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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.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-15
Acting Secretary of the Navy Converse sends President Roosevelt two translated telegrams that arrived on September 14, 1906. Commander John C. Colwell of the USS Denver received a guarantee from revolutionary forces to cease fighting for three days. Negotiations for peace have begun. Commander William F. Fullam of the USS Marietta reports that revolutionary forces are raiding sugar estates and stealing property from American citizens. He will land tomorrow in Constancia.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-15
Judge Advocate General Davis recommends allowing Theodore Roosevelt to execute Article III of the existing treaty with Cuba to restore order to the island without having to get permission from Congress. Davis references the Whiskey Insurrection of Western Pennsylvania 1794 and other cases to make his point.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-15
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.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-15
President Roosevelt is informed by telegram that the USS Marietta had landed at Constancia. Acting Secretary George Albert Converse advises Roosevelt that the authorities admit that they cannot restore order and the situation is growing worse. Meanwhile, the revolutionaries are demanding ammunition from the company. The USS Dixie has landed in Havana as well.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-16
War Department legal counsel Charlton informs Secretary of War Taft that based on the Platt Amendment and the subsequent treaty between Cuba and the United States, in his opinion, the President can decide to intervene in Cuban affairs in order to preserve a stable government. This intervention should not be deemed a declaration of war because it is in the United States and Cuba’s best interests and within the jurisdiction of the United States.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-16
Secretary of State Root notifies President Roosevelt that he will be passing by Cuba and wants to know if he can be of use there. He also wonders if a ship can meet them at the mouth of the Potomac River and take them to Washington because they have accumulated too much miscellaneous luggage to carry around New York. In addition, he asks Roosevelt when he will be returning to Washington.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-16
Secretary of War Taft is preparing to board a train to travel to Havana and he is sending President Roosevelt several legal opinions regarding his options in issuing an executive order to establish a military government in Cuba. Taft reports that Roosevelt’s letter to Cuban Representative Carlos Manuel de Cespedes y Quesada polled strongly with the Cubans and Robert Bacon is carrying a copy of the president’s proclamation to arm the Cuban insurgents, though Taft thinks they should hold off in announcing it. Meanwhile, Joseph Bucklin Bishop is taking charge at the Isthmus and working on the president’s visit to the canal site. Taft admits he is not completely clear on the situation in Cuba but he knows who he is dealing with and every event will be met promptly. If they have to send in the army, he suggests putting Douglas MacArthur in charge and that he start recalling other staff officers. He knows this goes against the conventional thinking that MacArthur should serve as Chief of Staff to General James Franklin Bell, but this suggestion is only made against a remote possibility.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-16
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.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-17
Theodore Roosevelt receives a telegram from the Cuban Foreign Office: “Hostilities stopped. I believe peace is at hand.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-17
Acting Secretary of State Adee informs President Roosevelt that Robert Bacon received a telegram from the Cuban Junta Secretary Agustin Castellanos on September 16, 1906, concerning Cuban Junta representation in the investigation. Bacon did not reply.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-17
President Roosevelt is notified by telegram that revolutionary forces in Cienfuegos are burning sugar plantations and that Constancia will be next. The USS Dixie has sailed and should be in Cienfuegos tomorrow morning.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-17
Cuban President Estrada Palma declares in a new decree that the provisions of the decree of August 27, which provided immediate liberty for all rebel prisoners who surrendered from the ranks of the insurrectionists, are now suspended. All prisoners taken in the future, and persons arrested by the government, shall be confined.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-10
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.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-11
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.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-11
Consul General Steinhart updates Assistant Secretary of State Bacon on the status of the Cuban government’s response to the outbreak of rebellion. The government has been purchasing arms and ammunition from the United States and Europe and has stationed naval ships in Havana and Cienfuegos. Steinhart hopes these steps will help protect the foreign investors in Cuba.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-11
Nelson P. Webster forwards to William Loeb a telegram received by Secretary of State Elihu Root from Jacob Sleeper, chargé d’affaires in Cuba. Sleeper relays that he told Cuban President Tomás Estrada Palma to ensure the protection of American citizens in Cuba and he received only an evasive answer. Sleeper also writes that the USS Denver has arrived in Havana.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-12
Consul General Steinhart sends Secretary of State Root a draft of a cable to send to chargé d’affaires Jacob Sleeper in Cuba so that he can send it to Cuban President Tomás Estrada Palma and release it to the press. The cable threatens United States intervention if the Cuban government cannot quell the revolt.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-12
Nelson P. Webster relays to Secretary to the President Loeb that Consul General Steinhart wired from Cuba that the rebellion there is spreading in the provinces of Havana, Santa Clara, and Pinar del Rio. President Estrada Palma has requested American military intervention, and warns that any delay “may produce a massacre of citizens in Havana.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-12
American Consul General Steinhart acknowledges receipt of the attached cable from Acting Secretary of State Robert Bacon providing instruction for the situation in Cuba. He then confirms meeting with President Roosevelt who sent the attached cables to Secretary of State Elihu Root.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-12