The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-09-30
THE BATTLE OF TIEN-TSlN
1T Is GRAPHICALLY DEscRrarn nv
AN INDIANA SOLDIER.
Lieut.. w. H.. wnIdrou write. ma.
Sister I'm This City-Death
and Destruction.

" - 1AAAB <CCOnQ lieutenant Ninth
United States Infantry. whose sister, Mrs.
r. j. smith. lives at 2f11 Broadway, under
date of July Is writes OF the great battle
OF Tlen-Tsin. China, in which he was ac-
lively engaged. as follows:
You were no doubt worried unon read
ing, in the accounts Of the battle of July
Is that / had been wounded. L was
knocked down by a shell and clipped on the
shoulder during the fight. but neither hit
me.
"Tien-Tsin is q great overgrown city Of
over 100000 people 1t is on the Pei-Ho
river. and is divided into two separate
cities. the Chinese and the foreign settle
rnents- y huge unsightly mud wall sur
round the whole. The Chinese city is in
about the center. and is surrounded by a
wall Of stone and concrete fifty feet high.
The wall IS thirty feet thick. and along the
top are embrasures for field guns and loop
holes for rifles. At various points near the
Chinese city there are, or rather were,
government arsenals. where ammunition
and ordnance were stored. One of these
was a veritable fort. These formed the
outer defenses Of the city. Along the top
OF the stone wall the Chinese had their
artilIerymen and rihemen posted, sweeping
tHC oAhOAC iGA III lIOul. Inc AIQeTlCdns
Japanese. English. German. French and
Russian troops here are commanded by an
English general.
OFFICERS CONFERRED.
Thursday evening. July II, a conference
OF all the ranking officers was held and it
was decided that a movement agains. the
Chinese stronghold must be made, as there
was not an hour of the day or night when
the Chinese did not shell the foreign set
Elements. 1t was simply terrible. One
could not stick his head out without TAX
ing chances OF being killed. Nowhe were
we safe. As a result of the conference II
was supposedly decided to make a move
ment against the south gate and try Inc
gain an entrance there. On the morning
OF July - at 3 o'clock We marched out in
grand array. There were American,
Japanese, French. English, German and
Russian troops. 1t was grand to see them
on the line. the different uniforms showing
UP splendidly. The big fight began with an
artillery duel that fairly made the earth
qui~er. 1t was deafening.
Amid the bursting of shells and shrap-
mel. a huge b~ell-shaped cloud OF smoke
arose over the city. II was followed by a
deafening report OF an explosion which
shattered window glass four miles away.
The effect of the explosion was far greater
than that of the powder mill which ex-
ploded at kellogg a few years ago. The
explosion was that of a big magazine in
the city. After that the shells and shrap-
mel came faster and hotter than before. 1t
was awful.
"I fairly shudder when / think OF
that barren plain we passed over. men
being killed here and there. We were in
support of the Japanese troops. and just In
the rear of them. When they advanced to
the mud wall we followed. While lying out,
waiting to advance. my command. Com
pany c. lost one man killed and five
wounded. We reached at last the mud
wall, and there found protection from
the CALLING fire that was being poured into
the fire-swept zone through which We had
passed. The artillery still kept up its
deafening roar. The mud wall at that
point was 1900 yards from the city of the
Chinese. All OF this distance. was but a
hotbed of shells, shrapnel and bullets.
CLIMBED THE WALL.
w began climbing over the mud wall.
following the japanese. We halted and
waited until they had deployed and then
vent into the field. The place is cut up
with canals. I'm which the water is quite
deep. many places being over a mans head.
We deplored behind a roadway. but soon
found there was not room for the whole
command We then moved TO the right
and front where we found shelter behind
another roadway. Soon after a second
deploy movement we became aware or a
heavy fire from stone houses on our right,
and changed front 10 meet IL. The dis
lance from where we were stationed TO
the stone houses was about 200 yards. We
advanced facing the fire. In my Filipino
csmpafgning / never saw the bullets fly
SO thick and fast. During the advance
across this place we lost one-fourth Of our
We advanced by rushes until
some of us got behind an embankment
eighty yards from the houses from which
came the heavy rife fire. We were at the
bank of a canal which was wide, deep and
filed with water. Here we had some pro-
lection from the enemy's fire and remained
there during the day. Until dark we had
not a bite to eat nor a drink of water, and
the hot sun pouring down upon us.
a this time the forty-pound English
cannon were firing over our heads into the
city. At dark the Japanese troops blew UP
the gate with gun cotton and entered the
city, killing every one in sight The next
morning. when the third battalion of our
regiment entered the city, the Chinese
were piled two deep In all the streets.
Millions of dollars went up in smoke. The
city is a mass OF ruins. There was destruc-
ton on every hand.
1--WE learned to-day that Peking had sur
rendered TO a large force of Russians from
the north. This is gooG news for US, as
there is not likely TO be more fighting.
This Tien-Tsin fight was the biggest fight
since the civil war"