Determined to make no mistakes, the Americans took the Spanish fleet in the Atlantic at its strength on paper, ignoring the rumours of its neglect and inefficiency, and prepared to meet it accordingly. Spain possessed five armoured cruisers and a battleship, which were admitted by the Americans to be equal to America’s six best ships, a few other vessels, and some torpedo boat destroyers. The real state of the Spanish ships is best revealed by Admiral Cervera himself. In one letter he wrote:—
“The Colon has not received her big guns; the Carlos V. has not been delivered, and her 10-cm. artillery is not yet mounted; the Pelayo is not ready for want of finishing her redoubt, and, I believe, her secondary battery; the Victoria has no artillery, and of the Numancia we had better not speak.”[51]
In another letter he complained of the absence of plans and of the supplies he had asked for not being forthcoming. “The Colon has not yet her big guns, and I asked for the bad ones if there were no others. The 14-cm. ammunition, with the exception of about three hundred shots, is bad. The defective guns of the Vizcaya and Oquendo have not been changed. The cartridge cases of the Colon cannot be recharged. We have not a single Bustamente torpedo.... The repairs of the servomotors of the Infanta Maria Teresa and the Vizcaya were only made after they had left Spain.” And after his defeat at Santiago, when asked where were certain large guns which should have been on his ships, he answered that he supposed they were in the pockets of certain officials in Spain.
SPANISH BATTLESHIP “PELAYO.”
Photograph by Marius Bar, Toulon.
On May 19th, the Spanish fleet entered Santiago, after having crawled across the Atlantic to Curaçao, much to the relief of the Americans, who wondered where the fleet was and feared lest it should attack New York or some other wealthy Atlantic port. Once the fleet was inside, a strict blockade was maintained to see that it did not get out unnoticed. But the venture had to be made sooner or later.
“The fleet under my command offers the news, as a 4th of July present, of the destruction of the whole of Admiral Cervera’s fleet. Not one escaped.”
This was the message Admiral Sampson despatched on July 3rd to the Secretary of the Navy at Washington.
The situation had become a question of days when the Spanish fleet should find itself exposed to the fire of the American forces ashore. While his ships, in spite of their condition, were yet able to offer fight, Admiral Cervera decided on making a desperate sortie, or attempt to escape. It was the forlornest of forlorn hopes at best, for he had nowhere to flee to with any hope of reaching a place of safety, and turn which way he would, the American ships, well cared for, within easy reach of their base, with almost unlimited supplies, and eager for battle, were waiting for him. The Admiral, in the Cristobal Colon, led the way seaward through the narrow entrance to Santiago Bay, and fled down the coast. The other ships followed as best they could. The Americans sought to ram the Spaniards, but could not do so because of the latter’s superior speed. The fleeing admiral’s ship did succeed in getting away for the time being. The other ships as they appeared were fiercely assailed by the American ships. The Spaniards fought with that gallantry and reckless bravery which have been a prized Spanish tradition for centuries, but their shooting was so indifferent that few of the American ships were hit, some were not touched at all, and only one Spanish shell got home effectively on an American ship. The Americans, on their part, fired to hit, and hit they did. The armour of the Spanish ships proved its value, and rang under the blows like anvils under the strokes of mighty hammers, and the ships shivered and heeled under the force of the impact.