Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-07-12
LIEUT.. JOE CARR HERE
An Officer of the Rough Riders Tells Of Taeii
Fights.
From First to Last IL Was Desperate
Too Wounded and Weak to
Continue the story.

Lieut. JOS A Carr of the Rough Riders.
who is a resident OF this city. arrived hero
this morning. He is painfully and serious
ly wounded, but managed to keep on his
feet, and with some assistance walked
from his carriage into the telegraph Office
and visited other places on business before
going to his house. His wounds are OF a
character to cause intense suffering, one
being in the hip and one through the body
in the vicinity of the groin, but. though
he is frail and extremely delicate-looking
man, he displays the utmost nerve In
speaking of his experience to a Star re-
porter. the intense nervous strain under
which he is sustaining himself was shown
| only in his rapid sreech and the fever1sh
light in his eye. He said nothing OF his
suffering nor of his own personal acts.
but in a sharp, nervous voice spoke OF the
intense strain and test OF endurance eN-
acted of our men at the front during the
| first few days of our operations around
Santiago. He was in the three hard nights
with Roosevelt when they fought through
! the Spanish ambush near Servilla. the des-
perate assault resulting in the capture or
| San Juan hills. and confronting the Span
| ish sortie when the attempt was made by
the enemy to drive the Rough Riders from
their stanch position 1t was I'm this last
engagement that he was wounded.
The Fighting Was Desperate.
THE fighting" he said, from the first
| engagement to the last l was I'm was des-
perate. We were not supported by artll-
| lery. and it was test Of what American
nerve and determination could do. Al the
| engagement with the ambush most of NV
| troops were shot down, and i was left in
command of what remained Of the troops
| Many al around me Eel IN the second en-
gagemont On San Juan Hill. After we had
driven the Spanish off and taken posses
| sion of San Juan hills, Col Roosevelt vas
| ordered to occupy another eminence about
1 800 yards forward. When we got there
| there were but ninety Of US occupying this
/ position. The Spanish fire never ceased
| We had no earthWorks and no artillery.
We had simply to lay there and hold our
position in perfect hell of fire 1 saw no
! fiinching. No man seemed to think of re-
| t'ring, but every nerve was strained 10 Its
Utmost, and our boys made a display OF
courage and GOODNESS which / can't help
| feeling is somehow a part of the American
blood.
After holding the position there under an
| incessant ire we had later to defend our
selves against an assault by the Spanish
IN an attempt on their part TO recapture
the position. 1t was estimated that mere
were four thousand Spaniards engaged In
this sortie to recapture Roosevelts posi-
ton and the San Juan hill. The IRE was
terrific, and our men went right INTO the
teeth of it, and after awhile the Spanlards
seemed to be beWildered and taken entirely
out of their calculations by the fact thar
our men advanced to the fire instead OF re-
firing. Then the enemy gave way and We
had repulsed them. 1t was here that l was
struck. l was entirely disabled and taken
back to the field hospital There, while
under the shadow of the Red Cross, was
shot again in the hip. The Spanish seemed
to direct their most savage fire wherever
| they saw the Red Cross. There is a lot i
could tell you about it. but somehow / feel
a little weak and can't quite collect my
SELF Wait till l can get into bed and may
| be as l lie there 1 can tell the whole thing
over"
Shot Away His Knife.
He seemed to be unconscious of the little
| touch of pathos in this yielding Of nature
| to the strain upon him. and of his own vo-
ntion renewed the interview TO tell some
thing else of his experience, taking from
| his pocket the remnant of a little pearl
| handled pocket knife. which had been shat
tered by a Spanish bullet. This he said,
made my wound more severe l had the
| knife in my trousers pocket, and when the
| bullet struck IL and shattered it you see
| the bullet carried through my body the
| fragment of the pearl handle which is
gone" One end of the knife and half of
the pearl on one side had been carried
away.