Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-05-20
TELL OF FIGHT
! At VERA CRUZ
Interesting Details of the Bat
tie Are Described by New
ark Boys.
-
MEXICAN WOMEN FOUGHT
ALONGSIDE DEFENDERS
How Arlington Mans Wits
! Saved His Life After His =
= Capture.

Further interesting details and pho
tographs of the capture of Vera Cruz
by the American battleships and of
Ihe lighting ashore, in which many
, Newark boys from the Florida and
Utah participated, have arrived here
N letters to relatives.
One of the Americans who partici-
pated in the battle is now at his
BONE in this city. He is William MI
eatz. of 129 Quitman street, who was
asseaman of the Utah. His term of
enlistment expired recently, and he
returned home on the battleship Mon
tana, acting as pallbearer for one of
the marines who lost his life at Vera
Cruz.
Migats, relating some of his expe-
fienees, said:
s"For two days, beginning on the
afternoon of April 81, we lived In the
streets, picking off the Mexicans from
the roofs all around us.
The snipers had covered all the
roofs about us, and blazed away at
Us until they were silenced by our
guns At night we would camp in
The streets. There was not much to
eat during all that time, and we were
certainly glad when it was over with"
kf Gives Details of Fight.
The mother of Migatz's friend and
Sshum on the Utah, Harry T. Morley,
Of 744 South Sixteenth street, this city,
received a letter from her son, giving
her more details about the fight, and
sending her several pictures of the
scene of battle.
Send me as many copies of the
Evening Star as you can con-
veniently," writes Morley to his
mother. "Our boys from Newark are
delighted to get 1t. You ought to see
how the boys crowd around me to get
a glimpse of the Evening Star" He
adds:
We had some hot fighting around
the custom house. One of our boys
spied a sniper working a machine
gun: We picked him off. He dropped
alongside of his gun. We took the
city, block by block, until we had
covered at least half of 1t. 1t was not
/. until about 10 O'Clock that We came
back to the custom house and
turned in.
AT about daylight the next morn
Ing they began to fire at US again,
from nearby hotel, so we sent out
O. squad of men to stop them. We
took a piece of railroad track and
started across the street. No sooner
had We gone into the street than they
opened fire upon us. We hustled
across to the hotel and rammed the
door in with the iron rail track. Then
we ran up to the roof and killed four
men and took six men and five
women prisoners. We found all kinds
of pistols and rifles that must have
done service in the wars of bygone
days.
Women Bad as Men.
1.-THE women were just as bad as
the men. We found one Mexican
lady trying to fire a Colt machine
gun in the middle of the street. 1t
was not a comfortable idea to kill a.
woman, but We had to or she would
have done considerable damage. A
bullet from one of our boys stopped
her.
.'ssome of the Newark boys who
fought with us were William Boes,
of 29s Avon avenue; Rhinehardt Zinl-
fner, of IS Kent street; Harry Hem
peseh, of 1856 South Fifteenth street,
and Billy Migatz."
Morley also tells how q Mexican
who ''played" wounded was brought
by the Mexican Red Cross men to The
Glah. BoeS walked over to see how
badly the man was wounded and
found gun under his blanket. "That
fellow won't act any more,'' he writes.
Another anecdote is related in Nor
1eys letter.
! "Sehoal, of Arlington, was captured
Icy q Mexican soldier while he was
doing. duty at the pumping station.
The fellow had a gun up to Schoals
nose and was making ready to kill
him when Schoal asked him for a
cigarette before he died. The fellow
was soft hearted, so he dropped his
= gun to pull out cigarette case, but
Before he had put his hand into his
pockets SchoaI shot him dead.
Morley verified a story told in q
letter to friends here by George ].
Smith. also of this city. Smith car
ried on his shoulder a machine gun
weighing forty-two polnes and capa-
bic. of firing 200 shots a minute, and
fought with the gun on his shoulder.
line of the pictures sent here and
which is reproduced in the accom-
panying group of photographs shows
Smith in action with other Americans.
Hompeschs Letter.
William +. Hompesoh, one of the
Newark sailors, has written another
letter to his chum, Joseph A. Mueller,
of53 Kent street. In this letter Hon.
neSch gives a very good account of
the battle. Hompesch is ON the
Utah, His letter was dated May 10.
1t reads as follows.
pal Jee-Received your letter,