4 Miles of Santiago
Cuba
June 29 1898

We have about 40 000 men

Dear Papa

I hope you are well as I am at present we are moving nearer Santiago every day & yesterday the cannon were brought up & to day they are expected to bombard the outer works of Santiago & by the Fourth the flag will float over Santiago I suppose you heard of Teddy Roosvelts fight well we are now camped on the battlefield this is the exact number killed on both sides America 17 Spanish 255 just think they had 4000 where Teddy had 900 men but he poured it in to them & if they had of stood a little longer we might have had a shot at them I did my first sentry duty in Cuba yesterday & during the night there was eighteen shots fired but only one was fired from our regiment & you should have seen how quick the men were out to fight. Teddys men have sworn to kill 50 times as many as they lost & every day they go near the city of Santiago they drop 6 or 10 Spanish dogs. Col Downs told us last night that the latest report from Headquarters read that Lieut Hobson & his men were tortured & killed & if it is true we will not spare one Spaniard but will kill them like dogs Sampson[?] told them if Hobson was harmed he would kill every Spaniard from Santiago to Havana Well by the time this letter reaches you I expect Santiago to be in ruins as they have been pouring in a deadly fire all along We have plenty of fruit down here but it is all green but I have had some ripe mangoes & coconuts We all cook our own meals now & it is fun to watch some of the fellows burn themselves every minute I am going to have hard tack fried in pork fat & Coffee for Breakfast this morning This country is full of insects & all kinds of small animals I would write more but my time is short so good bye dear papa & when we get into Santiago I will write you a long letter

With love & best wishes to all & Hoping to hear from you soon I remain forever
Your Affectionate Son
Alexander Matier
Co E 71st Regt
Cuba