Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1899-08-04
Captain Of Company B, Fifty-first
Iowa Charged With Cowardice
In Battle.
Hid In : Ditch While the Com.
pany Went Into the
Fight.
Now at Manila Awaiting Dishonor-
able Discharge Fifty. first at
San Fernando.


that Captain A. F. Burton, of Company
B, Fifty-first Iowa, from Villisca, has
been suspended for cowardice, and is
now at Manila awaiting dishonorable
discharge. Burton was principal of the
shool of Wymore, Neb., when the war
broke out and disappeared, going back
to his old home at Villisca, Ia, and tax
ing the captaincy Of the company. He
is reported to have deserted his troops
in an engagement and hidden in a ditch
while the company went into action
without him.
Des Moines, Aug. 4.-The Leader
prints a letter from John Snure, of the
Fifty-first Iowa, in which he gives a
graphic and detailed account of the bat
tie before San Fernando in which the
Iowa boys took so conspicuous part
The letter is as follows:
San Fernando, p. l., June 16. 1885,
A strong Filipino force. almost COM
pletely encircling San Fernando, made
a desperate attempt to break into the
-
west, the natives were driven back with
heavy slaughter.
| In the San Fernando cemetery, that
already was thickly dotted with fresh
mounds of earth, marking the graves
4 of insurgents slain at Santo Tomas and
There few weeks ago. the ground is
lheaped with corpses hideous and man
1 gled with bullets. All afternoon carts
4 have been bringing in the dead, with
4 an occasional army wagon. loaded full
| of bodies. All We're killed in the brief,
| bloody fight this morning, and the hos
| pitfalls are busted with native wounded.
In the Iowa front, the struggle was
1 short and sharp. ending in a brilliant
i repuse of the enemy. The Iowa out
siposts stretch along the north and north
least sides of the town. The left or west
half of the line was nsld last night by
1 Company D, the right by Company h.
There was a. mere feint on Company BIS
posts, but the assault on Company d
was sudden, genuine and vigorous. The
defense was gallant in the extreme, and
the counter-attack in which Company
H bore the brunt, was timely and eff
A fecttve. Five were wounded in the
|reginent, but it is thought all will re-
cover.
The attack came almost without
warning. The natives We're seen send
ing up rocket signals in the night, but
the only effect of these was to increase
the watchfulness of the pickets Com
pany d made its headquarters at an old
sugar mill a mile north of town. First
Sergt. Fred Woodruff was in charge
of the company, all the commissioned
officers being sick or on detail. He had
seventeen men at the mill when the
first volley came. Five hundred yards
to the east of the mill was a post of
seven members, and about an equal
distance to the west was another of
fourteen. Between these We're several
posts, stationed at night only and With
drawn to the mill just before daybreak
The posts on the right and left held
out pluckily until support arrived
They We're Overwhelmingly assailed
but it was the center, al the sugar mill
! that had the hardest struggle.
1t was just o'clock when the frs
e volley from the natives crashed abou
e the sugar mill The insurgents in Com.
: pany DIS front were not less than so,
! strong and being laden with bad liquor
j commonly called vino" they were
S fiercer than usual. Later many bottles
: were found In their trenches, and
e quantity of canned beef was lilsewis
n discovered. This last, perhaps, kin6llet
S their ferocity above its ordinary linn
Y its. AT any rate, they came on yellini
n like madmen. Their whole center clos
: ed in steadily on the sugar mill. al
most surrounding Woodruff and his lit
tie force. The latter yelled back as de
lfiantly as the Filpiuos buss their fail
g ing stock of ammunition made matter
n look dubious.
(, Just when most needed help came
s Company II, under Lieut.. Bennett, an
e directed by Capt Mount. acting bat
: TALON commander, filed through tn
It bamboos from the right, and entere
I. the cane field around the sugar mill 80
r yards east of that building. The con,
Il pany moved into position on the fan
y and rear of the insurgents. Compan
VI y came up few minutes after. an
If headed for the sugar mill, being on tn
l. left of Company H. 1t was still dar
IT and foggy. The ring and echo of vol
leys and the flash of the musketr
marked the scene of the hardest fight
ing. Capt. Mounts command was nc
prepared to stumble on the natives S
a suddenly, and for minute or two mis-
81 took them for Americans. Company
l. had approached to $50 yards of the FL
IL ipinos when the straw hats of the lat
lie ter removed all doubt of their identit,
j. They were still yelling, and SCENE
IF hardly aware of the approach OF reir
e, forcements until murderous fire froi
l. Krags and Springtields caught thel
1t from behind. Company II did deadl
III work for few minutes. and Compan
E then got into position to help til
cause along. The natives We're demon
allied by the first volley. They fire
= wildly straight into the air. and fled i
IS mad rout Some scurried down
10 sunken road along which squad of
n men sent hail of bullets. One feein
TT native. not thirty feet from the muzz
in of Springfield. was almost blown
8 fragments. Soon line of fire reachin
- all along Company DIS front wa
" formed by Companies c. L. NJ. A, F,
!. and H. 1t swept forward across I'll
N fields. the natives hurrying to the req
precipitately. They fled past their ow
outpost trenches. and did not eve
stop when their main line of work
nearly half mile north of the sugs
D. mill, was reached. Companies G, ar
e. X remained on the right to aid Con
al many n ~ paaded A few ohofc fro