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COLONEL M
"I Will Give One Thousand Dollars to Any Person Wha Wii
Prova That One Line of That Article is
s Not Strictly True."
-COn. AMIXANDKIt S. J1ACON, 3T l.llicrlj Slree, N. Y.
WAS LIEUTENANT-COLONEL ROOSEVELT
A GOOD SOLDIER, OR DID HE HAVE
A GOOD PRESS AGENT?
Iho Republican Campaign Committee has Issued n pamphlet called "Roose
yells Military Record," which has been circulated by the million, and n mem
iiro . . IlouK" "hlcrs, acting for the Campaign Committee, Is sending It to
1 i u.)m h Vnr velern8. w'1' 'I Mnlement thnt tbo President "1h now being
vllllflcil nticl abused in outrn Reims terms for iiolltleal reasons," and states: "J
resent the bitter campalRii falsehoods which are being uttered about him."
ibis pamphlet was probably Issued as a reply to my nrtlele In the AiiRiist
number oC the ARM.Y AND NAVY CRITIC. It Is needless to sfty that It Is not
an nnswer to any charRo contained In that nrtlele.
In HMX) I Issued n brochure on "The Seventy-first Regiment at San Junn "
wherein inost of the chnrges were sot forth. No ONE OF Til KM HAS EVER
BEEN ANSWERED. The August Critic has been Issued foi nearly three
inonthB and no person lias attempted to answer It. 1 will give one thousand
dollars to any person who Mill move, thnt one lino of that article Is not strictly
I repent the charges:
i i 1T"Ti!.0 b!ck h0U8e on San Juan was captured at about, 1:30 p. m., on
July 1, 1898, by the Infantry, not by the Cavalry. '
2.Colonel Roosevelt did not see a Spaniard on July 1st, and was not In
a position whera he could see one.
h, tS'um .R0Zt?'!V.& fc,count of hl3 "."olc ehargs on horwback up
Ban Juan Hill U absolutely false.
Ar-Kettle Hill, a small rise of ground about 800 yards In front of the.
San Juan hills, never contained a Spanish soldier or Spanish entrenchment.
5. The Infantry had lain In advance of Kettle Hill for hours before 1:30
p. m. They did not take possession of Kettle Hill, for no reason except that
they had no use for an old kettle. '
6. Earlier In the day, the Rough Riders had gone to the right of the
road, to Santiago, for half a mile, and lay for hours In the tall grass, neck high,
j 71 R e ,nfantrv hatl left the sunken road between Kettle HIM
nd San Juan, and had captured the block house, Colonel Roosevelt and his
Rough Riders came out of the tall grass and went up Kettle Hill
8. There were no entrenchments on the San Juan hills, except about 100
b.j1 arund,1th0 b,ock, house- Colonel Roosevelt's statements In his "Rough
Riders," written months after the war, do not correspond with official reports,
evep hlo own, and are absolutely untruthful.
THE OFFICIAL REPORT.
Colonel Roosevelt's olllclal report,
found at pages 11! and 14 of Major
General Miles' Supplementary Report,
181)8, contains the following:
"Accordingly wo charged the block
house and entrenchments on the hill
to our right against n heavy lire. It
was taken lu good style, tbo men of
my regiment thus being the llrst to
capture nny fortlilcd position and to
break through tlio Spanish lines."
(Every word of that statement is abso
lutely false.) "After enptur
Ing this hill, we first of all directed a
heavy, lire upon the Snu Juan hill to
our left, which wns nt Uie time being
nssnlled by the regular infantry nnd
cavalry, supported by Captain Park
er's Gulling guns. By the time San
Juan was taken a largo force had as
sembled ou the hill we had PREVI
OUSLY captured."
A glnnce nt tho map shows that the
bill occupied by tho cavalry was far
lu tho rear of tho Sau Juan hills, and
tho rep6rts of the engineer olllcers and
tho otllcinl tnnps nro unanimous thnt
it contains no entrenchments what
ever, nnd there is no record of its over
having been occupied by the Spaniards.
A glance at the map will show how
preposterous Is Colonel Roosevelt's
claim.
1 Colonel Roosevelt staled In an ad
dress to tho Nntlonnl Guard Associa
tion of the State of Now York, ou Feb
ruary 18, 1000 (pp. 50, 57, Otllcinl Re
port, N. 0 N, Y.):
"As for tbo Snn Juan light, it would
lio nn cxnggeratlon to say it wbb n
colonel's tight. It -wns a squad lead
er's fight. No human being In the col
umn knew what be wns to do when the
column stnrted. Wo moved forward
again, crossed tho river nnd had to
halt within range of tho Spanish bat
teries on the hills until we got the or
der to chnrge. More by n consensus of
opinion thnn anything elso wo went
up nnd took the bill."
This is the olllclal report of this
ppeech to the National Guard, but In
the nctunl speech ho admitted that he
did not seo a Spaniard; thnt they did
not know thnt there had been a battle
until it wns over.
The position of the First Volunteer
Cavalry, half n mile to tho right of
the road to Santiago nnd behind Ket
tle Hill, Is Indicated by the reports of
Leonard Wood, colonel, First V. S.
Volunteer Cavalry, nnd T. A. Baldwin,
lieutenant-colonel, Tenth Cavniry (see
pages ;i2 nnd 341, of General Miles'
olllclal report). These reports are ver
batim the same. One plugarlzes from
the other. As General Wood wns some
where In tho rear, ho was probably the
offender:
"After proceeding about bnlf way
1o tho San Juan Illll (from El Pozoi
the leading regiment (Rough Riders)
was directed to CHANGE THE DI
RECTION TO THE RIGHT, and by
moving up to the creek to effect junc
tion with General Lawton's division,
which was then cngnged nt Caney,
about n mile mid a half toward the
right, but was supposed to bo working
toward our right llnnk. After proceed
ing lu tills direction ABOUT HALF A
MILE, this effort to councct with Gen.
Lnwton wus given up, nnd the First
nnd Tenth cavalry were formed for
nttnek ou the EAST HILL, with the
Volunteer Cnvnlry ns support."
Colonel Wood srys lu his report of
July 0 (p. 342): "Our first objective
wns tho bill with n small red-roofed
iiouso on It." (Kettle II Ml.)
After the occupntlou of tho Snn Junn
Mils by the Infantry, it became nec
essary to create entrenchments to be
raptured nnd Spauinrds to be killed
liy tho political colonel, nnd the only
rwny to do this was to make n bristling
fortification out of nn old kettle that
Hind been left behind by tbo Infantry
Lours before.
Colonel Egbert, Sixth Infantry, snys
in his ofliclal report, pages 304-5: "The
nn Junn Hill fortifications being in
plain view, about 400 ynrds dtstnnt,
fivhile to our right and IN PROLON
NUTS HOT SHOT
GATION OF THE ROAD ON
WHICH WE STOOD was another
illl surmounted by a laige painted
house. This Is the hill SUBSE
QUENTLY captured by the cavalry
division and opposite to which their
lines extended, though they were not
In sight from the road.
"This was the llrst opportunity of
fered to eillclently cniry out General
Hawkins' order to enlllado the San
Juan Hill, upon which my regiment
and tho detachment of the Sixteenth
now opened a hot lire, to whleh the
trenches responded, and this CONTIN
UED FOR AN HOUR. It will be oh
served that except for Captain Whit
all's detachment of the Sixteenth THE
SIXTH WAS NOW ENTIRELY
ALONE IN Its attack on the Snu Juan
Hill.
"Hero the Sixth remained, contend
ing With tho hill FOR ABOUT AN
HOlflt, but as we wero particularly
hidden by tho hedge and protected by
a road trench (sunken road) our cas
ualties wero not heavy. At tho same
time I was not satisfied with our po
sition on tho road, which, being ob
liquo to the hill, gavo only an oblique
nnd comparatively ugt effective lire.
I therefore concluded to advnnco the
regiment Into tho Held of high grass
and weeds lying between our present
position nnd tho Sau Juan blockhouse.
As they drew nearer wo dis
tinguished the tall hgure of General
Hawkins, with bis aid, Lieutenant
Ord, Sixth Infautry, charging nt the
bend of tho skirmishers mid waving
their lints. As soon ns this
could bo stopped by n signal tbo min
gled troops of tho Sixth, Sixteenth,
Thirteenth and Tweuty-fourth swept
up nnd over tho bill nnd it wns won,
Captain Charles Byrne's Company F,
nnd Captain Keunou's Company E, of
the Sixth, being among tho foremost,
If not actually tho veryllrst, on the
summit."
Captain Whltall, of the Sixteenth In
fnntry, says lu his report, page 285:
"During tho entire action, from tho
time General Hawkins ordered my
company forward, 1 never received n
command from any one until after my
company had carried tho colors to the
blockhouse, where it was the llrst llag
on tho San Juan. Hill. At tho time of
my arrival nt tho blockhouse en tho
cresf of the hll I could see no other
men there but those of my company
nnd n few men from other companies
of the regiment."
Lieutenant Stedmnu, of tho Six
teenth Infantry, says, In his olllclal
report (page 282): "I hero nscertnlucd
that tho other companies of my battal
ion were to my left, IN THIS SUNK
EN ROAD. I moved my company to
the left and went through an opening
In n wire fence, which hnd been cut
by n Cubnn, who was very prominent
in tho llrst charge. This was nbout
thjrty paces from the" crossing of the
creek. This put mo on tho right of the
front line thnt stnrted to niako the
charge across this open space, tho
companies consisting of A, D, E, C,
and (5, Sixteenth Infantry.
"I led my company across this open
space some 000 yards, and the charge
was made directly in front of THE
trench occupied by tbo enemy. That
was a little to the left of the block
house directly fronting us, nnd ou the
crest of the hill, THE ONLY FOHTI
FIED FIELD WORKS near this
blockhouse."
Captain L. W. V. Kcnnon, of the
Sixth Infantry, snys In his olllclal re
port (pnge 2SS): "Our nrtlllery tire bnv
lng ceased, Company E went up the
bill, and was the llrst organization of
our army to reach the summit and the
fort. A number of enlisted men of
other compaules Joined in the advance
nnd reached the crest with us. At this
time there were a few Spnnlnrds in tho
blockhouse nnd In tho treucbes to the
flanks, but the greater part were In the
renr of the fort, retreating to a position
In rear." .
General Kent says In his olllclal re
port (page ICO): "General Hawkins,
some time after I renched the crest,
reported that the Sixth and Sixteenth
Infantry had captured tin- hill, which
I now consider incorrect. Credit is
almost equally due the Sixth. Ninth,
Thirteenth, Sixteenth and Twenty
fourth regiments of Infantry."
General Miles olllclal report contains
the reports of scores of olllcers on the
battle of San Juan, not one of which
hears out Colonel Hoosevelt's absolute
ly false report of the battle contained
In his "Hough Itlders." There Is not any
olllclal report of the battle Irom any
source corroborating Colonel Hoose
velt's olllclal report of the battle. I
therefore repeat the charge that
Colonel Roosevelt has obtained promo
Hon to the Presidency of the United
Slates by a report of his own alleged
heroic acts at San Juan Hill, which re
ports were knowingly false. I repeat
there was but one blockhouse, and one
entrenchment on the San i'inn Hills.
These were captured by the Infantry.
This infantry had lain far hours In
and around the sunken road in advance
of Kettle Hill, and AFTER the Infan
try had captured San Juan," ltoosevelt
nml his Hough Itlders came out of the
tall grass, where they had been con
cealed for hours, and went up Kettle
'Hill, which lind never had upon It an
entrenchment or a Spanish soldier.
Colonel Roosevelt had had no mili
tary experience. Ho lert a position In
tbo navy, where he might have been
of some service, in order to take a
spectacular position in the army, where
ho was the Jaughlng stock of regulars
and volunteers alike. All the world
honors a brnvo soldier, but all the
world despises false pretences.
"Hoosevelt's Military Hccord." pub
lished by the Hepubllcan Campaign
Committee, Is a mere collection of
platitudes, and the recommendations
of ltoosevelt for brevet and a medal
of honor met with no serious consid
eration. They won rejected. The let
ters of recommendation aro very guard
LETTERS FfiOH 1 P
I'm Glad I'm a Reular-Tiiey Go AInail and Bo Their Cusliiess Wiiliout Any
!
Iiiss or leatliers-L'ui I'm Sorry Tiiat Wc Will Not Get Any Cre it For
Gar Work--They Say Oar Uicrj-e Will Make Rooselt I'rasid nt
$ Seme toy and Thai is What We Went to War Fo;."
LETTER NO. 1.
At Foot of San Juan Hill.
July J, 1SU3.
This has been a day of terror and
yet this evening duds me singularly
cool and calm. The lighting
started about daybreak with nn artil
lery duel, In which our artillery seems
to have got the worst of It. I hear that
Grimes has been shelled out of bis po
sltlon ou El Pozo and that Capron's
artillery was worse than useless. You
see, our artillery was using black pow
der, while the Spanish used smokeless
powder. So, while we were u perfect
mark for them, wo could not locate
their batteries at all. The casualties
have been pretty heavy I hear to
night that our division has lost about
350 killed and 2000 wounded. Our
regiment lost something over 100
killed nnd wounded, but I don't know
Just how ninny. I thought wo would
bo the whole thing on account of hav
ing taken this hill, but tho adjutant
(who Is now Lieutenant Koehler) says
the Rough Riders will gut all tho credit
because they have their pres3 agents
along. And, what do you think, they
were not even lu the light. They left
the main advance column early In the
morning, nnd going off to the right
got lost somewhere lu the climmrral
and did not get out again until to
night. I Just got back from a walk
along the lino and llnd the army strung
out like this: Letter contains a map
not thought necessary to reproduce.
Ed.
It Is n pretty thin line, but I guess
wo will bo able to hold our position.
The regulnrs aro simply wonderful as
lighters. They go nt It Just ns if it was
sport instead of tragedy, nnd tho fact
that men nro killed nnd wounded con
tlnually don't seem to bother them nt
nil. They take It as n matter of course.
J'm glad I'm u regular. They
go nhend nnd do their business without
nny fuss or feathers. But I'm sorry
thnt we will not get any credit for ourj
worK. Tiiey say our enargo will make
Roosevelt President somo day. nnd thnt
thnt Is the only thing he went Into tho
war for Just politics. Well. I suppose
I shouldn't kick, as I nm looking for a
laurel wreath myself. The adjutant
says L'll never bo heard of unless I
should chance to get killed, when T
will occupy one line in the papers in
the list of dead and wounded.
When I was over on the right flank
about nn hour ago tlitf" Rough Hitlers
were Just gettlug up to the lino in the
position assigned thorn. Wbero they hnd
been nil day I don't know, but tho talk
is thnt they were having sport on n hill
somewhere In the renr. I will proba
bly know more nbout this to-morrow
or next day. It Is rumored that wo
will advance again to-morrow and
drive tho Spanish Into tho harbor. They
retired lu pretty good order to-dny, ns
they only left eight dead on the hill
nnd no wounded, so fnr as I know.
Just how many are In the op
posing army I do not know, but it is
PARTING OF THE WAYS. ,
The People Must Decide Whether
the Nation ShuU Bo u Republic
or an Empire.
Wo nro now at tho parting of tho
ways one (Democracy) carries us for
ward in the graud avenue traced out
for us by the founders of our nation,
n patli of dignity, honor, peaceful, hap
py advancement, which marks us us
the hope of mankind in all that makes
..Tii .i 7i , " .. ""' """ I
while the other (Republican) rond tnkes
nL !! ,, tli?.iFro?t ".Tm M'Uere. TT1?
peoples full of 'ambitions, civil hat-
trndm,rcl?l(iU(L,,UlS' feudn.1, IuIserk'3-
trailing their slime across tho ccntiir-1
m.an0 acl1K f ? 0e, urdeuel
with armor, to light out questions of '
ed, and no one of them was written
by nny man who saw the alleged he
roic charge against the San Juan ket
tle. Hooscvelt says, in his "Hough
Hitlers," page 123, that lie tried to llnd
General Sumner and Ueneral Wood
and could not. Colonel Mills was
wounded and out of action long be
fore the charge. Hcconiniendatlous.
in general terms, by subordinates
amount to nothing. Such uuolllclal
recommendations may be had for the
asking.
The charges contained In the bro
chure, published In 11)00, remain unan
swered; the charges of the August
Army and Navy Critic remain unan
swered. And I repeat, and defy any
man with knowledge to refute
them.
General MacArthur obtained his pro
motion as Major-Gonernl by making
n report about his manenvres In the
capture of the city of Manila, which
we now know to have been a sham
battle, and Admiral Dewey swore be
fore a committee of Congress that the
city had practically surrendered to him
a week before and It was arranged
that the Spaniards were not to lire
back.
Colonel Funston obtained his promo
tion as brigadier-general upon his own
report of his own heroic deeds in the
capture pf Agulnaldo, which we now
know to hnve boon put up by Aguln
aldo himself, who says. In Everybody's
Magazine of August, 11)01, that the la
dles had come over the day before
from Caslguran to Pallium to have a
dance, thus traversing the very road
over which Fiinston passed In his hor
rible privations.
Colonel Hooscvelt has obtained pro
motions by n false report lu his "Hough
Itlders" of ids own heroic deeds In an
Imaginary charge on an imaginary
horse up an imaginary hill against Im
aginary Spaniards.
ALEXANDER S. BACON.
37 Liberty street, New York City.
snld that there is between .20,000 and
."lO.OOO. We have only 17.000 men on
tho Island, of which -1000 or 5000 are
oluntcers, so you see what kind of
stuff we are made of.
LETTER NO. 2.
San Juan Hill. .Inly 10, 1SDS.
No chiiige since my last letter
There are rumors that we will nttnek
the Spanish in the morning. Seems
likely that we will, as we have received
orders to pack rolls and haversacks at
4 a. m. to-morrow. This afternoon I
went along tlia entire lino tof our
army. Had nothing else to do, and I
wanted to seo Just how we wero lo
cated. This is the way we are sit
uated: I Letter furnishes map not
deemed necessary to publish. Ed.
lou win notice a llttlo hill In the
rear which I have marked "It. R."
That is where the Rough Riders did
all their terrlblo lighting on the llrst
day or the light. I don't know, but
honestly believe they never saw a
Spaniard over there. I hear that it is
In till tbo New York papers that
Roosevelt and his Rough Riders took
San Juan Hill. That is a He. He
didn't take San Juan Hill. He didn't
even see the hill, and he has never been
near It yet. We took the hill, and
we've been ou top of It ever since.
J. lie actions or that man are the lnugb
Ing stock of the nrmy. Ho Is contlnu
nlly blowing his horn, nnd seems to
think he is tho biggest man down here.
If ho were not Roosevelt I believe ho
would bo drummed out of camp. It is
quite sickening to seo tho nirs ho puts
on. I suppose before tho war is over
he will bo commanding tho nrmv, nnd
thnt will mean n through ticket to the
Presidential chair. It's all politics.
Tho men who did tbo llghtlng-tlio
regulnrs-bnvo very llttlo to sav. They
don't seem to be in it for glorv. They
simply do It ns n matter of business.
But Roosevelt is out for glory nlone,
nnd ho seems to bo tnklng nil ho cnu
get. Now ho wants to get
back to the United Stntcs (probably tJ
pull some wires). lie hns done nothing
but kick, kick, kick for the last three
or four days, nnd ho has made himself
very obnoxious everywhere. He kicks
because ho can't have toast and eggs
every morning for breakfast. He kicks
because he has to sleep on the ground
instead of ti hair mattress. He kicks
because bis men nro homesick and
want to see their best girls. Pm
homesick myself, but Pin not kicking,
and I haven't heard a kick from any
one in the regiment yet not even from
one fellow whom I helped into a trans
port wngon to lie taken back to the bos
pltnl. Ho had both eyes shot out,
wounds through tho neck, chest, ab
domen, legs and arms, hut the nnlv
thing lie said was: "Who's got a pipe
handy?" I gave him mine. I didn't
think he'd llvo more than nn hour or
two. nlthough ho hnd lain in the grass
three days without attention, but they
got him Into the bospitnl alive.
family, or of territorial and rammer.
clal greed.
By the latter path wo abandon hu
manity, nnd Avlth drum nnd trumpet
and wnrsblp, hurl ourselves into the
wretched wrangle which hns been go
lug ou In the old world since the dawn
of history, nnd tho new world then
censes to exist. This Is the track into
which, tentatively but surely, our Gov
ernment hasJicen trjing to push, with
accelerated pace, during the last three
years, nnd now tho people of the Unlt-
eu htntos are about to be called upon
to say if it bo their wish to continue
wie marcn. n mey sny yes. let them
mnrsjul, tMeIr heaviest kttallons,
1,ni,Se t,1,lr torm Qt sovernment to
n dictatorship, nnd prepare their
Pnrses for a drain in comparison to
- tvhlcli that of our Civil War was light.
The Republic Is, indeed, at the parting
0f the ways.
MATB.
iOSTH
Col. Bacon's Review of Hie
Darin? Capture of en Undefended Field toied
With Imaginary Slaughter.
ROOSEVELT AT SAN JUAN OUT FOR
GLORY, HAVING BEFORE HIS EYES
&. THE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION.
Wo now come to the most humiliat
ing fraud lu recent history the cele
brated battle of San Junn, lu the Span
ish War of ISlis, which has given
scores of brevets for every den 1 Span
iard. The first act In the drama was to re
move every West Pointer from bends
of depnrtuents (excepting tho engi
neers and ordnance, which contain
graduates onlyj, because West Point
ers unit contractors are natural born
enemies. The next act was to hit in
command of the army of Invasion an
ofllcer who was wholly incompetent
to serve in a tropical climate, weigh
ing iI20 pounds and having permanent
physical disabilities.
Tho facts of the battle are briefly ns
follows: General Shafler's plan of bat
tle seems to have been nil right, but
was not carried out. General Lnwton
was expected to capture El Caney by
7 o'clock lu the morning: then turn to
his left and form the right wing of the
attack on tho Snn Junn hills; the cen
tre to bo occupied by Wheeler and his
cavalry; tho lert by Kent and the in
fantry. EI Caney was not captured
until 4.'M In the afternoon. In the
meantime the Wheeler and Kent divis
ions simply drilled toward San Juan,
through a dense jungle, of which there
had been no reconnoissance. and the
Spanish skirmish line on Snn Junn ex
ercised Itself at target practice from
5 o'clock In the morning until 1.S0 in
the afternoon, simply Minuting at the
roads and trails where the American
troops were holpU"-.-, in column.
Is It not high tim that some of the
mists surrounding the bittle of San
Jun.i were raised? Tho War Depart
ment, when asked how mmij Span
lards were !n Santiago when It sur
rendered, nnd how many Spaniards
wero killed and wounded at San .luan
and El Caney, states in a letter that
they have no records that throw any
light on the subject. Prominent of
fleers, who hnvo www ledge, give eva
sive replies. Lleu'"ii,int Jose Muller
y Tejelro, nccrnd In command of nn-
val forces of tho Province of Santia
go, in his history, whleh hns been
translated in part by the Navy Depart
ment, gives only :5000 effcctlvo Span
ish soldiers In and nbout Snntlago
on July 1. Escarlo and his column
did not break in until the Sd, and tliero
were about 2100 sick In liosnltul. Their
food consisted exclusively of rice nnd
wnter; their ammunition wns senrce;
their artillery consisted of thirteen
pieces of nntlquo pntterns some of
wnicii they did not tin re discharge.
Santiago had not been prepared for a
siege. These .'1000 n.en had over ten
miles to cover,' and wero attacked at
llvo different iwlnts simultaneously:
(1) The fleet menaced Morro Cnstio
nnd tho Socnpa buttery nt the mouth
of the bay. (2) Five thousand Cubans,
whoso losses were heavy Bonsnl says
(p.444) their pcrrentn' of loss was tlf
ty per cent, greater tha 1 tho Ameri
cans'were active, nnd harassed them
op the west. (3) Aqundores wns men
need by a demonstration of Michigan
troops Just landed. (4) El Caney was
attacked by about 0000 men; aud (5)
San Juan by abou 7500.
According to Lieutenant Mullcr, the
San Juan hills were occupied by a
mere skirmish line of 2.V) Spaniards.
Captain Nunez says, in his history, al
so translated in part by tho Navy (p.
113), "that the advance echelon of San
Juau, consisting of two companies un
der tho command of Colonel Vaqulero,
'SAN JUAN HILL a fflffi . . '
NtAD "7 - X"'" "
SANTIAGO ot CUBA , 2j Ik. j
.. w lJ i 11
t TCI ' "-w' ( S
UWATIN6 FRAUD
Events of Juiv 1. 1
was reinforced by another company.
The artillery on Sau .luan consisted of
two old pieces that looked ns if they
were a hundred years old. mounted on
rickety old carriage. They were .eft
behind. This echelon of Sun Juau wns
attacked by 7.100 Americans with light
batter; 1 aud a Galling battery thir
ty to one. The American loss at San
Juan, lu killed and wounded, was more
thau a thousand by the oMK-ial figure.
The Spanish luss was substantially
nothing. Evei Sp.inlaid killed or
wounded four Americans The pei
centage of American loss at Sun .luan
was twice that tt the British at tin
"bloody" battles of Tugelu Hlvci. The
Spanish loss is unknowu, but was
practically nothing.
One of the regular officers, who was
one of the llrst to nsce.id the San Juau
hill nnd occupy the blockhouse, when
asked, before the-Seventy-first Regi
ment Court of Inquiry, "What did you
see on arriving at the top uf the hill?"
replied "Nothing." Q. "Nothing at
all?". A. "Nothing but scenery." t,j.
"No Sparlards?" A. "Well, a few
might be .seen l-i the distance retiring
to their trenches." The fact Is that n
soon ns the Americans formed due of
battle and proceeded up tho hill nt
about l.:0 p. in,, the Spanish .skirmish
line retired to their breastworks around
Snntlago, vMilch were never captuied,
but were surrendered with the city ou
July 17.
About S00 ynrds In front of the San
Juan hills was a small stream called
Purgntorio Creek, with densely wood
ed banks. It flowed close by a slight
rise called Kettle Illll, which was a No
far lu front of the San .luan hills. As
far as known, Kettle Illll had ne?r
concealed a Spanish soldier in the his
tory of the world, and its only forf
llcallou consisted of an old iron kettle
that gave Its name to the American.
For hours tho Infantry bad been lying
lu a sunken road, in advance of Kettle
Hill. No one thought of going on top
of it because there was nothing to go
liter. But when the Infantry left tbe
i" sunken rond and capUnedTEnjiock-
liouse. Colonel Roosevelt nnd the
Hough Riders marched from the millet
Held, behind this hill and Purgntorio
Creek, nnd frantically charged up Ket
tle Hill! It wns attended with little
more danger than an nttnek on the
City Hnll In New York. The San Junn
hills directly beyond it had no In
trenchnients, nnd hnd already been
abandoned by the Spnnlnrds.
His slaying the tleeinc Spaniard lets
than thirty feet ntvas sounds much
like murder. No regular ofllcer found
It necessary to establish his reputa
tion by an account of exultant blood
thlrstlness. They accepted the painful
duty of lighting the enemy ;is one of
the snd necessities of war and sought
to win no glpry by gloating over the
wldowe and orphans they wero forced
to make. Colonel Roosevelt stands out
ngalust tho lurid horizon of war as the
solitary autobiograpber from the dnvs
of Caesar till now to write himself
down boastlngly ns n slayer of bis fel
lowmnu, and that, too, at such close
range.
Having examined under oath nbout
100 participants In tho San Junn en
gagement, nnd having in my posses
sion tho stenographer's tiauscrlpt of
their testimony, I am prepared to statu
that Colonel Roosevelt did not so much
ns see a Spaniard on July 1, 1SDS, and
was not In a position where he could
see one.
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