756 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



American navy was thenceforth employed in the 

 difficult task of confining Admiral Cervera's squad- 

 ron in Santiago Bay, which required elaborate pre- 

 cautions and constant vigilance. Three of the 

 principal vessels took turns in the dangerous duty 

 of guarding the entrance at night within range of 

 the shore batteries and illuminating with their 

 search lights the entrance and the bay, rendering 

 it no less impossible for the Spaniards to get to sea 

 unobserved under cover of darkness than in the 

 light of day. 



Operations of the Blockading Fleet. While 

 Admiral Sampson departed with the strongest and 

 fastest vessels of the fleet to intercept Cervera's 

 fleet, Commodore John C. Watson and Commodore 

 George C. Remey were left in command of the two 

 divisions of the blockading squadron. The force 

 that was left on blockade duty consisted of the 

 monitor " Miantonomoh," 6 unarmored cruisers, 

 10 torpedo boats, and a large number of impro- 

 vised war vessels. The whole blockading fleet com- 

 bined would be incapable of resisting only a part 

 of the Spanish fleet, but it was sufficiently strong 

 and numerous to maintain an effective blockade 

 and to cope with the Spanish naval force stationed 

 in the Cuban harbors. 



On May 11 the " Wilmington " engaged the for- 

 tifications at Cardenas and rescued the " Winslow " 

 and "Hudson," which had been betrayed into run- 

 ning under the guns of a masked battery. The 

 torpedo boat "Winslow," as well as' other vessels of 

 the fleet, had before challenged the three Spanish 

 gunboats lying in the harbor, but could not draw 

 them away from the protection of the land bat- 

 teries. When the cruiser " Wilmington " arrived 

 and took station at a range of 2,500 yards, the 

 "Winslow" and "Hudson" went into the inner 

 harbor to attack the Spanish vessels. The Amer- 

 icans had not counted on a strong battery close to 

 the water's edge, which suddenly opened fire on the 

 small craft. The first shell damaged the steering 

 gear of the "Winslow" and another burst inside, 

 wrecking her boiler, wounding Lieut. John B. 

 Bernadou, the commander, and killing or mortally 

 wounding Ensign Worth Bagley and four men. The 

 'Wilmington" moved up to within 1,800 yards, till 

 her keel almost touched bottom, sending 376 shells 

 into the batteries and the town, and finally silencing 

 the guns. Meanwhile, Lieut. Frank H. Newcomb 

 ran the " Hudson " alongside of the " Winslow," 

 and amid a hail of shots towed her out of danger. 



On the same day the " Marblehead," " Nashville," 

 and " Windom " were taken into the bay at Cien- 

 fuegos by Commander Bowman H. McCalla, and 

 Lieut. Cameron Winslow and Lieut. Anderson ex- 

 plored in launches for the telegraph cables, to cut 

 them, while a party attempted to land from the 

 " Marblehead " to sever the cables at the shore 

 end. When Commander McCalla called for volun- 

 teers for the dangerous work thrice the desired 

 number offered themselves. The batteries drove 

 off the landing party, killing 2 men and wounding 

 7 before the vessels moved up into close range and 

 silenced them. The parties in the boats dragged 

 for the cables and grappled and cut two of the 

 three, under a rain of bullets and a constant fire of 

 Maxims and 1-pounders, which killed or fatally 

 wounded 3 and wounded Lieut. Winslow and 6 

 Tnen. As soon as one man was hit another jumped 

 to take his place. Meanwhile the guns of the ves- 

 sels fired on the fortifications until they were 

 smashed, sending in more than 600 shells. The 

 Spanish losses were reported to be 2 killed and 14 

 wounded. The cables were afterward repaired by 

 the Spaniards, and communication with Havana 

 was kept open. 



Attempts were made to cut the far more im- 



portant cables running from Santiago at Guanta- 

 namo, which would have isolated Cuba from Spain. 

 There were two British lines running to Jamaica, 

 and a French line to Martinique. The United 

 States Government was unwilling to cut the cables 

 out at sea, since there was no precedent for such an 

 act, which might be construed as a violation of the 

 rights of neutrals. But within the territorial three- 

 mile limit, it was assumed, the cutting of cables 

 was a legitimate exercise of belligerent rights, the 

 United States having expressly reserved freedom of 

 action in this regard in the cable convention of 

 1884. The first essay was made near Santiago on 

 May 11 by the cruiser "St. Louis" and the tug 

 "Wampatuck." A further attempt was made by 

 the same vessels on May 18. The American war 

 ships, as they approached the mouth of Guanta- 

 namo harbor, flew the Spanish flag, an act that 

 Spanish orators denounced as Yankee treachery, 

 although the United States colors were raised, ac- 

 cording to the usages of war, before the action was 

 begun. The heavy fire from the Spanish batteries 

 and the gunboat in the harbor compelled the tug 

 " Wampatuck " to retire after grappling one of the 

 cables within 800 yards of the shore. One of the 

 cables leading to Kingston was cut by the " St.. 

 Louis" at Santiago after both vessels had been 

 under fire nearly an hour. 



Gen. Blanco at Havana, on May 14, attempted by 

 a ruse to draw the vessels then blockading the mouth 

 of the harbor within range of the heavy guns on the 

 shore. His purpose was also to draw the American 

 naval forces to that point in order that Admiral 

 Cervera might carry out his plans unobserved and 

 in safety. The gunboat " Vicksburg " and the con- 

 verted revenue cutter " Morrill " had a week before 

 been decoyed by a fishing smack under the Krupp 

 guns of Santa Clara, and it was only owing to the 

 indifferent gunnery that they managed to get out 

 of range without being sunk. On this latter occa- 

 sion the two principal Spanish war vessels at Havana, 

 the " Conde de Venadito " and " Nueva Esparto." 

 suddenly emerged from the harbor and ran along 

 the shore. The " Mayflower," "Vicksburg," "An- 

 napolis," " Wasp," " Tecumseh," and " Osceola " 

 formed a column and moved obliquely in upon the 

 Spanish vessels to prevent their escape, whereupon 

 the Spaniards doubled on their course, and firing 

 steadily in reply to the American guns put back 

 into port, while the pursuing vessels stopped at a 

 safe distance offshore. The diversion of the Span- 

 ish commander caused a concentration of eight 

 more of the blockading vessels at Havana. 



On May 24 some of the American ships exchanged 

 shots with the fortress of San Hilario guarding the 

 entrance to the port of Nuevitas. Other vessels re- 

 connoitered the entrance to Cardenas Bay to ascer- 

 tain whether torpedoes had been laid. An exchange 

 of prisoners Col. Cortijo and an army surgeon for 

 two American newspaper correspondents named 

 Thrall and Jones was effected in Havana Buy <>n 

 May 27. 



On May 29 the " St. Paul " cut the cables off Cape 

 Maysi; but Gen. Blanco's telegraphic communica- 

 tions with Spain were not entirely severed until a 

 completely outfitted cable ship, carrying war cables 

 and cable gear for establishing communications 

 with the United States, as well as instruments for 

 grappling and cutting the Spanish cables, was 

 placed in Cuban waters by the Signal Service. 



The blockade, while effective enough to can- 

 scarcity of food that was felt by all classes, and the 

 direst famine among the poor, did not prevent the 

 entrance of many blockade runners of various na- 

 tionalities. Before it was well established tin 1 

 Spanish troopship "Alfonso XII," leaving St. Tin unas 

 on April 21, landed 800 troops with cannon and 



