Evening star., 1898-12-17
AT SAN JUAN,
Brave Officer Killed by Wounded
Spanish Soldier,

William DinwiddIe in Truth
n great round moon rose slowly over tbe
Ireetops and cast soft, long shadows over
'hal seeming solitude of death | climbed
tlle NIL OF San Juan, sad and heavy heart
co. 10 look for the body of nv .bunkie >.
Lieutenant Garesche Ord. For seven weeks
we had lived in the same tent in Tarona
and for over week had shared The hard.
shIps and fatigue OF the Cuban camnaiqn
together. On the morning of the last dav
OF his life he came to me in the creek hot
tom of San Juan river, as the men of Cen
eral Hawkins brigade were marching
through to go into action. and, with a han
py, joyous laugh begotten Of the evn;tp-
ent and the martial spirit which imhne(i
MIN, he slapped me on the back and said
IN a stage whisper. "Bunkie, old man IN
come come out OF tnis either a colonel or a
corpse'' l shook hands with him and wish
ed him good luck, and, as he left me, called
aiter hlm, Be careful, Garry
Poor Garry. l found him that night "
MN iig IN Ihe ;s,, white m pure moonlight. fast
and | imagined, as l patted his face in = =
fond farewell, that the same old hovish
smile rested there. He lay on the furthest
spanish trench of the San Juan hill, dead.
Killed by the hand of a wounded Snanisb
soldier in the trench. 1t seems thai Ord
was many yards in advance in that won
ofous charge up the hill, and that as he
$1,000 s,'S ] on me edge of the trench he turned
ana shouted to the men that followed
Dont [ shoot the wounded men. Make
them prisoners and at the same instant
ne tell by a pistol shot from the hands of
the very man whose life he attempted to
Too high a tribute cannot be paid TO thiz
gallant felloW-there were many that day
VINO deserved as much. He knew no sense
OIL lear. Ills highest aim in life was 10
support a widowed sister-widowed by the
loss OF her soldier husband al Wounded
hnee-and to emulate the historic military
career of his famous father, General Ord
IL was Ord who furnished the generals
VINO stood in San Juan creek with the first
definite information as TO the position of
the enemy in front of them. He climbed a
hlgh tree and reported to General Hawkins
from this lookout point the location of the
tort, the direction of the trenches and the
apparent force of the enemy During the
entire time he was under fire from the
sharpshooters, but gave no evidence of the
slightest trepidation.
1t is related that Ord climbed two moro
trees in the deathtrap Jungle far TO the
left, where Hawkins brigade was forcing
It's way to final charge, reporting each time
valuable information. OrdS brayest act
the one which never will be forgotten by
those who witnessed 1t. was the leading in
the charge of handful of the 10Th Infantrv-
men to The top of the hill. General ttaW-
kinS gave him permission to organize and
get in position for the final desperate as
saut some bodies of soldiers on the right
who had become confused by their devious
wndings in the underbrush. He was next
seen after the sounding of "Forwardr far
in advance of the line, waving his men on
in the charge. 1t was the unanimous opin-
ion of officers and soldiers alike that to this
young hero unquestionably belongs the hon
or of first scaling the entertainments of San
Juan. He lies buried on the hilltop, under
two waving palms, rolled in a blanket-the
soldiers coffin-promoted in the hearts of
those who loved him to a rank far higher
than the colonelcy he coveted-to the rank
of a hero born, a hero dead