IN THE SPANISH WAR
LIEUTENANT PERSHING instantly grasped his long awaited opportunity. He
resigned his position at West Point, and at once was sent to his
regiment, the 10th Cavalry, then at Chicamauga, and afterwards near
Tampa, Florida, but in June of that same year he went to Cuba and shared
in the campaign against Santiago. Many have thought that the nickname
"Black Jack" was affectionately given him because he was such a daring
and dashing leader of the exceptionally brave black men of whom the 10th
U. S. Cavalry at that time was composed.
In this campaign no official records can have quite the same human touch
as the words of the modest young officer himself. In a lecture or
address in the Hyde Park M. E. Church, Chicago, November 27, 1898, the
church whose founding was largely due to the interest and labors of his
father,--Lieutenant Pershing described the experiences and deeds of his
troop. The interest at the time was keen in the campaign he described.
To-day, however, the interest is still keener in the young lieutenant
who gave his vivid description of the battles in which he shared.
Address by Lieutenant Pershing at the Hyde Park M. E. Church, Chicago,
at a patriotic Thanksgiving service, November 27, 1898:
The admonition of George Washington, "In peace
prepare for war," had gone unheeded for one-third
of a century. Congress had turned a deaf ear to
the importunities of our military commanders. The
staff departments of the army were only large
enough to meet the ordinary necessities in times
of peace of an army of 25,000 men. They had not
transported even by rail for over thirty years a
larger command than a regiment. In the face of all
this every official both civil and military of
staff and line seemingly did his best to overcome
these adverse conditions and though of course
mistakes were made I should hesitate to attribute
to any individual other than the purest motives
of patriotism. The wonder is it was done at all.
The wonder is it was done so well. The point of
embarkation for the first army of invasion was
Port Tampa, Florida. There was some delay in the
embarkation due to various causes one of which was
the inexperience of officers in transporting
troops by water. Another cause of delay was
uncertainty as to whether or not the Spanish fleet
was really confined in the harbor of Santiago.
On the afternoon of June 14th, the fleet steamed
out under its naval escort and a grander and more
impressive sight the world has never seen.
Arriving in the vicinity of Santiago some time was
spent in deciding where to attempt a landing. Two
plans were proposed, one an attack from the west,
which was said would involve, with the assistance
of the navy, the capture of the outer defenses of
the harbor of Santiago. The other plan, the one
which was adopted, ignored the existence of Morro
Castle and the coast defenses and contemplated an
attack on the city from the rear. This decided, a
point of debarkation was selected at Daiquiri.
There were no good maps of Cuba and very little
was known of the coast or country.
At Daiquiri the navy prepared the way for landing
by bombarding the town and driving out the Spanish
troops who before leaving set fire to the
buildings of the town and the machine shops and
the mines located there. There were no docks at
Daiquiri except a small wooden affair, old and out
of repair. The vessels could not go nearer than
about 300 yards from the shore and then only in
calm weather.
Nothing was taken ashore with the troops except
what they carried on their backs, but the load was
so heavy that to fall overboard in deep water
meant to be drowned, though from the entire army
but two men were lost.
On the morning of June 23d, the Tenth Cavalry,
together with the First Cavalry and Roosevelt's
Rough Riders and regiments which formed the second
brigade of the cavalry division, were sent ashore
and moved out northwest passing through Siboney to
a point beyond the most advanced outposts toward
Santiago. These troops though belonging to the
cavalry were dismounted and in marching through
marsh and bog overhung with boughs and vines, clad
as they were in heavy clothing, they soon began to
feel the wilting effects of the tropical sun; but
every man had resolved for the honor of his
country to make the best of the situation as a
soldier and whether working or marching or
fighting all behaved as though the success of the
campaign depended upon their own individual
efforts.
On July 10th, the day set for the ultimatum of the
bombardment, the white flags of truce were again
taken down and the men again climbed into the
trenches. At four o'clock in the afternoon at the
signal of the first gun from our northern battery
the firing began and the battle raged with the
same old fury as of those early July days; shells
and bullets whistled violently for a few minutes
but the enemy's fire gradually died away into
silence. They realized their helplessness and the
battle was over.
Our reinforcements had begun to arrive and the
terms of capitulation dictated by the commanding
general were soon agreed upon. On the morning of
July 17th the lines of both armies were drawn up
to witness the formal surrender. General Toral
with an infantry escort rode out from the city to
meet General Shafter, who was escorted by a
squadron of mounted cavalry. The formalities were
courteous though simple. Arms were presented by
both commanders and the Spanish General tendered
his sword to our commander.
General Shafter, accompanied by all the general
and staff officers, his escort of cavalry and one
regiment of infantry, then entered the city.
Shortly before twelve o'clock our troops were
again drawn up in line along the six miles of
trenches and stood at present arms. An officer
ascended to the top of the Governor's palace and
lowered the Spanish colors and now held the Stars
and Stripes, impatient to declare our victory to
the world. Suddenly at exactly twelve o'clock the
enthusiasm burst forth, cannon boomed the national
salute, bands played the Star Spangled Banner,
hats were thrown into the air and ten thousand men
as if to burst their throats joined in one grand
American yell. There just beyond the hill outlined
against the clear sky, over the Governor's palace
in the captured city, though invisible to many of
us floated our own beloved flag. The campaign was
over. For us the war was ended.
On June 29th a part of General Garcia's Army with
some 4000 Cubans were marched to the front, but
they rendered little assistance, either in working
or fighting. The most of them fled at the first
explosion of a Spanish shell over El Pozo Capital
Hill on July 1st. However, some excuse is theirs.
Ragged, some half naked, wearied from hunger,
laden with huge earthen water pots, heavy packs
and cooking utensils slung over their backs, armed
with every conceivable obsolete pattern of gun, it
is no wonder that they dared not face the deadly
Mauser rifle; we ourselves had much less contempt
for Spanish arms after we had met them face to
face on the battle field.
On June 30th the general order came to move
forward and every man felt that the final test of
skill at arms would soon come. The cavalry
division of six regiments camped in its tracks at
midnight on El Pozo Hill, awoke next morning to
find itself in support of Grimes' Battery which
was to open fire here on the left.
The morning of July 1st was ideally beautiful; the
sky was cloudless and the air soft and balmy;
peace seem to reign supreme, great palms towered
here and there above the low jungle. It was a
picture of a peaceful valley. There was a feeling
that we had secretly invaded the Holy Land. The
hush seemed to pervade all nature as though she
held her bated breath in anticipation of the
carnage.
Captain Capron's field guns had opened fire upon
the southern field at El Caney and the hill
resounded with echoes. Then followed the reply of
the musketry of the attacking invaders. The
fighting in our front burst forth and the battle
was on.
The artillery duel began and in company with
foreign military attaches and correspondents we
all sat watching the effect of the shots as men
witness any fine athletic contest eagerly trying
to locate their smokeless batteries. A force of
insurgents near the old Sugar Mill cowered at the
explosion of each firing charge apparently caring
for little except the noise.
A slug of iron now and then fell among the
surrounding bushes or buried itself deep in the
ground near us. Finally a projectile from an
unseen Spanish gun discharged a Hotchkiss piece,
wounded two cavalrymen and smashed into the old
Sugar Mill in our rear, whereupon the terrorized
insurgents fled and were not seen again near the
firing line until the battle was over.
When the Tenth Cavalry arrived at the crossing of
San Juan River the balloon had become lodged in
the treetops above and the enemy had just begun to
make a target of it. A converging fire upon all
the works within range opened upon us that was
terrible in its effect. Our mounted officers
dismounted and the men stripped off at the
roadside everything possible and prepared for
business.
We were posted for a time in the bed of the stream
to the right directly under the balloon and stood
in the water to our waists waiting orders to
deploy. Remaining there under this galling fire of
exploding shrapnel and deadly Mauser bullets the
minutes seemed like hours. General Wheeler and a
part of his staff stood mounted a few minutes in
the middle of the stream. Just as I raised my hat
to salute in passing up the stream to pass the
squadron of my regiment, a piece of bursting shell
struck between us and covered us both with water.
Pursuant to orders from its commander, with myself
as guide, the second squadron of the Tenth forced
its way through wire fence and almost impenetrable
thicket to its position. The regiment was soon
deployed as skirmishers in an opening across the
river to the right of the road and our line of
skirmishers being partly visible from the enemy's
position, their fire was turned upon us and we had
to lie down in the grass a few minutes for safety.
Two officers of the regiment were wounded; here
and there were frequent calls for the surgeon.
White regiments, black regiments, regulars and
rough riders representing the young manhood of the
North and South fought shoulder to shoulder
unmindful of race or color, unmindful of whether
commanded by an ex-confederate or not, and mindful
only of their common duty as Americans.
Through streams, tall grass, tropical undergrowth,
under barbed wire fences and over wire
entanglements, regardless of casualties up the
hill to the right this gallant advance was made.
As we appeared on the brow of the hill we found
the Spaniards retreating only to take up a new
position farther on, spitefully firing as they
retreated and only yielding their ground inch by
inch.
Our troopers halted and laid down but momentarily
to get a breath and in the face of continued
volleys soon formed for attack on the block houses
and intrenchments on the second hill. This attack
was supported by troops including some of the
Tenth who had originally moved to the left toward
this second hill and had worked their way in
groups slipping through the tall grass and bushes,
crawling when casualties came too often,
courageously facing a sleet of bullets and now
hung against the steep southern declivity ready to
spring the few remaining yards into the teeth of
the enemy. The fire from the Spanish position had
doubled in intensity. There was a moment's lull
and our line moved forward to the charge across
the valley separating the two hills. Once begun it
continued dauntless in its steady, dogged,
persistent advance until like a mighty resistless
challenge it dashed triumphant over the crest of
the hill and firing a parting volley at the
vanishing foe planted the silken standard on the
enemy's breastworks and the Stars and Stripes over
the block house on San Juan Hill to stay.
This was a time for rejoicing. It was glorious.
* * * * *
But among the scenes of rejoicing there was others
of sadness. Both American and Spanish troops lay
dead and wounded around us; all were cared for
alike. I saw a colored trooper stop at a trench
filled with Spanish dead and wounded and gently
raise the head of a wounded Spanish lieutenant and
give him the last drop of water from his own
canteen. Their dead, of whom there were many, had
fought bravely and we buried them in the trenches
where they gallantly fell.
The losses of the day were heavy--the Tenth
Cavalry losing one-half of its officers and twenty
per cent of its men. We officers of the Tenth
Cavalry have taken our black heroes in our arms.
They had again fought their way into our
affections, as they here had fought their way into
the hearts of the American people. Though we had
won, it had cost us dearly.
An attempt was made that evening to recapture the
hill, but our defense was so strong that the
attempt was futile; the Spaniards retreating to
their first interior line of intrenchments 300 to
500 yards away.
The firing on both sides was kept up until dark
and ceased only at intervals during the night.
Over El Caney the battle had raged all day, but
steadily as the Spaniards had held their positions
the fierce charges of the gallant Seventh, Twelfth
and Twenty-fifth regiments of infantry were
resistless. Soon after San Juan was ours, El Caney
fell.
By morning the position was strengthened so that
our line was fairly well protected, reveille was
sounded by Spanish small arms and artillery in
chorus, but the signal had been anticipated and
all men were in their places at the firing line.
Daylight was breaking in the east when both sides
began where they had left off the night before and
the firing all day was incessant. A few moments
after the firing opened, some cannoneers permitted
a limber from one of the guns of the light battery
near us to get away and it went rolling down the
hillside to the rear for a quarter of a mile. Our
artillery was silenced by the enemy's small arms
and compelled to take up a new position; strong
shrapnel went screeching over head and bursting
beyond. The adjutant of my regiment was stricken
by a hidden sharpshooter. The heat soon became
intense and there was no shelter and cannon balls
plunged through the lines at the top of the hill
and went rolling to the bottom of the valley;
bullets spattered against the isolated trees or
grazed the newly made earthworks covering with
dirt the men in the trenches and fairly mowing the
grass for many yards in our front. Thus the day
went on and the night and the succeeding day
began. Then came the welcome truth; everybody drew
a long breath and thanked God; it was possible
once more to walk erect; however, the echoes of
the last three days were slow to die away and at
the breaking of a bough or the rusting of a leaf
there was a temptation to duck.
At noon on July 4th the regiments were formed into
line and I had the pleasure of reading to my
regiment a telegram from the President extending
the thanks and congratulations of the American
people to the army in front of Santiago for its
gallantry and success.
The brave Linares, however, had already realized
the hopelessness of his cause, but he would not
surrender without permission from his home
government. Therefore the city must be bombarded.
Pacificos and the non-combatants were ordered out
of the city and were permitted to come within our
lines. All day long on the dusty road leading from
Santiago to El Cancy passed the long white line;
faint, hungry women carried a bundle of clothing
and parcel of food or an infant while helpless
children trailed wearily at the skirts of their
wretched mothers. An old man tottered along on his
cane and behind him a puny lad and an aged woman;
old and young women and children and decrepit men
of every class--those refined and used to luxury
together with the ragged beggar--crowding each
other in this narrow column. It was a pitiful
sight; from daylight to dark the miserable
procession trooped past. The suffering of the
innocent is not the least of the sorrows of war.
The days of truce and hostilities alternated; all
roll calls were suspended except the sunset call
and retreat on days of truce.
At the evening call we daily ceased our chatting,
cooking or working and groups or lines of officers
and men stood with uncovered heads in respectful
and reverent attention as the music of the Star
Spangled Banner and the sight of the flag we had
planted on the hill above us, lifted us out of
ourselves and carried us in thought to home and
country; it was the soldiers' silent Ave Maria.
Duty in the trenches was no less arduous because
of the few days of truce; all the available men
would report to work at strengthening positions
and building bomb-proof shelters. Vigilance never
relaxed until the capitulation. The rainy season
had set in in earnest and the trenches were at
times knee deep with mud and water. The constant
exposures to the heat and rain together with the
strain of battle began to have its effect upon
even the strongest of us. Our sick list gradually
grew and the dreaded yellow fever appeared in our
ranks; the field hospitals already overcrowded
with wounded were compelled to accommodate the
increasing number of fever patients; medical
supplies and food for the sick were lacking and
though many things were furnished by the Red Cross
there was yet a shortage.
Since July 3d the firing from the Spanish trenches
had become irregular, desultory and non-effective.
Our artillery gunners now knew the range of every
Spanish battery and our men in the trenches--every
one a trained marksman--knew the distance of every
Spanish position. A Spanish captain told me
afterward that it was dangerous for them even to
stick up a finger for fear of having it shot off;
and yet the Spanish commander still held out.
The literary style of the young lecturer reveals the direct virile
qualities that since have made General Pershing one of the most forceful
and clear American writers on topics having to do with the military
affairs of the country. His use of adjectives perhaps is somewhat freer
than in his later writings, but there is the same vivid, direct power of
expression and description. His modesty at the time prevented him from
referring to the fact that twice he was recommended for brevet
commissions in the war with Spain for "personal gallantry and untiring
energy and faithfulness." Nor did he mention the words of General
Baldwin, a brave soldier of the Civil War, who said of him: "Pershing is
the coolest man under fire I ever saw." And he makes no mention of the
earnest protest of a certain foreign officer, the representative of his
own government in the Santiago campaign, who begged the daring troops
not to make the now famous charge up San Juan Hill because they would be
rushing into certain death.
The official records, however, are now available and consequently we
are not dependent upon stories which occasionally seem to possess a
snow-ball like quality of increasing in size as they gain in distance
from their starting points.
Headquarters, Tenth U. S. Cavalry,
Camp Hamilton, Cuba, July, 1898.
Adjutant General, Second Brigade, Cavalry Division,
Fifth Army Corps.
Sir:--I have the honor to submit the following
report of the part taken by the Tenth Cavalry in
the battle of July 12th and 13th, 1898, before
Santiago de Cuba.
On the morning of July 1st the regiment,
consisting of troops, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, I,
field and staff, occupying a position on the left
of the second cavalry, directed the line extending
nearly north and south on a ridge some three or
four miles from Santiago.
At about 6:30 A. M. a battery of artillery massed
a short distance from our right opened upon the
works of Santiago, the regiment being exposed to
much of the return fire of the American batteries.
After the artillery fire had ceased the regiment
moved right past the sugar mills and proceeded in
rear of the town on the road toward Santiago. The
movement was delayed as we approached the San Juan
river and the regiment came within range of fire
about half a mile from the crossing. Upon reaching
the river I found that the Seventy-first N. Y.
Volunteers were at the crossing and that the
regiment preceding mine had moved to the right.
The Tenth Cavalry was here subject to and
confronting radically an infantry fire from the
three block houses and intrenchments in front and
the works farther to the left and nearer Santiago.
The fire was probably drawn by a balloon which
preceded the regiment to a point near the ford
where it was held. I was directed to take a
position to the right behind the river, however,
for protection moving to this position and while
there the regiment suffered considerable loss.
After an interval of 20 to 30 minutes I was
directed to form line of battle in a particularly
open field facing toward the blockhouse and strong
intrenchments to the north occupied by the enemy.
Much difficulty was found on account of the dense
undergrowth crossed in several directions by wire
fences. As a part of the cavalry division under
General Sumner, the regiment was formed on two
lines. The first squadron under Major S. T.
Norvall consisting of troops A, E, B and I
leading. The second line under Major T. J. Wint
consisting of troops C, F and G. Troop D having
crossed further down the river attached itself to
a command of infantry and moved with that command
on the two blockhouses. The regiment advanced in
this formation under a heavy fire from the enemy's
position proceeding but a short distance when the
two lines were reunited into one. The advance was
rapidly continued in an irregular line toward the
blockhouses and intrenchments to the right front.
During this advance the lines passed some troops
of the first cavalry which I think had been
previously formed on our right. Several losses
occurred before reaching the top of them; first
lieutenant W. H. Smith being killed as he arrived
at its crest. The enemy having retreated toward
the northwest toward the second and third
blockhouses, new lines were formed and rapid
advance was made upon the new positions.
The regiment assisted in capturing these works
from the enemy and with the exception of Troops C
and I who had joined the first volunteer cavalry,
then took up a position north of the second
blockhouse, remaining there during the night. With
some changes in the positions of troops they held
this line of the second and third under a heavy
and continuous fire from the enemy's intrenchments
in front and the regiment now occupying a part of
the advance intrenched positions. Some troops lost
their relative positions in line during the first
day of the battle but attached themselves to
others and continued to move forward. During the
entire engagement the regiment acted with
exceptional coolness and bravery. It held its
position at the ford and moved forward
unflinchingly after deploying through the advance
under the heavy fire from the enemy's works.
The officers and men in general throughout
exhibited great bravery obeying orders with
unflinching alacrity while attacking with small
arms an enemy strongly posted in intrenchment and
blockhouse supported with artillery. Words cannot
express my gratification at such conduct and I
would request such service receive some special
recognition. It is difficult to distinguish
between officers and men all of whom are so
deserving but of the officers whose conduct on the
field came under my direct personal observation I
would especially mention Major S. T. Norvall,
Major T. J. Wint, squadron commander, first
lieutenant J. J. Pershing, quartermaster, and
first lieutenant M. H. Bowman, adjutant, for their
untiring energy, faithfulness and gallantry during
this engagement and would recommend the officers
mentioned for brevet commissions, ...
Very respectfully,
(s) T. A. BALDWIN,
Lieutenant Colonel, Tenth Cavalry,
Commanding.
[A TRUE COPY]
Second lieutenant, Tenth Cavalry, acting
regimental adjutant.
* * * * *
"A foreign officer standing near our position when
we started to make that charge was heard to say,
'Men, for Heaven's sake don't go up that hill. It
is impossible for human beings to take that
position and you cannot stand the fire.'
Notwithstanding this with a terrific yell we
rushed up to the enemy's works and you know the
result. Men who were near said that when this
officer saw us make the charge he turned his back
and wept."
* * * * *
Camp A. G. Forse,
Huntsville, Ala., December 1, 1898.
The Adjutant General, U. S. Army,
Washington, D. C.,
Through military channels,
SIR: I have the honor to submit the following
report of the part taken by Troop D, Tenth
Cavalry, in the engagement before Santiago de Cuba
so far as it is known to me. As we approached the
foot of the hill our artillerymen fired over our
heads at the enemy on top of it. This caused a
slowing up on the general advance. When I was
about half way up the hill I was disabled by three
bullet wounds received simultaneously. I had
already received one, but did not know it. What
took place after my disablement is known to me
only through the statement of my men and others
subsidized by the depositions enclosed herewith.
My platoon went to the top of the hill with the
infantry and was soon afterward conducted by
Lieutenant J. J. Pershing, R. O. M., Tenth
Cavalry, to the line of the Tenth Cavalry some
distance to the right.
Very respectfully,
JOHN BIGELOW, JR.,
Tenth Cavalry, Commanding,
Troop D.
In the report of Major Wint, November 28th, 1898, to the
adjutant-general is the following: "Lieutenant Pershing, R.O.M., was
with the Second Squadron when passed on Sugar House Hill and during its
advance on San Juan Hill he conducted himself in a most gallant and
efficient manner."
The war with Spain was soon terminated but the executive ability of
Lieutenant Pershing was still in demand. The period of reconstruction
was difficult then, as it always is, presenting problems different from
those of active fighting, but no less puzzling and perplexing. In this
trying time we find him serving as an executive under the direction of
the War Department and manifesting in his quiet, persistent way the same
qualities of efficiency which had marked his career up to this time. On
August 18, 1898, he was serving as Major Chief Ordnance Officer with the
United States Volunteers, remaining on duty at the Headquarters of the
Army until December 20, 1898, and then on duty in the office of the
Assistant Secretary of War, under whom he organized the Bureau of
Insular Affairs, and was at the head of that Bureau until the following
August. On May 12, 1899, he was honorably discharged from Volunteer
service and on June 6, 1899, he was Major and Assistant Adjutant
General, United States Volunteers.
Office and work of detail did not, however, appeal strongly to him.
Having known the life and work in the field, and also possessed of a
temperament that demanded more active work and out-of-door life that an
office provided, at his own request he was sent to the Philippine
Islands and was assigned to duty as Adjutant General of the District of
Mindanao and Jolo (afterwards a Department under the same name).
He became captain in the First Cavalry, February, 1901, and on August
20th of the same year he was transferred to the Fifteenth Cavalry. His
work in the Philippine Islands continued and there his soldierly
qualities found a larger field for development and activity than they
had known before.