Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-06-15

commonplace, but on the part Of the
soldiers engaged, every skirmish has its
phase Of heroism.
Rudyard Kipling puts it rightly in
his recent poem, Take Up the White
Mans Burden" when he says to ex-
banding America, go bind your sons to
exile" 1t is an exile, and all who see
the brave fellows sail SO cheerfully away
at moment s notice know that it is
exile without a compensating feature
for the victims of it.
At the end of the long wars of Napo-
| leon the great marshals who had fol-
lowed him across the hot sands of
Egypt in the bleak Alps over the
mountain barriers of Spain. amid the
frozen terrors of Russia and through
/ the rivers of blood on Prussian battle
fields prevailed upon the ambitious en-
peror to make peace with the nations
and allow them the quiet which their
long services and growing years had
earned. And they were of fighting
race. Yet today at Manila are seen SOL
diers taking up the new warfare of civ
ilization who fought with Grant and
Sherman and Sheridan more than 80
years ago and have ever since stood at
arms for the ceaseless drum call Of
duty along the border and the disquiet-
ed region beyond the Rockies. If not by
their battles in the sixties, then surely
by their long and patient service a;
guardians of the border peace, have the
veterans of the army earned the right
to a rest from wars.
The first fight in the Philippines tool
place with the Spanish garrison of Ma
Mia on July 81. General Merritt, com
manding the American forces, had useC
the time since his arrival on July 20 t.
get troops into position to assault thu
city. General Francis V. Greene's bri
stationed on the shore of the bay abou
five miles from Cavite toward Manila
Greene is not civil war veteran, bu
received the best army training anc
had smelled powder in the Asiatic cam
paigns Of Eussia. He was colonel of tn
Seventy-frst New York when he re
ceived the appointment which tool
him far away from San Juan hill
where his regiment made history Of tn
unenviable xind The first work o
Greene was to erect batteries on tn
beach Of Manila bay, and in order t
get the right Of way over the insur
gents tact was necessary. General Mer
rift would have no dealings with tn
man Aguinaldo. but Greene induced
euhOr1inate chi of to get ont of the wa
and let the Americans take a peep a
the Spaniards, OF course the Spaniard
didn't like being looked at out of tn
muzzles Of s inch guns and tried I
drive Greene away. They did not sue
ceed although they tried it almost ey
Q cry night until forced to quit for goo
and all the 18th of August.
r The first supports to come to Greene
4 troops in the trenches were led by on
who made history for himself as no
4 colonel during the civil war, Genert
7 Arthur Macarthur. Macarthur lande
| his soldiers direct at the beach durin
protracted storm with heavy surf b
running the lighters head on to shore
Greene and Macarthur brigades Il
q gether numbered $500 men, and Mel
h rift decided to end the business at
4 blow, if possible without bombardin
# the city of Manila.
- On the 9th of August the navy pounC
ed away at the sea TANKS of the Spar
- ish line and at signal stopped firm
to see what'the army could do, Greene