n to
the harbor of Havana, Cuba, on nothing more than a friendly visit. The
explosion that destroyed this noble vessel occurred about ten o'clock at
night, and was heard for miles around. Soon after the explosion, the
war-ship began to sink, and over two hundred and fifty sailors and
officers lost their lives.

The entire nation was now aroused, and many wanted to go to war with
Spain immediately. But the Spaniards professed to be ignorant of the
cause of the explosion, and said it must have come from the _inside_ of
the ship and not the _outside_. Without delay a Board of Inquiry was
established, and it was settled that the explosion had come from the
outside, probably from a mine set by the Spaniards in Havana Harbor.

"This means war, and nothing but war," said even the wisest of our
statesmen. And so it proved. Without hesitation the whole nation sprang
forward to uphold the administration, and in a few days Congress passed
an appropriation of fifty millions of dollars "for national defence." It
may be added that this appropriation was passed unanimously, regardless
of party politics and regardless of the differences which, in the past,
had existed between the North and the South.

We have already learned what had been done to prepare the navy for the
conflicts to follow. Now there was even more work on hand, to get the
army into shape for service in Cuba and on other foreign soil.

The regular army at that time consisted of about twenty-five thousand
men, scattered all over the United States,--on the frontier, at the
Indian reservations, and along the sea-coasts. Many of these troops were
hurried to camps in the southeast portion of our country, leaving but
small garrisons in the far West.

It was realized by President McKinley that our regular army could not
cope with the troubles at hand, and soon came a call for one hundred and
twenty-five thousand volunteers. These volunteers were to come from the
various States and Territories, each furnishing its proportion of
soldiers according to its population. These soldiers were quickly
collected and marched to the various state camps, there to be sworn into
the service of the United States.

The "war fever" was everywhere, and many private parties began to raise
companies, while all sorts of independent commands, Grand Army,
Confederate Veterans, Italian-American Guards, German Singing Societies,
Colored Guards, and the like, offered their assistance. Even the
co