The herald., 1898-12-11
WHAT ShAfIfR SAYS
OF THE WORK OF THE ARMY AT
SANTIAGO
SOL DIERS SUFFERED LITTLE
Having as Good a Staff of Quarter
masters as the World Has
Ever Seen
Press Special Wire

NEW YORK, Dec. l0.-General Shafter,
s in the course of speech at meeting OF the
New York Genealogical and Biographical
Society, referred to the war with Spain as
sthe war which resulted SO gloriously for
the land forces of tie United States at San
tiago," adding that it was unnecessary to say
: that the navy had also performed its work
in the most efficient manner, IF the absolute
destruction of the enemy was what they
were AFTER
General Shafter then went on to say that
the United States began the war with an
army. on paper, of 25,000. This; army was to
attack the Spanish soldiers who for 40o
wears had been known as gallant lighters,
and for the last $50 years were noted for
their stubbornness in defensive campaigns
In the course of his ensuing remarks, the
speaker said that the officers OF the neet
contended when Cervera's squadron was IN
the harbor of Santiago that the city could
be taken and the Spanish vessels destroyed
in forty-eight hours, should force of TO-
600 infantry be sent to assist. He said thai
the army which marched against the city
was as perfect force as could be found IN
the world. 1t consisted practically OF the
whole regular army OF the United States,
with three regiments of volunteers, Tor
whom room was found at the last minute
on the transports.
Speaking of the fight at Ell Caney, Gen
eral Shafter said that an officer of his (the
speaker's) division contendcd that he could
take the place by o'clock in the morning
without fail, and, much against his betetr
Judgment he (Shafter) allowed him to make
the attempt. Instead Of being taken by y
O'Clock in the morning, Ell Caney was not
captured until nearly o'clock in the even
ing. and with loss of life as great as at San
Juan hill: greater, indeed, in proportion to
the number of troops engaged. Proceeding,
the speaker said that the army IN Cuba
had as good staff of quartermasters and
subsistence officers as the world had ever
seen. There had been a great deal said
about the suffering among the American
troops in Cuba. lie would not expect his
hearers to believe him if he told them that
there was no suffering.
The more effective the work of an army
the greater the amount of suffering that was
necessary. DuU ue cOuu say Will
that there was not one hour after they
landed in Cuba that all the American sol
ders did not have bread, meat, sugar and
coffee On one day only half rations for the
two last-named provisions were given to part
OF the troops, but the deficiency was made
up the next day.
There had been some talk of the Seventy
first New York and the Second Massachu-
setts Volunteers not standing fire. The only
reason for this was the fact that some of the
men of these two regiments got among the
regulars, who were using smokeless powder
The volunteers had the old powder and the
{ regulars simply would not have them. Every
shot fired by volunteer brought hail of
bullets from the Spaniards and the regulars
rightly objected to this.
49, The speaker then spoke of the remarkable
good feeling that existed between the Amer
ican and Spanish troops after the fall of San
tiago. In conclusion, he said that he took
little credit to himself for the successful re-
suit of the campaign. That was due to the
best army ever brought together in the Unit
ed States. If the war had taken the course
originally mapped out and hostiities had
been begun in the autumn, with great bat
tie to decide the fate of Cuba between the
Americans and the Spanish army in and
around Havana, fifty thousand Americans,
he declared, would have been lost.