The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Boys of ’98 by James Otis This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at http://www.gutenberg.org/license Title: The Boys of ’98 Author: James Otis Release Date: December 15, 2009 [Ebook 30684] Language: English ***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOYS OF ’98*** THE BOYS OF ’98 STORIES of AMERICAN HISTORY By James Otis 1. When We Destroyed the Gaspee 2. Boston Boys of 1775 3. When Dewey Came to Manila 4. Off Santiago with Sampson 5. When Israel Putnam Served the King 6. The Signal Boys of ’75 (A Tale of the Siege of Boston) 7. Under the Liberty Tree (A Story of the Boston Massacre) 8. The Boys of 1745 (The Capture of Louisburg) 9. An Island Refuge (Casco Bay in 1676) 10. Neal the Miller (A Son of Liberty) 11. Ezra Jordan’s Escape (The Massacre at Fort Loyall) DANA ESTES & COMPANY Publishers Estes Press, Summer St., Boston THE CHARGE AT EL CANEY. [iii] THE BOYS OF ’98 BY JAMES OTIS AUTHOR OF “TOBY TYLER,”“JENNY WREN’S BOARDING HOUSE,” “THE BOYS OF FORT SCHUYLER,” ETC. vii Illustrated by J. STEEPLE DAVIS FRANK T. MERRILL And with Reproductions of Photographs ELEVENTH THOUSAND BOSTON DANA ESTES & COMPANY PUBLISHERS [iv] Copyright, 1898 BY DANA ESTES &COMPANY [v] CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGE I. THE BATTLE-SHIP MAINE 1 II. THE PRELIMINARIES 19 III. A DECLARATION OF WAR 38 IV. THE BATTLE OF MANILA BAY 64 V. NEWS OF THE DAY 92 VI. CARDENAS AND SAN JUAN 117 VII. FROM ALL QUARTERS 130 VIII. HOBSON AND THE MERRIMAC 149 IX. BY WIRE 171 X. SANTIAGO DE CUBA 194 XI. EL CANEY AND SAN JUAN HEIGHTS 224 XII. THE SPANISH FLEET 254 XIII. THE SURRENDER OF SANTIAGO 290 XIV. MINOR EVENTS 302 XV. THE PORTO RICAN CAMPAIGN 320 XVI. THE FALL OF MANILA 335 XVII. PEACE 345 APPENDIX A—THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 355 APPENDIX B—WAR-SHIPS AND SIGNALS 370 APPENDIX C—SANTIAGO DE CUBA 379 APPENDIX D—PORTO RICO 383 APPENDIX E—THE BAY OF GUANTANAMO 386 [vi] [vii] ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE THE CHARGE AT EL CANEY Frontispiece U. S. S. MAINE 7 CAPTAIN C. D. SIGSBEE 12 EX-MINISTER DE LOME 20 U. S. S. MONTGOMERY 24 MAJOR-GENERAL FITZHUGH LEE 30 U. S. S. COLUMBIA 38 CAPTAIN-GENERAL BLANCO 44 PREMIER SAGASTA 49 PRESIDENT WILLIAM MCKINLEY 55 U. S. S. PURITAN 58 ADMIRAL GEORGE DEWEY 64 U. S. S. OLYMPIA 69 U. S. S. BALTIMORE 72 BATTLE OF MANILA BAY 75 U. S. S. BOSTON 77 U. S. S. CONCORD 82 U. S. S. TERROR 99 JOHN D. LONG,SECRETARY OF NAVY 107 U. S. S. CHICAGO 117 THE TRAGEDY OF THE WINSLOW 119 U. S. S. AMPHITRITE 123 THE BOMBARDMENT OF SAN JUAN,PORTO RICO 127 U. S. S. MIANTONOMAH 130 ADMIRAL SCHLEY 135 xi U. S. S. MONTEREY 144 U. S. S. MASSACHUSETTS 151 LIEUTENANT HOBSON 156 U. S. S. NEW YORK 161 HOBSON AND HIS MEN ON THE RAFT 166 ADMIRAL CERVERA 169 QUEEN REGENT,MARIA CHRISTINA OF SPAIN 171 GENERAL GARCIA 181 ADMIRAL CAMARA 186 GENERAL AUGUSTI 192 U. S. S. MARBLEHEAD 201 U. S. S. VESUVIUS 207 U. S. S. TEXAS 215 COLONEL THEODORE ROOSEVELT 218 MAJOR-GENERAL SHAFTER 224 THE ATTACK ON SAN JUAN HILL 229 VICE-PRESIDENT HOBART 234 U. S. S. NEWARK 239 ADMIRAL W. T. SAMPSON 243 GENERAL WEYLER 254 CAPTAIN R. D. EVANS 256 U. S. S. IOWA 262 THE DESTRUCTION OF CERVERA’S FLEET 266 U. S. S. INDIANA 269 U. S. S. OREGON 275 U. S. S. BROOKLYN 282 MAJOR-GENERAL JOSEPH WHEELER 292 KING ALPHONSO XIII. OF SPAIN 300 GENERAL GOMEZ 311 U. S. S. NEW ORLEANS 314 U. S. S. SAN FRANCISCO 318 MAJOR-GENERAL MILES 320 MAJOR-GENERAL BROOKE 327 xii The Boys of â98 GENERAL BROOKE RECEIVING THE NEWS OF THE 333 PROTOCOL GENERAL RUSSELL A. ALGER,SECRETARY OF 334 WAR MAJOR-GENERAL WESLEY MERRITT 344 DON CARLOS 349 [x] [1] THE BOYS OF ’98. CHAPTER I. THE BATTLE-SHIP MAINE. At or about eleven o’clock on the morning of January 25th the United States battle-ship Maine steamed through the narrow channel which gives entrance to the inner harbour of Havana, and came to anchor at Buoy No. 4, in obedience to orders from the captain of the port, in from five and one-half to six fathoms of water. She swung at her cables within five hundred yards of the arsenal, and about two hundred yards distant from the floating dock. Very shortly afterward the rapid-firing guns on her bow roared out a salute as the Spanish colours were run up to the mizzenmast- head, and this thunderous announcement of friendliness was first answered by Morro Castle, followed a few moments later by the Spanish cruiser Alphonso XII. and a German school-ship. The reverberations had hardly ceased before the captain of the [2] port and an officer from the Spanish war-vessel, each in his gaily decked launch, came alongside the battle-ship in accordance with the rules of naval etiquette. 2 The Boys of â98 Lieut. John J. Blandin, officer of the deck, received the visitors at the head of the gangway and escorted them to the captain’s cabin. A few moments later came an officer from the German ship, and the courtesies of welcoming the Americans were at an end. The Maine was an armoured, twin-screw battle-ship of the second class, 318 feet in length, 57 feet in breadth, with a draught of 21 feet, 6 inches; of 6,648 tons displacement, with engines of 9,293 indicated horse-power, giving her a speed of 17.75 knots. She was built in the Brooklyn navy yard, according to act of Congress, August 3, 1886. Work on her was commenced October 11, 1888; she was launched November 18, 1890, and put into commission September 17, 1895. She was built after the designs of chief constructor T. D. Wilson. The delay in going into commission is said to have been due to the difficulty in getting satisfactory armour. The side armour was twelve inches thick; the two steel barbettes were each of the same thickness, and the walls of the turrets were eight inches thick. In her main battery were four 10-inch and six 6-inch breech- loading rifles; in the secondary battery seven 6-pounder and eight 1-pounder rapid-fire guns and four Gatlings. Her crew was made [3] up of 370 men, and the following officers: Capt. C. D. Sigsbee, Lieut.-Commander R. Wainwright, Lieut. G. F. W. Holman, Lieut. J. Hood, Lieut. C. W. Jungen, Lieut. G. P. Blow, Lieut. F. W. Jenkins, Lieut. J. J. Blandin, Surgeon S. G. Heneberger, Paymaster C. M. Ray, Chief Engineer C. P. Howell, Chaplain J. P. Chidwick, Passed Assistant Engineer F. C. Bowers, Lieutenant of Marines A. Catlin, Assistant Engineer J. R. Morris, Assistant Engineer Darwin R. Merritt, Naval Cadet J. H. Holden, Naval Cadet W. T. Cluverius, Naval Cadet R. Bronson, Naval Cadet P. Washington, Naval Cadet A. Crenshaw, Naval Cadet J. T. Boyd, Boatswain F. E. Larkin, Gunner J. Hill, Carpenter J. Helm, Paymaster’s Clerk B. McCarthy. Why had the Maine been sent to this port? CHAPTER I. 3 The official reason given by the Secretary of the Navy when he notified the Spanish minister, Señor Dupuy de Lome, was that the visit of the Maine was simply intended as a friendly call, according to the recognised custom of nations. The United States minister at Madrid, General Woodford, also announced the same in substance to the Spanish Minister of State. It having been repeatedly declared by the government at Madrid that a state of war did not exist in Cuba, and that the relations between the United States and Spain were of the most friendly character, nothing less could be done than accept the official construction put upon the visit. [4] The Spanish public, however, were not disposed to view the matter in the same light, as may be seen by the following extracts from newspapers: “If the government of the United States sends one war-ship to Cuba, a thing it is no longer likely to do, Spain would act with energy and without vacillation.”—El Heraldo, January 16th. “We see now the eagerness of the Yankees to seize Cuba.”—The Imparcial, January 23d. The same paper, on the 27th, declared: “If Havana people, exasperated at American impudence in sending the Maine, do some rash, disagreeable thing, the civilised world will know too well who is responsible. The American government must know that the road it has taken leads to war between both nations.” On January 25th Madrid newspapers made general comment upon the official explanation of the Maine’s visit to Havana, and agreed in expressing the opinion that her visit is “inopportune and calculated to encourage the insurgents.” It was announced that, “following Washington’s example,” the Spanish government will “instruct Spanish war-ships to visit a few American ports.” The Imparcial expresses fear that the despatch of the Maine to Havana will provoke a conflict, and adds: 4 The Boys of â98 “Europe cannot doubt America’s attitude towards Spain. But [5] the Spanish people, if necessary, will do their duty with honour.” The Epocha asks if the despatch of the Maine to Havana is “intended as a sop to the Jingoes,” and adds: “We cannot suppose the American government so naïve or badly informed as to imagine that the presence of American war-vessels at Havana will be a cause of satisfaction to Spain or an indication of friendship.” The people of the United States generally believed that the battle-ship had been sent to Cuba because of the disturbances existing in the city of Havana, which seemingly threatened the safety of Americans there.