The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-07-01

army corps, under command of Briga-
der General Snyder, and six batteries
Of artillery-three light n three
heavy. The preparations have been
proceeding quietly for some days and
although the stores have been going
aboard at Tampa, a rigid censorship at
that point has prevented any word go
ing out as to the expedition.
The actual departure from Tampa
was expected by the war department
to occur today, although there may be
unavoidable delays. Twelve transports
are to carry the expedition. The war
ships constituting the ava convoy
are not disclosed, out they probably
will include n battleship and several
cruisers and auxiliary craft.
General Synder's Second division Of
the Fourth army corps is made up of
three brldages and six regiments as
follows:
First Brigade-Colonel I. de Russey,
commanding; Eleventh United States
infantry, Nineteenth United States in
fantry.
Second Brigade-General L. H. Car
penter, commanding; First District of
Columbia, Second New York, Fifth
Maryland.
Third Brigade-General r. H. Hall,
commanding; Third Pennsylvania, One
Hundreth and Fifty-seventh Indiana,
flTSC OnlO, flTSC 1lllnOlS.
Whether some regiments will be
taken from other divisions cannot be
stated definitely. 1t is known only
hat General Snyder'S division has been
looked upOn by the war department as
the one best equipped for an immediate
start.
The batteries will be designated by
General Randolph, in command Of the
artillery at Tampa.
If the expedition got away today it
will arrive off Santiago about next
Saturday. The trip doubtless will be
to the eastward oun Cape Maysi,
along the same route as nat of the
, Shafter expedition. This will bring
: Skaters force up to about 80. 900 men,
made up of the 6 1000 men he took with
: him; General Duffield's command on
the Harvard and Yale, General Garrett
! sons command, which will go on the
. same steamers, n General Snyder'S
division from Tampa.
1t was learned at the war depart
ment today that General Miles prob
ably will proceed to Santiago within
the course of a week, the exact date
not having been determined.
PROCLAMATION OF BLOCKADE.
The president has issued a proclama-
ton extending the blockade of Cuba
=, to the southern coast from Cape
FRANCES 10 cape CEuZ, INCLUSIVE, dIlO
also blOckading San Juan, Porto Rico
The proclamation is as follows:
Whereas, For the reasons set forth
in my proclamation of April %, 1898, a
blockade of ports on the northern
coast of Cuba from Cardenas to Bahia
Honda, inclusive, and of the port OF
Cienfuegos, on the south coast of Gu
ba, was declared to have been insti-
tuted, and,
Whereas, It has become desirable tC
extend the blockade to other south.
ern ports.
Now, Therefore. I. William McKin.
ley, president of the United States, dc
hereby declare and proclaim that. il
addition to the blockade Of the ports
specified in my proclamation of Apri
%, 1898, the United States of America
has instituted and will maintain al
effective blockade of all the ports or
the south coast of Cuba from Cape
Frances to Cape Cruz, inclusive, an(
also of the port of a Juan, in thG
island of Porto Rico.
Neutral vessels lying in any of thu
ports to which the blockade is by thu
present proclamation extended, will b.
allowed thirty days to issue therefron
with cargo.
The assumption by the government
of the formidable task of blOckadine
about 500 miles of Cuban coast line
in addition to the sections already
blOckaded increases the extent of tn
blockade fully four fold, it having beer
confined heretofore to a stretch of {
little more than 100 miles on the nortl
! II the single port of CienfuegOs OF
the south coast of the island. The de
mands upon the navy and in the way
of ships topatrol the coast, however, will
not be nearly so heavy in proportion tt
the territory to be covered as in tn
oaSp of thn initial hlnoLaIo fnr fh,
reason that the new blockaded coas
line lies entirely within the great bigh
i, on the south Cuban coast, in which tn,
water is generally very shallow an
the ports are few into which a vesse
, of any draught could enter. The mos
important of these ports are Mama
, milo, Trinidad and Hunas. West o
. Trinidad is Cienfuegos. which is al
!, ready blockaded effectively. From tina
point westward for nearly lao mile
there is no point to be blockaded unit
3 Batanbo is reached. This port i
. distant only about forty miles fror
4 Havana by rail and is believed to hav
been the principal source of food sup
plies for the Spanish capital. For Is
miles west of this, clear owe to Cap
3 Frances, the WESTERN edge of tn
blockaded territory, there are n
ports for deep vessels of any consider
l able draught. n even if there were
the country IN the interior, flnar de
e Rio, is in the hands of the insurgent
u and supplies could not be sent throug
to Havana. The purpose of extendin
II the blockade westward to Cape Fran
Il ces, was to command the channel be
y tween the west side of the Isle of Pine
t and Cape Frances, and thus rende
: much easier the task of the blockadin
; vessels.
II NO RUNNING OF THE BLOCKADE
There has been no running of til
k blockade. Notwithstanding the SPANS
h stories to the contrary. All of the ship
that have entered Cuban ports wit
O supplies have done so al places nc
r within the blockade, such as Batabs
no and ManZanillo.
The vessels for the additional blocl
ade service will be supplied almost Ell
tirely from the patrol fleet, which VI
der Commodore Howell has bee
e guarding the north Atlantic coast fro
n Maine to South Carolina. b SCI