fortitude, and endurance so heroically displayed by that gallant army.
That story will be written by abler pens, and will be the wonder of
the world when it is told.

This story is that of an experiment. It is told to lay before the
general public, as well as the military critic, the work of a little
detachment of thirty-seven men, armed with an untried weapon,
organized in the short space of four days preceding July 1, 1898, and
which without proper equipment, adequate instruction, or previous
training, in the face of discouragements and sneers, and in spite of
obstacles enough to make the mere retrospect sickening, still achieved
for itself a warm place in the hearts of all true soldiers, and
covered itself with glory upon the hardest fought battle-field of the
Hispano-American War.

This story is to commemorate the gallantry of the enlisted men who
helped to make history and revolutionize tactics at Santiago. It will
tell of the heroism of the plain American Regular, who, without hope
of preferment or possibility of reward, boldly undertook to confute
the erroneous theories of military compilers, who, without originality
or reason, have unblushingly cribbed the labored efforts of foreign
officers, and foisted these compilations of second-hand opinions upon
the American Army as military text-books of authority and weight.
These literary soldiers declared, following the lead of their foreign
guides, that "The value of machine guns on the battle-field is
doubtful," and that "Their offensive value is probably very small."
They also agreed, with most touching unanimity, that "A direct assault
upon a fortified position, occupied by good, unshaken infantry, armed
with the modern rifle and plentifully supplied with ammunition is sure
to fail, unless made by overwhelming numbers and prepared by strong