Sketch Showing a Portion of the Trenches Occupied by Bates Brigade

First person view of the siege of Santiago during the Spanish-American War.

This bold view shows a line of trenches occupied by the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) during the siege of Santiago, the last major operation to take place on Cuba during the Spanish-American War. From July 3-17, 1898, three American infantry divisions comprising the 5th Army Corps, with supporting artillery and cavalry, surrounded the city while warding off yellow fever and malaria.

The foreground shows entrenched soldiers armed with Springfield M1892 rifles, with defenses stretching off to the left around the valley. Though U.S. troops were supplemented by Gatling guns and artillery, they are not pictured. The city and Spanish defenses can be seen in the center of the page, with relevant locations individually labeled.

The sketch was drawn by Lieutenant Horace Maynard Reeves, an engineer in the 3rd Infantry. Reproduced for an 1898 Congressional report by the Norris-Peters Company in Washington, D.C.

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