" Great was the consternation and as a precaution all the ships
were ordered back into the slip. It must be said, however, that General
Miles _never had any idea that the Spanish fleet was approaching our
shores_.
The transport fleet was tied up and then followed six days of weary
waiting, and the duties of the censor became more arduous than ever, and
the utmost vigilance was exercised. Private messages were almost all
hung up, in fact, very little else than government business was allowed
to pass over the wires. And yet, every day for a week, copies of the
daily papers that reached me had, under flaming headlines, the startling
news that Shafter's fleet had sailed--destination--Havana, San Juan,
Matanzas,--yes--even the Spanish coast. All this was announced from
Washington, and made the correspondents snort; they made every excuse to
let their papers know they were still there. They wanted money, they
wanted to send messages to their families, in fact, they wanted
everything under the sun, but to no avail. Finally, on the 14th of June
the army sailed away, filled with hope and courage, on their mission
that resulted in victory for the American arms; but that was a foregone
conclusion, while we less fortunate ones were left behind to pray for
the success that we knew would be theirs.
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