On June 23d the monitor Monadnoc sailed to further reinforce Admiral Dewey, and four days later the third expedition of 4,000 troops under General McArthur passed out of the Golden Gate amid the cheers of the multitude, as the others had done; and on the 29th General Merritt followed on the Newport. Nearly one month later, July 23d, General H.G. Otis, with 900 men, sailed on the City of Rio de Janeiro from San Francisco, thus making a total of nearly 12,000 men, all told, sent to the Philippine Islands.
General Merritt arrived at Cavite July 25th, and on July 29th the American forces advanced from Cavite toward Manila. On the 31st, while enroute, they were attacked at Malate by 3,000 Spaniards, whom they repulsed, but sustained a loss of nine men killed and forty-seven wounded, nine of them seriously. This was the first loss of life on the part of the Americans in action in the Philippines. The Spanish casualties were much heavier. On the same day General McArthur's reinforcements arrived at Cavite, and several days were devoted to preparations for a combined land and naval attack.
MAJOR-GENERAL WESLEY MERRITT.
On August 7th Admiral Dewey and General Merritt demanded the surrender of the city within forty-eight hours, and foreign war-ships took their respective subjects on board for protection. On August 9th the Spaniards asked more time to hear from Madrid, but this was refused, and on the 13th a final demand was made for immediate surrender, which Governor-General Augusti refused and embarked with his family on board a German man-of-war, which sailed with him for Hong Kong. At 9.30 o'clock the bombardment began with fury, all of the vessels sending hot shot at the doomed city.
In the midst of the bombardment by the fleet American soldiers under Generals McArthur and Greene were ordered to storm the Spanish trenches which extended ten miles around the city. The soldiers rose cheering and dashed for the Spanish earthworks. A deadly fire met them, but the men rushed on and swept the enemy from their outer defenses, forcing them to their inner trenches. A second charge was made upon these, and the Spaniards retreated into the walled city, where they promptly sent up a white flag. The ships at once ceased firing, and the victorious Americans entered the city after six hours' fighting. General Merritt took command as military governor. The Spanish forces numbered 7,000 and the Americans 10,000 men. The loss to the Americans was about fifty killed, wounded, and missing, which was very small under the circumstances.
In the meantime the insurgents had formed a government with Aguinaldo as president. They declared themselves most friendly to American occupation of the islands, with a view to aiding them to establish an independent government, which they hoped would be granted to them. On September 15th they opened their republican congress at Malolos, and President Aguinaldo made the opening address, expressing warm appreciation of Americans and indulging the hope that they meant to establish the independence of the islands. On September 16th, however, in obedience to the command of General Otis, they withdrew their forces from the vicinity of Manila.
PEACE NEGOTIATIONS AND THE PROTOCOL.
Precisely how to open the negotiations for peace was a delicate and difficult question. Its solution, however, proved easy enough when the attempt was made. During the latter part of July the Spanish government, through M. Jules Cambon, the French ambassador at Washington, submitted a note, asking the United States government for a statement of the ground on which it would be willing to cease hostilities and arrange for a peaceable settlement. Accordingly, on July 30th, a statement, embodying President McKinley's views, was transmitted to Spain, and on August 2d Spain virtually accepted the terms by cable. On August 9th Spain's formal reply was presented by M. Cambon, and on the next day he and Secretary Day agreed upon terms of a protocol, to be sent to Spain for her approval. Two days later, the 12th inst., the French ambassador was authorized to sign the protocol for Spain, and the signatures were affixed the same afternoon at the White House (M. Cambon signing for Spain and Secretary Day for the United States), in the presence of President McKinley and the chief assistants of the Department of State. The six main points covered by the protocol were as follows: