The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-04-03

brothers, Major General William KEEP
pel and Commodore August Keppel,
were placed under him. The naval
fo rces were placed in command of Ad-
miral Pococke, whose campaign in the
East Indies the previous year had been
most brilliant.
They sailed from Portsmouth March
5, and within a few days met a squad
ron under Sir James Douglas, which
had been sent out from Martinico TO
REINFORCE them. From Cape Noichola,
the meeting point, the forces proceeded
west under pleasant conditions. AT this
time the armament consisted of 10
ships of line, IS small vessels of war,
and nearly $50 transports, which con-
Veyed about 10000 land forces. -Four
thousand more men had been ordered
from New York, and were expected to
join them near Havana.
On reaching the east end of Cuba,
two plans presented themselves. One
was to keep to the south of Cuba, and
in a well known channel; the other was
to keep to the north coast, which was
thea known as the old Straits of Ba-
hama. This latter route was shorter
but the channel being filed with
islands, reefs and shoals, of which at
that time there was no chart, it was
exceedingly dangerous. The comman-
DER determined to take the chance,
however. and passed through without
difficulty, ill-luck or accident, and was
clear of the passage June 5, nine days
after entering it. A fair wind bore
them through the 200 miles without a
moments delay.
Havana, the object of their long voy-
age, now lay before them. Below is
that portion of Lord Albemarle's re-
pert which describes the city and its
harbor, and the description of it today
is much the same.
The harbour upon which Havannah
stands is in every respect one of the
best in the West Indies, and, perhaps,
in the world. 1t is entered by a narrow
passage, upwards of a half mile in
length, which afterwards expands into
a large basin, forming three cul de sacs,
and is sufficient in extent and depth to
contain a thousand sail of the largest
depth, having almost throughout six
fathomS of water, and being perfectly
covered from every wind. Great care
has been taken to fertify the place. The
narrow entrance into this harbor had
been secured on one side by very
strong fort, called Moro, built upon a
projecting point Of land; on the other
it was defended by fort called Puntal,
which joins the town. The town itself,
which is situated on the westward Of
Moro fort was surrounded by a. good
rampant, flanked with bastions and
covered with ditch"
Previous to the arrival of the British
fleet off Havana, the Spaniards had for
some time been making preparations
for an attack on their possessions in the
Indies, and had accumulated a navy
consisting of nearly 20 sail in the har-
Dor of Havana. When the English ar
mament appeared, however, the Span
ish authorities had received no au
thentic account from their court con-
Corning the hostilities between the two
countries.
Whether the Spaniards wers rendered
inactive by want of Instructions contin-
ues Lord Albemarle's report: whether
all their ships were not in fighting condi-
ton, or whatever the cause, the fleet lay
quietly in the harbor. If some of the
above reasons did not oppose, it may be
very nationally supposed that their best
part would have been 10 come out and
fight They were not very far from an
equality and though the battle might
battle tolerably maintained would have
much disabled our armament and perhaps
been a means of preventing the success
of the whole enterprise. The loss of their
fleet might have possibly saved the city.
but the city once taken. nothing could
prevent the loss of the fleet. 1t is true
they much trusted in the strength of the
place. and not without reason, and to
those astonishing difficulties which would
attend any military operation that is
drawn out to any length OF time in this
unhealthy climate. In other respects.
they were far from being deficient in