Part 11 (2/2)

What to do then I had not an idea The country in front fell away into a very difficult jungle-filled valley There was nothing but jungle all around, and if I advanced I was afraid Iin the right direction Moreover, as far as I could see, there was now nobody in front as shooting at us, although some of the men on ation which I soon found was alht, and which in this case was not true At this ulars appeared across the ravine on our right The first thing they did was to fire a volley at us, but one of our first sergeants went up a tree and waved a guidon at the on to our left, however, and I was never more puzzled to knohat to do I did not wish to take my ht thereby be leaving a gap if there was a Spanish force which meditated an offensive return On the other hand, it did not see to justifyon to the left I re song, ”Here's to every friend who struggled to the end”; in the hunting field I had always acted on this theory, and, no ht be, had never stopped trying to get in at the death until the hunt was actually over; and now that there ork, and not play, on hand, I intended to struggle as hard as I kne not to be left out of any fighting into which I could, with any possible propriety, get

So I left my men where they were and started off at a trot tohere the firing ith a couple of orderlies to send back for the men in case that proved advisable Like le now and then got between e I struck the trail, and began to pass occasional dead men Pretty soon I reached Wood and found, , for as I caht to him that Brodie had been shot, and he at once sentIt was limpse of my owngoing on, but for the life of me I could not see any Spaniards, and neither could any one else Finally weat us froood way in front, and these I assaulted, finally charging them Before we came anywhere near, the Spaniards, who, as it proved, really were inside and around the a few dead men

By the ti had ceased everywhere I had not the faintest idea what had happened: whether the fight was over; or whether this was ht; or where the Spaniards were; or whether we ht ourselves to attack soot round in front, who returned without finding any foe (By this time, as a matter of fact, the Spaniards were in full retreat) Meanwhile I was extending ht

Word was brought to me that Wood had been shot--which fortunately proved not to be true--and as, if this were so, it iment, I moved over personally to inquire Soon I learned that he was all right, that the Spaniards had retreated along the main road, and that Colonel Wood and two or three other officers were a short distance away Before I reached thelum because his troopers had not been up in tiratulated me--with visible effort!--upon my share in our first victory I thanked hi in hi little about the victory; and proceeded to where Generals Wheeler, Lawton, and Chaffee, who had just come up, in company with Wood, were seated on a bank They expressed appreciation of the way that I had handledand then on the left!

As I was quite prepared to find I had committed some awful sin, I did my best to accept this in a nonchalant hout theI had preserved a specious aspect of wisdo, the fight was really a capital thing for me, for practically all the men had served under my actual command, and thenceforth felt an enthusiastic belief that I would lead theht

It was a week after this skiro Just before this occurred General Young was stricken doith fever General Wheeler, who had coe of the left wing of the aradier-General Sam Suade, took command of the cavalry division, and Wood took coot i occurred Later, when Wood was put in coade co we caade commander's aides, Lieutenants A L Mills and W

E shi+pp, ere caiment Each of my men had food in his haversack, but I had none, and I would have gone supperless to bed if Mills and shi+pp had not givensandwich, which I shared withmy body servant Marshall, an ex-soldier of the Ninth (Colored) Cavalry, a fine and faithful fellow, had turned up and I was able in my turn to ask Mills and shi+pp, who had eaten all their food the preceding evening, to take breakfast with allant shi+pp was dead, and Mills, an exceptionally able officer, had been shot through the head froh one eye was blinded, and before I left the Presidency I gave hiadier-General

Early in thefrom the hill-crest immediately in front of where our iment were killed and wounded by the shrapnel of the return fire of the Spaniards One of the shrapnel bullets fell onas a hickory nut, but did not even break the skin Then ere le towards Santiago The heat was great, and we strolled into the fight with no definite idea on the part of any one as to ere to do or ould happen There was no plan that our left as to ht that day; and as there were no plans, it was naturally exceedingly hard to get orders, and each of us had to act largely on his own responsibility

Lawton's infantry division attacked the little village of El Caney, soht Kent's infantry division and Sumner's dismounted cavalry division were supposed to detain the Spanish aro until Lawton had captured El Caney Spanish towns and villages, however, with their s, are natural fortifications, as the French found in the Peninsular War, and as both the French and our people found in Mexico The Spanish troops in El Caney fought very bravely, as did the Spanish troops in front of us, and it was late in the afternoon before Lawton acco had by degrees becoht which toward the end becaht The cavalry division was put at the head of the line

We were told to march forward, cross a little river in front, and then, turning to the right, side the stream until we connected with Lawton Incidentally, this ht us into touch with Lawton in any event But we speedily had to abandon any thought of carrying it out The e of the Spanish intrench the line of hills which we called the San Juan Hills, because on one of theiade, and wein trace behind the first brigade Apparently the Spaniards could not i the other bank of the streaan to fire at us

Under this flank fire it soon becaade halted, deployed, and finally began to fire back Then our brigade was halted From time to time some of our men would fall, and I sent repeated word to the rear to try to get authority to attack the hills in front Finally General Su the division in fine shape, sent word to advance The as brought to ulars in the assault on the hills, and that my objective would be the red-tiled ranch-house in front, on a hill which we afterwards christened Kettle Hill Ithis because it was exactly the kind of definite order the giving of which does so ht, as it prevents all obscurity as to what is to be done The order to attack did not reach the first brigade until after we ourselves reached it, so that at first there was doubt on the part of their officers whether they were at liberty to join in the advance

I had not enjoyed the Guasiht at all, because I had been so uncertain as to what I ought to do But the San Juan fight was entirely different The Spaniards had a hard position to attack, it is true, but we could see them, and I knew exactly how to proceed I kept on horseback,the line, as the et men to start when they cannot see whether their co

So I rode up and down the lines, keeping theh line after line until I found iulars of the first brigade I had come to the conclusion that it was silly to stay in the valley firing at the hills, because that was really where ereto do was to try to rush the intrenchulars there was no one of superior rank toanswered that they had no orders, I said I would give the order

There was naturally a little reluctance shown by the elderly officer in coh, sir,”

and I er officers and the enlisted ulars jumped up and joined us I wavedtaken it, we looked across at the Spaniards in the trenches under the San Juan blockhouse to our left, which Hawkins's brigade was assaulting I ordered our men to open fire on the Spaniards in the trenches

Mes happen quickly, and all kinds of es succeed one another in a detached kind of hile the work goes on As I gave the order in question there slipped through my mind Mahan's account of Nelson's orders that each shi+p as it sailed forward, if it saw another shi+p engaged with an enemy's shi+p, should rake the latter as it passed When Hawkins's soldiers captured the blockhouse, I, very e on my own hook to a line of hills still farther on Hardly anybody heard this order, however; only four ave one of them, as only wounded, my canteen of water, and ran back, much irritated that I had not been follohich was quite unjustifiable, because I found that nobody had heard my orders General Sumner had come up by this tie He ordered me to do so, and this time aent, and stor, and we took a few prisoners We also captured the Spanish provisions, and ate thereat relish One of the ite-fish, by the way There were also bottles of wine, and jugs of fiery spirit, and as soon as possible I had these broken, although not before one or two of ulars, an aide of General Suht me an order to halt where I was; he could not make up his mind to return until he had spent an hour or tith us under fire The Spaniards attempted a counter-attack in the middle of the afternoon, but were driven back without effort, ouras they rose to fire; because hitherto they had been assaulting breastworks, or lying still under artillery fire, and they were glad to get a chance to shoot at the Spaniards in the open We lay on our arht and as ere drenched with sweat, and had no blankets save a fee took froht chilly before , while I was the highest officer at our ihton and Morton of the regular cavalry, two as fine officers as anythe firing line to tell ht fall back, and that they wished to record their eainst any such course I did not believe there was any truth in the rumor, for the Spaniards were utterly incapable of any effective counter-attack However, late in the evening, after the fight, General Wheeler visited us at the front, and he told ht be decided to fall back Jack Greenas besideI answered, ”Well, General, I really don't knohether ould obey an order to fall back We can take that city by a rush, and if we have to move out of here at all I should be inclined to er assent The old General, after a ree back He had been very sick for a couple of days, but, sick as he was, he amecock if ever there was one, but he was in very bad physical shape on the day of the fight If there had been any one in high command to supervise and press the attack that afternoon, ould have gone right into Santiago In my part of the line the advance was halted only because we received orders not to move forward, but to stay on the crest of the captured hill and hold it

We are always told that three-o'clock-in-the-e is the ulars of the cavalry had just that brand of courage At about three o'clock on the an in our front and there was an alarm of a Spanish advance I was never ry, tired, shabby men all jumped up and ran forward to the hill-crest, so as to be ready for the attack; which, however, did not coain opened upon us with artillery A shell burst between Dave Goodrich andseveral of the ht turned into a siege; there were so incidents; but for the o surrendered Wood won his brigadier-generalshi+p by the capital way in which he handled his brigade in the fight, and in the following siege He was put in command of the captured city; and in a few days I succeeded to the coood, and speedily became very bad

There was some dysentery, and a little yellow fever; but most of the trouble was froton authorities had behaved better than those in actual command of the expedition at one crisis Io the latter had hinted by cable to Washi+ngton that they ton had eladly because there were not too eh I wish to repeat that the real blame for this rested primarily with us ourselves, the people of the United States, who had for years pursued in military matters a policy that rendered it certain that there would be ineptitude and failure in high places if ever a crisis caton showed no knowledge whatever of the conditions around Santiago, and proposed to keep the army there

This would have meant that at least three-fourths of the men would either have died or have been permanently invalided, as a virulent forrowth of dysentery and other co the army in or near the captured city General Shafter tried his best to get the Washi+ngton authorities to order the ar, he called a council of the division and brigade commanders and the chief h I had coade, I was only a colonel, and so I did not intend to attend, but the General inforly I went At the council General Shafter asked the medical authorities as to conditions, and they united in inforrow es from disease, chiefly due to malaria, the army should be sent back at once to some part of the northern United States The General then explained that he could not get the War Departet the attention of the public; and that he felt that there should be some authoritative publication which would make the War Department take action before it was too late to avert the ruin of the arree present came out It was explained to me by General Shafter, and by others, that as I was a volunteer officer and intended immediately to return to civil life, I could afford to take risks which the regular arht not to be expected to take, and that therefore I ought to make the publication in question; because to incur the hostility of the War Department would not make any difference to ular arular arht this true, and said I would write a letter or adier-General Ames, as in the same position that I was, also announced that he wouldit was understood that I was to make my statement as an interview in the press; but Wood, as by that tiave me a quiet hint to put my statement in the forly did When I had written my letter, the correspondent of the associated Press, who had been informed by others of what had occurred, accompanied me to General Shafter I presented the letter to General Shafter, aved it away and said: ”I don't want to take it; do whatever you ith it” I, however, insisted on handing it to him, whereupon he shoved it toward the correspondent of the associated Press, who took hold of it, and I released my hold General Ames made a statement direct to the correspondent, and also sent a cable to the assistant Secretary of the Navy at Washi+ngton, a copy of which he gave to the correspondent By this tiade commanders ere present felt that they had better take action themselves They united in a round robin to General Shafter, which General Wood dictated, and which was signed by Generals Kent, Gates, Chaffee, Sumner, Ludlow, Ames, and Wood, and by myself General Wood handed this to General Shafter, and it was made public by General Shafter precisely as mine was made public[] Later I was ine how ot out! When I saw this state to estion of the General that I should make a statement to the newspapers, but to put my statement in the form of a letter to him as my superior officer, a letter which I delivered to him Both the letter and the round robin ritten at General Shafter's wish, and at the unani and medical officers of the Fifth Army Corps, and both were published by General Shafter

[] General Wood writes me: ”The representative of the associated Press was very anxious to get a copy of this despatch or see it, and I told him it was impossible for him to have it or see it I then went in to General Shafter and stated the case to hi, 'The matter is now in your hands' He, General Shafter, then said, 'I don't care whether this gentleman has it or not,'

and I left then When I went back the General told iven the Press representative a copy of the despatch, and that he had gone to the office with it”

In a regi ht with the utmost effectiveness I have never believed that this was incompatible with other virtues On the contrary, while there are of course exceptions, I believe that on the average the best fighting men are also the best citizens I do not believe that a finer set of natural soldiers than the iment could have been found anywhere, and they were first-class citizens in civil life also One fact may perhaps be worthy of note Whenever ere in caular eneral officers'our entire service there was never a foul or indecent word uttered at the officers' mess--I --although now and then in the fighting, if there was athe heart of the matter, it was resorted to