Sam took this opportunity to move his line
forward, and he sent a lieutenant to direct the battery to cover his
men when they should charge on the enemy's line. He moved his line
forward in this way successively three or four times, and the troops
were now thoroughly encouraged, and some of them even asked to be
allowed to charge. Sam, however, postponed this final act as long as he
could. It was not until he saw the captain whom he had met in the woods
mangled and instantly killed by a piece of shell that he became so
angry that he could restrain himself no longer. He gave the order to
fix bayonets, and with a yell the men rose from their lairs and rushed
over the intervening ground to the enemy's position. The Cubapinos did
not wait for them, but turned and ran precipitously. Sam and his men
followed them for at least a mile, when they made a stand again.
"They're in the trenches now that they were in this morning," explained
a lieutenant.
Here the same tactics were renewed, and in another half-hour Sam
ordered his men to charge again. This time the enemy waited longer, and
many of the attacking party fell, but before they reached the trenches
the Cubapinos took flight, and Sam saw his soldiers bayonet the last
two or three of them in the back. There were a good many dead in the
trenches, all of them shot through the head. It was a proud moment for
Sam when he stood on the edge of the trench and planted Old Gory there
while the men cheered.
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