From Yauco to Las Marias A recent campaign in Puerto Rico by the Independent Regular Brigade under the command of Brig. General Schwan — Edition Insights

The Regular's Eye View

Herrman repeatedly stresses that the Independent Regular Brigade was unlike the volunteer regiments that made up much of the U.S. force. He notes that the regulars were “not like the Volunteers” in discipline, endurance, and professional pride. The soldiers carried heavy packs through tropical heat, and Herrman describes the infantryman's burden with a mix of complaint and stoicism. He sketches the brigade's officers—mentioning General Schwan, Captain Macomb, and Lieutenant-Colonel Burke—with a familiarity that suggests shared service. The tone is that of an insider, not a journalist, and the narrative assumes the reader understands military hierarchy and the tedium of marching.

The Battle at Hormigueros and Its Aftermath

The engagement at Hormigueros is described in tactical terms: Macomb's cavalry drew fire, the advance guard made contact, and General Schwan reached the firing line. Herrman provides a “computation of losses” but undercuts any heroic narrative. He admits the fight lacked “melodramatic accompaniments” and that he personally missed a chance for glory. The Spanish retreat is noted without triumphalism. Later, when the brigade enters Mayaguez, Herrman contrasts the ragged, dirty appearance of the Americans—toes protruding from shoes, trousers hardly deserving the name—with the enthusiastic reception by the lower classes, whom he accuses of cheering any victor. He singles out the aristocrats' silence, broken only by Catalina Palmer waving a homemade flag.

Puerto Rican Society and Military Occupation

Herrman devotes a chapter to “The People of Puerto Rico,” offering blunt opinions. He describes the native masses as depraved, but acknowledges a better class of men and women. He notes that General Miles's proclamation was meant to win over the population, and that American soldiers were expected to behave justly. The narrative includes practical observations: the cost of living, rents, skilled workmen, and the abolition of a local custom. Herrman's view is that of an occupier assessing the territory, not a sympathetic observer. He mentions that the brigade captured a district including Aguadilla, and that the campaign ended with a truce that left the soldiers disappointed, having been denied a final fight.

Herrman's account is valuable for its unvarnished, ground-level perspective on a brief campaign often overshadowed by Cuba and the Philippines. Readers should note that the author's opinions—especially on Puerto Ricans—reflect the prejudices of his time and station. The narrative is strongest in its concrete details: the weight of a pack, the feel of a march, the look of a tattered uniform. It is a soldier's story, not a general's, and rewards attention to its small, specific observations.

The march through Puerto Rico left me thinking about order fraying at the edges—how quickly everyday rules loosen. That same thought surfaced when I later found The Great Riots of New York, 1712 to 1873 — Text and Context, where crowds and soldiers blur into something less tidy than history books suggest. A quiet echo of the same worn, uncertain thread.