Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1900-07-26

Ii Came Within an Ace of Being q
Disastrous Defeat for
the Allies.
QUE TO APPARENT LACK OF COHESION.
The Attack Made Under Adverse
Conditions, but With the Utmost
Ga1lantry ON the Part of the
Americans and Japanese-The
Casualties.

New York. July 22.-Ihe Evening
World publishes the following from its
Tien Tsin correspondent, under date
of Che Foo, July 19, via Shanghai
July 81:
THE attack on the native city Of
Tien Tsin. on July Is, resulted in the
narrowest escape from what seemed
up to midnight, would be a terrible
disaster for the allies. The Russians
swinging north, and the other allies
south, at daybreak, the Russians were
to take the forts neer the native city
wall, and other allies the city itself.
Made n Rash Promise.
Gen. Fukushina, the Japanese com
malrder, promised that the japanese
engineers, after three hours shell fire
from all guns, would cross the bridge
over the moat before the wall and,
blowing up the great south gate, make
the breach for the infantry to enter,
Upon this depended everything. Gen
Fukushima had not secuted the ground
over which the charge Oh the bridge
had to be made.
Chinese Stretegy.
The Chinese destroyed the bridge
and flooded the land around it. The
allies shell fire in nowise subdued the
Chinese rife fire from the loop-holed
wall, which was 80 feet high, with a
/ moat 20 feet in depth around it.
An outer wall. of mud, made it i'm
possible for the infantry and marines
coming on the field to reply to the
Chinese fire. They lost so men in ten
minutes, then rushed back from the
mud wall, which they had reached.
British fastened Forward.
Gen. Dorward, the British comman-
der, FASTENED forward with a frag-
mentary instead of an integral Skin
mish line.
The American marines and the
Welsh fusiliers, together, under COM
mand of Waller, were on the extreme
left. Then the British marines and the
French advanced with the Japanese
along the roa toward the gate in the
mud wall.
Forwards plan for the Americans to
support the japanese was not made
clear to Col. Liscum of the Ninth Unit
ed States infantry.
The Blame For the Blunder.
Dorward lays the blame for the
blunder and sacrifice of life on Liscum,
but Forwards c~hief-of-staf was heard
to say when Liscum moved:
Get in down the road anywhere,
quickly"
Col. Liscum hurriedly led his men
through the gate in as open order as
possible. They were Immediately I'M
der fire.
Into a Cul de Sac.
The staff saw them. pass over the
bridge leading to a field which proved
to be a cul de sac.
Before the two b~attalions of Ameri-
cans, numbering 426 men, could extend
themselves, they were subjected, be-
sides the fire from the loopholes in the
forts, to a fierce fire from the embras-
ures in a line of fortified mud houses
On their flank.
Three thousand rifles probably, were
turned on them with an accuracy
which has amazed every officer among
the allies.
Blue Shirts n Mark.
The blue shirts of the American
troops made them distinct marks,
where the khaki uniforms of the other
allies could not be seen. Col. Liscum,
guiding his men, walked up and down
the line, not w ducking his head
while the bullets fell around.
The Americans charged into the
flank fire with rushes. The ground
over which they charged was marshy
and lined with bitches.
Where Liscum Fell.
1t was evidently Col. Liscum's inten-
ton to rush the houses from which the
flank fire was coming, and thus get a
position for fianking the wall.
At 1890 the line had just reached
the shore of the canal, and so yards
separated them from the houses, when
the color bearer fell.
Col. Liscum picked UP the colors,
and stood looking around apparently
for a ford.
shouted Maj. Regain.
Col. Liscum's Latest Words.
Il guess not" was Liscum's reply.
The next instant a sharpshooter's
bullet went through the colonefs alb
domen.
''Tve got it," he said, as he fell.
"Get at them if you can, the dying
officer said, and added as his last
words: Don't retreat, boys; keep on
firing"
Then Maj. Regain was Hit.
Regain was hit Immediately after
ward.
All day long the allies line lay I'M
der any cover the men could find, run
ming III of ammunition.
The July sun was beating down on
them, and they had nothing to drink
but the salty marsh water.
Meanwhile the wounded came strr g.
Cling and crawling through the gate
in the mud wall.
There Was No Order.
There was no order. They were sent
anywhere without men to carry the
filters. The doctors were lit by the
sharpshooters while trying to attend
the wounded.
They could not attempt to carry off
the wounded from the bloody field.
Maj. Regain, Capt. Bookmiller and
Capt. Noyes were all hit twice.
Adjutant Noyes Wounded.
Noyes, who was adjutant, was hit in
the arm before going into the field,
and then hit in the leg. He crawled
back through the ditch, with the water
to his neck to report the situation to
Col. Dorward.
at one o'clock Gen.. Fukushina re-