The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1914-05-02
GRAPHIC STORY
OF VERA CRUZ
Capture of Mexican City After
Two Days Fight Presents
Vivid Picture.
vAL0R OF OUR BLUEJACKETS
Warships SheI,ed Buildings in Which
Mexican "snipers" Had Taken Ref
use-Natives Surprised at cour-
tesy of American Troops.

Vera Cruz, Mexico, April "a
Twelve Americans were killed and
thirty wounded before the city of
Vera Cruz came into the undisputed
possession of the American invading
forces after two-day fight. Although
the Mexicans suffered more severely,
| the number of their casualties has not
been ascertained. The best estimates
obtained by Capt William r. Rush
of the battleship Florida indicated
that in the engagements of Tuesday
and Wednesday their dead numbered
! about one hundred and fifty. No per-
son knows how many Mexicans fell
wounded, as many Of them were taken
away and hidden by friends.
In the streets about the plaza
Wednesday afternoon lay fifteen or
twenty bodies.. a majority of them at
tired in citizens clothing. Some of
the men evidently had been dead since
the engagement Tuesday and the
! tropical heat made their immediate
| disposal imperative. One OF the first
orders given after the town had been
captured wR to bury the Mexican
dead in trench at the sea end of
one of the streets leading from the
plaza
Scores Are taken Prisoners.
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.
the majority of them protesting vol
ubly-many hysterically-that they
were not guilty of any unfriendliness
toward the Americans. Accustomed
as the Mexicans are to seeing their
own contending forces shoot imme-
diately all prisoners taken. the cap
tured men could not but believe that
they would receive no less drastic
treatment at the hands of the Ameri-
cans. The guns found in houses were
thrown by the marines and blue
jackets from the upper balconies to
the pavement below.
The most spirited action was the
taking OF the naval academy. Aside
from that fight, no definite. organized
opposition was encountered by the
Americans. A hot fire was poured
from the naval college. but few
well directed shots from the cruisers
Chester. San Francisco and Prairie
tore gaping holes in the stone walls
and silenced the rifle fire Of the Mexi-
cans inside. The bluejackets then
were enabled to proceed with the task
they had in hand.
Escape From Fight Cut OF.
Despite the Smelling II had received
Tuesday, a squad Of soldiers continued
to give considerable trouble to the
Americans from the battered Benito
Juarez tower. After they had been
silepced and removed from the tower
1t was discovered that the soldiers
had continued 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 II.
At 1905 Wednesday morning the
! Americans were in undisputed pos
session Of all the city except the
southwest quarter. in which the bar
racks are situated. and few outlying
districts. At noon they had taken
the barracks. When the city prison.
which faces the main plaza. was cap
tured, Lieutenant Commander Buchan-
an Of the Florida made an inspection
tour through It. There was great sur