The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1899-05-10
GALUMPIq IS CAPTURHD)
General Macarthur Drives the lnsur-
gents Out Of Their Last Stronghold. !
4ER0lSM OF THE KANSAS TR0OPSl

'sas Leads Bold Party Across Bridge:
Under Fire - Armored Car Used to.
Open tho Advance-Our Casualties.
MANILA (By Cable). - General MacAr7
:hur's division, 5000 troops, annihilated
:he insurgents at Calumpit Wednesday.
Aguinaldo's troops made stubborn re-
,Istance, but were driven to the hills.
Eight Americans were killed. Calumpit II
The key to the whole OF northern Luzon. |
General NaeArthur's division fought its
way to the Filipino trenches before Calum-
pit on Tuesday. advancing four miles
mostly through woods and jungle, and
crossing the Bagbag River.
This was accomplished ct cost to the,
Americans Of six killed and twenty eight.
wounded, tho First South Dakota being
the heaviest loser.
After fording the river the South Dako-
tans pursued the insurgents to the out
skirts Of Cslumplt; but the town was foundI
to be so strongly protected that GeneralE
Macarthur deemed It best to withdraw the
tired fighters and to 60 into camp for .
nights rest before making the final
assault.
The Bagbag River was well fortified, and
the Americans were compelled to approach
across an open space from which the rebels
had cleared every obstruction In sight.
The bank Of the river, high blutI, was|
surmounted with trenches, capped with
rocks, loop-holed and partly hi,lden by
bushes.
General Wheaton's brigade approached
the river along the railroad, leaving camp
beyond Malolos. General Hale's brigade,
was earlier on the march, and swept west!
ward toward the railroad. The armoredl
train was being pushed by Cinnamon, the
Twentieth Kansas advancing in extended,
order on the left and the First Montana,
with the Utah Light Artillery, on the right,
The rapid.fre guns on the train opened
the fight at 1.S0 a, m. about o mile from
the river, their popping alternating contin-
uously with the boom ofthe 6-pounders.
The Montana regiment and the Utah ar!
tillery batteries at the same time entered
the jungle, from which the insurgents, who
were occupying large, struggling village.
Of huts, poured heavy volleys. In the
course OF an hour the Americans had
forced passage through the woods to the
open space in front OF tho river, and the
artillery, Immediately on wheeling into tho
open. began shelllng the Filipino trenches,
In the meantimS Company Z, Twentieth
Kansas, led by Captain Boltwood, per-
formed one OF the most brilliant achieve
ments OF the campaign. The regiment was
being held In reserve, and Company e
charged quarter OF a mile over corn
field to the bank Of the river, near the
bridge, where the Insurgents from trench
about two hundreds yards down the track.
The company found shelter In q ditch.
Colonel Frederick Funston called for vol-j
unteers to cross the river and the colonel
himself, Lieutenant Ball, q private OF Conf
dany K, q private OF Company E. Trum1
peter Bars1eld and Corporal Ferguson, OF
Company I, crawied along the iron girders.
While this was going on the men OF Com
pany &, from the ditch, poured In heavy
Ere on the trenches In the endeavor to
divert attention, but the Filipinos got the
range from a trench down the river, and
their bullets soon spattered the water un-
der the structure. =.
Having reached the broken span, tho,
small party OF Americans slid down tho
caisson, swan few yards to the shore and
crawled up the bank, the Colonel leading
the way to the trenches, revolver in hand,
while the few remaining Filipinos bolted.
General Hale's troops, ,9n the right, had
the hardest fighting. ,fhsy followed tho
from the east. with the First Nebraska on
the left and the First South D dakota and the
Fifty-arst Iowa beyond. The country to
be traversed was mostly jungle, but tho
Filipinos stood their ground, even In the
open spaces. !
General Hale's right joined General
Wheaton's left soon after noon, curve tn
the river enabling the Americans to pour
On enhlading fire into the enemys trenches.
About this time the cheers OF the Kansas!
troops announced that the Americans had
crossed the river. General Hale's men be-
gan to ford the Chico branch OF the Bag
bag stretching to the northeast. The Com
eral himself plunged in upto his neck, and
the regiments, all carrying flags, foundered
across the stream.
The guns OF the Utah Light Artillery
we're dragged over next and formed into
IN extended line, to advance upon the
trenches before Calumpit, from which the
Filipinos were pouring continuous volleys.
It Is difficult to estimate the lnsurgent
losses, but they had not less than seventy
killed MANY of them by the artillery. =,