Almost immediately the Spanish Minister de manded his passports and the American Minister at Madrid Ivas notified by the Spanish Govern ment that diplomatic relations between the two nations had ceased. On April 23d President McKinley called for 125.000 volunteers and ordered the North Atlantic squadron to blockade Havana and other Cuban ports. Formal dec laration of war by Spain on the 24th and by the United States on the 25th inst. were followed by the proclamations of neutrality by Great Britain and other foreign Powers.
The first gun of the Spanish-American War was fired (April 23d) by the U. S. S. Nashville across the bows of the Buena 'Ventura, a Spanish merchantman, and the first action occurred on the 27th, when three vessels of the United States Navy under Captain Sampson bombarded the de fenses of _Matanzas.
Spain had an army of 60,000 men distributed throughout Cuba, and had fleets near that island and in the Philippines. Commodore Dewey, U. S. N., commanding the Asiatic squadron, then in Chinese waters, had completed the equipment and coaling of his ships, when the cable brought him orders to "proceed to the Philippine Islands; commence operations at once against Spanish fleet: capture vessels or destroy." Entering the harbor of Manila (April 30th) under cover of darkness, with his fleet (131 guns. 1678 men), made up of the Olympia (flagship, Captain C. V.
Gridley), the Baltimore (Captain N. M. Dyer), the Raleigh (Captain J. B. Coghlan), the Boston (Captain F. Wilder), the small cruiser Con cord (Commander A. Walker), the gunboat Pet rel (Commander E. P. Wood), the revenue cutter Hugh McCulloch, and two colliers, lie attacked the ships of Admiral Montojo, ten in number (120 guns, 1796 men), supported by land bat teries. The action, which lasted from 5.41 A.M.
(with an interruption of three hours) till 12.30 ended in the destruction of the Spanish vessels and the silencing of the fortifications. The American casualties were 6 wounded; Spain admitted a loss of 634 killed and wounded.
The mobilization of the United States land proceeded rapidly, and on May 25th a see-.
and call was made—for 75,000 volunteers, While camps of instruction were established near Tampa and Chickamauga. the Navy was watching the seacoast and preparing the way for a combin ed attack by the land and naval forces upon Cuba. In the meanwhile the movements of a Spanish fleet of four cruisers and three torpedo-boat de stroyers under Admiral Cervera, which sailed from Saint Vincent on April 29th, for some time puzzled the Americans. lint finally (May 29th)
the Spanish ships were discovered by Commodore SehleY (q.v.) at anchor in the Bay of Santiago.
and a carefully organized blockade of the bay was planned and rigorously conducted by Ad miral (then Captain) Sampson, the commander of the American fleet in Cuban waters. who had arrived at Santiago and had superseded Schley in actual command on .Tune 1st. In Sampson's fleet was the Oregon. (Captain Charles E. Clark), which to join the fleet had made a wonderful trip from Puget Sound to Key West between March 6th and June 4th. A daring attempt by Lieuten ant R. P. Hobson (q.v.) on June 3d to lock the door upon Cervera's fleet, by sinking the collier Merrimac in the entrance to the harbor, was only partially successful. The harbor of Guan tanamo was occupied as a coaling station by the Americans after several collisions with the Span ish troops.
Finally, an expedition consisting of 32 trans ports bearing 819 officers and 15.058 enlisted men under Major-General Shatter. U. S. V.. left Tampa. .Tune 15th. The force was composed al most entirely of regulars—IS regiments of in fantry, 6 regiments of cavalry (dismounted), 1 battery of engineers, 4 batteries of light artil lery, 2 batteries of siege guns, and l balloon de tachment—together with 1 regiment of cavalry and 2 regiments of volunteer infantry (subse quently increased to 4 regiments).
General Shafter's instructions from his Gov ernment were to "go with your force to capture garrison at Santiago and assist in capturing the harbor and fleet." Arriving off Guantanamo (June 20th), he communicated with the Cuban forces (5000 strong) under General Garcia, whose cooperation was secured. it was estimated that there were about 12,000 Spanish soldiers in Santiago and vicinity. A plan having been agreed upon between the United States land and naval forces, a landing was effected (June 22d) at Daiquiri of 6000 men, and on the three following days the remainder of Shafter's troops there and at Siboney, without op position. The rainy season having set in creased the natural difficulties of an advance over a soft clay surface, covered with a tough undergrowth, interspersed with cow-paths in lieu of roads. The Spaniards had withdrawn to their intrenelunents near Santiago, protected by an entanglement of barbed wire.