The record-union., 1898-10-18
PERILOUS DEADLY BREACH
LETTER FROM CHARLES ]
SMITH AT MANILA.
Delineates the Hardships and Per-
lis OF Troops in the Trenches
Before It's Capture.

The following letter to his mother
by Charles E. Smith of Company D,
Fourteenth L. S. Infantry, will be
found interesting:
Manila, Aug. "A, 1898.
| Dear Mother: I am all right, but very
weak, as get nothing but bacon and
hardtack all the time. AS for beef
steak, l have had none since ! left
America. The Spanish left live bet
ter than We do. When we captured
Manila we found ammunition and pro-
Visions enough to last them six months
| 1ney. were all fat instead OF being
starved, but everything is SO high here.
l pay { cents apiece for eggs, so cents
Tor can Of fruit, 20 cents for q COM
mon red handkerchief, etc. I have lost
three nights sleep time. I go on pa
troll duty every half hour in the night.
besides guarding street sand bridges
IN the day time. I had to lay in
trenches in mud and water at night
where. If raised my head, would be
shot by sharpshooters.
fought hard fight Friday, August
9th, and the rain poured down so hard
you could only see a few yards ahead.
The Spanish do all their fighting at
night. August 18th we fought our way
into Manila. One man of my company
got his head blown off by a Spanish
shell. Big shells would nearly raise
me off the ground when going over
my head. War is an awful thing.
On the Sth, for one hour, big guns
and rifles fired as fast as they could
be loaded I faced and got a hole in
my hat, and my eyes and mouth were
full Of dust from bullets striking near
me. We only lost twenty-seven killed
and sixty-tWo wounded altogether in
all the fights, so far as I know. I viii
write and tell you all about the tight
| as soon as | get time. It is an awful
! sight to see men falling dead on the
field and spots Of blood every few
yards. One could see the Spanish
pick wounded man up and place
| him on stretcher. Soon you would
see stretchers and see men fall that
were carrying them, and more would
take their place. There We're spots of
! blood all the way to Manila along the
streets where they retreated l i'm
| agine l can hear bullets flying yet,
they make so many different kinds of
| noises
Sometimes a shell from the enemy
unconscious, and never strike them at
| ALL
The city of Manila has been a pretty
place at one time, but is all run down
now. Buildings are all of stone, but
the streets are narrow. The city is
| surrounded by wall. There is a wall
within wall. The first wall mas a
river in front of it, and is twenty to
/ forty feet high in some places; then a
| stream of water between that and the
| second wall, so that, if they leave the
| first wall when fighting, they can re-
treat to the second wall, raise the flood-
gates and fill the space UP with water
| between the two walls. So you see, no
nation could take Manila without bonn
bardment
August I'd /, with several other SOL
diers, took General Anderson and Cen
eral Merritt across the bay in a boat in
q. big storm. The waves were so high
that l had to carry General Anderson
| ashore on my back On the 3d the
scow or barge was driven on shore
While we were trying to land on our
way to Manila, and it capsized We
| were all thrown out and had to swim
to shore, about fifty yards, with our
guns and knapsacks and ammunition.
/ send a picture of myself with Man
liza clothes on; the same dirty clothes
/ lay in the trenches with L got struck
by bullet on the pocket, but copper
money made the shot glance. I have
no time to write more Good-by. with
much love from your son,
CHARLES E. SMITH.