Evening star., 1898-08-24

| of the brigade of Ramon de las Taguas
| On the 3oth / encamped with my forces
| at HI Saiado, nine miles from Siboney and
four and a half miles from Santiago. At
the same point General Shafter establish
ed his headquarters. AT 3 o'clock in the
| afternoon received orders to place myself
| at Marianajo, between Caney and San
Juan, to protect against any attack from
the enemy the batteries, which were going
| to rre on both points, should the enemy
come from Santiago.
| AT the commencement of the attack on
| Santiago there were $4,000 men in the
| American army. There were 1000 Cubans
! under my immediate orders around the
| city. At $3.50 in the morning of the LIST of
| July began the march toward Mariana1o
| and at O'Clock I already occupied the
positions allotted to me, in the following
order: To the left on San Juan and 'front.'
| ing Santiago Major General Jose Maria
| Capote with his column of Loco men: next
to him. in the center General of Division
| Saturnino Lora and 500 men: to the right
of the former General of Brigade Fran
/ cisco Sanchez Hecheverria with his col
| umn of 800 men, forming part of General
Cebrecos command. and General Cebreco
| himself with 800 men of his division. On
the right flank. in the heights of Marianaio,
were General Rabi and myself, with our
STATS and escorts, facing the village OF
Caney.
The Santiago battles.
On the left flank of my forces was an
American battery to fire on Fort San Juan
| and protected by the forces of Colonel Con-
| zaiez and part of those of Ramon. with
some Of the American forces: on the right
| flank the batteries which were to fire on
Ell Caney. and General Lawton with a di-
vision OF the American army. which was
| to assault the village. With that division
and also under General Lawton were 2oO
Cubans of Ramon. commanded by Major
Victor Duany. All the forces Of Ramon
were under the direct command of Colonel
Carlos Gonzalez.
At 4 o'clock the American batteries fired
on the fortifcations of the hill of San Juan-
the Spaniards answering with their artil-
lery, and shortly afterward fire also COM
nenced from the batteries against FL Ca
ney, the garrison of the place answering
with heavy fire.
| Ell Caney was defended by 1900 men.
! troops of the line, or regulars under the
| command OF Brigadier General Vara del
! Rey, and San Juan was defended by 2ooo
| men, also regulars. At pm, after a gall
| lant assault. the Americans took San Juan
| its garrison being either killed or made
prisoners. except few who had escaped to
Santiago de Cuba. At @. after repeated as
saults, In which the Cuban forces under
Major Duany took part, the Americans oc-
cupied Ell Caney.
| The garrison of this village perished
mostly in the assaults and those who es-
capped died on the field among them Cen
eral Vera del Rey, who was already fatally
wounded. The enemy ATTEMPTED to make a
sortfe from Santiago and was repulsed. This
day General L!nares. commanding the gar
rison. was wounded in the trenches of San
tiago, and turned his command over to
General of Division Toral
The Americans advanced to the suburbs
Of the city by the road leading from Caney,
the vanguard being the Cuban forces under
Colonel Gonzalez.
Our losses this first day of July were
about 100. all our forces being under the
enenys fire.
General Shaftsr ordered me to occupy the
| right flank of his army on the advance on
| Santiago and made night march camp
| ing at 10 o'clock the same night at the
country house Ducureau. after ordering
| some forces almost on to Santiago
His Advance.
At dawn of the I'd L continued TO advance
| by the right flank toward the north side of
| the city, Gen. Cabreco going with his
! division in the vanguard, and at the ex-
treme of the same Gen. Sanchez Heche-
verria with his forces On reaching the
railway line from Santiago to San Luis tie
center and vanguard halted. the vanguard
occupying the heights across the line.
When Gen Francisco Sanchez advanced
| by the railway line Santiago on the
morning of the pa, he met four guerrillas
VINO flred on our forces. which returned the
| fire and killed them. Col. Ferrero, advanc-
ing by The right. met and defeated a guer-
rilia band on the hill of Quintero occupy
ing the position. which h4 held as also the
hcis ht VI La SdEitdl- lJuTlIlR thS DAY l.
ordered column to advance by the rail-
way line toward San Luis. The enemy
after light fire, abandoned the villages of
Cuabitas and Boinato and several forts,
reconcs ting in San Vicente.
During the whole day of the ID heavy
fire was exchanged with the enemy in San
tiago, who from the fortifcations fired
with rifles and guns at our positions. We
had ten casualties. This day the French
colony left the city, accompanied by the
consul of their country. taking shelter I'M
der our flag. My forces slept in the posi-
t!ons coupled, within rifle shot of the city.
On the morning of the Sd there was
firing with the city. At 10 o'clock the
Spanish navy weighed anchor from the bay
of Santiago, where it had been for some
weeks, and within one hour it was de-
stroyed by the American men-of-war Ad-
niral Cervera, with his officers and seamen,
about coo. escaped to land west Of Santiago,
but the Cuban forces on the coast com
PEELED them to surrender to Col. Jose Can
delario Cabreco, who afterward delivered
them to the American navy, against a re-
ceipt
The Spaniards Fled.
At II o'clock L ordered force to fire on
the village of San Vicente, which the Span
ish abandoned. retreating toward Ell Crsto
and they also abandoned Dos Bocas on the
| railway line of San Luis. On the night of
the Sd, and by the road of FL Cobre, col
umn of the enemy 5000 strong entered the
city under Col. Escario, having left Man
Zanilo on the 22d of June, and being har-
ried by the Manzanllo division up to Baire
From BaiIe to Palma that column was at
tackled by forces Of Gen. Francisco Es-
trada, suffering heavy losses, the dead hav-
ing been left strewn by the road With
that column Lieut. Col. Lora fought, aided
by the cavalry Of the division of Bayamo
and also my escort of cavalry under Lieut.
Col. c. M. Poey. Col. Escario recovered
somewhat at Palma, where he left his
wounded and from there in zigzags he ar
rived in Santiago de Cuba by the Cobre
road, having sustained some firing. Per-
baps the entry of this column into the city
might have been prevented had been able
to go to meet it with my forces, but in that
case should have been obliged to abandon
my position on the right flank of the
American army. On the 4th l received an
official message that the enemy had evacu-
ated the Gown Of Ell Ccbre and the forts
Bartolon, Monte Real, Coleto and San Mig
uel. After II O'Clock firing was suspended
to allow Gen. Shafter to parley with the
Spanish. AS a result Of this the Spanish
governor permitted all the families to leave
the city for fear of a bomba rdment by the
Americans All the families took refuge in
the houses and streets of Cuabitas and El
Caney.