Camaras voyaire to the Red yea in > I June as if on his way to the Philp j i pinesand his return after it was an j 1 nounced from Washington that Coin I modore Watson would be sent with a i fleet to harry the coast of Spain in hs I absence On the way to Manila our I ships from San FraflrJseo seized the Ladrones and other Spanish islands in I the Pacific PORTO JIICO After the surrender of Santiago an expedition under General Miles Was sent to take SanJuan Porto Rico A landing was effected July 26 at Guan lea On the southern coast and soon after Ponce a town of some size 15 miles distant was occupied The advance ad-vance toward San Juan is slow end definite results have not yet bscn reached PEACE Operations have been checked to some extent by the prospect of pease On the 26th of July through M Cain bon the French ambassador Spain asked what terms of peace were demanded de-manded iy the United States After some deliberation President McKinley replied demanding the evacuation tf Cuba and the cession of Porto Rico and one of the Ladrones to the United States with certain concessions in the Philippines which will be settled 1y a joint commission This is in excess of the demands with which the war began be-gan and Spain has not yet decided I whether to concede all we ask or to continue the fight LESSONS The war is supposed to have dom intrtp1 > nAv the iteleeeneee nf bombardments We have bombarded j many forts without result Torofdo I I I boats have so far been harmless being i controlled by rapidfire guns Smokeless Smoke-less powder is shown to be preferable I both for infantry and for warsnips The bad marksmanship of the Spanish gunners has attracted much attention I It is partly the result of having poor guns In their forts this seems to I have been the case but on their r shins it seems to have been due to want of practice Courage is useless unless combined with skill I |