The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1898-12-23
HARDSH|PS OF
ROUGH RIDERS
Report Published Showing
What they Suffered.
ROOSEVELT WROTE IT
EATING FLESH OF HORSES AND
ABANDONED MULES.
OFFICERS BUYING FOOD FOR THEIR MEN
Mems Clothes Dropping to Pieces, Under fed
and Over worked, Over Half Unfit for
Duty. Rooseul.'s Vivid Por.
travail of their Woes.

Washington. Dee. 22.-The War De
partment to-day made public two re-
ports of Colonel Roosevelt on the fights
of the First U. s. V. cavalry, Rough
Riders) in front of Santiago. One Is
addressed to Colonel Wood, command
ing. and the second is to Brigadier Gene
raj Wood after Colonel Roosevelt took
command of the regiment. The War
Department has hitherto refused to MAKE
these reports public. The second and
more important report, after detailing
the fighting done by the Rough Riders"
is as follows:
For the next seven days until the
tenth we lay in our line while the truce
continued. We had continually to work
at additional bomb proofs and at the
trenches, and we had no proper sup
ply Of food and utterly inadequate medi-
cal facilities the men suffered a good
deal The officers Clipped together. pur-
chased beans, tomatoes and sugar for
the men, so that they might have some
relief from the bacon and hardtack
them coffee As for the sick and wound
ed they suffered so in the hospitals
when sent to the rear for lack of food
and attention that we found it best %,
keep them at the front and give them
such care as our own doctors could. As
mentioned in my previous letter thir-
teen Of our wounded men continued
to fight through the battle in spite OF
their wounds, and of these sent to the
rear many. both of the sick and wound
ed, came up to rejoin us as soon as
their condition allowed them to walk;
most of the worst cases were ultimately
sent to the States. On the 10th the truce
was at the end and the bombardment re-
opened. As far as our lines were con-
cerned it was on the Spanish part very
feeble. We suffered no losses and
speedily got the fire from their trenches
in our front completely under. On the
18th we We're moved three quarters of
mile to the right, the truce again being
on. Nothing happened here, except we
continued to watch and do our best to
get the men, especially the sick, properly
fed, and having no transportation and
being able to get hardly any through the
regular channels, we used anything we
could find, captured Spanish cavalry
horses. abandoned mules. which had been
shot, bur which our men took and cured,
diminutive skinny ponies purchased from
the Cubans. etc. BY these means and
by the exertions of the officers we<were
able from time to time to get supplies
OF beans, sugar, tomatoes and even oat-
meal, while from the Red Cross people
we got our invaluable load of rice, corn
meal, etc. All of this was of the utmost
consequence, not only for the sick, but
also for the well, as the lack Of proper
food was telling terribly on the men.
1t was utterly impossible TO get them
clothes and shoes; those they had were
in many cases literally dropping to
pieces. On the 18th the city surrender
ed. On the 10th we shifted camp to
here, the best camp we have had, but
the march hither under the MONDAY sun
told very heavily on our men weakened
by understanding and oyerwork, and
the next morning 123 cases were report
ed to the doctor, and now have but half
of the six hundred men with which |
landed four weeks ago, fit for duty, and
these are not fit to do anything like the
work they could do then. As we had but
one wagon, the change necessitated
leaving much of my stuff behind, with a
night of discomfort, with scanty shell
ter and scanty food for the most of the
officers and many of the men. Only the
possession of the improvised pack train
alluded to above saved MS from being
worse Yesterday | sent in detail
of six officers and men to see if they
could not purchase or make arrange
ments for supply of proper food and
proper clothing for the men, even if we
had to pay it out Of our own pockets
Our suffering has been due primarily to
lack Of transportation and of proper
food or sufficient clothing and of medical
supplies. We should now have wagon
sheets for tentage.
Very respectfully.
'THEODORE ROOSEVELT"