“I don’t care what he inspires. Look, if I can’t have Miles, then I will command in person.”
With that, the others in the room looked aghast. Navy Secretary Hunt was the first to protest. “Sir, you know it is against tradition, perhaps even law, for a sitting president to leave the United States.”
“Maybe it’s time for the tradition to change.”
Secretary of State James Blaine decided it was time to intercede. “Mr. President, if you leave the country, who will be in charge, Vice President Arthur? You cannot be two places at once and even with the telegraph, you cannot deal with the problems of congress and the nation.”
“Shit,” muttered Custer, accepting defeat. “But I want Miles and that’s that.”
Reluctantly, they agreed that Nelson Miles would command the invasion force and the discussion moved to the subject of the navy. Secretary Hunt was more than a little pleased at the progress he’d made.
“Gentlemen, the three warships we bought from Great Britain are currently being re-fitted at Baltimore. They have been re-named the Atlanta, Boston, and Chicago. The Atlanta is ready to sail and will escort a number of troopships that are gathering there. We will utilize several of the smaller steam sloops to also protect the convoy. We are also arming and commissioning a number of civilian ships and have chartered several hundred other civilian ships as transports. I am confident that we can land upwards of fifteen thousand men in a first wave against the Spanish in Cuba. The only question I have is precisely where shall they land?”
“Well, it can’t be right at Havana,” said Lincoln. “That place is too heavily fortified. Our men would be slaughtered. Nor can it be Santiago. It’s too far away, several hundred miles in fact. We would have to fight our way across the length of Cuba and that’s a very long ways. If we want to get the campaign over before either the hurricane or fever seasons strike, we have to get closer.”
“Matanzas,” said Hunt. “It’s a small city about fifty crow-fly miles east of Havana and it has a decent harbor. Not a big harbor, but one that can handle a number of ships at a time. The troops can land outside the harbor while the ships carrying supplies can use the docks in the harbor.”
Custer nodded. “I like it, but is it well defended?”
Hunt winced. “We’ve just established a naval intelligence unit headed by one Lieutenant Theodorus Mason, but I’m afraid we know very little about the defenses at Matanzas.”
“Who would?” asked Custer.
Secretary of State Blaine smiled. “Why is suppose the Cubans would.”
* * *
James Kendrick rapidly came to the conclusion that Salazar was serious about having Spain’s side of the story told. He was put up in a small suite of rooms at one of Salazar’s mansions on the outskirts of Havana. He was only a few minutes ride from the harbor and wasn’t particularly surprised when, the day after his arrival, his host practically ordered him to ride with him to the harbor. The Spanish fleet was arriving.
They left their horses a few blocks from the waterfront and walked the rest of the way along with just about everyone in the city. What they saw truly was impressive. Both of Spain’s battleships had made port and they were accompanied by a number of steam sloops and smaller gunboats. The battleships were the Vitoria and the Numancia. Salazar proudly informed him that they displaced more than seven thousand tons and had a number of cannon that fired shells of more than six inches. He added that four cruisers were also en route to reinforce the Spanish fleet.
Kendrick had to admit that the grey bulk of the warships was menacing. The ships were functional and, in his opinion, ugly. They had none of the graceful lines of the sailing ships that had become obsolete. A pity, he thought, but why should the instruments of war and killing be graceful and lovely?
More important, the Spanish warships had escorted a number of transports that were disgorging a large number of soldiers. A second convoy, this one escorted by the cruisers would dock tomorrow or the next day.
Salazar was practically giddy with happiness and pride. “I hope you do not take offense, Kendrick, but you will see how the pride of Spain will crush the United States.”
“It is very impressive indeed. I wonder how long it will take for President Custer to find out about this.”
Salazar laughed. “I would say about ten minutes. The telegraph lines between here and Florida must be burning up. if you’d like, you can write a story about your impressions and I’ll see to it that it is given priority.”
“Would you want to clear it first?”
“Of course not. There’s not much to hide, is there?”
Kendrick agreed. He didn’t add that the two Spanish battleships were on the small side in comparison with most of the battleships of the Royal Navy. Nor did he add that the U.S. was attempting to buy some British ships of roughly similar size. He was fairly certain that the Spanish knew all about it. He now believed the rumors that Spain was attempting to buy warships from France were true.
Salazar took his arm. “Come, we shall go back to my home and have a good meal along with some excellent wine, perhaps a lot of excellent wine. I will introduce you to my family and you will see that I am not a total barbarian, merely a devoted Spanish patriot.”
Yes, Kendrick thought, and a Spanish patriot who murders prisoners and slaughters innocent Cubans. In preparing for the trip, he’d done some more homework on Salazar and found a number of stories in which his personal army had killed numbers of Cubans that he’d arbitrarily named as insurgents.
It occurred to him that Salazar might just become an embarrassment to the Spanish government. But not just yet, he thought.
* * *
Ryder laughed at the surprise on Sarah’s face. “It’s true. Since we’re at war, President Custer no longer wishes to be called president. He’d directed everyone to call him general.”
“That is incredibly pretentious.”
“Agreed, but I’m not going to be the one to tell him. I like being a full colonel. Perhaps I’ll even become a general before this is over.”
“How many would have to die for that to happen.”
He winced at the thought. These men were either his friends or those he respected. “Only a couple.”
They were seated on a couch in the living room of her country house. It had belonged to her late husband and, she’d informed him, it had six bedrooms on two levels. Even more important, her husband had installed indoor plumbing and a means for having hot flowing water. It occurred to Ryder that her husband must have truly loved her.
On her own, she had installed a sanitation device called a septic tank that had recently been invented in France.
Sarah had a staff that consisted of a cook, a woman who kept the house clean and did the laundry, along with a gardener, and a man who looked after the animals, including the horses and a handful of cows.
“They are all very loyal to me,” she said, then grinned. “Of course they are also very concerned that I’ll remarry and they’ll be out of a job. This is at least partly why they are protective of me and very concerned about any man I see.”
“And how many men do you see?” he teased.
“Not as many as you might think. I’m afraid I’ve discouraged most of them. They all seem to think that I would be happier and much better off if only I would let them handle my wealth, and that is simply not going to happen. I know that some men in business are shocked to find that they are dealing with a woman and others simply refuse to, but enough are concerned only with making a profit that I’m able to function. When things get difficult, I generally use my father or my brother as a go-between. They are both listed as vice presidents in my company.”