ade him. The importance of this fact was evident to every one when,
in the middle of June, the remainder of the Spanish home fleet, whipped
hastily into a semblance of fighting condition, set out eastward under
Admiral Camara to contest the Philippines with Dewey. It was impossible
for the United States to detach a force sufficient to cross the Atlantic
and, without a base, meet this fleet in its home waters. Even if a
smaller squadron were dispatched from the Atlantic round Cape Horn, it
would arrive in the Philippines too late to be of assistance to Dewey.
The two monitors on the Pacific coast, the Monterey and the Monadnock,
had already been ordered across the Pacific, a voyage perilous for
vessels of their structure and agonizing to their crews; but it was
doubtful whether they or Camara would arrive first in the Philippines.

The logic of the situation demanded that the main American fleet be
released. Cervera must be destroyed or held in some other way than at
the expense of inactivity on the part of the American warships. Santiago
could not be forced by the navy. Two methods remained. The first and
simpler expedient was to make the harbor mouth impassable and in this
way to bottle up the Spanish fleet. It was decided to sink the collier
Merrimac at a narrow point in the channel, where, lying full length,
she would completely prevent egress. It was a delicate task and one of
extraordinary danger. It was characteristic of the spirit of the fleet
that, as Admiral Chadwick says, practically all the men were volunteers.
The honor of the command was given to Lieutenant Richmond Pearson
Hobson, Assistant Naval Constructor, who had been in charge of the
preparations. With a crew of six men he entered the harbor mouth on
the night of the 3d of June. A shell disabled the steering gear of
the Merrimac, and the ship sank too far within the harbor to block the
entrance entirely. Admiral Cervera himself rescued the crew, assured
Sampson of their safety in an appreciative note; and one of the best
designed and most heroic episodes in our history just missed success.

The failure of the Merrimac experiment left the situation as it had
been and forced the American command to consider the second method
which would release the American fleet. This new plan contemplated the
reduction of Santiago by a combined military and naval attack. Cervera's
choice of Santiago therefore practically determined the direction of
the first American