New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-06-24
CEN SHAFTER'S EXPLOIT.
UHATARMY MAYACCOMPLISH
,AvDING OF SOLDIERS AT SANTIAGO
COMPARED WITH LIKE EXPEDI-
TIONS OF OTHER WARS
Try TELEGRAPH TO THE TRIBUNE. !

rshmcnt Of General Skaters army upon Cuban
.ou when It is adequately appreciated by the
American public. will be rightfully regarded
OrA O. the memorable military achievements OF
,te,orv Europeans who are more familiar with
os, army movements are already astOnished at
the brilliancy with which the complicated en-
tsrnrse was carried out. especially in view Of
,he slight experience American Army officers
nave had with tasks Of such magnitude.
II ,urns out that the misunderstood delay at
rorna was utilized 10 excellent advantage by
.,a authorities to insure every feature Of the
,ropramme against failure, and the result
demonstrates that the command Of the United
States forces has been in thoroughly capable
hands Impartial experts who have made com
narlsons between General Skaters exploit and
the most famous expeditions Of similar char
scter which have occurred in the last century.
declare that no more than three or four Incl
dents in military history have approached in
,nnortance the present dispatch Of troops to
Santiago, and that none Of these were more
famous than General Skaters promises TO be-
come.
Greater bodies Of troops have perhaps been
.o,snorted 10 distance from their main base
~ suDpl!es but these movements have taken
,locs either in times Of peace or have been un-
.uccessful The rapidity with which his sx-
teen thousand men have been carried over q
,bousand miles on the high seas and success
fulIv landed in a fortified country is pronounced
10 be unprecedented
BATTLEs OF ABOUKIR BAY
Historically. Abouklr Bay the scene OF at
,sast two OF the most famous engagements ever
fought comes to the mind Of every Army ana
NAVY officer when Santiago is mentioned. 1t
WAS at this point that Nelson fought the battle
NJ the Nile Just one hundred years ago, Where
NAPOLEON landed a year later with hVe lhou-
sand men and defeated fifteen thousand TURKS
and where in March. 1901, was fought the
greatest combined naval and military engage
ment OF the world when the Brlush Dts"h inc
expulsion OF the French.
The English naval force engaged was COM
naratively small consisting Of seven l!ne-of-oat-
"a shins and several frigates and sloops. while
me army numbered seventeen thousand in un-
armed TRANSPORTS The feet being composed en-
,irelv OF sailing vessels. It took day TO anchor
them followed by a delay Of SIX Gays on ac-
count of the heavy gales and rough SURF whch
nr.vented a landing and enabled the French to
make preparations for effective resistance
The Arst division Of six thousand men was
landed in small boats under heavy fire While
This division held ITS position the beach the
boats returned to the ships for the second al
vision. and 1t was not until late at night that
thousand sean,en nad to haul the heavy guns
up the beach in the sand
coNrRAsTED WITH SKATERS WORK
rne French were reinforced by seven thou
sand men before they attacked and de-
,ea,ed after fierce hghtng and II was not until
month after the landing that Alexandra ca
pitulated.
The gallant defence made by the insignificant
French force was in strong contrast 10 tNe re-
ception which greeted General Shafter espe-
cjallv as the latter's operation was conducted
upon a wel-wooded and declivitous coast eas'y
held by concealed guerillas, while in Egyp'
the land was fat and practically treeiess II
remains to be seen whether the strateg'cai o'-
version executed by portion OF Admiral 9ainP-
sons feet completely succeeded IN drawing the
enemy away from the selected point OF oeoa' nd
tjou east Of Santiago; whether the spaniards
were affected by mortal fear OF getting WITHIN
range Of the battle-shlps' guns, or whether 'he
Cubans had driven them back into the city.
Another OF the greatest landings was that d.
Vera Cruz in April 1s41, when Genera "oo'',
after taking all the regulars away from genera
TAYLOR leaving him the volunteers orgah'Zeu
his expedition of 1900 men in seventy shlps anu
transports at Lobes Island, 2OO miles Hoi" ms
object point The armed convoy TO ths eHPeu
tion consisted OF ten naval vessels, ana loi ''e
first time in history the expeditonary force useo
steam as a motive power
LANDED WITHOUT LOSS OF MAN
spec,al surf boats 10 carry hundred men
each were provided for landing purposes an"
the organization was established ashore "''n'"'
the loss OF a man. the point selected LOT coin
mencing the investment Of the city De'hH oNF
eide Of the range OF the forts. Tne 'rahSpoi' -
in this exnedition were roomy. sideWheel yes
sells. particularly adapted for the short Jour
ney they undertook, and the voyage was Ho'
necessitated by the distance from hoihe' ou'
rather bv the inaccessibility Of approach to
Vera Cruz overland.
AT least one thousand sailors participated IN
the siege using guns stripped from the bat
teries OF the ships General Scott having no
heavy weapons in his army. Among the flrsl
and second ueutcnants at this landing VINO
afterward became famous were l. , "rai'
Longstreet Beauregard. Mcclellan fiZ Jon"
Porter, Hancock and Stonewall jackson. vera
Cruz finally surrendered after week ehe'-
getlc siege and bombardment by the ailed
marine and land forces.
The third notable occurrence OF the co-ope'a-
ton Of the Army and Navy was that OF Fort
Fisher. commencing with the unsuccessful at
tack at the close Of 1864 and terminating IN the
bloody victory Of the following month. The
naval force throughout the siege consisted or
sxty-Nve vessels mounting nearly five hundreu
guns conveying two thousand men. under Cen
eral Butler After the first repulse General BUT
Ter and the Army returned TO Hampton hoaus
but General Grant sent the troops back %'VV
Strong. under General Terry, and in the second
attempt using all the small boats from thc war
shops It took a whole day TO put the soldiers
and marines and sailors ashore.
This was followed by one Of the most ter
rife COMPARTMENTS and aggressive battles OF
the Civil War and in the opinion or iore'sh
military men the most interesting.