The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-01-22

~ ~ ~ AAa ~ wv - lANA
whore they were under view Of the Spaniardi
Perhaps a moment after tbs second Hotch
kiss shell was fired the Spaniards opened wit
volleyinE. They had accurate range. havinl
encountered the Cubans on that same ground
It was only q few minutes after this nrinI
opened that I:heard firing on my left. and as
could see that the regulars didn't answer 1
and were not disturbed by 1t. / concluded tina
It was dlrected.against Woods column henc
Wood was up and engaged.
All this time Gen. Wheeler was uneasy be
cause he couldn't hear our men returning tn,
Spanish fire. 1 told him it was because OF oul
fire discipline. Our men were not to fire. bu
to advance and secure cover. The Spanish
nre became so hot that l ordered the Hotch
KISS guns under cover. and this had the efTec
OF stopping the Spanish Are upon us. In Z
few minutes. however, the Hotchkiss gun.
were brought out and opened again. Capt
Mills cam back. from beyond the chaparra
and reported that the regulars were advancing
well and getting to cover. 1 had impressed
upon Major Bell OF the First Squadron the ne.
cessity OF getting under cover of the hill 800
or 400 yards from the Spaniards. The men
had to crawl through dense underground and
cut wire fencss.-They had 100 wire nippers to
OOO men. At last | could see the First as.
cendinR the hill. Gen. Whecler. intimatsd to
me that we were overmatched l had no re-
serve. only Galbraith's troop OF the First.
which was in the centre between the columns.
L called the Generals attention to the firing
we then could hear on Woods line. showing
that Wood was advancing as fast as the reRu-
lars. and told him that 1 had the utmost conf
dence in success. Capt. WainwriGht's troop.
on the extreme right OF the regulars. would
turn the Spanish left. Woods instructions
were to turn the Spanish right.
1t seems from the reports OF my aides with
Woods column and from Woods own report
that the Spanish TANKS were turned quite
simultaneously and then the Spaniards re-
treated. Galbraith's troop In the centre, sTp-
ported by Beck's troop OF the Tenth. formed a
junction with Wood. and Wainwright's troop.
on the. extreme, right. reached the Guasimas
road on the north. closing in that flank. The
fight lasted about one hour and fifteen min
utes. from the time the Hotchkiss guns first
opened until the Spanish TANKS were:turned.
l sent orders up the line not to follow up the
Spaniards. 1t vas very hot. Ny men were
tired and were wet from the rain OF the night
before. There was slight firing for twenty
minutes. but 1t all ended by o:45 A. NJ. We
arranged our lines. expecting a counter attack.
TIL Spanish outnumbered us. Their papers
boosted that $500 men had checked the whole
American army. The Cubans always asserted
that the Spaniards numbered 5000 at Las
Al -tOldl lOLcb was tDO. aIC6T
the fight three troops of the Ninth Cavalry.
under Major Dimmick. went out in front OF
Woods rough riders. In a short time Gen.
Chaffee's brigade of Lawton's division came
forward and deployed. relieving my line of
regulars. d
Il said to Gen. Wheeler that 1 had made one
mistake after all. and that that was in the mat
ter Of deployinG. knox's troop of the First
should not have been sent in direct but told
to keep touch on the left with Galbraith's, for
at the time Of close contact the Spaniards
could easily have pierced the interval between
the regulars and ough riders and cut my line
in two. The General said: 1 have watched the
gamefrom start to finish. and II 1 had to do it
over again 1 would not change one iota OF
your plan. l never saw a plan made before a
battle carried out so entirely without change
To me this was u. great compliment. In fact.
the battle was fought all through as planned.
Gen. Wheeler never interfering except to urge
me to get back under cover MY exposure was
not at all due to bravado. 1 did 1t to set an ex-
ample to officers and men who had not been
under FIRE. thought that If thew Jaw ms tax
ing the usual risks it would have a good eff
feet upon them.
Il was much pleased over the fact that the
senior General was present but gave no or
ders. l said to him: General. if L had lost this
battle and lived through it you would have
had my resignation. Ny object was to get
this position for the army's camp After that
the army came up and kept spreading out and
going toward Santiago. finding no enemy. In
point OF fact, the Spaniards at Las Guasimas
were within three and one-halt miles of our
landing and the driving Of them away was a |
necessity. However. it was not essential that |
the army should follow up so closely and rapid
ly as It did. I supposed that the object was TO |
get a good camping ground. TO prepare to de- |
fend it. and cover the landings. 1t was neces-
sary to get the army back on the hills AWAY |
from the coast.
During the fighting at Las Guasimas the |
Cubans were from one to one and d half miles |
in our rear. Gen. Castillo never explained
why. When the fight was over a column Of
them came up. led by a Frenchman who was
in a very bloodthirsty mood. He said he had
orders from Castillo to follow up the Spaniards
and fight them wherever he found them. 1
ordered him to go back; would not have him
near mo. |
The loss in the brigade was sixty-fve
killed and wounded. The rough riders lost
eight killed and the regulars eight. The most
OF the casualties In the regulars occurred at
the beginning near a small church, and in the
column. the First Cavalry. On an
the men in this column fired ten
rounds. This was the result of fire discipline.
by which men are taught when to fire. to fire
atthe enemy!only. .and the number of rounds
to fire at a given time. Unlimited firing is
only permitted at the supreme moment. Sell
dom is there firing at will in a well-disciplined
For an account OF the rough riders fight I
nust:,refer you: to Col. Woods official report.
Col. Rivers and Capt. Smedberg state that 1t
treats the subject fully. They also say that
Woods column opened fire about the same
line as the Spaniards. and make It clear that
he rough riders we're not ambushed. That
story OF the ambush we traced to an officer OF
he rough riders. He lost his head during the
iRht and rushed back to Siboney, stating that
he rough riders had been ambushed and Col.
Wood killed. He was a former officer Of the
'eRular army and better things were to have
'een expected OF him.. He was disposed of in
IN orderly fashion soon after the battle. That
S to say. it was decided to allow this slip to
as an accident. but at the next exhibit
noOmpetepovFha VIVA asba1 10 rn.Ir, >.