Mr. Lee to the Governor-General of Cuba.
Habana, August 26, 1896.
Excellency: Having been informed in a communication dated the 21st August by the secretary-general that you have referred a previous communication concerning the American citizen Mr. Charles Govin to the Captain-General, who will remit to you the data requested, and in [Page 706] order to aid your efforts in this direction I beg to inform your excellency that I have information which may or may not be correct, but if correct, should be followed up in order to secure the necessary information as to the fate of Charles Govin. It is certain that the American public now believes that Govin was captured, tied, and afterwards killed. It seems to me to be the duty of both of us to remove that impression if the information upon which it is based is false.
I hear that Govin was captured, in a skirmish on the 9th of July between the Spanish troops under General Ochoa and the insurgents under Valencia, at a point north of Jaruco and near the coast; that the Spanish general Ochoa, having in charge the captured Govin and other prisoners, encamped that night, namely, the 9th July, at San Matias. I am further told that next morning, the 10th July, Govin, bound to two men, named, respectively, Arturo Adrian and Adolfo Miyares, was taken off by the infantry portion of Genoa’s command. The commanding officer of that detachment is responsible for the prisoners of war committed to his care and should be required to produce or account for Govin if living, or, if not, report the mode and manner of his death.
I take this opportunity to reiterate to your excellency the assurances of my most distinguished consideration.