The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-11-07
An Interesting Description Of the
Philippine Situation.
WITH THE ASTOR BATTERY
Frank w. Redding Was an Old Choteau
Boyle Tells Again the Story
OF the Capture of
Manila.

friend here. 1t is dated in barracks. |
Manila, Philippine islands. Sept. g.
1898, and says:
Manila, as you know. Is situated
upon the bay OF that name. Shortly
after Dewey demolished the Spanish
fleet. the native insurgents. who had.
shortly before. been quelled by Spain's
buying OF the leader. broke out again.
led by Aguinaldo. the head man among
the natives. He. with his native forces.
armed to a great extent with Spanish
Mauser rifles. captured at Cavite by
Dewey and furnished by hin to Aguin-
aldo. laid siege to Manila by rawin
an intrenched line completely around
the city from the shore of the "a on
the south to. the bay on the north. and
in this way permitted no provisions
of am description to enter the city.
The Spanish. as a line Of defense. dug
and occupied with troops an intrench-
ed line parallel to that OF the insurgents
and about half a mile in toward the
city. this being their outpost or hrst
line of in~trenchments. They a a Sec
ond line closer in to the city.
Every half mile or so In this first
line of Spanish intrenchment they had
a block house strongly fortined. IN
which they had cannon placed. FROM
the time Camp Dewey was established,
the American soldiers (four companies
of them) had occupied about one mile
of the insurgents line of intrench-
ments, commencing with the bay, south
of the city four miles distant. After
improving and strengthening them UP
a bit, the American troops manned
about a mile of the siege ~intrench-
ments. the native troops the balance
- H. ~Ax4 tho HifV ThlTA
seemed. 10 be no sort Of cooperation
between the natives and the American
troops, the native leaders apparently
having no system or method in the way
they were conducting their warfare.
Every now and then. by indiscriminate
firing they would bring on a brisk en-
gagement between the lines.
THE Sunday night after we arrived
abo July 31st) an engagement was
brought on in which our troops were
involved and which necessitated send
ing up from amp to the firing line
several regiments as reinforcements
and they got there just In time to pre-
vent our boys being cut to pieces. In
this nights engagement our forces lost
about IL killed and IS wounded. Well.
after. this affair there was more or less
firing between u lines and the Span
iards until the 18th of August, when
the general advance was ordered. On
the 18th our battery. which had taken
no part in these skirmishes. was or
dered to go to the front and take up
a position there. We got UP there late
in the afternoon and parked our guns
behind a stone house. which stood in
the line of the American intrenchments.
and also Immediately behind the Utah
battery. Except this battery, ours Is
the only one here), II being too late
to take up our position that day.
About 6 o'clock the next morning.
while the battery was eating breakfast.
the Spanish commenced a furious bonn
bardment of our line from a block
house of theirs, which stood almost in
front of where we were. This cannon
ading continued for almost an hour. /
should judge. and as soon as II ceased
our captain began to rustic US to get
our guns in position. for our attack
was to begin at 10 O'Clock and unless
we were ready to open up at that hour,
we would not have been in 1t. We had
to cut a trail for our guns through the
Jungle from where we were, a distance
of about half a mile, n we had 70
work like the very fiends to accomplish
II in the time allotted. n during this
period were subject to a light infantry
fre. Upon getting to our position In
the line with our guns. we had tc
disposses the insurgents of a portion OF
their line for shelter for our CUR and
as IL was we had no time to place In
position more tina two OF them. so with
that number we opened upon the Span
ish lines.
'Our guns are little things, the en-.
tire weight of rife. carriage. wheels
etc, being but $40 pounds, but they are
very effective for this kind of service
They are rapid-fre Hotchkiss, II.
Founders, in Which are used boil
shrapnel and common shell. oul
shrapnel had all been ruined by waite
the DAY we made our landing. so W,
had to depend wholly upon the shells
which explode upon contact. Upor
our unmasking our battery to tn
Spanish. they likewis opened fire. an
three of their very first shells burs
amongst us. or very close by. Thu
first burst directly in our front, a frag
ment tearing half the leg of one OF on
boys that stood about 10 feet to m,
left. He died the next day from tn
shock, / presume. A small fragmen
of something struck me on the side o
the head. but I hardly think IL coul:
have beer a bit of shell. as II made m
more impression han II IL had been
twig or a chunk of earth. The mex
shell burst in front of one Of our guns
a fragment of IL went through n o
the wheels, breaking out two spokes
the splinters of which wounded two q
the gun crew in the arm. This GU
was being worked out in the open with
out protection of any kind.
After this had gone on for over a
hour, loud and prolonged cheering upo
our left announced something favorabl
TO our arms. and at the same time W
could see that the block house, agains
which we had used our guns, was o
fire. A minute or two later a messen
ger from somewhere. ! don't know VIII
sent him. announced that the enem
had been driven from their trenche
and were in retreat. At this new
about half of the battery was ordere
b. our captain to advance. the balanc
TO remain with the guns that were LEI
behind. so bodily lifting two of GU
guns over the Entertainments into th
road, we started on. BY the time tha
we reached the Spanish line. about Nv
companies of the 18th Minnesota reg
ment We're with US. coming in from be
hind somewhere. After lifting ot