The Washington times., 1901-10-14

tions' For one thing. there were the
appointments to be made. and they gave
Mr. Alger great concern. He says:
There is no feature connected with the con-
duct of the War Department during the war with
Spain pcrsistentiy misunderstood and misrep-
resented the method Of making appointment.
fer the volunteer army. ] doubt whether / wa
more viiifed and slsndered in any other con-
neotion.
There was reason in plenty for what
Mr.. AIger is pleased to call vlification
and slander. He would have us believe
that volunteer commissions were handed
out strictly according TO the merit of the
applicant. Nothing could be further from
the truth. They were simply peddled
among politicians and rich Republicans
who had poor relations and dependents
whom they wished TO saddle on the Gov
ernmeat- For the first time in the history
OF the Govcrnme nj general officers were
not allowed to name their staffs. and their
requests for particular appointments or
assignments were coolly ignored As a
rule. they were furnished with such staff
officers as Mr.. AiSer and his War Depart
ment ring saw lit to supply. Particularly
In connection with the matter Of volun-
teer staff appointments was his conduct
reprehensible and a disgrace to the coun-
try.
It would be like threshng over old straw
to follow the author through the pages
he devotes to the preparations for the
Santiago campaign. All such things are
ancient history. What interests us. and
will our readers, is the new Information
he furnishes regarding the obstructive
tactics and strange conduct of Admiral
Sampson. But for Mr.. Alger 1t is doubt
ful II the facts of this humliating chap
ter in the Spanish war record ever would
have been placed before Americans OF the
present generation. Sampson and his in
fiuential friends have been able to sup
press a great many things which. being
disclosed, would not look well in history.
The ex-Secretary's Spanish American
War" has defeated their object in one
important direction
We all know what n bother there was
about getting General Shafter and his ex-
pedition off to Santiago; how abe ghost
fleet kept It back while General Hey
woods little Spartan band Of marines held
Guantanamo. As readers will remember.
the campaign against Santiago was IN ald
of the navy. On June Admiral Samp-
son cabled to the Navy Department as
follows:
Bombarded forts at Santiago 7:90 to 10 a. m.
today. June 6. Have sienced works quickly
without injury of any kind, though stationed
2.O00 yards. II 1900 were here, city and
feet would be ours within f0rty-eight hours.
Every consideration demands immediate army
movement. If delayed, city will be defended
more strongly by guns taken from feet
Although General Shafter was anything
but ready lacking transportation so that
he had to carry General Wheeler cav
airy division dismounted. and was hanoi-
capped in other ways, on June Z he was
ordered to sail. The sUbjoined despatch.
as Mr., Alger states. was sent to him at
Tampa from the White House:
Information from Sampson says he has prsc-
ticaliy reduced fortifcations, and only awaits
your arrival to occupy Santiago. Time IS the
essence Of the situation. Early departure Of first
Importance.
How very like Sampson all this wasl
Hardly had he located his quarry before
he began to clamor for somebody else to
come and bag the game for him. When
on June he cabled that he had siienced
the shore batteries, after several hours
Of bombardment. he knew that he was
wiring nonsense. since a previous recon-
noissance by Commodore Schley had de-
veioped the fact that these batteries did
not amount TO anything; had also shown
that nothing except possible mines, such
as Dewey risked with confidence at
Manila, was present to keep him from
steaming into the harbor and attacking
Cervera at his moorings
The Santiago expedition got OF at last,
and then. at the instance OF Admiral
the Navy Department began TO
enquire how the landing was to be made.
The army was being despatched to help
the person who, with its assistance, was
to occupy Santiago and take the Spanish
squadron in forty-eiGht hours: but he
did not propose to render any aid that he
could avoid The Secretary of the Navy,
in note. suggested to Mr.. Alger that
1T Is obvious that the crews of the ar
mored ships and of such others as viii
be called upon to remove Spanish mines
and to meet the Spanish fleet in action,
cannot be spared for other purposes
Plainly another Sampson insplrationl
He was always calling for cat's-paws to
rake in his chestnuts, but never was
willing TO get his own fingers in the fire.
cessfully eluded during the Spanish war,
claiming TO have commanded in
a great naval engagement.
"The day before the army reached the
vicinity of Santiago a fast sailing scout
was sent forward bearing a despatch to
Sampson" Shortly after the ar
rival OF the transports and their convoy
Captain Chadwick, chief of staff to Ad-
miral Sampson. came aboard and. on be-
half of his chief, urged that the army
should assault the Morro and generally
the hills overlooking the mouth Of the
harbor in order that Skaters heavy guns
might be emplaced on the heights and
assail Cervera's ships with a plunging
fire. AS General Shafter afterward re-
marked: ANY general fitted to command
troops in war would not have adopted the
suggestion" General Shafter. in company
with Admiral Sampson, met the Cuban
General Garcia the day after the arrival
of the expedition at Aserradero, eighteen
miles west of Santiago. AT this confer
ence General Shafter announced his in
tention to attack Santiago, that being
obviously the objective. because 1t in
cluded the city and the fleet. SIMPSONS
flag secretary. Staunton, took a minute
of the plan as dictated by General Shat
ter. 1t included a feint by the navy to the
n he Ia Of 2
to the eastward of the harbor. and this
movement was carried out by Admiral !
Sampson according TO the programme.
What was General Skaters astonfshmeut
when he learned that, on July 4. Samp-
son had reported to the Navy Department |
that he tShafter) had agreed with Cap |
tain Chadwick. who met him on his ar
rival, that the shore batteries and the
heights overlooking the harbor should be |
carried before any attention was paid to
the city. Sampson added: To this !
General Shafter gave most cordial assent
and stated that he had no intention of at
tacking the city proper The substance
of this understanding. Sampson asserted,
was repeated in his (Shafter's) inter-
view with General Garcia at Aserradero"
Admiral SIMPSONS report
says:
l DO not know why a change of plan oc- /
urred unless l. was that the troops on being !
anded advanced themselves far on the roads |
oward Santiago before any specific plan of |
perations had been decided upon that it was |
cind incOnyenient to divert them to the other |
% nts.
When the remarkable Sampson state
nent was made known to General Shafter
le wrote to the Adjutant General of the |
Army, in part as follows:
I cannot permit this TO pass without notice
IS it is incorrect in all that it states in refer
nee to my assent to the plan which was pro-
,osed by the navy, to first attack the forts at
he entrance of the harbor. permitting them to
inter and take up the mines-a plan of opera
ion that was never contemplated by me- and
.hich Il II hnl hcen NJ tnmntnd rno.lIL IN NJ |