The record-union., 1898-11-11
Secretary AIger Makes Public the
Report Of General Miles.
A Recital of Important Events Occurring
During the Year 1898.

\
| sence Of Any Direct Criticism of
the Methods Pursued by the
War Department During the
War With Spain.
| WASHINGTON, Nov. 1O-The report
of Major General Miles, commanding
the United States army, was made
public to-day by direction of Secretary
Alger. The keynote of the report is
found in one of the opening sentences
| where it is said: THE military oper-
| ations during the year have been ex-
tracrdinary, unusual and extensive" q
| statement which is fully borne out by
| the long recital of important events
which General Miles shows have made
the military history of the year 1858
! the most remarkable since the end of
the civil war.
/ Iii point of interest the document di-
viGes naturally into four chapters, Tor
| while brief allusion is made to such
tiers as the military expeditions 20
| Alaska, interest naturally centers in
the portion which treats of the war
with Spain.
Under this general head the report
deals with the plans of campaign, of
| the war preparations, with the Santi-
ago campaign, with General Mile s.
| operations in Porto Rico, and lastly
with the important changes in existing
organization, which are. in General
| Miles opinion, necessary to make the
army an effective weapon for the de-
fenSe of the country. There is an en-
tire absence Of any evidence in direct
| criticism, though certain sentences in
| the report are italicized in an appar-
ent desire to justify previously ex-
| pressed plans of details of the cam
paisns, and where it deals with events
| the document is largely made up of a
quotation of official dispatches.
Treating of the war; General Miles
| begins with statement of the unpre-
paredness of the country, showing how
the vast equipment left by the million
soldiers of the civil war has been dissi-
| pated or had become obsolete, until the
tentage, transporta ion and camp equip
page was insufficient for any important
| military operations.
| General Miles says that in the be-
ginning the war problem was purely a
naval one, and that he was convinced
that should our navy prove superior,
| the position Of the Spanish army in
! Cuba would be rendered. untenable
with minimum loss of life and treas
ure to the United States He says:
There were two most serious obsta-
cles to be avoided-one was putting an
army in Cuba before our navy con-
| trolled Cuban waters; and the other
was putting an army on the island at
a time when a large number Of the
men must die from the diseases that
have prevailed in that country, ac-
cording to all statistics, for the last
| 100 years."
Orders are referred to for the sending
Of the regulars to New Orleans, Tampa
and Mobile to begin the invasion Of
| Cuba; for the gathering Of troops at
| Chickamauga, and for the movement of
seventy thousand troops on Cuba; but
ncne Of these movements on CUBA ma :
terialized,' he says. 1.-The want Of
proper equipment and ammunition rem
dered the movement impracticable.''
AT this point there is a brief digres-
| sion where. in a paragraph, General
Miles refers to General Merritt's Phil
l-ipplne expedition, as organized and
equipped and conducted, as being sue
cessful in every way
| General Miles then pays an eloquent
tribute to the brilliant exploits of Lieu
tenants Rowan and Whitney, who Sc
cretly explored Cuba and Porto Rico
and ascertained the military situations.
He resumes the report with an ac-
count of the dispatch of General Shaf-
| ter's expedition, saying: II desired
to 60 with this command"
| an .11a
graphed from headquarters at Tampa
was as follows This enterprise is so
important that I desire to go with this
army corps, or to Immediately organ
| ize another, and with it to join this and
capture position No. 2 Now that the
j military is about to be used, 1 believe
it should be continued with every en-
ergy, making the most judicious dis
position of it to accomplish the desired
| results"
He also stated, "This expedition has
been delayed through no fault of any
one connected with it. 1t contains the
principal part of the army, which for
| intelligence and efficiency is not ex-
| celled by any body of troops on earth .
The telegram was dated June 9Th, and
| the day following Secretary Alger tele-
gra phed in reply: THE President wants
! TO know the earliest moment you can
| have an expeditionary force ready TO
| go to Porto Rico large enough to take
and hold that island without the force
| under General Shafter"
General Miles responded: I'm ten
| days"
June Oath General Miles submitted to
the Secretary Of War a written plan
OF campaign. Briefly stated, the points
were: That provision be made for the
reception of at least thirty thousand
Spanish prisoners. That after cap
turing Santiago some deep water ports
be taken on the north coast of Cuba.
That Nuevitas be captured, and that
with $4,000 cavalry and some light ar
tillery and a small body of infantry an
advance be made into Puerto Principe
| in the interior, with the troops, and
| thence move toward Havana. This
move would occupy the time until Sep
1 ternber 30th: the troops would be In
the most healthy part of Cuba during
the rainy season, and the prisoners
could be employed in road-making
Should Spanish force be advanced to
| Villa Clara. the entire United States
army could be thrown between that
II uou nd fha ,,et,