The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-07-05

| fired from the shore.
THE BATTLE OF SANTIAGO.
Copyright by Associated Press)
| patch Boat Dandy, OF Juragua, Fri
! day, July !, p. m, via Porto Rico,
| ia, Saturday July .. a. m, and
| Kingston, ia. III a. m.-The battle
| Of Santiago has ragged all day and at
| 4 o'clock this afternoon 15oo0 Amer
| lean troops are laundering al the out
| er fortifications OF the doomed city.
| Since daybreak General Skaters
| army has fought its way across two
| and a half miles OF bitterly contest
| ed and strongly fortified county and
J the entire line from left to right is
| within gunshot OF Santiago town.
The American loss thus far is es-
| timated at hospital corps headquar-
| ters at twenty killed and fifty wound
| ed but it will be hours before the
| death roll can be accurately given.
| lieutenant Colonel Patterson. of the
| Twenty-second infantry, is the only
| officer known 10 have been wounded,
| and he is not fatally hurt.
| The Spanish killed and wounded are
| undoubtedly numbered by hundreds.
| SPANISH STRONGHOLDS CAP
| TURED.
| The Spanish strongholds of Caney
| and FL Paso have fallen and the fort
| at Aguidores, just east Of MORO cas-
| tie. on the coast, has been blown 10
| ruins by the guns Of the fleet. With
| the exception Of about 1000 troops
| who are guarding Baiquiri and Jur-
| aqua, the entire army is engaged, to-
| gether with 1900 of General Garcia's
| Cuban troops. The men fought glori-
| ously and if the same measure OF
| success which attended today's en-
| gagement follows the fighting Of the
| next twenty-four hours the American
| flag will fly from Santiago's wall on
| Sunday. Officers and men are fully
! convinced that the city will be theirs
| tomorrow night.
"A HOT TIME IN SANTIAGO To-
| MORROW"
The battle began just at daylight at
point about eight miles from Jura-
qua and four miles northeast Of the
| outer fortifications of Santiago. The
| general order for an advance was is
sued by General Shafter at dark last
| night and by daylight every man in
| the army knew that desperate strug-
gle would CONG with the dawn. The
| news put the troops in a fever Of ex-
citement and the night was spent ia
| cheering and singing, the popular
strain being "There'll be a hot time in
| Santiago tomorrow
THE BATTLE BEGUN.
At o'clock this morning hundreds
| of bugles rang out the reVille and be-
fore the sun had risen the great line
| was complete. To the extreme left
| was General Duffield, with the Thir-
/ ty-third Michigan, his command hav-
: ing reached the Aguidores bridge by
train. Next to the northeast was
General Kents division, a mile and a
1o1f % p
! serve force. The centre Of the line
: was held by a cavalry division which
: F! until General Wheeler arrived at
noon, was commanded by General
2 Sumner. Owing to General Young
| illness, Colonel Wood, of the rough
riders, commanded his brigade, which
: consisted of the First regulars, the
First Volunteers and the Tenth regu-
: lars and one battalion Of the Ninth
| regular cavalry all diSmounted, with
| the exception of two troops on the ex
| treme right under Generals Lawtoi
: | and Chaffee, fully five miles from ths
5 | sea- 1t had been arranged that Gen
| eral Duffield should make a fent o
= | attacking Aguidores in order to draw
= | attention from the main movement
I | and at o'clock General LaWton
), | troops moved forward, led by bat
/ | terry Of the First artillery under com
= mand of Captain Allyn Capron. Every
l
; ! rations and ammunition to match ant
? | every one knew that he was not ex
2 | pected to return to camp until Santa
go had fallen.
: THE FIRST SHOT
. The first shot was fired from tn,
t | battery at GAO o'clock by Captain
! ! Capron, whose son, Captain Allyn X
e Capron, of the rough-riders, was kill
t ed in the battle at Sevilla. The sho
e ! was directed at Caney, where th'
8 | Spaniards were in force and it fell II
l the heart of the town. The firing con
| tinued for twenty minutes withou
] | response. Meantime the cavalry divi
f | sion had moved forward on the mair
: Santiago trail, headed by a light bat
= terry Of the second artillery under CGp
Y | tain Grimes. The movement OF thi:
e | battery was a heart breaking task
\ | owing to the mud in the valley and {
= | steep hill. Under the musketry fir.
. | of the cavalrymen the Spaniards ir
the little town of Ell Paso retreatct
| and Captain Grimes battery took vi
a position there and began a rapid
E | firing into Caney. The guns OF tn.
l two batteries made the place so no
that the enemy finally retired. hav.
| ing no artillery.
The town was surrounded by rough
| earthworks and lines of baroed wire
| Alter the enemy H'Iu Deeu uEiFen IRON
| FL PasO, twenty-onc shots were fired
by Captain Crimes and Captain Cap
| ron from that position into the outel
! Notifications of Santiago before re
| sponse came. When it did come, how
| ever, it came with unexpected accu.
2 | ray, the shots being from three ana
5 | fiVn inch rapidfire rifles, evidently
3 ! ta.-en from Admiral Cervcra 8 war
| ships and mounted behind the forti-
/ ! fications. The Spanish g,Inners raE eC
l | the hill On which FL Paso stands and
: which meantime had been made the
: | headquarters of General Sumner and
| the Cuban generals. Garcia, Castillo
5 Capote and Rabi. One shciI struck q
! large stor@house, on the rel corrugat-
| ed roof OF which stood ten Cubans
: | viewing the fight. The roof eell and
= all the Cubans were wounded and
/. | three of them will die.