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National Society of the Army of the Philippines
GENERAL IRVING HALE PRESIDENT NATIONAL SOCIETY OF THE
ARMY OP THE PHILIPPINES.
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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
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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
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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
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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."
