For a time it was a question whether Luque's command would not be
wiped out. They were practically surrounded by Maceo's men, and
for fully an hour and a half the fighting was desperate. It is
impossible to unravel the stories of both sides so as to arrive at
a clear idea of the encounter.
When the cannonading ceased, four companies of infantry charged up
the hill and occupied it before the insurgents, who had been
driven out by the artillery, could regain it. Shortly the hill on
the left of the road was taken in the same way, and Luque,
although at a great loss, had repelled Maceo's attack from the
rear.
The battle had lasted for a little over two hours. Maceo had about
forty of his men wounded and left four dead on the field, taking
away ten others. Twenty or more of his horses were killed. The
Spanish reported that he had 1,000 killed, the next day reduced
the number to 300, and finally to the statement that "the enemy's
losses must have been enormous," the usual phrase when the true
number is humiliating.
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