C H A P T E R X X V I I
P U E R T O R I C O I N A M E R I C A N H A N D S
SH O R T L Y after the surrender of Santiago de
Cuba to the military forces of the United
States in July, 1898, Major-General Nelson A . Miles,
commanding general of the American army, with
about 3500 men, who had been brought to Cuba as
reinforcements but were no longer needed there,
proceeded to the capture of Puerto Rico. He sailed
from Guantanamo Bay, July 21st, with the cruiser
Columbia, the auxiliary cruiser Yale, and the gunboat
Gloucester, and made a landing at Guanica on
the south coast, on the 25th, without resistance.
A s he proceeded toward Ponce, the town of Yauco
surrendered with enthusiasm, and he was welcomed
at the chief city of the island on the 28th with acclamation
as a liberator.
Meantime other forces had been dispatched, under
General Schwan, from Tampa, Fla., General Wilson,
from Charleston, S. C., and General Brooke, from
Newport News, Va. The last named landed at
Ar ro yo to the east of Ponce and took possession of
Guayama. The entire force in the island was then
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about 17,000 men, and General Miles promptly
adopted a plan of concentrating it upon San Juan
over lines that passed through the principal towns.
He set out upon the military road and passed Coamo
to Aibonito, while General Brooke advanced toward
Cayey, intending to join forces with him. General
Wilson was proceeding northward with Arecibo as
his objective point, and General Schwan had passed
San German and reached Mayaguez on his way to
the same point through the coast towns. In this
situation the order came on the 13th of Au gus t to
suspend hostilities on account of the signing of a protocol
embodying terms of peace with Spain on the
preceding day.
By those terms Spain agreed to “ cede to the
United States the island of Puerto Rico and the
other islands which are at present under the sovereignty
of Spain in the A n tille s ,” and immediately
to “ evacuate ” those islands. Three commissioners
were appointed on each side “ to agree upon the
details of the evacuation of Puerto Rico and other
islands now under Spanish sovereignty in the A n tille
s .” Those acting for the United States were
Rear-Admiral W. S. Schley, Major-General John
R. Brooke, and Brigadier-General W. W. Gordon.
T h e y met at San Juan on September 6th, General
Brooke crossing the island under escort furnished by
Governor-General Macias from Ponce, where his
headquarters had been established, and Admiral
Schley and General Gordon arriving from the United
States on the transport Seneca. T h e y met with
cordial co-operation from the Spanish commissioners