Pennsylvania Volunteers
in the Spanish-American War

1898-1899

PA Spanish-American War

Letter Home from George W. Ott

"You must not worry about me; our company was in Cuba since June 24. On July 2 we went into battle with the Spanish, about eight miles from Santiago. We had a terrible fight and had to march through a narrow trail over the mountain, and through the jungle, and were exposed to the Spanish fire until we got up on the line of battle, I cannot describe the scene. There were about 1000 men, dead and wounded, most of them being killed or wounded before they had an opportunity to fire a shot at the enemy, who kept behind the entrenchments. We could not get our artillery up in time, and were fighting from 4 o'clock in the morning of July 1st, till 7 o'clock in the evening, I did not get injured until about 3 o' clock in the afternoon, when I was shot through the left shoulder with a Mauser 44-calibre bullet, which hit my shoulder and passed though the shoulder blade. On the following day, with others who were wounded, I was place on a transport and arrived here, at Key West, on July 5th."