On July 8th and 10th the two expeditions of General Miles arrived, reinforcing General Shafter's army with over 6,000 men. General Toral was acquainted with the fact of their presence, and General Miles urgently impressed upon him that further resistance could but result in a useless loss of life. The Spanish commander replied that he had not received permission to surrender, and if the Americans would not wait longer he could only obey orders of his government, and that he and his men would die fighting. Accordingly a joint bombardment by the army and navy was begun. The artillery reply of the Spaniards was feeble and spiritless, though our attack on the city was chiefly with artillery. They seemed to depend most upon their small arms, and returned the volleys fired from the trenches vigorously. Our lines were elaborately protected with over 22,000 sand-bags, while the Spaniards were protected with bamboo poles filled with earth. In this engagement the dynamite gun of the Rough Riders did excellent service, striking the enemy's trenches and blowing field-pieces into the air. The bombardment continued until the afternoon of the second day, when a flag of truce was displayed over the city. It was thought that General Toral was about to surrender, but instead he only asked more time.

On the advice of General Miles, General Shafter consented to another truce, and, at last, on July 14th, after an interview with Generals Miles and Shafter, in which he agreed to give up the city on condition that the army would be returned to Spain at the expense of America, General Toral surrendered. On July 16th the agreement, with the formal approval of the Madrid and Washington governments, was signed in duplicate by the commissioners, each side retaining a copy. This event was accepted throughout the world as marking the end of the Spanish-American War.

The conditions of the surrender involved the following points:

"(1) The 20,000 refugees at El Caney and Siboney to be sent back to the city. (2) An American infantry patrol to be posted on the roads surrounding the city and in the country between it and the American cavalry. (3) Our hospital corps to give attention, as far as possible, to the sick and wounded Spanish soldiers in Santiago. (4) All the Spanish troops in the province, except ten thousand men at Holguin, under command of General Luque, to come into the city and surrender. (5) The guns and defenses of the city to be turned over to the Americans in good condition. (6) The Americans to have full use of the Juragua Railroad, which belongs to the Spanish government. (7) The Spaniards to surrender their arms. (8) All the Spaniards to be conveyed to Spain on board of American transports with the least possible delay, and be permitted to take portable church property with them."

TAKING POSSESSION OF SANTIAGO AND RAISING THE AMERICAN FLAG.

The formality of taking possession of the city yet remained to be done. To that end, immediately after the signing of the agreement by the commissioners, General Shafter notified General Toral that he would formally receive his surrender of the city the next day, Sunday, July 17th, at nine o'clock in the morning. Accordingly at about 8.30 a.m., Sunday, General Shafter, accompanied by the commander of the American army, General Nelson A. Miles, Generals Wheeler and Lawton, and several officers, walked slowly down the hill to the road leading to Santiago. Under the great mango tree which had witnessed all the negotiations, General Toral, in full uniform, accompanied by 200 Spanish officers, met the Americans. After a little ceremony in military manœuvring, the two commanding generals faced each other, and General Toral, speaking in Spanish, said:

"Through fate I am forced to surrender to General Shafter, of the American army, the city and the strongholds of the city of Santiago."

General Toral's voice trembled with emotion as he spoke the words giving up the town to his victorious enemy. As he finished speaking the Spanish officers presented arms.

General Shafter, in reply, said:

"I receive the city in the name of the government of the United States."