WE HAVE TO FACE ANOTHER ENEMY MORE DEADLY THAN THE SPANIARDS.
And now that the Spaniards had been conquered and Santiago was ours we
found ourselves facing another enemy even more deadly than the Mauser
bullets or the machete. Up to the surrender the health of our regiment,
everything considered, had been fairly good. Sickness there was to be
sure, but nothing more than was to be expected in a regiment of 900 men
subjected to the exposures and hardships incidental to a campaign in a
foreign land, and these exposures supplemented by a ration, which even
when plentiful, which was not often, was entirely unfitted for soldiers
campaigning in a warm climate. Again it must be remembered that our
work in Cuba was performed in the rainy season and that sleeping in
mud, marching and bivouacking in the rain and fording deep streams are
not conducive to rugged health when persisted in day after day. But
so long as the active campaign lasted, the excitement and novelty of
it all kept the men up. After the surrender, when there was little or
nothing for them to do, they were in condition to fall an easy prey to
the "calentura" or malarial fever, and to the diseases of the stomach
incident to camp life with a poorly adapted ration. Fat bacon and
canned beans, containing fully as much grease as beans, are not the
kind of food the sensible man going to spend a time in the tropics
would select for his menu, but that is what we got and it was eat it or
nothing.
During the active campaign many men of the regiment were ill from one
cause or another, but as a matter of fact, there was nothing like a
general outbreak of sickness at any time until some days after the
surrender. A number of the men contracted rheumatism from sleeping on
the damp ground and there were scattered cases of measles and stomach
disorders. But the average daily sick report never went much beyond a
dozen cases, which it must be admitted is not bad for an organization
of nearly 1000 men living under the conditions which we did.
For the first few days after Santiago surrendered all went well.
There were propositions to move the troops further inland and up into
the mountains with a view of escaping any possibility of the dreaded
yellow fever which was showing itself at Siboney, the houses of which
village had been burned to the ground in order to remove the danger of
infection, but the contemplated move was not made and we remained in
our last station until the regiment sailed for Montauk Point.
On the day after the surrender Col. Clark issued orders for daily
company drills and inspections with a view of giving the men something
to do, he recognizing, as an old soldier, that idleness is the worst
possible thing in camp. He and his superiors realized, however, that
the army had passed through a most trying, though short campaign, and
that the men deserved a rest, but at the same time there were already
warnings that the less active the men were, the easier they fell prey
to the climatic diseases of the country. Even after we had been in our
last camp for a few days, there were signs that the fever was at work
and with our limited supply of medicines, it was feared that it might
become epidemic. That these fears were only too well grounded was soon
to be made manifest.
[Illustration:
Corp'l Thos. C. Boon.
K. Co.
Pvt. J. L. Morehouse.
K. Co.
Private
Michael R.
Lyons.
K. Co.
Musician Frank P. Jones. K. Co.
Corp'l W. C. Piper.
K. Co.
Pvt. Arthur Burnham.
K. Co.
]
The day following the surrender, Col. Clark and Major Bowen, the
regimental surgeon, established a hospital in an old and dilapidated
wooden building a couple of hundred yards in front of our advanced line
of trenches and which had been used as a railway station. It was in
poor shape, the roof being partly gone and the flooring bad, but it was
better than leaving the sick men in their stuffy little shelter tents
or out in the open air. The division hospitals were already overcrowded
with wounded and sick men and the regimental commanders were notified
that they would have to care for their own sick as best they could.
Even as bad as the building selected for our hospital was, it was
looked upon with envy by the commanding officers of other regiments and
it was even suggested to Col. Clark that he divide it up with the other
regiments of our brigade.
Whether it was the camping along the line of the recently made
trenches, the earth of which was said to be full of malarial germs, or
that the fever was already in the air that caused the epidemic among
our men is not certain, but within a day or two after the Sunday on
which the Stars and Stripes were hoisted over the city the fever began
its career in our regiment and in a few days over fifty per cent. of
the officers and men were affected with it. The daily drills soon had
to be discontinued, for hardly enough men to make a decent showing
were able to turn out for them in the majority of the companies. It
was the same way at the daily inspections. Frequently a man standing
in the ranks would fall down in his tracks from sheer weakness and
would have to be carried to his tent by his comrades. Soon there was
no pretence of conforming to the orders requiring these drills and
inspections and the men, who were able to move at all, did so as if
their feet were encased in lead. At surgeon's call every morning there
were sights which were enough to appall the stoutest hearted among us.
It was directly after reveille that this call was sounded, and then
from all parts of the camp dreary processions of what had been strong
and hearty looking young men, would drag themselves slowly to the
surgeon's tent and stand or lie on the ground waiting for their turn to
be treated. And it must be said that the treatment was not of a sort
calculated to cheer them up. The only medicines on hand were quinine
and salts and a preparation for stomach disorders. Of quinine there
was a plenty, but after a time the systems of the men, in many cases,
became so saturated with it that even doses of thirty grains or more
produced but little effect. And what hurt the boys more than the fever
or anything else was the feeling, right or wrong as it may have been,
that we of the Fifth Army Corps, who had done our work uncomplainingly,
and done it well, were being neglected by the government whose call
we had obeyed among the first. It was known that our state had sent
us away from South Framingham with a medicine chest second to none
in the army, and that this chest was even now on board of one of the
transports in the harbor, but for all practical uses, as far off as
the North Pole. Some of us knew that requisition after requisition
for medical supplies had been sent in by our surgeon and had not been
honored, that in spite of all our surgeons and stewards could do it was
next to an impossibility to obtain an ambulance, and that we were even
denied the services of one of our assistant surgeons, Dr. Gates having
been detailed to the Fourth infantry, which was at that time without a
medical officer.
All these things helped the fever. Depression was its best ally,
and then came nostalgia, the homesickness which men who have never
experienced sneer at, but which is the bane of armies, and which in the
Cuban campaign helped kill more men than the bullets of the Spaniards.
For nurses for the sick there were only their comrades, willing enough
God knows, but unaccustomed to the work, and with their own nerves
and tempers wrought up to a high pitch. With lack of surgeons, lack
of medicines, lack of nurses, lack of proper food, lack of proper
accommodations and lack of everything that sick men should have, it is
a wonder that the entire regiment was not left behind to fill graves in
Cuba.
But even a more pitiful sight than the men who answered the surgeon's
call every morning had to witness, was the spectacle of the poor
fellows who were unable to get up from their beds on the ground, and
who lay there day after day under the stuffy tents, their bodies
burning up with the fever, too weak or too despairing to even accept
the poor nourishment which their comrades tried to get for them, and in
some cases so far gone with nostalgia that they refused everything and
only wished for death. It is a known fact that fifty per cent. of the
men of the Second who died in that last camp of ours in Cuba, died of
nostalgia and nothing else.
Meanwhile, everything that could be done with the limited resources at
command, was being done. The company commanders sent into Santiago and
bought at the commissary stores, such decent food for sick men as could
be procured, and through the efforts of Col. Clark, some suitable food
and delicacies were obtained from the Red Cross society. The Colonel
also purchased, at his own expense, a number of cots and hammocks for
the regimental hospital.
It was indeed a trying time. Officer after officer and man after man
went down with the fever. Adjutant Paul R. Hawkins was hard hit with it
and was finally removed to the second division hospital. Major Henry
C. Bowen, the regimental surgeon, also succumbed and was taken to the
same hospital where he died. Quartermaster E. E. Sawtell was another
victim but did not go to the hospital. Captain John J. Leonard of G,
was stricken and for long days fought the disease in his quarters,
and Lieut. Edward J. Leyden of his company was taken to the hospital.
Lieut. W. L. Young and Lieut. Harry J. Vesper of B were attacked, the
former not seriously, however. There were but few men in any of the
companies fit for duty and it was difficult to get enough men for the
necessary details. The drills were given up for not enough men to
make a decent showing were fit to turn out and it was with difficulty
that enough men for regimental and brigade guard were provided.
Some necessary work had to be done and from brigade and division
headquarters details were constantly being asked for and every man able
to stand on his feet had to be pressed into service.
The officers, during this trying time, did all in their power for their
men, but it was not much they were able to do and the men felt at the
time, that they should have done more. In this they were unjust, for
the officers were suffering as much as the men, and the latter have
since come to realize that many of the opinions expressed at this
time and later, on this subject, were unjust. The fever and the other
diseases spared no one, whether he wore shoulder straps or not.
Dr. Hitchcock, our assistant surgeon, succumbed to the fever, and
was taken to the division hospital and the surgeon, Dr. Bowen, soon
followed him there. This left us without a medical officer, and for two
or three days the outlook for the sick men of the Second was a dark
one. But we were then provided with two contract surgeons, Dr. Persons
and Dr. Dunwoody, and both proved themselves excellent gentlemen and
hard workers. Soon after their arrival, Dr. Gates, our other assistant
surgeon, who had been detailed to the Fourth infantry, was sent back
to us, and his presence was as good as a tonic to the sick men. His
cheery smile and sympathetic ways were even better than his medicines,
and for a time, after his return, the health of the command appeared
to improve. Meanwhile, the famous "round robin" had been sent, and its
result was that the Fifth corps was ordered to return home as soon as
transports could be procured. From then until August 12 the thoughts of
the men were concentrated upon the time we were to go home.
Meanwhile, the men who escaped the fever and other diseases, were
doing all possible for their comrades. The company officers, finding
that idleness at this time was the worst possible thing for the men
who were at all able to get about, set them at work, and though this
seemed at the time a hardship to the men, it turned out to be the best
thing that could be done, for it not only served to keep them in better
shape physically but helped to keep their minds occupied and prevented
them from dwelling too much upon the gloomy situation in the camps and
from thinking too much of home. They were encouraged and in most cases
ordered to build raised bunks for themselves, these serving to keep
their bodies off the ground while sleeping, and to erect shelters of
boughs and palm leaves instead of remaining in their shelter tents.
When the big wall tents arrived there was no further need of these
"shacks" but they served a useful purpose even if not handsome looking.
It was not long after the surrender that we began to get large packages
of mail, including the Springfield papers and it is hardly necessary
to say that they were welcome. In these papers we found stories of the
campaign and of the part the Second had played in the actions at El
Caney and San Juan. Many of the letters the boys had written from Tampa
and Cuba had been printed and in the reading of these there was much
fun. We learned from the papers of the big Fourth of July celebration
that had been planned in Springfield, and how it had been given up when
the news of El Caney and the rumors of heavy loss in "Ours" reached
home. And we received the Fourth of July buttons which had been made
in honor of that occasion and proudly wore them about the camp to the
envy of some of the other companies of the regiment. It did us some
good to know that we had not been entirely forgotten. And sometimes in
the mails there were packages for us, sent by loving friends from home
and welcome, whether they contained much or little. The arrival of the
mail was an event in those days. Sometimes all that there was could be
brought from Santiago on the back of one horse, but there were times
when one of the two wheeled carretas was necessary to transport it.
The array of bags would be dumped off in front of the office tent of
the regiment and then the work of sorting out the contents would begin.
That destined for each company having been piled up, there were usually
enough men waiting to take it away, and for the next few hours the men
would read their letters and papers and exchange news. The arrival of
the mail was invariably followed by a time of letter writing and the
return mail was sometimes nearly as heavy as that which had come in.
As time went on the fever appeared to be wearing itself out and some
of those who had it began to recover slowly until they were able to
drag themselves around. For days there was a feeling that the worst was
over, and this feeling was especially strong in our battalion, which,
by the way, had not as yet been as hard hit by the fever as some of the
other sections of the regiment. But then came the yellow fever scare
and the deaths of one or two of our men and these resulted in a return
of the old depression and consequently the sickness.
Quartermaster Sergeant Richard H. Bearse of B, was the first man of the
Springfield companies to succumb to the fever and the nostalgia which
accompanied it. He was taken sick soon after the surrender, but kept
up and about for some time, as he had all through the campaign. But he
went down at last and the end came on rapidly. He died on August 1st,
and there was not a man in the regiment more regretted for all who ever
knew "Dicky" Bearse, loved him.
The second man to go, in the battalion, was Corporal W. C. Piper of K,
who died in the division hospital, August 5th, of pernicious malarial
fever. He had been taken there only the day before and his comrades
were horror stricken when notified of his death. The day following
a detail from his company was sent to the hospital and buried him.
Private Paul Vesper of B, died the 10th, from the same cause as Piper,
in the division hospital.
It was a day or two afterwards that we heard of the famous "round
robin" and its result. The thought of soon sailing for home did much
to cheer us up and we began to make what few preparations we had to
make, although there was as yet nothing authentic about our going. But
on the 10th Col. Clark received orders to be ready to embark on short
notice and the news spread like wildfire through our camp. Our working
suits which we had worn all through the campaign, and our blankets and
haversacks were ordered burned and in place of them we were issued the
khaki uniforms of yellow with blue facings.
A few days before Col. John F. Marsh, of Springfield, had arrived, and
brought with him several boxes of good things sent by the people of
Springfield. The time was so short that many of the boxes were unopened
and were taken to the ship when we sailed. Nearly all their contents
were looted, however, during our trip to Montauk point.
August 11th we received orders to embark the following day, and on the
12th those of the regiment able to march, fell in, and we "hiked the
pike" for Santiago. With flags flying we marched through the Calle de
Marina, or Marine street, and after a short wait on a pier, were put
on a lighter and taken off to the transport Mobile, already occupied
by the other two regiments of our brigade and a number of horses. The
sick officers and men were sent to the pier in ambulances and those
able to walk not only had to do that, but were also obliged to handle
all the baggage, a job that would have been child's play at other
times, but which in our debilitated condition was a task almost beyond
our strength. Col. Clark had been attacked with the fever that morning
and was unable to do anything. Lieut. Col. Shumway was so ill as to
be unfit for duty but he stuck it out and did what he could. Lieut.
Hawkins and Lieut. Leyden were brought down from the division hospital
and Lieut. Vesper was brought down from his tent in our camp by Captain
Crosier of D. Company.
Meanwhile there were a number of our men sick in their quarters or
in the hospitals who could not be moved to the ship, besides others
who had been spotted as "suspicious" cases by the surgeons on the day
previous, and ordered to remain behind, it being feared that they were
in the first stages of yellow fever. It was necessary that some remain
behind to care for these poor fellows, but who to detail to this hard
duty was a problem which Col. Clark finally solved by detailing Lieut.
W. H. Plummer of A Company of Worcester, and a detail of one man from
each company in the regiment to remain. Private Dozilva Lamoreaux
of G, Private Robert A. Draper of B and Private Albert Marsden of
K volunteered to compose this detail from our companies, and their
sacrifices in doing this will not be forgotten by their comrades.
Privates Little, Stetson, Brownell and Dunn of G company, Corporal John
B. Fulton, and Privates Judd, Rivers, Champagne, Smith, Wheeler and
Frey of B company, and Privates Maynard, Solace and Hall of K were left
behind on the island, either sick or as yellow fever suspects when the
regiment was ordered home.
[Illustration: 1ST TURRET'S CREW. MONITOR LEHIGH.]