The Dickinson press., 1898-12-03
Facts About the 18th Minnesota, How q
Dickinson Boy Come to Get One Of
Their Guns.

uSt0vJ VutsSs .
A great deal has been said by the Twin
City papers about the 18th Minnesota
and their daring feats in connection with
the Manila land battle and for a time
the people at home were lead to believe
that the North Dakota and other volun-
teers took no important part in this affair,
but later it was discovered that all the
cablegrams regarding the battle had been
highly colored in the interests of the 18th.
The facts are that the 13th was made up
largely of college boys, who, in some
dexterous manner, hypnotized, all the
Manila wal correspondents for the Twin
City press, hence the garbled reports that
were printed-column upon column
giving the 18th credit for everything and
not mentioning the important part taken
by the North Dakota volunteers. A
Dickinson boy, who was himself in the
fight and knows what he is talking about,
gives the following facts concerning the
part taken by the 18TH:
In the first place it was the North Da-
kotas who held the trenches, which were
full of water and mud, all the rainy night
of the 18th. 1t was the N. D. outposts
who first fired on block house No. IA,
which was bombarded by the Utah Bat
terry, and afterwards charged and taken
by the 23rd U. S. Infantry. The Colora-
dos and 18th U. S. captured Fort Malate,
after it had been shelled by Dewey. The
18TH MINI. relieved the North Dakotas
in the trenches, on the morning of the
18TH, who fell back and supported the
23rd during the fight.
During the hottest part of the day the
Ist battalion, and two Cos. TX and c. of
the End of the North Dakotas lay for two
hours under a heavy fire, in mud and
water. Two companies of the 18th be-
came all mixed up and fired into one
another. When some of their men came
running throughN d. lines panic stricken,
without a gun, knapsack, or belt, painting,
with their tongues ready to loll, like a
dog on a summers day, and cxclaiming
between breaths: "They've surrounded
us boys! They led US into a trap! They
are making a flank movement, you'd bet
ter get back out of this! Not a ND. man
made a motion to retreat. Sergt. Free
man and five men loaded their rifles, and
crossed the road to watch for a flank
movement. The bullets were raining in
the water all around them. Later K and
c were sent back to the block house to
check the insurgents. Then they picked
up their knapsacks, which they had
thrown away in the advance movements,
on account of the heat. Lieut.. Gruschuu
OF Co, K picked up a rifle belonging to
one of the MINI. boys. He has it still.
About dark N. ID. wasordered to proceed
into Manila. AS there was a large guam.
tity of Spanish ammunition at the block
house they left a detail of eight men (all
they could spare) to guard it and prevent
the insurgents gaining possession of it.
1t was a ticklish place, in the middle of
the Jungle with hundreds of those infer
nal savages around. The officers hated
to make the detail, but had to do it.
However they fixed up a barricade and
held the fort. Towards morning the In
surgents became rather threatening so
they dropped the ammunition into a large
%cistern. During this time they TX and C)
had their adventure with the natives at
the bridge, of which you have already
heard, and had remained in the street on
the lookout all night, in the rain, with no
rest, and very little food. They had
been on duty 48 hours. That night the
18th MINI. were safely ensconced in Ma
Mia barracks. SO you see there were
other regiments that were there, on Aug,
18th, besides the 18th Minnesota. The
reason they were not mentioned in the
paper is, that they had no paid newspa-
per correspondent along with them. Co.
K is third on the roll of honor, and could
have been second or first if it had had
the chance.