Trumbull White

“ It is a proud banner, which stands the whole world over for freedom and right, with few stains of defeat or injustice upon its folds. The great heart of the nation swelled with pride at the righteousness of the cause, with an assurance that eternal history would praise America for the unselfish work. On land and sea the boys in blue gave new fame to the flag, and their proud record in the past was more than justified by the honors that they won. ”

“ A crowd of haggard, pallid faces are pressed against the bars; and as you steam slowly by, so close that you might speak to the wretched prisoners, it seems as if a shadow had suddenly fallen upon the bright sunshine, and a chill, like that of coming death, oppresses the heart. Since time out of mind, the Moro of Santiago has furnished dungeons for those who have incurred the displeasure of the government infinitely more to be dreaded than its namesake in Havana. ”

“ I desire to thank the great American people and their government for the resolution they have made to free us from the tyrannical rule of Spain. The people of Cuba believe in the good faith of the people of America. They believe in their honesty of purpose to free Cuba and are confident of their ability to do so; but it must be borne in mind that the loadstar of the Cuban is not merely freedom from the dominion of Spain, but independence from outside control, however beneficent that control might be, and absolute non-interference by others in the management of our own affairs. ”

“ As to the first, it is not to be forgotten that during the last few months the relation of the United States has virtually been one of friendly intervention in many ways, each not of itself conclusive, but all tending to the exertion of a potential influence toward an ultimate pacific result just and honorable to all interests concerned. The spirit of all our acts hitherto has been an earnest, unselfish desire for peace and prosperity in Cuba, untarnished by differences between us and Spain and unstained by the blood of American citizens. ”

“ The signal fact that will present itself to the student of Spanish history is that from the earliest times the country has been in a continual state of conflict, internal, with its colonies, and with other nations; and seldom has it been a war of defense. In almost every instance Spain has been the aggressor. The Spaniard has ever been perfidious, avaricious, ferocious. In his veins still flows the blood of Ferdinand, of Torquemada, and of Philip II. Weyler is a prototype of Alva, and in Blanco we find another Antonio de Mendoza. Spain is the China of modern Europe. ”

“ Weyler is lean, diminutive, shriveled, ambitious for immortality, irrespective of its odor, a master of diplomacy, the slave of Spain, for the glory of sitting at the right of her throne, unlovable, unloving, exalted, and doubtless justly, in self-esteem, because he is unmistaken in his estimation of his value to his Queen. His passion is success, per se, foul or fair consequences or the conventional ideas of humanity notwithstanding. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Nations have fought to preserve the integrity of their own empire, but they have not fought a foreign foe to set others free. Men have gone on crusades to fight for holy tombs and symbols, but armies have not been put in motion to overthrow vicious political systems and regenerate iniquitous governments for other peoples.
For more than four centuries Spain has held the island of Cuba as her chattel, and there she has revelled in corruption, and wantoned in luxury wrung from slaves with the cruel hand of unchecked power. ”

“ If the glove which Washington has flung in the face of Spain is picked up by Madrid I will continue the same example of abnegation as before, wretched in that I cannot partake in the struggle other than by prayers and by the influence of my name. I will applaud from my soul those who have the good fortune to face the fire, and I shall consider those Carlists as serving my cause who embark in war against the United States. ”

“ The Spanish officials have also attempted to convince you that the Cuban war is a war of races. Of what races? Of the black against the white? It is not true, and the facts plainly show that there is nothing of the kind. Nor is the war waged by Cubans against the Spaniards as such. No. The war is waged against the government of Spain, and only against the government of Spain and the officials and a few monopolists, who, under it, live and thrive upon the substance of the Cubans. We have no ill feeling against the thousands of Spaniards who industriously and honestly make their living in Cuba. ”

“ Spain must know by this time that while there is a single living Cuban with dignity—and there are many thousands of them—there will not be peace in Cuba, nor even hope of it.
"All good causes must finally triumph, and ours is a good cause. It is the cause of justice treated with contempt, of right suppressed by force, and of the dignity of a people offended to the last degree.
"We Cubans have a thousandfold more reason in our endeavors to free ourselves from the Spanish yoke than the people of the thirteen colonies had when in 1776 they rose in arms against the British government. ”

“ GUANTANAMO, THE HOME OF THE PIRATES. Approaching Cuba as Columbus did—across the narrow stretch of sea from San Domingo—you first sight the long, low promontory of the eastern tip, which the discoverer named Point Maysi. So different is the prospect from that seen at the other end of the island, as you come down in the usual route from New York or Florida, that you can hardly believe it is the same small country. From Maysi Point the land rises in sharp terraces, backed by high hills and higher mountains, all so vague in mist and cloud that you do not know where land ends and sky begins. ”

“ Liberty has grown slowly. Civilization has been on the defensive. Now liberty fights for liberty, and civilization takes the aggressive in the holiest war the world has even known.
Never was there a war before in which so many stimulating deeds of bravery were done in such a short time, and this in spite of the fact that the public has been restless for more action. It is almost worth a war to have inscribed such a deed of cool, intelligent heroism as that of Hobson and his men with the Merrimac, in the entrance to the harbor of Santiago de Cuba. ”

“ As usual in all these southern ports, the water is too shallow for large vessels to approach the dock and steamers have to anchor a mile from shore. While waiting the coming of health or customs officials, these lordly gentlemen who are never given to undignified haste, you have ample time to admire the prospect, and if the truth must be told, you will do well to turn about without going ashore, if you wish to retain the first delightful impressions—for this old city of Spain's patron saint is one of the many to which distance lends enchantment. ”

“ Spain was once the intellectual leader of the world, as well as the pioneer of discovery. Spanish universities were centers of learning long before northern Europe had its intellectual birth. Spanish mariners sailed every sea and Spanish adventurers explored every land. If learning and advancement bring obligations, as they are admitted to do, it was Spain's obligation to be a leader in strife for liberty of mind and body, but the two most notable things in her history are the Spanish inquisition against freedom of thought, and the Spanish ferocities which enslaved a new world for many a year. ”

“ In spite of the little encouragement which American tourists have had for visiting the city of Havana, for many years it has been a popular place of resort for the few who have tried it or have been recommended to it by their friends. With the attractions it has had during Spanish administration, when an air of constraint and suspicion marked the intercourse with every American, it will not be surprising if under changed auspices and in an atmosphere of genuine freedom, Americans will find it one of the most delightful and easily accessible places possible for them to visit. ”

“ ALONG THE CUBAN COAST. It was the torpedo boats which kept things exciting during the early blockade of Cuban ports. They are like hornets, which travel faster than anything that tries to escape them, sting when they strike, and vanish in an instant. Two of these brisk fighters distinguished themselves on Sunday, while the diplomats were busy in the cabinets of the world. The torpedo boat Porter, which is as fleet as an express train, has a dare-devil crew and an intrepid commander with an honored name. ”

“ Every true American felt that the hour had come when we must defend the honor of our great nation, and it was evident to all that the time was near at hand when actual warfare was to begin both on land and sea.
The insurgents in Cuba, who have been struggling against almost overwhelming odds for so many months, received the glad tidings of American intervention with unbounded joy, and at once sent representatives to the United States to arrange for co-operation in the invasion of Cuba, and to assist in planning a systematic campaign against the Spanish forces. ”

“ I only believe in one race, mankind, and for me there are but good and bad nations, Spain so far having been a bad one and the United States performing in these movements toward Cuba a duty of humanity and civilization.
From the wild, tawny Indian to the refined, blond Englishman, a man for me is worthy of respect according to his honesty and feelings, no matter to what country or race he belongs or what religion he professes. ”

“ The arrangement of the streets in Honolulu reminds many Americans of those in Boston or the older part of New York. All the streets are narrow, but well kept, and, with a few exceptions, they meander here and there at will. A dozen thoroughfares are crescent shaped and twist and turn when one least expects. All the streets are smooth and hard under a dressing of thousands of wagon loads of shells and lava pounded down and crushed by an immense steam roller brought from San Francisco. ”

“ With proper dignity General Lee ignored it all, except to say in one definite last message, that he would be back again before long with troops to stand by him.
In his office in the consulate at Havana, General Lee gained the admiration and the confidence of every American who had occasion to meet him. Brave as an American should be, and equally gentle and tender-hearted, he was the man for the place. The Spanish outrages upon American citizens roused in him but two sentiments. ”

“ When the day comes that Cuba shall take her place among the free and independent nations of the earth, Jose Marti, who probably did more than any other one man to arouse the insurgents to make the final struggle for liberty, will not be among them to share their triumphs. Struck down, by a Spanish bullet, almost at the commencement of the last revolution, he sleeps beneath the, southern skies, and neither the clash of swords nor the thunder of the cannon over his grave can disturb his rest. ”

“ The navy and the army co-operated splendidly and as the big warships closed in on the shore to pave the way for the approach of the transports and then went back again, three cheers for the navy went up from many thousand throats on the troop-ships and three cheers for the army rose from ship after ship.
The Cuban insurgents, too, bore their share in the enterprise honorably and well. Five thousand of them in mountain fastness and dark thickets of ravines, lay all the previous night on their guns watching every road and mountain path leading from Santiago to Guantanamo. ”

“ HEROISM OF CUBAN WOMEN. The men of Cuba were not alone in their plans for independence, for their wives and sisters, mothers and sweethearts, were enthusiastic and faithful allies. The island was full of devoted women reared in indolence and luxury who were tireless in their successful efforts to get word from, one scattered rebel band to another, and to send them food, medicines and clothing. These women were far better conspirators than their fathers and brothers, for Cuban men must talk, but the women seem to know the value of silence. ”

“ One who has seen the things knows that to exaggerate the horrors of Spanish cruelty and the oppression of Spanish rule in Cuba is an impossibility. No newspaper could have printed the plain truth of a score of shocking affairs, simply because the public prints are no place for the exploiting of such tales of vicious crime against humanity as have been perpetrated. The most sensational tales have never reached the limits of the truth. ”

“ Many of our brave soldiers left our shores never to return—some were killed in battle; some were stricken down with fever; others who were at the front and saw Old Glory proudly afloat over the once helpless and downtrodden subjects of Spain started homeward but failed to reach their loved ones through disease contracted while performing their duties on the field of battle. Such is War. The whole nation will cherish the memory of the dead and ever extend gratitude to those who safely returned. ”

“ They are not yet satisfied with the rivers of human blood with which in times past they inundated the fields of Italy, of the Low Countries, of our continent of America, and only a few years ago, of Cuba itself. The Spanish newspaper of Havana, 'El Pueblo,' urges the Spanish soldiers to give no quarter, to spare no one, to kill all, all without exception, until they shall have torrents of Cuban blood in which to bathe themselves. It is well. The Cubans accept the challenge, but they will not imitate their tyrants and cover themselves with infamy by waging a savage war. ”

“ CAVALRY CHARGES. The Cubans are among the most skillful and daring rough riders of the world, the equals of the cowboys of our western States, and the far-famed Cossacks of Russia. The horses' backs have been their cradles, and here they possess a decided advantage over their Spanish foes, who know as little of the equestrian art as they seem to understand of other's rights, or the amenities of war. A mounted band of insurgents, rushing down on a detachment of the enemy, waving aloft the terrible machete, will carry with them terror and death, and conquer twice their number. ”

“ The woe, the grief, the humiliation, the agony, the despair that Spain has heaped upon the helpless, and multiplied in the world until the world is sickened with it, will be piled in one avalanche on her own head. ”

“ It was with a full realization of the blessings of peace that the American people yielded to the demands, of humanity and righteous justice, to take up arms again in the cause of liberty. There was no haste, no lack of caution, no excited plunge into hostilities without proper grounds. The nation made sure that it was right. An intolerable condition of affairs resulting from years of agony in a neighbor island, with half a dozen immediate reasons, any one sufficient, was the absolute justification for this holy war.
Spain is the Turk of the West. Spain is an obsolete nation. ”