Show TORY OP OF SAN JUAN RETOLD it may be Interesting to some same to know few ot of the many incidents preceding that now oft told tale t ale leaving port tampa one trip thither three long I 1 lines of transports flanked on either side by OUT our gallant c cy convoy Y making twe fire knem aines in all with our abers ahead was indeed a pretty sight and bow a shot from froan our reduced a much to our relief and how the warships bombarded Bal quirl and Sl Si boiney before we could effect a anch the troops on our ves abet ef the th e san marcos managed to accomplish com on june after being confined on that transport 16 days and ilow atter after landing through the surf aw aad just having time to get a bath and ml a abort rest firing was heard over the has whither the firsthand Fir first stand and tenth cavalry and rough riders had gone to to in ate matters farther in the in terion our brigade was ordered to their up Vort and on our way thither meet gsg ithe I the wounded coming down and at af severain seve rail miles to hear that itose spaniards had been driven lawnen e tem fela back a mile or two and occupied A position tion overlooking the valley in alveral directions and how the lan ian caos with which that part ot of the country is infected worried our pickets athey fl tibey would rustle through the fou fates ties at night one man actually one and after being re seyed by the stanty first N Y down the hill again and 1006 tIng a beautiful cocoanut coco anut grove grave for en but finding it in some re 4 upsets d unsuitable selecting another we the sea aea and after romain bioc to in that place a day or two march 6 several miles nearer santiago our gb fabal sj encampment before actual hos awes took place an 00 the evening olf june we drew 9 3 days rations rati ions and were notified that revaine on the morning would be at 4 W clook which was tt ht on the morrow something would on july we were ready to tart on 0 our ur rable march bright SM early ar fly fiyut were delayed some same time in order to allow about cubans der gen garcia ga to pass dirty erfft rashed ed and mostly barefooted also a of 01 our own troops and the for albit delegations then our turn came W ballade brigi bal gade ade the first first division V jl admy corps comprising com the sixth aw sixteenth T TT U T S infantry and se sev v cat r farat N Y volunteers under gen marched majr ched a cuple of miles A ill 1 rested in some fields on our left which time there was some glam uv artillery firing going on in the of bl caney other es our corps had moved to attack aarts capture our balloon in aft as on tibe the day previous aking observations but on this me oc it was following our too closely and prove to tio us as well as themselves theon selves babiah proved to be the case JM being abeln ordered to advance the ar edw took the road to our right me meeting eiting wounded cubans either on lit too for wail wal king kingg returning return ipg from the aard newspaper correspondents by aft owe hurrying to the rr foont onit in 21 ta ft difficult too to understand the geo il aty of the country going it for the first time and being a unit in the great fighting but my may pocket compass told we were getting nearer santiago pursuing devious waya af tf a short time st at some water va on ion cur bur left we proceeded nearer nemy shortly to hear the sharp deafening crack of a shell from v 0 of our low own suns guns which passed er our heads the first ing 19 us that we were in for or it and which was responded to quickly by the enemy the balloon in the meant meantime lAie making observations rations only a few feet from the ground and still following our movements so 00 closely seemed to apprise the enemy of our location and greatly precipitate matters we were immediately ordered to take off our blanket blanke trolls rolls and haversacks haver sacks with wi th our three days rations place each company kits in separate piles and in most cases a man was left in charge of them our dress ss and equipments thus reduced consisted of blue pants shoes and leggings blue shirt opened in front and sleeves rolled to elbows and campaign heit halt our arms and equipments comprised rifle and bayonet and rounds of ammunition and our indispensable canteen of water weighing in all about 35 pounds one hundred rounds of ammunition weighing about 11 pounds and rifle about 9 pounds besides canteen of water in that manner we hurried onward under a burning sun a man occasionally dropping out by the wy way wounded or worse still killed pressing forward we finally arrive at that deadly creek about which so much has haa been written where our men dropped by scores in all directions and not a spaniard in eight bight one wounded man fell in the creek in deep water only to be immediately rescued by some brave fellow we hurried across the river whilst waist deep and sought shelter the ing banks afforded for a few seconds in order to get a breathing spell apell then dashed through the dense chaparala cha paral infested with spanish sharpshooters who were doing all the damage as we afterwards f ter wards learned and aad found a large open field with grass waist high flanked by roads and barbwire barb wire fences and to the right of which from our position stood the much coveted san julan juan hill bill surmounted by well ordered entrenchments and a blockhouse which had formally no mo doubt been a farm house how to cut those fences and dash across that field nearly a half a mile under a deadly fire and lais ais bend a hill I 1 should judge at least feet high and almost perpendicular was the coupee coup de grace there was the necessary delay the deadly barbwire barb wire created which caused a little temporary confusion officers shouting tIng orders here and there some regiments were wele wel e prepared for such an emergency with nippers I 1 understand the remainder using their bayonets which made a poor substitute then a wild dash but how field was waa crossed and the summit su of that hill reached ae fles description A situation like that would make mahe many a man with weaker nervous constitution quail while men ot probably bly more phlegmatic itic teto temperament while po the intelligence telli gence to understand and d realize the deadly character of the undertaking would blindly press forward with the one oine object in view two men dropped dead on that field without a wound bind at least one actually lost Ms his reason temporally I 1 hope many dropped behind tn some cases whole companies I 1 do not say this disparagingly only those who have been placed in such a position particularly for the first time can properly realize what it means end and precedent furnishes us with mamay m any similar situations our good lieutenant in command proved himself the coolest and most cap capable aible man of any the regiments instinctively deployed in skirmish line no definite format formation larn companies and regiments somewhat mixed up but still pressing forward and with a wald rush and hurrah reached the foot of at that impregnable pregnable imi hill they commenced to ascend or should I 1 say scale then toe ve spaniards to use a homely pin p all commenced to ol limb the top was reached with cheering cheer ng they hey were pursued a short abort distance cadman over the hillbun hill but the men being greatly exhaust ed and the objective point being gained fell back to the sate safe side ot at the hill bill for reforming and rest reat but when tine roll was called many were mils sing they evidently did not expect us so soon ther was a huge kettle ot oc mush all hot prep prepared axed for thedr dinner a few stone bottles of wine and cigars in the blockhouse and some equipments had the spaniards been better prepared or fed it seems should have swept the entire field and ant ani everything but they been charged for at least three years previous pT evious here to bo settle a slon kyn about which I 1 have heard so much huoh which colors were first raised on seen san juan juam I 1 can positively declare that the sixteenth U S infantry conors were the first and only colors there for some time although many gallant regiments regi meata were there simultaneously with the sixteenth and share the honors equally with them notably the twenty fourth U S infantry whose brave conduct was second to none on the field and contributed largely to winning the day also the sixth and thirteenth TJ S infantry and a portion ot of the seventy first N Y volunteers although I 1 mentioned the ings of the manner in which the me was executed across that field they fully vindicated themselves by the manner in which the object was waa gained the end ju justifying the means one bad feature was the over enthusiasm in which the skirmish lines would donad continue to atre to the extreme danger a the men to ib front front the same thing occur occurring Ting in the trenches afterwards men would shoot shoot long after cea ceasee se farine biad sounded shut them off not EL a thing in sight eight anywhere recruits I 1 fervently hope the spaniards ards fought well and proved themselves excellent shots as a result showed we found many kany dew in their trenches and scattered TIOU round Ild the brow to row of the hill one very sorrow son aw ful incident was the killing of lieu orde of the sixth int infantry a brave and gallant young officer well liked by all who came in contact with him bimby by a wounded spaniard whom he was en deavo ring to save 4 the blockhouse was subsequently occupied by general headquarters and from which place all between the two armies took place ethe the twenty fourth infantry being selected for the post of honor of the same bame now our interests became more closely identified with our own regiments and brigades brigade over which I 1 will endeavor to pass pasa as briefly as possible that evening we passed up a in sel selecting select eatIng a more suitable position and entrenching ourselves for the morrow and there rested some time during which one peculiar and grue etue some incident occurred many of ift u had noticed a stray dead soldier lying by the roadside so to speak here we rested the men tired and worn out flung themselves down all around the dead body and when the first sergeant of the company in whose vicinity toe he lay requiring a detail to go back for hardtack and bacon he gave the body a vigorous shake with the rest although himself had previously noticed him lying there that night found many of us digging entrenchments and aad the following morning found us pretty well situated in our new position par ing opened up promptly at daybreak and those of us who had been in the trenches during the night rested and sought shelter behind the trenches which proved to be a very exposed position but in order to show how in w L 1 l 1 ar 77 7 to dawar fat isme aad d tien and ad perhaps a little jestoin ja stoin watt W sauce A man a aheu few yards of myself alee men aen and wounding seven others not elicit passing notice atee al men well known to all the inen ft immediately in the vicinity would simply remove the dead a few yards aay tinder linder a tree and the wounded vaar another tree for temporary treatment aie dixe dead I 1 noticed were perfectly unrecognizable an hour afterwards the ae stench arising from the unburied dead dea will be apparent when it was acl impossible to bury them for t three n days another S 8 inch shell fell jfhn n a a few feet of us as and shook the to tto eP earth rth trot aut through some good fortune dla did not explode we buried it the large shells to cef veras deraa fleet which was then in the liaf cor many ye peculiar euliar wounds occurred on the first days fight among them were twe cases where the bullet was caught the one through the cheek 1 another r curious incident was wounded men going to the rear in i ther excitement reported their entire tant wiped out that evening I 1 ifft 0 permission t to go back down the rpaul a few miles to recover my bag b ag gage e and indispensable rations it awu be remembered first arst of all that when a we forced our way through the 4 the day previous we left the sharpshooters therein no means of escape being then completely sur rounded troops before and troops be blind them therefore they made good ape use of their time and did us all the larovere laroa ere they could which was consid erable arable even deliberately firing on our wounded and hospital corps and selecting doctors ditora as god marks and Ju ingin AngIn addition to the ordinary mau r a 50 caliber cartridge with bram coated bullets it was some time behare wet we could properly locate this additional Wit ional source of danger they be in the abick trees and covered with some green material re the trees which made the not easily distinguishable but as soon as their modus operand randi was discovered fully two or three hundred were re cawed from those braes and in most cases axes never knew what struck them well as I 1 timid said I 1 I 1 started down the road well armed in company with two or oi aree other men and reached the before mentioned creek in safety under the bank of which was established a teB or first aid hospital the iftner bank adorned with a arow row of dead then crossed the creek and proceeded down dov the road but had not gone for when we received volley after volley of shots fired apparently at close range md ad directly at us how any of us were not mot hit was a miracle it getting dark aind assuming sumIng Rs discretion the better pl part art part of valor we wisely fo investigation and proceeded onward ahe road presented a fearful illustration of the havoc one days warfare will ause use baggage and kits strewn in an all directions looted by soldiers both U S and cuban alike for the best of everything rifles ammunition officers cynig little and souvenirs placed in knapsacks knapsack and blanket rills by mothers wives and sweet starts strewn along the road for miles end contents of haversacks haver sacks cast around amounda a dead man here two or three a dead officer tam and number dead horses hursei been boating in the sun which made the atea sphere felt our feAth faithful ful our baff gage I 1 had sno mo g my fla yown but aei beings Ut anti reala fair sh y the ie river I 1 decided to remain there over i 10 ft 1 r I 1 made ft gid abai f am sn haedt afe nia ww ceo low BW vented with the eoa eats of my c canteen thes ahen wrapped myself to tn 9 41 heavy rubber wd omd made my abe bed 44 on the halate b ae gage with the guard and one or lw two others ahad 1 ahad been asleep acut buta a short time when 1 I was wae excitedly awakened by the others hers saying the SoanA ards ds bad brohen over therill the hits kill and ng us to flee what gave it some codor was aks there was considerable tiring firing going on and numbers of men whom had previously gene g e ne up theroan the road came back pell mellone mell one shot through tigh the band probably by sharpshooters Sh shooting Sho eting shortly after ceasing wie we turned in again the fo wing mor alTig read reaching hing the hospital by the fhe chiek I 1 was generously invited to a good breakfast fast by byone one of the doctors alch nich I 1 edged laying low in ha the meantime to avold stray ballets which were vere numerous and shortly otter jatter joining PV my command I 1 learned th that Atthe the excite ment of the previous night wap claimed to have teen been a night by the spaniards which creagg soane confusion resulted iti in a loss to tire the spaniards etani ar ds of some men meri firing was resumed on the following day sunday the night bellig beig occupied in improving our position during buring the morning we heard above our own tiring firing some very heavy and rapid firing going on outside the harbor the destruction of Cerver deveas Ce veas Ws fleet taking place as we shortly afterwards learned that settled things for forthe the present at all events the first and most important phase in the settlement of |