An Honorable War

by Robert N. Macomber

  Her serious scrutiny softened into a sweet smile. “Thank you, mi amor. You truly are my hero, Peter. I love you more than life itself. I think we will be extraordinary grandparents.”

  I turned out the lamp. Our hearts didn’t need words anymore. We shared a long passionate kiss, then held each other close. Maria rested her head on my chest and soon slipped off to sleep. But no slumber came for me.

  How could it be possible? I am here with what is usually only a wish or dream or thought, which keeps me sane throughout the worst of times. My Maria is by my side. I stroked her skin, breathed in her essence, and gingerly kissed her silky hair.

  But now, only the reader of this could be more perplexed than I, knowing I was otherwise already back in Cuba.

  Endnotes by Chapter

  Chapter One—A Muffled Thud

  —The Cuban fight for independence from Spain began on 10 October 1868, and went on for thirty years, until September 1898. During this time there were three hot wars (1868–1878, 1879–1880, 1895–1898) with periods of intense clandestine revolutionary activity in between. Cuba was occupied by the United States from September of 1898 until May of 1902, when she finally achieved full independence. Wake was part of this long struggle in the 1880s and 1890s.

  Chapter Three—Eleven Months Earlier

  —The “Goat Locker” is the old sailors’ term for the Chief Petty Officers berthing and mess area. The name comes from the days of sail, when livestock was kept in that area for fresh milk and meat, guarded over by the senior petty officers. The name can still be heard today on warships.

  —The “Black Gang” refers to the men working down in the boiler, engine, and adjacent machinery spaces. The term isn’t about their ethnicity, but about the coal dust and machinery grease in their working spaces becoming imbedded in the exposed areas of their skin, making them appear dark-skinned.

  —The same call for sweepers is used in the U.S. Navy today. American warships are always cleaned every morning, one of many legacies carried on from the Royal Navy.

  Chapter Four—The Last Mile

  —The Brooklyn Navy Yard served the country well from 1806 until 1966, when Secretary of Defense McNamara closed it for budgetary reasons. At the time of its closing, the yard had 9,000 workers. It is now a commercial/industrial center.

  —Whitney Island, where the Cob Dock was located at the south end, also had the Ordnance Dock at the north end. The island no longer exists, having been dredged away in the early 1900s and the fill being used to expand the shoreline naval docks, which do still exist.

  —U.S.S. Vermont had a sad history. She was authorized by Congress in 1816, designed and laid down at Boston Navy Yard in 1818 as a 74-gun ship of the line, one of a very few in the U.S. Navy. Seven years later her construction was finally finished, but she stayed up on the ways until launched in 1848. Then she sat unused at dockside until commissioned into service in 1862. By that point she was far too antiquated to be good for anything other than a floating warehouse for stores and temporary barracks for sailors and Marines. For thirty-seven years, from 1864 until 1902, she sat at the Cob Dock of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, an ancient relic of a time long gone. Eighty-four years after her construction was begun, Vermont was sold by the Navy and towed away in April, 1902. Her final fate is unknown, but she was probably broken up for the wood, fastenings, and fittings.

  Chapter Five—The Pleasure of Your Company

  —“Colors” is sounded at 8 a.m., or eight bells in the morning watch, when a warship is in port. The national ensign (flag) is hoisted on the ship’s stern staff. The traditional watch and bell system of the navy is simple. The ship’s bell was struck every half-hour, the time it took for sand to run out of a half-hour sand glass. The bell was struck once for every half-hour of a four-hour watch that had gone by. Thus, one bell for the first half hour, two bells for the second half-hour, three bells for the third, and so on, until eight bells were struck when the watch reached four hours and was over. This went on all day, every day. From 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., the watch was divided into two equal “dog watches” (the “First” from 4 to 6 p.m., and the “Last” from 6 to 8 p.m.) so that the sailors’ schedule would change each day. Why call it a “Dog Watch?” Maritime folklore says it was because the first star seen after sunset is frequently the “Dog Star”—Sirius. Bells are still heard in the U.S. Navy, though in many ships the watch system is different from the old days.

  —U.S.S. Newark was one of the first steel-hulled cruisers in the U.S. Navy. She was commissioned in 1891, displaced 4,083 tons, was 311 feet long, armed with twelve 6-inch guns and ten secondary guns of various calibers, had a speed of 19 knots, and a compliment of 393 officers and men. She was decommissioned in March 1897 for an extensive overhaul and recommissioned in May 1898 to serve in the Spanish-American War. She also served in the 1899 Philippine-American War, and the 1900 Boxer Rebellion in China. After 1906, she served as an auxiliary vessel at the New York Naval Militia, Guantanamo Bay Naval Station, and Norfolk Naval Station. In World War One, she was a hospital ship at Newport Naval Station. Newark was sold in 1926 and broken up for scrap.

  —Pierre Loti was the famous nom de plume of Julien Viaud (1850–1923), a French career naval officer and novelist. Loti and Wake became lifelong friends at the 1883 Battle of Hue, in Vietnam, when the French Navy attacked and defeated the forces of the emperor. Read about it in The Honored Dead.

  —Useppa Wake Cano (born in 1865 at Useppa Island, Florida) lived at Tampa in 1897 with her Cuban attorney husband, Mario Cano. In addition to his legal career, Cano was in the Cuban Revolutionary Party and a confidant of the late José Martí (1853–1895), the famous Cuban writer and orator, and Wake’s dear friend. For more about Cano, Martí, and Useppa, read The Assassin’s Honor.

  —Wake met Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) at a society dinner at New York in January 1886. He was not impressed with the brash young man, but over the ensuing years they became close friends. Wake is twenty-one years older than Roosevelt, and a mentor figure for him. For more about their meeting and friendship, read The Darkest Shade of Honor.

  Chapter Six—Survival of the Fittest

  —Theodore Roosevelt built his beautiful 22-room home, Sagamore Hill, in 1886, and lived there until his death in January 1919. The home is named for the Algonquin word for “Chieftain,” and located at Cove Neck, near Oyster Bay on western Long Island. Wake was a frequent visitor in the 1890s and early 1900s. Roosevelt’s presidential museum is on the grounds, and the entire site is a national park. For more details, go to: http://www.nps.gov/sahi/index.htm

  —Wake’s depiction of Roosevelt’s speaking style tried to capture the intensity, both aural and visual, of the man, which never failed to impress an audience. To hear a recording of Theodore Roosevelt, go to the website of the fascinating G. Robert Vincent Voice Library of the University of Michigan.

  —The man Parker to which Roosevelt refers is Andrew Parker, a fellow member of the New York City Police Commission, with whom Roosevelt had a long-standing and ever-worsening feud.

  —Roosevelt wanted to be the actual Secretary of the Navy, but McKinley was averse to giving him that much power, fearful of his bellicose ideas and manners. After much political influence on Roosevelt’s behalf over several months, McKinley yielded and made Roosevelt Assistant Secretary of the Navy. Roosevelt’s political enemies in New York City were glad to be rid of him—little did they know he would return in two years as their state’s governor, and president of the United States a year later!

  —John Davis Long (1838–1915) was a respected lawyer, academic, supporter of women’s rights, governor of Massachusetts, and civic leader who became Secretary of the Navy despite his lack of knowledge or interest in naval affairs. Like Roosevelt and Wake, Long lost his first wife in the 1880s and later remarried. Long and Roosevelt had different political views and personal temperaments. Roosevelt liked the man, but didn’t respect Long’
s continued ignorance about the important position he filled, or his apparent hypochondria.

  Chapter Seven—L`Avenir Déjà Vu

  —William McKinley (1843–1901) served as an officer in the 23rd Ohio Infantry Regiment and was in several horrific battles. He despised men who spoke casually of war.

  Chapter Eight—The Island

  —Patricio Island is northeast of Useppa Island, and west of Pine Island, in Pine Island Sound, on Florida’s lower Gulf Coast. In 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt designated it, and several other islands in the area, as part of a national wildlife refuge. Today there are 38 islands in the refuge. The old settlers’ rainwater cistern still remains on the shell ridge, among the gumbo limbo, sabal palm, and strangler fig trees. Landing on the island is restricted.

  Chapter Nine—Back into the Fray

  —The State, War, and Navy Building, built in the 1870s and 1880s, is now designated as the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB). The offices of the three Cabinet departments have long been taken over by the White House staff. In the 1980s, several of the important offices and public rooms in the building were renovated to their beautiful original style. The original Secretary of the Navy’s office is now the ceremonial office of the Vice-President of the United States. Wake would recognize quite a lot in the building today.

  —The story of Ida Saxton McKinley (1847–1907) is a sad one. She never recovered from the death of her children, and her epilepsy became more debilitating as the years went on, with seizures sometimes occurring in public. The treatment was laudanum and other sedatives, which further complicated her life. William McKinley was absolutely devoted to her, and even the cynics in Washington understood the depth of their mutual love. After her husband was assassinated in 1901, Ida’s depression grew worse, and her younger sister had to take care of her. Ida visited her husband’s grave every day until her death six years later.

  Chapter Ten—Cuba’s Pain

  —General Máximo Gómez (1836–1905) was born in the Dominican Republic, served in the Spanish Army, and eventually joined the Cuban Revolution in 1868. Over the next thirty years, he rose in rank to supreme commander-in-chief of the Cuban Liberation Army. He was wounded twice, the first a bullet through the neck, which left an open hole he frequently covered with a bandana or plugged with cotton. Gómez was a soldier’s soldier and disdained politics, turning down the presidency after the war. He is a national hero of the country.

  Chapter Eleven—El Consorcio de Azúcar

  —The Cuerpo Militar de Orden Publico was a uniformed Spanish police regiment centered in Havana, and well known to history. There is no record of Wake’s perennial nemesis, Colonel Isidro Marrón, or his secret “Special Section” of the regiment. For more about Wake’s previous encounters with Marrón, read The Darkest Shade of Honor, Honor Bound, and Honorable Lies.

  Chapter Seventeen—Too Much Fun

  —Wake first came in contact with the Jesuits in 1874 at Sevilla, Spain, when they saved his life. Ever since, it had been a mutually beneficial relationship. For more detail about Wake and the Jesuits, read An Affair of Honor, A Different Kind of Honor, The Darkest Shade of Honor, The Honored Dead, and Honorable Lies.

  Chapter Eighteen—Blue Mold and Black Shank

  —Blue mold and black shank are serious tobacco leaf diseases which can quickly spread and devastate a regional crop. They are tightly monitored today in North Carolina.

  —Corojo leaf is primarily used as the wrapper for cigars.

  Chapter Nineteen—A Little Complication

  —The Olayita Massacre was in February, 1896. The perpetrators were never brought to justice.

  Chapter Twenty-One—Searching for Goatsuckers

  —For more about how Rork lost his left hand in Vietnam, read The Honored Dead.

  —The folklore that the Cuban nightjar (AKA: Antillean goatsucker) bird sucks milk from a goat has never been proven, but it still widely believed in the Caribbean.

  Chapter Twenty-Two—City of Shadows

  —Charles Sigsbee (1845–1923) was a well-respected officer in the U.S. Navy for forty-five years (1862–1907) and famous for his oceanographic work. The Sigsbee Deep, the lowest point (12,000 feet) in the Gulf of Mexico is named in his honor, as is Sigsbee Park Island, a naval housing area in Key West.

  Chapter Twenty-Four—Love in a Linen Closet

  —The Havana Yacht Club was founded in 1886. In the twentieth century, it was very active and hosted the renowned St. Petersburg to Havana sailing race for 25 years. After Castro came to power in 1959, it went defunct. This breakfast was one of the last social events ashore Sigsbee attended before his ship was destroyed.

  —Fitzhugh Lee (1835–1905) and later-President William McKinley faced each other at many Civil War battles. During the Spanish-American War, he was one of three former Confederate generals who were made volunteer U.S. Army major generals (along with Joe Wheeler and Thomas Rosser). Lee did not see combat, but during the occupation afterward, he was military governor of Havana and the province of Pinar del Rio.

  Chapter Twenty-Six—Numbers

  —Though seemingly archaic and simplistic, the code system used by Roosevelt and Wake was standard espionage tradecraft in the 1890s. Within a decade, it got far more complex.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven—The Invisible Functionary

  —To this day, communication techs and clerical personnel are favorite targets for recruitment among international intelligence agencies. The most sophisticated cybersecurity system can always be betrayed by a disgruntled private, as recent headlines have shown.

  —Castillo de Farnes still exists and is a nice little restaurant, one of my favorites in Old Havana.

  —Matusalem is Wake’s favorite sipping rum. It is still available. Visit: www.matusalem.com

  Chapter Twenty-Eight—A Diplomatic Bombshell

  —Don Enrique Dupuy de Lôme (1851–1904) was a successful career Spanish diplomat from Valencia. He served as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the United States from May 1895 until February 1898, when he resigned following the exposé of his letter.

  —The two petty officers who tried to save Ensign Breckenridge, Gunner’s Mate Third Class John Everett (1873–1956) and Ship’s Cook First Class Daniel Atkins (1866–1923), both received the Medal of Honor. In those days, it was awarded for peacetime heroism also. By February of 1898, Atkins was the thirteenth African-American sailor to receive the Medal of Honor.

  Chapter Thirty-One—Jupiter’s Thunderbolt

  —To me, the Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña, commonly known in English as Cabaña Fortress, is a disturbing place to visit. Its history of terror and extra-judicial or quasi-judicial executions extended from the 1860s into the 1960s. Most of the victims were political enemies of the regime in power at the time.

  Chapter Thirty-Three—Just Lollygagging Around

  —The “muffled thud” was an important clue. Several investigations over the past forty years have shown the cause of Maine’s explosion was probably spontaneous combustion in the forward coal bunker—hence the muffled thud—which immediately set off the ammunition magazine next to it, making a catastrophic blast which killed 266 of the ship’s 374 officers and men.

  —The official explanation of the Communist regime in Cuba is that the U.S. government blew up its own ship to have an excuse to join the war against Spain, which the Cubans had been fighting for years and were already winning. In this way the U.S. could dominate Cuba’s future.

  Chapter Thirty-Five—Without Explanation or Dignity

  —The Cuban crocodile (Crocodylus rhombifer) is regarded as the most aggressive crocodile in the Western Hemisphere and the most intelligent in the world. With males growing only to eleven feet, it is not as large as its cousins in Florida, but is far more dangerous. Once widespread in Cuba, its habitat is now only in the Zapata Swamp and the Isle of Youth
of Cuba’s southern coast. There is a small colony at Gatorland in central Florida, where pack hunting behavior has been observed.

  Chapter Thirty-Six—Mightily Envied

  —The U.S. Navy, desperate for ships to form the blockade and for other needs, took in 38 yachts in 1898, converting them into commissioned warships. Many stayed in the Navy after the Spanish-American War, and several became famous, serving for decades. I do a lecture on this fascinating subject entitled “Yachts that Went to War.”

  Chapter Thirty-Eight—Outwitting the Parasites

  —Irish-American inventor John Holland (1841–1914) tried to get the U.S. Navy to use his submarine designs several times in the 1880s and 1890s. In 1900, they finally commissioned U.S.S. Holland, the first true fully submersible American submarine. Holland’s production company eventually became the well-known Electric Boat Company.

  —Samuel Langley (1835–1906) was a brilliant engineer and pioneer of early aviation, but never got the U.S. government to use his inventions. Many of his colleagues used his work as a foundation of their own, and in 1911 one of them, Eugene Ely (1886–1911), was the first aviator to successfully fly off an American warship, U.S.S. Pennsylvania. The first U.S. aircraft carrier was named Langley, serving in that capacity from 1922–1936.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine—The Squadron

  —Wake’s squadron wasn’t the last to know Congo Town. The U.S. Navy has had a presence on the coast of Andros Island since the 1960s. There are several installations up and down the coast belonging to the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC). They do classified work on the surface and in the depths of the Tongue of the Ocean.

  Chapter Forty-One—Blossom Channel

  —This channel, named for H.M.S. Blossom, is the deepest of the half-dozen which lead through the maze of reefs at the southern end of the Tongue of the Ocean. Never transit this dangerous area unless the weather and sun conditions are suitable for “eyeball navigation,” and even then try to obtain some local knowledge.