Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1898-08-20
MANILA CAPTURED
Short Bombardment and Quick
Advance by Our Infantry.
THE FLIGHT. OF AUGUSTA.
Spanish Commander Escapes to
Hong Kong on a German Ship,
OLYMPIA FIRED THE FIRST SHOT

And the First Colorado Regiment Was the
First to Charge the Spsniards in the
Trenches Admiral Dewey Has Probably
Ere This Forced the Surrender of Two
Other Philippine Ports and Captured Sew
eral Steamers Captain General August
Leaves Hong Kong for Madrid.
London, Aug. 1.-THE Manila cor
respondent of The Daily Telegraph
says:
Nothing could be more humane than
the American capture of this town.
General Merritt's and General Dewey's
plan was to spare every object but the
defenses and the trenches. Apparently
the American losses were extremely
small The Spanish entertainments
varied in point of distance from two
to four miles from the center of old
Manila.
Defending this long line of at least
ten miles were not over 5000 Spanish
regular troops, volunteers and natives.
About half that number were in the
hospital The attacking force mum
bered from 10000 to 10000 natives and
10000 Americans, on shore and aboard
the feet. In every respect the ad-
vantage was on the side of the attack.
Inc American field guns threw heavier
metal and had longer ranges than the
Spanish, the Workmanship of the Uni
ted States gunners was much superior
to that of the Spaniards, and the men
were stronger and in better condition.
The Spaniards are a small race com
pared with their stalwart opponents,
and, worn out by hundred days siege
and disappointed by the failure to ar
rive of the promised Spanish relief
squadron, they had lost heart. 1t was
a hopeless struggle.
Looking over the bay it was curious
to notice how the foreign fleets ar
ranged themselves according to their
sympathies. The English and Jap
anese were near the Americans and the
Germans and French on the opposite
sides of the bay, north of the Pasig
river. The British cruiser Immortalite
and her consorts kept fairly near the
American line. The attacking squad
ron formed in lines between Malate
and old Manila, with the Concord
watched the fort at the mouth of the
Pasig. The American fleet lay out
side the breakwater.
The Olympia fired the first shot at
9:40, and a fairly continuous but by
no means furious cannonade was kept
up until 1920. BY that time the Ma
late fort was silenced, and the Ameri-
can troops then stormed the entrench
ments. The Spaniards who were in the
earthworks say that the quick firing
guns of the little gunboat Rapido,
which lay close to the shore, were far
more terrible in their effects than was
the raking fire of The ships.
Resistance to the American attack
was impossible. The First Colorado
regiment was the earliest to charge
the Spaniards. who retired to the sec
ond line, but soon outnumbered they
were forced into the old city. A part
of Malate suffered severely from the
bombardment. The Wanted intra-
mures defenses were not tried.
The Spanish commander, convinced
that further resistance was hopeless.
hoisted a white flag at 1870 and the
order to cease firing was Immediately
issued in the center of the town. but
in the outskirts street fighting con-
tinued for some time afterwards be-
tween the rebels and Spaniards. The
only fear felt in the city is in regard
to the conduct of the insurgents.
AS the white flag was hoisted Cen
eral August and his family were taken
on board the German cruiser, and the
Kaiserin Augusta steamed off immedi-
ately for Hong Kong.