The San Francisco call., July 03, 1898, Image 1

About The San Francisco call. (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

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VOLUME LXXXIV.^NO. 33.
TREMENDOUS LOSSES
IN THE TWO DAYS'
FIGHTING AT THE FRONT
RENEWAL OF
THE fITTACK
ON SANTIAGO
Sr;aftcr's porces Before In
ner Defenses of tr;e
Doori)ed City.
I^ougf) Riders F'Sht LiKe Demons,
While Green Troops fire Un
daupted by Fiery Baptism.
Speeinl C«i>l«v to The Call rtml th* !S>tt Topic Herald. Copj rlgrhted, 1808,
by JnoicH Gordon Henuott.
WITH THE AMERICAN ARMY, VIA
PLAYA DEL ESTE, Cuba, Saturday, noon,
July 2.-^Undaunted by the terrible and
bloody reception they met yesterday, Gen
eral Shaiter's men early this morning re
sumed their fierce assault upon the Span
iards in Santiago. They pressed forward
to attack with: ail energy that augurs cer
tain victory. Cheered by the advantages
gained yesterday and with their enthusi
asm not at all checked by the destructive
work done by the Spanish shells in their
ranks our men moved on with grim de
termination, confident of taking Santiago
before nightfall;
":} .;' ;L^ss-;thari .a'-. mile. lay- between .
them ■ and; '.■■tire" '-city's, inner de
fense's;; v;.;.Tq?- : the. " northeast • the
;tr-oaj^-'w£'r'e)pr£s>m'g in
between Cane;- ' rm.d Santiago,- arid'
Tigv/tltQ .south filler -divisions of
: ; ShafterV army : 4vere> advancing
•steadily • upon. -.t.he : city.' .Between '
two.: -lilies t lie main Ihm'lv of ' tii-e :
army was advancing steadily and :
' defiantly . against the middle east-.
em section of the city lines. •, : ' -''
..■• ■ Qff-. :. Santiago,, the .■ iron-clad .
•fleet- was' thundering against -the
.harbor batteries; Every ship' in
Admiral Sampson's fleet was cii :
/gaged in this work. : Mountains
of yi hite smoke, rising high above
..the; vessels in " the ; fleet, showed,
.iiow hotly the American gunners
■ were at work. . .' .-. . ;■ .•..'• • '
•/ '-'By land ami sea. the American
forces followed up yesterday's as
sault in whirlwind fashion.;.. One
half of the forty-eight hours de
sired by General Shafter in which
; to capture the city has expired,
and the navy has joined with the ;
army in the struggle -to- make tlie \
Spanish defeat " complete within
the time named by the ' American
commander. ." • '••/ ';' „• ••.:■ '
■ V-. -No details of .the work "accom
plished by our forces, in this ;
■morning's attack, could be ob-'.
tamed up: to the hour at which I
am 'writ ing this, dispatch,; but.
there could be .no mistaking;.the
fury of the American 'assault,- and
throughout the. American ranks i
when daylight- came there .\v v as ;
confidence '.that^-Sari.ii.ago would =
fall, in short order, and --th'at';Geii7 i
era! Linares and' his army, \yill be
' captured. '; :■. '•• : \ ":■ •-.: :
Lieutenant Wood of the. Sixth
Cavalry, Captain 'Hunter of .the
Ninth Cavalry, Lieutenant Col
oner Patterson of. the Third. Cay
• airy- and Lieutenant Bond of : the'
Twenty-second Infantry each dis
played great skill as-, leaders i in
opening the attack yesterday.. .:■ -.
:v ' Our. division officers and their
subordinates by their daring con
The San Francisco Call
duct infused in the troops steadi
ness and intrepidity which result
ed in the capture and retention of
the entire line of Spanish outer
defenses. :„ ■ ' .
The advance was made in two
divisions, the left storming the
works at San Juan. Our forces
in this assault were composed of
the Rough Riders, commanded
by Lieutenant Colonel Roosevelt,
and the First, Third, Sixth, Ninth
and Tenth, dismounted cavalry.
Catching enthusiasm and bold
ness of the Rough Riders, these
men rushed against San Juan's
defenses with a fury which is ir
resistible.
.. Their fierce assault was met by
the Spaniards with a stubborn
ness born of desperation. Hour
after hour the troops on both
sides fought like madmen. In the
early morning the Rough Riders
' met with a similar though less
costly experience to the one they
. had at La Quasina just a week
ago. They found themselves a
\ target for a terrific Spanish fire,
to resist which for a time was the
work of madmen. But the Rough
Riders did not flinch. Fighting
like demons, they held their
; ground, tenaciously,. now pressing
forward a few feet, then falling
"back under the enemy's- fire, to
the position they held a few mo
• ments before. . • • ' ••■ • :^."^
' . The Spaniards were no match
! for the Roosevelt fighters, how
'■ ever, and- as' had been the case at
| ■La ; . Quasina/ .the Western cow
j boys and Eastern, dandies ham-
I mered the enemy from their path. •
Straight.ahead. they Advanced unr
til .by noon: they were well along
• toward San Juan, the capture of
: which' was; their" immediate ob
• ject .••':'.■ •• :'. ;:. . : ■ '
•I ■ . The. rej., was i terrible . fighting
| about the heights during. the next
•few hours. While the Rough
Riders were playing such havoc
in the enemy's: lines, the First,
I Third, Sixth, Ninth and Tenth
SAN FBANCISCO, SUNDAY, JULY 3, 1898— THIRTY-TWO PAGrES.
ONE THOUSAND
SPANIARDS SLAIN
And Many Hundred Taken
Prisoners by Shafter's
Victorious Army.
Special Cable to The Call and the 3Vevr York Herald. Copyrighted, ISOB,
by Jnmen Gordon Dennett.
PLAYA DEL ESTE, July 2-
Generals Lawton and Chaffee saved
the day. The artillery was cannon
ading Santiago at noon and the
chances are good for celebrating the
Fourth of July in the city. A thou
sand Spaniards were killed and 500
were taken prisoners.
Cavalry gallantly pressed forward
to the right and left. Before the
afternoon was far gone) these or
ganizations made one grand rush
all along the line, carrying the
Spaniards off their feet, captur
ing San Juan's fortifications and
sending the enemy in mad haste
off toward Santiago.
It was but 3 o'clock when these
troops were able to send word to
General Shafter they had taken
possession of the important posi
tion he had given them that clay
to capture. In this- attack the
cavalrymen were supported by
the Sixth and Sixteenth Infantry,
who made a brilliant charge at a
THE ATTACK ON SAN JUAN HEIGHTS.
crucial moment.
The advance was up the last
steep slope through the heavy
underbrush. Our men were sub
jected to a terrific fire from the
enemy's trenches and the Rough
Riders and the Sixth Cavalry suf
fered severely. There was no ar
tillery to support the attack. The
dynamite gun with the detach
ment of Rough Riders, under, the
charge of Sergeant Hallett Alsop
Borrowe, which had been hauled
up from the coast with such tre
mendous effort, was jammed dur
ing the opening hours of the en
gagement and rendered useless
for the time.
PRISONERS TAKEN
IN FRIDAY'S FIGHT
General Shafter Expected to Capture
Santiago Before Sundown on
Saturday.
SIBONEY, July l.vla Juragua, by the Associated Press pispatch Boat Cynthia, via Port Antonio and
Kingston, July 2. — At 6:30 Friday evening General Shafter- said to the Associated. Press correspondent at his
headquarters: . ... ••..." '• ■
"We have Caney in our possession and the whole crest of the plateau at Caney. We have taken some 2000
prisoners on this side of Santiago. General Lawton is moving to the. left to join the ■nith General Wheel
er. The Spaniards have been driven back into the city and to-morrow we will take and enter it."
This statement was fully confirmed by what the correspondent had seen' half -an hour before from Cap
tain Grimes' artillery position, which was still the best point of vantage from which to survey the field.
At sundown, as the correspondent stood on the summit, behind the cannon that had done such gallant
execution during the day, our infantry in possession of the blockhouse opposite our original center were yet
persistently and cheerfully popping away at the Span' ards who were skulking behind the lesser intrench
ments and the refugees between them and the city. .*. . ' •'
It a — eared when darkness came that not ''naniard would- be found outside the city proper in that par
ticular vicinity. Most noticeable was the lack of air- responsive fire from, the Spaniards, a further evidence,
added to that of the afternoon, that their ammunition was greatly reduced.
At this time, all the firing has ceased on the rittht of our position and General Lawton's artillery ia al
ready moving past Caney. ..."
On the right General Lawton's
division, supported by Colonel
Van Home's brigade, drove the
enemy from in front of Caney,
forcing them back into the vil
lage. There the Spaniards for a
time were able to hold their own,
but early in the afternoon the
American troops stormed the vil
lage defenses, driving the enemy
out and taking possession of the
place. Gaining a direct road into
Santiago, they established their
line's within three-quarters of a
mile of the city at sunset.
While the battle was raging
about Caney, Cuban scouts
brought a report that General
Copyrighted, 1888, by the Associated Press.
Pando was hastening to the re
lief of General Linares with 4000
trained Spanish troops. ■ These
re-enforcements, the scouts he
ported, were within ten miles of
the city. But General Pando will
be unable to render aid to the be
leaguered city unless he should
succeed in effecting a junction
with the force that garrisoned the
fortifications in Caney until
driven out by our troops.
These Spanish troops cannot
fall back into Santiago, owing to
General Shafter's foresight. The
American commander in his as
signment of troops ordered Gen
eral Kent and General Wheeler
PRICE FIVE CENTS.
to advance from the southeast of
I Caney and to take a stand be
tween Csney and Santiago. This
i movement was carried out sue-
I cessfully. '
The Thirty-third Michigan
Volunteers, who debarked from
the Harvard at Altares yesterday
morning and hastened at once to
ward Santiago, were not long in
Cuba before receiving their bap
tism of fire. Barely had they be
gun the ascent up the mountain
path past Aguadores when they
were fired upon from a masked
battery. One of the shells did
frightful execution in the ranks
Continued on Second Page.