Sleeper, Jacob, 1869-1930

Letter from Jacob Sleeper to Elihu Root

Cuban chargé d’affaires Sleeper informs Secretary of State Root that the expected armed uprising has occurred in two Cuban provinces. Sleeper lists the strength of the rebel forces and their leaders, noting that the Rural Guard has had defectors. As nearly half of the Guard’s members are disaffected with their leadership, President Tomás Estrada Palma has called for 2,000 more soldiers. To date, the insurgents have merely committed petty crimes, but while no serious fighting has occurred, they have entrenched in a church near Pinar del Rio’s capital. Dr. Juan F. O’Farrill, the acting Secretary of Government, feels Venezuela can fully cope with the situation, and while Sleeper feels the situation is more serious than O’Farrill admits, he agrees that the nation should be able to “crush the revolt with the resources at its disposal.” He encloses several pertinent newspaper clippings.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-08-21

Creator(s)

Sleeper, Jacob, 1869-1930

Telegram from Jacob Sleeper to Elihu Root

Chargé d’affaires in Cuba Sleeper informs Secretary of State Root that hostilities have ceased in Cuba in the hopes of reaching an agreement between the rebels and the Cuban government prior to the arrival of Secretary of War William H. Taft.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-09-17

Creator(s)

Sleeper, Jacob, 1869-1930

Letter from Jacob Sleeper to Elihu Root

Chargé d’affaires in Cuba Sleeper informs Secretary of State Root that he ordered the soldiers from the USS Denver, who had disembarked in Cuba, to reembark for fear of rioting among the Cuban people. He also reports that President Tomás Estrada Palma was unable to promise the protection of Americans and American property in Cuba.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-09-15

Creator(s)

Sleeper, Jacob, 1869-1930

Telegram from Jacob Sleeper to William Loeb

The American consul at Cienfuegos, Cuba, asked Chargé d’affaires in Cuba Sleeper whether troops from the recently-arrived USS Marietta, commanded by William F. Fullam, should land to protect the sugar plantations there. Sleeper told them to wait for instructions from Washington.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-09-15

Creator(s)

Sleeper, Jacob, 1869-1930

Telegram from Jacob Sleeper to William Loeb

Chargé d’affaires in Cuba Sleeper tells Secretary to the President Loeb that troops have disembarked from the USS Marietta in Cienfuegos, Cuba, despite no orders to do so. Sleeper attempted to send them a telegram asking them to reembark but the telegraph wires had been cut and so he was unable to send it.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-09-14

Creator(s)

Sleeper, Jacob, 1869-1930

Letter from Jacob Sleeper to Elihu Root

Jacob Sleeper, chargé d’affaires, updates Secretary of State Root on the uprising in Cuba. The veterans have given up their efforts to bring about peace, and President Tomás Estrada Palma is not certain if the government will be able to put down the rebellion although he is hopeful there will be a quorum in the House and Congress. Estrada Palma has pledged to safeguard Americans and their property. In Santa Clara and Pinar del Rio provinces, bridges and culverts have been destroyed. The rebels are now threatening to dynamite train stations.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-09-13

Creator(s)

Sleeper, Jacob, 1869-1930

Telegram from Jacob Sleeper

Chargé d’affaires Sleeper gives an update on the situation in Cuba. If Havana is attacked, Cuban President Tomás Estrada Palma cannot guarantee the protection of American lives and property. Following Palma’s advise, Sleeper and Captain John C. Colwell, commander of the USS Denver, landed an armed battalion near the city. The British now consider their interests in Cuba as under threat.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-09-13

Creator(s)

Sleeper, Jacob, 1869-1930

Telegram from Jacob Sleeper to William Loeb

Chargé d’affaires in Cuba Sleeper informs Secretary to the President Loeb that President Estrada Palma of Cuba refuses to end the fighting in that country.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-09-11

Creator(s)

Sleeper, Jacob, 1869-1930

Letter from Jacob Sleeper to Elihu Root

Jacob Sleeper, chargé d’affaires in Cuba, informs Secretary of State Elihu Root that the peace efforts of the Cuban veterans led by General Mario García Menocal have failed and that President Tomás Estrada Palma declared martial law and has begun arresting suspected members of the Revolutionary Committee. He also describes the effect of martial law on the city of Havana.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-09-11

Creator(s)

Sleeper, Jacob, 1869-1930

Telegram from Jacob Sleeper to Elihu Root

Chargé d’affaires Sleeper updates Secretary of War Root on the fighting in Cuba. The United States forces defeated Cuban combatants who attacked a train.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-09-10

Creator(s)

Sleeper, Jacob, 1869-1930

Telegram from Jacob Sleeper to William Loeb

Chargé d’affaires in Cuba Sleeper informs Secretary to the President Loeb that the revolutionary movement has started in Manzanillo, Cuba, and they have two thousand men armed to fight.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-09-09

Creator(s)

Sleeper, Jacob, 1869-1930

Telegram from Jacob Sleeper to William Loeb

Chargé d’affaires in Cuba Sleeper relays a message from the General Manager of the Western Railway to Secretary to the President Loeb that the Cuban rebels destroyed culverts, cut telegraph wires, and stopped several trains. The manager argues that since the Cuban government cannot protect their trains, they should stop train service west of San Cristóbal.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-09-08

Creator(s)

Sleeper, Jacob, 1869-1930

Telegram from Jacob Sleeper to William Loeb

Jacob Sleeper, chargé d’affaires in Cuba, updates William Loeb about the insurrection in Cuba.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-09-01

Creator(s)

Sleeper, Jacob, 1869-1930

Telegram from Jacob Sleeper to William Loeb

Jacob Sleeper, the chargé d’affaires in Cuba, states that there were no disturbances in Santiago Province, but there have been reports of trouble in Camaguey Province. Sleeper has reliable private information that there will be a meeting between between representatives of the government and liberal party to arrange a basis for settlement.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-09-02

Creator(s)

Sleeper, Jacob, 1869-1930

Telegram from Jacob Sleeper to Elihu Root

Jacob Sleeper, the chargé d’affaires in Cuba, reports “reliable unofficial information” that a prominent liberal leader has left Havana to meet an insurrectionist leader in Pinar del Rio. The insurrectionist leader will be given the basis for negotiations which were adopted at the conference and a cessation of hostilities will be suggested.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-09-02

Creator(s)

Sleeper, Jacob, 1869-1930

Letter from Jacob Sleeper to Elihu Root

Jacob Sleeper, chargé d’affaires in Cuba, updates Secretary of State Root on attempts to quell the insurrection in Cuba. The Cuban government’s offer of amnesty did not have the desired effect, while the rebel forces continue to grow and business owners have become increasingly pessimistic. Sleeper was informed that President Tomás Estrada Palma was strongly opposed to any compromise with the insurrectionists, but he also heard that Estrada Palma is more open to settlement than his public statements suggest. Sleeper describes the efforts of a committee of Cuban veterans to serve as mediators.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-09-01

Creator(s)

Sleeper, Jacob, 1869-1930

Letter from Jacob Sleeper to Elihu Root

Jacob Sleeper, the chargé d’affaires in Cuba, informs Secretary of State Root that the Cuban government’s Amnesty Order had little effect and the rebellion is still active. Sleeper believes that rebel leader Faustino Guerra is waiting for the Cuban government to make the first move, but the government is lacking in men and arms. It is rumored that Colonel Emilio Ávalos y Acosta will attack Guerra’s command near the Bay of Cortez to open up a waterway in case Western Railroad service is interrupted, as Guerra has been threatening to dynamite its bridges. There are rumors of a lack of harmony between the Cuban President and Vice President in regards to patronage and the conduct of the war. Rebel leader Ernesto Asbert is threatening to burn foreign properties unless the government accedes to their demands.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-08-30

Creator(s)

Sleeper, Jacob, 1869-1930

Telegram from Jacob Sleeper to Elihu Root

Jacob Sleeper, the chargé d’affaires in Cuba, informs Secretary of State Root of the latest developments involving an uprising against the government in Cuba. Campos Marquetti, an Afro-Cuban senator, led insurrectionists to Cabanas where they took horses, saddles, and other property of the Mercedita Sugar Company. Sleeper has advised the manager in the manner described in his telegram yesterday.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-08-29

Creator(s)

Sleeper, Jacob, 1869-1930

Letter from Jacob Sleeper to Elihu Root

Jacob Sleeper, chargé d’affaires in Cuba, informs Secretary of State Elihu Root that the situation in Cuba is somewhat improved. The Cuban government is recruiting heavily to increase their forces and is offering amnesty to any rebels who lay down their arms.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-08-28

Creator(s)

Sleeper, Jacob, 1869-1930

Telegram from Jacob Sleeper to Elihu Root

The chargé d’affaires in Cuba, Jacob Sleeper, informs Secretary of State Root that the uprising has spread to San Juan y Martinez and San Luis. The insurgents have threatened to blow up bridges and destroy the property of a railway if the company continues to transport government troops.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-08-24

Creator(s)

Sleeper, Jacob, 1869-1930