Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1898-12-03

veteran soldier Of the Twenty seventh
Michigan. The men of this regiment
fought all day upon empty stomaches,
having had no prepared meal since noon
| the day before. They had left their
packs and haversacks behind them.
Major 0 Brien said that it was a mat
ter Of surprise that the men were SO
ready and willing, as they had been on
board the transport 10 days before
landing in Cuba. The voice Of the
grumbler was drowned by a chorus from
his comrades. What is the use?' they
said. 1.-THE government is doing all it
can. -
In the deployment Of the right Of
Chaffee's brigade, the Seventh regiment
took the lead, marching over the ridge
up path in single file. Finally it
struck a sunken road on the crest of the
ridge 800 yards from the Spanish block
house, northeast Of Eel Caney. The crest
Of the ridge offered some protection
from Spanish fire. Looking across the
hollow between them and the village,
the men could see the enemy in their
trenches. Firing sometimes by volIeys
and sometimes at will, the Seventh was
unable to silence the Spanish fire. All
day, for eight hours, the high key of
tie Mauser rifle could be heard above
the pop Of the Krag Jorgensen.
The slope in front Of the Seventh was
q dense chaparral and charge down
that across the rayine under the muzzles
Of the Mausers would have annihilated
the regiment. Besides, in advancing to
the fort tho Seventh would have got
ten under the fire Of Capron's guns
They kept their eolors flying all day as
markers for Capron. The losses were
distributed over every hour Of the day
and over all the companies in the regi-
ment. The officers were surprised in
the end to learn how many had been
lost, total Of l40 out of $50 in line.
As it was impossible for a man to show
the smallest part of his body without
getting it punctured, all the firing was
done while lying down, and all the
killed were shot in the head Its com
mander, G. S. Carpenter, veteran of the
civil war, was on the firing line all day.
When the Twelfth regiment advanced
against the stone fort early in the morn
ing, it drew the Spanish fire from the
trenches, the loopholed fort and the
church. Spaniards in the church belfry
first sighted the Twelfth as it moved
from the mountain down through the
hollow to reach high ground 700 or 500
yards from the fort.
Captain Waltz's company erept up
within $50 to 400 yards, working right
and left and trying to get position
unswept by the Spanish fire. After the
fort had been preached by Capron
guns a complete regimental line was
formed and swept forward to the fort
which was taken possession of by Com
panies A, D and f under Captain Wood,
Lieutenant Wilde and Captain Clarke
1t was then o'clock. Some of the men
of Company + erept through the holes
which Capron's shells had made in the
stone walls and got the Spanish flag
Private Abel of Company A raised the
oolors of the Twelfth over the fort
Soldiers of the regiment were wounded
in the fort after it had been taken. The
Spanish flag was handed first to Cap
tain H. l.. Haskell, commanding the
battalion to which Company f be-
longed. Captain Haskell gave it to
Creelman, the correspondent who was
afterward wounded. The Twelfth men
finally got possession of the flag again,
tore it into bits and distributed the
pieces through the regiment.
The Twelfth was 500 strong at Ell
Capey, aud lost 40 killed and wounded.
Colonel. Richard Comba, a war veteran,
was wounded and was succeeded in
command by Major H. A. Humphrey
another war veteran.
After the fort fell the Spaniards in
the village made weak attempt to re-
take it. They advanced with a scatter
ing line under cover Of the fire from the
houses in the village, but were driven
back Capron's battery moved up and
opened on the blockhouses around the
village Chalfee' regiments also charged
forward through the hollow. For an
hour it was Struggling fight between
the demoralized Spaniards trying to get
away, Americans heading them off, aud
the few misguided Spaniards who