The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-07-18
GEN. WORTH HIT FOUR TIMES.
BACK AT GOVERNORS ISLAND TO
LET HIS WOUNDS HEAL.


Lieut.. Col. William S Worth, Thlr-
teenth United States Infantry, with four
bullet HOES in his body, proofs of the eff
cheney of Spanish rifiemen, and sufficient
enough recommendation for his promotion
to be a brigadier general Of volunteers.
which he received from the President on
Thursday, arrived at his home ON Cover
nor's Island Friday afternoon says the
New York Sun. Although wounded four
times at the charge up San Juan hill, Col
Worth reached Governors Island in fair
ly good condition and his doctor says
that, with ordinary prudence, he will be
up and about in a month.
Col. Worth, accompanied by his orderly,
Corpl. John keller, Thirteenth Infantry,
left Siboney on the City of Washington
last Tuesday, was landed at Fort Mon
roe, taken to Baltimore by boat, and came
here by the Baltimore and Ohio. On the
arrival of the train he was met by his
wife, his sister, and his sster-in-law Mrs.
Coffin. the wife of Capt William H.
Coffin, Fifth Artillery. whose battery is
now at Tampa. awaiting orders 10 so to
Porto Rico.
Col Worth is not above feet G, and
Weighing in good health not more than $50
pounds, looked very much thinner and
weaker than when he marched away from
Governors Island at the head of three
companies of his regiment one morning in
the latter part of April. His right arm
was in sling and he walked with some
difficulty. The soldiers at the island sa-
l.,~l l,Tr, N..Fr
colonel might return the salute in kind.
When he got home his nephew and fam
lily physician, DR.. Sprague of this city
made careful examination of his wounds
and general condition and then ordered
his patient 20 bed, directing him to see no
one but the members of his family for
week at least. Col Worth objected, but
obeyed. From members Of the family a
Sun reporter learned something about Col
Worths wounds and how he got them.
Shortly after O'clock on the afternoon
of July l, El Caney having been taken IN
the morning, the Thirteenth, Sixteenth
Twenty and Twenty fourth In
fantry and the Third and Sixth Cavalry
(dismounted, with the Rough Riders and
the Seventh, Ninth and Tenth Infantry
held in reserve, were ordered to attack
San Juan hill and capture the blockhouse
on the summit. Col, Worth, when The at
tack was ordered, commanded brigade
Soon after the battle began Col. Charles
A. Wikoff, Twenty-second Infantry. came
on the field. He ranked Col Worth and
took command, and Col. Worth resumed
command of his regiment. Col. Smith,
commanding the Thirteenth, not being
present.
In less than ten minutes after Col
WilSoff had come on the field he was
killed. Then Col. Worth resumed com
mand of the brigade, only to be wounded
himself and succeeded by Lieut.. Col. EN-
erson l.. Kiscum, who was also wounded
The command of the Thirteenth was
taken by Maj. Philip II. Ellis. He was
wounded and was succeeded by Capt
James Torrance, who was killed in few
minutes after taking command. Capt
Harry G. Cavanaugh then commanded
the regiment. Cavanaugh was wounded
in the groin in the assault.
Col. Worth was wounded twice in the
right arm early in the engagement. One
bullet pierced the arm Just above the ell
bow and the other just below the Shout
der. lie clutched his sword in his left
hand and led his men to the fresh attack
Shortly after this Mauser bullets struck
Col. Worth in the right and left breast
The bullets went clean through the body
leaving the colonel all in a heap and I'M
conscious on the field Keller saw him
fail and ran to his assistance. Col. Worth
Ter brought him around and told him,
While the orderly was bending over his
chief piece of shell struck the orderly In
the back, right on top of the cartridge
belt, and gouged out a handful of flesh
Keller stuck by his colonel, and after a
while the two were carried off the field
together.
THE best thing that can be said about
the fight" said Keller to the reporter. rs
haH q xry.s hot
soldering but ! never knew the bullets to
come from all directions at once and come
so fast as they did going up that hill. If
you've ever been out in a hailstorm when
IL didn't do a thing but hail. you can get
some notion of how the bullets came at
San Juan. There were Spaniards in front
of US, behind u.s. on all sides of us. and in
the tree tops above US. And it's an awful
mistake to imagine they can't shoot I
don't know how they are ahoat, but they
can shoot like the devil on land or up a
tree.
'fBut say! You just ought to have seen
my little colonel! About all you could
see of him was his little goatee, sticking
right out straight, a little gray hair under
his campaign hat, and the flash of his
sword. He headed the procession as long
as he could, and, tell you, it was amaz-
ing pleasant to hear him say every now
and then:
Just keep steady now, boys! Shoot
when you see some thing to shoot at. and
shoot quick! Wen teach those fellows a
thing or two about this game they don't
know and Wen be up in that blockhouse
in minute.
That kind of talk makes a fellow feel
fun of ginger and up to fighting for
week And the colonel was right. We did
show EN- a few things they didn't know
anything about. When we started up that
hill the first thing we struck was a barbed
wire fence. But IL wasn't built as a white
man builds a fence. The strands were so
close together that we had TO pry EN- apart
with our fingers before we could use the
wire cutters While we cut wires. the
Spanish pumped lead into us
After getting through the first fence we
suggested TO the CuDans that, since it was
largely their funeral anyway, they might
as well dance on ahead and cut wires They
evidently preferred 10 be mourners. though
for we could always see EN- when we had
time to look back. When we found they
wouldn't go ahead we did our own wire
cutting. 1t seemed 70 me as IL there was
one Of those darued fences about every ten