The National tribune., 1903-09-17

and sixty-three regulars. including
Colonel. Lieutenant Colonel and tire
other officers. had been made prisoner
of war and Il large number of captured
or surrendered volunteers had been pa
rolled. Under conditions of intense trOp
zeal heat and bad roads. the comman,
had made remarkable march. The.
had covered distance. including outposts
etc.. of 50 miles from Aug. to Aug. IS
Fully One-fOurth of the command wer'
sick. they had no extra clothing and thei
shoes We're worn out, yet when the tele
gram to Gen. Schwan from headquarters
Commanding General sends c0ngratrla
tons and thanks. He relies implicitly
upon your skill. good Judgment and gen
eralship,' was published to the men. new
life was infused into them and fresh hard
ships were eagerly sought.
GEN HESRY's COLUMN.
Gen. Henry. with a part of his origina
command. led the fourth and last column
made up of the following troops: Gen
Garretson, commanding brigade composed
of the 9th Mass Col Rice). 9th Ill. Col
Foster. Troop Il. 2d L. S. Cav. Hoppin)
part of Troop A. n y. Cav. Coudert)
four companies 10Th L. s.. detachment
Signal Corps. detachment Hospital Corps
Total force about 5000.
He was directed to proceed NORTH
through Adjuntas and Utuado to Arecibo
connect with Schwan, and cut off the re
treat of any of the enemy who might at
tempt to reach San Juan in that direction
Previous to Gen. 1fenry's movement Gen
Stone had been sent forward with mate
rial to repair and build tie road between
Adjuntas and Utuado. He employed nd
tive labor for the purpose. assisted by q
company of the Provisional Engineer Bat
talon. The rough mountain trail could be
widened only sufficiently to permit the
passage of troops and supplies with great
difficulty. yet Henry had succeeded. with
out opposition from the enemy, in getting
a force through to within few miles OF
ArccibO. when the order to suspend mill
tary operations was received. When the
ComUandante of Arecibo learned that
troops and wheeled vehicles had come ovei
the Utuado trail he evineed the greatest
surprise. The route was deemed impossible
except for solitary animals. and was left
totally unguarded. A few determined men
posted at the single pass could have held
it against division.
GLANCE IN REVIEW
shows that the announcement that a peac
protocol was signed found aggressive ac
tivity along the line of operations. which
extended almost straight from AguadillA
on the northwest coast, southeast to Ar.
rOy0 on the south coast. Schwan was
close on the heels of the Spanish regulars
he had routed at Hormigueros and again
on the Rio Prieto. and what few might
have escaped would surely have run into
the arms of Henry's command approach
ing Arecibo. Brookes guns were primed
read to fire on the nights above Quay,
ANA. and Wilson was about to execute a
most difficult and hazardous turning move.
ment around Asomante. The military stu
dent was on the point of gaining valua bic
material for his education. There would
have been some blood spilled. the interest
of the country in the Puerto Rican cam
paign would have been aroused in conse.
quence, military regulations would have
been made, and some, perhaps, lost
OF the favorable result to the Amer
lean arms there can be no question
Even if Wilson and Brooke had found
it expedient to mark time" as il
We're. in front of their allotted tasks. Hen
ry and Schwan would surely have joined
at Arecibo. the Spaniards stationed here
having reiterated to San Juan. With the
former seaport on the north coast as a
new base. they We're to move along the
shore by the railroad and two parallel
wagon roads, which haze frequent con-
Meeting crossroads. and. with the left
flank always in close supporting distance
of the sea, would. in two days at least
have been in the rear of San Juan, and al
the northern terminus of the main military
highway. along which force would
have been dispatched to take the positions
at Aibonito and Cayey in the rear, if they
had not already fallen.
Such. briefly outlined was the campaign
suspended Aug. 13 by the peace protocol
and auspiciously closed on Oct. is, when
the United States flag was raised in San
Juan, farther east by 1000 miles than
ever before. Sovereignty changed hands
on that day, and there is no question of
divided interest in the title.
The campaign in Puerto Rico was
CLEAN CUT AND sTRATEGICALLY BRIL-
LIANT,
and none the less great because on ac-
count of it thousand homes are not in
mourning and twice that number of pen
siOners are not compelled to stand at the
doors of the Treasury and demand aims
Of the Government. 1t demonstrated. too,
that the Commanding General of the
Army is as great a strategist at the cOun-
Gil board with map and a pair of divid-
ers as he is a great personal leader of
men in battle.
But it is not the business of the his
torian to draw conclusions or to point NOR
ais, particularly when he happens to be an
ARM officer. Sufficient facts are present
ed in the preceding chapters. it is hoped,
to enable the reader to make intelligent de-
ductions. Suffice it to say. that the prompt
success of the army in Puerto Rico was
an important factor in precipitating Span
ish Overtures for peace, so anxiOusly de-
sired by both the nations in arms, while
the strategic and purely material advant-
ages accruing from the campaign make
1t the most profitable and satisfactory one
of the war.
AT the last accounting. the war has
only cost us directly about $165, 900, 600,
and as compensation for the outlay we
have appropriated Puerto Rico. which can
hardly be valued at much less than double
sum. Hon. Hannis Taylor in the North
American Review.
TROOPS AND STORES on TRANSPORTS FOR
PUERTO EICAN EXPEDITION, LEAVING
NJ AuH<N