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Forty Minutes Of Fighting

Forty Minutes Of Fighting image
Parent Issue
Day
18
Month
August
Year
1899
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

FORTY MINUTES OF FIGHTING

Gen. Young has a brush with the Filipinos and loses three killed.

Manila, Aug 14, 8:40 a.m. - the insurgents have taken the aggressive in the neighborhood of the railroad. On Saturday night they unsuccessfully attacked San Luis, on the Rio Grande, near Calumpit, which is garrisoned by two companies of the Twenty-second infantry. The American had a sergeant killed and two privates wounded. Yesterday morning a similar affair took place at Gringua, four miles west of Malolos, where another small garrison is stationed as a safeguard against a possible attack upon the railway. A special train took reinforcements to Malolos and Guiguinto, just north of Bulacan.

Manila, Aug. 13, 3:10 p.m. - a reconnoissance yesterday by troops of General Samuel B.M. Young's brigade with the object of discovering the whereabouts of the enemy near San Mateo, about ten miles from Manila, resulted in the occupation of San Mateo. The American loss was three killed and thirteen wounded, including a lieutenant of the Twenty-first infantry. The Americans approached San Mateo in three columns. Major Cronin with fifteen men of the Twenty-Fifth infantry advanced from Novaliches, five miles west of San Mateo. Captain Rivers, with 100 men of the Fourth cavalry, and Captain Parker, with 280 men of the Twenty-first and Twenty-fourth infantry and the Fourth cavalry, approached in two columns from the south.

Captain Rivers took an outpost of the enemy two miles southwest of San Mateo. He then encountered strong resistance among the hills, the enemy firing from excellent positions. Having failed to connect with Major Cronin, and seeing that the town was already occupied by the Americans, Captain Rivers withdrew, covering his withdrawal by a heavy volley. He lost a sergeant killed. Captain Parker found the enemy strongly entrenched on the far side of some rice fields about a mile wide and covered with deep mud. Pushing forward rapidly he routed the Filipinos after forty minutes' fighting, and then continued the march upon San Mateo, which he entered without serious resistance.

Twenty-three of the enemy are known to have been killed. This is the first action in which Colonel Burt's colored troops participated. They behaved well, their leaders having difficulty in holding them back. General Young accompanied Captain Parker's column and was under fire throughout the engagement. It is estimated that the enemy numbered between 300 and 400 men.