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SHAFTER DID Order the Army to Retreat at Santiago. WHEELER DISOBEYED. The “Hero of Santiago” is Dis creetly Silent- The true story of how the bat tle of San Juan Hill was won and the real cause that precipi tated the heroic charge that brought victory to the Ameri can arms is gradually being un folded to the public. It has been one of the choicest topics of discussion among mil itary men ever since the day af ter the battle, but the man who was responsible for the intrepid onslaught kept discreetly quiet. He and his immediate colleagues were too busily engaged with the Spaniards to discuss the matter, and even yet they are silent. Then what wonder that mili tary men marvel and civilians ask for explanation when they are told that the charge on the now historic hill was strictly against orders ; that it was not on Shafter’s programme, and,, in fact, was made directly against his orders? Yet such would seem to be the fact, and the victory was won ; the American tlag floated from the Spanish blockhouses I and the fate of the Spaniards was apparently sealed so far as Santiago was concerned at the very moment Shafter thought his army was withdrawing from the field. General Joe Wheeler w; s in command of the troops that went up San Juan Hill and there were Bates, Kent Roose velt and Young and other gal lant officers, who eagerly led the charge when it was ordered. The fight had been raging for hours, the American soldiers were at an awful disadvantage, but fighting with a desperation that meant certain victory if given anything like a fair chance. There was but one chance. To stay where they were meant to be shot down like sheep. The only avenue of pos sible escape w r as up that open hillside, down which rained a merciless of fire of Spanish bul lets. Shafter, the commanding General of all forces, several miles in the rear, was watching the battle through his couriers with the deepest anxiety. Crush ing as it might have been for him to do so, he finally con cluded tliat the only way to save his army to fight another day was to withdraw it, get a better position and recuperate for a final struggle,’ which he evident thought, if made at that time, would go against him. li was then that he sent his private orderly, Williams, as told in The Republic a week ago, with the order to Wheeler to withdraw his forces and re treat to a distance out of reach of the Spanish guns. The orderly reached General Wheeler at a . critical moment, and he held a hurried confer ence with subordinate officers immediately about him. It was decided to disregaid the orders of the commanding general. 1 hat in itself took quite as much courage as it did to fly in the face of Spanish bullets, but it was one of those extreme occa sions when to hesitate was to be Aost. XVheeler did not hesitate, ncr u jujaj—in jnew— mwipL-ir'. i t m i did his men. The woi'd Could not be given any too quick tor those daiing Americans, many of whom were Under fire for the first time. The word was given and the result will ever be a glorious memory to Americans. After the battle was over Gen. Shafter made his official report of how he had killed the bear and never an allusion was made as to how the victory came to be won. But this did not satis fy the popular mind, who still held in memory the fact that Gen. Shafter ordered a retreat only a few hours before toe glo rious victory. Inquiry was made yet the ironclad seal to utter ance kept the secret down, Speculations have been rife as to the reports, but no solution as to the whole situation has been gained until after the mus ter out of the forcesand the men were allowed to tell the story for themselves. It has already been known that Shafter ordered a retreat, and there was no getting out of it, but why did the army charge instead, or who had the audaci-. ty to disobey the general’s com mand? Some said there was a misunderstanding of orders, others said the news never J reached the firing line, while i still others had different solu tions to oiler. The first revelation was made I through Orderly Williams, as stated, and in full support of the orderly’s declarations, but more in detail now comes Captain ; McGinnis of Co I, First United States Volunteer Cavalry, who ■ passed through Union Station Friday night. Capt, McGinnis lives in Newark, Ok., and was on his way home when by a reporter. In reviewing the situation, be , said : “I have been discharged from the army, and am no longer amenable to the commands of the war d partment, and I Jsup pose there is no reason why the whole truth should not be known. Let credit go where credit is due would be my policy and I have no hesitancy in lay ing the bare facts as to the charge up San Juan Hill, which has caused so much agitation the whole country over. ‘JFrom the beginning of the bloody conflict to the end Gen.| Shafter remained so far in the rear it v. as hardly possible for him to be thoroughly posted as to the demands of the hour. Of ten his orders were so slow in coming it was impractical to heed them, but fie was as appar ently alive to the situation as one could well be at his distance from the actual conflict. “During the day, while we were lying at the foot of the hill with the Spaniards in their trenches at the top of it, pouring their deadly fire into us like molten hail, Gen. Shafter could see from the distance that we were getting the worst of the deal. Still he stayed in the rear, and never an order to charge the enemy came. By the hundreds our men were being shot down under the withering fire. They fell thick and fast, and there was not the slightest chance to shield themselves. It had begun to look like something had to be done or there would be a wild stampede, and our men, who i had already begun to waver, 1 would be routed in wild disor der. “The generals on the field j sent courier after courier to the commanding general. Finally there came the order to General Wheeler to retreat. Col. Roose- ' velt was standing near General ' Wheeler at the time, and imme- t diately asked the general if he could revoke Shafter’s order. 1 ( "HOT COFFEE!" (loilrt House Burned by In cendiaries. POPS LOST THE ELECTION And Many People Believe I hey Want Another. Willicoochee, Oct. B—Coffee county’s courthouse was burned last night, The fire is believed to have been of incendiary ori gin, the crime being inspired by a desire to destroy the vote cast in Wednesday’s election, The Populists lost the county by failing to make the proper returns from one precinct. The consolidation has been postpon ed until Wednesday next, and the court house is believed by some to have boeu destroyrd with a view to bringing on a \ new election. PASTEUR FILTERS Thje cnb G-erm ■ Prcoi Filter in the ’tvorld. Makes water pure and clear for sale by The Hanson Supply Co was within earshot of the two officers, and could hear distinct ly their c mversat’on. “Roosevelt asxed Wheeler if he could not make a charge and storm the .breastworks, which bristled before us like the yawn ing arms of death. To the direct question Wheeler replied that it seemed the only thing to be done, or the best thing was left 'to do. ‘I would not blame you if you did,’ were the exact words. Wheeler, Bates and Kent had agreed. “With that the trumpets sound ad a blast of ‘forward, charge I’ The men caught up the cry and charged like Spartans up those heights into the jaws of death. “As soon as the Rough Ri ders made a start there were no officers on the field who could retain their men. They all broke a id followed the leader. The Ninth and Tenth colored cavalry were the first, and after that the waole army. And it is no more than justice to say those negroes were the pluckiest men on the field. They saved our lines, and had it not been for them theie would be no Rough riders to tell the tale. “It was a battle wherein the men did the charging and the fighting. They took the matter in their own hands, and to them is due the credit of that memo rable victory. Gen. Wheeler is a genuine hero ;ho is Bates ; so is the gallant Kent , but to Col. Roosevelt is also due his mead of praise. “To stay where we were was destruction, but to obey Shaf ter’s command would have been suicide . There was nothing be hind us which we could have taken shelter. The land was smooth and level, stretching clear to the sea, and had we at tempted to retrace our steps the whole field could have been swept clear to a man. With the sea at our backs, we had but one thing to do, aud that was to rush forward or die. The order was I disobeyed and the day was won in spite of Gen. Shafter.’’ TO CURE A COLD IN ONE'- DAY r Take Laxative Bromo Quinine ‘ Tablets. All druggists refund the money if it fails to cure. 25c. The genuine has L. B. Q. on i each tablet. * ‘ I PIPE PHOTOGP4PHS THE SUMMER HAS PASSED AND GONE IMPROVE THE NEXT PRETY DAY AND HAVE YOUR NEGATIVE MADE! pYOU | i i | KxiOW | ge e| I ToeLps a TURNOUT. | Ljjrjj Fpj IW YOU ARE | comm INVITED H CW-L E3 M ■ S J. W. kandcaster. S Ire’zd k <