The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-07-08
A GLORIOUS VICTORY.
The Spanish Fleet Administrations
eraI Shafter Demands Surrender of
the CIty-A Desperate Sortie from the
City Driven R~ack-LOss on Both Sides
Heayy-Reinforcement. TO be Rushed
to Our Army-Desperate Situation of
the Spanish.
(Sunday's Dispatches.)

tiagO, where for the ldSL tnree ddyo
the American forces have pressed for
ward against an e~ntrenched army,
General Shafter sent the following
dispatch summarizing the situation:
Playa del Este, July 3.-Secretary of
war, Washington, Camp near Sevilla,
Cuba, July 3.-We have the town we'll
invested on the north and east, but
with a very thin line. Upon APP
preaching it we find the country of
such a character and the defences 50
strong that it will be impossible to
carry it by storm with my present
force. Our losses up to date will ag-
gregate a thousand, but a list has not
yet been made. There is but little
sickness outside of the exhaustion
from the intense heat and the eXer-
ton Of the battle of the day before
yesterday, and the almost constant
fire which is kept up on the trent
The wagon rOad to the rear is kept
up with some difficulty On account of
rains, but | will be able to use it for
the present. General Wheeler is seri-
OuSly i'll and will probably have to &c
to the rear today. General Young is
also very i'll; confined to his bed. Gen
I ii IJdN I'LL IL ollSlbl NoOllACu III
the foot A daring sortie was made
by the enemy last night, which was
handsomely repulSed. The behavior of
the troops was magnificent. General
Garcia reports that he holds the rail
rOad from Santiago to San Luis and
has burned q bridge and removed
some rails, also hat General PandO
has arrived at Palma, and that the
French consul, with about four hun-
dred French citizens. came into his
line yesterday from Santiago. I lave
directed him to treat them with every
courtesy possible. 5
Washington, July 8.
To General Shafter:
The president directs me to say that
you have the gratitude and thanks
of the nation for the brilliant and eff
feCtive work of your noble army On
Friday, July LIST THE steady valOr of
officers and me. thrill the American
people with pride. Me country mOurns
the brave men who fell in battle.
They nave added new names to he
roll of honor. r. A. ALGER,
Secretary of War.
THE SITUATION AT SANTIAGO.
But there was other information of
q different tenor, coming about the
same time. The American army was
not alone feeling the effect of this
three days shock of arms. Definite
positive information was at hand that
Santiago had been literally torn to
pieces. and that in the wreck and
ruin of demolished buildings the Span
ish casualties numbered fully 1000.
This was a fitting offset to any qualmS
raised by the reports from the Amer
lean lines. This information came from
one of the foreign COnSuls stationed
at Santiago, who reported to the rep
resentative of his country in Wash
ington the fearful havoc within the
city wrought by the American army
and fleet. The distress of the city,
wen before the battle. was clearly
shown by the action of this consul
in serving out ratiOns of One-half
pound daily to his fellow countrymen,
a few hundred in number. for the
last month. Evidently there was no
food to buy; the Spanish military
forces had taken every available
pound: only by this official distribu-
ton of ratiOns to the foreign colo
ny could they be saved from Starva-
tion. Then came the brief but graphic
recital of the terrible effect of the
American attack from land and sea.
The bursting shells from our fleet had
done the greatest damage inside of the
city. Buildings were riddled with rifle
shot, and mown down with the huge
shells and solid proiectiles from the
ships. Most serious of all, the Span
iSh commander, General Linares, oC-
Cupying a place similar to that of
General Shafter in the American ar
my, was seriously wounded. This last
fact had been grudgingly admitted
from Madrid, but the report reaching
here left no room for doubt as to the
seriousness of this feature. With it
was a further fact that the Spanish
casualties, even behind entrench-
ments, ran up to a thousand. and
was equal to that of the fearless men
who fought in the open.
VIRTUALLY A DRAWN BATTLE.
With all the lights furnished on the
situation. official and unofficial, direct
and indirect, it was apparent that
each side had suffered terribly with
now a period Of lull for those in re-
sponsibility to measure their condi-
tions, bury their dead, care for their
wounded, and prepare for the graver
conflict to come.
AMONG THE DEAD.
The list of officers killed shows:
Captain Morrison, Company X, Six
teenth infantry.
Second Lieutenant Benchley, Com
pany f, Sixth infantry.
Henry Anderson, sergeant, Company
A, First cavalry.
Second Lieutenant w. A. Safer
Company A, Thirteenth infantry.
Captain w. F. Brum, Tenth infan-
try.
Lieutenant McCorckle, Twenty-hftf
infantry.
Lieutenant w. E. Shipp, Tenth cav.
airy, brigade q-uartermaster on Gen
eral Young's staff.
Lieutenant Colonel John Hamilton
Ninth cavalry.
Major E. A. G. Force, First cavalry
First Lieutenant w. H. Smith, Tenth
cavalry.
Second Lieutenant Slunnis Niche
Seventeenth infantry, son of Professor
Niche, of West Point.
SKATER MUST BE HELPED.
The president and his war advisers
remained calm thrOuphOut the try.