But it was necessary to find out beforehand
what defences were along the coast, and what forces of the enemy were
likely to be encountered in landing. The fleet lay off from the shore
about a mile, and it was no small undertaking to convey the 17,000 men
on board with all their arms and equipments to the shore in small
boats over a rough sea, especially should the landing be disputed. It
was to arrange for the landing and also to map out a general plan of
campaign that the three great leaders, Shafter, Sampson and Garcia met
at Aserradores on the afternoon of June 20th as the American fleet
stood guard over the harbor of Santiago.
General Garcia was already aware of the coming of the fleet, having
received a message from Major-General Miles two weeks previous. The
letter of General Miles ran as follows:
Headquarters of the Army,
In the Field, Tampa, Fla., June 2, 1898.
Dear General:--I am very glad to have received your
officers, General Enrique Collazo and Lieut.-Col. Carlos
Hernandez, the latter of whom returns to-night with our best
wishes for your success.
It would be a very great assistance if you could have as
large a force as possible in the vicinity of the harbor of
Santiago de Cuba, and communicate any information by signals
which Colonel Hernandez will explain to you either to our
navy or to our army on its arrival, which we hope will be
before many days.
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