Young Peoples' History of the War with Spain

d so bad that progress was slow. The army wagons had great trouble to get on, and many supplies were left at the coast or on the boats, because there was no proper way of taking them forw

d be made to clear roads through the woods and thick bushes, but not much was done. A great deal of fault has been found with the way things were managed at this time. It seems as if some of the officers were very much to blame. There nee

oldiers landed in Cuba about this

. Have you ever heard of the Red Cross Society? This is a society that nurses the sick and wounded. It has members in all parts of the world. Its chief officer is Miss

lara B

oldiers with any honor would ever fire upon a tent that has the Red Cross flag floating over it, or harm any person wearing the Red Cross badge. Yet, to the awful disgrace of

up a large tent. In this tent all help that could be given was given, to Spaniards, Cubans and Americans. There we

he United States and Spain, and while the members who were on the ground wanted to stay and carry on the work of relief, General Blanco told them it was best for them to leave the island. They did so reluctant

ara Barton instantly responded, but the ship was not allowed to go to Cuba under a flag of truce, because Acting Rear-Admiral Sampson would not allow it. He said he was afraid the supplies would fall into the hands of the Spanish army. But the Red Cross Society would not give

the shore. There were only two old scows which had been thrown away as useless, but the Red Cross men patched them up as best they could, and then loaded them with the material asked for. They worked all night, and just as the sun rose in the morning, they managed to get them to the shore. It was the hardest kind of work unloading the scows in the surf, but they did it, and loaded some wagons with the precious suppli

the next day. General Shafter was sick, and stayed at headquarters in his tent, two miles away. Before Santiago could be reached, El Caney and San Juan had to be taken. So, on the

ney, Wrecked by

had had more heavy cannon the work might have been easy. As it was, more than half the day passed, and, in spite of the hard work of our men, the fort still stood. Our men had no smokeless powder, and their firing made a big black cloud around them all the time, so that they could not see clearly. At last the stone walls of the fort began to weaken, and then our men were ordered to "storm." They ran along the valley, broke through fences of ba

Henry W.

n an Indiana regiment. When his term of service expired he re-enlisted and fought gallantly throughout the remainder of the war. After the war was over Lawton enlisted in the regular army and was sent to the frontier, where he developed into one of the best Indian fighters in the army. When our country went to war with Spain, Lawton wa

of El

place by two different roads, and had to go through woods, wade through streams, and wind along narrow paths. A number of men from each regiment went

of San J

nto their own hands and did what seemed best. Again there was need of more heavy cannon, and again our men were troubled by having powder that made a thick black smoke. Just as it was at El Caney, so it was at San Juan; not having cannon enough to destroy the forts, our men had to take the place by storm. Colonel

ad, they repaired the forts and trenches. Our men knew that the Spaniards would try

our men still held the place. Yet they did not feel secure. The Spanish Army in Santiago was a large one, and might force our men back. Our

1st, as I have told you, and I wish I could tell you the one hundredth part of the b

nt John

our men thought they were, and it took General Lawton nearly all day to gain possession of El Caney. Early in the day, Lieutenant Parker's battery of four Gatling guns began to hurl bullets into the Spanish trenches, and so well d

y could. The result was astounding. With each of the four guns firing at the rate of eight hundred shots a minute, the bullets formed a canopy over the heads of the men at the foot of the hill. A Gat

avalrymen. I ordered the guns turned on them. They were so far away we had to use glasses to find them accurately, but when the little wheels began to turn, t

elt, who had been watching the work of the Gatlings, came along and placed hi

you that the fire of one of these guns is equal to that of one hund

them had been supplied to Roosevelt's Rough Riders, or "Teddy's Terr

we Working the

ce of artillery, having two tubes, or barrels, one above the other. It throws a long cartridge or shell, similar in shape, but not so large as those used on the Vesuvius, abou

f Las Guasimas. No guns did more effective work than his, unless it was Parker's Gatlings, and one shot from this No. 2 is said to have killed sixteen Spaniards at one time

rected to support the infantry in an attack on several blockhouses and a stone fort. We were twenty-four hundred yards away and soon got the range. The first shot

was wounded at San J

helter in a blockhouse and began firing from there at the opposite hills. There wasn't one of the enemy in sight unless you count dead ones,

ous No.

t in front of the blockhouse where the bullets were coming thickest, and proceed to study the hills with his field-glass, just as unconcerned as you please. And every now and then he would call to us who were inside, 'Men, sight at eight hundred yards and

get hit?" h

ncident in the blockhouse that is worth telling about: A lot of us were in there from different regiments-some from the Thirteenth, so

Captain Capr

ole thing a bore. Suddenly, a bullet came in with a zip along the underside of his gun barrel, glanced against the strap, and took the skin off the negro's knuckles as if they'd been scraped with a knife. And then you sh

ltfuls in a pair of socks and pinned them inside my shirt with safety pins, so I had plenty, and I was peppering away from behin

the floor, just showing his head over the sill, and looking at the Spanish line. He was a nice looking lad, not a day

ired at that one yet, but I'm sure the dagos are there. Set

sting on the ledge. As I drew back I saw there was something queer with the b

ed round so that I saw him full in the face. There was a hole in the other side, just at t

there and went to the door, thinking that I might see a Red Cross nurse somewhere about, and sure enough,

urt bad?'

hirt open, looking at his wound. 'He

hen you get through with him? Ther

t wh

the h

m by the jowls, and then he spoke for the first time, and what

him that

ward 'em when they

e, yo

nd if I do, I'll have another crack at 'em. But if I don't, why I ai

ross man came in then, and I went back to the

Cross" in

he rear as best they could. Men with desperate wounds had to walk or crawl perhaps a mile; perhaps five or six miles, over the wild, rough country, those who were least injured, assisting their comrades, and hundreds dying by the wayside. Had the Red Cross been allowed its way in the beginning, many of these horrors would have been avoided. The few army surgeons did all in their power, but nearly everything they-needed to allay suffering was lacking, and so insu

"Buckey"

Riders" to the United States, Colonel Roo

ead. The man upon whom I had most to rely-I relied upon all of those gallant men, but the man upon whom I most relied, Buckey O'Neill-was st

down!' and he laughed, and said, 'Why, the Spanish bullet is not made that will kill me!' And the next

ee, give me your rifle for a moment.' He fired two or three shots and then turned around and handed the rifl

g him questions, and he was answering. I turned

e troops from the United States. Early the next morning-Sunday, July 3d-General Shafter sent a telegram to the War Office at Washington, saying that he thought of

Joseph

ground they had gained. One of the most prominent of them was General Joseph Wheeler. He had a splendid record in the Civil War, fighting on the side of the Confederacy. He was a bold and tireless fighter

k of retreat after those terrible days of fighting before Santiago, the splendid old Confederate counselled holding the army where it was, and

ops had drawn near the place they had been striving to reach, had had great labor, had borne much suffering, and that now,

ng took place that changed t