General Chaffee declares: "The troops arriving at the fort were there in the following order: Twelfth Infantry, which took the place; the command of General Bates some moments later; the Twenty-fifth Infantry."
The facts therefore stand, that the Twenty-fifth Infantry was on the ground with the first troops that reached the fort and that there was a captain of that regiment who then and there claimed the capture of the place, even against the claims of a Major-General. He was told that his proposition was absurd, and so it may have been from one standpoint; and yet there may be a ground upon which the captain's claim was fair and just.
That the Twelfth Infantry arrived on the ground first is not disputed; but it is questioned whether the fort was belligerent at that time. General Chaffee says the resistance had been greatly reduced by the artillery; General Lawton says the action had been finished by Capron's shots and the garrison was trying to escape; a soldier from the Twenty-fifth says the Spaniards flew out of the fort to the town; Bonsal says, they stoutly resisted "for a moment and then fled precipitately down the ravine and up the other side, and into the town." If first occupancy is the only ground upon which the capture of a place can be claimed, then the title to the honor of capturing the stone fort lies, according to official report as so far presented, with the Twelfth Infantry. But even upon this ground it will be shown that the Twenty-fifth's action will relieve the claim of its captain from absurdity. We are now prepared to read the official report of the commanding officer of the Twenty-fifth Regiment, Lieutenant-Colonel Daggett, who was with the regiment all through the fight, and who bore himself so well that the division commander said: "Lieutenant-Colonel Daggett deserves special mention for skillful handling of his regiment, and would have received it before had the fact been reported by his brigade commander."
July 5, 1898.
Intrenchments Twenty-fifth United States Infantry,Adjutant-General, Second Brigade, Second Division, Fifth Corps.
Sir:—I have the honor to submit the following report of the part taken by the Twenty-fifth Infantry in the battle of the 1st instant. The regiment formed firing line on the right of the Fourth Infantry, facing a Spanish fort or blockhouse about half a mile distant. On moving forward, the battalion, composed of Companies C, D, E, G and H, and commanded by Capt. W.S. Scott, received the fire of the enemy, and after advancing about 400 yards was subjected to a galling fire on their left. Finding cover, the battalion prepared for an advance up the hill to the fort. This advance was made rapidly and conducted with great skill by company officers.
"On arriving within a short distance of the fort the white flag was waved to our companies, but a cross fire prevented the enemy from advancing with it or our officers from receiving it. About twenty minutes later a battalion of some other regiment advanced to the rear of the fort, completely covered from fire, and received the flag; but the men of the Twenty-fifth Infantry entered the fort at the same time. All officers and men behaved gallantly. One officer was killed and three wounded; eight men were killed and twenty wounded.
"About 200 men and ten officers were in the firing line. I attribute the comparatively small losses to the skill and bravery of the company officers, viz.: First Lieutenant Caldwell and Second Lieutenants Moss and Hunt. Second Lieutenant French, adjutant of the battalion, was among those who gallantly entered the fort.
"The battle lasted about two hours and was a hotly contested combat.
Very respectfully,
"A.S. DAGGETT,
"Lieutenant-Colonel, Twenty-fifth Infantry, Commanding."
Here it is shown by the testimony of the regimental commander, that a battalion of the Twenty-fifth ascended the hill and arrived at a short distance from the fort about twenty minutes before any other troops are mentioned as coming in sight; and that a white flag was waved to the companies of the Twenty-fifth. It was doubtless upon this ground that a captain of the Twenty-fifth had the temerity to claim the capture of the place, even from a Major-General. I do not know who the captain was, but it is evident that he had what he believed ample grounds for his claim. Colonel Daggett says, also, that when the men of the other regiment advanced to this fort after it had waved the white flag to the companies of the Twenty-fifth, the men of the Twenty-fifth advanced and entered the fort at the same time. Bonsal says: "Almost at the same moment that the Twelfth started up the hill the Twenty-fifth started up the hill also;" while according to Colonel Daggett's testimony the Twenty-fifth was well up the hill already and the fort had waved to it the white flag.
Colonel Daggett makes this further report:
Headquarters Twenty-fifth Infantry,
Near Santiago, Cuba, July 16, 1898.The Adjutant-General, Second Division, Fifth Corps, near Santiago, Cuba.
Sir:—Feeling that the Twenty-fifth Infantry has not received credit for the part it took in the battle of El Caney on the first instant, I have the honor to submit the following facts:
I was ordered by the brigade commander to put two companies (H, Lieutenant Caldwell, and G, Lieutenant McCorkle) on the firing line in extended order. The right being uncovered and exposed to the enemy, I ordered D Company (Captain Edwards) to deploy as flankers. The battalion was commanded by Capt. W.S. Scott. The battalion advanced about 300 yards under fire, the Fourth Infantry on its left, where the line found cover, halted, and opened fire on the blockhouse and intrenchments in front of it. After the line had been steadied and had delivered an effective fire, I ordered a further advance, which was promptly made. As the Fourth Infantry did not advance, my left was exposed to a very severe fire from the village on the left. I immediately ordered Company C (Lieutenant Murdock), which was in support, to the front, and E. Company (Lieutenant Kinnison) from regimental reserve to take its place. Thus strengthened, the four companies moved up the hill rapidly, being skilfully handled by company officers. On arriving near the fort the white flag was waved toward our men, but the fire from the village on our left was so severe that neither our officers nor Spanish could pass over the intervening ground. After about twenty minutes some of the Twelfth Infantry arrived in rear of the fort, completely sheltered from the fire from the village, and received the white flag; but Privates J.H. Jones, of Company D, and T.C. Butler, H. Company, Twenty-fifth Infantry, entered the fort at the same time and took possession of the Spanish flag. They were ordered to give it up by an officer of the Twelfth United States Infantry, but before doing so they each tore a piece from it, which they now have. So much for the facts.
I attribute the success attained by our line largely to the bravery and skill of the company officers who conducted the line to the fort. These officers are: First Lieutenants V.A. Caldwell and J.A. Moss, and Second Lieutenant J.E. Hunt. It is my opinion that the two companies first deployed could not have reached the fort alone, and that it was the two companies I ordered to their support that gave them the power to reach it. I further believe that had we failed to move beyond the Fourth Infantry the fort would not have been taken that night.
The Twenty-fifth Infantry lost one officer killed[18] and three wounded, and seven men killed and twenty-eight wounded.
Second Lieutenant H.W. French, adjutant of Captain Scott's battalion, arrived at the fort near the same time as the other officers.
I request that this report be forwarded to corps headquarters.
Very respectfully,
A.S. DAGGETT,
Lieutenant-Colonel, Twenty-fifth Infantry, Commanding.
General Chaffee's statement is not to be questioned for a moment. There is not the least doubt that the troops, as organizations arrived at the fort in the order he describes. General Lawton says: "General Chaffee's brigade was especially charged with the duty of assaulting the stone fort, and successfully executed that duty, after which a portion of the Twenty-fifth, and a portion of Bates' brigade, assisted in the work, all of which is commendable." He says also, that the "Twenty-fifth Infantry did excellent service, as reported, though not better than the others engaged.' This seems to confirm Lieutenant-Colonel Daggett's report, for he says he is sure the regiment did excellent work, "as reported;" and at that time he is commenting on Lieutenant-Colonel Daggett's report, the report printed above. The broad statements of General Lawton do not touch the exact question at issue between the reports of the subordinate commanders; nor do they throw any light on the circumstances of the final charge. Miles' brigade had been advancing on the stone fort for some hours, and the Twenty-fifth was so near when the charge of the Twelfth was made that portions of it were on the hill and near the fort at the same time. The commander of the Third Brigade saw the fight from one side and reported events as he learned them. His official statement requires no support. The commanding officer of the Twenty-fifth Infantry saw the fight from another standpoint, and his official reports are entitled to equal respect. Both the General's and the Lieutenant-Colonel's must be accepted as recitals of facts, made with all the accuracy that high personal integrity armed with thorough military training can command. Happily the statements, which at first appear so widely at variance, are entirely reconcilable. The following supplementary report of the regimental commander, when taken in connection with the final complimentary orders published in the regiment before leaving Cuba, will place the whole subject before the reader and put the question at rest, and at the same time leave undisturbed all the reports of superior officers.