The voting also was the first Presidential Election to take place in Quebec and Ontario. Voters there eagerly flocked to the polls. On November 4, 1972, Grant won overwhelmingly gaining 56% of the popular vote and 298 Electoral College votes.
December 1, 1872
Former Haitian President, Jean-Nicholas Saget led an uprising against the merger vote results. His followers conducted raids in both Haiti and Domenica from caves located in the mountains. The 9th Cavalry Regiment, with many members marrying into the local population, used the intelligence gained to hunt down the dissidents. One by one the cavalry eliminated the dissident groups. During one of the counter-insurgency raids, Jean-Nicholas Saget was captured, crushing the uprising.
Trials were conducted charging many of the captured dissidents with murder and rape. Those convicted suffered summary execution. The trial of Jean-Nicholas Saget resulted in his conviction of fomenting revolution, and a subsequent death sentence. International appeals requested clemency. President Grant commuted the sentence to permanent exile. France offered to accept him; and in August 1873, the former President and his family departed on a French warship.
On September 5, 1873, a referendum was held on the Island of Domenica to approve statehood. Over eighty percent of the eligible voters cast ballots in the referendum. The results indicated that three-fourths of the voters elected to become a state.
Special elections were held on November 4 to elect a Governor and both houses of the state legislature. The voters elected former President, Buenaventura Baez as Governor. Once elected, the Domenica State Senate then elected two Federal Senators. Hiram Rhodes Revel became the senior Senator for a six –year term. The legislature then elected Ebenezer Basset as junior Senator for an initial four-year term. Basset who married a native Dominican woman, resigned from the diplomatic service and accepted his senatorial position.
Chapter 24
The Virginis Incident
November 1873
The Virginius Incident exploded into an international crisis. A rebellion started in Cuba in 1868. Initially, the Spanish Governor General Francisco Lersundi suppressed the rebellion with military force and atrocities against the civilian population. Exaggerated newspaper reports of the atrocities influenced international public opinion, and private organizations began to aid the rebels with mercenaries, guns, and munitions. One of these groups originated in the United States. The Virginius began as a British-built Confederate blockade runner, regularly smuggling goods and munitions between Havana & Mobile. She was captured in April 1865 and sold to a merchant shipping company as a prize of war.
In September 1870, the American front company purchased her for the Cuban revolutionary Manuel Quesada. The front company promptly registered her in New York under United States ownership. For three years, Virginius successfully ran the Spanish blockade bringing weapons, munitions, and mercenaries to fight in Cuba. Her luck ran out on October 30, 1873, when the Spanish warship Tornado sighted her and ran her down in international waters, and sailed her into Santiago, Cuba.
The Spanish commander, Juan de Burriel ordered the entire crew, and mercenary passenger tried for piracy. He pronounced all of them guilty and began summary executions. The executions, by firing squad began with the mercenaries, followed by crew members. The Spanish decapitated the bodies and used horses to trample the remains. Burriel ordered the decapitated heads mounted on sharpened stakes as a warning against piracy.
A merchant ship sailed from Santiago, making the next stop in Port-U-Prince, and related accounts of the executions and atrocities. USS Agamenticus was at anchor in the harbor. Captain Decatur was summoned by General Grissom and ordered to steam to Santiago, and stop the executions, using force if required.
On November 7, USS Agamenticus steamed into Santiago. Captain Decatur learned that that very day, thirty-seven more executions took place, including that of the American Captain Joseph Fry. Decatur demanded an immediate halt to the executions or he would bombard the city.
Defiantly, Juan de Burriel executed twelve more the next day. Decatur ordered the Agamenticus to shell the Spanish Army barracks. Following a bombardment lasting less than 30-minutes, Juan De Burriel sent emissaries under a white flag and agreed to stop the executions. However, already fifty-three men suffered execution and decapitation. Captain Decatur then demanded the release of the remaining prisoners.
Agamenticus continued to patrol in Santiago harbor, and later in the day, the sloops of war USS Ossipee, USS Juniata, and the courier ship USS Dispatch steamed into Santiago, taking up station with USS Agamenticus.
Facing the reality of a United States Naval task force in Santiago, and a belligerent Captain Decatur who meant business; the Spanish Governor General in Havana ordered the release of the remaining 102 prisoners from Virginius. Juan de Burriel sent messages to Captain Decatur confirming the prisoner release. A barge containing the prisoners steamed to the United States Navy ships, and they boarded USS USS Juniata.
Later that day, the Royal Navy sloop of war HMS Niobe sailed into Santiago Harbor. Her captain had also been ordered to stop the executions. He met with Captain Decatur, then took custody of the surviving British nationals. The next day, HMS Niobe steamed out of Santiago to deliver the British nationals to Jamaica.
The Spanish agreed to tow Virginius out to sea and turn her over to USS Ossipee, for towing back to the United States. However, USS Ossipee encountered a storm off Cape Hatteras. Virginius began to take on water, forcing the captain of USS Ossipee to cut the tow line, and shortly after that, she sank.
With the mission accomplished, USS Agamenticus returned to Port-U-Prince. Captain Decatur met with General Grissom and provided him with a full report of the incident.
USS Dispatch carried a copy of the report to Washington DC. The nation was outraged by the executions and butchery by Spanish officials. Demands for war with Spain heralded newspaper headlines. The newspaper editorials demanded that Spain arrests Juan de Burriel and charge him with murder and barbaric behavior, which was beyond the pale for a modern society.
The Grant administration demanded that Spain must pay reparations to the families of all the fifty-three executed persons. They also broadly hinted that going to war with Spain, and direct intervention in Cuba were distinct possibilities. With the specter of war looming Daniel Sickles, the Ambassador to Spain was instructed to open negotiations with the Spanish government. These negotiations were to resolve the reparations issue, the punishment of Juan de Burriel, and the insult to the American Flag; as Spain captured Virginius, a United States-flagged vessel in international waters. The transfer of General Johnson’s victorious army from Mexico to Galveston and New Orleans highlighted the seriousness of the war threats.
December 1, 1873
The 43rd Congress met for its first joint session of the term. A motion was entered to recognize Domenica to be the forty-first state and to seat the duly elected Senators and Representatives of that Sovereign State. The motion was seconded, and a voice vote called. By acclamation, the Ayes carried the vote. With loud applause and with great pride, the two United States Senators, and four House Members, all of whom were members of the Republican Party, took their seats.
The next order of business was the Virginius Incident. Secretary of Fisk was called to testify at both House and Senate committees to inform them of the true nature of the crisis. Fisk told them he hoped the negotiations would end the crisis, and Spain’s treatment of Juan de Burriel would be an indicator. If Burriel escaped punishment, war with Spain would be inevitable.
The situation worsened when the major newspapers learned of the exceptional cruelty exerted by the Spanish Government in Cuba to control the rebels. The Spanish still practiced slavery and enslaved the families of captured rebels. The military destroyed rural villages, and the inhabitants forced into disease-infested slums located in areas under government control. The newspapers published lurid headlines and stories on a daily basis.
Negotiations in Spain between Si
ckles and Minister of State José de Carvajal became heated, and progress towards settlement became unlikely. The Spanish press openly attacked Sickles, the United States and Britain intending to promote war between the three countries.
On January 3, 1874, the moderate Spanish President Emilio Castellar was voted out of office and replaced by Francesco Serrano, who was far more belligerent towards the United States. In speeches, he condemned the United States for attempting to interfere in internal Spanish justice. With tensions mounting, any spark was likely to ignite a war. That spark happened in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
Chapter 25
January 10, 1874
The Spanish ironclad frigate, Arapiles was in the dry dock finishing repairs from damage sustained after hitting a reef. The Port Authority deliberately scuttled a small ship in front of the dry dock, as a means of applying pressure to the Spanish government. In retaliation, the Arapiles captain ordered the repair crew held hostage until the Port Authority removed the scuttled ship. United States Marines, guarding the Navy Yard deployed surrounding the dry dock. In response, Arapiles Captain ordered his cannons loaded and run out. Alarmed at this escalation, Naval Command ordered the USS Kalamazoo which was in the Navy Yard for a liberty call deployed to block Arapiles.
The tense stand-off continued for two days, with United States Marines and Spanish sailors constantly taunting each other. The spark ignited when after taunting the Spanish, a Marine stood up, bared his chest, and laughed at the Spanish sailors. One of the sailors grabbed a gun and shot the Marine. After a hushed silence, a fusillade of bullets from rifles and Gatling Guns smashed into Arapiles, which responded with broadside cannons firing canister.
USS Kalamazoo then opened up with both turrets, with explosive shells smashing into Arapiles. After the third salvo, fires erupted on Arapiles and quickly began to spread, causing her captain to haul down her flag in surrender. Firefighting efforts were unable to extinguish the flames before they reached the magazine, which exploded, destroying the dry-dock. Casualties were heavy, with fifty Spanish sailors killed or missing, including the captain, and one hundred wounded. The Marines suffered thirty killed and fifty wounded. The hostage dock workers, pressed by the Spanish into firefighting duties, were all killed when the magazine exploded.
Cables quickly informed the Spanish Government of the tragic incident. Spanish newspapers called it a planned massacre and demanded war. Headlines shouted REMEMBER THE ARAPILES and outrage spread throughout Spain. On January 20, The Spanish Ambassador Don Jose Polo de Barnabe informed Secretary Hamilton Fish that the State of War existed between Spain and the United States.
January 22, 1874.
President Grant met with his cabinet to discuss how to proceed. Attending members included the new Secretary of the Navy Admiral David Porter, who replaced Admiral Farragut who succumbed to a heart attack while inspecting the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery Maine. Also, new to the cabinet was retired Major General Joshua Chamberlain who President Grant recently appointed as Secretary of the Army.
Chewing on his cigar, President Grant summarized the events to date about the Virginius Affair. He then asked Chamberlain about the readiness of the Army.
Chamberlain stood and spoke: “Mr. President, I just received a telegraph message from General Joseph Johnson. He indicated that his army would be ready to board transport ships as soon as they are available. He has 30,000 troops with him in Galveston with the other 20,000 in New Orleans under General Ord. He has assembled ordinance and munitions at both locations for at least a six-month campaign. Once aboard the transports, and with appropriate escorts, the fleets will have rendezvous in Port-au-Prince for deployment.” After a pause, Chamberlain continued: “Secretary Porter has the disposition of our naval assets.”
Secretary Porter then stood and began: “The transports which were laid up in ordinary after evacuating the troops in the Caribbean under the Berlin Treaty are being repaired and recommissioned.to receive the troops. The plans are to move General Ord's troops first, then return to pick up General Johnson’s. General Ord’s troops should be ready for transport in two weeks.
Other commercial cargo ships have been purchased and refitted for this mission. They will begin to load General Johnson’s ordinance and artillery, while his troops are waiting for the transports to arrive.
There will be two admirals, with Admiral Lee in overall command, and Rear Admiral Treat as his second. The USS Massachusetts will be Admiral Lee’s flagship. Support ships will include USS Kalamazoo, USS Quinsigamond, USS Passaconamy and USS Shackamaxon. Refitting has been completed to provide them the new 12-inch long guns. Naval auxiliaries will include frigates and sloops of war as escorts. Lee’s fleet will be the escort for General Ord.
USS Puritan
Admiral Treat will fly his flag on USS Puritan. The reconstruction of USS Puritan is complete. She is the first of a new class of monitors, currently under construction. Her main armament is four, 12-inch breech-loading long guns, mounted in two turrets, one fore and aft. There are casements on either side mounting three 4-inch breech loaders. A new feature is a bridge above the pilot house to provide the senior officers a panoramic view.
Support ships include USS Agamenticus, USS Onondaga, USS Tecumseh, USS Weehawken, USS Miantonoth, USS Towanda and USS Sangamon. All of them have the new turrets and 12-inch long guns. Admiral Treat’s squadron is very formidable. General Johnson will have his headquarters on USS Miantonoth. Secretary Porter then walked over to his seat and sat down.
President Grant, chomping his cigar smiled broadly, then turned to Secretary of State Hamilton Fish to hear the developments regarding the other powers.
Fish stood up and began speaking. I just returned from a meeting with Sir Edward Thornton, the United Kingdom’s Ambassador. He expresses concern that the war with Spain might spill over to The Crown's possessions in the area. I assured him that the United States stands by the Treaty of Berlin, and the United Kingdon has unquestioned sovereignty of her possessions. I reminded him that Spain declared this war upon us, and the origins of the war resulted from Spanish actions, which also took the lives of British citizens.
I also assured him that all The United Kingdom's consulates, located in Spanish possessions would be respected, and all British shipping including Royal Navy warships are considered noncombatants, provided they fly the Union Jack.
The German Empire’s only interest is that the war does not expand into Europe. A German Prince is a distant relative of ex-Queen Isabella and is a potential claimant to the throne. Spain’s American colonies are troublesome and are of no interest to the German government.
France is still recovering from their defeat by The German Empire, and the overthrow of Emperor Napoleon III. Their 3rd Republic is still in turmoil, quelling internal unrest. The government has no time for or interest in the America’s. Their focus has shifted to North Africa. They drafted their dissidents into the Foreign Legion who are fighting Mohammedan tribes in Algeria and Morocco.
I suggest that we tread lightly about the recognization of the Cuban belligerency. If we do that, we will have restricted options about the future of Cuba. We can provide material and military aid to the Cuban Rebels. Once we remove the Spanish authority and free the slaves, we need to establish a temporary military government and include Americanized Cubans within the provisional governing body. We can and will assist them in the formation of local governments, modeled on the United States; and notify the world that Cuba is under the protection of the United States. The long-term solution for Cuba will depend on the Cubans themselves. We have the experience of Dominica to draw options.
Chapter 26
The Spanish and American War.
February 1, 1874.
Four battalions of General Grissom's Buffalo Soldiers boarded their transport ships, and escorted by the frigate, USS Natick and the Sloops of War USS Ossipee and USS Juniata; sailed into Guantanamo Bay. A ten-minute bombardment silenced the battery on McCalla Hill and destroyed the
blockhouse. A similar bombardment silenced the battery at Caya Del Toro. Two Spanish gunboats sallied down the channel from Guantanamo City but quickly retreated from USS Natick’s guns.
The transports landed General Grissom’s troops, cannons, Gatling guns, ammunition, and supplies. Then, escorted by USS Ossipee steamed back to Port-au-Prince to pick up the rest of his troops. The Buffalo Soldiers quickly occupied the villages and took control of the coal station at the Port of Caimanera. The soldiers located and cut the cable to San Juan, Puerto Rico, and the telegraph line to Santiago. Grissom next ordered his troops to fortify McCalla Hill and Caya Del Toro in anticipation of a Spanish counterattack. Grissom assigned Captain Hannibal Johnson to supervise the construction of breastworks, with emplacements for cannons and Gatling guns.
That attack came the morning of the third day of the occupation. The Spanish troops and loyal Cubans used the thick brush and undergrowth as cover, advanced to within six hundred feet of Grissom’s fortification. The Spanish and loyal Cubans used bird calls to coordinate their attack. Moving forward under a morning mist, the Spanish fired a fusillade of rifle fire, then assaulted the fortifications.
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