The record-union., 1898-09-15

containing our supplies to sea, thus
parting us from our base Of supplies,
| and, lastly, it was reported that Gen
| eral Pando. with 5000 reinforcements
| for the enemy, was en- route from Man
| zanillo and might be expected in a few
days. Under these conditions I deter
mined to give battle without delay.
| early on the morning of July 1st
Lawton ws in possession around Ell Ca
ney. Chaffee on the right across the
| Guantanamo road, Miles brigade in the
| center and Ludlow's on the left.
After the battle at Ell Caney was
well opened and the sound of the small
artillery fire caused us to believe that
Lawton was driving the enemy before
| him, directed Grimes battery to open
| fire from the nights Of Ell Poso on the
| San Juan blockhouse, which could be
seen situated in the enemys intrench-
ments extending along the crest Of San
Juan hill. This fire was effective, and
the enemy could be seen from Ell Poso.
| The fire was soon returned by the enc
mys artillery fire. They evidently had
the range of this hill, and their first
shells killed and wounded several men.
As the Spaniards used smokeless pow
|
position of their pieces, while on the
| contrary the smoke caused by our
black powder plainly indicated the posi-
tion of our battery.
AT this time the cavalry division un-
der General Sumner, which was lying
concealed in the vicinity of Ell Poso.
was ordered forward, with directions to
cross the San Juan River and deploy to
the right on the Santiago side, while
Kent's division was to follow closely in
its rear and deploy to the left. The
troops moved forward in compliance
with orders, but the road was so mar
row as TO render it impracticable to re-
tain the column of fours formation at
| adj points, while the underground on
either side was so dense as to preclude
the possibility of deploying skir7nishers.
1t naturally resulted that the progress;
made was slow, and the long range
| rifles OF the enemy's infantry killed and
| wounded numter of our men while
marching along this road and before
there was any opportunity to return the
| fire
AT this time Generals Kent and
Sumner were ordered to push forward
with all possible haste, and place their
troops in position to engage the enc
my. General Kent, with this end in
view, forced the head of his column
alongside of the cavalry column as far
| as the narrow trail permitted and thus
| hurried his arrival at the San Juan
and the formation by that stream. A
few hundred yards before reaching the
San Juan the road forks, fact that
was discovered by Lieutenant Colonel
Derby of my staff, who had approached
Well to the front in a war balloon. This
information to the troops resulted in
Summer moving on the right-hand road
while Kent was enabled to utilize the
road to the left.
General Wheeler, the permanent
| commander of the cavalry division.
who had been i'll, came forward dur
ing the morning and later returned to
duty, and did most gallant service dur
ing the remainder of the day. 81
After crossing the stream the cav
airy moved to the right, with a view
OF connecting with Lawton's staff when
ne should come up, and with their left
resting near the Santiago road.
] In the meantime Kent's division.
] with the exception of two regiments
OF Hawkins brigade, being thus un-
! covered, moved rapidly to the front
from the forks previously mentioned
/ IN the road, utilizing both trails; but
more especially the one to the left
ana crossing the creek formed for an
attack IN the front of San Juan Hill.
during this formation the Second Brig
ade suffered severely. While persona Ily
experimenting this movement. it's
| gallant commander, Colonel Wikoff.
/ was killed. The command of the brig
ade then devolved upon Lieutenant Col
onel Worth, Thirteenth Infantry, who
was soon severely wounded. and next
| upon Lieutenant Litscomb, Twenty
fourth Infantry, who, five minutes
| later, also fell under the terrible fire
/ of the enemy, and the command of the
brigade then devolved upon Lieutenant
/ Colonel Ewers, Ninth Cavalry
While the formation just described
was taking place, Kent took measures
to hurry forward his rear brigade. The
Tenth and Second Infantry were or
dered to follow Wikoffs brigade. while
the Twenty-first was sent on the right
hand road to support the First Brig
| ade under General Hawkins who had
crossed the stream and formed on the
right of the division The Second and
Tenth Infantry, Colonel E. p. Pearson
| commanding, moved forward in good
order on the left of the division, passed
over a green knoll and drove the ne
| emy back toward his trenches.
| After completing the formation un-
| der a destructive fire and advancing
| short distance, both divisions founo
in their front a wide bottom. in which
rn1o nos1 Har
! tanglement, and beyond which there
was high hill, along the crest of
which the nemy was strongly posted
Nothing daunted, the gallant men
pushed on to drive the enemy from his
chosen position, both divisions losing
/ heavily. In this assault, Colonel Ham
ilton, Lieutenants Smith and Shipp were
killed, and Colonel Carroll, Lieuten-
ants Thayer and Myer, all in the cav
| airy, We're wounded.
Great credit is due to Brigadier Cen
eral II. S. Hawkins, who, placing him
self between his regiments, urged them
on by voice and bugle calls to the at
tack so brilliantly executed.
! In this fierce encounter, words fail
to do justice to the gallant regimental
commanders and the heroic men, for.
while the Generals indicated the for
nations and the points for attack, it
was after all the intrepid bravery of
the officers and men that planted our
colors on the crest of San Juan Hill and
drove the enemy from his trenches and
| blockhouses, thus gaining the position
which sealed the fate of Santiago.
| "In this action on this part of the
| field, most efficient service was rem
dered by Lieutenant John Fl. Parker