Arizona weekly journal-miner., 1899-01-18

the 23d of June but the Spaniards told tbe Americans that General Escarrio was in command of them during the aetiou with the cavalry on the 24th.
 Tao French officer before quoted said t,sat LiuaTes instructed his men on san Jusa ridge Go hold on as long as they could and then fall hack, a command which Is the next thing 10 ordering a rUt-eat The conduct of the Spaniards all through indicated that they intended Co llt the Americans come up to the main defenses of the city if they would. LiEarVs WAS wounded at a critical time for a counter attack on San Juan ridge and seems to have beep preparing for 1t when hit. What irsnspired shortly aft CT his fall-that Is. CD the evening of July 2-indica.ed that be hoped to turn Shaf,cr's left flank and cut him of from hIs base. Ia iuiBt of fact the right flank of the American line wcs its weakest sIEt jCst at that time. 1t was "in the air as soldiers say. owing to the fail uTe Cf Ia~tgn to get into position on tha L.i-Lts on the Fl Caney road. ''sJroiR position. bot a weak line 10 hold ii, is the Way the cavalrymeu spoke of tbe north Tart of the ridge " H'ch they carried and intrenched. re- ferriug i0 tEe situation the evening of July l and tbe day following
 hf,.tiCa has been made of the Ninth @ ahy calling for help on the after 1oon of tue lst. This regiment, consist ing If one battalion, occupied the ex- treme right, a narrow ridge extending toward the Fl Clancy road, with q Span ish blockhouse and font only 900 yards away To that point the machine guns were hurried. Kent also sent the Thir- teenth infantry.
 \ proposition to retreat from its posi- tion was discussed in the cavalry di- vision late on the lst, aud it was under stood that Colonel Roosevelt, whose rank made him senior on the front limo, favored it. Captain Morton, then com m6nding the Third cavalry. opposed it. ssit ing the place would have to be won again. Captain Boughton of the same regiment observed to Roosevelt, We can hold il against all hellr' But sup ports were needed, and after repeated calls by Morton they came up at 10 p. III. The last call for help was referred to General Wheeler, as commander of the division, the first heard of him by the officers on the frout line that day.
 The Third cavalry occupied and in- trencbed salient on the ridge looking toward Santiago the point nearest the Spanish trenches and less than 50O yards fRom them. At midnight the Spaniards opened on that point with sharp fusillade. Meanwhile the battal- ions left as reserve on Kettle" hill had moved to the crest, making seven ba ttalions, or less than four regiments, to hold the ridge from the San Juan road to that from Fl Clancy. A most important part of the line, this was as things stood. Had Lawton taken posi- ticn on the Fl Clancy road, with Kent holding on at the blockhouse and south of it, the ridge taken by the cavalry would have been useless to the Span iards.
 There are some grounds for the claim that the cavalry division took the ridge without orders from headquarters No positive orders like those to Kent can be traced. General Sumner, who con- manded the cavalry, says he charged the hill in order to avoid retreat and casual ties. The position which the cavalry oo- cupied in the morning of July along the streams was one to enable it to sup port Kent in the attack assigned him at San Juan or to help Lawton in the at tack at the Fl Clancy road. The conduct of General Wheeler on the 1st of July supports the inferunce that the cavalry division had no orders to attack in the morning. There is slight cOntradic- tion in the statements of Wheeler and Sbafter as to WheeIer's work that day. Wheeler says he was able to act early in the morning; that he conveyed Shaf- ter's orders to Kent to move forward, and also personally told Sumner to do the same, a statement which places Sumner in command of the cavalry and makes Wheeler an acting corps com mander. Shafter, on the other hand, nys that " Wheeler, the permanent com 6ander of the cavalry division, who had been i'll, came forward during the morn ng and later returned to duty" Among ell the orders that day which traced l hDund no allusion to Wheeler, until along in the evening when he establish cd his headquarters at the base of the hill in rear of his own division. Wheel sf says that he sent for intrenching sools and ordered his men to intrenoh and sent word to them that LawtOn would come up on the right, and Gen. sral Bates troops from Fl Caney would strengthen the left on San Juan ridge. This shows that Wheeler was perfectly familiar with ideas at headquarters, for