The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1898-07-01
WAS Spanish ANBUSCADE.
ROUGH RIDERS WALKED FEAR
LEssLY THROUGHLEADENHAIL.
FATAL TRAP WAS CUNNIEGLY SET.
Some Interesting Details Of enc Baiiis
o. Ia Quasina. Near tho city
of santiago.

Further Associated Press sdvices
from Juragua, Cuba, via Kingston,
state THAI the initial fight Of Colonel
Woods Rough Riders Of the First aud
Tenth regular cavalry will be known
in history as the battle of La Quasina,
That it did not end in the complete
slaughter Of the Americans wns not
due to any miscalculation in the plan
Of the Spaniards, for as perfect an am
buscade as was ever formed IN the
brain Of an Apache Indian was pre-
pared and Lieutenant Roosevelt and
his men walked squarely into it.
For an hour and half they held
their ground under a perfect storm Of
bullets from the front and sides, and
then Colonel Wood at the right and
Lieutenant Colonel Roosevelt at the
left led a charge which turned the tide
of battle and sent the enemy flying
over the hills toward Santiago.
Sixteen Americans Killed.
1t is now definitely known that six
teen men on the American side were
killed while sixty were wounded or
are reported to be missing. It is inn
possible to calculate the Spanish loss
es, but it is known that they were far
heavier than those of the Americans,
at least as regards actual loss of life.
Thirty-seyen dead Spanish soldiers
were found and buried, while many
others, undoubtedly, were in the thick
underbrush on the side Of the gully
and on the slope Of the hill, where the
main body Of the enemy was located.
The wounded were all removed
That the Spandiards were thoroughly
posted as to the route taken by the
Americans in their movement toward
Sevilla was evident as shown by the.
careful preparations they had made.
Two Battles Fought.
Practically two battles were fought
at the same time-one by the Rough
Riders under the immediate COM
mand of Colonel Wood on the top Of
the plateau and the other on the hill
sides, a mile away, with the regulars,
with whom was General Young.
General Young's plans contemplated
the movement of half of his command
along the trail at the base of the range
Of hills leading back from the coast,
so that he could attack the Spaniards
on the flank side while the Rough
Riders went off to follow the trail
leading over the hill to attack them in
front This plan was carried out com
pletely. The troops left Juragua at
daybreak. The route of General
Young and the regulars was compare
lively easy of travel Three Hotch-
kiss guns were taken with this COM
mand.
The rough riders entered into the
spirit of the expedition with the great
est enthusiasm. 1t was their first OPP
portunity for fight, and every man
was eager for it. The weather grew
swelteringly hot, and one by one the
men threw away blankets and tent
rolls and emptied their canteeus. The
first intimation had by Colonel Woods
command that there were Spaniards in
the vicinity was when they reached a
point three or four miles back from
the coast, when the low cuckoo calls
Of the Spanish soldiers were heard in
the bush. 1t was difficult to locate
the exact spot from which these sounds
came
A little further on the Spaniards
were seen in the bushes for a moment.
1t was not until then that the men
were permitted to load their carbines.
At this time the sound of firing was
heard a mile or two to the right, appa-
rently coming from the hills beyond
the thicket IL was the regulars re-
plying to the Spaniards, who had open
ed on them from the thicket In addi-
ton to the rapid rifle fire the boom of
the Kotchkiss guns could be heard.
Hardly two minutes elapsed before
the Mauser rifles of the Spaniards
commenced to crack in the thicket and
hundred bullets whistled over the
heads of the Rough Riders, cutting
leaves from the trees and sending chips
flying from the fence posts by the side
Of the men. The Spaniards had open
ed and they poured in a heavy fire,
which soon had a most disastrous ef
feet. The troops stood their ground
with the bullets singing all around
them
Sergeant Hamilton Fish, Jr., was
the first man to fall. He was shot
through the heart and died instantly.
The Spaniards were not more than two
hundred yards off, but only occasional
glimpses of them could be seen. The
men continued to pour volley after
volley into the brush in the direction