PICTORIAL HISTORY OF OUR WAR WITH SPAIN

A THRILLING ACCOUNT OF THE LAND AND NAVAL OPERATIONS OF AMERICANSOLDIERS AND SAILORS IN OUR WAR WITH SPAIN, AND THE HEROICSTRUGGLES OF CUBAN PATRIOTS AGAINST SPANISH TYRANNY.

INCLUDING A DESCRIPTION AND HISTORY OF CUBA, SPAIN, PHILIPPINEISLANDS, OUR ARMY AND NAVY, FIGHTING STRENGTH, COAST DEFENSES, ANDOUR RELATIONS WITH OTHER NATIONS, ETC., ETC.

BY TRUMBULL WHITE,

THE WELL KNOWN AND POPULAR AUTHOR, HISTORIAN AND WARCORRESPONDENT.

ELABORATELY ILLUSTRATED WITH PHOTOGRAPHS AND DRAWINGS OF BATTLES,ON SEA AND LAND, WAR SHIPS, ETC., FROM LIFE.

FREEDOM PUBLISHING CO.

Dedicated To Our American Volunteers

PREFACE.

Information concerning the island of Cuba has been of anexceedingly unsatisfactory character until the search-light ofAmerican inquiry was thrown upon it from the beginning of the warfor Cuban liberty early in 1895. Although our next-door neighborto the south, with a perfect winter climate and a host ofinteresting and picturesque attractions for travelers, touristshad been comparatively few, measured by the numbers that mighthave been expected. All of the reasons for this were those whichnaturally followed the characteristic Spanish rule of the island.Publicity was not welcomed, inquiry was not welcomed, travelerswere not welcomed. The cities and the accommodations they offeredwere in many ways far behind those of like age and size in theother countries of the globe. Railway construction and the makingof highways had lagged disgracefully, because the exorbitant taxescollected were looted by the officers of the government as theirown spoils. No other country so near to the highways of oceancommerce and so accessible from the United States was so littleknown.

A few travelers had journeyed to Cuba and had written booksdescriptive of their experiences, which were read with interest bythose who had access to them. But these books were usually simplydescriptive of the people, the manner of life, the scenery, andthe things of surface interest. It is proverbial that Spanish ruleconceals the resources of a country instead of exploiting them.The person of inquiring mind had no way in Cuba to obtain promptinformation concerning the material facts of the island's wealthof resource, because the Spanish authorities themselves knewnothing about it. Spanish statistics are notoriously unreliableand incomplete. No census of Cuba worthy the name ever has beentaken, and there are few schools and few sources of accurateinformation. With all this handicap it was a foregone conclusionthat the casual traveler should confine himself to the things thatwere visible and that were near to the usual paths of travelers.So until the beginning of the Cuban war for liberty no books couldbe obtained which told the things which one really cares to know.Picturesque descriptions there were, more than one, ofconsiderable interest, but the information was scattered.

Demand always creates supply, even if material is scant. When thewar began, the people of the United States wanted to knowsomething of the people who were striving for their freedom, oftheir characteristics, their conditions and their personality.Moreover, it was an immediate necessity to know the geography ofCuba, its history, its natural conditions, its material resources,and a host of things that unite to make a comprehensive knowledgeof any country. There were men who knew Cuba from year

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