The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1898-07-21
STORY 0F THE
SURRENDER.
Gen. TOral Yields His
City to Save His
People.
The END CANE SHIETlf and UNEXPECTEDLY.
Menaced By Sea and Land
and Disheartened By
Defeats.
TERMS OF SURRENDER NOT YET MADE KNOWN.

OFF AGUADORES. July IA. 3 p. III.
VIA PORT ANTONIO, July -, 415 a.
m.--Santiago deCuba was surrendered
to-day. Menaced by American forces
on land and sea, disheartened by past
defeats and without hope of victory.
General Toral yielded his city to save
his people.
With the final strokes of the Spanish
Generals pen, the only stronghold in
the province of Santiago has fallen.
and the power of Spain in Eastern
Cuba is crushed.
What the terms of the surrender
We're is not yet known to the army.
They may be made public when Gen.
Miles returns from the front tonight
and they may be suppressed for days.
On board the flagship New York ii
is believed that the surrendered Span
ish officers will be permitted to retain
their side arms and that the Spanish
Army will be given safe convoy to
Spain. Admiral Sampson has not
yet, however, been informed of the de-
tails of the capitulation, and he does
not expect the terms to be made pub
lie for several DAYS.
The end came swiftly and unexpect-
edlY. The Santiago campaign. with
its deeds of splendid daring and dark
with the record of slaughter, had been
believed by many men high in rank
to have only just begun. The refusal
of the Spanish TO surrender had been
so emphatic and so recent that both
Army and Navy had forsaken the
idea of victory without further blood
shed, and noon to-day had been set
for the final and desperate assault
upon the stubborn defenses of the
city. That its Notifications were
strong and that its forces were brave
all knew, and to-day had been looked
forward to as the bloodiest in the his
tory of the campaign, and when soon
after 2 o'clock this afternoon Admiral
Sampson received by signal the news
that Gen. Toral had surrendered the
Admiral and his officers scarcely cred
tied the story.
Whether MORO Castle and the bat
teries above the harbor will also sur
render is at 3 o'clock this afternoon
a matter of conjecture. At that hour
the Spanish flag still fioated above
MORO Castle, and the Spanish forces
still clustered about the earthworks
and batteries.
With the American Army controll-
ing Santiago, however, further resist
ance by the harbor batteries would be
absurd and their surrender will un-
doubtedly quickly follow Gen. Shat
ter's occupation of the town. if indeed
the sea front Notifications and all
others are not included in the city's
capitulation.
When Gen. Toral on Monday last
refused absolutely to consider the
terms of unconditional surrender, and
when General Shafter announced ne
gotiations at an end it was believed
that the taking of the city without
further fighting was an impossibility
The artillery of the American forces
was rushed to the front, the investing
line was extended to hem in the town
completely, and every preparation
was made for the final assault.
Acting under instructions from
Washington, however, Gen. Shafter
again proposed surrender yesterday,
and at a conference at which General
Miles and General Toral were present
it was proposed to allow the Spanish
officers to retain their sidearms and
the American commodore offered to
send the defeated army to Spain un-
der convoy and on parole.
The story of the conference has al
ready been told. Gen Torars an
nouncement that the matter would
have to be referred to his government
convinced the maj jorityof theotficials at
headquarters that nothing gmore would
come of the negotiations. and an Or
der was issued to prepare for gener-
al attack at noon to-day, at which
hour the extended armistice expired.
The men at the front made every prep
aration for battle, the fleet gathered
around the little bay of Aguadores,
ready to hurl shells over the hill and
into the city, and the combined Amer
ican forces quietly and grimly awaited
the word of General Miles.
But while these preparations were
going forward, Gen. Shafter and Gen
Miles were still hard at work in an at
tempt to avoid the slaughter which
must follow an attack. The telephone
and the telegraph wires from the front
to Juragua were burdened all the
forenoon with messages to and from
Washington, and General Toral was
busy in communication with either
Captain-General Blanco or with the
Government at Madrid.
AT about II o'clock General Miles
sent an aide-de.camp from Juragua to
Rear-Admiral Sampson telling him
the chances for surrender were good
and that no shots must be fired from
the fleet without definite orders from