f Camp Wheeler in a valley, and about five o'clock in the afternoon communicated the pla

d by a Frenchman, which both sides had agreed to respect as neutral property. The general plan of the battle as given to these officers on the 30th of June was for one division of the army (Lawton's), assisted by one battery of artillery (Capron's), to make an attack at daybreak upon the village of El Caney, and drive the enemy out of it. Another division (Kent's) was to make an attack upon the semicircular ridge of hills south of El Caney as soon as Lawton was well committed to the fight, both for the purpose of preventing reinforcements from going to El Caney and to develop the enemy's strength. It was expected that Lawton would capture El

: Skirmish Li

e, was eventually carried out to the letter; its successful operation shut up a

he plan of battle as it was finally carried out, with a degree of precision which can be fully appreciated only by those to whom the plan was communicated in advance. In spite of slight changes, made necessary by local failures and unforeseen circumstances; in spite of the very poor cooperation of

t be ready to move at 4:30. The plans were heard with careful attention by the men, and the wisdom of giving to them some idea of the work they were expected to do was fully vindicated on the following day, when they were

tion which to the civilian mind should precede a desperate battle, but three or four members of the detachment took out their soldiers' hand-books and wrote in them their last will and testament, requesting their commander to witness the same and act as exec

r, bacon, canned roast beef, and some canned fruit, which had been obtained somehow and was opened upon this occasion. It was the last square meal they were to have for several days. At

n in front as an advance guard. It reached El Poso at six o'clock, at which time there were no other soldiers there. The battery took position as directed, under cover in rear of the hill and to the right front of the El Poso house. The camp equipage and blanket-rolls, were removed and piled neatly upon the ground, and Priv. Hoft was detailed to guard them, as well as one of the spare mules. About half past seve

ion: Fort

l verdure, and gave no indications of military fortifications. There was no sign of life, a gentle land breeze swayed the tops of the royal palms, and the little birds flitted from bough to bough caroling their morning s

lacements for the guns, and at last, at ten minutes before eight o'clock, the first piece started the difficult ascent. The drivers stood up in their stirrups and lashed their horses and shouted; the horses plunged and reared and jumped. The piece stuck half way up the hill. The leaders were turned slightly to the right to give new direction and another attempt was made-ten ya

ol!" Regardless of the orders to rush their horses, the drivers of this piece continued to walk up the hill. At the steepest part of the hill, they rose slightly in their stirrups, as one man, and applied the spur to the lead hors

al man, and the assistant adjutant-general stepped to the windward a few yards to be clear of the smoke. The range was given by the battery commander-2600 yards; the objective was named, a small, almost

e piece recoiled eight or ten feet, and the gunners jumped to the wheels and ran it forward again into battery. Field-glasses were glued upon the vicinity of the brick hospital. There was a puff of white smoke and an exclamation, "A trifle too long!" Th

newspaper correspondents did likewise. The members of Grimes' Battery, who were not needed at the guns, were sent back to the caissons, and another round of shrapnel was sent in reply. Again a hurtling sound rent the air; again there was the fierce crack of a Spanish shell in our immediate vicinity, and, on looking around to see where this shell struck, it was observed that it had burst over the Gatling battery. Luckily, it had gone six or eight feet beyond the b

ighting Cuban, and

Map-Siege Lin

d over the hill. This

illed the cannoneer, a

rivers, who declined to do so, and still stood at the heads of their mules. Priv. Hoft, disdaining to

ped off to the left of the battery, and calmly focused his camera. Grimes fired another salute, and Weigle secured a good picture. A Spanish shell came whistling over the hill; Weigle, judging where it would burst from previou

needed the support of the Gatling guns, because he now had an infantry support in front of him, and was firing ove

a Spanish shell whistled over the head of Private Shiffer, who was leading the way, and burst just beyond his off mule. Shiffer didn't duck and nobody was hurt. Providence was taking care of this experiment. Corporal Doyle and two other memb

t?" "Going to begin firing here?" "Is this the place where you shoot?" "Is this all there is of it?" "I knew they would not get into the fight." "Watch them hang around the rear." "Going to start in raising bananas back here, John Henry?" "What do you think of machine guns now

their guns. Two or three dead men were lying on the side of the hill; wounded men were limping around with bandages. Cubans were again passing to the front. These fellows were trying to reach El Caney. Th

The sharp crack of musketry was heard on our front, it swelled and became continuous. It was evident that quite a fight was going on at El Caney, which was to our right about one mile and to our front perhaps half a mile. Kent's Division kept pushing forward on the El Poso road. Col. McClernand was asked for i

g Camp and Bomb-Proof

as to when and where the 71st was going into the fight. It appeared that they had a vague idea that they were going in on the left center of the left wing. Lawton's Division at El Caney will be considered the right wing; Kent's Division and Wheeler's Division the left wing of the army at San Juan. The 71st did not seem to know when it was going to move toward the front, nor just where it was goi

man determined to get into the fight. About three-quarters of a mile in advance was the first ford, the ford of the Aguadores River; beyond this a quarter of a mile was another ford, the ford of the San Juan. The road forked about two hundred yards east of the Aguadores ford, turn

e forward. So the long-eared steed was mounted and the ford of the Aguadores reconnoitered. The bullets were zipping through the rank tropical jungle. Two or three men were hit. Those who moved forward were going single file, crouching low, at a dog trot. There was no evidence of hesitation or fear here. Some of the "Brunettes" passed, their blue shirts unbuttoned, corded veins protruding as t

pass. The reception of the battery by these valiant men was very different from that so recently given by the 13th Regulars. "Give 'em hell, boys!" "Let 'er go, Gallagher!" "Goin' to let the woodpeckers go off?"-and cheer after cheer went up as the battery passed through. Vain efforts were made to check this vociferous clamor, w

he parade-ground. A blade of grass had gotten twisted around a button of his uniform and hung down like a buttonhole bouquet over his breast. There was a genial smile on his handsome face as he inquired, "Where are you going?" and, on being informed of the orders of the detachment and of the intention to

Lines Showing Bullet Holes.

to the front. The crackle of musketry gradually extended to the right and to the left, showing that the deployment was being completed. More men were hit, but no complaints or groans were heard. A ball struck a limber-chest; a man lying on his face in the road, during a momentary pause of one of the companies,

rdered if captured, expecting no quarter, were recklessly shooting at everything in sight. They made a special target of every man who wore any indication of rank. Some of our heaviest losses during the day, espe

clock. The members of the detachment had picked up their haversacks on leaving El Poso, and now began to nibble pieces of hardtack. A bullet broke a

her three beyond the ford, where the dynamite gun is, find some position, and go into action." Sergeant Weigle's gun was placed at Miley's disposal, and the

position for the battery, partially hidden from the view of the enemy by a small clump of underbrush, was indicated. The right piece, Serg. Green's, was compelled to go into action in the middle of the road, and in plain sight of the enemy. While the pieces were being unlimbered, which was only the work of an instant, an inquiry was made of Captain Boughton, of the 3d Cavalry, whose troop had just reached this point, as to

San Juan block-house. Serg. Green took 800 yards, and began to send his compliments to the ridge beyond the block-house. In an instant Priv. Sine, at Green's gun, who was feeding, fell backward dead. At the same instant Priv. Kastner fell out. Sine was sho

n: Spanish B

, and was coolly turning the crank while he sighted the gun at the same time. He was for the moment the only member of

er assistance. Priv. Van Vaningham, who had gotten lost from his own command, began to pass ammunition. Priv. Merryman, who was holding his team back in the river, was impressed by a doctor to help carry wounded men, and Priv. Burkley, anot

d to assist in observing the effect of the fire. He stood fearlessly out in the middle of the road, just to the right of Green's piece, in the very best position for observation, but, at the s

the ground between the guns, and several hit the pieces. Three members of the detachment were slightly hurt. One mule was shot through the ear. He sang the usual song of the mule, shook his head, and was suddenly hit again on the fore leg. He plunged a little, bu

forward to the San Juan ridge. While moving forward, they necessarily almost ceased to fire, but the fire of the Gatlings continued, deadly and accurate. A troop of the 10th Cavalry, from our right and rear, came up, part of the squadron commanded by Col. Baldwin. Some of this troop did not understand the Gatling gun drama, and were in the act of firing a volley into our backs, when Lieut. Smith, who was to so heroically lose his life within ten minutes afterw

o minutes, and then the Gatling gunners observed the Spaniards climbing from their trenches. Until that time the Gatling battery had been worked with dogged persistency and grim silence, but from that moment every member of the battery yelled at the top of his voice until the command "Ceas

s to fire at the charging-line, because of the missiles of death poured in by the machine guns; and to remain there awaiting the charge was certain death. They did not have the nerve to wait for the cold steel. They were demoralized because they had been c

ing at the crest, and that the trenches which he inspected were literally filled with writhing, squirming, tangled masses of dead and wounded Spaniards, and that the edge of the trenches was covered with wounded and dead Sp

d climbed as high as possible under the leaden canopy which the Gatlings made to cover their charge, waved his white handkerchief as a signal to cease firing. At the same moment Landis exclaimed, "Better stop; our men are climbing the hill now." A shrill whistle gave the signal "Cease firing," and the Gatling Gun Battery, to a man, rose to their feet and gazed

hment was to take stock of losses and to occu

, grazed by balls. Private Greenberg had been overcome by the heat. Merryman, one of the teamsters, as stated before, had been seized to carry wounded. Private Lauer was missing and Dellett sunstruck. Private Hoft had joined the battery on hearing it go into action, and it was necessary to send someone back as guard over the camp equipage. A volunteer was called for, and it was with the utmost difficulty that a member of the detachment, Private Pyne, was induced to take this duty. He shot four Spanish sharpshooters, who were shooting at our wounded and our med

ing or following as best they could. Both pieces went into action on the right of the road. A limber was then sent back for Ryder's gun, and it was brought up, Priv. Shiffer performing this duty under a perfect hail of dropping fire. In advancing from the position at the ford to the captured position it was necessary to cut thre

panish Fort of T

dingly the pieces were immediately run to the top of the hill, the drivers, Shiffer and Correll, riding boldly up and executing a left-about on the skirmish line, where the skirmishers were lying down. The pieces were unl

growled; "I might have knowed that if I got near that durned gun, I'd get potted." He rolled down behind the crest; a soldier produced an emergency packet, staunched the blood, and the wounded

less, in front of the salient occupied by Col. Roosevelt and the 3d Cavalry (afterward called Fort Roosevelt), there was a group of about 400 of the enemy, apparently endeavoring to charge the position. There was no time to notify the second piece. Serg. Green's gun was instantly turned upon this group, at point-blank elevation. The group melted away. Capt. Marco

ad been left at the ford returned. Subsequently the disabled piece was sent back to the ford, with the idea that that would be a safer place to overhaul it than immediately in rear of the firing-line. The piece remained at the ford until the night of the 3d of July, when it was brought up to the battery, then at Fort Roosevelt, and on the 4th was finally overhauled and put into action. This le

ine of battle. Upon reaching the salient, Col. Roosevelt was seen walking up and down behind his line, encouraging his men, while a group of them was held, just in the rear of the cr

terly regardless of the bullets, which were cutting the grass in every direction. There were no soft places on this part of the hill. The enemy

ion: Tenta

been, to his intense disgust, restrained from opening fire. Then the piece had been taken down from the hill and around to the left of the line, where Lieut. Miley's duty as aide had carried him, to observe the progress of the battle, and Weigle had been again denied the privilege of "potting" a Sp

jammed, pulled it down behind the crest of the hill and removed the defective cartridge, returned it and repeated this operation, actually bringing the gun down three times, and returning it into action, doing very effective work, and all the time displaying the utmost coolness and good judgment. A sharpshooter began to make a target of Weigle's gun, and "potted" a couple of men belonging to the cavalry near it. This made Weigle so mad that he

ted by the sharp crack of a field-piece. A shell came whistling overhead and exploded within thirty yards of the battery, just beyond it. Another one came, and this time the enemy's artillery was located. Quick as a flash, the two Gatlings were turned upon the enemy's guns at the 2000-yard range. Another shell came whistling along and exploded about ten feet overhead and twenty feet in rear of the battery. It tore up the grass in rear of the battery. After this engagement was over, Priv. Shiffer picked up the still hot fuse of this last shell. It was a large brass combination fuse, and

to get into action. Their pieces, which had been loaded for the fourth shot, were found on the 18th of July, still loaded, and a Spanish officer gave the information that they had lost more than forty men

ion: After

attery until the end of the fighting on the 17th, and were in every respect the peers of any soldier in the detachment. Serg. Graham was recommended for a medal of honor. Privates Smith and Taylor did as good service, were as willing, as obedient, as prompt, and as energetic in the discharge of their duties as any c

sundown, and brought the information that our baggage was safe at El Poso; that Private Pyne, still alive and unhurt, had been doing good work against the enemy's sharpshooters; and, better than all this, had brought back with him a canteen of water from the San Juan River and a pocket full of hardtack. He poured out his hardtack, and it was equally distributed among the members of the detachment, each man's share amounting to two pieces. Each man was also given a sup of water from the canteen, and this constituted their only supper on that night, as they had been compelled to throw away everything to keep up with the guns. Having dispos

is the hottest fire to which artillery has been subjected in modern times," and lit out to find a cooler place. They found it-so far in rear that their fire was almost equally dangerous to friends and foes on account of the close proximity of the two firin