Spanish-American War, 1898 -- Regimental histories; United States. Army. Volunteer Cavalry, 1st
To sum up briefly as follows: The Spanish surrendered in
Santiago 12,000 men. We shipped from Santiago something over
14,000 men. The 2,000 additional were troops that came in
from San Luis, Songo, and small up-country posts. The 12,000
in the city, minus the force of General Iscario, 3,300
infantry and 680 cavalry, or in round numbers 4,000 men (who
entered the city just after the battles of San Juan and El
Caney), leaves 8,000 regulars, plus the dead, plus Cervera's
marines and blue-jackets, which he himself admits landing in
the neighborhood of 1,200 (and reports here are that he landed
1,380), and plus the Spanish Volunteer Battalion, which was
between 800 and 900 men (this statement I have from the
lieutenant-colonel of this very battalion), gives us in
round numbers, present for duty on the morning of July 1st,
not less than 10,500 men. These men were distributed 890 at
Caney, two companies of artillery at Morro, one at Socapa,
and half a company at Puenta Gorda; in all, not over 500 or
600 men, but for the sake of argument we can say a thousand.
In round numbers, then, we had immediately about the city
8,500 troops. These were scattered from the cemetery around
to Aguadores. In front of us, actually in the trenches,
there could not by any possible method of figuring have been
less than 6,000 men. You can twist it any way you want to;
the figures I have given you are absolutely correct, at
least they are absolutely on the side of safety.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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