Class fyw- Book a\\y by signs, (^ne or two of the warriors would stroll into camp and after standing around a bit with the inevitable Cuban grin would exclaim, '^Santiago, bourn, botim?^^ at the same time pointing to the city. We could do no less than to assure them there would be plenty of '''bourn, bourn'''' and that when it happened Santiago would be "on the bum." The ice thus broken, the Cuban's machete was examined and the wearer induced to give an exhibition of its use both as a weapon and a handy tool for many purposes. Generally be- fore they left camp they would " borrow " some "tobac" and if they could obtain some hardtack or bacon they went away happy. Sometimes they brought us some mangoes or " mon- key plums " and then would follow some great bartering. The surgeons in an excess of zeal had warned us against the mango but we pinned our faith to the Cubans' declaration that if one didn't eat mangoes and drink liquor on the same day no evil effects would result from the free and unlimited use of the fruit. The mango tastes nice but it is an acquired art to know how to eat it without getting three-quarters of it over one's face and clothing. Still it came in handy when our rations were short, which was about always and we were not over fastidious as to how we ate anything in those days. CHAPTER XI. WHICH TELLS HOW WE GOT READY TO TAKE THE TOWN OF EL CANEY. T ^vas shortly after noon on June 30th that the "Jo Jo " department began to circulate the news that _^^^ we were to move on to Santiago that day or the next ■■<^^ and for the first and only time during the campaign the "JoJo" happened to be right. Orders had arrived for a forward movement and although we had no idea of where we were to go or what we were to do there was a feeling of satisfaction that we were to go somewhere and do something. Of even more importance than the orders at this particular time was the arrival of a well laden pack train with rations. When the mules were first discerned coming " up the pike" it was supposed they were carrying ammunition as the last two or three pack trains had brought little excepting car- tridges. But this time we were agreeably disappointed. There was a plentiful supply of "sowbelly," hardtack and coffee and it was not long before it was being distributed. The tobacco famine had temporarily been relieved and now we actually had food. So we were pretty well satisfied with life after all. How it rained that day ! It came on in the forenoon and in less than ten minutes everj'body and everything was satu- rated. It was a straight downpour of water and rubber blankets were of little use in keeping us or our belongings dry so we simply got wet and stayed in that condition until the sun came out and did his best to dry things up quickly. Early that afternoon we saw the war balloon again and watched it with much interest, everybody "rubbernecking" at the unwonted sight. In the car, although we did not know it at the time, was poor "Tom" Boone of "K"and those of us who knew him little recked what the next day would bring to him. For that matter there was considerable uncertainty as to what the future meant for any of us. We heard late in the day that we were sure to get into action on the next day but somehow the knowledge did not appear to worry but a few of the boys. The happenings of the cam- paign thus far had done much to produce a feeling of con- tempt for the fighting abilities of the Spaniards and seme of us figured that all we would have to do was to make a demonstration in force and the enemy would then either retreat or surrender. How mistaken we were the next day was to tell us. It was late in the afternoon when the advance on El Caney by Lawton's division was begun and it was not until almost G o'clock that our brigade, which being one of the nearest to the city, was among the last to get away, made its start. Most of us will never forget that night march. The rain of the morning had resulted as usual in making- whatever roads and trails there were into very fine speci- mens of mud puddles and unfortunatelj' for us the greater part of our way led up hill. "When the rations were issued in the afternoon the companj- commissaries had not time to complete their distribution and thinking that the march was to be a short and easy one those of G and B concluded that it would be better to have some of the provisions carried in bulk rather than to take time to divide and issue them. So a number of men from each company were detailed to carry a couple of slabs of " sowbelly " and others the remaining 77 boxes of hardtack. This worked very nicely for a time until it became dark and the hill climbing act began. Then there was trouble. The trail up the hill was about as slip- pery as any we ever marched along in Cuba and it was moreover filled with rocks and boulders over which climb- ing was not the easiest matter in the world. Before they had gone very far the ration detail began to think that something was wrong and these thoughts developed into a certainty as we still kept climbing along up a pretty steep ascent and the boxes of hardtack and the sides of bacon (?) began to grow heavier and heavier and more difficult to handle. For convenience in packing them along with us both Sergeants Scully and Bearse had nailed long handles onto the hardtack boxes and had made a somewhat similar arrangement to carry the bacon but the carriers had not gone far before the handles worked off and after awhile it got to be a question of dropping the rations or killing the men trjang to carry them. It was pitch dark, the trail was difficult and besides all the men had a pretty fair supply of " grub " in their haversacks, so a silent and informal vote was taken and the bulk of the extra rations were quietly left by the side of the trail. Meanwhile the rest of us were not having so much of a picnic even though we wei'e not encumbered with extra baggage. The mud made marching difficult even along the road which led from the camp. Soon we left this and came to the San Juan creek, passing a company of soldiers who were actually bathing. Our surprise at this unwonted scene was not allowed to last long, for the trail lay on the other side of the creek and we were obliged to ford it. This was not by any means as easy as it looked. The banks were high and slip- pery with mud and the water was over our legging tops but in we plunged and scrambled across to the other side and into a thick piece of woods, shaking the water from our- selves dog fashion as we again took up the march. Hardly 78 had we got across before low spoken orders came down the line for every man to keep silent and to march as quietly as possible. This made us realize that something was on and the orders were pretty well obeyed although all the orders in the world could not keep some of the men from saying things concerning the trail and night marches in general. In ragged fashion we stumbled along through the woods, the onlj" military regulation we followed out being that of keeping well "closed up." We simply had to do this be- cause it was so dark and the trail so narrow and rough that unless one kept very "close tabs " on his file leader it was a question of getting lost and going it alone and this none of us desired to do. We had not gone far before we came to another creek or it may have been another turn of the first one, we did not know or care which, but into it we plunged and again got our feet wet and muddy. Hardly had we gained the other side before we came across a forlorn looking figure in a bit of a clearing by the side of the trail and a voice with an unmistakeable western twang inquired if we were the Rough Riders. The owner of the voice was informed that we were the Second Massachusetts and he then remarked, " Well, you're a pretty good outfit and I guess I'll go along with you." He then announced himself as the chaplain of the Rough Riders and said he had left camp a little behind his regiment and had not only been unable to catch up with it but could obtain no trace of its whereabouts. We told him his regiment had probably gone over towards San Juan hill, it being in another division than ours and he then allowed that he would not bother looking further that night but would accompany us. We made no objection and he trudged along with us for the rest of the way. Soon after meeting the chaplain we forded creek number three but by this time we were used to getting our feet wet and did not mind it much. After fording this stream, a 79 narrow but rather deep one, we began to get up in the world and soon discovered that we were on the up grade. For nearly two hours more we stumbled along, sometimes pass- ing through thick woods and again along open country. The moon came out faintly after a bit, but her light did little towards revealing to us the difficulties of the route we were following. We had a couple of brief halts but it was not until a little after 10 o'clock that a whispered command to halt was given and we were informed that we were to go into bivouac by the road side. Following this order came a renewal of the previous ones against making any noise and we were also given strict orders not to make a fire or even strike a match. These pre- cautions we assumed were to keep our presence unknown to the enemy and although most of us wanted the comfort of a pipe or cigarette after our fatiguing march yet we refrained. There was of course much speculation over the why and wherefore of the night march and the orders against noise or fire but the generally accepted assumption was that we had stolen a march upon the Spaniards, bad penetrated their lines, and in the morning would march into Santiago before the astonished enemy had partaken of his morning coffee. This surmise was given oolor by the fact that from where we were we could look down into the city, its locality being indicated by the lights from the governor general's palace and other official buildings. We were on a plateau that overlooked the city, and so far as we could judge, our presence was abso- lutely undetected. Santiago appeared to be sleeping peace- fully and looked for all the world like some small New Eng- land city which is locked up every night at 8.30 or 9 and whose residents then go to bed and sta}^ there until morning. For thinking such thoughts we were indeed what are known in the vernacular as ' ' good things, " for as it transpired after- wards the Spaniards knew all about where we were and where we were going. Had it not been for their traditional 80 < o o o « H W policy of " manana " they might have sallied ont and done several things to ua, but they preferred to wait until the next day, which was a lucky thing for us. Sleep comes quickly to a soldier in bivouac and soon after our halt every one of us, with the exception of the guards, was asleep. No attempt was made to put up the shelter tents, but we contented ourselves with unrolling them, spreading them upon the grass and wrapping ourselves up in our blankets. A few of us lunched upon hardtack and raw bacon washed down with muddy water from the canteens but the majority of the bo3's were too tired to think even of eating. That night the premonition came to some of our boys that the morrow would be their last day on earth and although we tried to laugh it out of them they stuck to it that their fate was settled. One of these boys was Frank Moody of K and so strongh" was he impressed with the feeling of coming dis- aster to himself that he made one of his comrades take his watch and promise to deliver his farewell message to the loved ones at home. Tired soldiers sleep soundly and it seemed as if we had only slumbered a few moments when we were av.'akened, not b}^ the usual bugle call, but by low whispers from the officers and non-commissioned officers. It vv^as hardl}" dawn and a thin mist concealed from view the city below us and the hills that surrounded us. Little by little the mist disap- peared before the advance of the sun and v.'hen dawn came the scene was so impressive in its grandeur that even the most careless amongst us felt it. Just below us was Santifigo still wrapped in the morning mist and apparently still uu- aroused from its slumbers. All about us were frowning hills and mountains and in the distance we could see tb.e harbor outside of which sat the grim war ships of the United States waiting for their prey to come out and be eaten up. Not a sign from the enemj'^ and we wondered. J 81 But we wondered even more when we turned our eyes a little to the right and there saw Capron's light battery, still unlimbered and apparently in plain view of the sentries of the enemy and our wonder increased as we saw the smoke from the cooking fires of the batterymen and watched them preparing their morning meal. For, be it understood, our brigade commander had sent word along that the orders of the night before as to noise and fires were still in force and we had breakfasted on hardtack and water. And there were the artillerymen with their fires lighted and frying their bacon and making their coffee as if there were no such orders and not a Spaniard within fifty miles. We could not under- stand it and for that matter we do not to this day. Maybe somebody does but if so we never heard of it. It was bad enough to almost smell the hot coffee, for the morning air was cool and raw, and to see the batterymen drinking it with relish, but it was far worse to see them non- chalantl}^ light their pipes and cigarettes and enjoy them. Since the night before we had been deprived of the solace of tobacco and anyone who has ever soldiered knows what that means. But when we saw the red striped giumers enjoying the weed we made up our minds to follow suit. In a very short time our pipes were going and the officers sympatheti- callj' not only forebore to stop us but soon began to puff their pipes. Even a cold breakfast can be enjoyed with a tobacco dessert and that early morning smoke on the threshold of the battlefield was a much appreciated one. Meanwhile we had been getting ready and as packing up did not take us long it was but a short time after we were aroused from our slumbers before we had fallen in and were ready for what the day might bring forth. While waiting for orders to march we heard the noise of hoofs coming up the trail and Gen. Lawton and his staff clattered by us on their way to the front. A couple of Cuban oflScers were with them and they were evidently pleased with the work 82 cut out for the Americans that da}''. Only a few moinents after the general had passed came the orders to march and wo were soon " hitting the trail" again, this time on the down grade. It was then about 4.30 in the morning. We moved along slowly, the trail being so narrow it Avas necessary to go in column of files and it was fully as bad walking as the route we had gone over the previous night. After a little we came to a brook and took advantage of the opportunity to fill our canteens. Just on the other side of the brook we passed Capron's battery posted on a low hill, the muzzles of the three inch rifles pointed toward El Caney and the cannoneers at their posts waiting for the ball to open. Bj^ that time we all realized that this was the day we were to go into business. CHAPTER XII. WHEREIN IS RELATED SOME EVENTS WHICH HAPPENED TO US ON JULY FIRST. ARDLY had we passed the battery before we heard the boom of one of its guns, followed by another and another and we knew then the trouble had '^S^ begun. We kept on the trail for a while longer, the men keeping well closed up now and keeping eyes and ears alert. El Caney was now replying to Capron and we could hear for the first time the squeal of the Mauser bullets as they began to go over us with a sound like that of a vicious cat at bay. We were under fire but hardly realized it as yet. It was a splendid morning. Our trail led along the side of what had once been well cultivated fields, the onl}" indication of that now being the inevitable barbed wire fencing. The skies were cloudless and birds sang as we went along to battle. There were other birds too but they did not sing. Hardly had the first of Capron's cannon sent its "good morning " salute to El Caney before a speck was visible in the sky. Larger and larger it grew until we saw it was a buzzard scenting the battle and before long it was joined by hundreds of its kind, all circling about in the air only a short distance from the earth and waiting for the rich feast about to be spread for them. But we recked not of buzzards or what their presence presaged. A short distance further along the trail, a quick order and we changed direction to the right, leaving the trail and going across the field directly toward El Caney. Barbed wire fencing was in our way but the two wire cutters attached to each company soon made a gate for us. Our battalion swung through and into the field while the second battalion kept to the trail and took the field further along. The third battalion and I of the second, as we afterwards found, were halted by Capron's battery and were not given front seats to the performance. The field soon changed to scrub and bush through which way was made as best we could without much regard to alignment. Then came a bit of forest and then we debouched out upon the Santiago road, one of the few thoroughfares in Cuba that looked like a road. A halt and then we stripped for action. Rolls and haversacks were taken off and piled by the road side. The belts and the pockets of the brown canvas coats were filled with cartridges and we were ready for trouble. Meanwhile it was evident that there was trouble ahead of the Second. From El Caney 's forts and trenches came a hail of bullets, while on our right and left there were the Krags of our regulars popping away with machine like regu- larity, their whip like sentences being punctuated at intervals by the 3 -inch rifles of Capron's men. Over our heads went the Mausers in a steadj^ stream and there wasn't a man of the Second marching up that road that morning who failed to bow his head, (most of us called it " ducking") in response to their salutation. The 8th and 22d of our brigade had gone on ahead of us, had deployed to the left and we could hear their Krags answering the Mausers. It was oui first experience under fire and it is no wonder that nearly all of us wished ourselves, for just a few moments, somewhere else and remembered certain pressing engagements we had at Springfield that Friday morning. But this feeling was like going into a cold bath. The first plunge is the worst and 85 within half an hour after getting into the action these same men that were "ducking" their heads to the bullets were up on the firing line and acting like veterans instead of men who up to that morning had never faced an armed foe. Our edu- cation had progressed rapidly. And here a word as to El Caney where Gen. Vara Del Ray and 620 Spanish troops held Lawton's division at bay from 6.30 in the morning until 4.30 in the afternoon. In the gen- eral plan for the day's work of July 1st Lawton's division was to sweep over to Caney, devote an hour or so to captur- ing it and then swing over to the San Juan forts and aid Kent's division to take them. Trustworthy (?) Cuban ad- vices were that there were only a couple of hundred Spanish troops in El Caney and the taking of that outpost of Santiago was to be but an incident of our march to San Juan. But Gen. Del Ray had not been consulted as to this program and the result was our time schedule went to pieces. An entire division against 620 men looks like heavy odds in favor of the division but it must be remembered that the enemy were strongly entrenched with all the advantage of position and knew the ground thoroughly, while we were in the open with little or no shelter and with only a four-gun light battery against stone forts, strong blockhouses and well made in- trenchments, so that our advavtage in numbers was more than made up by the superior position of the enemy. El Caney lay almost directly in front of us, a small town backed up against a steep hill as if at bay and with forts, in- trenchments and houses bristling with rifles. To our right on a small elevation was the famous stone fort over which floated the red and yellow flag of Spain. A little to the left was the village church, of stone and converted into a fortress while on either sides of both fort and church were the famil^ iar Spanish blockhouses. And in front of all were the trenches, well built and covering all the front and sides of the town, a covered way connecting some of them with the fort and with their fronts guarded by fences and entanglements of barbed wire, a protection found of value against the Cubans, but which proved to be of less efficiency against the valor of American soldiers. This was what El Ganey pre- sented to us on that bright July morning. Our brigade's work had been mapped out and appeared to be comparatively easy. It was to take position on the left of the American line and cut off the retreat of the enemy to- wards Santiago when he was driven from Caney which, as alread}^ scheduled, was to be within an hour or so after the initial shot. But the program for Ludlow^s brigade was changed by force of circumstances, for hardly had the 8th and 2'/id of our brigade got into position before they were at- tacked and replied in kind and within a few moments the hottest part of the action was taking place on the left instead of being confined to the right and center, as originally planned. And while this was happening we were down the " pike" getting ready to add our contribution to the din of battle. We were not long in getting ready and leaving one man from each company to guard the rolls left by the roadside the seven companies of the Second marched to the firing line. The first battalion, G, B, K and D companies, was by this time some distance ahead of the second, while the third was still held up by the battery. Col. Clark, Lieut. Col. Shum- way and Adjutant Hawkins were standing beneath a huge tree at the intersection of the "sunken" road with the Santi- ago road and hardly had the companies come up before an order came from Gen. Ludlow to send four companies to strengthen the line of the 22d on our left. B and K com- panies of the first battalion and L and E of the second bat- talion, which had by this time come up, were detailed and B and K, under command of Major Southmayd started for the 22d. L and E followed but through some misunderstanding got into a ' ' hot box " and after a time returned to the sunken 87 road and took position there, B and K marched down the sunken road and then across an open space, across which the bullets were flying in a steady stream. It was necessary to "duck" here and it was done without any loss of dignity. This space cleared, the companies came to a bit of bush and then into a gully facing El Caney on the left. Here was the 22d, lying down and answering the fire of the Spaniards in good style. Hardly had B and K reached the gully and taken position when the hail of bullets began to fall among them and men began to drop. Private Frank E. Moody of K was one of the first hit and died almost instantlj', the bullet having pierced his heart. On the march of the night before he had felt a presentiment of his fate and so strong was this feeling of his fate that he gave his watch to Private Fuller to take home to his parents. Before long Private John J. Malone of B got a fatal wound just below the heart and then men began to fall thick and fast. As soon as the two companies had taken their positions they were ordered to fire, but the enemy's return for the first few volleys was payment with compound interest. The smoke from the Springfield rifles showed the position of our men and lifting slowly, made just the target which the enemy needed. At this time the line was about 900 yards from the advanced Spanish trenches and it must have been just like rifle practice for the enemj-. Within a moment after the first volley from the Springfields crashed out a hail of bullets was poured into the two com- panies from the trenches and men fell like sheep. Capt. Warriner, raising on one shoulder to give an order, sank back with a Mauser through his body. Corporal Ward Lathrop got one through his head, Corporal Hoadley got his "in the neck, " the bullet going through the right side. Wagoner Boule had one through his left hand, Private Ash- ley of B was hit in the left forearm. Private James F. Ferrier was shot through the right shoulder and also had a 88 bullet traverse the right side of his head, making an ugly wound, Howard Mej'rick had a double one, one bullet strik- ing his right leg, while another went through his left shoul- der and the upper part of his left arm. Private C. J. Rior- dan got a bullet through his left hand while Private A. E. Rose got the thumb and one finger of his right hand nipped, Private W. B. Riopel was hard hit, the bullet entering his left shoulder and entering the lungs. Backman of K got a Mauser through his left elbow and was also hit in the left leg below the knee. As quickly as possible the wounded were picked up by their comrades and taken to the rear, a temporary dressing station being established beneath a huge tj-ee on the Santiago road. The first aid bandages came in handily on the field and were used to advantage. Lieut. Powers took command of K and Capt. McDonald, as cool as if battles were ever}'- day occurrences, kept a watchful eye on his men. The heav}- fire which the powder smoke had drawn upon the two companies was also being felt by the 22d and its choleric commander. Major Van Horn, came rushing over with, "For God's sake, Second Massachusetts, stop firing! You're making us a regular target for the enemj-." This was not all he said, either, but it was stronger language than politeness required. The firing did stop, that is, the volley firing did, but the company commanders gave their men orders to fire at will. Soon Major Van Horn came over with another protest and the two companies moved along a little further to the right but on the same line as the 2 2d and leaving quite a little gap betAveen them. As the 22d ad- vanced so did B and K, taking advantage of what cover there was and keeping up their fire for some time. It was perhaps that protest of Major Van Horn that gave the im- pression that the entire Second regiment was ordered off the firing line, an impression that is a very much mistaken one. From the time the two companies took position on the right of k 89 the 22d they fired at intervals and at will until the Spaniards were driven from the last trench and El Caney was taken. While these things were happening on our left G company was having troubles of its own on the extreme right of the line. Sending B and K to the 22d left Col. Clark with only G and D companies of the first battalion with him, the three companies of the second battalion having been placed in the sunken road, whose banks gave them some protection from the incessant fire from El Caney. G and D w^ere sent fur- tfier along up the Santiago road and G was lialted directl}' in front of a cultivated field which was directly in front of the trenches and the town and was flanked by the stone fort. Halting here the second platoon of the company under Lieut. Edward J. Lej'^den deployed as skirmishers and advanced across the field, taking every possible advantage of cover, of v/hich there was little, and halting at intervals to kneel and fire. The light brown uniforms advancing slowl}'' across the field soon attracted the notice of the enem.}^, even before the first volley from the Springfields gave the Spaniards a tai'get, and men began to drop. Still the line advanced until it was within 500 yards of the fort and then a halt was ordered and the men threw themselves flat on the ground and began fir- ing at will. Now the bullets from both fort and trenches Avere hailing about them but they kept crawling along until within a range of 400 yards. Then Lieut. Leyden looked around and saw that his 14 men were isolated from the rest of the company and he at once realized that it was suicidal to go further without reinforcements. Arthur Packard, beloved of all his comrades, had fallen dead on the field with a Span- ish bullet through his head and George Richmond, one of the "old timers "of the company, had fallen fatally wounded. " G oldie " Bresnan had been ordered to the rear with the blood dripping from a shattered hand and Ernest Marble, wounded in the head, lay on the field. Others had in the meantime joined the little force, men from other companies, 90 but not enough to make a further advance successful. Among the reinforcements was Lieut. D. J. Moynihan of I company, who had left his position with the second battalion and walked across the field to join Leyden's men. He essayed his luck as a sharpshooter, borrowing a rifle from one of the men, and fired three shots before he himself sank to the ground with a bullet through his body. Before this happened, however, and when he first joined Lieut. Ley den, Lieut. Moynihan advised that the advance should continue and suggeste^^a charge. But Lieut. Leyden pointed to the few men he had and asked what the result would be. There was no answer to this. Less than 20 men charging against a stone fort under a heavy fire from it and flanked by the trenches would have been heroic, no doubt, but it would have been deliberately throwing away men's lives and to no good result. So Lieut. Leyden refused to order a charge but sent Lieut. Moynihan back to Col. Clark for orders. These were tor him to remain where he was and there the platoon stayed until the town was taken, although some of the men ad- vanced even closer to the fort, taking advantage of some small piles of stones, which had evidently been heaped up as shelter for Spanish outposts. All the long afternoon the little squad lay under the pitiless sun, firing whenever there was a chance until they heard the cheers of the charging regulars and saw the red and yellow flag of Spain go down from the fort and the Stars and Stripes replace it. Then thej sprang to their feet and cheered. But it was not all over then. The fort had been taken but from trench and blockhouse and church and every building in El Caney still came the hail of Mausers. The dead and wounded of the Second were being attended to as best could be done, but their comrades still fought on. Two guns of Capron's battery had been moved up to a position in the rear of D companj^ and the balance of G and were knocking things about in the old town. Gen. Vara Del Ray was wounded unto death and the American 91 troops were drawing their lines closer and closer around Cauey, but still the Spaniards fought on with the courage of desperation. At the fork of the roads was Col. Clark, send- ing his staff officers, or rather officer, Lieut. Paul R. Haw- kins, hither and thither and giving messages to his orderlies. Lieut. Hawkins, cool under fire, won a high place in the regard of the men who saw him that day and the orderlies, including Private Ross of B, showed coolness and courage. Two other Springfield men. Sergeant Scully and Corporal Ross of G were pressed into service as orderlies for a time and (lid their duty well. Two cool and collected men were Col. Clark and Lieut. Col. Shumway and both exposed themselves, at times against the wish of the brigade commander, along the line. Gen. Ludlow was for some time at the fork of the roads with Col. Clark, his dead horse, shot under him, almost at the outset of the action, lying near by, but once he was gone he did not return and neither he nor anyone else in authority gave the orders to withdraw the Second from the firing line, as has." been stated by some. If any such orders were issued which is doubtful, they were never received by Col. Clark, and the companies of the Second staj^ed throughout the day where he placed them. Meanwhile the big tree a bit down the road was the scene of some grewsome work. Soon after the opening of the action Lieut. Hawkins had been ordered by Col. Clark to bring up the surgeons and the ground under the big tree was then transformed into a temporary hospital or rather a dress- ing station. Here Surgeon Bowen and his assistants, Lieuts, Gates and Hitchcock, aided by Hospital Stewards Fortier, Greenberg and Howes and the members of the hospital corps, labored until the enemy's sharpshooters, discerning the group under the tree, made it an object of attention and the bullet- torn leaves began to flutter down upon the wounded. Then the hospital was moved farther down the road and the dead and dying and wounded conveyed there as tenderly as possi- ble under the circumstances. It was here the heroic Father Edwin Fitzgerald, the beloved chaplain of the 22d, labored from morning until far into the night, caring as tenderly as a mother for the wounded of all the regiments, making their places as easy as possible for them, bringing them water from the distant brook, giving the consolations of religion to all, whether of his creed or not. More than once he visited the firing line and aided in bringing some poor fellow down to the hospital. Danger he cared not for and he went on with his work apparently oblivious to his bullet-torn coat, two holes in which bore eloquent witness to narrow escapes. On that day Father Fitzgerald earned the lifelong affection of the oflScers and men of the Second. And so time wore on until between 4.30 and 5 in the after- noon, when ringing cheers announced that the last trench had been won and El Caney was ours. Then followed the reunion of the regiment. Lieut. Ley den marched his gallant platoon back and the men fell into their old places in G com- pany. B and K came back from the left with the 22d and the regiment gathered once more on the Santiago road, soldiers now, stained with powder and battle smoke and grim with the thoughts of the day and its events. Further down the road in the improvised hospital lay the forms, cold in death, of five brave men and with them were 40 more or less seriously wounded, three of them mortally. The Second had received its baptism of blood. CHAPTER XIII. WE LEARN SOME MORE THINGS ABOUT THE ART OP WAR AS CONDUCTED IN THESE DAYS. ^T was not exactly a joyous reunion as the companies assembled in the Santiago road that afternoon. '^ True, we were all glad to see one another again, but ^^P^ the heat and burden of the day had been great and there were many faces missing from the ranks. Nearly ten hours on the battlefield under the burning Cuban sun and without much to comfort us in the way of food or drink was not conducive to good temper and to this was added the spur of the ingratitude of our so-called Cuban allies. It will be remembered that just before the regiment went into action the rolls and haversacks had been discarded and placed by the roadside and it fell out that while the own- ers were up on the firing line fighting for Cuba Libre, some of the Cuban patriots came along and, the guards placed over the property being absent, helped themselves to the rations in the haversacks. These were the Cubans, by the way, who were supposed to be fighting over on our left that day, but it seems they had more important business, to them, on hand to bother much about fighting. So as we gathered there in the road in the stillness which followed the battle storm and realized that we were to go supperless there were some things said about our Cuban friends which indicated a not very high feeling of esteem for them. Once gathered together again and the roll called came the after work