SUCCESS OF OUR ARMY IN CUBA. BY los coheren O comprehend the difficulties of such a campaign as our army conducted before the well-fortified and strongly-garrisoned city of Santiago, it must be remembered that this government has only on one previous occasion sent troops to a foreign country, and that was over fifty years ago. It is true that our soldiers went through a good deal of discomfort and suffering, but this was incident to the campaign, and I don't think that the administration neglected any duty to the army which it was possible to foresee. The army was a superb body of brave men. It is true, we were short of transportation, but the expectation when we left Tampa was that we would land very near the city. The officers and men landed cheerfully. Nine hundred and sixty-four dismounted cavalrymen attacked and routed fully two thousand Spaniards at Las Quasima June 24, and on July 1, Kent's division and the cavalry divisions, numbering about six thousand men, waded the San Juan River; the forward line under a heavy fire from the Spanish earthworks, then advanced to an open plain and charged the enemy's works at San Juan forts and the intrenchments which crowned the hill upon which the fort stood. At the same time General Lawton with like force attacked and captured the fort at El Caney, about five miles to the north of Santiago. The position assaulted and captured by Kent's division and the cavalry divisions placed the army on a ridge which overlooked the city, and this enabled General Shafter to circumvent the entire Spanish line and compel their surrender, which was accomplished on July 16. The success of the army was due to the superb gallantry and fortitude of our men. It showed that the sons of those who fought the great battles of thirty years ago were inspired by the same brave spirit which animated their fathers. I deeply deplore the undeserved censure that uninformed and thoughtless persons have heaped upon the administration for not having taken better measures for the care of the army in Cuba. This criticism does not emanate from the soldiers who fought the battles. They understand the difficulties attending an expedition so hurriedly organized. They cheerfully bore all the hardships for they realized that the administration was doing everything in its power for their comfort. I think the result of the war will bring very far-reaching benefits to our country. It gives us a commanding position throughout the world, and the trade expansion which will follow within a very short time will more than pay the expenses which we incurred. BOMBARDMENT OF SANTIAGO. Terrible Effects of Shells Bursting in the Streets of the Old City. BY A SEAMAN OF THE CRUISER "NEW YORK." EFORE the hour of five o'clock of the morning of July 2 (1898), the crew of the flagship "New York" was astir, eating a hurried breakfast. At 5.50, "general quarters " was sounded and the flagship headed in towards Aguadores, about three miles east of Morro Castle. The other ships retained their blockading stations. Along the surf-beaten shore the smoke of an approaching train from Altares was seen. It was composed of open cars, full of General Duffield's troops. At the cutting, a mile east of Aguadores, the train stopped and the Cuban scouts proceeded along the railroad track. The troops got out of the cars and soon formed in a long, thin line, standing out vividly against the yellow rocks that rose perpendicularly above, shutting them off from the main body of the army, which was on the other side of the hill several miles north. Communication is Established. from the army. From the quarter of the flagship there was a signal, by a vigorously wigwagged letter, and a few minutes later from a lump of green at the water's edge came an answer This was the first co-operation for offensive purposes between the army and navy. The landing of the army at Baiquiri and Altares was purely a naval affair. With the flag in his hand the soldier ashore looked like a butterfly. "Are you waiting for us to begin?" was the signal made by Rear-Admiral Sampson to the army. "General Duffield is ahead with the scouts," came the answer from the shore to the flagship. By this time it was seven o'clock and the admiral ran the flagship's bow within three-quarters of a mile of the beach. She remained almost as near during the forenoon. The daring way she was handled by Captain Chadwick, within sound of the breakers, made the Cuban pilot on board stare with astonishment. The "Suwanee" was in company with the flagship, still closer in shore, and the "Gloucester" was to the westward, near Morro Castle. From the southward the "Newark" came up and took a position to the westward. Her decks were black with sixteen hundred or more troops. She went alongside of the flagship, and was told to disembark the soldiers at Alcires. Then Admiral Sampson signaled to General Duffield: "When do you want us to commence firing?" In a little while a white flag on shore sent back the answer: "When Long Wait for the Troops. railroad tracks, the rest of the command arrives. Then I will signal you." It was a long and tedious wait for the ships before the second fifty carloads of troops came puffing along from Altares. By 9.30 the last of the soldiers had left the open disappearing in the thick brush that covered the eastern side of Aguadores inlet. The water in the sponge tubs under the breeches of the big guns was growing hot in the burning sun. Ashore there were no sign of the enemy. They were believed to be on the western bluff. Between the bluffs runs a rocky gully leading into Santiago city. On the extremity of the western arm was an old, castellated fort, from which the Spanish flag was flying, and on the parapet on the eastern hill, commanding the gully, two stretches of red earth could easily be seen against the brush. These were the rifle pits. At 10.15 a signal flag ashore wigwagged to Admiral Sampson to commence firing, and a minute later the "New Firing is Begun. York" guns blazed away at the rifle pits and at the old fort. The "Suwanee" and "Gloucester" joined in the echoes, which rumbled around and filled the gully. All the stored-up thunder of the clouds seemed to have broken loose, and smoke soon rose over the hills, and the gully was shut out from view. Then the firing became more deliberate. Of our troops ashore in the brush nothing could be seen, but the "ping," "ping," of the small arms of the army floated out to sea during the occasional lull in the firing of the big guns, which peppered the rifle pits until clouds of red earth rose above them. An 8-inch shell from the "Newark" dropped in the massive old fort and clouds of white dust and huge stones filled the air. When the small shells hit its battlements, almost hidden by green creepers, fragments of masonry came tumbling down. A shot from the "Suwanee" hit the eastern parapet and it crumbled away like a mummy exposed to the air after long years. Amid the smoke and debris the flagstaff was seen to fall forward. "The flag has been shot down," shouted the ship's crews, but when the smoke cleared away the emblem of Spain was seen to be still flying and blazing brilliantly in the sun, though the flagstaff was bending toward the earth. Apparently the flagstaff had been caught firmly in the wreckage of the fort. A few more shots leveled the battlements until the old castle was a pitiable sight. Three Shots at Spanish Flag. When the firing ceased, Lieutenant Delehanty, of the "Suwanee," was anxious to finish his work, so he signaled to the "New York," asking permission to knock down the Spanish flag. "Yes," replied Admiral Sampson, "if you can do it in three shots." The "Suwanee" then lay about sixteen hundred yards from the old fort. She took her time. Lieutenant Blue carefully aimed the 4-inch gun and the crews of all the ships watched the incident amid intense excitement. When the smoke of the "Suwanee's" first shot cleared away, only two red streamers of the flag were left. The shell had gone through the center of the bunting. A delighted yell broke from the crew of the "Suwanee." Two or three minutes later the "Suwanee" fired again and a huge cloud of debris rose from the base of the flagstaff. For a few seconds it was impossible to tell the effect of the shot. Then it was seen that the shell had only added to the ruin of the fort. The flagstaff seeined to have a charmed existence and the "Suwanee" only had one chance left. It seemed hardly possible for her to achieve her object with the big gun, such a distance and such a tiny target. There was breathless silence among the watching crews. They crowded on the ship's decks and all eyes were on that tattered rag, bending toward the earth from the top of what once had been a grand old castle. But it is only bending, not yet down. Third Shot Brings it Down. Lieutenant-Commander Delehanty and Lieutenant Blue took their time. The "Suwanee " changed her position slightly. Then a puff of smoke shot from her side. Up went a spouting cloud of debris from the parapet and down fell the banner of Spain. Such yells from the flagship will probably never be heard again. There was more excitement than is witnessed at the finish of a college boat race or a popular race between first-class thoroughbreds on some big track. The "Suwanee's" last shot had struck right at the base of the flagstaff and had blown it clear of the wreckage which had held it. "Well done," signaled Admiral Sampson to Lieutenant-Commander Delehanty. At 11.30 General Duffield signaled that his scouts reported that no damage had been done to the Spanish rifle pits by the shells from the ships and Admiral Sampson told him they had been hit several times, but there However the Suwanee" was ordered to fire a few was no one in the pits. Shells Fired Into Santiago. At 12.18 p. m., the "New York," having discontinued firing at Aguadores, began firing 8-inch shells clear over the gully into the city of Santiago de Cuba. Every five minutes the shells went roaring over the hillside, and though the distance was fully four miles, the range was so accurately gauged that nearly all of them fell within the populous district of the city, doing very great damage. After the rifle pits had been cleared of Spaniards the "Oregon " came up and began hurling 8-inch shells over the high hills, into the city, one of which struck a church and razed it to the ground, besides killing several soldiers who were in the street nearby. As the city was entirely hidden from our view by intervening hills, it was not possible at the time to know the effects of our firing, but after the surrender, inquiry and inspection disclosed that terrific havoc had been wrought to buildings, though fortunately few lives were destroyed. THE STORY OF SANTIAGO'S DOWNFALL. By T HE expedition against Santiago, which I had the honor of commanding, was undertaken in compliance with instructions of May 30 from headquarters of the army, which were thus briefly given : "Admiral Schley reports that two cruisers and two torpedo boats have been seen in the harbor of Santiago. Go with your force to capture garrison at Santiago and assist in capturing harbor and fleet." At the time of receiving this order the troops assembled at Tampa were poorly prepared to enter upon the perils of an invasion of Cuba. Many of the volunteer soldiers were insufficiently drilled, and lack of transportation facilities for moving the cavalry were such that it was impossible to act promptly upon the order received June 7, and it was not until June 14 that sufficient transports were provided, upon which were embarked 16,072 men and 815 officers. This expedition was convoyed by a squadron of our best ships and succeeded in landing at Baiquiri, fourteen miles from Santiago, on the 20th to 22d. Directly after anchoring the transports off the |