Birmingham state herald., 1895-12-27
ARE ADVANCING ON HAVANA General Gomez CIeverIy 0utwits
 General Campos. PLACES HIS FORCE OF 12,OOO Men Between the Spanish Forces and the Metropolis of the IsIand-The News
 Creates Excitement.

Creates Excitement.
 The news from Havana of the past few | days has created great excitement at | New Orleans, and generally among Gu | bans and sympathizers of Cuba in this
 country. It appears that the insurgents, little over two weeks ago, entered the
 province of Santa Clara from the prov | ipce of Puerto Principe Liguira, and de- | feating Colonel Seguera and a Spanish column, they made a most wonderful ad- vance through the province, passing through the flower of the Spanish army | assembled there, and said to number about 5000 men. After some sharp skir- | mishing, in which the Spaniards were | worsted, General Campos. who had
 made his headquarters at Santa Clara,
 transferred them to Cienfuegos, with the
 announced intention of personally com | manding the troops which were to check
 the insurgent advance. But, in spite of | reported repulses, the insurgents pressed | onward, and passing Placetas, Santa Clara, San Juan de Lasyeras, Ranchuelo
 and other towns pushed on for the | frontier of Matanzas. At one time it
 was reported that they intended to at- 1 tack Santa Clara, but their tactics
 seemed to be to pass all the big towns | and press on for Havana. It was only a | few days ago that the announcement was made that the insurgents were at
 Las Lajas and marching onward to havana. Then came the news that the | Insurgents had entered the province of Matanzas at Palma Sala. Before this, | however, General Campos had changed | his headquarters to Colon, and he com | menced hurriedly concentrating his l t.xA1 | Gomez to fight pitched battle before
 passing that place.
 A day or so later the insurgents caused | scurry in Colon. Firing was heard at | Ajuica. about fifteen miles from that | place, and re-enforcements were sent | to the front from Colon, but this turned | out to be little more than an outpost af- | fair, and while the Spanish troops were 1 pushing for the point, the main body | of the enemy passed southward of Colon, | near the line of railroad, and headed | steadily for the frontier of the province
 of Havana, thus turning the flank of the | captain-general, who, with the bulk of | the Spanish forces in the island of Cuba, l is now well to the rear of the insurgent l columns.
 | A Pcayune reporter called on MT. J. Nelson Polhamus and showed him the l Havana dispatches giving details of the | victorious advances of the Cubans, and | requested him to detail the marches of l the Cuban armies from the private in l formation at the command of the Cuban l revolutionary party. He said:
 The Cuban army. which is at present | attacking the Spanish forces at and near
 Matanzas, is composed of the army corps | which had formerly operated In the prov | inces of Santiago. Camaguey and Las l Villas. and is commanded. the Santiago l corps by Maj.-(Sen. Antonio Maceo, the | Camaguey division by the general-in- chief, Gen Maxine Gomez and the diyi-
 sion of Las Villas by Serafin Sanchez 1 and Carlos Roloff Maxine GomeZ's | plan has been earthly studied and. as | proven, successfully carried out.
 | Gen. Antonio Maceo was commanded
 to take the pick of his army and leave
 his brother, Brig. .-Gen. Jose Maceo, at | Santiago, and detailed to do duty at l Camaguey. General Gomez at once took l with him the bulk of his army to Cama- | guey and entered the province of Villa | Clara. Here he at once took command
 and began vigorous attack.
 Knowing that Campos was at Santa | Clara, he detailed Serafin Sanchez and | Quintin Bandera to make a feint at Santa | Clara and Remedies, while he continued l his rapid march towards MatanZaS, lay | ing low all the sugar plantations which 1 were on his road. Campos at once sum- moned all the troops at his comman nd and | prepared for an attack on Santa Clara, | and at the same time troops were rushed | forward to Remedies to ward off the | threatened attack of Bandera. How | ever, Gomez, seeing that his plan had
 worked well, sent couriers instructing Roloff and Sanchez to push forward and meet him at PIacetas, and also advised | Quntn Bandera to continue his move | on Remedies. skirmishing in that dis
 trict. He also sent word to Maceo to | come at once by forced marches to join | him at Placetas. In the province of
 Puerto Principe was General Mella and l thirty regiments of troops who threw l themselves in Maceo's way, but he | evaded them, and after vigorous fight at Las Tunas and Jobabo he arrived | at La Trocha, and after defeating the Spanish army at Ciego de Avila he came | into the province of Santa Clara and | headed for Santa Clara.
 Martinez Campos detailed General Se- | gura Luque and Olivier to detain him,
 but in vain. for Maceo detailed Rabi. and | this officer drew the Spanish columns away, while Maceo joined Gomez at Pla- cetas. From here the Cuban army marched without any trouble to Las
 Lajas. Martinez Campos, seeing that the | Cubans were making towards Cienfuegos, | changed his headquarters to that point | and by forced marches prepared to meet | them there. However Gomez was too l shrewd, and, after detailing his guerril-
 las to attack and harass Camposs he | turned another way and headed for Man | tanzas, entering that province at Palma l ] column of troops under Marin. which he | defeated and compelled to retreat He detailed guerrillas and cavalry to worry
 the Spanish columns and keep them In
 the belief that he was advancing towards | Cienfuegos. Martinez Campos learned 1 that Gomez had passed Cienfuegos9 with l the bulk of his army, and he at once | changed his headquarters to Colon. in- | tending to check him by throwing out a | strong line from Amarillas. through l Ajuica. in a crescent shape. ending at | Sagua al Grande. Gomez shrewdly sent l Sanchez to threaten their lines near | Ajuica. So surprised were the Spaniards 1 that they closed up their lines, recalling
 their troops from the extremes, with the
 result that Gomez passed around Aparil-
 las and up towards Sabanilla without any ! difficulty The tactics of the Cuban army
 have been simply magnificent, and show | that without doubt Maximo Gomez has l fertile military brain and that he has l outwitted Campos
 "The failure of the sugar crop is now | certain, for Gomez has all the rich dis | tricts of Matanzas and Santa Clara at l his mercy and 1t may be laid down as