that whole movie was FUN, imVho. (one wonders if the reason that the movie was NOT "pushed" by the studios/distributors/media was because the southland/southerners were HONESTLY portrayed???)
btw, GEN Wheeler DID take his son (a USMA 3d classman at the time. and yes, he DID wear "cadet gray" in Cuba.) to Cuba with him, as a "cadet aide".
GEN Wheeler also took a "manservant" with him, "who was 'an old family retainer', to care for my needs. i would not care to be a burden to anyone while there, due to the infirmities of advancing age".
free dixie,sw
The eldest, Joe Jr., had graduated from West Point in 1895 and served as his father's Aide-de-Camp during the fighting in Cuba, eventually rising to the rank of Colonel before retiring.
The younger son, Tom, was a naval cadet who served on his father's staff in Cuba and then journeyed with the Army to Montauk Point, Long Island, where the soldiers were quarantined because of Yellow Fever and Malaria. While staying at Montauk Point, Tom attempted to save the life of a comrade who was drowning in the Atlantic and ended up losing his own life.
As an interesting aside, Annie, one of General Wheeler's daughters, served as a nurse in support of the Army in Cuba.
Click here for more info on Joe Jr., his military career, and his gallant family.