The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1899-10-13
SOME LIVELY FIGHTING
American Troops Have Two Sharp
engagements.
The Marines Brave eAdvance-They Waded
Through the Rice Fields, Fordod
the River with the Water Up
to Their Necks.

NOvELETA, Island of LuzOn, Oct. g,
S;I5 p.m.-Gen. Schwan's column, con-
sisting of the Thirteenth Infantry, a
battalion of the Fourteenth, two troops
of cavalry, Capt. Reilley's battery of
the Fifth Artillery and loves scouts,
advanced from Bacoor this morning
and occupied Cavite Viejo and Noveleta.
The American loss was three officers
and nine privatcs wounded, one of the
officers being mortally hurt. The loss
of the enemy is unknown, but the
bodies of three Filipinos were seen.
There were two sharp fights near
NOveleta. loves scouts first encoun-
tered the enemy near Cavite ViejO and
soon put them to fight, continuing
their advance.
Capt. SaffOlds battalion of the Thir-
teenth regiment, with two companies
of the Fourteenth and a number of
TagalO scouts, Capt. McGrath com
manding the troops from the Fourth
cavalry and Capt. Reilley's battery,
came upon the enemy in a strongly en-
trenched position on the road between
Cavite Viejo and Noveleta. A fight
lasting half an hour followed, result
ing in the enemy being driven back.
The American forces sustained consid"
cradle loss in this engagement, the men
being shot from trenches and shacks
along the road.
The column then pressed on to Move
leta, which they found deserted, and
will remain there tonight.
The marines and naval forces CO.
operated with the troops. The gun
boats Wheeling, Petrol and CallaO lay
off the shore near Noveleta and threw
shells into that town and Santa Cruz
for an hour, preparing the wGy for the
marines to land. Two battaliOns, con-
sisting of $50 marines under Col. Elliott,
advanced along the peninsula from
NOveleta to Cavite. The only path was
by narrow road through swamps.
a mile beyond the marines outpost
the column was suddenly received with
a vOlley from trenches across the road.
A flank movement was executed and
the insurgents were driven from the
trenches, the marines wading through
rice fields in turning the flank of the
enemy, who retreated to strong sand
forts across the creek dividing the
peninsula, destroying the bridge across
the stream.
The marines waded through more
rice fields, forded the river in water to
their shoulders and carried the forts,
meeting with feeble resistance, the first
encounter having disheartened the
enemy. Squads were sent to Noveleta
and burned the town and the huts
along the road from which the enemy
commenced firing. There a junction
was formed with the scouts who had
been sweeping the swamps and thick
cts. Thence the marines returned to
Cavite thoroughly exhausted.
Lieut.. Wynn, with a three-pOunder,
did good execution during the advance.
Gen. Lawton was not in personal COM
mand of today's movement.
Capt. Cowles' battalion of the Fourth
l5fGrtry, while accommodating today,
found a ~ of several hundred in
surgents near So Nicolas. After a
brisk fight, lasting th~ee-quarters of
an hour, the enemy was driven off. In
this engagement the American cssual-
ties were four men slightly wounded
Six of the enemy were killed, but thr~
number of wounded is not known. The
bad condition of the roads made the
progress Of the artillery ,Ovv.