Santiago.—Cervera had left the Cape Verde islands on April 29 with four armoured cruisers, the "Almirante Oquendo," "In fanta Maria Teresa" and "Vizcaya" (sister ships of 7,000 tons) and the "Cristobal Colon" (same size; differently equipped) and three torpedo-boat destroyers. On hearing (May 1) of Cervera's departure, Sampson went east to San Juan, Porto Rico, with the armoured cruiser "New York," the battleships "Iowa" and "In diana," the cruisers "Montgomery" and "Detroit," and one tor pedo-boat. He reached San Juan on the i 2th. Cervera was not present, and Sampson at once started back for Havana. Cervera reached Santiago de Cuba early on the i9th without being sighted en route. It was not until the end of the month that the Ameri can fleet was assembled before the harbour. An attempt was made to sink the collier "Merrimac" in the entrance channel, which was less than 200 ft. broad in parts available for ships. The prepara tions for a quick sinking were chiefly carried out by naval con structor Richmond P. Hobson, who went in, in the early morning of June 3, with a crew of seven men. The steering-gear was dis abled by a shell, and the ship drifted too far and was sunk in a broad part of the channel where it did not block the egress of Cervera's squadron.
On June 6 the batteries at the entrance were bombarded and their weakness was ascertained. Sampson thereupon placed, every evening, a battleship close in, with a searchlight turned on the channel, making it impossible for the Spanish squadron to escape by night. The port of Guantanamo, 4o m. east of Santiago, was occupied and was used thereafter as a base and coaling station. The Land Campaign.—When war was declared the total mili tary forces of the United States consisted of 27,822 regulars and 114,6o2 militia. An act of April 22 had authorized the president to call upon the States and Territories for men in proportion to their population. A first call was made for 125,000 men, and a month later a second call for 75,00o. On April 26 large additions to the regular army were sanctioned for the war. The quotas were filled with extraordinary rapidity, and in May 124,776 had volun teered. The troops were concentrated chiefly at Chickamauga, Ga., at Camp Alger, Va., and at Tampa, Fla., which was selected as the point for the embarcation of the expeditionary force for Cuba, and where Major-General W. R. Shaf ter was in command. After the arrival of Cervera at Santiago, the blockade of his squadron and the request (June 7) of Admiral Sampson to send a land force for co-operation, the troops embarked on June 7 and 8, but a start was not made until the 14th. On the 19th the fleet of 32 transports arrived off Santiago. The whole force consisted of
about 17,000 officers and men, 16 light field guns, a train of heavier pieces, and some 200 vehicles. On the 22nd-27th the army was landed at Daiquiri, 18 m. east of Santiago, on a rough coast with scarcely any shelter from the sea ; after the first day Siboney, 7 m. nearer Santiago, was used as well as Daiquiri. With the exception of three volunteer regiments (the ist Volunteer Cavalry, known as the Rough Riders, of which Theodore Roosevelt was lieutenant-colonel; the 2nd Massachusetts and the 71st New York Volunteers), these troops were composed almost wholly of regu lars, most of whom had served on the plains against the Indians. Soon afterwards more volunteers arrived.
No opposition was made to the landing. The American troops (commanded by Major-General Joseph Wheeler until the 29th, when General Shafter landed) pushed forward, but the advance was slow and a week elapsed before Shaf ter was ready to fight a battle in front of Santiago. Here the defenders, under General Arsenio Linares, held two positions, the hill of San Juan, barring the direct road to Santiago, and the village of El Caney, to the northward of the American position at El Pozo. The plan of attack on July I was Shaf ter's, but owing to illness the actual command was exercised by the subordinate generals, Joseph Wheeler, H. W. Lawton and J. F. Kent. General Lawton's divi sion was to attack and capture El Caney, and thence move against the flank and rear of the defenders of San Juan, which would then be attacked in front by Kent and Wheeler from El Pozo. But Lawton for nine hours was checked by the garrison of El Caney, in spite of his great superiority in numbers (4,500 to 520) ; at 3 P.M. the final assault on El Caney was successfully delivered by General A. R. Chaffee's brigade. Only about ioo of the Spanish garrison escaped to Santiago; about 320 were killed or wounded, including General Vara del Rey, who was killed. In the mean time Wheeler and Kent had an equally stubborn contest opposite San Juan hill, where, in the absence of the assistance of Lawton, the battle soon became a purely frontal-fire fight, and the rifles of the firing line had to prepare the attack unaided. The strong position of the Spaniards, gallantly defended by about 700 men, held out until 12.3o, when the whole line of the assailants sud denly advanced, without orders, and carried the crest of the Spanish position. On the American side over 1,50o men out of 15,000 engaged, including several of the senior officers, were killed or wounded. On the Spanish side, out of the small numbers engaged, over 5o% were out of action. Linares himself was severely wounded.