Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1898-08-24
CHANGED CONDITIONS.
JOE WHEELER
TALKS OF THE WAR.
If the Volunteers are Not Mus
tered Out Before Congress
Meets He Will Resign
from the Army.

- ~ ~A-A ~~N>S SAAS t~S
He is a little thinner than before
he went into the war, but is bronz-
ed and his eyes are bright, his
step springy, and his movements
full of energy. He looks five years
younger than before he endured
the hardships of the campaign.
Gen. Wheeler will remain in the
army until the volunteers under
his command are mustered out, or
until December. His reelection
to Congress is said to be assured,
practically without opposition, and
the assembling of Congress will
demand his attention after De-
cember.
The general speaks modestly
about his part in the Santiago
campaign, in fact, does not talk
about himself at all, and accepts
congratulations with extreme mod
esty. But he speaks in very high
praise of the American army, and
says it has demonstrated that in
this country we can raise an army
in a short time capable of contend,
ing against the army of any ma
ton on earth. The spirit and
courage of the men, he declares.
are indomitable, and with drill
and training they become the best
soldiers that can be conceived.
The Cuban soldiers, he said,
were ragged and half-famished,
and so debilitated that as much
should not be expected of them as
some seem to expect, and moreover,
the difference of custom, mode Of
life aud language led to a lack of
understanding between them and
our own people. He found,
however, that if care was taken to
employ competent interpreters
andto explain to them fully pur-
poses and motives, they accepted
the situauation and acted to the
best of their ability. AS al ex-
ample of this, he spoke of colonel
of the Cuban army who reported
to him to cooperate with the
American army.
"I told him." said the general,
"to. report toeGeneral Chaffee for
orders. To this he replied that he
had had his orders from the oom-
Cuban general; but when
I explained to him with care the
impossibility of cooperation it he
followed the orders of the Cuban
general, instead of the American
general he accepted the situation
and reported to General Chaffee.
The general said further that
when he first went into battle the
great difference between the con-
ditions surrounding the fight now
and those surrounding the great
battles of the war pressed him
strongly.
During the war;" he said, "we
fought at close range and there
was tremendous noise and smoke.
In this war the range of fire was
eight hundred yards or more and
there and was very little
noise and the use of smokeless
powder disposed of the smoke of
battle.
ct saw probably the first man
struck in the fight. He was near
me andI went to him just as he
had fallen and could see no mark
where he had been hit, yet he was
in the last. agony of death and
died almost instantly. I had heard
no noise, I had seen nothing, and
corld not even see the wound Oh
him, and yet he was dying. We
undld his belt, and there was just
the least hole where the ball had
gone through his body. The
range of fire is SO great with the
modern guns that distance seemed
to make little difference in the
matter of danger. There is no
such thing as seeking safety in the
rear of the line of fire. When we
got to within five hundred yards
practically the whole army was
exposed to the fire, those in the
rear being in danger as well as
those forward"
Speaking of the capture of San
Juan hill, General Wheeler said
it had not been his intention to
make the assault when they did,
that they marched up to a certain
point, and intended to remain
there. He was in command, and