felt that it might be well for a governmental cargo to test its position
with the law of nations, under the circumstances, it was by no means the
course for the Red Cross to take--an organization which never leads, but
follows, in all military matters.
No commissioners had arrived, and feeling that we might become a source
of irritation to them by remaining, and being unable to distribute our
supplies, we decided to withdraw. Our captain, having been trained in
the merchant service and being unaccustomed to military shipping, had
neglected some little formality on leaving Santiago, which admitted, or
perhaps called for, a fine of five hundred dollars. This we promptly
paid, and with the best understanding with all parties, Spanish, Cuban
and our own, no coercion on the part of any one, impelled by nothing but
our own sense of the situation, we decided our course. In fact,
strenuous efforts were made by the Spanish officials, notably the
Secretary of State, to open the way for us; and while they could not
override the law and positively remit a duty, they offered in this case
to pay the duty themselves, and take part in the distribution. We
appreciated the courtesy, but still felt that we might in some way
become a hindrance to the pending negotiations by remaining, and after
careful consideration, decided to draw anchor and steam for Port Tampa,
leaving the "Comal" with its full cargo and efficient officers to meet
the situation in the good governmental way, we were sure they would do.
This explanation is given to set right the general impression that the
"Comal" was a Red Cross ship. There was no connection whatever between
the "Comal" and ourselves, excepting through good will and good
fellowship; and again the impression that we were mistreated by the
Spanish government at Havana, subjected to discourtesy or requested to
leave is a mistaken one. The facts are quite the contrary. We entered
under the supposition that Havana was open, as Santiago was open; but it
was not an open port. We were in Spanish waters, subject to Spanish laws
and customs, and so regarded them, as we should have expected to do in
any country, remembering experimentally that our own country is not too
much inclined to easily remit its custom duties.
Dividing the time of our Cuban campaign into sections, the incoming days
fall exclusively to Santiago. Days of an army in one sense inactive, in
another rushed and crowded beyond its powers to meet or control. Days
when everything is needed and nothing can be gotten at. No one knows
where anything is--must have a formal order to obtain it when it is
found, and cannot get the order. Officers clamor for their needy men,
the sick list increases, complaints are rife, patience gives place to
desperation, and a time of general confusion follows.
Again I would say that to those taking the first lessons in army life,
all these things seem incomprehensible, to say the least, and "Who's to
blame?" seems to be floating in the very atmosphere about them.
Deplore such a state of things as we will, it is still a part of army
life. It belongs to war, and the grey-haired military chief, whom all
would recognize were I to name him, was correct when he once said to me:
"Strange as it may seem, the days of 'rest' at an active field are its
hardest days."
The ofttimes perplexed officers at Santiago will neither exclaim nor
disclaim against this little statement, if it should ever meet their
eyes. They will realize, however, that there were others, near them
having no power, or scarcely place, who could yet comprehend their
perplexities, and sympathize with the distressing conditions surrounding
them.
They will also recall that from this source no unreasonable request was
ever made of them, no impatient word spoken--only thanks for needed
facilities that could be granted, for those withheld, respectful
acquiesence.
To every officer on that first conquered field of Cuba, who extended to
the organization I had there the honor to represent, or to myself
personally, the smallest recognition or kindness, if it were only a mere
courtesy, I tender in behalf of the Red Cross, honoring gratitude and
heartfelt thanks. As soldiers, they performed their duty; as men, they
sustained their own manly self-respect.
Knowing that several of my aides have kept their own notes during the
entire campaign, especially as pertaining to the department occupied by
each, I have for the sake of accuracy and perspicuity, invited them to
contribute, from their notes, reports to this hastily written volume.
These reports must perforce so completely cover the time of this rather
uneventful period, until we should again enter upon some more active
operations, I decide to leave this space to them, referring the reader,
if he have the interest to follow, to these reports, and especially to
the letter from our Santiago committee, composed of the leading men of
the city, whose faithful service, wisdom and care for the interests of
their community, lends a halo of grateful remembrance to the very
mention of their names.
REPORT OF DR. A. MONAE LESSER.
In response to a call from the president of the American National Red
Cross, I left this city with Mrs. Lesser for Key West on June 15. On my
trip South, a train of recruits commanded by First Lieutenant Heavey,
First Infantry, joined us on their way to Tampa. There were a number of
sick on this train; I offered my services to the lieutenant, which he
accepted, and I attended the sick. Most of them had bowel troubles;
either diarrhoea or constipation; several had fever, and some sore
throats. One private was very ill, and lay on a short bench in a
Southern Railroad coach. His temperature was high, and his condition
somewhat alarming. I engaged a section in a sleeping car, saw that he
was made comfortable, gave him medicine, and Mrs. Lesser nursed him
until we arrived in Tampa. The lighter cases as well as the one special
case were much improved when we arrived at Tampa, still I mentioned that
the patient be taken in an ambulance which the lieutenant ordered by
telegraph before we reached Tampa. We then proceeded to the steamer
"Mascot," bound for Key West. On board were a number of marines of the
United States Navy, several of them suffering from the same troubles as
Lieutenant Heavey's recruits. Among them was one case of erysipelas, due
to improper care of a vaccinated pox. We attended him, and left him and
all the others comparatively well in Key West, where Mrs. Lesser and
myself joined Miss Barton and staff on the steamship "State of Texas."
The following morning, June 20, we started for Cuba, reaching Santiago
after a six days' journey. On June 26, Mr. George Kennan, vice-president
of the American National Red Cross, interviewed Admiral Sampson for
instructions, and the steamship "State of Texas" was directed to
Guantanamo, where we remained over night.
The following morning, June 27, a correspondent of a New York paper
boarded the "Texas" and informed Miss Barton that a battle had been
fought at the front, and that there were a number of sick and wounded at
Siboney.
Miss Barton gave orders for the ship to return immediately to Siboney (a
little village between Santiago and Guantanamo), at which place we
arrived at 9.20 p.m.
WORK IN THE FIELD.
Upon arriving at Siboney, although it was late in the evening, I was
directed by Miss Barton to go ashore to inquire into the needs of the
hospital, and if any, to present her compliments, and to make the
following offer:--Although the "State of Texas" was sent to feed the
refugees and starving Cubans, it carried some persons and articles that
might serve for hospital purposes, and that the Red Cross considers its
first duty to be to help those who are nearest.
There was a large barn to which I was directed when I asked for the
hospital. I introduced myself and staff to the physician, extended the
compliments of the president of the Red Cross offering the services of
her staff, as well as needed supplies. The physician in charge very
courteously answered that he had been ordered to go to the front the
following morning, and not needing anything, thanked the Red Cross for
its offer.
Westward from the landing place was a pond of stagnant water. Upon a
little hill across a railroad track stood a number of wooden cottages.
The first large one, which seemed to have been some kind of a store, and
a barn westward from it was pointed out to me as another hospital. (It
was the same house which later was used as a post-office, in which
Postmaster Brewer contracted yellow fever, but which was never used by
the Red Cross.) There were a number of sick soldiers lying around on the
floor, Surgeon-Major Havard being in command. I made the same offer to
the major as I had made in the first place, and the condition of affairs
being apparent, I tendered him the services of the Sisters, as well as
cots and blankets for his sick; for which he thanked me, adding that he
would accept the cots and blankets, but that he did not require nurses.
I invited him to the steamship "State of Texas" to see Miss Barton, so
that he might select such articles or service as he desired. From there
I went with the staff to Dr. Virano, surgeon-in-chief of the Cuban
Hospital, making the same statement and offers to him. He introduced us
to General Garcia and his staff, and thankfully accepted the offer of
the Red Cross. His patients were lying on cots and on the floor, little
care apparently having been given to put the house in fit and proper
condition. This ended our duty of the evening, and we returned to the
ship.
The next morning, June 28, Major Surgeon Havard visited Miss Barton on
the "Texas," as also did a Cuban delegation; the former made a request
for cots, and the latter for the assistance of nurses, and food for the
sick. Sister Isabel, Sister Minnie, Sister Annie and Sister Blanch under
the direction of Mrs. Lesser went to the Cuban Hospital, taking with
them proper nourishment for the sick, and utensils for preparing the
same. The work of relief then began at the Cuban Hospital, and beds and
blankets were sent on shore for Major Havard.
The same morning Miss Barton directed me to go to the front and find out
if anything was needed at the camps, and accompanied by Mr. George
Kennan and Mr. Elwell I started about 10.00 a.m. A large detachment of
infantry which the night before had camped along the shore of Siboney,
had gone on the road up the hill about a thousand feet in height, while
another detachment of infantry and artillery took the lower road in the
valley, being the only road for vehicles which leads from Siboney to
Santiago. The men looked well, although the heat prostrated a number of
them on the march. We walked along the latter road as far as the Camp of
Rough Riders, which on that day was the furthest in front, a distance of
eight miles from Siboney. It was several days after the battle between
the Rough Riders and the Spaniards.
The next day, June 29th, I returned to the shore with the Sisters, whose
work and value had been observed by others. Siboney with a large water
supply and a sea breeze was selected for the Reserve Divisional Hospital
of the Fifth Corps. Surgeon-Major La Garde, of the regular army service,
was the chief of the department. His supply was small, and conveniences
still smaller, which he said was owing to the fact that through military
necessity medical and hospital supplies of the army were still on the
transports, with no means of unloading. There were but few hospital
tents, and the cots in them were occupied by a number of patients, in
whom Dr. Fauntleroy took great interest. I offered the services of the
Red Cross, as directed by the president. The major, a man with humane
ideas, unable to get such supplies as were needed, accepted any
reasonable aid that he could receive.
Our offer came at a moment when we could be of help. Surgeon-Major
Havard with his staff had been ordered to the front and was unable to
place the cots we had landed. His patients, who were suffering from
typhoid fever, measles and other diseases, were transferred to Major La
Garde's camp. Battle was expected every day, and the major in order to
be as well prepared as possible, accepted the offer of assistance made
by the Red Cross, and placed a house at our disposal to serve as a
hospital. He addressed a formal letter to Miss Barton, who answered at
once in kind words and deeds. We also immediately sent word to Miss
Barton, describing the requirements. The Sisters cleaned the muddy
house, then disinfected it; Miss Barton sent from the "State of Texas"
cots and bedding; food, stoves and utensils to prepare the same. In a
few hours our house was disinfected and in order, and about thirty-nine
patients were carried to it; most of them had typhoid fever and a few
had measles.
The night of July 1, however, our work had to be changed. The major
called for all assistance possible to attend the wounded who were
arriving from the battlefield of Santiago. Large numbers of the wounded
were brought down, many of whom walked miles. Men with bullet wounds
through their lungs walked and crept for hours to get to the hospital.
There were hospitals nearer to the front, but all seemed to have been
overcrowded by the work of that day, and many soldiers had lost their
way in the undergrowth and wandered about until they found the nearest
road to a hospital. Many walked because they complained that the rough
roads and heavy wagons increased their pains with every jolt.
Surgeon-Major La Garde's management can never be too highly praised. The
wounded men that came down in the wagons were examined by him and laid
somewhere to be comfortable until they could have attendance. By
"comfortable" I mean as far as the situation would permit.
Every surgeon and nurse was put to work. Mrs. Lesser and the Sisters
were called to assist at an operating table, and Sister Annie McCue and
Mrs. Trumbull White were left in charge of the hospital building. At
first I had the pleasure of assisting a very able army surgeon, Dr.
Fauntleroy, but the same evening a table was assigned to me by Major La
Garde. There were six tables in the tent, which were in charge of the
following surgeons: Drs. Fauntleroy, Ireland, Nancrede, Munson, Parker,
Howard and myself, some coming later than others. The work continued all
night, each operator having one assistant and one of the Sisters at his
table, continuing all of the following day. As the wounded came down in
numbers, and there were not cots for them, they had to be left in any
position around the ground. Major La Garde and Chaplain Gavitt were at
all times kept busy having long flies put up to protect them in case it
should rain.
[Illustration: Copyright, 1898, by Clara Barton.
A GROUP OF RED CROSS SISTERS
The four sisters of the New York Red Cross Hospital of Dr. and Mrs. A.
Monae Lesser, who nursed sick reconcentrados and their orphans in
Havana, and afterward assisted the surgeons on the ships and in the
hospitals of Siboney in dressing the wounds of Cuban, Spanish and
American soldiers and sailors, until they fell victims of the fever and
went into hospital themselves.]
[Illustration: DIPLOMA OF GRATITUDE FOR MISS CLARA
BARTON FROM THE RED CROSS OF SPAIN.
[Translation of Text.]
The Supreme Assembly of the Red Cross of Spain Grateful for the
powerful co-operation which you have given, contributing to the
patriotic and humanitarian ends of the institution, has resolved
to manifest its recognition thereof, by issuing to you the
present diploma in the city of the Court of Madrid on the 31st
day of October in the year M.D.C.C.C.X.C.V.I.I.I. (1898).
The President, The Secretary General,
MARQUIS OF PALOMA. JUAN P.C. DOMINGUES.]
Every moment news of another battle was expected; the experience of the
first, with no better means as yet at hand, was a matter of great
concern and worry to all present. Suggestions were made and discussed.
Finally it was agreed to request more Red Cross aid by telegraph. A call
for one hundred Sisters was suggested, and Mrs. Lesser was consulted in
the matter. We had fifty trained nurses and assistants on our lists,
also women to act as matrons to distribute nourishment; we promised to
send for that number immediately, as we had sent for twenty-five
already. That morning Miss Barton, with Mr. Kennan and several of her
staff, had gone to the front, and before leaving, Miss Barton instructed
her secretary, Mr. C.H.H. Cottrell, that, at our request, he should
cable in her name for such persons and material as should be needed in
the Hospital Department. We cabled for fifty nurses, ten assistants, a
number of immune physicians, complete hospital equipment, and a quantity
of surgical material, sufficient to make at least five hundred patients
comfortable.
The work was performed almost without intermission, every surgeon
employing all his energies. The feeling in the hospital among the
members of the surgical staff was an excellent one.
The night of the third we expected to be able to rest a few hours, but
during the day the fleet had fought its battle, and a number of Spanish
wounded prisoners were taken off by the various ships. Dr. Lewis, chief
surgeon of the "Harvard," who assisted in attending the wounded at the
hospital at Siboney, invited Dr. Parker, myself and the Sisters to help
him in attending the wounded Spaniards, to which we gladly responded and
spent the night on the "Harvard."
The wounded continued to arrive for four days, many of them telling that
they had been shot on the first day of the battle, July 1, and as yet
had received no care except from some comrade who had with him the
little emergency package.
Permit me to say here that I believe the little emergency package has
saved many a man from death through bleeding.
Most notable and commendable was the desire of the surgical staff to
save limbs when at all possible; and I have seen and often joined Drs.
Fauntleroy, Nancrede, Ireland and Parker in the work, spending an hour
for resection of the part in order to prevent amputation. Of course all
endeavored to do the same, and out of the total number of 1415 wounded
treated in the Siboney Hospital after the battle, there were but three
amputations of the thigh, two of the leg and one of the forearm, that I
observed in the camp. The death rate was also very small, as most of the
shots made clean wounds, and only when they affected most vital parts
did they cause death.
The dressing of wounds and the operating upon the wounded, however, were
not all the service required by the injured. Shelter, comfortable cots
and blankets were needed, very few of which had been landed. Still, as
the wounded came, and the needs became greater, I saw Surgeon-Major La
Garde, most ably assisted by Chaplain Gavitt, hunt about for canvas or
anything that would act as cover for a tent, and have it put up along
the tents and flies. Their work was unceasing. In those days every
officer and member of the medical staff gave up his cot and tent that
the wounded might find some kind of shelter and proper resting place;
but in spite of that they were inadequate. The largest number of wounded
lay on the ground, some on blankets, others on canvas, or if very
severely wounded, on a litter.
The steamship "State of Texas" had a number of cots (I believe 350)
which were originally meant for Cuban relief, many of which we used in
the Red Cross Hospital at Siboney; when I informed Miss Barton of the
condition of affairs, all cots that were in the ship were unloaded and
sent to the hospital, and the most seriously wounded received
comfortable resting places.
The gauze, particularly the iodoform gauze, and bandages soon gave out.
The "State of Texas" carried a quantity of surgical dressings. All that
was necessary was to ask Miss Barton for them, who immediately sent on
land any article needed if in her possession.
Among our patients were several cases of gunshot wound through the skull
and brain near the eyes; the eyes were inflamed, and ice had to be
applied continuously to relieve excruciating pain. Dr. Fauntleroy
suggested that the cases be sent to the Red Cross Hospital, we had there
the only ice in the field at that time; it also came from the "State of
Texas," from which we received a daily supply. The eye cases were
carefully attended by Mrs. White, the wife of Dr. Trumbull White, of the
Chicago _Record_, who deserves much praise for the constant attention
which she gave them. It was necessary to make continuous application of
ice every few minutes, which she did with constant and unceasing care.
Mrs. White is not a trained nurse, but a gentle, wise woman. I agree
with the remarks of Dr. Fauntleroy when he said that her attention and
the ice relieved much suffering and saved quite a few from blindness.
Captain Mills, who was one of the wounded in that manner, may tell of
his own experience.
Most of the cases of gunshot wounds gave very little work to the
surgeons, as the bullet entered at one place and made its exit at
another, thus leaving a clean wound. Even through vital parts of the
body, such as the brain and abdomen, bullets passed without apparently
giving the patient any great distress. The simple cases did not need
much attention; cleanliness and a cushioned dressing well protected was
all they usually required. In fact, many of the smaller wounds came to
us bandaged with a little emergency pad, progressing in healing. These
were always shots from the Mauser bullet. Many of the men that I saw
were shot in the shoulder, the bullets making exits through the back.
Some gunshot wounds had two places of exit and entrance in their course.
For instance, I had cases in which the bullet had gone into the upper
and lateral part of the cranium, come out behind the ear, went into the
shoulder and came out behind and below the shoulder blade; or had made
its course through the left arm, again entering the right chest and
coming out at the back. It would perhaps be out of place to enumerate or
describe in this report the many courses which the bullets have taken,
but as stated, most of them required little attention. There were,
however, some serious wounds, such as compound comminuted fractures, in
the treatment of which great skill was shown by the various surgeons in
the hospital. Those were the cases which in former years would have
resulted in amputation, but drainage and cleanliness, plainly speaking,
have given the patients the advantage of keeping their limbs.
In the simple cases one could work alone, with the assistance of a
Sister or a hospital steward, but in the more difficult cases good
surgical skill was required, and it was often a source of great
gratification to see two eminent surgeons, of equally good reputation,
assisting each other in a difficult case; one advising, the other
acting; thus the greatest harmony existed among the members of the
staff. The Sisters being required in the operating tents as also the
stewards there were no nurses in the tents to care for the wounded.
No food had been prepared for the large number of wounded lying on the
cots or on the ground on blankets or canvas; a great many of them were
too helpless even to turn. Surgeon-Major La Garde did me the honor of
consulting me in regard to the nursing, and I suggested that some of the
Sisters leave the operating tables, which were by that time supplied
with other assistants.
The major then sent for Mrs. Lesser, who suggested that the worst cases
be brought into one or two rows of tents, as the small staff of Sisters
brought into Cuba was not sufficient to take charge of all and do them
justice. The rows of tents were then placed in her charge, and she
portioned the work of caring for them among the Sisters assisted by
hospital corps men. The soldiers were nearly famished; some had not
received a morsel of food for two days. Oatmeal gruel, coffee and
quantities of prune juice and other articles of relish were at once
prepared at the Red Cross Hospital in big cans which had come from the
"State of Texas," and with the assistance of the ever active
indefatigable Chaplain Gavitt, and several newspaper correspondents, the
wounded soldiers received such food as their conditions allowed.