Union gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1899-1900, 1900-03-23
Judge Burnett's Address.
Tcontipued from 1ast week. l


been prolific in brave men and valient
soldiers. Our pioneers fought their way
into this country and fought the
saYages on a lndred sanguinary fields
to protect their homes md fresides..
The bravery and endurance OF the
Oregon volunteers in all these Indian
wars extending over period of twenty
five years have never been excelled and
the sons of these worthy men have fully
sustained the reputation of their fathers
in the deeds of valor OF the famous
Second Oregon Regiment in the Philip
pine Islands. In 1847 Governor Aber-
nethy called for regiment OF men to-
avenge the murder of DR.. Whitman and
his family and protect the settlers against
further murder and rapine. The brave
pioneers of Oregon responded with
patriotic devotion to the call, furnishing
their own arms and equipments. Their
patriotism and bravery has placed their
names among the brightest on the pages
of Oregon history. The last regiment
called for prior to the Spanish war. was in
1864 to aid in suppressing the great rebel
lion of 1861, and Benton county raised
portion Of the first company OF that regl-
ment When the regiment was called
for for the Spanish war of 1898, our very
best young men responded with alacrity
and enthusiasm; showing that the spirit
of patriotism and bravery so necessary to
the preservation and upbuilding of any
government, especially republic, had
not diminished, but increased, and 1t
was with pride in our sons that we saw
them march away in obedience to the
call of their country. We knew that
they could not all return, but with beating
hearts and high hopes we bid them
good by, and prayed through tears that
| "God might be with them." How we
scanned the legraphic dispatches with
| fear and trem bling when the news OF
battles would be coming, to see the
name of the killed and wounded; how
| thankful We felt when the full list of
casualties showed that none of the Ben
ton boys had fallen, although some of
them came very near it, and when our
boys returned our great joy and happi-.
ness over them was only marred by the
thought that all did not return.
Oregon will never scease to feel great
pride in the achievements of her sons in
the Philippines. The fame won by the
gallant End Oregon at Manila, Malabon,
San Isidro, and other hard fought
battles, is not confined to the limits
of our own state but extend all
over the Union and beyond, as the fol-
lowing incident related by an eye wit
ness-an officer of LYMAN Kelsay's COM
pany-will show. He says:
cat the battle of Malabon, General Nc
Arthur being in command of the Ameri-
can forces, it was desired to carry the
works of the Filipinos on their left. so as
to stop the enfilading fire which was be-
ing poured into the troops from the
left, ard which rendered doubly perilous
any adv nee OF men might make. You
will understand, the Filipinos were in
front of US, and were also to our left,
leaving the apex of the angle almost in
front but little to the left of the posi-
tion held by our forces. If a detachment
advanced to carry the position of the
Filipinos, it was necessary to face the
fire of the forces of the enemy which
were in trenches directly ahead, and at
the same time receive the whitening fire
which would be poured into the advanc- |
ing columns from the .left. A hasty
council was called, and it was given as
the opinion of every officer of the line
that it was absolutely impossible to
carry those trenches.
General Funston, of the Kansas regi-
ment of volunteers, was asked if he and
his Kansans could do the work. Gen
eral Funston replied that he would re-
fuse to order his men into such hell
hole as that. There was one excep-
ton, however. General Wheaton, in
whose brigade were the End Oregon
said he had regiment that
that could and would carry those
trenches. 1t was the End Oregon regi
ment under Colonel Summers. When
the proposition passed down the line,
the men of the regiment heard it and !
understood just what it meant. 1t I
meant that if the trenches were not car
ried with a rush, and the Filipinos stood
their ground, the regiment would be
cut to pieces. Well, as one of those Ore
gon men, I never Expected to come
back. 1t made not one whit of differ
ence. They went over the breastworks
like demons, and rushed toward the
line of Filipinos as though possessed of
all the fury of seven devils. We
reached the trenches almost before they
knew the Orefons were coming and
when they hurled swift glances over the
top of the trenches, when they arrived
on the run, the Filipino soldiers were in
many places taken completely by sur
prise. The Oregons killed very many
OF the enemy that time, and swept the ,
enemy back like wisps of straw. The .
representatives OF the German, English
and other foreign governments, de-
clared it to be the bravest act of the
whole war against the insurgents, up to
that time, and it has not been surpassed
since.''
Such deeds of valor will be remem- |
bered and talked over by our children ,
and our children's children long after {
We are dust, and will be cherished by !
,he people of this great state and the ]
Nation, as long as the echo of the voice I
IF patriotism shall reVerberate through {
,ur mountains and valleys, and courage g
md valor shall appeal to the human
leart. Ii
The laurels won by the 2ad Oregon C
will not diminish by time, but grow Y
brighter as tle years go by, and prove a S