The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-07-28
Important Town On Laguna de Bay
Taken BY Americans.
HARD WORK OF TROOPS
GALLANT ACT OF A CAPTAIN
AND A LIEUTENANT.
Swan a River Under the Enemy's
Fire and Procured Boats With
Which to Take the Soldiers Across
-Filipinos With White Flags Do
Much Shooting.

Manila, July 27-An expedition COM
prised of troops from San Pedro, Ma
cati Pasig and Morong, under Briga-
der General r. II. Hall, yesterday cap
tured Calamba, an important town on
| the south shore of Laguna de Bay, after
| two hours of sharp fighting, during
which four soldiers were killed ana
! twelve wounded. The trenches COM
manding the harbor were under water.
| but the swampiness of the land made
the work harder.
The troops boarded cascoes Tuesday
night. The force comprised 400 of the
Washington volunteers, 450 of the
! Twenty first infantry, $50 of the Fourth
cavalry and two guns of the First ar
tillery. These and the gunboats Lapi-
dan and Costo assembled opposite Ca
lamba. Crowds of people in carts and
on foot We're seen rushing to the hills.
Natives escaping from Calamba in ca
noes said a hundred insurgents held the
town.
A force under Captain McGrath of
the Twenty first infantry and Captain
Eltenherd landed east of the town. but
found a river intervening. Captain
McGrath and Lieutenant Batson swan
the river under a fire from twenty
Mauser rifles. Having crossed the
Z
ferry the troops over.
The insurgents retreated through the
! town, shooting from houses and bushes
as they fed to the hills. Three MEM
bers of the Washington regiment waded
from cascoes through swamps, often
shoulder deep. while group of Filipi-
nos concealed in haystacks were shoot
ing at them, until the Napidan focused
her six-pounders and Calling guns on
the stacks for a few minutes. Most of
the work was done before the Washing
ton volunteers could reach the town.
The Filipinos left three dead. OF the
casualties on the American side two of
the killed and three of the wounded
were members of the Fourth cavalry,
and two killed and eight wounded be-
longed to the Twenty-f1rst infantry.
Treachery of Filipinos.
There was much shooting by Filipinos
who emerged from the bushes with
white flags. After the fighting a dozen
men holding up their hands and shout
ing "Castillanos" met the American
cavalry. Even Spanish soldiers en-
braced the Americans Historically.
There were fifty Spanish prisoners at
Calamba, of whom some were civil Off
Gals and some We're soldiers. They
had been given the choice of joining
the Filipino army or becoming servants
and they chose the army, intending to
surrender to the Americans at the first
opportunity. Most of the civilians
reached the American lines during the
fighting. but the insurgents took others
away with them in their retreat. Cen
eral Hall captured twelve Filipinos
with guns.
Major Henry w. Lawton, Professor
Dean c. Worcester of the American
Philippines commission. Mrs. General
Lawton and General Lawton's son, ac-
companied the expedition on board a
launch and sat coolly in an unprotect-
ed boat close to the shore during the
fighting, the bullets splashing about
them.
Today General Hall brought to Ma
Mia the Spaniards whom the expedition
had released from captivity of more
than q year. Lieutenant Larson. COM
handing the Napidan. today found a
long missing Spanish gunboat which
had been so covered with bushes and
fish nets as not to resemble a vessel
The Filipinos, having met reinforce
ments, and thinking that the Americans
had evacuated the town. descended the
hills today. intending to reoccupy Ca
LAMBDA. General Hall easily drove them
back. General Hall will leave a gar
rison at Calamba.
Washington. July 27-Calamba is a
town on Lagunda de Bay about thirty
miles southeast of Manila. 1t is much
farther south than the United States
troops have yet penetrated on land.
1t is in the province of Laguna. 1t has
a population of 11.476, and is twenty
seven miles from Santa Cruz on the
eastern shore of the bay. Its capture
is not considered of any strategical
Importance. except as a part of the
plan to harass and worry the insurg-
ents.