USA > Indiana > History of the One hundred and sixty-first regiment, Indiana volunteer infantry > Part 8
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HISTORY OF THE
"New Year's in Cuba " will bring a flood of memories to the men of the regiment. At 8:30 o'clock the companies were formed ready for the long march to Havana and re- turn. Every soldier wanted to go. Many offered to do double tours of guard duty for the privilege of changing with one of those going. Off up through the camp of the Second Illinois the column moved, headed by Colonel Dur- bin with his staff and the band. Out from between the rows of great royal palms onto the highway the boys swung into line, happy and proud to be a part of the day's ceremonies that marks such an epoch in the history of the beautiful island. There was little to be said on the way for the first two or three miles.
Probably there were thoughts of those so far away and of other New Year's days. All along the highlands to the cliffs overlooking the gulf, now down into the little green valleys, now up looking down into them, with a brisk salt breeze fanning them, the men of the regiment kept up the march with infrequent halts and short rests.
Down the hill roads to the coast line the long line led into Vedado, the aristocratic suburb of Havana. Here the first long rest was made almost four miles from the home camp. Along the way on every little Cuban cottage the Cuban and American flags had been displayed, but at Vedado the decorations were on a larger scale. Entire fronts of buildings were covered with the flags intertwined with green. Black eyed senoritas in stiff white skirts and fresh ribbons came out from the vine covered verandas and proceeded to capture many hearts with their "Viva los Americanos." A fifteen days' life in Cuba had not given the men a very complete knowledge of the Spanish lan- guage, but the pretty girls were assured that they were " mucha buena."
From Vedado to the city all the way is guarded by the
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ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-FIRST INDIANA.
old Spanish forts, which were occupied by American troops and American gunners. At 11:45 o'clock the pontoon bridge was crossed and the regiment was in Havana. Off across the narrow bay Morro stood silent and gray, beating back the waves that forever surge at her feet. Above the stone walls floated the yellow and red emblem of the defeated nation, so soon to be drawn down forever.
As the time drew nearer to the noon hour the excite- ment among the people increased until they were running about the streets crying, shouting, laughing and singing. Dozens of bombs, exploding high in the air, added to the noise and confusion. There was an intense feeling. The hour they had so long prayed for and fought for was almost at hand. They knew that at that same minute the hated Spanish were leaving the governor-general's palace and that the Spanish guards were being relieved for all time in the Morro. Their fair land, "The Queen of the Antilles," was about to be taken from the hand of the oppressor.
Twelve o'clock!
Boom! The first gun from the Morro ever fired in honor of the American flag.
And the men of the One Hundred and Sixty-first stood on the shore opposite and watched the Stars and Stripes ascend over that stronghold and joined in the cheer that went up with a strong Hoosier yell that was probably heard at the fort.
Just by the regiment the bells of the Catholic hos- pital, San Lozaro, pealed forth clear and sweet, rung by the black-robed Sisters, heralding the new day in Cuban history. Tears they shed, maybe in sympathy for the mother land, maybe for joy. Farther down the street, at the palace, the old white-haired general, Castellanos, of Spain, was handing over to General Brooke the keys of the mansion, symbolic of the final evacuation of the island.
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The scene at the palace was simple and pathetic; the officers who were to take charge of the various depart- ments were instructed by Brigadier-General Clous, the master of ceremonies of the day, as follows: " On the fir- ing of the last gun of the first twenty-one at noon, you are to go to the place assigned you and demand possession of the office in the name of the United States." At II:10 Major-General Wade and Major-General Butler, of the American evacuation commission, arrived; at 11:30 Major- General John R. Brooke, governor of Cuba, and Major- General Ludlow, governor of the city of Havana, came and at 11:45 Major-General Lee joined them. Just a few minutes before 12 Captain-General Castellanos suddenly entered the salon and after greeting General Brooke and others, moved toward a group of Cuban generals and on being introduced to General Rodriguez shook both his hands according to Spanish custom, and said: " We have been enemies, but I respect you for your correct attitudes and opinions. I have pleasure in shaking your hand." General Rodriguez, replied: " I thank you, General; I feel sorry for the Spanish army which has defended the banner it was sworn to defend. I also have pleasure in shaking your hands." At this moment the big guns began to roar the national salute and at once General Castellanos, addressing General Wade, who was president of the Amer- ican Commission, the words having been placed on manu- script, said: "Gentlemen: In compliance with the treaty of Paris, the agreement of the military commissioners of the island, and the orders of my King, at this moment of noon, January 1, 1899, there ceases in Cuba Spanish sovereignty and begins that of the United States. In con- sequence, I declare you in command of the island, with the object that you may exercise it, declaring to you that I will be first in respecting it. Peace having been established
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ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-FIRST INDIANA.
between our respective governments, I promise you to give all due respect to the United States government, and I hope that the good relations already existing between our armies, will continue until the termination of the evacuation of those under my orders in this territory."
The address having been translated, General Wade handed it to General Brooke, saying "I transfer this command to you, " and General Brooke said: "I accept this great trust in behalf of the government and President of the United States, and (turning to General Castellanos) I wish you and the gallant gentlemen with you a pleasant return to your native land. May prosperity attend you and all who are with you." General Castellanos immediately retired from the throne room and turning to his officers said, with tears in his eyes: "Gentlemen, I have been in more battles than I have hairs on my head, and my self- possession has never failed me until to-day. Adieu, gentle- men, adieu." The old man bowed his head as he walked down the stairway and out into the plaza. Some Ameri- can ladies waved their handkerchiefs to him and bowing he kissed his hands to them and accompanied by General Clous and by his own staff he started toward the wharf; all the way he was hooted and jeered by the Cubans and there was no Spanish soldiers to do his bidding had he cared to notice them, but those of better hearts looked quietly on and pitied the faithful old servant of his country. At the wharf he thanked General Clous and as he stepped into his launch that was to take him to his vessel he wept again while the docks were crowded with Spaniards, men and women, all dressed in black, weeping with him. Not a shout was raised, not a handkerchief was waved, but men and women wept together.
It was almost I o'clock when the regiment was ordered forward. The review of the American troops by General
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HISTORY OF THE
Lee, General Brooke, General Ludlow with the staff of each, drawn up in front of the Ingleterra, was in prog- ress and the Indianians marched onto the Prado, ready to carry off the honors. The regiment was formed in pla- toons and there were a third more in the regiment than in any other organization that passed the stand. Cheers that were hearty before increased two-fold when the One Hun- dred and Sixty-first passed.
Down the Prado they marched, every man a soldier. On to Reina street the column was directed and there it was halted for the noon-day lunch. The men fell out of ranks and for an hour and a half the neighborhood was filled with soldiers, visiting scenes they had read of, maybe, but had never seen. Then on home, back to a hot supper and cots and blankets that never seemed more comforting and more comfortable, and the great day was over.
Cuba was out of the power of the Spanish.
On the morning of January 2, the boys turned out of bed and discovered their legs were a little stiff from the previous day's hike; it was a day of well-deserved rest, for all drills were suspended and the men spent the day loung- ing about camp making "pipes" and "grape vines " on the next move.
The month of January, apart from New Year's day and the 31st, was in one respect an uneventful one. There were no marches, no reviews and only one battle, on the 6th in which the score was fourteen to three for the Cubans, seventy dollars gate receipts and that sore feeling for the boys. The panacea for all ills came next day when Major Havens visited the regiment with the good govern- ment's crisp paper and yellow gold.
The boys were determined, however, to hold their good record at the drill and on the 9th began to drill twice a day, from 8:30 to 10 A. M. and from 3:30 to 4:30 P. M.
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This was immediately followed by regimental parade; it was quick time and if the first sergeant does not remember, the men do; it was "company dismissed" -get ready for parade " !! and as quick as it takes to tell it the men were on their way to " pass in review, take full distance, guide right, harsh." !!!!
But there were some things which made even January an important month historically, and these are found in the camp improvements, the outcome of that spirit which has always by conceded opinion made the One Hundred and Sixty-first Indiana camp the model one.
The 10th of the month saw the erection of the first company kitchen and for a week of time incessant ham- mering sounded an invitation for the company cooks to
SOUPEE ! SOUPEE ! SOUP ! SOUP !
leave the sun and the wind and the dust and the tempora- rily erected "flys " and come into a commodious shack
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ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-FIRST INDIANA.
which sprung up along the regimental rear, one for each company, in a line as straight as human science could make
THE WAY MOTHER USED TO DO.
it. At the same time the headquarters went down one tent a day, and " Dude Allen " with his force constructed those elevated floors and tent skeletons which made that row look like the street of a deserted village when we had gone.
As fast as lumber arrived, and God and the govern- ment knows it came slow enough in spite of the fact that the quartermaster had receipted for sixty thousand feet in the states which went into government buildings and the regiment consequently had to wait, but it came by degrees, and as it did come was hurriedly worked up into floors for the company tents, but all tents however were not floored until the middle of March, when those of the home bound Maine artillery were brought to us for that purpose. In the meantime the grounds throughout and in the imme-
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HISTORY OF THE
diate vicinity of the regiment were being thoroughly policed; every shrub and root grubbed up, and every loose
and protruding stone removed till the whole place was as neat and clean as human hands and labor could make it.
Then came the "ornamental period " when companies vied with each other in making their quarters attractive. Had there been any Spaniards to fight all this camp embel- lishment would have been unknown, but it is certainly a great credit to any regiment and indicative of an enter- prising spirit, the essence of which will make good soldiers under any circumstances, that a portion of the men's time was spent in an endeavor toward attractiveness. Great loads of sand were hauled from Playa beach and along headquarters, around battalion quarters, along the cap- tains' and the company streets sand walks were made and
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CAMP COLUMBIA.
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HISTORY OF THE
bounded by uniform stones covered over with whitewash. At the head of each company appropriate designs were made by scratching up the red soil, by lettering and designing upon it by small bits of white limestone blasted from the hard earth by our Cuban sink diggers, who from the first day startled the camp by their cannon-like explosions and filled the air with flying stones which came hailing down ofttimes all too near for comfort or appreciation. On a certain Saturday (2Ist) a prize of $5.00 offered by the officer of the day for the neatest interior and surroundings was awarded to Corporal Joseph L. Luse, privates Frank E. Oaks, B. S. Kellenberger, Robert E. Ketner, Ralph Mc- Callie and Elbert M. Blake, who occupied tent No. 10 in Company K.
The band quarters, the hospital especially, and the First Battalion coral star, the product of Lieutenant-Colo- nel Backus' creative genius, all deserve mention, but the one work of note that made all the kodack fiends hurry to our camp, that made other regiments look our way with envious eyes and wonder why they "hadn't thought of it " was, is and always will be the One Hundred and Sixty-first Indiana Volunteer Infantry Monument. It stands there to-day in its lonely grandeur, growing more endurable with the passing ages; a monument to the enterprise of the regi- ment whose name it bears. It is the first monument ever erected on foreign soil to the memory of an American Soldier and the honor of its origination and general design belongs to the inimitable Backus, to whose inherent aptitude for such things and untiring energy the One Hundred and Sixty-first Indiana owes much of the credit bestowed upon it for the example it always set as the model camp of the Seventh Army Corps; and would it not be well to confess that some of us looked a little wise and doubted a little bit the success of what seemed to be a hard task to make out
RECIMENTAL HOSPITAL AT CAMP COLUMBIA.
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of rough material a monument creditable to the reputation of the regiment; but the lieutenant-colonel simply re- marked " Just let the old man alone " and when the work was finished every man in the regiment was proud of it. It was begun on the 21st day of January and completed the 5th day of February, and every stone was hauled, hewn, lifted and put in place by a soldier of the regiment.
Its base is sixteen feet square and four feet high; sur- mounted by a second base twelve feet square and three feet high and rising from this is the shaft, sixteen feet high, being four feet square at its base and two and one half feet square at the top where rests a twelve-inch steel shell making in all a total height of twenty-four feet. The shells and cannon balls upon and around its base were se- cured from the landing place on Playa coast. The shaft is a heavy frame work covered with brain coral and set in cement. Imbedded in the four faces of the second base are huge limestone slabs bearing the four inscriptions " One Hundred and Sixty-first" "Indiana" "Volunteer " " In- fantry. " Set in the north side of the lower base is a plate of limestone bearing the names of Colonel Durbin, Lieu- tenant-Colonel Backus and Captain George West as build- ers. In the front lower base is another limestone shield bearing the date 1899. In the upper left hand corner of the lower base immediately under the lower left hand cor- ner of the upper base is the corner stone concerning the laying of which and its contents the following is quoted from the "Times of Cuba. "
" Yesterday morning the corner stone was laid, not with any formal ceremony but in a business-like way. The corner stone is one of great size, and after being chiseled out a tin box was placed inside. The box was about fif- teen inches on each side, and when filled contained a re- markable collection of papers, very different from any that
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HISTORY OF THE
history records, and the man who will open this stone in centuries to come will marvel at the wonderful sight that will greet his eyes when he removes the cement that now so well protects the assortment of mementos that the In- diana men covered with a massive slab. A complete roster of the regiment was first placed in the stone. Then came a copy of the drill regulations and the manual of arms, fol- lowed by the photographs of a number of the officers of the regiment, all the newspapers published in Indiana which could be procured, a few small coins, a piece of rope from the lamented Maine, one cigar in a box, a brief history of the regiment, copies of the New York, Cincinnati and Chi- cago papers, and lastly a copy of the Times of Cuba, of Tuesday, January 23, which contained the first account of the unique memorial of the Indiana regiment."
Captain West deserves great praise not only for his share in the monument's design but for the attention and assistance given to its erecton, and the men who worked so hard for so many days ought also to be remembered. It is not the only monument of its kind but it is and always will be the first one. It is told of a southern colonel: There were fourteen baptized in another regiment; he forth- with ordered the adjutant to make a detail of twenty men, to take them down to the creek and baptize them, for he " wasn't agoin' to allow any regiment to get ahead of him; " and so there are other monuments, at least one, -a credit- able work, too, by the way.
.January also contained the " bloody period," a time when the patriots' fluid was drawn upon every man, a time out of which the future brought much intense suffering, a time when one thousand two hundred Hoosier soldiers bared their strong left arms to the surgeons' little bone slivers, with poison points like Oriental daggers, dipped in some mysterious concoction, that for effect might have
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ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-FIRST INDIANA.
been, for all the soldiers. knew, drawn from a cauldron mixed up by Macbeth's witches, and in plain vernacular beat a tarantula bite all hollow. There was smallpox in camp, .of which later mention will be made, and every man was vaccinated, beginning with Company A, on the 16th of the month. The men were driven up to the dis- pensary like sheep to the slaughter-house-there was no getting out of it. There were more " Ohs! " and "damns! " and like emphatic exclamations in this month than in all others together, as those beautiful rose-colored sore arms hanging so carefully and tenderly down would run against the hand of some thoughtless fellow who wanted to tell him something on the confidential; but they were glad of it for it doubtless prevented what might otherwise have been a period of much and serious sickness, at least so medical science use to say.
Many of these January days were wisely employed in visiting much of what there was of note on the island. On the 21st fourteen officers; including the "Colonel, "saw the sights." They reported a time of great interest. They did Morro and Cabannas and the city thoroughly and were in the act of bringing the Maine from its wreck spot in the bay to camp but stopped suddenly after procuring enough to supply a few museums. On the following Saturday ten more under charge of Major Olds made a similar excursion. It was another pleasant and profitable day; Major Smith found a dollar on the tomb of Columbus in the old cathre- dal. The privates had their outings, too. Colonel Durbin who has always been considerate of his men, conceived the idea of sending each day, ten men from each company to the country in army wagons for a day of recreation and acquaintance with the country's beautiful appearance. Accordingly at 7 A. M. on January 29th the first excursion went out. 10 They drove over a fine macadamized road past
A MIXED RACE.
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ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-FIRST INDIANA.
trotting ponies, dusty stage coaches, lumbering burrow carts, cane and pineapple fields and banana groves, past a thousand palms and cocoas and other tropical growths, through peculiar Cuban villages to the mountains sixteen miles away and back again at six o'clock in the evening. Nature certainly has a lavish way of doing things in Cuba and as one looks upon the luxuriant landscape he thinks of something that Emerson said,
" Happy, I cried, whose home is here; Fair fortune to the Mountaineer; Dame nature round his humble bed Hath royal pleasure grounds outspread."
Still appearances ofttimes deceive, and even the Cubans never raised enough as the import statistics on rice, flour, potatoes, salt, etc., plainly indicate; but the chief thing now is that nature does it all or nearly all, for the wooden plow
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HISTORY OF THE
and antiquated ox goad; show the rude and barbarous stage out of which their agriculture has never emerged; but now while all over the island where once magnificent estates are
in ruins and the country has gone to waste, the time has come for the replanting and rebuilding and under an American protectorate or at least the influence of her civilization which is bound to come, agriculture will become an Ameri- can science more in harmony with nature's demand that will usher in an era of prosperity such as the island never yet has known.
Squads of ten, accompanied by a commissioned officer, from time to time also visited the city and surveyed its points of interest; there was grim old Morro with its walls hewn from the rocks in 1589; its famous O'Donnell light- house on the seaward corner and its frowning batteries
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ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-FIRST INDIANA.
crowned with sixty cannon and the famous " twelve apos- tles." And there is traditional and worthless old Cabana, dating from 1763, at a cost of fourteen million dollars. There is the unrivaled view encircling the bay, the tragic spot where rests the Maine, the old Catholic cathedral, and, best of all, the life with all its peculiar characteristics that flows through the city's narrow streets. The value of seeing the country, the city and the people, will always be to every man, from an educational standpoint, a reason for rejoicing that the destinies of war took him to those shores.
If January began with a significant event it was also to end with one. . An order came to prepare for a corps review on the 31st. The reviewing officer was to be the inspector general of the United States Army, Brigadier- General Breckenridge. The general had inspected our camp the day before, the 30th, and on the 31st, the parade ground being next and nearest our regiment, every man who could shoulder a gun turned out. Beside the infantry of the Seventh Army Corps there were present the Seventh Cavalry and the Second United States Artillery. In all over thirteen hundred men passed in review at 3 P. M. before the distinguished visitor who was there for that pur- pose in company with General Fitz Hugh Lee.
The review was one that showed the results of hard training on the part of every regiment present; in fact it was remarkable the way those men did march. The Indiana boys were there. Said one fellow from another regiment, "Those d-d Hoosiers can have typhoid fever, smallpox and everything else and then turn out bigger com- panies and march better than any regiment in the whole d-d corps." That he was about right, forgetting the indelicacy of his expression is clearly proven by the follow- ing letter.
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HISTORY OF THE
HEADQUARTERS IST. BRIG., 2D. DIV., 7TH A. C., - CAMP COLUMBIA, HAVANA, CUBA, FEB. 1, 1899.
THE COMMANDING OFFICER, 16Ist IND. VOL. INF.
SIR :- The brigadier-general commanding directs me to inform you in his opinion your regiment presented the finest appearance of any in the corps at the review before the inspector-general yesterday, and to express to you his gratification thereat. Also, that he considered the condi- tion of your camp as worthy of especial commendation, which he takes pleasure in transmitting to you. Very respectfully,
R. G. PAXTON, Assistant Adjutant-General.
The men were proud of this deserved tribute; it was the result of intelligent and hard work and every future parade showed they meant to hold the distinction they had so honorably acquired. And thus the first month of 1899 came to an end. February was at hand and entered upon, every man wondering what its four short weeks would bring forth in the experience of the army to which he belonged.
CHAPTER IX.
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CAMP COLUMBIA.
February 1, '99-March 31, '99.
February came and brought with it twenty-eight days of atmospheric changes; for a day or a few the sun was at his best and then for an equal length of time or longer the clouds that hid the hot old orb poured their torrents down upon the thirsty ground; for a time we were warmly re- minded of our equatorial proximity and then with a gale that sprang up in the night the wind would turn and bring us chilly reminders of that for-years-unequalled winter they were having in our Hoosier home up north. It was not necessary to wait for the "rainy season" to discover that Cuban skies had fine raining facilities; they were too gen- erous to deal in "drops;" they poured it out in torrents and then some. The north wind that rose in the night and played those beautiful tunes with the flies, that blustered around the tent and blew an occasional one down, just to show what it could do, was a little reminder of what we might expect when the real time came for the wind to blow. But the night of the 13th was not so slow. At 2 A. M. on the morning of the 12th the wind began to rise; it had been blowing from the north for a day and all through the 13th it kept rising higher till it sent the ocean breakers in white dashing billows against the coast of Playa. By 8 P. M. there was a heavy wind growing hourly stronger and by 2 A. M.of the coming morning a regular hurricane was hav- ing its own way all over camp. The night was awful; the
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