At the time the battle of the Rough Riders was fought the 25th
Infantry was within hearing distance of the battle and received orders
to reinforce them, which they could have done in less than two hours,
but our Brigade Commander in marching to the scene of battle took the
wrong trail, seemingly on purpose, and when we arrived at the place of
battle twilight was fading into darkness.
The march in the direction of Santiago continued, until the evening of
June 30th found us bivouacked in the road less than two miles from El
Caney. At the first glimpse of day on the first day of July word was
passed along the line for the companies to "fall in." No bugle call
was sounded, no coffee was made, no noise allowed. We were nearing the
enemy, and every effort was made to surprise him. We had been told
that El Caney was well fortified, and so we found it.
The first warning the people had of a foe being near was the roar of
our field artillery and the bursting of a shell in their midst. The
battle was on. In many cases an invading army serves notice of a
bombardment, but in this case it was incompatible with military
strategy. Non-combatants, women and children all suffered, for to have
warned them so they might have escaped would also have given warning
to the Spanish forces of our approach. The battle opened at dawn and
lasted until dark. When our troops reached the point from which they
were to make the attack, the Spanish lines of entrenched soldiers
could not be seen.
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