WHEREIN IS RELATED SOME EVENTS WHICH HAPPENED TO US ON JULY FIRST.
Hardly had we passed the battery before we heard the boom of one of
its guns, followed by another and another and we knew then the trouble
had begun. We kept on the trail for a while longer, the men keeping
well closed up now and keeping eyes and ears alert. El Caney was now
replying to Capron and we could hear for the first time the squeal of
the Mauser bullets as they began to go over us with a sound like that
of a vicious cat at bay. We were under fire but hardly realized it as
yet.
It was a splendid morning. Our trail led along the side of what had
once been well cultivated fields, the only indication of that now
being the inevitable barbed wire fencing. The skies were cloudless and
birds sang as we went along to battle. There were other birds too but
they did not sing. Hardly had the first of Capron's cannon sent its
"good morning" salute to El Caney before a speck was visible in the
sky. Larger and larger it grew until we saw it was a buzzard scenting
the battle and before long it was joined by hundreds of its kind, all
circling about in the air only a short distance from the earth and
waiting for the rich feast about to be spread for them. But we recked
not of buzzards or what their presence presaged.
A short distance further along the trail, a quick order and we changed
direction to the right, leaving the trail and going across the field
directly toward El Caney. Barbed wire fencing was in our way but
the two wire cutters attached to each company soon made a gate for
us. Our battalion swung through and into the field while the second
battalion kept to the trail and took the field further along. The third
battalion and I of the second, as we afterwards found, were halted by
Capron's battery and were not given front seats to the performance.
The field soon changed to scrub and bush through which way was made
as best we could without much regard to alignment. Then came a bit of
forest and then we debouched out upon the Santiago road, one of the
few thoroughfares in Cuba that looked like a road. A halt and then we
stripped for action. Rolls and haversacks were taken off and piled by
the road side. The belts and the pockets of the brown canvas coats were
filled with cartridges and we were ready for trouble.
Meanwhile it was evident that there was trouble ahead of the Second.
From El Caney's forts and trenches came a hail of bullets, while on our
right and left there were the Krags of our regulars popping away with
machine like regularity, their whip like sentences being punctuated at
intervals by the 3-inch rifles of Capron's men. Over our heads went
the Mausers in a steady stream and there wasn't a man of the Second
marching up that road that morning who failed to bow his head, (most
of us called it "ducking") in response to their salutation. The 8th
and 22d of our brigade had gone on ahead of us, had deployed to the
left and we could hear their Krags answering the Mausers. It was our
first experience under fire and it is no wonder that nearly all of us
wished ourselves, for just a few moments, somewhere else and remembered
certain pressing engagements we had at Springfield that Friday morning.
But this feeling was like going into a cold bath. The first plunge
is the worst and within half an hour after getting into the action
these same men that were "ducking" their heads to the bullets were up
on the firing line and acting like veterans instead of men who up to
that morning had never faced an armed foe. Our education had progressed
rapidly.
And here a word as to El Caney where Gen. Vara Del Ray and 620 Spanish
troops held Lawton's division at bay from 6.30 in the morning until
4.30 in the afternoon. In the general plan for the day's work of July
1st Lawton's division was to sweep over to Caney, devote an hour or
so to capturing it and then swing over to the San Juan forts and aid
Kent's division to take them. Trustworthy (?) Cuban advices were that
there were only a couple of hundred Spanish troops in El Caney and the
taking of that outpost of Santiago was to be but an incident of our
march to San Juan. But Gen. Del Ray had not been consulted as to this
program and the result was our time schedule went to pieces. An entire
division against 620 men looks like heavy odds in favor of the division
but it must be remembered that the enemy were strongly entrenched with
all the advantage of position and knew the ground thoroughly, while we
were in the open with little or no shelter and with only a four-gun
light battery against stone forts, strong blockhouses and well made
intrenchments, so that our advantage in numbers was more than made up
by the superior position of the enemy.
El Caney lay almost directly in front of us, a small town backed up
against a steep hill as if at bay and with forts, intrenchments and
houses bristling with rifles. To our right on a small elevation was the
famous stone fort over which floated the red and yellow flag of Spain.
A little to the left was the village church, of stone and converted
into a fortress while on either sides of both fort and church were the
familiar Spanish blockhouses. And in front of all were the trenches,
well built and covering all the front and sides of the town, a covered
way connecting some of them with the fort and with their fronts
guarded by fences and entanglements of barbed wire, a protection found
of value against the Cubans, but which proved to be of less efficiency
against the valor of American soldiers. This was what El Caney
presented to us on that bright July morning.
Our brigade's work had been mapped out and appeared to be comparatively
easy. It was to take position on the left of the American line and cut
off the retreat of the enemy towards Santiago when he was driven from
Caney which, as already scheduled, was to be within an hour or so after
the initial shot. But the program for Ludlow's brigade was changed by
force of circumstances, for hardly had the 8th and 22d of our brigade
got into position before they were attacked and replied in kind and
within a few moments the hottest part of the action was taking place
on the left instead of being confined to the right and center, as
originally planned.
And while this was happening we were down the "pike" getting ready to
add our contribution to the din of battle. We were not long in getting
ready and leaving one man from each company to guard the rolls left by
the roadside the seven companies of the Second marched to the firing
line. The first battalion, G, B, K and D companies, was by this time
some distance ahead of the second, while the third was still held up by
the battery. Col. Clark, Lieut. Col. Shumway and Adjutant Hawkins were
standing beneath a huge tree at the intersection of the "sunken" road
with the Santiago road and hardly had the companies come up before an
order came from Gen. Ludlow to send four companies to strengthen the
line of the 22d on our left. B and K companies of the first battalion
and L and E of the second battalion, which had by this time come up,
were detailed and B and K, under command of Major Southmayd started
for the 22d. L and E followed but through some misunderstanding got
into a "hot box" and after a time returned to the sunken road and took
position there.
B and K marched down the sunken road and then across an open space,
across which the bullets were flying in a steady stream. It was
necessary to "duck" here and it was done without any loss of dignity.
This space cleared, the companies came to a bit of bush and then into
a gully facing El Caney on the left. Here was the 22d, lying down and
answering the fire of the Spaniards in good style.
Hardly had B and K reached the gully and taken position when the hail
of bullets began to fall among them and men began to drop. Private
Frank E. Moody of K was one of the first hit and died almost instantly,
the bullet having pierced his heart. On the march of the night before
he had felt a presentiment of his fate and so strong was this feeling
of his fate that he gave his watch to Private Fuller to take home to
his parents. Before long Private John J. Malone of B got a fatal wound
just below the heart and then men began to fall thick and fast. As
soon as the two companies had taken their positions they were ordered
to fire, but the enemy's return for the first few volleys was payment
with compound interest. The smoke from the Springfield rifles showed
the position of our men and lifting slowly, made just the target which
the enemy needed. At this time the line was about 900 yards from
the advanced Spanish trenches and it must have been just like rifle
practice for the enemy. Within a moment after the first volley from
the Springfields crashed out a hail of bullets was poured into the two
companies from the trenches and men fell like sheep. Capt. Warriner,
raising on one shoulder to give an order, sank back with a Mauser
through his body. Corporal Ward Lathrop got one through his head,
Corporal Hoadley got his "in the neck," the bullet going through the
right side, Wagoner Boule had one through his left hand, Private Ashley
of B was hit in the left forearm, Private James F. Ferrier was shot
through the right shoulder and also had a bullet traverse the right
side of his head, making an ugly wound, Howard Meyrick had a double
one, one bullet striking his right leg, while another went through his
left shoulder and the upper part of his left arm. Private C. J. Riordan
got a bullet through his left hand while Private A. E. Rose got the
thumb and one finger of his right hand nipped, Private W. B. Riopel was
hard hit, the bullet entering his left shoulder and entering the lungs.
Barkman of K got a Mauser through his left elbow and was also hit in
the left leg below the knee.
[Illustration:
Lieut. H. S. Crossman. J.G.
H. Co.
Lieut. J. K. Dexter. H. Co.
Lieut. W. O. Cohn. J.G.
H. Co.
]
As quickly as possible the wounded were picked up by their comrades
and taken to the rear, a temporary dressing station being established
beneath a huge tree on the Santiago road. The first aid bandages came
in handily on the field and were used to advantage. Lieut. Powers took
command of K and Capt. McDonald, as cool as if battles were everyday
occurrences, kept a watchful eye on his men.
The heavy fire which the powder smoke had drawn upon the two companies
was also being felt by the 22d and its choleric commander, Major Van
Horn, came rushing over with, "For God's sake, Second Massachusetts,
stop firing! You're making us a regular target for the enemy." This was
not all he said, either, but it was stronger language than politeness
required. The firing did stop, that is, the volley firing did, but the
company commanders gave their men orders to fire at will. Soon Major
Van Horn came over with another protest and the two companies moved
along a little further to the right but on the same line as the 22d and
leaving quite a little gap between them. As the 22d advanced so did B
and K, taking advantage of what cover there was and keeping up their
fire for some time. It was perhaps that protest of Major Van Horn that
gave the impression that the entire Second regiment was ordered off
the firing line, an impression that is a very much mistaken one. From
the time the two companies took position on the right of the 22d they
fired at intervals and at will until the Spaniards were driven from the
last trench and El Caney was taken.
While these things were happening on our left G company was having
troubles of its own on the extreme right of the line. Sending B and K
to the 22d left Col. Clark with only G and D companies of the first
battalion with him, the three companies of the second battalion having
been placed in the sunken road, whose banks gave them some protection
from the incessant fire from El Caney. G and D were sent further along
up the Santiago road and G was halted directly in front of a cultivated
field which was directly in front of the trenches and the town and
was flanked by the stone fort. Halting here the second platoon of the
company under Lieut. Edward J. Leyden deployed as skirmishers and
advanced across the field, taking every possible advantage of cover,
of which there was little, and halting at intervals to kneel and
fire. The light brown uniforms advancing slowly across the field soon
attracted the notice of the enemy, even before the first volley from
the Springfields gave the Spaniards a target, and men began to drop.
Still the line advanced until it was within 500 yards of the fort and
then a halt was ordered and the men threw themselves flat on the ground
and began firing at will. Now the bullets from both fort and trenches
were hailing about them but they kept crawling along until within a
range of 400 yards. Then Lieut. Leyden looked around and saw that
his 14 men were isolated from the rest of the company and he at once
realized that it was suicidal to go further without reinforcements.
Arthur Packard, beloved of all his comrades, had fallen dead on the
field with a Spanish bullet through his head and George Richmond,
one of the "old timers" of the company, had fallen fatally wounded.
"Goldie" Bresnan had been ordered to the rear with the blood dripping
from a shattered hand and Ernest Marble, wounded in the head, lay on
the field. Others had in the meantime joined the little force, men from
other companies, but not enough to make a further advance successful.
Among the reinforcements was Lieut. D. J. Moynihan of I company, who
had left his position with the second battalion and walked across the
field to join Leyden's men. He essayed his luck as a sharpshooter,
borrowing a rifle from one of the men, and fired three shots before
he himself sank to the ground with a bullet through his body. Before
this happened, however, and when he first joined Lieut. Leyden, Lieut.
Moynihan advised that the advance should continue and suggested a
charge. But Lieut. Leyden pointed to the few men he had and asked what
the result would be. There was no answer to this. Less than 20 men
charging against a stone fort under a heavy fire from it and flanked
by the trenches would have been heroic, no doubt, but it would have
been deliberately throwing away men's lives and to no good result. So
Lieut. Leyden refused to order a charge but sent Lieut. Moynihan back
to Col. Clark for orders. These were for him to remain where he was
and there the platoon stayed until the town was taken, although some
of the men advanced even closer to the fort, taking advantage of some
small piles of stones, which had evidently been heaped up as shelter
for Spanish outposts. All the long afternoon the little squad lay under
the pitiless sun, firing whenever there was a chance until they heard
the cheers of the charging regulars and saw the red and yellow flag of
Spain go down from the fort and the Stars and Stripes replace it. Then
they sprang to their feet and cheered. But it was not all over then.
The fort had been taken but from trench and blockhouse and church and
every building in El Caney still came the hail of Mausers. The dead and
wounded of the Second were being attended to as best could be done, but
their comrades still fought on. Two guns of Capron's battery had been
moved up to a position in the rear of D company and the balance of G
and were knocking things about in the old town. Gen. Vara Del Ray was
wounded unto death and the American troops were drawing their lines
closer and closer around Caney, but still the Spaniards fought on with
the courage of desperation. At the fork of the roads was Col. Clark,
sending his staff officers, or rather officer, Lieut. Paul R. Hawkins,
hither and thither and giving messages to his orderlies. Lieut.
Hawkins, cool under fire, won a high place in the regard of the men who
saw him that day and the orderlies, including Private Ross of B, showed
coolness and courage. Two other Springfield men, Sergeant Scully and
Corporal Ross of G were pressed into service as orderlies for a time
and did their duty well. Two cool and collected men were Col. Clark
and Lieut. Col. Shumway and both exposed themselves, at times against
the wish of the brigade commander, along the line. Gen. Ludlow was for
some time at the fork of the roads with Col. Clark, his dead horse,
shot under him, almost at the outset of the action, lying near by, but
once he was gone he did not return and neither he nor anyone else in
authority gave the orders to withdraw the Second from the firing line,
as has been stated by some. If any such orders were issued which is
doubtful, they were never received by Col. Clark, and the companies of
the Second stayed throughout the day where he placed them.
Meanwhile the big tree a bit down the road was the scene of some
grewsome work. Soon after the opening of the action Lieut. Hawkins had
been ordered by Col. Clark to bring up the surgeons and the ground
under the big tree was then transformed into a temporary hospital or
rather a dressing station. Here Surgeon Bowen and his assistants,
Lieuts. Gates and Hitchcock, aided by Hospital Stewards Fortier,
Greenberg and Howes and the members of the hospital corps, labored
until the enemy's sharpshooters, discerning the group under the tree,
made it an object of attention and the bullet-torn leaves began to
flutter down upon the wounded. Then the hospital was moved farther down
the road and the dead and dying and wounded conveyed there as tenderly
as possible under the circumstances. It was here the heroic Father
Edwin Fitzgerald, the beloved chaplain of the 22d, labored from morning
until far into the night, caring as tenderly as a mother for the
wounded of all the regiments, making their places as easy as possible
for them, bringing them water from the distant brook, giving the
consolations of religion to all, whether of his creed or not. More than
once he visited the firing line and aided in bringing some poor fellow
down to the hospital. Danger he cared not for and he went on with his
work apparently oblivious to his bullet-torn coat, two holes in which
bore eloquent witness to narrow escapes. On that day Father Fitzgerald
earned the lifelong affection of the officers and men of the Second.
And so time wore on until between 4.30 and 5 in the afternoon, when
ringing cheers announced that the last trench had been won and El Caney
was ours. Then followed the reunion of the regiment. Lieut. Leyden
marched his gallant platoon back and the men fell into their old places
in G company. B and K came back from the left with the 22d and the
regiment gathered once more on the Santiago road, soldiers now, stained
with powder and battle smoke and grim with the thoughts of the day and
its events. Further down the road in the improvised hospital lay the
forms, cold in death, of five brave men and with them were 40 more or
less seriously wounded, three of them mortally.
The Second had received its baptism of blood.