The Gatlings had the range to perfection. Capt. Boughton, who was one
of the first officers upon the hill, stated, on the 1st of September
at Montauk, that he visited a portion of the Spanish trenches
immediately upon arriving at the crest, and that the trenches which he
inspected were literally filled with writhing, squirming, tangled
masses of dead and wounded Spaniards, and that the edge of the
trenches was covered with wounded and dead Spaniards, who had been
shot in the act of climbing out. This execution was done mainly by the
machine guns, because the infantry and cavalry were not firing much
when it was done; they were running up the hill to the charge.
Colonel Egbert, who commanded the 6th Infantry, states, in his
official report, that when his regiment reached the sharp incline near
the top of the hill they were brought to a standstill because the
Gatling bullets were striking along the crest. The officers of the
13th Infantry state the same thing. It was Lieut. Ferguson, of the
13th, who when the troops had climbed as high as possible under the
leaden canopy which the Gatlings made to cover their charge, waved his
white handkerchief as a signal to cease firing.
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