The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-12-27
Colonel Roosevelt's Report on Their Work at
Santiago Made Public.
MANY HARDSHIPS EXPERIENCED
The Men Fighting and Working Without Proper Food-The Sick With
out Medical SuppIes-TheM Minority Army Bll-Al Quiet in Porto
Rico and Manna-MaJor Russell Harrison Reprimanded
for Raising the Stars and Stripes Without Orders.
More Troops Arrive-The Military Govern.
ment in Porto Rico.
ment in Porto Rico.

Washington, December 2.-The war
department today made public two
reports of Colonel Roosevelt on the
fights Of the First United States vol
unteer cavalry Trough Riders) in front
OF Santiago. One Is addressed to Col
,onel Wood, commanding, and the sec
-ond is to Brigadier General Wood, after
Colonel Roosevelt took command Of the
egimen The war department has
hitherto refused to make these reports
public. The second and more import
ant report. after detailing the fighting
done by the Rough Riders, is as fol
lows:
"For the next seven days, until the
10th, we lay in our line while the truce
continued. We had continually to work
at additional bomb proofs and at the
trenches and as we had no proper up
ply of food and utterly inadequate
medical facilities the men suffered a
good deal. The officers Clipped together,
purchased beans, tomatoes and sugar
for the men, so hat they might have
some relief from the bacon and hard
tack. With a great deal Of difficulty
we got them coffee. AS for the sick n
wounded, they suffered so in the hos
pitfalls, when sent to the rear, for lack
of food and attention that we found
it best to keep them at the front and
give them such care as our own doctors
could. AS l mentioned in my preViouS
letter, thirteen of our Inc men
continued to fight through the battle
in spite of their wounds and of those
sent to the rear many, both of the sick
and wounded, came up to rejoin us as
soon as their condition allowed them to
walk; most of the worst cases were
ultimately sent to the states.
o the 10th, the truce was at an end
and the bombardment ~re-opened. AS
far as our lines were concerned, it
was on the Spanish part very feeble.
We suffered no losses and speedily got
the fire from their trenches in our front
completely under. On the 18th we were
moved three-quarters of a mile to the
right, the truce again being on. Moth
ing happened here, except we continued
to watch, and do our best to get the
men, especially the sick, properly fed,
and, having no transportation and be-
ing able to get hardly any through the
regular channels, we used anything we
could find. captured Spanish cavalry
horses, abandoned mules, which had
been shot, but which our men took and
cured, ~diminutive, skinny ponies pur-
chased from the Cubans, etc. BY these
means and by the eXertions of the Of
fcers we were able from time to time
to get supplies of beans, sugar, toma-
toes and even oatmeal, while from the
Red Cross people we got an invaluable
load of rice, corn meal, etc. All or TINS
was of the utmost consequence not
only for the sick, but also for the well,
as the lack of proper food was telling
farrihlv ON the man TT WAS utterly i'm
possible to get them clothes and shoes;
those the had were in many cases lit
orally dropping to pieces.
"On the 18th the city surrendered.
On the 18th we. shifted camp to here,
the best camp we have had, but the
march hither under the MONDAY sun
told very heavily on our men, weak
ened by under feeding and over work,
and the next morning 1913 cases were re-
ported to the doctor and / now have
but half of the 600 men with me which
I anded a week ago, fit for duty, n
these are not fit to do anything like
the work they could do then. AS We
had but one wagon, the change neces-
STATED leaving much of my stuff be-
hind, with a night of discomfort, with
sscanty shelter and scanty food for most
of the officers and nan of the men.
only the possession of the improvised
packtrain alluded to above saved US
from being worse. Yesterday I sent in
a detail of six officers and men to see
if they could not purchase or make ar
r~angements for a supply of proper food
and proper clothing for the men even
if we had to pay for it out of our w
pockets.
Our suffering has been due prima-
rily to lack of transportation n of
proper food or sufficient clothing and of
medical supplies. We should now have
wagon sheets for tentage.
THE MINORITY ARMY BILL.
The bill for the increase of the reg
ular army which the minority of the
house committee on military affairs will
offer as a substitute for the Hull bill
was drawn by Representative Hay, of
Virginia, and is now in the hands Of
the wal department, where an estimate
is being made of the cost of such a
military establishment as it provides.
The bill, as drawn, provides for a
standing army of 1000 men-12,O 600 ar
tillery, 5000 infantry, 5000 cavalry, and
engineer, ordnance and signal corps
and general staff.
To meet the existing exigency for
troops in Porto Rico, Cuba, the Philip
pines, Hawaii and the Ladrones, the
bill provides that the president may
Issue a proclamation for 1000 aGdi-
tional volunteer troops to be enlisted
for two years. These latter troops are
to be commanded by officers appointed
by the president. The organization is
to be the same as in the regular army,
the strength of the different arms of
the service to be determined by the
president. The present volunteers are
to be mustered out within sixty days
after the passage of the act, but the
volunteer organizations now in the SER
vice shall be given preference for en-
listment in the new volunteer army, ii
they so elect. within fifteen days.
Mr.. Hay will file the bill and the
minority report on the Hull bill tomor.
row with the clerk of the house. TIL
main contention the report will make
for the minority plan as against the
Hull bill for a standing army of 100. 00t
men is that the future of the Philip.