The evening times., 1898-09-03
LAST BATTLE IN PORTO RICO.
Peace News Came During n Fight
at AibOnitO.

New Orleans, Sept. 3.-The United
States transport Aransas, formerly OF
the Morgan line. which left Ponce on Au-
gust 23 reached New Orleans yesterday.
On board of her from the Iate seat of
war were Lieut.. Gordon c. Heiner, OF
Battery B, Fourth Artillery, in charge of
five dynamite guns, and Mr.. Stockley,
dynamite expert, and son of the president
of the Sims Dudley Pneumatic Gun Com
pany The party is on the way 10 Fort
Myer, under orders.
Lieut.. Heiner gave the following account
of the Porto Rican campaign, and the
last fight of the war in the West Indies;
"Out batteries were landed at Guanica
from the transports Comarche, UniOnist
and Specialist on July 26. and this was
where we had a slight brush with the
Spanish, who attempted to oppose our
landing They attacked our infantry
outposts, but were driven back by half
an hours firing. 1t was not until Au-
gust that We got into anything like an
engagement This was at the bIockhousc
at Coamo. We had marched from Guani-
ca to Yauco in one day, and from there
to TuIipa and the next cay TO Ponce,
where Gen Miles and his staff and the
larger part Of the army OF Porto Rico
were Quartered.
II here were regiment. Yrom Illinois,
wisconsin. Massachusetts, Pennsylvania
and New York, the Eleventh and Nine
teenth Regular Infantry, your batteries
of the Third Artillery and Troop a of
the Fifth Cavalry. We arrived at Ponce
on August l. and remained there until
August T. when we were ordered away
toward Coamo, and made fifteen miles
in that direction that day.
.'On the, Sth we marched miles with
ont meeting the enemy. and on the 9th we
marched miles into the fight. The Span
ish. only a small force, were in block
house, and the Sixteenth Pennsylvania
was sent around Is miles upon their flank
We opened fire, and in a short time mac
reduced the blockhouse. The Second ana
Third Wisconsin were in our support, but
did not get a chance TO get into the hsht,
as the Spaniards threw up their hands and
surrendered There were only some dozen
or fifteen men in the blockhouse when
they had given up and when our infantry
entered the city they captured l6I. though
probably as many more again escaped.
ION the llth We were again engaged
This was the demonstration against the
trenches in front of Aibonito. Our bat
tery was not In this. but the Third Arui-
iery was It succeeded in running the
Standards out of the trenches. but also
ran short of ammunition. My battery was
stationed some miles to the rear and
the attacking party had no infantry to
take the trenches by assault.
1--WE were all hooked up ready 10 go
TO the front when the order came for
more am munition. and l was ordered 10
take up four limbers with II. l went up
at a good trot. as the orders conveyed
no special hurry. but when | arrived
Gen. Wilson had given the order to re-
tire.
THE news of the peace negotiations
had come in also. so this was the last fir
ing so far as l know, upon the island.
The Spaniards were in force about two
thousand and AibonitO was considered
their stronghold. They had their guns
situated on the hillside. They had a
splendid position In three lines, one thous-
and feet above US, and Battery +, of the
Third Artillery, had opened fire at a
distance of 2100 yards with five guns.
and kept up a rapid fire for an hour,
which drove the Spaniards from their
trenches.
When the ammunition began to run
low our guns fired more slowly, and in
this slow fire the enemy got our range
pretty accurately and sent in a shot ev-
cry minute. II is wonder to me that
with all the shot and hail of Mauser
bullets more men were not killed and
wounded. AS il was. we had two men
in the infantry killed, and three wound
ed while Lieut.. ]. =. Ea;nes, whom you
know of here as having been at the bar
racks, was wounded, as we thought at
first fatally; however, he pulled through
all right. He was in the main road with
his gun, and the shot and bullets were
coming down like hailstorm, for they
had the range of this particular spot
down fine. However, we retired at the
same time that the news of peace came
to us, and we We're sent back to Coamo
where my battery is still encamped.''
Lieut. Heiner says that Porto Rico is
not good country for handling artillery
and cavalry and horses. The ground is
broken with heavy underground, and the
land is cut up by streams, while it is hot
and uncomfortable.