La Junta tribune., 1898-12-10


twentyfonr hours notice being given,
| II repaired 10 Mrs hay. near Hong
Kong. whence II proceeded to the
Philippine Islands under felegrnphic
! orders to capture or destroy the for
| midable Spanish fleet then assembled
ut Manila. Al daybreak ON May LIST
the American force entered Manila
bay. and. after n few hours engage
ment. effected the total destruction of
the Spanish fleet, consisting Of ten
| warships ana a transport. besides cap
turing the naval station and forts at
Cavifc thus annihilating the Spanish
| naval power in the Pacific ocean and
completely controlling the bay OF Ma
Mia. with the ability 10 take the city
N Will. Noi II life was lost on our
ships. the wounded only numbering
seven. while no, n vessel was material
ly Injured. For this gallant achieve
iB"nt the Congress. upon my recon-
mendntion. h'ly bestowed upon the
actors prcfcrmrnt and substantial re-
ward.
The effect Of this remarkable vic
tory upon the spirit of our people and
upon the fortunes OF the war was in.
stan' A prestige OF invincibiiity
thereby attached to our arms. which
continued throughout the struggle.
nln under the command OF Major
General Merritt and firmly established
within sight OF the capital which lay
helpless before our guns. ON the Tth
day Of May the government was adj
vised officially OF the victory at Ma
Mia. and nj once inquired OF the com
mander of our fleet what troops were
required. The Information was re-
celved on the 18th dny Of May. and
the first army expedition sailed May
2Jth and arrived at Manila June 5th.
Other expeditions soon followed. the
total force consisting of Gal officers
and iJ.65S men.
Only reluctance 10 cause needless
loss Of life and property prevented the
early storming and capture OF the city.
and therewIth the absolute military
occupancy of the whole group.
The Cuban Campaign.
Following the forming OF the com
prciiensive scheme of general attack.
powerful forces were assembled a,
various points on our coast to invade
Cuba and Porto Rico.
Several demonstrations occurred on
the coasts OF Cuba and Porto Rico In
preparation for the larger event. ON
May 18th the North Atlantic squadron
shelled san Iuan de Porto Rico. On
MAY 3Oth Commodore Schley's squad
ron bombardled the forts guarding the
mouth OF Santiago harbor. Neither at
tack had any material result. 1t was
evident that well-ordered land opera
lions were Indispensable to achieve "A
decided advantage.
The next act in the war thrilled not
alone the hearts of our countrymen.
but the world. by its exceptional he
- 81. ,t.,L, sNf tr.I 4 trt
tenant Hobson. nided by seven deyo-
ted volunteers. blocked the narrow out
let from Santiago harbor by sinking
the collier M.rrimac in the channel,
under fierce fire from the shore bat
teries, escaping with their lives a. by
Miracle but falling into the hands
OF the Spaniards. Ii IL u most crafty
ing incident of the war that the bray
cry of this little band of heroes was
cordially appreciated by the Spaniards.
who sent n flag OF truce 10 notify Ad-
miral Sampson Of their safety and TO
compliment them upon their daring
act They We're subsequently eN-
changed July eth.
BY June 7th the cutting of the last
Cuban cable isolated the island.
Thereafter the invasion was vigorous
" prosecuted ON June 10th. under a
HtiNN iiit. u ictss
of coo marines from the Oregon. Mar-
blehcad and Yankee was effected in
Guantanamo bay. where ii had been
determined TO establish a naval sta
tion. This important and essential
port was taken from the enemy after
severe fighting by the marines, who
were the first organized force of the
United States TO land In Cuba. The
position 80 won WIS held. despite the
desperate attempts TO dislodge our
forces. BY June 10th additional forces
! were landed and strongly entrenched.
On June 22nd the advance OF the in
vading army under Major General
Shaf.er landed NJ Baipuiri, about fif-
teen miles east OF Santiago. This was
accomplished under great difficulties,
but with marvellous dispatch. On June
18th the movement against Santiago
was begun. On the oath the first seri-
ous engagement took place, in which
the First and Tenth cavalry and the
First volunteer cavalry. General
Young's brigade OF General Wheeler.s
division. participated. losing heavily.
by nightfall. however. ground within
| five miles of Santiago was won. The
| advantage was steadily increased. On
| July LIST a severe battle took place. our
| forces gaining the outer works OF San
tiago and Ell Caney and San Juan were
| taken after n desperate charge. and
the Investment of the city was com
| pletcd. The navy co-operated by she'll
| ing the town and the coast forts.
Csrvsr.'s Fleet Destroyed.
On the day following this brilliant
| achievement OF our land forces, July
3rd, occurred the decisive naval COM
| bat Of the war. The Spanish fleet. at
tempting to leave the harbor. was met
by the American squadron. under COM
mand OF Commodore Sampson. In less
| than three hours all OF the Spanish
ships were destroyed. the two torpedo
boats sunk and the Maria Teresa. Al
mlrante OQuendo. Vizcaya and Crist0-
hal Colon driven ashore. The Spanish