men danced about like a mob of naked savages. At a distance, passing
natives gathered on the highway and wondered what it was all about.
The colored people were willing to believe that the evil one was at
the bottom of it all. After the regiment had boiled itself free from
germs, the guard was relieved, and went through the same process.
Everything in the regiment which could stand boiling, was boiled, and
everything which could not stand a soaking was otherwise disinfected.
Measles were thoroughly stamped out, and at the end of a week when
the regiment left for Cuba, but five men remained behind for this
reason.
On January 4th a large delegation of citizens visited camp to say
good-bye. After evening parade Colonel Lane, in behalf of the City
of Americus, addressed the regiment. He spoke in laudatory terms
concerning the conduct of the soldiers, and how the presence of
Massachusetts troops in Georgia had created new bonds of sympathy
between North and South.
Colonel Lane had requisitioned a wagon as a convenient platform from
which to address the soldiers. Many citizens had come in carriages,
and these carriages were wedged in about the orator, facing the
regiment. At the conclusion of Colonel Lane's remarks, Drum Major
Thomas, catching the enthusiasm of the moment, caused the drum corps
to break into "Dixie" under the very noses of several hundred horses.
Horses turned short in their shafts, and stampeded to the rear, the
orator's platform slid from under him, and it was some time before
the ceremonies of leave taking could be resumed with proper decorum.
The next evening the regiment returned the courtesy of this call
by marching into town and holding an evening parade in the public
square. On the return to camp, it found that Harry E. Stiles, its
bandmaster in the Militia service, had reported for duty, to organize
a band and accompany the regiment to Cuba.
More changes among the commissioned officers occurred during this
month. Lieutenant Eugene Larrivee of Company L resigned. Chaplain
George D. Sanders, who had resigned, was re-commissioned and rejoined
the regiment. Lieutenant John M. Pettengill of Company B was promoted
to captain and assigned to Company C. Second Lieutenants Frank
Stinson of Company B and Frederic P. Smith of Company C were each
made first lieutenants in their companies.
First Sergeant Edgar J. Whelpley of Company H, First Sergeant James
W. Jackman of Company K, Sergeant Charles R. Warner of Company I
and Sergeant William H. Clendennin of Company M were commissioned
second lieutenants. Lieutenant Whelpley went to Company C, Lieutenant
Jackman to Company B, Lieutenant Warner to Company G and Lieutenant
Clendennin to Company L.
On January 6th the First Battalion under command of Lieutenant
Colonel Stopford, entrained for Savannah, where it embarked on board
the transport Obdam. It broke camp during a rain storm on the coldest
day the regiment had experienced in Georgia.
As soon as the Twelfth New York left, Colonel Pew began to collect a
supply of lumber for use in Cuba. The buildings which this regiment
had occupied were pulled down, and every board washed with a solution
of corrosive sublimate. Two cars were obtained and loaded to
accompany the regiment.
On the evening of January 8th the Second and Third Battalions and
Headquarters entrained for Savannah. The most of January 9th was
spent in being shifted about in the freight yards at Savannah. A
casual visitor to one of the sections told the officers that the
ground in the yard where they were was so saturated with pine pitch,
that a lighted match dropped would start a conflagration. One of
the officers, thinking to call this bluff, made an experiment. The
visitor had told the truth, and the regiment had a conflagration
on its hands. The flames licked up the ground as if it had been
saturated with kerosene. The soldiers were powerless to stop the
fire with the means at their disposal. The railroad fire department
appeared with chemical tanks, and soon had it under control, before
any damage had been done, except blistering a few cars.
In Savannah the Colonel received a letter from Major Eldredge,
telling him the character of the camp site the regiment was to occupy
at Matanzas. The Major suggested the men would have to use iron tent
pins and do some blasting to make their Cuban home comfortable. The
Depot Quartermaster at Savannah was called upon and furnished a
supply of drills, sledge hammers, powder and iron rods. The soldiers
spent most of the night in the cars, while details were loading
supplies onto the transport. At 3 o'clock on the morning of January
10th, the men began to embark, and at daylight the transport Michigan
had cast off, and was slowly steaming down the river. At last the
regiment was off for Cuba.
[Illustration: EIGHTH REGIMENT CAMP AT MATANZAS, CUBA]
_Matanzas_
On January 10th the Obdam bearing the First Battalion of the Eighth,
came to anchor at Matanzas, in a wide, shallow bay, where ships lie a
mile or more off shore to discharge. Hills topped with palms, rose on
either side of the city, which spread out on a strip of land between
two little rivers, and straggled up the slopes, until the stone
houses of the town proper gave place to palm thatched huts on the
outskirts. The city upon a close inspection, was dirty and battered,
but from the sea its pink and blue walls presented a picturesque
appearance.
General Wilson, the Military Governor, and his staff, immediately
landed, and were received by the Twelfth New York. The men of the
Eighth witnessed this function from a distance. They were kept on the
transport during the day, while their baggage was landed.
The military camps were located on the western shore of the bay,
where the northeast trades blow continually across the bay from the
open ocean, always insuring pure air. It was a scant mile from the
city, and pipes from the municipal water service were laid, insuring
a bountiful supply of water.
The camp of the Eighth lay behind the old Spanish Fort San Severino,
and between the camp of the engineer battalion, and the Twelfth
New York. A broad boulevard in a bad state of repair extended from
the old fort to the town. All the troops were encamped along this
boulevard, on ground that for rockiness and general hardness of
appearance, outclassed any perpendicular farm in New England.
The rocks were of coral and volcanic origin, thrown up ages ago, and
appeared above the surface in many fantastic shapes. Every square
yard had its share of rock jutting above the red soil in sharp
pinnacles. The ground had been covered with brush and cactus, but
the engineers had been at work during the week prior to the arrival
of the Obdam, clearing this away, so that when the First Battalion
landed, it found the ground cleared of all vegetation.
The landing was made at a small wharf near the fort, and a few steps
across the dilapidated boulevard, brought the men to their future
home. The regiment had an excellent site, the bay lay before it, and
the ground rose in terraces from the water until it terminated in a
range of hills a mile back of the camp.
Major Eldredge who had preceded the regiment as a member of General
Sanger's staff, received the public property turned over to the
United States by Spain, in accordance with the evacuation agreement,
in Matanzas, and later in the City of Cardenas and other towns in
the province. When the regiment arrived, he was busily engaged at
Matanzas in establishing charities, and in reorganizing the police
department. The country about the city, as in other parts of Cuba,
was a waste, and the people were in a destitute condition. It was the
first duty of the United States to care for the people, and supply
them with food.
While the First Battalion was locating itself at Matanzas, the Second
and Third Battalions were enjoying a delightful voyage. During
the whole trip the sea was calm, and the Michigan glided along as
smoothly as any pleasure yacht upon a summer cruise. Very few men
complained of sea sickness, and soon got over any unpleasant feeling,
and enjoyed the trip.
It was warm and stuffy where they were quartered in the hold, but
their discomfort vanished with daylight, when they climbed on deck to
loll in the shade and enjoy the steady northeast trade. The Michigan
was formerly a freight vessel of the Warren Line, used as a cattle
boat to carry live stock to England.
The enlisted men were assigned quarters between decks. There were
no berths, but each man was furnished with a duck hammock, which
at night was hung on hooks in wooden uprights. These hammocks were
hung in tiers, one over the other. In the morning the hammocks were
rolled and stored, and the quarters prepared for inspection, which
took place twice daily, at 10 A. M., and just before retreat. These
inspections were made by the Colonel, accompanied by the transport
quartermaster, the police officer, medical officer, and master of the
ship. After the morning inspection, daily exercise was required on
deck.
Sometime during the day every man had a bath. They stripped on the
forward deck, and were pumped upon with a stream of water from the
ocean.
The officers quarters were as cramped as those of the men. There
were only ten state rooms. The ships guard consisted of one company
detailed for each day, the captain acting as officer of the day, and
the lieutenants as officers of the guard. Each company commander
provided his command with proper police utensils from the ships
quartermaster, and looked after the policing of the company quarters.
Cooking was done in the ship's galleys. During the trip, Stiles
commenced work with the musicians on board, for the new regimental
band. This nucleus had band practice every day.
During the second day the transport steamed along the Florida coast
within sight of a continuous stretch of beach sand and palm groves.
At Jupiter Inlet a salute was exchanged with some guns mounted near
the summer hotels, and the ship went so near the shore that the
winter visitors could be counted on the hotel piazzas.
Late in the afternoon of the 12th, the first glimpse was caught of
Cuba. During the night the transport lay off shore waiting for a
pilot. On the morning of the 13th, a pilot came on board and the
vessel steamed into the Bay of Matanzas, and came to anchor about two
miles from the city. A guard detail was immediately placed upon the
small wharf near San Severino to guard the baggage as it was landed.
Details were made to clear up the ship and assist in discharging
baggage and live stock.
As soon as the sentries were posted on the wharf, the soldiers began
to be lightered to the shore. A corral was established near the
wharf, where the horses and mules were soon assembled. Before night
the men on the Michigan were landed, and had joined their comrades
of the First Battalion in a pup camp, between the Boulevard and the
water, under the walls of San Severino.
For a week the soldiers of the Eighth were busy preparing their new
camp. Large hospital tents were issued to the command. Each company
was divided into squads of six men under a corporal, and assigned to
a tent. These tents were large enough to accommodate ten men, and in
them seven men had all the room they required. A large fly was issued
with each tent. As it was impossible to drive tent pins, large joists
were used in the framing of the tent floors, and portions of these
joists were extended on either side, to which the guy ropes were
attached. The tent floors were laid about a foot above the surface of
the ground on posts. To every man there was issued a Gold Medal cot.
Each company, with the lumber brought from Americus, erected a frame
mess house with substantial flooring, and constructed mess tables
and seats. The roofs of these mess houses were covered with canvas,
and in the rear of each a kitchen was built. The quarters of the
battalion commanders were upon a terrace slightly raised above the
level of the line officers street. Behind this terrace was another,
the center of which was occupied by Regimental headquarters. On one
side of this terrace, a Regimental hospital was established, and on
the other end, a stable with a canvas roof for the horses and mules.
The greatest difficulty was experienced in constructing roads through
this camp. The rocks cropped out in points, which had to be broken
with sledge hammers, or blasted with powder. Major Graves performed
the important duties of superintendent of streets, and soon had a
beautiful macadamized road running the whole length of the camp in
front of the line officers quarters.
From the center of this road, a well constructed way led to the field
officers terrace, and to the corral on the headquarters terrace.
Each company street was also macadamized. The rough pointed stones
which had been broken off were laid as a foundation and gravel and
sand were brought in as a covering. These roads were crowned in the
center, and were a most creditable production, and the source of much
favorable comment and praise. Major Graves was often congratulated
upon the work of his new department.
The gray walls of San Severino early attracted the attention of the
soldiers. It was an old Spanish fort erected to defend the approach
to Matanzas, and had just been evacuated by Spanish troops.
The Cuban visitors to camp who could make themselves understood,
spread harrowing tales of death recently inflicted upon insurgents
within its gloomy masonry. The old fort had been standing for
centuries, and looked to the imagination like a suitable home for
any kind of horror or torture. The tales told were to the effect
that insurgents were often lined up in squads against the walls and
shot to death, or decapitated and their bodies thrown into the bay.
A special wall in the counterscarp was pointed out as the execution
place.
The American soldiers, ever on the outlook for souvenirs, succeeded
in probing many battered bullets from the coral masonry of this wall,
which were sent home as evidence of these tales. The fort was soon
occupied and used as a military prison.
Lieutenant James H. Craig of Company L was detailed as its first
commander, and under him the casements were made habitable for its
guards, and for the prisoners awaiting general court martial or
serving sentences. An old piece of Spanish ordnance was mounted on
the parapet and did duty for a sunrise and sunset gun.
This picturesque pile was always in the foreground of any outlook
from the camp of the Eighth, and under its shade the men loafed, or
took they daily dip in the waters of the bay. All shipping passed
the fort or lay at anchor under its guns. In the morning or at night
the water in front of it was alive with birds and pelicans, diving
for food, with great fish bags hanging from their lower jaws, and in
the lazy afternoons, these same birds were seen perched on pieces of
flotsam taking siestas.
A few miles across the bay the walls of a settlement said to be
occupied by Cuban insurgents, broke with a broad band of glittering
white between the bright blue of the water, and the green expanse of
grass and palms, which on rolling hills, rose to meet the blue sky
on a distant horizon. The steady trade wind, beginning about eight
in the morning, and dying away just before sunset, rendered life in
the shade of the fort pleasant and comfortable, however high the
thermometer mounted in the sun.
As soon as the camp was put in condition, military work outside of
guard and provost duty was usually performed in the early morning or
late afternoon. During the middle of the day officers and men had
leisure to enjoy the pleasure of just living and being in the tropics.
Much of the hard work in unloading transports and getting the camp
sites ready for occupation was done by Cubans in the employ of
the government. Some two hundred of these worked about the camps
in squads, under the charge of non-commissioned officers from the
engineer battalion. A large number were employed in cleaning up
the city, and putting it in a sanitary condition. Much work was
undertaken by the government to furnish employment to the poor.
Lieutenant Colonel William Stopford was appointed general police
officer for all the camps, and had quite a force of civilian
employees under him. In his sanitary work he was charged with
the duty of destroying the many reconcentrado huts that had been
constructed on the outskirts of the town. The sides of these huts
were made of dried palm bark, and the roofs were thatched with palm
leaves. They had been built by the poor country people compelled to
come within the lines of concentration by the Spanish soldiery. Their
owners were usually glad to take the fifteen dollars offered by the
government and move out. The purchase and moving out process was
completed in a few minutes, and the evacuated homes set on fire.
There was a great deal of destitution throughout the cities and
towns of Matanzas Province. Most of the towns had been occupied
as fortified camps by the Spanish troops, and the people of the
surrounding country had been brought within the limits of the camps
to prevent their helping the insurgents.
The food supply was inadequate to support the population herded
together in this way, and there were many deaths from starvation,
and great mortality, especially among the children. Committees
were formed throughout the Province for the purpose of getting
food to these people. Captain Horace S. Bean of Company B was sent
into the interior to organize these committees and superintend the
distribution.
Chaplain George D. Sanders was detailed on special duty as chairman
of the commission on charities and corrections for the District,
where he served with much credit until mustered out.
Many poor people came to the camp to collect scraps of food that were
thrown away. They were mostly children and were not burdened with
much covering. They were special objects of pity to the soldiers, who
supplied them with food and clothing. After the depots were opened
in the city for the distribution of food, people were forbidden, for
sanitary reasons, assembling about the mess houses.
The men were annoyed by other visitors for whom they had no
compassion. There was a large variety of bugs and insects that made
their homes among the coral rocks. Centipedes and tarantulas were
especially unwelcome, as they formed the unpleasant habit of spending
the night in flannel shirt sleeves and trouser legs, and resented
being disturbed in the morning when the owner put on his clothing.
Fortunately, their bites, although very painful, were not deadly. It
was soon discovered that they disliked tent floors which had been
washed with a solution of corrosive sublimate, and after a while
these pests either died, or migrated to other quarters, where they
were treated to less frequent doses of corrosive sublimate.
Everything in the City of Matanzas, including streets, people,
buildings and language, were at first matters of great curiosity to
the soldiers. The city was supposed to have a population of some
40,000, and was the chief sea port and capital of the province
bearing the same name. The streets were narrow and ill kept. The
sidewalks were not over two and a half feet wide, and most of the
roadways were so rough that it would be impossible to drive a light
American wagon over them without great discomfort.
The houses were mostly alike, built of stone or stucco, and many were
colored a light blue or pink. They were built about a square court
yard, and usually not over two stories in height. The front of the
houses were flush with the sidewalks, and the windows barred on the
outside. No glass was used, but behind the iron bars, were shutters,
which, when opened, permitted anyone in the street to look upon the
family life within the front room. The front door was usually large
enough to allow a carriage to enter the house, and opened into a
passageway leading to a court. The kitchen was in the corner of this
court, or in a covered way leading into a back court. This back court
was sometimes used as a stable, and the exit from the stable was
through the court and front door of the house. Charcoal brasiers were
used exclusively for cooking, and a stove was unknown. The sleeping
rooms were usually upon the second floor, and opened upon a balcony,
which ran around three sides of the court. In the better class of
houses there was usually a fountain in the court, surrounded by
flowers and shrubbery.
Owing to the absence of decent roads, everything brought from the
country had to be carried upon pack horses. The milk dealers carried
their cans in the pouches of a huge saddle placed upon a very small
horse. Fodder was carried through the streets on similar saddles,
and a horse bearing a load of grass, looked as if he was going to
a masquerade disguised as a hay cock. Venders peddled bunches of
poultry tied together by the legs, and fishermen went about carrying
blue lobsters hanging by their tails from sticks, and advertised
their wares in shrill invitations to buy "langostas frescas."
Life in the streets and in the stores, the manner of preparing
and marketing foods, the different business methods, and the
Spanish language as a setting to all this strangeness, was new and
interesting. The men enjoyed the custom of storekeepers charging
different prices to officers and enlisted men over the same counter
for the same article, and the bland way a haberdasher would meet an
officer's protest, by telling him that everything ought to cost him
more, as his pay was larger. On Sunday, the only places of business
closed were the U. S. Quartermaster and Commissary Depots.
Sunday afternoons and evenings were holidays for everyone except
the storekeepers, and during Lent the streets were filled with
masqueraders. This manner of life was new to the men from New
England. Passes to visit the city were freely issued, when not
interfering with military duty, and men with good records were
allowed to visit Havana for a few days.
The City Hall in Matanzas, known as the Municipal Palace, was
situated on the Plaza in the middle of the city. The Plaza was
planted with palms and other tropical trees, and was the center of
business and social life. In the evening, one of the military bands
furnished music, and the citizens promenaded or gathered about
the tables in the restaurants, whose many open doors made them a
continuation of the sidewalk. The buildings facing the square were
stately and picturesque, and in the evening when the Plaza was
thronged with merry groups, and the electric lamps sparkled among
trees and fountains, life seemed very gay and foreign.
The provost guard was always on duty, and patrolled the streets
to maintain order. During the last of the stay at Matanzas, Major
Eldredge acted as Provost Marshal, and Companies M, E, K, and H were
detached from the regiment as a permanent part of his guard, and were
quartered in the old Spanish barracks.
On January 20th, the Cubans began a celebration in honor of
independence. No restrictions were placed upon these festivities, but
troops were held in readiness to suppress disorder. Many cruelties
had been inflicted upon the people of Matanzas by representatives of
the Spanish Government, and intense hatred was manifested against
the power that repressed them so long. As many Spaniards remained in
the city, it was feared, in the enthusiasm of the celebration, some
outburst of violence might occur against them. General Betancourt,
who commanded the Cuban insurgents, assured General Wilson that his
people were too happy to commit any breach of the peace.
Orders were issued to the troops in camp that a single gun fired from
San Severino, was the signal to assemble, and that any disturbance
was to be at once suppressed. At the end of the boulevard, near
its entrance to the city, a marble statute of Alphonse XII, King of
Spain, was walled up in a brick casing to hide it, and preserve it as
a work of art against vandalism.