Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1898-06-27

/, Trumpeter R. Mcdonald, First vol
unteer cavalry.
Private N H. Cochrane, First volun-
| teer cavalry.
Private Fred Chilcot, First volunteer
cavalry.
Private ]. S. Miller, First volunteer
cavalry
Private w. S. Sharp, First volunteer
| cavalry
Private J. E. Steadman, First volun-
| teer cavalry.
Private D. C. Deniss, First volunteer
| cavalry
Captain Mccormick and Captain
| Luna, of the First volunteer cavalry,
| whe were reported yesterday as among
| the dead or wounded were unframed,
as was Colonel Wood, whom Adjutant
| Hall reported as MORALLY wounded
That the Spaniards were thoroughly
posted as to the route to be taken by
| the Americans in their movement to-
wards Sevilla was evident, as shown
| by the careful preparation they had
| made The main body of the Spaniards
| was posted on a hill, on the heavily
wooded slopes of which had been
erected two block houses, f1anked by
irregular entertainments of stone and
| fallen trees. At the bottom of these
hills run two roads, along which Lieu
tenant Colonel Roosevelt's men and
eight troops of the First and Tenth
| cavalry, with a battery of four howitZ-
| ers, advanced. These roads are but lit
| tie more than gulleys, rough and mar
| row, and at places almost impossible
In these trails the fight occurred
Nearly half a mile separated Roose-
velt's men from the regulars, and be-
| tween them and on both sides of the
| road in the thick. underbrush was con-
cealed force Of Spaniards that must
have been large, judging from the ter
rife and constant fire they poured in
| on the Americans.
THE FIGHT WAS OPENED
| by the First and Tenth cavalry under
| General Young. A force of Spaniards
was known to be in the vicinity of La
| Quaslna, and early in the morning
| Lieutenant Colonel Roosevelt's men
started off up the precipitous bluff,
back OF Siboney, to attack the SPAN
i lards on their right flank, General
Young at the same time taking the road
| at the foot Of the HILL About two and
half miles out from Siboney some
Cubans, breathless and excited. rushed
In the camp with the announcement
that the Spaniards were but a little
way in front and were strongly en-
trenched. Quickly the Hotchkiss guns
out in the front were brought to the
rear, while strong scouting line was
thrown out. Then cautiously and in
| silence the troops moved forward until
bend in the road disclosed a hill
where the Spaniards were located. The
guns were again brought to the front
| and placed in position, while the men
crouched down in the road, waiting
impatiently to give Roosevelt's men.
who were toiling over the little trail
along the crest of the ridge, time to
get up.
At 1880 a. m. General Young gave
the command to the men at the Hotch-
kiss guns to open fire. The command
was the signal for a fight that for
stubbornness has seldom been equalled.
The instant the Hotchkiss guns were
fired, the hillsides commanding the
| road gave forth volley after volley
from the mausers of the Spaniards
Don't shoot until you see some
thing to shoot at" yelled Colonel
Young, and the men, with set jaws
and cleaning eyes, obeyed the order.
Crawling along the edge of the road
ard protecting themselves as much as
possible from the fearful fire of the
| Spaniards, the troopers, some of them
| stripped to the waist, watched the base
| of the hill, and when any part of a
! Spaniard became visible they fired
Never for an instant did they falter
One husky warrior of the Tenth cav
! airy, with a ragged wound in his thigh,
coolly knelt behind a rock, loading and
| firing, and when told by one of his
comrades that he was wounded, laugh
ed and said: "Oh, that's all right.
that's been there some time"
| In the meantime, away off to the left
could be heard the crack of the rifles
| of Colonel Woods men and the regu-
lar, deeper toned volley firing of the
| Spaniards Over there the American
| losses were the greatest.
Col. Woods men with an advance
| guard well out in front, and two Cuban
| guides before them, but apparently
with no fiankerS, went Squarely into
| the trap set for them by the Spaniards
| and only the unfaltering courage of
| the men in the face of fire that would
| even make a veteran quail prevented
what might easily have been a disas-
| ter. AS it was, Troop l., the advance
| guard, under the unfortunate Captain
| Capron, was almost surrounded and
| but for the reinforcement hurriedly
| sent forward every man would prob
ably have been killed or wounded.
There must have been nearly 1,500
! Sranards in front and to the sides Of
us" said Lieut. Col Roosevelt to-day,
when discussing the fight. 'They held
the ridges with rifle pits and machine
| guns and had body of men in ambush
| in the thick jungle at the sides of the
road over which we were advancing.
| Our advance guards struck the men
| in ambush and
| DROVE THEM OUT,
but they lost Captain Capron, Lieut.
| Thomas and about fifteen men killed
| or wounded.
"The Spanish firing was accurate, so
| accurate indeed, that it surprised me,
! and their firing was fearfully heavy
| Il want to say a word for our own
| men," continued Lieut. Col. Roosevelt.
Every officer and man did his duty up
| to the handle Not man fiinched.
| From another officer who took a
prominent part in the fighting more de-
| tails were obtained: when the firing
| began" said he, Lieutenant Colonel
Roosevelt took the right wing with
troops G and K, under Captains Lew
| ellyn and jerks, and moved to the sup