Presidents at Peace: Ulysses Grant and the Virginius Affair
The Virginius Affair, also known as the Virginius Incident, was a diplomatic dispute that occurred during the second term of President Ulysses Grant, from October 1873 to February 1875. It involved a very fast ship, known as the Virginius, that was hired by Cuban insurrectionists to land men and munitions in Cuba to attack Spain. It was captured by Spain. The Spanish government wanted to try and execute the men on board as pirates. Most of them were American and British citizens, and 53 of the men on board the ship were in fact executed. Britain and the US were outraged over the execution of their nationals by a foreign government, and there was even a call for war on Spain. Instead, the issue was resolved through diplomacy.
After the Civil War ended, Cuba was one of only a few Western Hemisphere countries where slavery remained legal and was widely practiced. Cuba was under the control of Spain at the time. On October 10, 1868 a revolution broke out, known as the Ten Years War, in which Cuban landowners led by Carlos Manual Céspedes, rebelled against Spain. The Spanish used their military to suppress the rebellion.
In 1870, Secretary of State Hamilton Fish persuaded President Grant not to get involved in the dispite and the United States maintained peace with Spain. As the Cuban war continued, support for the Cuban rebels grew and war bonds were sold in the U.S. to support the Cuban resistance. A U.S. supporter of the Cuban rebels named John F. Patterson bought a former Confederate steamer Virgin at the Washington Navy Yard, and renamed the ship Virginius.
The Virginius was a small, high-speed side-wheel steamer that had been built by the Confederacy to use as a blockade runner between Havana and Mobile, Alabama during the Civil War. The ship was captured by the Union Navy on April 12, 1865. In August 1870, Patterson purchased the ship acting secretly as an agent for Cuban insurgent Manuel Quesada and two U.S. citizens who supported the Cuban insurgents: Marshall O. Roberts and J.K. Roberts. Patterson swore a false oath that he was the sole owner of the Virginius. The Virginius was intended by the new owners to be used to transport men, munitions, and supplies to aid the Cuban rebellion. For three years the ship did so. The Spanish said it was an outlaw ship and aggressively sought to capture
Captain Joseph Fry, became the new captain of the Virginius in October 1873. He had served in the U.S. Navy for 15 years, before joining the Confederacy during the Civil War. The Virginius, moored in Kingston, Jamaica at the time. Fry recruited a new crew of 52 men, both American and British. Apparently many of the new crew did not not understand that the Virginius was supporting the Cuban rebellion. Three were very young recruits, some no older than 13 years of age.
The Virginius travelled in October of 1873 to Haiti and the ship was loaded with munitions. On October 30, the Virginius sailed to Comito to pick up more weapons, then on the same day started toward Cuba. The Spanish had been warned when the Virginius left Jamaica and sent out the warship Tornado to capture the vessel. Later that day, on October 30, 1873 the Tornado spotted the Virginius on open water six miles from Cuba and gave chase. The Virginius was heavily weighted and the stress from the boilers caused the ship to take on water, significantly slowing it down. As the chase continued the Tornado, a fast warship, fired on the Virginius several times, damaging the top deck. Captain Fry, surrendered the Virginius knowing that his ships over-worked boilers and leaking hull could not outrun the Tornado on the open sea. The Spanish quickly boarded and secured the ship. The entire crew was taken as prisoners and the ship sailed to Santiago, Cuba.
The Spanish immediately ordered the entire crew to be put on trial as pirates. The entire Virginius crew, both American and British citizens, were found guilty by a court martial and were sentenced to death. The American vice-consul launched a protest and attempted to give American citizens legal aid, but Spain ignored the protests. On November 4, 1873 the four mercenaries that accompanied Capt. Fry were executed by firing squad without trial. One of the executed men had claimed British citizenship. After the executions, the British vice-consul at Santiago wired Jamaica and instructed the British navy to stop further executions. The HMS Niobe under Sir Lambton Lorraine went to Santiago to try to stop further executions, but on November 7, a further 37 crew members, including Captain Fry, were executed by firing squad. The Spanish soldiers decapitated them and committed further indignities on their bodies. On November 8, twelve more crew members were executed. When the HMS Niobe finally reached Santiago the executions stopped when Lorraine threatened local commander Juan N. Burriel that he would bombard Santiago if there were any more executions. Up to that point here had been a total of 53 executions.
As news of executions reached the United States, some newspapers called for war with Spain. The New York Times and the New York Tribune were among those calling for war. The New York Herald demanded Secretary Hamilton Fish's resignation and for the U.S. to assist the Cuban rebels. The National Republican, having believed the threat of war with Spain was imminent, encouraged the sale of Cuban war bonds. Protest rallies took place across the nation in New Orleans, St. Louis, and Georgia encouraging intervention in Cuba and revenge on Spain.
On Wednesday November 5, 1873, when the U.S. State Department learned that the Virginius had been captured, there was no knowledge that four mercenaries had already been killed. But at the November 7 Cabinet meeting, Grant learned of the deaths of Ryan and three other mercenaries. The Cabinet minutes described the executions as "an inhuman act not in accordance with the spirit of the civilization of the nineteenth century." The next day, November 8, Secretary of State Fish met with Spanish minister, Don José Polo de Barnabé, and discussed the legality of the Virginius capture. On November 11, President Grant's Cabinet decided that war with Spain was not desirable, though Cuban intervention was possible. On November 12, five days after the event, Fish received the news that 37 crew members of the Virginius had been executed. Fish ordered his U.S. Consul to Spain Daniel Sickles to demand reparations for any persons considered U.S. citizens who were killed. On November 14, Grant's Cabinet agreed that if U.S. demands for reparations were not met, the Spanish legation would be closed. On November 15, Polo visited Fish and stated that the Virginius was a pirate ship and that her crew had been a hostile threat to Cuba. Fish demanded that the Virginius be returned to the United States, that the crew that had escaped execution be released, that there be punishment for the perpetrators, and reparations for the families of the deceased Americans.
Negotiations in Spain between Sickles and Minister of State, José de Carvajal, became heated and settlement seemed unlikely. The Spanish press was critical of the United States and Britain and also called for war between the three countries. As the Sickles-Carvajal negotiations broke down, Spanish President Emilio Castelar decided to settle the Virginius matter through Fish in Washington. On Thanksgiving Day, November 27, Polo proposed to Fish that Spain would give up the Virginius and remaining crew, if the U.S. would investigate the legal status of the ownership of the Virginius. Both Fish and President Grant agreed to Polo's offer and that the Spanish salute to the U.S. flag would be dispensed with if the Virginius was found not have legal U.S. private citizen ownership. On November 28, Polo and Fish met at the State Department and signed a formal agreement that included the return of the Virginius and crew, and an investigation by both governments of the legal ownership of the Virginius and of any crimes committed by the Spanish Volunteers. The threat of war between the two countries had been averted through negotiations.
On December 5, Fish and Polo signed an agreement that the Virginius, with the U.S. flag flying, would be turned over to the U.S. Navy on December 16 at the port of Bahia Honda, Cuba. Sickles, having lost the confidence of President Grant and Fish, resigned on December 20, 1873. On January 6, 1874, President Grant appointed eminent attorney and Spanish scholar Caleb Cushing as Consul to Spain. On December 16, the Virginius, now in complete disrepair and taking on water, was towed out to open sea with the U.S. flag flying to be turned over to the U.S. Navy. On December 17, at exactly 9:00 A.M the Virginius was formerly turned over to the U.S. Navy without incident. The same day, after an investigation, U.S. Attorney George H. Williams ruled that the U.S. ownership of Virginius was fraudulent and she had no right to fly the U.S. flag, but that Spain had no right to capture the Virginius and her crew on the open sea.
On December 26, at 4:17 A.M, the Virginius sank off Cape Hatteras as she was being towed to the United States, by the USS Ossipee. The 91 remaining crew of the Virginius, who had been held as prisoners under harsh conditions, were taken safely to New York.
On January 3, 1874, Spanish President Emilio Castelar was voted out of office and replaced by Francisco Serrano. Caleb Cushing believed that the United States had been fortunate that Castelar, a university scholar, had been President of Spain, since his replacement, Serrano, was more likely to go to war over the Virginius affair. Cushing met President Serrano and was able to convince Spain was ready to make reparations. President Grant demanded that Spain pay $2,500 for each U.S. citizen shot regardless of race. Initially Spain agreed, but reparations were put on hold, as Spain changed governments from a Republic, that expired on December 28, back to a Monarchy, and crowned Alphonso King of Spain on January 11, 1875. Under an agreement signed on March 5, 1875, the Spanish government paid to the United States an indemnity of $80,000 for the execution of the Americans. Burriel's Santiago executions were considered illegal by Spain, but the case against Burriel became moot when Burriel died on December 24, 1877 before any trial could take place.
After the Civil War ended, Cuba was one of only a few Western Hemisphere countries where slavery remained legal and was widely practiced. Cuba was under the control of Spain at the time. On October 10, 1868 a revolution broke out, known as the Ten Years War, in which Cuban landowners led by Carlos Manual Céspedes, rebelled against Spain. The Spanish used their military to suppress the rebellion.
In 1870, Secretary of State Hamilton Fish persuaded President Grant not to get involved in the dispite and the United States maintained peace with Spain. As the Cuban war continued, support for the Cuban rebels grew and war bonds were sold in the U.S. to support the Cuban resistance. A U.S. supporter of the Cuban rebels named John F. Patterson bought a former Confederate steamer Virgin at the Washington Navy Yard, and renamed the ship Virginius.
The Virginius was a small, high-speed side-wheel steamer that had been built by the Confederacy to use as a blockade runner between Havana and Mobile, Alabama during the Civil War. The ship was captured by the Union Navy on April 12, 1865. In August 1870, Patterson purchased the ship acting secretly as an agent for Cuban insurgent Manuel Quesada and two U.S. citizens who supported the Cuban insurgents: Marshall O. Roberts and J.K. Roberts. Patterson swore a false oath that he was the sole owner of the Virginius. The Virginius was intended by the new owners to be used to transport men, munitions, and supplies to aid the Cuban rebellion. For three years the ship did so. The Spanish said it was an outlaw ship and aggressively sought to capture
Captain Joseph Fry, became the new captain of the Virginius in October 1873. He had served in the U.S. Navy for 15 years, before joining the Confederacy during the Civil War. The Virginius, moored in Kingston, Jamaica at the time. Fry recruited a new crew of 52 men, both American and British. Apparently many of the new crew did not not understand that the Virginius was supporting the Cuban rebellion. Three were very young recruits, some no older than 13 years of age.
The Virginius travelled in October of 1873 to Haiti and the ship was loaded with munitions. On October 30, the Virginius sailed to Comito to pick up more weapons, then on the same day started toward Cuba. The Spanish had been warned when the Virginius left Jamaica and sent out the warship Tornado to capture the vessel. Later that day, on October 30, 1873 the Tornado spotted the Virginius on open water six miles from Cuba and gave chase. The Virginius was heavily weighted and the stress from the boilers caused the ship to take on water, significantly slowing it down. As the chase continued the Tornado, a fast warship, fired on the Virginius several times, damaging the top deck. Captain Fry, surrendered the Virginius knowing that his ships over-worked boilers and leaking hull could not outrun the Tornado on the open sea. The Spanish quickly boarded and secured the ship. The entire crew was taken as prisoners and the ship sailed to Santiago, Cuba.
The Spanish immediately ordered the entire crew to be put on trial as pirates. The entire Virginius crew, both American and British citizens, were found guilty by a court martial and were sentenced to death. The American vice-consul launched a protest and attempted to give American citizens legal aid, but Spain ignored the protests. On November 4, 1873 the four mercenaries that accompanied Capt. Fry were executed by firing squad without trial. One of the executed men had claimed British citizenship. After the executions, the British vice-consul at Santiago wired Jamaica and instructed the British navy to stop further executions. The HMS Niobe under Sir Lambton Lorraine went to Santiago to try to stop further executions, but on November 7, a further 37 crew members, including Captain Fry, were executed by firing squad. The Spanish soldiers decapitated them and committed further indignities on their bodies. On November 8, twelve more crew members were executed. When the HMS Niobe finally reached Santiago the executions stopped when Lorraine threatened local commander Juan N. Burriel that he would bombard Santiago if there were any more executions. Up to that point here had been a total of 53 executions.
As news of executions reached the United States, some newspapers called for war with Spain. The New York Times and the New York Tribune were among those calling for war. The New York Herald demanded Secretary Hamilton Fish's resignation and for the U.S. to assist the Cuban rebels. The National Republican, having believed the threat of war with Spain was imminent, encouraged the sale of Cuban war bonds. Protest rallies took place across the nation in New Orleans, St. Louis, and Georgia encouraging intervention in Cuba and revenge on Spain.
On Wednesday November 5, 1873, when the U.S. State Department learned that the Virginius had been captured, there was no knowledge that four mercenaries had already been killed. But at the November 7 Cabinet meeting, Grant learned of the deaths of Ryan and three other mercenaries. The Cabinet minutes described the executions as "an inhuman act not in accordance with the spirit of the civilization of the nineteenth century." The next day, November 8, Secretary of State Fish met with Spanish minister, Don José Polo de Barnabé, and discussed the legality of the Virginius capture. On November 11, President Grant's Cabinet decided that war with Spain was not desirable, though Cuban intervention was possible. On November 12, five days after the event, Fish received the news that 37 crew members of the Virginius had been executed. Fish ordered his U.S. Consul to Spain Daniel Sickles to demand reparations for any persons considered U.S. citizens who were killed. On November 14, Grant's Cabinet agreed that if U.S. demands for reparations were not met, the Spanish legation would be closed. On November 15, Polo visited Fish and stated that the Virginius was a pirate ship and that her crew had been a hostile threat to Cuba. Fish demanded that the Virginius be returned to the United States, that the crew that had escaped execution be released, that there be punishment for the perpetrators, and reparations for the families of the deceased Americans.
Negotiations in Spain between Sickles and Minister of State, José de Carvajal, became heated and settlement seemed unlikely. The Spanish press was critical of the United States and Britain and also called for war between the three countries. As the Sickles-Carvajal negotiations broke down, Spanish President Emilio Castelar decided to settle the Virginius matter through Fish in Washington. On Thanksgiving Day, November 27, Polo proposed to Fish that Spain would give up the Virginius and remaining crew, if the U.S. would investigate the legal status of the ownership of the Virginius. Both Fish and President Grant agreed to Polo's offer and that the Spanish salute to the U.S. flag would be dispensed with if the Virginius was found not have legal U.S. private citizen ownership. On November 28, Polo and Fish met at the State Department and signed a formal agreement that included the return of the Virginius and crew, and an investigation by both governments of the legal ownership of the Virginius and of any crimes committed by the Spanish Volunteers. The threat of war between the two countries had been averted through negotiations.
On December 5, Fish and Polo signed an agreement that the Virginius, with the U.S. flag flying, would be turned over to the U.S. Navy on December 16 at the port of Bahia Honda, Cuba. Sickles, having lost the confidence of President Grant and Fish, resigned on December 20, 1873. On January 6, 1874, President Grant appointed eminent attorney and Spanish scholar Caleb Cushing as Consul to Spain. On December 16, the Virginius, now in complete disrepair and taking on water, was towed out to open sea with the U.S. flag flying to be turned over to the U.S. Navy. On December 17, at exactly 9:00 A.M the Virginius was formerly turned over to the U.S. Navy without incident. The same day, after an investigation, U.S. Attorney George H. Williams ruled that the U.S. ownership of Virginius was fraudulent and she had no right to fly the U.S. flag, but that Spain had no right to capture the Virginius and her crew on the open sea.
On December 26, at 4:17 A.M, the Virginius sank off Cape Hatteras as she was being towed to the United States, by the USS Ossipee. The 91 remaining crew of the Virginius, who had been held as prisoners under harsh conditions, were taken safely to New York.
On January 3, 1874, Spanish President Emilio Castelar was voted out of office and replaced by Francisco Serrano. Caleb Cushing believed that the United States had been fortunate that Castelar, a university scholar, had been President of Spain, since his replacement, Serrano, was more likely to go to war over the Virginius affair. Cushing met President Serrano and was able to convince Spain was ready to make reparations. President Grant demanded that Spain pay $2,500 for each U.S. citizen shot regardless of race. Initially Spain agreed, but reparations were put on hold, as Spain changed governments from a Republic, that expired on December 28, back to a Monarchy, and crowned Alphonso King of Spain on January 11, 1875. Under an agreement signed on March 5, 1875, the Spanish government paid to the United States an indemnity of $80,000 for the execution of the Americans. Burriel's Santiago executions were considered illegal by Spain, but the case against Burriel became moot when Burriel died on December 24, 1877 before any trial could take place.