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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 10, 1902)
: i s 2 I i National Society of the Army of the Philippines GENERAL IRVING HALE PRESIDENT NATIONAL SOCIETY OF THE ARMY OP THE PHILIPPINES. w HEN Dewey found hlmaelf master of Manila bay, but confronted on land by a hostile Spanish force he had no means of overcoming, he had laid the foundation for quite a chapter of history, not the least interesting paragraph of which has to do with the National Society cf the Army cf the Philippines. In order to make Dewey's work complete and effective, it was deemed necessary to send soldiers to supplement tho naval forces !n the archipelago, and then another glorious page In the record of American arms was written. It's a queer looking thing, often mis taken for a target trophy, with its two circular centers of red. surrounded by bands 03"- - r "" - - .-.-. - CAPTAIN P. JAMES COSGRAVE. FIRST NEBRASKA. LINCOLN, TREASURER SOCIETY OP ARMY OF THE PHILIPPINES. GENERAL HALE IN . THE FIELD Taken Near Blockhouse No. 6 lu February, 1899. of blue and white, but It's a badge cf which thousands of brave young men are proud, becai-Be It denotes that they have fol lowed Old Glcry beyond seas, have faced death in iwimp and Jungle, and hare served their country faithfully as soldiers. It is the insignia of the Eighth army corps, callel into existence when the government de termined to take possession tf the Spanish Islands of the East. This corps was com posed almost wholly of vo'unteers, and mainly of volunteers from the west, and for this reason is very dear to the pecp'.e of the west, who watched with persona' interest for months the news from faraway Manila. From June, 1898, to August, 1899, the history of the corps is the hlBtory of the volunteers. Volunteers stormed the trenches, threaded the morasses and pene trated the Jungles. Volunteers captured the tlockhcuses, the forts and the towns and drove Agulnaldo's forces back and back and back, until they fled, broken Into small bands, to the mountains and wilderness. It was volunteer blocd that drenched the rice paddles, and It was volunteer dead that hallowed the soil of the island of Luzon. Soldiers of the regular army have had their share In the -warfare that followed before the pacification of the islands, but they came after the volunteers, and, while their re-ccrd is no less valoroua and thel deeds were wrought with the same high purpose In view. It is not probable that the people will ever cease to think first of the volunteer when the Filipino Insurrection Is recalled. At the beginning of the Spanish war the prospect was that all land battles would be fought In Cuba and consequently every effort was set In that direction. Only one regi ment of the regular army was left on the Pacific coast when the news came from Dewey in Manila bay, the Fourteenth In fantry, under command of Colonel Thomas N. Anderson. Colonel Anderson was made brigadier general of volunteers and given command of the Department of the Pacific, and the mobilization of volunteer regiments at San Francisco was hastily commenced. On May 20 Major General Elwell S. Otis, V. S. V., assumed command at San Fran cisco, and on the next day General Anderson was assigned to command the first expe dition to the Philippines. This was the beginning. In a few days Major General Wesley Merrltt, U. S. A., assumed com mand at San Francisco, and from that time on events moved rapidly. In the first expedition, which sailed from San Francisco May 25, 1898, Brigadier Gen eral Anderson In command, were 158 officer and 2,386 men. These were the Second Ore gen and the First California volunteer In fantry, a detachment of Battel tes A and D, California volunteer artillery, and Compa nies A, C. D, E and F, Fourteenth Infantry, U. S. A. In addition were the usual com plement of staff officers, hospital corps and the like. On June 15 the second expedition sailed, and from this time cn the ferry across the Pacific was busy, until November S, 1898, when there had been sent on five expeditions 919 officers and 21,410 men of all arms of the service. At that time, when it appeared that peace was soon to be de clared, the sending cf men to the islands was discontinued, and no more were ordered acrcss until the outbreak of the Insurrec tion. The volunteer regiments In service In the Philippines were: First California, First dorado. First Idaho, Fifty-Crst Iowa. Twentieth Kaiuas, Thirteenth Minnesota. First Montana, First Nebraska. First North Dakota, SecoDd Oregon, Tenth Pennsylvania, First South Dakota, First Tennessee, First Washington, First Wyoming, all Infantry; PatterUs A and B, Utah Light artillery, California battery and Astor battery. Of the fular army the Fou:tecth, Eighteenth IT)! 4 V J,.'3 t - f4 i If II . Lf . .. t -JP sT - fc MAJOR GENERAL ARTHUR MACARTHUR, U. S. A., WHO WILL BE THE GUEST OF THE NATIONAL SOCIETY OF THE ARMY OF THE PHILIPPINES AT COUNCIL BLUFFS. LIEUTENANT DONALD MACRAE, JR., FIFTY-FIRST IOWA, COUNCIL BLUFFS PRESIDENT LOCAL SO CIETY ARMY OF THE PHILIP PINES. end Twenty-third infantry, the Fourth cavalry and the Third artillery had been sent across. On August 1 Major General Merrltt Issued the first order organizing the Second divitiin of the Eighth army corps and forming It Into bilgades. Brigadier General Anderson was a-signed to command of the division. The first brigade was under command of G:neral Arthur MacArthur and was com posed of the Twenty-third Infantry, U. S. A., two battalions; one battalion of the Four teenth Infantry, U. S. A.; the Thirteenth Minnesota, the First Idaho, the First North Dakota, the First Wyoming and the Astor battery. Brigadier General F. V. Greene had command of the Second brigade, and under him were two battalions of the Eight eenth Infantry and four batteries of the Third artillery, U. S. A.; a company of en gineers and the Flret California, the First Colorado, the First Nebraska, the Tenth Pennsylvania and Light Battel les A and B of the Utah artillery. The Second Oregon and California battery were ordered to re port to the officer In command of the dl vi"!on. It was on this Second division of the Eighth army corps that the brunt of the fighting lu the Philippines prior to the withdrawal of the volunteers fell. Under Gene aU MacArthur and Greene these two brigades 'led the assault on Manila when that city was taken on August 13. When the friction with Agulnaldo and his band of Insurgents became Intense It was this division that had the positions guarding the city, and when the hostilities became active It was this division that took the hardest part of the work. Brigadier Gen eral Irving Hale, who went out as colonel of the First Colorado, succeeded General Greene In command of the Second brigade, and directed Its operations up till the vol unteers were ordered to Manila to prepare for return borne. He commanded In the advance to Malolos snd from there to Cilumpit and Tan Fernando. The arrival of more troops after the fall of Manila made some change In the composition of the Second division. Major General Mac Arthur succeeded Major General Anderton in command and Brigadier General Harri son Grey Otis succeeded General Mac Arthur In command of the First brigade. At the time of the outbreak the First brigade consisted of the Twentieth Kansas, the First Montana and the Tenth Pennsyl vania volunteer Infantry and the Third artillery, U. S. A. The Second brigade hd the First Colorado, the First Nebraska, th? First South Dakota and the Utah artillery. This organization was not again disturbed. A history of this division's operations is a history of the campaign in Luzon up till the relief of the volunteers by the regulars In June, July aud August of 1899. It Is a story of men who fought their way foot by foot from Manila to Sao Fernando, wading swamps, swimming rivers, breaking th ng across lice paddies, overcoming ap parently Insurmountable difficulties; the firing line always advancing and always a day at least ahead of the commissary, until the men were almost starved; of seeing comrades stricken by fever or ba'.l, of struggling on under the blazing sun or the drenching rain of the tropica, always upborne by that Indomitable spirit whl :h has ever Imbued the American soldier, until the object sought had been achieved. And when the president said, "It Is enough; come home," the hardships cf the cam paign were forgotten In the anticipations of the reunion with the home folks. And what a reunlrn that -was! It began et the Golden Gate, erd It didn't end until j j SUMNER KNOX, FIFTY-FIRST IOWA, COUNCIL BLUFFS SECRETARY LOCAL SOCIETY ARMY OF THE PHILIPPINES. every man of the volunteer regiments of the Eighth army corps had been made to feel that he was Indeed welcome home. Nothing could more forcibly express the sentiments of the American people toward the volunteer soldier than the demonstra tions which greeted the several regiments at their homes. It was during this time of jubilation that the National Society of the Army of the Philippines was born. General Irving Hale, Lieutenant Colonel Moses of the First Colorado, Majors Ander son snd La Sel!e and"-other officers of the same regiment were interested In its for mation, and after calling a . meeting of members of the regiment In pnver, ad dressed themselves to officers and men of other regiments, and the society was soon well under way. It first reunion was held at Denver In 1901. Its second will be held at Counc'l Bluffs, beginning on Wednes day. It will bring together many of the men who fought side by side In the mo rasses, jungles and trenches of the Philip pines, and many who have won high names In the annuls by reason of their connec- . tlon with the Eighth army corps. For th the life of this corps was far more prolific of that which brings men to light than any engaged In the Cuban end of the cam paign. The major generals who were con nected with the Eighth army corps were Wesley Merrltt, Elwell S. Ot s, Thomas N. Anderson, Arthur MacArthur, H. W. Law ton, Henry C. Merriam. tirigadier Generals Lloyd Wheaton, Charles King, Francis V. Greene, Harrison Grey Otis snd Marcus P. Miller commanded brigades In the corps, and Brigadier Generals Irving Hale, Fred erick Funston, Ovtu Summers,. James F. Smith, Harry C. Kessler, C. McC. Keeve and John II. Wholley, who went out as colonels, won their star in the jungles of Luzon. .. While talking cf the homecoming" of the volunteers, here's a story from the) Presidio that has never been . In p'rlnL 'T It,' you meet Lieutenant "Bill" Sweeney , cf, the First Colorado at the reunion ie can tell who the to'dier Is. He Is a tall young man from Alabama, but served with the First Colorado. When the volunteers were quartered at Camp Merrltt on the way out the good women of San Francisco put In their time making the boys comfortable. Each "adopted" a number of the youngsters, and each to her squad was known as "mother." This incident occurred on the evening the First Colorado reached the Presidio on Its return. The young soldier told the story: "Yeb see, ah hadn't had a good Christian drink of whiskey since we sailed from San Fran, an' so 'when a fellah met me and mah bunkle down heah by the cook house and handed me a half pint of good ol' cohn llkker, ah felt like ah was home again, suah. Ah bands the bottle to mah bunkle an' says, 'Afteh you,, seh.' Mah bunkle says 'how,' and takes his share an' hands the bottle back to me. An' ah stands theh, wlpln' off the mouth of that bottle an' thlnkln' how good that cohn juice's go In' to taste an' ah heah's someone say, 'Oh, theh's that little southun boy,' an' ah' turns round an' theh's mah motbuh. An' I Jest draps thet bottle an' the good ol' lady she hugs me like ah was heh own boy an' that cohn likker soaks Into the and." Comes from Cleveland Washington Times: Prof. Elliott, an Ohio scleutlst, was before the ways and means committee some time ago speaking upon the subject of the preservation of the fur seals of Alaska. In the course of his statement Repre sentative Tawney asked the witness what his business was. "I am a pomologist, a horticulturist, vltl culturlst, an artist, and a naturalist," re plied the professor. The reply staggered the Minnesota rep resentative for a moment, and then he said: "Oh, I understand, you come from Cleveland; that explains it." A-Keady Financier Washington Star: "Release me!" ex claimed the American woman. "Itt.wpoldn't be business," answered the European outlaw, gently, but firmly. "But you are wasting your time. I have no rich relatives who can pay my ransom." "That Is all right. I ll keep you In cap tivity long enough to secure a sufficient measure of publicity and then take a mort gage on the receipts of your lecture tour."