The herald., 1898-07-25
STORIES OF WOUNDED
ATLANTA GOES WILD OVER THE
MEN FROM SANTIAGO


ATLANTA, Ga, July 1.-THE GONZALES
cents among the wounded from Santiago
were allowed to come to town this after
noon, and the town went wild over them
and showed enthusiasm in every way it
could think Of Men and women alike clus-
tered about them to hear their stories.
When the wounded arrived yesterday.
the $500 men now stationed at Fort Nc
Pherson were waiting to cheer them, but
this idea was not carried out. The express
sions which came from the troops at the
post were more Of pity than of glorifica-
ton. The wounded men came from the
train, some of them on crutches, others
aided by companions. while many had to
be carried on stretchers. Their faces were
drawn and pinched. their clothes were torn
and many Of them were without SUFFICIENT
clothing. Some OF the officers had dis
pensed with their coats and had placed
their shoulder straps on their shirt sleeves,
to show their rank. Save for these Shout
der straps there was no difference in ap-
pearance between officers and privates in
many cases. All were worn and hungry
and tired. Many Of them had not taken of
their clothes for ten days. When food was
placed before them they ate ravenously.
and 1T was only when ordered by the ply
sicians In charge of the hospital mess to
stop eating that they left the tables. After
dinner the soldiers were shown to their
rooms, and after bath they all went to
sleep. 1t was the first time in weeks that
they had enjoyed the luxury of sleeping on
clean, cool cots. with a sound roof over
ha{ de n nj a do a Of I,o
opportunity. Today. however. much of the
fatigue and the suffering belongs to the
past, and the Atlanta, which General Sher-
man pounded-Confederate Atlanta-has
been clarifying them, and the boy in blue
is a hero at home among his own people.
The wounded men were in the hottest
part of the fight and they have inter-
esting stories to tell. Some of them ad-
vanced to within half mile Of Santiago.
and they declare that they could have held
their position had they not been ordered to
fall back. On the night of June 80 the men
advanced to within a short distance of the
city Of Santiago and then slept on their
arms. The following morning it was found
that the pickets had been within ten yards
of the Spanish lines. For some reason they
were not fired upon. On July the battle
began. One of the greatest difficulties the
Americans had to contend with was the
Spanish sharpshooters. 1t is said that
these men did more harm prior to their
rout than any other part of the Spanish
army. The Americans did not know when
or from what tree they would be greeted
with a volley of Spanish bullets.
A private says he was fighting near a
commissioned officer. a lieutenant. he
thinks, who kept lodging from side to side.
The officer continued these antics for some
time and then the private advanced to his
side and asked If he was wounded.
my God, man." replied the officer, don't
you see that fellow shooting at me? He
has been pegging away at my carcass fol
fifteen minutes"
Sure enough. in proof Of what the Officer
said, moment later a pun of smoke came
from the tree pointed out. and a bullet
whizzed close to where the officer and pri.
vate were standing. The officer took the
private's rifle and coolly knelt on the
ground, while he took deliberate aim at
the place from which the puff Of smoke
had risen. The aim of the officer was good,
and at the crack Of the rifle the sharpshoot-
er was seen to hang head downward from
the tree. This was the secret Of the fight
ing of the sharpshooters in trees. They
had been tied in place by their officers, and
escape for them was impossible. In addi-
ton to this they had been informed, so the
captured ones said, that the Americans in
variably killed all who were taken prison
ers and for this reason they fought with a
courage born Of desperation, believing that
capture meant sure death and the mutila-
ton of their bodies.
Another private said that they fought
from trenches with their food supply by
them. Their supply of provisions was
enough to last for weeks. and had the
trenches been captured by the Spanialds
there would have been a temporary end of
the famine in Santiago. The privae added,
however, that there was no danger Of the
provisions being captured as long as the
United States soldiers defended the
trenches.
The officers were the principal objects of
attack by the Spaniards. The Spanish
sharpshooters and the regular lines of in
fantry all directed their fire at the officers,
and when one was seen to fall a cheer in
variably went up from the dons. Many
privates were naturally victims of the fire,
but both the officers and the men who al :
rived yesterday say that the Spanfards ap-
peared to take special delight in killing
officers.
One story was Of duel on the battle
field between two soldiers, one American,
the other Spanish. It was during one of the
lulls that occasionally occur on battle
fields, when the men on their own accord
stop firing In order to let the smoke clear
away and to catch q breath of fresh air
The Spaniards had made a charge and had
been repulsed. The Americans had pur-
sued them and one man was left in front of
the American line when the United States
soldiers retired to their original position
This man was wounded, and near him was
a Spanish soldier. who was thought to be
dead. 1t developed that he was not. He
saw the American, and slowly brought his
gun to his shoulder and fired, the ball strik-
ing the United States soldier in the leg.
The American answered with his gun, and
for several minutes the fire was kept up
six or seven shots being fired on each side
The Spaniard was killed and the American
was brought back to the line, where he re-
ceived the plaudits of his companions for
his bravery. The man who related this
story did not know the name Of the Ameri-
can engaged in tbs duel, but he vouched