" Before that he had said
that he wished to put a division in on the right of El Caney and
assault the town on that road. To Admiral Sampson on June 26th he
said: "I shall, if I can, put a large force in Caney, and one perhaps
still farther west, near the pipe-line conveying water to the city,
making my main attack from the northeast and east." His desire at this
time was to "get the enemy in my front and the city at my back." On
June 30th he had modified this plan so as to decide to place one
brigade on the road between El Caney and Santiago, with a view merely
to keeping the El Caney garrison from retreating into Santiago.
As he was explaining his plan to the division officers and others on
the afternoon of the 30th at his own headquarters, Lawton and Chaffee
were of the opinion that they could dispose of the Spaniards at El
Caney in two hours time. "Therefore," says the General, "I modified my
plan, assigning Lawton's whole division for the attack of El Caney and
directed Bates' independent brigade to his support." This last
modification of General Shafter's plan was made in deference to the
opinion of subordinates, and was based upon observations made
especially by General Chaffee.
The force assigned for the reduction of El Caney was to begin its work
early in the morning, and by ten or eleven o'clock at the outside it
was expected that the task would be accomplished and Lawton would join
Kent and Sumner in the assault upon San Juan.
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