Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1898-07-28


stand. 1t rained quito hard, too,
but did not get very wet. We ex-
pected to romain all day in Si5oney
aud draw rations, but at 10 a. m.
orders oamo for the brigade to go to
the right and carry aid to those regi-
meu,s which were fighting on our
front. We marched about soven
miles through the roughes' country
| ever want to sec and came to tho
battle-ground at g p. NJ.
Eight soldiers woro buried there !;
VIC heard "tnps" just as wo left for
Siboney at dark, thrce miles off,
which We reached at 9.45. We
campcd> Mt tho same place as before
and drew rations tho next morning.
The battle was between the First
and Tenth U. S. Cavalry and First
Volunteer Cavalry (Young's Divis-
ioD and 1000 Spaniards undcr Gen.
l'mares. 1t lasted only short time.
The Spaniards could have held their
position for week or longer. Thcy
had very strong position, high,
steep hill, with good works and n
cross fire OH the road from tho hills
near by. They let the Cuban guides
and the whole regiment pass their
first lines and then opened up. The
most damage was done in X troop
Of tho Rough Riders, &hcrc the
lIotchkiss mountain guns were, and
which was a rather elevated part of
the road.
1t was known that the Spaniards
held the place, as it was the trocha
across which the Cubans had not
passed for thrco years. Seventeen
of our mon were killed and forty
wounded. | heard to-day all of the
wounded arc improving as well as
could be expected. Scvcnty-six
Spaniarls have been found and
buried by our men, and largo num-
bcr of wounded were seen being
carried away.
a daily paper brought out of San
tiago by Cuban spy says that Gen.
Linarcs, with 1000 men, met and
defeated the entire American army
of 100000, killing 500 and wounding
roo, but were forced to withdraw
for want of ammunition. His losses
were very light.
How can they publish such things,
when the advance Of our army is
three and half miles of the city?
a Spanish prisoner said the Amcri-
can soldiers arc funny people. The
more you shoot at them the more
they come. They arc used to hay
ing the Cubans run when they fire a
vollcy into them, so when the Tenth
charged the hill on which they were,
| suppose they could not comprehend
what was happening. There is not
a hundred yards of the road over
which we have passed where a small
force could not have held a very
much larger one. cannot under
stand why they have not given us a
great deal of trouble. Scouts report
that there are no troops until you
get to within half mile of the city.
We got rations for three days on the
18th and broke camp at p. m.,
marching over the same road back
to where the battle took place and
by and past Sevill about six miles
from Siboncy, where we went into
camp on high hill. We stayed in
camp all Sunday. early in the
morning, before it got too hot, I
went down to the river and took
good bath and washed my under
clothes. Wouldn't you have liked
10 seen me washing and cooking?
Up ut 3::'0 on the 9th, but did
not Get off until G:I5. II is a hard
job to move division, especially
here where you march single file most
of the way and never more that two
abreast. We have campcd at this
place, about five miles east Of San
tlaS", where we are being rationcd
and writing for the extra ammnni-
ton and the artillery to be brought
up.
Three wagons containing bal
loon have just passed. ! went ont
with my company for outpost duty
yesterday morning and got back this
morning. There was a hard rain in
the afternoon, but I kept pretty dry.
No excitement ut night. slept
only about two hours, but don't feel
at all sleepy to-day. The dew is
almost like n rain and the grass grows
SCrOf11la to