Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1922-09-29

guished Service medal the other day
from Uncle Sam. 1t seems rather
strange thar the government should
let "a years pass without any formal
recognition of the unusual services of
this officer, Maj. Andrew S. Rowan,
retired, who now lives in San Gram.
cisco. John w Weeks, secretary OF
war. is responsible for the medal go
ing to Major Rowan.
On record in the War department is
the story of what Rowan did as he re
lated it. ION April S, 1898, / was on
duty in the office of military informa-
ton, adjutant generals Office, War de-
partment, Washington, D. Co., says
Rowan. Mai. Arthur L. Wagner, adj
jutant general, was in charge At
noon of that day Major Wagner in
formed me that at conference be-
tween President Mckinley and Secre-
starry of War Alger it had been decided
to send an officer to eastern Cuba, in
case of war, to ascertain the military
conditions existing in that region
which was likely to become the thea
ter of war, and that had been select
ed for the job.
81 reached Kingston, Jamaica, Brit
hsh West Indies, on the steamship Adj
rondack. On April % / received the
cipher John Garcia as soon as pos
sible At 10 a. M, dressed as an Eng
lish hunter | left Kingston, crossed
the island and reached Saint AIMS
Bay about a. m. Here ! boarded
small sailboat and by daylight had
passed beyond the neutral waters Of
Jamaica. Nightfall of April % our
small craft, manned by three Cuban
sailors, one orderly and myself, ap-
preached the territorial waters Of
Cuba, habitually guarded at that Pc
Rod by the enemy patrol. We KEEP
well off until dark, and then made the
best of our way to the nearest point
of the shore.
How He Reached Garcia.
''The next morning l proceeded
through the forest afoot until mounts
could be procured. At one camp ]
found a number of deserters from the
Spanish garrison at Manzanillo, and
from them got some statements OF
doubtful value concerning conditions
in Manzanillo. After noon, May !,
having crossed the Sierra Maestro
range, I reached Bayamo the insur-
gent headquarters, where | was lden-
tilted through my escort as delegado
Americana, commissioned by the Amer
lean War department as a man Of con-
fidence-a term which suffers in trans
lation, but which in this instance
served only to solder our. mutual pur-
pose OF acting promptly in an emer-
gency.
Il was the first to impart the news
that the United States had declared
war against Spain.
81 followed this by delivering my
message orally to General Garcia, say
inc that [ was there solely on mill
tary mission to learn as much as pos
sible of the military situation IN east
ern Cuba. how many troops the Span
ish had, how they were armed and fed,
their morale, the topography OF the
country, roads and sanitation. After a
fiye-hour conference General Garcia
announced that he had decided 10 send
me back to the United States from
the north Cuban coast, accompanied
by three OF his ablest and most trust
ed officers. They, the general said,
could put at the disposal of the Amer.
lean War department as much in
formation as he himself possessed.
Return Trip Was PerIous.
"The promptness with which | ac-
cepted the generals challenge to start
at once seemed to irnparr an air OF
confidence" continues Rowan. AT
5 b. M, accompanied by General Col
lao. Colonel Hernandez and Doctor
vieta, an expert in tropical diseases,
] left the Cuban headquarters.
The trip, he says, roughly followed
astride the seventy-seyenth meridian
On the west side of Manati inlet. in
d swamp, the guides drew out small
ships boat. too small for all of them
and the party had to be reduced, to
SIX. VINO I1JlSL SIT ODl1SIl LII SSNNiSAi
days and nights. They made their
way out of the harbor that night I'M
Ger the guns of the Spanish fortress
nd into the limits of the Spanish pa
troll. BY daylight they We're out Of
sight of the island on their way to
Nassau, where, with the help Of the
American consul, they were able to
board a schooner fer Key West
The Distinguished Service Medal
citation follows:
"For extraordinary heroism in con-
nection with the operations in Cuba,
in May, 1898. At the outbreak Of the
Spanish-American campaign Lieuten-
ant Rowan, under disguise, entered
the enemy's lines in Oriente, crossed
the island of Cuba and not only sue
ceeded in delivering a message to Ger
eral Garcia, but secured secret in
formation relative to existing military
conditions in that region of such great
value that it had an important bearing
on the struggle and the complete sue
cess of the United States army
Ag. To%ue ApoIocv for Cole