men, which was passed at once. Spain on her
part put forth every effort to re-enforce the army
in Cuba and to strengthen the navy. On 28
March, after the president had received the re-
port of the naval court of inquiry, which he with-
held from congress until he had made an effort
to secure from Spain a satisfactory agreement
that would prevent war. Gen. Woodford presented
a formal note to the Spanish minister warning
him that unless an agreement assuring permanent,
immediate, honorable peace in Cuba was reached
within a few days the president would feel con-
strained to submit the whole question to congress.
Various other notes were passed in the next few
days, but they were regarded by the president as
dilatory and entirely unsatisfm^tory. The pope
made an effort to prevent war, expressing to Wash-
ington and to Madrid his earnest desire that peace
should not be disturbed ; and on 7 April the minis-
ters of Great IJrituin, France, Germany, Italy, Aus-
tria, and Kussia called upon the president and
presented a joint note urging peace. On the iltli
it was decided at Mailrid to grant an armistice to
the free Cuban insurgents, a thing the United
States ha<l long been asking ; but it was now too
late — the Cubans declined it at once. On the 11th
the president sent his message to congress, in
which he reviewed at length the negotiations, and
ended by leaving the issue with congress. On 13
April both houses passed resolutions giving the
president full authority; on the 16th a resolution
was pa.sscd acknowledging Cuban independence:
and on the 20th President McKinley signed the
joint resolutions that declared the people of Cuba
free and directed the president to use the land
and naval forces of the United States to compel
Spain to withdraw from the island. War was de-
chred against Spain by the United States, begin-
ning at twelve o'clock noon of 21 April, 1808.
The call for 125,000 volunteers was issued on 23
April, and on the 24th Spain ileclared war. By
the end of the month troops had begun to concen-
trate at Tampa, Fla. On 30 April congress au-
thorized a bond issue of |500,000,000, which was
taken up at once and largely over-subscribe*!.
The navy took the first steps in actual hostili-
ties; a blockade of Cuba was proclaimed on 22
April ; in his proclamation of 26 April the presi-
dent set forth at length the principles that would
govern the conduct of the government with regard
to the rights of neutrals anil the other points of
naval warfare ; neither the United States nor .Spain
ha<l signed the declaration of Paris of IRie, but
by this proclamation it became evident that the
United States would hold to all the es-^ential i)oints
of the declaration. The nation had scarcely felt
a realizing sense of the existence of war before
there came the news of Dewey's victory at Manila.
Its elation over such an unprecedented victory
caused it to wait with anxious expectation for
news from the operations in Cuban waters. On 4
May Admiral Sampson's squadron sailed from
Key West ; on the 12lh it engaged the forts at
San Juan de Puerto Rico. This was but a move to
try the strength of the enemy, for, of course, the
main object of the navy was to engage and destroy
the Spanish fleet under (/'ervera, which hml left
the Cape Verde islamls on 29 April. On 13 May
(,'omnio*lore Schley's flying squadron sailed under
sealed orders, and on tlic 28th the commander was
able to report the presence of the Spanish fleet in
the harbor of .Santiago de Cuba, where it was safe-
ly blockadetl. Admiral Sampson joined Schley on
June, and a.ssnmed command of the entire fleet.
Operations on land had as a prelude the landing
on 10 June of 600 marines, who intrenched them-
selves near the harbor of Guantanamo, and success-
fully repulsed repeated attacks by the Spaniards.
The army that had been collecting at Tampa was
now ready for action, and on 15 June Gen. Sliafter
with 10.000 men embarked for Cuba, under escort
of 11 war-ships. The troops arrived off Santiago on
the 20th and began landing at Daiquiri. 17 miles
east of Santiago, the entire army being ilisembarked
by the 23d with only two Ciisualties. The forward
movement was begun at once ; after a sharp action
near Sevila on the 24th, in which the Americans
under Gen. Wheeler lost 16 killed and 41 wounded,
came on 1 July the storming of the heights of
Kl Caney and San Juan near Santiago. In the
two days' fighting at this point the loss for the
U.S. troops was 230 killed, 1,284 wounded, and 79
missing. Gen. Shatter found Santiago so well
defended that he feared he could take it only with-
out a serious loss of life; he must have re-enforce-
ments, and while waiting for these he felt he could
not supply his army in its advanced position. For
this reason he aske<l Admiral Sampson to attack
the city from the seaward and to force the en-
trance to the harbor; but the admiral explained
that the mines in the channel prevented any such
operations. If the land batteries in the rear were
reduced bv Gen. Shaffer, the fleet could raise the
harbor mines and then bombard the citv. The
situation rested thus on the morning of 3 July, but
bv night of the same day it had changed com-
pletely. On that morning Cervera, after peremp-
tory orders from Gen. Blanco, ordered his fleet to
sea from its sheltered position in the harbor. The
blockading vessels closed in upon the Spanish
ships immediately u|>on their appearance, followed
them clo.sely as they turned in flight to the west-
wanl, and by evening had sunk or disabled every
one of them, losing but 1 man killed and 10 wound-
ed, as compared with a loss to the enemy of about
350 killed and 1,670 prisoners.
On the morning of the 5th Gen. Shafter sent a flag of truce into Santiago, demanding immediate surrender on pain of bombardment. This was re- fiise<l, but at the request of the foreign consuls Shaffer agreed to post()Oiie bombardment for one day. On that same day, at a conference with Capt. Chadwick, representing Admiral Sampson, it was agreed that the army and navy should make a joint attack on the city at noon of the 9th. A truce was arranged until that date, when Gen. Shaffer re[)eated his demand and the threat of bombardment. Unconditional surrender was re- fused. On the 10th and 11th firing went on from the trenches and the ships, and by the evening of the latter day all the Spanish artillery had been silenced. A truce was arranged as a preliminary to surrender. Gen. Miles arrived on the 12th, and terms were finally settled on the 17th, when the U. .S. troops t<x>k possession of the city. On the 18th Gen. Miles sailed with an exjiedition to Puerto Kico, where he landed on the 25lh. His progress through the island met with little resistance, the inhabitants turning out to welcome the invading troops as deliverers. In less than three weeks the forces of the United States rendered untenable every Spanish position outside of San Juan; the Spaiiiards were defeated in six engagements, with a loss to the invaders of only 3 killed and 40 wounded, about one-tenth of the .Spanish loss. After the fall of Santiago it was evident at Ma- drid that further resistance was useless, and that a prolongation of the war would mean only more severe terms. On 20 July Jules Cambon, the French minister at Washington, was requested to
