05 Jun 1898
Page 1
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This newspaper page contains 8 articles. Subscribers can read the full text of each article.
Newspaper
Cincinnati Commercial Tribune
Location
Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
Date
Jun 05, 1898
Page
1
Dispatch from Cape Haitian reports Santos de Cuba signaling alarm as American ships reportedly land troops and artillery near Punta Cabrena. Insurgents set fires on hilltops and fortifications are reinforced while Morro Castle sources note twenty ships in view awaiting a coastal move. A battle is expected tomorrow.
A dispatch from Washington reports fifteen transports carrying 10 000 troops sailing from Tampa toward Santiago and Puerto Rico. Combined with 3 000 regulars from Mobile this marks about 13 000 troops en route, with efforts to reinforce Puerto Rico and the eastern Cuban front. The article notes alleged landings near Port De Banes and Punta Cabrera and questions Sampson’s blockade tactics at Santiago harbor.
June 4 column notes Hobson joins Lawrence Perry Jones and Cushing among American heroes. A torpedo row aimed at the Merrimac in the channel failed to exit the hull, allowing Hobson to trigger explosions from the bridge and sink the vessel. Two crewmen were injured as ships passed the doomed hull at nightfall.
Off Santiago de Cuba on June 2, two big American warships bombarded the harbor as the Merrimac mission drew Spanish fire. A twelve inch shell from the Massachusetts hit the Reina Mercedes, while Commodore Schley ordered the fleet to range and strike the fortress batteries. The heroic Merrimac crew and Lieutenant Hobson drew Spanish fire and sacrificed themselves to block the channel as Cervera watched.
All Washington praises Admiral Sampson as the likely commander in chief of the Caribbean campaign with orders to proceed to Puerto Rico and then engage the Spanish fleet at Cervera, signaling a decisive move in the war.
Navy dispatch from MoLe Haiti dated June 4 reports that on June 3 at 4 am the channel at Santiago was sunk by the Merrimac under Naval Constructor Hobson and seven men. All seven became prisoners of war with two slightly wounded. A flag of truce from Admiral Cervera acknowledges the bravery and requests exchange authority if possible. Six of the Spanish squadron in Santiago harbor were captured or destroyed.
A dispatch boat reports Rear Admiral Sampson ordering a move ten miles south to take a night station as the fleet waits off the harbor. Insurgents are poised and Garcia’s men anticipate action as southeastern Cuba becomes the likely theater for ongoing naval and military operations near Santiago de Cuba.
A dispatch from a senior naval officer with Sampson's fleet says a severe battle is in progress and the fortifications at Santiago have been demolished. The batteries are silenced and no reliable report on the American fleet is available tonight.
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