22 JUNE 1898 Admiral Sampson orders troops to be landed at Daiquiari, Cuba. Landing was a complicated process that began at 6:30 A.M. on 22 June and continued non-stop for days.26 Loading was incredibly slow. The first wave was not ready to move ashore until 9:40 and no one in the Army had experience with boarding landing boats at sea. The process was made slower by the distances between the transports. The craft used for the landing ranged from navy cutters, life boats, collapsible boats, and whale boats. Steam powers cutters were used to tow sailing and rowing craft filled with soldiers. Goodrichâs men organized an efficient system for discharging men at the open pier at DaiquirÃ, âso that a continuous stream of men disembarking could be maintained.â As the troops were moving toward shore, warships with the fleet began a twenty or thirty minute bombardment; as the troops landed, the ships shifted their fire to hills and valleys behind the town. Troops started landing at 10 A.M. and by 6 P.M., 6,000 men were ashore. The landing was completed by 27 June.
MILITARY HISTORY SOCIETY OF ROCHESTER
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