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

! blockhouseS at I'll Caney village. When
within 500 yards Of the blockhouses the
regiment found a rise Of ground which
served as shelter, and there it remained
until 4 O'Clock. The losses Of the Iegi-
inent began when the sharpshooters
/ opened on it and continued during its
advance to the shelter and while lying
there. One officer wounded, men kill
| ed and 45 wounded were the total cas-
ualties.
On the line with the Twenty second.
aud Eighth regulars was the only yolun-
teer organization engaged at I'll Caney,
| the Second Massachusetts,, militia
\ regiment with a history in war and in
peace The commander Of the Second
Massachusetts,, Colonel Fl. p. Clarke, is
a splendid type Of militia soldier. He
| had no war experience before he went
/ To Cuba. Lieutenant Colonel Subway
and Major Whipple we're both war vet
I Grams The strength Of the regiment at
1 El Caney was 935 men, but two com
panies were detached as reserve. The
| Second was armed with the smoking
! Springfield rife and naturally drew the
fire of the Spaniards. Lieutenant Field
and Captain Warner were killed and
Captain Hapgood seriously wounded.
Total loss, as killed and wounded.
General Ludlow was personally con-
spicuous along his line all day wearing
a white straw hat. His horse was shot
under him early in the fight The gen.
eral said that he had to hold in his men
instead Of encouraging them. There was
no fiinching nor crouching. The work
of the brigade was rather negative than
positive, because, while it advanced well
in the front in order to get cover from
the Spanish bullets, it could not at all
times answer the Spanish fire, for fear
of shooting into Chaffee's men, who had
the chief role in the battle and were
pressing up closer and closer to the
Spanish works on the north and east.
The interval between Ludlow and
Chaffee's brigades was filled about noon
by the Second brigade of the division,
commanded just at that time by Lieu
tenant Colonel A. S, Daggett of the
Twenty fifth United States (colored).
Colonel Daggett was soldier in the
civil war in the Fifth Maine, one of the
hard fighting regiments of the Army of
the Potomac. Ho has recently been pro
NOTED to brigadier general for skillfully
handling the brigade during a crisis
July /.
At El Caney the Second brigade con
sisted of the First, Fourth and Twenty
fifth regulars. The First was detached
to guard the roads in the rear Of the
division and also to support Capron's
battery. About II O'Clock Colonel Dag
gett was ordered to lead the Fourth
and Twenty fifth to a position south of
the fort, where there was gap of
three-f ourths ef mile. The stone fort
against which Capron's guns had been
laundering was pointed out to Daggett
as the objective of his brigade. The
trenches around the fort were very
heavy, extending on three sides. These
trenches as well as the smokeless pow
der were something new to the Ameri
cans The Spanish trench is about 80
yards in length, just wide enough for
men to stand in in line, and deep enough
to cover the body up to the shoulders.
The soil taken out of the trench is
spread over the ground, and if its color
is not like that of the earth it is COW
cred with brush or leaves or sod. so that
from a distance an enemy cannot see
the trenches except when they are occu-
pied by men. The men keep out of sight
except when they rise to fire. There are
no exits from the trenches. Men are
put into them TO fight and repulse the
l. aA IN H..
The Spaniards had no skirmishers nor
outposts at FL Caney, but were ready
with their blind trenches, loopholed
fortresses, smokeless powder and barbed
wire fences to slaughter the Americans
at close quarters,
The Twenty-fifth regiment being d.
reotly opposite the fort, Colonel Daggett
led it forward across a stream feet
wide and l foot deep. The men found
beyond the bank the ground was open.
Across that ground the colored troops
advanced by rushes-that is to say,
they rushed IN groups of platoons from
cover to cover. By successive rushes of
40 or so yards the line steadily adj
vanced. On its second advance from the
bank the regiment met with its heaviest
loss. Volleys were poured into it from
the stone fort, from the village and
from blockhouses on its left. Colonel
Daggett says that many of the Span
iards left the fort and came out into
the open, seemingly celebrating wheth-
er to surrender or attempt to reach the
village. Their combativeness was gone.
He supposed they were about to surren-
der. The fort had been preached in
many places by Capron's shells. and
just as the Twenty fifth got abreast of
it company of the Twelfth regi-
ment of Chaffee's brigade entered
through breach and got the flag which
had been cut down by she'll. The
strength of the Twenty-fifth regiment
was $50 men, but only five companies,
numbering 200 men, took part in the
charge. The principal loss of Al killed
and wounded came out of the 200. None
of the officers or men of the regiment
excepting Colonel Daggett, had ever