The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1898-07-03
THE SECOND DAYS OPERATIONS
Day Desperate Fghng-Despah from the Field of Action at
-Four in the Afternoon-The Strain in Washington.

lei paso have fallen and the fort at
Aguadores. Just east of Moro Castle on
the coast has been blown to ruins by the
guns of the fleet With the exception of
about thousand troops. who are guard
ing Baiquiri and Juragua, the entire
army is engaged. together with 1000 OF
General Garcia's Cuban troops. The men
fought gloriously and if the same meas
IRE of success which attended to-day's
engagement follows the fighting of the
next twenty-four hours. the American
flag will fly from Santiago's wall on
Sunday. Officers and men are fully
convinced that the city will he theirs by
tomorrow night. The battle began just
ut daylight ut Il point about eight
miles from Juragua and four miles north
east of the outer Notifications of Santa
go The general order for an advance
was issued by General Shafter ut dark
last night and by midnight every man
in the army knew that desperate strug-
gle would come with the dawn. The
news put the troops i'll ii fever of eX-
citement and the night was spent i'll
cheering and singing, the popular strain
| 'There'li be hot times in Santiago to-
morrow"
At 4 o'clock this morning hundreds of
bugleS rang out the reveille and before
the sun had risen the great line was
complete To the extreme left was
General Dufiield with the Thirty Third
Michigan, his command having reached
the Aguad0res bridge by train. Next
to the northeast was Gen. KentS divis-
ion. mile and n half from the sea and
held as reserve force. The centre of
the line was held by ii cavalry division,
which. until General Wheeler arrived
ut noon, was commanded by General
Sumner. Owing to General Young $
illness. Colonel Woods. of the Rough
Riders, commanded his brigade. which
consisted Of the First regulars the First
volunteers and the Tenth regulars and
one battalion of the Ninth regular caval-
ry. all dismountcd with the exception
of two troops on the extreme right I'M
der Generals Lawton and Chaffee. fully
five miles from the sea. 1t had been
arranged that General Duffield should
make feint of attacking Aguadores in
order to draw attention from the main
movement and ut > o'clock General Law
tons troops moved forward, led by a
battery of the first artillery under COM
mand OF Captain Allyn Capron. Every
man in the army carried three days
rations and ammunition TO match, and
every one knew that he was not eXpec-
ted to return to camp until Santiago had
fallen
The first shot was fired from the bat
terry at $40 o'clock by Captain Capron.
whose son. Captain Allyn X. Capron, of
the Rough Riders. was killed in the bat
tie ut Sevilla. The shot was directed DIT
Caney, where the Spaniards were in
force, and it fell in the heart of the town.
The firing continued for twenty minutes
without response. Meantime the cavalry
division had moved forward on the main
Santiago trail, headed by light battery
of the Second artillery under Captain
Grimes. The movement of this battery
was q Notwithstanding task, owing TO the
mud in the valley and a steep hill. Under
the muSketry fire of the cavalrymen the
Spdniards i'm the little town of Eel paSo
retreated, and Captain Grimes battery
took ND a position there and began Il
rapid firing into Caney. The guns of the
two batteries made the place so hot that
the enemy finally retired, having no ar
tilery.
The town was surrounded by rough
edrthworks and lines of barbed wire.
After the enemy had been driven from
El pasO, twenty-one shots were fired by
Captain Grimes and Captain CaprOn
from that position into the outer fortih-
cations of Santiago before Il response
came. When it did come, however, il
came with unexpected accuracy. the
shots being from three and five inch
rapid fire rifles. evidently taken from Adj
MIRA Cervera's warShipS and mounted
behind the Notifications. The Spanish
gunners raked the hill on which lei
Paso stands and which meantime hal
been made the headquarters of General
sumner and the Cuban generals. Garcia.
! Castillo, Capote and Rabi. One shell
struck a large sugar storehouse, on the
red corrugated roof of which stood ten
! Cubans viewing the fight The roof fell
and all the Cubans were wounded and
three of them will die.
a detachment of 200 Cubans went for
ward from lei Paso, and then Colonel
Wood with the Rough Riders and the
| FIRST and Tenth cavalry started down
the hill sides straight for the enemy's
| Notifications
Captain Grimes battery poured u
| steady fire into the Spaniarls TO protect
Colonel Woods ADVANCE. The dismount-
! ei cavalry paused on their way through
! the tangled grass and underbrush and
half way down the hillside selected a
! good spot to halt, and from there opened
ana maintained for twenty minutes n
! hot fire. The opposing batteries banged
away. Captain Grimes sending n storm
, OF lead down into the outer Notifications
and the Spaniards pounding away at the
hill top with vicious persistence.
Most of the Spanish shells went over
the bill tops and fell in ravine beyond
! Here several detachments of Cuban
troops were stationed as reserves. and
before they could he moved. seven in
Surgents were seriously wounded and
several slightly hurt. AT the same time
! two Americans were killed and nine
wounded. The Spaniards used smokeless
powder md shot with much more accu-
! racy than during the previous engage
| ment. The wonder is that many more
lives were not lost, as the opposition