McNairy County independent. (Selmer, McNairy County, Tenn.) 1902-1969, 1914-05-01


their valor in the face of foreign foe,
and have. at the same time, given the
natives of this town a new idea of
the courtesy of American troops.
While the battle that resulted In the
taking of Vera Cruz was not a severe
one as battles of the past have been
counted it was of a character to test
the courage of men who were called
upon to face the steel-jacketed bullets
of foemen hidden behind walls and on
housetops, and before 1t was over II
American sailors had paid for the vic
tory with their lives and another 30
were seriously wounded.
While the Mexicans suffered more
severely, the number of their casual
ties has not been ascertained, but the
best estimates obtained by Capt. Will
liam R. Rush of the battleship Florida
indicate that In the engagements of
Tuesday and Wednesday their dead
amounted to about 150 No person
knows how many Mexicans fell
wounded, as large part of them were
taken away and hidden by friends.
Dead Lay In Streets.
In the streets about the plaza Thurs
day lay fifteen or twenty bodies, a
majority of them attired In citizens
clothing. Some of the men evidently
had been dead since the engagement
of Tuesday, and the tropical heat
made their immediate disposal i'm
perative. One of the first orders given
after the town had been captured was
to bury the Mexican dead in a trench
at the sea end Of the streets leading
from the plaza.
When the city was taken the order
was given to advance carefully and
search every building for men bearing
arms. Scores of prisoners were taken
most of them protesting volubly, many
Historically, that they were not guilty
of any unfriendliness whatsoever
toward the Americans.
Expected to Be Executed.
Accustomed as the Mexicans are to
their own contending forces shooting
Immediately all prisoners taken, the
captured men could not but believe
that they would receive no less dras-
tic treatment at the hands of the
Americans.
The guns found in houses were
thrown by the marines and bluejack-
cts from the upper balconies of the
houses to the pavement below.
The most spirited action of Wednes-
day was the taking of the naval acad-
envy. Aside from that fight there was
no definite organized opposition en-
countered by the Americans.
Americans Under Hot Fire.
A hot fire was poured into the ad-
vancing Americans from the naval col
lege, which for time held them back,
but few well-directed shots from the
cruisers Chester, San Francisco and
Prairie tore gaping holes in the stone
walls and silenced the rife fire of the
Mexicans inside. The bluejackets
then were enabled to proceed with the
task they had in hand.
A squad of soldiers, despite the
Smelling 1t had received Tuesday, con-
tinued to give considerable trouble to
the Americans from the Benito Juarez
tower. After they had been silenced
and removed from the tower 1t was
discovered that the soldiers had con-
tinued fighting for lack of ability to
do anything else. The shells from the
warships Tuesday had torn away the
stairway in the tower and the men
had been compelled to remain In 1t.
MexGans Evacuate Hotel.
1t was not until late Tuesday that
the last of General Mas men on top
of the hotel received written orders
from outside the city to evacuate their
position The order was obeyed by
portion Of the 100 men who were &C.
cupying the roof and vantage points
in the interior, but small portion of
the band determined to disobey the
orders of their superiors and fight to
the last These men, however, surren-
dered Wednesday morning. A lieu
tenant who was In command Of the
Mexicans was led out prisoner, and
although he had fought desperately,
ne trembled and turned pale In the
belief that he would be summarily
executed.
None of the American women we're
mistreated by the Mexicans during
their occupation of the building. A
few of the women assisted the Next
cans In caring for their wounded.
Old Tower Held.
In the fighting in the center of the
inner harbor, San Juan de Ulua, an
ancient stone fortress, few the Next
can flag throughout the attack. The
commandant and 60 armed men and
800 workmel III the navy yard peered
from the embrasures at the Prairie,
lying 500 yards away, and the other
ships Smelling the naval academy. In
the dungeons remained 500 prisoners,
the echoes of the guns on the ships
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