Unlike the more powerfully built Hancock, Couch was small and slight and subject to bouts of ill health. Couch had also been decorated for gallantry in the Mexican War, at the Battle of Buena Vista.
“I won’t let you down,” he said solemnly.
Hancock nodded. “I know.”
“Not like Chancellorsville.”
Hancock understood the man’s frustration. At Chancellorsville, the terribly overmatched Joe Hooker had been the victim of a surprise attack by Lee. The much larger Union Army had been pushed back into a defensive perimeter. Still, they were in good shape until Hooker had been wounded, struck on the head by falling debris. As he was taken to the rear, Hooker ordered Couch, his second in command, to retreat. There were vehement arguments both for and against obeying that order. Couch felt that Lee had done all he could and was ripe for a counter-attack. Hooker, concussed and confused, insisted on ordering a retreat and was taken away by ambulance, leaving Couch in temporary command of the massive Army of the Potomac.
“I obeyed the orders of an injured and confused man who, quite likely, wasn’t right in the head. I should have seized control and fought Lee. We could have whipped him. We could have shortened the war, maybe even ended it. It sickens me every time I think of it.”
Hancock smiled. Couch had obeyed orders and that had absolved him from any blame for the defeat at Chancellorsville. However, Couch was right. Sometimes orders are meant to be ignored. “Well, now you get to fight Weyler, and I want you to fight him all the way to Havana.”
Couch could not bring himself to smile in return. “Neither I nor the Second Corps will let you down, General Hancock.” Then he did smile briefly. “Of course I do not envy you having to work with General Miles. If he were in my command, I would likely have to kill him.”
Hancock laughed. He was pleased with his decision to bring Couch back to the colors. Although another of what James G. Blaine annoyingly referred to as an older general, it was clear that Couch was full of fight and wanted to purge himself of history. He would command the newly created Second Corps which consisted of Gordon’s and Chamberlain’s divisions. The two subordinate generals had met a few days earlier and politely recalled previous incidents including the surrender at Appomattox. Although they would never be close friends, both Couch and Hancock were convinced that they would both cooperate and obey. Second Corps was in good hands and would operate independently of First Corps.
That left First Corps, which, until it was just recently designated, was the entire American Army in Cuba. First Corps was in Nelson Miles’ hands and would remain so. Hancock would be with Miles and oversee the touchy and vain little man’s actions. Miles would not be happy, but that was none of Hancock’s concern. First Corps consisted of three divisions-Benteen’s, Gibbon’s, and Crook’s. Altogether, the two army corps totaled nearly forty thousand men. It was the largest American Army to take the field since the Civil War. If it was defeated, the whole idea of a war against Spain would result in nothing more than a bloody humiliation for the United States.
Therefore, Hancock thought as he left the conference with Couch, I will not be defeated.
Therefore again, he concluded, I must get to Matanzas as soon as possible. He would travel on the steam sloop Enterprise, while Couch would have his temporary headquarters on the Atlanta.
Chapter 16
Major General Benteen made himself as comfortable as possible in Ryder’s bunker. He had just finished a circuit of the new lines of defenses on and around Mount Haney. These now included extensive trench lines for the rest of his division and not only Ryder’s brigade. The defenses ran from the waterfront on both sides of the hill and around it. They were several lines deep and Benteen was pleased.
“No fortress is ever impregnable Martin, but you’ve done a great job. Of course, you had me alongside to help you,” he added with a grin.
Ryder shook his head and ignored the good-natured jibe. “We only lack two things, general, food and water. There are enough of us to hold off the Spaniards and we have enough ammunition to fight a number of battles, but we might just die of starvation or thirst while carrying loaded weapons.”
The crushing Spanish attack on the city of Matanzas had resulted in the loss of much of their supplies. As the men retreated to Haney and the entrance to the bay, they’d carried with them as much ammunition as possible. This meant leaving stockpiles of food for the Spanish to plunder. Nor was their water situation much better. The men around Haney now numbered more than eight thousand and, while water was available, it came in a literal trickle from the wells already dug. These had been adequate for Ryder’s brigade, but not for an entire division and a number of refugees. The Spanish, sensing the situation, had attempted to divert the few streams that ran close to the American lines. They’d only partly succeeded, but it did mean an inadequate supply for cooking and sanitation.
The two generals were alone. This was a conversation, not a conference. “How’s Miles taking his demotion?” asked Ryder.
“Outwardly, he appears to be controlling his anger. Inwardly, I think he’s relieved. Commanding an independent army this size was too much for him. When Hancock and the Second Corps arrive, he’ll still have an important role to play, but he won’t be responsible for the major decisions. Miles is a brave man and a good fighter, but he was put in water too deep for him and that was Custer’s fault. He should have chosen the best man under any circumstances, not the best from a small pool of choices that he alone created. He should have left politics out of it.”
“What president could have done that?” Ryder grumbled.
“No one that I know of,” Benteen admitted with a smile.
Several cannon boomed from the American positions. The taking of Matanzas had not presented the Spanish with the complete victory they’d wanted. Cannon from Mount Haney and from the mouth of the bay covered most of the distance between the two points which kept the Spanish from fortifying what they’d taken. Word had come that, after recovering the dead and wounded under yet another flag of truce, the Spanish had apologized for bombarding the hospital. They claimed that they’d been told that the church had been fortified. The apology had been accepted even though no one believed it. The Red Cross symbol had been prominently displayed on all sides of the building.
Benteen continued. “I also like the way you’ve established tracks and trails so you can move your big guns and your Gatlings quickly. You mass those things against a Spanish attack and the greasers won’t like it.”
Ryder wanted to light a cigar, but he only had a couple left and didn’t feel like sharing them with Benteen. “The Spanish don’t like being called greasers.”
“Who cares what the Spanish think.”
“One more question. When Hancock arrives with an additional fifteen thousand or so men, where the hell are we supposed to put them?”
Benteen sighed, “Beats the hell out of me, Martin. Now be a good boy and give me one of those cigars you’re hiding, because I’m not leaving until I get one.”
* * *
Hector Rojas was a big man in many ways. Physically huge, he was an important part of Mercedes de Milan’s household. In many ways he was its leader, and not just because he occasionally shared his mistress’s bed. He was far smarter than his brutish looks, which sometimes fooled people, often to their permanent loss.