jio The Rough Riders 



"shower of promotions." In the first place, the 

 commanding officers of the First and Tenth Cav- 

 alry were not in the fight only one squadron of 

 each having been present. In the next place, there 

 was no "shower of promotions" at all. Nobody 

 was promoted except General Young, save to fill 

 the vacancies caused by death or by the promotion 

 of General Young. Wood was not promoted be- 

 cause of this fight. General Young most deservedly 

 was promoted. Soon after the fight he fell sick. 

 The command of the brigade then fell upon Wood, 

 simply because he had higher rank than the other 

 two regimental commanders of the brigade; and I 

 then took command of the regiment exactly as 

 Lieutenant-Colonels Viele and Baldwin had already 

 taken command of the First and Tenth Cavalry 

 when their superior officers were put in charge of 

 brigades. After the San Juan fighting, in which 

 Wood commanded a brigade, he was made a Brig- 

 adier-General and I was then promoted to the nom- 

 inal command of the regiment, which I was already 

 commanding in reality. 



Mr. Bonsai's claim of superior efficiency for the 

 colored regular regiments as compared with the 

 white regular regiments does not merit discussion. 

 He asserts that General Wheeler brought on the 

 Guasimas fight in defiance of orders. Lieutenant 

 Miley, in his book, "In Cuba with Shatter," ofi page 

 83, shows that General Wheeler made his fight be- 

 fore receiving the order which it is claimed he dis- 



