The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1898-09-15

In their front a wide bottom ~ ealch
/ had been placed q barbad Wire enSAn-
clement and beyond which there vas q
high hill along the crest OF wbIen the
enemy was strongly posted. Eoolhg
daunted, these gallant men pushea on
to drive the enemy from his ehose.n. boz
sltlon, both divisions losing heaFlH, In
this assault, Colonel Hamilton, ieuten-
ants Smith and shipp were kilea Aud
Colonel Carroll. .Lieutenants phayer And
Myer, all In the cavalry, were wopnued.
FraIsos Gen. HawkihI.
"Great credit is due to Brisaalef
General H. 8. Hawkins who, placing
himself between his regiments, ueged
them on by voice and bugle calls 10 the
attack so brilliantly executed, a.,
I'm this fierce encounter, Words tsu to
do Justice TO the gallant regiple6tal
commanders and the heroic u1en. Tor,
while the generals indicated the ~ Etna-
tions and the points OF attack, j was
after ali the intrepid bravery OF the
subordinate officers and men that piant>
ed our colors on the crest OF $40 Juan
hill and drove the enemy from his
trenches and blockhouses, thus cabling
a position which sealed the fate OF SAM
tIago. o
an this action on the part Of the aeld,
most efficient service was Rendered By
lieutenant John H. Parker, TbIrteehth
infantry, and the gattllng Bun detach-
ment under his command. The mating
continued at Intervals until uiBnetall,
but our men held resolutelY 70 the hosl-
tlons gained at the cost Of so nauch
blood and toll. A.
II am greatly indebted to General
Wheeler, who, as previously stntsu, re-
turned from the sick list 70 duty aorlug
the afternoon. His cheertulnesS and
agEressiveness made itself telt on this
part OF the battlefield and the inlocma-
ton he furnished to me at Yaclous
stages of the battle proved to be nost
useful. -.
"Mv own health was impaired by over
| exertlon in the sun and intense neat OF
the day before. which prevepted me
from participating as actively N the
battle as desired; but from o hlsh hill
near my headquarters, had o general
view OF the battlefield, extendIns from
FL Caney on the right to the Jeff @ our
lines on San Juan hill"
End OF tie Hattie.
"The cessation of firing about noon
on the third practically termlnatea the
battle Of Santiago; all that Occurred
after this time may properly BE tseated
under the head OF the siege WnlSh fol-
lowed. After deductIns the aetach.
mentS retained at siboney and DalQuirl
to protect those depots secure tton at>
tack, organizations held to proteet our
hanks, others acting as Escorts and
guards to light batteries, the nSytnbers
OF the hospital corps, guards lett IN
charge Of blanket rolls, Which The In
tense heat caused the men to cast aside
before entering battle, orderlies, etc., y
Is doubtful II we had more thas l2,0OO
men on the firing line on July 4 when
the battle was fiercest and When me I'm,
portant and strong posluOns OF Bi
Caney and San Juan were captured.
"a few Cubans assisted In the attack
at FL Caney and fought Vallant'S, but
their numbers were too small 20 hate
rally change the strength, as indicated
above. The enemy confronted uS with
numbers about equal TO our own; they
fought obstlnately In strong entehched
positions and the results Ohta1nea clear
Is Indicate the intrepid gallantry OF the
company officers and men and tne benz
eflts derived from the careful lealnlng
and instruction given In the cOnlnany IN
recent years In rifle practice anu other
battle exercises. Our losses IN these
battles were twenty-five Officers and 2OSS
men killed and eIghty-one ohieees and
1909 men wounded; missing Seventy
| nine. The missing with few exceptions
reported later"
General shafter says the arrival Of
General Escance at Santiago Vas not
anticipated. He says: "General, Garcia,
with between four and five thousand
Cubans, was intrusted With the duty
| OF watching for and intercepting the re-
Inducements expected. This. however,
he failed to do and Escarre passed Into
the city along on my extreme rsht and
near the bay" n.
After speaking OF Admiral ooeSvera's
sortle and the destruction nf Ms feet
General shafter says he again called on
the Spanish commander to snftender
He says: "Cn the same Jate In
formed Admiral Sampson that II he
would force his way into the harbor the
city would surrender without any fur7
ther sacrifice OF life. Commodnre Wat
son replied that Admiral Sampson was
temporarily absent, hut that In MS
Cwatson's) opinion, the navy should not
enter the harbor."
The strength of the enemy's POSITION
was such did moi wish to assault 1t
| IL It could be avoided
IAN examination OF the enemy's
works, made after the SURRENDER, fully
justlfles the wisdom Of the COURSE adopt
"a. The entrenchments Could only have
been carried with very great loss OF
life"
Securing SURRENDER.
General shafter gives the varying ef-
forts towards securing surrender and
his reopeuing the engaeenent on the
10th, when the truce ended. On the
nth, the surrender was aeaIn demanded,
"By this date, the slckness IN the army
was Increasing very rapidly as a result
Of exposure in the trenches 70 the IN
tense heat Of the sun and ths heavy
rains. Moreover, the dews IN SOba are
almost equal to rains. The Weakness
of the troops was becoming 80 apparent
/ was anxious to bring the siese 10 an
end, but In common With most Of the
officers OF the army, did moi think az, an
assault would be justlfiable, Especially
good faith In their preliminary propo-
sitlon to surrender"
July y informed the spanlSh COM
mander that Major General Miles, COM
mander-ln-chIef OF the American army,
had Just arrived In my camp and re-
quested him to grant us personal IN
tervlew on the following DAY He re.
piled he would be pleased 20 meet uS,
The Interview took place on the 18th
and / Informed him his surrender only