ication at least, that the wrecking of our
army was inevitable--that it was a sort of divine visitation, which
could not have been averted, and for which no one, except the Creator of
microbes and the Cuban climate, was responsible. But this theory accords
neither with the facts nor with General Shafter's explanation of them.
In his telegram of August 8 to President McKinley, he does not say,
"What put my command in its present condition was a visitation of God";
he says: "What put my command in its present condition was the twenty
days of the campaign when they had nothing but meat [fat bacon], bread,
and coffee, without change of clothes, and without any shelter
whatever." From this admission of the commanding general it is clear
that the wrecking of the army was not due primarily to uncontrollable
climatic conditions, but rather to lack of foresight, mismanagement, and
inefficiency. This conclusion is supported and greatly strengthened by
the record of another body of men, in a different branch of the service,
which spent more time in Cuba than the Fifth Army-Corps spent there,
which was subjected to nearly all the local and climatic influences that
are said to have wrecked the latter, but which, nevertheless, escaped
disease and came back to the United States in perfect health. I refer to
the battalion of marines under command of Colonel Huntington. This small
naval contingent landed on the western shore of Guantanamo Bay on June
10--two weeks before the Fifth Army-Corps finished disembarkation at
Daiquiri and Siboney. It was almost immediately attacked by a superior
force of Spanish regulars, and was so harassed, night and day, by the
fire of the latter that some of its officers slept only two hours out of
one hundred and fifteen. As soon as it had obtained a foothold it went
into camp on a slight elevation in the midst of an almost impenetrable
jungle, surrounded itself with defensive trenches, and there lived, for
a period of ten weeks, exposed to the same sun, rain, and malaria that
played havoc with the troops of General Shafter. On the sixth day of
August, after eight weeks on Cuban soil and in a tropical climate, its
condition, as reported by Admiral Sampson, was as follows: "The marine
battalion is in excellent health. Sick-list two and one half per cent.
The fleet surgeon reports that they are in better condition for service
in this climate than they were when they arrived South in June. I do not
think it nec