The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1898-07-28
BEFORE SANTIAGO FELL
Another Chapter in the Great March
and Victory.
OUR FIGHTERS WERE EXHAUSTED

The Night OF July Brave Officers OF
High Rank Urged General wheeler,
Then I'm Command, to Withdraw
From His Perilous Position.
Santiago de Cuba, July 2S.-Probably
few European military critics will APP
preciate the arduous nature of the cam
paign so successfully terminated on the
14th inst. by the surrender of all the
Spanish forces east of Santiago and the
virtual abandonment of this province
by Spain.
In continental Europe, during all the
wars since the Napoleonlc days, 1t has
been possible to drive armies by forced
marches over long distances and to
keep transportation supplies up with
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 ten
miles into the interior from the south
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 a dozen ordinary OK teams
haul numbering carts once a 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 it 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 it 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 We're obliged to advance in
single file into the open, 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-
bltion of nerve could be required of a
soldier than that charge across 700
yards of open territory against an
enemy entrenched upon the crest of
hill. But our men never flinched.
II 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, We're to remain in column on the
main road to Santiago, to reinforce
General Lawton, whose division was to
assault El 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 Gen
eral Lawton was successful at FL
| 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 It was less
dangerous to advance and charge the
enemys works than TO stay where they
| We're, and with a general impulse to
| get where they could return the enc
my's fire the advance regiments, the
| Sixth and Sixteenth moved out. The
others followed. There is a question
to charge was ever given. Regimental
and company commanders simply led
their way heroically forward up the
hill, which was taken. our men were
too much exhausted to follow up their
| victory, though It has since been as
serted that had the pursuit been con-
tinucd that afternoon the demoralized
| Spanish would have surrendered that
night. But men who had left a third
of their officers and y per cent of their
! comrades upon the field behind them
could not go on. Physical strength and
courage have their limitations,
So terrific had been the slaughter Of
| our men-90 per cent of whom were
under fire for the first time-that the
fact is though comparatively few
| knew It, that on the night of July Of
| ficers of high rank, brave soldiers, too,
! went to General Wheeler who was in
command at the front General Shafter
being still aboard his ship, and ap-
| pealed to him to withdraw. They pre-
dicted an awful disaster to our arms
| If we attempted to hold the position we
| had earned SO dearly. But the intrepid
old cavalry leader Of the Confederacy
said mo" He spoke reassuring words
| to those who came with dire forebod-
ings. We're in an uncomfortable po-
stion," he said, but the Spaniards are
more uncomfortable than we. Pass
that word down the line"
General Wheeler even sent back a
dispatch to General Shafter telling OF
the pressure that was being brought to
bear upon him. 81 presume the same
influences are being brought to bear
on YOU" he wrote in effect, but It viii
not do. American prestige would suffer
irretrievably if we gave in an inch
We must stand firm"
bow to Look Good.
Good looks are really more than skin deep