“Sir,—I shall be obliged, unless you surrender, to shell Santiago de Cuba. Please inform the citizens of foreign countries, and all the women and children, that they should leave the city before 10 o’clock to-morrow morning.
“Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
“William R. Shafter,
“Maj.-Gen. U. S. Vols.
“The Commanding General of the Spanish Forces, Santiago de Cuba.”
To this letter I received the following reply:
“Santiago de Cuba, July 3, 1898.
“His Excellency the General Commanding Forces of the United States, near San Juan River:
“Sir,—I have the honor to reply to your communication of to-day, written at 8:30 a. m. and received at 1 p. m., demanding the surrender of this city, or, in the contrary case, announcing to me that you will bombard this city, and that I advise the foreigners, women and children, that they must leave the city before 10 o’clock to-morrow morning.
“It is my duty to say to you that this city will not surrender, and that I will inform the foreign consuls and inhabitants of the contents of your message.
“Very respectfully, José Toral,
“Commander-in-Chief 4th Corps.”
Several of the foreign consuls came into my lines and asked that the time given for them—the women and children—to depart from the city be extended until 10 o’clock on July 5th. This induced me to write a second letter, as follows: