action at San Juan, and when he kept it in the trenches beside the
Rough Riders before Santiago.

Theodore Roosevelt.




CHAPTER I.

L'ENVOI.


The history of the Gatling Gun Detachment, Fifth Army Corps, is to a
certain extent the history of the Santiago campaign. The detachment
was organized on the spur of the moment, to utilize material which
would otherwise have been useless, and was with the Fifth Corps in all
the campaign. It participated in all the fighting of that campaign,
except the fight at La Guasimas, and was disbanded upon the return of
the Fifth Corps to Montauk. Whatever hardships were endured by the
Fifth Corps were shared by this detachment; whatever dangers were
faced by the Fifth Corps were faced by it also; where the hottest
fighting occurred this detachment went in and stayed; and at the
surrender it was paraded, to use the words of General Shafter, "Upon
that portion of the line which it occupied so promptly and defended so
well."

But this memoir is not intended as a history of that campaign nor of
the Fifth Corps. The author has not the data available to cover so
large a field, nor the ability to do justice to the courage,