The River Falls times. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1894-1933, 1898-06-28

fight of Col. Woods rough riders ana
the troops of the First and Tenth cav
airy will be known in history as the
battle of La Quiasina. That it did not
end in the complete slaughter OF the
Americans was not due to any mlscar-
rage in the plans of the SpanlafdS,
for as perfect an ambuscade as was
ever formed in the brain of an Apache
was formed, and Col. Wood and his
men walked square into it. For an
hour and a half they held their ground
under a perfect storm of bullets from
the front and sides, and then Col.
Wood at the right and Lieut.. Col.
Roosevelt at the left, led a charge
which turned the tide of battle and
sent the enemy flying over the hills to-
ward Santiago. It is now definitely
known that sixteen men on the Amerl-
can side were killed while sixty are
wounded or are missing. 1t is impossi-
BILE to calculate the Spanish losses,
though it is known that they were
much larger than the American as re-
CARDS actual loss of life. AT present
thirty-seven have been
Recovered and buried,
while others are undoubtedly lying in
the thick underbrush on the side OF the
gully. or the slope of the hill where
the main body of the enemy was To-
Gated. The injured were all removed.
That the Spaniards were thoroughly
posted as to the route to be taken by
the Americans in their movements to-
ward Sevilla is evident as shown bV
the careful preparations they had
made. The main body Of the Span
iards was posted on hill on the heavl-
ly wooded slopes on which had been
erected two blockhouses fianked by
irregular intrenchmentS OF stone and
fallen trees. At the bottom of these
hills run two roads along which Lieut..
Col Roosevelt's men and eight troops
of the First and Tenth cavalry with a
battery Of four HOwitZers advanced.
These roads are but little more than
gullies, rough and narrow, and at
places almost impossible. In these
trails the fight occurred. Nearly half
a mile separated Roosevelts men from
the regulars and between them and on
both sides of the road in the thick IN
derbrush, was concealed force OF
Spaniards that must have been large,
Judging from the terrific and constant
fire they pouredGin on the Americans.
Lieut.. Col Roosevelt, in discussing the
fight afterward, said: 'There must
have been
Nearly 1900 Spaniards
in front and to the sides of us. They
held the ridges with rife pits and ma
chine guns and had a body of men in
ambush in the thick jungle at the sides
of the road over which we were adj
vancing. Our advance guard struck
the men in ambush and drove them
out But they lost Capt. Capron, Lieut..
Thomas and about fifteen men, killed
and wounded. The Spanish firing was
accurate, so accurate, indeed, that 1t
surprised me; and their firing was
fearfully heavy. | won't say word
for our own men. Every officer and
man did his duty up to the handle. Not
a man flinched."
From another officer who took a
prominent part in the fighting more de-
tails were obtained. He said: when
the firing began Lieut.. Col Roosevelt
took the right wing with Troops G and
X, under Captains Llewellyn and Jenk-
ms. and moved to the support of Capt.
Capron, who was getting it hard. At
the same time Col. Wood and Maj.
Brodie took the left wing and
Advanced in Open Order
on the Spanish right wing. Maj.
Brodie was wounded before the troops
had advanced 100 yards. Col. Wood
then took the right wing and shifted
Col. Roosevelt to the left. In the mean
time the fire from the Spaniards had
increased in volume, but notwithstand-
inc this the order for a general charge
was given, and with a yell the men
sprang forward. Lieut.. Col Roosevelt,
in front of his men, snatched rifle
and ammunition belt from wounded
soldier and cheering and yelling with
his men, led the advance. Col Wood,
with the right wing, charged at a
blockhouse 800 yards away, and Col.
Roosevelt with the left, charged at
the same time. Up the men went, yell
ing like fiends. not stopping to return
the fire of the Spaniards, but with a
grim determination to capture the
blockhouse. That charge was the end.
When within 500 yards of the coveted
position the Spaniards broke and ran
and for the first time we had the
pleasure which the Spaniards had been
experiencing all through the engage
ment, of shetting with the enemy in
sight,