Our company arrived at Manila on the night of March 24, 1899. The next
night our regiment was ordered out to re-enforce the volunteers in
capturing Malabon. This town was full of Filipinos, who were fighting
the volunteer forces then trying to capture the town. Our forces marched
to the north of the town and camped. Every soldier had to cook his own
provisions, if he ate any that were cooked. The march from Manila to our
camp was twelve miles. Every man carried one hundred rounds of
cartridges, knapsack and his provisions. The site of our camp was on the
bank of the Malabon river, which was reached at sunset. We had to cross
the river before camping and the only chance was to wade or swim. Some
could wade, but those who were short had to swim. We wanted to cross
without getting our blankets and provisions wet, but some were more
unfortunate and lost them. I tied my blanket and provisions to the
bayonet fixed on my rifle and crossed with them dry, but my person
suffered by the water and mud. Night had come on by the time the
regiment reached the camping side of the river and guards had to be put
on duty at once. Our blankets were piled up for no further service while
we were out on this expedition; the men, wet and muddy, had to pass the
night the best they could. There were supposed to be from 3,000 to 4,000
Filipinos near by and our night camp was a hazardous one. Everything
must be done with the utmost caution.
The men, wet and muddy, fought mosquitoes all night and had no rest. The
Filipinos could be heard all night busily tearing up the railroad track
and destroying a bridge a few hundred yards from us. They dug pits in
the ground and built fires in them, over which the track rails were
placed till hot enough to easily bend. Bending the rails, they thought,
prevented the Americans from using them again in shipping supplies over
the road. The site of our camp was a low, mucky place on the river bank,
where mosquitoes literally filled the air.
That was the hardest night on me of all the nights of two years' service
in the Philippine Islands. I was so sleepy and tired next morning that I
could scarcely hold up my head, and my condition seemed to be no worse
than that of every other soldier in the regiment. Mosquitoes had bitten
me through my trousers and brought blood. Frequently I have been
sleeping after a hard day's service when the mosquitoes would bite my
face and the blood run out and dry up in hard drops. When I could not
get water to wash off these places I would scratch them off. In some
cases these bites were poisonous. I have seen soldiers with large sores,
caused by scratching mosquito bites. I was cautious about poisoning
during my service in the Philippines.
The morning of the 26th, about four o'clock, I saw from my post, where
I had been all night, a big fire in the direction of Malabon. The
Filipinos had fired the town and left it. It was our purpose to capture
the place and take some forts on the river, but the tricky Filipinos
preferred burning their town to surrendering it to the hated Americans.
Our forces took up the advance on the enemy, who stubbornly resisted us
from ten o'clock in the morning until four in the evening, when they
retired to Malinto and took another stand behind a stone wall and held
this position until driven from it by a charge. We had to advance up a
long slope of open ground for one and a half miles. Firing was kept up
rapidly all the way. The enemy was driven out and the town taken. About
thirty men were killed and wounded on the American side. The enemy's
loss was not known, but must have been very heavy.
One poor fellow who was among the wounded in this battle I remember very
distinctly. He was first sergeant of Company G, Twenty-second Regiment.
He was shot through the head. The doctor dressing the wounds as he came
to the wounded saw this sergeant and said there was no use to do
anything for him, that he would die in a few minutes. The wounded man
replied that he would live longer than the doctor would and wanted his
wounds dressed. He lay there and talked to his comrades, who were around
him, and cursed the doctor for neglecting him. He remained in this
condition an hour or two and died.
After a short rest in Malinto we marched about one mile south and back
to Malinto again. That night we marched to a point near a station on the
Manita and Dagupan Railroad and camped. We were then about eight miles
from Manila, and opposite Malabon, which is off the railroad and on the
beach near the mouth of the Malabon river. Our camp was located more
than two miles from where we had left our blankets that morning on going
into battle. A detail of ten men, including myself, was made out to go
after the blankets. They were obtained and we returned to camp with them
about ten o'clock that night. We had to cook our rations for supper
after our return, but being rather a frugal meal of easy preparation but
little time was required to prepare it; frying some bacon in mess kits
composed all the cooking; hard tack and canned tomatoes composed the
remainder of the meal. The ground with the starry heavens overhead and
one blanket was both house and bed. The next day we marched into Manila,
arriving about twelve o'clock. We remained there doing guard duty till
the 30th day of March.
In the evening of the 29th orders were read out to provide three days'
rations, fill our canteens and each man to be furnished with one hundred
and fifty cartridges. We all expected a battle and were anxious for it,
but did not know where we were most likely to get it. Every one was busy
and anxious to be marching, especially the officers, who usually could
hardly wait for the time to come after receiving orders to march.
We were to have supper on this occasion at five o'clock, but all we had
were some scraps and crumbs from the camp kitchen.
Our orders were to march to Maricana, which was held by the enemy. We
marched twelve miles before camping. It rained before we started out
from Manila and cleared up, but left the roads very muddy and made
marching very hard. The twelve miles were made by ten o'clock. That
night the wet ground served as couch and one blanket as all the
covering. We had to recline, if we lay down at all, with gun and belt at
our side, ready at a moment's notice to meet the enemy's attack should
they swoop down upon us in camp. After a halt of six hours we set about
at four o'clock preparing breakfast, every man cooking his own rations
in camp kit and making coffee in a quart cup.
Men were gathered around their little fires of wet wood on the damp
ground trying to burn wet wood and cook over the little fire it made.
Some of the hungry men had just succeeded in getting their fires to burn
and commenced to cook when orders were given to prepare for the march to
Maricana, which we were expected to capture that day and to take the
Filipinos prisoners or drive them into the neighboring mountains. It is
needless to say that those men who failed to get their breakfast were
ready to fight. They had an opportunity before many hours passed.
From the camp it was five miles to Maricana. The march began at
four-thirty, while it was still dark, and we could move unseen by any of
the enemy who chanced to be lurking in our vicinity. We marched through
the woods and without speaking above a whisper marched close to the
enemy before we were discovered. Their sentinels in the church towers
were the first to discover our approach and give the alarm by ringing
the bells.
Maricana is located on the bank of a river and we advanced within one
hundred and fifty yards of the opposite bank before we were discovered.
We advanced at double time and reached the river bank, when we lay down
and opened fire just as the early daylight was appearing. Our skirmish
line covered the whole town, in which the enemy were stationed as a
reserve force to their advanced lines along the river. This advance, or
outer line of the enemy, were fortified behind a stone wall. Our line
was at the disadvantage of being in the open ground. The lines thus
formed were hotly engaged for some time when the command was given to
cross the river and charge the enemy's lines. The river bank in front of
me was about ten feet high, but this offered no obstacle to me when
bullets were falling thick and fast near by. At the command to cross I
jumped and somehow got down the bank and into the water. Looking back I
saw no one else coming. The bullets were coming around me so fast I had
no time to form any plans and I pushed on into the water until it was
almost over my head. I remained in this condition until I saw my command
crossing about one hundred yards below me. I could not get out on the
bank to go down and decided I would wade down to the crossing place and
join our forces there. I was almost exhausted when I reached the shore.
The enemy, seeing our intentions to attack their line, remained behind
the stone wall and fired at us until we were nearly across. Then they
could stay there no longer and fled from their strong position. We
crossed and entered the town, capturing five armed men. The enemy beat a
hasty retreat, rather a pell-mell flight across the open country towards
the mountains, at whose bay they had entrenchments and a large reserve
force. The fight lasted from daylight till about two o'clock in the
evening. The battle of Maricana was as hard as any fought in the
Philippine Islands. About three thousand American soldiers were engaged.
Several were killed and a great many of the Filipinos.
When an American was wounded his wound was dressed and some soldier's
blue shirt hung up near him to designate the place where a wounded
American was. In this way no one would be left on the field after the
battle when the dead and wounded were picked up.
The Filipinos were not so well cared for. I saw a great many soldiers
run out of their way in order to step on a dead or wounded Filipino.
They would shout with joy at their punishment of the poor Filipino.
I was near three Americans who were shot that day; two of them were
killed. The one who recovered was a member of my company. A ball passed
through his body, entering the back and passing out on the right side.
It didn't seem possible for him to live, but in one month he was again
at his post of duty. A lieutenant of the Fourth Infantry had his horse
killed under him. Jumping off he took out his field glasses and got on
his knees and began looking for sharpshooters. In less than a minute he
was shot through the heart and fell dead without speaking. I thought
every second I would get a bullet, for they were flying so thick and
close that I did not see how I could escape them. Before the battle was
over I wished I might be shot, for I never was so nearly dead in all my
life. My condition did not appear to be any worse than that of every
other American soldier.
We were run almost to exhaustion and were awfully hot. I drank water
that day from ditches and holes when the water looked green and tasted
very badly. I knew the water was filthy and even dangerous to drink, but
I was not going to die for water when there was plenty of it near by.
During the heat of the battle I was lying down near an old soldier. We
were both trying to get cover. We were fighting hard with no protection
but the ridges in a large rice field which we were fighting over. Our
firing line was in a line of skirmishers. A bullet hit the ground in
front and between the old soldier and where I lay. It knocked dirt in
our faces. The old soldier looked at me and appeared to be very much
frightened. I only laughed at his funny looks. Before I got away from
that position I felt a hard shock on my chest. I thought that I was shot
at last and put my hand up to examine the wound. Finding myself all
right I looked at the ridge and saw what it all meant. A bullet was
buried in the ridge. I dug it out with my bayonet and kept it, and I
have it yet as a souvenir of that day's battle. I have several more
bullets which struck near me at different times and places. All of
these I treasure, for I do not expect to get any more bullets just as I
did these.
The American loss at Maricana was twenty-four killed and nineteen
wounded.