EN ROUTE TO THE BATTLEFIELD. MILITARY ROAD FROM GUAYAMA TO CANEY.EN ROUTE TO THE BATTLEFIELD. MILITARY ROAD FROM GUAYAMA TO CANEY.
Without warning the sun came out in all its fury, and then occurred the phenomena, often witnessed there, of rain falling from an apparently clear sky. The hot sun made the rain come down much like steam, but it ceased to fall after a few minutes.
At six o'clock the two troops were in Guayama, and halted by the Custom House, while Captain Groome reported to General Brooke for orders. Half an hour was spent by the Troopers watching the passing of artillery, infantry, hospital and signal corps men. Sometime before seven o'clock Captain Groome returned with orders to go into line of battle and cover the left flank of the Americans. Simultaneouswith the movement of the cavalry the entire brigade of four regiments, consisting of the Third Ohio, Third Illinois, Fourth Pennsylvania and Sixth Illinois, were also off. As the Troop passed along the road at a trot it overtook the Sixth Illinois and Fourth Pennsylvania. The infantry received orders to let the cavalry through, and the mass of soldiers parted. Away at a trot, between this friendly gauntlet of cheering infantrymen, the Troopers rode amid all sorts of shouts. The foot soldiers thought the cavalry was going in to deploy as skirmishers and start the fight, so they gave the Troopers a good, hearty American cheer, and from each company came encouraging yells, such as: "Give them bullets, boys!" "We will follow you!" And the Fourth Pennsylvania gave three times three for the City Troop and Old Pennsylvania. All in all it was a moment that the Philadelphia riders will not soon forget.
The Spanish earthworks, as nearly as could be made out by the Troopers, were something in the form of an S. After a two-mile ride the fresh dirt on these trenches was plainly visible, and it seemed that a few minutes more riding would bring the Troop within the range of the Spaniards. Suddenly the course turned abruptly to the left and the Troopcame upon Major General Brooke and his staff, standing on a little hill to the right of the road, waiting for the artillery to get into position. Captain Groome reported to General Brooke, and received orders to take the two troops of cavalry into an adjoining field, to dismount the men and unsaddle the horses. There, surrounded by beautiful tropical flowers and heavy foliage, the men awaited the boom of the cannon, which had been agreed upon as the signal for opening the battle.
Strangely out of place looked the grim weapons and warlike trappings in that garden spot. Beneath the towering palm and rubber trees, amid hundreds of crimson blossoms the Philadelphia men gathered in groups to discuss the outlook, while their horses grazed at their feet.
It began to rain again about eleven o'clock, a dark, steaming drizzle. In the midst of it Mr. Davies, of the New YorkSun, came over to inspect the cavalry. He informed Captain Groome that Major Redmond, in charge of the artillery, had just announced that he would open fire in a half hour.
A look down the line of the City Troopers at this crucial moment revealed still an absolutely amazing indifference to the conflict now all but upon them—most of their men were asleep. The threeofficers were sitting by the roadside chatting together a couple of hundred feet away from the remainder of the Troop. At the head of the column, with his arm through his bridle rein, lay Sergeant Wagner asleep. Sergeant Martin and Private Robb were entertaining a dozen or so of the men with an argument as to the relative charms of a Philadelphia girl and a native girl, "fat, black and greasy, with a cigar stuck in her face." A little farther back, sitting on the ground, was Harry Riley, holding the big bay mule he had been riding since reaching the island; he was quiet, but the mule was not. Next came a group composed of Billy Bates, whose beautiful little grey was lying at his feet like a faithful dog, Charlie Smith, Hecksher, Cliff Pemberton, Harry Godfrey, Bromley Wharton, the two Warden boys, Fred Neilson and "Doug" Jacobs. Charlie Smith was inviting them all to lunch with him on the mountain where the Spaniards were encamped. Coulston and Woodman were talking Spanish to each other, and Mills and Wheeler were asleep. Way in front were Jim Starr and Frank Bower, standing on a knoll and trying to see the batteries get into position, while Carroll Smyth, George McFadden and Charlie Brinton went about among the different groups distributing crackers.
In a nearby field a corps of field telegraph operatorscould be seen stringing their wires from tree to tree, and at times making use of the wire fences for continuing their lines.
About one o'clock Lieutenant Reynolds rode into camp at a furious rate and gave an order to General Brooke, who was standing in the road about three hundred yards to the right of the Troopers camp. At once the assembly sounded, and with many a sternly muttered, "At last," the City Troopers mounted and took their places.
Lieutenant Browning rode up, and all ears were strained to catch the order to advance. The lieutenant looked as if he was thoroughly disgusted with life, as in a calm tone he said: "The men will fall in and ride back to camp; General Miles has ordered all military operations to cease."
"Oh, hell!" exclaimed a Trooper near the lieutenant, throwing down his carbine as the pent up disappointment and suspense in his heart sought expression almost involuntarily. This forcible exclamation, and more particularly the tone in which it was uttered, seemed to represent the feelings of the entire Troop.
Listlessly the men mounted, grumbled "one, two, three, four," and sought a new camping ground at Hacienda De Placida. A more downcast lot of menthan turned in that Saturday night, of August 13th, would be hard to find. By night it was told through camp how a messenger, on a played-out horse, had reached General Brooke with the order from General Miles, just as the gunners of Battery B, of Pittsburgh, had their hands on the lanyards awaiting General Brooke's orders to pull and give the signal for attack. Mr. Davies, of the New YorkSun, afterward told Captain Groome that General Brooke had given the messenger a scanty welcome, and had remarked that he might have spared his horse a little, although his haste undoubtedly saved many lives.
Sunday morning Captain Scott brought an order to Captain Groome to send a commissioned officer, a sergeant and six privates to establish an outpost two miles beyond the farthest infantry outpost, and to maintain a flag of truce. This outpost was necessary because of the general fear of Spanish treachery. The Spaniards had a white flag flying over their blockhouse, but there was no telling at what moment they might pull it down and charge into the American ranks; so the watchers at the outpost were entrusted with an important duty. The detail first selected was in charge of Lieutenant Browning, who took with him Sergeant Glendinning, Corporal Thayer and Privates S. and W. Goodman, Strawbridge, Wheeler, Mills and Ridgeway. Captains Scott and Groome accompanied the detail to select the ground for the outpost.
As the men were about to start, it was found that they had nothing to serve as a flag of truce. Captain Groome informed Captain Scott that the Troop was just out of such articles, and for a momentthe officers were at a loss to know what to do. A handkerchief was too small and too frail, but suddenly Lieutenant Browning had an inspiration. His wife had supplied the officers' mess with some fine, large napkins. One of these was therefore pressed into service as a flag of truce, and the detachment rode forth. It was early morning, and the rain was pelting down as usual.
On through the town, along the road the troops had tramped ready for the fray, around the mountain side, past the place Rodney had planted his batteries, past the pickets, past the last infantry outpost, under a ridge dotted with Spanish sentries, the detachment, with the now historic napkin, went on until, coming around a sharp turn in the road, they saw a mile and a half across the valley the Spanish outpost with its flag of truce already up.
Then the little band of Troopers halted and chopped down a stout sapling. To this they lashed the flag of truce for the American army, and set up the pole in a little clearing. Two Troopers were left on guard, while the rest retired a couple of hundred yards around a bend in the road and put up the little dog tents, beginning at once the routine work of a vidette outpost. The flag was pitched squarely upon the top of the mountain, so that it rained there continually,but the discomforts were swallowed up in a sense of the responsibility felt by all on duty there.
"CAMP ESPERANCA." GUAYAMA IN THE DISTANCE."CAMP ESPERANCA." GUAYAMA IN THE DISTANCE.
The six men were divided in pairs, and each pair stood guard by the fluttering flag as vidette for two hours and then rested four, throughout the day and night. Through field glasses the Spanish troops could be plainly seen standing on guard or idling about the trenches.
Thirty minutes after the flag first went up a group of Spanish officers were seen approaching. As they came nearer it was plain that the party consisted of a general and six aids. Captain Scott advanced to meet the Spaniards, and was informed that the general carried a message for General Brooke. The Spaniard declined to entrust the message to Captain Scott. Captain Groome was informed of the difficulty, and at once galloped back to the American camp, returning in a short time with General Sheridan and others of General Brooke's staff. After much formality the Spanish general delivered his message to General Sheridan and ceremoniously retired.
At eight o'clock the next day Lieutenant Ryan and a like detachment from H Troop relieved Lieutenant Browning. The next day Lieutenant McFadden, with Sergeant Bates, Corporal Butcher andPrivates Green, Newbold, Wilson, Fell, Woodman and Armstrong relieved the H men. The day following, at eight o'clock, Lieutenant Heiberg and his detachment of regulars, and relieving them on the morrow went Lieutenant Browning, Sergeant Smith, Corporal Thibault and Privates Jacobs, Wharton, Neilson, Barclay, Cramp and Shober. Thus, as in all cavalry work for General Brooke's army at Guayama, H Troop and the City Troop took share and share alike.
Meantime the Troopers, in camp near Guayama, had little besides routine duty to keep them occupied. The rainy season was on hand with a vengeance. Day and night, with but slight intervals of clear weather, it rained and poured. Good-sized creeks would be formed in a half hour by the floods of rain, and these little streams seemed always aimed straight at the Troopers' camp. To change clothing was useless, and at times it was impossible to obtain dry garments. Flannel shirts would be spread out in the hot sun to dry at eleven o'clock, and at half-past they would be lying in pools of water, getting more thoroughly drenched each minute.
Since leaving the United States, a wonderful change had taken place in the appearance of the City Troopers. At the time of sailing from Newport News,all the cavalrymen were bronzed and weather beaten. After but little more than two weeks in southern Puerto Rico, exposed daily to natural steam baths and kept in a constant state of perspiration, the men were bleached out. Faces once ruddy became as white as paper, and all the men had lost rapidly in weight.
AT THE BEACH NEAR GUAYAMA.AT THE BEACH NEAR GUAYAMA.
The horses, too, showed the effect of the tropical climate. When herded together there was not one head that did not droop, and their eyes were without spirit. The change in men and beasts had come quickly, but until after it was known that hostilities were over the Troopers had been too busy to notice the change in one another.
Each day the horses had to be herded, and the tidings that an animal had broken away and must be pursued was always hailed with delight, as the chase was a welcome break in the slow camp life.
As there was a splendid beach about three miles from the camp at Guayama, and about the same distance from Arroyo, Captain Groome issued orders to the City Troopers for one platoon to bathe in the morning, each day, and a second platoon in the afternoon. At the beach the trees and foliage extended clear to the water's edge. In some places the water was deep right from the tree line, but there werethree or four sand bars that extended way out, so that a bather could walk as far out in the water at some points as at Atlantic City. There was always a heavy surf at the beach, that made bathing a good sport.
It was also great fun to take the horses into the surf. At first the greys did not take kindly to surf bathing, but under the wise guidance of their riders they soon were taught that waves would not hurt them, and in some of the deep water places they quickly learned to take long swims with the Troopers.
In all their manœuvres in Puerto Rico, the City Troopers were divided into four platoons. No drills were held, but, as a matter of record, the Roster of the Troop at this period of the campaign is here given, passing from right to left in the line:
Captain, John C. Groome.First Lieutenant, Edward Browning.Second Lieutenant, J. Frank McFadden.FIRST PLATOON.Right Squad.—Sergeant, Frederic Thibault; Privates, Frank Bower, Alfred Pardee, Alfred Bright, Thomas Cadwalader, H. Percy Glendinning, Thomas Robb, Jr., Henry J. Wetherill, T. Wallis Huidekoper, Edward Gregg; Corporal, J. Houston Merrill.Left Squad.—Privates, Edward E. Stetson, Charles Wheeler, Edward Rawle, William I. Forbes, William West, Williams Biddle Cadwalader, Charles C. Brinton, Frank A. Janney, James De Kay, Edward Cann; Corporal, Adolph G. Rosengarten.SECOND PLATOON.Right Squad.—Sergeant, William H. Hart; Privates, Robert Fell, William Farr, Samuel K. Reeves, Thomas J. Orbison, Samuel Goodman, Jr., Henry S. Godfrey, Clifford Pemberton, Jr., Maitland Armstrong, George Wilson; Corporal, Gustav A. Heckscher.Left Squad.—Privates, N. B. Warden, Stuart Wheeler, M. G. Rosengarten, J. Warren Coulston, Jr., Charles Coates, James M. Rhodes, Jr., Francis C. Green, John Conygham Stevens, John Zimmerman, Norman Risley; Corporal, Samuel Chew.THIRD PLATOON.Right Squad.—Sergeant, William E. Bates; Privates, Edward Lord, Henry G. Woodman, C. King Lennig, Trenchard Newbold, Thomas Ridgway, Benjamin B. Reath, Carroll Smyth, James Starr, Edward Brooke; Corporal, George C. Thayer.Left Squad.—Privates, John Strawbridge, William E. Goodman, Jr., William G. Warden, Jr., George L. Farnum, J. Clifford Rosengarten; Hospital Steward, William H. Cornell; Privates, S. Frederick Mills, Francis Rawle, Edward B. Cornell; Corporal, Henry C. Butcher, Jr.FOURTH PLATOON.Right Squad.—Sergeant, Charles H. Smith; Privates, George H. McFadden, Jr., Harry C. Barclay, Reginald H. Shober, Francis L. Cramp, Carroll Hodge, H. Austin Smith, Ward Brinton, Edward Rogers, Charles B. Lewis; Corporal, Francis A. Thibault.Left Squad.—Privates, Herman A. Denckla, Henry Drinker Riley, Edward C. Taylor, W. B. Duncan Smith, Bromley Wharton, Lightner Witmer, Frederick B. Neilson, Douglas H. Jacobs; Commissary Corporal, A. Mercer Biddle; Corporal, Alexander W. Wister, Jr.Private Ranson, Farrier.Private Newlin, Cook.Private Kirk, Cook.Private Gibbons, Saddler.Private Halbustadt, Wagoner.Private Nilon, Blacksmith.Trumpeter, Brossman.Trumpeter, R. Singer.Stable Sergeant, John Wagner, Jr.Ordnance Sergeant, Robert E. Glendinning.Quartermaster-Sergeant, Dr. William C. Lott.First Sergeant, J. Willis Martin.
Captain, John C. Groome.
First Lieutenant, Edward Browning.
Second Lieutenant, J. Frank McFadden.
FIRST PLATOON.
Right Squad.—Sergeant, Frederic Thibault; Privates, Frank Bower, Alfred Pardee, Alfred Bright, Thomas Cadwalader, H. Percy Glendinning, Thomas Robb, Jr., Henry J. Wetherill, T. Wallis Huidekoper, Edward Gregg; Corporal, J. Houston Merrill.
Left Squad.—Privates, Edward E. Stetson, Charles Wheeler, Edward Rawle, William I. Forbes, William West, Williams Biddle Cadwalader, Charles C. Brinton, Frank A. Janney, James De Kay, Edward Cann; Corporal, Adolph G. Rosengarten.
SECOND PLATOON.
Right Squad.—Sergeant, William H. Hart; Privates, Robert Fell, William Farr, Samuel K. Reeves, Thomas J. Orbison, Samuel Goodman, Jr., Henry S. Godfrey, Clifford Pemberton, Jr., Maitland Armstrong, George Wilson; Corporal, Gustav A. Heckscher.
Left Squad.—Privates, N. B. Warden, Stuart Wheeler, M. G. Rosengarten, J. Warren Coulston, Jr., Charles Coates, James M. Rhodes, Jr., Francis C. Green, John Conygham Stevens, John Zimmerman, Norman Risley; Corporal, Samuel Chew.
THIRD PLATOON.
Right Squad.—Sergeant, William E. Bates; Privates, Edward Lord, Henry G. Woodman, C. King Lennig, Trenchard Newbold, Thomas Ridgway, Benjamin B. Reath, Carroll Smyth, James Starr, Edward Brooke; Corporal, George C. Thayer.
Left Squad.—Privates, John Strawbridge, William E. Goodman, Jr., William G. Warden, Jr., George L. Farnum, J. Clifford Rosengarten; Hospital Steward, William H. Cornell; Privates, S. Frederick Mills, Francis Rawle, Edward B. Cornell; Corporal, Henry C. Butcher, Jr.
FOURTH PLATOON.
Right Squad.—Sergeant, Charles H. Smith; Privates, George H. McFadden, Jr., Harry C. Barclay, Reginald H. Shober, Francis L. Cramp, Carroll Hodge, H. Austin Smith, Ward Brinton, Edward Rogers, Charles B. Lewis; Corporal, Francis A. Thibault.
Left Squad.—Privates, Herman A. Denckla, Henry Drinker Riley, Edward C. Taylor, W. B. Duncan Smith, Bromley Wharton, Lightner Witmer, Frederick B. Neilson, Douglas H. Jacobs; Commissary Corporal, A. Mercer Biddle; Corporal, Alexander W. Wister, Jr.
Private Ranson, Farrier.Private Newlin, Cook.Private Kirk, Cook.Private Gibbons, Saddler.Private Halbustadt, Wagoner.Private Nilon, Blacksmith.Trumpeter, Brossman.Trumpeter, R. Singer.Stable Sergeant, John Wagner, Jr.Ordnance Sergeant, Robert E. Glendinning.Quartermaster-Sergeant, Dr. William C. Lott.First Sergeant, J. Willis Martin.
While the Troopers were in camp at Guayama, under orders from General Brooke, they changed their old style of camp life a little by using a number of large hospital tents, loaned by General Brooke's headquarters, which were occupied by six or seven men each, instead of the little dog tents intended for two men. The larger tents made life more bearable during the heavy rains, and were greatly appreciated by all.
Although each duty was taken up with uniform cheerfulness, and nothing was slighted, it soon became evident that for the first time there was a unanimous desire on the part of the City Troopers,now that peace was assured, to get home as quickly as possible. So there was great rejoicing when, on Thursday morning, August 25th, Captain Groome received orders to proceed at once to Ponce with the Troop, there to take passage for New York. Just before this order came, a detachment of Troopers had gone from camp on a hunt after Spanish guerrillas. They were promptly recalled by General Brooke's command.
The packing of saddles and stowing away of tents was attended to with a will, and on Friday morning the march of thirty-seven miles to Ponce was begun. This distance was to be made in two stages, as marching was slow at the best with skirmishers out, and the weather was so sultry that for most of the distance the men trudged along on foot, leading their horses.
Although buoyed up by the prospect of soon seeing home and friends again, the Troopers found the first day's march the hardest work they had undertaken since enlistment. Spaniards could be seen in the hills all about, and a close outlook had to be kept. The march led through deep cuts in the road, where there was not a breath of air stirring, where the terrific heat seemed determined to beat to the ground all living things that ventured to braveits fury. Rain—hot, steam-like rain—alternated with the blazing sun, and uniforms were one hour drenched with rain, the next hour dried by the sun, and a few moments later soaking wet with perspiration.
At midday a halt was made at the same plantation visited on the way out. There was a grove of what the Troopers styled "United States trees," and in its shade they lay around and ate canned stuff and dried their clothes. Then the tramp was resumed with all its fatigue, and at night a camp fire was built on another sugar plantation. Three of the men living there spoke English, and the first use of it they made was to notify Captain Groome that a number of the laborers were sick with small pox, and that the spot selected for a camp was particularly infected.
The Captain had quite a consultation with various people before selecting the final camping ground, and the weary Troopers had no sooner attended to their horses than they dropped off to sleep. Like dead men they lay in their blankets, totally oblivious of the swarms of mosquitoes which gathered about them, or of the land crabs, little snakes and other queer creatures that all night long crawled over their bodies in a familiarly inquiring manner.
RETURN ALONG THE ROAD FROM GUAYAMA TO PONCE.RETURN ALONG THE ROAD FROM GUAYAMA TO PONCE.
The second day began with a cool shower, which left the atmosphere in a splendid condition, and the advance was more rapid. While all the men had been supplied with Khaiki uniforms, it was noticeable that on this last day's march in the enemy's country a majority clung to the blue. A short rest was taken at midday. Late in the afternoon the heavens began to let loose a flood of rain, and streams sprang up beneath the feet of the cavalrymen. Twenty minutes after the Troopers passed the bridge leading to Playa de Ponce, the structure was swept away by a raging torrent one hundred feet wide. At nightfall the City Troopers had just put up their small tents and gone into camp for the night, when, at 9.30p. m., the signal service sent word to Captain Groome that the tents would have to come up and the men get away quickly, as a river would soon be rolling over the spot where the Troopers were preparing to turn in. Indeed, by the time the warning came, trickling streams innumerable were sweeping through the field below the camp. Assembly was sounded, and in forty-five minutes tents were struck, bags packed, horses saddled, four wagons loaded, and the Troop moved out. When the tents were first pitched, it was the intention of the Troopers to name the camp after Hugh Craig, Jr., but this idea was given up after the messagefrom the signal corps, and the name "Mala Aqua"—wicked water—substituted. Mr. Craig's name was afterward bestowed upon the last camp occupied by the Troopers on foreign soil.
No sheltered spot could be found that night after the retreat from the oncoming river, so the Troopers philosophically wrapped themselves in their blankets and lay down in the streets of Playa, unmindful of the beating rain. Despite the downpour there were soon a number of fires burning about the camp, for the Philadelphia men had become experts in the art of getting a cheery blaze out of wet wood, and damp matches no longer possessed any terrors.
While the men slept on the pavement, their horses were tied to logs along the curb. Some of the Troopers induced their mounts to lie down and be used as pillows. It was a strange sight, more picturesque than it was comfortable for the men who made up the tableau. If any one incident in the campaign could be said to illustrate better than another the clean grit which actuated every move of the Troopers, this night spent in the streets of Playa, amid drenching rain, would probably be selected by a historian.
In the morning Captain Groome marched the Troopers into "Dolorales" lumber yard, where thesheds, roofed over with galvanized iron, looked extremely inviting to the rain-soaked men. Blankets were spread on the top of lumber piles, under the roof, and perched up there the Troopers were sheltered from the alternate sun and showers.
For one week there was a hard struggle to kill time. There was nothing to do but look after the horses, and no place to go. Several times members of the Troop took carriage rides about the city, and had all the points of interest explained by guides. Hope was high in the hearts of officers and men alike that a start for Philadelphia could be made by September 1st, but the first came and still no orders. Relief was close at hand, however, for on Friday, September 2d, orders came to turn the Troop's horses and equipments over to the headquarter officers at Ponce, and to embark the Troopers upon the transport "Mississippi," which was lying a half mile out in the harbor.
Before turning over the horses to other hands, the old greys were given a careful rub down, and then a thorough cleaning was bestowed upon halters, bridles, carbines, scabbards, sabers, pistols and holsters. The Troopers were complimented upon the condition of their mounts, for they came out of the campaign much the best of any other horses, althoughadmittedly they had been given the hardest work to do.
While there was naturally much regret expressed by the cavalrymen at parting with the horses and equipments, which had formed so close a part of their lives during the summer, yet there was a bright side to the matter, inasmuch as the Troopers on their homeward trip were saved most of their hard work. No longer were they obliged to feed and water their horses twice a day, and do stable duty each morning; they were also rid of all the tugging on and off of lighters, transports and trains of saddles and equipments, and they were through spending their spare moments polishing up the numerous small belongings of a Trooper. In the turning over of all these things there was a great relief.
All day Friday A and C Troops, of New York; the Governor's and Sheridan Troops, of Pennsylvania; and Pennsylvania A Battery, loaded the transport with their horses. Finally at six o'clock in the afternoon, the City Troop, their canvas and commissary having been lightered to the ship, fell in and marched to the dock. At eight o'clock Captain Groome ordered them on a big lighter, and drawn by the tug "Sarah," of Philadelphia, they went out in the harbor to the "Mississippi." There, with blanket rollsover one shoulder, and haversacks and saddlebags over the other, they tumbled up the ladder to the deck of the slow, but comparatively commodious transport. Not until midnight did General Wilson's headquarter horses get aboard, and the vessel was soon afterward steering for New York. No demonstration was made during the embarking of the troops. The cavalrymen were too tired to do any cheering themselves, even at the thought of home. The natives about the dock did some cheering, but as they were always ready to hurrah over anything, their yells did not particularly inspire the departing soldiers.
The City Troop had its quarters forward on the "Mississippi," with A Battery alongside and A Troop on the deck below. This was pleasant all around, as the New York and Philadelphia Troopers were the best of friends, and in addition the Troopers had many friends in the Philadelphia battery.
For this ocean trip of one thousand, three hundred and ninety miles the City Troopers were better prepared than on their voyage to Ponce. Of course, there were great hardships to be endured, but the commissary had laid in a supply of ice, so that the drinking water could be kept at a reasonable temperature, and the men had gained enough experience tohustle for good sleeping places on deck and not bother with the hammocks.
The old transport averaged about two hundred miles a day, which seemed particularly slow to the impatient Troopers. At the time the "Mississippi" had been forty-eight hours out, it became clear that the sea voyage was doing all the cavalrymen a vast deal of good; the unhealthy pallor, induced by tropical weather, began to wear off, and the men felt that they would be in good condition to receive the welcome which they knew was awaiting them.
Daily routine aboard ship was established as follows: Reveille at 6 o'clock, stables at 6.30, mess at 7, sick at 8, fatigue at 8.30, guard mount at 9, mess at 12, and again at 6, tattoo at 9, and taps at 9.30.
Fair weather remained with the "Mississippi" throughout the entire trip. Guidons of each troop aboard were affixed to the foremast head.
HACIENDA CARMEN.HACIENDA CARMEN.
From the time the Jersey coast was sighted the Troopers began to realize how glad they really were to get back home. Early on the morning of Saturday, September 10th, the "Mississippi" passed Sandy Hook, and was soon cleaving the waters of New York Bay. It was rather misty, and objects at any great distance were very obscure. The Philadelphia cavalrymen were often obliged to smile at the airs which some of the members of the New York and Brooklyn troops assumed as they found themselves in familiar waters. The men of Gotham boasted much of the fine reception which they felt sure was in store for them, and looked rather pityingly upon the Philadelphia cavalrymen. When, through the mist, a tug was made out, with flags flying, approaching the "Mississippi" at full speed, several of the New Yorkers pointed to it and said to the Quaker City men, "Here comes the advance guard of our escort."
While the tug was still too much surrounded by mist to make out her identity, there came floating from her deck the ringing notes of a bugle. At thefirst sound the Philadelphia Troopers became all attention, and a moment later the air of the Troop march—strains known to City Troopers for two generations—could be clearly distinguished.
"It's our friends," shouted the City Troopers with glee, while the New York riders did not attempt to conceal their surprise at the fact that citizens of their city had been out-generaled by the Philadelphia visitors in the effort to give the first greeting to the returning Troopers.
But while the later recruits among the Troopers shouted "It's our friends," the older members cried out, "It's Ellis Pugh," for they knew almost by instinct from whose lips had come the welcoming blast. Dick Singer was upon the deck with his bugle in a twinkling, and tooted back a response. Nearer and nearer the two vessels approached, until at last the two buglers joined together in the long final note.
Then other tugs appeared—six in all—five of which were filled with enthusiastic Philadelphians. The Troopers crowded to the rail and occupied all points of vantage in the rigging. Up the bay the transport and her shrieking escort continued their course. From the whistle of every vessel met there came a welcome, until the din became almost deafening.
While the health officer boarded the transport, friends on the tugs and troop ship yelled greetings back and forth. A port hole in the "Mississippi" was opened, and an avalanche of boxes and bottles poured into the hands of the soldiers aboard. The moment quarantine was raised, there was a general scramble of male visitors onto the deck of the transport, followed by a whirlwind of affectionate greetings. Fathers proudly hugged their brawny, dirt-stained sons; chums and brothers shook eachothers'hands off.
Soon there came along another tug, and Governor Hastings and Major Richardson clambered over the rail amid loud cheers of the Pennsylvanians. And so the big reception went on until the "Mississippi" pulled into dock at Jersey City. There the cavalrymen looked down from the high decks upon a sea of men and women, the great majority of whom were Philadelphians. The hospital train was run in on a siding right under the ship, and the sick were unloaded with but little delay.
Meanwhile, Captain Groome had accepted an invitation from the Philadelphia Councils Committee, to participate in a public reception upon the Troop's arrival home, and word to that effect was telegraphed to Mayor Warwick. The Troopers partook of a lightlunch before unloading their camp equipage, and after two hours hard work the last piece of canvas was loaded on the cars, and late in the afternoon they finally found themselves rolling rapidly homeward.
In the New YorkSun, the day after the City Troop's arrival, there appeared the following paragraph by a reporter of reputation, who had been in Puerto Rico during the campaign:
"In commissariat, general intelligence and knowledge of tactics, the First City Troop of Philadelphia outranked any volunteers I saw at the front. They were the only company to take a water filter with them, so were the only men to drink pure water. They were the only soldiers with forethought enough to provide salt, mustard and the other little things that help make army rations palatable. Then they knew how to cook. They kept their camp clean. They kept their horses in good condition, in fact they neglected nothing, and shirked no duty, no matter how disagreeable. So much for the dude soldier."
"In commissariat, general intelligence and knowledge of tactics, the First City Troop of Philadelphia outranked any volunteers I saw at the front. They were the only company to take a water filter with them, so were the only men to drink pure water. They were the only soldiers with forethought enough to provide salt, mustard and the other little things that help make army rations palatable. Then they knew how to cook. They kept their camp clean. They kept their horses in good condition, in fact they neglected nothing, and shirked no duty, no matter how disagreeable. So much for the dude soldier."
It was eight o'clock when the train bearing the City Troopers, every man ready and fit for duty, came puffing into the Broad Street Station. Outside the building and along Broad, Chestnut and Market Streets, the route over which it had been planned to have the cavalrymen march, dense throngs packedthe sidewalks, and were only kept from the streets by ropes in charge of hundreds of policemen.
SERGEANT'S CLUB AT GUAYAMA.SERGEANT'S CLUB AT GUAYAMA.
Captain Groome was the first man to alight from the cars, and he was at once requested by General Morrell and Director Riter to permit a street parade of the command before going to Horticultural Hall, where a banquet had been prepared. The Captain said his men would be pleased to do anything the Reception Committee wished, and the line was immediately formed for parade. Police horses had been secured and were on hand for the Troopers.
The procession was led by a file of mounted policemen and carriages containing the Citizen's Reception Committee, which had gone to New York to meet the Troop. Following them came the Third Regiment Band and the Second City Troop. Last of all came the veterans in their Khaiki uniforms, and cheer after cheer went up everywhere as they came into view, mingled with enthusiastic shouts of "Here comes the Rough Riders!"
Up Broad Street, through an endless multitude, the procession moved, through brilliant displays of fireworks and past brightly illuminated residences. On Chestnut Street the scene was repeated with the added effect of booming cannon from the roof of the Union Republican Club. Down Chestnut toEighth, and up Eighth to Market, and thence to the City Hall, the Troop passed, and when Horticultural Hall was reached the riders had the satisfaction of knowing that they had participated in the greatest parade ever given by the Troop in its century and a quarter of existence.
As the Troop drew up in front of the hall, amid wild cheering, the men dismounted and turned the horses over to the mounted police. The men then filed into the banquet room between lines of the Battery A men, who stood at "Present arms." While standing at their designated seats Mayor Warwick addressed the Troopers as follows:
"Welcome home! We are here to-night to greet you with all our hearts. God bless you, and God keep you. The Republic is proud of you, and the city thrown open to you."
While the cavalrymen were eating, their relations and friends crowded in upon them. There was much laughing and much hand-shaking. The men had all been granted a sixty-day furlough, and they took their time about punishing the good things, leaving the hall at a late hour in groups of two's and three's—home at last.
Within a short time after their return, and before their muster-out, the Troopers participated in anumber of interesting events. Several receptions and dinners were given in their honor by individuals and clubs, and the one hundred and twenty-fourth anniversary of the Troop's organization was celebrated. The cavalrymen took a leading part in the military parade, on the second day of the Jubilee Celebration, October 27th. President McKinley reviewed the parade, and as the tradition of the Troop required that its members should act as the President's escort while in the city, the following Honorary members of the Troop were appointed to act in that capacity: Captain General E. Burd Grubb, Captain Joseph Lapsley Wilson, Captain Edmund H. McCullough, First Lieutenant James Rawle, Second Lieutenant Major J. Edward Carpenter, Second Lieutenant Frank E. Patterson, Second Lieutenant Edward K. Bispham, Cornet Charles E. Kelly, Cornet Richard Tilghman, Surgeon J. William White, Surgeon John B. Shober, Surgeon Charles H. Frazier, Quartermaster Hugh Craig, Jr.
All of these occurrences were joyous occasions, but one day in October the Troopers were called upon to perform a duty which saddened every heart. On that day, for the first time since the outbreak of hostilities, there was a voice missing at roll call which would never respond again. Stuart Wheeler had fallen a victim to typhoid fever, contracted while inPuerto Rico, and to the grave of this lost comrade the Troopers marched in silent sorrow to pay the last military respects.
Mr. Wheeler had seemed in good health upon his arrival in the United States after the campaign, and, with several friends, had gone upon a hunting trip in the Maine woods. There the fever seized him, and he died a few days after his removal to a Boston hospital.
Of the departed young hero, the Troopers will ever speak with affection and praise. In college he was an unusually earnest student, on the athletic fields he won laurels that will long remain green, at home he was a loving son and brother, with the Troop he showed the mettle of a gallant soldier. He died for his country—as surely as though his body had been found on a Puerto Rican battlefield, pierced with a Spanish bullet.
At noon on the eleventh day of November, the City Troopers gathered at their armory to bid farewell to the United States Volunteer service. Their sixty-day furlough had expired, and while there was not one who would have hesitated to re-enlist should need arise, it is safe to say that none were sorry that the moment for ending their terms as warriors hadarrived. Six men were unable to be present because of sickness.
Lieutenant B. F. Hughes, of the Tenth U. S. Cavalry, was on hand to muster-out the men, all of whom were first obliged to report to Doctors Spelissy and Brinton for physical examinations.
For a week preceding Captain Groome had made every preparation calculated to expedite the work, and before the men were drawn up for roll call, all the muster-out rolls, the descriptive lists and discharge papers had been prepared for the mustering officer. Even the computations of pay for each man had been figured out. As soon as each Trooper had received his physical examination he was dismissed until the following Monday. On the morning of that day discharge papers and pay were ready for all the Troopers, and so far as they were concerned the war was over.
It was not until twenty days later that the Spanish Commissioners, in Paris, agreed to accept the American terms, and surrendered to the United States 240,110 square miles of territory, with a population estimated at 9,500,000. A treaty of peace between the nations was then prepared. Practically, however, peace had existed since that day in Augustwhen but a few minutes separated the City Troopers'bivouac, in a field of flowers, from a charge which would have made desolate hundreds of homes.
Transcriber's Notes:Typographical errors silently corrected except those listed below. Spelling has been made consistent throughout where the author's preference could be ascertained.Page 16 "less than three hours consumed, in the Troopers case," added apostrophe "in the Troopers' case".Page 43 "from the headquarters mules would come an answering bray," added apostrophe "headquarter's mules."Page 43 "these sounds appealed to the Troopers sense of humor" added apostrophe "Troopers' sense".Page 61 "dodging under horses heads" added apostrophe "horses' heads".Page 68 "with their horses bridles over their arms" added apostrophe "horses' bridles".Page 68 "indicating the mens heighth and breadth" changed to "men's height".Page 101 "brothers shook each others hands" added apostrophe "each others' hands".
Typographical errors silently corrected except those listed below. Spelling has been made consistent throughout where the author's preference could be ascertained.
Page 16 "less than three hours consumed, in the Troopers case," added apostrophe "in the Troopers' case".
Page 43 "from the headquarters mules would come an answering bray," added apostrophe "headquarter's mules."
Page 43 "these sounds appealed to the Troopers sense of humor" added apostrophe "Troopers' sense".
Page 61 "dodging under horses heads" added apostrophe "horses' heads".
Page 68 "with their horses bridles over their arms" added apostrophe "horses' bridles".
Page 68 "indicating the mens heighth and breadth" changed to "men's height".
Page 101 "brothers shook each others hands" added apostrophe "each others' hands".