at he could surprise and master the garrison before the
captain-general could possibly obtain intelligence of his departure from
New Orleans. His plan was, to master the town, secure the authorities,
intimidate the Spaniards, and then, sustained by the moral influence of
victory, proceed to Matanzas by railroad.

Roncali, the captain-general, having received intelligence of the
landing at Contoy, despatched several ships-of-war in that direction, to
seize upon the general and his followers. The latter, however, escaped
the snare, and effected his landing on the 19th. The garrison rushed to
arms, and, while a portion of the troops, after immaterial loss, retired
in good order to the suburbs, another, under the command of Governor
Ceruti, intrenched themselves in the government-house, and gave battle
to the invaders. After a sharp skirmish, the building being set on fire,
they surrendered; the governor and two or three officers were made
prisoners, and the soldiers consented to join the revolutionary colors!
Meanwhile, a body of one hundred invaders seized upon the railroad
station. The engines were fired up, and the trains made ready to
transport the invading column to Matanzas.

But now came a pause. General Lopez, seeing that the native population
did not respond to his appeal, knew that as soon as the news of the
taking of Cardenas should be circulated, he would be in a very critical
situation. In fact, the governor of Matanzas was soon on the march, at
the head of five hundred men. General Armero sailed from Havana in the
Pizarro, with a thousand infantry, while two thousand five hundred
picked troops, under the command of General Count de Mirasol, were sent
from Havana by the railroad. Lopez saw that it would be madness to wait
the attack of these formidable columns, unsupported save by his own
immediate followers, and accordingly issued his orders for the
reembarkation of his band, yet without relinquishing the idea of landing
on some more favorable point of the island.

That portion of the garrison which, in the beginning of the affair, had
retreated to the suburbs, finding itself reinforced by a detachment of
cavalry, attempted to cut off the retreat of the invading general; but
the deadly fire of the latter's reserve decimated the horse, and the
infantry, dismayed at their destruction, took to rapid flight. The
Creole accordingly left the port without molestation, and before the
arrival of the government steam