Excerpt from History of Our War With Spain, Including Battles on Sea and Land: Containing a Graphic Account of the Destruction of the Battleship "Maine;" Dewey's Great Victory at Manila; Sinking of the Spanish Fleet at Santiago; Battles of San Juan and El Caney; Surrender of Santiago; Invasion of Porto Rico, and End of the War; To W In this great emergency it is not for us to ask wheth the war was rightfully or wrongfully declared. The time for that has passed. Congress and the President have set tled the question, and we are confronted as a united people with the stern realities of a struggle with a common foe, which can only end by the lowering of the flag of haughty Spain, or the humiliation of the Stars and Stripes. No American whose heart beats in sympathy with the institu tions of his country, whose soul imbibes the nobility of the glorious Spirit of '76, can hesitate or cavil at conditions so vital in their outcome to the honor of our nation. The occasion calls for the sincerest confidence in our National Government, for the sublimest and most unflinch ing patriotism, and for the universal encouragement and support of the sturdy manhood of America. With these forces combined, there can be but one result in the present conflict - the exaltation of the United States among the nations of the earth, and an increased respect for Uncle Sam's ability to uplift humanity and maintain peace, even at the expense of war. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.