The Saint Paul globe., 1898-08-22
MEN WHO FOUGHT IN CUBA
BATTLE sCARRED VETERANS
PASS THROUGH THE CITY

itors In the City Yesterday-
Some Have Malaria as Well as
Bullet WOunds-Sny the Seventy
first N. Y. Were Told to Quit.
Wounded soldiers continue to pass
through this clty to Western points.
Three men. who were shot during the
battles Of San Jusn and Santiago, ar
rived here yesterday and went out on
the Northern Pacific coast train. They
were privates in the Second and the
Sixteenth regular infantry and the
Tenth cavalry. The latter was a col
ored man.
Private Louis Daum. of Company c.,
Second infantry, suffered from two
wounds, In the right calf and in the
right arm, and malaria and neuralgia.
His head panied him 80 much he was
unwilling to talk but briefly about
himself
I'VE were in the thick of the fight
at Santiago" he said to a reporter
for The G o b e, "and in my COM
pany four men were wounded and four
were killed. I was shot twice within
five minutes. A bullet is in my leg
yet because I would not let the doc
tors extract 1t. 1t does not trouble me
much. l suffer most from malaria.
am going to Fort Harrison, Mont"
The second soldier was Private Ju-
lius Grothendick, Of Company g. Six
teenth infantry. He is going to Spo-
kane Falls. He wears as a watch
charm a Spanish bullet which went
into his left thigh and ploughed ten
inches through a bone. It Is twisted
and looks like a sharks tooth.
Our regiment was in Gen. Hawkins
brigade" he said to the reporter
1.-THE Sixth regulars and the Seventy
first New York volunteers were with
US. We were in the battle of San
Juan, and were in the center Of the
firing lire when the charge UP the hill
was made. We went into action at
10 O'Clock in the morning and did not
capture the block house until after /
in the afternoon. 1t was the hottest
fight, I guess, in history. The Span
iardS were intrenched in rifle pits be-
h-nd barb wire fences, and we had to
drive them out one after another. Our
brigade was able to advance through
woods and tall grass for a consider
able distance, and we had reached the
open when the Seventy-f1rst began to
shoot. The volunteers carried Spring
fields, and the smoke from the guns
gave the Spaniards the range so they
could shoot accurately and kill us off
The Seventy-frst was then ordered
back out of the firing line, for our
guns are the Krag- -Jorgensens, and we
used smokeless powder, like that OF
the Spaniards. 1t is an injustice to the
Seventy first to say that the regiment
fled from the fight. 1t was ordered to
retreat so as to save our lives, and
the men had to obey directions There
hox Pr;e
was TO cowardice anywhere in that
battle. AS we approached the rifle pits
we had to charge through fences and
over all kinds of obstructioEs, but the
SpaniardS were borne back by the ir-
resistible charge of our men, and one
after another the pits were taken and
the men advanced.
THAT battle was an awful slaugl-
ter. The firing on both sides was like
a storm of bullets, and men dropped
all around. The pits were filled with
of the day was the capture Of the
stone block house on the top of the
hill. 1t was long building perforated
with rifle holes, where the Spaniards
stood and peppered us as we advanced.
l don't know how it was TAKEN but
we finally carried it, and 1t was soon
filed with Spanish oorpSes. The dead
were piled UP in heaps. I never want
to see another such sight.
"I was wounded while we were eharg-
ing the hill. We were kneeling when
1 felt something like a sledse hammer
strike me in the hip and I fell. was
promptly carried to the rear. where
We found the Second infantry waiting
to take our places on the firing line.
Our regiment lost 800 men killed
and wounded and many are yet miss
ing. I was brought up on the first ship
and it was reported that I was dead
until some officers of the regiment saw
me in New York.
"The American soldiers have no use
for the Cubans. We saw 500 Of them
under Garcia, and they were lot Of
thieves. They were ragged and hun
CRY, ard when we arrived there they
began to steal everything they could
lay hands on. They sto-e food, clothes,
GUNS and everything, and would not
fight. They are no good.
"The worst enemy in Cuba is yellow
fever. Half Of the army has tt in one
form or another. and it is pitiable to
see the poor fellows walking through
the streets Of New York like living
skeletons Their health IS wrecked.
The colored troops fought splendidly in
Cuba and you cannot praise them too
highly. The Twenty-fourth and
TWen,ty-hfth tnfentry and the Tenth
cavalry rendered the best of service
The colored soldiers are all right, and
they deserve all honor for their work. :"
The oolored soldier on the train was
SpragDe Sims, trumpeter of Troop D,
Tenth cavalry A hole through his hat
showed whore Mauser bullet passed
through and q plaster on the side Of
his head betrayed his wound
1T got a glancing shot" he said. :'Ths
bullet Just went in a little ways ana
came out again.
IT was wounded during the fight be-
fore Santiago. Col. Baldwin was in
command Of the regiment and Capt.
Bigelow Of our company, but the
captain was wounded several times,
and at the time I was shot Lieut..
Remington was at the head Of the
troop.
1--WE had driven the Spaniards back
fourteen miles and had carried the last
line Of intrenchments when I was
struck. Eight men in Troop D were
wounded and one killed.
IT cannot describe the fight in detail.
All can say is we saw the Spanish
ahead of us and we waded right in
to wipe them off the earth. We were
dismounted and the Spanish were
strongly intrenched, but we swept them
out of their rifle pits and carried the
town.
I'VE were also in the first fght when
RNNaovaJtia r,O1Icn, r>tHers Uvara ofknn1e.