The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1898-04-13

Havana Citide1 Success.
fully Stormed in 1862.
The Besiegers Under Lord Abe
marie Conducted Operations
for a. Days.

Old Moro Castle, which for consid-
erably more than two centuries, has
crowned down upon Havana harbor,
and is considered weII-nigh impregna-
BILE, was successfully stormed once. But
it was only after A days storming in
| open trenches. 1t is the only success
full attack ever made upon the citidel.
The main facts Of the seige, as told in
the Nation. by a correspondent, were
published in 1872 by an engineer pre-
sent. The story in part, is as follows:
'''Soon after the declaration Of war in
| 1862, Lord Albemarle sailed from Eng
land with but four sail of the line and
| four regiments on transports. Without
the previous knowledge of the Span
iards, he appeared off Havana on the
9Th of June, with nine ships of the line
| afterwards considerably reinforced
| from Jamaica), a number Of frigates,
| several hundred transports and land
force of about $4,000 men, including
| 2 900 American provincials, who proved
| to be among the most efficient of his
! troops.
"The Spanish Governor, Prado, COM
mitted the irrevocable mistake of with
drawing a superior naval force into the
harbor, which was closed by boom
and three sunken vessels. The error
was fatal. By shutting his own fleet
up in the harbor, he risked everything
en- the successful defence Of the town,
since it's surrender inevitably involved
| the loss of all vessels in the harbOr.
| The British landing was effected eX-
peditiously and without loss, in the
| face of a superior naval and an equal
land force, by a feint on the west side
| of the entrance and a real landing five
miles east of it.
Regular siege operation were COM
| menced against the Moro, and pushed
from the site now occupied by the
Cabanas, which had not then been con-
structed. The Moro, being we'll cover
ed on the land side by the crown of
the glacis, was preached with difficulty.
Siege materials wre scanty, and the
ditch, which was too large and deep
| to be filled, was mined and blown up
with both scarps, the assault delivered
through a very narrow breach, and the
| fort carried by storm after a days OF
open trenches. The loss of life was
large ON both sides, and included Vel
assoc, the Spanish commandant, whose
| family was ennobled by the title of
Viscount Moro for his gallant defense,
and a standing order made that ever
after there should be a ship in the
| Spanish navy called by his name. Its
guns were then turned against the
town and minor defences, which CAPT
tulated 67 days after the British land
ing. The loss by death in the attack
ing force was 2,764 of all ranks. The
capitulation included 10 Spanish ships
of the line, six having been destroyed
during the siege.
Havana was at that time the place
of arms and the naval and commercial
center for all the Spanish colonies in
both Americas. 1t possessed dock yards
where the largest ships Of the line were
built and fitted, and the Crown prop
erty in merchandise there accumulated
and captured was transported to anC
sold in London for an amount exceed
ing f7OO, 900 sterling. The essential diff
ference between then and now is the
present existence of the Cabanas fort
ress, which is generally regarded as the
strongest feature of the present de
| Tense ;"