The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1899-05-19
LETTER FROM ILOILO.
Private t. n. Bats Writes of Happenings
There.

4
There.
The following is a letter written
by Private It. n. Bats, Of Co. B., at
Iloilo, to his father, Mr. j. n. Bats,
at TimmOns:
ILoILo, p. l., April 4, 99-Dedr Faith
er:-I received your most kind aud well
come letters of Feb. 5th and 7th, and
also two copies of the Columbia HER
AID. They found me well and all o. k.
In answer to your letter, we were in
the fight at Manila Sunday, Feb. 5, un-
til the 7th; then we were ordered to
come in and pack for Iloilo. We got
there the night of the 10th and saw the
bonn bardment the next morning, the
llth. We were on board the transport
ST. Paul, and were the first troops land
ed at Iloilo. The whole town was on
fire, the natives having set fire to the
buildings and left. There were 10000
of.them in town that morning-Feb IL,
1899. Our flag was raised by the ma
rines at their fort which Dewey had
torn up for them.
We marched through the fire, having
shots fired at us from every side. That
night we camped in the old Spanish
barracks, which the insurgents had
used. There were breast works thrown
up all around us. Shots were fired at
intervals by both sides that night, and
| there were few dead negroes the next
morning. We did not lose a man. The
natives all have big bolows-a knife
which is twenty inches long. If you
capture one with his gun he has big
knife also.
Dewey has his gun-boats out in the
bay, ready for shooting now.
We passed through the town first tC
| I'll, 20 In,y a,,l 70 l. N,
town, thd name of which l don't now
remember.
You spoke of us having some fighting
to do. We have that to do every day
That is nothing uncommon now. We
were out on the firing line last night
No one was killed from our regiment
there were two killed in the lStn regi
ment. We have been out to-day, bu
have come in. They are shelling 6
town now not far from here, and W.
can hear the noise made by the she'll
smallpox the 18th of February. ID
was hauled off in an OK cart. | neve
saw anything like it before.
| see in the papers where the 4tl
Tennessee had such a hard time
marched all day and feasted on hard
tack and canned beef. We marched
out in the morning and fought unit
night, driving the insurgents elgh
miles in front of us, and we only hat
hard tack and water, and then lay al
night in the trenches and marches
away next morning We killed chick
ems and hogs and cooked them, but ha,
no bread. The old first is ready at an,
time they are called on, night or day
We still hold all the places we hav
captured. The insurgents are righ
across the river from US now, and W
can see them with field glasses in thei
trenches. We have had some of tn
natives to come in and lay down thei
arms.
There is talk of us being relieved b
regulars. If it is true, we will be a
home by June or July. We have nc
had much fighting to do since Marc
26, and everything is going along nicely
The destruction of Iloilo is complete
and hardly house is standing, eXcep
bamboo houses out on the edge. Tw
miles from Iloilo is nothing but mour
tins, and the villages are rice field
From where we are in barracks on
can see the natives at work, cleanin
up their fields, fixing and planting
Those that are civilized come in
town and work in the sugar factories
, There are about two thousand of theI
that come in town at day and go bac
at night to their homes.
/ suppose you are having cold weathe
while we are having very war;
weather, and only use coyer to keep o.
the mosquitoes.
7. n. BATS,
Co. B. 1st Tenn. L. S. v.