The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1898-10-24

until the channel was cleared of mines
"a work Of some time after the forts
We're taken possession of by the troops.
To this General Shafter replied:
1T is impossible for me to say when
l can take batteries at entrance of har-
Dor. If they are as difficult to take
as those which we have been pitted
against, it will be some time and a
great loss of life I am at a loss to
see why the navy cannot work under
a destructive fire as we'll as the army.
My loss yesterday was over 500 men.
BY all means keep up fire on everything
in sight Of you until demolished.
expect, however, in time and with suf
f1cient men, to capture the forts along
the bay"
Admiral Sampson then says:
L wrote General Shafter the follow
ing letter and began making prepara
lions to countermine and, with the OBJ
Ject of arranging an attack upon the
batteries at the entrance, a visit was
arranged with General Shafter, so that
the matter might be thoroughly dis
cussed and combined action take place.
1 had in view the employment Of the
marines for an assault on either the
MORO or Socapa battery, while at the
same time assaulting the defenses at
the entrance with the fleet.
United States flagship New York,
first rate, off Santiago de Cuba, July
z, 1S9S-My Dear General: have your
note Of this date-just received at
11:3O
AN officer of my staff has already
reported to you the firing which we did
this morning, but I must say in addi-
ton to what he told you that the forts
which we sflenced were not forts which
would give you any inconvenience in
capturing the city, as they cannot fire
except to seaward. They cannot even
prevent our entrance into the harbor
Of Santiago. Our trouble from the
first has been that the channel to the
harbor is well strewn with observation
mines, which would certainly result in
the sinking of one or more Of our ships
if We attempted to enter the harbor,
and by the sinking Of g. ship, the OBJ
ject Of the attempt to enter the harbor
would be defeated by the preventing Of
further progress on our part.
It was my hope that an attack on
your part Of these shore batteries from
the rear, would leave US at liberty to
drag the channel for torpedoes
IF 1t is your earnest desire that we
should force our entrance I will at once
prepare to undertake it. I think, how
ever, that our position and yours would
be made more difficult IT, as is posi-
BILE, we fail in our attempt.
I'VE have in our outfit at Guanta-
nanlo forty countermining mines which
I will bring here with as little delay as
possible, and If we can succeed in free
ing the entrance Of mines by their use,
I will enter the harbor.
This work, which is unfamiliar to
US, will require considerable time. It
is not so much the loss Of men as it is
the loss Of ships, which has until now
deferred me from making a direct at
tack upon the ships within the port.
Very truly, w T. Sampson, Rear
Admiral, U. S. N, Commander in Chief
North Atlantic station.
Major General Shafter, u. S. A.
July 3-The sortie of Admiral Cerve-
ra's squadron and its destruction have
been made the subject of a separate
paper and need not be repeated here.
This event closes the purely naval
campaign, GROWING with complete sue
cess the anxious work of almost ex-
actly two months.
1t is apparent that from the follow
ing dispatch from Acting Secretary
Allen to the Commander of the fleet
and which appears in the correspond
ence, that the department felt some ap
prehension regarding the movements
and designs Of the Austrian gunboat
Maria Teresa, which appeared in the
West Indies during the war:
Washington, June 13.-Austrian gun
boat Maria Teresa in West Indies is
thought to be visiting various block
AIDES to see if effective. Upon the ar
rival Of our troops send without delay
as many as you consider necessary OF
the convoy to Commodore No. 10 off
Cienfuegos, Cuba, and as there is some
similarity between Austrian and Span
ISL flags caution your ships against
possible mistakes"
The apprehension by the department
at one time of the possibility Of the es-
cape Of the Spaniards from Santiago
via Manzanillo, Cuba, Is shown in the
following dispatch to Sampson:
Washington-When the Spanish give
up hope at Santiago they may attempt
to escape via Manzanillo, Cuba. AS
understood here they receive supplies
now via Manzanillo, Cuba. LONG"