Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1914-05-22
TAKING OF VERA CRUZ
Stories Told by Some Of the BIueiack-
cts in the Hospital.

Stories Told by Some Of the BIueiack
cts in the Hospital.
things that happened at Vera Cruz art
being told. They drift out by way o
the wounded marines recently brought
home on the Solace, the naval hospita
ship. A New York Tribune reporter
telling of their arrival says Mere boys
they talked Of bloodshed as would vet
Grams of many stricken fields. Those
MANNED for life exulted in the belief
that they had killed Mexican in re-
turn; those who are well enough tc
hobble about chafed at the delay and
fretted to get back where there might
be still more action.
In their story of the taking of Vera
Cruz they told of soft -nosed bullets thai
mangled horribly, Of shots that seemed
to come from nowhere, OF quick repris-
ais. They were the stories of men. not
how forty snipers, taken firing on the
Red Cross attendants who tried to min
lister to the wounded, after a trial OF
twenty minutes, were executed with
one volley against stone wall.
One youngster, George P. Kinsman
of the Vermont, lay on his cot and
laughed horribly when he told Of pick
ing sniper out and sharing him with
ta hn oil ho RI nI
death The youth, who came from
Boston, had to have his right leg am
putated Beside him lies his comrade
Robert Emmett Lee, who will not be Is
for three days, and who has been in the
navy year.
They got my leg" said Kinsman
but I've got one satisfaction that III
carry the rest Of my life. We had lair
in the dirty boatyard all morning after
rushing the boat house and clearing Al
out. A shot came from the boat house
and We knew the Spiggoty gang was
back again, sniping. We had started
to rush the boat house when / saw one
of them crawling along with his rifle
Lee saw him too, and we agreed to kill
him together.
Each of us drew a bead on him and
we kept him covered while he jumped
and skipped along, thinking he was
safe to do some more sniping. He was
heading for a stone house, when | said
to Lee:
"'We'll let the rat think he's safe
Well let him get as far as the house
and, just when he thinks the danger is
over, We'll give it to him.
And that's the way we did. The
Mexican was just getting into the
house, when we both let him have il
and killed him instantly.
"A minute afterward we started an
other rush on the boat and got shot
the calf of the leg, and We lay while
the rest Of the battalion made a sieve
out of the boat house. Gee, those bull
let's are mean to use on a man; they
don't give you a chance once they
spread"
August Ebel, of the Utah, who was
shot three times through the shoulders
by firing from above, and his partner
II. E. Holsinger, were with Rufus Per-
cy when he fell.
I'VE were advancing on the acaGe-
N.Y." said Ebel, when | got a bullet
in the shoulder that knocked me down
| was figuring that l had to get out of
danger and was crawling along when
Red Cross man came up to me.
While he was trying to get me on a
stretcher | was shot twice more by
some one who had me marked and
wanted to finish me. The shots pump
ed at the wounded from nowhere. The
Spiggoty snipers did that thing right
along.
But they were paid back. The next
morning forty Of the snipers, taken fir
ing on the Red Cross, were tried in 20
minutes and lined up against wall.
One volley cut them down and they
dropped like one man."
All the stories told by the wounded
agreed that the fire of the snipers be-
gan before the men were out of the
boats. Several told with relish the ad-
venture Of a big, two-tisted boat-swain
of the Utah, McCloy, who had charge
Of the launches that towed the whale
boats ashore.
AS the launch neared the wharf, the
fire of the snipers, whipped all around
McCloy, who couldn't do anything but
attend to his engines. He howled with
rage as the bullets penetrated the
steam pipes and rendered the launch
useless, and he roared orders to let go
with the one Founders in the bows Of
the whaleboats that were tossing help
lessly about.
While the one-pounders spat over
him, McCloy was forced to jump over
and swim to the nearest whaleboat. Af-
ter few minutes fire the wharves
were cleared and another launch was
sgnalled. McCloy took charge of this
too and practically repetition of the
first disaster occurred before they
reached the wharf.