Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-05-20
SEVEN DAYS OF FIGHTING
Lieutenant Conrad Lansa's Experience in the
War With AguiDaldo.
Pursuit of Fiiipinos From Jungle to
Jungle and From CalOOcan
to MaIOIOs.

letter was recently received by Mrs,
hammond from Lieutenant Conrad H. Lam
"a. who is a grandson of General William
A Hammond, and now with the American
army IN the Philippines. Lieutenant LAMA
was appointed a second lieutenant in the
Sd Artillery from the District of Columbia
last summer, having resided in Washington
several years previously He immed-
lately ordered to Manila and has participate
ed in all the battles there and in that neigh
borhood. A few days after writing this let
ter he was wounded In the leg.
Extracts from his communication, dated
Malolos, P. l., April ), 1899, are taken as
follows
I'VE left our barracks near Caloocan at
6 am, March %, being Immediately fired
upon by the Filipinos. We charged across
wide plain for over mile, where we were
at all times in plain sight of the insurgents.
They were concealed on the edge of a wood.
However, We drove them out Of it and rest
ed few minutes before pushing on through
the jungle. We advanced almost another
mile without meeting any opposition at all,
when suddenly, coming out on a little clear
ing, We found the enemy in a blockhOuse
with deep river in front of it. If they had
only stayed in the blockhouse 1t would have
taken a long time to have got them out,
as the walls were too thick for bullets to
go through, but they got frightened and
ran and by great piece of luck we found
a ford in the river. We waded across and
hnally captured the place. This was the
biggest battle of the war so far as our
losses We're concerned, although it was all
over by O'Clock in the morning.
The Advance Guard.
The next day, we pushed on again, the
Sd Artillery forming the advance guard
We found the enemy on one side, instead of
in front as we had expected, and as 1 hap
pened to be on that side with my platoon,
l had the fight all to myself for quite a
time, and finally drove the enemy out. We
then pushed on and captured a village
Malinta-without any opposition. We lost
quite a number Of men that day including
Battery's first lieutenant-Mr Kragen-
buhl, who married q Washington girl few
years ago.
The following day, the 9th, We again
pushed on in the advance guard, having to
cross plain all cut up with creeks and
swamps. We hadn't the slightest idea
where the Filipinos We're, and We're march
ing along narrow dyke, between two
streams, one by one when we suddenly got
a Volley from some clumps of trees, and
everybody Immediately hoped off the dyke
into the water being considerably the
safer place. We had altogether six streams
to cross, where the mud was so thick SOM.
OF the men had to be pulled out, and the
banks being steep and covered with BRAN
BILE bushes. made them very unpleasant to
cross, especially with the enemy firing at
US all the time Finally We came to d
stream too deep to cross and discovered the
Fllipinos on the other side shooting over
logs, out of church SteepleS and over walls
and we had quite a lively time of it till the
South Dakota Regiment crossed over a rail-
road bridge and hanked the Filipinos, when
we all crossed over and captured Marilas.
That same afternoon the FiIipinos tried
TO recapture the town and made grand
assault, the only one have ever seen them
make. and they did it so well that we had
to send for reinfOrcementS, but they were
finally driven back. Another of X Bat
tery's lieutenants, Mr.. England, was wound
ed in this action.
The Battery's Loss.
TN the three days fighting nineteen men
In this battery were killed or wounded, be-
sides quite number of sunstrokes. The
hot season has commenced, and it is very
hot in the middle of the day, although the
nights are cool.
The 2Sth We rested. The Doth we were
marching the entire day, and most of the
day the both, but on none of these days
was there any serious fighting, and the Sd
Artillery was not at all engaged.
The morning of the 31st we were only
two miles from Malolos, and at o'clock
We started for the city. We had a number
of boys and streams to cross, and slight
skirmish with the Filipinos, but they made
practically no resistance and retrea ted.
setting the town on fire, and We marched
in.
During the campaign we have got up at
4 o'clock in the morning, breakfasted by
moonlight, marched or fought all day, and
sometimes did not sleep till after midnight
We have lived largely off the country, find
ing plenty Of chickens and pigs, with oc-
casional turkeys, ducks and vegetables, lots
of straw to sleep on at night, and have SUI
fered only from the heat of the sun.
The country we passed through is al
most entirely deserted, most of the towns
having been destroyed by fire by the in
surgents before leaving. The Sd Artillery
has been designated provost guard
and garrison for Malolos, and we will prob
ably remain here for some time. 1 am liv-
ing in a native shack on the outskirts of
the town, engaged principally in police
duty, although 1 make frequent excur-
sions into the country in search of small
parties of the enemy so far without sue
cess"