Colonel Azoy has written a most readable account of the battle between the American fleet under command of Rear Admiral William T. Sampson and Commodore Winfield S. Schley and the Spanish fleet led by Admiral Pascual Cervera at Santiago Bay, Cuba. He relates in good fashion the events which led to the engagement between the two fleets and the subsequent battle. Particularly interesting to this reviewer was the haphazard fashion by which the Americans obtained information concerning strength and whereabouts of the enemy. We had no organized espionage force at all and employed such persons as an ensign disguised as a British tourist, who visited Cádiz and San Juan in search of the Spanish fleet. Another example of poor coordination in intelligence occurred when the commander of the Marblehead established contact with the Cuban rebels at Cien-fuegos but was unwilling to tell other commanders what he had learned about Spanish ships at the Cuban port. In contrast to our disorganized state “Spain enjoyed the advantage of a highly skilled and efficient espionage agency that kept the Cuban loyalist government constantly aware of our moves against the island colony.”
Approximately twenty-five pages in the book are devoted to an account of the overwhelming victory achieved by the American fleet against the hapless Spaniards. The battle was not much of an affair. The Americans held their opponents against the rocky coast and proceeded to pound them unmercifully until all of the ships were useless. Azoy states that “one Spanish cruiser received the heavest concentration of gunfire ever visited upon a single ship in the history of naval warfare.”
Signal 250! is a well-written brief narrative. The author has an excellent style and the volume should be of great interest to the average reader. Certainly Azoy will agree that the work is not the final word concerning the Battle of Santiago or even a well rounded account of the affair. The volume may stimulate someone to do a more serious and lengthy study.
