The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-03-14

About thirty men from H company,
captain Bentley commanding; forty
men from g company, Captain Sim
mons, commanding; twenty men from
+, under Lieutenant Murphy; fifteen
from Z, under Lieutenant Smyzer, and
ABOUT sixty men from c. under Captain
Blsnop. Major Shipton commanded the
landing party. and was accompanied
oy Captain Bradley and LieutenantS
Conroy and Gisser OF the Forty-third
volunteer infantry.
Filipinos on the Move.
At 1925 il could be seen through the
me, mist-like rain that the seven land
ing boats were close TO the beach. Then
We looked ashore to discover a numer-
Gus detachment Of Eilipinos moving 10
the north behind the trenches. evil
gently intending 70 repel the advance
OF our landing party into the town.
Al tnat instant the Nashville opened
nre ON the trenches with shrapneI al
500 yards range
From this time until the end of the
nshung at 1915 p. m. the Nashville
sept up an almost continuous fusillade
OF shrapnel and rapid fire guns, direct
co against the trenches and fortified
points on shore. Her guunery was ex-
- N--N~1 a " q : Ad4lAllE lASL III
front OF the advancing Americans and
Whiie some came alarmingly close to
our boys among the stone warehouses.
no american was wounded by the fire.
one cleared out the ehick trenches
north OF the town before our men
reached there, and after all was over
she elevated her guns and dismountesl
Two lnsurgent eannons on a hiH behind
the town. Her work was Of the great
est heip in occupying Legaspi. Without
Ger there would probably be a different
story to tell.
Our landing party was under fire the
moment they struck the beach, but as
usual the FflipinOs' aim was high Our
men crossed a river nearly m 10 tI1si-
afmpits and then formed in three col
umns 70 enter the town. It was the
Eofty-seVenth's first engagement. and
tney showed the usual tendency Of new
troops 10 bunch Themselves when under
hfe- IL was most difficult for the ofFi-
miShers.
Enter the Town.
Our men came into town rapidIv The
column on the left came down the
beach outside the trenches. The LAGOON
forced the column on the right to joln
win the centre and together these two
came down the road between the Nipa
shacks. The Nashville's fire had soon
GrlNeh the lnsurg nts from the tran he's.
out some had taken shelter in the
shacks along this road. while others
had crossed the lagoon into the palms
and all fired into our men as they ad-
vanced.
But they were driven out and the on7y
avenue OF escape was across the
sWamps and into the palm groves.
mere we killed ten as they ran ana
swan over the lagoon. Advancirs orr
men soon came to the stone warehouses
OF Legaspi the big go downs where
nemp is stored and here the fighting
was hotter and the losses Of the FIJI
ipinos greater.
During the advance down the beach
the Venus had come into 500 vards
range and the men on board wera
SPRAYING on her decks and pouring a
steady rifle fire into the town. Some
times they could see the enemy. some
umes 1t was only a scared dog on the
SAND that drew their fire. As soon as
our men were seen to be in town the
fire from the Venus was Stoned ana
preparations were made to land the
soldiers still on board.
IN an open space about seventy-fiye
YARDS wide and $50 yards deep. running
IRON the beach back TO a stone wall
ana hanked on either side by stone
warehouses running east and west tha
insurgents had constructed a V-sbaDed
sea- and the two sides diverging to-
wards enclosing warehouses.
Had Hard Fighting.
The road down which our men were
sa1Fancing into the town runs past the
1ln,Iahd, or western end of this space.
Inc go down" at the northern side
the side from which ~-r landing naTTJ,
approached, is own ~ an English
man; the warehouse al the other side
Is owned by a company. The ware
mouse extends toward the sea- Beyond
the apex OF the trench ard the south
erh end or the trench terminates five
yards from the corner of the company's
warehouse. =
II Was in this enclosure we had o1,r
hardest lighting. Our men coming
down the road had a view of the in
SIDE OF the trench as soon as they
passed the corner of the Englishman's
warehouse. They saw the trench was
filled with Filipinos. and to escane Their
nre they lodged behind the English
mans stone wall Then part Of these
men went arouIs he north side of the
EhSnShman's warehouse and got on
the beach facing the apex of the
trench.
On the south side of the English
mans warehouse is an open corridor
open toward the trenches and at the
sea end of this house, jutting toward
the apex OF the trench, is a stone lum-
Der shed behind which our men on the
beach, facing the trench. were partly
sheltered. This trench is higher toward
the sea than toward the land. But
from the land side il gives five feet
Of shelter
In the open corridor of the English
mans warehouse and behind the ex-
tending lumber shed, there were
refuged some thirty Filipinos From
where they We're 10 the nearest part
OF the trench was about 100 feet.
At Close Range.
Our men entered the Englishman's
warehouse, broke open a wooden door.
opening into the corridor, and promptly
engaged the Filipinos at the far end
or the corridor. Here We got & hot
hre IN reply at very close range, and
one OF our men was wounded.
But this move drove the Filipinos
out OF their shelter and they had to
run the 100 feet in the open and dive
INTO the shelter of the trench To do
TINS, they were exposed to a crOss-fiTe
from our men at both ends of the En-
gllshman's warehouse. and it was like
shooting rabbits.
From the Venus We could see the
white figures dart out from the side of
the lumber shed, we heard the shots
from our men, and then saw the Fill
ipinos drop. Some lay stiH, others
erawled into the trench, while the re-
malnder apparently were not hit.
The soldiers in the trench fired upon
our men whenever they could, and at
the angle OF the west wall Captain
Bradley was wounded in the hand. The
Filipinos in the trench saw their posi-
ton was untenable. and they would
have 10 vacate. They began running
out that end Of the trench nearest the