The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1898-07-28
BEFORE SANTIAGO FELL
Another Chapter in the Great March
md Victory.
OURFIGHTERs WERE EXHAUSTED


The Night of July 1 Brave officers
High Rank Urged General Wheele
Then In Command, to Withdra'
From His Perilous Position.
Santiago de Cuba. July 2S.-Probabl
few European military critics will al
preciate the arduous nature of the can
paign SO successfully terminated on tn
14th inst. by the surrender of all tn
Spanish forces east of Santiago and tn
virtual abandonment of this PROVING
by Spain.
In continental Europe. during all tn
wars since the Napoleonic days, 1t ha
been possible to drive armies by force,
marches over long distances and t,
keep transportation supplies up will
the advance. 1t will be hard. therefore
for European observers to understand
the obstacles that had to be overcome
in advancing an army of 10000 men ter
miles into the interior from the soutt
coast of this province.
One word tells the story-roads The
roads here are simply paths through
the dense tropical forest. paths along
which half dozen ordinary OK teams
haul numbering carts once day in
comparatively dry weather. There are
no bridges, and In wet weather, when
the streams are raging torrents, these
paths are almost impossible to men on
horseback. absolutely SO to vehicles OF
all descriptions Thus 1t was that all
these roads along which the troops
were moved had really to be built be-
fore a single wagon train could get
through. The bridges, thrown across
the streams. were repeatedly swept
away by high water. During the four
days before the surrender 1t was pos.
sible to get only one light battery OF
the six brought by General Randolph
to the front. while not a single one of
the Siege guns brought by General
Shafter got beyond Siboney.
The men were obliged to advance in
single file into the oDen and at the
famous assault on San Juan Hill one
column marched out of the road into
the open in the face of murderous
artillery and rifle fire from the Span
ish trenches and deployed for the
charge on open ground. No finer exhi-
bition of nerve could be required of
soldier than that charge across 70l
yards of open territory against an
enemy entrenched upon the crest of a
hill. But our men never flinched.
) 1t Is one Of the unwritten secrets of
the battle of July-1 that the plans made
the night previous did not contemplate
an assault upon the works of the en-
emy before Santiago Two divisions,
those of General Wheeler and General
Kent. were to remain in column on the
main road to Santiago. to reinforce
General Lawton, whose division was to
assault Ell Caney on the extreme right,
while Grimes battery made a diver
sion on the left. But when the Span
ish guns began to drop shrapnel shells
over the road on which our column
rested, and when word came that Cen
eral Lawton was successful at El
Caney, 1t became necessary for Wheel
er's and Kent's divisions either to ad-
vance, retreat or remain quiet under
the storm of shell that was bursting
over their heads.
In these circumstances 1t was less
dangerous to advance and charge the
enemy's works than to stay where they
were. and with general impulse to
get where they could return the ene- r
my's fire the advance regiments. the
Sixth and Sixteenth, moved out. The
others followed. There is a question
any specific general command
to charge was ever given. Regimental
and company commanders simply led
their way heroically forward ,up thei
hill. which was taken. Our men were1
too much exhausted to follow up their {
victory, though it has since been as
serted that had the pursuit been con- !
tinued that afternoon the demoralized :
Spanish. would have surrendered that &
night. 43ut men who had left third 4
If their officers and IL per cent Of their v
comrades upon the field behind them /
could not go on. Physical strength and I
have their limitations.
So terrific had been the slaughter of n
,ur men-9O per cent of whom were
lnder fire for the first time--that the s
act is, though comparatively few ii
NEW it. that on the night of July Of Ii
icers of high rank, brave soldiers, too,
vent to General Wheeler who was in
ommand at the front General Shafter
'eing still aboard his ship. and ap- =
'ealed to him to Withdraw. They pre- /,
liCted an awful disaster to our arms a
we attempted to hold the position we S
lad earned so dearly. But the intrepid n
Id cavalry leader of the Confederacy a
aid No" He spoke reassurng words ~ -
o those who came with dire forebod- a,
ngs. We're in an uncomfortable po- r.
ition," he said. but the Spanards are
more uncomfortable than we. Pass tC
hat word down the line" "
General Wheeler even sent back a 3,
ispatch to General Shafter telling of r.
he pressure that was being brought to /,
ear upon him. Il presume the same ca
lfluences are being brought to bear b
n you" he wrote in effect, but 1t will
OF do. American prestige would suffer
il We gave in an inch.
le must stand firm OF