Griggs courier., 1898-07-01
rthe troopers, son1enpf tAen31iDsed to
The waist, watched the base OF the hill

and when any part of Spaniard be-
came visible, they fred, Never foF ap
nstant did they falter. 'f'f'e,4
|Ssam Col. Woods Battle. .
I'm the meantime, away of to TIL. left
could be heard the crack of the rifles of
Col. Woods men and the regular, deep
er-toned volley firing from the Spanish.
Over there the American losses were
the. greatest. Col. Woods men, with
an advance guard we'll out in front, and
two Cuban guides before them; but app
parently with no tlankers,, went,sqnare-
ly into the trap set for them by the
Spaniards and only the unfaltering
courage of the men in the face of, a
fire, that would even make a4xeteran
quail prevented what might easily. have
been disaster. As it was, Troop L, the
advance guard under the unfortunate
Capt. Capron, was almost surrounded
and but for the reinforcement hurriedly
sent forward every man would probab-
ly have been killed or wounded. Dis
cussing the fight, Lieut.. Col. Roosevelt
said:
There must have been nearly 500 Span
iards in front and to the sides of us. They
held the ridges with rifle pits and machine
guns, and had a body of men in ambush
in the thick jungle at the sides of the road,
over which we were advancing. Our ad-
vance guard struck the men in ambush and
drove them out. But they lost Capt Cap
ron, Lieut.. Thomas and about is, men killed,
or wounded. The Spanish firing was. ac-
curate, SO accurate, indeed, that 1t sur
prised me, and their firing was fearfully
q
men," continued Lieut. Col. Roosevelt
s. Every officer and man did his duty up to
the handle: Not a man fsnched."
"A Graphic Account
From another officer who took a promi-
nent part in the fighting more details were
obtained. "When the firing began" said
he,, Lieut.. Col Roosevelt took the right
wing with troops G and K, under Capts.
Llewelyn and jenkins, and moved to the
support of Capt. Capron, who was getting
1t hard At the same time Col. Wood and
Maj. Brodie took the left wing and adj
vanced in open order on the Spanish right
wing; Maj. Brodie. was wounded before,
the troops had advanced 100 yards Col.
Wood then took the right wing and shift
ed$ Lieut.. Col. Roosevelt to. the left. In
the meantime the fire Of the Spaniards had
Increased in volume, but, notwithstanding
this, an order for a general charge was!
given, and with yell the men sprang for
u. ". 1, lu.lCO
his men, snatched rifle,a ammunition
belt from a wounded soldier and, heering
and yelling with his men, led the advance.
For a moment the bullets were singing
like swarm Of bees all around them, and
sAvery instant some poor fellow wentdown.,
ION the right wing Capt. McClintock had
Efhis leg broken by a bullet from machine
sgun, while four Of his men Went down.
:sAt4 the same time, Capt. Luna, of troop F,
slost nine Of his men. Then the reserves,
ashroops x and e, were ordered up. Col.
iWood, with the right wing, charged
straight at a blockhouse, SEQ yards away,
land Lieut.. Col. Roosevelt, on theHleft,
enlarged at the same time. Up the men
Went, yelling like fiends' and never stop
Gping to return the fire of the Spantards, but
keeping on with grim determination to
capture that blockhouse. That charse was
Sthe end: When within 500 yardsEof the
NpYeted point, the spaniards broke: and
pleasure which the Spaniards had been.ex-s
.:;I,ariencing all through the engagement, of
shooting with the enemy in sight,
:ss s:.. ..Sergt Hamilton Fish, Jr., was the first
$saian killed by the Spanish fire! He was
s:near the head of the column as st turned.
from the wood road into range Of the Span
Ash ambuscade. He shot one Spaniard who
was firing from the cover OF ii dense
patch of underbrush when a bullet struck.
shis breast. He. sank at the. foot ofia tree
with his back against 1t. Capt Saproh+
stood ever him shooting, and others raj
slied around him, covering the wounded
#=1nan. The ground this afternoon WAS thick
sfith empty shells where Fish lay. He,
lived 20 minutes. He gave small lady's
watch from his belt:to asmass-
atnate as last souvenir. - .s..ls, ~ ..,..
#:::S:: Capt. Capron's Death.
s: S. ''sergt. Bell stood by the side! of Capt.
agapron when the latter was .mortu:ly hit.
ssfF1e had seen that he was fighting against
hterrible odds. but e'never flinched. 'GiveN
me your gun a minute he said to tl1e SER
agent, ana, kneeltng down, he deliberately
and fired two shots in quick sue
sGession. At each a Spantard was seen to;
*1al. Bell in the meantime had seized a
sdEad comrades g.a, and knelt beside his
captain and fired steadily When Capt.
*Eapron ;a;p fell he gave the sergeant.a part-.
ling message to his wife and father and
ssbade the sergeant good-by in d ascheerful'
ssxoice; and was then borne away dying"
$s II. Only Four Miles Apart fEtff' "
If: If: On Board the Dispatch Boat Dandy,
Of Juragua, via Kingston, June 27.-
Troops of the United States and Spain
Sare almost face to face and fesssthani
tour tour miles apart. The picket lines at
:eertain points are within hailing dis
|tance of the enemy. 1t seems certain
IIthat the battle of Santiago must come.
within week. The troops are al 4 ashore
Here and at Baiquiri with the exception
Esof. few scattered companies that have
gone forward. The supplies are suffi-
jeient to enable the army to sustain
weeks campaign at both landing points;
H.. !: Says; - Were; Killed. Il ilt4s,f
(Ht' H Gen., sShafter, in his official Fepert.
places the number of dead :invt4ke, en-,
sBgfagement at Seyilla as !22s, and. the
EsWounded as between 20 and 3d., No at
tempt has yet been made to prepare an
official list with the names of ft}sesdead
||IEand wounded. The high grassssa and i'd
bushes of theSbattleg ground make II diff
ssfcult to find bodiess, :; isas.ss zfsssg:.
BE- The bodies of 80 spantards hayssheen
ound and the Spanish loss in. Killed
Essand wounded was doubtless mi,iicf,
Heavier than the American; IA vi MI.
Ess The majority of the American troops
:are now. here. or: at the front. in sthe
vicinity of Sevilla. The force at. the
latter place, which is about niis miles
from Santiago, numbers 8,OO01 Amserri-