llent work, "as reported;" and at that time he is
commenting on Lieutenant-Colonel Daggett's report, the report printed
above. The broad statements of General Lawton do not touch the exact
question at issue between the reports of the subordinate commanders;
nor do they throw any light on the circumstances of the final charge.
Miles' brigade had been advancing on the stone fort for some hours,
and the Twenty-fifth was so near when the charge of the Twelfth was
made that portions of it were on the hill and near the fort at the
same time. The commander of the Third Brigade saw the fight from one
side and reported events as he learned them. His official statement
requires no support. The commanding officer of the Twenty-fifth
Infantry saw the fight from another standpoint, and his official
reports are entitled to equal respect. Both the General's and the
Lieutenant-Colonel's must be accepted as recitals of facts, made with
all the accuracy that high personal integrity armed with thorough
military training can command. Happily the statements, which at first
appear so widely at variance, are entirely reconcilable. The following
supplementary report of the regimental commander, when taken in
connection with the final complimentary orders published in the
regiment before leaving Cuba, will place the whole subject before the
reader and put the question at rest, and at the same time leave
undisturbed all the reports of superior officers.

Headquarters Twenty-fifth Infantry,
Montauk Point, Long Island, August 22, 1898.

The Adjutant-General, U.S. Army, Washington, D.C.

Sir:--I have the honor to submit a supplementary report to
the original one made on the 19th (16th) of July, 1898, of
the battle of El Caney de Cuba, so far as relates to the
part taken therein by the Twenty-fifth Infantry:

1. I stated in the original report that the Twenty-fifth
Infantry, in advancing, broke away from and left the Fourth
Infantry behind. This may inferentially reflect on the
latter regiment. It was not so intended, and a subsequent
visit to the battle-field convinces me that it would have
been impossible for the regiment to advance to the fort,
and, although it might have advanced a short distance
farther, it would have resulted in a useless slaughter, and
that the battalion commander exercised excellent judgment in
remaining where he did and by his fire aid