The San Francisco call., 1898-07-01
WARMLY PRAISES HIS TROOPS
SPECIAL CONTAMINATION FOR
 SEVERAL OFFICERS.
Many Heroic Incidents of the Fight on Sevilla Road Referred To in the Generals OmciAl
 Report.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

CAMP JURAGUA, June 29 (via King ston, Jamaica. June 30, 8 a. m.).-Gen- eral Wheeler's official report to Major General Shafter of what is known as the battle of Siboney is as follows:
 In Camp Juragua, June 29. To the Ad- jutant General of the Fifth Army Corps Sir: l have the honor to report that, in obedience to the instructions from the major general commanding, given me in person oR/ June 23, l proceeded to Slboney (Juragua). The enemy had evacuated the place at daylight that morning, talk ing course toward Sevilla. A body of about 100 Cubans had followed and engaged the enemy's rear guard. About nine of them were wounded.
 1 rode out to the front and found the enemy had halted and established them selves at a point about three miles from siboney.. At night the Cubans returned to the vicinity of the town. At O clock that evening the Twenty-third, General Young, reached Siboney with eight troops of Colonel Woods regiment, A, B, D, E, F, G, K and l., 300 strong; troops A, B, c and K, First Cavalry. in all 244 men, and troops A, B, D and of the Tenth Cavalry, in all 220 men, making the total force 964 men, which included nearly all of my command which had marched from Baiquiri. eleven miles.
 With the assistance of General Cas- tillo a rough map of the country was prepared and the position of the enemy was fully explained, and I determined to make an attack at daylight on the 24th. Colonel Woods regiment was sent by General Young, accompanied by two or his staff officers, 1ieutenantS T. R. Rivers and w. R. Smedberg Jr., to ap- proach the enemy on the left hand, or more westerly road, while General Young, myself and about fifty troops of the First and Tenth Cavalry, with three Hotchklss mountain guns, approached the enemy on the regular Sevilla road.
 General Young and myself examined the position of the enemy, the lines were deployed and l directed him to open fire with the Hotchkiss guns. The enemy re- piled, and the firing immediately became general. Colonel Wood had deployed his right nearly to the left of the regulars.
 For an hour the fight was very warm, the enemy being very lavish in the eX- penditure of ammunition, most or their firing being by Volleys.
 Finally the enemy gave way ana re, treated rapidly, our side Keeping well closed up on them, but our men belng physically exhausted by both their exer- tions and the great heat, were incapable of maintaining the pursuit
 I cannot speak too highly Of the gal lant and excellent conduct Of the ofhcers and men throughout my command. Gen. eral Young deserves special commenda- tion for his cool, deliberate and skllltul management
 I also specially noticed his acting adju- tant general, Lieutenant A. R. Mills, who,
 
 various parts of the line acting With en- ergy and cool courage.
 The imperative necessity or dlsem- barking with promptitude had impelled me to leave most of my staff to hasten this important matter and, unfortunately, I had with me only Major M. J. Beach and Mir. Mestro, an acting volunteer alu' both of whom, during the engagement creditably and bravely performed their duties.
 for his cool and good Judgment.
 Colonel Woods regiment was on the ex- treme left, and too far distant from me to be a personal witness of the individual conduct of the officers and men, but the magnificent bravery shown by the regi- ment under the lead of Colonel Wood tes- tifes to his courage and skill and the en- ergy and determination of his offlcers, which has been marked from the moment he reported to me at Tampa. have abundant evidence of his brave and good conduct on the field, and l recommend him for the consideration or the Govern ment. l must rely upon his report 10 do justice to his officers and men. desire personally to add that all that l have said regarding Colonel Wood applies equally to Lieutenant Colonel Roosevelt.
 l was immediately with the troops of the First and Tenth regiments of cavalry dismounted, and l personally noted their brave and good conduct, which will be specially mentioned by General Young.
 I personally noticed the good conduct of Captains w. H. Book, Robert r. Vain wright ana JacoD G. lIaliSinlln. N1dJor James M. Bell, Captain Thomas T. Know and Lieutenant George D. Brown. The last three were wounded. Major Bell, as he lay on the ground with a broken leg, said: 'I only regret that l can't go on with you further"
 Captain Know, though severely wound ed, continued as long as possible to ex- ercise his command. and insisted to me that he was not much hurt, and Lieuten- ant Brown also made light of his wound and continued up the line until he tainted. l recommend these officers for the favor- able consideration of the Government. l cannot state positively the size of the Spanish forces which we engaged, or the extent of their casualties, further than to say that the force was much greater than ours, and the information I have would indicate that their killed and wounded exceeded those which our troops sustained, but our estimate on this can only be verified when we have access to the reports of the Spanish commanders. The engagement inspired our troops and must have had a bad effect. upon the spirits of the Spaniards. It also gave our army the beautiful and well-watered country in which we have established our encampmentS. It has also given us a full view of Santiago and the sur rounding country, and has enabled us to reconnoiter close to the Qualifications of l that place.
 The casualties in the engagement were: First United States Volunteer Cavalry, strength 800, killed 8. wounded 34 First United States Regular Cavalry strength PA, killed '. wounded 8; Tenth United States Regular Cavalry, strength 220, killed l, wounded 10; total strength, 964 killed 16, wounded 52. Respectfully L II ID