Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 19, Number 85, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 July 1898 — SAYS HE CAN TAKE IT [ARTICLE]

SAYS HE CAN TAKE IT

Gen. Shatter Confident of His Ability to Capture Santiago. CAN BE,DONE IN FORTY-EIGHT HOURS. The Action, However, Will Involve Considerable Loaa—Auxloua to Finish the Job Before Spanish Keenforceiuentc Arrive. \ Washington, June 30. Gen. Shafter haa just reported to Gen. Miles that he i:aa take Santiago in 4s hours, but indicates that the undertaking might involve considerable loss. lie is fully uware of the approach of the Santiago i eenforcqments and it is believed here that he intends to take- the town iinmei.iately, and that news of a battle j tight be expected any time, ii-uahlng' Reenforoeiueuts to Santiago. Washington, June 30. —Gen. Shatter has reported to the war department that Spanish troops numbering S,OOO with pack trains and cattle are advancing from Manzanillo, and are now within 54 miles of Santiago. Gen. Wheeler has forwarded bis official report of the encounter between t he Spaniards and Col. Young’s and Col. Wood’s commands. The officers are highly complimented for their dash and courage. The general says there is absolutely fl*® warrant for the statement that our droops were ambuscaded. He says the .attack was deliberately planned from knowledge in his possession the night '.before. Expected on Sunday. 'Cfff Santiago de Cuba, via Kingston, Jamaica, June 30.—Gen. Pando, with the reenforcements of 8,700 Spanish troops, from Manzanillo, is expected to reach the vicinity of Santiago de Cuba next Pando’a Advance. Prom two Cuban officers picked up 'by the Vixen it has been learned that lien. Pando is moving eastward from .'Manzanillo with 8,700 Spanish troops, IfoT the purpose of assisting the beleaguered city of Santiago de Cuba. 1 The Cubans had come to Aserraderos in sinaH boats with dispatches from ’Gen. Itoos for Admiral Sampson and ■Gen. Rabi. They report that Gen. j -Pando has with him seven battalions, i numbering 8,700 men, with cattle and « pack train with provisions. He left 1 Mtanmnillo, province of Santiago de 1 Juba, on June 22. to relieve Gen. : Linares. The Spaniards were moving at the rate of 12 miles a day when the messengers left, and at their present speed it is expected they will reach Santiago de Cuba next Sunday, July 3, Harassed by Cabans. The Cubans have a small force hanging on the Spanish flank and rear and harassing Gen. Pando’s troops at every step. Manzanillo is 127 miles west of Santiago de Cuba and the roads are in bad condition. The Spaniards say that if Gen. Pando reaches his goal it will be with Jess than half the force he started with. The Cubans who are harassing him only number about 200 men, but in the passes and in the bush they are at a great advantage. It is probable that immediate steps will be taken to throw a force of Americans and Cubans between Gen. Pando and Gen. Linares. Pressed as the latter is on the cast he could not spare a man for a sortie to the west. Admiral Sampson has ascertained that Admiral Cervera’s fleet has moved into the upper,harbor of Santiago de Cuba. Gen. Shafter, in his dispatches to the secretary of war, complimented the fleet for its assistance in landing troops. With the soldiers landed from the Yale Tuesday and Gen. Garcia’s army transported from the westward, 21,000 men in all have been disembarked in the vicinity of Santiago de Cuba.

Will Soon Attack. Washington, June 30.—The opinion prevails here that within a day or two at most Gen. Shaffer will have begun his attack upon the city of Sautiago proper. The important event of the day was the general’s announcement that he could take the city in 48 hours, but at considerable loss. Taken in connection with the announcement' contained in another dispatch that he is going to-attack without awaiting reenforcements it will be seen that the officials have ground for their expectation that the first general engagement of the war will begin in a very sjiort time. Numerically the opposing armies are not very different, the estimate of the Spanish forces being placed at 14,000 men, thoroughly entrenched and behind barbed wire fences and blockhouses, as uguin*t about 18,000 men under Shafter’* command, aided by 4.000 Cubans. One of the gravest elements in the problem, however, is the Spanish warships, for unless Shafter is materially assisted by Sampson, who might engage the full attention of the Spanish ships, their Are upon the American advance forces would be very hard to meet. I.lnnrei l« Tactful. The military authorities here say that Gen. Linares has shown great military tact in slowly retiring during the last few day*, as he has gradually drawn our .troops away from the protection of the American ships and brought them close to the tire of the Spanish ships in Santiago harbor. For this reason it was with relief that the announcement was received here that Shafter had succeeded in landing at) of his artillery, including his siege train, for unless Sampson can be relied upon to force his \j;ay into the harbor and attack the Spanish ships the «iege gnus planted on heights commanding the bay will be the main reliance of Gen. Shafter in offsetting the presence of the Spanish ironclads. The Spanish Reenforeemenla. Undoubtedly Shafter is animuted to attack as soon as possible by his knowledge of the approach of the reenforcements for Linares from Man-

zanilio, too- with this additional force Shatter's position would be disagreej able if not perilous, at least until he had received reenforcements. ! The war department received the first definite news Wednesday to the approach of these Spanish reenforcements. This was in an official dispatch, stating that 8,000 men, with,pack' trains and droves of animals, were advancing from Manzanillo and were 54 miles from Santiago. It has been known through reports from Lieut. Joyce, made to Gen. Miles, that the Spaniards have 12,000 men at Manzanillo .and 10,000 at Holguin, and every precaution has been taken to guard against their advance from either quarter. The official report Wednesday showed that 8,000 of Those TiT~Man2airiiiD have covered half the distance to Santiago, and it is the I belief of military officials here that Gen. 1 Pando is making similar ad.vance with his 10,000 men from Holguin. These | advances, now practically unopposed, l are regarded as one of the most serious phases of the situation. I There is the further element, to i which the military authorities are giv- , ing careful attention, that one man in--1 trenched behind earthworks or in riflepits, is worth three men in the open. It is said that the battles of ChaneellorsI ville and Spottsylvania afforded the , most direct proof on this point. It was announcer! at the war department that by their reports 3,000 soldiers should have left Tampa Wednesday to join Shatter. They will be three or four days on the voyage, and it is probable that it is this force that Gen. Shatter refers to as likely to arrive too late for his action. All l niter Shiiiiihud'h Command. Santiago de Cuba, via Kingston, Jamaica. June 30.—8 y order of Admiral Sampson, the flying squadron under Commodore Schley has been merged into the fleet under the admiral’s command. w Thus the “flying squadron”'ha» lost its identity. The order caused considerable surprise on board the Brooklyn, which has been the flagship of the flying squadron, where it was supposed the squadron would remain intact at least until the fall of Santiago de Cuba. Commodore SclHe}’ has been assigned to command the second squadron attached to Admiral Sampson’s fleet. Kfwiwk and Dolphin Collide. Washington, June 30. —The Newark and Dolphin have had a collision. The Newark was uninjured, but the Dolphin vvas considerably damaged, and will have to go into dfy dock. Blew l'p a Bridge. On Board Dispatch Bout Hercules, Off Santiago via l’laya del Este, June 30. —The Spanish forces in Santiago are preparing for a last desperate stand. Early Wednesday morning they blew up with dynamite the railway bridge across the inlet coming in from the sea just north of Morro castle. The structure was built oi steel and vvas three-eighths of a mile long, being on the route leading to Santiago from Aguadorcs. Later in the day large forces of men were observed working on new intrenchments on the land side beyond the abutments of the ruined bridge. The noise of the explosion was heard ten miles out at sea.

Froiu a Spanish Source. Kingston, Jamaica, June 30.—The Spanish consul here has received a ! cablegram from Sauiiago de Cuba asserting that the United States armored cruiser Brooklyn has been struck by a Spanish shell, which sank the and killed Commodore I Schley and 24 seamen. The consul I really believes the “news,” and the I Spaniards all over the city are drinkl ing champagne and rejoicing. It has | also been reported to the Spanish con-’ j sul from Santiago that an extensive I mine has been luid, which will blow up half the American army when it enters the city. Dtscredtteil at AVushlnifton. Washington, June 30. —At 1:15 o’clock | this (Thursday) morning, when officers on duty at the navy department were i shown a copy of the above dispatch, | they expressed disbelief in the story, i Not a word has been received from Admiral Sampson, they said, since Tuesday uight, and the officers regard it a# certain that had anything of the kind recounted in the dispatch happened the admiral would im- ’ mediately have iniormed the depart* | meat. Exploded Her Roller, I Madrid, June 30.—The cruiser Antonio Lopez, while trying to enter the ! river San J uan, uetfr San Juan de Puerto j Rico, secretly with a cargo ot provi--1 sious and war material, was detected i by two American warships, but es- , caped by swiftly clianging her course. 1 Her captain, determined to land his 1 cargo, headed for shore at Snlinao. The I shock of grounding exploded the boiler. | It is not known whether there was any loss of life. The Spanish gunboats Concha and Isabella went to the assistance of the Antonio Lopez, whereupon the Americans withdrew and the Antonio Lopez lauded her cargo.