The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1898-06-13
The Battalion Of Marines that was Landed
at Guantanamo, Last Friday.
HOURS CONTINUOUS FIGHTING. G
THIRTEEN.
In Beating of Bush Attack Of the -oniorenents HID
to be Landed from the Of the Americans
Wero Killed and One Loss is Unknown
1t was Probably Considerable.

= YIN sbOAltD THE ~ A6SOCIATED
PRESS DISPATCH BOAT DAuNT-
LESS. OFF GUANTANAMO, Sunday,
June Il, via MOLE ST. NICHOLAS,
Hayti. June l2.-Iieutenan Colonel R.
W. HuntinSton's battalion OF marines.
which landed from the transport PAN
ther on Friday and encamped on the
hill guarding the abandoned cable sta
tion at the entrance to the outer har-
Dor Of Guantanamo. has been engaged
In beating OF bush attack by Spanish
guerr!llas and regulars since o'clock
Saturday afternoon. The fighting was
almost continuous for thirteen hours
until o'clock this morning. when rein
forcements were landed from the Mar
blehead.
Four OF our men were killed and one
wounded. The advance pickets under
Gieutenants Neville and Shaw ore un-
accounted for.
Killed and Wounded.
Among the killed is Assistant Sur
geon John Blair Gibbs, son OF Major
Gibbs, of the regular army. who fell in
the Custer massacre. His home was at
Richmond, Va. but he has been prac-
tlciug in New York, and he entered the
service since the war began. He was a
very popular officer. The others killed
are Sergeant Charles II. Smith, OF
smallwood; Private William DunphF,of
Gloucester, Mass. and Private James
McColgan, OF Stoneham, Mass.
Corporal Glass was accidentally
wounded in the head.
The Spanish loss Is unknown, but It
was probably considerable, The
splashes OF blood found at daylight at
the position the Spaniards occupied IN
dicate fatalities, but their comrades car
r!ed of the killed and wounded.
The engagement began with desul-
tory firing at the picsets, q thousand
yards inland from the camp. Cap
tain Spicer's company was doing guard
duty and was driven In, finally rally
Ing on the camp and repulslng the en-
erny at O'Clock. The bodies OF pri-
Yates McColgan and Dunphy were
found. both shot In the head. The large
cavities caused by the bullets which In
side range of 500 yards. have q ro-
tary motion, indicate that the victims
were killed at close range.
Very Close Fighting.
Shortly after midnight came the main
attack. The Spaniards made a gallant
charge up the southwest elope. but were
met by repeated volleFs from the main
body and broke before they were one
third OF the way up the hill: but they
came SO close that at points there was
almost hand. TO hand struggle. 1t was
during this assault that Assistant Sur
geon Gibbs was killed. He was shot in
the head in front Of his own tent, the
farthest point OF attack He fell into
the arms OF Private Sullivan and both
dropped. A second bullet threw dust In
their faces. Surgeon Gibbs lived ten
minutes. but did not regain conscious
ness.
The attacks were continued at inter-
walls throughout the rest OF the night
with firing from small squads In var
ious directions.
Toward morning the fire slackencd.
Lieutenant Colonel Huntington and
Major Cockrell gave high praise TO the
nerve and the steadiness OF officers and
men, especially the young ones. as the
engagement was n baptism OF fire for
large majority. The men were IN dark
ness and in q strange lnnd, but they
stood to their posts with courage and
fortitude and there was no symptom OF
panic.
The marines. though much exhausted.
were eager for more fighting, promising
to intlict heavy punishment. They
complimented the daring OF the Span
iards with characteristic camp profan-
ity.