Middletown transcript., 1898-09-17
FOUGHT AT MANILA.

Some weeks since the TRANSCRIPT gave
letter from Corporal Pogue, nephew of M
A. G. Cox, on his way to Manila, whic
was read with interest. Below is anothe
descriptive of fighting which fortunately
ended, and Corporal Pogue may see h
relatives sooner than he expected
FIRST REGIMENT COLORADO INFANTRY, U. s
VOLUNTEERS,
NEAR MANILA, August Sd, 1893.
MY DEAR SISTER Your welcome lette
came to me yesterday about an hour afte
we came in from the front. l was com
pletely tired out Since I wrote you shor
letter on my arrival here, our Company ha
been in three skirmishes. We had frs
blood in the Regiment-two men in Com
pany K. On Sunday night the -Pennsyl
vania Regiment was fanked by thousand
of Spaniards and driven back with fearful
loss. We reinforced them and re-captureC
the entertainments before morning, (al
fighting is done at night. All day Monday
the Colorado boys lay behind the entrench
ments which are two thousand yards from
the wall which surrounds Manila, where
the Spaniards have a wall built of sand
bags eight feet thick, and five feet high one
thousand yards nearer to US. Then we and
the Spaniards both have rife pits out in
front about 100 yards, and that brings them
at close range. and all day long we were
picking off the Spaniards. was sharp.
shooter, and know of three which my old
rifle got. At night we sneaked in and
stationed Company K near one battery,
and Company near another, and had
about 1000 men behind the sand bags for
a mile long. lay there in the water and
mud, bare footed, pants rolled up, arms
bare. and my shirt torn half off, the rain
coming down by tubs full, the wind blow
ing, thunder roaring, and lightning fash
ing. l felt home-sick, and so hungry
nearly starved for something to eat. Exactly
at $50 P. M. (s.20 A. NJ. with you in Phila-
delphia) the mauser rifles began to crack
and bullets hiss and sing like bees, vicious
ard sharp, and the ball opened slowly with
US on the right first few sharp reports
from our rifles. and then about so would
blaze out, then two or three hundred, and
at last our artillery began, and the ground
simply shook. Then then the Spanish
batteries opened up on US. God knows it
was living breathing hell; shells, sharpnel,
solid shot, few into us; shells screamed
over our heads and exploded all the time;
thousands of the little deadly Mauser bull
let's were whistling all around US. At last
we got our order, load, ready, aim low,
fire. -Four hundred brave boys stood ex-
posed from waist up to all this and took
aim at the flashing line, and these old
Springfield rifles talked all at once. I arose
with prayer, and dropped to my knees
and loaded again and again. and yet not
one struck me they seemed to go through
my clothes, and burn my face. All this
time the big explosive shells crashed
around US, over US, and in front of us. God
knows what the other men were thinking
about, but my men said afterward that
Pogue was as cool as an Indian, would
shoot and cuss every time. You would not
know your dude brother if you could have
seen him, and blood, and sweat, and black
with powder smoke, but still in the ring.
We drove the enemy back with heavy loss
and we quit firing when they retreated. At
4 A. M. they opened up again on us, and
we poured lead into them again, and as it
grew light in the East, we could see them
gathering up their dead and wounded by
the score. We did not fire on them while
they were doing this, but they were she'll
ing US with their big guns all the time so
to keep us down; they do not recognize the
Red Cross, but we are more humane and
let them work.
If any body says these Spaniards won't
fight, they are wrong: they are brave or
they would not make three attempts to
storm our entrenchments, and at some
points come up within IS yards of our
guns. There were at least four or five
Regiments of them, but the big Westerners
gave them run for their money, and beat
them hands down. So far we have lost 13
men in killed and nearly 100 in wounded
It is pretty hard to- see your friends and
comrades drop down beside you with a
groan-blood spatter in my face, and dare
not stop to help them until the firing stops,
when we carry the wounded back to
temporary hospital until day light, then
the NATIVES put them in little carts and
haul them here to camp. The dead
men are left out in the trenches
until day light and then four men
pick up a body and carry it to the rear.
Eight were buried yesterday and saw very
little ceremony over them. They were bur
led near an old Spanish Church, in graves
only three feet deep and in water, with
their uniforms and all on just as they fell,
rolled up in blanket, and put in mud
hole. covered up and left there like you had
buried dead dog. But this is war, and
unless something happens there will be
several hundred, yes, thousands who will
i'll graves In this island. We cannot cap
lure the City of Manila, unless Admiral
Dewey opens up on them, and the big mon
tors from, Frisco are not here yet, and he
will not risk his light cruisers against
powerful battery of big 10, IL and II inch
Krupp guns and 1900 soldiers against our
Il 900. But you can bet we will have it if it
akes every man to do it. The Colorado
Regiment has now reputation and we are
% lead the procession, as we have orders
rom Brigade Commander and General Mer-
.itt. We and the q. S. Regulars fight side
BY side, and they think we are great. All
his you can see in the Eastern papers, a
correspondent from the N. Y. World and N.
Y. Journal being here. They are pluky fell
ows too for saw them both during the hot
est part of the fight, right with our Colonel
and Captain, bullets singing all around
hem. Wejoked them about soiling their
white duck suits and tan shoes, but they
laughed and said we were the boys. To-
morrow we go again, and this time three
Regiments will be there to face the enemy,
Ind there will be hot time tomorrow
hight, Thursday, Aug. 4th. about from P.
". to A. M.
All day to day have been busy washing
ny one suit of under clothes, socks, sew
ng up my shirt, cleaning my rife, filing
ny canteen with cold coffee, my belt with