The commander of the regiment speaks of its doings in a very modest manner, but in a tone to give the reader confidence in what he says.  He became temporarily separated from the regiment, but made his way to the crest of the hill in company with the Adjutant and there found a part of his command.  He says a creditable number of the men of his regiment reached the top of the hill among the first to arrive there.  The commander of the Second Battalion, Captain Wygant, crossed the meadow, or flat, some distance ahead of the battalion, but as the men subsequently charged up the hill, he was unable to keep up with them, so rapid was their gait It was from this battalion that Captain Ducat’s company broke away and charged on the right of the battalion, arriving, as has been said, first on the top of the hill.  As the regiment arrived Captain Wygant, finding himself the ranking officer on the ground, assembled it and assigned each company its place.  Captain Dodge, who commanded Company C in this assault, and who subsequently died in the yellow fever hospital at Siboney, mentions the fact that Captain Wygant led the advance in person, and says that in the charge across the open field the three companies, C, B and H, became so intermixed that it was impossible for the company commanders to distinguish their own men from those of the other companies, yet he says he had the names of twenty men of his own company who reached the trenches at Fort San Juan in that perilous rush on that fiery mid-day.  The testimony of all the officers of the regiment is to the effect that the men behaved splendidly, and eight of them have been given Certificates of Merit for gallantry in the action of July 1.

The losses of the regiment in that advance were numerous, the killed, wounded and missing amounted to 96, which number was swelled to 104 during the next two days.  So many men falling in so short a time while advancing in open order tells how severe was the fire they were facing and serves to modify the opinion which was so often expressed about the time the war broke out, to the effect that the Spanish soldiers were wanting both in skill and bravery.  They contradicted this both at El Caney and at San Juan.  In the latter conflict they held their ground until the last moment and inflicted a loss upon their assailants equal to the number engaged in the defence of the heights.  Since July 1, 1898, expatiation on the cowardice and lack of skill of the Spanish soldier has ceased to be a profitable literary occupation.  Too many journalists and correspondents were permitted to witness the work of Spanish sharpshooters, and to see their obstinate resistance to the advance of our troops, to allow comments upon the inefficiency of the Spanish Army to pass unnoticed.  Our army from the beginning was well impressed with the character of the foe and nerved itself accordingly.  The bravery of our own soldiers was fully recognized by the men who surrendered to our army and who were capable of appreciating it, because they themselves were not wanting in the same qualities.