Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1898-07-07

| DendVed with great bravery, nrlne
steady deadly volleys, with the enemy
shells screeching and bursting over
| their heads. Twenty minutes OF fear
fully hot work silenced the Spanish
| batteries. Ten shots were sent into
| them after they ceased firing, but
sumed that the guns were dismounted
| or the gunners driven off.
Away to the left Gen. Lawton' :
| division, With Chaffee's men and Ca
| pron's battery, was meantime fighting
| fiercely with the enemy entrenched in
and about Caney. The Spaniards con-
tested every inch of the ground bitter
| ly and fought with unexpected GOODNESS
and courage, but the irresistible on
| ward movement of the Americans
slowly forced them back upon and be-
yond Caney. About II o'clock ter
rible fire from Captain Capron's guns
and muskets Of his men broke the
Spanish line and the retreat began
towards the line of the outer fortif-
cations. The enemy took the trail
known as the main Santiago road and
Captain Grimes battery Immediately
began pitching shells in ahead of the
retreating men, while a detachment
Of 1000 Cubans, headed by Garcia, was
started to cut off the retreat. No re-
port has yet been received from them.
A large detachment of Gen. Kent's re-
serves was sent to aid Gen. Garcia in
this work and it is probable that fierce
fighting occurred. All this time Gen.
Sumner had commanded the center,
owing to Gen. Wheeler's illness, but
about 1870 Gen. Wheeler started On
the two-mile journey to the front in
an ambulance. About half way to the
front he met a number of filters bear
ing the wounded. The veteran, under
protest of his surgeons, Immediately
ordered his horse, after personally as
sisting some of the wounded into the
ambulance, mounted and rode onward.
The men burst into frantic cheers,
which followed the general along the
line.
By noon, although very Ill, Gen.
Wheeler had established headquarters
at the extreme front of the center of
the line and still holds his position
The hardest fighting of the day seems
to have been on the right flank, and
heavy casualties are reported from
there. The advance there was more
rapid than at the other points on the
line. Gen. Chaffee's brigade was the
first to cross the little San Juan river
close to the line of the outer fortifca-
tions. At 2 o'clock Caney had not been
entered by the American troops, but
they had pushed on past it and it was
theirs at any time they chose to march
into it. At that hour Gen. Shafter,
whose headquarters for the day had
been three miles to the rear, went for
ward to assume personal command Of
the operations. Some surprise was eX-
pressed that ne did not wait for the
siege guns before beginning the final
attack, as the siege guns are still on
the beach at Baiquiri, but he decided
yesterday that they were unnecessary
and determined to strike at once.
The only movement Of the day which
did not meet with success was Gen.
Duffield's attempt to occupy the sea
village Of Aguadore6. The New York,
SUWanee and Gloucester shelled the
old fort and rife pits during the fore
noon and drove all the Spaniards from
the vicinity. They bowled over the
parapet from which flew the Spanish
flag. but owing to a broken railroad
bridge, Gen. Duffield's troops were I'M
able to get across the river which sep
Grated them from the little town and
were compelled to go back to Juragua.
The thirty-third Michigan volunteers
took the train at Juragua in two d.
visions, the first at a. N. and the
second at us. The rickety engine
ran the six miles in about an hour
and stopped a mile and a half from
the fort. The Cubans and the thirty
third threw out skirmishers on the hill
and shots were exchanged all the
morning with the rifle pits. The fort
and blOckhOuse were both silencei by
the New York. Early in the advance
eight companies marched up the rail-
road track and another force went
around the beach out of sight of the
Dp6uLSu IOILo' ok SIldll ShSllS WSES
thrown over the heads Of the men too
close for comfort and the troops were
sent to cover under an embankment in
a railroad cut. The officers AMI men
who formed this advance were: Gen.
DufFieId; Col. Boynston, with the thir-
ty-third Michigan; Major Webb, third
battalion. Captain Fred Alger, son
| Of the secretary Of war. who is an aide
! to Gen. Shafter, was with the regi-
| ment. AT this afternoon the engine
, was forced to return for water. On
| its first trip half Of the command was
| brought back and the engine returned
| for the others. The men had
just thrown off their packs when a
| shell from a three-inch cannon ex-
| ploded in the ranks Of company L. The
killed were: John Franklin Of Dia-
monddale, Mich; - Seaberght The
wounded: D. N. Stark, Ann Arbor
Mich, right arm fractured; Clifford H
Curtis, Land Lake. All the killed and
wounded we're members of company L.
which is made up of sons Of veterans
AS the train left a second shell ex-
ploded on the track wounding a mum
| Der Of others. It was reported al
Juragua that Gen Dufield had been de
feated, but this was not true, as he did
not encounter any large body of Span
iards.