The Triumphant Life of Theodore Roosevelt edited by J. Martin Miller

THE ROUGH RIDERS 115
tage of even' scrap of cover. Finally Colonel Roosevelt
received orders to move forward and support the regulars in
the assault on the hills in front.
HIS CROWDED HOUR BEGAN
"The instant I received the order," says Colonel Roosevelt,
"I si^rang on my horse and then my crowded hour began.
Guerrillas had been shooting at us from the hedges and from
their perches in the leafy trees, and as they used smokeless
powder it was almost impossible to see them, though a few of
my men had from time to time responded. They had also
moved from the hill on the right, which was held chiefly by
guerrillas, although there were also some Spanish regulars with
them, for we found them dead. I formed my men in columns
of troops, each troop extended in open skirmishing order, the
right resting on the wire fences which bore on the sunken
land. The Ninth and First Regiments went up Kettle Hill
with the Rough Riders, and General Sumner giving the Tenth
the order to charge, the Third Regiment went forward, keep-
ing up a heavy fire."
Colonel Roosevelt then addressed the captain in command
of the rear platoon, saying that he had been ordered to sup-
port the regulars in the attack upon the hills, and that in his
judgment they could not take these hills by firing on them;
that they must rush them. The officer answered that his
orders were to keep his men lying where they were and that
he could not charge without orders. He asked where the
Colonel was, and as he was not in sight, Colonel Roosevelt
said: "I am the ranking officer here, and I give the order to
charge," for he did not want to keep the men longer in the
open, suffering under a fire that they could not return. The
officer again hesitated, but Colonel Roosevelt rode on through