YOU FURNISH THE PICTURES – William Randolph Hearst, publisher of the New York Herald, knew a war with Spain would increase sales so he sent renowned artist Frederic Remington to Cuba to draw pictures of Spanish mistreatment of the Cubans. After several days in Cuba, Remington wired Hearst that everything was quiet and there would be no war. Hearst responded with: “Please remain. You furnish the pictures and I will furnish the war.” Shenkman 179
SINKING OF THE USS MAINE – With yellow journalists fomenting war with Spain, Spanish authorities put restrictions on American reporters in Havana. The U.S. government sent the USS Maine to Havana harbor “to protect American interests”. Three weeks later, on Feb. 15, 1898, a mysterious explosion sank the battleship. Over 200 sailors were killed. American newspapers assumed the explosion was the work of the Spanish and demanded a circulation-boosting war. William Randolph Hearst’s New York Journal blared the headline: “The Warship Maine Was Split in Two by an Enemy’s Secret Infernal Machine”. The papers did not wait for the official report of the investigation. When the report came out on March 17, it was determined that the explosion was due to a “submarine mine”. It could not determine who did it, but the implication was that it was the Spanish. Some were skeptical. The Secretary of the Navy and President McKinley felt it was an internal explosion. Battleships had their coal bunkers located dangerously close to the ammunition magazines. Other incidents had occurred on other ships involving sparks. The Navy’s leading expert on explosives claimed that no torpedo or mine could have produced that large of an explosion. We still went to war with Spain, though. Uncle 4 pp. 168-171
PANAMA CANAL – Thought of digging a canal to connect the Atlantic and the Pacific began not long after Columbus discovered the New World. The Spanish determined the isthmus of Panama would be the best place, but King Philip decided a canal would separate the two continents and that would alter God’s creation. In the 1850’s, the U.S. sent a survey team to check out Panama, but it reported that constructing a canal would be impossible. In 1880, France gave it a try. Ferdinand de Lesseps (who had constructed the Suez Canal) was put in charge. However, the project failed for numerous reasons. There was rampant corruption and poor planning. Plus Panama was prone to flooding and earthquakes, not to mention yellow fever and malaria. The French abandoned the attempt and left most of their machinery to rust in the jungle. The U.S. renewed its interest after the battleship Oregon took two months to sail from the Pacific coast, around South America, to reach Cuba to participate in the Spanish-American War. At first, Nicaragua was targeted because although the distance across was longer than Panama, Nicaragua had Lake Nicaragua to save digging. Panama was chosen after Nicaraguan postage stamps touting their beautiful volcanoes were sent to Congressmen by Panamanian lobbyists (“do you really want to build a canal in a volcano area?”) and the French government dropped the price of its unfinished assets from $109 million to $40 million. And Teddy Roosevelt took it from there. Uncle Lost pp. 75-77
FORGOTTEN WAR: The Moro Rebellion (1902-1913)
After the U.S. took the Philippines in the Spanish-American War and defeated the Filipino Insurrection led by Emilio Aguinaldo, American forces expanded into the southern islands like Sulu and Mindanao to occupy and colonize. The Moros, a Muslim people, rebelled against this partly for religious reasons, but mainly because their territory was being taken and their culture threatened. They started an insurgency that made life difficult for the American forces. The Moros conducted guerrilla warfare and the U.S. did not have an answer until Gen. John Pershing took command in 1909. His counterinsurgency tactics included search and destroy, internment camps for natives, and harsh interrogation like waterboarding. All tactics used against Aguinaldo’s forces. Pershing’s army was not above shooting any civilians who got in the way or who were with the Moro warriors. Most infamously, Pershing condoned the burying of Moro soldiers in graves with a pig thrown in. This was supposed to scare the living because they avoided pork as part of their religious beliefs. There is no evidence that captured Moro were shot with bullets dipped in pig’s blood. Unlike Vietnam, the counterinsurgency worked and the rebellion was put down.
https://historycollection.co/nation-war-9-forgotten-american-wars/7/
THE BUFFALO SOLDIERS
July 28 is National Buffalo Soldier Day. July 28 was chosen because on that day in 1866, Congress passed the Army Organization Act. Four black (colored was the term used at the time) regiments – the 9th and 10th Cavalries and the 24th and 25th Infantries. Although all the soldiers were black, all the officers were white. They are most famous for serving on the Great Plains during the Indian Wars. They fought hostile Indians, built roads, escorted the mail, and protected settlers. They got their famous nickname from the Native Americans. It’s unclear why the Indians called them that but it may have been that their hair looked like buffalo hides and/or it was a sign of respect because they considered the buffalo to be sacred and powerful. Although they faced racist treatment, sometimes by their own officers. In spite of that, they had lower desertion and court martial rates than white units. 23 Buffalo Soldiers were awarded Medals of Honor. They participated in the Spanish-American War with the 10th Cavalry fighting alongside the Rough Riders in the Battle of San Juan Hill. One of their officers was John Pershing who later commanded the army in WWI. He acquired the nickname Black Jack from his service with the Buffalo Soldiers. 5 Medals of Honor were awarded for bravery in Cuba. From 1899-1903 they participated in the putting down of the Filipino Rebellion. They went with Pershing to chase Pancho Villa in 1916. That was the last action as the units stayed home for WWI. In July, 1992, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell dedicated the National Buffalo Soldier Monument at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas.
https://www.army.mil/article/248832/honoring_national_buffalo_soldiers_day
https://nationaldaycalendar.com/buffalo-soldiers-day-july-28/