etreat like cowards. We preferred to go ahead. At this first
fence Lieutenant McCorkle was taken to earth by a Spanish bullet.
Lieutenant Moss spoke out, 'Come ahead! Let's get at these Spaniards!'
A few moments more and he, too, was almost dead with exertion, loud
speaking, running and jumping, as onward we swept toward the Spanish
stronghold. The sun was exceedingly hot, as on the slope of a little
mound we rested for a few moments. We lay here about five minutes,
looking into the Spanish fort or blockhouse; we measured the distance
by our eyesight, then with our rifles; we began to cheer and storm,
and in a moment more, up the hill like a bevy of blue birds did the
Twenty-fifth fly. G and H Companies were the first to reach the summit
and to make the Spaniards fly into the city of El Caney, which lay
just behind the hill. When we reached the summit others soon began to
_mount our ladder_. We fired down into the city until nearly dusk."

The brigade made its advance under fire almost from the beginning. The
commander says it was continuously under fire from 12.30 to 4.30 p.m.
"The attack was begun by two companies in each regiment on the firing
line, strengthened by supports and reserves from the remaining
companies until the brigade had but two companies in reserve. At one
time in this hotly engaged contest the commanding officer of the
Twenty-Fifth Infantry sent me word that he needed troops on his right.
I then sent forward 40 Cubans, under command of Captains Jose' Varges
and Avelens Bravo, with Lieutenants Nicholas Franco and Tomas Repelao,
to form on the right of the Twenty-fifth, which was also the right of
the brigade. With these Cubans I ordered Private Henry Downey, Company
H, First Infantry, on duty as interpreter at the headquarters. These
men advanced on the stone fort with our line, fighting gallantly,
during which Lieutenant Nicholas Franco was mortally wounded and died
soon afterwards." (Col. Miles' report.)

From the soldier's story, as well as from the official report of the
brigade commander, it is conclusive that the real objective of the
Second Brigade was the stone fort, and that the Twenty-fifth Infantry,
which occupied the right of the line, had no other objective
whatever.* [Transcriber's Note: No footnote text present for this
footnote anchor.] It also appears that Bates' brigade, although
somewhere on the right, was not so near but that the commanding
officer of the Twenty-fifth could see t