156 The Rough Riders 



again as that of the enlisted men which was as it 

 should be. 



I think we suffered more heavily than the Span- 

 iards did in killed and wounded (though we also 

 captured some scores of prisoners). It would have 

 been very extraordinary if the reverse was the case, 

 for we did the charging; and to carry earthworks 

 on foot with dismounted cavalry, when these earth- 

 works are held by unbroken infantry armed with the 

 best modern rifles, is a serious task. 



we captured the city we found in the hospitals over 2,000 seri- 

 ously wounded and sick Spaniards; on making inquiries, I 

 found that over a third were wounded. From these facts I 

 feel that it is safe to put down the total Spanish loss in bat- 

 tle as at least 1,200, of whom over a thousand were killed and 

 wounded. 



Lieutenant Tejeiro, while rightly claiming credit for the 

 courage shown by the Spaniards, also praises the courage and 

 resolution of the Americans, saying that they fought, "con 

 un arrojo y una decision verdaderamente admirables." He 

 dwells repeatedly upon the determination with which our 

 troops kept charging though themselves unprotected by cover. 

 As for the Spanish troops, all who fought them that day will 

 most freely admit the courage they showed. At El Caney, 

 where they were nearly hemmed in, they made a most des- 

 perate defence ; at San Juan the way to retreat was open, and 

 so, though they were seven times as numerous, they fought 

 with less desperation, but still very gallantly. 



