At the same moment
Landis exclaimed, "Better stop; our men are climbing the hill now." A
shrill whistle gave the signal "Cease firing," and the Gatling Gun
Battery, to a man, rose to their feet and gazed with absorbing
interest as the long, thin, blue line swept forward and crowned the
crest of the hill. An instant later an American flag floated proudly
from the San Juan block-house; then the roar of musketry and the
volley of rifles indicated that the fleeing enemy was receiving warm
messengers as he ran down the hill toward his second line of
intrenchments.
The next immediate duty confronting the detachment was to take stock
of losses and to occupy the captured position in case of necessity.
Private Sine had been killed and Private Kastner was supposed to be
mortally wounded. Private Elkins fell exhausted just as the Stars and
Stripes were run up on the block-house. He had been knocked down by
the pole of a limber, which struck him over the kidneys, but had
continued to feed his gun until the very last. He was utterly
exhausted. Sergeant Green had been wounded slightly in the foot, but
not enough to disable him. Private Bremer had been hit early in the
morning by the fragment of a shell on the hand.
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