Cuba - Province of Oriente - Santiago De Cuba: The channel waters of the entrance to Santiago harbor now the scene of seashore fun and frolic was once the screen of naval maneuvering by both Spanish and American fleets in the days of 1898 during the Spanish-American War. The little hilly islands had no fine homes or swimming clubs or casinos. In the water just between the two islands in the foreground the Merrimac sank. Lt. Hobson, under orders, sank the ship which was a collier but it was planned to have her go down closer to the mouth of the channel instead of inside. Shells from the Spaniards damaged the Merrimac so that she could not be steered into the proper position, sinking before this could be accomplished. The Spanish flotilla, in the channel behind the hill island slipped out thro [through] the channel around the point of the island at the center back of the picture, by passing the Merrimac and slipping out to the open sea under cover of darkness on July 3, 1898, one month after the Merrimac had gone down. As Cervera got his ships out of the harbor, He ordered the Mercedes sunk in an effort to keep the Americans out of the harbor, but because of American shells, his ship-sinking did no better than the Americans in the matter of placing. The Spaniards were overhauled by the Americans outside the harbor mouth and their ships shelled, setting fire to the wooden decks which caused the Spaniards to beach the ships and abandon them in order to save their men who were subsequently taken prisoners by Cuban force near by
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Description
Cuba - Province of Oriente - Santiago De Cuba: The channel waters of the entrance to Santiago harbor now the scene of seashore fun and frolic was once the screen of naval maneuvering by both Spanish and American fleets in the days of 1898 during the Spanish-American War. The little hilly islands had no fine homes or swimming clubs or casinos. In the water just between the two islands in the foreground the Merrimac sank. Lt. Hobson, under orders, sank the ship which was a collier but it was planned to have her go down closer to the mouth of the channel instead of inside. Shells from the Spaniards damaged the Merrimac so that she could not be steered into the proper position, sinking before this could be accomplished. The Spanish flotilla, in the channel behind the hill island slipped out thro [through] the channel around the point of the island at the center back of the picture, by passing the Merrimac and slipping out to the open sea under cover of darkness on July 3, 1898, one month after the Merrimac had gone down. As Cervera got his ships out of the harbor, He ordered the Mercedes sunk in an effort to keep the Americans out of the harbor, but because of American shells, his ship-sinking did no better than the Americans in the matter of placing. The Spaniards were overhauled by the Americans outside the harbor mouth and their ships shelled, setting fire to the wooden decks which caused the Spaniards to beach the ships and abandon them in order to save their men who were subsequently taken prisoners by Cuban force near by.
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