After proceeding in this direction
about half a mile the effort to connect with General Lawton was given
up." This movement to the right took place between ten and eleven
o'clock, at which time Lawton's forces had made no impression upon El
Caney, and he was far from making any movement which might be
described as working toward the right flank of the Cavalry Division.
Lawton was not found by that half-hour's search to the right; and it
was evident that something must be done by these troops in front, and
done quickly. The whole division was under fire, and the battle on the
Spanish side was in actual progress. True our men were hidden away in
the jungle that bordered the creek, but their position was known to
the Spaniards, and leaves and boughs are no cover from shot and shell.
They were receiving the fire of the enemy and making no reply
whatever, save by the few ineffective shots from the far away battery
on El Poso Hill.
Directly in front of the cavalry division was a little hill occupied
by a Spanish force. This hill is called in General Wood's report East
Hill, but in the literature of the battle it is usually mentioned as
Kettle Hill. The fire in part was coming from here. Colonel Wood gives
another report of the morning's experience in which he says: "The
brigade moved down the road toward Santiago in rear of the First
Brigade, with instructions to deploy to the right after crossing the
San Juan, and continue to extend to the right, reaching out toward
General Lawton's left and holding ourselves in rear of the First
Brigade as a support.
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