The record-union., 1898-11-11

Qd1ly u thO ShA0A CASiuccI OIllCS,
through one of the members Of the re-
connoisance party, the changes in his
own line Of intrenchments, or any
changes or extensions he might have
observed in the enemy's positions. Some
Of the trenches that were hastily
thrown UP during the nights Of the 1st
and I'd of July, were improved later on
by orders Of the Chief Engineer. and
a few had to be changed so as to place
them on the military crest, that is, the
point from which the defender can
sweep with his fire the whole line over
which the enemy must advance.
PIERS
On the morning of the first landing
at Daiquiri, the engineer battalion was
ordered to put ashore a large quantity
Of intrenchment tools, which were
afterward distributed to the troops Of
the line: also pontoon material and
sufficient lumber to repair the small
pier that had been partially burned by
the fire started by the Spanish forces
as they evacuated the place in the early
morning. The damage had been mostly
confined to the approaches, and before
midnight the repairing was ended. On
the next day the main portion of the
engineer battalion, under the direction
of Brigadier General William Ludlow,
was ordered to proceed on the Alamo
to Aserradero, twenty miles west OF
Santiago, to build temporary pier to
facilitate the embarkation Of the Cuban
forces, under General Calixto Garcia,
which were to be transferred to the
eastward to cooperate with the Amer
lean forces. The wharf built at Aser-
radero consisted of two rows Of piles
of 5x5-inch timber driven by a heavy
wooden maui 8 feet longitudinally, and
feet between the rows. The caps
were spiked to the side Of the pile, to do
away with the labor Of leveling and
cutting them off, and on them rested
the flooring of three or four planks.
On June 25th the 5000 Cuban troops
were transferred from the landing at
Aserradero to the three transports,
about mile away, by means Of twelve
large ship boats and two navy launches.
On the next morning we arrived at ST.
honey, and the battalion was imme-
diately ordered to proceed to the build
ing of a boat landing at that place.
Before dark the work had been COM
pleted. The landing consisted of crib
7x7 feet, sunk in six feet of water, and
connected with the shore by an ap-
proach forty-five feet long. On that
day Brigadier General William Ludlow,
now Major General, u. S. ", was de-
tached from the Engineer Corps and
given active command Of troops in the
field; the First Brigade Of the Second
Division. A portion of the battalion
was detailed to begin work on a much
larger pier from June 9th to July 1st,
when the whole battalion was ordered
to the front and did not return to ST.
honey to resume it's work till July 5th.
This pier consisted Of three cribs. The
first one was ten feet square, built OF
5x12-inch timber, and sunk thirty feet
from the shore in three or four feet of
water. This portion of the approaches
was finished about July 1st, and began
to be used shortly afterward. The
next two cribs, one Of which was par
TALLY built by the Thirty-third Volun-
teer Michigan Regiment while the bat
talon was at the front, were built of
12x12-inch timber. They. measured
thirty feet deep and ten feet wide, and
We're sunk in six and ten feet of water,
respectively The spans between the
cribs were fifteen feet, making the total
length Of the pier about 130 feet. 1t
was completed on July 18th after many
difficulties, due to the heavy surf con-
stantly beating against the shore, had
been encountered and overcome.
ROAD AND BRIDGE WORK.
The portion of the battalion which
was not detailed for the pier construc-
ton worked on the road from June 9th
tn T11Jr Let xuh
combined, and, as before stated, were
ordered to the front. On July I'd the
whole battalion worked all day under
fire. improving the road near the cross
ings Of the San Juan and Aquadores
Rivers, and rendering those fords pass
able by wagons. On the next day, July
I'd, the battalion was marched to Sc
villa, and on that day and the succeed
ing one they worked on the road from
there to Siboney, where they went to
resume the pier work. At that time
Lieutenant Brown was detached from
the battalion and placed in charge of
road repairing. Under his orders he
was authorized to draw details of two
battalions, or about 600 men, from di-
vision commanders. These details were
generally taken from, the volunteer reg
iments, and many men from the Sey-
enty-first New York were assigned to
this work. These men made wide
clearings on both sides Of the road TO
allow the suns rays to penetrate and
dry the road beds. They corduroyed
the swampy portions, improved the
drainage and opened up new roads on
either side of the old road. along por-
t1ons which had been rendered fnnass-
able, and extended them so that all DOR
t1ons of the line along which the be-
saeglng army was located could be
reached by pack mules or wagons.
Inese men also built some bridges and
culverts, using such material as was
at hand, which was often bad and diff
cult to procure. Lumber from the land
ing could not be had on account of
lack of transportation.
AFTER the surrender the Battalion Of
Engineers continued at work until An
gust 10th From July 18th to july
"a tney repaired the Aquadores rail-
ROAD orldge, one of whose piers and the
TWO spans resting on it had been blown
UP by the Spaniards. The completion
OF this work allowed the trains to run
from Siponey to Santiago Harbor
Later they repaired portions of the
railway from Santiago to San Louis
that had been partly destroyed; re-
built about 300 feet Of a high trestle
over Purgatorio Creek, which had been
partially burned. and smaller bridge
near Boniato that had also been dam
aged
GENERAL REMARKS.
The Engineer Corps has been widely
criticised for not doing work that they
lYnpofnd To do