Oh, the horrible, useless, tragic waste which no Peace Congress has yet been able to avert! O treacherous fate! That made the great woman of peace wait to see men of blood go before her to kill, to wound, to devastate. Alice Hubbard.
Could it be possible that the commander would hold back his flagship and himself, and send forward, and first, a cargo of food on a plain ship, under direction of a woman? Did our commands, military or naval, hold men great enough of soul for such action? It must be true, for the spires of Santiago rise before us. How sadly the recollection of that pleasant memorable day has since recurred to me! Clara Barton.
HORRIBLE DEED—LEADS AMERICAN NAVY—ANGEL OF MERCY
“Go to the starving Cubans!” She went. She had been entertained by Captain Sigsbee and his officers on the Maine the evening before the explosion. “Remember the Maine!” became the war cry.
War was declared. The Government wired: “Take no chances; get out of Cuba.” She returned to Florida to await events. The blockade of Cuban ports followed; the war was on. Let Clara Barton draw a picture of the war scene:
“War has occurred four times in the United States in 120 years. Four times men have armed and marched; and its women waited and wept. But we cannot always hold our great Ship of State out of the storms and breakers. She must meet and battle with them. Her timbers must creak in the gale. The waves must dash over her decks; she must lie in the trough of the sea. But the Stars and Stripes are above her. She is freighted with the hopes of the world. God holds the helm; and she is coming into port.”
WILLIAM T. SAMPSON
Miss Barton, you need no advice, only the opportunity. If any trouble happens you, let me know. Rear-Admiral William T. Sampson, of New York. Commander-in-Chief, U. S. Atlantic Naval Forces, Spanish-American War.
REPRESENTATIVES RESPECTIVELY OF THREE WARS
