The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1898-05-23
Hard Work
LIN Cuban
Campaign

Army officers have given up the idea
that campaign in Cuba is to be Of the
short and sweet order. Scarcely one of
them holds the opinion that the United
States forces will land, march triumph
antly and uninteffuptcdly to Havana,
carry that city by storm In day and
all Cuba within two or three weeks. 1t
is fact that many army men came to
Tampa with the idea that they were
simply going to Cuba on little tropic-
al picnic. with just enough burned pow
der and camp life to make the affair in
teresting. In short, they looked upon
the whole business much as the north
ern volunteers regarded the civil war
before the first battle of Bull Run. But
the events Of the last few days, the Car
denas and Cienfuegos affairs, the failure
of the Gussie expedition and the grow
ing conviction that the effective force
Of the insurgents has been largely over
estimated, has served to change opin-
ions and ideas
1t is dawning upon many that the
Spaniards in Cuba are numerous enough,
brave enough, reckless enough and
strong enough to put up series of good
fights. Interviews with score Of COM
manding officers, all Of them veterans
in the secret service, show conclusively
that the large majority Of the officers in
this provisional division of the United
States forces realizes that unless Spain
backs down soon we are in for Cuban
campaign which may run until snow
flies in Chicago
There has been q great deal Of the
comic opera, grand stand, center of the
stage business carried on in Tampa
since the troops began coming in, much
TO the amusement and disgust Of the ar
my officers. Tampa is filling up with
men generally wearing a semimilitary
rig, who claim to be general or colonel
of this or that volunteer organization,
who demand places in the army of in
vasion which will entitle them to
sword, spurs, shoulder straps and
"striker. I" They besiege General Wade,
General Shafter, General Wheeler and
other commanding officers They are
possessed of an abnormal appetite for
printers ink, and they generally are
turned down" cold and fat. Some
times they mako their first plunge into
the Cuban camp shout "Cuba libre,"
wear Maxirno Gomez sombreros, buy O
% machete and ask for brown canvas
uniform and commission ON the staff
of General Lacret or General Nunez-
1t is useless for such self advertised
heroes to apply for jobs in Tampa. They
are not in the regular army, and the
Cuban contingent is limited to 750 men.
The only way they can get to Cuba to
shed their hot blood "for the cause of
liberty and revenge the Maine" is TO
join the volunteer forces and take their
chances with the boys who are ready
and willing to fight as privates, simply
because disinterested patriotism and
strong desire to put an end to the whole
Cuban business leads them to shoulder
rifles in the ranks All Of this comic
opera side play has come to an end. Se-
rious business has swept it aside, and
there is general compression Of lips
and furrowing of foreheads and squar-
ing of shoulders, which caused briga-
dier general to say the other day, "The
boys are getting ready for work.
Colonel A. L. Wagner, chief of the
bureau of military information, regard
ed as one of the finest tacticians in the
service, every inch Of him soldier and
the representative Of the army ON the
strategic board, and his aid-de-camp,
Lieutenant Edward Anderson, came to
Tampa a few days ago. Colonel Wagner
Iac kol1 l<,f xrvsfl
General Wade, General Shafter and
their aids He brought with him the
latest military map Of Cuba and the
advance sheets Of the book ON Cuba, its
forts, defenses, cities. roads, ports, etc.,
which the government is about to issue
to the officers of the army of invasion
and the navy.
Colonel Wagner and Lieutenant Row.
an, who returned from his visit to Gen.
eral Gomez, mot here, and Wagner soon
was in full possession of all the valuable
information the sunburned, modest
lieutenant brought back with him. 1t
seems to bo pretty well established that
the original plan Of using the insurgents
has been abandoned This was to send
to the eastern end of Cuba all the Cuban
volunteers obtainable in the United
States, with strong force of American
cavalry, there to join the insurgents.
The combined forces, according to the
plan, were to move west toward Ha-
vana, driving tho Spaniards before them,
and reach Havana about the time the
American forces were ready to invest
that city. Rowan said Gomez could give
$4,000 effective men for this plan.
Several of the commanding officers
believe in this plan, but it seems that
the forces in Tampa will establish q
base Of operations, and when the volun-
teers have been organized into an invad-
ing army the Regulars and volunteers
will march on to Havana, wherc Blanco,
according to the latest reports, has
about 65, 900 Spanish soldiers and about
the same number Of civil guards, guer-
rillas and volunteers 1t is believed the
roads will be passable for artillery and
n.