The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1898-08-09
JOE SAID NO
Asked to ia Back at Sanlla-
90. Gen. Wheeler Would
Not Yield.

Pafore Santiago De Cuba. July :, lN'>.
To Adiutant General. Fifth Army '"rfS.
Sir. >fter the engagement Of june
18th. | pushed forward my c"inil"i"
through the valley. Lawt"n anu f\'"'
command occupying the hills IN the -
entity Of that place. After IN" u"Ho
r..t I.vron WAS ordered forward dI''
on that night Of the :iuth lh~lTut'l'i
were given hy Major General Sn'itSi
10 this oIIiccr to attack 'alltN. Viii ="
cavalry division and Kent diNlSi'h W.
orIar,ad 10 move forward on the regular
Santiago road. The movement com
m.nced on the morning Of July Isl. ne
.,v,Irv division advanced and formed itS
lime with lis left near the Santilg" r"aa.
while Kent'S division formed lS Inc Win
he RIGHT Joining the left of the caviar!
division.
Colonel McClernand. of General Shat-
ter'S staff. directed me To CIV" hlN'Fu'
lions to General Kent. which | c"IhlileH
with in person. ut the same time per
sonallv directing General Sumner u
move forward. The men We're all com
pellcd to wade the San Juan river 10
GET into line. This was done under very
heavy fire Of both infantry ana arfl-
lery Our balloon having been sent mp
fl0it bN the 1llilll Iosld VIZ lIl'' = 49,
of bv the enemy. It was evident that
we were as much under fire III ormlng
the line as we would be by IN advance.
therefore pressed tho command for
ward from the covering under which II
was formed. II merged into open Spac"
in full view of the enemy. who occu-
pied brcaStworks and batteries on the
crest of the hill which oyerlookS Santl-
ago. officers and men falling 1T every
step. The troops advanced CALAMITY.
soon reached the foot of the hill and as
cended. driving the enemy from their
works and occupying them on the crest
of the hill. To accomplish this required
courage and determination on the part
of the officers and men Of Il high order
and the losses were very severe. Too
much credit cannot he given to General
Sumner and General Kent and their gal
LIANT brigade commanders. Colonel Wood
and Colonel Carroll. of the cavalry. Cen
cral Hamilton S. Hawkins. commands
ing the First brigade. Kent'S division.
and Colonel Pearson. commanding the
Second brigade. Colonel Carroll and
Major Vessels were both wounded dur
ing the charge. but Major Vessels was
enabled to return and resume command.
General Wyckoff. commanding Kcnt'S
Third brigade. was killed at 1910. Lieu
tenant Colonel Worth took COMMAND
and was wounded 1T 1920. Lieutenant
Colonel Liscum then took command and
was wounded at 1890. and the command
then devolved upon Liuetenant Colonel
Ewers.. Ninth infantry.
Upon reaching the crest I ordered
breaStworkS to be constructed. and sent
to the rear for ShovelS. picks. spades and
axes. The enemy retreat from the ridge
was precipitated but our men were so
thoroughly exhausted that it was i'm
possible for them to follow. Their shoes
were soaked with water by wading the
San Juan river. they had become
drenched with rain. and when they reach
the crest they were absolutely unable 10
proceed further. Notwithstanding this
condition. these exhausted men labored
during the night to erect brcastworks.
furnish details to bury the dead. and
carry the wounded back in improvisod
lltters. | sent word along the line that
reintorcements would soon reach rs and
That VITO would join our right and
that General Bates would come IN and
strengthen our left. After reaching .he
crest of the ridge. General Kent sont
the Thirteenth regulars to assist in
strengthening our right. At milniobt
General Bates reported and I placed him
III q strong position on the left Of orr
line. General Iawton had attomntnd
70 J"ln rs from Cancy. but when very
near orr lines he was fired upon by tho
SphnlardS and turned back. but Joined
US next DAY at noon by q circuitous
route. During all the day on .Iuly md
tne cavalry division. kent's division. and
Bates brigade were engaged with tho
enemy, being subjected to 4 fierce fire,
ana mourning many casualties. and later
III the day LaWton's division also be-
came engaged.
During the entire engagement my
staff performed their duties with cour-
age. judgment and ability. Special cred
II IS due to Lieutenant Colonel !. II.
lDorst, Major William u. Beach. Can
tam Joseph +. Dickman. and Lieuten-
ant Nj. +. Steele. | desire also to say
that Lieutenants James II. Reeves and
Joseph Wheeler. II. Captain VIM. Astor
thanlor. Major +. A. Darlington. Mr.
AHrellus Mestre and Corporal John
Landmark. also deserve high commep-
datlon for courage and good conduct.
Mayor West, my QuartermaSter. deserves
special commentator for his energy and
@ood conduct during the campaign. and
Major Nalery Harvard and Mr.. Leon
ard Wilson hay also lone their full
duty. Captain Hardic and First Lien
- ''Ait INpfSltI. NlIn 1rDOD &
Third cavalry. were detailed with head
quarters and conducted themselves
handsomely under fire. The superb cour-
age displayed hy the officers and men
VIII be specially mentioned in the ro-
ports Of subordinate commanders
Accompanying the report is Il copy Of
the dispatches which We're sent 10 Gen
cral Shafter by General Wheeler. 10
ginning June 10Th, and ending July 2nd
IN July lst. at $40 O'Clock D. m. Gen
eFal Wheeler writing from San Juan
has the following to say about with
drawing from the position we had won.
- examined the line in front Of
WOOD brigade and gave the men
ShoVels and picks and insisted on their
gong right TO work. | also sent word
70 ''elleral Nent TO come and get in
frenchlng tools. and saw General Uaw-
klliS III person and told him the same
thln@. They all promise to do their
tAat ~