The herald., 1898-08-20

| SIDle IoE me III my position 10 uetcTHHiue tuo
order in which the troops advanced.
Wounded men soon began to fall out to the
rear. The firing Became heavier each mo-
ment, that Of the Spaniards being easily
distinguished from the Americans, being
volley firing by battalions, while that of our
men was file firing. Besides, the volunteer
regiments, Second and Ninth Massachu-
sets, Seventy-first New York and a part
Of the Thirty-fourth Michigan, were armed
with Springfield. caliber AZ, the report be-
Ing very much louder than that Of the guns
of either the Spaniards or our regulars.
The roar increased rapidly, punctuated
by that Of Capron's guns far away on the
left. Lawton, Chaffse and Ludlow were
making Roadway far on the right. The dis
lance from right to left of the line, fol-
lowing Its course. was over four miles. 1t
was impossible at that distance to see any
thing of the fight going on at Ell caney, even
with good glass. but by noticing carefully
we could understand that the line was push
ing forward. driving back the spaniards.
On the left the American line had pushed
across the level ground, which was found
INSTRUCTED with a large number of barbed-
wire entanglements. In anticipation of
such defensive works $500 nippers had been
provided before the command had left Tam
pa; but these had all been placed on board
one vessel, the Santiago, and could not be
found when Decentralization took place.
Some company commanders had provided
axes and hatchets, and the Cuban machete
was found to be an excellent weapon for
breaking through the wires.
Men and officers were falling fast, the
latter being especially singled out by Span
ish sharpshooters, made the loss heavier
In proportion than among the enlisted men.
Still, the troops gained ground steadily,
and by noon had carried the redouht of
San Juan, on the left, and stood where they
could look over to the city of Santiago.
Spanish artillery fire was used with effect
against our lines, that of field pieces being
supplemented by the fire Of ships guns
| from some Of the smaller vessels in The
harbor
The works of the Spaniards at Ell Caney
were carried at o'clock In the afternoon
by the Fourth and Twenty-ffth infantries,
I supported by the Twelfth, Seventeenth
and Twentieth. Wheeler's cavalry divi-
sion had moved up In the center of the long
line and was holding Its own fully as we'll
as the infantry.
L. sAA<3
Late In the afternoon the firing ceased,
1 and both bodies used the time far into the
night In intrenching the positions they held.
! The American loss for the numbers en-
| gagged had been heavy. Some spanish
sharpshooters had been left behind in the
chaparral as the American line advanced,
and they used their rifles with deadly eff
feet. Climbing the cocoanut palms, they
| r.,
leaves at the top and pick off single men
or fire into groups passing along the road.
And they did not spare wounded men or
those assisting them to the rear. DR.. Dan
forth, of the Tenth cavalry, was killed by
a sharpshooter while dressing the leg of a
wounded man. During the second day
the sharpshooters worked back to the field
hospital and opened FIRE upon II. One bull
let, evidently intended for the cook Of the
1 hospital, at work about his fire. passed be-
tween 1t and the table where the surgeons
we're taking their evening meal The d.
/ rection whence II came was noted, and a
corporal and three men Of the Twenty
fourth infantry. sent out to find the sharp
shooter, brought him to the ground in a
few minutes.
Before dark of the first day wounded mon
had begun to arrive, and by o'clock hun
dreds had accumulated. There had been
no help provided for the hospital attend
ants to put up tents, and very little Of that
work had been accomplished.
| With the Wounded
When reached the hospital DR.. Wood,
surgeon In charge. asked me to give him
some assistance In providing sleeping
places for men whose wounds had been at
tended temporarily. The ground was COW
cred with grass twenty inches or two feet
in height, and heavy dew soon made
walking In this equal to wading In a
stream. Tents were spread on the grass
and the men lay down upon the canvas and
then were covered with tent files If they
had no blankets
1t was interesting to note the difference
between the veteran and the recruit. The
old soldier generally had his blanket,
haversack and canteen with him. The
new man had nothing. One man of the
Second Massachusetts, told me that his
captain refused to allow him to bring
away his blanket, saying he would get
blankets at the hospital
Men kept coming In all night. BY mid
night an acre of ground was covered with
| wounded as thickly as they could lie and
CHdbiC uS " iAoNc AOout dIIioHB THEM. line
canvas was all used. and then, in de-
fault Of any better place, the men were
obliged to lie down upon the wet grass
without covering or anything between
them and the ground.
The wounded bore the hardship and suf-
fering wonderfully well. They waited pa
tiently until they could be attended to,
the only demand being for water. The en-
durance of some passed comprehension. /
had noticed one man standing apparently
unconcerned for some time, and thought
him friend Of some wounded man whom
he had brought there for aid. When he
asked me for place to lie down In, said
to him, II can only furnish places for
the wounded" To which ne replied, IL
am wounded And I found that he had
been shot through the body not more than
an inch above the heart, the ball passing
out through the shoulder blade. With this
wound he had walked nearly four miles
and then without complaint had waited over
an hour for attention.
Another man, whose skull had been frac-
tured by a ball that passed through the top
Of his head. and who was a part Of the
| time delirtous, took me for priest, and in-
sisted on my giving him the last rites