Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1898-08-03
Westminster Boy Under Fire.

The following is the last received by
Mr.. and Mrs. j. M. Miller from their son
Harry in Cuba.
Santiago, Cuba, July 8.
Dear Parents: will write few lines
TODAY as l have made a skIrmish and found
bit Of paper which at the present time is
a very scarce article, as we'll as very
valuable one.
/ received your letter last night which
was written June 81. We are still waiting
for the Spaniards to open the ball, but by
the appearance of things they are afraid to.
They have had since Monday to surrender
in but they sent in word last night they
would die fighting first. At 9 o'clock to-
morrow morning if they don't take down
their flag we will make them.
For two days they kept steady fire OF
us and we did not bulge an inch; laid IL
our rifle pit and let them shoot. The rifle
pit extends for miles it is made of bags Of
earth piled up SO we stand in them and they
are high enough above our heads SO we
have holes to shoot through. They car
open as heavy fire as they choose, but
they can't hurt us much. All they can dc
is to drop shells into us, but our seige guns
will soon stop shell.
So you see we have not been idle since
they stopped firing on us. We did some
of this work while under fire. The Span
iards are terribly entrenched and we have
got some hard fighting to do to drive them
out if they don't give in, but we think the
hardest fighting is over.
When we first came onto the fire line we
lay SO hours without water or anything to
eat when we did get something we had to
eat it raw, and never had anything taste
so good in my life as a piece of raw salt
pork. We are better supplied now had
fried bacon with eight la, tack, soaked in
water and fried in the grease from the ba-
con and cup Of coffee for my breakfast.
Some of the boys eat three times day,
but twice does for me. will have little
canned corn beef with hard tack and cup
Of coffee for my supper but its the same
old thing every day.
receive quite good many letters seems
as though everyone was thinking of me and
you don't know how these letters cheer me
and how they are cherished. Some OF the
old soldiers in the civil war know our feel
ings.
We are about all out of clothes, all l
have is what are on my back, and that is
enough while they last. l am well and will
write as often as / can mot very much sick
ness among such large body of men.
Your son, Harry L. Miller.
July IL, 1898.
have a chance to send you a word SO
will Fighting commenced at 4.3O yester-
day morning. For four hours bullets and
shells fl wv pretty thick but no one was Sc
riously hurt in the 21st. Just now the bat
tie has opened up again and l am writing
these few lines right under the fire of the
Spanish guns both small and great. We
are not returning the fire from small arms,
but the cannon is making them hunt their
holes, and we are patiently waiting TO get
our rifles into use. We can't tell what the
day may bring forth but think we shall be
in Santiago.
received your letter written on the 25th
of June just at day break this morning lit
found me well, feeling as though | could
lick the Spaniards alone. Their fire was
so heavy we could not get out to cook our
bacon and it rained on our hard tack.
Don't worry about me. l am not afraid
of Spanish bullets ;the poor fools are bang
ing away this morning, but they are going
about 40 feet too high and if they went
lower they could not hurt us.
Hastily, Harry S.Miller.