Secretary of the Navy John D. Long to Mrs. George H. Ellis
(TELEGRAM.)
Navy Department,
BUREAU OF NAVIGATION.
Washington,
Department deeply regrets to inform you that George H. Ellis,1 Chief Yeoman of Brooklyn was killed in the naval battle off Santiago on July 3rd. A telegram to this effect was sent you on July 4th to Bullshead, New York, the address on file in the Department. I have to express my great sympathy and hope you may be sustained in your loss by the fact knowledge2 that your husband died gloriously in the service of his country.
Secretary of the Navy.
Source Note: Cy, DNA, RG 45, Entry 29. Addressed before opening: “Mrs. G. H. Ellis, 819 Dean Street, Brooklyn, N.Y.” Document reference: “105W.” and file reference: “124607.”
Footnote 1: Chief Yeoman George H. Ellis of Brooklyn was the only American fatality at the naval battle at Santiago de Cuba.
Footnote 2: The word “knowledge” is a handwritten interlineation.
