The call to arms on this occasion did not come unexpectedly. For some months events had been so shaping themselves that it was evident to all close observers of national affairs that a conflict was almost inevitable, and the government had been placing itself in a position to enable the country to acquit itself creditably when the clash came.
War has been declared between nations for many causes, some of them trivial. Some have been wars of oppression, some of conquest, and so on, but the conflict of 1898 was in its way unique. It was a war waged in the interests of humanity. For years upon years, one of our next door neighbors, so to speak, the island of Cuba, lying just off our southern coast, had felt the iron heel of the despots of the Kingdom of Spain. As act after act of oppression galled upon the natives of the island they were stirred to revolt, only to be subdued and then subjected to even more crushing indignities.
The last great revolt was perhaps the best organized of any, and spreading from one end of the island to the other, became of such magnitude as to almost reach the dignity of a war between nations instead of the rebellion of a colony against its dominating power.
With the same spirit that made heroes out of our forefathers in the days of '76, the Cubans fought for their rights and for independence, and their gallant struggles not only enlisted the almost universal sympathy of this country, but many soldiers of fortune from the United States fought under the Cuban colors.
While the attitude of the government was diplomatically neutral, the press and a large majority of citizens were out and out sympathizers with the Cuban cause, and it was but a question of a short time before arms, ammunition, supplies and men found themselves surreptitiously on the way to Cuba, in aid of the cause of the islanders.
Naturally this state of affairs was resented by the Spaniards, and the feelings of the two nations gradually became more and more strained, even though diplomatically there was no breach.
No doubt the sensational press, especially the so-called "yellow journals", had a great deal to do with inflaming the public passion, but carefully planned investigations of the conditions on the island revealed a state of affairs so gross that the worst stories of cruelty and inhumanity seemed plausible, and the feeling against Spain eventually became so bitter that it needed only the spark to kindle the flame of war.
This was eventually furnished, and is one of the blackest chapters of the Cuban war, by the destruction of an American warship while lying peacefully at anchor in Havana harbor, under the guns of the Spanish forts, and in a time of peace.
The "Maine" had been ordered to Cuban waters to look out for American interests. She was received in due form by the Spanish authorities, and her berth was picked out by them. While lying at anchor on the night of February 15, 1898, she was blown up from the outside, presumably by a mine, and many lives lost, while many more men were horribly injured.
This was undoubtedly the specific act that led to the opening of war between the United States and Spain, the details of which will be found in other volumes.