The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-02-11
A REMARKABLE RECORD
HIGH PR FoR A YOUNG INDIANA
OFFICER IN PHILIPPINES.
Richard w. Buchanan, of Madison,
Breveted Captain for Brave serv-
ice-Not Yet Twenty-TwO.

An interesting letter was received from
the Philippine islands yesterday by the
Journal from Joseph Leverett Rogers an
soldier who is serving over there
In the letter he tells about the gallant
deeds Of Lieut.. Richard w. Buchanan. a
young newspaper man of Madison, IND,
who served as a volunteer lieutenant OF
Company G., One-hundred-and-sixty-nrst
Indiana Regiment, which was under the
command of Governor Durbin. After being
honorably discharged he enlisted in the
regular army. The reputation he has mace
ir the regular army can better be judged
by Mr.. Rogers's letter. He says: Tine
adjutant general at Iloilo opens dozens or
kilograms daily. Some of them are sent 10
the higher authorities, q great many are
pigeonholed and some are thrown in the
waste basket. But all are read with that
air Of calmness and carelessness which
marks the regular ARM officer.
But one day the adjutant general opened
his eyes and stared hard at a message ne
had just received from the unimportant
tow Of Aruioc. Leyte. This paessage was
furriedly sent up to the general who wired
in return send particulars The dispatch
which had been received stated that thirty
men and one lieutenant had encountered Il
band Oh insurgents and killad seventy py
actual count without losing q man. Inc
report also stated that the presidente re-
ported 16 insurgents killed and many
wounded. Tn thirty men belonged TO COM
pany d, Forty-fourth Volunteer Infantry.
lieutenant Richard ". Buchanan. who has
lone work far. beyond his years and who
never came out OF a fight defeated.
FIRST TASTE Of SOLDERING.
"In '9S Buchanan fought tor a second
l~:cutenancy in the Northumberland sixty
first Indiana Regiment and got it. He
served with his regiment in Havana. and
when his captain was discharged he was
promoted over the first lieutenant to the
ceptaincy which was earned by hard work
and demonstrated efficiency. A year later
he secured a l~ieutenant's commission in
the Forty-fourth Infantry, and on arriv-
ing at Manila wa sent TO Negros island
for duty. There was not much fighting,
but the municipal problems were hard TO
handle. And Buchanan won praise from
Colonel Byrne for the able manner in which
he had conducted his district and he then
left for Da CAMS, a hotbed of insurrec-
ton in the island OK Leyte.
His first deed after arriving was the
capture of Pasturagua, a fortified town or
about 1900 inhabitants. By surprising this
out losing a man. Then came the capture
Of Col. Pedro Silverio. a man OF powerful
influence, who had escaped the Americans
for months. The young Hoosier took thirty
five men and marched all night, striking
Silverio's hiding place at daybreak ana
capturing papers of value and some suit
able arms.
His next encounter was on a narrow
trail near Aruioc, Leyte. The insurgents
had put their men in the tall grass beside
tho road and at a signal from the leader
they were TO charge. The road at this
point was not over five feet wide, and as
the detachment walked into this death
tap a shot was fired and a private near
the lieutenant fell. Instantly the GOODNESS
of the man asserted itself and he COM
manded right file, fire to the right, and
left file fire to the left Then came the
rush. Buchanan ran up and down the line
cautioning the men and firing his revolver.
Two powerful Filipinos got a soldiers rifle
away from him and darted away. A shot
from the lieutenants revolver killed one
OF them and the gun was recovered.
A DESPERATE BATTLE.
'"They battled desperately in a hand-to-
hand fight for twenty minutes and drove
the insurgents pack with a loss of forty
men. Company d lost one man and three
were wounded. Had the commander of
that brave handful of men made a single
false step the whole detachment would
| have persisted.
The AIbuera ambush was the greatest
blow the insurgents In Leyte ever suffered.
Thirty men and one officer ak into
the bidder trenches, charged both sides OF
| the road and killed 116 astounded insur-
gents before they could retreat out OF
range of the Krag-Jorgenson bullets.
Colonel hurry, in his official report,
| states that the victory was due to 'Buch-
| anan's boldness in pushing forward into
what he knew was to be an ambush
Lieutenant Buchanan has been doing this
Kind of work for some time. He has
brought more trouble TO the insurgents
tnan any lieutenant in Leyte. perhaps more
than any in the Philippine islands. One
day a short time after this there came q
telegram which astonished him more thar
his telegram had astonished the adjutant
general at Iloilo. IL read: Sir, / have tht
konor to inform you tina. you have beer
breveted captain for gallantry and bravery
in action. Signed, Stewart, adjutant
Forty-fourth Infantry Captain buchanan
Is not yet twenty-five years OF age. He l:
a born ~soldier-brave, cautious and having
a natural command of men, and If he fol
lows the army as a profession Indiana MAJ
yet send out a man to take the place OF
that fine old fighter Who died in the jungle!
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