Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-01-30
CRUCIAL HOUR AT SANTIAGO
ADDRESS BY GEN. HARRIES OF THE
DISTRICT MILITIA.
Service of District Troops Commend
ed-Scenes on the Firing Line
ColOred Regiments Bravery.

The monthly meeting of the Mems Club
of Assembly's Presbyterian Church, corner
of 9Th and l streets northwest, was held
last evening and was addressed by Gen.
Geo. H. Hairless commander OF the District
Of Columbia militia, on 1.-THE Eleventh Hour
a. Santiago" The attendance was very
large. and the general spoke for more than
an hour in most entertaining way.
Gen. Harries said 1t had been announced
that he was to deliver a lecture on the
present occasion, but he disclaimed all in
tcntion of doing SO, and informed his audi
ence that his talk would be OF the most
informal kind. After an appropriate in
PRODUCTION Of his subject, he said the cas-
ualty list of the LIST d. G. Regiment shows
fewer deaths from exposure and disease
than does that of any of the twenty-five
re gflnents, regular and volunteer, engaged
in the operations in Cuba. This was at
tributable to the fact that before reaching
the island the command had had plenty of
good food and did plenty of hard work
in the way Of drilling and marching. There
was he said, deep disappointment on the
part of the members of the regiment when,
after receiving orders to leave Tampa and
proceed to Santiago, the transport upon
which they were to take passage, and upon
which their stores had been already loaded,
colllded with another transport and was so
badly damaged that another transport bad
which, he said more nearly conformed to
the description of Noahs ark in archltec-
tural construction than anything he had
ever seen.
Key West was the first place at which
they were to stop, and here a delay Of
forty-eight hours occurred, which was an
other cause of disappointment. for all were
anxious to get to the firing line.
Fourth of July, '9s.
None who were present at the 4th Of July.
1898. celebration by the District regiment
he said. will ever forget that event. There
was not a very elaborate program. but it
embraced the reading of the Declaration
OF Independence by newspaper correSpon-
dent and the playing by the band Of the
hymn of the republic, which begins: Mine
eyes have seen the glory Of the Lord" and
ends with an expression Of willingness to
man there. the general said. who was not
anxious to have at least one chance to die
to set the Cubans free.
The landing of the command at Siboney,
which was reached in the early morning.
was described. There was nothing avail
able but a large box. in which twenty-three
men were placed at a time and pushed
through the surf to the shore. The box was
feaky, and how 1t was that none of the men
was drowned was a mystery to the colonel
of the regiment. Finally all were safely
ashore. and by 8 o'clock of the same morn
ing the regiment was the firing line,
seven miles away.
Many scenes enacted during the siege of
Santiago were wildly described by Gen.
Harries. He said the District regiment
there made a record of which the 9th Corps
has always been proud, and Of which the
people OF the District of Columbia will be
equally proud when they come to know all
the facts. The men did their work cheer
fully. although they were frequently very
short Of provisions, and after remaining In
the trenches all day would have to go and
dig other and more advanced trenches at
night. This was an every night perform
ance He recalled with pleasure, he said,
his service with the late Gen. Lawton, both
In Cuba and several years before in the
west and he told number Of incidents In
connection with the services Of that general
at Santiago.
1t was a shot from Capron's battery that
had. more than any other one thing, to do
with the surrender of Santiago. Tho old
captain. whose son, Lieut.. Allyn Capron,
was killed some time before In battle, was
almost frantic in his desire to whip the
Spaniards. and although the latter had
placed Red Cross flags across the entire
front Of Santiago. he sent shell above