ALONG THE JUNGLE TRAIL--FORDING THE RIVER--OPENING OF THE BATTLE OF SAN
JUAN HILL--BRAVERY OF THE ROUGH RIDERS--PERSONAL EXPERIENCES OF THEODORE
ROOSEVELT DURING THE BATTLE
Taken as a whole, the skirmish at La Guasima was quite an important one,
for it showed the Spaniards that our soldiers were bound to advance upon
Santiago, be the cost what it might.
More than this, it showed that Theodore Roosevelt was brave under fire.
During the skirmish he paid but scant attention to his own personal
safety. He went wherever he thought he was needed, and the fact that
Mauser bullets were flying about in all directions did not daunt him.
"He was about as cool a man as I ever saw in a fight," said one old
soldier. "He did all he could to encourage the men, and had a kind word
for every man he ran across who was wounded. Once, in the thickest of
the brush, he grabbed up a gun and began to shoot with us, and I reckon
he fired as straight as anybody there, for he had had lots of practice
while hunting."
The Spaniards had been driven from their pits and from the sugar-house
of the plantation, and now took good care to keep out of sight.
Picket-guards were thrown out by the officers of the army, and those who
had been in the fight took a much-needed rest, and looked after the dead
and wounded. There was certainly a touching scene at the temporary
hospital, where one soldier started to sing "My Country, 'tis of Thee,"
and many others joined in. On the following morning the dead were
buried, the men gathering around the one common grave to sing "Rock of
Ages" in a manner that brought tears to the eyes of many.
From La Guasima the Rough Riders moved to the bank of a small stream in
the neighborhood. Part of the army was ahead of them and the rest
behind, and for several days nothing unusual occurred. But during that
time General Young caught the fever, whereupon Colonel Wood had to take
charge of the brigade, and Lieutenant-Colonel Roosevelt took command of
the Rough Riders.
It was now the end of June, and the weather was anything but agreeable.
When the rain did not come down in torrents, the sun shone with a glare
and a heat that was terrific. As said before, the uniforms of the Rough
Riders were heavy, and much clothing had to be cast aside as unfit for
use. To add to the discomfort, rations that were promised failed to
appear, so that a good square meal was almost unknown.
"This will not do; the men must have enough to eat, even if I have to
buy it for them," said Acting Colonel Roosevelt, and made two trips down
to the seacoast in search of beans, tomatoes, and other things to eat.
Here he was informed that he could only buy stuff meant for the
officers.
"All right; I'll buy the things for the officers," he answered, and
purchased as much as they would allow. When he got back, he turned the
food over to the officers, but saw to it that they gave their men a fair
share.
"It was a kindness none of his men ever forgot," said a soldier who was
there. "It wasn't any of his business to buy the grub,--the commissary
department had to supply it free,--but he knew we might starve while
the department was getting itself straightened out and ready to do the
right thing. Before he went on a hunt for food, all we had was salt
pork, hardtack, and coffee, and some of the stuff wasn't fit to put in
your mouth." And this testimony was the testimony of scores of others.
The Spaniards were strongly intrenched upon the outskirts of Santiago,
and as it was a rough, hilly country, with many shallow streams and much
jungle, it was hard for the American army to advance. It was General
Shafter's idea to form a grand semicircle around Santiago, starting from
El Caney on the north, and running in an irregular line to Aguadores on
the south. Throughout this territory the Spaniards had done everything
possible to hinder the advance of our troops. Barbed wire was strung in
many directions, and often the brushwood would conceal dangerous
pitfalls, so that any advance had to be made with great caution.
The attack upon the Spanish lines began on July 1, and the fighting took
place in several quarters at once, but was unusually heavy at El Caney
and at San Juan Hill. At El Caney the heroic General Lawton was in
command, and fought as gallantly as he afterward did in the Philippines.
Some of the charges were terrific, and will ever be remembered by those
who participated in them.
The Rough Riders struck camp and moved along the trail on the last day
of June. It was as hot as ever, with no sign of rain. The trail was
filled with troops and provision wagons, and the progress, consequently,
was slow.
"Let us get into the fight!" was the cry heard on every side. "Don't
keep us waiting any longer."
"Keep cool," said one of the officers. "You'll get all the fighting you
want soon." And so it proved.
At a little after eight o'clock in the evening the Rough Riders found
themselves on El Poso Hill, and here the whole brigade to which they
were attached went into camp.
"It wasn't much of a camp," said one who was there. "We just threw out a
strong picket-guard and went to sleep on our arms, and glad of it, after
that day in the broiling sun. We had had to ford some pretty muddy
streams, and all of us were water and mud up to our knees. But everybody
was as enthusiastic to fight as ever."
At sunrise the battle opened at El Caney, and the Rough Riders could
hear the booming of cannon. At once all was activity, and the men
prepared to move ahead at a moment's notice.
Acting Colonel Roosevelt was with Colonel Wood at the time, and both
were listening to the roar of the artillery.
"I wish we could move--" began Colonel Wood, when, of a sudden, both he
and Theodore Roosevelt heard a strange humming sound in the air. Then
came the explosion of a shrapnel shell over their heads, and both leaped
to their feet.
"This is getting warm!" cried Theodore Roosevelt, and ran toward his
horse, when boom! came another explosion, and one of the bullets fell
upon his wrist, making, as he himself says, "a bump about as big as a
hickory nut." This same shell, he adds, wounded four of the men under
him and two or three regulars, one of whom lost his leg. Certainly
another providential escape on the part of the future President.
Without loss of time Theodore Roosevelt ordered his troops into the
underbrush, and here, for the time being, they were safe. On account of
the smokeless powder they used, the Spanish batteries could not be
precisely located, so our own artillery were at a slight disadvantage.
But now the blood of the Americans was fully aroused, and soon came an
order for a general advance,--something that was hailed with wild
delight by the Rough Riders.
"Hurrah, now we'll show 'em what the Yankees can do!" was the cry. "Down
with the Dons! Three cheers for Uncle Sam!"
The Rough Riders had to ford the river, and while they were doing this,
a balloon that had been used for observations came down in that vicinity
and attracted the attention of the Spanish sharpshooters. The firing was
now heavy on all sides, and many a gallant soldier went down to rise no
more.
Then came another wait of an hour, during which the Rough Riders rested
in a hollow leading up from the river. Again there was grumbling. With
so much fighting on all sides, why could they not advance?
"We'll get our turn," said Theodore Roosevelt. And soon after a staff
officer dashed up with orders to move forward and support the cavalry of
the regular army on the hills in front.
"Now to the front!" was the cry. "Down with the Dons!" And away went
troop after troop on the double-quick, with Acting Colonel Roosevelt
leading them. Shot and shell were hurling themselves through the air in
all directions, and on all sides could be heard the shrieks and groans
of the dead and the dying. It was a time long to be remembered. Men went
down in all directions, and with them not a few officers. It was so hot
that Roosevelt's orderly was prostrated from the heat and afterward
died. Roosevelt summoned another Rough Rider, and had just finished
giving the man some orders when the soldier pitched forward upon his
commander, killed by a bullet through the throat.
As the troops advanced, Theodore Roosevelt urged his men forward and
told them to do their best, to which they responded with a cheer. He was
on horseback at the time, and soon came across a man lying in the shade,
probably overcome by the heat. He started to speak to the Rough Rider
when a bullet hit the fellow and killed him on the spot.
"I suppose that bullet was meant for me," says Mr. Roosevelt, in writing
of this incident. "I, who was on horseback in the open, was unhurt, and
the man lying flat on the ground in the cover beside me was killed."
The fight had now centred around the possession of San Juan Hill, upon
which was located a Spanish blockhouse. The bullets were flying as
thickly as ever, when Roosevelt was ordered to advance in support of
another regiment. As the Rough Riders reached the spot where the other
regiment was, they found the men lying down awaiting orders.
"I am ordered to support your regiment," said Theodore Roosevelt to the
first captain he met.
"We are awaiting orders to advance," answered the captain of the
regulars.
"In my opinion we cannot take these hills by firing at them," returned
the commander of the Rough Riders. "We must rush them."
"My orders are to keep my men where they are."
"Where is your Colonel?"
"I don't know."
"Well, if he isn't here, then I am the ranking officer, and I give the
order to charge," came quickly and positively from Theodore Roosevelt.
"Well, sir,--I--I have orders from our Colonel--" began the captain of
the regulars.
"If you won't charge, let my men pass through, sir," cut in the Acting
Colonel of the Rough Riders, and he ordered his men to move to the
front. This was too much for the regulars, and up they sprang with
shouts and yells, and Rough Riders and regulars went up San Juan Hill
together. Roosevelt was on horseback as before, but at a barbed-wire
fence he leaped to the ground, swung his hat in the air, and joined his
men on foot.
The fight was now at its fiercest, and men were being mowed down in all
directions. But the fever of battle was in the veins of all the American
soldiers, and nothing could stop them. Up the hill they went, loading
and firing at random, and making as many shots as possible tell. The
Spaniards were in retreat, and soon Old Glory was planted in several
places. Some of the leading officers had been shot, and Theodore
Roosevelt found himself at one time in command of five regiments, and
doing his best to keep them in military order. Strange as it may seem,
with bullets flying all around him, he remained unharmed, saving for
some slight scratches which, he tells us, "were of no consequence."
With the top of the hill gained, the American soldiers could get a
distant glimpse of Santiago, several miles away, and some wanted to move
still farther forward. But the Spaniards had strong intrenchments to
fall back upon, and it was deemed best to "let well enough alone."
Accordingly the American line was made as strong as possible, and by
nightfall the battle was at an end, and the Rough Riders were told to
hold the hill and intrench, and they did so. In the blockhouse they
found some food belonging to some Spanish officers, and upon this they
feasted after their well-earned victory.