Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1899-01-07

WltuOul OIuefS lrUIu uSstuqudrlerS mo
positive orders like those to Kent can
be traced. General Sumner, who COM
manded the cavalry, says he charged the
hill in order to avoid retreat and casual
ties The position which the cavalry &C.
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 Ell Caney road. The conduct
of General Wheeler on the LIST Of July
supports the inference that the cavalry
division had no orders to attack in the
morning. There is slight contradic-
tion in the statements of Wheeler and
Shafter as to Wheeler's work that day
Wheeler says he was able to act early
in the morning. that he conveyed Shat
ter's orders to Kent to move forward,
and also personally told Summer to do
the same, statement which places
Sumner in command of the cavalry and
makes Wheeler an acting corps COM
mander. Shafter, on the other hand,
says that Wheeler, the permanent COM
mander of the cavalry division, who had
been i'll, came forward during the morn
ing and later returned to duty" Among
all the orders that day which traced
found no .allusion to Wheeler, until
along in the evening" when he establish
ed his headquarters at the base of the
hill in rear of his own division. Wheel
er says that he sent for intrenching
tools and ordered his men to intrench
and sent word to them that Lawton
would come up on the right, and Gen.
eral Bates troops from Ell Caney would
strengthen the left on San Juan ridge.
This shows that Wheeler was perfectly
familiar with ideas at headquarters, for
these movements Of Bates and Lawton
were what Shafter himself had ordered
and was expecting at the hour Wheeler
refers to, toward midnight of July l.
AS already indicated in these articles,
the success of the cavalry in taking the
first hill, giving the Calling and Hotch-
kiss guns a chance to silence the block
house, made Kent's task the easier. AS
things turned out, it was fortunate that
somebody ordered the cavalry to go in.
A word will suffice to carry the story
If the cavalry over the I'd Of July up to
the hour of night attack by the Span
iards and the second proposition to re-
treat. A few rations and some water
were got up the first night. At day
break on the I'd the Spaniards opened
fusillade and kept 1t up all day. The
night Of the I'd heavy fusillade began
on the extreme left of the infantry divi
sion and rolled along in front of the
cavalry. In an hour the Spanish were
silenced. 1t is held in the cavalry that
General Sumner was then discussing
the question of retreat, and the result
of the night attack showed that the
Americans could hold on.
On the left of the cavalry the infantry
suffered from Spanish fire all day the
I'd. General Hawkins was wounded that
day 1t was SO hot that men tainted in
the trenches, and some of the faint and
wounded who were carried out were hit
before they could get to cover in the
rear. Parkhurst's battery got into posi-
tion the night of the LIST at the block
house, and at $50 a. m. on the I'd
opened fire on the city The Spanish
answered with Mausers and artillery,
killing one cannoneer and wounding
Parkhurst and two men. Lieutenant
Altman took command after Parkhurst
fell and continued in action until it be-
came too hot, then withdrew. A she'll
struck one gun. and the wheels were cut
up by bullets. Best's battery tried to
get into action, but the Mauser fire
proved too much for the cannoneers
The night attack Of the I'd was sprung
about $50 p. m. on the line of Pear
sons brigade, left Of Kent's division
Much activity had been noticed there
in the afternoon and Spanish officer
of high rank, as shown by his follow
ing, was a conspicuous object for some
time 1t was believed that the officer
must be the Spanish commander. and
one Of the sharpshooters of Parsons
brigade asked General Kent, who was
on the line at the time, to allow him to
fire. Kent did so, and at the second shot
the Spaniard fell Afterward it was
learned that Linares had been wounded
on that ground at the time, about 4 p
m. Parsons men had hard fight of
it all day the Cd. His Twenty first regi-
ment was in salient only 400 yards
from the Spanish trenches None of his
men dare leave the trenches to cook,
and ate their bacon raw. Marksmen
with records were picked out to do the
firing. and the rest of the soldiers re-
manned quiet under cover. 1t was one
Of these sharpshooters who brought
down Linares.
The night attack. SO called, lasted an
hour. Officers in the brigade said that
they saw Spanish troops advance from
their line and believed thata sortie had
been attempted. as directed by Linares
before he was wounded. General Pear
son says that when hi. men heard Of
the proposed retreat the night of the -.
they insisted on staying on the ground
they had won. All the second day on