There was the fortune of good judgment in attacking the Spaniards in Cuba at Santiago and Porto Rico, the points of Spanish possession in the West Indies farthest south and east, instead of striking at the west, landing at Pinar del Rio, the western province, and moving upon the fortifications of Havana, where the difficulties and dangers that proved so formidable at Santiago would have been quadrupled, and our losses in the field and hospital excessive.  The unpreparedness of this country for war has not even up to this time been appreciated except by military experts and the most intelligent and intent students of current history.  The military notes prepared in the War Department of the United States at the beginning of the war with Spain, contain the following of Santiago de Cuba: 

This city was founded in 1514, and the famous Hernando was its first mayor.  It is the most southern place of any note on the island, being on the twentieth degree of latitude, while Havana, the most northern point of note, is 23 degrees 9 minutes 26 seconds north latitude.  The surrounding country is very mountainous, and the city is built upon a steep slope; the public square, or Campo de Marte, is 140 to 160 feet above the sea, and some of the houses are located 200 feet high.  The character of the soil is reported to be more volcanic than calcareous; it has suffered repeatedly from earthquakes.  It is the second city in the island with regard to population, slightly exceeding that of Matanzas and Puerto Principe.  So far as American commerce is concerned, it ranks only ninth among the fifteen Cuban ports of entry.  It is located on the extreme northern bank of the harbor of Santiago de Cuba, a harbor of the first class and one of the smallest; hence, as is believed, the great liability of its shipping to infection.  According to the chart of the Madrid hydrographic bureau, 1863, this harbor is, from its sea entrance to its extreme northern limit, 5 miles long, the city being located 4 miles from its entrance, on the northeastern side of the harbor.  The entrance is for some little distance very narrow—­not more than 220 yards wide—­and may be considered about 2 miles long, with a width varying from one-eighth to five-eighths of a mile.  For the remaining 3 miles the harbor gradually widens, until at its northern extremity it is about 2 miles wide.  The city is so situated in a cove of the harbor that the opposite shore is only about one-half mile distant.  At the wharves from 10 to 15 feet of water is found, and within 300 to 500 yards of the shore from 20 to 30 feet.  This, therefore, is probably the anchorage ground.  Three or more so-called rivers, besides other streams, empty into this harbor, and one of these, the Caney River, empties into the harbor at the northern limit of the city, so that its water flows from one island extremity through the whole harbor into the sea.  The difference here, as elsewhere in Cuba, between low and high tide is about 2 feet.  Population in 1877 was 40,835, and 5,100 houses.  This city is one of the most noted yellow-fever districts in the island.  The population in 1896 was 42,000.