My Life before the World War, 1860–1917: A Memoir

8. The Spanish-American War—Victory in Cuba and Its Consequences: 1 July–20 August 1898

112 8 The Spanish-American War—Victory in Cuba and Its Consequences 1 July–20 August 1898 The Battle for the San Juan Heights, 1–3 July 1898 The morning of July 1 was ideal, the sky cloudless, the air soft and balmy. As the first rays of the sun tipped the stately palms that towered here and there above the jungle, all nature still lay in quiet repose. Our cavalry division had bivouacked near El Pozo, about two miles east of San Juan Hill. The camp was stirring at daybreak and our men were eager to enter what for most of them was to be their first battle. They stood about in small groups opposite their places in column, impatient for the order to advance. From the low ridge near the trail we could see the lines of the enemy’s entrenchments and the blockhouses of the heights of San Juan. Beyond could be seen the successive lines of defense, and behind them arose the spires and towers of the city we were preparing to invest. To the northeast, overlooking all approaches, the stone fort and the smaller blockhouses of the enemy outpost at El Caney were outlined against the sky. The plan was for us not to advance on San Juan Hill, probably the strongest point in the Spanish defenses on our front, until El Caney had been taken. At 6:30 the battery, which we knew was [Captain Allyn] Capron ’s, supporting Lawton’s division at El Caney, began firing. It was said that Lawton hoped to capture the hill within an hour or two. But as the time passed it was evident that he was meeting greater resistance than San Juan Battlefield (Herbert H. Sargent, The Campaign of Santiago de Cuba, vol. 2 [Chicago: A.C. McClurg and Company, 1907], map 10). 114  My Life before the World War, 1860–1917 expected. About eight o’clock [Captain George S.] Grimes’ battery at El Pozo opened fire, its position being clearly indicated by the smoke from the black powder they used. The Spanish batteries promptly replied. The artillery duel had been going on for some time when the cavalry division was directed to go forward along the El Pozo–Santiago road, cross the Aguadores River, and deploy to the right. The road was narrow and tortuous and was flanked by heavy jungle. The sun, now high in the sky, had become scorching. Our progress was slow and men soon began to drop out of ranks from the heat. An occasional bullet nipped a leaf above our heads, and our closed ranks began to suffer casualties. For some reason, there was delay ahead of us, and we halted for what seemed an hour. [Brigadier General Jacob Ford or J. Ford] Kent’s division , which was immediately behind us, had orders to cross the San Juan River and deploy to the left. The leading regiment came up abreast of us in column of fours, although the road in places was hardly wide enough for one column. The 1st brigade of the Cavalry Division and the leading regiment of the 2nd had crossed the Aguadores when down the road in which the Tenth Cavalry was crowded came an observation balloon, held at a height of about two hundred feet by a number of men at the ropes. Immediately the fire from the Spanish trenches was concentrated on the balloon, and the troops below came under a veritable hail of shot and shell. To heighten our indignation, Major [George McC.] Derby, in charge of the balloon, called down to us that the Spaniards were firing at us. The epithets that were hurled back at him were not very complimentary . The balloon was soon compelled to descend, much to the satisfaction of all below. Derby had, however, discovered a trail available for Kent’s division, thus relieving some of the congestion on the road. The regimental commander, Colonel Theodore A. Baldwin, Lieutenant M. H. [Malvern Hill] Barnum, the adjutant, and I were mounted, but as the firing became more severe we dismounted, tied our horses near the road, and left them. Approaching the Aguadores I ran ahead to find out the direction taken by the troops preceding us. I saw Lieutenant J. D. [John D.] Miley, General Shafter’s aide, Colonel Leonard Wood, and several others on the opposite side of the river, standing under the shelter of the bank...