Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1899-06-08
iowa BOYS AT MANILA
Doing Their Full Duty and Are an Honor
to the State.
A SON WRITES TO HIS PARENTS.
He Tells of What They are Doing In the
Philippines and What They Think OF
Iowa Newspapers that are Pursuing a
Faultfnding Course.

A member of the Fifty-first regiment
thus writes home to his father from
Manila:
Dear Father: We are still in the
trenches and are having plenty OF
excitement. Every night our outposts
have little metallic" conference
with the native soldiers, and from sun
down to daylight the Mausers and
Remingtons fly pretty thick. So far
Gus company has lost only one man
(much to the disappointment or some
of the editors of one-horSe Iowa papers
who seem to want us all killed ON,
and we don't know whether he is
killed or captured. We were out scout
ing one morning and in skirmish
with the insurgents outposts Fred
Borduwine of Company H was lost
Our boys were driven back to the
trenches, but we soon went back Tor
him with a stronger force. We man
aged to kill off nine of the insurgents,
but have not yet even heard OF Bordu-
wine We think he is captured or
killed.
About tomorrow our famous General
Ovenshines brigade will advance on
ParanaQue, and hope We will then be
able to satisfy the very bloodthlrsty
ones at home, who so graciouSly said
to us when we lett, Kill one for me,
and who, now that we are here and
are doing everything expected of SOL
diers who obey orders, are so severely
criticising us for not getting a few
ore men killed.
1t is true that our regiment has done
less fighting than most of the others,
hIIt that iS fol11t If iS Simn1N
disheartening for us to lay here in the
trenches day after day, scouting in the
day time and holding outposts at night,
doing our duty the very best we know
how, and after waiting week after
week for mail, to see articles from
Iowa papers referring to US as counter
jumpers, society men; and II they were
not ashamed already of themselves
and what they have said of us, they
possibly could work up their enfeebled
brains into calling us towards.
Ever since this regiment left Dea
Moines there is not man in the ranks
who did not expect to fight, and many
times have we been very near it. only
to have some new orders come in time
to cut us out of our dues.
If those very savage men (the editors
of the Sioux City Journal and that
one-horse Cedar Rapids sheet. and our
old vertO-be-forgOtten COmrade
Jolley of Wall Lake, wish to know
what we are doing let them not make
any more rash guesses, but let them
ask our brigade commander.
Our regiment is badly cut up. We
have two companies (B and X in San
Rogue, two companies Il and G. in
Cavite, four companies (E. G, NJ and
c. are in Manila, and the other four
companies Oh, A, F and d. are on the
firing line. H, F, A and d comprise
the First battalion of the Fiftyfrst
Iowa regiment and as such have been
assigned to General Ovenshine's bril-
gade. In the one skirmish we were
lucky enough to get into March 49,
the general commended us very highly,
but as we have no representative of
the press, the people at home are still
wondering where we are.
If there is anything wrong with our
regiment we admit that we ourselves
can't see why we haven't been taken
from one position on the line, where
as yet there has been little fighting, to
another position where the insurgents
happened to strike a hard blow, it IL
absolutely not our fault We do not
issue orders to ourselves; our superior
officers do all the ordering.
Our friend CD, Mr.. Jolley, talks in
his letter to the Register as if we
could go any place we wanted to. as
If We had no one over us whose orders
we are bound to obey. If he was in
the civil war, and we don't doubt his
word, he certainly knows that if a
regimental commander or any other
officer asks favor or anticipates any
order ne is liable to court martial The
fact of our getting to Manila a few
days before the fight at IloilO is not
our fault. OF course, our ninety-five
days on transport need not be con-
sidered; we probably could have got
ten off and walked part of the time.
but for the edification of Mr.. Jolley
want to say that we were all ready
and anxious to land at Iloilo and plans
were all made for the landing to be
made when orders came not to land,
Are we to blame for the orders that
General Otis gave?
Again, we We're landed at Cavite be-
cause there were no quarters for us
at Manila. We had no preference as
to where We were landed. provided
we got off the boat. The next night
after we landed the fight opened. and
as Cavite is a valuable place to Uncle
Sam, General Otis did not deem it adj
visable to remove troops from there
and allow the insurgents to enter the
city and capture the United States
navy yard. Perhaps, however. had Mr..
Jolley requested it, it would have been
done.
This newspaper controversy is de-
cidedly not to my taste. but when the
young men of so good a state as Iowa
abandon all business and social ties
some leaving aged friends, and
through pure patriotism, go to war, dc
their entire duty willingly and to the
best of their ability, when we do this
and are then attacked through the
papers by men who have no idea OF
what they are talking then feel my
self justified in making feeble pro-
test. All we want is a chance; VIC
have endured great many more hard.
ships than most of the other troops
that are here, and were not complain.
ing, always hoping that such extra
iorbearance would yield fruit some
time, but it is becoming more ant
more evident day by day that the NOR,
We do the less credit we get for it.