n8 The Rough Riders 



extreme advance of the Ninth Cavalry was under 

 Lieutenants McNamee and Hartwick. They were 

 joined by General Hawkins, with his staff, who was 

 looking over the ground and deciding on the route 

 he should take his infantry brigade. 



Our orders had been of the vaguest kind, being 

 simply to march to the right and connect with Law- 

 ton with whom, of course, there was no chance of 

 our connecting. No reconnoissance had been made, 

 and the exact position and strength of the Spaniards 

 were not known. A captive balloon was up in the 

 air at this moment, but if was worse than useless. 

 A previous proper reconnoissance and proper look- 

 out from the hills would have given us exact in- 

 formation. As it was, Generals Kent, Sumner, and 

 Hawkins had to do their own reconnoissance, and 

 they fought their troops so well that we won 

 anyhow. 



I was now ordered to cross the ford, march half 

 a mile or so to the right, and then halt and await 

 further orders; and I promptly hurried my men 

 across, for the fire was getting hot, and the captive 

 balloon, to the horror of everybody, was coming 

 down to the ford. Of course, it was a special tar- 

 get for the enemy's fire. I got my men across 

 before it reached the ford. There it partly col- 

 lapsed and remained, causing severe loss of life, 

 as it indicated the exact position where the Tenth 



