The War Between Spain and the United States, Part III, Chapters VII-X [pp. 155-173]

OVERILAND MONTHLY
military supply trains, and in spite of the
energy of the officers it was found
impossible to furnish food for the
advance. The men were put on half
rations, and at last came down to scraps.
Siboney was then used as the base of
supplies, and with the better roads leading from that point, the transportation service was soon able to supply the men with
their regular rations. Towards Santiago
the country becomes more open, and in the
next five days General Shafter was able to
bring up over twelve thousand troops and
place them to advantage. The field artillery
was landed and brought forward.
In the meantime General Shafter was
strengthened by reinforcements brought
from Camp Alger. General Duffield's brigade of over three thousand men of the
Michigan Volunteers was shipped from Newport News by the Yale and Harvard, raising
his force to over eighteen thousand men,
and other regiments were ordered forward
from Tampa.
General Shafter, according to reports,
had expected to attempt the reduction of
Santiago by siege. There were, however,
unexpected difficulties in the way. The loss
of lighters had interfered with the work
of getting the siege guns ashore, and those
that had been landed had to be left on the
beach for want of means to move them.
For several days rains fell continuously,
rendering the roads impassable for such
heavy guns, and the facilities for transportation were barely enough to keep the troops
supplied with food. Reports were then
brought to the camp that a force of
eighty-four hundred Spanish troops were
approaching the city from Manzanillo, led
by General Pando in person, seeking a
junction with General Linares. With this
reinforcement it was feared that Linares
would have such superiority that the siege
could not be prosecuted until much larger
forces were brought from the United
States. General Shafter therefore considered the plan of carrying the city by assault, and on the 30th of June gave orders
for a general advance on the following
morning.
On the night of June 30th the American
army occupied the line behind the Rio
Guama at right angles to the road that
runs from Sevilla to Santiago, showing a
front of about five miles. On the right
was the division commanded by General
Lawton, made up the most part of Regulars.
This faced the suburb of E1 Caney, a commanding position a little over two miles
from the city of Santiago. General Garcia
with about four thousand Cuban troops
under General Lawton's command lay to the
north and east of E1 Caney. The center,
facing San Juan, was held by General
Wheeler with the cavalry, still dismounted.
The left wing, opposite Aguadores, was
made up of Regulars commanded by General Kent and Volunteers under General
Duffield. General Shafter's orders were
that at daybreak General Duffield should
make a demonstration against Aguadores
with the co-operation of vessels from the
fleet. General Lawton was to command the
main movement, which was to be directed
against E1 Caney. General Wheeler with
the cavalry was ordered to move forward
to command the Sevilla road.
On the afternoon of the 30th the war
balloon that had been brought from Tampa
had been sent up for the first time, reaching a height of eighteen hundred feet, and
a clear idea had been gained of the position
of the enemy.
Duffield's brigade was brought up on trains
at an early hour and began a lively attack
on the position below Aguadores, in which
the New York, Suwanee, and Gloucester,
joined.
At three o'clock in the morning Lawton's
division was in motion, but it was not until
past six o'clock that it was ready to engage
the enemy. The difficulties of moving on
account of the mud were great, but by
forty minutes past six the battery of the
First Artillery in the lead, opened the engagement at the distance of a mile and a
half from E1 Caney. The first shot was
fired by Captain Capron, father of the
officer who was killed with the Rough Riders
at the skirmish of La Quasina. For a time
the American shots brought no reply, but
the Spaniards soon waked up. The Reina
Mercedes battery, and other advanced
batteries in the line of Santiago's defenses,
opened fire, and the engagement soon became general. The Spaniards at first shot
wild, but soon getting the range of the
American troops and batteries. were able
to do much execution. The advance was
therefore slow, the troops being kept under
cover as far as possible.
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