The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-04-06
SHOT ON FIRING LINE.
story of the Close Call of Americans
at Las Guasimas Fight.
hicago Evening Post.

chicago Evening Post
Edward Marshall, correspondent OF the
engagement of Las Guasimus, Is in the city.
He will return TO his home in New York 10
rest preparatory to going to London to ha ,e
the distinction, as the army surgeons say.
OF. being the only man shot in the spine and
war with Spain who is not without days.
His brief and severe experience as "A shooter
on the firing line of the Rough Riders has
made such soldier of him that he talks of
the coming surgical operation with the non
chalance of a seasoned veteran.
Il may be pardoned at this late date,
said Mr.. Marshall, If l say that the Span
la rds lost control of Cuba al least year
sooner than they otherwise might have G9ne
by their poor craftsmanship and defective
might have deprived New York State OF a
brave Governor and Santiago of a military
Governor. To be plain, L think the battle
of Las Guasimas might have been second
Custer massacre had the Spaniards known a
few things.
1T may be that the public has criticised
Mr. Davis and myself for being on the hiring
line at Las Guasimus. If so, we were done
an injury, for the conditions were such that
had the correspondents. Mr. Davis and l.
forated with Spanish bullets. There was no
rear TO that battle. The Spanish sharp
shooters had any man that deserted the
firing line More than one officer gave the
command TO fire in the wrong direction.
The Spanish were 50 concealed that we did
not see them. 1t was an ambush, true
enough but ii was not surprise. we knew
that we were walking into the jaws OF death,
but we were not unconscious OF the presence
of the enemy.
so far as | know, OF the march up The IN
cline to Las Guasimas. Had the troops had
their horses the charge of the cavalry wouII
have added a new page 10 history. But the
heat was overpowerlng. Inc SITUATION was
| terrible. We could not tell whence the shots
| came Teddy Roosevelt was with me, and
| he stopped suddenly and picked up the ends
| of a barbed-wire fence line. Great God!
| said the lieutenant colonel, this fence was
| cut within few minutes. See the cages OF
| the wire are bright Had this wire been cnt
| last night the edges would be rusty from
| the dew.
| the battle was fired. Whether it was Rocse-
velt's discovery or a fortunate coincidence
| the order to load chambers and magazines
was given by Colonel Wood 1T that time L
| was shot In the back and fell CONSCIOUS
] but free from pain lay u. the held OF pal
| Spaniards. 1 mad time 10 think but 10
| time to die. I WAS newspaper man and
had 10 inform The PEOPLE. SO made up my
mind l was too busy 10 dc. Eut IL oc-
Cured TO thar hld the Spini.tr is peen
good marksmen hey could have wiped cut
| the entire American force at Las GIas,n1s,
and the expedition L. Cuba would have
| been postponed .ndefilitely. The ult:inue
result would have been the same, however;
| There were in the neighborhood or lZ,Vo
| Spaniards opposed 10 US, and we were less
than 900 strong; Had the enemy dep Soy'id
bnT wed t Ip tell of the battle spenddy
| equipped was the Rough Riders command
provided with plenty of smokeiess po%der
and Krag-Jorgensens-bu had we been
wiped out the 24th day of June San Juan. FL
fought.
and at 10 o'clock at night was at the sea
| coast, having been carried on litter that
had personally placed In the outnt oil the
| to fiie my story Everyone thought 1 was
| marked for the grave. The surgeons said:
Excuse me. Mr.. Correspondent, but have
| no time to dress such fatal wound as
| that, and ] only smiled
while was lying in the temporary hos
| initial at the sea / heard lot OF Span
iards, prisoners sent down by our men. tell
| ing their impressions of the Rough Riders
TO a correspondent who understood Spanish.
| The Spaniards said the Americans were
forced by their officers 10 fight contrary TO
| all rules Of civilized warfare. In other
words, we were ordered by ofhcers 10 charge
| where the Spaniards thought II was certain
| death i smiled when / heard one ofheer
| tell of the battle cry OF the Americans lie
/ said II was awful TO the spanish ear 10
| hear 'Sokem bisnickel.' as he said the war
| cry sounded. For long time we were puz-
zled over this, and finally We came 10 the
conclusion that 1t was Buck Dawson,s cry,
| soak EN- like HI boys to which he re-
| ferred Dawson cried out in this way half
| the time fighting like demon,
| 1.-THE noise of the firing OF the handtul OF
| American soldiers just before / was hit was
| so great orders had to be given by bugle
| and then they were not intelIlgiDle. Lieu
| tenant Day got up and. running along the
| lire, hit his men on the head with his nat
| 10 call their attention TO the order TO fire in
| a certain direction or 10 charge.
| Roosevelt became a fighting machine
| after the first rifle shot. What noble man
| we would have lost had the Spaniards only
| known how easily they could have wiped us
| out, General Wood came up from Santiago
| recently and met him at Washington. He
said he had carefully compared the notes or
| the Spanish officers about the amount or
| ammunition served to the troops OF spain
| at Las Guasimas and had arrived at the
| conclusion that 10000 bullets were fired at
! us by the Spanish. The jungle on the bat
| tlefield is dead to-day-blighted as II ire
| had swept it, The bullets were fired too
| high to Kill the soldiers. but they killed the
| vegetation.