The San Juan Heights
Montauk September 17, 2000
I am nothing more than a poor humble soldier of the Spanish Army defending Cuba from the imperial Norte Americanos. My name is Diego and this is my story. Before the fighting at the San Juan Heights my unit was involved in trying to delay the Norte Americanos in their landing at Daiquiri. We were armed with the best rifle in the world -- the Mauser 1893. These were great little rifles that could be reloaded very quickly with a five shot charger. The 1893 Mauser is chambered for the 7 mm cartridge with smokeless powder. It is a great advantage when shooting from a concealed position. We would learn later that because of these rifles the Norte Americanos had great difficulty taking the Heights and determining our numbers. It was also dubbed "The Spanish Hornet" by the Norte Americanos due to the fact that we could fill the air with countless stinging bullets.
Las Guasimos was a fight that was nothing more than a delaying action on our part. The Mausers rained fire down upon the Americanos. Our commanding officers had told us that the Norte Americanos were vicious cruel people that would not take any prisoners. We would not surrender. The main defensive position was the Heights above Santiago. There was an extensive trench work that was fortified complete with sand bags. Sargento Alverez had us moving, stacking and rearranging these sandbags till we were worn out. This is the position that my compadres fell back to after our running and gunning battle at Las Guasimos.
It was a site to behold. The Norte Americanos were in their line of battle ready to advance on our position. We could make out the Rough Riders led by Theodore Roosevelt on our left flank along with our most feared enemy, the Cuban Insurrectos. The Rough Riders were dressed in the blue wool shirts and 1884 brown trousers. Their uniform was completed with their brown campaign hat on top and their brown leggings protecting their legs. The Rough Riders were armed with the Krag carbines which were inferior to our Mausers. They had to reload from their blue cartridge belts that held 100 rounds of .30-40 Krag ammunition. Loading was done one at a time. The Insurrectos were dressed in white peasant clothes with their straw hats. We had dealt with the Insurrectos before and they were a formidable foe. Their leader was none other than that bandit Antonio Delgado. Their armament was an assortment of rifles and machetes. It appeared their cartridge belts were full of ammunition and ready for a fight. On our right flank was the regular American Army. It was hard to imagine this army fighting in the tropics with their blue wool trousers and blue wool shirts. The army wore the same campaign hat as the Rough Riders. They were armed with their new Krag rifles and the older Trapdoor .45-70 with the black powder.
In our trenches our commander Fernando was busy preparing and looking over our fortifications. From our trenches we could see the Atlantic but none of the Spanish Fleet was in sight. Sargento Roberto Alverez was taking care of the details of our defense. Stacking the sandbags and making shooting positions were his main concerns. Our small force was outnumbered but the Sargento knew how best to use our fire power.
On came the Norte Americanos. The 71st New York’s 1888 Trapdoor Springfields made huge clouds of thick gray smoke. It was not hard to tell where they were hiding. The Sargento gave the command "Fiego Rapido" and the Mausers spoke. It sounded like machine gun fire it was so heavy. Our fire at first was concentrated on the Insurrectos. The flight of "hornets" were heading their way. They came on and on despite our Mausers sending sheets of lead their way. Their machetes gleamed in the sun light. I shared a trench with my five compadres. Empty casings filled the air around us and were in piles at the bottom of the trench. The firing was non-stop with five-shot charger after charger filling the Mauser and being emptied as fast as I could work the bolt. The angry "hornets" sure stung the Americanos. The barrels of our Mausers were getting so hot the oil was oozing out of the stock. Sargento Alverez exposed himself to the enemy fire pacing back and forth behind our trenches yelling commands but wasn't heard above the roar of the battle.
The Americanos came on. "Theodore Roosevelt" and his Rough Riders came rushing up the hill which brought an increase in our rate of fire. I do not know if my bullets were finding their mark but several of the enemy lay "dead" in front of me. It was at this moment the Insurrectos came charging up the hill giving a blood curdling yell and flashing their machetes. The Mausers spoke and spoke. I worked the bolt on my Mauser frantically sending shell casings into the air at each pull of the handle. Our bullets bit at the Insurrectos but on they came. An Insurrecto named Orlando made it to our trenches along with Antonio. Vicious hand to hand fighting took place. Machetes were cutting the air around us. The machete was a terrifying weapon and the weapon of choice for close hand to hand fighting. We were in fear of our lives. No sooner had the threat of the Insurrectos been ended when we were at risk again. On came the Rough Riders and Teddy. I was wounded and fell in the trench. Sargento Alverez gave the command to fall back. The rest of our small contingent followed the Sargento.
As I lay in the bottom of the trench I could hear the Norte Americanos advancing. I looked up only to see the muzzle of a Trapdoor Springfield. Before I could duck back down -- "BOOM". Dirt, smoke and fire filled my trench and covered me. I dare not raise my head for fear of getting it blown off. The Norte Americanos shifted to the right to concentrate on our compadres. I took advantage of this and vacated my position and joined the Sargento with the rest of my unit. I did see one foolish Rough Rider pick up a Mauser of a fallen compadre. The barrel must have been very hot. You could almost hear the sizzling of his skin cooking on the barrel, not to mention the profanity that came out of his mouth. Not a very smart Rough Rider. We were too few and our supply of ammunition was running low so back to Santiago we retreated leaving the Norte Americanos in command of the Heights.
The shooting was over and unlike the real Battle of San Juan Heights all of the casualties were able to get back up and fight another day. Reenacting is a great hobby but also a superb learning opportunity for the public as well as the reenactors. To be a historic reenactor requires a vast amount of research to portray a time period in history as accurately as possible. The Montauk event was a great event and I will look forward to the next national Spanish-American War event in 2001. I would like to congratulate the 71st New York and Jim Michaud for an excellent event. They provided tents for those of us that travel in from other states. The meals were fantastic. This was a great learning experience and opportunity to make new friends.
Your obedient servant,
Don Diego de la Vega AKA Andrew L. Bresnan