merchantman, the Buena Ventura, and was sent in charge of a prize-crew
to Key West. During the next thirty days, many other Spanish ships,
with cargoes worth millions of dollars, were captured by different
vessels of the navy. A few were released, but the larger part were
condemned by a prize-court and sold.

The first action of the war was a small affair, but I shall mention
it, as it was much talked about at the time. It took place on April
27th, a few days after our ships had begun the blockade. The Spaniards
were building new forts at Matanzas, a port about sixty miles east of
Havana. With the exception of Havana, Matanzas has the finest harbor
on the northern coast of Cuba. The city itself lies between two small
rivers and contains many beautiful homes. The houses are often
decorated with colored tiles, and with their luxuriant gardens make a
charming picture against the background of hills that rise beyond the
beautiful valley of the Yumurri, which is one of the loveliest spots
in Cuba. In times of peace the exports of sugar and molasses from
Matanzas have been very large, but the Cuban army burned many of the
finest plantations in the district.

The ships that engaged the new forts that the Spaniards were adding to
the castle of San Severino and other defences of Matanzas, were the
flagship New York, the monitor Puritan, and the cruiser Cincinnati.
The Spaniards fired the first gun, and then the New York took up a
position between two batteries and delivered broadsides right and
left. Then the Puritan's big guns came into play, and then the
Cincinnati poured a stream of shells into the forts. It did not take
long to knock the Spanish defences into sand-heaps--only about half an
hour--and then the American ships stood out to sea. As they were doing
so, the Spaniards fired one more shot. The Puritan had the range and