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| Emilio Aguinaldo. |
Cortland Evening Standard, Monday, February 6, 1899.
HOSTILITIES BEGUN AGAIN.
Filipinos Attack the American Troops Near Manila.
LOSS HEAVY ON BOTH SIDES.
Twenty Americans Killed and Over a Hundred Wounded. The United States Cruiser Charleston end the Gunboat Concord Bombarded the Enemy—The Insurgents Were Driven From Their Positions at Several Places and the Line of the American Troops Advanced—An Account of the Battle Received Through Madrid States That the Insurgents Captured Almost the Whole of the American Line—General Otis and Admiral Dewey Both Heard From.
MANILA, Feb. 6.—The long expected rupture between the Americans and Filipinos has come at last. The clash came at 8:45 Saturday evening, when three daring Filipinos darted past the Nebraska regiment's pickets at Santa Mesa, but retired when challenged.
They repeated the experiment without drawing the sentries fire. But the third time Corporal Greely challenged the Filipinos and then fired, killing one of them and wounding another.
Almost immediately afterwards the Filipinos' line from Caloocan to Santa Mesa commenced a fusillade, which was ineffectual.
The Nebraskans, Montanan and North Dakotan outposts replied vigorously, and held their ground until reinforcements arrived. The Filipinos in the meantime concentrated at three points, Caloocan, Galalangin and Santa Mesa.
At about 1 o'clock the Filipinos opened a hot fire from all three places simultaneously. This was supplemented by the fire of two siege guns at Balik-Balik and by advancing their skirmishes at Paco and Pandacan.
The Americans responded with a terrible fire; but owing to the darkness they were unable to determine its effect.
The Utah light artillery finally succeeded in silencing the native battery. The Third artillery also did good work on the extreme left. The engagement lasted over an hour.
The United States cruiser Charleston and the gunboat Concord, stationed off Malabon, opened fire from their second batteries on the Filipinos' position at Caloocan and kept it up vigorously. At 2:45 o'clock there was another fusillade along the entire line and the United States seagoing double-turreted monitor Monadnock opened fire on the enemy off Malate.
With daylight the Americans advanced. The Calafornian and Washington regiments made a splendid charge and drove the Filipinos from the village of Paco and Santa Mesa.
The Nebraska regiment also distinguished itself, capturing several prisoners and one howitzer and a very strong position at the reservoir, which is connected with the water works.
The Kansas and Dakota regiments compelled the enemy's right flank to retire to Caloocan.
There was intermittent firing at various points all day long.
The losses to the Filipinos can not be estimated at present but they are known to be considerable. The Ygorates armed with bows and arrows made a determined stand in the face of the artillery fire and left many dead men on the field.
Several attempts were made in this city to assassinate American officers.
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| Admiral George Dewey. |
DEWEY HEARD FROM.
He Confirms the Report of the Battle and Says It Is Kept Up.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 6.—Admiral Dewey has cabled the navy department that hostilities had begun between the American army and naval forces in and about Manila, and the Philippine insurgents. The insurgents, he said, had been the aggressors and had been repulsed. The admiral's message was as follows:
"Insurgents here inaugurated general engagement Saturday night which has continued ever since. The American army and navy is generally successful. Insurgents have been driven back and our line advanced. No casualties to navy."
The news came like a shock, for the administration, though apprised that an ugly situation prevailed in the Philippines, had clung steadily to a hope that by tact and patience actual fighting might be averted, and even those public men who felt that hostilities would follow should the treaty be ratified and the United States attempt to occupy the islands, believed that Aguinaldo would not force the fighting when the treaty of peace was in its most critical stage.
Some senatorial opponents of ratification of the treaty adhere to their position, but the general opinion in Washington is that the news from Manila insures the ratification of the treaty.
It seems to be Dewey's fortune always to report favorable news and like all his messages that have gone before this cablegram told of the success of the American forces in the action.
It was with great regret, however, that the administration learned that the insurgents had forced the issue. It had hoped all along that they could be brought to see the advantages of placing their trust in the American people and relying upon the president to deal justly with them. The administration argued that with the Philippine commission fairly on the sea enroute for Manila bringing with them messages from the president and with the peace treaty still unacted on it was not to be credited that they would refuse to wait to learn the purposes of the American government but would precipitate the long impending conflict.
While this was true the officials here and the officers in Manila had not been blind to the threat contained in the situation there and every preparation has been made for just what occurred Saturday night. It is now acknowledged that fear of an outbreak in Luzon was the explanation for the much commented on failure to General Miller to force a landing at Iloilo on the island of Panay. General Otis felt that he wanted all the troops at Manila where was located the center of danger. Part of Miller's force, therefore, was returned to Manila and that general was left with one regiment of regulars and a battalion of artillery, just sufficient to take advantage of any defection in his front, but not enough to force his way ashore and hold his own.
Then rather a formal authorization, for he did not need the instruction, Dewey was told to co-operate fully with General Otis in any measures the latter might take. It is believed that it was unknown to the insurgents that some of the American warships were quietly moved into positions where they perfectly commanded the insurgent trenches and defenses and could shell them with effect in case of an outbreak. This movement was effected more than 10 days ago and the administration has not felt serious apprehension of General Otis' ability at least to hold his own.
The American position might have been greatly strengthened, it is said, by a judicious extension of the lines in certain directions, and also by taking summary measures to prevent the operations of the insurgents in taking up positions and organizing forces.
President McKinley took the view that perhaps under strict construction of the terms of the protocol which still holds good in the absence of the ratification of the treaty, he lacked authority to extend the field of occupation of the Americans. The fact that the insurgents themselves have been the first to break the truce probably releases the United States government from further obligation in this respect, so that General Otis was unquestionably warranted in the opinion of the administration officials in extending his lines, as Dewey reports he has done.
The situation is regarded here as rather anomalous from a diplomatic standpoint. Legally the Filipinos are still Spanish subjects. Therefore if hostile operations continue outside of the limits of Manila as laid down in the protocol, it will amount to a resumption of the war with Spain, at least technically.
Officials noted one little flaw in Dewey's dispatch, in that he spoke of the American army and navy as "generally successful," conveying just the least intimation that at some points the results were not as satisfactory as at others. It is inferred here that this might mean the development of weakness at some of the more exposed points on the American lines which might easily be explained by the fact that the attack was made at night, perhaps in places where the insurgents could creep close in the shelter of the tropical jungle that grows nearly into the town of Manila.
Every confidence, however, is felt that General Otis is master of the situation. This confidence is based not only on the cablegram, but from repeated assurances to that effect conveyed by General Otis to Washington from time to time during the past few months.
The forces under his command as shown by the records of the adjutant general's office Dec. 10, the date of the last report, were 21,649 troops, and of these there were present for duty 19,516 men. This command is composed of the following organizations: Company A, United States Engineer battalion; Troops C, F, G, I, K, and L, Fourth United States cavalry; troop of Nevada cavalry; Companies G, H, K and L of the Third, and D and G of the Sixth United States artillery; Companies A and D of the California and A and B of the Utah artillery, and the First Wyoming battery; the Third and Fourth United States Infantry; the Fourteenth and headquarters and Companies B, D, F, H, I, K, L and M of the Seventeenth United States infantry; the Eighteenth, Twentieth and Twenty-third United States infantry; the First California, the First Colorado, the First Idaho, the Fifty-first Iowa, the Twentieth Kansas, the Thirteenth Minnesota, the First Montana, the First Nebraska, the First North Dakota, the Second Oregon, the Tenth Pennsylvania, the First South Dakota, the First Tennessee, the First Washington and the First Wyoming regiments of volunteer infantry.
A portion of this force, the Eighteenth infantry and a battery of artillery are at Iloilo where General Miller was sent a month or more ago.
Approximately 6,000 men are on their way to join General Otis in four separate expeditions though none is expected to reach Manila for three weeks or a month. They are as follows: The Fourth, and four companies of the Seventeenth infantry, 1,728 men under General Lawton which sailed from Gibraltar last Friday; the Twentieth infantry, comprising 37 officers and 1,268 men, under General Wheaton, which left San Francisco Jan. 17; the Twenty-second Infantry, in command of Colonel Egbert, which left San Francisco early in the present month and 2,000 men and officers of the Third and Seventeenth United States regiments of infantry which left New York Friday on the Sherman.
There is a big transport, the Sheridan, now making ready in New York to carry the Twelfth infantry and a battalion of the Seventeenth infantry, 1,820 men in all and she will start not later than the 14th inst. That is all that can be supplied to General Otis in the way of reinforcements according to General Corbin, if the soldiers are to be of service in this campaign. More of course will follow as rapidly as they can be gotten ready if General Otis needs them in any future operations he may plan, but as already stated, it is believed this particular crisis will have passed before they can be transported the great distance from the United States to Manila.
These troops, with those now in Cuba, represent the cream of the American army according to General Corbin. It is true that only about 3,000 of General Otis soldiers are regulars, but his volunteer soldiers have been under thorough discipline and training for months, some as much as eight months, and many participated in the engagements attending the capture of Manila, and are practically as good as the regulars.
No one here knows the real strength of the insurgents opposed to General Otis. The reports of the numbers are conflicting, and none of them comes from reliable sources. Still the best belief of the authorities at the war department is that they number about 30,000 men, but they are not comparable to the American forces in personnel, discipline or quality of arms. It is known that they have some Mausers, some Remingtons and a variety of other fire arms, and it is suspected that they have been quite plentifully supplied with ammunition from outside sources. Taken as a whole, this armament is decidedly inferior to that of the American troops. Then, with inexperienced officers, in many cases even the colonels of regiments being not more than 21 years old, and their lack of knowledge of tactics, they are at a great disadvantage. Their strong point is their knowledge of the country and a certain fanatical bravery in onslaught that would be formidable to a volunteer force not well trained to stand fire. Like the Cubans, they rely too much on a sword-like weapon corresponding to the machete, a weapon of little value against long rifles.
Altogether, the war department officials have not the slightest doubt of General Otis' ability to hold his position and the only cause for apprehension is the fear that by taking to the interior of the country, practically impassable for American troops in the approaching rainy season, a prolonged Indian fighting style of the campaign may follow.
Besides his soldiers, General Otis has at his back in Manila bay, commanding the city, a veritable rock of Gibraltar in Dewey's fleet. With the vessels he now has and those about to join him Dewey will have 21 ships of various types. Of full-fledged warships he now has nine as follows: The flagship, Olympia, Boston, Baltimore, Charleston, Concord, Monadnock, Monterey, Petrel and the Buffalo. He also has three armed supply ships which are just as effective as a warship almost, in attacking troops outside of fortifications and in maintaining the blockade. They are the Culgia, Nanshan and the Zafiro.
The vessels on the way to join Dewey are the gunboats Helena, now at Colombo, the Castine at Gibraltar, the Princeton, due at Port Said Tuesday; the Bennington, Brutus and the Yorktown, probably at Guam on their way to Manila, the battleship Oregon and the waterboat Iris at Honolulu. The Solace is about to start any moment from Norfolk for Manila. This leaves out of account the army transports under General Otis' command which could be made of great service.
The fleet cannot operate against troops in the interior, but undoubtedly Dewey will immediately draw a tight cordon of blockading vessels around the island of Luzon and make a special effort to absolutely cut off the insurgents from the supplies and ammunition which they must have to carry on the war.
Diplomats took a lively interest in the news, realizing that the government of the United States will call upon them very early to see to it that no aid of any sort is rendered to the Filipinos and that no filibustering expeditions shall leave their soil with munitions of war or supplies for the insurgents. Special precautions will be asked to be taken at Singapore and Hong Kong, principal points of the eastern trade to prevent the dispatch of vessels carrying secret cargoes in aid of the insurgents. It is believed that the interests of the other nations in a peaceful state of things in the East will cause them to exercise special vigilance in this respect, a matter of much importance in view of the great number and extent of the Filipino islands. Without the receipt of arms or ammunition from the outside the insurgents will be badly handicapped. The United States by refusing to recognize Agoncillo in any way is in a strong position diplomatically, and no doubt is expressed as to all European nations maintaining a most correct attitude and refusing in any manner to acknowledge that Aguinaldo and his followers have any status warranting their recognition in any manner.
RATIFICATION.
SENATE VOTES ON THE TREATY WITH SPAIN.
The Majority in Favor Was but Three, but It Gives the United States the Philippines and Will Go a Long Distance Toward a Peaceful Settlement of the Situation.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 6.—At 3 o'clock this afternoon the senate took a vote on the treaty with Spain and ratified the treaty by a majority of three.
CASUALTIES AT MANILA.
A Total of Forty-six Americans Killed in the Fight.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 6.—Two bulletins have been received from General Otis containing a list of the casualties in the Manila fight. The general seems to have abandoned the style of report he adopted in the first bulletin and instead of giving the statement of casualties by brigades, he appears to have summarized all of the killed in second bulletin. In addition to the eight mentioned as killed in the first bulletin along with wounded the second bulletin contains a list of thirty-two, six being dead, making in addition to the previous bulletin a total of forty-six killed in the battle of Saturday night and Sunday.
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| Looking west at corner of Court Street and Church Street, Cortland, N. Y. Old Courthouse is on viewer's right. |
GOLDEN WEDDING.
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Bates Complete Fifty Years of Married Life.
That event which it is the privilege of so few couples to personally experience—the completion of fifty years of married life together—came Friday night to Mr. and Mrs. Henry Bates of 6 North Church-st. and was fittingly observed. Statisticians say that only one couple in about eleven thousand ever live to see their golden wedding celebrated. If this be a fact, it would certainly be a grave oversight to permit such an event to pass by unnoted.
Mr. and Mrs. Bates issued no special invitation, but a general invitation was sent out to their friends to call upon them from 4 to 10 o'clock and, as their friends in Cortland are legion, their house was filled almost to the doors and every one had a most delightful time, and no one enjoyed it more than the bride and groom of fifty years ago.
The rooms were appropriately decorated with draperies of golden yellow, and over the doors leading from the sittingroom to the diningroom were the significant figures in gold "1849-1899."
At about 8 o'clock a bountiful supper which had been prepared by Mrs. Bates was served to all those then present by the nine ladies of her class in the Congregational Sunday-school. Others who dropped in later, as was the case all the evening long, were served to a dainty luncheon before they departed. At about 8 o'clock Rev. W. H. Pound, pastor of the Congregational church of which both Mr. and Mrs. Bates are members, asked that gentlemen and lady to take seats upon one side of the sittingroom with the older son, Mr. Edward H. Bates, and Mrs. Bates and daughter, Miss Edna, at the side of the mother, and the younger son, Mr. George C. Bates, and Mrs. Bates at the side of the father. This constituted the whole family.
Mr. Pound then said that before remarking further upon the occasion he would read some letters of congratulations from absent friends, which he did. Reference to these will be made below. [Page 3 letters omitted—CC editor.]
Dr. Sornberger was then called for by Mr. Pound, who acted as master of ceremonies, and the doctor responded with remarks of both a humorous and serious nature. He had for some years in days long gone by been an inmate of the Bates household, and he referred to those days, paying a warm tribute to the uniform kindness and cordiality of both Mr. and Mrs. Bates, and to the respect in which they were held as residents of the community. He also cherished a very vivid recollection of Mrs. Bates' pastry, recalling the fact that it is said that a pantry was the one place in which a small boy could be left for five minutes with a large degree of certainty of finding him at the end of that time. He was sure that Mrs. Bates' pantry would attract older ones as well as the boys for considerably more than five minutes at a time.
In order that there might be no mistake as to the fact that Mr. and Mrs. Bates actually were married Mr. Pound asked Mr. Edward H. Bates to read from an old scrapbook a notice of the wedding, which he did.
Mr. Arthur E. Seymour was introduced as an honorary member of Mrs. Bates' Sunday-school class. He said he had been trying to determine why he was asked to speak for those ladies; it was surely not for the lack of their own ability to talk, as any one could testify who had heard their efforts to persuade him to speak for them. But he did speak in his usual happy manner, telling a number of good stories which provoked much merriment and also voicing the good wishes of the class for long life and prosperity and continued happiness.
Mr. Pound then said he had a word or two to say himself. Fifty years ago Mr. and Mrs. Bates had stood up before an officiating clergyman. Would they please do so now and join the right hands as before. They did so, wondering what was coming next. Mr. Pound's remarks which followed were of a serious nature and very appropriate to the occasion. He spoke of their long life together, of the joys and sorrows that had come to them, of their constant and abiding trust in a kind Heavenly Father, of the blessings with which they had been surrounded, of the happiness in their children and in all their family relations. He concluded by an earnest prayer. There was scarcely a dry eye in the room as they listened to Mr. Pound's impressive words.
As the last speaker of the evening Mr. B. T. Wright was introduced. Mr. Wright thought that a couple who had lived for fifty years without the need of a lawyer would hardly require his service then, so he concluded to speak as a neighbor. He had lived next door in peaceable terms with Mr. and Mrs. Bates for a dozen years and he had but one thing against them and that was against Mr. Bates. That gentleman was a very industrious man and an early riser, while he himself was one of the seven sleepers, and he did draw the line on a man who got up in the night to shovel off his sidewalks.
Mr. Wright then proceeded to a brief review of the past fifty years, noting the progress of the world in civilization, in art and in science. He spoke of the growth of Cortland, noting the fact that in 1849 all of North Church-st. and the site of the Bates home was a large cow pasture. In conclusion, he wished the host and hostess of the evening many years of health, happiness and prosperity, and said that some of the members of their church and some friends outside had desired to leave with them a little souvenir as a lasting reminder of this occasion, and had asked him to present to them an easy lounge and a luxurious Morris chair. So many had desired to have a part in this little token that after making the purchase they still had a nice sum of money left, and this he would present as an additional purse.
At the conclusion of his remarks he placed in Mr. Bates' hand an envelope containing money and called attention to the two articles of furniture which then stood directly in front of him, having been brought in while he was speaking.
Mr. Bates rose to express the thanks of himself and wife and made a nice little speech in which he too recalled the years of the past half century. He told of his marriage to Amanda M. Rose, daughter of Ariel Rose, at 7 o'clock on the evening of Feb. 3, 1849. The ceremony was performed by Rev. J. B. Benton at the home of the bride's parents on what is now known as the Warner farm, three miles south of Cortland on the Blodgett Mills road. For the whole fifty years they had lived on what is now the village corporation of Cortland—the Village had not been incorporated when they went to housekeeping. Their family consisted of only two sons, Edward and George, which was not large in comparison with the families of either Mrs. Bates or himself. In the former there were thirteen children and in the latter eleven, and in each of the two families two golden weddings had been celebrated. Both the boys had each a good wife, and both were present, and there was one granddaughter.
The older son Edward has a responsible place in Syracuse with D. McCarthy & Co., while the younger son George has a similar place with Dey Brothers of Syracuse.
At the conclusion of Mr. Bates' remarks there was a call for a speech from Mrs. Bates, but she declined, saying that she would simply join with her husband in an expression of the pleasure they felt in receiving their friends and in thanks at the beautiful but unexpected gifts.
The rest of the evening was spent in a social way as the earlier part had been. Many beautiful presents were left by individuals aside from those who shared in the lounge and chair. Quite a number of the presents were in gold coin, so that including the gifts from the two sons and their families a very substantial purse was realized.
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