The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-05-14

scraped his cheek bone and ripped through
his right ear. 1t was his maiden fight
TOO, but a veteran of fifty could have been
no more composed. That was Capt
Albert H. Otis, Company A, First Wash
ington.
Ten minutes later the dash of two bat
taions of the Washingtons had cleared
the rice fields 10 the south of the Santa
Ana road, and the Californiaus, lining the
low embankment on which it ran, were
getting in a lively cross fire on the en-
trenchments 10 the north of it. The
Krupp guns were firing rapidly at u
from a redoubt close 10 the stream and
near the east end of Santa Ana The
stone bridge across the Tripa seemed to
be the main target, for shivered glass from
the lamp posts and splintered stone from
the parapets flew with the whistling bull
let's diagonally across the roadway. None
the less TWO little mountain Hotehkiss guns
had been run forward by hand almost to
the arch and there, cooliy, placidIy di-
rectng their fre-bursting his shells
squarely in the Filipino works and never
even crouching 10 avoid the incessant
flight of Mauser and Remington missiles
stood an officer who had already won a
name for daring and skill in the face of
a savage enemy A Sioux bullet at the
bloody fight at Wounded Knee eight Years
ago drove fragments of his watch through
his body, but in no wise impaired his effi-
cheney or daunted his nerve when the next
| campaign came on. Between the cool
scientific handling of these guns by Lieut..
| Hawthorne of the Sixth Artillery and the
! fierce and rapid volleys of the Californians
| crouching behind the road the insurgents
| lurking behind the low ridges in the rice
| fields TO our left front were driven to COW
| er further back and their shots flew wild.
| Then it was possible to rush the First
/ 7 Ill. = =.
| attack on the redoubts. AT the head of
the second battalion strobe a vet
| erau solder-Maj. Edward McCon-
| vile. He had served as private
in the great war between the states. He
! had later spent long years in the regular
army as a private and on-commissioned
officer. He at one time carried a musket
! in the company then commanded by Can't.
now Maj. Gen. Anderson, under whose
orders he again found himself when he
came as major TO Manila. He was prob
ably the Oldest man in the division he
| certainly was in the brigade-but no duty
| was so wearisome or eXacting that he did
not carry out his share of it to the utter
most. The men looked upon him as a pa
triarch, but honored him for his devotion
| to every detail of his soldier work
l think, now, that the brave old fellow
| must have become somewhat deaf. He had
! misunderstood an order l gave him when
| reporting to me for instructions as field
officer of the day a fortnight before the
| night. This had led to my writing out his
orders the neXt-and last time he report-
ed for the same purpose and the veteran
soldier had taken this-m connection with
mild reproof l had given him for al
| lowing his reserves and supports to be
| Withdrawn before daylight-very much 10
heart. In a brigade made up exclusively of
volunteers at the date of its maiden bat
tie he was the only officer had felt oblq-
| ed TO reprove-and he was an old regular
But can see him now as he came
running TO me on the Santa Ana road
just after crossing the bridge A skirmish
line was dancing out across the rice fields
against the fire splitting entertainments
toward the river, and the Idahos-oxcept
three companies sent in 10 back up Wash
ington for the rush into Santa Ana from
the south-were destined to act Ia sun
port. We had exchanged cordial greet
ings early in the morning McConvlle
and l, when the regiment reported for
duty in East Pace and now his face was
aglow his eyes blazing with easerness
and excitement. 1t had been all planned
that as soon as the Idahos were across
and deployed for the attack from the
high road-the south-that Capt Fortson.
with his two companies of the Washing