That night some were singing, some dancing a jig to "amuse" the crowd, and others were sitting around the fire talking. One fellow said he overheard an officer say that by tomorrow night our guns would be red hot, provided we were still alive. We were not told anything, but our officers undoubtedly knew we were going into a battle.

At 8 o'clock the headquarters bugler sounded "assembly." The command "fall in" was heard all along the line.

Rapidly, companies, battalions and regiments were formed and soon Bate's brigade was lined up awaiting its commanders before marching to its uncertain fate. We stood resolved, grim and silent.

Before the light of our dying camp fires the first sergeants called the rolls. From headquarters, escorted by the color guards, appeared the national and regimental colors. The buglers played the "Marching of the Colors," and once more we saluted the flag for which so many were to die.

The General

Riding a black charger came Gen. Bates the commander of the brigade. Escorted by his aide-de-camp, Maj. Logan, son of the famous general of the Civil War. To the rear of them rode the brigade buglers. Then came the colonels of the Twentieth and the Third Infantry, accompanied by the majors.

Standing in line we "presented arms" to our officer, who the next day led us so gallantly in battle. Wheeling his horse and taking up a position facing us, Gen. Bates replied to our salute. Then off we started.

In the Mountains

In the mountain paths we had to march in single file in order to make room for the pack mules. We were bending under the heavy loads of knapsacks, canteens full of water and haversacks filled with three days' rations.

The belt with the heavy load of 140 steel cartridges and bayonets made our hips sore; the heavy shoes felt like a ton.

We were marching in route step. We were chatting, laughing and poking fun at the drivers of the stubborn mules. Here and there we met army wagons, dragged by horses and mules, loaded with boxes full of ammunition, of small and large caliber, and supply trains.

Las Guasimas

We marched by the battlefield of Las Guasimas. Occasionally a mounted orderly would ride by without noticing us. At last we reached the top of the mountain.

A wide plateau stretched before us. Here we passed lots of army "covered wagons," encamped, the horses and mules feeding in the high, wet grass.

From afar we could see groups of dark objects in the grass; other regiments resting and sleeping in the cool night. It was getting cold. We were worn out from the long march. The grass was so high, we could hardly pass through it.

When the order was given to halt I was glad. I lay down, putting the knapsack under my head, and covering up with my poncho. I soon fell asleep.

We had been told not to build fires of any kind as we were in front of the enemy and our position must not be exposed.

The day was just breaking; it was so miserably cold, and how blue I felt! When I opened my eyes I could see lines of men still trying to sleep in the tall wet grass in an effort to throw off their exhaustion. Close to us were rows of army transport wagons, loaded with ammunition boxes and provisions.

Approaching Battle

Men were rising and strolling around. I could not see any troops except our own - they must have marched away under cover of darkness.

I was wondering how far we were from the enemy. The sense of approaching battle came over me. I just hated to have an arm or a leg shot off. I thought of my folks at home, my friends, and I was wondering if I would ever see them again.

As the rays of the sun began to break through the gray cold mist surrounding us, I walked to a higher place to watch the advent. It was beautiful to see the sun climbing from behind the mountains.

Bloody Sun

But the sun looked to me that morning as if it were streaming from a vat of blood.

The camp was beginning to become noisier and livelier. When I looked at these warriors and again at the sun, I wondered which of us would see it rise again.

Suddenly a rocket flew up from the distance - a salvo of artillery guns back of us to our left. A blaze from thousands of rifles to our front responded to that signal.

The rocket came from Gen. Shafter's headquarters at exactly 6 o'clock. The battle of Santiago de Cuba had begun.

Cheering Reports

When I heard our artillery firing salvos and musket fire of our infantry, I began to cheer up.

We all stood by our knapsacks awaiting orders to move on. As there were no fires to be started, I nibbled my hardtack for breakfast and washed it down with canteen water.

Orders came to throw our knapsacks in a pile. This afforded some relief, but that was the last I have ever seen of that dear old knapsack and all the useful and personal things it contained.

The First Balloon

Then came a call for volunteers to help raise the first balloon that was ever used in warfare A few hundred feet from us on a level plateau a bunch of men from the U.S. Signal Corps was trying to raise an observation balloon. It was held to the ground by ballast and there were hanging from it a hundred or more ropes.

We were expected to hold the ropes after the balloon was freed from its ballast and at the proper command, to let them loose.

After much commotion caused by the officers in charge, it was started straight into the air toward Santiago.

We understood that the gasbag was fired on later by the Spaniards, that some of the observation men in it were killed or wounded, and that it finally landed within our own lines.

Later that balloon was displayed at a fair in Omaha, and it may be in some museum at this day.

El Caney Heights

Meantime the noise of the battle was terrific. Capt. Capron's battery to our left was shelling El Caney heights. Capt. Grimes battery to our right was hammering away at the San Juan fortifications. Capt. Parker's Gatling guns were pouring a hot fire into the center of El Paso heights.

Occasionally some of our siege guns would add their din to the noise of artillery fire and the infantry rifles.

The Spaniards replied at a lively rate. Admiral Cevera's fleet in Santiago harbor must have put all its guns in action. We could distinguish those booms from guns of the Spanish warships from the fire of the land batteries and the rattling of thousands of Mauser rifles that were turned against us.

All the while our brigade was out of reach of the enemy's fire. After filling our canteens from a nearby water tank, and after being issued 100 extra rounds of ammunition, at about 8 o'clock, our brigade quietly marched off in the direction of El Caney.

With ponchos thrown over our shoulders, the magazines of our Krag-Jorgensons loaded and locked, our brigade marched off from that wide level plateau down the valley into a tropical jungle. The vegetation was so thick that we had to use our flat bayonets to cut through. We could march only in singe file along the narrow path which led us up and down hills and valleys through rich forests.

Enemy Knew

We were reinforcements and the enemy should not have known we were coming. After marching for a considerable distance we reached the main road which led from Siboney to Santiago. Here we reached the zone of the enemy's fire.

Bullets began to whistle around us, striking and cutting the trees and the grass.

We were marching rapidly up a high hill. Here we again met the trains of pack mules and transportation wagons, while dashing from the battlefield were Red Cross ambulances, carrying the wounded to field hospitals or to Siboney.

"It's red hot down the valley, boys," shouted some of the ambulance drivers. Meantime the noise of the battle grew louder and louder. The shrieking of the Gatling guns was terrific.

First Infantry

Farther up the line we met the First U.S. Infantry, their rifles thrown over their shoulders, under the fire of the enemy. They were cutting down the underbrush and building a road for our artillery to take up positions closer to the firing line.

When we reached the top of the hill we could see the battlefield beneath.

In the distance was the well-built line of Spanish trenches, filled with troops. Under the hill, long lines of our infantrymen were placed in three skirmish lines. Back of us a battery of six pieces of light artillery was coming to take up a good position on top of the hill.

Keep Moving

A few of us stopped to look around, but order, "Keep moving, keep moving," came from our officers. We exchanged greetings with the men of the First Infantry, admiring their pluck.

We marched down the hill into a deep hollow, and there we halted, awaiting orders. The enemy must have located us at once, for no sooner had we reached the gullies than shells began to fly over us.

That was our first experience in dodging artillery shells. We were there for about 30 minutes, all the while staying in the best of humor, cracking jokes at the poor marksmanship of the Spaniards.

No sooner had a the battery which we saw from the distance taken up position than a large shell from Cevera's fleet exploded among them, almost completely wiping out an entire gun crew.

All this time 15, 000 American troops under Gen. Shafter, aided by a few thousand Cubans under Gen. Garcia, were engaged in a deadly duel with the enemy force superior in number of men and in artillery, under the Spanish general, Lenares.

San Juan Heights

To the left was a slope of high hills, called San Juan Heights, surrounded by a net of trenches and barbed-wire entanglements and having on its highest peak a blockhouse, protected by powerful guns. A cavalry division (all dismounted) reinforced by two brigades of infantry and only one battery of light artillery under Gen. Wheeler of Civil war fame, were battering all day into wire entanglements to drive the enemy from San Juan Heights.

In the center a brigade, consisting of the Sixth and the Sixteenth U.S. Infantry, reinforced by a battery of Gatling guns under Gen. Hawkins, was storming El Paso Heights.

The heaviest losses were sustained by our army in that neighborhood. In one place, called the Bloody Angle, 60 men of the Sixth Infantry fell in cutting through the wire entanglements.

Men and more men fell while bridging the San Juan river, so that our ammunition supply trains could reach the men at San Juan hill.

Gen. Lawton

To the left an infantry division, under the famous Indian fighter, Gen. Lawton and supported by a battery of light artillery under Capt. Capron, was storming the fortified hills near the village of El Caney.

Facing the village on the top of a high hill was El Caney blockhouse.

Gen. Bates' brigade was part of the Fourth Army Corps under Gen. Carpenter. We were sent to Cuba as an independent brigade to join Gen. Shafter's Fifth Army Corps.

In the battle of Santiago we reinforced Gen. Lawton's division. On the night of July 1 we marched all night on the morning of July 2 we reached Gen. Wheeler's division.

Before us was the creek, then a thicket of woods, then an open area. We were told to examine our firearms, our first-aid kits and to be ready.

"Sabers!"

The officers drew their swords. Our Capt. Morrison called us together and told us what was expected of us on the battlefield. He impressed on us the importance of filling our canteens, for the first thing a wounded man wants, he said, is water.

Then we were ordered to form a skirmish line - three feet apart. At a command, we started off in double time, crossing the creek, the timber and finally that wide open field in a line parallel to the Spanish trenches.

First their infantry, then their artillery concentrated fire on us.

Our rifles in hand, our ponchos, haversacks and canteens thrown on our backs, we did not respond to their fire. In single rank, stooping as low as we could, we continued moving forward.

"Carry On"

Those hit were picked up and carried along. The enemy's fire was raining over our heads, their shells exploding to our right and left.

We ran, ran and ran till we reached a deep ditch. We jumped in the ditch, exhausted. Here we were out of reach of their bullets.

The men began to relax; whereupon Lieut. Crawley jumped from the trench and facing the enemy's fire, with his sword waving in the air called to us, "Forward, my men, forward. Let's go!"

Out of the ditch we came. As we charged the open field our artillery ceased firing. This time we ran in a semicircle, almost facing their trenches.

Our lines began to crowd; we were told to lie flat on the ground until our men ahead of us began to take up positions.

When our turn came we had to crawl till we reached our designated positions, and then we were to open fire. In front of us was a thick barbed wire fence of crossed planks and bars. Back of the fence was another deep ditch. Back of this ditch was another line of barbed wire fences and back of those fences, entrenched, were the Spaniards.

The Spaniards

They wore large colored straw hats and light, blue striped uniforms. They kept close to their trenches. All we could see of them was their sombreros and their shoulders. We were hugging the ground as close as we could, firing through the barbed wire fence.

To our rear, disregarding the fire of the enemy, were Maj. Logan, aide-de camp to our general; Col McCasky of the Twentieth, Majors Rodman & Green and other officers in conference. They were talking in loud tones. A shell burst near them killing three of the officers' horses.

We were crowded close together, but we kept moving to our right in a semicircle, to give room for the other companies of our regiment and the Third Infantry who were following us up. As we crept along we could see from the distance El Caney blockhouse atop its high hill. Then we came upon Gen. Lawton's division, which had been struggling all day to capture El Caney.

"Charge!"

It was about 1:30 when the command to attack El Caney was given. We jumped up to our feet, yelling in answer to the bugler's calling to the "charge." We rushed down the first hill, then up the hill to the blockhouse.

The Spaniards greeted us with a solid volley. "A" company caught the brunt of the fire, one of the color guards falling. Sergt. Sarett, who carried the colors was shot in the knee, but he kept up until he dropped. Later he died from the effects of the wound.

Passing the dead and dying, we reached the hilltop. The Spaniards retreated down the valley on the other side toward the village, firing as they went.

The Twenty-fourth and the Twenty-fifth (colored troops), the Thirteenth and the Seventeenth, all U.S. Infantry, had joined in the attack. When we reached the blockhouse, orders were given for us to lie down and fire on the retreating Spaniards.

Here we were so crowded that we had to use our elbows and to cry, "Give way to the right!" We were intensely excited as we took up our position close to El Caney, facing the village.

No Place to Lie

Orders were coming: " Lie down! Lie down! Open fire!" We were so crowded together that we had no place to lie. We were howling "Give way to the right! - give way to the right!" Meanwhile, we started to open fire on the retreating Spaniards. Major Rodman, leading our battalion to the charge did not want to halt at the block-house. Turning to his bugler, he shouted, " Hubert, sound the charge again!"

Major Green, who was rushing up with the second battalion, grabbed Rodman's arm saying, "Major Rodman, to lead these men on another charge would be murder." Over hearing the conversation, Hubert hesitated with the bugle at his lips. And as he pointed his sword in the signal for the charge a bullet struck Major Rodman, and he fell mortally wounded.

Major Green took command. We had halted as our major fell, but now began to take up positions and to open fire.

General Bates

While the enemy's fire was at its height, General Bates, our brigade commander appeared on the battlefield. He made a wonderful inpression on us by his coolness in the midst of danger.

El Caney was only a few hundred feet from us down the valley. The Spaniards had retreated to a well-built line of trenches surrounded by barbed wire fences.

We made it so hot for them that they had to abandon their trenches and scatter all over the village, which had been abandoned long before, and they made every house a fortress.

They opened fire on us from every window and door in town. They placed their sharpshooters on every tree and flat roofs of the houses. The fire kept up fiercely for about an hour and a half before it began to slacken.

Their commander-in-chief, General Lenaris, was dangerously wounded in that battle, and General Toral took his place.

An Indian Advance

Major General Lawton made his attack on El Caney in Indian fashion. He whirled his division of trained regulars into a semicircle around the blockhouse and the village. His men holding close to the ground, yelling and shouting, made their frontal attack as a surprise to the Spaniards, who were not used to that kind of warfare. Firing a few solid volleys into us, they beat a retreat to their second line of entrenchments.

When we reached the top of the hill we had them at a disadvantage. Their trenches were exposed to our fire, and they were scattered over the village. Our brigade was to the left of the blockhouse, our battalion taking up its position at the fence encircling it. We planted the colors in full view of the Spaniards.

The Battlefield

The blockhouse was almost torn to pieces by the fire of Captain Capron's battery. The courtyard was covered with bodies left behind in the hasty retreat. Among these were a few wounded.

Sergeant Anderson took a squad of men of our company who cut down the fence with their bayonets in the midst of a terrific fire. They administered to the wounded enemy.

On the battlefield officers and men displayed the greatest courage. No sooner was one hit than his comrades risked their lives to carry him off the field.

We were keeping as close to the ground as possible while back of us officers were standing or kneeling to direst our fire, but at no time lying down.

We had a visitor on the battlefield. A young German officer, a military attache, mingled with us, unmindful of danger. He was taking observations, and wore a poncho over his German uniform, but no arms of any kind. The French and Japanese military attaches were also with General Lawton's division.

After the Battle

At 3 o'clock the fire began to slacken, and the groans and cries of the wounded came louder from the valley. There were not enough hospital men to take care of al the wounded. Men bending over their wounded comrades, bandaging them and fanning them with their campaign hats was a common sight in the valley.

When the clouds dispersed, the hot tropical sun came out with all its ferocity, adding to the suffering of the wounded. Water was scarce - we were too far from the San Juan river, our only water supply.

Scattered over the battlefield those who had dropped in the charge, white and colored troopers alike, were stretched out in the positions in which they died.

Havoc Mars Beauty

It happened in a place where the history of nature could be called paradise. The village of El Caney was a suburb of Santiago, where the Spaniards spent their leisure. It was surrounded by beautiful hills, covered with the richest plantations, tall palms, and cocoanut groves.

We charged through a pineapple plantation. Mamgo trees, bananas, oranges, limes, bread fruit and all tropical vegetation were abundant on the surrounding hills of El Caney.

At 4 o'clock the Spaniards raised the flag of truce. The command, "Cease firing," was given at once, all buglers sounding the call. We remained in our positions.

At 4:30 "Recall" was sounded all along the line. Each company called roll of those who had died, those who were wounded and those who could not be accounted for. And those who responded did so with their hearts full of grief for those who responded to their call somewhere else.

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Updated June 06, 2008
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