Our War with Spain for Cuba's FreedomWhite, Trumbull
History
Our War with Spain for Cuba's Freedom
White, Trumbull
Cuba -- History; Spain -- Foreign relations -- United States; Spanish-American War, 1898; United States -- Foreign relations -- Spain
Of another sort was the bravery of Dewey at Manila, more notable
in its results but in no other way surpassing that of Hobson and
his men. Dewey went forward in spite of unknown dangers of
torpedoes, to engage an enemy in the place it had selected as most
favorable for Spanish arms, an enemy with more ships, more men,
more guns than had the American. A day later the nation was at the
feet of Dewey and the United States had taken a position among the
powers of the world never before admitted by them. In larger
degree than ever before, from that moment the United States became
a factor in the international history of the world. At this
writing one cannot tell what will be the end of the relations of
the United States to the Philippines and the Orient, but the
solution cannot fail to be of profit to this nation. This was a
holy war for the liberty of Cuba, but like many another good deed
it is bringing its additional rewards. Cuba, Puerto Rico, the
Philippines and the Caroline islands are to be liberated, four
colonies of Spain instead of one, and the direct and indirect
profit, looked at from a purely commercial basis, will be far more
than enough to compensate the United States for the cost of the
war. The annexation of the Hawaiian islands as a war measure must
be credited to the same cause, for the success of that effort
under any other circumstances was problematical.
Yet another sort of bravery was that in the harbor of Cardenas
when the little torpedo boat Winslow lay a helpless hulk under the
rain of fire from the shore batteries, without rudder or engine to
serve, and the Hudson, a mere tugboat with a few little guns on
deck, stood by for forty minutes to pass a hawser and tow the
disabled vessel out of range. Both were riddled, the Winslow had
half her total complement of men killed and wounded by a single
shell, but there was no faltering, and they all worked away as
coolly as if nothing were happening.
If one started to catalogue the instances of personal bravery that
the war brought out in its first few months, the list would be a
cumbersome one. It is enough here to say that there have been a
hundred times when personal courage was needed to be shown, and
never a moment's hesitancy on the part of any man to whom the call
came. Furthermore, in every case in which a particularly hazardous
undertaking was contemplated, and volunteers were called for, the
number offering has been in every instance far more than was
needed. This was eminently notable on the occasion of Hobson's
sinking of the Merrimac, when more than a thousand in the fleet
volunteered for a service requiring but six, and from which it
seemed impossible that any could come out alive.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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