The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1900-12-25
THE MAKE TIP
OF OUR HEROES
ndomitab'e VIII and Splendid Cour-
age of Americans.
HOW THEY TOOK PEKIN.
Private Charles AIinniscroIc Elaienc
Tells How the Eyes Of Foreign
Troops We're Opened by
Falor or Americans.
HOW THEY TOOK PEKIN

From, recent issue Of the Army and
Navy Register the following is taken:
one of the most interesting letters
which have come from observers in China
while our troops were engaged in that
Country, IS written TO relatives at home by
Charles Minnigerode Mainge of Battery
J.. Fifth Artillery. He was a grandson of
The late Rev. Charles MINI. Eerode, SO long
rector of St Paul,s Church, Richmond,
and he enlisted in the army on his eish-
1eentt birthday, joining Captain Reilly
battery in Manila. The letter furnishes a
Spirited narrative of regulars expert
once under most unusual conditions Ii
is as follows:
Pekin. China, Sept. T. 1900.
by Dear Sir-I must tell you of the
receipt of your letters. On The evening
of our first big battle. us we We're sitting
by our camp fires in front OF our dog
tents, pitched on The 5lood-stained battle
field of Yang Sung, no supper, no dinner,
psen' little breakfast, completely played
out, dirty and grimy with the battle smoke
our wagon tran came up from Ten Tsin
and brought supper. tob"cco. mail and
consolation. Just think Of the combined
felicity for i, heart and a bread basket
hungry boy, and Two letters from & and
t"o from D. These letters have been read
and record has been noted on the en-
Telopes, received on Yang Sung battle
field
THAT was the battle where Rcilly's bat
terry made its famous charge against the
Chinese cavalry. The English officers
didn't know what TO make Of it They
came up TO gallant old Reilly Nnay God
rest his soul. for he sleeps beneath the
green sod Of the American Legation at
Pellin) after the battle and adm!Tingly ask
ed Captain A. W. may ask how many
To-, .l..a,-g
noon?
"Old Reilly smiled and scratched his
chin and snapped out, we had one man
wounded and he only slightly
- Wen. III be d said John Bull Il,
nw-actually thought that fully hawf your
battery was anihnlated
we all thought SO too until we got
through. We had a few minutes to pre-
pare 10 charge in, and as a man, if hit,
must surely be thrown off the piece sew
cral of us wrote our MINES and addresses
on paper and pinned them to our back.
fal my great and historic name print
ed in large letters or a piece of silk hand
kerchef. pinned 10 the back Of my collar,
for 10 tell the truth every man there ex-
Ioected TO get hit, rs we had the most ter
riblc shell and rifle fire to pass through
have ever seen. 1t is absolutely mir
acle that only one man was struck But
when he did finish the charge and open
fire on the forts, artillery and cavalry OPP
posing US, we put the place completely on
the burn in twenty-five minutes. cleared
The trenches. drove out and disabled the
Chinese artillery and stopped a cavalry
charge within eight hundred yards
MATTERS WE'RE HOT.
I'VE stopped and went into action at
the edge of a huge corn field which was
thicl1ly -populnted with China sharp
shooters. They made things feel decidedly
uncomfortable until "a battalion Of ma
rines swung into support and deployed as
sllirmishers and the Ninth Infantry ran
two Calling guns up on the railroad he'd
md opened up. ] tell you the rapid pop
pop-pop-pop OF those machine guns was
sweet music to our ears
We'll, to make u long story short, We
licked - out OF them. For six hours that
day we fought in dust and smoke under
blazing sun and not a drop of water to
wet our throatS with. saw fifty dollars
offered for four swallows Of water and
refused. We chewed corn stalks for mois-
ture and that is all that kept me going.
That night. as | said a the beginning Of
this letter we Campcd on the field on the
Chinese position, right on the hunks of
the Pei-ho River. That was Yang Sung.
Then commenced our forced march to the
relief Of Pelliu. 1t was a forced march
too Starting out long before daybreak.
coming from somewhere ahead Of US,
Where the Japanese advance was engag-
ing the enemy (and pushing them right
back too) we would hike. hike. hike just
like automaton.s, throwing ourselves flat
on the ground whenever a few minutes
rest Was ordered. dripping With perspira-
tfon from the blazing hot sun. and then
up and hike. hike. hike again.
After the third or fourth day men began
to fail right over IN our ranks Just
knocked out by the sun. They would
be laid the side of the rond. out of the
way and the column would push ahead.
BY some miracle | managed to hold out
all the way, but it was only by bending
every nerve to il that L succeeded land I
kept saying to myself, stick it out:
stick ii out) The last three days OF the
march / was absolutely loco I haven't
the faintest recollection Of those last three
days. / simply know that we made the
march, but 1 could not recall a detail of
ii 10 save my life. 1 walked every step
of the way from Tier Ts.n to Pekin. as all
the cannonneers did. The first definite re-
collection 1 have is when Lieutenant
Snmmerall Saad, 'Canoneers, mount: boys
there are the walls OF Pekn, trot, sallop
march! !"
CAPTURE or PEklN.
We came up TO where General Chaffee
and staff were and numbered and opened
ii flank fire on the walls. We drove the
Chinese out. liTrlbered up and Wen: Coy tie
way. let me explain that limhering up
means hooking the piece or gun onto the
ammunition carrier or Timber TO which
the six horses are fitchedl up TO the gate
IN the wall from which we had just driven
The Chinese ard found Russian infantry
and artillery scrow6ing into the wall. The
Fourteenth Infantry scaled the wall and
charged ard pushed the Russians
back obey seemed 10 so willingly, too,)
and entered the first gate
There We found a Russian battery which
the Chinese fire seemed 10 have dcn7or-
allied. as the Sunners had al deserted
their pieces and were crouched down in
the shelter of wall. Ne had I" take
s,old Of tiieir guns and lift them cut Of