The stocks of the New York Central, Western Union Telegraph, Lake Shore, and other corporations controlled by Vanderbilt and Jay Gould, which had fallen during the excitement of the previous month, rose slowly, but steadily.

On the afternoon of March 6th, the Evening Telegram issued an extra, reporting the sailing from Coruna of four Spanish ironclads.  The announcement on the London Stock Exchange was that they were going to Cuba.

On the following day there was a decided fall in American Securities in London, and a weak market in Wall Street; which degenerated into a rapidly declining one when it became rumored that Gould was selling Western Union short in large blocks, and that Vanderbilt’s brokers were similarly disposing of N.Y.  Central and other stocks.

At 10 o’clock that night the news came that Spain had formally declared war upon the United States.  It was posted in all the hotels, and read from the stages of all the theatres.  The people flocked into the streets en masse.  Speeches were made, breathing defiance and demands for an immediate attack upon Spain, before tremendous crowds, in Madison and Union Squares.  No one slept that night.

Next morning there was a panic in Wall Street, which was arrested, however, by the intelligence from London that, although Government four-per-cents had fallen to 86, they were steady at that figure, and that the Rothschilds and Baring Brothers were buying them in largely.  Before night Congress had voted a special appropriation of a hundred million dollars for purposes of defense, authorized the immediate construction of twenty armored ships, and the President issued his proclamation, calling for the raising of four hundred thousand men “to repel an invasion of the Union.”

Within twenty-four hours the regiments of the National Guard in New York and vicinity were mustered into the service of the United States and ordered into camp, under command of General Hancock.  That officer at once began the construction of sea-coast batteries on Coney Island, Rockaway Beach, and the New Jersey coast.  A crack city regiment was detailed to complete the partially finished fort on Sandy Hook and throw up earthworks along the Peninsula; but, as the hands of most of the men became quite sore through wielding shovels and picks, they were relieved and sent to garrison Governor’s Island, where they gave exhibition drills daily, and, on Friday evenings, invited their female friends to hops of the most enjoyable description.  The Hook fort was subsequently completed by a volunteer regiment of Cuban cigar-makers, from the Bowery.

As a matter of course, notice was immediately given to all foreign vessels in port of the proposed blocking of the Narrows and the Main, Swash and East Channels with torpedoes, and forty-eight hours’ time was accorded them wherein to take their departure.  The European steamers were the first to leave, each one towing from two to five sailing-vessels.  Later on, General Hancock impressed all the harbor tugs into service; and, by their aid, before the specified period had elapsed, not a single ship floating a foreign flag remained in New York Harbor.  A battalion of army engineers, under command of General Abbot, and another of sailors, under Captain Selfridge, at once began operations.