The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-07-19

I advance near Sevilia. is no longer far
i TO seek The~ had chosen the decisive
I battle ground and there alone cid they
wish 10 f@ht Their confidence in the
strength of the San Juan position was
entirely justified.
The Wilderness in Virginia presented far
less difficulties to the invading northern
ers than did the San Juan valley to Shat
! ter's army. The greater Fart of 1t is
denseiy covered with Young timber I'M
dergrowth. interlaced with thornr vines,
or studded with natural abattis of cacti,
palmettos and brarb,es.
The roads were originally little better
tnan blind trails. every one of which af-
forded a hundred opportunities for am
buscades. What an undertaking it was
to deploy line of battle at right angles
10 one of these paths Will perhaps be I'M
asined.
REGIMENTS MIXED.
On Friday. July l. in moving through
the timber towards San Juan. some of
Wheeler's regiments became seriously
mixed up. owing to the utter impossible
ity of moving straight forward at any
thing like regular intervals. Captain
Of the Third cavalry, when he finally ap-
preached the open space across which the
daSh Wcs made for the right of the San
Juan position. found himself surrounded
by men of two or three different regi-
ments, mostly. however of his own. He
did -ot hesitate. 1t was not a moment
mel were singing thick and fast through
the air and men were falling on every
side Morton 2ut all the men near him
into line and when Major Vessels COM
manding the Third. gave the order to
charge, he led them forward obiicueiy
behind the first battalion under aior
yanced position on the right, driving the
Spaniards from hacienda house which
ne found there, back upon battery of
theirs down under the walls of San Juan
barracks. He held this position against
superior odds for long time before re-
lief was sent him.
The artificial strengthening of the
Spanish line of defenses showed the very
highest order of engineering skill. This
rs the verdict of all competent officers
who have examined il. Each fortified
point or angle commanded some other
one In many places. on gaining ,)iece
OF entertainments. our troops found them
selves under a cross fire from other por-
tons of the original line. Ana even in the
ceased just prior to the truce. we were
largely exposed to an oblique and in
places even an enfilading fire from Span
ish batteries on our left. To Offset how
ever. travers were constructed at certain
parts of our line,
The ridiculous over-confidence of our
general officers has received a severe re-
buke, while the rank and file of the army
have evinced a far greater degree of hero
ism than 1t was supposed would be re-
quired of them.
OFFICERS IN THE REAR.
Carelessness as to first military prin-
ciples characterized much of the conduct
of the campaign up to the beginning of
the fight on July /. Even on that day
few of the general officers seemed to think
1t incumbent upon them to show them
selves to their soldiers at the front. or to
examine the situation with their own
eyes. 1t was long after the battle had
begun that a field officer congratulated
General Sumner on being the first officer
of his rank to visit the firing line. Late
in the day General Wheeler came forward
from a sick bed and afterwards remained
in the very front, an example and an in
SEPARATION, as simple and unaffected cour-
age always is, to all who knew of his
presence. In contrast with the scien-
tific accuracy of the Spanish lines of de-
Tense, the slip-shod and. ignorant manner
in which certain portions OF our entranch
ments have been constructed would cause
the veriest cadet to smile il derision. One
regiment. for instance, dug its trenches
so far below the brow of the hill that no
aim corld be taken at the enemy until
he showed right uD in the procession. |
The truth is. that before and while our
army was intrenchng itself. no officer of |
the engineer corps was on the ground |
charged with the duty of directing the /
work. Luckily, many of the officers of !
the line are sufficiently able in the math- |
amatics of defense 10 have caused their |
men to construct fairly respectable works. |