Ames made a statement direct to the correspondent, and also sent a cable to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy at Washington, a copy of which he gave to the correspondent.  By this time the other division and brigade commanders who were present felt that they had better take action themselves.  They united in a round robin to General Shafter, which General Wood dictated, and which was signed by Generals Kent, Gates, Chaffee, Sumner, Ludlow, Ames, and Wood, and by myself.  General Wood handed this to General Shafter, and it was made public by General Shafter precisely as mine was made public.[*] Later I was much amused when General Shafter stated that he could not imagine how my letter and the round robin got out!  When I saw this statement, I appreciated how wise Wood had been in hinting to me not to act on the suggestion of the General that I should make a statement to the newspapers, but to put my statement in the form of a letter to him as my superior officer, a letter which I delivered to him.  Both the letter and the round robin were written at General Shafter’s wish, and at the unanimous suggestion of all the commanding and medical officers of the Fifth Army Corps, and both were published by General Shafter.

[*] General Wood writes me:  “The representative of the Associated Press was very anxious to get a copy of this despatch or see it, and I told him it was impossible for him to have it or see it.  I then went in to General Shafter and stated the case to him, handing him the despatch, saying, ‘The matter is now in your hands.’  He, General Shafter, then said, ‘I don’t care whether this gentleman has it or not,’ and I left then.  When I went back the General told me he had given the Press representative a copy of the despatch, and that he had gone to the office with it.”

In a regiment the prime need is to have fighting men; the prime virtue is to be able and eager to fight with the utmost effectiveness.  I have never believed that this was incompatible with other virtues.  On the contrary, while there are of course exceptions, I believe that on the average the best fighting men are also the best citizens.  I do not believe that a finer set of natural soldiers than the men of my regiment could have been found anywhere, and they were first-class citizens in civil life also.  One fact may perhaps be worthy of note.  Whenever we were in camp and so fixed that we could have regular meals, we used to have a general officers’ mess, over which I of course presided.  During our entire service there was never a foul or indecent word uttered at the officers’ mess—­I mean this literally; and there was very little swearing—­although now and then in the fighting, if there was a moment when swearing seemed to be the best method of reaching the heart of the matter, it was resorted to.