Bates, John C. (1842-1919) to Joseph Wheeler
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC01650 Author/Creator: Bates, John C. (1842-1919) Place Written: Santiago Type: Manuscript letter signed Date: 8 July 1898 Pagination: 2 p. ; 15 x 10.7 cm. Order a Copy
Bates writes, from "in front [of] Santiago," "I have swung my line forward so that it is now along the bluff next to the city. Am holding the 9th Mass. to cover any turning movement the enemy might make around my left flank. It was my intention, as soon as the truce was over, to feel out on the left to see if more advantageous positions could be secured. I should therefore be sorry to lose the 9th now. While I feel that I can make good use of them, the regiment will be returned to you at once if you say so."
Joseph Wheeler was a Major General in the U.S. Army during the Spanish-American War, despite having also served as a Major General in the Confederate Army during the U.S. Civil War. John C. Bates, who in 1898 was Brigadier General of Volunteers in the U.S. Army in Cuba, would become Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army in 1906.
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