The Utah Batteries: A History Part 4

The guns of Utah and the two big rifles of Lieutenant Fleming were on the south side of the Bag Bag, and it is only a mile from here to the Filipino stronghold. The advance began early on the morning of the 27th.

A platoon under Lieutenant Naylor, who had been in charge of Battery A pieces since the wounding of Captain Wedgewood, one gun under Lieutenant Critchlow, Fleming's two guns and a Hotchkiss in charge of Corporal Bjarnson were pushed by hand over a bridge hastily constructed over the waters of the Bag Bag. The clattering din of the infantry could soon be heard in altercation with the insurgents at the front. The insurgents, behind intrenchments, were sending volleys fast into the Americans from the north bank of the Pampanga. It was observed that the long bridge had been partially destroyed and the rails torn from the track for several hundred yards. The heavy iron beams of the bridge were placed above the two lines of intrenchments. Iron rails supported the ponderous beams, and between them was formed a long slot for Filipino rifles.

The three big Utah guns were rushed to a position on the right of the station, about 100 yards from the enemy, and where there was partial protection from a nipa hut. Earthworks were quickly thrown up and to divert the enemy's attention while this was going on, a squad of Montana men kept up a constant fire from a position immediately in front of the artillery. Bullets came in sheets from the Filipino position. A Montana sharpshooter, shot through the head, fell dead at the foot of the half-made emplacement. Fleming's guns pointed through an aperture broken through the solid brick walls of the station facing the half-demolished bridge. Further off to the left Corporal Bjarnson with the revolving Hotchkiss was with the line of Kansas infantry under Colonel Funston.

Out on the left Colonel Funston was performing the famed and intrepid feat by which he was able to cross the river. Protected by the swift fire of the revolving Hotchkiss, a Kansas man with a rope swam the swift moving waters of the Pampanga and fastened one end to the base of a bamboo tree. Then Funston with about forty of his men crossed the river on hastily constructed rafts, guided by the long ropes. Suddenly this small body of warriors charged and attacked the insurgents on the left flank. The insurgents who had valiantly and stubbornly held their position, were terrorized by the unexpected onslaught, and the whole line in the east side of the bridge sprang from the intrenchment and fled northward along the railroad embankment. Natives were strewn thick upon the banks of the river as they ran. A mounted Filipino officer was shot through the heart as he stood with flas.h.i.+ng sword vainly trying to rally his confused and fleeing troops. The Tagalans to the right were touched with consternation and fled from their bulwarks. And so during this one hour Colonel Funston performed the most das.h.i.+ng deed of the war and the Malay hosts were driven from their strongest defense. Fifteen hundred American soldiers in this battle contested with 12,000 intrenched warriors of Luzon, and won by their prowess and the strategy of a gallant leader.

The two brigades were allowed to rest for several days on the sunny banks of the Pampanga. On May 14th the troops began the march toward San Fernando, which lies green and low at the base of Mt. Arayat, which can be seen for many miles around. The artillery, with the mules, crossed the river on rafts. Wheaton advanced up the railroad track while Hale's brigade strung out over the Apalit road.

A revolving Hotchkiss cannon and one Gatling gun, manned by Battery B detachments, were mounted on trucks. This moving battery was commanded by Lieutenant Naylor. As the troops approached Santo Tomas the insurgents were discovered, intrenched on both sides of the railroad. As the infantry engaged them on the right, Lieutenant Naylor's machine guns played on the thin line of smoke curling above the Filipino intrenchment. As the infantry pressed them on the right they retreated over the railroad towards a long line of intrenchments, and the bullets from the Gatling fell among them here faster than autumn leaves. Colonel Funston, at the head of his troops, took the fire line of intrenchments on the left of the track and moved down on the Tagalans, who had constructed a long line of intrenchments parallel with the railway. They were beaten back by the Kansas men, but in this charge Colonel Funston fell, having sustained a slight wound in the arm. During this engagement General Luna, most renowned of the Filipino chiefs, was wounded in the arm, and as there was only a light infantry fire, the opinion prevailed that this was inflicted by Lieutenant Naylor's fast-clicking Gatling gun. General Wheaton personally praised Lieutenant Naylor for his work in the Santo Tomas battle, and afterwards in his report recommended him for meritorious service.

Over on the right up the Apalit road Captain Wedgewood and Lieutenant Critchlow were encountering difficulties. The insurgents had constructed pitfalls in the road. They were thinly covered with a layer of leaves and earth and the wayward feet of mule and soldier were menaced beneath with sharp pointed wedges of bamboo. These were discovered early in the march and no accidents resulted from them. There was some brisk fighting on this end of the line and the big guns sh.e.l.led the insurgents on the opposite side of the river. The whole of the next day was consumed in transporting the artillery and equipage across the river on a raft constructed by the engineers, and on May 6th they entered San Fernando.

This fair city was half destroyed by flames, and when the troops entered no lingering black warriors could be found. They had all retreated farther north, following in the general direction of the railway.

Major-General MacArthur's headquarters were established near the center of that part of the city which was untouched by the flames, and close by the Utah guns were parked. Later one of the big guns was utilized for outpost duty, a rather remarkable use for artillery. Every night after the Filipinos had begun to gather again near the city one of the pieces with a gun crew would go down a sunken road and watch all night with the farthest outposts of the infantry.

During this period Major-General Otis had issued an order offering thirty pesos to every Filipino warrior who would return his rifle to the American authorities. On May 23rd Major Bell went on an expedition up the railway track for the purpose of posting up the order, and took with him two troops of the Fourth Cavalry and a revolving Hotchkiss gun, manned by Sergeant Emil Johnson and Corporal Hesburg of Battery A and Private Martin of Battery B. All the men were mounted and the cannon equipped with a small Filipino horse, so that if necessary a hasty retreat could be made. They proceeded up the railway track, and notices were duly and conspicuously left at Bacalor and Quiuag. Just as the forces reached the outskirts of Santa Rita they were fired on by a large body of insurgents, who were heavily intrenched around the city. The revolving cannon was used effectively and Major Bell and his men went into action five times, but the insurgent attack was too fierce for the small force and it was obliged to retreat. With a whoop of joy the Filipinos rose from their trenches in pursuit, cheering loudly as they came. They followed for five miles through Bacalor, and as far back as their old intrenchments surrounding San Fernando. The rather meagre encouragement of having been able to chase a small troop of cavalry seemed to give the Tagalans at this time an idea that they had the whole American force in retreat.

During the night word was brought to General MacArthur that the Filipinos were preparing to make an attack early the next morning. At dawn the Montana and Kansas regiments and a platoon under Lieutenant Naylor went out to meet them. The Filipinos were in force in their old position to the northwest. The Kansas went through some cornfields on the left and the Montanas through a sunken road to the right. The artillery remained in a concealed position in the center and waited until the two regiments had moved up on the startled natives from both flanks. As the insurgents retreated in confusion the big guns played on the scattered ranks. A large number of the natives were killed during this clever maneuver and thirty of their rifles were captured.

The Tagalans when on the warpath are persistent. The next day they occupied intrenchments farther to the north. They were again driven back and this time they took up a position towards Mexico and in front of the Iowa troops.

During the next few days the Malay hordes came toward San Fernando from all sides. Eventually their forces completely surrounded the city.

General MacArthur watched their plans, saw them tearing up the earth for intrenchments and waited. It was apparent that they were preparing to march with crus.h.i.+ng force upon the American troops.

The cloud burst on June 16th. Just at that time, when the Americans were not looking for them, the Tagalans descended on the town. Captain Fred Wheeler was out on a plain drilling a troop of the Fourth United States Cavalry. It was in the morning and there was a heavy mist. One of Captain Wheeler's men informed him that he could see the "n.i.g.g.e.rs"

coming. The Captain could see nothing and sent for his gla.s.ses, but before they arrived the long skirmish line of the Tagalans could be seen emerging like spectres from the mist. Then there was a remarkable spectacle--the Fourth Cavalry and the Tagalan warriors racing for the same intrenchments. The cavalrymen arrived first and there the battle began.

The natives came in from four sides. The outposts waited in the old Filipino intrenchments and on some parts of the line the attacked Tagalans were allowed to approach within 200 yards. Most of the guns, when the fight began were located close to MacArthur's headquarters, but they were soon on all parts of the line. When the attack by the Filipinos began the gun under command of Lieutenant Naylor was on its way to the outposts. It had been the custom to take the gun there just before dawn and bring it back immediately after darkness came. The advancing Filipinos began firing before the gun was in position.

Corporal Hanson was in charge at the time, and the rifle was at once rushed to the emplacement. Word came at the same hour to Lieutenant Naylor, who was officer of the outpost, and he went through a heavy fire down the road leading to the intrenchment. When he arrived there the Filipinos were within three hundred and fifty yards and were advancing over the rice ridges at a rapid gait. The Lieutenant had a sh.e.l.l sent into the approaching insurgents, who seemed astounded to find that the artillery occupied such an advanced position. When nine sh.e.l.ls had been sent into their line, the Filipinos gradually drew back and were not seen any more on this part of the line during the fight.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PREPARING FOR AN ENGAGEMENT.]

The Seventeenth and Twenty-second Infantry were the support on this end of the line, which faced to the north.

On the west, east and part of the north line were the Kansas and Montana infantry. It was to this point that the two guns of Lieutenant Gibbs were moved when the firing began, and here the guns inflicted severe damage on the islanders. Another gun of Battery B was also placed near this part of the line under Lieutenant Hines, but it was unnecessary from this position to use the artillery.

This fight was the first time the American soldiers during the whole campaign had repulsed an attack from behind intrenchments, and they laid back and smiled as the black men approached and then pa.s.sed out some volleys that made the whole advancing line reel. When the Tagalans began to retreat under the awakened storm, the Americans followed, and as the Filipinos recoiled from one regiment they were broken against another. A company of the Twentieth Infantry located near Santo Tomas was almost cut off by the advancing column of the enemy, and a company of the Montana men was sent to its a.s.sistance. The fight lasted nearly two hours and the Filipino loss amounted to several hundred. The only casualty on the American side was a slight wound received by a Montana man, which shows clearly what the Americans could do in a contest with a black man under conditions more or less equal. Colonel Funston stated afterwards that a sh.e.l.l from one of Lieutenant Gibbs's guns had killed fifteen Filipinos.

The burying of dead Filipinos the next day was a tragic sight.

Sixty-four were engulfed in one trench. They were brought up in caribou carts, and the American pulled them off with ropes and deposited them in the common grave.

There was another fight on the 22nd, but the Filipinos seemed to have lost their dash and courage of a few days before, and on this occasion the artillery was not called out.

A few days later word came that the Utah battalion was ordered home, and on the 24th day of June the Utah men boarded the train for Manila and were carried away from the smoke of war and the darkly fought battlefields of the East.

Sergeant John A. Anderson with one gun of Battery B and a rifle of the Sixth Artillery was in the flying column of General Lawton, who left a path of ashes around the Pampanga province and finally drove the insurgents from San Isidro with his detachment on the 21st of March and arrived on the same day at Bocaue. The order to march came on the 23rd and the Sergeant was given a position on the left of the Thirteenth Minnesotas. From the brow of the hill above Norzagaray the guns began sh.e.l.ling at 1500 yards. The front line was silenced but at this point the natives made an effort to turn the right flank, and it was necessary to throw many shrapnel into the advancing insurgents column before it turned. The next day Norzagaray was entered after the place had been sh.e.l.led, and during this slight advance the artillery was in action five times. Colonel Sommers personally commended the detachment on the accuracy of its gunnery and its promptness. On the 25th Ongaut was burned and on the 26th there was an engagement which lasted for some time below Baliuag. San Maguel was taken on the 4th, and on the 13th a few sh.e.l.ls were thrown into San Isidro, but the insurgents, after repeated defeats, showed small resistance here and soon retreated.

On the 24th the artillery arrived with the infantry at Candaba, and the detachment remained quartered here until the order arrived for the Utah men to return to Manila. The plan of Lawton's campaign was for his troops to drive the insurgents towards Candaba, where they could be met by the advancing forces under Major Kobbe and the river gunboats. But when General Lawton came down to Candaba there were none but American soldiers there as the insurgents forces had disappeared in the interior.

Shortly after the arrival in Malolos the Utah men were joined by Corporal Dusenbury and two other men of Battery B. They with a revolving Hotchkiss cannon were picked up by General Wheaton early in his advance from Caloocan, and were highly praised by the General for the skill and efficiency they had shown in many dangerous places. General Wheaton showed his appreciation of the work of the guns by attaching several regular and Oregon infantrymen to the pieces, in order that they could be carried over rough places with the greatest possible dispatch.

CHAPTER IV.

THE GUNBOATS.

No history of the Utah batteries will be complete without a narrative of the exploits of the gunboats. While the land forces performed their duties with great honor and are to be commended in every way possible, it must be remembered that a portion of the men were fighting on the water and did work of such a character that they won especial mention from those in charge when the big guns were hurling death and the Gatlings were barking fire at the opposing army.

At first the proposition of building gunboats was not at all popular with the authorities. Some opposed the scheme on the grounds that it could not be successfully accomplished with the limited means at hand and the rivers of Luzon to contend with. However, later developments attested that those who were the originators of the plan showed greater wisdom than their opponents.

Sometime prior to the breaking out of hostilities between the American forces and the natives General Otis conceived the idea of employing gunboats on the rivers and lakes for the purpose of opening up lines of communication between difficult portions of our own lines. The fact that the rivers were shallow was the one serious objection to the project, but this difficulty was eliminated by the adoption of light draught boats. The nature of the country in the vicinity of Manila and the other towns where the heaviest fighting took place is such that it was apparent to those who were aware of these conditions that this craft might be engaged in protecting the advance of the infantry and artillery; could hold the hostile bands in check until favorable positions could be taken, and be of wonderful service in the campaign.

The first vessel to engage in this kind of work was the "Laguna de Bay,"

which has made a reputation never to be forgotten so long as the history of the war in the Philippines remains familiar to the American mind.

This vessel is doubtless as well known as the "Olympia," the flags.h.i.+p of gallant Admiral Dewey, and while there are those who fail to recall the fact that the "Boston" or the "Raleigh" took part in the attack on the Spanish in the bay of Manila, it is safe to a.s.sert that the operation of the "Laguna de Bay" and her sister craft will ever be fresh in the minds of those who have made even a casual study of the events which took place during the campaign carried on by the brave men from the youngest State in the Republic.

The "Laguna de Bay," the first converted gunboat, was placed in commission on January, 1899. She was formerly used by the Spanish as an excursion boat on the body of water from which she derived her name and prior to the fall of Manila had been captured by the Filipinos and turned over to the United States. She was by no means a small craft considering her environments--shallow rivers and muddy bayous. She was 140 feet in length, 40-foot beam with a draught of four feet. When she was fitted out it was decided to give her some protection for the men, so her main deck, the upper deck, the pilot house and the Gatling battery, were protected by a double sheeting of steel. The many bullet marks on this light armor demonstrated afterwards the wisdom of this policy. At this point it may not be out of order to interpolate the fact that her companion gunboats were similarly protected, which accounts for the small list of casualties.

The armament of the gunboat consisted of two three-inch marine guns, two 1.65 Hotchkiss revolving cannon and four Gatlings. At first Lieutenant R.C. Naylor was in charge of the guns, while Captain Randolph of the Third United States Artillery commanded the vessel. In addition to the men from the Utah batteries, several were detailed from the various regiments to act as sailors, riflemen and cannoneers.

The boats which were added to the fleet were the "Oeste," the "Napindan"

and the "Cavadonga." The last went into commission on May 6th and was commanded by Lieutenant William C. Webb. The crews of the vessel were made up of members of the Utah batteries and men from the Twenty-third United States Infantry, the First South Dakota Infantry and the Third United States Battery.

On the morning of February 5th the "Laguna de Bay" steamed up the Pasig to the town of Santa Ana while the Nebraska, California and Was.h.i.+ngton troops a.s.saulted the enemy from the land. Twenty minutes after the boat turned her guns upon the town the princ.i.p.al buildings were in flames and the stricken garrison made all haste toward San Pedro Macati and Guadaloupe. Next she turned her attention to those portions of the enemy stationed in Bacoor and Mandaloya. Her forward guns tore great gaps in the enemy's earthworks and her Gatlings raked the trenches with so galling a fire that the foe was sent flying towards the woods in the region of Pasig with the Nebraska Infantry in speedy pursuit. The following morning the boat pa.s.sed Santa Ana, where two three-inch Krupp guns had been captured by the Idaho troops, and reconnoitered the native position in the woods beyond. Late that afternoon she returned to Manila and replenished her coal bunkers, when she resumed her old position at the Nebraska landing.

March 7th the gunboat again pa.s.sed Santa Ana and went up as far as Guadaloupe, where the First California was quartered. General Anderson came up the river in a launch and a consultation was held as to future operations. Nothing of moment happened that day, but on the morrow General King arrived on his way to Pasig for the purpose of demanding the surrender of the town. He desired the "Laguna de Bay" to await his return. A vigilant patrol was kept up that evening and during the night three shots were fired by sentries from the boat. The day following was uneventful, but on the 10th the "Oeste," which was towing a casco, came alongside and stated that Colonel Stotsenberg had sent word that the insurgents were ma.s.sing west of the camp of the Nebraska regiment.

It was on the 14th that word was received from Colonel DuBois of the Idaho regiment to hurry up stream at all speed. This was done and an effort made to anchor off the mouth of the Pateros, where the infantry fire was very brisk. Here it was that Lieutenant Harting met his death.

Harting with four men got aboard and the line was dropped when the boat sank, being swept almost immediately under the gunwale of the "Laguna de Bay." The three men forward grasped the gunwale and were saved, but the officer and the fourth man went down stream. Though the Lieutenant was a good swimmer, no sign of him could be seen. He was heavily laden with revolver, belt and ammunition. Lieutenant Larson jumped overboard to rescue him, but was unable to get even a glimpse of him. His body was found two days later near General Otis's headquarters. The fourth man escaped by swimming ash.o.r.e.

By order of the Commanding General February 16th, Major Grant took command of the river force and Captain Randolph rejoined his regiment.

The next day an a.s.siduous fire was directed against San Pedro Macati with telling effect.

The commanders now decided that in case the forces stationed at Guadaloupe should be too strongly pressed by the enemy they should fall back to San Pedro Macati, setting fire to the convent and other princ.i.p.al buildings as they returned. In this instance the gunboat was to steam up above Guadaloupe. On Sunday, February 19th, this very thing was done though the insurgents as yet had made no advance. The soldiers left the convent after firing it. As the gunboat moved up the stream she met with a determined resistance. The opposing force repeatedly a.s.sailed her, but her Gatlings finally compelled them to withdraw. An unsuccessful effort was made to explode a quant.i.ty of nitro-glycerine in the convent by the use of percussion sh.e.l.l. The boat then advanced nearer the town where it engaged the insurgents on both sides of the river. Every gun now played upon the enemy's lines. In the course of twenty minutes twenty-five three-inch sh.e.l.ls, 4200 Gatling, 1500 Krag-Jorgenson and 800 Springfields were expended. This spirited defense caused the prudent native to withdraw to a country less subject to leaden bullets, and the boat dropped down stream. In the afternoon Admiral Dewey visited the "Laguna de Bay" in quest of information, and while he was securing what he came after a Filipino sharpshooter began taking pot shots at the Admiral, who, being unprotected, decided he was far enough inside the enemy's lines and turned back.

At San Felipe Lieutenant Naylor was sent ash.o.r.e on the following day to cut down some trees and burn some huts so the view of the boats' gunners would not be obstructed, which duty was performed under a straggling fire.

Admiral Dewey visited the gunboats on the 21st, stating he would send two rapid-fire guns for the "Laguna de Bay." That was the object of his visit, which was short. The same day General King and his staff came aboard and were taken up the stream. Word was soon afterward received that the Wyoming battalion was going to advance on the enemy near Guadaloupe on the left of the river early the following morning but as the gunboat was not in a position to aid in the expedition she remained inactive when the firing began the next morning.

On the day following Lieutenant Naylor again landed with a small force of men at San Felipe, where he set fire to the buildings and cut down trees which would have obstructed the view. Nothing occurred until the night of the 25th, when desultory firing was heard at San Felipe, and following this matters were unusually quiet until the night of March 1st. That day the insurgents were encountered at San Pedro Macati and the Gatlings, the three-inch and the 1.65-inch guns were brought into action. During the firing Sergeant Shea received a slight wound in the hand. A three-inch gun was disabled in this engagement. Two days later another conflict took place at the same point resulting in the complete defeat of the enemy, who was forced from his position after a severe bombardment.

The morning of March 4th opened cloudy with "Laguna de Bay" at San Pedro. A sharp skirmish soon began. The natives held their position for some time but were finally compelled to give way before the superior strength of the Americans. Under orders from General Wheaton the gunboat followed them and directed a deadly fire into the woods on both sides of the river. During the fight, which lasted several hours, the boat was frequently struck by the bullets of the enemy. It was during this encounter that Private John Toiza of the Third Artillery laid down his life. He was shot in the left breast, the bullet pa.s.sing downward through his heart, killing him instantly. A sh.e.l.l also lodged in the 1.65-inch gun, disabling it for the time.

On March 5th Admiral Dewey again came alongside and stated that General Otis had declared he believed he would keep the gunboats down the stream if they did not cease fighting so much. Then the Admiral added with emphasis, "We ought to have three such boats."