| Battle Of San Juan Hill |
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The Battle of San Juan Hill was the bloodiest and most famous battle of the Spanish-American War . BACKGROUND At San Juan Hill, 750 Spanish soldiers were ordered to hold the heights against an American offensive on July 1 , 1898 . For reasons still not quite clear, Spanish General Arsenio Linares failed to reinforce this position, choosing to hold nearly 10,000 Spanish reserves in the city of Santiago. Spanish hilltop entrenchments, while typically well-constructed, had been poorly positioned, which would make even Point-blank rifle volleying at the advancing Americans difficult. General William Rufus Shafter commanded about 15,000 troops in three divisions. Jacob F. Kent commanded the 1st Division, Henry W. Lawton commanded the 2nd Division, and Joseph Wheeler commanded the Cavalry Division but was suffering from fever and had to turn over command to General Samuel S. Sumner . Shafter's plans to attack Santiago De Cuba called for Lawton's division to move north and reduce the Spanish stronghold at El Caney, which was to take about 2 hours then join with the rest of the troops for the attack on the San Juan Heights. The remaining two divisions would move directly against San Juan Hill with Sumner in the center and Kent to the south. Shafter was too ill to personally direct the operations and instead set up his headquarters at El Pozo two miles from San Juan Hill and communicated through mounted staff officers. ORDER OF BATTLE U.S. V Corps - Major General William Rufus Shafter Second-in-Command - Major General Joseph Wheeler
Spanish IV Corps - General Arsenio Linares
"HELL'S POCKET" Early on the morning of heard the sound of gunfire, arose from his sickbed and rode to the front. Upon arriving at El Pozo Hill, Wheeler became the senior front line officer and began discussing the course of action with McClernand. The advance then resumed with Colonel Henry K. Carrol's cavalry brigade in the lead followed by Brig. Gen. Leonard Wood 's brigade. The cavalry crossed the San Juan River and veered off to the right, while Hamilton S. Hawkins led his infantry brigade off to the left. A company from the signal corps ascended in a , fourth in command of the brigade assumed command. Kent and Sumner lined up for the attack and waited for Lawton's division to arrive from El Caney. Lawton didn't arrive as scheduled and no orders came from either Shafter or Wheeler and the troops waited at the base of the hill plagued by Spanish gunfire in areas dubbed "Hell's Pocket" and "Bloody Ford". KETTLE HILL .]] Many of the officers grew impatient of waiting for orders. One such officer was Lt. Col. Theodore Roosevelt , commander of the " Rough Riders " regiment. Roosevelt's dismounted cavalry lay waiting in trenches at the base of the hill while suffering casualties. In the absence of orders Roosevelt took it upon himself to lead a bold charge. Facing the Rough Riders was a smaller hill which received the name Kettle Hill because the Americans found a large kettle near the base. Roosevelt formed his regiment and began to advance. The advance began to slow as troops dropped from heat exhaustion. Roosevelt himself feared that he could not keep up on foot in the tropical heat and instead stayed mounted. Soon officers from the rest of Wood's brigade along with Carrol's brigade began to advance and soon the units became intermingled. One of the units involved was the 10th Cavalry "Buffalo Soldiers" along with one of its lieutenants, John J. "Black Jack" Pershing . The regulars reached a depression in the hill and stopped to fire. Roosevelt ordered the troops to charge. When the regulars refused because no orders to do so came from the brigade commanders, Roosevelt led his volunteers past and charged up the hill. The attackers cut their way through barbed wire fences and drove the Spaniards out of their trenches Kettle Hill. AFTERMATH The battle had been hard won for the Americans, who suffered almost three times as many losses as the Spanish had. The Spaniards, meanwhile, had literally fought to the knife, losing a third of their force in casualties but yielding very few prisoners. Lawton's division, which was supposed to join the fight early on July 1, did not arrive until noon on July 2, having encountering unexpectedly heavy resistance in the Battle Of El Caney . The Americans, along with the aid of Cuban insurgents, immediately began the Investment Of Santiago , which surrendered on July 17 . The battle of San Juan Hill launched Theodore Roosevelt into national fame along with his regiment of "Rough Riders". Roosevelt returned to the United States a national hero and became Vice President three years later. Roosevelt along with 23 other participants were awarded the Medal Of Honor . Political rivalries prevented Roosevelt from receiving his award during his lifetime, but in 2001 President Clinton presented the award to Tweed Roosevelt. A controversy exists concerning the Buffalo soldiers' involvement in the battle. Evidence has been found suggesting that they paved the way for the Rough Riders yet received little credit for their role in the battle. THE BATTLE IN MOVIES The battle was the climactic scene of the 1997 film '' Rough Riders '' starring Tom Berenger as Theodore Roosevelt and Gary Busey as General Wheeler . REFERENCES
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