The Sinking Of The Merrimac A Personal Narrative

1899. An interesting firsthand narrative by Richmond Pearson Hobson who was one of the great heroes of the Spanish-American War, following only Theodore Roosevelt and George Dewey. Hobson's fame and popularity was the result of leading an unsuccessful attempt to block the harbor of Santiago de Cuba by sinking the collier Merrimac in the entrance. Despite the fact that the effort was a failure, and Hobson and his crew were captured by the Spanish, he became a hero anyway. As a result of his status as a war hero, he was later elected to Congress, and became a prominent crusader for alcohol prohibition. He introduced the first national alcohol prohibition bill in 1911.