y.

Shortly before twelve o'clock our troops were
again drawn up in line along the six miles of
trenches and stood at present arms. An officer
ascended to the top of the Governor's palace and
lowered the Spanish colors and now held the Stars
and Stripes, impatient to declare our victory to
the world. Suddenly at exactly twelve o'clock the
enthusiasm burst forth, cannon boomed the national
salute, bands played the Star Spangled Banner,
hats were thrown into the air and ten thousand men
as if to burst their throats joined in one grand
American yell. There just beyond the hill outlined
against the clear sky, over the Governor's palace
in the captured city, though invisible to many of
us floated our own beloved flag. The campaign was
over. For us the war was ended.

On June 29th a part of General Garcia's Army with
some 4000 Cubans were marched to the front, but
they rendered little assistance, either in working
or fighting. The most of them fled at the first
explosion of a Spanish shell over El Pozo Capital
Hill on July 1st. However, some excuse is theirs.
Ragged, some half naked, wearied from hunger,
laden with huge earthen water pots, heavy packs
and cooking utensils slung over their backs, armed
with every conceivable obsolete pattern of gun, it
is no wonder that they dared not face the deadly
Mauser rifle; we ourselves had much less contempt
for Spanish arms after we had met them face to
face on the battle field.

On June 30th the general order came to move
forward and every man felt that the final test of
skill at arms would soon come. The cavalry
division of six regiments camped in its tracks at
midnight on El Pozo Hill, awoke next morning to
find itself in support of Grimes' Battery which
was to open fire here on the left.

The morning of July 1st was ideally beautiful; the
sky was cloudless and the air soft and balmy;
peace seem to reign supreme, great palms towered
here and there above the low jungle. It was a
picture of a peaceful valley. There was a feeling
that we had secretly in