Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1898-06-30
came visible, they fired. Never for an
instant did they falter.
WonA,s m

.
two Cuban guides before them, but APP
parently with no tiankers, went square
ly into the. trap set for them by the
Spaniards and only the unfaltering
courage of the men in the face of
fire that would even make a veteran
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 1,5oo 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 adj
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 it sur
prised me- and their firing was fearfully
heavy. l want to say a word for our own
men," continued Lieut.. Col Roosevelt.
Every officer and man did his duty up to
the handle. Not man finched."
A Graphic Account.
From another officer who took 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 x, 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 ad-
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 bad
increased in volume, but, Notwithstanding
this, an order for a general charge was
given. and with yell the men sprang for
ward. Lieut.. Col. Roosevelt, in front of
his men. snatched a rifle and ammunition
belt from a wounded soldier and cheering
and yelling with his men, led the advance.
For a moment the bullets were singing
like a swarm of bees all around them, and
every instant some poor fellow went down.
On the right wing Capt McClintock had
his leg broken by a bullet from a machine
gun, while four Of his men went down.
At the same time, Capt. Luna, of troop F,
lost nine of his men. Then the reserves,
troops X and E, were ordered up Col.
Wood, with the right wing, charged
straight at a blockhouse, 800 yards away,
and Lieut. Col. Roosevelt, on the left,
charged at the same time. Up the men
went, yelling like fiends and never stop
ping to return the fire Of the Spapiards, but
keeping on with grim determination to
capture mat blockhouse. That charge was
the end When within 500 yards of the
coveted point, the Spaniards broke and
ran, and for the first time we had the
pleasure which the Spaniards had been ex-
periencing all through the engagement. of
shooting with the enemy in sight"
FislS's Death.
''Sergt. Hamilton Fish. Jr, was the first
man killed by the Spanish fire. He was
near the head of the column as 1t turned
from the wood road into range of the Span
ish ambuscade. He shot one Spaniard who
was firing from the cover Of dense
patch of underbrush when bullet struck
his breast He, sank at the. foot OLA tree
with his back against it. Capt. Capron
stood ,ver him shooting, and others rail-
lied around him. covering the wounded
man. The ground this afternoon was thick
with empty shells where Fish lay. He
lived 20 minutes. He gave a small lady's
hunting-case watch from his belt to a mess
mate as last souvenir.
Capt. Capron's Death.
"Sergt Bell stood by the side of Capt.
Capron when the latter was MORALLY hit
He had seen that he was fighting against
terrible odds, but he never fiinched. Give
me your gun a minute, he said to the SER
gent, and, kneeling down, he delibe .ately
aimed and fired two shots in quick sue
cession. At each Spaniard was seen to
fall Bell in the meantime had seized a
dead comrades gun, and knelt beside his
captain and fired steadily. When Capt.
Capron fell he gave the sergeant part
ing message to his wife ind father and
babe the sergeant good-by in a cheerful
vol nd her, hp,~ l,,;x,
Within Four Miles of Santiago.
Headquarters of Gen. Chaffee, Two
Miles Beyond Sevilla, by Dispatch Boat,
Port Antonio, Jamaica, June 27.--The
American troops are now within four
miles of Santiago de Cuba. Two brig
AIDES of Brig. Gen. Lawton's division,
in command of Gen. Chaffee, and Col.
r. ii. Hall, of the Second Massachusetts
volunteers, Saturday night and Sunday
moved forward past the village of Sc
villa, where the Spaniards' were expect
ed to make a stand, and occupied the
hills to the right and left. Two miles
beyond, far out in the front of the
American forces and occupying the
roads leading to Santiago, is a force of
1900 Cubans under Gen. Carlos Con
zales. The entire Cuban army, under
direction of Gen. Calixto Garcia, is
massing for cooperative attack on
Santiago. Garcia, with 5000 Cubans, is
momentarily expected from the in
terror, while from Aserraderos, 20 miles
to the west of Santiago, 1000 Cubans
arrived Sunday.
There are no Spaniards in the entire
country between Baiquiri, where most
of the American troops were landed,
and Santiago. The retreat of the enemy
after Fridays battle apparently be-
came rout, which did not end until the
Notifications around the city were
reached. The transport Leona brought
to Juragua from Aserraderos nearly
1000 insurgents, thoroughly armed and
plentifully supplied with ammunition.
They are part of the army of Gen.
Garcia and have been sent to the front
to join the insurgents already occupy
ing the roads to Santiago.