![]() ![]() ![]() Realizing they could not stand that kind of punishment for very long, Roosevelt demanded that the New Yorkers rush the Spanish position, but they would not advance without proper orders. All a Spanish soldier had to do was center his sights on that cloud and pull the trigger. From their well-dug-in positions up on the Santiago heights, Spanish troops were armed with Mauser Model 1893 repeaters that used smokeless powder and high velocity bullets to deadly advantage. The 71st troops were armed only with single-shot black powder 1873 Springfield rifles and might as well have been carrying a banner reading, “Aim right here!” Each time a New Yorker fired, his position was immediately given away by a billow of black powder smoke-“about the size of a cow,” as one trooper put it. They were taking heavy rifle fire from the heights before Santiago. At a curve in the road he found his way blocked at the foot of Kettle Hill by the 71st New York Volunteers. He had just led his Rough Riders in an attack up a winding muddy road from the beach. Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Roosevelt found himself in a tight spot on the outskirts of Santiago, Cuba, on July 1, 1898. Weaponry: The Springfield Trapdoor rifle | Historynet Close ![]()
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