Arizona republican., 1904-05-30
Col. Roosevelt at San Juan Hill.

From time to time, ever since the capture of Santiago, statements have been made, and have gained more or less currency. that Col. Roosevelt and his Rough Riders did not charge up San Juan hill; that what they did cap ture. or aid in capturing, was Kettle hill, an unimportant and weakly de- tended outpost, and that they had no part in the historic charge up the slopes of San Juan; that confusion Tn nomenclature has led the public wrongly to give credit to Col. Roose- welt and his troopers for leading part in the capture of Santiago. A few weeks ago the controversy was started anew by a correspondent of the New York Sun, who asked the question: Did CT did not Theodore Roosevelt charge up San Juan hill?" to which the Sun replied: He did. Not a doubt of it."
 This did not settle the doubts, how ever, and the newspapers were bonn barded with letters asserting or deny ing that Col. Roosevelt and the Rough Riders were in the San Juan charge. One of the Suns correspondents wrote:
 "It is a humiliating thought that the author of the book from which you make extracts in this mornings issue Is the president of the United States. The charge in question was up Kettle hill. an outpost of San Juan hill. half a mile to its left front. and occupied by a few hundred Spaniards. The or ders were to clear it preparatory to the great charge up San Juan hill. led by Hawkins. in which Roosevelt did not participate but contented himself. after taking Kettle hill, with firing over the heads of the men who did the ~ork."
 Fortunately for the truth of history. the Sun has taken the trouble to make such clear statement of the facts that there need be no further controv- srsy over the question. Col. Roosevelt did charge up Kettle hill, and he did charge up San Juan hill. The Sun ex- plains:
 There might be reason for reconsid- ering our first positive statement that Col Roosevelt did charge up San Juan if it were true that we had at any time confused Kettle hill with San Juan, or assumed that the Rough Riders exploit on Kettle hill gave him a technical title to credit for partici> patton in the occupation of the ridge beyond merely because the two charges were separate incidents of the same general engagement. But such is not the case. The charge up Kettle hill was one deed of a crowded day, while the charge up San Juan was another.
 The two achievements are differen- tiated distinctly enough in the Roose- Veltian narrative which we have put in evidence. The charge up San Juan oc- cured later in the day than the charge up to the sugar kettles. Kettle hill. so called. is a detached elevation at a considerable distance from the San Juan ridge, and it had no relation to the second charge which Col Roosevelt led, except that 1t was the point from which he started on that second charge.
 Reference is made to the map of the Santiago battlefield, printed in Sena- ator Alger's book, "The Spanish American War" which shows that Kettle hill is a low elevation which was between the American troops and the range of hills known as San Juan. and that the blockhouse hill, carried by Gen. Hawkins and the regulars. is enly single member of the range or ridge. The Sun adds:
 Col. Roosevelt never claimed that he vent along with Hawkins. His part of WAA Go A-G part. After driving the Spaniards from Kettle hill. and supporting with volley firing the troops of Hawkins assailing the blockhouse on San Juan on his left, Col Roosevelt turned his attention to that part of San Juan which was in front of him. He says:
 "I stopped my men from volley firing for fear they should injure their com rades. and called on them to charge the next line of trenches, on the hills in our front, from which we had been un- dergoing a good deal of punishment Thinking that the men would all come. l jumped over the wire fence in front of us and started al the double; but, as matter of fact, the troopers were go excited, what with shooting and be- ing shot, and shouting and cheering. that they did not hear, or did not heed me; and after running about a hundred yards I found had only five men along with me. Bullets were ripping the grass all around us. and one of the men. Clay Green, was mortally wound ed; another. Winslow Clark, a liar ward man, was shot first in the leg and then through the body. . There was no use going up with the remaining three men, and bade them stay where they were while I went back and brought up the rest of the brigade.
 T wanted the other regiments to come, too. so I ran down to where Gen. Sumner was and asked him if I might make the charge; he told me to go and that he would see that the men follow ed.
 We had a considerable distance to