Omaha daily bee., 1902-08-10

for this reason is very dear to the pecp.e
of the west, who watched with persona
interest for months the news from faraway
Manila. From June, 1898, to August, 1899,
the history of the corps is the history of
the volunteers. Volunteers stormed the
trenches, threaded the morasses and pene-
trated the jungles. Volunteers captured
the blockhouses, the forts and the towns
and drove Aguinaldo's forces back and back
and back, until they fed, broken into small
bands, to the mountains and wilderness.
1t was volunteer blood that drenched the
rice paddles. and 1t was volunteer dead that
hallowed the soil of the island of Luzon.
Soldiers of the regular army have had
their share in the warfare that followed
before the pacilcation of the islands, but
hey came after the volunteers, and, while
their record Is no less v~alorous and thei"
deeds were wrought with the same high
purpose in view, it is not probable that the
people will ever cease to think first of the
volunteer when the Filipino insurrection is
recalled.
At the beginning of the Spanish war the
prospect was that all land battles would be
fought in Cuba and consequently every effort
was set in that direction. Only one regi-
ment of the regular army was left on the
4 SAh tC13N Wh1A NAo A1"E kahA1
Dewey in Manila bay, the Fourteenth in
fantry, under command of Colonel Thomas
n. Anderson. Colonel Anderson was made
brigadier general of volunteers and given
command Of the Department of the Pacific,
and the mobilization of volunteer regiments
at San Francisco was hastily commenced.
On May 20 Major General Elwell S. Otis,
U. S. ", assumed command at San Fran
cisco, and on the next day General Anderson
was assigned to command the first expe-
dition to the Philippines. This was the
beginning. In a few days Major General
Wesley Merritt, u. s. A., assumed COM
mand at San Francisco, and from that time
on events moved rapidly.
In the first expedition, which sailed from
San Francisco May 25, 1898, Brigadier Gen
eral Anderson in command, were 1853 officers
and 1856 men. These were the Second Ore
gon and the First California volunteer in
fantry, a detachment of Batteries A and d,
California volunteer artillery, and Compa-
MES A, G, d, e and f, Fourteenth infantry,
U. S. A. In addition were the usual com
plement OF stan officers, hospital corps and
the like. On June Is the second expedition
sailed, and from this time on the ferry
across the Pacific was busy, until November
3, 1898, when there had been sent on FIVE
expeditions 919 officers and PLATO men Of
all arms Of the service. At that time, when
1t appeared that peace was soon to be de-
elared, the sending of men to the islands
was discontinued. and no more were ordered
across until the outbreak of the insurrec-
tlon.
The volunteer regiments in service in the
Philippines were: First California, First
G dorado. First Idaho, Fifty-hrst Iowa,
Twentieth Kansas, Thirteenth Minnesota,
First Montana. First Nebraska. First North
Dakota, Second Oregon. Tenth Pennsylvania,
First South Dakota, First Tennessee. First
Washington, First Wyoming. all infantry;
batteries A and B, Utah Light artillery.
California battery and Astor battery. OF
the r gular army the Fou; teeuth, Eighte enth