This is a
test of nerve which the firing line cannot realize, and
requires the highest qualities of bravery and endurance.
You may well return to the United States proud of your
accomplishments; and if any one asks you what you have done,
point him to El Caney.
But in the midst of the joy of going home, we mourn the loss
of those we leave behind. The genial, generous-hearted
McCorkle fell at his post of duty, bravely directing his men
in the advance on the stone fort. He died as the soldier
dies, and received a soldier's burial. He was beloved by all
who knew him, and his name will always be fondly remembered
by his regiment--especially by those who participated in the
Santiago campaign. The officers of the regiment will wear
the prescribed badge of mourning for Lieutenant McCorkle for
thirty days. And Corporal Benjamin Cousins, Privates Payne,
Lewis, Strother, Taliaferro, Phelps, Howell, Steel and
Leftwitch, sacrificed their lives on their country's altar.
Being of a race which only thirty-five years ago emerged
through a long and bloody war, from a condition of
servitude, they in turn engaged in a war which was
officially announced to be in the interest of humanity and
gave all they had--their lives--that the oppressed might be
free, and enjoy the blessings of liberty guaranteed by a
stable government.
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