San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1896-12-04
HOW OSGOOD DIED.
AN AMERICAN ATHLETE AND A
CUBAN MAJOR.
The Last Battle He Fought Brought Death
To Him in a Moment as He
Leaned Over His Cannon.

New York, Dec. A special to the
Herald from Guimaro, Camaguey,
gives the following details of the
death of Maj. Dana Osgood, the foot
ball player, who commanded a Cuban
battery during the recent siege of the
town of Guiamaro:
Gen. Garcia then ordered Maj. Os-
wood to open fire on the Spanish. Two
hours later large fort known as
Fort Monfau, located on hill about
700 yards from the town, was aban-
doned by it's defenders who took ref
uge in the town.
On the second day of the siege. as
Mai. Osgood under heavy fire from
the Spanish was training one of his
pieces on the fort, Mansur bullet
struck him in the forehead. He ut
tered the word. "well," and bending
forward on his cannon Rugged 1t and
,breathed his last in behalf of Cuban
liberty. The news of his death deep
ly impressed President CisnerOs and
the commanding officers. all of whom
had great regard for the American
officer.
The Spaniards. who had an abun-
dant supply of ammunition, kept up
an incessant fire aainst the Cuban in
trenchments. Gen. Garcia on Octo-
Der % made up his mind to capture
the place by assault.
The Spaniards had abandoned all
the forts outside of the town, but had
made themselves strong inside. They
had taken commanding positions in
the stone buildings and massive stone
church in the public square.
At a signal Generals Cebreco and
Capot, at the head of their men, charg-
ed the town from different quarters.
The Spanish garrison then took ref
uge in the old churches and strongly
barricaded them. Gen. Garcia order
ed that three guns be brought to bear
upon the stone structure and fire was
at once opened on it. One of the shots
from a 12-pounder MORALLY wounded
the Spanish officer in command, Mai.
Martinos, and killed some Of his men.
Shortly after a tremendous cry of
"Viva Cuba Libre" came from the
Cubans. The Spaniards had made an
unconditional surrender.
Winchester Dana Osgood, the Cor
nell student, and football player. who
went to Cuba and took a commission
in the Cuban army, was the son of a
United States army officer who was
until recently stationed in st. Louis.
Osgood was so light when in the pre-
paratory school that he could not be
member of the football team. but
by the time he entered Cornell in the
fall of 1888 he was a well developed
athlete and he became a star oars
man. football player and all around
athlete
Though good student his passion
for athletic exercise interfered with
college work His football playing at
Cornell was in the days before the
development of interference. and his
individual half back work, hard run
ming and clever lodging were the
best seen up to that tine. He never
was in any way injured in a game
until the Cornell-Chicago athletic
game in 1892, when a collision with
SNAKE Ames knocked him out.
He was a fine wrestler and boxer
and has won many medals. His
muscular developments finally be-
came such as to render him almost
muscle bound. He left Cornell in 1895
and entered the University of Penn
sylvania, where he did some phenom-
email playing against Harvard and
Princeton during the three years he
wore the red and blue. He was n
member of the Phi Gamma Delta fra.
ternity and somewhat of a religious
turn of mind. Osgood stood about D
feet. 9 inches high and weighed $50
pounds.