After Deck on the Oregon, Showing Two 13-inch,
Four 8-inch, and Two 6-inch Guns.
Copyright. 1899. by Strohmeyer & Wyman.
Owing to the parsimony of Congress, our equipment for a large army, or even for our 25,000 regulars, if they were to go on a tropical campaign, was totally inadequate. Our artillery had no smokeless powder. Many infantry regiments came to camp armed with nothing but enthusiasm. No khaki cloth for uniforms was to be had in the country. Canvas had to be taken from that provided by the Post-Office Department for repairing mail bags. While the utmost possible at short notice was done with the just voted $50,000,000 defence fund, the comprehensive system of fortifications long before designed had hardly been begun. The navy had been treated least illiberally; still the construction budget had been so cut that only a few of the proposed vessels had been transferred from paper to the sea.
Blockhouse on San Juan Hill.
The United States navy which did exist was a noble one. Both its ships and their crews were as fine as any afloat. Had the Spanish navy been manned like ours the two would have been of about equal strength. Ours boasted the more battleships, but Spain had several new and first-rate armored cruisers, besides a flotilla of swift torpedo boats. The Spaniards were, however, poor gunners, clumsy sailors, awkward and careless mechanics; while American gunners had a deadly aim, and spared no skill or pains in the care or handling of their ships.
American superiority in these points was tellingly proved by the Oregon’s unprecedented run from ocean to ocean. Before hostilities she was ordered from San Francisco, via Cape Horn to join the Atlantic squadron. The long, hard, swift trip was made without the break of a bar or the loosening of a bolt, a result which attracted expert notice abroad as attesting the very highest order of seamanship. Meantime war had commenced. It was feared that off Brazil Admiral Cervera would endeavor to intercept and destroy her; yet, with well-grounded confidence, Captain Clark expected in that event not only to save himself but to punish his assailants. He met no interference, however, and at the end of her unparalleled voyage his noble ship was without overhauling ready to join in the Santiago blockade and in destroying the Spanish fleet.
Admiral Cervera, Commander of the Spanish Squadron.
Admiral Cervera’s departure westward from the Cape Verde Islands, and the subsequent discovery of his squadron in the harbor of Santiago, determined the Government to invest that city. The navy acted with promptitude. Commodore Schley first, then, in conjunction with him, his superior, Rear-Admiral Sampson, drew a tight line of war-vessels across the channel entrance.
