The National tribune., 1901-03-28

| out OF the hospital, members of the band
| company cooks and others who seldom
| take part in a parade or drill ShOuldered
rifles and joined the ranks.
ADVANCE on BALANTANG.
1t was a quiet march from Iloilo to
Balantang. The path was exceedingly
| rough and the march WAS trying for vol
unteerS, some of whom had never been In
| a like experience before.
Two rivers had to be forded, for the
| bridges were down, and about three miles
of cane had to be passed through, so when
| we arrived within rifle shot of the rebel
| trenches every man was wet and muddy.
But this did not cool tha ardor of the
| men, and we were all awake and ready
for the command to move forward in skir-
mish-line on the Insurgents.
The Regulars were pressing forward
from another direction, and took position
almost opposite the enemy's lines, where
they later received heavy fire, while our
| regiment was more to the left.
The defective outpost system of the ma
tive army allowed us to get within half
mile of the first line OF trenches without
being seen. Then single shot was fired,
followed by several more
These first few shots seemed to cause
more anxiety among the soldiers than any
similar number of volleys fired during the
hard battle, which, when it once began,
lasted nearly two hours, during which
time the bullets were constantly flying
about as fast as 1900 men on both sides
could load and fire as many rifles.
The companies had taken the position
lying down and kneeling just previous to
the first shot from the enemyS sentry,
for it was desired TO creep up as close as
possible to the works. Although the bull
let of the first rifle discharged evidently
went wide of its mark, it seemed to me
that all the men tried to dodge that shot.
When the next three or four shots were
fired the soldiers ducked, and then the
men began to rise, being curious to know
what was going on. Then we heard a
rolley, and this voIey brought most of
the men TO their feet.
There was no necessity for silence now,
as the enemy knew we were coming, SO
the officers commands began to ring out,
and a charge was ordered, the men stop
ping only to load and fire.
From this point on the firing was con-
tinuous, broken only by the crashes Of vol
ley firing by company or platoon, and by
the heavy pieces in possession of both
sides. 1t was a fierce battle, and prob
ably one of the most important that a vol
unteer regiment was ever engaged in for
the first time.
Although there was considerable dodg-
lUR III lue lew SuOlS uIol lEcu
by the enemy, no one seemed to pay any
attention TO the hail Of bullets which came
in our direction i'll volleys from the long
line OF Insurgent trenches.
Some men who were in front at the be-
ginning and whom / believed to be afraid
when 1 saw them hug the ground under
the first fire, now stood perfectly erect
and exposed to the line of fire from the
rebels, without once thinking of danger
They seemed to have but one thought
and that was to press forward and ami
hilate the rebels.
In one spot / saw about so rebels
standing on top of the trenches, and
shooting at US as fast as they could load
and fire. How the men wanted to dash
toward these fellows! Some men who
were regular shirkS on drill and ordinary
soldiers duties were now all afire with
excitement, and gave no thought to dan.
ger.
The writer was In a platoon which had
position near the left of the advancing
line, and the ground being level for long
distance it was possible to watch the ad-
vance of the long skirrnish line, which ex-
tended over about two miles.
1t required about an hour to so weaken
the enemy that he began to lessen his fire
and think of retreat. In the meantime
a great many of the rebels had been seen
to fall, while on our side one officer and
several men went down on the field never
to rise, and large number were wound
ed, some Of which died later.
HEROIC VOLUNTEERS.
Having been connected with the militia
for many years, i had always wondered
how a volunteer regiment would act In
Its first real battle. As l had charge of q
party of men in this first battle, in which
Regulars and Volunteers fought side by
side and eventually won the day, feel
competent to state that the Volunteers
did remarkably well.
Before the battle, and, in fact, during
the formation of the regiment in the
United States, and while on the transport,
1 had heard the men refer to certain of
our squad who would run in battle.
Strange to say, some OF these fellows who