Brookings weekly register. (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1898-1903, 1899-09-07
lie down and shoot and then jump up
and chase the enemy.

and chase the enemy
In about the same language Colonel
A. L. Hawkins, commanding the Tenth,
tells how the trouble began with the
Filipinos in q letter sent to his wife
after the fierce battle Of Feb. II. He
declares that the American troops were
on the defensive before the attack Of
Feb. and suffered humiliation at the
hands Of the natives such as Ameri-
can soldiers had never been asked to
endure. Because the Americans grant
ed the Filipinos extraordinary privi-
leges. the latter assumed that the con-
querors Of Spain were afraid Of them.
and became snsolept and aggressive.
He also states the significant fact that
Spaniards and friendly natives warned
the troops Of the coming attack. The
Tenth Pennsy lvania had a place of
honor in repelling the Filipino attack
and in the return attack delivered by
General Otis. On the night of the 4th
Of February 81 men of the regiment
under a lieutenant held the outpost.
After springing the attack on the
flanks Of the Pennsylvanians, the
Filipinos at length attacked the
small guard in the center, pouring
In a CALLING fire. They were held off
for an hour, when Colonel Hawkins led
forward six companies to re-enforce the
pickets. The firing was heavy until
midnight, and only desultory from that
hour until daylight on Sunday morn
ing, the 5th. The full details of what
the regiment did that day are given
above in the statement by Sergeant
Major REIN. On the 18th it made the
fight of its career in assaulting Fill
pino lines around Manila. Directly in
front of the regiment was a Chinese
hospital, used for barracks by the in
surgents. It was fortified with heavy
stone wall and sheltered about 1000
Filipinos. Around the stronghold were
tiockhouses, all manned, and the in
surgents received the Pennsylvanians on
their advance with terrific fire. Colo
mel Hawkins led in four companies, and
while the line was moving cautiously
in unison with the Montana and Da-
kota regiments on the fanks the Penn
sylvanians broke into run, at the same
time cheering wildly. Colonel Haw
kins. describing this incident says:
With growls, with howls and Pennsyl-
vania cheers my dandies went after the
heather. and hell and all its gloomy
caverns seemed to have opened up. Our
men never slackened their onslaught nor
faltered. and although bullets rained
around them not a man fiinched. l am
more than ever proud Of the boys of the
Tenth. Sometimes they do annoy me
(some of them). but how they do fight!
They get so impetuous that restraint is
necessary under fire, and have never
found any tagging or showing cow
ardice. Well may the Keystone State
feel proud of such sons. They have done
her credit and honor the nation. In
camp a rollicking, mischief loving set: in
battle a hope and anchor you can safely
moor to.
A member of the regiment describing
the days work Gays:
Pennsylvania, with Dakota and Mon
tana troops, took first the Chinese hos
pital, Chino cemetery and the cathedral
at the top of the hill with fine charge,
covered by the Utah battery. We got un-
der fire and in sight of the cathedral just
when the Utah battery landed the shell
that drove the natives home. The gen.
erals were in the thickest of II all. Ma
jor General Macarthur, our general. and
his staff were on the ridge while we
were going up. The colonel, lieutenant
colonel and Major Bierer made them
selves solid with the men, and Major
Bell, the head of tbs bureau of informa-
tion, led the Pennsylvanians right up the
hill waving his hat for them to come on.
He is the talk of the army