Young Peoples' History of the War with Spain Part 7

[Ill.u.s.tration: Captain Allyn K. Cap.r.o.n.]

Everybody had confidence in their officers and in themselves. If they were hit they fought on if the hurt was not mortal. If they could not stand, they propped themselves against trees, and kept on firing as the line went forward. Men fought with their arms in slings and with bandaged heads.

Lieutenant Thomas, of Captain Cap.r.o.n's troop, and who was wounded himself during that sweltering June day, tells some interesting stories of the battle. He comes of a fighting family. His father fought in the Civil War, his grandfather was killed in the Mexican War, and three ancestors fell in the war of the Revolution.

"I am sorry that I did not have a chance to see more of the fighting, but what I saw was of the warmest kind. On the 24th of June I was with Troop L, under Captain Cap.r.o.n. We formed the advance guard, and went out on a narrow trail toward Siboney. On the way we met some of the men of the Twenty-second Infantry, who told us we were close to the enemy, as they had heard them at work during the night. Captain Cap.r.o.n, with six men, had gone on ahead of us and had come across the body of a dead Cuban. Ten or fifteen minutes later Private Isbell saw a Spaniard in the brush ahead of him and fired. This was the first shot from our troop, and the Spaniard fell dead. Isbell himself was shot seven times that day, but managed to walk back to our field hospital, which was fully four miles in the rear.

"It has been said that we were ambushed, but this is not so. Poor Captain Cap.r.o.n received his death wound early in the fight, and while he was lying on the ground dying, he said: 'Let me see it out; I want to see it all.' He lived an hour and fifteen minutes after the bullet struck him, and up to the moment he fell had acted fearlessly, and had exposed himself all the time to the enemy's fire.

"I was then next in command of the troop, and I noticed that some of our men lay too closely together as they were deploying. I went down the line ordering them to their proper distances, and as I pa.s.sed along, poor Hamilton Fish was lying, mortally wounded, a few feet from me. When he heard my voice, Fish raised himself on his elbow and said: 'I am wounded; I am wounded.' That was the last I saw of him in life.

He was very brave and was very popular among the men of the troops.

"Sergeant Joe Kline, of Troop L, was wounded early that day, and was ordered to the rear with several other wounded men. On his way to the rear, Kline discovered a Spanish sharpshooter in a tree and shot at him. The Spaniard fell dead, and Kline picked up a silver-mounted revolver, which fell from the man's clothes, as a souvenir, which he highly prizes. Several of the Spanish sharpshooters had picked up cast-off clothing of the American soldiers, and wore them while they were at their deadly work.

"Sergeant Bell, of our troop, was badly injured from an exploding sh.e.l.l while on the firing line. He was ordered to the rear, but quickly came back again. He was ordered away a second time, but a few minutes later he was at the front again, firing away. For a third time he was sent back, and once more he insisted on going to the front, and when the other men saw him they greeted him with rousing cheers, and he fought till the end of the day, although painfully wounded in the back.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Col. Theodore Roosevelt.]

"While lying in the hospital, I heard a young man named Hall, who belonged to the Twenty-second Infantry, tell a story which will ill.u.s.trate better than anything else the accuracy of the American shooters. He and five other men had crossed a bend in a road to get some water in their canteens. As they got into the open they were attacked by thirty-two Spanish cavalrymen, who cut them up badly with their sabres. Hall was the only one who was not killed. He was badly trampled by the horses, and had some sabre wounds on his body. Later on, Hall was picked up by some comrades to whom he told his story.

These men located the Spaniards who had done the work and opened fire on them. When they had ceased firing there were thirty live horses, two dead ones, and thirty-two dead Spaniards. This was pretty good shooting, wasn't it?"

Many heroic deeds were done in the Battle of Las Guasimas, by the "Regulars" as well as by the "Hough Eiders." Suffering was bravely borne. Sixteen of our men were killed, and more than fifty wounded.

Yet all our troops took heart from the victory of that day, and began to think it would be easy to go on driving the Spaniards back to Santiago, and then to take that city. But it did not prove to be easy.

There is a little railroad which runs from some mines near Santiago to the pier at Daiquiri. Before the landing was made, the Spaniards were driven from the coast by the sh.e.l.ls of the American fleet. Before they hurried away they attempted to disable a locomotive which had steam up. They took off the connecting rods, throttle gear and other important parts of the machinery and hid them behind fences and other places where they thought they would not be found. Then they blocked the piston guides and ran off. But there were plenty of engineers and mechanics among the American soldiers, and when they saw the condition the locomotive was in they started to search for the missing parts.

Most of these were found and the machinery was cleverly patched up.

Then they knocked the blocks of wood out of the slides and threw fresh coal into the firebox, and in a very short time the locomotive was pulling a train of ore cars loaded with soldiers.

[Ill.u.s.tration: (Soldiers at rest)]

CHAPTER IX.

EL CANEY AND SAN JUAN.

For a few days after the battle of Las Guasimas no great event took place. There was no fighting. The other troops were making their way up from the coast, but the roads were so narrow and so bad that progress was slow. The army wagons had great trouble to get on, and many supplies were left at the coast or on the boats, because there was no proper way of taking them forward. The heavy cannon were hauled a few miles from the coast and then most of them were left, though they would have been a great help to our Army, and should have been taken to the front. It was soon found that many of the doctors'

supplies--the things needed in taking care of the sick and wounded--had not been taken off the ships that brought the men from Florida. It was thought by some of our men that now more effort should be made to clear roads through the woods and thick bushes, but not much was done. A great deal of fault has been found with the way things were managed at this time. It seems as if some of the officers were very much to blame. There need not have been so many men killed in the battles that followed, or so much suffering and sickness in our Army, if all our officers had done their duty. Meanwhile, the Spaniards went on improving their forts on the hills a few miles away.

Nearly two thousand more of our soldiers landed in Cuba about this time, and more were expected soon.

But I must tell you about another Army that arrived in this part of Cuba during these days--a very small one beside General Shafter's Army, but one that did mighty work. Have you ever heard of the Red Cross Society? This is a society that nurses the sick and wounded. It has members in all parts of the world. Its chief officer is Miss Clara Barton, whose work has been so great and n.o.ble that it has made the whole world better. The badge, or flag of the Red Cross Army is a red cross on a white ground.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Miss Clara Barton.]

The Red Cross Army takes no part in war except to help those who need help. It does not know the difference between friend and foe. Its work is a work of love and mercy. No soldiers with any honor would ever fire upon a tent that has the Red Cross flag floating over it, or harm any person wearing the Red Cross badge. Yet, to the awful disgrace of the Spaniards, it is known that some of them, hidden in trees and bushes, fired upon doctors and nurses who were taking care of the wounded on the battlefields near Santiago.

This was the new Army, whose soldiers wear the sign of the Red Cross, that reached this part of Cuba now, and put up a large tent. In this tent all help that could be given was given, to Spaniards, Cubans and Americans. There were also "floating hospitals"--ships fitted up as hospitals. They proved to be great blessings to our Army and Navy.

You will remember that the Red Cross Society took great quant.i.ties of supplies to the suffering Cubans in the early part of 1898. Its work in Cuba was just well-established when hostilities broke out between the United States and Spain, and while the members who were on the ground wanted to stay and carry on the work of relief, General Blanco told them it was best for them to leave the island. They did so reluctantly, after doing all they could to insure the proper distribution of the supplies they left behind them. The result was that the food and medicines intended for the Cubans were used to sustain the Spanish army.

When the blockade of Cuban ports was inst.i.tuted, the Red Cross Society was asked by the Government to take charge of the steamship State of Texas which had been loaded with provisions, clothing, medical and hospital supplies by the generous people of the United States. Miss Clara Barton instantly responded, but the ship was not allowed to go to Cuba under a flag of truce, because Acting Rear-Admiral Sampson would not allow it. He said he was afraid the supplies would fall into the hands of the Spanish army. But the Red Cross Society would not give up its errand of mercy, and when the United States army invaded Cuba, the State of Texas followed the transports and so got to Cuba after all, and anch.o.r.ed at a little place called Siboney, where the nurses immediately began to care for the wounded on the hospital ship Solace.

There had been so much mismanagement about the landing of the troops and the supplies, that General Shafter's army was without medicines or shelter for his wounded men. When he learned that the Red Cross ship had arrived, he sent word to Miss Barton to seize any empty army wagons and send him a load of hospital supplies and medical stores.

She did this, although there were no boats obtainable to convey the supplies to the sh.o.r.e. There were only two old scows which had been thrown away as useless, but the Red Cross men patched them up as best they could, and then loaded them with the material asked for. They worked all night, and just as the sun rose in the morning, they managed to get them to the sh.o.r.e. It was the hardest kind of work unloading the scows in the surf, but they did it, and loaded some wagons with the precious supplies. Then the women nurses, who had been drenched to the skin in the surf, mounted on top of the load and started on a terrible ride over a roadless country. They reached the army, and the whole world knows the splendid work they did there. It was no fault of the surgeon-general of the United States that they were able to accomplish it, though, for he was opposed to female nurses and his action sadly hampered the work.

But now I must tell you about the next hard work that our soldiers had to do. On the last day of June, General Shafter gave orders that the whole Army was to move on toward Santiago the next day. General Shafter was sick, and stayed at headquarters in his tent, two miles away. Before Santiago could be reached, El Caney and San Juan had to be taken. So, on the first of July, early in the morning, six thousand of our troops, under brave officers, marched to attack El Caney.

General Shafter thought this place could be taken in about an hour.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Church at El Caney, Wrecked by American Sh.e.l.ls.]

The town of El Caney, four miles northeast of Santiago, lies in a broad valley. Beyond it, on the Santiago side, is a high, level piece of country. The houses in the town are built of stone, and have thick walls. The town was protected by a stone fort on a hill, and also by log forts, trenches, and covered places, where the Spaniards could stay under shelter while they fired. The stone fort on the hill was first attacked by our men, and if they had had more heavy cannon the work might have been easy. As it was, more than half the day pa.s.sed, and, in spite of the hard work of our men, the fort still stood. Our men had no smokeless powder, and their firing made a big black cloud around them all the time, so that they could not see clearly. At last the stone walls of the fort began to weaken, and then our men were ordered to "storm." They ran along the valley, broke through fences of barbed wire, and went up the hill with such a rush that the Spaniards could not meet them, but fled down into the town. The other forts kept up firing for a while, but our men, now having the fort on the hill, forced the Spaniards farther and farther, and, by four o'clock, our men held the town. The whole place was strewn with dead Spaniards, and our own loss was heavy. Both sides had fought bravely, and the struggle had lasted nearly nine hours.

[Ill.u.s.tration: General Henry W. Lawton.]

At El Caney the Spaniards made the strongest resistance that the American army met in Cuba. One of the foremost figures in this battle was Brigadier-General Henry W. Lawton. I must tell you something about him. Lawton was but seventeen years old when the Civil War in this country broke out. He enlisted at once and was made a sergeant in an Indiana regiment. When his term of service expired he re-enlisted and fought gallantly throughout the remainder of the war.

After the war was over Lawton enlisted in the regular army and was sent to the frontier, where he developed into one of the best Indian fighters in the army. When our country went to war with Spain, Lawton was holding an important position in the War Department at Washington.

His splendid services were remembered and he was promoted to be a brigadier-general of volunteers and sent to Cuba. After the war with Spain was over, Lawton was again promoted, and in 1899 was sent to the Philippines to a.s.sist in putting down the Filipino insurrection.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Battle of El Caney.]

Meanwhile, our other regiments had been ordered to attack San Juan, a village on steep heights, less than a mile east of Santiago. Our men went to the place by two different roads, and had to go through woods, wade through streams, and wind along narrow paths. A number of men from each regiment went before, with tools, and cut the fences of barbed wire. Fences of barbed wire had been put, like a network, all around Santiago, to keep our men away.

[Ill.u.s.tration: a.s.sault of San Juan Hill.]

San Juan was protected by trenches and forts, and from these places Spanish bullets rained down upon our men. During the early hours of the morning there was much confusion among our troops. They were looking for further orders from headquarters, but none came. So, at last, the captains and colonels took things into their own hands and did what seemed best. Again there was need of more heavy cannon, and again our men were troubled by having powder that made a thick black smoke. Just as it was at El Caney, so it was at San Juan; not having cannon enough to destroy the forts, our men had to take the place by storm. Colonel Roosevelt led his "Rough Riders" in one of the finest charges ever made. The other troops, nearly all "Regulars," did n.o.ble work. With bullets pouring down upon them, our men made a wild rush up the heights, and the Spaniards fled. The struggle to take San Juan had lasted more than five hours, and cost many lives.

Though our men were worn and weary, they took no rest that night. They buried the dead, they repaired the forts and trenches. Our men knew that the Spaniards would try to win back the heights of San Juan, the last stronghold on the outskirts of Santiago.

At daybreak the next morning the Spaniards attacked our troops, and the fighting went on all day. A sharp attack was made in the evening, but our men still held the place. Yet they did not feel secure. The Spanish Army in Santiago was a large one, and might force our men back. Our men, though weary from marching and fighting and digging, hungry, for food was scarce, wanted to hold the heights that had been so dearly won.

The attack upon the Spanish defenses of Santiago began early in the morning of July 1st, as I have told you, and I wish I could tell you the one hundredth part of the brave and gallant deeds that were done by our brave soldiers on that and the next day.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Lieutenant John H. Parker.]

Battery A, of the Second United States Artillery, fired the first shot of the engagement known as the battle of El Caney. The Spaniards replied, after it had sent five sh.e.l.ls among them. The Spanish forces were much stronger than our men thought they were, and it took General Lawton nearly all day to gain possession of El Caney. Early in the day, Lieutenant Parker's battery of four Gatling guns began to hurl bullets into the Spanish trenches, and so well did it keep up the work that it played a very important part in the battle and a great deal of the credit of the victory is due to Lieutenant Parker. Afterwards, Lieutenant Parker, in speaking of these wonderful machine guns, said:

"We trained the guns on the top of the hill. They were fired above the heads of the slowly advancing line of blue which had started up the slope. I ordered the men to work the Gatlings as fast as they could.

The result was astounding. With each of the four guns firing at the rate of eight hundred shots a minute, the bullets formed a canopy over the heads of the men at the foot of the hill. A Gatling gun in action is a sight to remember; so thick and fast do the bullets fly that one can actually see the stream of lead leaving the gun and, as if handling a hose, train it on any desired point.

"I remember one incident of the first day which showed how deadly was the fire of these machine guns. Away off, across the valley, we saw a clump of Spanish cavalrymen. I ordered the guns turned on them. They were so far away we had to use gla.s.ses to find them accurately, but when the little wheels began to turn, those who stood in the front line of the clump fell as gra.s.s falls before a mower, and it didn't take the rest of those Spaniards long to get behind something.

"As the day wore on, and the troops kept climbing up the hill, Colonel Roosevelt, who had been watching the work of the Gatlings, came along and placed his light battery of two Colt machine guns and one dynamite gun in my command."

You can get an idea of the deadly work of the Gatlings when I tell you that the fire of one of these guns is equal to that of one hundred and eighty riflemen, each discharging thirteen shots per minute.