New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-03-11

had been dislodged from Siboney by Law"
toms men twenty four hours carrier anu hau
taken up a position but a few miles from san
,,axo. that General Wheeler entirely igno-
rant OF their position and for all ne Khe" 10 INC
contrary he might well have thought that the
few troops under his command had bumped in'o
the whole Spanish Army" but that. luckily Cen
eral Iawton had already sent General Chahee
brigade 20 the scene n action when he learned
~, m. cavalry had been moved forward In
the morning: and later on. when he received
20 for reinforcelnents had sent forward another
b-ieaae under Colonel Miles via another tran.
The following Is the note asking for reinforce
ments:
June 24-S:S0
General Lawton -. -, t.
General wheeler directs 10 say that ne is
engaged with A bigger force Of the enemy imam
Re s1tictpeted and asks that any forces you
may have be sent forward on the SeNlila Io'
as soon possible. o, c,,x,
nv Ronsal does full justice to the splendid
courage Of our troops on this occasion. showing
THAT the Rough Riders. though volunteer or
sanitation. did quite as well as the two Regular
cavalry regiments and he points especially TO
The fact that although the six hundred Spanaros
present on this occasion were completely con-
cealed from the view Of our men. occupying
higher ground. and being well protected by theii
trenches Of clay and parapets Of stone they
gave way before the steady, aggressive VaIor
of the Americans and were pretty Thoroughly
demoralized when they caught sight Of Genera'
Chaffee's brigade winding up the valley oelo"
them which unwelcome sight appears to have
settled the fate Of the day. The descriptions OF
the battles of FL Caney and San Juan are given
with great spirit and much fulness OF detail
In slIusion to the lack Of surgeons and hospitaI
&c
written ny General Shafter 10 the AdJutant-
General Of the Army. dated at Tampa. May ~
1905 in which the General earnestly though In
vain pleads for large addition TO the medical
officers of his command
OF especial interest is Mr.. Bonsars graphic
account OF the proposition TO withdraw our lines
10 the rear on the evening Of July = Friends
Of General Wheeler claim that II was due to
this gallant officers influence that the retreat
was not made. Dir. Bonsal asserts, on the other
hand that General Wheeler had been strongly
in favor OF retreat all day long, that at the
meeting the man whose voice and influence did
more than any others to prevent such move
ment was General Iawton, who. with Cen
eral Bates and General Shafter, was unalter-
ably opposed to giving up one inch Of what we
already held. and that it was generally known
ct Santiago that sure was General Nheeler
there would be retreat that when the
rnseting came 10 an end he was obliged 20 return
TO the old headquarters near General smarter -
As prior TO going to the meeting he had ordered
his hea Quarters to the rear. This matter is OF
such interest that may reproduce what Mi.
Ronsal saws in foot note. Quoting an officer
present at the meeting. who gave him brief
outline OF what took place there, the author
says:
When the general officers assembled on the
Might OF the ID General Shafter said: j have
called YOU here to have an expression OF your
opinion on the state Of affairs at the front
have been told by great many TINS afternoon
that we cannot hold the position. ana that IL IS
absolutely necessary for us to retreat In order
20 save ourselves from being enhladed by the
Spanish lines and cut of from our supplies as
an attack by the Spanish with 1e" nDsl
troops would result in our utter deleat Inc
officers in turn. beginning with the one OF IOWeSt
rank General Lawton) expressed their opinions;
They all talked at some length, ana 1eheIa a.
Sbafter finally said: Well VIII take vote
I'm this matter OF course will assume full re-
sponsbty for any movement tha' tahes P Tba,.
But desire TO put the matter TO vote. lhey
voted in the following ORDER:
Lawton against retreat
Bates against retreat
Kent for retreat.
Wheeler against retreat.
After the vote taken Lawton was most
vigorous and outspoken against retreat mar
ing long speech and doing almost all the taIh-
ing and arguing against the step that was done
IN the meeting. General Kent told us that on
that afternoon General heeier came 20 see
him and was most emphatic and outspoken In
his desire 10 retreat. We were convinced that ne
came TO the meeting In this spirit put as ne had
the last vote ne was able 10 modify MS views IN
accordance with those held by Bates, Shafter
and Iawton A few moments after the final vote
was taken General Shafter returned TO ms mead
quarters. saying that for the present the troops
would remain where they were, ana on the heA'
evening he would meet the general officers again
and confer with them further. General ken'
explained his vote. saying that ne was hol ~
rrvrr nd xfppr h1lf
ers thought II best.
Referring TO General Wheelers unfortunate
illness on June 80 which caused General Shat
ter 10 transfer the command Of the cavalry d.
vision 70 General Sumner, and prevented Cen
eral Wheeler from reaching the scene Of the bat
tle ON July | until early in the afternoon, MT
Bonsal pays the General the compliments foi
his energy and general aggressiveness or CHAR
acter which viii be found below, accompanying
some observations on General Skaters state OF
health These remarks are especially apposite
in view Of the well-known criticism OF General
Shafter 20 the effect that he should nave our
ing his illness. transferred his command 10 some
one else. They are rs follows:
On the morning Of the "a, as his indspositon
still continued, General Shafter thought IL al
ytsahle 10 arrange TO who should take over
me command Of the Army in case he should be-
come incapacitated. as most certainly up TO the
present time he had not been MaJor-Generai
Wheeler was the ranking officer boiling COM
nand with the corps but owing to the state
OF his health which had prevented him from
commanding his division on the LIST. and owing
10 the fact that the years he had spent away
from the Army and in political life were many,
there a decided objection among Army OFF,
GERS TO having what was practically the com
bpand OF the whole United States Regular Army
n6vofve upon a volunteer officer whose most re-
eut-mtnssry experience dated back thirty three